Chapter 71:
“…Am I too quiet?”
Lee Joo-hyuk, who had been staring at the keyboard and monitor for a long time, spoke while looking at a corner of the studio.
“Actually, this song and the regular album were both very successful… So I feel more pressure.”
In this digital single, AWY entered the music chart at 6th place with Jung Se-jun’s song. The company entrusted Lee Joo-hyuk with the overall producing of the next album.
“But… it’s fun. Se-jun hyung and the members help me a lot…”
Lee Joo-hyuk’s eyes were full of vitality, even though dark circles had settled under them.
“But is this really moving automatically?”
Lee Joo-hyuk stared intently at the camera installed in the corner and shook his head quickly from side to side. The camera slowly reacted and turned its direction to both sides.
“Oh… amazing.”
After a short two-week comeback, AWY started shooting reality. The first episode was planned to capture the daily lives of each member.
“I’m going on a trip with the members today, so I have to go to the dorm and pack my stuff and go out again. Actually, I could ask the members to pack for me, but I have to trust them.”
Originally, they planned to shoot reality with Japan trip as the theme before starting their activities in Japan. But after the boycott of Japanese products and the ‘this situation’ broke out, they changed their direction to domestic.
“Why can’t I trust them? Do you know what they bought when I asked them to buy me a drink?”
He continued to speak skillfully without anyone answering him, as he had done a lot of personal broadcasts through Y app.
“There’s a drink for kids, right? The one with a small can and a penguin character on it, they bought that.”
Lee Joo-hyuk sighed. His phone screen vibrated and flashed. He checked the message and jumped up.
“The manager hyung is here. Well, I’ll be back from the trip.”
Lee Joo-hyuk waved his hand and greeted the camera.
“But can I just leave this camera here?”
He was not familiar with the reality camera yet. He turned off the studio lights without taking his eyes off the camera. He closed the studio door at the sound of another message from the manager.
“Wow, what kind of person…”
Lee Joo-hyuk opened the door with his hat pulled down because of his messy hair. Then, the fans who were waiting in front of the company screamed.
“Joo-hyuk!”
“Where are the other kids?”
“Here!”
Lee Joo-hyuk got on the van without answering, bowing his head low.
“Next time we have to move to another company, let’s go to the place with an underground parking lot.”
Park Dong-soo, who was sitting in the passenger seat, gritted his teeth at the fans blocking the road. Lee Joo-hyuk chuckled.
“Oh my god, team leader.”
“Joo-hyuk, why are you doing this too?”
Park Dong-soo smiled awkwardly. There was one more thing that changed when the company reorganized. It was Park Dong-soo’s promotion to team leader, AWY’s manager.
‘It’s just a team leader in name, but I still have to take care of you guys.’
That’s what Park Dong-soo said on the day he was promoted. He did the same work, but his salary changed and his face was unusually bright. The person who held the steering wheel asked Lee Joo-hyuk.
“Did you stay up all night? Did the work go well?”
“Hmm… half and half.”
He was a new road manager who shared Park Dong-soo’s work. His name was Kim Myung-jin. He was even experienced. BHL Entertainment paid better than other entertainment companies, so there was fierce competition.
“You guys have a lot to prepare too, so get some sleep if you can.”
“Yes.”
Lee Joo-hyuk staggered and opened the front door of the dormitory. His eyes were dry from staying up all night. He glanced at the camera installed in the dormitory as well.
Lee Joo-hyuk changed his clothes quickly in a blind spot of the camera and lay down on the bed. Park Jin-hyuk woke up from his sleep at the sound of squeaking bed.
“…Are you here?”
Lee Joo-hyuk waved his hand tiredly. He hoped that the manager hyungs had a lot to prepare so that he could sleep longer. He closed his eyes.
***
“Where are we going?”
“Just get in the car first.”
Ian, who was wearing a pin microphone, stared at the writer. The writer bowed his head and went to another member with a pin microphone.
“Did you ask? What did he say?”
“The writer doesn’t talk much, does he?”
