Finally, all of the teams started forming a half moon with the cameras and PD's in the front, getting ready for the shoot. PD Han, the imfamous primary director of the show, sat down in a camping chair in the middle of the front row. Senghi watched him curiously. He was a handsome guy with bright, intelligent eyes, but dressed in a wrinkled up t-shirt and washed-out khaki shorts, he seemed oddly out of place compared to the members.
PD Han picked up a megaphone and started giving instructions.
"Opening segment! Members, walk onto the set as scripted, and then improvise the opening talk. Inseong, don't forget to turn to me and ask about today's destination on my cue."
Senghi glanced at Joonah. He inhaled a deep breath before jogging to the end of the set with the others, doing the high fives all over again. She realized he must be nervous, in spite of his long experience.
A staff member got in front of the cameras, holding a slate. He hit it, then signed to Ji to make his entrance. Senghi swallowed, suddenly feeling nervous too. Once the cameras started rolling, that was it. The one thing she actually knew about variety shows was that re-takes simply didn't happen.
Ji walked up in front of the half moon of people and cameras, casually talking to the crew and looking around, as if trying to spot the other members. Senghi quickly got immersed.
When it was Joonah's turn to walk up to the cameras, she caught herself holding her breath. Why was this so exciting to watch?
Either way you looked at it, Joonah's transformation before cameras was impressive. His walk became a little sloppier, his voice louder and more high-pitched, his posture slumped. As he started teasing his fellow members, the signature sly smirk of Goodwin spread over his face.
Senghi suddenly recognized the character from TV, in a way that felt almost eerie to her.
"He does it well", she whispered to Hana.
Little did she know, that transforming came natural to him. As far as Joonah was concerned, becoming Goodwin was a lot easier than to shiftshape into his wolf form.
A few minutes into the impromptu opening talk, PD Han gave Inseong his cue, a discreet hand sign. The chubby comedian elegantly rounded off the discussion, then turned to PD Han and asked about the trip.
"The theme of this week's trip is 'Meet you in the middle", PD Han explained.' Tonight at 8 PM, all members wiĺl meet up at a basecamp in Boeun to play the Dinner Game. But to get to Boeun, each member first have to travel - alone - to another destination and do missions to earn points for tonight's games. If any of you should arrive late to Boeun, that means you have to do a team mission tomorrow before we let you go home."
"Oh my god", Hana groaned next to Senghi. "This means we'll have to hang out with only Goodwin and the cameraman for the entire day. Good times."
Senghi's eyes darted to Joonah, who looked increasingly bothered as PD Han explained the trip. While the director was talking, two men from the field team walked on to the set, carrying a fortune wheel between them. The wheel was divided into six option fields, each of them marked with a travel destination.
PD Han spoke again. "Goodwin-ssi, would you like to spin the wheel first?"
Without hesitation, Joonah stepped up to the wheel, his face displaying a mix of excitement and nervousness. As the wheel started spinning, Senghi had to swallow several times.
Inseong couldn't resist mocking his colleague as the wheel spun, sounding like a sports commentator:
"What will it be for Goodwin this time? Some of these options have given him PTSD and trauma for life... We all remember the tent night in Pohang in 2021 when he slept outdoors and woke up in a rain puddle due to the harsh weather.... And let's not forget the mango and rice in Gangneung, that resulted in an anafylactic shock... Well, at least he found out that he was allergic to mango. What will Goodwin find out about himself today, that's the question, ladies and gentlemen!"
Joonah looked unbothered, laughing along with the rest of the members. Senghi and Hana on the other hand, weren't laughing as they stared at the spinning wheel.
Finally, the wheel stopped at Wando. Hana and Senghi looked at each other, both feeling deflated. Neither one of them were sure exactly where Wando was located, but they knew it was far away.
Inseong kept roasting Goodwin, his eyes gleaming with gloat.
"Wando, it's Wando of the Jeollanam province, ladies and gentlemen. Goodwin will travel far today, mark my words. But it's only suitable for a guy who's usually either far off or far fetched."
"Right, Goodwin-ssi", PD Han chuckled. "You now have to figure out the quickest way to get to Wando, and from there to the basecamp in Boeun. Your mission in Wando is to buy two kilograms of fresh webfoot octopus at the fish market, and sing duets with five locals. Don't forget, you have be in Boeun at 8 PM."
The other members began trying their luck at the wheel, and Joonah took his phone out to search for travel options. Inside, he was discouraged with the result, as his staff, but he knew better than to act out his disappointment in front of the cameras. Accepting the missions without protesting was simply a part of the deal.
Finally, he got on his feet and went over to PD Han to collect his pocket money for the day, 30 000 won. Some of the other members were already taking off in different directions, not wasting any of their precious time.
