translation by mourningmoor
"The scapegoat."
It was a very brief moment, but the truth is my mind was in a whirlwind. But I soon shook off those complicated thoughts.
Devil’s editing, blatant pushing.
The ways of this world, where good and evil are blurred, were distasteful to me, but what could I do? Since I now belonged to this world, I had to live accordingly.
Before I could even finish sorting my thoughts, the car arrived at the filming location.
It seems we're not the first ones; the parking lot is quite noisy.
"Did everyone arrive?"
"No, that's the filming crew's car. Luckily, it seems like we're first."
Since we debuted the latest among the cast and our fandom is weak, Gyuhyung thought we had to crawl our way up.
Well, not so much Gyuhyung's thought, but it seemed like the nature of this industry.
That's why we rushed through the night to get here.
"If the youngest arrives later than the seniors, they'll get scolded. They'll start gossiping right away."
But still, arriving at 5 when the meeting time is 8 is too much.
A moment later, the car door opened, and the kids who had been in another car got in.
It was because Gyuhyung had gathered them, saying there was something to talk about.
Jaewon, still half-asleep, rubbed his eyes and let out a long yawn.
"Didn't we arrive too early?"
Then, he wobbled over to sit next to me and leaned his head on my shoulder.
"It still feels like night with how dark it is."
"It does feel like night, but the sun will rise soon."
Gyuhyung dismissed Jaewon's complaints and looked at the kids with a serious expression.
"Hey, guys."
His voice was unusually firm, filled with intensity. Maybe that’s why the kids subtly tensed up.
"This is your first variety show. Do you understand how big of an opportunity this is?"
The kids all nodded in unison.
"And you also understand how dangerous it can be."
Even the youngest line, who often acts thoughtlessly, knew how much their older members had debated before deciding to appear on the show.
Jaewon nodded and asked, eyes wide open.
"You mean we should be careful of the devil's editing, right?"
"Exactly. We mustn't give them any excuse."
The children's expressions turned even more serious in response to Gyuhyung's answer.
And soon, their thoughts began to echo loudly.
《I know we shouldn't give them any excuse, but... how do we avoid giving them one?》
《What should we do? Do we have to smile all the time? We can't make mistakes, right?》
《Ugh, I really hate this. I just want to be invisible, but how can I be invisible? Maybe I should hide in the bathroom or something?》
《Damn it. Then we can't play the game, can we? The quest deadline is coming up soon.》
With the overwhelming thoughts of the kids pouring in at once, I turned off my powers and let out a long sigh.
"That's enough."
At that, Jaewon, who had been resting his head on my shoulder, jumped up.
"What do you mean, 'that's enough'? What's going on?"
This kid, looks like he's really nervous. His Gyeongsang-do accent got a lot stronger.
"Just do what you usually do."
"Ichan-ah."
Gyuhyung tried to stop me with a scolding tone, but I didn’t care.
"Don’t worry about the devil's editing or whatever, just enjoy it."
"Kang Ichan!"
Mr. Lee Gyuhyung, you dream big.
It's been over a thousand days since I started sharing meals with these kids, and you still don't get it?
They aren't kids who can be controlled. If you wanted kids like that, you should’ve been more careful when picking them.
You picked a bunch of quirky, out-of-this-world, rabbit-like kids from the back mountains of the Parapara, and now you’re hoping for what?
"Don’t overthink it. People talk about devil's editing and whatnot, but no one knows how it’ll turn out."
If they're going to try devil's editing on me, they’ll have to become a real devil first, so I just need to wait and see.
"Don’t worry about that stuff; it’s not going to help."
Trying to change these simple yet unique kids in a short amount of time is impossible, so there’s only one way.
"So just do what you always do. Don’t worry about devil’s editing."
In the end, as long as I do well, it’ll be fine.
Yeah, as long as I do well.
* * *
A long way past the national road, deep into the countryside.
Was where the set was built.
The spacious rectangular area, with its polished wooden floors, almost felt like an NBA arena.
Of course, there weren’t any spectator stands, so it wasn’t a real arena.
But the shock-absorbing walls built in case of collisions and the giant screen hanging from the ceiling were truly reminiscent of a basketball court.
And there, waiting for their owners, were eighteen yoga mats.
In the vast space, there were six doors.
One of them opened, spilling light as the host of the show, freelancer announcer Do Junwoo, appeared.
Dressed in a neat suit, he held a sparkling custom microphone, smiling widely the whole time.
“It feels awkward, just me doing this.”
He twirled the microphone at his fingertips, then stepped around loudly.
"How's this? Does it make me look like an idol? No?"
He threw the scripted line toward the staff, but quickly became embarrassed.
Trying to hide his awkwardness, he eagerly waited for the door to open.
"I hope someone comes soon."
As the host fidgeted with the microphone.
The door carefully opened, and a tall, handsome man peeked in.
"Oh, finally someone’s here?"
The host smiled brightly and stretched his neck toward the door.
"Which team is it? Möbius?"
At the host's words, the door swung open, and six members of Möbius made their entrance.
The Möbius members, showing off the essential idol skill of the polite folding bow, looked around with curious and bewildered eyes—perfectly fitting their rookie status.
Watching this, the host smiled warmly and greeted them.
"Welcome! It's great to see you."
