CTFI 52

Chapter 52

“Ah, M-Mr. Seon! I’ll prepare your seat right away! A chair, get a chair!”

PD Lee Geon-woo made a fuss.

Staff members scurried anxiously behind him.

“Hahaha! It’s fine.”

Jin-hoon waved his hands dismissively and looked around the karaoke room.
Wherever his gaze landed, a wave of tension ran down the staff’s spines.

“A karaoke room… It’s really been a while. I can’t even remember the last time I was in one.”

The Trot Emperor, Jin-hoon.
He had appeared today as a surprise guest on Loomis’s own content show, <Loomis House>.
It was at the request of his junior “Marine” (?) Ru-ha.

“Sir, let me explain the concept one more time.”
“Yes, go ahead.”

PD Lee Geon-woo slowly explained the concept again.
The concept for today’s content was simple.
The Loomis members and Ru-ha would split into two teams to learn one of Jin-hoon’s hit songs, and Jin-hoon would challenge Loomis’s debut song, ‘Shining Face’.
It was grandly titled ‘A Musical Exchange Transcending Generations,’ but in reality, it was an entertainment-filled song battle.

Sigh… Ru-ha, you rascal!

Because of this, Lee Geon-woo had been breaking out in a cold sweat.
He had thought it was great news when he heard about the guest appearance, but who would have guessed it would be the sunbaenim himself, Jin-hoon!

“Sunbaenim, you’ve arrriiived-!”

Ru-ha greeted him with a loud voice and a deep bow.

“Yeah, Marine Jin! Have you been resting well?”
“Of couuurse-!”
“Hello, Sunbaenim!”

The Loomis members, who had been scattered about due to Jin-hoon’s early arrival, came rushing out.

“Yeah, I bet you’ve practiced a lot?”
“…Yes, yes!”

They had only had two days to practice.
They were already busy preparing for the 5th round of RE:VIVAL, and the sudden scheduling of this in-house content shoot had left the Loomis members flustered.

“An in-house content shoot? Now? We’re busy with the 5th round!”

The members had pressed him, asking why they had to film this during such a busy time.

“This is all for the 5th round!”

Ru-ha was firm.
Moreover, the guest was Jin-hoon… Even if they had to pull an all-nighter for the competition, today’s shoot was absolutely essential.

“Alright! Then, we’ll start filming now!”

At PD Lee Geon-woo’s signal, the red light on the camera turned on.
Click-!
The first door opened, and Baek Do-ha walked down the hallway with a charismatic aura, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders.
Then the second door opened.
Cha Eun-gyeol swept back his hair and winked at the camera.
Third, fourth… As the members appeared one by one, they each showed their unique personalities to ensure their reactions didn’t overlap.
Still, perhaps because they were in their third year, it was a moment that revealed their professionalism as idols.

“Ta-da!”

And so, the five members gathered at the entrance of the karaoke room.

“Everyone, do you know where this is?”

Baek Do-ha spun around once as he asked.

“Huh? Where is it?”
“This is…!”

Baek Do-ha looked around at the members, building anticipation.

“It’s the ‘Sing & Sing’ Karaoke!”
“Sing & Sing? Isn’t that a coin karaoke? I used to go there a lot in high school!”

Ryu Si-an’s eyes widened.

“Nope~”

Baek Do-ha wagged his index finger from side to side.
It was a gesture that seemed to come with a ‘tsk tsk’ sound effect.

“This is not the coin karaoke we used to know!”
“Then what is it?”

The four members seamlessly made flower gestures with both hands and tilted their heads in unison.
Thanks to their perfect visuals, gasps of admiration leaked out among the staff.
Baek Do-ha suddenly shouted towards the camera.

“Have you given up on singing and dancing with your friends because the room was too small?”

Then, Baek Do-ha moved to the side and stood in front of the camera, using the hallway lined with rooms as his background.

“Don’t worry! Sing & Sing Premium Karaoke, equipped with large rooms, is now open nationwide!”

Ryu Si-an slid into the camera angle as if gliding.

