LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 102
Time briefly rewinds.
[Ji Seok-sam out, Ji Seok-sam out]
The moment Ji Seok-sam’s out call echoed through SKS Broadcasting Station, he was a trusted starter.
Ha Ha-hyung had already secured two tapes with quick judgment.
‘Where should I store the tapes from the 6th and 8th floors?’
The reason Ji Seok-sam reported over the radio that “we’ve almost found everything” was precisely because he was with Ha Ha-hyung.
After receiving Kang Soo’s radio, Ji Seok-sam stood by on the 6th floor.
Feeling something suspicious, Ha Ha-hyung headed straight to the 8th floor.
And back to the present.
“Wow, did you see that? I almost got snatched if I was there just now!”
“….”
After sharing the frightening moment with the VJ camera, Ha Ha-hyung immediately started thinking about his next move.
“If we gather five tapes, we win right away. Isn’t that right?”
Nodding.
“Oh… right, the 7th floor! I need to head to the 7th floor and hand over all the tapes.”
So, he began to gather what he had and decided to head to the 7th floor.
Having drawn that conclusion, Ha Ha-hyung quickly radioed in.
“This is Ha Ha-hyung, Ha Ha-hyung over. Currently, I’ve secured two tapes, and I will be moving to the 7th floor to bring the secured tapes.”
Crackle.
-“This is Kim Su-jin over! I’m joining you on the 7th floor!”
“Okay, Su-jin, you’re doing great with the radio. But is Kang Soo there too?”
-“Ah, Senior Kang Soo said he’s heading to the 19th floor, so we’ve split for now!”
“Got it, okay.”
After gaining an understanding of the situation, Ha Ha-hyung was ready to head to the 7th floor.
Just then.
[Chun Su-yeon out, Chun Su-yeon out]
The outgoing call of Chun Su-yeon, the previous lone lady in the group, echoed.
Crackle.
-“Hey! Hey! The 13th and 16th floors are hell, absolute hell! You must never come here!”
Panic-stricken, Yoo Ji-seok’s voice crackled over the radio.
His words, filled with fear and terror, made Ha Ha-hyung shrink back.
“What… what the heck is happening?”
A chill ran down his spine.
+++++
About two minutes after Kim Dong-hu’s declaration on the 13th floor.
As if mocking the standoff, Kim Dong-hu swiftly grabbed Chun Su-yeon’s back.
Swoosh!
He yanked off her name tag smoothly.
When, how, it was all ignored.
Like a cheetah, he flattened his body.
Moving stealthily, minimizing any sound.
With assassin-like movements, he tore off the name tag.
“Wait, there was no elevator sound!”
Chun Su-yeon shouted in disbelief.
“I came through the stairs; I went down to the 12th floor.”
That was nothing Kim Dong-hu was too concerned about.
Yoo Ji-seok, who witnessed the scene, was flabbergasted.
“Dong-hu! Are you some kind of hitman?! What’s the need to go this far!”
“Senior! I really want to pull off a name tag!”
“Look at his eyes! Why are his eyes so clear?!”
The 13th floor fell into fear.
Even Kim Guk-jong, from the same team, felt a hint of fear towards Kim Dong-hu.
‘We got a real rookie in variety here.’
This was the shared thought of Yoo Ji-seok and Kim Guk-jong.
The entertainment industry always longs for fresh faces.
But they didn’t just want any simple new face.
They desired a rookie who brings an entirely different level of personality and fun!
But it wasn’t something that could emerge so easily.
No matter how great the character was, it might not fit the broadcast, and if it fit the broadcast, the character might not be that appealing, which was why they’d often hear about the fixation in variety members.
‘But if it’s Dong-hu…’
‘…It’s like icing on the cake, icing on the cake.’
Though they couldn’t express it directly, it didn’t need mentioning as his face was incredibly premium.
No, based on Kim Dong-hu, he could be called the only premium.
Moreover, his personality was refreshing, polite, skilled at his craft, popular, and even excelled at variety shows!
‘This is a real blue-chip we got here.’
Though they still needed to keep an eye on the situation.
Assuming it went this way, it wouldn’t be strange even to fully buy in.
