Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 331

Right now, at this very moment, the rules are being set.

Losing on purpose is more likely to hurt the broadcast than help it. Unless it’s a special case, like a hidden camera segment, it’s usually better to play with enthusiasm.

So, a simple rule is made: ‘Even if you lose, don’t make it too obvious.’

That’s why Eden is pacing himself to avoid a crushing defeat. And it’s why he had to get that last question right.

Even a bad snipe [a derogatory term for someone who is trying to take advantage of a situation] is still a snipe. Even if he seems a bit slow, he went to the same university as my smart junior colleague.

Jung Kyung-woo carefully looked over the script.

“Writer.”

“Yes?”

“Should we change our plan a little?”

“…Sorry?”

If you’re going to throw the game, I wish you’d at least try to make it look good. I don’t want my carefully planned segment to turn into a joke.

Seeing someone overcome challenges and win is inspiring, and I want to capture that on camera. But if not, well…

Jung Kyung-woo loves documentaries.

The heart of a documentary is creating a story by editing scenes together in a certain order.

“I think we should adjust the game rules a bit, too.”

“Um, why?”

“I just realized that a heartwarming vibe doesn’t really fit with this group.”

Dong-hwa and I both like a calm atmosphere, but someone clearly wants a war.

Seeing the writer’s face, like he was saying, ‘What? We had plenty of heartwarming moments,’ Jung Kyung-woo smiled brightly.

“The content, games, and location will stay the same. But…”

I just want to completely change how the show feels with some extra filming. Instead of a nostalgic trip for the group, it’ll be a fake documentary about one person’s desperate struggle.

“I’m going to do a quick one-on-one interview with Eden. Please tell everyone else it’s break time.”

* * *

“Eden.”

“Yes.”

“I caught you, working with me.”

The part of Ryu Eden that wanted to mess with Ji Dong-hwa was gone, and his professional side came back.

“I’m sorry.”

Ryu Eden immediately bowed deeply.

I got caught. Even Lee Hyun-jae, who’s usually sharp, just thought Eden was acting extra foolish today. But this is our own show, so I went a bit too far.

Actually, I never would have even thought about doing this if it wasn’t for our self-produced content.

“No, it’s okay. I’m on Eden’s side. You don’t need to apologize. This project wasn’t really about intense competition anyway. But, I have a kind of interesting idea.”

“…Yes?”

“First, take off your name tag, and then can you roll up one of your shirt sleeves?”

He did it right away, but he still didn’t understand why.

The PD saw his confusion and explained, “I noticed earlier, there’s a very faint stain on your sleeve from when you were eating. The scene we’re filming now is supposed to be before the meal.”

“…So.”

“Shall we start with your entrance? I’ve already set up the cameras, even though they weren’t originally for this.”

Ryu Eden understood everything instantly.

He immediately went to the entrance, opened the door, and came back in.

“PD-nim [PD is short for Program Director, a common title in Korean broadcasting]. Good morning.”

“Yes, Eden. Sorry to call you in the morning. I only told you we were going to do a heartwarming show today, right?”

“Yes, everyone’s looking forward to it.”

“But that’s a lie. Eden has a special mission. Dong-hwa hasn’t been penalized lately, and it’s been bothering us. I want to see Dong-hwa suffer a little.”

“…That’s right. Dong-hwa’s been winning too much lately!”

Ryu Eden completely agreed with the PD.

“But I suddenly remembered the wish you made last time. You said you wanted to go to hell with Dong-hwa.”

“I said it would be nice to get penalized together, so Dong-hwa should get penalized.”

“The mission has three main parts: Be on the same team, make the team lose, and then win the penalty decision with rock-paper-scissors.”

“Isn’t that too hard?”

“Don’t worry, we’re on your side. We made the name tags slightly different on purpose, so you can tell them apart by feeling them.”

That’s how the manipulation started.

Jung Kyung-woo used this extra footage to fill in the gaps in the broadcast.

Ryu Eden taking too long to pick teams, Ryu Eden looking excited and rushing to join Ji Dong-hwa’s team, and Ryu Eden not celebrating when he got the last question right.

Jung Kyung-woo, who set everything up, ended the filming by clapping instead of using the usual slate [a board used to mark the beginning of a take].

“Eden.”

“Yes!”

Ryu Eden looked like a very excited golden retriever. Even Jung Kyung-woo smiled with satisfaction.

“But you should know something.”

“Yes?”

“I’m not going to let you lose easily.”

I hope you struggle fiercely to make it a beautiful defeat.

And if we add an interview where Dong-hwa realizes what’s happening in the middle of that struggle, I’ll be happy. This is the life of a PD.

* * *

While walking to the next location in teams, I felt a little thrill. Ryu Eden’s interview will be interesting. The challenge will be harder, knowing Jung PD’s style.

“Eohwa Dongdongji team leader.”

“What.”

“You look worried.”

“I gave you a hint.”

“Yeah.”

