Siblings Working in Business (231)
20 years old? He looked even younger, practically a student.
His hair was styled in a trendy shadow perm.
A man, his hands full of shopping bags, ran towards the filming location.
The others, seeing the unfamiliar man, reacted in different ways.
Tae-hyun’s expression showed a blunt curiosity, as if wondering, ‘Who is this?’ Seung-yeon’s eyes were glued to the shopping bags. Ryu Seok-hyun seemed calm, welcoming him with a smile. Aeseul frowned the moment she saw him. Eun-ho was indifferent, his expression even blanker than Tae-hyun’s. Eun-ji, on the other hand, was beaming, as if she had met a long-lost friend.
“Sorry I’m late! Since it was our first meeting, I was buying gifts and…”
The man, approaching them, his hands still full, nervously handed a shopping bag to each of them — Eun-ho, Eun-ji, Tae-hyun, Seung-yeon, and Seok-hyun — bowing slightly. The gifts seemed to be for his fellow cast members, not himself.
Inside the bags were expensive-looking handmade soaps and other toiletries.
He probably brought those instead of food because they were told not to bring any.
“Hello! I’m Choi Si-woo, I recently debuted with the song ‘Pick Me’! Please take care of me!”
“Oh, what a direct title.”
“Ah, well, I’m a bit ambitious…”
“Ambition is good. Haha. Nice to meet you.”
“N-nice to meet you too! It’s, it’s an honor to have this opportunity to work with, the legendary Toxin Sunbae-nims!”
Seung-yeon, seemingly sensing Si-woo’s personality from his first greeting, asked playfully,
“Oh? Is it only an honor for you?”
It was a typical Seo Seung-yeon remark, the most extroverted and playful member of Toxin.
Si-woo, flustered by his joke, stammered, his eyes darting around,
“O-of course, it’s, it’s also an honor to meet E-UNG Sunbae-nims and, S-Seok-hyun Sunbae-nim! I-it’s an honor!”
Seung-yeon chuckled at Si-woo’s stammering.
“Stop teasing our junior. You’re going to make him faint.”
Tae-hyun lightly smacked Seung-yeon on the head and said calmly.
“Haha, I was just teasing because he’s cute.”
Seung-yeon, clutching the top of his head, winced, but his playful expression remained.
Eun-ji, watching them from a distance, muttered under her breath,
“They haven’t changed.”
It was so quiet that even Eun-ho, standing right next to her, barely heard it.
“What did you say?”
“What?”
“Do you know him?”
Eun-ho whispered, and Eun-ji, worried about being picked up by the microphones, replied via KakaoTalk.
[Me ─ He was the first guy who confessed his feelings to me.]
[Rockfish Bastard ─ ? You did what?]
[Me ─ Are you crazy? Did I type in a foreign language or something? Don’t you understand Korean?]
Eun-ji glared at Eun-ho after sending the message.
[Rockfish Bastard ─ That doesn’t make sense. You?]
― Someone confessed to you?]
― You’re saying that happened?]
[Me ─ What the hell, are you trying to piss me off?]
[Rockfish Bastard ─ Jjom.]
[Me ― (A frog emoticon having a seizure, shaking its head violently) Agh!]
[Rockfish Bastard ─ Lol She’s lost it.]
[Me ― (A white rice cake emoticon giving a double thumbs-up with a smile) Yeah, better than someone I know.]
[Rockfish Bastard ─ I’m better than you lol]
[Me ― I’m going to punch you in the face.]
[Rockfish Bastard ─ Lol]
While Eun-ho and Eun-ji were bickering via KakaoTalk…
Another fight was brewing outside.
“Why don’t I have one?”
“Your uncle’s rich.”
“I want one too.”
“Then buy one yourself.”
Si-woo and Aeseul seemed quite close, despite their slightly different debut dates, perhaps because they were from the same company.
But they didn’t seem to get along, a tension simmering between them.
“Don’t fight. The cameras are rolling.”
Ryu Seok-hyun, who seemed to know Aeseul, calmly tried to pacify her.
Tae-hyun and Seung-yeon, watching them, exchanged glances, reminded of Chang-seok.
‘They have their own version of him too. This will be interesting.’
Seung-yeon, grinning, looked forward to the upcoming shoot.
‘…It’s going to be chaotic.’
Tae-hyun sighed, already looking tired.
“Okay, everyone!”
Clap, clap!
MC Ryu Seok-hyun clapped loudly, trying to regain control of the situation.
Surprisingly, PD Yoo hadn’t intervened, just continuing to film the chaotic scene.
As things calmed down slightly at Ryu Seok-hyun’s clapping, the seven members of Let’s Live Together a Bit lined up.
Choi Tae-hyun, Lee Eun-ji, Seo Seung-yeon, and Lee Eun-ho stood at one end.
Ryu Seok-hyun stood in the middle, followed by Aeseul and Choi Si-woo.
Having lined up according to their own preferences, the NRY members naturally grouped together, as did the DI Music members.
Since the PD and writers still hadn’t intervened, Seo Seung-yeon and Ryu Seok-hyun took the lead, encouraging them to get to know each other.
“So, you know each other, Seok-hyun and Aeseul?”
“Of course, we’re family.”
Ryu Seok-hyun replied with a smile when Seo Seung-yeon asked.
Many were surprised by the unexpected news.
They then asked each other their ages and sorted out how to address each other.
