“Why are you here, Team Leader?”
[???????]
【Planning Support Team Leader Kim Seonghyeon
Specialty: Cannot easily overlook those in need.】
Flowers and sparkles overlapped on the caption that read, “Why are you coming from there, hyung…?”[1]
[Seonghyeon???ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
The script did say, “Run into Kim Seonghyeon at the restaurant,” but no one expected it to happen like this.
Seo Hoyun lost his appetite and put down his chopsticks.
“Excuse me, Planning Support Team Leader, what are you doing here?”
“…Well, I have a half-day off this morning, so I came here for breakfast, and the owner begged me to help.”
“Sigh…”
“Team Leader, I’ll have the buckwheat bibim naengmyeon!”
Jeong Dajun, oblivious to the atmosphere, cheerfully placed his order, and Kim Seonghyeon, nodding his head, carefully wrote it down.
Seo Hoyun and Kang Ichae exchanged incredulous looks, but it didn’t seem to faze either of them.
“Okay, let me confirm your order: one buckwheat mul naengmyeon, one buckwheat bibim naengmyeon, one bowl of dumpling soup, one plate of dumplings, two bowls of rice, and two sodas, right?”
[They say Kim Seonghyeon had a ton of part-time jobs before debuting, and it shows;;;;
└Wait… Isn’t this a bit sexy…]
[Hold on! The part-time jobs Kim Seonghyeon did:
Café, PC bang, movie theater, loading and unloading, delivery, driving school instructor
└Thanks, Speedwagon!!]
Clicking his tongue, Seo Hoyun grabbed Kim Seonghyeon’s arm just as he was about to head to the kitchen to place their orders and swiftly untied the apron ribbon.
He then pushed him down into a seat and called another employee to order the food.
It was around this time that Seo Hoyun realized that although roles were assigned to each person, the scripts were entirely different, and everything was happening in real life.
In fact, as soon as Lee Jihyeon heard the “Pyeongyang Naengmyeon” joke, she couldn’t let pass such a good content and hurriedly rented a restaurant.
Kang Ichae asked Kim Seonghyeon a question.
“Team Leader Kim, you seem so natural with the restaurant work. Like it’s second nature.”
“Gasp??? Right, doesn’t it feel like it’s coming from experience?”
“I’ve actually helped out quite a bit.”
“…Did you get paid properly?”
“……Well, I owed them a lot of favors.”
“Sigh…”
.
.
.
While Seo Hoyun was nagging Kim Seonghyeon to stop living like that, Kang Ichae and Jeong Dajun enjoyed their lunch cheerfully.
The scene fast-forwarded, and soon, it transitioned to another screen.
【The Dawn Electronics Mid-Year Report 20XX】
In reality, no intern would ever dream of being part of a mid-term report, but Seo Hoyun quickly explained that at The Dawn Electronics, they nurture budding interns by allowing them to attend and even present.
Of course, the “parachute” intern Kang Ichae was nowhere to be seen.
“Jeong Dajun, repeat after me.”
“Yes?”
With Jeong Dajun trembling beside him before the important presentation, Seo Hoyun glanced at his tablet and rubbed his eyes as if exhausted.
“The company won’t go bankrupt just because I make a mistake.”
“…The-the company won’t go bankrupt?”
“Yes, good. You can spit in a smiling face.”
“Spit in a smiling face?!”
Not knowing that Jeong Dajun had misunderstood, Seo Hoyun turned off his tablet and headed to the conference room.
“It’s your fault for dumping work on us, so deal with it!”
“And if they claim that Jeong Dajun made a mistake?”
“Quickly fix it, but maintain the ‘Oh, did the company go bankrupt~~!’ attitude.”
“Good.”
Like a brainwashed kid, Jeong Dajun replied in 0.1 seconds.
Seo Hoyun, with a satisfied smile, brushed back Jeong Dajun’s messy bangs.
“I’m expecting good results.”
“…! Yes!!”
With those words, Seo Hoyun opened the conference room door and entered.
Jeong Dajun, moving stiffly, slowly walked to the front.
“Oh, it’s Jeong Dajun’s turn this time? I’m looking forward to it.”
Seong Jiwon, sitting across from Seo Hoyun, smiled brightly.
The clear smile, free of any blemish, seemed to light up the meeting room, which had darkened when the projector was turned on for the PPT presentation.
“You know the topic, right? As long as it’s about increasing The Dawn’s teamwork, it’s fine.”
Seeing this, Jeong Dajun momentarily froze as if his brain short-circuited, then quickly turned his head toward Seo Hoyun.
“Team Leader Seo!! Team Leader Seong is smiling, what should I do in this situation?! D-do I spit?”
“…”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Jeong Dajun, you crazy guy ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[It doesn’t mean to actually spit if someone smilesㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Seo Hoyun’s eyebrow twitched.
Twirling his pen, he leaned back in his chair and spoke.
“Most of what Seong Jiwon says is correct, so just swallow what’s in your mouth and listen carefully.”
“Wow, talk about favoritism…”
“Baby Team Leader, be quiet.”
“Oww!”
