Chapter 193

Our Joo-young!

The actors looked at the open gate with anticipation. Just then, a celebrity van slowly approached from the end of the road.

(Who’s getting off?)

(Hey, it doesn’t look like Ian, does it?)

(The silhouette is different, right?)

(PD Sung, what’s going on?)

The actors silently stared at PD Sung, urging him to answer. PD Sung smiled and replied.

(I told you that a ‘special’ guest is coming, I didn’t say who it is.)

The actors’ faces showed disappointment, and Jo Min-hwan quickly said.

(Don’t show that you’re disappointed that it’s not the person you expected.)

(Of course. What do they think of us?)

They didn’t want to be rude to the guest who Jo Min-hwan invited, or to the guest who came all the way to the village. The actors cleared their throats and prepared to greet the guest warmly.

Kim Joo-young, who got off the van and passed the gate, looked around the house with a nervous expression. He saw the actors sitting on the floor and bowed his upper body.

(Hello!)

The screen switched briefly, and Kim Joo-young’s profile appeared. It showed him performing high-difficulty choreography on stage and appearing on various entertainment shows.

(He’s an idol!)

(Oh? He’s from Awi, right?)

(Oh, what an honor to have you in this humble place.)

The actors seemed to welcome him sincerely, even without Jo Min-hwan’s reminder. The group Awi was so popular that the individual members also had high recognition.

And Kim Joo-young had appeared on several entertainment programs while Jo Tae-woong was resting, so it was easy to recognize him.

(Yes! Today’s guest is Kim Joo-young from the idol group Awi!)

PD Sung introduced Kim Joo-young. But the screen briefly showed Lim Hye-ji’s slightly disappointed face.

‘What?’

Ian raised one eyebrow.

[PD Sung wouldn’t leave that in…]

‘Right?’

PD Sung-dong was one of the star PDs in the entertainment industry, and he was known for editing his programs without controversy or provocation, respecting the cast members. Many idols and fans asked him to let them appear on his programs.

Kim Joo-young pointed at Lim Hye-ji with his palm and shouted.

(Hey, I’m from Awi… Oh! You look disappointed that I’m not Ian, don’t you?)

(No! No!)

(I’m Kim Joo-young, who’s less handsome than him! Nice to meet you!)

‘He has a sense of humor.’ PD Sung pretended to stroke his chin and hid a smile on his lips. He was friendly and had a clean face, so he thought he would make a good picture.

(Joo-young! No! I’m glad you came!)

(Hey, stop it.)

Jo Min-hwan calmed down Lim Hye-ji, who denied it, and said.

(He didn’t come here for nothing. There’s a reason. Ian recommended him, and he has a cooking certificate!)

(Oooh!)

(Do we finally get to eat some real food?)

The actors clapped and cheered, and Kim Joo-young shrugged his shoulders.

(Not only that, I also have a barista certificate. And I’m so good at organizing and cleaning that I’m the first choice for a roommate among the Awi members.)

A clip from Awi’s reality program that aired on JBTC appeared on the screen.

“Wow, how did you get that footage?”

“Weren’t we so innocent back then?”

On the screen, Kim Joo-young was picking up cushions and other things that were scattered behind the members who were playing around in the dorm.

[The effort to buy the footage is acknowledged. It costs money to buy footage from other broadcasting stations. They paid a lot of attention.]

Jin was acting like a critic again, giving his comments.

“Did you do that?”

“I wondered why it was so clean back then.”

“Hey, eat this.”

Ian offered the chicken leg that he had bitten to Kim Joo-young.

(By the way, Joo-young… Can I call you Joo-young instead of Joo-young-ssi?)

(Yeah, hyung. Nunas, please call me comfortably too.)

Kim Joo-young smiled warmly on the screen. All the cast members gathered around the luggage bag that he brought.

(You have a lot of luggage, what did you bring?)(Nothing much.)

Kim Joo-young took out the things that were in the luggage bag one by one and said.

(First, seasonings and… baking soda and…)

(Oh, I needed that.)