Ryu Seok-hyun, in his 40s, was the oldest, followed by Choi Tae-hyun and Seo Seung-yeon in their 30s.
Eun-ho (22), Eun-ji (20), and Choi Si-woo (20) were in their 20s.
And lastly, Aeseul, still a teenager.
After everyone’s ages were established, and the atmosphere had relaxed enough for them to chat amongst themselves, PD Yoo finally spoke,
“Have you had enough time to get to know each other?”
“Isn’t that a long time just to get first impressions?”
Ryu Seok-hyun replied to PD Yoo.
“You’ll be living together, so it’s good to get to know each other.”
PD Yoo, as if finally ready to start filming properly, pointed to the white box with holes behind the members.
Eun-ho picked up the box and stood next to Ryu Seok-hyun.
“Do you think all the members are here?”
“Don’t we?”
Seung-yeon asked back, and PD Yoo pointed at the white box again.
Taking it as a cue, Ryu Seok-hyun cautiously reached into one of the holes.
“I’m not good with these kinds of things.”
After some dramatic hesitation, he pulled out a piece of paper with the word “woman” written on it.
“Please each draw a piece of paper from the box.”
At the PD’s request, they gathered around the box and each took a piece of paper.
When Eun-ho reached in to draw the last piece, there were still many papers left inside.
After everyone had a paper, the PD spoke with a smile,
“The papers you just drew are hints about the identity of the eighth member. Now, you have to figure out who the last member is while you’re on the train to the house you’ll be staying at.”
“The eighth member…?”
“What do we get if we figure it out?”
Just as everyone tilted their heads in confusion at the mention of an eighth member, Eun-ho asked PD Yoo sharply.
“You all promised to gather all your food ingredients yourselves during your stay, right?”
The members all replied, “Yes.”
It was something they had all been told beforehand.
It was one of the main concepts of Let’s Live Together a Bit, so it had been emphasized several times during the meetings.
“Then you’ll also understand the importance of ingredients.”
The importance of ingredients?
Just as they wondered why he was bringing that up…
“Whoa…!”
The PD signaled to a staff member, who then wheeled out a tower of canned ham, at least 160cm tall.
Although they were supposed to gather ingredients from nearby fields or ask the locals for help, it wouldn’t be easy to catch and slaughter livestock, so meat was a precious commodity in their upcoming living situation.
Processed ham was even more so.
‘I was prepared to eat only vegetables…’
‘Holy shit, I have to win this.’
The sudden appearance of the canned ham tower was more than enough to ignite Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s competitive spirit, especially since they were both meat lovers.
Not just them, but the other members also started imagining all the dishes they could make with canned ham, or simply grilling it and eating it with rice.
“We only drew ‘woman’ so far, right?”
“Yeah.”
Seung-yeon replied to Eun-ho’s question.
Seok-hyun, looking at Tae-hyun, said,
“Let’s check what’s written on the papers, starting with Tae-hyun.”
Tae-hyun finally unfolded his paper.
“Power?”
Tae-hyun read the word on the paper, and Seung-yeon peered over his shoulder to confirm.
Then Seung-yeon unfolded his paper.
“Rap?”
As Seung-yeon read the word, tilting his head, Ryu Seok-hyun asked,
“This isn’t the plastic wrap you use in the kitchen, is it?”
“Maybe it is?”
“It could also mean a rapper. Someone famous for their fast rap skills.”
After Eun-ho’s question, Eun-ji’s surprisingly sharp comment drew a brief exclamation of surprise from the others.
Then, Eun-ji and Eun-ho unfolded their papers simultaneously.
“Gyopo (Korean living abroad)?”
“Hot topic.”
“Fire!!! Like a fire? Or like a hot issue?”
“The latter.”
Just as Eun-ji yelled “Fire!!!” and raised her arms…
Choi Si-woo, seemingly shocked by her outburst, which was quite different from her image, made a comical expression of surprise.
Aeseul, meanwhile, couldn’t take her eyes off Eun-ho and Eun-ji, as if she was a huge fan.
Then, Aeseul and Choi Si-woo revealed their hints: “Easygoing” and “Tan.”
The seven of them started discussing the gathered words and continued their debate even after boarding the train.
Perhaps because of the sheer number of canned hams they saw…
No one seemed tired from the long journey, and the lively discussion continued until the train arrived at Dongdaegu Station.
After getting off the train, they boarded separate tour buses, one for the staff and the other for some of the staff and the cast.
“Aeseul, let’s sit together.”
“Yes? Oh, okay!”
Eun-ji led Aeseul and took the first seats.
“Eun-ho.”
“Hmm? Ah, Hyung. One second.”
Tae-hyun, who was shy around strangers, had tried to ask Eun-ho to sit with him.
But Eun-ho was called away by a staff member.
“Hyung!”
“…Yeah.”
Tae-hyun had one reason for wanting to sit with Eun-ho.
“So, earlier, I told Joo Song-min—”
Because Seo Seung-yeon was too loud.
By the time Eun-ho returned, the only available seats were next to Ryu Seok-hyun and Choi Si-woo.
Ryu Seok-hyun, as the MC, was sitting in the middle of the bus.
Eun-ho naturally sat next to Choi Si-woo.
He was curious about Si-woo, who had confessed to Eun-ji, since it was a connection he didn’t have before the regression.
But before Eun-ho could speak…
As soon as he sat down and the bus started moving…
“Sunbae-nim, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you…”
“…?”
Si-woo asked first.