The sky in the video was already painted with the hues of sunset.
Under clouds dyed red, Kim Sunghyun and Kang Ichae, riding the two-seater bicycle they’d been given for the mission, stopped pedaling and shared an ion drink.
“You okay?”
Kim Sunghyun glanced back at Kang Ichae, worried because he seemed unusually drained today. But instead of an answer, what came back was a random question.
“Hyung, how many points have you collected?”
Sunghyun tilted his head, suspicious, but still answered honestly.
“I’ll have 10 when this is done. Then all that’s left is to find the code.”
“Ah... I see. Then we can take it easy.”
“Yeah. ...Why? You want me to buy you something?”
Scratching his hair, Kang Ichae dragged his tone as if conflicted.
“Ice cream? I’m craving something sweet.”
“Wait here.”
Climbing off the bike and grabbing his wallet, Kim Sunghyun tapped Ichae’s shoulder once before striding away. A gesture to behave and wait.
A camera swiftly followed him.
“......”
But his brisk steps slowed... and stopped.
“...Wait.”
【At that moment, the leader suddenly turns back?!】
Then he sprinted full speed the way he had come. The shaky camera footage proved the urgency.
“Why are you running, Mr. Kim Sunghyun?!”
“Quick, follow me!!”
Panting staff barely managed to ask, but Sunghyun’s expression was all nerves.
“That guy never eats ice cream after working out!”
When they returned, the spot was already empty. Only the abandoned two-seater bicycle remained.
Then,
[Kang Ichae: Hyung]
Sunghyun’s phone buzzed. A text from Ichae.
[Kang Ichae: Sorry, hehe]
[Kang Ichae: I got 10 points too☆]
Sunghyun stared blankly at the bicycle, locked tight with a chain and padlock he’d carefully secured.
Just then, Kang Ichae whizzed past on a scooter, shouting.
“Hyung, sorry!”
“Hey, hey! HEY!!”
Sunghyun called desperately after him, but it wasn’t enough to stop the vanishing fox.
“That damn fox brat...!”
Now just a dot in the distance, Kang Ichae disappeared. Sunghyun dragged a dry hand over his face.
[Sunghyun-ah......]
Of course, Noeul were simply delighted.
[Going to buy lip balm ♡]
.
.
.
“—My secret is that I was born sexy!”
【Kang Ichae, secret code complete!】
Arriving at the arcade—the same opening location of “Unlock My Code”—Kang Ichae swaggered up to staff. After hearing his secret code, he brushed back his bangs with a sly grin.
“Really, you call that a secret....”
[Clearly Kang Ichae’s secret code should’ve been ‘Annoying as hell but still lovable’....
└True facts...]
At that moment, Sung Jiwon and Jung Dajun also arrived, fresh from finishing a rap battle. Jiwon hummed the chorus of “Candies,” while Dajun, loaded with every accessory he could get his hands on, swayed happily to the beat.
“Oh, it’s Ichae hyung?!”
“What’s that? The necklace of passing?”
“I just rapped with Dajun. Not bad, right?!”
“Honestly, Jiwon hyung, I think they gave it to you just to shut you up.”
Dajun stopped dancing, his face suddenly serious. Jiwon turned away awkwardly, pretending not to hear.
Then the two realized that because of Ichae, Sunghyun had lost his shot at first place.
“So the plan didn’t work out.”
“It can’t be helped... but still, isn’t it better than Hoyun hyung taking 1st?”
[Forget drama, variety is possible!! o.<!! I want to die, Dajun is so cute]
[Did you see Ichae run up to Jiwon and tell him to practice gangster talk lol
Kang Ichae: Say “ang,” come on.
Sung Jiwon: Ung. Ah. Ang.
Jung Dajun: Hyung, are you doing staccato ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) on purpose?
└lol this trio is too cute, I’m losing it]
While the three were chatting away, the arcade door burst open again.
“—Hey, Kang Ichae!!”
Though his name was shouted, Ichae deliberately stayed relaxed, only lifting his eyes when Sunghyun came near.
“Kang Ichae, you bastard...!”
“Oh? So you got the bike lock open?”
“You set it to your own birthday and ran off! Do you know how long it took?!”
