“Haa...”
After a short squabble, I ended up lying down under the blanket just like Joo Woosung told me to. He tore open the packaging and slapped a cooling sheet onto my forehead before lazily pulling himself upright.
“Just rest. Once the interview’s over, the staff are going to eat lunch anyway.”
“Rest? I didn’t do any broadcast content yet.”
“In a Woosung broadcast, Joo Woosung is the content. So cut the broadcast nagging, PD-nim.”
I was about to snap back, but the last part — “PD-nim” — stopped me cold.
I only watched Woosung’s back as he left the room and let out a deep sigh a beat late. If I remembered his role in Bring Me the Camera, it was just wordplay — nothing strange. But I almost overreacted like a fool.
I drew a long breath, shut my eyes, then slowly opened them again.
‘Lying down does feel nice, though...’
Turning my body toward the door, I let the smell of crackling firewood from the yard and the metallic clinks of staff adjusting equipment loosen my tension.
These were sensations I knew well from my PD days.
“Cough, cough—.”
I curled up, let out a dry cough, and buried my face into the pillow, breathing heavily.
Well, it wasn’t like Woosung was expecting something in return.
If he cared about image-building, he’d already have stacked up connections and acted slick like every other celebrity. Before the Black Call scandals, he’d at least have pretended to get along with them publicly.
‘At this rate, if he ever actually gets a real friend, won’t he end up cosigning for them? How’s he going to survive in this world, tsk.’
Still, this self-produced content... is it really okay to coast like this?
I sat up, ran a hand through my messy hair, and decided I had to keep Woosung’s broadcast from turning into “Seo Hoyun’s Convalescent Home.”
‘Guess I should read the mood and play along.’
I pulled the cooling sheet from my forehead, opened the door, and walked into the muggy, humid air.
Woosung’s interview was already underway in another room.
“—Woosung-ssi, are you usually close with your juniors? You seemed so considerate since Hawaii.”
“Eh? No, that’s not really...”
I could see where the question was heading.
The staff had decided the theme this time would be “good senior.”
“Rather than a junior, it’s more like...”
I plopped down beside Woosung with a smile, enjoying his bewildered expression, and casually threw an arm over his shoulder.
“Wouldn’t it be closer to being good friends?”
“What, did you eat something wrong?”
I gave his shoulder a friendly pat and pushed further.
“Our Woosung-hyung is really mischievous. He pretends otherwise, but he’s actually kind.”
“....”
Woosung stared at me with his mouth hanging open.
“But he really does take care of me.”
I pulled my arm back, stroked my chin, and spoke more seriously.
“He’s someone with kindness and warmth ingrained in him. He’s always good to his juniors.”
“What the hell? When?”
“...”
Shut it, for god’s sake.
Do you not feel the staff glaring daggers at me, trying to save your damn image?
I forced a grin and smacked him on the back.
“See? So humble.”
“Oh really? Who the hell am I even close with, then?”
“...”
Racking my brain, excluding the “I-hate-Hoyun” club — Lim Hyunsu, Kim Heeyoung — no names came to mind.
“...Black Call sunbaenims?”
The only answer I managed was painfully bland.
Woosung’s cheek twitched before he averted his gaze and muttered, “...You’re just stating the obvious...”
Don’t get shy now.
It’s so obvious you only got close recently.
I forced a grin, already wondering if editing could salvage this.
“Anyway, I’m always grateful to hyung. I’ve been learning a lot.”
“What kind of crap are you—”
“Wahaha, such a strong friendship you two have!”
The staff cut him off, ending the interview before he could argue.
The cameras and lights switched off in an instant, and the mics were cleared away.
“I said I’d handle it. Why the hell did you get up, dragging your sick body around....”
I just stared at him, sulking despite me saving his ass, then tapped him lightly.
“Let’s go to the mart. I want ice cream. I’ll buy.”
“Häagen-D—.”
“Picking the priciest one, huh.”
He answered right away and followed after me.
He grabbed the car keys from the staff and slid into the driver’s seat. I got in next to him and asked,
“You actually know how to drive?”
He smirked and curled one lip.
“I’m Joo Woosung. What do you think?”
I leaned back, nodding lazily. The nausea churned again, and I turned my gaze out the window. His voice interrupted.
“Hey, look up a mart or convenience store nearby on your phone. I think I saw one on the way.”
“Didn’t bring it. You didn’t notice until now?”