After briefly organizing their thoughts, Yoo Ji-seok and Kim Guk-jong exclaimed,
“Dong-hu! Let’s decisively finish this up! No need to drag this out!”
“Yes, that’s right!”
“Hey, hey, hey! Dong-hu! Wait, wait! Let’s negotiate!”
They quickly synchronized and unfolded the situation.
Then suddenly, Yoo Ji-seok thought it would be good to create a picture and stated,
“Kim Dong-hu, no using your legs!”
Using the leg restriction item on Kim Guk-jong once more, it wouldn’t really apply, but this was a trick-and-treat variety show.
“Oops!”
For a brief second, Kim Dong-hu halted his movements.
Normally, that would be the end of it, but—
Swoosh.
“No way, he’s actually walking on his hands!”
Without hesitation, Kim Dong-hu attempted to move forward, balancing on his hands.
“Dong-hu! It’s a trap! That guy has already used up everything!”
“Wha—?!”
Kim Guk-jong informed him of the situation too late.
“Give me the camera! Please hold this for me!”
“Wha—?!”
“Wait a minute, just hold on! We’ll meet again later!”
In that moment, Yoo Ji-seok utilized a VJ as a stand-in to block the door.
Without hesitation, he dashed past Kim Dong-hu and ran away.
Tap tap tap tap tap!
He hurriedly pressed the elevator button.
Yoo Ji-seok dramatically made his escape.
Kim Guk-jong, who had been silently observing, chuckled at Kim Dong-hu.
“Dong-hu, what will you do if you get deceived? Don’t just blindly trust everything coming from Ji Seok-hyung!”
“Ugh… I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, it happens. Then let’s go to the 16th floor; we still haven’t secured one there.”
“So if that’s the case, are we good on everything else?”
“Yeah, but… we just need to defend the 16th floor now, so we can consider it over.”
With those words, Kim Guk-jong and Kim Dong-hu headed towards the 16th floor.
All results of victory and defeat lay there.
++++++
Everyone gathered for the decisive moment on the 16th floor.
‘Hmm, Su-jin really doesn’t seem like she can handle bungee jumping.’
Kim Dong-hu was contemplating how to spare Su-jin from the penalty.
It was evident she would be scared stiff.
And in that case, she’d hesitate greatly before even attempting the bungee jump.
‘Viewers despise when participants get pulled out like that more than once.’
He worried about receiving backlash for causing trouble.
While mulling over how to prevent that, the elevator door chimed open, revealing—
“AAAAH!”
“Ugh!”
Su-jin and Kang Soo.
A critical situation!
“Kim Dong-hu, no using your legs!”
Kim Su-jin made the best judgment possible.
Upon hearing that, Kim Guk-jong sensed they were about to win.
“Ha! Regardless, Dong-hu can just walk on his hands?!”
Thinking they could eliminate both and deal with the rest, Kim Guk-jong grinned at Kim Dong-hu.
“Oops… using your legs is banned now.”
Breaking everyone’s expectations,
Kim Dong-hu simply halted in place.
“Hey! Kim Dong-hu!”
“…Senior, I’m sorry.”
Kim Dong-hu now stood still.
While Kim Guk-jong was flustered, he grabbed Kang Soo’s leg.
“Why are you so soft on your childhood friend!”
“….”
With that, he tore off the name tag.
[Kang Soo out, Kang Soo out]
Now, only three survivors remained.
But perhaps due to everyone crowding the 16th floor?
Thanks to Giri’s pre-prepared performance,
[Ha Ha-hyung out, Ha Ha-hyung out]
The numbers quickly dwindled from 3:6 to 3:2.
Now the chasing team had the numerical advantage.
With everyone on the 16th floor, it wasn’t strange for them to be surrounded.
Here, Yoo Ji-seok’s unforeseen thinking shone once more.
“Su-jin, isn’t it time to hold the camera now?”
“Yeah?”
“You hold the camera… like this.”
“Uh oh, uh uh?!”
Yoo Ji-seok actively utilized the VJs beside them.
Immediately, they shifted the 3:2 situation to 3:4, initiating their escape.
They swiftly boarded the farthest elevator and exited the 16th floor.
