Seoul Dragon - Chapter 65

"What? You were able to identify it by smell even though we sealed it as tightly as possible?"

The PD asked me and Yeonhwa with disbelief. Thinking about it, his reaction made sense.

If this was the case, all random penalties involving drinks or food would become impossible.

...But what could I do?

I couldn't pretend not to smell something when I could. In situations like this, it's better to just be honest.

"Yes."

Yeonhwa and I nodded. Only then did the PD sigh. It seemed like he had planned another random penalty involving food.

"Um, what about your sense of taste?"

"My taste is also quite good... but not as good as my sense of smell. Isn't that right, Yeonhwa?"

"Y-yes, same for me."

Hearing that, he let out a sigh of relief. He's definitely planning to play a prank with taste.

Well... it would be boring if I never got caught, so I should let myself get caught next time.

It's no fun if we never get caught, right?

At least Harin sacrificed herself for us this time.

I asked Harin:

"Are you okay?"

"Ugh... no, I'm not okay. Ugh, the smell...!"

Harin scrunched up her face in disgust.

Yeonhwa and I also covered our noses after smelling the odor emanating from around her.

"...Sorry, but could you move a bit further away?"

"Oh, this is so unfair! Who's fault is it that I'm like this...!"

"If you're upset, then you should have a good sense of smell too."

"...Unnie, don't even think about touching my cheeks anymore."

"No, wait! I'm sorry! Hey, should I get rid of the smell? Hmm?"

The cast members' lips curled into smiles as they watched us.

At a glance, we probably looked like close sisters, and Harin was just naturally cute.

I thought that this interaction alone would probably get a pretty successful reaction for this random penalty segment.

"You can remove the smell?"

"Of course."

Why wouldn't I be able to? Being able to squish Harin's cheeks is a matter of great importance.

If I'm forbidden from doing that, I'll lose my will to live...!

I immediately waved my hand.

A refreshing breeze swirled around us.

Purification magic... if that's what you'd call it.

It instantly transforms uncleanliness into cleanliness, and that included smells.

The pungent anchovy sauce odor that had been permeating the air disappeared in an instant.

"Wow, what's this now?"

"Purification magic."

"...Seriously, unnie, you can do just about anything."

The reactions from those around us weren't much different.

Somehow, the cast members' eyes were filled with joy when looking at me, as if they believed that with me around, they could easily overcome any mission.

But what should I do? I don't have any intention of helping them.

"As I mentioned earlier, since missions would become too easy with Seohyun around, please refrain from using magic as much as possible."

"Come on, PD-nim. How is that fair? It's her natural ability!"

"I can see right through you, Woohyuk-ssi. You're just trying to breeze through the mission, aren't you?"

"Hey, what do you mean 'breeze through'?"

While the two of them were arguing, Eun Jungho and Shin Hojun secretly approached me.

"Use it secretly, secretly. You can just use it when the PD isn't looking, right?"

"But won't the cameras still catch everything?"

"As long as we don't get caught immediately, it's fine, really!"

"Please speak comfortably with me, I'm younger than you."

"But still... you're officially the Bureau Chief."

"Come on, this is a variety show. Let's say it's OK because it's a variety show, alright?"

In variety shows, the more formal you are, the less entertaining it becomes.

They want to see raw, genuine reactions, so if you're on an entertainment program, you need to adapt accordingly.

"Um, please speak comfortably with me too..."

"Alright then. In that case, you both should call me oppa."

"Ah, I'll call you hyung. I still have a physiological aversion to the term 'oppa'."

"Well, whatever works for you."

As if she'd read my intention, Yeonhwa also joined in.

I'd already started speaking casually with Harin, but I hadn't done so with Yeonhwa yet, so I told her to speak comfortably with me too.

I told her to just speak comfortably.

Yeonhwa hesitated before nodding.

I'd heard that she wanted me to call her unnie.

So I casually called her unnie, and I could tell she was secretly pleased.

With the honorifics issue somewhat settled, I carefully brought up the topic of abilities again.

"About what we were discussing earlier."

"Huh? What?"

"Using magic. So it's fine as long as the PD isn't looking, right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess so."

"Great. Then I'll look for the right opportunity... hehe."

After saying that with a mischievous smile, the others also grinned slightly.

Human psychology—when you're told not to do something, it only makes you want to do it more.

At first, I thought it would make things too easy, but getting caught using magic and teasing the PD might actually be fun.

Viewers might enjoy watching the PD get pranked too.

Around that time, the argument between the PD and Woohyuk ended.

After their dispute, the car team had to decide who would drive.

"Oh boy, it's going to be tough to drive all that way..."

"Who's going to drive?"

"Obviously Jeongho should do it."

