Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: NicoleTempest

Chapter 271 Side Story 02. If You Want to Repay Me (2)

On the day of the shooting, we stood in front of a mudflat experience site in Chungnam, wearing rather ridiculous work pants for the camera.

“It’s a bit chilly today, but the work clothes are thick, so you won’t be cold~.”

Seon-woo nodded his head desperately and reacted to the bright smile of the PD.

“Yes, I’m fine!”

He was cute for being brave, but… the problem was not the gloomy and cold sky, but the fact that it looked like it could rain at any moment.

“It won’t rain, will it?”

When I asked cautiously, one of the staff members answered with an awkward expression.

“It’s cloudy until 7 o’clock, and it might rain in the evening. I think we should finish quickly and leave.”

We couldn’t cancel it now, since it was a hard-won schedule. And it wasn’t the only thing we had to do, we were also racking our brains over the choreography adjustment problem.

‘I guess… it’s better to suffer a lot and send out something that’s too peaceful to be saved by editing than something that’s bland.’

With that thought, I agreed to the mudflat shooting, but as soon as I stood on the pearl in this weather, I started to feel anxious.

“Come on, the water is gone, so let’s hurry up before it comes back!”

As he said, we had to hurry up because we might miss this tide.

“Okay~. Then let me show you how to do it here~.”

Five burly men in wide-brimmed hats gathered around the old man with a thick accent, and it looked like an adult kindergarten.

“Did you each get a bucket and a hoe?”

The grooms, who held the tools in their hands, followed the old man and headed to the mudflat, which looked like basalt with holes all over it.

“Yuck, disgusting!”

“Don’t shake your boots this way when you jump.”

“Who wants to splash that way?”

They all waddled like penguins, as the pearl was so soggy that it was hard to take a step, and Seong-won and Yi-jun started to bicker like children.

“I’ll smear mud on both of your faces if you fight.”

First of all, for skin protection, most of their faces were covered with hats.

And since it was for broadcasting purposes, even if they smeared mud on their faces, they wouldn’t look too ugly.

Seong-won closed his mouth like a clam, as if he was intimidated by the threat.

“Come a little further this way. This spot has good seeds~.”

“Yes.”

The rest of the crew followed the old man obediently and went deeper, and sure enough, as soon as they dug a little with the hoe, thick clams came out. R�

“Oh…!”

Each of them got the hang of it a little bit and filled their buckets with big clams one by one. At that moment, the PD, who was wearing special shoes to walk on the mudflat, smiled and drew everyone’s attention.

“Come on, you’re all used to digging now, right?”

He was a variety show PD who worked for a major broadcasting company and declared himself a freelancer a few years ago. He also turned his eyes to web entertainment and never missed out on fun and popularity, even if he made the cast suffer. He looked at us with a suspicious smile.

“PD-nim?”

What are you trying to do, wasn’t our script just digging and collecting and going around the local market and shopping for today’s content? I looked at the PD with that expression, and he laughed again.

“Ise, your expression is so good right now. I’ll definitely put this in the opening. The fans will really love it.”

“What?”

If the first PD treated the cast as props that he could manipulate as he pleased, and the second PD was more of an FM-like PD who followed what was already decided, then this PD was the type who didn’t respect the cast in a different way.

He was not the type who forced them or put them in danger like the first PD, but the type who didn’t care about the physical suffering of the cast for the sake of fun.

We knew that if we suffered as he said, the reaction of the final product would be good, and it wouldn’t hurt us personally.

“I just came up with a really good idea.”

He was also known for coming up with ideas that made the cast suffer on the spot during other shootings, and sometimes caused complaints.

It was my decision to hire him anyway.

“But we might have to work a little harder, is that okay?”

He asked me, but I couldn’t easily refuse his suggestion. I looked around cautiously, and Seong-won had no idea, Seon-woo didn’t understand what he was saying, and Kyunghwa had a hesitant expression.

Then Yi-jun raised his hand with a snap.

“What is it? I’m fine!”

But you’re fine, but we’re not… Kyunghwa and I had the same thought that it would be better to agree in the end, when Seon-woo backed up Yi-jun’s words.

“I’m fine too!”

Do you know what you’re saying and you’re fine? As the anxious eyes and the pairs of eyes watching them flickered.

The PD seemed to have been waiting for this moment and handed out the prepared progress cards.

“As you know, Taean is famous for various shellfish and crabs, right? We prepared two kinds for our dinner menu today.”

As the PD gestured, the staff unfolded some panels that they had hidden somewhere, holding up two A3-sized photos like presentation screens.

“One is a specialty of Taean! A set of three kinds of crabs: gae-guk-ji, yangnyeom-gejang, and ganjang-gejang. You can taste them all. Since the production team carefully selected the best restaurants to get this dinner, I’m sure you’ll be satisfied with the five-star flavor, Ise.”

“Wow…”

“That looks delicious.”

