The producer nodded in agreent.
“Alright.”
After discussing the rules with the authors, I returned.
“For every 100 points, we’ll give out more allowance.”
“Wow!”
We clapped our hands in joy.
anwhile, the production team watched with curious eyes, wondering if a perfect score was actually possible.
The directors, arms crossed, watched and mused aloud.
“Can they really do it?”
“Catching seagulls is one thing, but scoring 100 in karaoke? Seagull catching is a side job, but singing is their main gig.”
“That makes sense.”
No one seed overly concerned with the ga’s outco.
After all, the mission was designed to ensure we got our allowance, fitting the concept of a healing reality show.
And the fact that only one person needed to score over 90 points made the producers’ intentions clear.
They had prepared two gas from the start: a general knowledge quiz for the allowance, followed by a karaoke ga to add so fun with the prospect of extra cash.
The production team probably didn’t expect our youngest mber to be that good.
“Did you hear that, bro? If we score 100, we get extra allowance! Jackpot.”
“…”
“Directors! Did you know? My loss in the general knowledge quiz was all part of my strategy!”
The youngest’s baseless claim sent the production team into laughter.
Ri Hyeok and I bit our lips.
“If you had just gotten a few more questions right, we wouldn’t even be here, you dummy…”
“Talking about strategies now? You couldn’t even buy an egg.”
“Sniff…”
Junghyun sat on the sofa with a sad face, the youngest turning back to him.
No. It was who suggested this additional ga in the first place…
“Anyway, let’s give it our best shot!”
“Fighting!”
The two chubby ones, sitting like a clowder of giant cats, sent their ‘fighting’ cheer, bringing a brief smile to my face.
When I gestured for Bi Ju and Ri Hyeok to lend an ear, Bi Ju eagerly leaned in, but Ri Hyeok was wary.
“Why again?”
“You’re not going to blow in my ear, are you…?”
“Don’t you know that makes want to blow even more? We’re short on ti, so hurry up and listen.”
I then huddled with the main dancer and main vocalist, whispering into their ears in a voice too low for the mic to catch.
The producer, writers, and directors gathered around the audio director, who was wearing headphones, trying to eavesdrop.
“What are they saying? Sothing about the universe?”
“I can’t hear… just so chanical stuff.”
Fortunately, it seed no one heard us.
As I stepped back, I said,
“Got it?”
“Yes, we’ll try just like that.”
“It doesn’t seem too hard.”
I watched the younger mbers take note of the tip and then took the microphone from the production team.
Ah, check, check, check.
The directors smiled nostalgically at the ’90s-style mic check.
I looked at the cara, holding the mic.
Ah, first of all, I sincerely welco you to the grand opening of our New Black Karaoke.
“Wow!”
Everyone, are you having fun?
“Yes!”
I threw out the event catchphrase, pumping up the directors and staff.
As everyone waved back, the younger mbers stood by, shaking their tambourines.
Now, since we’re in Jeju, we must sing this song before we go, right? It’s the ultimate hit song about Jeju.
“Wow!”
The Blue Night of Jeju!
The karaoke lights twinkled as the intro played.
The ‘Travel Diary’ staff waved their hands slowly.
‘It’s really good…’
It was New Black’s lead vocalist, singing the song slowly.
With each verse, the reverberation spread throughout the living room.
I’ve grown tired of being bound by expectations, the constant chatter of newspapers, TV, and even my paycheck envelope.
It was a song that made you want to shake everything off and just leave. A simple, unadorned lody, yet it carried an emotional appeal that was profoundly moving. ŕ𝘼₦o͍𝐛È𝓢
The lighting director comnted to the other staff, “Wow, they sing well. This is why singers are in a league of their own. Their expressions completely transform.”
“They’re the ones who took first place at the Song Festival,” soone chid in.
I couldn’t help but admire them, stripped of all pretense, showcasing their true talent. Their voices resonated clearly, sending a tingling sensation up the back of my head.
As the song ended with a gentle hum and the microphone was lowered, I looked at the screen filled with anticipation. ‘Ah, the score.’
The production team snapped back to reality, eyes fixed on the screen. ‘They sang well, but can a perfect score really be that easy to achieve?’
The machine’s scoring system was bound to be less accurate than a human’s. Different standards…
Then, a fanfare erupted from the screen.
[100 points!]
[Wow! Perfect! You could really be a professional singer~!]
As if performing a ceremony, I twirled the microphone in the air, caught it, and flashed a victorious ‘V’ sign.
The mbers cheered ecstatically, rushing towards the leader to form a celebratory sandwich.
