Chapter 223: Every summer (1)

A complete mess of a Zombie Game.

The final winner was Jin Sehyun.

“Jin Sehyun-ssi, you’re first with 2 minutes and 42 seconds!”

“Yes!”

Even though he got caught relatively quickly compared to the other members, it was thanks to his hyung gritting his teeth and holding out.

And he actually won first place.

Cha Seongbin clicked his tongue and murmured quietly.

“Wow… You’re really something else.”

“It was bearable.”

The calm words seemed sincere. Seo Haim widened his eyes in surprise and asked,

“Seriously? Someone bit down hard.”

“That was Jin Sehyun.”

“You’re insane…”

A quiet groan escaped.

No wonder it really hurt.

I furrowed my brow without realizing it, and Cha Seongbin burst out laughing and added,

“Hey, Sehyun-ah. There’s a victim right here.”

“Ah. Sorry.”

“To be honest, since Do Seohan went first… everyone messed up their strength control. Sehyun wasn’t the only problem back then.”

“Choco Haim got all excited and went straight for the shoulder…”

“Huh? I did?”

The biggest victim of the Zombie Game was me.

Probably because it was everyone’s first time trying to bite someone (?), they couldn’t control their strength during the first attempt.

They really bit down like they meant it.

I had made up my mind to endure it.

But I ended up screaming and surrendering in ten seconds.

“My thigh still feels sore.”

I muttered with a sullen expression, and Kang Siwoo-hyung took my side.

“Hey, who bit our Seohan?! Come out here.”

“You did.”

“Ah. Sorry.”

Still, there was one ray of light among these hyper-competitive members…

That angel of a hyung who cared about nothing but caffeine—Ha Junseo.

“Junseo-hyung was so gentle, he just pulled on my clothes with his teeth.”

“Is he a puppy or what…”

“He was actually an angel all along.”

A reasonable theory.

While I was rubbing my aching thigh and praising angel Junseo, Jin Sehyun picked up his chopsticks.

“Then I’ll go ahead and have a bite.”

“Ah, I’m so jealous…”

Jin Sehyun chose tteokbokki.

He picked up a piece of old-school tteokbokki still steaming hot, blew on it, and popped it into his mouth.

That sweet and spicy flavor hitting the tip of the tongue—it probably did, I wouldn’t know.

I didn’t get to taste it.

“…Looks good.”

Gulp.

As I watched a couple more pieces of tteokbokki disappear into Jin Sehyun’s mouth, I swallowed dryly.

They did say we’d all get some after the game, but… I wanted to eat it while it was still hot.

Especially since we were away from home, cup noodles kept catching my eye.

“Ah, I’m definitely winning the next game.”

My competitive spirit flared.

The second room was the <Mission Room of Darkness>.

We tilted our heads at the unpredictable title, and the Self-content Team PD began to explain.

“When you enter the room, blackout curtains will be drawn, so you won’t be able to see anything. Inside, you’ll each carry out a mission assigned to you.”

“Ah!”

Of course, even if the room was pitch black, it didn’t mean zero light—so over time, your vision would adjust a little.

That’s why the mission would be a time attack.

The allotted time was 10 minutes.

The Self-content Team PD’s eyes sparkled as they continued.

“For this room, we’ve decided that if you succeed at your mission, no matter how many of you it is, everyone will get a food tasting ticket!”

“Gasp, really?”

You didn’t even have to win—just succeed to get food. The members’ eyes lit up.

Cha Seongbin licked his lips and stood up.

“So what’s the mission?”

The mission was presented to the first one to show interest—Cha Seongbin.

The message written on a sketchbook was short and simple.

Upon reading his mission, Cha Seongbin’s face brightened.

[Compose a short 30-second track]

As long as he didn’t care about quality, this was a piece of cake for Cha Seongbin.

He probably had a few bars already sketched in his mind—he could just write those down.

“Wouldn’t everything be visible if I just opened the computer screen?”

Cha Seongbin was used to MIDI composition.

Of course, he must’ve been planning to compose in the way he always did—but the Self-content Team never acted according to expectations.

The youngest staff member from the Self-content Team came running up cheerfully and said,

“Then please write a great song!”

“Huh? With this?”

What was handed to Cha Seongbin wasn’t a laptop… but a freshly bought, warm sheet music notebook, straight from a stationery store.

Seo Ian couldn’t hold back his laughter and covered his mouth.

“Pfft.”

Just a pen and a notebook.

Jin Sehyun laughed and commented,

“Hyung, this is your first time composing by hand, right?”

“I feel like Mozart~.”

“Puhahaha!”

He responded smoothly, but his mental state seemed visibly shaken.

Cha Seongbin tilted his head and sighed lightly.

“Will this even work…?”

He added a grumble about how he needed to see something to write music, unsure of how dark it would be inside.

But… it wasn’t our problem.

Jin Sehyun casually added,

“Just channel Han Seokbong’s spirit and go for it!”

“I shall cut the rice cake… and you shall compose the song…”

Positive thinking at its finest.

Cha Seongbin glanced at the staff and asked subtly,

“Any song is okay, right?”

“Yes. After you come out, you’ll have to perform it yourself. You must play exactly what’s written on the sheet!”

“Ah… I’m doomed.”

“Cha Seongbin, fighting!”

The result was devastating.

About 10 minutes later, Cha Seongbin emerged from the blackout room looking more haggard than the day before a submission deadline.

What he held… was closer to a doodle than a music sheet.

“I don’t even know what I wrote.”

“Hyung, is this even playable?”

