Chapter 145: Songpyeon War (2)

The moment the steamer lid was opened, white steam billowed upward.

The songpyeon that the members had made by hand shone smoothly, glistening with moisture.

Seohan hurried over with the camera in hand and pointed it inside the steamer.

His slightly excited voice rang out energetically.

“Our Stardust members’ songpyeon, revealed for the very first time! Looks delicious, right? What do you think?”

Of course, the steam quickly rose and blurred the camera screen into a hazy white.

The Dusties chuckled in the chat and each left a comment.

-What is this lololol is this a sauna experience?

-They’re telling us to look, but I don’t know what we’re supposed to look at.

-Songpyeon that only good people can see.

-Wow, it looks so delicious! …the air does!

-If Seohan says it looks delicious, then it’s absolutely delicious.

-Oh Seohan, it really looks tasty ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Oh dear.

Seohan swallowed back disappointment and muttered softly.

“Ah, I wanted to show you, but it won’t work.”

“Shall we take them out first?”

“From what I see, they actually look pretty normal!”

Seo Ian peeked his head out and checked the condition of the songpyeon.

This much was a pass.

At the very least, he was sure they wouldn’t be embarrassed to show them in public.

“…Or maybe not?”

Seo Ian tilted his head and scooped the songpyeon out of the steaming basket.

He quickly cooled them down with cold water and placed them back on a plate.

As soon as the dish was brought out, the members swarmed around it.

Jin Sehyun pointed at one with wide eyes.

“Oh! That’s my satellite songpyeon.”

-lololololololololololol satellite songpyeon lolololol

-No but I really want to see what that looks like

-It was already unusual even before steaming, so now I’m curious lol

-Hurry and show us!

“Doo-doong.”

Jin Sehyun made a weird sound effect as he picked up the satellite songpyeon.

Just then.

“Huh?”

Thud—

The flimsy head of the songpyeon dropped weakly to the floor.

Seo Haim gasped and covered her mouth in shock.

“It’s dead! The songpyeon… it’s dead!”

“The satellite split in half.”

Maybe it couldn’t withstand the excessive heat.

The satellite had lost its firmness.

Cha Seongbin gaped and added his own words.

“Isn’t that like space junk or whatever that’s been an issue lately?”

“We’re Universe Dust, so maybe it’s kind of the same thing?”

-Seohan lolololol what do you mean it’s the same thing lolololol

-Space junk, wtf lololol Cha Seongbin, are you out of your mind

-Why are they all muttering nonsense, it’s so cute ㅠㅠ

-Someone please protect Haim’s innocence, our girl is in shock lololol

That innocence got even more shattered with the next introduction of songpyeon.

Seohan smiled brightly and carefully lifted the hamster songpyeon he had made earlier.

He had shaped it neatly with the head and body all in one piece.

Of course, the process had been full of struggles, but he believed the final product turned out fine.

But then.

Thud—

“Hey, the head fell off.”

“Stop dropping it!”

“Gyaaa! The hamster’s dead too!”

-lolololololololololol hamster head destroyer king

-Do Seohan, why do you always make hamsters just to break them?

-lololololol this is the death of childhood innocence

-Bring the hamster back to life ㅠㅠㅠ lololololol

“Huh. What do I do?”

Seohan quickly bent down, searching for the songpyeon’s head.

“Where did it go?”

He had worked especially hard on making the head look cute, but it had vanished somewhere.

It must have rolled off the moment it dropped.

Seo Haim clutched her head and covered her mouth again.

“I could accept the satellite splitting in half, but a cute hamster is just too much!”

“Oh, found it.”

Seohan calmly picked up the hamster’s head.

Before it appeared on camera, Kang Siwoo, who saw the result first, reached out urgently.

“Hey, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Huh?”

“The result is… a little tragic.”

-lololololol how did you even make that

-I thought the cute hamster head just fell off, but it wasn’t that cute to begin with…

-No no it’s fine, I expected this lololololol

-Our Seohan’s crafting skills are… uniquely disastrous…

Even Seo Haim tilted her head and added.

“So it wasn’t… that cute after all.”

He had even tried sticking little pieces of dough on as eyes…

But the look resembled a hamster risen straight from hell.

Jin Sehyun raised his hand and suggested one thing.

“Can we ban Do Seohan from making hamster songpyeon?”

“Yeah, with those skills, better give up on hamsters.”

“Why? I think it’s kind of cute.”

Seohan genuinely thought the songpyeon he made was cute.

If you stared at it long enough…

Didn’t it have a sort of dumb charm?

“The more you look at it, the more you grow attached.”

“I don’t think there’s any need to keep looking at it though.”

Even Seo Haim threw in a blunt comment and moved on to the next turn.

“Then I’ll introduce my songpyeon…!”

Seo Ian stepped forward with confidence.

Compared to the ones shown earlier, his had the classic shape.

Just looking at them made one’s mouth water with how glossy they looked.

But.

The Dusties, who had been watching the process of making songpyeon, did not feel the slightest urge to eat them.

Seo Ian smiled and pointed at the songpyeon with his hand.

“This is a carrot songpyeon prepared for Seohan.”

“Ugh.”

I shuddered and stepped back a pace.

“Seohan really likes carrots, you see.”

“Please don’t spread false information.”

