Sunset and Surrender

The sun was slowly sinking. A subtle crimson hue had already begun to bleed across the horizon, where the sea met the sky. Although the process had deviated from their initial plan, Jio and Yoon Jihyuk, having achieved their objective, intended to head straight back to their lodging before darkness fully descended.

That was, until a staff member intervened.

“It seems the fishing team is preparing to return soon. Should we join them?”

Jio wondered if there was any real need to take a detour, but Yoon Jihyuk’s answer was quick.

“Sounds good.”

With a pleasant, unadorned expression, he strode forward. ‘It couldn’t be,’ Jio thought, yet his steps were as familiar as if he had visited this place many times before.

“Jihyuk! Where are you going? You can’t just run off ahead like that!”

The staff member, who had been trailing far behind, shouted loudly.

Yoon Jihyuk glanced back over his shoulder.

“Someone mentioned that sea bream are plentiful near the lighthouse. I figured they might have gone that way.”

‘He must have overheard that while heading to the lighthouse keeper’s residence,’ Jio mused. ‘To be honest, I wasn’t paying attention, as it wasn’t a topic of interest, but he somehow managed to remember it.’ His judgment must have been correct, as no further shouts followed.

Before long, three figures appeared, walking triumphantly with the sunset at their backs. The timing of the breeze, ruffling their hair, made it seem like a scene straight out of a drama.

‘The genre, though… a sitcom?’

“Hey guys! Did you catch a lot of fish?”

Yoon Jihyuk cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone and shouted with innocent cheerfulness. Even setting aside how unfitting the action was, it was a question that completely disregarded the trio’s current state.

Choi Seung-beom, holding a metal bucket, replied impassively.

“Yeah.”

With the fishing rod bag casually slung over his shoulder, he looked like a seasoned professional in the field.

Han Doyoung and Lee Seon, on the other hand, looked like drowned rats. It seemed they’d been playing in the water rather than fishing, and Lee Seon, apparently against his will, was huffing with a face full of complaints.

“Seriously, Han Doyoung!”

“You had fun too, so why are you making such a fuss?”

Even the honorific ‘hyung,’ which he usually used diligently, had vanished somewhere.

The production crew generally doted on Lee Seon, but unfortunately, he didn’t receive much attention this time. This was because Han Doyoung, who had been grinning mischievously like a rascal, suddenly lifted his wet T-shirt.

All eyes dramatically shifted to him as he exposed his bare torso almost to his chest, wringing out the water soaked into his clothes. It was understandable, given that his clearly defined muscles were quite impressive.

“Look at that, look. He’s subtly showing off his abs. Ugh…”

Choi Seung-beom alternated his gaze between the grumbling Lee Seon and the triumphant Han Doyoung, his eyes half-lidded.

****

Even though it was spring, the nights were still chilly. They couldn’t stay wet indefinitely. Han Doyoung and Lee Seon, having no other choice, decided to shower immediately upon reaching their lodging, but even while deciding the order, they began to bicker again.

“Just… play rock-paper-scissors.”

Choi Seung-beom’s utterly fed-up words cut through their squabble.

Han Doyoung was the victor. He sneered at his poor junior as he entered the bathroom, but to state the conclusion first, Lee Seon was the true winner.

“I only have one pair of shoes…”

One of the staff members, unable to bear Lee Seon’s whining about his socks being completely soaked and feeling uncomfortable, handed him a pair of three-stripe slippers they had brought as a spare.

“Thank you, hyung! Thanks to you, I’m free from stinky feet!”

The PD playfully chided the boy, who had blurted out anything in his excitement, saying, “Idols don’t have stinky feet~” Regardless, Lee Seon simply hung his shoes on one side of the flat wooden bench and hopped around energetically.

The subtle stiffness that had been present until earlier in the day had largely disappeared. It seemed they found reality shows less burdensome than variety programs filmed rigidly in a studio.

“What? Isn’t this discrimination?”