Seo Hoyun, who had startled Kim Seonghyeon sitting diagonally across, gestured to Jeong Dajun.
Jeong Dajun clenched his fist energetically and turned on the PPT.
【How to Increase The Dawn’s Teamwork!!
Subtitle: How to Stop Team Leader Seo Hoyun’s Nagging!
-Jeong Dajun-】
Jeong Dajun had racked his brain and prepared this, pushed by Lee Jihyun, who claimed that things must be created from scratch to be of value to the fans.
“In my opinion, the most important factor in increasing The Dawn’s teamwork is to curb Team Leader Seo’s nagging. Never mind why! Why does he have such a personality in the first place!!”
However, it was a mess to the point where it was an embarrassment to say he had put much effort into it.
The background was a glaringly bright rainbow color that hurt the eyes, with text in the Gungseo font plastered over it.
On top of that, photos of Seo Hoyun flew in from all directions—top to bottom, right to left.
[Screeeam]
The screen was extremely chaotic, but the Noeuls were busy capturing it despite the flashy animation.
All the pictures on the PPT were previously unpublished.
[I’ve never seen any of these before, damn!!!!!!!!!]
[The sleeping photo is insane, first time seeing it;;;;;;;;;;;;]
[Dajun, you have amazing sense. Make Jeong Dajun the CEO of this company right now]
Although it wasn’t done with any ulterior motive, it was incredibly well-received by the fans.
Meanwhile, Jeong Dajun continued his presentation, banging the podium.
“In conclusion! To please Seo Hoyun, The Dawn had to memorize all the custom menus from every coffee shop chain in Korea! Even though a simple Americano would suffice!!”
From start to finish, Seo Hoyun scrutinized the contents on the screen with sharp eyes.
“Jeong Dajun.”
“Yes!”
With a face looking quite pleased with himself, Jeong Dajun stared at Seo Hoyun.
Seo Hoyun tapped the table with his pen.
“Have you ever, even once, brought me a customized drink that suited my taste?”
“…!!”
“When I asked for a drink, didn’t you just pour a Pine bud drink into a frappuccino? Are you trying to poison me?”
“T-that was! I just thought mixing all the things you like might work!”
Caught off guard, Jeong Dajun stuttered.
Mixing the drink into a frappuccino was partly to see if Seo Hoyun would like it but also out of curiosity.
Nonetheless, all of Jeong Dajun’s efforts, which he had diligently prepared until now, went up in smoke.
“Did I ask for something so difficult? Alright, Kim Seonghyeon. Tell me what I like.”
“Pine bud drink, citron tea, and for syrup, usually caramel, chocolate, and condensed milk.”
“See? How hard is that?”
Ignoring Kim Seonghyeon’s grumbling that it’s impossible not to know after being told so much, Seo Hoyun cornered Jeong Dajun.
“The topic is all over the place. What’s your point?”
“What’s with the animation?”
“Start with the conclusion.”
Jeong Dajun screamed “Aahhh!!” in the inside and looked down.
He could hear Seo Hoyun clicking his tongue.
“…What do you do if you can’t memorize it?”
“If it were me, I’d write it down on a memo and show it to the staff every time I ordered.”
“…That’s an option?!!”
Jeong Dajun slapped his forehead with a loud smack.
Seong Jiwon tilted his head in confusion.
“You knew that, but why didn’t you tell him, Team Leader Hoyun?”
“Oh.”
Seo Hoyun stopped tapping his pen on the table and leaned close to whisper to Seong Jiwon.
“Because it’s cute to see him so flustered.”
“Ah, I see.”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Hey, you son of a bitch!!!!ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
“…Team Leader Seo…”
Though he pretended to whisper, his voice rang clearly throughout the conference room.
Having heard everything, Jeong Dajun glared at Seo Hoyun with eyes blazing.
“Earlier, you told me to just tell them to deal with it themselves!!”
“That’s for other departments.”
“What??”
“I didn’t say anything about within the same department.”
Just as Seo Hoyun left someone in a daze, the conference room door burst open with a bang.
“Hello~.”
It was Kang Ichae.
He, who had been grinding his teeth in resentment because of being labeled a parachute…
[Crazy b*****]
…actually showed up with a real parachute on his back.
[Hey, you crazy bastardㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
“Paragliding enthusiast Kang the Parachute has arrived.”
After being one-upped by Seo Hoyun, he had asked the staff to get a parachute from the tvK prop room.
While Seong Jiwon chuckled, both Kim Seonghyeon and Seo Hoyun’s faces soured simultaneously as Kang Ichae, wearing a sturdy helmet and even goggles, stood next to Jeong Dajun.
“Get out.”
“Oh, come on, just a moment!”
Seo Hoyun pointed to the door, but Kang Ichae stubbornly held the remote and switched the screen.
Kim Seonghyeon, having long given up on stopping his team’s rapper, could only watch with a tired expression.
“Today, I’ll be presenting on a topic from the Strategic Planning Office.”
Hearts swirled around the screen in a dazzling display before disappearing to reveal text.
【The Dawn Electronics SAGA】
“Excuse me, why are we suddenly talking about a saga? It has nothing to do with teamwork.”