Joonah's personal cameraman, Songchul, turned up in front of him and focused the camera on his face.
"Hey man, that was a bummer draw. Did you come up with the fastest way to get there?"
Joonah nodded, forcing a confident smile.
"Yeah, seems that going by car is our best option. I've booked us a rental."
Meanwhile, Hana and Senghi were getting ready to leave too.
"He will make this funny, for sure", Hana explained. "I guarantee he will waste his allowance on snacks, food and entertainment as we go, and then impromptu the mission. Maybe try to get the octopus for free by buttering up the fish sellers.
Senghi shook her head, chuckling in disbelief.
"But Wando is on the other side of the country, he'll only have like an hour to complete the missions once we get there."
"He will use the power of being a variety star. You'll see."
As Joonah and Songchul united with Senghi and Hana, a junior director whose name Senghi remembered as Changlee, suddenly approached them.
"I'm sorry, Goodwin, but you can't bring your stylist to Wando. You have to settle for your manager and Songchul. All stylists will transfer separatly to Boeun, they'll need the time to prepare for tonight's filming."
"Oh, thank god. Changlee, I love you", Hana cried out in relief. "Bye kids, I'm off to Boeun for some downtime and a relaxing lunch. Fighting, Goodwin!"
Hana swiftly handed over her 'Goodwin bag' to Senghi before blissfully skipping away.
"Wow, someone really didn't want to go to Wando", Senghi chuckled.
Songchul placed the camera on his shoulder, making some adjustments as he pushed Joonah in front of him.
"Let's hurry to the car rental place. Senghi-ssi, stay behind me so you don't end up on camera."
"Hey, hang on a sec", Joonah protested. "I just need to grab a few things. My blood sugar is getting low, I can't do this on an empty stomach."
Songchul rolled his eyes slightly, but Senghi could tell that he was intrigued with Joonah's - or more to the point, Goodwin's - antics. She remembered what Hana had told her earlier - stalling, wasting money and being obnoxious were Goodwin's signature variety tropes.
The three of them went into one of the airport convenience stores, and Joonah started browsing the snacks, grabbing bacon chips, a couple of chocolate bars and a bottle of iced coffee. As he made his way to the cashier line, he felt a rush of excitement in his chest, the dopamin of variety finally kicking in.
A group of teenage girls were standing at the other end, packing the stuff they'd bought as they noticed Goodwin and started to excitedly whisper amongst themselves.
Without hesitation, Songchul approached them.
"Hey guys, are you fans of Goodwin? Do you watch Hazy Dayz? Wanna take some selfies?"
The girls immediately squealed and hurried over, pulling out their cellphones and trying to look casual as they requested selfies from Joonah.
Senghi watched him pose with the girls, acting cheerful and friendly with them, being the k-pop idol singer now rather than the variety dufus.
As the small fan meet ended, they resumed to jogging towards the car rental dealership.
"No joke now, man, we gotta hurry", Songchul panted to Joonah. "And you need to drive kind of fast, too."
Joonah nodded., trying to eat a snickers bar on the go without choking on it.
"Yeah, don't worry, I got it. I'll drive as fast as I can without causing an accident." He managed to stuff the bar in his mouth, and crumpled the wrapper in his hand. His inner wolf had digested the double steak sandwich he had for breakfast a long time ago, and the hunger made him almost dizzy.
Finally getting hold of the car, they loaded their stuff into the trunk and Songchul quickly installed a small dashboard camera, before they climbed in and drove off. While driving, Joonah took intermittent glances at Senghi in the rearview mirror, watching as she sat in the backseat, discreetly tucking herself away from the cameras.
"Let's call the other members and see how they're doing?" Songchul suggested. "We need to make some content during the trip."
Joonah agreed, and quickly called Inseong up on speaker.
"Goodwin-ya. What's up?"
"Hey, hyung. We're driving to Wando. How's it going on your end?"
"We're on the KTX towards Pohang, and my camera man is making a big drama over me accidently farting. I don't know why it's an issue, it's perfectly natural!"
Joonah chuckled and shook his head at Inseong's antics.
"Farting scandal, huh? Seems like your cameraman is making a big deal out of nothing."
Senghi listened to the phone conversation with half an ear, smiling absentmindedly. Seeing Joonah, or Goodwin, in action was interesting. But right now, all she could concentrate on was his scent, and the way the secluded space of the car enhanced it. Her nose crinkled a little. It was overwhelming. Not in an unpleasant way, but... she felt almost like it was taking over her senses, making her lose herself. The headache was slowly awakening, her eyes fluttering shut at the realization.
With a small sigh, Senghi looked out through the car window. The grey sky forboded rain.