“I come fully prepared. Why would I need to go to places like that?”
He pulled his own phone from the holder, unlocked it, and tossed it to me.
I chuckled at the cat wallpaper before opening a search app. But when I tapped the search bar—
[Cold]
[Tea good for colds]
[Pear balloon flower tea]
[How to make pear balloon flower tea]
Previously searched terms lined up.
“....”
For a moment, I forgot my own pain.
‘My eyes aren’t screwing with me, right?’
They say when people change too much, it’s because they’re about to die.
Was it actually Woosung who was sick? Or maybe this was some elaborate master plan I hadn’t noticed...
I narrowed my eyes and scanned him slowly.
“...Hyung.”
“What.”
“You being nice — it’s for the broadcast, right?”
“You ungrateful bastard, shut up before I toss you into a rice paddy.”
I just shrugged and looked back at the phone.
***
[Title: Preview of Woosung Broadcast – Seo Hoyun Episode
Didn’t the schedule just drop? And the preview’s already out.
Is WH finally learning speed from Daepaseong? (Daepaseong’s only unmatched strength: insane quantity and speed of self-content...)
Woosung gathered ingredients, made bean sprout soup and pear balloon flower tea.
He was so cute I cried TT_TT]
[Title: Summary of new Woosung Broadcast preview
Welcome to Woosung’s Forest
└ LMAO seriously LOL He just picks up ingredients and makes stuff so neatly, it’s crazy.. Woosung’s more capable than I thought.
‘Obtained kimchi and flour-!!’
└ Seo Hoyun looked kinda pale but still, the two bickering while staying close was so cute T_T]
‘At least the preview reactions are good.’
In the end, I hadn’t done much besides get nursed back to health.
He even cooked chopped vegetable porridge because I’d bought him ice cream, and the next morning gave me soft tofu with simmered radish.
It felt like a real countryside rest, not work.
The penalty still hung over me, but at least my body felt a little lighter.
Still, even if I trusted WH Entertainment’s editing, I couldn’t shake off the fact that this shoot had gone so differently. I scrolled through SNS and community posts to check reactions.
One headline caught my eye.
[Title: That place from Woosung ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) Broadcast
It looked familiar so I dug through old clips — isn’t it the same spot from The Dawn’s Year 1 healing farm special?
The one that turned into a horror special because everyone said they saw ghosts?
The time capsule episode, where they wrote letters to themselves 5 years later...!!
└ Holy crap, you’re right. How’d you even find this? Eagle eyes.
└ No way they filmed there TT_TT Woosung TT_TT
└ Woosung looked chill though. Does he not know? Or just fearless?
└└ Old interview said he doesn’t believe in ghosts or superstitions. Said there are way scarier real things in the world.]
The time capsule wasn’t there anymore.
I’d heard the agency collected it right away, either to avoid other shows interfering or fans reserving the location.
‘“Back to how it was.” That’s what I wrote.’
That part hadn’t changed.
And it couldn’t.
All of this would end once I cleared the main and scenario quests of Nugu Actor Tycoon.
The familiar headache pushed in, and I dropped the phone, collapsing onto the sofa. Malang scurried around my feet with a toy.
Then—
Beep, beep-beep, beep....
The front door code clicked, and someone walked in.
“Heyyy.”
It was the house’s owner, Min Jiheon.
He’d just returned from an overseas shoot, yet his face gleamed like he was glowing.
He tossed down his luggage and walked over, grinning.
“Let’s see our guest. Still alive?”
“Not until I saw your face.”
“Ouch. Too bad.”
Feigning pity, he plopped to the floor and asked,
“So how long are you staying?”
“Until I’m back to normal.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just tell your members a little bit—”
“Forget it.”
I cut him off flat.
“There’s not much time left anyway.”
There would never be a day I confessed everything to those kids.
Min Jiheon sulked at my refusal.
“Taking it out on me ‘cause nothing’s improving, huh.”
“You noticed?”
He glared but then reached for Malang, only for the dog to scamper away to me instead.
I ignored Jiheon’s frozen, betrayed expression, picked Malang up, and stroked her fur.
“Malang, you like me that much?”
“....”
Honestly, there wasn’t a huge problem yet. Just my body staying stubbornly weak.
The comeback prep was still moving along somehow.
‘But it feels off.’
If there was one thing that bothered me—
It was that Kang Ichae had been unusually quiet this whole time.
