Chapter 45
Jaekyung, who was walking to his interview, spotted Taeyeon who had just finished his interview. So that’s where he had gone—it seemed he was running late because of the interview.
“Oh? Hyung.”
At Taeyeon’s pleased expression, Jaekyung raised his hand in greeting but then hesitated. It felt similar to Sowoon yet slightly different. The reason was probably because he had worked with Taeyeon before. He thought he had cleared his prejudices about past events that wouldn’t happen again, like with Jungwoo, but Yang Chaejun’s situation had shaken him a bit. The way he had acted toward Yang Chaejun as if he were doing it to himself bothered him.
While Jaekyung was unconsciously trying to compose his stiffening expression, Taeyeon approached closer. Instead of smiling back at Taeyeon’s beaming face, Jaekyung roughly changed the subject.
“Did you finish the interview?”
“Yes, it’s your turn, hyung?”
“Yeah.”
Jaekyung responded in a slightly more awkward tone than before, but Taeyeon didn’t notice and rambled on with his own words.
“Do you know what Writer noona asked during the interview earlier? She asked who I liked better between Jaekyung hyung and Jungwoo hyung. How can that even be a question?”
Right. Obviously he’d prefer Jungwoo since they’re from the same agency and he’s seen him more.
“I said Jaekyung hyung without even thinking about it, and then she asked if Jungwoo hyung wouldn’t feel hurt watching the broadcast later… That means it’s going to air, right?”
Rather than thinking about Jungwoo’s reaction when he watches it later, Taeyeon couldn’t hide his continuous smile at the thought that his interview might make it on air. And Jaekyung, listening to Taeyeon’s words, didn’t know how to react and just stayed still.
“Ah, Jaekyung hyung, you need to go, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh? Hyung. You don’t look well.”
Only now taking a closer look at Jaekyung’s expression, Taeyeon moved closer and spoke. Jaekyung leaned his upper body back, trying to back away from Taeyeon who had approached right under his chin.
“I guess it’s because I came straight from practice.”
“Ah… If it’s too hard, tell me. I’ll do the baton touch for you.”
Though Jaekyung had said it as an excuse, Taeyeon seemed to understand immediately. However, Jaekyung was puzzled about why a baton touch would come up, but he just nodded roughly.
“Then I’ll go do the interview.”
“Do well. And if anyone asks who you like best, make sure to think of me too.”
Taeyeon kept making playful remarks to Jaekyung until the end, maintaining the atmosphere throughout. Not knowing that this made Jaekyung think of him even more awkwardly. Jaekyung waved and turned around. It looked like he was moving quickly because someone else was waiting, but Taeyeon watched Jaekyung’s retreating figure with narrowed eyes.
“What’s this? Something’s different from usual.”
But since he said he was tired from practice, Taeyeon couldn’t ask more. Taeyeon shrugged as if there was nothing he could do.
Entering inside, Jaekyung discovered an unexpected person. Unlike the usual interviews where there was a writer, seeing PD Choi’s grinning face brought a subtle sense of unease.
“Are you doing the interview with the PD today?”
“Ah, sit down first.”
Jaekyung sat down hesitantly while watching PD Choi’s mood. It was different from usual, and he didn’t know what PD Choi might say.
“The other trainees are having real interviews, and a few including trainee Seo Jaekyung are having fake interviews like this.”
As expected.
From PD Choi’s words, Jaekyung understood the reason for his meaningful smile. His eyes already seemed to find it interesting, wondering what kind of scheme he was planning, so Jaekyung had naturally stiffened. At times like this, he really regretted not watching this program.
“Have you decided on your concept?”
At PD Choi’s words, Jaekyung nodded roughly.
“We’ll match the song with an office background and the costumes will be…”
“Wait. Don’t tell me.”
PD Choi raised his hand to stop Jaekyung’s words.
“Of course you would have matched it.”
Jaekyung looked at him strangely as PD Choi nodded knowingly. Hadn’t they been checking everything with the cameras installed in the practice room until now? But he wondered why he was saying that now. Then Jaekyung looked with startled eyes at the paper in PD Choi’s hand.
If he knew everything but still asked…
“We’ll start the hidden mission now. Please look at the mission sheet.”
Instead of a kind explanation, PD Choi led Jaekyung with skillful directing. Especially in a way that said if he wanted to know anything, he should look at the mission sheet quickly.
Hidden mission?
Regardless of his curiosity, Jaekyung didn’t feel like looking at the mission sheet. Whatever it was, it was obvious that the moment he picked it up and read it, he’d get entangled, so his hand didn’t reach for it readily.
“Trainee Seo Jaekyung?”
