Chapter 250

Chapter 250

The serious but energetic voice of Kim Raebin speaking into his camcorder suddenly sank a little.

[※Cam: Phew… The time is… nine at night.※]

[※Cam: Three hours ago…※]

[※Cam: All the lights in the house went out.※]

On the screen, the lights suddenly went out.

[※!!!!※]

[※Kim Raebin: Are you all right, guys?※]

[※Cha Eugene: Hey!※]

[※A sudden blackout※]

The mood of the episode suddenly changed after that.

[※Ryu Chungwoo: Don’t move. Let’s first get used to the dark.※]

[※TeSTAR relies on smartphone lights to check each other’s positions※]

[※There is a problem, however※]

[※One member is… missing?※]

[※???: Mmmf!※]

[※Park Moondae: Hey!※]

The hilarious adventure that was TeSTAR stranded on an island was suddenly cut with a strange tension. Making it all the more compelling, interview cuts were inserted here and there.

[※Seon Ahyeon: I heard him (Bae Sejin) scream all of a sudden…※]

[※Park Moondae: I was really surprised. I’m sure everyone was.※]

The format now somewhat resembled a horror movie.

- Wow, this suddenly feels like a thriller…

- This is pretty scary T_T

- A blackout? That’s a bit harsh

- Is Bae Sejin hurt?

Infrared cameras quickly kicked into action. They soon showed Bae Sejin, who was lying on the floor in a strange pose, looking as though he was about to start rolling around.

[※…?※]

[※Sejin, you’re… not hurt at all.※]

His hilarious pose summoned the light-hearted variety show vibe for a moment, but it didn’t last long. An infrared camera moved closer with a zooming sound.

[※Ryu Chungwoo: Yes. There was this strange door behind the cabinet.※]

[※Park Moondae: The way I saw it… There’s no space behind there for an actual room.※]

[※Park Moondae: It had to lead to some kind of basement.※]

A tight shot of the basement door they’d discovered was shown, accompanied by chilling silence.

- No way

- That is so scary

- What is with the owner of this place? Why is there a door hidden behind a cabinet? T_T

- This is genuinely so scary LOL

- Is this staged?

TeSTAR hesitantly backed away from the door. Then came the interview clips again.

[※Lee Sejin: It gave me the chills. (Bitter laugh)※]

[※Bae Sejin: I had a strange feeling…※]

They cut to clips of the horror story Cha Eugene told that night.

[※Cha Eugene: Moondae! Please tell it in Korean!]※

[※Park Moondae: (Wishes desperately he could escape)※]

[※Cha Eugene: (English) …and so, this lunatic doctor performed a lobotomy in the basement of that house…※]

[※Park Moondae: A long, long time ago, in America, there lived a doctor who was possessed by a ghost.※]

[※Lee Sejin: Moondae, Cha Eugene talked for much longer than that.※]

[※Ryu Chungwoo: Hmm.※]

The actual story had been told in a funny and friendly way, but the footage in the video came out rather differently after editing. It felt like the members were purposefully trying to laugh it off, and their unease had something to do with their discovery earlier.

The viewers grew anxious.

- What’s with the door in the basement, damn it?

- Please barricade that door with the cabinet again T_T

- Guys, why have you left the door unblocked?

- Don’t tell me the electricity still isn’t back yet?

- What happened to the relaxing mood this show is supposed to have? Everyone seems a little worked up

The uneasy mood did not lift when the next day began. TeSTAR finally split into teams and began searching for the fuse box.

[※Q: (Bae) Sejin, you were the first person to come up with the idea. Correct?※]

[※Bae Sejin: (Ears red) I just mentioned the fuse box, is all…※]

[※Bae Sejin: Yes, uh… I felt like we needed to do something. It felt strange.※]

As the interview ended, the camera zoomed in on Bae Sejin’s tense expression. In the scene where they finally found the fuse box and walked into the cellar, more of his interview was included.

