“Did you know you have to take off your shoes when boarding a plane?”
“Wow, what a vintage urban legend. Is there anyone who still believes that besides Cardcaptor Sakura fans?”
“Shut up, kid. You still need your passport to travel to Jeju because you don’t even have an ID yet.”
I nonchalantly retorted while double-checking my ID and driver’s license in my wallet. Ryu Jaehee, who got scolded for no reason just because I didn’t humor his joke, muttered in protest.
“Hyung, you’ve just disrespected every single person under the age of 17.”
“How does it even come to that? And you’re 18 this year, since you’re in your second year of high school. Doesn’t that make you not under 17?”
“My birthday hasn’t passed yet. Do you even know when my birthday is?”
“September… I don’t know, man.”
“Then I won’t remember your birthday either.”
“August 1.”
Seo Yehyun walked past us with his luggage, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe this conversation.
“Hyung, what type of driver’s license do you have?”
“Of course, I have a Class 1 Regular. You should get the same when it’s your turn.”
“Why?”
“Because getting a Class 2 or an automatic one doesn’t have the same flair.”
“I’ll just get the easiest one.”
Ah, this kid doesn’t appreciate a piece of advice that’s good as gold.
This was a trip arranged by Mydol Observation Camera after filming wrapped up in mid-February.
Due to scheduling issues on their end, the promised healing vacation had to be replaced with an epilogue shoot near Seoul.
After that, both sides had been busy—us with comeback preparations, and them scouting new idols. So it was two and a half months after filming the reality show had ended that we were finally doing this epilogue shoot.
Since it wasn’t during the airing period, this would only be uploaded to their official YouTube channel with some title like “Promises Kept by Mydol Observation Camera.”
After arriving at Jeju Airport and following the production team’s guidance to leave the terminal, we found a rental car waiting.
The car was spacious enough for five people and already equipped with cameras.
We handed over our planned destination to the production team, entered it into the navigation system, and set off for a beach famous for its beautiful scenery.
With my sunglasses on, I took the driver’s seat while Ryu Jaehee in the passenger seat eagerly connected his phone to the Bluetooth speaker, claiming he had made a playlist just for the drive.
“If we were four people, we could’ve rented a convertible and cruised with the top down.”
“It’s not too late. Let’s ditch one person and get a convertible now.”
“No, it’s too late.”
Before Kim Dobin could spout more nonsense, I started the car and drove off.
After cruising for a while, we hit the coastal road, and the refreshing, upbeat melody of a familiar pop song filled the car.
When I asked why he hadn’t played it earlier, he explained it’s meant to be played while enjoying the coastal view.
Not in the mood to argue, I softly hummed along as I smoothly turned the steering wheel with one hand.
“When I turn 20, I’m getting my driver’s license right away.”
Ryu Jaehee muttered determinedly while watching me instead of the open beach view. I pushed up my sunglasses with a smirk.
“What, do I look too cool driving?”
Ryu Jaehee nodded vigorously. He didn’t get his license at the same time as me, but Gyeon Hajun, who did, asked curiously.
“Eden, did you get driving lessons somewhere?”
“No comment.”
Well, I did drive around a lot after buying my car before, though… Ah, my dear Ferrari, the one I barely got to enjoy before it was gone.
“I need to get my license too.”
“The cut-off is usually by 21. If you don’t get it by then, you probably never will.”
We responded to the oldest hyung’s lament about still not having a license at 22 before I started humming along with the music again.
Eventually, we arrived at the destination. The expansive blue ocean greeted our eyes.
The sunlight sparkled on the waves like shattered fragments of light.
Since it wasn’t peak season yet, the beach wasn’t crowded. It was early May, a blend of spring and summer.
Ryu Jaehee and Kim Dobin were the first to kick off their shoes and socks, roll up their pants, and dash into the water.
I worried for a moment that they might jump in fully clothed, but thankfully, they had at least that much sense.
While I debated whether to take off my shoes and dip my feet in or just sit on the beach, Seo Yehyun tugged lightly on my sleeve.
“Let’s all five of us dip our feet in together.”
I thought he’d be in the ‘not going into the water’ group with me, but what’s this? Surprised, I blinked at him, and he scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“Since we’re here, it’d be a shame not to even dip our feet. I also regret not getting to do that when we went to Sokcho Beach in February.”
Now that I think about it, he was the one who brought up going to the beach during our planning meeting for Mydol Observation Camera on the first day of filming.
Reluctantly, I took off my shoes and socks and rolled up my pants. Future Yoon Eden would deal with the aftermath.
Watching the younger ones splash each other and inevitably soak their clothes, I clicked my tongue before stepping into the water. The cool waves lapped at my feet.
“Why does that hyung look like he’s shooting a photo shoot by himself?”
The sea breeze tousled Seo Yehyun’s hair as he gazed at the horizon, creating a scene straight out of a video shoot.
Gyeon Hajun nodded in agreement with my muttered observation. The light shirt he wore over his T-shirt fluttered in the wind.
