“Whoa! It’s an amusement park!”
After the fourth mission, with the final live broadcast approaching, a special outing was prepared as a reward for the trainees who had worked hard.
“It’s been so long since I’ve been to an amusement park!”
”Can we really just get on the ride without waiting?“
It was already quite late because it was a late-night rental, but the trainees didn’t mind at all and were as excited as children on a field trip.
“Let’s go! This is the first time I’ve rented out an entire amusement park! Is this what it feels like to be rich?”
“It’s natural for most people to experience this for the first time. And the rental fee was paid by the broadcasting station. Also, since they haven’t said we can go yet, let’s just wait a little longer.”
Lee Danbi grabbed Do Yuda, who was about to run off in excitement, and spoke calmly as if to calm him down.
‘I really can’t tell who the youngest is.’
“People like Nicholas-hyung probably just rent out the whole amusement park like it’s nothing, right? They just rent it out for personal use. That’s hilarious.”
“…….”
At Do Yuda’s playful joke, Lee Hwayoung didn’t deny it but simply stared at him silently. As the silence, neither affirmation nor denial, grew longer, Do Yuda’s face grew paler.
“I’m just kidding. There’s no way it’s true, right? Please tell me it’s not true. If I actually realize how rich Nicholas-hyung is, I don’t think I’ll be able to treat him the same way as before.”
“Is that such a difficult thing?”
“Aaaakh!”
Do Yuda screamed loudly and grabbed his head, and Lee Hwayoung snorted. Just as I was watching that ridiculous scene, a large hand ruffled my hair.
“Trainee Han Seungbeom.”
“…Trainer-nim, aren’t you busy with your schedule?”
Jay, who insisted that at least one trainer should accompany us as a representative, reluctantly joined the filming.
“Of course I’m busy. I haven’t even been able to sleep properly. But I can’t miss this golden opportunity to rent out an entire amusement park, so I rearranged my schedule to make some time.”
I tilted my head to the side, looking at Jay who was showing a slightly tired face.
‘He’s really putting in that much effort for this.’
Honestly, I didn’t think an amusement park was worth that much. I didn’t think there was any reason to wait for hours just to go on rides that only go up and down really fast, especially when you had to pay to ride them.
If you wanted to experience a life-threatening fear, you could get into a car driven by Seo Yuseong.
‘You might actually die, though.’
“But now that I’m here, I feel like I’ve just become a teacher supervising a school trip. Far from being fun, I’m so scared that I might lose a kid or someone might get hurt. Even the production staff seems to think of me as some sort of supervisor too.”
“…Aha, I see.”
“Trainee Han Seungbeom, please help me. You’re not really interested in riding any of these rides, right? I know everything.”
“…….”
I quietly looked up at Jay, who was grumbling like a child.
Then, I flashed a bright smile and sharply shouted, “Farewell.”
“Ah-ha, I guess you didn’t get it. Pfft, fighting!”
‘I still haven’t forgotten what happened with the arrangement trainer.’
“No! Don’t abandon me!”
I, Seo Yutae, had lived for over thirty years, but
I
still looked like a twenty-year-old.
I’m going to enjoy an amusement park for the first time in my life just to make Jay mad.
***
“…Huh.”
After abandoning Jay and returning to the group of trainees I was acquainted with, I was suddenly dragged into the accessory shop. I thought it was just a simple souvenir shop, but as soon as I stepped into the entrance, I broke out in a cold sweat.
“Hey, that’s what I picked out!”
“The person who grabs it first is the owner!”
he inside of the accessory shop was very heated as the trainees fiercely battled for the perfect accessories to shine on camera.
“Ah, how vicious! He snatched away the headband I had my eye on!”
Do Yuda gritted his teeth and complained as Queen Daehyun, whom I had met during the random play dance, snatched the ribbon headband from him. I watched him with vacant eyes and said,
“Just how many minutes are you going to spend picking out a headband? Just pick one and tidy up the rest.”