Cho Tae-woong, who had already finished setting up the microphone, grabbed Ian and said. Ian sat next to Cho Tae-woong and answered.
Cho Tae-woong didn’t trust the broadcasting station very much. He said to Ian.
“Are we going to some marine corps camp or something?”
“Marine corps? That’s over the top.”
“Do you think we’re just going to have fun and come back? Does that make sense? Marine corps, he says.”
“We don’t have much time to shoot, do you think we’re going to a marine corps camp?”
One of the contents that fans wanted was reality. And the main viewers of the broadcast were also fans. Would fans want to see them suffer in a marine corps camp?
“Joo-young, do you know what he said? He says we’re going to a marine corps camp.”
“That’s over the top.”
Kim Joo-young, who was sitting next to Ian, frowned.
“Marine corps is over the top, but… we’re just going around here and then go back to the company and practice! Is that it?”
“That’s also possible.”
“Or maybe something like rural experience?”
“It’s winter.”
“There are vinyl greenhouses.”
Cho Tae-woong and Kim Joo-young came up with all kinds of scenarios.
Ian shrugged his shoulders and looked at the camera installed in front of him, saying it was not his opinion. The camera had been filming them since a while ago.
“Jin-hyuk hyung! Do you know what they said?”
Ian asked Park Jin-hyuk like a tattletale. Park Jin-hyuk was grateful to Lee Jong-soo PD, who made ‘Idol Rapper’ and the group reality ‘Who are we? AWY!’ that they were shooting now.
“Hey, you guys doubt our god Jong-soo PD-nim?”
“Ack!”
Park Jin-hyuk rushed in and messed up Cho Tae-woong and Kim Joo-young’s hair.
“Hyung! Why me!”
Ian, who was in the middle, also got hit.
“Guys, buckle up. We’re about to leave.”
Road manager Kim Myung-jin said. He was only taking AWY to the trip place, so Park Dong-soo was not in the passenger seat.
“We’re leaving.”
Kim Myung-jin started the van.
Kim Joo-young rustled and took out snacks from his bag one by one.
“As expected of Kim Joo-young.”
“I want potato chips.”
The members ate the snacks that Kim Joo-young brought and chatted.
“It feels like we’re going on a school trip when we eat snacks while going out.”
“Have you ever been on a school trip?”
“No?”
Jo Tae-woong lowered his head with a blurry look in his eyes. Ian also extended his hand with the same expression as Jo Tae-woong. Jo Tae-woong shook hands with him.
“Doesn’t it feel like a school trip right now?”
“Kind of, yeah.”
“Do they have school trips in America?”
“America is not some alien planet. They have camps.”
“That must have been fun.”
He had entered the path of an actor too early, so he missed a lot of school days and couldn’t get along well with his school friends who whispered about him being a celebrity whenever he showed up.
“Ju-hyuk hyung is not dead, right?”
Park Seo-dam pressed Ju-hyuk’s arm hard as he slept with a hat on his face. Park Seo-dam spoke to the camera.
“Please understand, this hyung worked on his song all night.”
“Pork belly…”
Ju-hyuk mumbled. Park Seo-dam widened his eyes and looked at Ju-hyuk, then spoke to the other members.
“Ju-hyuk hyung is talking in his sleep, right?”
“For real?”
The members who were chatting suddenly became quiet.
“Mister, please give me more…”
“More what?”
“Meat… sirloin…”
He answered Park Seo-dam’s question and turned his head away as if he regained his appetite. The members who were holding back their laughter finally burst out laughing.
“Did you know that Ju-hyuk hyung talks in his sleep?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“What if you don’t know? You share the same room with him.”
“We always fall asleep before Ju-hyuk hyung.”
Kim Hyun and Park Jin-hyuk also looked at Ju-hyuk with curious eyes as if they saw him for the first time. Ju-hyuk always came in late because of his song work, and Kim Hyun and Park Jin-hyuk were the type who wouldn’t wake up to any noise except the alarm once they fell asleep.