Amidst the clear laughter and the joyous commotion over the extra pocket money, the production team blinked in disbelief.
‘What’s going on?’
It was a ga designed to give out extra cash, but was scoring 100 points supposed to be this easy?
The lighting director tapped the karaoke machine, puzzled. “How did they do it?”
While everyone looked on with stunned expressions, Bijoo chose a children’s song, and the mbers started to dance.
The cuteness of the scene brought brief laughter, but then…
Another 100 points appeared.
“?”
The mbers surrounded Bijoo, cheering, “Kim Bijoo! Kim Bijoo!”
As the room filled with laughter, the producers and writers examined the karaoke machine, a mix of amusent and disbelief on their faces.
“Did you guys rig this sohow?”
“No way,” the mbers replied firmly.
“We don’t have the brains to pull off sothing like that!”
The producer added more money to the envelope, still puzzled. ‘Sothing’s off here.’
I’ve fild a few healing reality shows with celebrities where we did karaoke score challenges, but I’ve never seen anyone score like pros before.
When the main vocalist, Rihyuk, scored 100 points, it made sense. Even the staff nodded in agreent.
“The machine has to give 100 points for that.”
“If it doesn’t, it needs to be fixed. Imdiately.”
“Rihyuk may not be good at everything, but when it cos to singing, he’s truly exceptional.”
It was as if he deserved a subtitle like ‘God of Song.’
Rihyuk transford the living room into a concert hall with his rendition of Cha Woo Hyun’s ballad.
Suddenly, he looked more handso. All the scenes of him being scared by seagulls or frantically cleaning with wet wipes were swept away by his song.
While the staff were impressed, the mbers of New Black cheered and celebrated their main vocalist.
“Rihyuk, you’re beautiful!”
“Oh, please don’t do this…”
Rihyuk trailed off, clearly enjoying the mont, as everyone laughed.
The producer finished calculating the pocket money and called the New Black mbers.
“Everyone, your allowance is ready.”
“Woah!”
The mbers tossed the main vocalist onto the couch as they celebrated.
“Aaargh!”
I couldn’t help but laugh as I fild Rihyuk rolling around on the sofa.
“Here’s your allowance.”
“Thank you!”
The leader happily accepted the allowance, and the production team asked him,
“But how did you do it just now?”
Upcoming on K-net, ‘New Black’s Travel Diary Season 1’, Episode 2 Edit.
Dark Interview Room (D)
The scene cuts from the leader receiving his allowance to the interview room.
Sitting in the chair, U-ju smiles.
[Q. How did you do it?]
-Oh, nothing special. Each machine has its own characteristics.
[Characteristics?]
-Old machines score high when you sing loudly and long. New machines… rhythm is especially important…
As I listed various tips, the production team listened in awe.
[Jiho said that U-ju is really a master(?).]
-No, he’s really… If you say that, the fans might get the wrong idea. I’m not that kind of person!
U-ju emphasized, eyes wide.
Just then, ‘Footage: Tube New Black TV’ flashed across the screen, showing evidence.
U-ju looked at his younger mbers with the kindest face in the world.
-Rock-paper-scissors? It’s a random ga, guys. It’s science, right? Rihyuk, ah, it’s not science.
-Right. Roulette is science too.
-Didn’t you learn in school about the probability of dice? Jiho? Randomly one in six… Ah, you didn’t learn? I see.
After a series of losses by the younger mbers,
U-ju cleared his throat in the interview room and said,
-If I had to say, I directed each mber according to their voice? That’s about it. I’m not a con artist…
[Not a con artist?]
-A producer.
The production team burst into laughter at his shaless smile.
Even the culprit chuckled.
When U-ju jokingly asked for ‘Wanted BGM’ with a resigned look,
[But how do you know all this?]
-Ah. During my trainee days, I often went to karaoke with friends. We bet on scores a lot, and I researched to win.
[What kind of bet?]
-Well…
U-ju scratched the back of his neck, looking a bit embarrassed.
-You know, the free paper cup ice creams at karaoke places. Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry.
[Ah.]
-I hated scooping them…
The production team laughed at the trivial motive that didn’t match his outstanding research skills.
anwhile, U-ju asked for ‘Touching BGM’ and looked at the cara.
-Those friends monitor a lot, so they’ll probably see this.
[Ah.]
-They’ll definitely see this, so I’m sorry. I’ll buy you ice cream later.
With a warm finish, U-ju waved ‘sorry’ with his hand.
The screen then shifted to the New Black mbers heading to the night market.
Seogwipo’s night market was bustling with people.
