Chapter 54

If I can't debut, I'll get a disease that will kill me 054

While being speechless at the number '27 stations,' the advertising certification expedition team steadily increased in number.

"Are you going now? Then I'll go too. There are a few places that overlap!"

"There's a no-spoiler clause for the team, so how about going with people from other teams?"

"Jaejin Cha?"

"Yes."

"I'm fine. What about Daewon?"

"Sure."

"Okay!"

The idea of quietly checking and coming back was over at that point.

What was surprising was that Seo Ah-hyeon, who looked like she was about to die of regret, was the one who dropped out.

"Um, I'm going on a trip with my parents..."

"Really?"

If this is the reason, it's funny that I would be going to Seo Ah-hyeon's place alone.

"Oh, then I'll stay somewhere else."

"No, no! Stay!"

Seo Ah-hyeon was shocked.

"I, I'll give you the key."

"Um, thanks."

I don't know what made her lend me the key. As I took the key hesitantly, Seo Ah-hyeon suddenly confessed.

"Well, originally, I was going to ask you to come along..."

"..."

I can't understand why she wanted to include Daewon in a family trip.

Did her parents allow it?

"...I'll just take the thought."

"Uh-huh."

In this case, it would have been better to go on the advertising tour with Kim Raebin. I almost ended up traveling with the parents I had only met once.

"See you on the shooting day~"

Seo Ah-hyeon was sent off by Daesejin, who waved her hands vigorously. As soon as Seo Ah-hyeon got in the car and disappeared, Jaejin Cha appeared.

"Totally excited!"

Jaejin Cha's eyes sparkled as she shook her backpack. I already felt tired.

'One day is ruined.'

I'll mourn my lost holiday.

* * *

The crazy proposal to take public transportation with this group was rejected. There's a precedent for this.

"We couldn't even get to one station before we had to run away."

"Right."

Jaejin Cha was disappointed but quickly recovered.

She even found the taxi ride interesting. I don't know why.

Anyway, the first stop was Yeouido Station, the closest to the filming location.

"Taking a picture?"

This went well somehow.

Since only Raebin Kim and I were featured at Yeouido Station, we quickly took our pictures and left without any fuss.

A few people seemed to notice when we took off our masks, but it was a weekday morning at a station with many office workers, so nothing happened.

"Great!"

As we got back into the taxi, excited like we had completed a secret mission, a question suddenly came to mind.

'...Is this meaningless?'

If there are no eyewitness accounts, what's the difference from just seeing the ads alone?

Even if it's for certification, we can't post pictures on the internet.

'Should I leak it as if it were an eyewitness account?'

But this worry was unnecessary.

Because the next stop, Gwangmyeong Terminal Station, turned into a mess.

"Hey hey hey!!"

"Jaejin Cha! Hey, it's Jaejin Cha!"

"Is that them? Ahjussi?"

"They must be here to see the ad. Wow…."

We heard all this as soon as we approached within 3 meters of the ad at Gwangmyeong Terminal Station.

Of course, we hadn't taken off our masks.

Learning from the last failure, we all wore caps or hoods, but I don't know how they recognized us. We didn't even show our hair.

And a huge crowd started to gather.

I'm not exaggerating; I saw people from the underground mall running over to look.

'This is... a nuisance.'

It was a situation where an accident could easily happen.

'Let's run.'

We exchanged glances and quickly left the station. We didn't take any pictures.

'Now, even if we hide, it's useless.'

After a brief sigh in the taxi, we confirmed that another taxi was following us.

"Is that one following us?"

"The person in the front seat is holding a camera."

The taxi atmosphere became gloomy with Kim Raebin's confirmation.

The taxi driver, who had been joking, "What fun things are you doing~," fell silent at the serious atmosphere.

'Oh no.'

That's how the advertising tour failed spectacularly from the start.

After barely shaking off the car following us, we all came to terms with the current situation.

"Let's go separately."

"Okay."

"Yes..."

"Let's go in costumes!"

"...??"

Jaejin Cha suddenly made an unexpected suggestion, breaking the quiet agreement.

"Costumes?"

"Yes! Cute and people won't recognize us!"

Daesejin reacted first.

"Wait... Ah, there's a rental place in Gangnam."

"Wow!"

"The price is good! It's only about 50,000 to 60,000 won per person?"

50,000 won is not a dog's name.

But it was a good idea. I sighed and added,

"It's a good idea, but let's go see the ads separately."

"Huh?"

"Why?!"

Raebin Kim answered Jaejin Cha's question gloomily.

"Because, if four people in costumes walk around, they'll attract more attention..."

"Oh."

Everyone immediately understood.

"Then let's go together to rent them. Okay?"

"Okay!"

"Okay. Driver, we want to go here..."

Daesejin immediately changed the taxi destination.

We arrived at a party supplies rental shop in a corner of a commercial building in less than 20 minutes.

"I'll take this!"

As soon as we arrived, Jaejin Cha picked up a costume and headed to the counter excitedly. It seemed to be something like a white tiger.

"Fast."

"Let's pick ours quickly."

As we approached the costumes, an employee with bright eyes approached us.

"Um, can we get your autographs?"

"Sure."

After asking them not to post it online today, we lined up to sign.

It was very awkward.

