“Wow, Sung Jiwon is really something.”
“As expected of someone Hyung treasures! He really knows you well!”
There really wasn’t a single person I could trust.
Kim Sunghyun, who I usually teased, and Kang Ichae, who I usually prodded, fine, but even Jung Dajun—whom I’d cherished—burst out laughing, and a wave of regret washed over me.
Lowering the slip in my hand, I turned away, only for Sung Jiwon to hurry after me.
“Wait, wait, Hoyun! Hold on! It’s not like I could carry this slip and pick someone else. I... I had no choice but you...”
“Ah... sure...”
“I—I really respect you! Hoyun, you’re amazing!”
“Mm. The shameless guy will be leaving now.”
“Ah... Hoyun...”
My refusal to budge left Sung Jiwon helpless. Kang Ichae, who had been laughing the whole time, waved him back, and in the end, he trudged back to the others.
When I returned to where my burdensome teammates, Min Jiheon and Joo Woosung, were, they both had unpleasant smirks plastered on their faces.
“Well, well, the smartest junior here has arrived?”
“Hoyun-ssi, I respect you too. Handsome and shameless—that’s your obvious charm, ahaha!”
“Khaha, Min Jiheon sunbae-nim, you’ve got quite the sense of humor.”
Top dogs of their industries, cackling over cheap jokes—what a sight.
Kang Yeonhoo, who had just been dragged away by Chae Jungwoo in the last round, murmured faintly from behind.
“Even your own members don’t cover for you...”
“......”
Even he wasn’t missing this chance.
As I considered whether I had lived my life so poorly that these piranhas pounced the second they smelled weakness, Kim Heeyoung announced the end of the Condition Race and the results.
“Now for the scores. The Condition Race had three rounds. In 1st place, with 6 points, Team The Dawn. 2nd place, with 5 points, Team Hi-Five. Black Call and Team Seo-Min-Kang-Joo share last place.”
“See? Seo-Min-Kang-Joo was a good name. Cute, right?”
What had been the leftover “Odd Man Out” team was now, under Kim Heeyoung’s official recognition, rebranded into Min Jiheon’s awful naming attempt: Team Seo-Min-Kang-Joo.
“As a prize, only 1st and 2nd place teams will receive snacks.”
“......!!”
“Apologies, Black Call team, Seo-Min-Kang-Joo team.”
While Joo Woosung muttered, “Pretty sure she called that wrong...,” Min Jiheon looked as though his world had ended.
‘Tsk, fooling around only brings trouble.’
I flicked my eyes toward the two of them.
This hodgepodge team’s best move was to blend in, not stand out, then disappear quietly.
Min Jiheon might be distracted by food, and Woosung was a natural-born self-absorbed bastard, but both Kang Yeonhoo and I had carefully paid attention to every pairing during the race, wary of potential controversy.
“—Next is the Face Quiz! You’ll have three seconds to name the person shown in the photo.”
The moment snacks were mentioned, Min Jiheon’s eyes lit up with renewed determination.
And of course, Joo Woosung, who had bonded with him at my expense, stood up eagerly.
“Jiheon sunbae-nim, I’ll take this round.”
I felt uneasy.
But there was no clear reason to stop him. Kang Yeonhoo hesitated too, probably fearing that he might fail to recognize a senior if he went up.
‘Nothing bad should happen... right?’
After all, Woosung basically lived in front of a TV when not active.
Representatives were chosen, and Woosung was first to step forward.
Kim Heeyoung lifted the prepared panel, and the quiz began.
“Woosung! Ha Seoyeon-ssi.”
Without blinking, Woosung answered correctly—it was Ha Seoyeon on a recent autumn magazine cover.
He rattled off more names with ease, and even I was briefly impressed.
“...Han Chaeri-ssi... Lee Jukyung-ssi... Jung Jooeun-ssi...”
“One second, two seconds...!”
“...Kim Haeyoung-ssi...”
One by one, the photos flipped past—each face oddly familiar.
“...Two seconds! Three seconds! Wrong! Joo Woosung-ssi, don’t you know this one?”
“...No, I really don’t...”
I was stunned.
‘Wait, is this sabotage?’
Though I doubted it—Woosung might have attended his fair share of anti-Seo Hoyun gatherings, but even then, ex-girlfriends wouldn’t come up often. This string of his exes showing up had to be coincidence.
Still, his guilty conscience had him panicking, looking like he was thinking, ‘I’m screwed, aren’t I?’
“Ah, the unstoppable Joo Woosung stumbles here, finishing with only 5 points.”
Hi-Five’s Lee Sehyeon and The Dawn’s Jung Dajun put up a decent fight, but they couldn’t beat Black Call’s accumulated experience.
“Oh my, what’s with this team’s mood?”
Having missed out on snacks twice, Min Jiheon grew more irritable. Woosung, still reeling from the ex parade, sulked in a corner. Even Kang Yeonhoo’s expression soured, dragged down by the two of them.
With widened eyes and raised brows, Kim Heeyoung soothed them with a soft tone.
“Since it’s nearly time for our reserved amusement park slot, we’ll move there for the next shoot.”
“...Yes.”
“Cheer up, everyone. The next game is ‘Heartbeat Ferris Wheel’!”
This game: one representative per team would ride the Ferris wheel for about ten minutes, a 1:1 showdown to raise the opponent’s heart rate higher.
Cameras were installed inside, and from the tent below, teammates could monitor live footage and advise via walkie-talkie.
“Black Call versus Hi-Five, The Dawn versus Seo-Min-Kang-Joo.”
The Dawn’s matchup was easy enough.
I was weighing whether to continue my ‘hit-and-fade’ approach when Kim Heeyoung’s next line hit me like a dart.
