translation by mourningmoor
Incheon Airport was in chaos.
It was because L.I.T had once again provided a spectacle.
When they traveled from Paris Airport to LA Airport, Ichan and Jaewon had dressed up as a fairy and a pig, respectively. This time, Siu and Jaewon were dressed as a squirrel and a rabbit.
Moreover, last time, the costumes were relatively simple. This time, they had gone all out.
As soon as the arrival hall doors opened and L.I.T appeared, Filaments, who had gathered at the airport, screamed.
Hanjoon was the first to come out, accompanied by the manager.
Following him was Roa, wearing black headphones and glasses.
“Hanjoon, Roa-ya!”
At the sound of the Filament’s cheers, Hanjoon waved his hand.
Roa, who was following behind Hanjoon, bowed his head slightly to greet the fans.
Then, the doors opened again, and the two people in question appeared.
“Oh my god. They went full costume?”
A Filament shouted. At that, laughter and cheers erupted from all around.
Yesterday, the official SNS revealed the penalty outfits.
They were the kind of thick, padded costumes you would see at an amusement park.
Jaewon had whined that it was impossible to wear the full costume while entering the country, so he would only wear the headpiece.
So, everyone thought that would be the case. But no, they had fully suited up and walked through the arrival hall doors.
“Jaewon-ah! So cute.”
“Siu-ya. Why a squirrel? That’s Roa’s!”
Remarks about the penalty outfits came from everywhere.
Siu, whose face had turned red, bowed shyly, while Jaewon, with his lips puffed out, waved his hand sulkily.
At that moment, Ichan stepped out of the arrival hall.
Once again, cheers erupted, and camera shutters clicked.
“Kyaaaa! Kang Ichan!”
“Oppa, are you okay?”
“Ichan-ah, you’re not hurt?”
“We were so worried.”
It was a frenzy.
Whether they were reporters or fans, the reason there were so many people at the airport today was clear.
The reason was that Ichan had been at the center of the K-KON party fire incident.
Although the flames had been extinguished at a miraculous moment before they spread further, the photos from the scene made it seem as though the fire had reached Ichan as well.
Ichan had reassured everyone by posting on SNS that he was fine, but worried fans had still flocked to the airport. They needed to see with their own eyes that Kang Ichan was truly okay.
“Kang Ichan-ssi. I’m reporter Park Soo-hyun from Distouch. Are you unharmed?”
“Ichan-gun. I’m from NewsE. Did you attend the party from the beginning?”
Among the reporters was Editor Kang Mina from Music Q.
A true Filament and a key supporter of Kang Ichan, she was so overwhelmed upon seeing him safe that she was momentarily speechless.
Ichan, who had grown even taller since their first meeting, looked particularly dignified today.
Dressed in black pants and a black T-shirt, he had returned looking exactly as he had when he left. He took off his deeply pressed-down cap and bowed his head slightly.
“Filament. I’m sorry for making you worry.”
At that moment, the fans let out something close to a wail.
“I’m really okay.”
He even raised his arm to show that he wasn’t hurt anywhere.
Then, as always, he gave a brief, emotionless glance to the members.
At Ichan’s signal, the members took their places in the official order.
“Two, three, hello. This is L.I.T. We have returned safely.”
The members greeted loudly and smiled brightly at the fans. Even Jaewon, who had been pouting, finally smiled cheerfully and waved his hand.
At that moment, a Filament shouted loudly.
“Jaewon is on penalty duty again today?”
Laughter broke out all around.
Jaewon, pouting like a child, nodded his head.
“Yes, another penalty.”
As Jaewon responded, the manager stepped in front of the members.
It was a signal that it was time to leave.
The members nodded, waved to the fans one last time, and continued walking.
Ichan, who was at the very end of the line, was just about to step past the press area.
Music Q’s Editor Kang Mina called out to him.
“Kang Leader!”
Most reporters addressed him as ‘Ichan-ssi’ or ‘Kang Ichan-ssi.’ But ‘Kang Leader’? That was a title the Filament used.
Slightly surprised, Ichan’s eyes widened as he turned around.
Then, he quickly smiled and nodded.
“Editor-nim. It’s been a while.”
Even though it had been almost a year since their interview, Ichan still remembered her.
Mina, smiling brightly, handed him a paper bag.
“A gift.”
A journalist handing over a gift instead of bombarding him with questions—Kang Mina was truly a unique person. On top of that, with her slightly teary eyes, she seemed more suited for the fandom than the press.
Ichan hesitated for a moment before gesturing toward the Music Q cameraman behind Mina.
It was a sign to take a picture.
At that moment, cheers erupted from all around.
Ichan turned Mina toward the camera and casually formed a V with his fingers, raising one corner of his mouth slightly.
Caught off guard, Mina formed a V as well, and the two took a picture together.
“Kang Ichan, me too! Over here!”
“Please look this way, too!”
Chaos erupted once again.
Smiling broadly, Ichan waved his hand and walked slowly, giving fans enough time to take pictures as he exited the airport.
* * *
On July 25, the Jeju K-KON concluded successfully.
With this, this year’s K-KON was completely over.
Our latest mini-album promotions had both started and ended with K-KON.
