Even with the absences from scheduling conflicts, there was still one extra person in each team. Once everyone had gathered at the meeting place, they drew lots and sent one person each to join Min Jiheon, forming a spare “odds-and-ends” team.
Standing side by side—Joo Woosung, Kang Yeonhoo, Seo Hoyun, and Min Jiheon—the subtitle “SeoMinKangJoo” popped up onscreen with a flourish.
[Holy shit, seriously, all four in one team? How the hell did random draws line up this perfectly?]
Aside from all belonging to WH Entertainment, they had no obvious common ground.
If there was one thread, it was that Joo Woosung, Kang Yeonhoo, and Min Jiheon had all filmed at least once with Seo Hoyun before.
So in the beginning, most viewers watching thought of it as nothing more than, “What an odd little lineup.”
“...Hello, Joo Woosung-ssi...”
“Ah, yes, hello, Min Jiheon-ssi...”
The moment greetings ended, they both turned their heads the other way, staring off into the distance.
【The very busy Min Jiheon and Joo Woosung still haven’t gotten close.】
To match the caption, a brief montage flashed—Min Jiheon acting in a drama, Joo Woosung’s solo stage.
Other team divisions continued, but every now and then SeoMinKangJoo was shown, with Kang Yeonhoo caught in the middle between Jiheon and Woosung, fidgeting helplessly.
“Uh, sunbae-nim, let me do it—”
“Hm? Oh no no, it’s fine~.”
When Jiheon stood up to get water, Yeonhoo shot up too, flailing around nervously, only to be of absolutely no use.
Slouched in his chair, Woosung lazily hooked a foot around Yeonhoo’s chair leg to tug him back down, telling him to just sit. Yeonhoo’s eyes shook like an earthquake.
“Just sit down, man.”
“Ah, ah, o-okay.”
【Newbie Mode.jpg】
[LOLOLOLOL he looks like he’s doing something but actually contributes nothing]
[Kang Yeonhoo holy shit lmaoooo pathetic but kinda cute]
[I mean, I’d be terrified too... the age gap ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ isn’t huge but it’s Joo Woosung and Min Jiheon. They’re literally the top two in the industry right now.]
[The idols’ idol... damn.]
While people sympathized with Yeonhoo, their attention naturally drifted to Seo Hoyun, who sat beside them expressionless.
【Finally Jiheon secures water, carefully returning to his seat...!】
“...Hoyun-ssi, here.”
“Thank you.”
Bending low so as not to get in the camera, Jiheon handed Hoyun the bottle. Hoyun inclined his upper body politely in return.
And that was it. No fluster, no nerves.
Even when Woosung slung an arm over his shoulder or Jiheon poked at him with jokes, Hoyun remained calm, responding evenly.
【Is this guy... a seasoned veteran in disguise?】
[LOOOOOOL]
[What is this man’s confidence??]
[Guess he really is built different]
[But come on, Hoyun’s already super close to Woosung and Jiheon...
└Wait, really??
└└Yeah, some people still don’t know. He’s actually famous for being Woosung’s real bestie.
└└If anything, he’s being more polite than usual on camera.]
Then Jiheon scooted his chair forward.
“Alright, let’s pick a team name!”
Woosung, Yeonhoo, and Hoyun all gave him flat fox-like stares, but Jiheon grinned ear to ear.
“—How about SeoMinKangJoo, taking one syllable from each of our names?!”
The camera zoomed in tight on Hoyun’s face as he passed from Yeonhoo’s forced smile, through Woosung’s dumbfounded glare, and finally landed on him.
[Seo Hoyun’s eyes are literally cursing right now lmfao]
[I heard he didn’t even look this pissed when his stage name was Hoyuhou, but apparently “SeoMinKangJoo” crossed the line]
[Jiheon’s just smiling like an idiot while taking Hoyun’s death aura head-on LOL]
[Woosung’s mouth is literally mouthing “hold it in, hold it in” next to him, I’m crying]
And then the first mission, “Condition Run,” began.
While Woosung got dragged around non-stop, Hoyun stayed put—until Sung Jiwon called him out. Smiling smugly, Hoyun bolted off without even checking the slip of paper.
Turns out Jiwon’s mission was “Bring the most shameless person here.” The whole cast burst into laughter.