“Then, hyung, please pick one for me.”
“Uh, sure. How about this one, raccoon head.”
“That’s seriously the most horrible choice ever. Rejected!”
As I casually picked out a hat in front of me and handed it to Do Yuda, he looked disgusted and roughly shoved the raccoon hat back into its place. The raccoon’s eyes had a strange gleam to them, which I thought was odd too, but I didn’t expect him to hate it that much.
“Why, it’s a mascot character. It even comes with a set tail.”
“I’m going to wear something cute! The cameras are everywhere, and I don’t want to show an ugly appearance on broadcast!”
Having shouted like that, Do Yuda buried his head back between the shelves and started choosing headbands again.
“Kangwon-hyung, please try to stop him. He’s been doing this for 20 minutes.”
“Did you say something, Seungbeom-ah?”
As I was shaking my head at the sight and looking for the most reliable person in this situation, a large figure wearing sunglasses and a party hat suddenly appeared with a loud commotion.
‘No, what the hell is that?’
Pop!
“Oh my!”
He was already so tall, and with that party hat on, he kept knocking into all the decorations hanging from the ceiling whenever he moved. As I stood there at a loss for words, Woo Kangwon finally reached me after a difficult journey.
“Here, this one for Seungbeom.”
He smiled broadly and gently placed something on my head.
Yes, with his bear-like hands.
“
Pwah
.”
“Long time no see! Meow Seungbeom! Ahaha!”
Baek Kiryang, who had identified its identity before me, spat out the Americano he was drinking, and Do Yuda burst into laughter. I calmly raised my head to look in the mirror.
“…….”
It was a white cat ear headband, similar to the one I wore in the first mission.
The culprit, Woo Kangwon, looked so innocent that it was impossible for me to say anything harsh to him. As I stood there, shaking, I made eye contact with Lee Hwayoung.
“…….”
“Ha.”
Lee Hwayoung immediately scoffed, and I reached to take off the headband, shaking with shame that I’d shown him this sight. Then, Do Yuda spoke with a tone of regret.
“Your fans would really love it, so why don’t you just keep it on?”
“…….”
The words “
Your fans would really love it
” made my body freeze as if I’d been shot with a tranquilizer gun.
“Thank you for your purchase!”
And when I came to my senses, I had already paid for the headband at the checkout counter.
Snap.
“Ah, this is fun. I’m really getting well compensated for today’s filming. I don’t even need to ride the rides.”
Jay, who happened to be passing by, chuckled at the sight of me, snapped a photo with his phone, and then casually walked away.
“…….”
Is this real?
***
“Let’s ride that next! Honestly, if we’re at this amusement park, we have to ride that!”
After quickly conquering roller coasters, Vikings, and other rides that normally require a long wait, the trainees set out with their next destination in mind. It was to ride the park’s signature attraction, the Gyro 100.
1
The ride, which would end with a single drop from a height equivalent to the 25th floor of an apartment building, could accommodate enough people to fit all the trainees at once. It was perfect for everyone to ride together as the grand finale.
“I can’t ride again.”
Except for Woo Kangwon.
[Passengers under 130cm tall and over 190cm tall are not allowed to ride.]
“It seems that being too tall can actually cause problems. I always thought being tall was only a good thing.”
“As expected, being average in everything is the best.”
“Hey. Don’t say anything useless in front of someone who’s already feeling down.”
I shoved the chattering chicks who were making fun of Woo Kangwon’s height straight into the ride. Right then, Jay suddenly approached and whispered softly in my ear.
“Don’t ride that.”
“…….”
‘What?’
I had no idea why he said that, but since it was getting cold and and I had no intention of riding in the first place, I nodded obediently. Satisfied, Jay turned away from me and shouted at the trainees.
“Trainees! This is the last ride before we head back to the Lucky Center! I’ll be waiting for you all by the exit, so don’t wander off anywhere strange.”
“Yes!”
