novelraw Chapter 256: Bag Inspection (1)
Chapter 256: Bag Inspection (1)
For smooth filming, I, the bag owner, moved to the center. Naturally, that caused a slight shift in everyone’s seating arrangement.
I even put on the white gloves I had requested in advance to highlight my professionalism. Only then did it finally feel like time to open the bag.
Just as I was about to touch the zipper, Lee Cheonghyeon leaned forward and said.
“I’m really curious what’s in your bag, hyung.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s nothing you don’t have in there.”
Everyone around nodded in agreement at his words.
“He does carry around all sorts of things.”
Even Choi Jeho chimed in.
I don’t mind hearing that from anyone else, but not from you. Have you ever considered that maybe you carry too little?Regardless of how annoyed I was, the conversation continued.
“First, my motion sickness medicine will be there… about two packs.”
“Why is Joowoo hyung’s motion sickness medicine in this hyung’s bag?”
“I don’t know. I carry mine too, but hyung always packs it anyway…”
Hearing Park Joowoo’s answer, Lee Cheonghyeon shook his head as if fed up.
Riding the momentum, Kang Kiyeon interjected.
“Wasn’t the best moment that time in the ‘In My Office’ behind-the-scenes when the cable tie came out?”
“I still remember the Metube comments from back then.”
Jeong Seongbin muttered.
“I didn’t know you guys were this interested in my bag.”
I smiled to look benevolent on camera and took out my tablet from the bag. Because one must never forget the morning star smile, anytime, anywhere.
“First is the work tablet. I mainly use it for monitoring or organizing planning items. Urgent changes are written down by hand in this… journal planner, and I transfer them to the tablet when moving in the car.”
After the tablet and journal, came the first-aid medicines.
“This is Joowoo’s motion sickness medicine, this is calming tonic, bandages and ointment. Just in case—painkillers, indigestion medicine, and some glucose candy for emergencies.”
“See, my motion sickness medicine is really in there…”
“There are even really two of them.”
Jeong Seongbin said, picking up the two motion sickness packs.
Obviously, there need to be two—one for the trip out and one for the return. Do you think you only need to not get motion sickness on the way there?
“Aren’t there any more everyday items?”
Lee Cheonghyeon poked his head out from the side and asked. He seemed to be looking for something like this.
“Cable ties?”
“You still carry those around?”
Is this not it?
I tilted my head and took out another item.
“Then, work gloves?”
“Are those everyday items for you, hyung?”
“…Mini screwdriver set?”
“How is that an everyday item?”
“Why? This is good. The sizes are compatible too.”
I enthusiastically showed off my treasured item to the camera. This, everyone, is very useful because it has four Phillips head screwdrivers and an additional flathead bit you can swap in…
However, my affection was all buried when Choi Jeho opened the bag wide, saying let’s see the next thing.
“You’ve got another pouch?”
Kang Kiyeon looked horrified. It was the same model as my emergency kit pouch, just in a different color—he must’ve thought I had even more motion sickness pills.
“These are care products. Lip balm and lip cream, hand cream, toothbrush set… Ah, there’s mist too.”
I lined up the products by height. Since we were shooting a cosmetics commercial, I turned all non-company products to show their backs and emphasized our company’s product, the mist.
“In the case of the mist, it’s an Indenia product that we’re advertising this time. As you can see, it’s a product I usually use, so it’s about half empty.”
“Hyung sometimes sprays it on us too!”
Lee Cheonghyeon smiled, even making a flower cup shape with his hands around his face. He was such a gentle soul. I’m glad we could shoot an honest advertisement.
* * *
Various items, including Indenia cosmetics, also came out of the other guys’ bags.
In terms of simplicity, Choi Jeho was undoubtedly number one.
From a dust bag so worn out that the other side seemed visible, the guy took out one Indenia lip balm, a toothbrush set, a lens case, and saline solution.
“Don’t you usually carry glasses too in cases like this?”
Kang Kiyeon raised a very common-sense question.
“Well, once I take the lenses out, I’m just going to sleep anyway.”
But that kind of question was meaningless to someone like Choi Jeho, who didn’t function by common sense. The corner of Kang Kiyeon’s lip twitched.
“This hyung shouldn’t have filmed ‘What’s In My Bag,’ but ‘Which Bag Should I Get.'”
“We should have bought hyung a bag for his birthday, right?”
Listening to Lee Cheonghyeon’s words, Jeong Seongbin said regretfully.
They had recently pooled money to buy Choi Jeho a hooded zip-up for his birthday, but looking at it now, a bag seemed more urgent.
“Ah.”
Choi Jeho rummaged through the dust bag as if he had remembered something. Then, a small orange candy came out from the corner of the bag.
“Anyone want it?”
The candy, whose origin was unknown, went into Lee Cheonghyeon’s mouth.
Next up was Park Joowoo, a minimalist no less than Choi Jeho.
His initial contents were similar— toothbrush set, motion sickness meds, lip balm—but soon, new surprises began to emerge.
“What’s this?”
“Ah, the album I bought last time…”
From the small bag, a flood of albums with striking cases, colors, and images poured out. It was to the point that it seemed he had been using album CDs to maintain the bag’s shape.
