Seoul Dragon - Chapter 68

"PD-nim."

"Yes."

"Are we really supposed to play games with them...?"

The hyungs' voices were slightly trembling. They seemed to feel their lives were threatened.

...Thinking about it, that was only natural.

If we failed even once during the table tennis rally and the ball went flying somewhere else, the damage would be almost equal to being shot.

Perhaps even worse than being shot.

"Anyway, Team Seohyun, victory!"

In any case, the race ended with our team's victory.

The dinner was ours.

Of course, complaints were bound to emerge from the losing side.

They probably thought it was unfair.

But in reality, the difference between Yeonhwa unnie and me wasn't that significant.

If Junhyuk hyung had been just a little faster, we could have easily lost since Jeongho hyung had fallen.

"Isn't this unfair? Even if you combine Yeonhwa and Harin, they probably can't match Seohyun, right?"

"But honestly, we just lost because Junhyuk was too slow. If he had been a little faster, you would have won, right?"

"Ah, hyung. Why did you do that?"

"Hey, you try being this age, okay?"

Even as Seungho hyung tried to make excuses, Woohyuk hyung sharply cut him off.

And Woohyuk hyung...

"Hahahaha! As long as it's not meeee!"

He shouted the show's slogan triumphantly.

He was right. Losing was their fault.

In the end, Team Yeonhwa, who couldn't even get dinner, could only look at Harin with hopeful eyes.

But...

"Harin-ssi's ability is prohibited."

PD Lee Myungho, as if he already knew, restricted Harin's ability.

But were they the type of people who would listen just because the PD said so?

While the PD stepped away briefly, they secretly whispered to Harin.

"Later, after the sleeping quarters random penalty, let's secretly eat something."

"...Should we? I'm hungry. But is it really okay? I think we'll really get in trouble if I use my ability again."

As Harin showed slight anxiety, Yeonhwa unnie stepped forward.

"Ah, or... should I catch something? Still, deceiving the PD twice seems a bit..."

"What can you catch at this hour?"

"There seem to be a lot of fish nearby... maybe because of the stream?"

"Fish?"

"Yes... No one specifically said we couldn't be self-sufficient..."

"...Can you really catch them?"

"I-I'm good at catching them."

"Then let's try it. We should tell the PD just in case."

It seemed that Yeonhwa unnie's team was trying to fill their stomachs through self-sufficiency.

With a stream nearby, there might be quite a lot to eat if you look around.

But... I wonder if there's anyone who can prepare the fish.

Ah, no. Hojun hyung was secretly good at cooking, right?

"Hey, Seohyun! Aren't you going to eat?"

"Ah, I'm coming!"

Of course, regardless of what they were doing, I enjoyed the victory feast.

The production team is certainly very generous to the winners of the random penalties.

Team Yeonhwa looked enviously at Team Seohyun enjoying their meal.

Of course, regular meals didn't particularly excite Yeonhwa... but she felt oddly disappointed at losing, and felt sorry for her teammates' suffering.

'This is when I should step up...'

Thinking about it, she hadn't really shown an impactful performance like Seohyun since appearing on the variety show. When she imagined watching the show with herself in it, she wasn't confident it would be entertaining.

So, she needed to do something.

She'd heard that Harin had already demonstrated her ability when the cast members were hungry, but she herself hadn't shown any special abilities besides her physical prowess.

If people watched the show with her in it, they would surely be curious about what abilities she had.

She was a bit nervous... but she thought now was the time to show something.

"So how are you going to catch fish? Just with your hands?"

"N-no... I noticed that Seohyun and Harin have already shown their abilities, but I haven't shown you mine yet."

"Oh, what ability will you show us?"

"W-well, this."

Yeonhwa slightly tore the tip of her thumb.

As droplets of blood formed, she swung her hand widely.

The blood droplets scattered in the air transformed into bats and began to disperse on their own.

Flutter-!

"Wow... what is that?"

"They're my minions. These children are made from my blood, and they do what I want them to do. It's like... automatic hunting in games, if that makes sense?"

"Do you like games?"

"Y-yes... There's nothing else to do in my room."

"Oh."

At that moment, Hojun, who liked games, showed interest.

"What games do you play?"

"Um... it's a bit embarrassing to say, but just... all sorts of games. RPGs, FPS, AOS... A-anyway, the children will bring fish soon."

"When they bring the fish, I'll prepare them."

"Y-yes, okay."

"I'll help too."

Harin chimed in after Hojun's words. As it turns out, Harin also had quite a long history of living alone, so she knew how to prepare basic ingredients.

"Fish can be difficult to handle."

"I like fish, so I'm good at preparing them. You can trust me."

"I trust you, so?"

"What should we make? Spicy fish stew would be best, right?"