[※Bae Sejin: Why did the owner build a house like this on an empty island?※]

[※Silence falls in the stairway※]

- Oh no T_T

- Please don’t say things like that…

- The production team is messing with us, right? Please tell me this is a setup

- Sejin was told to try and make people nervous. That has to be it.

An infrared camera caught the members’ rigid expressions, scanning over them slowly. Then they arrived in the cellar. The only light came from a flashlight, not the infrared, and the members made a discovery.

[※Lee Sejin: Is that blood?※]

[※Blood?※]

[※!!※]

The screen paused, zooming in and out and distorting wildly. A scary track began to play, resembling the chortling of a child.

[※Oh my god!※]

TeSTAR was shown on the screen panicking, screaming, and shouting. The viewers did the same in the comments, in addition to a deluge of dubious denials.

[※(Electric beeping)※]

[※??※]

The lights came back on in the cellar. The footage was artificially made to look bright and cheerful, and TeSTAR stood in a single confused group, clinging to each other, quivering, eyes darting around. One of them, however, stood up and parted from the group. Then he opened the freezer.

Cute sound effects began to play.

[※Ding!※]

[※Anyone ready for a cookout?※]

[※The blood came from this↘※]

The arrow moved with annoying zest across the screen, and a bright, cheerful rainbow glittered above the scene.

[※Park Moondae: (silent)※]

As the idols stared in shock, a wistful background track played. The production team was cruel enough to zoom in on each of their faces and replay their reactions.

[※Cha Eugene: (Curses in English)※]

[※Kim Raebin: (Screams silently)※]

[※Bae Sejin: I told you something seemed wrong! Damn it!※]

[※Lee Sejin: We need to get out of here! Right now!※]

[※Park Moondae: (Falls over)※]

[※The five members who tricked themselves※]

Interviews with the members, all of them covering their faces in embarrassment, played out one after another.

[※Park Moondae: I was a little… taken aback. I wasn’t scared, though.※]

[※LMAO※]

In the final interview, where Park Moondae pretended he hadn’t been scared, the production team laughed at him openly in the captions. The viewers were deeply amused as well.

- Oh LOL!

- And it was the scaredy-cats in the group who went down there, too

- Park Moondae, no pretending! Your interview isn’t fooling anybody

- Of course he was scared. A blackout on an uninhabited island? But you guys are cowards, all the same

└ LOL

The five members stood there, frozen with embarrassment. The editing continued to go all out, amping up the humorous side of things even after the two other members came down and joined them.

[※Seon Ahyeon: I found the fuse box!※]

Chungwoo and Ahyeon were shown flipping the switches in the fuse box and doing a high-five.

[※We dealt with the scary blackout for you! Not to worry, members!※]

- So the only two who wouldn’t have been scared weren’t there… LOL

- This… is what happens when you choose teams at random. It’s always all the cowards together…

└ ROFL

- You left out the archery athlete and the fairy tale prince? You should have taken at least one of them haha

TeSTAR seemed very embarrassed at first, but they soon grew excited at the sight of the meat. They pulled out the frozen chicken, almost ready to dance, and their jubilant reactions only added to the hilarity of the situation.

- They are so cute

- LOL look at them!

- They’re going so hard haha

They took the meat and went upstairs.

[※Bae Sejin: Still… it’s a relief there are no cameras here.※]

[※↑ Nope, there were cameras※]

[※Director: We were planning a treasure hunt there, you see…※]

[※The variety show gods watch over you, TeSTAR※]

[※Many thanks for your diligence… ☆ - The stranded production team※]

This was a roundabout way of reminding the audience once more that nothing had been staged. After squeezing out every drop of comedy the moment afforded them, the episode came to an end with a few disclaimers.

[※* The owners of the house are an elderly couple who seek retirement in a pastoral setting *※]

[※* The production team thanks them once again for their understanding regarding this show and the statements made therein *※]

The episode ended on a friendly, satisfying note, with TeSTAR cooking up a pot of chicken soup and devouring it. Naturally, the viewers were ecstatic as the episode came to a close.