“When did you buy so many albums?”
Jeong Seongbin, Park Joowoo’s roommate and the team’s leader, who had been closely observing his friend’s spending habits, asked with a bewildered face.
“Well, someone posted about doing a carrot market trade near MBC, and when I checked, it was our music show’s sound director…”
“So?”
“I bought everything the director put up for sale in one go.”
It was an incident that made one wonder if such coincidences exist in the world. But if the other party was a sound director, it wasn’t an entirely impossible story.
How many CDs and records must the director have at home? And our main vocalist, ever passionate about music, had gladly taken them all in.
There was a lot to say, but I held back because Park Joowoo looked happy. Park Joowoo concluded his turn by sending a heartwarming video message to the director, thanking him for selling him the precious albums.
Moving on to Jeong Seongbin, the contents started looking more like a proper idol’s bag.
Items like cosmetics for cover makeup, zero-calorie snacks, heated eye masks, and throat lozenges appeared.
The reactions the members showed each time an item came out were also good. In the past, they wouldn’t have cared less whether a custom microphone or a beetle came out of a member’s bag. The group had changed a lot.
Just then, something fell out from among the items Jeong Seongbin was taking out. It was a small, navy-colored notebook.
“…What’s this notebook?”
The moment Park Joowoo was about to pick up the notebook that had fallen face down on the table.
“Don’t!”
Jeong Seongbin shouted. Everyone’s movements stopped as if time had paused.
“I–I was just going to give it back…”
Park Joowoo explained with startled eyes. Jeong Seongbin looked just as surprised.
“No, well, sorry. It’s nothing much.”
Jeong Seongbin stammered. Did the group leader write some super top-secret diary in there? If so, his privacy had to be respected.
“If you don’t want to show it, you don’t have to. It’s self-produced content, so we can edit it out.”
“No, hyung. It’s not like that…”
Hesitantly, Jeong Seongbin carefully held out the notebook towards the camera. Chinese characters were written on the front of the notebook.
【忍三字免殺人】
(Endure three characters, avoid murder)
(TL note: Endure three characters, avoid murder = ‘If you can endure the three characters, you can avoid killing someone’. It expresses the idea that if you suppress your anger or irritation three times (i.e., show great patience), you can avoid committing a grave mistake, like harming someone. It’s a traditional way of reminding oneself to practice self-control and emotional regulation, especially in moments of extreme frustration or conflict.)
‘Endure three characters.. avoid… murder?’
I was perplexed. What on earth could be the reason for Spark’s spiritual pillar and benevolent leader to carry around such a terrifying notebook?
“Endure three characters, avoid murder? If you endure ‘忍’ (patience) three times, you can avoid murder, that’s what it is, right?”
At Lee Cheonghyeon’s words, who was looking at the Chinese characters, Jeong Seongbin lowered his head as if embarrassed. Then he nodded slightly.
“He definitely wrote it in Chinese characters so his roommates Kang Kiyeon and Joowoo hyung couldn’t read it.”
“Really…?”
“Hyung.”
Park Joowoo and Kang Kiyeon glared at Jeong Seongbin with eyes that seemed to pierce through people. They looked considerably betrayed by the fact that he had taken them for fools.
Choi Jeho, who had been silently watching all of this, asked.
“Who did you want to kill so badly?”
“Hyung! It’s a broadcast, so please moderate your language!”
Lee Cheonghyeon hurriedly covered Choi Jeho’s mouth. It’s okay, Cheonghyeon. This part will probably be completely edited out anyway.
Even a person of character like Jeong Seongbin could have a bad day. For all we knew, that notebook could be full of names like Jang Junhoo, Yoo Hansoo, or Hong Unseop scribbled over and over again.
For the sake of the leader’s human rights, I was about to give the editing sign to stop here, but Jeong Seongbin shyly spoke up.
“Well, I’ll just reveal the front page slightly…”
You’re going to reveal it? That list?
Are you saying you’re going to reveal that list of people you plan to exterminate after enduring ‘patience’ three times?
I trembled with fear. I had no idea what Jeong Seongbin was thinking.
Was he just going all out, trusting it would be edited? Was he giving a serious warning to UA? That if they got three strikes, he’d really sue?
While all sorts of thoughts were running through my head, the first page of the notebook was mercilessly turned.
And so, Jeong Seongbin’s Death Note, revealed to the world, was…
Iwol hyung 忍 忍
Jeho hyung
Joowoo 忍
Cheonghyeon 忍
Kiyeon 忍
…filled with Spark’s problem children.
“What?”
Lee Cheonghyeon asked, as if doubting his own eyes.
“Seongbin… why me…?”
Park Joowoo’s eyes took on a sorrowful light.
“Hyung, did I do something wrong?”
Kang Kiyeon’s reaction was not much different. He, too, was clearly flustered.
However!
“Seongbin.”
“…”
“Why am I the one most at risk here?”
Why me! What did I do wrong!
Why did I get two strikes when Choi Jeho didn’t even get one!
What’s the reason! Hold a press conference and explain yourself immediately!