Siblings Working in Business (171)
He rushed to the Horror House.
Eun-ji’s screams, which had been ringing out just moments ago, were no longer audible.
‘What’s going on?’
Just then…
“Oh…!”
The moment he turned around, sensing an unfamiliar presence…
Jo Sa-rang was standing right behind him, her hand awkwardly outstretched.
“What were you going to do?”
“I just saw you, Eun-ho. I was going to say hello…”
When he asked warily, Jo Sa-rang hesitated, then waved her hands busily.
“Are you here to save Eun-ji?”
“Not so much to save her…”
“Huh? You’re not here to save your sister?”
“No. It’s closer to say I’m here to stop her from cursing.”
“Oh? Oh, hahaha. Aha.”
Jo Sa-rang seemed flustered, then burst into laughter as if she understood.
“By the way, Sunbaenim, what are you doing here?”
“Ah, this is our team’s mission location. But Su-min suddenly disappeared…”
“Su-min Sunbaenim, suddenly?”
“Yes. So I came here wondering if she might be here.”
Now that Jeong Bae-chan, a prime suspect for the spy, was gone…
The most likely suspect was Choi Su-min, about whom he had no information from the first mission. Seo Seo-un had disappeared for a while for her mission, but…
He didn’t know what Jeong Bae-chan and Choi Su-min were doing when they briefly disappeared.
But he did have information on Jo Sa-rang.
Only after his thoughts were organized did Eun-ho relax, his wariness dissipating.
“Are you going in?”
“Yes.”
“Oh… oh, good luck.”
Eun-ho tilted his head at Jo Sa-rang’s somewhat uneasy reaction.
“Isn’t it just a haunted house?”
“Ye-, yes… it is. Just a haunted house.”
What was with that reaction?
Jo Sa-rang looked flustered.
“I-, I should go look for Su-min again. Good luck!”
“Okay.”
Jo Sa-rang then hurried off as if fleeing, saying she needed to continue searching for Choi Su-min.
Eun-ho watched her go with a suspicious gaze, then, his heart pounding, headed straight into the Horror House.
“Stretching before riding the ride counts, right?”
The moment he received and read the first mission slip…
“That’s up to you. Mr. Jeong Bae-chan, you are the spy.”
“Huh? Me, me? Me?”
Ignoring Jeong Bae-chan’s bewildered reaction, the man in the poorly done old man disguise abruptly handed him a black card.
“What is this…?”
“Wait, before you ask any questions, there’s something you need to know.”
“What’s with that way of talking?”
“Ahem, I will only answer three questions.”
“If you only answer three questions, well, the answers will all be truthful, right?”
“That is correct. Ahem! I do not tell lies!”
The man in the poorly done old man disguise said with a stern expression.
But the result of his carefully crafted expression looked closer to comical.
Jeong Bae-chan received the card and read the words written inside aloud.
“After receiving points in the first mission…”
In fact, there was something as important as the success of the first mission.
The order in which the mission was attempted.
Eun-ji, who stretched first in front of Space Express, was number 1.
Followed by Jeong Bae-chan, who subtly stretched while boarding before others noticed, at number 2.
And Eun-ho, who secretly spent all 20,000 won at the souvenir shop, was number 3.
In other words, those became their scores.
“Before the start of the second mission, choose the location of the ‘base,’ and if the ‘base’ is discovered by the public, you’re eliminated, right?”
“Is that a question?”
“No, I’m talking to myself! Anyway, if I’m the spy, we just chose the winner by voting, right?”
“Is that a question?”
“No. No, ugh, I can’t talk. Is the spy a role that can win in a different way? No, never mind.”
“Ask your question!”
“Tell me how I can win!”
The man playing the old man looked at the PD as if he had hit a nerve, then spoke.
“The spy’s vote counts as ‘0 points.’ You win if you have the highest ‘score’ after the voting.”
“Is that it? What? It’s the same as regular ‘Change Partner’.”
“I have already answered.”
“No, I mean, if even the spy wins by getting the ‘most votes,’ there’s no difference.”
The fake old man seemed to momentarily lose control of his expression, a sneer appearing on his face.
“What, is it wrong? Ah! I’ll ask this for my last question.”
“Is ‘is it wrong’ your question?”
“Ah, no, not that. Are there any other spies besides me?”
“…”
He hit a nerve!
The fake old man looked flustered and glanced at the PD again.
The PD gestured to the actor that he could answer.
Jeong Bae-chan could tell just from the PD’s gesture that he wasn’t the only one.
“There are five.”
“What?!”
Jeong Bae-chan gasped, surprised by the larger-than-expected number.
He knew there wasn’t just one, but five…?
“Wait a minute, this means everyone except Eun-ho and Eun-ji are spies!”
“Shhh! Be quiet! And your questions are over. Shop’s closed! Go now.”
“No, wait! And what shop are you talking about?!”
“Go!”
Jeong Bae-chan grumbled and left, full of complaints, at the fake old man’s dismissal.
“Lee Eun-ho!”
“Eun-ji, the camera over there is still on.”
“Gasp, where?!”
“Behind you, idiot.”
“Why are you being so rude?”
“I haven’t put on my mic yet, idiot.”
“Stop calling me an idiot! You rockfish, making fun of people.”
“You pumpkin, pretending to be human.”
“You’re weaker than me.”
“Yeah, and you’re worse at games than me.”
“Hey!!!”
