The team’s eyes all turned toward Ber, the tiny bird-like spirit, as it sat there munching on tteokbokki.
“Ppihee…” (Contractor…)
There were spicy dishes in the continent of As too, but to Roy, the spiciness here felt like a whole different level—like it could literally be used to poison someone.
“How does it taste?”
Roy couldn’t even finish the sentence properly, the spice making him momentarily freeze up.
“Roy hyung, Ber is crying.”
Hajun stopped mid-bite, his mouth still open in shock.
‘Who would’ve imagined they’d ever see a spirit cry because of spicy food?’
Even the production crew filming the eating scene zoomed in for a close-up of Ber’s face, captivated by the rare sight.
“Ppiiik-!” (My mouth is on fire!)
Ber fluttered its tiny wings and began darting around in a panic.
Real flames even burst from its beak, lighting up the air around them.
Hajun, Choi Jungwoo, and Lee Siwoo jumped back, flinching in fear that the sparks might hit them.
They all covered their heads with their hands to protect their hair from the flying embers.
“Ber, don’t hurt anyone. Come here.”
“Ppiiik-!” (You tricked me, contractor!)
Ber, looking absolutely furious, dashed toward Roy.
The spicy tteokbokki sauce still smeared on its beak finally made Roy burst out laughing.
“Hahaha, Ber. I didn’t force you to eat it. You said you wanted to try it!”
Roy had never once thought Ber was cute in its original form.
But now, in this tiny baby bird form, its pearl-like tears made it so adorably pitiful he just wanted to scoop it up and hug it.
“Ppiiiiiiiii-!” (This is poison! I, the Spirit King of Fire, have been poisoned to death…!)
Ber clearly wasn’t in its right mind.
A Spirit King could live for eternity, only occasionally falling into deep slumber—but death? Unthinkable.
“Ber, want to try drinking this?”
Hajun cut a paper cup in half and poured a drink into it, making it easier for Ber to sip from.
Since Ber had eaten human food, it seemed fine to offer a drink too.
“Ppii…” (This child is better than my contractor.)
Ber raised one wing in thanks, then immediately plunged its head into the cup.
Thankfully, each gulp seemed to wash away a bit of the unbearable heat.
“Ppiih!” (Don’t touch me!)
Once the laughter subsided, guilt started to creep in. Roy gently patted Ber’s head with a fingertip, only for Ber to shriek and smack his finger away with its wing.
“Looks like Ber is really mad.”
Hajun leaned over and whispered into Roy’s ear, worried Ber might overhear.
“It’s fine. Ber cools off quickly.”
“Ppii?” (Nope. This one’s gonna last.)
Ber paused mid-sip to let out a confused little chirp, as if to ask what nonsense Roy was spouting.
Roy had to turn away to stop himself from laughing again at Ber’s wide, round eyes.
“That hit the spot. I feel alive again,” said Choi Jungwoo, patting his full stomach.
“Same here,” Lee Siwoo agreed.
Once Ber’s spiciness had finally worn off, it fluttered its wings lightly.
Only then did Roy reach for the jjajang tteokbokki.
“Ber, this one’s not spicy.”
“Ppii.” (Really?)
Feeling guilty, Roy handed Ber a piece of the mild tteokbokki.
Roy and Ber both ended up with their cheeks puffed out like twins, chewing together.
***
“Looks like the last team just arrived. We’ll probably be called to the auditorium soon.”
Hajun stretched his neck like a meerkat, watching the team shuffle in like defeated soldiers.
They looked so battered it was hard to even make out their features.
“Those hyungs are here too.”
Kangchul and Lee Chulhun, who had stepped away earlier, also returned.
Roy looked at Chulhun’s head and raised an eyebrow.
“That’s definitely a wig, right?”
“Has to be.”
His shiny bald head was now covered in hair.
For something acquired so quickly, it looked surprisingly real.
“Maybe they didn’t have the same color as his original hair?”
The new hair color didn’t match what Chulhun had before it burned off—obvious enough that even viewers would notice it was a wig.
“Or maybe healing potions make hair grow quickly?”
“I’ve never tried it myself, so I don’t know.”
“From what I know, they don’t normally have that effect. But… since it was burned off and not regular hair loss, it might’ve worked.”
Choi Jungwoo, who had been listening in on Roy and Hajun’s conversation, added what he knew.
‘Then it really might be his actual hair! That’s so cool.’
Even Jigu, who had been quietly sitting by, perked up with curiosity.
Roy felt a little regret but decided to just enjoy the fun of teasing Chulhun while it lasted.
“Contestants, please gather in the auditorium in one hour!”
The production crew made the announcement through a loudspeaker.
Roy and Hajun didn’t move yet and instead scanned the area with their eyes, looking for Kim Chan, Lee Doha, Han Jihoo, and Kim Jaemin.
“Doha hyung looks the most fine. It’s like he came from a different world.”
It was true.