Han Doyoung’s grumbling, as he emerged all fresh and dry, went largely unheard and was quickly brushed aside.

The spicy fish stew bubbled vigorously over the brazier, which had been easily lit compared to earlier in the day. While everyone was well aware of his culinary skills from living together in the lodging, Choi Seung-beom effortlessly filleted the fish with an impassive expression. The tender white flesh cooking in the red broth looked quite appetizing even to Jio’s eyes. ‘Though I wouldn’t eat it.’

“Hyung, what kind of fish is this?”

“I don’t know either.”

Choi Seung-beom replied indifferently to Lee Seon, who was picking at the fish on his plate with chopsticks while asking. Jio, meanwhile, watched them as he ate his own portion of dumpling ramen, cooked separately in a small pot.

Just then, Han Doyoung’s arm suddenly intruded into Jio’s view.

“I’m just taking one bite, okay?”

Jio was flabbergasted by how he helped himself generously without even asking for permission.

“You want ramen when there’s spicy fish stew?”

“Yep. Just one dumpling too.”

Jio didn’t feel the need to stop him. Ever since inhabiting Kwon Yohan’s body, Jio hadn’t had a single memory of eating a hearty meal. ‘Whether Kwon Yohan originally ate small portions or something else entirely,’ Jio pondered. In any case, the amount remaining after Han Doyoung had taken his share was, in fact, just right.

And soon, Han Doyoung would face the karma of his sneaky actions.

“The firewood for tomorrow, Doyoung will chop it for us, since he even stole Maknae’s food, right?”

It was all thanks to a certain Leader, who had handed him an axe with a smiling face.

“That’s a joke, right? I just showered! You want me to sweat again?”

“Ah, well, if you’re tired from playing in the water, I guess it can’t be helped. Then who will do it…? Will I have to do it again?”

Han Doyoung, his pride subtly but expertly provoked by the layered teasing, very simply surrendered.

“Fine, I’ll do it. I’ll do it.”

His back, clad in a training suit, looked a little forlorn. Yoon Jihyuk, who had been watching the scene alongside Jio, then subtly turned his head towards Jio and winked one eye.

‘…What was that?’

Before Jio could even ask, ‘What was that just now?’ Yoon Jihyuk was already engaging in conversation with the others.

“Alright, everyone, let’s clean up. Seung-beom, do you want to rest a bit?”

As the best cook among the members, he inevitably had the most to do at every mealtime, and Choi Seung-beom, who was presumed to have achieved most of the fishing catch by himself today, objectively had the highest contribution. It was a reasonable offer, but he immediately refused it.

“What’s the point of resting alone?”

With the four of them, including Jio, moving swiftly, the cleanup was finished in an instant. Meanwhile, Han Doyoung, having completed his firewood-chopping quest, was sprawled out on the wooden bench.

“Are we going to sleep now?”

Lee Seon asked into the air, tidily gathering the roasted root vegetables from the brazier. It wasn’t a member who answered, but someone else.

“Oh, come on, you’re all still full of energy! It would be such a shame for the day to end like this.”

“R-right…”

At the staff member’s words, Lee Seon replied with an expression that clearly showed he felt no regret whatsoever and simply wanted to go to bed immediately.

“You all wrote down ‘What you definitely want to do in this reality show’ on your pre-filming surveys, didn’t you? Since it’s a special occasion, we’d like to fulfill as many of those as possible.”

She added, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.

“That’s why we also accommodated Seung-beom’s suggestion, where he wrote: [I want to go see the ocean].”

A brief silence fell.

“So, you’re saying we came here because of Seung-beom hyung’s…?”

All eyes immediately turned to Choi Seung-beom, who gazed off into the distance.

“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

Her skill at irresponsibly sowing seeds of discord to extract entertaining scenes was truly exceptional. ‘As if that were true,’ Jio thought. ‘Considering there was talk of a deserted island on the survey, the filming location was probably decided from the start, and she’s just loosely fitting the narrative now.’

