Chapter - 11화 (11/150)
"Dansol, aren't you tired? Take a break."
Even while plowing through the field like a bulldozer, Minhyeok asked every five minutes if Dansol was okay. A chair, sunscreen, a hat, water, snacks—he'd even brought a fan and a radio. With everything Minhyeok kept bringing over, the area around Dansol had gotten chaotic.
"Minhyeok, I'm fine. I haven't even finished one row yet.... Shouldn't you be the one taking a break?"
Dansol said it while looking at the field Minhyeok had already torn through. While Dansol barely finished one row, Minhyeok had dug three furrows. Farming work seemed surprisingly familiar to him.
"Um.... Then can I work here with you, Dansol?"
"Th-this is your field, Minhyeok. I don't think you need to ask me."
At Minhyeok's shy question, Dansol answered firmly. Before he even finished speaking, Minhyeok plopped down right in front of him.
"Dansol. Do you know why I brought you here?"
"Mm... Because you were short on hands?"
To Minhyeok's overly solemn question, Dansol replied casually. His hands didn't stop digging sweet potatoes. Once he started, he got motivated, and somehow he kept focusing.
"No. Because you looked like you had a lot on your mind."
"Uh...."
Seeing Dansol fumble like he'd been hit right on the mark, Minhyeok continued.
"This is the place I come to when my head's full of noise. You dig carefully so you don't bruise the sweet potatoes, and if you go farther back over there, there's a cherry tomato patch and a pepper field too. Picking those... makes all the tangled thoughts turn simple."
Minhyeok was more delicate than Dansol had expected. And just like he said, once Dansol dug sweet potatoes in earnest, the noisy thoughts that had been tormenting him faded away. It felt like Minhyeok had seen straight through him, and it made Dansol oddly shy.
"Do I... look like I have a lot on my mind?"
"Yeah, well.... I wasn't trying to look, but when I see you, Dansol, you remind me of myself when I was young."
"You, Minhyeok...?"
When Dansol asked back, Minhyeok tossed the hoe he'd been holding—at least for show—far away, then flopped down on the soft dirt with one arm propping him up, like the soil was a bed.
"After I quit sports, my dad passed away. Succeeding as an athlete was my dad's dream, so for a while... my head was a total mess. What am I supposed to live on now... what am I supposed to do next. That's when I found this field. This used to be my dad's. I came here, pulled weeds, tilled the soil, planted sweet potatoes, planted radishes, planted flowers, and as I kept doing that, my thoughts started sorting themselves out."
"...I see."
All Dansol could do was nod. He was grateful Minhyeok shared something that personal with him.
Minhyeok was right. Dansol had regressed, then jumped back into the program—and it had been a nonstop sequence of moments where he couldn't even take one deep breath.
Dansol, who had to run multiple simulations in his head even for a split second just to avoid getting cursed at and to avoid standing out, resembled Minhyeok as a child—suddenly turned into the head of the household.
After regressing, Dansol knew for sure: there were things only people who had already been hurt could see.
Minhyeok had probably noticed that something in Dansol.
"So... what conclusion did you come to back then?"
"...Do what you want."
Dansol nodded faintly. Minhyeok had succeeded as a musician by doing what he wanted—so it sounded like he'd found his answer.
But as if he'd read Dansol's thoughts, Minhyeok said,
"I know that isn't the real answer. I was a lucky case. Not everyone can succeed just because they do what they want. Still... I wanted to give you time to rest. Not your body—your head."
"Thank you. I... I'm really having fun. Today."
When Dansol smiled as he lightly tapped dirt off the sweet potatoes with his hoe, Minhyeok stood up, looking embarrassed, and said in a playful tone,
"I... should've helped you reduce your thoughts even more—sorry. But I want you too, so now I'm going to actually show off my real charm. From now on, think less about other things, and think a lot about me."
Minhyeok ran to where the car was and came back with his guitar. Seeing him in work pants and retro tinted sunglasses, Dansol burst out laughing. With a zziing, Minhyeok plucked the guitar in the middle of the field and said,
"This is the first song I ever made after coming here. You're a singer too, Dansol, so you know, right? How embarrassing your first song is.... I was too embarrassed to sing it anywhere, but you're special, so I'll let you hear it."
Dansol, who had already sung that embarrassing song a cappella on his very first appearance on the show, scratched his cheek, suddenly awkward.
Then Minhyeok's guitar and voice began.
I don't know what I'm supposed to do.I don't know why I'm even here.I don't know how to go back home.Honestly, I don't even know where home is.I don't want to make mistakes.I don't want to fall apart.I don't want to look like a kid.I want to cry, but I don't want to cry.I want to cry, but I don't want anyone to catch me crying.
Unlike the bright guitar accompaniment, the lyrics flowing from Minhyeok's voice sounded like they were meant for Dansol. Tears had already filled Dansol's eyes.
Not wanting the cameras to catch him crying, Dansol kept wiping at his eyes as if he were just wiping sweat, but once the tears broke through, they wouldn't stop.
Minhyeok had noticed from the start that Dansol was crying, but he didn't stop playing. The short, practice-like song had ended long ago, but he kept playing anyway—dragging out a flashier progression, like he was stealing the camera away from Dansol.
Sometimes, being comforted and consoled isn't what you want. Sometimes you're more grateful when someone pretends not to notice.
"What the hell is this... playing around in a field.... You crazy bastard... what kind of bullshit is this!"
