Devil’s Music

The day after arriving at Manjaedo.

Up until late at night, Chunho sang songs and drank beer, finding himself hungover until the morning. Haejin, determined to catch the three kings of Manjaedo, set out early morning with the coastal village head for fishing. Seungwon, along with Geon, wandered along the beach collecting seaweed and horsetail scattered along the shore.

Seungwon chuckled cheerfully as he picked up various pieces of seaweed and horsetail strewn across the beach.

"Wow, there's so much food just lying around here. Hey, Geon, pick that up."

Excitedly gathering various horsetail and seaweed, envisioning a hearty broth with tangy horsetail salad and seaweed, Seungwon held a handful and shook them. His action resembled someone teasingly shaking another person's head, which amused Geon, and witnessing this, Yeongseok chuckled, thinking of adding it in the edited subtitles.

"That guy in black grabbed someone's hair. Started shaking it and laughing. Spooky."

Geon, initially amused by Seungwon's antics, suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, senior. Can Haejin really catch the three kings?"

With a playful nod, Seungwon replied, "If he can't, we're doomed! With so much to eat around here, hoo~! And don't put too much pressure on him. Just catching even a tiny fish out in the vast sea is impressive. When Cham Bada-sea comes in making a fuss, that's a catch. If it quietly comes in, it means no catch. Let's pay attention and react, hehehe."

Geon nodded in agreement. "Still, it would be nice if he really caught them. I've never had a stone bream, even though I'm from the seaside. I've tried octopus and sea bream, but never stone bream."

Seungwon, brushing off the horsetail, remarked, "That's expensive~ Whenever I go to a raw fish restaurant, they only list sea bream, so I never dare order it. I've tried it a few times, and it's so delicious. Haven't tried that kind of fish? Plus, they're not the ones left in an aquarium for days; they were swimming in the sea until a few hours ago. How delicious do you think they'd be?"

As Seungwon spoke, Geon swallowed, his mouth watering. "But, I heard catching them is really tough. Isn't it hard to catch octopus or stone bream? They say it's difficult to catch octopus unless you use a trap or fish with a fishing rod."

Seungwon nodded. "Oh, that's why on our way here, you bought a bit of pork belly, right? To use it as octopus bait. Yesterday, you went with Cham Bada-sea and threw the trap, right?"

Geon, unaware, looked at Seungwon, who shrugged. "Then did we buy pork belly to eat? He's sometimes stubborn, sometimes a big goofball. Hey, look over there."

As Geon looked in the direction Seungwon pointed, all he saw was the backside of a hill on the island, leaving him puzzled. Seungwon shook his head and redirected Geon's attention.

"No, not that far. Look, follow my finger."

As Geon followed Seungwon's finger from his hand in a straight line, it landed on the group of staff below the hill, filming. Among them, Yeongseok was caught by the camera. Seeing Seungwon mimicking head-shaking with laughter, Geon turned to Seungwon again.

"PD-nim? Yeongseok PD?"

Seungwon, adopting a serious expression and tone often seen on a film set, said, "You... know this phrase? I saw a demon."

Confused by what Seungwon meant, Geon chuckled, prompting Seungwon to explain further. "That demon Kim Yeongseok won't just let us be here on Manjaedo. When Cham Bada-sea mentioned needing pork belly for catching octopus during the pre-shoot meeting, Yeongseok held back. If not, that devilish PD would've waited for us to bring it out with our money and snatched it for himself to eat."

Geon, initially bewildered, burst into laughter at Seungwon's words. "What? Ahahaha~ Hahaha!!"

As everyone laughed and the camera focused on Yeongseok, who awkwardly laughed, Seungwon, with a wry smile, continued, "You see, contracts were signed, right? We shouldn't have let it go."

Hearing Seungwon, who was now stomping on the ground with horsetail, Geon burst into laughter again. Seungwon's exaggerated actions brought joy to the set once more. After clearing the horsetail, Seungwon continued, his appetite returning.

"Let's... Let's go... I mean, you also stamped on the contract, right? Let's just eat this... I'll make delicious horsetail salad."

Geon chuckled and picked up a bunch of horsetail, following Seungwon.

Upon returning home, they found Chunho sitting at the table, towel around his shoulders, perhaps after washing his hair. Seungwon greeted Chunho cheerfully with the horsetail. Chunho, evidently fond of horsetail salad, brightened up and swiftly started preparing side dishes.

Geon, following Seungwon's instruction to bring eggs, startled the chickens in the coop, resulting in a chaotic flapping and a comical moment for everyone.

When handing the finally retrieved eggs to Seungwon, Geon, embarrassed by the chicken feathers stuck to his head, made Seungwon laugh as he rolled around on the ground. Geon blushed in embarrassment, and this scene was captured by the camera.

After lunch, they split wood with Haejin, and Seungwon taught Chunho to play the guitar, spending yet another peaceful day.

As evening approached, Haejin hesitated, watching Seungwon.

"Um... Can I... drag you out for night fishing? I promised to go with the village head."

Seungwon shook his head at Haejin's proposal. "Why would you want to go out at this hour? Let's just harvest some potatoes and radishes from the garden and make miso stew. It's tiring; let's go tomorrow."

Ignoring his plea, Haejin packed fishing gear onto his bike. "No, a fisherman loses his dignity if he can't earn. I used to be a big guy, you know? Wait for me; I'll catch one properly."

Seungwon couldn't dissuade him. "Fine, take Geon with you and have a look with the trap, and if you catch something, send Geon back. We need something for dinner."

When they stepped out, it was already dark. Despite checking the trap with Haejin and finding no catch, Geon lingered by Haejin's side while he fished at night. Eventually, only Geon returned home, accompanied by the VJ, leaving Haejin to fish alone in the dark.

Upon returning to the blue-roof

ed house, Seungwon, Chunho, and Yeongseok were seated, discussing something with a new guest.

Geon, slipping into the conversation, realized they were discussing a new guest's appearance.

Looking between Seungwon and Haejin, Yeongseok spoke, "I informed Seungwon and Haejin beforehand, but is this the first time Geon is hearing about it?"

Geon, puzzled, shook his head. Yeongseok smiled, "Recently, there's been a lot of interest in buying Korean programs from China. Our program received a sponsorship offer in advance for production to be sold in China."

Nodding, Seungwon added, "Yeah, so what's the big deal? Are they asking for a Chinese actor, singer?"

With a subtle grin, Yeongseok replied, "It's an ordinary person. A lively teenager, at that."

>

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