33. Prelude (3)
Just in case, we decided to wait and see how things went, but the members said they were fine and didn't go to the hospital until the end.
Before going into the dorm, we waited in the van to wear the microphone. I spoke to the other guys as if I was doing ventriloquism.
"There are cameras in the dorm starting today. Don't show your emotions."
"Okay."
I thought about postponing the filming, but it was impossible due to the schedule, so there was no choice.
Lee Aram, who was shivering, covered his face for a while and then exhaled deeply. The other members were the same.
As I wore the microphone and entered the dorm, I felt like countless gazes were on me. The members smiled brightly as if they had never been depressed.
"Wow!"
"Oh, there are a lot of cameras."
"There are some here too."
I checked the surroundings while Baek Han-gyul, Hwang Bo-kyun, and Seol Yi-soo were running around. One, two, three, four....... There were five in the living room alone. When I looked, I found that there were cameras installed in every room except the bathroom.
The members who had been running around here and there stopped for a moment and whispered after finishing their tour of the dorm.
"There's really nothing but cameras."
"It's strange that there's no PD or writer..."
In the meantime, Ahn Jung-woo collapsed on the sofa, and Lee A-ram froze for a while before sitting next to him. Finally, Ryu Hyun-seung neatly organized the coat he was wearing.
Amidst the members' confusion, Baek Han-gyul clapped loudly.
"Hyungs, please come here for a moment!"
The members who were acting separately stopped and looked at Baek Han-gyul. He called everyone together and asked with a serious face.
"What are we going to eat for dinner tonight?"
"I haven't thought about it yet... Is that important?"
"Of course...! It is, isn't dinner important?"
Baek Han-gyul, who was about to shout that it was obvious, quickly changed his words when our eyes met. However, he didn't change his mind.
That didn't matter, but I was worried because I could see that he was stressed and wanted to relieve it. There's no problem right now, but if we leave it like this, whenever something stressful happens, he'll try to binge eat.
While weighing between mukbang content and Baek Han-gyul 's gluttony, Hwang Bo-kyun raised his hand and offered an appropriate opinion.
"How about we cook ourselves today?"
"Ourselves?"
"Yeah, Seung-i is good at cooking."
I didn't know there was someone who could cook because I only ate salads and stuff. In the first place, I spent less time in the dorm than the other members.
Ryu Hyun-seung smiled slightly, as if he was embarrassed by Hwang Bo-kyun's gesture.
Anyway, it was good news. Isn't it easier to control calories when you cook yourself than when you order instant delivery food?
"Okay, then I'll check what ingredients we have right now."
I knew I could cook, too.
I quickly made a decision and headed to the kitchen. When I opened the refrigerator, I saw various meats and ingredients piled up. Since it wasn't there until yesterday, the staff must have filled it.
"There are quite a lot of ingredients. Hyun-seung, what are you going to cook? I'll help you."
"Huh? Do you know how to cook?"
"Yes, a little."
I learned a little bit after finishing my dorm life and moving into my own house because it was inconvenient to buy food for every meal. I don't have a big appetite, so I didn't do it often.
Baek Han-gyul seemed to find me strange and shake my arm.
"Hyung, are you good at cooking?"
"Just enough to be edible."
"What's your best dish?"
"Uh... steamed cabbage?"
I felt Baek Han-gyul pause on my arm.
"What's your next best dish?"
"Vegetable wrap."
"W-what's next?!"
"Tofu fried rice, konjac bean noodles, chicken breast cold dish, spinach frittata, mushrooms......."
"Stop, please stop!"
Baek Han-gyul ran behind Ryu Hyun-seung, frowning. Was there a need to jump up like that? It was a little unfair because I could make everything delicious.
Lee A-ram sat down on the dining chair and licked his lips. When he entered the dormitory, he looked much more stable than before.
"Why are they all health food or diet food? That's what makes you a master."
"Seung-i is good at Western food, right? The styles are very different."
