translation by mourningmoor
The announcer Do Junwoo doesn't really like the pilot program.
The comeback project chosen by PD Choi Chikuk, who had been disciplined for bribery allegations, was last summer's Season 1, as soon as he was cleared of charges.
He was cleared of charges, but rumors related to him were rampant.
Moreover, similar rumors came up again during the last Season 1.
The format where one idol group was blatantly promoted while another was mercilessly stomped on really made one furrow their brows.
In the process, it was only natural to suspect that he might have received bribes from the agency involved.
Yeah, you know what they say, you can't change a dog's habits.
This time, the atmosphere was similar.
He had said he wouldn't take on the role, but at the request of writer Kang Jihoon, with whom he had a close relationship, he had no choice but to accept.
[Please help me out. It's my first time in variety, and if I'm not going to be swayed by PD Choi Chikuk, you have to be by my side.]
[Last season, it wasn't just the PD, the writer got a lot of hate too, you know? Do you know writer Ji Yoojin? She still goes to therapy. We can't let that happen, right?]
It was so bad that even the composed Kang Jihoon had to say something like this.
When I saw it, I could clearly understand why.
The script and format were blatantly pushing MuteSeven.
And judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like PD Choi Chikuk had decided to step on L.I.T. this time.
[I like them. There's a lot to pull out of them. But the order came down to minimize their screen time.]
[So what should I help with?]
[You’re good at improvising. Do Junwoo, try to help them out a bit. Give them plenty of compliments.]
So I kept watching.
But the more I watched, the more I found L.I.T. to be interesting.
I think I finally understood what they meant by there being a lot to pull out.
After bickering and finishing the first class of choosing partners, they really burst out during the second class, art time.
<Team Challenge - Say it with Pictures>
It was a typical word-guessing game format.
The host presents a word, and the four team members take turns drawing a picture that explains the word. The last team member has to guess the word.
There was a set time for drawing, so the key was to quickly sketch the essentials.
But these guys weren’t good at that.
No, the problem was the drawing skills of all the members of L.I.T.
It was to the point where you’d question whether this could even be called a drawing. Even elementary school kids could probably draw better than this.
“Who even thinks this is a whale?”
The leader, who had to guess the word, finally snapped in frustration. Then, the team member who added the finishing touch to the drawing nonchalantly answered.
“Anyone can tell it’s a whale.”
“Hanjoon hyung, how is this a whale... It’s not a whale. This is obviously a butterfly. So, is this a sea instead of a meadow?”
The next problem was even worse.
Was it a snake slithering, or was it a dragon trying to ascend?
The hand drawing the crooked lines on the white paper trembled slightly.
“Is it a worm?”
“Wrong!”
“Then what is it?”
“You have to guess, hyung.”
"No, you should draw it so I can recognize it."
"This is enough, you should be able to tell right away."
"Is it a snake? Or is a dragon ascending? And this below, is it hot spring water?"
"It’s not an animal."
Hearing that it wasn't an animal, the leader, who had been guessing the answer, seemed to go into a state of confusion.
"Time's up. The answer is fish cake soup."
"Huh? How is this fish cake soup?"
And it started again.
"Clearly, it’s fish cake. It’s all wavy like that."
"Hyung, be honest. Your secret Santa is from a different team, and your partner is from another team too, so you decided to just let everyone win, right?"
The overly competitive youngest member slapped their chest in frustration.
"You only got 4 out of 10 right."
And those 4 points were just a fluke, barely grabbing the bull by the tail.
Seeing that the other teams scored 9 and 7 points respectively, it was clear that the difficulty of the questions wasn’t too high. No matter how much PD Choi liked to manipulate things, it seemed he didn’t mess with the difficulty of the questions.
And so, the third period began.
3rd period, music class.
We had to listen to a song playing through the speakers, guess the singer and title, and then dance.
Since we're idol singers, I thought this would be easy. I even worried that it might be too simple, making it the most boring game.
But I was wrong.
It was absolutely not a boring game.
The L.I.T members, who had been struggling earlier, were now flying high.
Wow— I started to understand why people get so obsessed with idols.
* * *
4th period, physical education.
The assistant director handed out gym uniforms.
Each team had a different color, and our team got the white ones.
"Ichannie hyung."
Before I knew it, Jaewon, who had already changed into his uniform, walked up to me.
Then, he stood at a distance, staring blankly at the members of Möbius who were awkwardly moving around.
"Jeongsoo hyung is in trouble."
Jeongsoo, staring despondently at his hot pink tracksuit, soon looked at us with an almost teary expression.
《You guys got white? I'm jealous.》
I could clearly sense Jeongsoo, the leader of Möbius, feeling that way.
Yeah, I can see why he'd be jealous.
Throwing a look at Jeongsoo that said "serves you right," I shifted my gaze to the kid next to me.
"At least your friend pulls it off well."
"Junhee? Yeah, he does. His skin's naturally fair, so pink really suits him. His proportions are great too."
With his fair and pretty face, he was even managing to make the tacky hot pink outfit look good.
