Chapter 123. You Come to Jeju
The protagonist of the video was a famous pop singer named Hailey Swift.
It was a fairly long video.
Hailey was climbing Hallasan along an open hiking trail with a small Buddhist hermitage visible in the distance.
It was a strange sight.
From the looks of it, she intended to climb all the way to Baengnokdam and film something like a music video.
A large number of foreigners were hiking up the mountain while carrying filming equipment, and Korean women who looked like members of a dance team were gathered here and there, climbing alongside them in sneakers.
I immediately searched for articles about Hailey.
There was one saying that Hailey had decided to film a music video somewhere on Jeju Island with a famous American dance team.
But no matter how closely I watched the video, the dancers following her up the mountain didn't look American.
I didn't know exactly what had happened, but it seemed the dance team had suddenly become unable to participate in the shoot, forcing them to urgently hire dancers locally.
I had a feeling this was going to connect us to overseas activities somehow.
Still, forming a connection with a singer on Hailey Swift's level wouldn't be useless even in Korea.
The prestige of working with a Billboard artist was something we could use domestically too.
After receiving dozens of future spam messages by now, I could've solved this one while drunk.
If we went to Jeju right now, that backup-dancer opportunity would become ours.
Then we needed to make contact in advance so the Jeju dancers wouldn't make the trip for nothing...
If an American singer had come all the way to Korea, and Jeju of all places, to film, she would've booked accommodation.
She would've needed to arrive early and inspect the location before shooting too.
Meaning she was probably hiding somewhere on Jeju right now.
I needed to let her know we existed.
But how was I supposed to find her?
Then I finally noticed the Free Opt-Out number.
If I called it, I'd probably learn exactly where Hailey was staying on Jeju.
At this point, I had completely figured out how the spam worked.
Unfortunately, I didn't think I'd need to use the Free Opt-Out number this time.
Calling her myself and going to find her sounded like a hassle.
Hailey, you come find us.
I entered the reporter messenger room and typed a single sentence.
[Blue Moon, Heenari, and Dessault are all heading to Jeju for summer vacation right now. We're climbing Hallasan. Unlimited coverage, go go.]
Less than a second after I posted it, the chat room exploded.
[Blue Moon, Heenari, and Dessault Members Head to Jeju During Their Schedules!]
[〈City Heart〉 No. 1 Miracle Dessault Heads to Hallasan for Extreme Training! What's Their Travel Schedule?]
[Their Mysterious Chemistry Finally Revealed in Jeju?]
Apparently, one of the basic requirements for becoming a reporter was being able to type When the Buckwheat Flowers Bloom in under a minute.
I'd written one line, and they had already turned it into articles more than ten sentences long.
It took less than five minutes for the news to spread.
-Do hyung's doing it againㅋㅋㅋㅋ He's definitely plotting something.
-Please show us Dessault's stage already ㅠㅠ
-Don't overwork yourself. Do hyung's health is always less important than the members' schedules.
-Something... something is happening in Jeju...
Don't worry.
Dessault still had three more music videos left.
With the sudden summer-vacation summons, all the members gathered on Jeju.
Serin, who departed from America immediately, arrived without being late.
"Wow, I was watching the news on the way here. We almost got seriously delayed."
We'd rented a bus and gone to the airport to pick Serin up.
Kim Jin-hee came in with Serin, Seo Hoe-dong, and the documentary team, then caught her breath as she spoke.
"Why? Ah, was it hard to get tickets?"
"No. I searched every remaining seat starting from first class and booked whatever was available. On the company card. But right before the last flight departed, two typhoons suddenly changed course toward the mainland... They said the heavy rain could cancel flights for as long as two days."
There was still one day left until the recording date.
Normally, the dance team would've boarded a flight from America around now.
So the culprit was the typhoon.
"Wow, hyung. You can drive a bus too?"
Dae-hun looked impressed as I loaded all the members and staff onto the bus and sat in the driver's seat.
