CH 49

Ji-soo and Deok-man ran after Kero, but eventually collapsed from exhaustion.

“Uh-huh, no. There is no end to this!”

In the first place, humans couldn’t beat dogs in a running race. But the opponent was also a monster! There was no way they could win.

Then, Ji-soo replied with a sly smile.

“Let’s take a hostage! Dig up a trap.”

They couldn’t defeat a monster, but wouldn’t they be able to take on the weak Hyeon-woo? Hearing Ji-soo’s plan, Deok-man put on a serious expression.

“You mean Ji Hyeon-woo?”

“Okay! Deok-man, you’re quite in shape. On the other hand, Hyeon-woo looks too skinny! Let’s catch him and have the monsters bring back the marbles.”

Though normally the Awakened depend on their abilities, they typically also have an upgraded body. However, since Hyeon-woo is on the slender side, he seemed weak.

“Okay, let’s do it!”

The two held out their arms and exchanged sharp glances. It was necessary to attract more people than those who heard the scheme.

“Uh, isn’t that a bit sneaky?”

“Unnie, not you too. There’s no problem with being a bit sneaky?” (EN: Unni - Older sister. Title used between familiar women)

It was not like Lee Young, who was thrown out of the same team to the bottom in the last game for saying that she would win alone.

“Right? I was just saying too.”

Lee Young smiled meanly and rubbed both hands.

“Great, so now Lee Young-Unnie and Ji Hong are going to be together?”

“The other two?”

“The two of them can do this, so leave them alone. You need someone to attract the attention of the monsters.”

“Then he can do it.”

The four of them moved together in conspiracy. Without a shared walkie-talkie, they decided to gather once someone discovered Hyeon-woo.

“Break!”

The four dispersed in different directions. Not long after, Ji Hong saw Hyeon-woo standing on the hill.

“Wow, he’s so relaxing. Just sitting and basking in the sun.”

“Ah, look at him sitting leisurely.”

“He’s in a very open area. Can I catch you?”

--

“Let’s come at him from multiple directions and catch him between us.”

“Okay, okay.”

As soon as the four gathered, they surrounded the hill and slowly began to narrow their siege. As they crept closer, Hyeon-woo stood up.

“Uh, let’s go. Run at him!”

“Whoaaaaa!”

Four people began sprinting toward Hyeon-woo, who screamed. Hyeon-woo seemed hit with the realization that he knew he would be caught and held ransom. The four thought so. But there was something they didn’t know — Hyeon-woo already knew they were approaching.

“Kirreuk!”

A heavy thing landed on Ji-soo’s head, who was running hard.

“Kkak!”

Flustered, she stopped on the spot and brushed her hair, but the monster clung to it and did not fall off.

“What, what is this!”

Then, something smashed into Deok-man’s butt, who was coming from the opposite direction.

“Ugh!”

Though he didn’t fall, Deok-man struggled to keep his balance and faltered in formation. That gap was just enough for Hyeon-woo to escape. Hyeon-woo threaded himself between Ji-soo and Deok-man like flowing water and waved his hand to his new point of safety. At the same time, Spotty and Kero jumped to escape with Hyeon-woo.

“Ah, ah!”

Lee Young, who noticed the fact too late, pointed a finger, but the three of them were already running away.

“We missed them!”

“Ugh. It’s okay, it’s okay. We’ll have more opportunities.”

Ji-soo said while tidying up her messy hair. However, Hyeon-woo was a newcomer. Even if Hyeon-woo’s luck had led to their preemptive discovery, they were forced to retreat because of the monsters. While they were stewing in defeat, the monsters continued finding the marbles one by one and finished the game!

Du-gu-du-gu-du-gu!

A cheerful drum sound resounded, and MC Soo-kwang exclaimed.

“Congratulations! Today’s winner is the Monster Team!”

“Kirreuk!”

“Wang wang! Wang wang!”

Spotty triumphantly circled over their heads while Kero barked excitedly with a puffed chest.

“I lost. We lost.”

Jae-yeon sighed and said.

“We had so many, I really thought we would win!”

Ji-hong said with a sad expression on her face.

“How are these monsters so smart? Are the other monsters just as smart?”

“No. Spotty and Kero are particularly smart.”

At those words, Spotty and Kero pushed out their chests further.

“Wow, really!”

“Then, is this over? Really over?”

“It’s so unfair! Let’s have a revenge match!”

“Alright then. Normally I would just end it, but how often do we get something like this? Let’s have a revenge match.”

Saying so, Soo-kwang took out a box and showed it.

“What’s this?”

