Chapter 54: Behind the Camera Lens

Chapter 54: Behind the Camera Lens

Are you going? Yugeon threw his phone on the sofa and lay down, hugging a cushion.

Brrr-.

His phone kept ringing, as if it wouldnt leave him alone.

This time, it was a call from his manager.

[Manager (Park)] Be ready, Ill be there in 15 minutes. 10:24 AM

He had arrived home around 6:50 AM, so after taking a shower and tidying up, he had only slept for two hours.

He had been told to cut down on his personal schedule and stick to the group schedule. Last week, he had slept less than 20 hours in total.

His lifestyle was so irregular that it was pointless to talk about his daily routine. He had never slept more than four hours.

I have time to spare, so I can go to the club and have fun.

He would join the other members around noon and finish the group schedule by 8 PM. Then, he would have to appear on a late-night variety show.

Would it have been easier to endure the tough schedule if he had gotten along with the members?

Yugeon looked at the TV screen that was accidentally turned on and replaying [My Doll Stage].

He felt like he could hear the main PDs voice clearly from the screen.

Trainee Kang Yugeon, can I talk to you for a moment? Your father has an unusual background I have something to propose to you.

Ill guarantee you an A grade or higher from the first evaluation, and a rank of 20 or higher. Can we do a special episode about your father when we air the show?

Yugeon had declined the offer, and what he got in return was an F grade and 87th place.

He was in danger of being eliminated.

Only trainees who were independent or from affiliated agencies could participate in My Doll Stage.

It might have seemed like a normal treatment for an independent trainee without an agency, but he had the skills to expect a B grade or higher if it werent for his fathers issue.

Was it because he was underrated for his skills?

He still remembered vividly how people sighed in pity when his grade was announced.

In the final broadcast, it was all edited to sound like jeers.

I wont forget. How they treated me.

Yugeon closed his eyes for a moment, but soon opened them wide at the sound of someone knocking on the door.

Youre not close, are you? You and the members?

The conversation he had with Cheonise had been haunting him.

Was it possible to maintain a friendship in a survival program?

Please, just mess up his lyrics once, please make him forget his choreography, please put him in a bad spot. I dont care if its school violence, drinking, family issues, or anything.

Yugeon was a chess piece on a board that he had set up to survive by raising his rank.Diiscover new stories at novelhall.com

The world was cruel to the trainee Kang Yugeon, and kind to the Floss Kang Yugeon.

It was a realm that he would never understand as a lord who didnt go through the survival.

Yes, Im going.

Click, the door opened and Yugeon smiled leisurely, hiding his fatigue.

***

Wow, this is amazing.

As soon as they got out of the mini van, their honest impression was,

Can people live here?

Should we pitch a tent in the yard and sleep there, or clean this place up first?

The door looked like it was about to fall off, as if to prove that no one had lived here for a while.

The main camera that started filming from inside the house scanned the faces of the members who were shocked by the house.

The inside should be cleaned up a bit, so theres no trash to throw away. The water and electricity are still working.

Kyunghwa crossed the yard and stepped onto the wooden floor. He didnt even take off his shoes, and I wondered what he was thinking.

Every time he moved his foot, the dust marks were clearly visible from afar.

Lets get the vacuum cleaner out first.

Thanks to Kyunghwas warning that there would be a lot of dust, they had brought a wireless vacuum cleaner from the start.

Ah~. It would have been nice if this was sponsored.

My relatives on both sides are from Gyeonggi-do, so I was always amazed by the kids who went far away.

I thought he was a broomstick who couldnt say a word and stuttered when we went to School Kitchen Attack last time.

It was just that he had no confidence in himself. He wasnt completely incompetent as an entertainer.

I took advantage of the gap that Seong-won gave me and called the system.

System.

Then, poof, the system read my mind and printed out a neat explanation.

[Due to repeated requests, there is a 10pt charge for viewing past records.]

[Do you want to pay 10pt to view past records?]

[Yes/No]

[As of today, points will be deducted without additional confirmation]

Aargh. I keep accumulating points and dont use them well, so they use these cheap tricks.

Give them back to me someday. I was unhappy, but I answered in my mind.

Yes.

[Cheonises grandparents on both sides are from Seoul, and he has never visited rural areas in Korea, even for tourism.]

Great, thanks for making me cry.

The youngest PD asked me a question at the right timing.

What about you, Ise?

Im also new to this, I never had a chance to visit.

I answered with a light smile, and then he asked me another question.

Ise, you seem very skilled at handling ingredients, I think youll do well in the field work too.

Maybe it was because of My Hometown Today.

I had a bit of that image because I actively participated in the harvest in the filming.

Ive never done it before, so Im much clumsier than you think. I only know how to eat, not how to grow.

Im sure youre better than me.

As the smell of grass from the field grew stronger, Seong-wons expression gradually became more bored.

That was a huge hit on My Hometown Today.

I remembered the reactions that poured out to Seong-won after My Hometown Today aired.

[-A male idol who runs away from bugs]

[-Ah why are you running with it, dont show me]

[-Theyre really best friends, they look so close]

[-These days, male idols look like theyre pretending to be friends, but theyre really close]

[-He looks like hell grab his collar as soon as the camera turns off]

If a man is afraid of bugs I thought he would be more disliked than liked.

That was a mistake.

People dont hate men who are afraid of bugs.

They hate ugly men who are afraid of bugs.

Seong-wons cute running away from bugs made the comments cheer.

People love handsome men who are afraid of bugs this much.

I was reminded of the idol fandoms double standard of cruelty.

Should I make Seong-won run away from bugs again this time? I was distracted for a moment as we arrived at the field.

This is this is a mess.

From the vegetables that had rotted on the vines after missing the harvest time, to the weeds that grew as tall as a person. There was more than one or two things to deal with.

Lets figure out how to clear the grass first.

I calmly stepped into the field. Then, I saw something that looked like human clothes between the dense corn leaves.

Huh?

Oh no, I felt a chill down my spine from the ominous feeling.