"Those Pantheon bastards treated new employees like hired labor. You had to know at least this much. You should know that."
"When I joined, we just hired a driver."
Maybe they'd changed the system after I smashed the interior rearview mirror too many times as a rookie.
Of course, it wasn't like I had skipped hiring a driver just to show off.
I wanted to sit comfortably and rest too.
But when I had two hundred million won a year tied up in building costs, I had to save wherever possible.
Four Blue Moon members.
Eight Heenari members.
Five Dessault members.
Then me, Dae-hun, Jin-hee, Seo Hoe-dong, and nine members of the filming crew.
Thirty people in total.
We had even rented a two-story pension large enough for all thirty of us to stay the night.
When we arrived in front of the pension, the members got off with bright expressions.
"I think sudden vacations like this are nice too. After Geoje Island last time, I thought it'd be ages before our next trip."
Youngchae spoke cheerfully.
Sorry.
I didn't think this would be much of a vacation.
The articles were already out.
Around now, the American dance team should've notified Hailey's side that they were delayed.
That would push filming back by at least a day.
But with the school term about to begin, Hallasan National Park would never extend the filming-area closure.
Hailey's music video might help tourism, but they couldn't keep discriminating against ordinary visitors for more than two days.
That schedule would've been agreed upon in advance.
Which was probably why they urgently found a local dance team in the future video.
Now all they had to do was see our articles.
Early the next morning, Do Jun-hyeok woke everyone up.
He said they were heading to Hallasan.
Nobody looked particularly surprised.
They'd already seen it in the articles.
More importantly, everyone knew Do Jun-hyeok well enough to understand that he wasn't the kind of man who would suddenly force everyone onto a Jeju trip purely for vacation.
Of course, everyone was still nervous.
Even if the bus could take them up to around one thousand meters above sea level, the remaining route would still be a difficult climb.
"When we suddenly go somewhere like this, does it mean there's something there? Like, are we digging up wild ginseng or something?"
Ji-hee from Dessault, who still hadn't spent enough time around Universe to understand the pattern, asked.
"Yes. But usually it's not wild ginseng. It's more like Mariana Grande or Hailey Swift is waiting at Baengnokdam."
"Huh? Why would Mariana Grande be at Baengnokdam? No way."
Ji-hee laughed in disbelief at Serin's explanation.
Aran, who had been sitting in one corner grinning to herself, joined in.
"I actually looked it up last night. Look at this!"
More than ten members crowded around Aran.
The bus had already entered the mountain road, but the ride remained smooth and comfortable.
"Legendary pop singer Hailey Swift visits Jeju for filming! Something's going to fall through again, right?!"
"Gasp! Hailey Swift is at Baengnokdam?"
"No, I don't know that part. Maybe CEO just guessed Baengnokdam with his instincts?"
The members began murmuring among themselves.
Seo Hoe-dong, who overheard the conversation from nearby, thought they had guessed wrong this time.
If Hailey's team had gone somewhere on Jeju, the most likely place was the coast, somewhere easy to access.
There wasn't enough space to film near the beginning of a hiking trail.
And to reach the summit, where vegetation became sparse, they would have to walk the entire way.
Why would a famous singer come all the way to Jeju just to climb a mountain?
America had plenty of famous places like the Grand Canyon too.
Eventually, the bus reached the area where vehicle access ended.
On one side, a path opened toward a hermitage called Jonjaam, while the parking lot was on the opposite side.
"Huh? Isn't that Teacher Young-hye's box truck? Looks like we really do have a schedule here!"
The members climbed out of the bus while chattering excitedly.
Beside the truck they had identified as Teacher Young-hye's were five or six vans.
Apparently noticing the arriving bus, several blond foreign men hurriedly got out.
Among them was the very pop star they'd been joking about.
Hailey Swift.
Hailey briefly shook Do Jun-hyeok's hand before approaching the members.
"Ooooh! Thank you so much for coming on such short notice! Let's say hello. Nice to meet you, beautiful Serena. Thank you, gorgeous Artem. Our perfect Diana came too. Oh! And cute Luna! Yes!"