“It was our debut day.”
Leaning against the wall with a smirk, Ichae met Sunghyun’s fiery glare. Sunghyun scratched the back of his head furiously before slumping into a chair.
“Just wait. I’m going to give you the deepest crown kiss ever.”
【The Dawn’s leader, truly sulking from the heart.】
[lololololololololololol]
[Ah Sunghyun is too cute TT_TT]
[The only crime of our leader is sincerely caring for his members... and the reason he failed was because he wanted to buy Ichae ice cream... T_T]
[Even sulking, he still comes back to sit by the members, I just want to shove our dumpling into my mouth wa-ra-ra-ra-ra]
Sidling closer, Kang Ichae jabbed Sunghyun in the ribs.
“Hyung, don’t sulk. Let’s mess with Hoyun hyung instead.”
“What?”
“He always gets us. Don’t you want payback?”
Not wrong. But since Ichae had also been guilty of tormenting them plenty, Sunghyun only shot him a cold look.
“Kang Ichae, where’s your conscience?”
“Hyung, I’ll exempt you from the punishment.”
“Deal.”
[Kim Sunghyun really is The Dawn...]
Desperate to escape punishment, Sunghyun accepted without hesitation. Ichae grinned knowingly, then turned to the production crew who were busy filming Dajun beatboxing and Jiwon’s clumsy rap over it.
“Can I change Hoyun hyung’s secret code a bit?”
“...Excuse me?”
“Isn’t it boring to just end it like this? Don’t you think we need a finale?”
The staff hesitated, then reluctantly handed the little fox another slip.
【Seo Hoyun’s secret code – My secret is that my smile is pretty】
“A pretty smile? Oh, come on.”
Reading it aloud, Ichae burst out laughing, crumpled the paper in one hand, and scribbled a new line on a fresh slip.
【Seo Hoyun’s secret code – My secret is that I’m smart】
Dajun, peeking over, let out a high-pitched scream, cheeks faintly red.
“Kyaaa, if we use that and he fails, it’ll be so embarrassing!!”
“My point exactly! Kyaaa!”
[What are you two even doing lol]
[lolol these brats are going to reignite the feud rumors again]
Just as Ichae folded the forged slip neatly and handed it back to staff, Seo Hoyun arrived at the arcade.
“Oh, late.”
“Woo~ so confident before, what happened?”
Hoyun strolled in calmly, far later than usual. The maknae jeered, but in the corner, the camera caught Sunghyun’s shoulder flinch.
Hoyun only shrugged casually, walked up to the staff, and whispered.
“Here’s my secret code.”
“Thank you.”
Then he unfolded the slip the staff had given him.
[Ahhh it’s happening]
[I’m nervous for him... (actually laughing rn]
“Hm...”
Seo Hoyun’s eyes moved slowly across the page. Then he carefully folded it back up and stuffed it into his pocket.
【Will Seo Hoyun be able to guess correctly?!】
“Well, saying I’m smart....”
[gulp]
“...isn’t exactly wrong—”
He dragged out his words, scanning the members with a slow curl of his lips.
“—but it’s not really a secret. My secret code is that my smile is pretty.”
[???]
[What... he nailed it??]
“...W-wait.”
[Huh???]
In the sudden twist, everyone froze—except Kang Ichae, who shot his hand into the air and shouted.
“Who’s the final mission 1st place?”
His narrow eyes gleamed, clearly already guessing. Next to him, Jung Dajun blinked in confusion, mumbling.
“1st place... isn’t it Ichae hyung?”
“Is it really Kang Ichae?”
Leaning forward, Kim Sunghyun pressed for confirmation. But before the staff could respond, Hoyun’s chuckle cut through.
“Kang Ichae.”
“...!”
“Ready to be my slave for two weeks?”
As the screen showed Seo Hoyun, legs crossed up on an arcade table, it suddenly rewound in reverse—back to hours earlier.
【◁◁◁】
【The busiest one all day: Seo Hoyun!】
“I’ll head out first, okay?”
The scene reset to the very beginning, after punishments were announced. Seo Hoyun was the first to leave the arcade, waving a mission slip.
