Chapter 97 : Survival S (4)

On TV, the members of S.K.Y and the MCs of Survival S are running around diligently.

The survival game was at its peak.

Suddenly,

Phew­!!

"Huh?!"

Beep­

[Team A Jackie eliminated! Team A Jackie eliminated! Team A Jackie eliminated!]

The elimination announcement echoes through the speakers.

Hae-sol smiles and pats the shoulder of Jackie, who is too shocked to move.

"Sorry."

"…Bro, did you just kill me?"

"I had to follow the Master's teachings."

"How could you do this? We're on the same team!"

"No, you're on Team A, I'm on Team B. Our teams are different."

"That's not what you said before! And you clearly said you didn't have any bullets!"

"The main character always hides a third of their strength."

Hae-sol waves at Jackie, who is being dragged away by the staff after being eliminated.

When Hae-sol met Jackie by chance, he emphasized that he had no bullets.

Not only that, he even lied shamelessly, saying they shouldn't eliminate each other to create more content since they were on the same team.

Naturally, Jackie believed Hae-sol's words and let his guard down completely.

He knew that creating content was more important than winning in a variety show.

└Oh my god, our baby is falling into darkness!!!

└No!!! Don't be proud of learning that!!

└Look at those sparkling eyes ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ So cute when he's proud of eliminating Jackie.

└He's so cute, I'm going crazy.

└But isn't falling into darkness not so bad? If he smokes a cigarette with that face, I'd instantly get a nosebleed.

└Ah... that's possible.

Meanwhile, Lee Hwan and Woo-yeon were diligently, but ineffectively, playing the survival game elsewhere.

They had many strategic meetings, but with no actual results, they hadn't found a single bullet yet.

"Bro, bro, bro, bro! Hide!! It's Tae Hee!!"

"Huh!!"

Making a ruckus and running around, it was inevitable that they would attract attention.

Woo-yeon and Lee Hwan spot Tae Hee and cram their bodies behind a trash can.

The problem was that the trash can couldn't hide both of their large frames.

Tae Hee's sharp eyes spotted them immediately.

"You guys!"

"Kyaaaak!!"

"Eek!"

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋA herbivore encountering a tiger.

└Woo-yeon and Lee Hwan get along so well ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└Their chemistry is amazing. Woo-yeon is already calling him Hwan hyung.

└Seriously, how can a trash can hide both of them? ㅋㅋㅋㅋThey're so stupidly cute.

Woo-yeon is dragged around by Tae Hee, screaming for help.

Lee Hwan can't run away and is anxious.

"Aaaak! Save me!!! Bro!! It's a monster!!"

"No! Give me back my brother!! You monster!!"

"…Why am I a monster? This is why I feel like a villain."

Lee Hwan clenches his fists and tries to free Woo-yeon from Tae Hee's grip, but ends up getting caught himself.

Tae Hee has one person in each hand, and the two men struggling helplessly is edited to look hilarious.

└I thought Lee Hwan would be competitive with male idols? Why is he being so nice?

└Lee Hwan isn't competitive with male idols, he's competitive with 'rude' male idols. Some people still don't get that.

└So, does that mean S.K.Y is clean in terms of personality?

└Seeing how nice Lee Hwan is being, it seems okay to stan them.

└You guys are the ones with the happy delusions ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

"Hey! I told you not to go there. Why are you doing that again?"

"This is all part of a bigger plan you don't know about."

"What bigger plan? You're just slacking off because you're tired."

"You're accusing me wrongly. Just wait. I'll prove it. You stand over there and pretend like you're doing something. When they spot you and come running, you run over there."

"You want me to be bait?"

"Come on!"

After a bit of bickering, Kang Jun does as Eungyu tells him and acts suspiciously in a visible spot.

Then, Gyeong-tae from Team B appears.

He seems to have a bullet, as he eagerly runs towards Kang Jun. Kang Jun quickly lures Gyeong-tae towards Eungyu.

"Uaaak! Bro, bro! Save me!!"

"You don't have a bullet, do you? You're caught! Running won't help!!"

Phew­!!

"Ugh!"

Kang Junn runs past where Eungyu is hiding.

But Gyeong-tae, who is physically much stronger, quickly catches up to Kang Jun.

Just as he's about to shoot!

Eungyu's toy gun goes off from behind him!

[Team B Kang Gyeong-tae eliminated, Team B Kang Gyeong-tae eliminated, Team B Kang Gyeong-tae eliminated.]

"What, what?? When did you get there?"

Gyeong-tae spots Eungyu too late.

Kang Jun, who had run away, comes back and high-fives Eungyu, with whom he had been bickering.

Slap!!

"Yeah!"

"Nice!"

"See, I told you this would work!"

"Yeah, it worked."

└Why does this work? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Jun is so cute.

└Jun and Eungyu fight a lot but actually get along well.

└I thought they wouldn't show them fighting like that, but it's okay.

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋSame-age chemistry is so funny.

└Look at Eungyu being all proud ㅋㅋㅋ

Thanks to each member's appropriate efforts, S.K.Y variety show outing on 'Survival S' ended with praise.