“No idea. It’s weird…”

So the mission Cha Seongbin thought would be a breeze ended in failure.

“I’m starving…!”

He stared longingly at the glossy kimbap like it was a picture of food and swallowed hard.

Next was Ha Junseo’s turn.

Again, the youngest writer smiled sweetly and revealed the mission.

[Find ten Seochis hidden in the room]

Why exactly there were ten Seochis hidden in the room,

And why the unit used was “head” (like animals), I had no idea…

But the outcome was the same—he came back empty-handed.

Ha Junseo muttered in frustration,

“It was so dark I couldn’t see a thing. Is that really a blackout curtain…? It felt like there wasn’t any light at all.”

“The effect’s that good? Then install it in our dorm too—for Junseo-hyung who can’t sleep.”

“Is blackout curtains really the issue for Junseo-hyung? Please cut down on caffeine!!”

“Reduce your caffeine intake~.”

Just as Jin Sehyun’s nagging was about to begin again, the youngest writer returned.

“Okay, next up is Seohan-ssi!”

“Ah, me?”

So far, I was two for two in failures.

Now it was my turn.

The missions so far had all been pretty difficult—what would it be this time?

I looked at the sketchbook with curious eyes.

And then.

Flip—

Smiling, the youngest writer turned a page.

[Shell 30 sunflower seeds in the dark]

“…Excuse me?”

They said these were tailored missions for each member, but…

The Self-content Team kept getting it wrong, so I had no choice but to clarify.

“I don’t usually eat sunflower seeds.”

“…Seriously?”

I was dumbfounded.

[Doubles, why are they suddenly so good at their jobs?]

If you had to summarize how Dustys felt right now, it’d be this.

There’s no way this wretched company could be this competent… and yet lately, they’ve been doing too well.

In the past, a title like that would’ve been met with a flood of rebuttals in the comments, but now? The number of people agreeing said it all.

I’m so thankful my main group keeps coming back nonstop

The kids must be exhausted—but no, wait, they shouldn’t be suffering—but I’m also thankful, and worried, and ridiculously happy… what even is this emotion

Just the other day, Stardust’s surprise comeback article dropped out of nowhere.

The tiny ball that Doubles had tossed out like a surprise gift caused a huge stir among Dustys.

It hadn’t even been that long since the full album promos ended, and for fans who were bracing for a long hiatus, this was huge news.

[I seriously hate Doubles, but there’s one thing I’m grateful for]

They release absolute bangers every comeback

The MVs are always touching

They nail the comeback schedule every time

Okay I’ll be a Dusty for life ㅠㅠ

—Honestly Doubles sucks at work, but they’re weirdly good at their job

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Seriously relatable… they’re hopeless but randomly kill it sometimes and it catches me off guard

└Forget everything else, it’s well-known that Doubles’ A&R team and Self-content Team are the only ones who know what they’re doing

└Facts. Give the Self-content Team a raise

└That’s the flavor of a big company that keeps dropping self-produced variety shows even during hiatus

—But apparently this comeback was mostly driven by the members

└Yeah, someone posted on Blah that right after the concert ended, they wanted to release a single without even resting

└Whose idea was it?

└DSH

└Is that official???

└I heard it from a staff member so I’m not 100% sure. The members will probably say more soon lol

└Ah god ㅠㅠㅠ This love for fans… it’s you, Do Hamjji ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

└As I’ve always said, Do Seohan is serious about comebacks. So proud of our youngest hamster…

[Youth is great—they come back so often]

Is this what rookie boldness looks like?

Mini album, full album, mini album, concert, single… is this tempo even real?

Doubles, give the fans some rest too!!!

—(image of someone laughing with their hand over their mouth) Hey don’t say that while smiling

└Smiirk…

└Honestly, no one’s enjoying it more than the Dustys themselves ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└Only my bank account is crying haha

—When you see them endure that brutal schedule, the kids really are amazing

└Mam-Seohan said during a live that it’s not even that hard. It’s harder going into the Cha Seongbin-Seo Haim room

└Ah ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Yeah, that sounds rough

└Just imagining it drains me

└No matter how much I love Choco Haim… even I can’t handle the Haim-Seongbin combo;;;

As she scrolled quickly, Dusty Yoojin’s hand came to a stop.

She’d spent the last hour searching community posts, excited from the comeback bait.

Before she knew it, it was midnight.

“…!”

Dusty Yoojin’s eyes sparkled brightly.

Didn’t they say the concept teaser was dropping today?

“They skipped all the photo teasers and just threw the concept trailer at us… Doubles is insane…”

Honestly, either way, she was just grateful to receive content.

Thinking that, Yoojin clicked her mouse.

The teaser video, uploaded right on the hour, began to play.

.

.

.

.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The sound of a heart pounding fiercely.

A worn-out basketball cuts across the vast sky.

It bounced limply across the court—until a boy ran up and grabbed it.

The first protagonist of the concept trailer.

Under the clear sunlight, Seohan smiled brightly.

His eyes widened as if he had found something.

A soft voice echoed faintly.

“Found it.”

The screen faded to black, and Doubles’ logo appeared.

STARDUST Single album [Every summer]

2018. 07.03 18:00(KST)

It was just a short teaser barely ten seconds long…

But Yoojin took a deep breath.

She couldn’t believe what she’d just seen with her own eyes.

Thud.

She slammed her hand on the table and shot to her feet. In her excitement, she let out a scream.

“DO SEOHAN BLUE HAIR WHAT!!!”

…He was the embodiment of refreshing.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep