translation by mourningmoor
The phone has been ringing nonstop for a while now.
Gyuhyung frowned.
"You're not picking up? It's Jaewon."
"I'm not picking up."
We had arrived at the filming site a little while ago and had been waiting inside the car on standby. In the meantime, the phone kept ringing, making Gyuhyung anxious.
"Turn it off. If it's urgent, hyung will get a call instead."
As soon as I finished speaking, Gyuhyung's phone rang.
Checking the caller ID, Gyuhyung furrowed his brows.
"It's Jaewon."
"I'm not picking up. Just tell him I'm already filming."
Gyuhyung, reluctant to lie, simply silenced the ringtone and put his phone away. Then, he suddenly threw out an absurd question.
"You two didn't fight, right?"
His expression was quite serious.
It made sense. Deciding to join <Gentleman> so suddenly, plus the maknae blowing up my phone like a madman, would make him anxious.
Still, how did he even come up with the idea that we fought?
"Wait, you're seriously asking me that?"
Gyuhyung opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish before nodding.
"Yeah. It's not even at a level where you'd fight."
"As long as you know."
I let out a small chuckle, gave my outfit one last check, and opened the van door.
"Alright, I'm heading off to film."
The moment I stepped out of the car, cameras started following me.
As today's surprise guest, they were determined to capture every second of my arrival.
Following the staff's lead, I walked inside and confidently pushed open the filming set’s doors.
Right at the moment when the identity of the surprise guest was to be revealed, our latest album's title track was already playing in the background.
Since <Gentleman> would air after our comeback, it was perfect for promotion.
As I entered, the host’s voice boomed loudly.
"Our final guest for today is the leader of LIT, who recently made a comeback with their full-length album—Kang Ichan-ssi!"
The host of <Gentleman> was MC Jung Yongwoo, a comedian-turned-MC whom I had met before on <Eternal Legend>.
Jung Yongwoo, after introducing me, immediately flashed a bright smile and extended his hand for a handshake.
"Ichan-ssi, long time no see. You've been doing amazing lately."
I bowed at a full 90 degrees, greeting those around me before taking his hand and bowing again.
"Sunbaenim, it's been a while. It's an honor to see you again."
At that, several people started recognizing me and approached.
"Wow, LIT's Kang Ichan-ssi. You sing really well. I watched 'Music Genius'!"
"Nice to meet you. Seeing you in person is different."
Everyone was making a fuss, swarming around me to talk.
While greeting them one by one, I deliberately looked at a familiar face who hadn't come up to greet me and smiled brightly.
"Hyungnim."
It was Kim Junmo, whom I had appeared with on <King of the Jungle>.
"Oh, you're here?"
"Yep."
I gave a slight nod and walked over to stand next to Kim Junmo.
Seeing this, Jung Yongwoo nodded in amusement.
"Wow, our rookie Junmo. You were so confident, and you really did bring in a special guest."
"I told you, didn't I? I said I'd bring someone that would surprise everyone."
Looking proud, Kim Junmo playfully patted my shoulder. Smiling back at him, I turned to Jung Yongwoo and bowed once again.
"Our hyungnim, please take good care of me."
With a total of twelve cast members, the set was loud and lively as we successfully wrapped up the opening scene. That left a short break.
I turned to look at Junhee, whose gaze I had briefly met upon entering.
As soon as our eyes met again, the guy flinched and averted his eyes.
It made sense—meeting me here must have been a big shock. After all, I was a completely hidden guest.
But of course, Kim Junmo didn’t miss that either.
"Why the hell isn’t that bastard greeting you?"
All the other guests had greeted me, but Junhee was deliberately avoiding me.
That meant he felt awkward. It also meant he was being immature.
"Yeah, why isn’t he greeting me?"
Feigning ignorance, I responded, and Kim Junmo followed up with another question.
"Aren’t you close with their team?"
"We are. We debuted together."
At that, Kim Junmo scoffed.
"Just because you debuted together doesn’t mean you’re all close."
"I’m probably closer than you are."
As expected of the simple-minded Kim Junmo, he immediately bristled at my response and lunged in protest.
"Hey. While we’re here today, you should be closest to me. I’m the one who brought you here."
"That’s nonsense. The format itself is an individual competition."
.
It’s a variety show with a quiz format, hosted by MC Jung Yongwoo for six years now.
There are six fixed members, and various guests are invited to form teams.
The participants solve quiz questions to earn hints, which they use to complete missions through an adventure.
The mission location changes each episode, and today, it was a newly opened mega shopping mall.
The title of today’s episode was ‘Hide and Seek. Don’t Let Your Hair Show,’ and the goal was to find the hidden ‘Nightmare’ (몽마, Mongma) and their ‘Helper’ among the participants.
"Be prepared. If you’re the Nightmare today, I’ll make sure to catch you."
"What are you talking about? I’m not the Nightmare. Aren’t you the Nightmare? You’ve been one on stage before."
