“Our team, Altair, will… exchange balances!”
At Cha Yeonho’s determined declaration, I clenched my fist in silent victory.
Altair’s members, seeing Kim Dobin and Ryu Jaehee groaning and laughing uncontrollably, wore expressions of pure confusion.
Seo Yehyun lightly nudged me and whispered, “Hey, I can’t believe this actually worked.”
“See? What did I say? Told you to trust me.”
With a face full of things left unsaid, Seo Yehyun simply shook his head.
“Now, let’s reveal each other’s balances!”
The MC, full of energy, tore off the stickers covering the amounts.
[REVE: 5,500 won]
[Altair: 13,050 won]
“What the heck is this!?”
Seeing REVE’s balance, which was now theirs, Altair’s KJi screamed.
“…This can’t be real, right? Please tell me it’s a dream.”
Cha Yeonho, who had made the fateful choice to exchange balances, stood dazed, letting out a hollow laugh.
The other Altair members buried their faces in their teammates’ shoulders or embraced each other as they received pats of consolation on their backs.
Wow, what a wholesome sight. You’d never see this kind of scene in REVE.
Now that I think about it, for the second time after my regression, I’ve ended up dealing Altair another blow. What a shame.
“Since Yeonho has chosen to exchange balances, Altair’s final balance is now 5,500 won, while REVE’s balance is 13,050 won.”
“There are still three days left, so it’s too early to give up, Altair!”
The MCs comforted Altair, whose members were still reeling from their loss.
But with such a stark difference in balances, a comeback seemed unlikely.
Good thing we didn’t leave much money unspent. If we had, we could’ve ended up like them.
With the midterm check filming over, we bowed again to the production team and Altair.
Altair’s leader and so-called “composer member,” KJ, spoke to us with his usual cheerful demeanor.
“Wow, you guys are great actors! We were totally fooled.”
For the record, this guy was my least favorite person in Altair.
A self-proclaimed composer who just slapped together other people’s work and still walked around shamelessly boasting. A true patchwork artist and master of cover-ups.
If it were me, I’d be too embarrassed to even call myself a producer.
Once, I came across a fan of Altair venting about how frustrating it was that KJ overlapped with me in position. But honestly, I was the one who was frustrated.
Nothing overlaps between us, except that we’re both human beings.
As for Cha Yeonho… to be fair, I didn’t harbor much ill will toward him before my regression. You know, birds of a feather stick together.
Altair was famous for being tightly-knit as a group, unlike REVE, and Cha Yeonho and KJ were known as close friends in the entertainment world. So, his antics in the past—flipping out in front of me—were understandable.
I’d probably do the same if Gyeon Hajun were in a similar situation.
Now, however, with him constantly trying to pick fights as part of some “rising star competition,” I agreed with Choi Hyunmin’s assessment: he’s an annoying guy.
Still, knowing that being openly hostile would tarnish my image, I smiled politely and thanked him.
Cha Yeonho, who had been watching the interaction between KJ and me, suddenly spoke up.
“Eden, can we have a quick chat?”
The place he chose for the conversation was the emergency staircase behind the broadcasting set.
Cha Yeonho, having called me there himself, stood in silence for a long time.
Compared to the past, when he would immediately cling to people, this was a significant change.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
“Could you give me your number? I don’t usually answer calls from unknown numbers.”
“Oh, I’m the type to answer everything, so we’re quite different.”
As I entered my 11-digit number into his phone, he immediately called me to check, letting out a small smile as he ended the call.
“You seemed distrustful of people during Dating Manual, but this is a bit unexpected.”
“Oh, I just don’t like people who are two-faced. Honestly, if someone told me they were dating such a person, I’d tell them to break up right away.”
“Fair enough. I’d say the same—better to break up than put up with it.”
“Then why do you…”
“Well, shows like Dating Manual have their own style. Being unique is good, but being too much of an outlier gets you in trouble, Eden.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
“I like all of REVE’s songs. A lot of them were new to me, too.”
“You keep emphasizing how these songs are new to you, but honestly, it doesn’t feel great. Are you saying REVE should only produce songs that sound familiar?”
“Did that upset you? Sorry, I’m not really an expert in music.”
“A so-called ‘music amateur’ who’s won a main award for digital sales. Quite the humble statement.”
The conversation was filled with empty pleasantries and subtle jabs meant to test my patience. I carefully maintained my composure.
“If that’s all, I’ll take my leave now.”
Despite my abrupt departure, Cha Yeonho maintained his bright smile.
Just imagining how that face might contort one day lifted my mood a bit.
Knocking him down now would be too easy. The higher he climbs, the more satisfying it’ll be to see him fall.
“Didn’t you say you had no prior interactions with him before?”
Gyeon Hajun’s question made me nod.
“Maybe he just doesn’t like me for no reason? Do I look that unlikable?”
“It’d hurt your feelings if I answered that, so I won’t.”
“It’s fine. I’m used to it; stuff like that doesn’t bother me anymore.”
—
[Day 3 START!]
On the midterm check-in day, REVE and Altair faced off in mini-games, battling fiercely. Ultimately, Altair’s choice to exchange balances turned out to be a misstep, as shown in the broadcast.
I saw REVE eating pizza and still fell for it;;;
LOL, pizza party and extra cash—this is peak economy.
REVE’s just lucky, not smart, LOL.
Viewers burst out laughing as they watched the daring gamble of REVE and how Altair fell right into their trap.
[Altair Side]
[Cha Yeonho: Honestly, I was planning to stick with the balance and not exchange it, but I unknowingly fell for a high-level psychological tactic…]
[Soomin: REVE’s acting was seriously convincing. I thought they were trying to reassure us to make us not choose the balance exchange.]