(I also brought some tools, just in case.)

(Oh my… Wow, I really needed that. The faucet in front of me was broken.)

The things that Kim Joo-young took out were all things that they lacked while living in the countryside. He brought not only the things that Ian advised him to bring, but also his own kitchen utensils.

(How did you…?)

PD Sung jumped up and walked cautiously toward the luggage bag with a bewildered expression. Jo Min-hwan blocked PD Sung’s way by standing in front of the luggage bag.

(PD Sung, you’re not going to take all of this, are you?)

(No! It’s too much to take the guest’s luggage too!)

(That’s right! You took our phones too!)

The cast members shouted as Jo Min-hwan defended the luggage bag. Kim Joo-young peeked out from behind him and smirked.

(You asked me to appear as a guest, you didn’t say not to bring anything.)

(That’s right! He’s good at talking!)

Chae Seo-hee, who was sitting on the floor and watching the quarrel between PD Sung and the cast members, whispered in a low voice.

(PD Sung, let’s not be mean while we have a guest.)

Chae Seo-hee was an actress who had the nickname of ‘villain specialist’ because of her fierce expression. She had been an actress since she was a child, and had a career of 27 years, which was longer than the age of Awi’s oldest member, Lee Joo-hyuk.

(…Should I?)

PD Sung actually had some concerns about the direction of the healing countryside life program, as the viewers might get frustrated by the cast members’ clumsy actions. He nodded his head slightly.

Instead, the production team, who agreed to take Kim Joo-young’s phone during the filming, stared blankly at the back of Jo Min-hwan, who was happily taking the things that he brought.

(Then, what should I do first?)

Kim Joo-young gave his phone to PD Sung and rolled up his sleeves. He walked toward the cast members who were sitting on the floor.

He looked reliable somehow, and the actors’ faces smiled.

(Did you all skip breakfast? What should I make?)

(Anything you make, we’ll be happy. We don’t have any preferences.)

(Then, how about a simple brunch? I also brought drip coffee.)

Chae Seo-hee, who loved coffee, smiled brightly. It was the first time she showed a bright smile while living in the countryside. She whispered to Jo Min-hwan.

(Hey, you did a good job bringing him.)

(Right?)

(What’s in Joo-young’s bag? Things keep coming out.)

Lim Hye-ji covered her mouth with both hands. Jo Min-hwan was almost in tears. He was quite exhausted from taking care of the four picky actors.

(Unni, look at how fast his hands are.)

(He’s different, as expected from someone who learned.)

Kim Joo-young was making breakfast while heating the pan skillfully. The actors watched him like meerkats.

(Joo-young, do we have anything to help you with?)

(It’s okay!)

Kim Joo-young could do everything by himself without anyone’s help. He had made meals for seven people, including himself and the members. Making meals for five people was a piece of cake for him. He quickly finished a decent brunch.

(It’s done.)

(Ooh.)

(Wait a minute! I’ll take the insert and go!)

The actors sat at the table and picked up their chopsticks. They looked like they were going to devour the food in front of them, and PD Sung had to stop them.

The brunch that Kim Joo-young cooked was shown on the screen. The dishes looked so appetizing that they made the viewers drool. It seemed like they had some color correction to make them more appealing.

(Wow, how can he cook like that so easily…)

(They look like hotel dishes.)

The members were amazed by the food that Kim Joo-young prepared during the break.

“Ah, that’s delicious.”

“Hey, Joo-young, can you make that for us?”

“We’re busy tomorrow too, so we won’t have time for breakfast, right?”

“Oh, that’s true.”

Park Jin-hyuk licked his lips with regret.

(Gasp…!)

The actor who took the first bite, Park Su-min, opened his eyes wide and swallowed his breath.

(Is it good?)

(Try it, sis.)Chae Seo-hee nodded slightly after taking a bite. She had a smile on her lips that wouldn’t go away. The other actors were also devouring their breakfast without paying attention to anything else.

(Should I make some coffee? I’ll boil some water.)

