Seoul Dragon - Chapter 68
“PD-nim.”
“Yes?”
“Are you sure… it’s safe for us to play games with them?”
The hyungs’ voices were starting to tremble a bit.
It sounded like they were genuinely fearing for their lives.
…Thinking about it, that was fair.
If we had messed up just once during that ping pong rally and the ball had bounced in the wrong direction.
Someone could’ve taken damage on par with a gunshot.
Maybe even worse than a gunshot.
“Anyway, Team Seo-hyun wins!”
In the end, the race concluded with our team’s victory.
We got the dinner.
Naturally, complaints began to bubble up from the losing team.
Probably because they felt it was unfair.
Though honestly, the gap between me and Yeon-hwa unnie wasn’t that huge.
If Jun-hyeok hyung had been just a little bit faster.
And since Jeong-ho hyung did fall, It’s totally possible we could’ve lost.
“Isn’t this kind of unfair? Even if you put Yeon-hwa and Ha-rin together, they can’t beat Seo-hyun.”
“Yeah, but let’s be real. You guys lost ‘cause Jun-hyeok was way too slow. If he’d been even a little faster, you probably would’ve won.”
“Hey, hyung… why’d you do me like that?”
“Just wait till you’re my age, okay?”
Even though Seung-ho hyung was trying to protest,
Woo-hyuk hyung immediately shut him down like a pro.
And then.
“HAHAHAHA! As long as it’s not meeeee!”
He shouted the show’s motto with gusto.
He had a point.
If you lose, that’s on you.
In the end, with no dinner to look forward to, team Yeon-hwa could only look at Ha-rin with wide, pleading eyes.
But…
“Ms. Ha-rin is not allowed to use her ability.”
PD Lee Myeong-ho was already ahead of them, and banned Ha-rin’s powers from being used.
But seriously—did they look like the kind of people who actually listened to what the PD said?
While the PD stepped away for a moment, they leaned in and whispered to Ha-rin.
“Let’s sneak something out to eat after the bedtime luck game, okay?”
“Should we? I am hungry… But, are you sure this is okay? If I use it now, I feel like I’m really gonna get in trouble.”
When Ha-rin hesitated nervously, Yeon-hwa unnie stepped up.
“Uh, or… should I go try to catch something instead? I mean, tricking the PD twice feels like a bit much…”
“Catch what? It’s so late now.”
“Th-there seemed to be a lot of fish nearby… maybe because it’s a mountain stream?”
“Fish?”
“Yeah… They never explicitly said we couldn’t be self-sufficient…”
“Can you actually catch them?”
“I-I’m pretty good at it.”
“Then let’s give it a shot. Just let the PD know, just in case.”
It looked like Yeon-hwa unnie’s team was going to try and fill their stomachs through self-sufficiency.
And honestly, being near a mountain stream, there’s usually quite a bit you can forage or catch.
Though… I wasn’t sure if any of them knew how to prepare what they caught.
Oh, wait. Ho-joon hyung—he’s secretly good at cooking, right?
“Hey, Seo-hyun! Aren’t you eating?”
“Oh, I’m on it!”
Of course, I was fully focused on enjoying the victory feast.
The production team was definitely generous when it came to rewarding the winners of the luck games.
***
Team Yeon-hwa could only stare longingly as Team Seo-hyun happily ate their meal.
Granted, regular food didn’t really excite Yeon-hwa, but… something about losing still stung, and seeing her teammates suffer a bit made her feel guilty.
“I need to step up now…”
Looking back, she hadn’t made as much of an impression as Seo-hyun had since coming on the show.
She wasn’t even sure if this would be entertaining when she watched it on TV.
So she had to do something—anything.
Apparently, Ha-rin had already wowed the cast earlier when they were hungry.
But Yeon-hwa…
Aside from her physical prowess, she hadn’t really shown any of her unique powers.
If people were going to see her on TV, they’d surely be curious about what kind of abilities she had.
She was a little nervous…
But she felt like now was the time to show them something.
“So, how are you planning to catch fish? Just with your hands?”
“N-no. It’s just… Seo-hyun and Ha-rin already showed off their powers, But I feel like I haven’t shown anything yet.”
“Oh? So what are you gonna show us?”
“S-something like this.”
Yeon-hwa lightly bit the tip of her thumb.
As tiny beads of blood gathered, she swung her hand wide.
The scattered droplets in the air transformed into bats and flew off in different directions on their own.
Flap flap—!
“Whoa… what is that?”
“They’re creatures I create using my blood. They do what I want them to. It’s kind of like… auto-hunting in games?”
“You into games?”
“Yeah… There’s not much else to do when you’re stuck at home.”
At that, Ho-joon—who liked games—perked up with interest.
“What kind of games do you play?”
“Uh… It’s kind of embarrassing to say out loud, but… A bit of everything. RPGs, FPS, AOS… Ah, anyway, the bats should be bringing back fish soon.”
“If they do, I’ll handle the prep.”
“Y-yes, thank you!”
“I’ll help too.”
Ha-rin chimed in at Ho-joon’s words.
Turns out she’d lived alone for a while and was used to prepping basic ingredients.
“Fish are kind of tricky to handle though.”
“I really like fish, so I’ve gotten good at cleaning them. You can trust me.”
“Alright then, I’m counting on you.”