[Kwon Taehyuk: Who would have guessed? That their balance was 5,500 won.]
[KJ.: Well, at least we got the freeloading pass, so we can save on one meal.]
[Joo Hyungjin: But the problem is the movie ticket. Even matinees cost 6,000 won.]
[Cha Yeonho: Don’t worry about that. Hmm, I think we might actually win.]
[KJ.: Really?]
Despite the drastic cut in their balance to 5,500 won due to the ill-advised balance exchange, Altair’s atmosphere wasn’t too grim.
In fact, Cha Yeonho exuded confidence, leaving viewers curious about what tricks he had up his sleeve.
Wow, Yeonho must have some secret move planned, as expected of the mastermind.
If they pull off a comeback here, it’ll be an epic victory. Let’s go, Altair comeback!
REVE is so annoying. This is honestly just inconsiderate.
└? But Altair was the one who chose to exchange balances? If they hadn’t, REVE would’ve just enjoyed their pizza and been left with 5,500 won…
└This is how these shows work. Why are you suddenly bashing REVE? Are you an Aquila fan?
[REVE Side]
[Yoon Eden: Did you see that? My big picture plan?]
[Jaehee: Honestly, my quick thinking and acting played a big role too. Turning Ye-hyun’s genuine muttering into a diversion tactic was pure magic.]
[Seo Ye-hyun: We lost the mini-game, and you’re saying this? Our original plan was to win the mini-game and use the balance exchange ourselves.]
[Gyeon Hajun: Haha, hyung. When did we ever make such a plan? The diversion tactic was always the plan.]
[Seo Ye-hyun: Wow… Hajun, you should seriously act. Honestly, even you betrayed me…!]
The mood here was warm and cheerful.
The team laughed and credited themselves for the win, claiming it was 70% luck and 30% skill, while smiling at their remaining balance.
Gyeon Hajun lying so smoothly without batting an eye, LOL.
Yoon Eden’s smug grin is infuriating but hilarious.
These guys are just ridiculously lucky.
And so, the third day officially began.
Both mission participants, Cha Yeon-ho and Seo Ye-hyun, visited the cinema early in the morning.
[Cha Yeon-ho: Is point usage allowed? Oh, it is?]
[Cha Yeon-ho: I’m glad I’ve been saving up points.]
[Cha Yeon-ho: Watching movies is my hobby, so I also got a card with the best cinema discount benefits.]
[Cha Yeon-ho: And with this… voila, 0 won.]
[Seo Ye-hyun: I came to watch a matinee to save as much as possible on the mandatory movie ticket purchase.]
[Seo Ye-hyun: Matinees are the cheapest, 6,000 won.]
[Seo Ye-hyun: I should’ve saved 500 won by not ordering that cheesy oven spaghetti yesterday. With 5,000 won, I couldn’t even buy a ticket.]
[Cha Yeon-ho’s expenditure: 0 won]
[Seo Ye-hyun’s expenditure: 6,000 won]
Although Seo Ye-hyun aimed for minimal expenditure by choosing a matinee, he couldn’t beat Cha Yeon-ho’s card discounts and point usage.
Seo Ye-hyun was left to bear the significant expense of 6,000 won alone.
Wow, Yeon-ho planned all this. Now I see why he was so confident.
If they manage a comeback, this will go down as the greatest reversal ever. Ye-hyun might barely scrape by if he spends for lunch and dinner too.
[Cha Yeon-ho: I’ll use the freeloading pass I won in the mini-game. Gotta save on lunch expenses.]
[Seo Ye-hyun: Here’s today’s meal: one cucumber. I plan to stretch this across two meals. Good thing I had pizza yesterday.]
[Cha Yeon-ho’s lunch cost: 0 won]
[Seo Ye-hyun’s lunch cost: 500 won]
Instead of buying lettuce, which could only last four meals, Seo Ye-hyun decided on the cost-effective option of a cucumber.
Slicing it into sticks and eating it raw without even dipping sauce, Seo Ye-hyun’s grim determination left viewers both impressed and distressed.
This guy is unreal. Surviving two meals on one cucumber?
Turns out fuel efficiency is the key strategy.
[Cha Yeon-ho: Dinner will be a 1,000-won lunchbox.]
[Seo Ye-hyun: Dinner is the other half of the cucumber I bought this morning.]
[Cha Yeon-ho’s dinner cost: 1,000 won]
[Seo Ye-hyun’s dinner cost: 0 won]
Although Cha Yeon-ho had to spend 1,000 won for his dinner, Seo Ye-hyun’s prior cucumber purchase meant no additional costs.
Wait, is this for real? Even with the freeloading pass, Yeon-ho spent 500 won more than Seo Ye-hyun.
I’m genuinely worried. What if Seo Ye-hyun collapses from malnutrition during the show?
└He had pizza on Day 2, so he’s fine.
And so, the third day came to an end. On the fourth morning, they gathered at the set for the final results announcement.
[Final Results!]
[Cha Yeon-ho’s balance: 4,500 won]
[Seo Ye-hyun’s balance: 6,550 won]
[REVE Wins!]
REVE celebrated their victory in their own unique ways, while Altair humbly accepted defeat and gave warm applause to their juniors.
Instead of hugging, they just patted each other’s backs, LOL.
Are they doing the forfeit right now, LOL.
[Seo Ye-hyun: I’ll make sure to enjoy this trip with my teammates.]
REVE held up the large panel printed with the Hawaii trip tickets and waved at the cameras. The show ended with a preview of next week’s cast.
A day later, a post appeared online:
—
[Trending Post] Altair’s Cha Yeon-ho Disrespected by a Junior
—
***
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