Everyone else was covered in dust or monster slime, but Doha looked perfectly clean—aside from his slightly wrinkled clothes.
He was even dozing off with his eyes closed, nodding slowly.
“Jihoo hyung is waving.”
Han Jihoo made eye contact with Ha Jun and Roy, then raised his right hand with a bright smile.
Judging by his expression, the mission hadn’t been too hard for him.
“Jaemin hyung looks completely wiped out.”
Kim Jaemin looked like a ghost, his expression blank as he gave a weak smile.
His teammates tried talking to him, and while he responded, it was obvious he wasn’t really aware of what he was saying.
“You feeling okay?”
“I’m totally fine!”
Roy carefully examined Hajun.
Although he didn’t see any visible injuries, he knew Hajun’s personality—if something hurt, he wouldn’t say it out loud.
As expected, Hajun insisted he was fine.
Just as Roy gently patted his shoulder—
“Burp.” (So full.)
He felt a warm gust of gas released from above his head.
It was Ber, letting out a massive burp after eating.
The sight made Hajun burst into clear, ringing laughter that echoed around the group.
***
Chulhun silently glared at Roy and Hajun.
Roy didn’t avoid his gaze.
Instead, he gave Chulhun a harmless-looking smile.
But the murderous glint in Chulhun’s eyes made one thing clear—burning his hair earlier didn’t dampen his spirit. It had only lit a fire under him.
‘Who knew having cameras around could be this inconvenient.’
[Hero, I think you just imagined something really terrifying!]
“Peep.” (He’s acting nothing like the contractor I knew.)
Every facial expression had to be calculated when the cameras were rolling.
But Chulhun clearly had a powerful background—he kept crossing the line like it didn’t matter.
The fact that no footage of his behavior had made it out yet meant the production team was definitely editing things to protect him.
“Roy hyung, they said it’s time to move.”
“Alright. Let’s go.”
The silent standoff between Roy and Chulhun broke with the staff’s instruction to relocate.
Jungwoo and Siwoo, sensing the strange atmosphere, quietly moved away from Kangchul and joined Roy and Hajun.
“I hope we get to perform together next time.”
“Me too.”
“I really hope so.”
Hajun clung to Jungwoo and Siwoo’s arms, swinging them playfully.
Even though this was a brutal show where someone else had to fall for you to rise, it was hard to be cold toward the younger Hajun.
“Looks like some people are out on a picnic.”
Chulhun’s sarcastic voice rang out from behind, making the three boys give awkward smiles.
They quickened their pace to put some distance between themselves and Chulhun.
“Each team, please stand in your designated spot.”
Inside the auditorium, the production staff was guiding everyone to stand by team, based on how they completed the mission.
Roy’s team took the sixth spot from the left.
“It looks like we’re lined up in the order we finished.”
Hajun, standing at the front, turned back and whispered to Roy.
But as soon as the staff told them to focus on the stage, he snapped back into attention and stared forward.
“Did everyone complete their mission successfully?”
“Yes!”
Spotlights lit up the stage as Lee Jian appeared.
Gone was the ghost costume—she now wore a sleek light-pink dress that fit her perfectly.
Roy had braced himself in case Jian showed up in full ghost makeup again.
Realizing that wouldn’t be the case, he let out a quiet sigh of relief, just soft enough that no one else could hear.
“As you probably guessed, there’s a reward based on the order in which the missions were completed.”
A strange silence spread through the crowd of contestants.
Those at the front looked hopeful, while the last team to finish wore expressions dark as storm clouds.
“The reward for this mission is…”
The faces of the waiting contestants tensed with anticipation.
“Benefit points!”
A giant screen lit up with the number of benefit points awarded based on mission rankings.
“Benefit points, huh…”
“Getting a lot is definitely good. The first ranking ceremony’s coming up soon.”
“Man, if I’d known, I would’ve tried harder.”
Expressions of joy and regret mixed across the participants’ faces.
The staff hadn’t revealed anything about the mission rewards in advance, which made it sting even more for those who ended up in the lower ranks.
Even though everyone had given their best, those who expected to rank low wore especially heavy expressions.
“We got 10,000 votes! Amazing…!”
Hajun covered his gaping mouth with both hands, overwhelmed with emotion.
Roy’s team landed somewhere in the middle of the rankings.
The higher-ranking teams had received far more benefit points, but 10,000 was nothing to scoff at.
The team members looked at each other with teary smiles.
After all the hardships they endured during the mission, seeing the results made their chests tighten with emotion.
“10,000 points—what are you supposed to do with that?”
Chulhun was the only one who didn’t celebrate.
Everyone else kept their polite smiles fixed, deliberately ignoring him.
[Have you all checked your benefit points? Great work, everyone. These scores will be directly applied during the first ranking ceremony.]
Roy scanned the other teams’ rankings. Fortunately, the teams of Doha, Jihoo, and Jaemin had all ranked above his.
Only Chan’s team was second to last, which filled Roy with quiet regret.
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