Heading straight to the 7th floor!
If they could gather all the tapes at the tape altar on the 7th floor, victory was theirs.
“Wait, using the VJ like that isn’t fair! Is this even allowed?!”
“Ah, I’ve fallen for it again, I fell for it again.”
Just as Kim Guk-jong and Giri faced another unfavorable situation and panicked.
“I’ll tie things up and be back.”
After three minutes, Kim Dong-hu dashed towards the stairwell.
“What are you planning to tie up…?”
Leaving the bewildered chasing team behind.
‘Ah… please, save me.’
Kim Dong-hu’s VJ, Park Sang-ryeol, stared into the stairs with a disheartened expression.
Another stairway hell was about to commence.
++++++
“Well, good thing Dong-hu is weak against you; definitely being childhood friends is nice.”
“Well, since I’m technically a senior at school! I’m in 2nd grade, you know.”
“Really? At this age, a one-year gap is usually the scariest.”
The two chatted as if they’d already tasted victory in front of the elevator, Yoo Ji-seok and Kim Su-jin conversed as they stepped off at the 7th floor.
Now they just had to go to the integrated control room on the 7th floor and lay all the tapes down to finish.
From the start, the gap was so wide that it didn’t matter if they took their time.
Or so they thought.
Ding ding ding ding ding.
If it weren’t for that wildly ringing bell sound in the distance.
“Absolutely, absolutely! You can’t go there!”
“No, Dong-hu! Aren’t you an actor?! How could you possibly get here from the 16th floor faster than the elevator?!”
Yoo Ji-seok exclaimed in shock, without time to reply.
Kim Dong-hu dashed toward the name tags of Yoo Ji-seok and Kim Su-jin.
Without the leg restriction item left.
“I’ll handle this, Su-jin; you go first!”
“Yes!”
Yoo Ji-seok took on the role of the gatekeeper while Kim Dong-hu charged in without slowing down.
In a situation where they could collide in the worst case.
“Dong-hu, Dong-hu, be careful…!”
As Yoo Ji-seok was startled by the rapid speed and closed his eyes.
Thud thud thud thud thud thud.
A divine talent for boxing harmony.
The fusion of Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson’s talents.
Sasaasaki.
Muhammad Tyson’s footwork deftly glided past Yoo Ji-seok.
Swoosh!
And at the same time, he yanked off Yoo Ji-seok’s name tag from behind.
That left just Kim Su-jin in play.
“HIYAAAAAA!!!”
Kim Su-jin ran like a madwoman.
3km in 15 minutes,
She was an exceptional female runner, usually within the top 5% for her gender.
Pa pa pa pa pa!
And then Kim Dong-hu, having a speed ranking among the top 5% of humans.
The chase between these two was incredibly close.
[Mission successful, mission successful]
“HAH!”
With Su-jin’s victory, it came to a close.
A mere fingertip’s worth of difference.
Thus, the first variety adventure of Kim Dong-hu and Kim Su-jin successfully concluded.
++++++
“By the way, I’m going to do the bungee jump as well. It’s just that the chase ended quickly… so the content is slightly lacking.”
“WHAT?!”
The bungee jump filming was an added bonus.
“Dong-hu, how could you choose childhood friends over victory… You’re not planning to spare Su-jin from the bungee jump, are you?”
You’re truly not an average guy, but a real man?
Hearing the explanation, Ji Seok-sam commented, and Kim Dong-hu bashfully lowered his head.
“Seok-sam hyung, why are you saying these things when the kids are playing?”
“Should I drop out?”
“You should have dropped out earlier, ah…”
“That guy never knows when to time things right.”
“Ah, hyung! It felt like an ending line, and now because of you, we have to extend it again!”
“…Kang Soo, are you saying that now too?”
Teasing Ji Seok-sam became a souvenir.
Observing this scene, Kim Su-jin quietly leaned toward Kim Dong-hu.
“Did you really do that for me?”
“You said you were scared of bungee jumping.”
“…Kim Dong-hu, you’re crazy.”
Kim Su-jin quickly bowed her head.
I’m going crazy,
‘Stop making my heart race!’
My heart raced, and I felt I might explode.