【How well do you know broadcasting? – Broadcasting Trend Test】
At the mission location, he read the test sheet and instructions on the table, lips curving.
[Ah, looks like he borrowed heavily from the PD recruitment exam lol
Q: Name the Korean movie released this year with over 10 million viewers.
Q: Add up the members of Black Call + White Cherry + Ria Purple + The Dawn.
Q: In “Victory Is Mine,” name the event discontinued two years ago.
lol sneaky tricky ones
└Right?? lol]
He straightened up, cracked his neck, spun his pen, and without a moment’s hesitation wrote down answers in a swift flow.
[Holy shit holy shit holy shit]
[Look how fast he’s solving]
[What even is this? For real, what??]
And he didn’t miss a single one.
【Seo Hoyun: perfect score. +1 bonus point, +1 participation point, total 2 points.】
[...He must’ve memorized these hehe]
[...Scripted, surely hehe]
Fans tried to convince themselves—after all, even he had once missed a question on the college entrance exam. But still, to know all this?
【Prove your memory – The Memory Room】
“Recite the twelve zodiac animals in five seconds.”
A basic intelligence test appeared.
“Seo Hoyun. Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig.”
At first it seemed manageable: a quick shot of the Joseon dynasty’s genealogy, then recall.
But then—
“Recite pi to 30 decimal places. You have one minute to memorize.”
When he answered that easily too, they began intentionally throwing impossible questions.
Seo Hoyun skimmed the styrofoam board they handed him, returned it, smirked, and spoke.
“Seo Hoyun. 3.141592653589793238462643383279.”
Perfect. He rose lightly to his feet.
“How did you memorize that so quickly?”
“I memorized it in elementary school. Wanted to win the math contest and get my allowance raised.”
【What is this man...?】
[Goddamn, he’s cute... lololololol]
[I desperately want Seo Hoyun elementary school footage right now]
【Afterwards, with uncanny luck, overwhelming speed, and sharp skill, he cleared mission after mission, earning 6 points in a flash.】
【At the paintball survival, he finally met his members—took down Dajun and Sunghyun in an instant, +2 points.】
【Looked sure to secure 1st place... until suddenly forfeiting against Kang Ichae in the Laughter Room.】
【But ultimately triumphed in the final pancake-flipping game, seizing 1st overall.】
【Faster than anyone, Seo Hoyun secured the secret code.】
Back to the present: excited Dajun thrust his hand like a mic under Hoyun’s chin.
“When you realized the secret code was fake, why didn’t you correct it right away and claim 1st?”
“Everyone seemed to want to see me fail. Why should I be the only one who doesn’t want to see everyone else fail?”
[What is this alpha male nonsense]
[He was cool in the laughter challenge but now... hmm...]
Hovering nearby, Kim Sunghyun still couldn’t let go of hope. The thought of giving crown kisses to tousle-haired members every night for two weeks weighed heavily.
“Seo Hoyun, cancel my punishment....”
“Ahh, well. I’ll think about it.”
Hoyun patted his shoulder with a gentle smile.
“Start an acrostic with my name. I’ll tell you my intention that way.”
“...Your name?”
Sunghyun, uneasy but with no other choice, raised a brow and began hesitantly.
“...Seo?”
“Seo—staring at your crown.”
[Already bad vibes]
“...Ho.”
“Ho~ and giving you a kiss?”
[Kim Sunghyun nearly burst out with ‘fucking—’ but stopped himself]
[Meanwhile the other members, doomed to kisses too, are cracking up like they’ve got no tomorrow lol]
He didn’t want to keep going, but the staff waved frantically for more.
“...Yun.”
“Yun-derful lip balm shine?”
[Oh my god lololololololol]
[lololololol holy shit]
With a resigned sigh, Sunghyun muttered the last line—perfectly scooped up by Seo Hoyun to close it off.
[In the end, Kim Sunghyun grabbed Seo Hoyun by the collar—god, I’d grab him too!!]
Releasing his leader’s hands with a chuckle, Hoyun turned toward Kang Ichae, who was sipping water with a sulky face.
“Mr. Kang Ichae.”
“What.”
“Fetch me some water.”
“......”
“You know I don’t drink anything but French water, right?”
“......”