"Ah, hyung. Why me again?"

"Should I, an old man, drive instead?"

"Old my ass... Suchan hyung is here too."

"Hey, Suchan always drives. On a day like today, you should do it, okay?"

"Geez, fine, I'll do it."

And so, Jeongho hyung ended up taking the wheel for the car team.

I thought they might do another random penalty, but since they'd already done one at the start, they seemed to be moving forward.

In contrast, the train team didn't argue about who would drive what, and headed straight to the train station. We boarded the express train bound for Chuncheon.

After meeting the car team in Chuncheon, we'd drive to Hwacheon together.

I suspected the car team would suffer in many ways.

Since they lost the random penalty, they had less spending money, so they probably wouldn't even be able to eat well and would end up quite hungry.

Sensing this fact in advance, continuous sighs could be heard from the car team.

Split into two teams, we finally departed for Hwacheon.

The train team headed to the station in high spirits, while the car team sighed as they got into their car.

And so, the variety show officially began.

I noticed production staff approaching with cameras.

I could hear murmuring around us, and I wondered if news about my appearance on this show would soon spread online.

The train team received a generous allowance, and I saw them loading up on snacks before boarding the train.

"Is it okay to eat all this?"

"We're going to struggle later anyway, so we should eat well now to build up our strength."

I understood immediately.

Ah...

Thinking about it, we were heading to Hwacheon in Gangwon Province, and I suspected we'd be going to a remote, uninhabited area. Considering we might have to do physically demanding tasks there, it made sense to eat well now.

"Seohyun, don't you need to eat anything?"

"Ah, I'm fine without eating. I could eat if I needed to, but I don't really need to... Hey, Yeonhwa unnie, what's wrong?"

At that moment, Yeonhwa unnie began to stagger.

What's wrong with her? I thought she said she was in peak condition after drinking my blood.

"No, it's nothing... just mentally exhausted."

Unnie whispered to me very quietly.

According to her, she normally wouldn't get this tired just from being in sunlight, but because she was mentally drained, she became exhausted rapidly.

Her body wasn't under strain, but her mind was extremely fatigued.

I figured the high energy of entertainment performers was probably overwhelming for someone who rarely left her room.

Even if she was a huge fan.

"...Would you like to drink my blood later?"

"Really?"

Her face immediately brightened. I'd have to give it to her when the cameras were off for a moment.

We couldn't exactly broadcast her drinking blood on national television.

...That was my thought, but her condition was more serious than I'd expected.

Unnie nearly fainted as soon as she lay down on the train.

"What's wrong with Yeonhwa?"

"Ah, I think she's just mentally exhausted."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, she... She's been cooped up in her room for a long time and hasn't been out in ages. I told her she didn't need to push herself, but she really wanted to come here no matter what."

"Ah... would she like something to eat?"

"Vampires can't regain their energy through regular meals. She should have brought a blood pack, but it seems she forgot."

"Then would she like to drink some of my blood?"

"No, that won't work. No matter how little blood unnie needs, the Bureau strictly prohibits vampires from feeding on ordinary people. Since unnie is also a Bureau agent, she can't break that rule."

"I see... then maybe we should find a nearby hospital..."

"No, let's do this. Could you turn off the camera for a moment?"

"Huh? The camera? Alright."

As soon as I confirmed the camera was off, I shook Yeonhwa unnie awake.

"Unnie, unnie. Wake up. Just for a moment. Drink some of my blood."

Then, I held out my arm in front of her.

When my arm was right in front of her face, unnie instinctively opened her mouth wide and bit my arm.

Chomp-!

"Ouch!"

At that moment, unnie screamed. Ah, right, I forgot.

I allowed unnie's fangs to pierce my skin.

Only then could she drink my blood.

After drinking some blood, her face immediately brightened, as if she felt better.

"...Thank you, you saved me."

"Let me know if you feel weak later. I'll give you more occasionally."

"Okay."

The cast members looked at us as if they were witnessing something fascinating.

"Seohyun, are you okay? After having your blood sucked like that... And won't the wound get worse?"

"I'm fine. My actual body is quite large, so this amount of blood loss is nothing... And you don't need to worry about the wound either."

I showed them my arm. Seeing the wound healing instantly, the cast expressed amazement at my recovery ability.

"...Dragons are amazing."

"Right? Well, I think it's okay to turn the camera back on now."

"I'm so sorry for the trouble..."

"No, no. The guest's condition is more important."

Yeonhwa unnie shrank back again.

But the other cast members reassured her that everything was fine, and soon a smile appeared on her face. After that, we chatted about various things on the train.

What today's mission might be, how intense it might get with mutants appearing... things like that, and also what happened in America.

And so, before long, we arrived in Chuncheon.