“Anyway! Tonight, we’re going to honor Jihyuk’s suggestion and have a heartwarming time together.”

Yoon Jihyuk offered a faint smile.

“You wrote, in very heartfelt handwriting, ‘[I want to have a time to open up and talk with the members in a comfortable atmosphere.]’ Do you not usually get such opportunities?”

“Opportunities can always be made, of course, but it’s a busy period. And there’s a unique aspect that comes with travel, so I think we might hear more honest stories than usual.”

He sharply cut off any words that could have been interpreted as internal group discord.

“Don’t try to force a heavy atmosphere; just talk casually about whatever you’ve wanted to share. We’ll get serious on the last day, so let’s adjust as we go.”

With that final instruction, the staff member retreated, seemingly leaving them to their own devices. In the slightly awkward atmosphere, Han Doyoung, oblivious, peeled a roasted sweet potato and shoved it into his mouth.

“Hmm… Does anyone want to speak first?”

In the end, the one who broke the silence volunteered to lead the discussion.

“Shall we go around? Seung-beom, you first.”

Choi Seung-beom hesitated before speaking.

“Everyone’s doing well. It would be perfect if you’d just stop giving Leader such a hard time.”

“Who are you talking about? Lee Seon?”

“Funny. It must be you, hyung. What are you referring to?”

In response to their questions, Choi Seung-beom let out a deep sigh.

“Yes, you two.”

Lee Seon looked at Yoon Jihyuk with a shocked expression.

“Hyung… Am I making things difficult for you?”

“Hmm, no. It’s not that. Seung-beom means that words we say innocently among ourselves might not be perceived that way by others, so we should be careful with each other.”

The gist was that they shouldn’t use aggressive expressions like ’empty house robbery’ again, which could give others cause for criticism. ‘Since it’s for broadcast, he probably chose to speak indirectly rather than explicitly.’

“We know that Seon and Doyoung are really close and just teasing each other, but from an outsider’s perspective, it might look like you’re fighting.”

Then, as if he hadn’t been talking about that at all, he abruptly cut the connection. Lee Seon, uncharacteristically serious, listened intently to Yoon Jihyuk’s words, nodding his head. ‘Whether he was truly grasping the meaning, however, remained questionable.’

Meanwhile, Han Doyoung, having finished the last of the sweet potato he was holding, pouted.

“Is it really fun if we only say nice things? I don’t think we need to be overly cautious. It doesn’t even suit our image, to begin with.”

Han Doyoung tossed the crumpled foil ball into the trash can. Despite the considerable distance, it was a perfect shot.

“Our fans like it, so what’s the big deal?”

‘That’s the most important thing, isn’t it?’ Lee Seon was looking at Han Doyoung, who had casually blurted out the words, with sparkling eyes. ‘He seemed to think it was cool.’

For the first time, Jio found himself worrying about Yoon Jihyuk’s stomach. ‘Leading a group with these two was probably akin to walking two Border Collies,’ Jio mused.

Out of sympathy, Jio’s mouth opened on its own.

“There’s certainly no need to only say nice things.”

Han Doyoung looked at Jio with an expression that seemed to say, ‘Oh, really?’

“But hyung, you take it too far. You meddle in everything related to food. There’s no respect, no respect at all.”

“Exactly! And he eats things like pineapple pizza!”

Thanks to Lee Seon’s interjection, the topic smoothly shifted. What followed was a fiery, disrespectful debate over Lee Seon and Han Doyoung’s tastes.

“Fruit gets sweeter when you cook it. He just doesn’t know how to eat it properly.”

“Hey! Then go roast your tangerines too!”

“‘Hey’? Did you just say ‘hey’?”

The intended atmosphere had long since derailed, but the production crew seemed pleased. Fortunately, this meant Jio’s turn didn’t come.

As he observed, arms crossed, he felt a gaze poking at his cheek.

“…?”

Yoon Jihyuk was observing Jio with a wry expression.