Our manager, smiling brightly, told us as we arrived at the company,

"You definitely got your faces out there with this variety show. The number of offers has doubled since it aired. As expected from Survival S."

"Did that many schedules come in?"

"Yeah, twice as many. Even for a variety show, this kind of effect is rare. You guys did a great job filming. Why are you all doing so well lately? You kids are amazing."

"Hehe."

"We really worked hard."

"Honestly, it wasn't that fun while we were doing it. But after editing, even we thought it was funny."

"Editing is seriously magic."

The age group that didn't know us was the main audience for Survival S, so the effect was really good.

When it aired, our names were trending in search engines.

Moreover, people who watched the variety show found our performances funny.

I intentionally called Na Young-hee 'Master' and showed my fall from grace, which the PD edited hilariously, gaining attention. Lee Hwan and Woo-yeon had great chemistry but were unlucky, providing comedy with their enthusiasm but lack of results.

Jackie and Gyeong-tae hyung were iconic for being betrayed and eliminated by their own group members, adding to the humor.

Our manager explained the schedules that had come in for us one by one.

"First, Woo-yeon, you were eliminated early but got a lot of screen time with Lee Hwan. So, you've got a lot of variety show offers. How about trying more variety shows?"

"Um… what kind of programs are they?"

"There's a kids' program, and you also got an offer from One Turn Girl. I'll show you the list of individual offers. The company has cut down the list to the good ones, so take a look."

At the beginning of our debut activities, we focused more on group activities than individual ones, but this time, individual activities are being actively pushed.

"By the way, group activities are not included in the list, so don't take on too many. Choose between 3 to 5."

"Yes."

I looked through the list our manager gave us one by one.

Then, I saw something surprising on the list and couldn't help but look at our manager.

"Do I have to act?"

I hadn't properly leveled up my acting skills.

And now, acting?

The atmosphere is good, but I don't want to get criticized for bad acting.

There are so many people who look down on idols trying to act!

"Ah! You're talking about 「Our School Has a Prince」? That's not a drama, it's a web drama, so it's perfect for gaining experience. The company personally recommends it. It would be a waste not to use your face for acting."

Personally, I think acting isn't suitable for me.

I think I should start acting after I've paid off all my debts and have plenty of coins.

Now is not the time.

"Um… I also have 「Our School Has a Prince」 on my list?"

Then, Kang Jun said something unexpected.

"Really? Both of us were cast in the same work?"

The web drama 「Our School Has Princes」.

The roles offered to both of us are the leads.

The 'princes' in the web drama title are the roles we would be playing.

"This web drama is a bit experimental. The writer and director are both rookies. Most of the cast will be rookies too. It might not get much attention, but it's a great opportunity for rookies to gain experience. The company thinks it's worth trying."

"So, it means I won't be the only one with bad acting."

"It's also good for building your resume. It's much better than having no experience at all. Plus, having both you and Kang Jun makes it easier for the company to manage."

"Jun, what do you think?"

"Um… I want to do it."

Kang Jun is pretty good at acting, so he doesn't want to miss this opportunity.

Even though I get less attention because of me, Jun's face is good enough to be an actor.

The company has been managing him well and making him exercise regularly, so he looks much better than when he was a trainee.

"Will it be a problem for you if I refuse?"

"Hmm, you don't have to force yourself to do something you don't want to. But this is a really good opportunity for you. The filming is scheduled for after your activities, so it's perfect for gaining acting experience during your break."

"I think it would be good if you do it with me…."

Kang Jun rarely shows his desire like this to me.

"Can I see the script or something before deciding?"

"Of course."

"Then I'll look at it and decide."

"Okay, I'll get it for you. Take a look at the other offers too."

A web drama….

It's a challenge in an unexpected field, so I can't easily make up my mind.

'Honestly, the title 'Prince' itself is a turn-off.'

Since the word 'school' is in the title, the setting will be a school.

And then there's 'Prince.'

'The dialogue will definitely be cheesy.'

I can't act well, and now I have to act with cheesy dialogue?

It's definitely not going to be an easy shoot.

'Does Jun really think this title is okay?'

Following our manager's advice, I chose 4 schedules other than the web drama acting.

The most appealing one was a high-paying cosmetics ad.

I heard that celebrities make a lot of money from CFs, but once my face became a bit known, the fees really shot up.

If the other members weren't around, I would have asked our manager if it was okay to get paid this much.

'The individual activity part is a bit sensitive.'

The reason I couldn't talk openly about it was because of the money.

Honey Entertainment distributes the earnings from individual activities to the member involved, not to the group.

The problem is that the fees for members vary slightly depending on their popularity.

If Member A's fee is 100 million won and Member B's is only 5 million won.

At first, it might be okay, but if Member A's fee goes up to 200 million, then 500 million, and Member B's fee stays at 5 million.

'Jealousy is inevitable.'

People change their minds even between going to the bathroom and coming out, so how many people can accept this without any hard feelings?

* * *