Everyone was momentarily impressed by the mouth-watering dishes that looked like they would make their legs buckle. The staff shook the screen printed with only ganjang-gejang.

“The other one is, the ganjang-gejang of Taean’s specialty…”

If one was a reward, the other one had to be a punishment. But ganjang-gejang didn’t seem like a bad menu for a penalty, so I wondered what the catch was. Then the staff flipped over the photo they were holding.

“?”

“What is that?”

The photo they flipped over had nothing but broth left in it, with only the bowl that had contained the ganjang-gejang.

“We have prepared the ganjang-gejang broth sent from this table!”

When did they prepare that? Another staff member waved an arrow pointing to the side.

“Ooh~.”

Seon-woo and Seong-won’s faces were slightly disappointed, and Yi-jun jeered at them. The PD answered with a kind smile.

“We’re not that cruel, you know. We’ll give you two options for deciding the dinner menu. You can vote right now and decide.”

And right away, the staff behind the PD pulled out new pickets and held them up.

Where did they hide all that stuff? They really lived up to their reputation of putting their lives on the line for entertainment.

Unless they were really passionate about their work, they wouldn’t have prepared such a hassle without being asked by the client(?).

“The first one! It’s a group mission. You’ll set a target harvest amount with a random roulette, and if the final weight of the clams harvested by the five of you falls within the target range, you’ll all enjoy a luxurious three-course meal.”

They all salivated at the menu that made them drool just by thinking about it. Then the PD said in a strict and stern voice.

“If you fail, all five of you! You’ll eat rice cooked with sand and the ganjang-gejang broth that the staff gave you before they ate it.”

At least they gave us the broth before they ate it, not after.

I guess that’s a relief in terms of hygiene.

“So it doesn’t matter how much you harvest, right?”

Kyunghwa calmly checked the condition, and the PD nodded vigorously.

“That’s right! The total harvest amount must be within the range set by the roulette to succeed~.”

Everyone’s faces darkened at the PD’s bright explanation.

“Then what’s the next method?”

It was probably an individual match. I asked, wondering if there was a chance.

“The next one is an individual match! You’ll each harvest on your own and draw a lot, and if you meet the condition, you’ll get a special meal! If you fail, you’ll get ganjang-bap.”

As he showed the examples of the conditions behind him, they were also totally random.

[Pass if you harvest more than Kyunghwa]

[Pass if you harvest less than Yi-jun]

It wasn’t enough to just harvest a lot, so it was harder to predict the outcome.

“By the way, we’ll use the clams you harvested later as ingredients, so if you want to save money later, the more you dig, the better!”

They had to limit the operating budget because of the opinion that it was boring to spend too much money and make it easy.

‘He means don’t dig too little, hoping for [harvest less] to come up.’

I pursed my lips at the condition that seemed to require more thinking than I thought, and swallowed a sigh.

“What should we do?”

If we did an individual match, maybe the two of us could get a good meal.

I was worried that if we did a group match, it would be all or nothing, and we would all end up with twisted stomachs. Seon-woo started to look around nervously.

“I…”

As everyone’s eyes turned to Seon-woo, he smiled shyly.

It was a bit frustrating, but it looked good anyway, so the staff all relaxed their faces as if they were looking at a newborn baby.

“I think it would be better to do it together…”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Of course. If it was just a normal gag-type entertainment, choosing an individual match would be more fun with the competition and the laughter that would ensue. But this was a group entertainment.

The fans didn’t want to see us split up and complain and try to win.

‘Well… strictly speaking, there might be some fans who want to see that too…’

But Climax had been getting attention for their tight bond and teamwork since they started to revive, so there was no need to waste the internal conflict concept yet.

Maybe we could do a special episode later.

“I think it would be better to do it together too.”

I backed up Seon-woo, and Kyunghwa nodded.

“I think so too. What do you think, you and Seong-won?”

Kyunghwa asked the opinion of the two who had the worst relationship, and Yi-jun pouted his lips and answered.

“Uh, I’m OK with either way as long as it’s a majority vote.”

Even if we put Yi-jun on hold, we still had three people in the group and one on standby.

“You don’t have to ask me…”

Seong-won gave the most sociable answer he could muster, which still sounded grumpy to others. That’s when I quickly intervened.

“Seong-won is fine too. Let’s go as a group!”

It didn’t matter to me. The editors would do a good job anyway, and I would review it with the editing team before sending it out.

But there was no need to let the fans see his lack of enthusiasm, which could make him look bad.

Seong-won, who was dragged into being my buddy, blushed like a strawberry and waved his arms to push me away, but I didn’t care.

“Then, one of you will come out as the representative and spin the roulette!”

The camera zoomed in on Seong-won, who was three steps ahead of the other members because he had moved away from me.

“Now, Seong-won, please spin the roulette!”

“Huh?”

Seong-won’s face turned into confusion in an instant.