-lololololol that’s clearly the face of someone who hates it

-Who would put carrots in songpyeon… oh right, our soft bunny did, because he’s a rabbit, that makes sense

-As the tough bunny of Stardust, Seo Ian spreads carrots, but he never eats them himself

“They say carrots are good for your health.”

“Ah, sure. May you live long.”

-lololololololololol look at Do Seohan’s sharp response

-nods live long

-lolol Mam-Seohan is way too firm, did you really hate carrots that much?

Of course I hated them.

I shook my head without a moment of hesitation.

“I don’t want to eat that, hyung. I’d rather eat Haim-hyung’s chocolate songpyeon.”

“Seohan, you’d better keep those words.”

“Huh?”

-lololol Seohan might end up cutting ties with Choco Haim

-lol targeting a niche market

-lolololololol the suffering era of Do Seohan

I quickly added that I wasn’t going to eat either of them.

In any case, Seo Ian failed in gifting me a carrot songpyeon, and he clicked his tongue in disappointment.

“Too bad….”

In the end, Seo Ian’s songpyeon went straight into a Lock&Lock container.

It looked annoyingly normal, so if it was left with the others, people might mistake it.

No way would anyone accidentally pick that.

I thought nothing of it and turned toward the camera.

It was about time to end the live broadcast.

Clap—

Just like in the opening, Kang Siwoo clapped lightly and smiled as he delivered the closing line.

“The remaining songpyeon will be eaten deliciously by the members after filming.”

“Yes, we’ll make sure to enjoy them.”

“Then, shall we say goodbye now?”

The members lined up in a row, just as they had at the start.

Kang Siwoo confidently shouted the now-familiar greeting.

“Yes, until now, Shine bright! We were Stardust.”

Seo Haim added in a loud voice.

“Happy New Yea—ah!”

“…?”

“Have a bountiful Chuseok!”

The screen faded to black, leaving behind Haim’s awkwardly embarrassed face.

After the live ended, Cha Seongbin flopped down on the sofa and asked me.

“Want to eat the leftover songpyeon?”

Judging by the container, there were still plenty left.

Besides the unusual ones made just for the broadcast, there were also many neatly shaped songpyeon that Seo Ian and Ha Junseo had carefully crafted.

Thanks to that, we’d have more than enough to eat through tomorrow morning.

Instead of answering, I picked one up and popped it into my mouth.

Chew chew—

It was just a random pick, thoughtlessly chosen….

“Ugh!”

I jumped to my feet in shock.

The moment I bit down, an unpleasant mushy texture filled my mouth.

No way.

“Uh… was that a carrot songpyeon?”

“Puhahahaha!”

At Seo Ian’s innocent question, Cha Seongbin clutched his stomach, laughing.

“Ahahaha! Seriously? Was it really a carrot songpyeon?”

He said he made it for Do Seohan.

Yet the very songpyeon I swore I’d never eat had found its way back to me.

“Puhahaha! You really picked that one?”

“Ugh… no way… ugh….”

“Doesn’t it taste fine?”

“How could it taste fine~.”

Why did he have to make it look so normal and hide it among the others?

What kind of cruel lottery was this?

Dash—

Trembling with disgust, I grabbed the remaining songpyeon and ran to the kitchen.

I had no intention of eating even one more.

That mushy texture just now was far too revolting.

“Ugh… that was the worst.”

Shaking my head furiously, I returned to my seat.

After getting hit that badly once, another thought came to mind.

“I can’t be the only one to suffer.”

“Who are you planning to feed it to?”

Swish—

I turned my head and scanned the members.

“Hmmm….”

Since I couldn’t target Cha Seongbin or Seo Ian, who were right there in the living room, I had to go after one of the members in their rooms.

One particularly bright and unsuspecting face popped into my mind.

“Seo Haim?”

“Yeah, Haim’s the one you should feed it to.”

“You really picked the type who’d eat it without a second thought.”

Laughing, Cha Seongbin pulled out a piece from the container.

“Hey, this one looks like a carrot songpyeon.”

“Hyung, how many carrot songpyeon did you make?”

“Me? Three. This one feels like it’s mine….”

Perfect.

My eyes sparkled as I set off to find Seo Haim.

The other two eagerly followed, excited to watch the spectacle.

“Where’d she go?”

“I’ll check.”

She had scampered into her room earlier, so she was probably alone now.

I couldn’t make it too obvious, or she’d get suspicious, so I slipped in as naturally as possible.

“Shh.”

Tiptoe—

Carefully, I pressed my ear to the door and listened for movement inside.

From beyond the tightly closed door, I could hear Seo Haim’s voice.

“Oh, she’s on the phone?”

At Cha Seongbin’s casual remark, my face stiffened slightly.

“…Looks like it.”

A sleek, stylish building exterior.

Just from the outside, it had the kind of unique look that reminded one of an entertainment agency.

I knew that on the fifth floor here, Seo Choyoung worked.

Seo Haim herself had told me that she worked as a writer for the famous fashion magazine Fleur.

“Hoo….”

I felt nervous.

With the ridiculous excuse of being interested in fashion magazines, I had arranged today’s meeting.

While cheerful Seo Haim seemed to believe me at face value, it was doubtful whether Seo Choyoung would take it the same way.

After all, it wasn’t genuine interest in magazines that made me set this appointment despite her busy schedule.

There were things I wanted to ask.

No, there were far too many things I had to ask.

“Should I go in?”

I took a short breath and stepped forward.

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