Every ti we walked, surrounded by 6mm caras, the market vendors welcod us with open arms.
“Oh my, who do we have here! Our boys!”
“Mom!”
After sharing a heartfelt hug with a complete stranger,
We returned to our business smiles.
“Since you’re here, take a look at the rice cakes! Rice cakes!”
“Yes! Of course, we should buy so. But, we’re on a tight budget. It seems a bit more expensive than other places…”
“Ah, I’ll give you a discount. I’ll cut the price.”
Bijoo, with his gentle smile, took charge of bargaining every ti we shopped for food.
He was so shrewd, always smiling but never at a loss, that I gave him a thumbs up.
After politely greeting the vendors, Bijoo whispered excitedly,
“Hyung, hyung! I got this at the right price too!”
“Well done, our second.”
“Let’s go buy the next one! The next one!”
Bijoo seed to enjoy our praise more than the successful haggling.
Our night market outing was cut short due to onlookers suddenly tagging along, exclaiming, “It’s the New Black! The New Black?”
Still, we had our fair share of gains.
“Bro, do you think Grandma would like this? There’s a flower drawn so delicately here.”
“She’ll love it, Bijoo. Do you think Minjun would like this chocolate?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
We also shopped for souvenirs to gift our families.
We even asked the surrounding PDs, writers, and cara directors.
“Director, didn’t you say yesterday you wanted to buy your daughter so citrus chocolates? I’ll buy them for you here.”
“Then, I’ll take this one…”
A smile spread across the director’s face, dripping with sweat from the heat and the cara.
“What about you, writer? Would you like to look at a piece of clothing?”
“Uh… is that okay?”
“We’d like to buy you one as a gift.”
We beckoned the hesitant one to co closer.
Instead, we suggested adding a subtitle saying, ‘Our kids are so kind…’ which made everyone burst into laughter.
While we were efficiently gathering souvenirs,
“Oh my! It’s been a while!”
A passing rchant called out to us.
“Hello!”
“It’s the New Black. The New Black. Oh my… Wujung.”
“It’s Woojoo.”
“Wujung. I know. Sun Wujung.”
The grandmother shook hands with us, nodding her head affectionately.
She asked the cara, having enjoyed our appearance on ‘Now, My Hotown,’
“Is this also ‘Now, My Hotown’?”
“No, this is not that. We’re filming a travel show.”
“Oh…”
She looked incredibly disappointed, then spoke to us.
“Oh right! Now that I think about it, I have a huge grievance with the New Black!”
“What? All of a sudden?”
As we listened intently, wondering what we had done wrong by her pained expression,
“Why did you stop appearing on ‘Now, My Hotown’? Just when I was getting attached and looking forward to it…”
“We didn’t appear, did we…?”
“That’s the thing. I was so upset~ It’s one thing if soone wasn’t there, but to disappear after being there feels so empty.”
She had been watching with growing affection and then suddenly, ‘Bye~’ it was over.
I took the grandmother’s hand and smiled.
“We’re sorry.”
“Oh, it’s not that…”
“We’ve finished appearing on ‘Now, My Hotown,’ but we’ll see if there’s anything we can do.”
With that, we signed autographs and took photos with her.
“Who would you like to stand next to?”
“Junghyun.”
“Oh. Co over here.”
We laughed at her shyly making a ‘V’ sign.
After that, we gathered food for a late-night snack and rrily road around, munching on treats.
“The night market is fun.”
“Right? It feels even more fun than when we went to Taiwan.”
There’s sothing uplifting about the bustling atmosphere unique to night markets.
We chatted noisily about the day’s events on our way ho.
Suddenly, a chilling scream pierced the air, and the car ca to an abrupt halt.
Frozen in place,
The PD in the passenger seat turned his head sharply, shining a blue flashlight on his face.
“Everyone!”
“Aaaah!”
“…”
The PD shivered.
If there were subtitles, they might read, ‘The day the audio director’s eardrums t their doom.’
After passing the frightened Ryuk to Junghyun,
“Wow, that really startled .”
“We get scared so easily! PD-nim!”
The PD cleared his throat and continued,
“Now, we’re near the lodging.”
“Yes.”
“You must follow the designated path from here to the accommodations.”
“Excuse …?”
We looked out the window.
It was pitch black.
A darkness I had never seen while living in Seoul.
Only the faint outline of the bushes shaking in the darkness, along with the distant lights of the lodging, was visible.
Ri Hyeok asked with a face that looked like he was about to faint.
“What the—no, what do you an? Are you saying we have to walk from here?”