Jung PD is great at reading people’s faces, just like you.

“Why are you making it harder?”

All of our conversation is like ventriloquism – very quiet sounds and whispers.

No one else can know what we’re talking about.

“It has to be fair.”

The next game is called ‘Secret Sharing’. It’s happening on a mat in a nearby park.

The rules are simple, but the scoring isn’t.

First, each team takes turns picking someone to ask a question. The questioner asks a secret that only some of the members seem to know.

Second, the questioner gets points for every person who gets it wrong, and the people who get it right each get 1 point.

Third, if everyone gets it wrong, only the questioner loses 2 points.

Fourth, if everyone gets it right, no one gets any points.

Finally, fifth, if the questioner’s answer is thought to be false, evidence can be shown, and if the production team agrees, that round doesn’t count.

This scoring was much simpler before, but Jung PD changed it while we were moving.

“Just so you know, you can’t talk to your teammates about what answers to write. There’s a period of silence between the question and writing the answer!”

If you really want to win, things get complicated.

Because of how the points work, it’s best for the questioner to ask about a secret that only one or two people know. And if the questioner is on the other team, you have to decide whether to get it wrong on purpose or not.

If you just try to get the 2-point penalty and get it wrong on purpose, you might end up giving the other team a lot of points if more than one person knows the answer.

But on the surface, we’re not fighting to the death to win.

It’s just a nice project to relax during the trip and share secrets that were only shared with some members with everyone.

That’s why they picked a park with a picnic vibe.

If everyone knows the secret, they’ll gladly try to guess it. Seok-joon and Chae Ha-min were already excited, laughing while watching the monkeys in the park.

“…Hmm.”

On the other hand, our Ryu Eden is different. He has to lose. So, he needs to make everyone get it wrong when he’s the questioner.

But if I lie, they’ll call me out on it, so I can’t do that.

And if I say a normal secret, that’s crazy. I’m like a computer who remembers every little thing.

“A real secret.”

So, Ryu Eden quickly understood what the changed scoring meant.

If you really want to lose, share a secret that you haven’t told anyone.

PD Jung was basically shouting that through the score sheet.

“Ah, that’s not fair!”

“Excellent.”

I nod without thinking. If you want to lose, show us the goods. How amazing is this PD?

* * *

Lee Hyun-jae quietly thought about what was happening.

Lee Hyun-jae, the strong mind of the ‘Old Age is the Loss of Youth’ team, stayed calm even while the two older members were getting their food stolen by monkeys.

Something’s weird. The way those two are acting.

Not just two guys losing to monkeys, but the vibe of that team with the weird name, Eohwa Dongdongji.

‘…Why are they playing mind games?’

Lee Hyun-jae gets the point of this game. It’s about understanding each other better. Are they really fighting to win in such a small way? That kind of win doesn’t mean anything.

“Okay, let’s start with Eden as the first questioner. We’ll take turns.”

PD Jung’s smile is also suspiciously strange. Like he’s expecting something.

Ryu Eden goes to the front and sits in the chair for the questioner.

It gets quiet right away. Like everyone’s waiting for something.

Ryu Eden, who’s only showing his back but looks determined, opened his mouth, like he’d made up his mind.

“…In the last drawer of my desk, there’s something I eat when I’m really stressed. What is it?”

What, is it something like red ginseng extract?

Everyone’s quiet because of the rules, but no one’s writing anything down.

Could Eden even be stressed in the first place? Lee Hyun-jae wrote ‘red ginseng extract’ on his answer sheet.

“If you’ve all written it down, please show your answers!”

Everyone except Ryu Eden raised their answer boards.

“Eden, what’s the answer?”

Ryu Eden took a deep breath, like he needed courage to say it.

“…It’s peppermint candy.”

“…What?”

Lee Hyun-jae was so surprised he dropped his answer board.

That Ryu Eden, candy?

Lee Hyun-jae quickly looked around. Someone needs to explain this to him. Lee Hyun-jae is too young to understand the secrets of the world.

But everyone was just covering their mouths, and no one said anything.

The wrong answers of Protein (Ji Dong-hwa), Red Ginseng Extract (Lee Hyun-jae), Chicken Breast (Seok-joon), Hyung, don’t be stressed, Hamin is here! (Chae Ha-min) stood out, with only the answer peppermint candy.

…Hamin didn’t even guess, are they even on the same team?

“Everyone got it wrong. Who did you think would get it right when you asked the question?”

“Jun is my roommate, so.”

That Jun knows that he’s a fool who puts chicken breast in the drawer and keeps it.

Lee Hyun-jae laughed weakly.

“I eat it secretly from the members, and sometimes when I feel like I can’t handle it, but I wonder if Jun knows.”

He’s talking about candy like it’s a drug, this guy.

“…Why, why do you eat it secretly?”

“Because I knew you guys would react like that!”

Ryu Eden covered his face and cringed.

“Peppermint? Really? There are so many better flavors!”

Hamin saw other problems with it.