“This box has several different games written on paper! We’ll draw one to determine what we do for the revenge match. The losing side makes the draw.”

“Me, I’ll do it!”

Ji-soo raised her hand.

“Okay, let’s let our Ji-soo. She’s usually lucky.”

“Right, right!”

“Well then~”

Ji-soo put her hand in the box and felt around. She took out a note and unfolded it.

“Let’s see. Eating Contest?”

“Eh? What’s this?”

“Nice one! There will be a lot to eat! One person from each team will come out at a time to eat. They can be swapped out with other team members. The team that eats the most wins.”

“Uh-huh.”

For a moment, people’s eyes turned to Spotty and Kero.

“It won’t grow bigger, right?”

“Nah.”

“Then, it’s worth a try, ya?”

How much would they need to eat to take back their pride? The members of the Human team gained new resolve.

“I mean, I even got 3rd place in the eating contest!”

Ji-hong smiled and came out first. They were served mini hamburgers and given 10 minutes. From Hyeon-woo’s side, Kero came first.

“But can dogs even eat hamburgers?”

“Not normal dogs; so owners at home take care not to feed your pets human food. Kero is a monster, so he’ll be ok.”

“Aha, that’s right.”

“Then, the eating contest starts now!”

Ding! With the sound of the bell, Ji-hong began to rapidly inhale the mini hamburgers.

“They’re going at about the same speed!”

Each time Kero opened his mouth, he swallowed one hamburger.

“How’re you hanging in there? Does your stomach feel like it’s gonna explode yet?”

“I’ve got this. It’s easier than I thought!”

While the team members were chatting, Ji Hong ate more than 20 hamburgers.

“I can keep going!”

As she passed 30, Ji-hong’s eating speed gradually slowed down. But Kero was still swallowing the hamburger with an expression reminiscent of a Tibetan fox.

“I, I can’t do it anymore.”

In the end, Ji-hong backed off and Jae-yeon stepped up. He also worked hard, but he couldn’t beat Kero. Around that time, Kero switched places with Spotty.

“Wang.”

It was not because he was really hungry, but because he was tired and was excited. Spotty, who exchanged with Kero’s place, rubbed his front paws gently in anticipation. Lately he had been obsessed with human food.

Spotty didn’t even swallow one at a time. He used his long snout to bite three at a time, swallowing and chewing them together at an incredible speed.

“I feel cheated.”

Lee-young swapped in and rapidly emptied the plates in front of her, sprinting through the end of the challenge.

“Aah!”

“This is a foul! Foul!”

Lee-young said while biting the hamburger, but Soo-kwang shook his head.

“This is a kind of a suicide goal. The competition continues.”

“Argh, where’s the next one!”

“Here. Is it even worth still trying now?”

That also made sense, so Lee-young shut her mouth again and started eating. Although they worked so hard, the second match of revenge also turned out to be a victory for the Monster team. Hyeon-woo hadn’t even come out yet.

“Uah, at least it was fun!”

Ji-hong held out her hand while saying that. Hyeon-woo also held out his hand and smiled.

“We had fun too.”

“Will you come back on the show again? I want to play with the Spotty!”

Ji-soo was also enthusiastic.

“I want to play with Kero!”

Lee-young spoke up, and Deok-man rose to shake hands as well.

“I really enjoyed today. It seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve been this into the games.”

“Thank you.”

After the rest of the team members exchanged pleasantries, MC Soo-kwang wrapped up the challenge and filming finished for the day.

***

After shooting the episode, Hyeon-woo lazily rolled around. He enjoyed his peaceful day with Do-jin, Seon-woo, Spotty, and Kero.

“Hmm.”

Hyeon-woo, who had slept in, got up from his seat and wriggled down on the sofa. Seon-woo wanted his Hyung to lead a regular life, but that was easier said than done.

He was barely active with Seon-woo present, returning to laying down once his younger brother left for work. Do-jin did not actively dissuade Hyeon-woo.

“Eat breakfast and go to bed.”

He sat the limp Hyeon-woo down and placed a tray in front of him. Eggs and bacon with piping hot oatmeal. Hyeon-woo liked Korean food, but the occasional Western meal wasn’t bad either. When he finished eating half asleep, Do-jin patted him on the back.

At first, this behavior was very awkward; who did it? But humans are animals of adaptation. Hyeon-woo slowly began to adapt to Do-jin’s behavior. It was at this time that he fell asleep in Do-jin’s arms for a long time while his body digested the meal he ate. He woke up back up at 12 o’clock.

“Lunch will be ready around 1 o’clock.”

“Ok.”

The hours were long.