“Oh, there’s no need to worry about safety. You’re already on the training center grounds used for lodging, so outsiders can’t enter. We have security personnel stationed at intervals along the way.”
“No, that’s not what I…”
“There are also infrared caras installed everywhere to capture your journey.”
We were all taken aback.
Here I was, thinking we’d end the night with so late-night snacks and chit-chat, then write ‘Today’s Travel Diary’ in bed and wrap up with a healing vlog.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“The Travel Diary of New Black, the grand fulfillnt of the second wish! It’s a test of courage.”
“Who…”
As I was about to ask, I caught sight of the youngest mber avoiding my gaze.
The producer extended a laptop towards us.
It was an interview where the youngest had been laughing with the writers in the conference room, becoming best friends with them.
“I sotis want to do that kind of thing with the older mbers.”
“What?”
“Like an escape room or a horror experience? The older mbers always hated it when I suggested watching a horror movie.”
“Really?”
“Especially Ri Hyeok, he totally hates it. The mont I bring it up, a fluffy pillow flies at . Except for Jung Hyeon, the rest are… Hehe!”
“Jiho?”
“Listen more. The older mbers…”
“I’m always the youngest at ho and in the group. I have this fantasy about being a reliable eldest brother(?).”
“Right. Youngest mbers usually feel that way.”
“So, doing sothing like this, the older mbers would rely on … Hahaha! Just thinking about it makes so happy! It’s going to be epic!”
I rubbed my temples as I watched him laugh on the screen.
“Jiho.”
“Yes…”
“If you want to be the eldest, you could do other things. Like night study sessions or being the leader for a day. I have no pride, so I’d bow down right away.”
“I totally agree. You really…”
“Ah, this is too scary.”
“Anticipating fun.”
I resigned myself to the situation, not wanting to upset the youngest any further, as he seed on the verge of tears.
There was nothing else to do.
“Good grief.”
“Hehe.”
I patted the youngest’s back as I listened to the ongoing explanation.
“This is a walking path on the training center grounds. There’s a well along the way to the lodging.”
“Ugh!”
“They say it’s a wishing well. You just need to fill the bottle we’re giving you with water from that well.”
“Ah…”
A well in this darkness.
The thought of sothing crawling out was torturous.
When I got out of the car with a pale face, crawling on all fours.
“Producer, there aren’t any actors dressed as ghosts in there, right?”
“You’ll find out when you get there.”
“I had a feeling. I saw tents being set up outside earlier, wondering what construction was going on.”
With that, the producer handed each of us a walkie-talkie, a map of the training center, and a flashlight.
I showed them my glowing stick, but after seeing its brightness, it was imdiately confiscated.
After the vehicle drove off with a roar.
“…”
The red lights from the caras installed everywhere looked like ghostly eyes, which was frightening.
Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo…
The sound of a ghostly wail amplified through a speaker could be heard from sowhere.
“Aaaah!”
I told my siblings clinging to like I was a pillar.
“Since it’s co to this, let’s get through this as quickly as possible.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Then let’s turn on the flashlights…”
The mont I turned on the light towards the bushes.
Rustle-rustle-
A shadow, seemingly human in form but walking on all fours, scurried past the light.
In a bizarre posture.
“…”
Our eyes widened to the point where screams couldn’t escape, and we looked at each other in disbelief.
“What was that just now? Did you see it?”
“Was that… a person?”
As I pondered, it seed possible to mimic the movent.
Difficult, but possible.
“It must be one of the actors.”
“No. Why would they go to such lengths in a travel reality show?”
“Exactly my point! Exactly! Argh!”
Suddenly, I rembered a conversation from a eting we had before.
‘This new black reality show must have a huge budget.’
‘Wow!’
‘Since it’s co to this, let’s do whatever it takes to make it right.’
…They really went all out.
With such a stage set, I felt compelled to react properly.
My siblings seed to share the sentint, their faces resolute as they clasped their flashlights and hands together.
“No matter what happens, we must never split up.”
“We die together, we live together!”
“I feel the sa. Never let go of this hand. Ours.”
“Right. We are one in the new black!”
With a shout of ‘fighting,’ we all held hands and entered the thicket.
“Heeheeheeheehee!”
A ghost in a jeogori burst out.
And then.
“Aaaahhh!”
As if on cue, we abandoned each other and ran in different directions.
I too grabbed Bi-Ju’s hand and ran…
“…?”
Huh? But why does this hand feel so strange?
When I felt sothing was off and looked up.
“…”
I awkwardly locked eyes with the ghost I was supposed to be running hand in hand with.
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