“So what should we make? Spicy fish stew seems like the best option, right?”
“Let’s try to make it tastier than what the other team had for dinner.”
“Wait, do we even have seasonings?”
“PD-nim said he’d give us those. I asked earlier.”
“Ohh.”
Before long, Yeon-hwa’s bats brought back a good number of fish.
The sight of crimson bats flying through the sky.
Carrying fish in their claws.
Wasn’t something you’d see every day.
Team Yeon-hwa could only stare, mesmerized.
“Wow… I’ve lived a long time, But this is my first time seeing bats deliver fish.”
“No kidding. Ho-joon, you good to go?”
“Yep~ Just give me the ingredients and I’ll have spicy stew ready in no time!”
Once their job was done, the bats transformed back into tiny droplets of blood and flowed seamlessly back into Yeon-hwa’s body.
While Ha-rin and Ho-joon were preparing the fish.
Team Seo-hyun, having finished their meal, started wandering over to check things out.
“What was that just now? Some kind of… bloody bat?”
“That’s Yeon-hwa’s ability. They said self-sufficiency was allowed, so she used it to catch fish.”
“Oh, so you’re making spicy fish stew with it?”
Hearing Woo-hyuk’s comment, Team Yeon-hwa tried desperately to push him away.
“Wait—this hyung isn’t seriously trying to eat again after finishing dinner, is he!?”
“Come on, just one bite!”
“Your appetite is a medical condition! Have some shame!”
“Oh, Ha-rin, you can cook?”
“Yeah. I lived on my own when I mutated, so I had to get used to it.”
“Whoa…”
“It’s nothing special. Just enough to get by.”
“You’re more skilled than you’re letting on. Ho-joon hyung, what do you think?”
“She’s good. Ah—almost done. Seo-hyun, wanna try a bite once the stew’s ready?”
“No thanks, I’m full. But if you’re offering, maybe give it to Woo-hyuk hyung instead.”
At Seo-hyun’s words, Ho-joon shook his head.
“He’s too shameless. No way.”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“Oh—could you maybe light the fire? I think we need a stronger flame for the stew…”
“You don’t have a gas burner?”
“We do, but the flame’s too weak.”
“Alright. I’ll go gather some firewood, then.”
“Ah, Seo-hyun! I’ll come with you!”
“Unnie, why?”
“I’m bored.”
At Yeon-hwa’s answer, Seo-hyun smiled and nodded.
“Alright then.”
***
Since we needed firewood, I had to ask the PD for permission to gather it.
“PD-nim, is it okay if we cut some wood?”
“Why are you suddenly asking about cutting wood?”
“We need firewood.”
“If it’s just firewood… Can’t you just collect fallen branches?”
Ah—right.
I can just collect fallen branches to make a fire.
I gave an awkward laugh, then headed toward the nearby trees.
With Yeon-hwa unnie, Seung-ho hyung, and some of the filming crew.
It was probably better to collect what was already on the ground.
But picking them up one by one would take too long.
So this was a job for magic.
I waved my hand.
A breeze swept through the forest, and the scattered branches gathered into a pile.
“Man… no matter how many times I see that, it’s amazing.”
At Seung-ho hyung’s comment, I gave a small smile.
“It’s amazing, right? I haven’t been able to use magic for very long myself.”
“Oh yeah? When did you learn?”
“When I went to the U.S., actually.”
“You mean… that video?”
“Yep. When I wiped out the corpse army. I was shocked myself. It was such a horrific and gruesome scene, I just burned everything down right away.”
“They had to blur that whole video out with mosaics… It must’ve been really brutal.”
“I’d recommend not watching the original footage if you can help it. It’s not something worth seeing. If my mental resilience hadn’t gotten stronger after mutating, I probably wouldn’t have been able to eat for days.”
At my words, Seung-ho hyung nodded.
Let’s leave the story at that.
It’s something viewers might be curious about, but it’s not the kind of story that fits a cheerful variety show.
If an interview request ever comes in, I can talk about it then.
“Anyway, that’s when I awakened my magic and took out both the lich and the Dullahan.”
“So you figured out how to use magic right then?”
“Yep. Mutants usually awaken their powers gradually after some kind of trigger event. That incident was mine. After that, I fully awakened all my abilities.”
Hearing that, Seung-ho hyung and the filming crew nodded, going, “Oh, I see.”
When we returned to the main area, carrying piles of branches,
Ho-joon hyung and Ha-rin had just finished preparing the spicy stew.
“Oh hey, you’re back!”
“Are we getting a fire magic show?”
“Why not?”
I immediately lit the firewood with magic.
Fwoosh!
In an instant, the dry branches, which had no flame before, burst into roaring flames.
Then Ho-joon hyung placed the pot of spicy fish stew over the flames.
Now all we had to do was wait for it to boil.
It didn’t take long for the stew to start bubbling.
Woo-hyuk hyung, who had been bickering and fussing the whole time.
Eventually succeeded in getting a taste of the stew.
Jun-hyeok hyung and Soo-chan hyung tried to stop him, but in the end, he just powered through and took a bite.
On a separate note, I got to taste it too.
Everyone said Ho-joon hyung was a good cook—and it was true.
Anyway…
With everyone fed and happy, It was finally time to start the final mission.
The main event of As Long As It’s Not Me.
The sleeping arrangement luck game.