It seems like the key to fashion really is the face after all.
At that moment, the youngest waved at Junhee and gave him a thumbs up.
"Jun. You look awesome!"
Junhee, embarrassed, scratched his head and gave a shy smile.
Jaewon's childhood friend, In Junhee.
Roa's concern for Jaewon, wondering if this kid might harm him, isn’t unfounded, but despite the worry, Junhee’s feelings toward Jaewon seemed genuine.
Of course, there were some slightly uneasy parts, but outwardly, everything seemed fine—for now, at least.
I looked around again.
The members of MuteSeven, now all in gray tracksuits, had gathered around Wooyoung and seemed to be having an intense discussion.
It looked like they were having a strategy meeting.
Normally, strategy meetings are supposed to have no listeners.
《So, if we just get past the obstacles, the quiz will be a piece of cake. You know what’s written in the script, right? Just memorize that.》
《You really only told us the answers, right?》
《Of course.》
I could hear it all.
《If you can’t memorize everything, at least memorize the order. We have to win, no matter what. I don’t care about Möbius, but we have to beat L.I.T.》
I could hear it all.
I clicked my tongue, turning my gaze away with an irritated expression.
In the end, it looks like the producer gave MuteSeven the quiz answers. And that too, from the very beginning, embedded in the script.
The 5th period, the Korean language class, was another word game. I’m sure the answers for that one were leaked too.
No wonder the drawing during the first period art class went so smoothly. There was no need to balance anything by deliberately losing.
"Should I just break it all?"
Normally, the thrill is what fuels the competitive spirit, but it seems there was no need for that in the battle against Kim Wooyoung.
Then, out of nowhere, Roa caught my eye.
He was holding the script and scanning the area, probably rehearsing for the 4th period PE class. Behind him, Siu was following him around, trailing him like a shadow.
Yeah, Roa might be fine, but Siu could definitely use a rehearsal.
He's one of those guys who can only perform at his best when he knows what's going on.
I guess for the sake of those who are working so hard, I should move too, right?
"Hanjoon hyung?"
"He's just entered the changing room. Joon hyung's always late no matter what he does."
Jaewon quickly answered and ran towards the changing room.
"Hanjoon hyung, hurry up and change!"
Jaewon scolded Hanjoon, who still hadn’t come out of the changing room. After a moment, Hanjoon appeared.
"Wow, Joon hyung. You look cool."
As the youngest said, the white tracksuit suited him quite well.
This guy, by reducing the volume a little, his style stands out much more.
But it seems like he feels awkward in these bright clothes.
"Doesn’t it look weird? I kind of… look like a polar bear."
Does that mean wearing dark clothes all the time makes him cosplay as a black bear?
"You’re too sleek to be a bear. A bear would be Gyuhyung hyung."
Right, the black bear is that guy.
With his dark face, thick shoulders, and big hands, he's the spitting image of a bear.
Compared to him, Hanjoon leans more toward being a sleek hunting dog.
A Doberman or a Greyhound.
"And why do you keep denying it when fans call you a dog?"
"Hey!"
He flinched at the tease, looking a bit cute when he got defensive.
But that’s enough teasing for now.
There’s something to do before the game starts.
"Hanjoon hyung, that earring... is it silver?"
"This? Yeah. It’s silver, right?"
"Then, let’s swap just one of them. Jaewon, you too."
* * *
"4th period physical education is both a partner game and a team game."
The host explained the rules of the game in detail.
"You and your partner will form a team and cross the obstacles ahead. Once you’ve crossed the obstacles and reached the assistant director, you’ll hear a quiz question. After shouting ‘correct answer,’ you’ll jump to the correct point to answer the question. Got it?"
This quiz has a reward of 5 points and a lunch menu attached.
If you answer correctly, the team of the person who answered correctly will earn 5 points, and both partners will get the lunch menu.
"Don't forget that you can try multiple times."
This meant that the more you answered correctly, the more you'd eat, and if you couldn't answer, you might end up hungry.
"The first question comes with galbitang (beef short rib soup) as the prize."
"Galbitang?"
Jeongsoo's eyes grew wide, and he jumped up and down in excitement as he shouted.
"Ichan-ah. I'll make sure to feed you lunch, I promise. Just trust me."
He said such cheesy things while looking at me.
I stared blankly at Jeongsoo and squinted my eyes as I gave a dry smile.
"Hyung, it's so obvious that I'm your manito."
Just one line, and his ears turned bright red.
《Huh, how did you know I'm your manito? This is bad, right?》
"Ma, manito? No."
It's not no, I can hear everything.
"I'm not your manito, okay?"
《Even if it's found out, as long as the mission is successful, it's fine, right? Was it 3 points? No, wait. Am I not going to complete the mission after all?》
I can hear everything.
"Don't worry too much. I'll make sure you complete the mission. And the mission score is 2 points."
At that moment, the whistle blew.
That was the signal that the first quiz had begun.
"And I'll take care of lunch."
I confidently promised lunch to Jeongsoo and immediately ran toward the obstacle.