"I think we should give the main chef position to Hyunseung hyung-nim."
"I'm also curious about Young's food."
"Then how about this?"
Ahn Jungwoo sneaked in between the noisy members. Ahn Jungwoo pointed at me and Ryu Hyunseung alternately and said,.
"We play a game, and the winner decides the menu."
"Oh, that sounds fun."
It wasn't a bad idea.
Hwang Bo-kyun accepted it right away, and the others discussed what to do.
"How about rock-paper-scissors?"
"Well, it's not bad......."
"Is there something new?"
"Just do anything."
"Anything is not fun!"
They huddled around the table and looked for a game to play. The kitchen became lively when they had something to focus on.
"The candidates are rock-paper-scissors, ladder-climbing, game of wits, and public chess, right?"
They were all common games that were often shown on TV. The question is what kind of game they play.
"What do you want to play, hyung?"
"Uh... rock-paper-scissors?"
"Rock-paper-scissors?"
"Yeah, that's the cleanest..."
In the end, the event was decided to be rock-paper-scissors based on Ryu Hyun-seung's opinion. With the members as judges, Ryu Hyun-seung and I stood on opposite sides of the table.
"Hyun-seung hyung-nim, please win! Fighting!"
"Huh...? Uh, I'll try my best...!"
"Haha, I think Han-gyul wants to eat some food."
I was annoyed at Baek Han-gyul, who only cheered for Ryu Hyun-seung, but I left him alone.
While stretching, we clenched our fists and started playing rock-paper-scissors, which only made Baek Han-gyul nervous. For fairness, Hwang Bo-kyun decided to call out rock-paper-scissors.
"If you don't show up, you lose. Rock, paper, scissors!"
First, a fist tie.
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
Next, a scissors tie.
"Rock, paper, scissors."
Next, a scissors tie.
A moment of silence passed. Somewhere, a loud swallowing sound was heard.
"...Is this something that should be this tense?"
"Hyung, shhh! Shhh!"
"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry."
Lee A-ram closed his mouth nervously. The other guys also got nervous as the tie continued and stared at us.
"If you don't come, you lose. Rock, scissors......."
"....."
"Paper!"
The final result was Ryu Hyun-seung's scissors, and I won with rock.
"Ahh! Hyungniiimm!!!"
"...Uh, for some reason. I'm sorry."
"Wow, Young-i won~"
"Okay, then reveal the main chef Young-i's menu!"
Hwang Bo-kyun, who had been teasing Baek Han-gyul, opened the refrigerator. I recited the menu I had been thinking about.
"Today's menu is eggplant rice bowl with stir-fried beef and sauerkraut."
"Huh...? Isn't it salad?"
"....."
The word 'Salad?' almost came out of my throat, but I barely swallowed it.
I had originally planned to make something a little lighter, but since we were filming anyway, I didn't think it was necessary to insist on a diet meal.
I pushed Hwang Bo-kyun aside and took out the necessary ingredients from the refrigerator. Then I wrote down the missing ingredients on a piece of paper.
"As the main chef, we will each do our parts."
"Huh? Do we have separate roles?"
"Yes, Hyunseung hyung and I will be doing the cooking... You will each be in charge of grocery shopping and dishwashing."
Since we can't leave the kitchen to guys who have never cooked, Ryu Hyunseung and I will be doing the cooking.
Baek Han-gyul will probably break the dishes while washing them, so he will be in charge of grocery shopping.
Since I'm worried about sending him to the grocery store alone, let's put Hwang Bo-kyun and An Jeong-woo together.
Lee A-ram is reluctant to go out right now, so I'm going to have Seol Yi-soo and him do the dishes together.
Everyone was satisfied with the team division based on the members' personalities.
After sending the grocery shopping people out with Camera, Ryu Hyun-seung and I washed our hands thoroughly, put on our aprons, and started preparing the ingredients.
"Hyun-seung hyung, please slice the green onions thinly."