Many eyes turned to them when Eun-ji yelled.
Among them was Jeong Bae-chan.
He watched Eun-ho and Eun-ji from a distance.
‘Oh, come to think of it…’
The spy’s vote was worth 0 points.
And there were five spies.
Meaning all the regular members’ votes were 0 points.
So, if he got those two to vote for him?
He would win.
Jeong Bae-chan had never won Change Partner before.
Since the winner was determined by others’ votes, the criteria was how well they treated each other when they were on the same team.
But now?
‘Just the two of them.’
And his targets were a rookie sibling idol duo whom all the members had met for the first time today.
‘This is my chance.’
A wide smile spread across Jeong Bae-chan’s face.
Jeong Bae-chan did his best to appear friendly to Eun-ho and Eun-ji, despite being on different teams, by buying them dolls and toys and acting affectionately.
After the first mission ended…
“There’s a spy hidden among you.”
“Huh?”
“A spy?”
“Since when?”
Jeong Bae-chan was the only one who knew that everyone except Eun-ho and Eun-ji was a spy.
So, he found the other members’ surprised reactions absurd.
But he himself was just as shameless.
Although it was a team mission, the spies completed individual missions, such as stretching before riding rides or spending 20,000 won without their teammates noticing, to obtain the secret item.
On the other hand, Eun-ho and Eun-ji gained practically nothing from completing their individual missions.
However, when they revealed their teammates’ missions at the end and earned the B-grade hint, the spies, conversely, gained nothing.
Nevertheless, everyone deliberately ensured they were among those who answered correctly to prove they weren’t the spy.
“Please take this with you.”
Before the next mission began…
During the long preparation time, the five spies were busy choosing their bases.
Jeong Bae-chan was no exception.
“You must place the doll on this ‘paper’.”
“What is this paper?”
What was this white paper?
However, as if refusing to answer questions, the PD coldly ignored him and handed Jeong Bae-chan a ball-jointed doll and a piece of white paper.
“The defensive trap that will protect your base will be applied to the location where you place this. Anyone who can’t get past the trap will be eliminated.”
“Oh, a base defense system! Cool.”
A base…
After hearing the explanation from the PD, Jeong Bae-chan wandered around the amusement park for a while and placed the doll on the paper in a corner of Future City, just as instructed.
Starting with Jeong Bae-chan, who returned to his spot, Seo Seo-un, Choi Su-min, and Ryu Seok-hyun all left, making various excuses like bathroom breaks, wardrobe changes, makeup touch-ups, and snack runs.
As Jo Sa-rang also began to look around, preparing to leave, Jeong Bae-chan, who had returned earlier, called out to her with a smile.
“Sa-rang, where are you going?”
“Ah, horr-. No, uh…”
“Bathroom?”
“Uh! Yes! That’s right! I’m going to the bathroom. Haha.”
Jo Sa-rang couldn’t hide her flustered expression and hurried away as if fleeing.
Jeong Bae-chan couldn’t suppress his laughter.
A little while later, about 20 minutes after Jo Sa-rang had left…
Jeong Bae-chan had actually gone to the bathroom for a bit.
As he hurried back for the filming…
“You two are a team?!”
“Yeah…”
Eun-ji was busy looking for a teammate.
Jo Sa-rang and Choi Su-min, seemingly unaware that they were both spies, seemed to have teamed up to secure each other’s votes.
This was a godsend for Jeong Bae-chan, who was the only one who knew that only Eun-ho and Eun-ji weren’t spies.
“Eun-ji, want to be on my team?”
Blocking even the light that was illuminating Eun-ji, Jeong Bae-chan hurriedly extended his hand.
The result?
Naturally, they became a team.
He was already one step closer to victory!
“Excuse me, do you know where the spaceship ride is?”
“Spaceship ride? Ah, it should be in Future City.”
“Oh! I’m trying to go towards the spaceship ride, do you know where it is? They said there are robots nearby, and there’s some strange noise coming from somewhere around there…”
“Uh, uh! Mr. Eun-ho, you have to find the mission area yourself. Even the staff can’t tell you!”
Eun-ho asked a staff member who was on standby as a helper before setting off.
But the PD intervened, and he gained nothing.
Jeong Bae-chan’s excitement crumbled when he unintentionally overheard Eun-ho’s question.
‘Is that the description of my base…?’
Jeong Bae-chan desperately hoped that the place Eun-ho was looking for wasn’t his base and racked his brain, trying to remember where he had placed his doll.
There was a spaceship-like ride.
And right next to it, instead of a carousel, there was a ride where you rode robots.
There was some kind of machine nearby that kept making a strange whirring sound.
Jeong Bae-chan felt his breath catch in his throat.
‘Don’t tell me this paper…’
Jeong Bae-chan worriedly unfolded the paper with Eun-ji.
Goblins suddenly appeared next door.
I keep seeing lights around.
Please…
Save me!
Since he was a spy himself, he knew the moment he saw the mission on the paper.
This was the location of the ball-jointed doll placed at the spy’s base.
There were five spies in total.
And five slips of paper.
Teams A, B, C, and D.
Four spies’ locations would be revealed, but one would survive.
‘Of all the…!’
Jeong Bae-chan was anxious.
It seemed that the paper Eun-ho drew was the hint to his base.
‘How can I keep Eun-ho away from my base…?’
Jeong Bae-chan’s gaze briefly lingered on Eun-ji.
‘Could I use her…?’