After hearing their loud reply, Jay immediately left. The trainees quickly gathered in a circle. As I was quietly watching them, the PD suddenly clasped his hands together and pleaded with me.
“I’m sorry to ask, but could Trainee Han Seungbeom please take one more ride? We’re short on people, and the screen looks a bit empty! Seungbeom is good with rides, so it’s fine, right?”
“…….”
Well, if the broadcast footage would look bad without me, what else could I do? I had to ride it.
While Jay’s words were bothering me, I couldn’t refuse since I had already shown the production team that I was good at riding amusement park rides.
Without a second thought, I sat down in the empty seat next to Lee Hwayoung. As soon as my butt hit the seat, the safety bar came down. And as soon as it was confirmed that the safety bar was fully secured, the ride started.
While the ride was ascending to the highest point along the vertical rails, Lee Hwayoung, who had been sitting quietly beside me, spoke.
“If you weren’t feeling up to it, you could have just skipped it.”
“Well, it was the production team’s request, so what can I do? I’m not someone who can’t ride attractions, so I should at least go along with it.”
“You, your face is pale.”
“What?”
Clang!
Before I could even understand those words, the attraction stopped with a loud clanking sound of metal. Then, as if to showcase the panoramic view, it paused for a few seconds.
“Soar 72 meters into the sky on the Gyro 100! It goes up to 72 meters, 25 floors high! Once we reach the 25th floor, it drops down without prior notice!”
The staff’s chant, amplified through the loudspeakers, boomed.
As soon as my eyes took in the black night sky behind me, I finally realized why Jay had told me not to ride this attraction and what had caused the strange feeling I was experiencing now.
And I regretted it.
Ah, I shouldn’t have ridden this kind of ride at this time of night.
“Han Seungbeom.”
“…….”
“…Han Seungbeom, what’s wrong! Han Seungbeom!”
Lee Hwayoung, sensing something was wrong, shook my shoulder urgently.
I didn’t answer him.
No, I
couldn’t
.
The only thing I could do was gaze down at the vast, dizzying depths below.
And before I could even exhale the breath stuck in my throat, my body plunged.
“Ahhhh!”
“Aaaakh!”
Screams erupted from the trainees riding with me. It was surely the sound coming from beside me, but for some reason, it felt as if those screams were coming from the ground below.
Whooooo!
In just a few seconds, the ground came rushing up right in front of me.
As soon as my feet hit the ground and the safety device automatically lifted, my body gave out and I stumbled forward.
“Haa, ha … ha.”
As I bent my sagging upper body, struggling to catch my breath, cold sweat dripped down.
Just before getting on the ride, my skin was dry from the chilly weather, but in just a few seconds, so much sweat poured out that my back was completely soaked.
“Han Seungbeom! What…….”
A panicked voice rang in my ear.
Then, I felt a hand reaching out to grab my arm, trying to keep me from falling.
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.
I tried to suppress my rapidly beating heart and quickly ran my hands over my body.
I carefully touched every part of my body, but there was nowhere that felt sticky.
‘Yeah, it’s an amusement ride, so there’s no way I’d get hurt. Smart people designed it to be safe. I guess that memory made me unnecessarily sensitive.’
I sighed in relief and slowly closed my eyes.
‘…What the hell is this?’
And then, when I opened my eyes again….
“…Huh?”
The whole world was dyed red.
In an instant, a wave of nausea rushed over me.
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Translator’s Corner:
Gyro 100 (자이로 100을) (made up name to match actual irl stuff like NeoTube), in irl it was
자이로드롭 (Gyro Drop),
one of L*tte World’s flagship rides. 40 people sit in a circle, tie safety bars, and go up 70m in the air, then experience the thrill of freefalling at a speed of 94km/h for 3 seconds without warning. ↩︎
omg I seriously don’t understand why would anyone want to ride that on their own will … and they even pay to ride that …. I would never….
If you don’t get what’s going on in this chapter, remember chapter 1 ^^