"I'll take this one."

After signing, we chose our costumes with the employee. Daesejin picked a giant bear costume, and Raebin Kim chose a rabbit costume.

It was clearly a choice influenced by fan opinions.

'If it comes to this, I'll end up with this.'

I hesitantly picked a costume.

The costume I hadn't worn since a part-time job five years ago was heavy.

'This will be a struggle.'

The thought of walking around in it made me feel dizzy.

First... let's redraw the route.

* * *

Park Munda's fan sites, after encouraging voting, started placing ads on public transportation to gather text votes for the final.

They got ads on wrapped buses and movie theaters, but due to the short preparation time, only subway station ads were currently running.

The same went for the large digital billboard near Gangnam Station's underground mall.

'Well done!'

The woman who captured Park Munda's iconic pose at the press conference finally used that photo for the billboard.

'Good thing I saved it.'

Incidentally, a digital poster of Park Munda in a hero suit from the second team battle was placed at Jamsil Station. We planned to go see that next.

'I wanted to do one more.'

Looking at Seo Ah-hyeon on the opposite billboard, she swallowed her regret.

She wanted that spot.

In fact, a few days ago, she saw a post about Seo Ah-hyeon's fans almost renting out the entire Ah-hyeon Station, placing ads from the subway safety doors to the exit.

'If they can do that, leave Gangnam alone.'

The fundraising was sufficient, and the money she planned to add was left over, making it even more regretful.

'Anyway, the colors came out well, so it's fine.'

She took another picture of the billboard with her camera.

At that moment, her friend, who had gone to get coffee, approached with a smile.

"Hey, look at that!"

"Huh?"

Turning her head in the direction the coffee straw was pointing, she saw a yellow dog costume with perky ears waddling toward the billboard.

'A Welsh Corgi?'

As she stared, she saw a sketchbook in the Welsh Corgi's hand.

[Park Munda, debut!]

"What is that!"

She burst out laughing and made way for the Welsh Corgi. A few people around the billboard also laughed at the Welsh Corgi.

It seemed the yellow dog costume was chosen to match Park Munda's hair color and nickname.

The tall person waddling in the costume looked quite cute.

"Can I take a picture for you?"

Her friend asked the Welsh Corgi, who was standing blankly in front of the billboard. The Welsh Corgi nodded and handed over their phone.

'There are so many interesting people.'

She couldn't hide her laughter as she spoke to the Welsh Corgi.

"Can I take a picture and post it? Great idea!"

The Welsh Corgi nodded enthusiastically. She quickly took a picture and uploaded it to her fan account.

=========================

[I came to check the ad and met a fan in a Munda dog costume! :D (picture) (picture)]

=========================

It was a good story, so the shares and likes increased rapidly.

Meanwhile, the Welsh Corgi finished taking certification pictures and returned the phone to her friend.

"Have a good day~"

The Welsh Corgi bowed to her and her friend and waddled away.

She and her friend giggled as they moved to catch the 2号线 (Line 2). They planned to have lunch near Jamsil Station and check the ads there.

After eating at a nearby restaurant and waiting for drinks at a cafe, her friend showed her something with a smile.

"Look at this! The Welsh Corgi fan seems to have gone to Jamsil too. Another picture popped up."

"Wow, impressive. It must be hard to move in that costume."

Even Park Munda would find it amusing, she thought, laughing as she checked the SNS pictures.

The Welsh Corgi had been busy, visiting various stations throughout the morning and taking certification pictures.

'Did they come to Seoul just for this?'

She had seen such fans before, so it wasn't unusual. The costume was a fun idea, though.

As she scrolled through, she saw the pictures she had taken earlier.

Then, she stopped at something.

A picture of her friend taking a picture of the Welsh Corgi.

"...Huh?"

"Why?"

She asked her friend with a trembling voice.

"Um... when you were taking the picture of the Welsh Corgi."

"Yeah?"

"Did you... check the phone?"

Her friend tilted her head.

"It was just a smartphone. A bit old... no case... Wait."

Her friend realized something as she spoke.

She didn't even finish listening and was already checking Park Munda's PR video.

'This model.'

Then, she checked the picture she had taken.

The phone in her friend's hand... was the same as the one in the PR video.

A chill ran down her spine.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey..."

"Really? Really? Really?"

"No, this, um..."

As she and her friend stumbled over their words, unable to complete their sentences due to the unbelievable speculation, a new notification came in on her smartphone.

=========================

[Crazy, crazy, crazy yellow dog costume is Park Munda, damn, he just took it off, oh my god (shaky picture) (picture of Park Munda taking off the costume)]

=========================

The post included a picture of Park Munda's upper body, smiling after taking off the costume, drenched in sweat in front of a digital billboard at Sinchon Station.

It was the same picture they had seen in the morning.

"..."

The two of them sat with their mouths open until their drinks arrived.

And the Americanos came.

"Enjoy your drink."

"..."

Only then did she gulp down the iced water, screaming inside.

'I should have shaken hands!!'

She was clearly excited and happy for Park Munda, but at the same time, she felt so regretful that she wanted to throw up.

"Let's go to the fan meeting."

"Definitely."

As they quietly burned with excitement, planning to attend the fan meeting, they made a silent pact.