Hailey greeted the Heenari and Dessault members in exactly the same way.
Not a single adjective repeated.
She was certainly expressive and clearly happy to see them, though there was also something slightly exaggerated about her enthusiasm.
Even among Westerners, Hailey looked exceptionally Western.
For now, she was dressed in athletic clothes suitable for hiking.
But once filming began, it was obvious she'd change into some glittering super-female stage outfit.
In photographs, she had merely seemed like one of countless foreign celebrities.
Seeing her in person, her features felt almost like another species, unfamiliar yet beautiful.
"Actually, the dance team responsible for a crucial part of my music video is stranded in America. We were panicking because we couldn't find another dance team good enough. But when I heard our perfect Universe girls were coming, I finally felt relieved!"
Do Jun-hyeok, who had been watching Hailey greet the members, approached.
"Sorry I couldn't tell you earlier. I was going to explain once everything was confirmed, but that only happened last night. Since we'd already come this far, I figured it'd be better to just show you when we arrived."
"Is this really anything new? We're used to it!"
Serin playfully scolded Jun-hyeok.
Either way, now that the members finally understood the situation, filming Hailey's music video was already confirmed.
Everyone assumed all that remained was a fun shoot.
They were energetic and excited.
At least until they actually started climbing.
The American production team had impressive stamina too.
Seo Hoe-dong had kept hold of his camera throughout the entire climb, which was remarkable enough.
But the American crew immediately began setting up cameras and changing areas the moment they arrived.
While Hailey and the members collapsed to one side to rest, Do Jun-hyeok checked the outfits they had brought.
Hong Young-hye had dropped out much earlier.
As soon as preparations were finished, filming began.
Hailey briefly demonstrated the choreography, and the members picked it up almost immediately.
Hailey seemed slightly shocked that not one of the nearly twenty performers struggled with the dance.
They were memorizing it practically as soon as they learned it.
From Seo Hoe-dong's perspective, they hadn't rested nearly long enough to begin filming.
But the moment choreography practice ended and the cameras started rolling, the members transformed completely.
They looked like a thoroughly trained veteran dance crew.
The person directing Hailey's shoot was Elton Rian, a giant in the American music-video industry.
He had received permission for aerial filming and launched five drones at once.
Whenever he shouted,
"Drone Three!"
the other drones rapidly moved out of Drone Three's field of view.
Then, as Drone Three descended close to the ground, Hailey and the members instantly shifted direction and rearranged their performance formation.
Blue Moon had endured a long period of obscurity.
Heenari had been through every kind of hardship imaginable.
And even Dessault's members were already performing at a first-rate level.
If they wanted to, each Blue Moon member could succeed individually as an actress, rapper, model, or variety personality.
Heenari had their own unique story too, and aside from 〈I Love You So Much〉, anticipation for what was essentially their true debut song was overwhelming.
Dessault had reached number one in music streaming, and their album sales had already surpassed 250,000 copies.
During filming, the producers, drone operators, and Universe planners hid themselves farther down the hiking trail.
"They're incredibly professional. I came prepared to shoot this more than twenty times. If the directors don't make mistakes, we could finish in a single take."
Director Elton Rian muttered while watching them.
Seo Hoe-dong heard him, raised his documentary camera, and asked,
"Could you say a few words about this Universe team?"
"Oh. The Universe team?"
He thought for a moment before answering.
"They're an incredible team. We nearly had a serious problem. Honestly, what happened here should've been impossible. An ordinary producer wouldn't even have attempted something like this. And yet they're giving us a performance this perfect."
Seo Hoe-dong agreed.
And just like that, the shoot ended in a single take.
All the production staff began climbing back toward Baengnokdam to gather the members.
Do Jun-hyeok, who had started standing up behind them, suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Seo Hoe-dong asked.
Do Jun-hyeok pulled out his phone and answered,
"Nothing. There's just one messenger notification I need to check. You go ahead."