“Whoa! So, we don’t have to do group sing-alongs in suffocating rooms anymore?”
“Wait a minute!”

Cha Eun-gyeol popped out from the opposite side of Ryu Si-an.

“But karaoke is so expensive! Coin karaoke is way~ cheaper!”

Was this the power of capital?
Uncharacteristically for his cool, cold image, he was full of variety sense.
Kang I-an popped up from the bottom of the screen.

“That’s exactly it! The innovative part of Sing & Sing! The price is the same as coin karaoke!”

After speaking, Kang I-an made a finger gun and pointed to the side.

“But the sound and space are premium grade!”

Ha Jin-woo popped up from the bottom of the screen, filling the frame like the final puzzle piece.
Finally, all five members filled the camera shot.

“Everyone, let’s sing ‘Shining Face’ at Sing & Sing Karaoke!”

The camera zoomed out to capture the members’ full bodies,
and the members continued with a light closing dance along with their ending remarks.
Ryu Si-an even shouted “It’s Me!” and did a light jump in the middle.

“Okay! Ah~ That was very good!”

PD Lee Geon-woo’s applause rang out.
The members simultaneously plopped down onto the floor.

“Wow… That’s not easy.”
“I’m still nervous.”
“Oh~ Is this how you become a CF King!?”

This was the first PPL for <Loomis House>, which PD Lee Geon-woo had run himself to secure.

“We’ll take a short break and then proceed with the main shoot immediately!”

The staff in charge of makeup rushed over.
Cushions incessantly patted their faces, and spray mist filled the air.
The members quickly changed their clothes.
They had managed to save time by finishing it in one take without any NGs, but they had no time to dawdle with the great sunbaenim, Jin-hoon, waiting.

“Your hyungs are working hard, I see.”

Jin-hoon looked at the scene fondly and whispered to Ru-ha.

“Yes, Sunbaenim! They are very good friends.”
“Friends? Hahahaha!”

Ru-ha’s voice was full of sincerity.
He knew better than anyone how hard these guys worked and how earnest they were.

“Kyaaah!”
“Ru-ha!”
“I’m deeaad!”

At the sudden screams, the members flinched and looked back.
It was because Jin-hoon and Ru-ha had appeared, equipped with sparkly jackets and sunglasses.
As if walking a runway, the two strode forward confidently.

“Wow, Jin-hoon sunbaenim, you’re still so cool!”
“It suits him surprisingly well?”
“Ru-ha is so cute!”

After the staff’s admiring comments(?) ended, the main shoot began.

“One, two, three! Baek-Cha-Kang! Fighting!”

Baek Do-ha, Cha Eun-gyeol, and Kang I-an put their hands together.
The team name was derived from the first syllables of their surnames.

“One, two, three! Marine! Fighting!”

Ru-ha, Ryu Si-an, and Ha Jin-woo shouted as they formed a circle.
Marine = 해병.
It was the team name for today’s guest, Sunbaenim Jin-hoon.

“As expected, our sixth member, Ru-ha, is with us again today!”

Baek Do-ha delivered the first line.

“Ru-ha-ssi! What does the team name ‘Marine’ mean~?”

Kang I-an, pretending not to know anything, spoke to him in a teasing manner.
Ru-ha’s eyebrows drooped into a八字 shape, and his lips puckered out.

‘Be quiet!’

He glared and mouthed the words silently.

“Ah… We named our team Marine for a very special guest today!”

Ryu Si-an quickly stepped in to salvage the situation.

“Marine? It’s related to today’s special guest? I’m really looking forward to it!”
“Then, shall we invite today’s special guest?”
“Alright, let’s all call for him together!”
“Sunbaenim!”

The members called out towards off-camera in cutesy voices.
The camera swiveled.
It captured Jin-hoon walking towards them, panning up from his feet.

Doo-doong, The Emperor’s Entrance!

The subtitle was predictable.

“Ruby~ Hello! I’m Jin-hoon. Today, I’ll try to get a little younger with our Loomis friends!”

