Fortunately, the bird expert didn’t make them walk much further before calling for a temporary stop. Just in time, too—Hajun was on the verge of throwing his sanity out the window and summoning every single bird in the area.
“Alright… I think we can get a bit closer to that bird over there. Let’s head over!”
“…Huh?” Hajun made a flat, totally confused sound.
The other members quickly cut in to cover up his mic.
“Yes, sir!!”
“We’re on it!”
No way that was a bird. It was clearly a human wearing a giant bird costume.
Hajun finally realized what the production team was actually trying to pull. He looked at the other members, who still seemed totally oblivious, and let out a dry chuckle. Are these guys idiots?
As they approached, the bird—or rather, the human in the costume—suddenly let out a screech and lunged right at them.
“…?!”
“W-Wait a second!”
Everyone scattered in all directions, scrambling to escape the monstrous bird. Hajun, however, ran in the opposite direction. He stepped right in the path of the bird, which was currently chasing Cha Eugene and Kim Raebin.
“……!”
“Whoa.”
“Wait, what?”
“Stop right there!!!”
Seeing a 189 cm giant charging at them like an absolute madman, the fake bird faltered. Panic setting in, it turned on its heel and started running for its life. At this point, the fleeing members stopped in their tracks to watch Hajun hunt down the bird.
It didn’t even take long.
“Watch out!”
“Go, Hajun! Get him!”
Hajun chased down the sprinting bird, grabbed it, and slammed it to the ground. Having successfully pinned the target, he reached for the neck of the costume and yanked it open. Lee Sejin gasped at the sheer, cold-blooded brutality of the sight.
“…Aaaagh! Save me!”
“Gotcha!!”
Hunt successful. Hajun gave the very realistic bird head a brief look before tossing it aside. Moondae flinched.
Dusting himself off, Hajun stood up and offered a hand to the fallen staff member.
“Are you hurt?”
He had figured out from the body frame and the high-pitched scream that the person inside was a woman, so he had held back his strength as much as possible. But it never hurt to double-check. Fortunately, his control had been perfect, and she seemed fine.
The dazed staff member exchanged looks with the camera director.
“Uh… this was actually a prank segment for [Working Humans]… Kwak Jungwon’s Prank Show…!”
“…Wait, was this supposed to happen?”
It was a complete disaster. While the thoroughly defeated staff members grumbled and regretted not planning something much worse, Hajun walked back to his team with a calm expression. He had been bored to death, but the ending turned out decent enough.
The other members finally caught on, their faces twisted in shock and betrayal.
“Wait, so this was all a setup?”
“Yep… but you guys didn’t get scared at all, so it’s a total bust. Sob. Seriously, how do you guys have such nerves of steel?”
“Well, it was obviously a person.”
“Exactly! What part of that looked like a human!”
The staff and members bickered back and forth. Finally getting their heads back in the game, the staff led TeSTAR to a nearby cafe. Hajun glanced down at Cha Eugene, who was still clinging to his sleeve like a lost puppy, and walked along.
Hajun took a sip of the drink waiting at his seat and immediately realized it was a vanilla latte. Too sweet.
Instead of drinking it, he slid it over to Cha Eugene, who was still tugging at his clothes. Eugene, having already polished off his own drink, happily accepted the cup.
Sitting at the set-up table, the MC offered a mischievous, smiling apology.
“Aigo~ Great job, everyone!”
“Ugh…”
“It was all fake… even the bird expert…”
“You totally tricked us!!”
“Hahaha! Wait, but we have a complaint too! How could you just tackle our bird like that!”
The MC laughed, bringing up the production team’s perspective. Watching the theatrical exaggeration, Hajun stole a sip of Ryu Cheongwoo’s Americano before putting it down.
“I made sure she wouldn’t get hurt, so it’s fine.”
“Should you really be the one saying that…?” Lee Sejin offered a quiet, timid retort, but Hajun ignored him.
Cheongwoo laughed softly and stepped in to smooth things over.
“Haha. Hajun is the most fearless among us. He doesn’t get startled easily.”
“Man, you really have a heart of steel. We should’ve prepared something way more scary… our research was definitely lacking!”
If they had brought something scarier, the more easily frightened members probably would have passed out on the spot. Cheongwoo kept the thought to himself. He glanced toward Park Moondae before quickly looking back at the MC with a smile.
“No, we were really surprised. Your preparation was very thorough.”
“Coming from the second least startled person, that doesn’t make me feel any better…! Sob.”
“Haha…”
Moondae was starting to get a feel for how they would edit this. They would emphasize the staff’s frustration for comedic effect. This meant his own embarrassing reaction would probably get buried, which was a relief. He tried to push any lingering doubts out of his mind, though he couldn’t help but feel a bit envious of Hajun’s incredibly thick skin. Damn it.
“Well, as you all know by now, [Working Humans] is actually a hidden camera show! Though us getting wrecked wasn’t exactly in the script…”
“I… I am truly sorry!”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Hyung, shouldn’t you feel at least a little bit sorry?”
“Ayy, it’s fine, it’s fine!”