Kim Joo-young got up quickly. Jo Min-hwan grabbed his shoulder and made him sit down again.

(I’ll do the boiling. You should eat something, Joo-young.)

(Ah, I’m on a diet. I have a comeback soon.)

(Oh, really? So you came here while preparing for your comeback?)

(Yes.)

Jo Min-hwan looked at Kim Joo-young with admiration. While he went to boil some water, Chae Seo-hee, who sat next to Kim Joo-young, asked him quietly.

(Then, Tae-woong, is he… better?)

(Of course. He’s better, so we’re having a comeback. We don’t leave anyone behind.)

Maybe it was because they were both child actors. Chae Seo-hee’s expression showed relief.

Ian spoke to Jo Tae-woong while looking at the TV.

“You worked with her before, right?”

“I did. But she looked scary, so I didn’t talk to her much.”

Jo Tae-woong couldn’t miss the change in Chae Seo-hee’s expression.

He felt a mix of emotions when he realized that she remembered and cared about him, who was just a passing child actor.

While he was feeling that, the actors who tasted Kim Joo-young’s coffee exclaimed in admiration.

(Joo-young!)

(Our Joo-young!)

Jo Min-hwan even hugged Kim Joo-young.

‘Our Joo-young is already on the screen.’

No wonder Lim Hye-ji praised him so much at the Yu-sang Arts Awards… Well, people who cook are nice people.

“Joo-young really became a cult leader.”

“But Joo-young’s food is really good.”

The actors who finished their breakfast took care of the cleaning, and Kim Joo-young went to fix the faucet in the yard with Jo Min-hwan.

(Hyung, I don’t know much about this stuff.)

(I’ll do it. You brought the tools really well. How did you think of bringing them?)

(Ian told me to bring them. I didn’t know they would be useful.)

(He has a creepy side to him. But you’re amazing for bringing them when he told you to.)

Kim Joo-young fixed the faucet, harvested some vegetables from the garden, and cooked some food. There was nothing that he didn’t touch. Today seemed like an episode just for Kim Joo-young.

“Wow, Joo-young hyung really shows off well.”

“That’s why Seong PD wants him to do variety shows.”

“And our songs are playing a lot in the background, right?”

“Oh? Yeah.”

They played various songs, from the B-side tracks that the fans always put on their playlists to the ones that they came back with.

‘These are the songs that Kim Joo-young participated in.’

[Oh, was Seong PD so attentive?]

‘As expected… This kind of observational variety show is perfect for Kim Joo-young.’

Seong PD must have liked Kim Joo-young a lot. Ian felt proud of himself for recommending him.

“But will Joo-young show us the scene that he didn’t want us to see?”

“How embarrassed was he to block our tradition of watching live?”

“It’s not embarrassing, okay? And why is watching live a tradition?”

“We always watched everything together. Except when Tae-woong was resting.”

The dramas that Ian and Jo Tae-woong starred in, the music shows that Park Seo-dam hosted, and so on. The members had a habit of watching live broadcasts together.

“It’s over already?”

“Wow, then Joo-young hyung will be on next week too?”

“Oh, the broadcast time is awesome.”

Before they knew it, the broadcast was over, and the credits for the production support were rolling. In the meantime, the preview for next week came out.

Kim Joo-young’s feeding the actors continued. The screen showed various dishes that looked like Kim Joo-young had a hand in them, and Jo Min-hwan and Lim Hye-ji’s participation in the Yu-sang Awards ceremony. And at the end, Kim Joo-young’s eyes were red as the preview ended.

“Hey! He really cried!”

“No!”

Jo Tae-woong jumped up and shouted, and Kim Joo-young also got angry and jumped up.

“But why couldn’t you answer when we asked if you cursed at us?”

“So you cried and cursed at us?”

“No, I really didn’t!”

Kim Joo-young blocked his ears and went into his room, closing the door behind him.

“Take it easy. He’ll be sulking for a long time. We have a music show tomorrow, so let’s go to bed early.”

Lee Joo-hyuk wrapped up the situation.