Chapter - 44화 (44/150)
"Jisu, it's been a while since we walked like this, huh?"
As soon as they reached the pine forest, Minseong dropped his voice and tried to force an atmosphere that didn't suit him at all.
That curse that had slipped out when he'd gotten heated from Jisu shining the flashlight in his eyes would get edited out anyway, and it looked like he was aiming for screen time with a wistful "old boyfriend" concept. With the thought, For an actor, his acting is like this—no wonder he keeps getting pushed aside, Jisu barely managed to suppress the laugh that was about to escape.
"Have we ever walked together?"
It wasn't wrong. Usually, Minseong chased after Jisu, and Jisu ran away to avoid him—or shoved him into a car in case photos got taken.
There had only been one time they'd walked together...
"Come on, that time."
It must've been when Jisu tried to stride quickly into the building from the parking lot to avoid Minseong, who'd followed him all the way home. Startled by a sudden camera flash, he'd grabbed Minseong beside him, and that had sparked a solid dating rumor with no room for excuses.
Whenever Jisu thought of that, irritation shot straight to the top of his head, and he even got the urge to remake Minseong's nose with his own hands. Of all things to get tangled up with, why did it have to be this.
His tone sounded like some ex-lover reminiscing over a beautiful memory. Even now, Jisu's teeth still ground at the memory of spending days on end on portal-site main pages with headlines like: [Han Jisu, dating Ha Minseong! Oh my, honey, in the apartment parking lot.] seeing it rise and fall over and over again.
If it had been Dansol instead of Minseong, he would've held a press conference himself and proudly declared to the world that Joo Dansol was his man.
Ignoring whatever Minseong was saying beside him, Jisu chuckled to himself, imagining a dating rumor with Dansol.
"What, what is it... why the hell are you laughing by yourself? That's creepy."
From the look of it, Minseong was pretty scared.
Not just back then but even now, Jisu didn't feel any value in matching Minseong's rhythm or talking to him. With a vicious mischievousness sparked, Jisu stared at Minseong in silence, then slowly shifted his gaze into empty space.
Minseong urgently asked him, "What, why, what is it?"
"Oh, a ghost."
"Aaagh!"
Jisu didn't answer. He turned his gaze back to Minseong and, with a chilling expression, mentioned a ghost that wasn't there.
For a coward not even worth talking to, scaring him was the best defense.
Jisu swept his eyes over Minseong, who screamed pathetically in panic, and let out a soft scoffing laugh. It was a clear sneer that even the other person could feel.
"You... seriously!"
He wanted to channel a foul-mouthed grandma and spit curses at him, but now he seemed to be aware of the cameras he hadn't noticed earlier. Unable to say anything worse, Minseong fumed—and Jisu leaned in and whispered in his ear.
"Don't do that ridiculous alpha act. When people are indulging you, know when to stop."
Hit point-blank by Jisu's domineering alpha pheromones, Minseong froze in place like a stone statue.
Back when those dating-rumor articles broke, the prevailing public opinion was that Ha Minseong was the one being wasted. And at the time, Minseong himself had a slight sense of superiority, thinking that Jisu's rising recognition as a rookie actor had benefited from his own name value.
But now the situation had completely flipped. Jisu had firmly established himself as an actor both domestically and internationally, while Minseong's inferiority complex—still unable to fully shake off his idol image—kept growing by the day.
If they hadn't even crossed paths, it might have ended as simple jealousy, but being this close made it swing even harder.
"Ha... fuck...."
"Dansol, put this in your pocket too."
Taeohh came back from the kitchen with a fistful of garlic and stuffed it into Dansol's pocket.
"What is this...?"
"Ghosts are scared of garlic."
"Taeohh... it's not like there are real ghosts...."
Dansol tried to stop him, overwhelmed by the pungent smell, but Taeohh was stubborn. The other participants watched as if it were amusing.
"If you're going to fight ghosts, you need to prepare at least this much."
"Taeohh, courage is a fight with yourself. We're... fighting ourselves. All fear comes from inside us... and ghosts don't exist."
After saying that, Dansol closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Taeohh shook his head.
"Dansol, you're saying that because you don't know... I... I've actually seen a ghost before."