“What’s creepy is that we never heard Ju-hyuk hyung talk in his sleep even when we did so many events before.”
“Wow, then did hyung not sleep in the car that time?”
“He must have been really tired today.”
Park Jin-hyuk took out a blanket and covered Ju-hyuk’s whole body, including his head. Kim Hyun frowned.
“Where did you get this white blanket from?”
He probably covered his head to block out the sunlight, but the blanket was white so it looked weird.
“A ghost…?”
“Ju-hyuk hyung looks like he’s really dead, right?”
“This is like… a deceased person…?”
Kim Hyun lifted the blanket that covered Ju-hyuk’s head and draped it over his shoulder. Ju-hyuk woke up from his sleep and groaned.
“What… are we there yet?”
“No, hyung! Go back to sleep!”
“Oh…”
Ju-hyuk closed his eyes again. He tossed and turned for a moment and then became still. The members let out a sigh of relief.
“Hyung worked hard, so let’s keep our mouths shut.”
“What’s the point of keeping our mouths shut? It’s boring.”
“Then let’s sleep too.”
“Yeah!”
The members quickly regained their composure and closed their eyes. None of them were sensitive, so they fell asleep in no time.
“What about the broadcast content?”
Ian muttered as he looked at the members. Then he shrugged and closed his eyes.
***
“Really?”
“We can just eat whatever we want?”
On the way to the MT location, Avi was bewildered as he stood at the rest stop. He had heard the production team say that they could buy lunch as they pleased.
“Yes, just take a camera and buy anything you want.”
The staff handed the members self-cameras and envelopes of money. Kim Hyun stared at the envelope in Park Seodam’s hand.
“Taewoong, open that envelope. It’s not like there’s only children’s bank money in there, right?”
“Yep.”
Jo Taewoong took out the money and showed it to the members. There were two 50,000 won bills in it.
“It’s real money?”
“Shine it in the sun. Is it counterfeit?”
“If it’s counterfeit, they can’t air it on TV, right?”
Jo Taewoong, Ian, and Kim Juyeong examined the bills and looked at the production team.
“Guys, we’re not that malicious.”
Lee Jongsoo PD said with a forced smile.
“PD-nim, you know too. We have a history with ‘that broadcasting station’…”
“Shh! This is JBTC!”
Lee Juhyuk quickly covered Park Jinhyuk’s mouth.
“Let’s go before they change their mind!”
“Go go!”
As soon as Kim Hyun ran to the restaurant, the other members also followed him in a hurry.
Lee Jongsoo PD, who was watching them, smiled meaningfully.
“Juyeong, what should we eat first?”
“Let’s hit the udon, ramen, tonkatsu and stuff at the restaurant, and then go for hot bars and hotteok outside for the second round.”
“Sounds good!”
“The rest stop food is all dead.”
The members rushed into the restaurant with a fuss. Most of the people in the restaurant looked at Avi, who came in with a camera in his hand. Avi greeted everyone he met.
“Juhyuk hyung, are you having pork belly rice bowl?”
“How did you know?”
“You were mumbling meat… in your sleep earlier, right?”
“Really?”
Avi, who gathered around the kiosk and chose what they wanted to eat, sat down at a suitable spot.
“Seeing how they coolly gave us money to buy food, we’re really just going for an MT, right?”
“People who give you food are good people.”
“Agreed.”
They were full of doubt and distrust towards the production team until they received the envelopes, but as soon as they ordered food, their doubts melted away like snow.
“Let’s have fun.”
-I’m eating at a rest stop right now and a celebrity came in
(photo)
Who are these guys?
└OMG is that my idol
└It’s Avi
└Fck fck
-I’m the one who ran into an idol at the rest stop earlier
(photo)
They weren’t noisy and they ate their food super fast and then they ate hotteok outside. Who starved them?
└The one in the middle is handsome
└Crazy kids??????so cute????can I share this?
└(OP) Yeah they seem to be devouring all the food at the rest stop??????
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