Hoyun, frozen like he’d been struck, trudged back.
“Hoyun-ssi, I respect you too. Handsome and shameless, that’s your obvious charm, ahaha!”
“Khaha, Jiheon-sunbaenim, your sense of humor is incredible.”
“Fun fun, right?”
“Puhahaha!”
But trouble never ends.
Back with the team, the previously awkward Jiheon and Woosung were now laughing side by side, teaming up to tease Hoyun.
【Two middle managers showing off their top-tier dad jokes...】
Chae Jungwoo had just summoned Yeonhoo away, so he returned late only to find this scene. Pretending not to hear, he avoided eye contact.
Hoyun closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. A waterfall flowed behind him in the CG.
【A battle-hardened veteran newbie who has reached the state of inner cultivation.】
When Yeonhoo hesitantly sat down, Woosung and Jiheon patted his arm warmly.
“Yeonhoo-ssi, how was that punchline just now~?”
“Hahaha, wasn’t Jiheon-ssi hilarious?”
“Ha, haha... y-yes, truly overflowing with wit!”
His eyes unfocused, mouth forced into a strained smile—the CG drenched Yeonhoo with a bucket of water.
【And the day-one newbie...】
[LMAO]
[Is this a skit?? Poor Yeonhoo’s gonna go home and cry]
[Feels like watching “Survival in the Corporate Jungle” lmfao]
As missions went on, the bromance between Jiheon and Woosung deepened, while a kind of solidarity seemed to grow between Yeonhoo and Hoyun.
By the time they reached the third mission, “Heart-Throbbing Ferris Wheel,” Jiheon, their ace, lost miserably in a food counterattack and returned to the team touchy and hungry.
When he grumbled, “I’m starving...” with a solemn face, the camera cut between Yeonhoo and Hoyun.
【 - Now it’s up to the junior employees to survive...! - 】
But once they entered the haunted house punishment, Yeonhoo’s screams didn’t stop.
“I-I’m fi—AAAGHHH—!”
【But the day-one newbie’s working life was not so easy!】
[Poor Yeonhoo... the more he goes on variety shows, the more his calm, dependable image crumbles.
I mean, I love it, though.]
[Normal people will just think of him as that clumsy, cute guy. Meanwhile in Hi-Five, he’s the sharp, reliable oldest brother (lol).]
Of course, Hoyun stayed calm the entire time. Despite the realistic gore makeup, the horrifying storyline, and even the rumor that some visitors had real paranormal encounters here, he only leaned closer to props, examined the set details with curiosity, and even struck up conversation with one of the part-time scarers.
“Do you guys stay open late at night too? Or are you just here working overtime for us?”
【(Bro, who asks that during the Horror Hospital experience?)】
While Yeonhoo kept shrieking, Woosung suggested singing if he was that scared. At that moment, Jiheon, who had been following silently all along, suddenly leaned close to Hoyun and whispered with a stiff face.
Though his words were drowned out by Yeonhoo’s screaming, Hoyun’s expression alone showed he’d realized something—like a cartoon exclamation mark had popped up above his head.
【The superior’s condition doesn’t look good...!】
The screen cut to Min Jiheon, constantly losing games and having his snacks taken away.
【In this situation, what should the n-years veteran, Seo Hoyun, do?!】
Tense BGM swelled. Math formulas flashed across the screen behind Hoyun. At last, after calculating, he shouted loudly,
“What’s that? Min Jiheon-sunbaenim is hungry?!”
He darted forward, overtaking Joo Woosung and rushing to the front.
With a light smile toward the flustered Kang Yeonhoo, who was shoved aside, Hoyun strode boldly through the haunted house.
【This is the vibe that comes only from experience!】
[Wow, look at that decisiveness, whoa]
[Holy shit. In a second he handled a trembling newbie + a superior in bad condition.]
“Always, I’ll be by your side―. Receiving the warm light of love, let’s go together.”
【He even follows up by singing, pulling Yeonhoo along!】
[This is insane lmfao, that survival skill]
[Ultimate shamelessness skillset, I’d promote him on the spot if I were his boss]
[He’s not a newbie anymore, this is assistant manager level—no, department head-tier]
[Woosung and Yeonhoo singing along quietly at the side is adorable T_T
Meanwhile... Jiheon, you don’t know the song, do you?