At that moment, another door opened.
This time, it was MuteSeven.
Like Möbius, MuteSeven members wore slightly confused expressions as they followed the script. However, there was an undeniable air of confidence around them, which made the Möbius members feel envious.
"Wow, it's definitely MuteSeven. They're on a whole other level compared to us."
"They've got so much more broadcast experience."
"They're so cool."
The camera didn't miss the voices that started to emerge, capturing every sound.
Following the script, the host praised MuteSeven's confidence enthusiastically.
After a brief moment, another door creaked open.
"Is L.I.T here? Come on in, you're late!" The host shouted excitedly, but the door didn’t open right away.
A long silence followed.
* * *
Since earlier, Jaewon's lips have been puffed up.
It seemed like he was quite disappointed after reading the script.
"No, what kind of variety show concept is this? Do I have to wear a school uniform here too?"
"Maybe it's because the subtitle is 'Classmates'?"
I kindly shared my thoughts with the grumbling Jaewon, but it seemed like Siu wasn't too fond of the situation either.
"Please, I just hope they don't make us do any presentations or anything."
It was then.
"L.I.T, stand by."
The assistant director shouted in a loud voice.
According to the assistant director, filming would begin the moment that door opened. The dark corridor was lined with unmanned cameras, capturing every movement of the members as they passed through.
So, when passing through the corridor, you have to look as nervous as possible.
The most important moment is when you open the entrance door to the set. The key is to have a shocked expression, almost as if you're completely stunned.
So, I told them to memorize the script and manage their expressions well.
That might not go as planned, but still, you never know, so I explain to the kids once more.
"Be careful where you step since the hallway is dark, Jaewon, don't say any nonsense, don't touch anything weird, Hanjoon, just be careful not to break anything..."
A strange feeling crept over me.
This wasn’t so much a set of precautions before entering a filming set as it was instructions before entering a dungeon.
Swallowing the words lingering on my tongue, I let out a hollow laugh and ruffled Jaewon’s hair lightly.
Let’s do well—please.
Unable to say those words aloud, I swallowed them and opened the door.
“Shall we go?”
Jaewon stepped in first, followed by Siu, Roa, and Hanjoon in sequence.
“Right, what am I expecting? As long as I do my part well, that’s enough.”
Watching their backs disappear ahead of me, I muttered to myself like reciting a mantra, then finally took a step into the dungeon—no, the set.
“Isn’t this like walking into a haunted house?”
I had told him not to spout nonsense, yet the moment we stepped inside, Jaewon began spewing absurdities.
“Like, they tell us to make confused faces, but then as soon as we open the door, zombies jump out or something, don’t you think?”
Thick Gyeongsang-do accent and completely off-track ramblings.
This part’s definitely getting edited out.
“And then we fall backward in shock, is that what they’re trying to capture?”
This’ll get edited out too.
“Stop it. Just thinking about it is scary.”
This time it was Roa.
Just how much of a scaredy-cat is he? Seems like even the maknae's nonsense was enough to spook him.
And of course, Siu couldn’t miss out on a moment like this.
“Should’ve… gone to the bathroom.”
Of course, he just had to add his two cents. And then the maknae jumps right in to respond.
“Why? Scared you’ll wet yourself?”
And then it happened.
“Gasp.”
A deflated sigh escaped from Hanjoon, followed by a loud thud.
“Ah, there he goes again. Hanjoon hyung’s caused another accident.”
The maknae, who was walking ahead, turned around to look back.
“Didn’t Ichan hyung say not to touch anything and to be careful not to break stuff? Hyung, you’re seriously a walking disaster!”
Hanjoon clicked his tongue and shot a quick glance my way.
“Sorry.”
Yeah, this is L.I.T. for you—the script breakers who can’t stick to the script from the very start.
What can I do? It’s just in their nature.
Nodding to let him know it’s fine, I gestured toward the maknae to hurry on ahead.
And finally, we reached the entrance to the set.
Jaewon turned the doorknob.
[Don’t swing it wide open; just open it carefully. But make sure to fully open it so the camera can capture all the members’ faces.]
That was the assistant director’s instruction.
But guess what? Jaewon didn’t swing the door wide open.
Peeking. He opened it just enough for his nose to fit through and pressed his eyes against the crack to peek inside. Behind him, Siu stood on tiptoe, trying to get a look through the gap.
Roa cautiously asked the two,
"Is it there?"
"No. I don’t think it’s there."
It was a complete mess.
Eventually, Hanjoon started scolding them.
"Hey, if you opened the door, you should go in. What are you doing?"
"Hold on. I’m just checking if it’s a zombie movie or something."
"Do you really think it’s a zombie movie? Don’t be ridiculous."
Finally, Hanjoon pushed his way through the narrow corridor and flung the door wide open.
"Like this, okay? You just open the door and—"
With a thud, the door slammed against the wall.
However, Hanjoon, who had bravely opened the door, couldn’t bring himself to step inside.
Then came a soft voice, almost a whisper. It was Jaewon.
"Uh-oh."
"Oh no."
This time it was Siu.
"Huh."
And then Roa.
"Why? What happened?"
"Hanjoon hyung, you caused trouble again."
Jaewon let out a deep sigh and clicked his tongue before continuing.
"This time, he pulled off the doorknob."