“——The 4th-place penalty is entering the haunted house!”
“Kyaaa!”
“What?!”
I quickly smoothed over the change in my expression.
‘That changes everything.’
We had to win.
If we ended up 4th and got dragged into more airtime with Kang Yeonhoo in that haunted house, all my careful low profile would be wasted.
I glanced at him—his face was pale.
I nudged him with my elbow. His eyes flicked toward me.
‘We throw The Dawn under the bus.’
‘Agreed.’
Consensus in a flash.
Meanwhile, Jung Dajun was whining to Kang Ichae, and even Sunghyun joined in with big round eyes.
“Hyungs, hyung, I really... I mean, I’ll do my best if I have to, but please!”
“Hahaha, our Dajun really doesn’t want to go in, huh?”
“...Is there no way to win?”
Smiling slyly, Ichae led them off to strategize. Black Call and Hi-Five went first.
Hi-Five’s Jung Chaehyung trembled just from sitting across from Black Call’s Lee Hanju, and Black Call won without lifting a finger.
Exiting, Hanju swept back his hair.
“I-It was an honor, Hanju sunbae-nim!”
“Hm, good job.”
“What the hell’s with him?”
Woosung grimaced, clearly irritated by the scene.
I saw Chae Jungwoo encouraging Hanju with a faint smile. They were at ease, but I was starting to feel anxious.
“Next, Team The Dawn, please.”
“Jung Dajun, reporting!”
At Kim Heeyoung’s call, Dajun raised both arms. Behind him, Ichae stood too—it seemed he’d be feeding him advice.
“Oh! Jung Dajun-ssi? Then will Seo Hoyun-ssi represent Seo-Min-Kang-Joo?”
I rose abruptly, but Kim Heeyoung stopped me.
“No.”
After three years of me, Dajun had built up resistance—he wasn’t easily shaken anymore.
But if the opponent was the maknae, our team had the strongest weapon.
“Min Jiheon sunbae-nim.”
“Yes, I’ll go.”
Perhaps from hunger, Jiheon’s expression looked stiff.
I stepped into the monitoring tent, alternating between the live feed and heart rate data.
Jiheon’s devoted fan Dajun hadn’t even started, yet his numbers were already high.
【...Dajun-ssi, it’s been a while.】
【Ah, y-yes.】
Jiheon smiled sweetly, his tone sharp with intent like during acting.
【I’ve always wanted to talk with you more, but we’ve both been too busy.】
His intent was so blatant it was embarrassing.
But Dajun didn’t notice. He melted, face red, unable to meet Jiheon’s eyes.
Watching our naïve maknae, I grabbed the walkie-talkie.
“...Sunbae-nim, let’s be quick. Use a line from Bring Me the Camera.”
Jiheon obeyed, smirking lazily, legs crossed, eyes locked on Dajun.
【Dajun-ssi, I treat the ones I like well.】
【Wh-what?】
【But you have to come to me fast.】
Perfect.
The heart rate spiked like waves.
【I don’t have the patience to watch someone else take what’s mine.】
It was a famous line of his character Min Seungtae.
Face-to-face with the live performance, fanboy Dajun covered his mouth, teary-eyed.
I seized the moment.
“Sunbae-nim, follow up fast. Use the line from When the Daffodils Bloom.”
【Juna...】
【S-sniff... amazing...】
Before the word left his lips, Jiheon had delivered it with heartfelt emotion. Dajun, like bewitched, was on the verge of tears.
Certain of victory, I shot Ichae a triumphant smile.
“Looks like we’ll win.”
But Ichae, who’d been silent, tilted his head and looked at me.
“...We’ll see.”
Then he spoke into his walkie-talkie.
“—Maknae, can you hear me?”
【Y-yeah!】
“Say whatever food you want right now.”
【Anything??】
At once, I realized.
【K-kimchi stew...?】
The realization hit me like thunder.
“...No way—!”
I checked the monitor.
Even if he was a foodie, could this really—
“Whoa, no way!”
“His numbers are climbing!”
Shit.
I had overlooked the fact that he was currently an empty-bellied piglet.
【Beef soup, sundae soup, kimbap...】
【Haa...】
【Gamjatang?!】
【That’s the best...】
“Wait, wait! Sunbae-nim, do you hear me?”
【I-I do...】
【Omurice, tteokbokki, jjolmyeon...】
【Ugh...】
He could hear, but he wasn’t listening.
As I watched the numbers skyrocket, I forced down a sigh—only for a hand to tap my shoulder. It was Ichae’s.
“Sorry, but our maknae and eldest really don’t want to go in.”
Not entirely untrue. Back when we were told about Shining Star S2’s first mission, I’d seen Ichae flinch at the ghost reveal, too. This wasn’t just about the kids.
“Phew...”
Blowing at my bangs to hide my irritation, I focused on what to do next.
When Jiheon came out whining about food, I shoved him aside coldly. As we moved toward the haunted house for the penalty, I leaned in to Kang Yeonhoo.
“Sunbae-nim. Let’s cooperate.”
“......”
“The hallways will be narrow—we’ll have to go single file. Best if we stay far apart, so no stray noises come out from sticking too close.”
“......”
What the hell. His face looked like he could substitute as a ghost.
“—Still, if anything happens, Woosung sunbae-nim has experience, so he’ll cover us. Don’t worry too much.”
“...Yeah...”
Odd. Usually, he was full of energy about his own affairs, but now he looked dazed, staring blankly at the haunted house.
Just in case, I asked.
“...Kang Yeonhoo sunbae-nim.”
“...Yes?”
“You’re not... scared of haunted houses, are you?”
“W-what?!”
He literally jumped.
“N-no way?!”
Was he lagging?