Following the scheduled coffee advertisement shoot and the fan signing event on August 1, we have now completed all official schedules related to this album.
The only thing left now is filming <King of the Jungle>.
This episode of <King of the Jungle> was still considered an unofficial schedule, as both the filming location and cast members were kept a secret.
Perhaps they’ll do a surprise reveal of the cast at the airport on the day of departure.
Only two days left until we leave.
Today, we trained for survival again.
They called it the bare minimum skills needed to survive in the jungle or something like that.
From learning how to make fire and distinguish edible ingredients to freediving, we’ve been attending jungle-related lessons for nearly ten days now.
“Do we really have to do all this?”
As the members accumulated more knowledge about the jungle, their expressions grew darker. Just what exactly are we supposed to do there that we need to learn how to set up traps with ropes or fish with a spear? Everyone was imagining all sorts of scenarios.
Even PD Pyo’s expression was just as dark. As the departure date approached, his face was filled with worry.
He was the one who aggressively pushed for us to appear on King of the Jungle, but now he’s getting all anxious that we might get hurt. It was kind of funny.
Maybe it was the aftermath of the LA K-KON fire incident. The fact that I was standing right in front of the burning Park Jungrae must have been quite a shock for PD Pyo.
After finishing our last safety training, PD Pyo looked at us with concern and spoke.
“Ichan-ah. You must never do anything dangerous, okay? Don’t even go near dangerous places. Alright?”
“What jungle isn’t dangerous? You were the one pushing us to go, and now you say this.”
When I scoffed, PD Pyo scratched his head with an awkward smile.
“As the company’s representative, it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
“So, are you saying what you’re saying now isn’t as the company’s representative?”
PD Pyo nodded his head.
Then, he looked at us with eyes full of affection.
“Hey, at this point, you guys feel like my younger siblings.”
Younger siblings? Yeah, right.
As expected, Jaewon, who never lets things slide in situations like this, immediately shot back at PD Pyo’s words.
“Hey. PD-nim, you’ve gone too far.”
For some reason, our team’s youngest member is the one who speaks most informally with the company representative.
“Younger siblings? That’s too much. At this point, we’re practically your kids.”
“Hey, calling me your dad is too much. I’m still unmarried.”
PD Pyo is also the most informal with our maknae.
“Nephew. Let’s settle on nephew.”
“Okay. Nephew it is.”
The two, having reached an agreement on being uncle and nephew, laughed as they looked at each other.
To think they’re just deciding things on their own like this. Just like that, I suddenly gained an uncle who’s only forty-one years old.
I don’t particularly like it, but what can I do? In times like this, it’s best to just play along and get something out of it.
“To celebrate becoming our uncle, how about you make a promise to your nephews?”
PD Pyo, who had been hugging and even patting the maknae’s back, suddenly became more cautious when I stepped in. No, actually, he became polite.
“What kind of promise?”
I like this.
That natural sense of reverence when dealing with me.
PD Pyo just struck gold by having someone like me as his nephew.
“Give us a vacation if we return safely.”
Which is why I think he should at least grant us this request.
“Just one week.”
The moment I brought up a vacation, the members’ eyes lit up, and they all nodded eagerly.
“Yes, just one week.”
The polite look in PD Pyo’s eyes sharpened slightly at the mention of one week.
Still, a CEO is a CEO, after all.
“One week… isn’t that too long?”
“In exchange, we’ll prepare songs for a full-length album release in the second half of the year.”
So, I threw out the bait.
One that PD Pyo couldn’t refuse.
“A full-length… album?”
PD Pyo’s small eyes gleamed with excitement.
“Yeah, it’s about time for one.”
Seizing the moment, Hanjoon added his piece.
“We’ll work hard to make sure it reaches double million sales.”
Siu and Roa also joined in for support.
“That’s right. We can do it.”
“No need to worry.”
With the members pressing him with their sharp gazes, PD Pyo finally raised both hands in surrender.
“F-Fine.”
A one-week vacation is long, sure. But there was no reason not to give it to us.
Letting out a deep sigh, PD Pyo made up his mind and gave us his permission.
“I’ll give you a one-week vacation. Just don’t come back injured.”
* * *
The kids, who had successfully secured a one-week vacation on the condition that they survive the jungle unscathed, strutted into the airport with triumphant expressions.
As soon as they stepped into the terminal in sync with the production crew’s signal, camera flashes exploded in rapid succession, accompanied by brief cheers.
Fifteen days ago, the production announcement for <King of the Jungle in Kiribati> was held at the SBC broadcasting station. At that event, only Lee Hanwoo, the tribal leader of King of the Jungle, and the show's PD attended, keeping the entire cast lineup a secret—until now.
It seemed that even the other cast members, who would be positioned as our rivals, only found out at the airport that we were joining the show. The reporters who had been surrounding them turned their attention to us, and their eyes widened in shock.
And we, too, were surprised.
"Hey, Ichan-ah."
Among the cast was none other than Kim Seokhwa, the MC of <Idol Research Institute>.
Not only that, but Kim Hyunsoo, Kim Jeongsoo’s older brother, was also here.
"Kang Ichan!"
Damn it. This schedule was going to be exhausting.