Jin-hoon greeted them brightly.
It suited him quite well.

“Oh! Sunbaenim, you know our fandom name!?”

Kang I-an’s eyes sparkled.
The other members’ eyes also widened in surprise.

“Of course! Loomis Baby!”

Jin-hoon approached and poked Kang I-an’s cheek lightly.
Kang I-an tensed for a moment but then tilted his head and made a “Kyu~” sound, acting cute.

“Oh! Sunbaenim!!”

The members cheered.

“I looked up so much online to come here today! Your fandom name is really funny, isn’t it? ‘Loomis’s Baby’, ‘Loomis is Baby’, you call each other babies, right? Starting today, I, Jin-hoon, am also a Loomis Baby~”

Jin-hoon made a V-sign towards the camera and winked.

“Wow! Sunbaenim, that’s amazing!”
“Sunbaenim, you’re so cute!”

The Loomis members reacted enthusiastically one after another.

‘Is sunbaenim going this far…?’

The staff outside the camera, who had been staring blankly in surprise, soon gave him a thumbs up.
The members, Jin-hoon, and Ru-ha continued filming, wearing the sparkly jackets they had taken off earlier.

“Alright then! Today, Jin-hoon sunbaenim will be challenging our ‘Shining Face’!”

Under Baek Do-ha’s lead, Jin-hoon slowly familiarized himself with the choreography.

“Hey, why is this note so high!?”

His pitch went off sometimes, and he missed the beat sometimes.
It was impressive to see him adapt bit by bit, even while complaining.

“A-Ah, Sir!”

He’s going this far for our kids!
Watching this, Yoon Tae-jin even got teary-eyed.

“Sunbaenim, here you should… Ah, no! You’re doing great!”

The members sometimes stopped mid-sentence when trying to give advice.
Because of this, they managed to capture many fun cuts.

“Now, it’s my time, right?”

Next up was the time for Team Baek-Cha-Kang and Team Marine to sing Jin-hoon’s songs.

“Break it! Break it! I said break it!”
“No, no, put more emotion there, more, more, more, more!”

They thought it might be difficult because he was such a senior, but surprisingly, the filming wrapped up in a warm and friendly atmosphere.
Perhaps because it was their second meeting—or third, if you included the company dinner—Jin-hoon treated the members more familiarly than before.

“Hey, Si-an!”
“Yes, Sunbaenim!”
“How many years do you have left?”
“I have… four years left.”

Ryu Si-an glanced towards where his manager, Choi Eun-bi, was standing, then grinned and answered.

“You, come under me when you’re done! Hey~ You’re handsome, and you sing well! The noonas will love you!”
“Hahahaha!”

As if jealous that only the eldest of the gag duo was getting attention, Kang I-an butted in.

“Sunbaenim! What about I-an! I-an!”
“As for I-an…”

Jin-hoon turned his head sharply.

“Ru-ha! Let’s go, right now!”
“Hahahaha!”
“I-an-ah, I’m joking! You come to me first!”
“Kya! Really~?”

“Loomis, Fighting!”
“Thank you, Sunbaenim! Please get home safely!”

Jin-hoon’s car drove away.
The Loomis members and staff had no intention of straightening their bowed backs until the car completely disappeared.
After finishing all the remaining filming, the shoot was finally completely over.

“Thank you for your hard work!”
“You all worked hard!”

While exchanging greetings with the staff, Ru-ha stomped over to PD Lee Geon-woo.

“P-D-niiiiim-”

At his characteristic drawn-out tone, Lee Geon-woo reflexively turned his head sharply.

“Uh… Yes, Ru-ha?”

Lee Geon-woo instinctively checked Ru-ha’s “hyoja-son” (filial piety hand) gesture first and gulped.

‘What is he going to threaten me with this time…’

“When is this scheduled to be releeeased-?”
“Uh… Probably the week after ne…”

Lee Geon-woo trailed off, then…

“When… should it be released?”

He naturally asked for confirmation.

“Hmm… If you’re curious about my opinion.”