At PD Choi’s call, Jaekyung hid a silent sigh. Knowing that he couldn’t avoid it one way or another, he flipped over the mission sheet frustratingly slowly. Whether he knew or not that the camera was subtly zooming in on Jaekyung as he looked at the mission sheet, Jaekyung only raised his head after reading the mission sheet’s contents several times.
“Mafia?”
Jaekyung looked at PD Choi as if he couldn’t understand at all.
“From the moment this mission starts, trainee Seo Jaekyung becomes the mafia. You absolutely cannot let other teams discover your identity.”
“Can’t I just be a citizen?”
I’ll just pretend not to know anything, Jaekyung said with a weak pouty expression, making PD Choi and the staff present laugh as if he were cute.
“No, the moment you hold the mission sheet, you automatically become mafia. And there’s something the mafia has to do, right?”
PD Choi placed a black object where the mission sheet had been. It looked like it could be an electronic device or a toy. While Jaekyung was checking what it was, PD Choi’s explanation continued.
“You become the camera director.”
“I become what?”
Camera director? Why does the mafia have to become a director? Though Jaekyung frowned more than before, PD Choi continued his explanation regardless.
“You just need to film with this small cam. Literally the appearance of our trainees! Not the greeting-and-saying-hello-to-the-camera stuff, but their raw appearance. Since they get nervous when we go there, we decided to give this to you. The more you show new sides of our trainees without getting caught being mafia, the higher your score, so please film each team member well.”
Jaekyung looked down at the small cam offered to him instead of taking away the mission sheet. It seemed to roughly borrow the format of a hidden camera. And unlike his initial rejection, throughout hearing the mission, the conditions weren’t bad for Jaekyung. Since the camera director wouldn’t appear in the camera.
“How about it? It’ll be fun, right?”
“…Yes.”
Jaekyung nodded while holding the small cam to his chest. PD Choi smiled satisfactorily.
“I’m looking forward to it too. The results that trainee Jaekyung will bring back.”
Jaekyung came out of the booth naturally as if he had finished the interview. Then he headed to his room instead of the practice room. He ran into Hajun who had also come for an interview, but when he said he wanted to wash up because he felt grimy, Hajun let it pass without suspicion.
Hiding the cam inside his clothes and returning to his room, Jaekyung checked if Jungwoo was there. When he felt no presence since it was quiet, Jaekyung went straight to sit in a chair. Jaekyung, who was looking at the cam he had hidden in his chest from various angles, pondered for a moment.
How should he film this? He didn’t quite understand what “stage selection rights” meant, but when PD Choi talked about the concept, he knew it was related. Maybe they wouldn’t be able to lead the stage the way they wanted.
Then wouldn’t it be okay to film moderately? But Jaekyung’s heart didn’t feel that way. If he wasn’t going to do it at all, that would be one thing, but he couldn’t do it half-heartedly. That would be unfair to the other people who had practiced with him until now.
“Everyone else is desperate, unlike me.”
He couldn’t do it half-heartedly just because he didn’t like it. Jaekyung sighed once and thought and thought again about how to complete the mafia’s job.
* * *
After the interviews ended, all the trainees gathered together. At the mention that it was for the next mission, they were eagerly anticipating what they would do this time. The missions that occurred between their efforts to get on stage were bringing vitality to their potentially boring lives.
“We’ll announce the mission. It’s the ‘Mafia Game.’ There’s one mafia hidden in each team, so you need to find them through voting exactly 24 hours from now.”
“Oh.”
“Ooh.”
The trainees’ eyes lit up as if it would be fun.
“There are two ways to get points. If you find the mafia, we’ll give you 300 points. If you fail to find the mafia, there’s a way to get points through the personal mission given to the mafia.”
The trainees listened intently to PD Choi’s explanation. He had added options to a regular mafia game. They give points whether you find the mafia or not. So you could either get 300 points by revealing the mafia, or get points through the mission the mafia received—either way, you could get points.
What could change among these was how much the mafia accomplished their personal mission.
“The mafia are hidden among you right now.”
At PD Choi’s meaningful words, the trainees looked at each other. Jaekyung also felt Jungwoo’s gaze toward him, but pretended not to notice and looked ahead.
“Doesn’t it seem fun, hyung?”
Taeyeon grabbed Jaekyung’s arm and spoke, and Hajun, who had been sitting in front, turned around.
“So there’s a mafia among us?”
Along with Hajun’s muttering, Yang Chaejun and Choi Wooju were also focusing their gazes toward Jaekyung, so in the end Jaekyung said something.
“I’m not the mafia.”
…Who said anything?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