Looking at the vast sea seemed to ease the frustration of my slump just a bit.
“It’s so peaceful that it feels weird.”
“Yeah, like someone should get thrown into the water for broadcast footage or something.”
Agreeing with Hajun, I closed my eyes briefly. The pleasant weather, waves brushing against my calves, and… splashes hitting my face?
“Jaehee, Dobin, are you having fun?”
“Uh, Eden hyung, it’s not like we did it on purpose…”
“Ah, hyung! Isn’t there a difference between a few drops and scooping up water to splash it?”
As I poured seawater over the heads of the younger ones who had splashed me, the production team called us over.
“We’ve prepared fishing and horseback riding activities for you.”
I nodded while drying my hair with a towel. Of course, it wasn’t a completely free trip.
“There are two slots for fishing and three for horseback riding.”
“Do we get to choose, or is it decided through a game?”
“You can choose, but if one activity is too popular, we’ll have to adjust accordingly.”
Hajun and I chose fishing, while the other three opted for horseback riding, so there was no need for adjustments.
I picked fishing because I wanted to cast my line into the sea and zone out while admiring the scenery. Horseback riding requires constant focus once you’re on the horse.
After lunch at a restaurant, we split up for the respective activities and got into separate cars with the filming crew.
After a long drive, we arrived at a dock lined with boats. We boarded the boat reserved by the production team, donned life jackets, and headed to the fishing spot, where we received a quick tutorial.
Thankfully, neither Hajun nor I got seasick.
We baited our hooks, cast our lines, and stood quietly, watching the ocean. One minute in, my fishing rod jerked violently.
That marked the beginning of an extreme fishing adventure instead of the serene angler’s experience I’d hoped for.
“What’s going on? Why do I keep catching them?”
I gritted my teeth as I tossed fish after fish into the water-filled bucket.
“This is not the fishing experience I wanted! I wanted to cast my line and embrace the art of patience like an angler… Ah! Another one!”
Even as I spoke to the camera filming me, another fish was caught on my line.
“You’ve got a knack for catching the big ones. Have you fished before?”
The captain chuckled as he glanced at the bucket and walked away.
Meanwhile, Hajun was living the fishing experience I wanted.
Leaning his fishing rod against the railing and propping his chin on his hand, he gazed at the sea with bored eyes and remarked, “I was prepared for this, but not catching anything is as boring as I expected.”
“Hajun, how about we switch places? No, let’s switch fishing rods.”
Despite trying to break my streak with a change of equipment and location, the outcome remained unchanged.
When we disembarked, my hands carried a bag filled with the day’s catch.
It wasn’t exactly live to die, die to live, but rather, try hard and fail; don’t try, and fortune will rain down.
“…I just wanted a peaceful fishing experience.”
“I was hoping to catch at least something.”
Walking side by side, we muttered our thoughts before bursting into laughter at the irony of it all.
The fish were cleaned at a restaurant near the dock, and we got back into the car to head to our accommodation.
It was a clean, standalone vacation home. The horseback riding group had arrived ahead of us and greeted us enthusiastically.
“Hyungs, how was fishing?”
“Not great. We barely caught anything.”
Gyeon Ha-jun shook his head briefly and responded. Ryu Jae-hee, who had taken the bag from me, widened his eyes in surprise upon seeing the bag full of sashimi and ingredients for spicy fish soup.
“Whoa, then what’s all this sashimi?”
“This hyung caught it all. By the way, there’s also stuff for spicy fish soup.”
“Didn’t Eden hyung catch everything, including Ha-jun hyung’s share?”
Uh, yeah, that seems to be the case.
Asking if horseback riding was fun turned out to be a mistake when Ryu Jae-hee launched into a 10-minute monologue about his experience. I regretted bringing it up.
Dinner was a barbecue party in the front yard of the pension, complemented by the sashimi I had caught. There was even red sea bream and tilefish sashimi.
“Yoon Eden! Come get the meat!”
Unexpectedly, Seo Ye-hyun volunteered to handle the grilling.
He said that since he wouldn’t be eating much anyway, he might as well take charge of cooking.
Standing in front of the camera, unable to tell him to eat more, he quietly grilled the meat for us.
He only accepted a few wraps stuffed with sashimi and vegetables that Ryu Jae-hee handed him.
“We’re not going to end up stranded again, are we…?”
“Don’t worry, Dobin. It’s May right now. There’s no way it’ll snow.”
Gyeon Ha-jun preemptively and firmly reassured Kim Dobin, who had started saying something unnecessary in the middle of our meal.
After finishing off the spicy fish soup with some added ramen, we cleaned up and went back inside the pension.
We gathered in front of the cameras to decide what to do until bedtime—mostly to create more footage for the show.
The pension had board games like Blue Marble, a deck of playing cards, and Halli Galli, which had already left me and Gyeon Ha-jun with painful memories.
“Let’s do that!”
Ryu Jae-hee shot his hand into the air, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Yaja Time!”
***
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