└LOLOLOL yeah Jiheon was just the breadwinner trainee at Daepaseong, poor guy...]
A few minutes later, they found the EXIT sign and all made it out safely.
The production team erupted in applause and cheers.
Smiling brightly in response, Hoyun glanced sidelong at Yeonhoo, who collapsed to the ground with his legs giving out.
[Perfect to the very end, this man...]
Most viewers, unaware of idol rivalries, simply enjoyed the “newbie office life” frame created by editing.
[Like when a newbie gets scolded by the boss and thinks, “Oh god, I must’ve really screwed up,” vs. the veteran who just goes, “Ah, fuck off.” This combo is fucking gold.]
└LOLOLOLOLOL
└God, it’s too relatable hahahaha
[Yeonhoo? He reminds me of myself a year ago, I just wanna cheer him on T_T Company life is tough...]
[The way Jiheon patted everyone’s backs at the end, saying let’s just go eat gamjatang, felt exactly like my department head...]
[Look at Woosung’s proud face watching Hoyun’s behavior hahahaha it’s literally senior-mentor and junior dynamic, I love it!!!!!!!!!!]
The short preview of the next episode seemed to shift focus away from “SeoMinKangJoo Team” and back to highlighting each group’s individual charms.
[Yeah... idols or not, life’s all the same.]
[Man, I hope these four get a year-end special stage together.]
[Impossible, too expensive if you call all of them at once hahahaha]
Through Let’s Go on a School Trip, viewers had tasted an unexpected kind of fun. Even knowing it was unlikely, they sincerely hoped to see the SeoMinKangJoo lineup—Min Jiheon, Joo Woosung, Kang Yeonhoo, and Seo Hoyun—together again somewhere.
***
“Brr, f-f-fucking cold.”
The college entrance exams were over, schools were bustling, and the first snow of the year began to fall.
‘Why is it snowing already?’
Fiddling with the lukewarm hot pack in her pocket, the Bloy quickened her pace. After small talk with a friend at the school gate, she entered the classroom marked “1-3.”
She took off her coat, set down her bag, and rubbed her frozen hands to warm them. Just then, another friend—silver metal glasses glinting like proof of his studious nature—leaned close, lowering his voice.
“Hey, you know my cousin works at WH, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“She said The Dawn sold coffee at the company café.”
“What, no way. Must’ve been for their self-content shoot.”
They really worked hard.
Her chest ached.
She tried not to envy The Dawn’s constant stream of content, but Black Call, already scarce, had recently gone completely quiet aside from the occasional solo livestream.
At least they appeared on School Trip, she thought.
She’d replayed the episodes dozens of times, memorizing which moments came at which timestamps—practically able to recite them like stage lines.
‘They’re not suddenly going to announce enlistment, are they...?’
Shoving away the negative thought, she slapped her cheek and opened her book. Better to study than waste time. Her goal was a perfect score on the college entrance exam. She wanted to give an interview someday, saying, “It was thanks to Black Call that I came this far.”
But as she tried to focus, her friend’s chatter pierced her ears with a single word.
“They haven’t released the official video yet, but apparently Black Call was all together there...”
“What?!”
“Could they be preparing for a comeback?!”
“Holy shit! The Dawn, thank you so fucking much! Thank you! My boys are still alive after all!”
She swore to watch The Dawn’s self-content the moment it dropped.
Normally she found Hoyun clinging shamelessly to Woosung infuriating, but today he felt like a savior.
She tucked the thought firmly into her schedule, while her glasses-wearing friend sighed, adjusting his frames.
“Our idols don’t go to regional events much anymore. Their level’s too high now. Back in the day, their nickname was practically ‘Another Dawn’ because they took every gig that came their way... I miss those times...”
“You spoiled brat.”
How dare he say that, when she’d been waiting almost a year with nothing.
Black Call was her first idol, her whole fan life.
“Please... come to school. Just once...”
She muttered desperately. But when she turned her gaze toward her book again, something strange caught her eye outside the window.
In the parking lot beside the gym stood an unfamiliar vehicle. A black van.
“...?”
She frowned slightly.
No matter how she looked at it, it was suspicious as hell.