“Team Leader Kim Seonghyeon, if the saga is good, won’t our morale rise too?”
Kang Ichae responded brazenly as if it were obvious and pointed at Seo Hoyun.
“I was deeply moved by Team Leader Seo’s warm! and! kind! treatment since joining the Strategy Planning Office.”
“Yes, I’m quite a warm-hearted guy.”
“When you treat me like that every day, it really gets my creative juices flowing.”
Seo Hoyun’s brows furrowed deeply.
No wonder he kept disappearing somewhere during filming breaks or was always engrossed in typing on his laptop alone.
Kang Ichae snapped his fingers confidently and flashed a self-assured smile.
“Let me show you.”
Kang Ichae clicked a small heart on the screen’s corner.
The room fell silent as a beat started playing.
[Wow, this song is amazing]
[What is this, is he releasing an unreleased track here??!]
For Kang Ichae, who had been holed up working since Shining Star Season 2, creating a money-scented R&B beat was a breeze.
When the Noeuls clutched their excited hearts and staredintently at the screen…
Pa- Pa- Pa-
…the machine sounds overlapped, making the melody even richer.
[I’m so nervous, I can’t watch this]
[Are they seriously revealing it here?]
The lyrics came through.
Papapapara—chute~.
“……?”
Parapara—chute~
“…….”
Parachute.
That is, a parachute.
Yeah~ I’m a para~~ chute,
You’re a sla~~ve~.
As everyone’s mouths dropped open, Kang Ichae twisted his body slightly, as if embarrassed, and said,
“I made it based on my personal experiences.”
“…”
“…”
[This crazy bastard]
The fans’ reactions, which had momentarily stopped, began flooding various SNS and communities.
[Hey Kang Ichae, you crazy guyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[There’s a reason this guy gets along so well with Seo Hoyun, he’s playing with Noeul’s heartㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Regardless of the expressions on the members’ faces, Kang Ichae kept patting his chest, seemingly moved by his own song.
You are~~ a slave~ oh no~.
“Hey, you parachute idiot!!!”
“Get out, tell that guy to use his parachute and jump out the window.”
As Kim Seonghyeon, who had honed his skills through various part-time jobs, and Seo Hoyun, who had gained a lot of experience in the workplace, stood up in extreme anger…
No~ yes, I’m a slave~~ yes.
…a clear voice echoed throughout the meeting room.
I am a slave~~ yes!
That’s right.
Title: Parachute (feat. Seong Jiwon).
I am Jiwon from Human Resources, YO
Ichae told me to just try what I want,
So here I am rapping about No and Yes.
“…What is this.”
Seo Hoyun, whose mind was foggy from listening to the crisp, staccato rap, quickly turned his head to Seong Jiwon, demanding an explanation with his eyes.
“…Well, I liked the song.”
[Seong Jiwon, haven’t you given up on rapping yet?]
[Seems like he hasn’t…]
Kang Ichae winked at Seong Jiwon.
“You’ve improved dramatically!”
“Ahaha, it’s all thanks to you, Ichae!”
Kim Seonghyeon glanced sharply at this harmonious pair.
At the same time, Kim Seonghyeon’s voice narrated.
– “This is a collusion. Come to think of it, even if the CEO planted the parachute, it couldn’t go through without the Human Resources Team Leader’s approval.”
– “We were so captivated by that harmless smile that we forgot this obvious fact…”
The scene changed to show Kang Ichae jumping out of the meeting room window and paragliding.
– “Goodbye, parachute.”
As the paragliding figure drifted down gently, the setting sun in the background seemed to mark the end of a long day, and The Dawn’s logo appeared.
– “Goodbye, slave.”
Then, the camera showed the three eldest members quickly escaping the meeting room.
Following them was Jeong Dajun, who turned off the lights and clenched his fist as he left.
– “Goodbye, elephant…”
“We did well today!! Good job!!”
The wstful voice concluded the scene, and as the ending credits slowly rolled up, the Noeuls pondered over what they had just witnessed.
[Ah…]
After a short while, they all reached the same conclusion.
[This is what a waste of talent looks like…]
These guys were seriously dedicated to maintaining their B-grade sensibility alive.
[They’re seriously all in on this…
└I heard there’s a rumor that they lose their pride if they lose at being funny, seems to be true.
└└Guys… if you fail to be funny, do you get kicked out to the dorm in your underwear? Noona can’t figure out the reason, so I’m curious…
└└Sounds plausible….]
“Papapapapara—chute~.”
“Slave~.”
Just when they thought it was over, a post-credits scene appeared.
This time, it showed all of The Dawn, including Seong Jiwon, in the same outfits, diligently slurping Pyongyang cold noodles in a restaurant.
Jeong Dajun swallowed a mouthful of noodles and asked,
“Are we performing this song at the concert?”
“…”
Everyone remained silent.
Even Kang Ichae, who wrote and composed the song, couldn’t answer.
[1] Author’s note: One of the iconic memes from the 408th episode of MBC’s legendary variety show Infinite Challenge (2006.05.06.-2018.03.31.), titled ‘Giant of Temptation’.