"What⁈"
"I've fainted in a recording studio before too. I went to get my fortune read, and they said if I hadn't become a celebrity, I would've had a spirit possession ritual...."
"Aaaah!"
While Taeohh was talking, someone's scream rose up from below the cliff. Judging by the situation, the owner of that scream was either Minseong or Jisu.
"Ahh... why are you only saying that now...."
Dansol's legs gave out and he sank down.
"I thought you'd get more scared if I told you...."
Dansol hurriedly started putting the garlic he'd taken out earlier back into his pocket.
"Senior, you're not scared of ghosts, right?"
"..."
Dohyun asked Daesu, but Daesu couldn't answer right away.
"Don't tell me you're scared?"
"Well... I'm the type who doesn't believe in things I haven't seen with my own eyes."
"What about you, Minhyeok?"
Dohyun asked without looking at Yiyeon on purpose. Ever since Yiyeon had firmly rejected him, Dohyun didn't go near him.
"I don't think they don't exist. Especially... I've heard there are a lot of ghosts on islands. Ghosts can't cross water."
"There's a bridge."
Minhyeok's point was fair, but it didn't fit this situation—the truth was, Chunmongdo had a causeway bridge you could use to go back and forth.
"I see...."
"That guy seems to become more and more like a taoist master as time goes on..."
"Minhyeok-hyung is working on a historical drama OST. Maybe that's why."
At Minhyeok's answer, Dohyun muttered to himself. Hearing that, Taeohh—trembling in fear—answered in Minhyeok's place.
"How do you know everything?"
Despite Dohyun's sarcastic tone, Taeohh seemed to take it as a compliment and got shy. Surrounded by people he couldn't communicate with at all, Dohyun gave up and clamped his mouth shut like a clam.
"Senior Yiyeon, you're not scared of ghosts, are you?"
Taeohh asked Yiyeon, whose expression had been stiff for a while now.
"More than ghosts... people are scary."
At Yiyeon's words, Dansol nodded without realizing it. More than anyone, Dansol knew how scary people could be.
"Hey! Han Jisu! Jisu? Jisu 씨? I'm here!"
Meanwhile, Minseong had fallen into a trap the production crew dug and was desperately calling for Jisu. They'd lined the sides with cushions, but when Minseong ran to catch up to Jisu and fell into the pit, he truly thought, So this is how I die.
It had looked like ordinary ground, but the moment he stepped on it, it felt like he was falling endlessly.
Seriously—those diligent people. As expected, given the scale of the pit, it looked easily over three meters deep.
There was nothing to grab onto to climb out; everything was just smooth mattress and cushions. Looking at it now, this wasn't just a "horror experience."
"There's... a rope here."
Jisu said, shaking the end of a rope the staff had installed in advance.
"Oh! Yeah! Give me that!"
"Why would I?"
"We... we're... a team?"
At Minseong's words, Jisu snorted. Sensing something was wrong, Minseong tried to placate him.
"Ha... we're not like that, are we? Huh? If you go alone, you'll be scared, and I'll be scared too..."
"I'm not scared."
"Th-that... no, but if you leave me here, people will curse you? Don't you care about image management?"
"Not sure... I'm already known as a rude bastard, so I don't have an image to manage. Come to think of it, if I find it alone, both date tickets are mine, and all the voting rights to eliminate someone are mine too. That gives me even less reason to save you. Bye!"
From Minseong's view, staring up at the round patch of sky, Jisu disappeared. Thinking it was just a prank, Minseong laughed.
"Hahaha, come on... Han Jisu 씨? That's a bit much. Jisu 씨? Jisu? Han Jisu sunbae-niim—."
"..."
"Hey! Han Jisu, you fucking bastard!"
But Jisu didn't answer—only the cawing of crows echoed.
—Team 1, Han Jisu, has arrived at the cave and successfully obtained the date ticket. So far, no team has found any voting rights. Next team, Jegal Minhyeok and Lee Yiyeon , please prepare.
"W-wait a second! Shouldn't Jisu-hyung arrive first... before we go?"
—The earlier runners will wait at the finish point. They will not return here.
"Ah... then can't we leave first? It's scarier being here by ourselves...."
—The decided order cannot be changed.
"I'll be back."
"We'll be back."
Wearing headlamps, Yiyeon and Minhyeok walked steadily down below the cliff.
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