A few days after the trailer was released, TikTok and Shorts were already overflowing with QuickSilver Challenges.
[An elementary school student’s QuickSilver Challenge...]
[I tried the viral Reels Debonair’s “Kimchiyo Garlic Challenge”! #HowMany #GarlicCloves #CanMyFriend #FitIn..]
It didn’t end with simple influencers and students imitating it.
[With Pure Girl #SSSN #QuickSilver #Challenge]
[PARAMAX, Quick silver MAX!!]
─Jihan just pours the whole bottle over them lol
─Whoa, Ailis’s just got uploaded too lol Did it look fun? lol
Even fellow idols who were sensitive to trends.
The trend spread indiscriminately, reaching male idols and senior groups alike.
It seemed only natural.
That was simply the essence of how the challenge spread in the first place.
‘Huh? This looks fun to try.’
A primitive desire based on pure pleasure.
And so, the birth of countless variations amid the countless challenges flooding the internet was inevitable.
Some people followed the original exactly.
One influencer stole their friend’s phone.
Another couple pilfered their emergency savings.
One couple held their own socks under their partner’s nose.
But in the end, a higher frequency of exposure inevitably meant growing stale.
─Seeing the same thing over and over...
─It’s boring because the plot is so similar.
Things were only fresh and fun the first time around.
Of course, some people steadfastly elevated it into their own unique challenges and received rave reviews.
[QuickSilver Challenge by myself... #TheKids #Won’tDoIt #ㅠㅠㅠ #Bitrin #JeonHarang...]
─Harang... Running fast by yourself doesn’t make it a QuickSilver Challenge...
─What’s with this Jeon Harang guy lol He’s seriously comedy gold.
─Why is the video so chaotic when he’s the only one in it? lololol
In any case, even before Debonair’s original variety show began uploading in earnest, the QuickSilver Challenge had spread at an alarming speed.
─Honestly, even if Debonair’s own content gets uploaded, if it’s going to feel like this, it probably won’t be that fun.
─I was really looking forward to it, but maybe this time it’s not going to be that great.
It seemed fairly clear that it had now become somewhat boring content.
“You really do all kinds of things. Oh, you do all kinds of things, all right.”
But if you said that to Dohee, who had been there for the filming, she might actually get angry.
“Eeeh~? Is that a compliment?”
That was what you said when you didn’t know Kimchiyo.
* * *
“Gaaah...”
The smell of garlic still lingered in my mouth.
“Dohee, you’re an idol, but making phlegmy noises...”
“Ah, ah, sorry... It just slipped out.”
I felt like opening Chiyo unni’s mouth and stuffing garlic straight into it.
“Hehe, I’ve got the Ion Sweat Dohee likes here! I think you can rinse your mouth with it! Hehe.”
“......”
Even so, she smiled innocently, seemingly keeping a close eye on my mood, and cheerfully offered me the drink. I couldn’t bring myself to get angry right in front of Chiyo unni─.
“Uwaaagh, your mouth smells like garlic!! You’re a garlic monster!”
“Didn’t I tell you to take it easy from the start? You’re dead. Get over here.”
“Ah, the garlic smell still won’t go away. Hey, Dohee, hold her down.”
While I twisted Chiyo unni’s arms behind her back and subdued her,
the other two unnies were already protesting to the PD.
“PD-nim, do we have to do this all day today?”
“It’s a hassle, though.”
Even in the chilly weather, the PD was sweating profusely.
“Uh... W-well, from the production team’s perspective, you really don’t have to do it...”
For some reason, the PD was looking over this way.
“Open up and chew!”
“Mmph, mmph! You garlic monsters! I will never speak! I will not yield!!”
Chiyo unni held her mouth shut, determined not to open it as though she were some martyr, while the two of us punished her.
─Hahahaha.
The production crew laughed for quite a while.
But honestly, it was embarrassing.
We were the hottest idols around.
We had an image and dignity to maintain.
‘I’m especially the gentlemanly one among them!’
“Actually, for each member’s wishes to come true, I thought we might need a certain degree of cooperation from Chiyo.”
“Cooperation? There wasn’t really anything that required cooperation from the members...”
“Yes, Naeun, that’s true for you.”
The PD subtly glanced at us.
“B-but for the members, it’s not simply about playing around... Yes, it’s something planned. So, think of it as everyone fulfilling each other’s wishes, and enjoy spending the day with Chiyo...”
At that, Naeun unni reflexively pulled a miserable face and looked over at us.
“What did you guys write on the survey?”
Trouble.
It was difficult to meet her gaze.
I released Chiyo unni’s arms for the moment.
I’d just written something along the lines of a trip led by Lee Dohee.
“I-I’m really not as bad as Chiyo unni.”
“Uh, yeah. I’m definitely not that bad either. Right, Dohee?”