"That would make the story way too predictable. Do you really think it’s me?"
"Oh? Then maybe not. Anyway, we’re sharing hints, right?"
"We’ll see."
The thing about variety shows like this is that even when the cue sign hasn’t been given, the cameras are always rolling. You can’t let your guard down for even a second.
Kim Junmo knew that well. That’s why he was chatting and joking around so casually.
The only ones who didn’t seem to get it were probably Möbius’ Junhee and Youngbin.
Seeing them frozen stiff, just observing their surroundings, made me feel a little bad for them.
"Hyung. I can’t just leave it like this. I’m going to go greet them."
With that, I walked towards Junhee.
As I got closer, Youngbin bowed slightly in greeting.
"Hyung, you’re here?"
Even though Youngbin greeted me warmly, Junhee just kept staring at his phone, pretending to be distracted.
"Yeah. Have you been doing well?"
Smiling, I lightly patted Youngbin on the shoulder before stepping closer to Junhee, lowering my voice just enough so only he could hear. My face still carried a friendly smile.
"In Junhee. Don’t cause trouble for Möbius, alright?"
Junhee’s head slowly lifted.
"The cameras are rolling. If you keep acting like this, you’re going to get hit with an attitude controversy."
Youngbin, who was close enough, must have heard me too.
I saw him glance around nervously and swallow dryly.
"If you keep this up, Youngbin will get dragged into it too. Then, the whole team will take a hit."
Junhee finally looked up, but his expression was still as sour as ever.
I stared at him for a moment, then put on the brightest smile I could manage. The cameras were watching us from afar, after all.
Softly curling my lips upward, I spoke in the gentlest voice possible.
"It’s already frustrating enough dealing with Jaewon, so don’t make things harder for Jeongsoo hyung too, alright? I won’t let it slide."
Then, I patted Junhee’s shoulder.
To the cameras, it would look like I was giving him a warm pep talk.
"Do well today, okay? Even if I make you uncomfortable, just endure it. Don’t make it obvious. Got it?"
I turned my gaze to Youngbin.
"You’ve got it rough."
Smiling as if in sympathy, I left them behind.
As I walked away, I heard Youngbin’s voice from behind me.
"Fix your expression, In Junhee. Think about it—why would Ichan hyungnim even bother to warn you? You’re not even that special."
Then, he even went as far as to praise me.
"Seriously, hyungnim is such a good person. So broad-minded. If it were me, I would’ve punched you already."
Yeah. I will punch him. So just wait for it.
With the corners of my lips curling up slightly, I slowly walked towards the filming director who had just called for standby.
* * *
I ended up in the same team as In Junhee, just as I wanted.
There was something I needed to do while keeping him close.
<Gentleman> was quite a good program for carrying out that "something." Plus, I really liked that this episode had a slight horror element.
"This is fun."
I could properly use the ‘Rooms of Horror’ and other structures set up throughout the seven-story mega shopping mall to hunt down In Junhee.
Junhee took a heavy hit right from the first room.
The name of the first Room of Horror was ‘Copycat.’
Kim Junmo, Junhee, Youngbin, and I entered together.
In the middle of the room, a parrot with incredibly vibrant feathers was inside a cage.
"This parrot's name is Copycat. No matter what you say in front of Copycat, it will reveal your true thoughts."
The assistant director explained the rules of the first game.
"If you want to shut Copycat’s mouth, you need to answer the quiz question correctly. Will you take on the challenge?"
Junhee, bravely—or rather, recklessly—volunteered to go first.
He just wanted to answer quickly and move on to the next room. He was uncomfortable being here with me.
Two quiz questions were given to Junhee.
One was a question posed by Copycat. The other was a question to obtain a hint.
"First, the hint question. What is the capital of Canada?"
It wasn’t a difficult question, but Junhee hesitated to answer.
The assistant director spoke up again.
"Since you didn’t answer within five seconds, we’ll now ask Copycat’s question. Here’s the question: Have you ever betrayed a friend?"
The assistant director tilted his head.
He didn’t remember putting this question in the script.
Junhee’s face turned completely white.
"Now, answer. To shut Copycat’s mouth, you need to answer the hint question correctly."
"Va, va, Vancouver?"
Junhee, even stuttering, gave the wrong answer.
The parrot immediately opened its beak as if mocking him.
"Idiot. This idiot has betrayed a friend before."
"I haven’t."
"Betrays people like it's a daily meal."
"I said no."
"No conscience at all. Threw away the kindest and most devoted friend."
Junhee trembled.
The flustered assistant director hurriedly blocked the parrot’s cage and shouted at Junhee.
"A-answer the quiz correctly!"
Junhee, his already pale face now turning ghostly, gritted his teeth and shouted.
"Toronto?"
"Idiot. No wonder you’re like this, you traitor."
That parrot was surprisingly smart.