"Let's try to make it more delicious than their dinner."

"But do we have any seasonings?"

"The PD said he'd provide seasonings. I asked earlier."

"Oh."

Before long, Yeonhwa's bats brought back quite a lot of fish.

The sight of blood-red bats carrying fish through the air was not something you could easily see, so Team Yeonhwa just blankly stared at them.

"Wow... in all my life, I never thought I'd see bats bringing fish."

"I know, right? Ah, Hojun. Are you ready?"

"Yes~ Just give me the ingredients and I'll make spicy fish stew right away!"

Having completed their role, the bats transformed back into tiny droplets of blood and seeped into Yeonhwa's body.

As Harin and Hojun prepared the fish, Team Seohyun, who had finished their meal, began to wander over.

"What was that just now? Those blood bats..."

"That's Yeonhwa's ability. Since self-sufficiency is allowed, she used it to catch fish."

"Ah, so you're going to make spicy fish stew?"

Hearing Woohyuk's words, Team Yeonhwa desperately pushed him away.

"No way, did this hyung finish dinner and is now trying to eat our fish stew too?!"

"Come on, just let me have one bite!"

"Your appetite is a sickness at this point! Have some decency!"

"Oh, Harin, you know how to cook?"

"Yes. When I was living alone before my mutation, I naturally learned."

"Oh..."

"It's nothing special. I just know a little bit?"

"You seem quite skilled for 'just a little bit'? Hojun hyung, what do you think?"

"She's good. Ah, it's ready. Seohyun, would you like a taste of the spicy fish stew when it's done?"

"No, I'm full. But if you're offering, why not give it to Woohyuk hyung?"

At Seohyun's words, Hojun shook his head.

"That hyung doesn't deserve it because he's being greedy."

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"Ah, could you light a fire for us? To boil the spicy fish stew, we need a stronger flame..."

"Don't you have a gas burner?"

"We do, but... the heat is too weak."

"Okay. Then I'll gather some firewood."

"Ah, S-Seohyun. Let's go together."

"Why, unnie?"

"...I'm bored."

At Yeonhwa's words, Seohyun smiled brightly and nodded.

"Of course."

Since we needed firewood, I had to ask the PD if we could cut down trees.

"PD-nim. Can we cut down trees?"

"What's with the sudden logging?"

"We need firewood."

"For firewood... can't you just collect branches?"

Ah, right. We can just gather branches and make a fire.

With an embarrassed smile, I led Yeonhwa unnie, Seungho hyung, and a few camera crew members toward the nearby trees.

It would probably be better to pick up what had fallen on the ground.

But since it would be a waste of time to gather them one by one, it would be better to borrow the power of magic in this case.

I waved my hand. At that moment, the wind blew, gathering fallen branches from here and there into one place.

"It's amazing every time I see it."

At Seungho hyung's words, I smiled brightly.

"I find it amazing too. It hasn't been long since I learned to use magic."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. I discovered magic when I went to America."

"That video, that one?"

"That's right. When I swept away the corps army. I was shocked too. The scene was so cruel and horrible that I just immediately burned everything."

"That video was circulating with mosaics... how terrible must it have been."

"I recommend you don't see it in person. It's really not worth seeing. If my mental strength hadn't increased after my mutation, I would have starved for days."

Seungho hyung nodded at my words. Let's stop this story here.

It's a story viewers might be curious about, but it's not appropriate for a fun variety show like this.

I can talk about it later if there's a separate interview request.

"Anyway, I used the magic I discovered then to catch the Lich and Dullahan."

"Did you immediately learn how to use magic then?"

"Yes, that's right. Mutants gradually become aware of their abilities once they reach a certain point, and from that moment, I awakened all of my abilities."

Seungho hyung and the filming team nodded their heads saying, "Oh, I see."

Anyway, when we returned to our original place with a lot of branches, Hojun hyung and Harin had already finished preparing the spicy fish stew.

"Oh, they're back, they're back!"

"Are you going to show us a fire show?"

"Why not?"

I immediately lit the branches with magic.

Whoosh-!

The branches, which had no spark at all, were instantly engulfed in flames.

And Hojun hyung placed the pot with the spicy fish stew over the flames.

Now we just need to wait for it to boil.

It didn't take too long for the spicy fish stew to boil.

After various arguments, Woohyuk hyung finally succeeded in getting a taste of the spicy fish stew. Even though Junhyuk hyung and Suchan hyung tried to stop him, he insisted on tasting it by force.

Separately from that, I also got to taste a bit. They said Hojun hyung was good at cooking, and it was true.

Anyway... now that we had eaten, the final mission was about to begin.

The main event of "As Long As It's Not Me."

The sleeping quarters random penalty.