- This is more fun than I’ve had in ages

- Yeah, we were overdue for some hilarious content like this

- Guys, hurry up and watch TeSTAR’s Stranded Life. It’s so fun

└ I thought it was TeSTAR’s Island Life? LOL

- TeSTAR seems to have so much luck in their variety shows. It’s so funny!

The production team didn’t forget to pack the end of the episode with a bunch of previews for the next episode. It hadn’t been revealed how the production team had been saved yet, and by withholding this information, they were making another attempt at viewer retention.

The next episode’s trailer looked fascinating. TeSTAR was shown saving the chicks, packing flashlights, and high-fiving as they put on hiking boots.

[※Ryu Chungwoo: Wow. What is this?※]

[※Lee Sejin: I had no idea things would turn out that way! Hahaha!※]

The trailer seemed to lean a little more into the adventure, survival, and exploration genres, the footage bright and active. Because TeSTAR seemed to be enjoying themselves so much, it offset the parts of the show that could have attracted criticism for being too cruel to the members.

[※TeSTAR is about to save the production team?※]

[※How will the production team repay them? With relaxation!※]

Revealing that TeSTAR could look forward to some serious leisure after this, the show emphasized to viewers that there was more to come. TeSTAR was even making exciting posts on their social media.

========================

Moondae cries, then Moondae gets scared (Photos)

(Rolling on the floor laughing emoji)

========================

└ Cut it out, Lee Sejin

└ Cut it out, Moondae

========================

Hello, Loviewers. It’s Seon Ahyeon.

(Photo)

This is a scented candle I made. I was thinking about bringing it to the island, but thought better of it. Now that I’ve seen today’s episode, I’m regretting it a little. Could a candle like this have been helpful to the members when they were scared?

========================

└ Hey, I wasn’t scared!

└ Eugene, don’t lie

└ (Tiger emoji) Who says I’m lying?

The fans were so enraptured by the excited energy surrounding the episode’s release that they forgot all of their complaints and concerns. The members really seemed like they were enjoying themselves.

Waiting for the next episode, they began eagerly guessing what would happen next.

- I bet Raebin was the first to run out to save the chicks. That’s what the editing suggests

- Why did they need the flashlights again? Are they doing something at night? Or is there another blackout?

- Maybe they’re wearing the hiking shoes when they go to save the production team

└ Or maybe they really went hiking haha

└ LOL that’s nuts

This last guess turned out to be correct.

***

“This is nice.”

“Yeah…”

I sat on the edge of a rock, trying not to sound out of breath. The morning air was pleasant, but then again, maybe the air was sweeter because of the physical activity.

I turned around, and Chungwoo marveled to himself, “What a view.”

We could see the house, the beach, the sea, and the land beyond it. This was unsurprising, since we were currently at the peak of a mountain.

Damn it. I hadn’t thought we’d actually end up hiking. I thought about the content we’d created after rescuing the production team. The waves had continued to be turbulent after the rain let up, preventing any boats from going out on the water. So we’d done a few more activities that were survival-themed.

Getting vegetables dropped in by a helicopter was pretty fun. We’d broken out the hiking shoes then, but I hadn’t known that would lead to actual hiking. I regretted handing the note, from the treasure hunt we’d done, to Kim Raebin.

I didn’t know this was going to be the penalty. Not that Chungwoo seemed to consider it a penalty at all. I glanced at him. He had a peaceful look on his face. Perhaps it was thanks to the exertion, but the reserved, sad look he’d born since the accident had diminished somewhat.

He’s been through a lot, too. I felt like I should make an effort to be a little nicer to him from now on. He was probably past the most volatile stage, so I could probably afford to be a little more chatty and nice to him.

“Have some water,” I said.

“Oh. Thanks.”

We quietly drank some warm scorched rice water together.

However, right before we were about to head back down and after the drone cameras had floated away, he brought up an unexpected topic.

“So, Moondae, why don’t you go home with one of the members this Chuseok holiday? You can come back to my place, if you’d like.”

What?