Jegal Minhyeok's most humble stage since debut ended with the village head's shouting as he reappeared, rattling along on a cultivator.
"Snack time!"
"Whoa! Snack time!"
Only then could Dansol stop crying and smile brightly. The village head came back loaded—like it wasn't a snack break, but an on-site buffet—food piled all over the back of the cultivator.
"Oh...! Village head! What is all this? Why did you pack so much?"
When Minhyeok came over after setting his guitar aside, the village head smacked Minhyeok's back again—whack whack.
"Do you think you're the only one with a mouth? There are people here! And you—! You made the kid do all the field work and then sat there singing and messing around!"
"Come on, would I do that? We finished working and just took a quick break, and you couldn't even stand that—"
"Do you have energy to spare! To spare?!"
"I do, I do. I've got energy to spare, so I'll even help with your place too—so hurry up and bring out the snack."
"Like I asked you to?"
At Minhyeok's slick tongue and the village head's always-angry-but-dripping-with-affection banter, Dansol smiled.
For the first time since regressing, his heart—never once at ease—finally felt comfortable.
"Time's not moving for shit."
"Seriously."
While Dansol was getting covered in dust in the sweet potato field with Minhyeok, Jisu, Daesu, and Yeomin—killing time—were tanning in the pool area at Chunmonggak, shirts off, sprawled on sunbeds.
From the picture alone, you wouldn't even know who went on a date and who stayed at the lodging.
Only Mateo, stuck doing petty errands among the senior celebrities, pouted.
"If we go by our team, I'm the leader though...."
"Oh, right. You were an idol too."
"Yes...."
Mateo was dumbfounded. He was the leader of ZEUS—the monster group that took first place for six straight weeks, swept rookie awards, and even hit 100 million views on YouTube music videos.
But after coming to Chunmonggak, he'd been pushed aside—no, treated like leftovers—by Dansol from Dinosoul, who couldn't even crack the top 100.
Still, Mateo didn't hate Dansol. He was more annoyed at Yoon Yeomin, who used "we're both idols" as an excuse and didn't even give Mateo time to get close to Dansol.
Because I keep getting stuck with that old man, I couldn't even go on a date with Dansol....
"What's your famous song? Sing it."
Sipping an iced americano Mateo had brought him, Yeomin lazily kicked his legs.
"Hey, Yoon Yeomin. Ease up."
"Sit down."
As Mateo stiffened in place like his pride had been hit, Jisu and Daesu stepped in and tried to stop Yeomin. But Yeomin wasn't the type you could stop just because you told him to.
"Huh? You won't? One, two, three, four!"
"Ah, fuck!"
Finally snapping, Mateo clenched his fist and shouted.
At Mateo's sudden outburst, everything went quiet.
Even the staff—laughing because they thought they'd caught a "moment"—froze and started wavering, unsure if they should turn the cameras off, and the atmosphere went cold.
That was when—
"I see.... What you show me, oh my love! You're the only one for me! My eternal love!"
Mateo squeezed his eyes shut and sang while matching the choreography. When the goat-like tremble of a vibrato—like he was forcing down emotion—ended, Yeomin's clap clap clap echoed hollowly through Chunmonggak.
"Hey, fuck.... If you're the dance member, you should've said so. It would've been better if you didn't sing. Sorry."
{Alpha×Omega Inner-Thought Interview}
Q: Mateo, are you okay?Mateo: Ha... hold on. I'm not crying because I'm sad, hic... I'm crying because I'm pissed. Hoo... when I get mad, I... tears just... hic I feel sorry to the fans... Hoo.... I'm the main vocal, you know.... I could've sung better, but I got emotionally mad and... but what's the point of singing well there anyway.
Q: Yoon Yeomin, aren't you scared of ZEUS fans?Yoon Yeomin: Why? I gave him screentime. Without me, he wouldn't even get one cut.
Q: Han Jisu, earlier at the pool you stayed glued to Jeong Daesu the whole time—what were you talking about?Han Jisu: We're not like that. But why aren't the people who went on dates back yet? Did something happen?
Q: It's only 11:30 a.m....
Q: Jeong Daesu, earlier at the pool, what were you talking about with Han Jisu?Jeong Daesu: We made a bet on who would win if Mateo and Yoon Yeomin got into a fistfight.
Q: Who did you bet on?Jeong Daesu: Yoon Yeomin.
Q: Why?Jeong Daesu: If Yoon Yeomin fights Mateo with fists.... Yoon Yeomin is the type to come out with a knife, so I bet on him.
Q: Then did Han Jisu bet on Mateo?Jeong Daesu: No.
Q: Dansol, you seem like you enjoyed the date?Joo Dansol: Yes, a lot!
Q: There's dirt on your cheek.Joo Dansol: Huh! Really? Hehe.... When did it get there...
Q: After this date, will it become clearer where your heart is heading?Joo Dansol: Uh... I don't know. Does my choice... matter?
Q: Jegal Minhyeok, a sweet potato field date... even the staff were surprised.Jegal Minhyeok: Really? Maybe... if it wasn't Joo Dansol, I would've just done a normal date.
Q: How was the date with Joo Dansol?Jegal Minhyeok: It was good. Better than I expected—better than I thought.
Q: If you had to pick couples again, would you choose Joo Dansol again?Jegal Minhyeok: I would, but.... wouldn't I have to wait for Dansol's choice?
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