"Uh... About this much?"
"Yes, yes. It's just right."
While Ryu Hyun-seung was cutting the green onions, I washed the rice and put it in the pot.
While the rice was cooking in the electric rice cooker, I washed the pickled vegetables cleanly and drained them.
"I don't have minced garlic, so I'm going to start chopping garlic. But I don't have a rolling pin."
I didn't forget to whisper softly to the camera.
After wandering around the kitchen for a while, I grabbed a kitchen knife instead of a rolling pin. I sliced the garlic and pressed it back and forth, chopping it.
I had to cook enough for 10 people, so this was also a lot of work.
"... Young-ah. I chopped all the green onions."
"Then, can you wash the eggplant and peel it?"
"Okay, I understand."
They must have been busy preparing the ingredients for a long time. The grocery workers returned to the dorm and lifted the plastic bag.
"We! finished! Shopping! And here we are!"
"Wash your hands and come back."
"Okay."
They opened the bag and took out the ingredients they had left. Since we had just finished preparing the ingredients, we could start cooking right away.
"Hyung, did you wash the eggplant?"
"Huh? Uh. I just... finished."
"Then, stir-fry the meat. When it's halfway cooked, you can add the cooking wine you just bought, and you know to discard the oil here and there, right?"
"Okay. I'll try it...!"
I left the stir-fried beef to Ryu Hyun-seung, and I cut the peeled eggplant in half, seasoned it, and lightly grilled it over low heat.
As the delicious smell sizzled, the members gathered one by one in the kitchen.
"It smells good. It looks delicious."
"Really?"
"This is the skill of our intro dance line!"
"You didn't cook."
"Instead, I bought kimchi."
We placed the cooked food on the table where the chat was finished and sat down. It had been a long time since we had a proper meal together with other people.
We politely welcomed the camera before the meal.
"We'll enjoy it."
"Wow, this is really delicious."
"Wow.... I just realized that eggplant is this delicious. Isn't the eggplant a little mushy?"
"That's because I put seasoning on the eggplant and grilled it like a steak."
We often talked and focused on the meal. It was fortunate that the guys' table manners weren't bad.
'I was worried about the taste because it's been a while since I cooked, but it's okay.'
Ryu Hyun-seung also stir-fried it well.
I feel like I'm a survivalist and I can cook moderately deliciously, but Ryu Hyun-seung... seemed like someone who's been cooking for a long time. At that time, Seol Yi-soo blinked and asked.
"But. What are we going to do after eating all this?"
"...Can't we just act like we usually do?"
"Is that so? I wasn't told what to do."
I paused for a moment. Thinking about it, we came home late because of the near-accident, so we went up to the dorm without hearing the explanation about the filming. Even during the pre-meeting, they said, 'I'll explain it to you on the day of the filming!'
'I was more absentminded than I thought. I didn't realize it at all.'
I poured water into a cup and drank it. My thirst was somewhat relieved.
Among the noisy members, Ahn Jung-woo quietly spoke.
"Come to think of it...."
"Huh?"
"Oh, um... I remember seeing something like a card a little while ago."
Ahn Jung-woo pointed with his finger at the camera installed in the living room. There was a white note stuck in the small camera stand. It was a familiar silhouette.
'This is a mission note.'
It's the one you often see on TV. It was cleverly hidden behind the camera, so the other guys who were very excited seemed to have passed by without seeing it.
I tapped Ahn Jung-woo on the arm before I took the note and unfolded it.
"When did you see this?"
"When I was lying down on the sofa earlier. It was right in front of me."
I guessed by eye at the angle of the camera stand and the sofa. It was hard to tell that it was a note from that distance, but it was in a location where you could roughly tell that there was a white object.
We quickly finished eating, put the dishes in the sink, and brought the note to the table.
"Let's check it quickly!"
"Yes!"
Baek Han-gyul, who was putting his own BGM into his mouth, smiled brightly and opened the note.
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