Kim Raebin bowed deeply in sincere apology, while Hajun looked at him in confusion, and Keun Sejin gave Hajun a playful nudge. It played out like a neat little comedy skit.
The MC laughed and kept the conversation moving. When he mentioned that this place wasn’t even a winter bird migration site, Cheongwoo looked thoroughly embarrassed. Hajun patted him on the back.
“It’s fine not to know. We aren’t ecology majors.”
You didn’t know either, yet look how proud you are. Moondae stared at him, looking dumbfounded.
Either way, they spent some time chatting about TeSTAR’s new album and activities. After performing a short stage in a corner of the cafe, they finally finished their schedule for the day.
“Thank you!”
“Great job, everyone~”
Hajun shook his arm, finally freeing his sleeve as Cha Eugene bowed to the staff. He noticed Moondae watching him with a strange look, but when Hajun stared back, Moondae quickly averted his eyes.
What is up with that guy?
“I just want to go back and sleep.”
“Same here~”
“Oh, wait a minute, everyone! You still get your daily wage today!”
“Huh?”
The MC blocked the members, who were already in full heading-home mode. Hajun noticed the cameras were still rolling and forced his eyebrows to relax.
“Yes, indeed! A very expensive lunch! We brought a mountain of food to match your hard work! We have actual Hanwoo beef!”
“…Whoa!”
“No way!!”
Eugene, who had already grabbed a spot in front of the grill, motioned for him to come over. Seeing Eugene act so casual and friendly, Hajun stared in confusion—then it finally clicked.
“Eat up, everyone!”
“Thank you!!”
“Hajun, come quick!”
Eugene, who had already claimed a spot in front of the grill, gestured for him to join. Seeing him act so casual and overly friendly, Hajun stared in confusion before the realization hit him.
Wait, does this kid seriously think I saved his life from that bird costume human?
He was so simple-minded that it left Hajun speechless.
And his guess was spot on. While stuffing his face with meat, Eugene kept piling cooked pieces onto Hajun’s empty plate. Feeling awkward, Hajun immediately moved the meat over to Cheongwoo’s plate.
“Huh? Why aren’t you eating?”
“I’m full.”
“But we walked so much, aren’t you hungry?”
“I’ve had enough. Didn’t you see the mountain of meat this kid piled on my plate? Is your eyesight okay?”
“Aw, that wasn’t even one serving!” Eugene whined.
“Do you even know how much one serving is?”
Do these kids have hunger demons living in their stomachs? Hajun stared at them, but his spiritual eyes saw nothing of the sort. Then again, normal boys their age probably did eat this much… wait, no. Alex and David definitely didn’t eat like this.
While Hajun was thinking about what a “normal human appetite” even meant, Eugene made a huge wrap with lettuce and meat as a thank-you to him. Just as Eugene was about to stuff the giant wrap into his mouth, Hajun stopped him and pushed it right back. Watching Eugene’s cheeks puff out like a cartoon, Hajun was amazed at how much he could fit in his mouth.
“Move. I’ll grill the meat.”
“Oh, are you trying to escape eating by grilling? Just sit back down~” Keun Sejin joked, acting like a cheeky new employee teasing his boss. Aigo, Boss, just sit down! Let me handle this!
“I. Will. Grill.” Hajun glared. Hand over the tongs.
“Alright, alright! Here you go!”
Keun Sejin quickly handed over the tongs, knowing exactly when to back off before Hajun lost his patience. The guy really was a master of reading the room.
From then on, Hajun grilled the meat in silence, watching the human garbage disposals devour everything. He occasionally ate a piece whenever the members forced him to, just to keep the peace under the cameras.
Eventually, Ryu Cheongwoo nudged Moondae, pointing out the cameras. Driven by 100% peer pressure, Moondae reluctantly held a piece of meat out to Hajun.
“…Eat some while you grill.”
“This is the last one. I’m done eating.”
“Yeah, fine.”
Though he spoke to Cheongwoo, Hajun opened his mouth for Moondae. Seeing the sharp fangs inside, Moondae gently dropped the meat in and snapped his chopsticks back quickly, as if feeding a wild tiger.
Hajun snorted as he chewed. “Actually, I want one more.”
“……”
“Oh, really? Moondae-ya, this part is all lean meat…” Cheongwoo handed Moondae a plate of high-quality, fat-free meat, knowing Hajun hated fat.
Moondae stared at him, wanting to ask if he was a mother bird feeding a chick. Why can’t you just feed him yourself? Why do I have to do this?
“Ah—”
Hajun casually opened his mouth again, looking very shameless.
Faced with that blatantly teasing, thick-skinned face, Moondae shoved the meat straight down Hajun’s throat. He didn’t care if he scraped the inside of Hajun’s mouth, but Hajun slyly swiped the meat and pulled back, completely unfazed.
While an annoyed Moondae began eating his own food in a quiet rage, Hajun sipped his water. He watched the manager frantically gesturing for the members to stop eating from behind the cameras.
The only one looking anxious about the manager’s warning was Seon Ahyun. Sensing his worry, Hajun casually poured more cola into Ahyun’s cup, silently telling him to ignore the manager and keep eating.