“I don’t know what unni wrote.”
“Just say it’s true in situations like this. The kid has no tact.”
“Uh, yeah. She says she’s not that bad.”
In fact, Naeun unni apparently had no intention of listening to even our excuses.
“Me? I wrote ‘blind dates between the members.’”
“Oh~ Blind dates? That’s really great!”
‘I’m really not as bad as Chiyo unni.’
She was already listening only to Uah unni’s words, as though she had never held even the slightest expectation of anything else.
“But as avatar blind dates. I thought it’d be fun if I controlled the members.”
“......”
“Ah! Unni, I just got an idea. Should we make each other eat garlic and then kiss?”
“......”
In the end, Naeun unni sank down and squatted on the floor.
“I thought so hard about this because I wanted all our members to heal together after everything they’ve been through... How can it really be that I’m always the only one... Always me...”
Meanwhile, Kimchiyo was furiously clicking the play button on the cassette player.
“The song, the song won’t play!! Sweet Dreams!!”
* * *
[Debonair’s self-produced variety show is freaking hilarious again lol]
All the members were normal people, and Chiyo alone became superhero QuickSilver lolololol
(Video of a song playing for three minutes)
Chiyo: Everyone, my ability hasn’t ended yet, though? Huh? Jiu-a, are your arms moving right now?
PD: May I move, haha? I’m in the middle of grilling meat.
Chiyo: Hmm, okay. The meat can’t be allowed to burn. Huh? Dohee, are your arms lowering right now?
─Lolololol It’s hilarious all day just watching Chiyo use her powers, never mind the QuickSilver Challenge lololol
─Since when did QuickSilver become able to stop time? lololol
─The direction and song selection really seem to capture QuickSilver’s strengths perfectly.
└Are you sure we watched the same video?
└Um... QuickSilver doesn’t have powers like this.
* * *
Eating our meal hadn’t been easy.
“Haa...”
“But now that we’ve had dinner... What do we do?”
“Healing! Because it’s healing!”
What was with all this talk about healing?
The whole thing had already gone completely off the rails.
“You can simply rest comfortably however you like, according to your wishes.”
The PD took out another small speaker from somewhere.
“Haha.”
That meant Chiyo unni’s superhero game would continue until the day was over.
Phew.
“Dohee, should we just play cards?”
“Sure.”
“Everyone who wants to play, come on in.”
Under Seoyun’s leadership, we naturally returned to the dorm.
When there’s nothing to do, there’s nothing more suitable than games like this.
“Unni, what are you doing sitting with your back to the camera?”
“Jiu-a, have you been on broadcasts for one or two days? Is broadcasting a joke to you?”
“Yes.”
“...You’re so shameless I have nothing to say again.”
Everyone sat gathered around in front of the camera.
“So, should we play One Card or Thief Catcher?”
“Let’s start with Thief Catcher.”
I wasn’t sure whether this would make for enough footage.
But this really did seem to be the kind of scene the production crew wanted.
‘The PD didn’t just find it too much trouble and come unprepared, did he?’
“It’s so nice, just sitting around like this.”
Even so, Naeun unni looked satisfied simply because we were all gathered together so warmly.
“So, kids, what should we do for the punishment?”
“Punishment? We’re actually doing one?”
“Just play Indian Poker. Indian Poker.”
“I’m seriously going to hit you today~?”
“Hehe, I shall make you regret those words, Jiu-a.”
And so the game began.
However, there was one fact that I—or rather, all of us—momentarily forgot.
[Sweat Dreams~♫]
There was one hero in this game.
“Ah, seriously, enough already!”
“Can’t you hear the song!? Don’t open your mouth!”
It wasn’t that she was the type to know when enough was enough, either.
* * *
“Eh, why aren’t you doing more? Stop, everyone stop!! Starf!”
[Sweet dreams~]
I was truly sick of it by now.
Playing the song once or twice was one thing.
Earlier, while we were playing Thief Catcher, she had even swapped out the joker.
─Why so Serious!
While we were playing One Card and poker, she kept changing the cards in our hands.
─But don’t worry. QuickSilver’s powers are faster than the eye. Whoosh.
When we played Indian Poker as the punishment, she claimed she was using her powers and spent three whole minutes hitting people by herself.
─Ah, can I keep hitting you if I play the song one more time?
─Do you seriously want to die?
Even stopping midway through the beating to take a break had happened more than once or twice.
─Ah, doing this continuously is getting a little tiring... This won’t do. I’m going to play the song and rest for a bit~
She did this all day.
All day!!!
In the end, it was only natural that someone would declare a strike.
“Uh, uh? Seoyun unni? What are you doing?”
“I’m doing nothing. I’m done. No more.”
The members collapsed onto the sofa as well.
“Why~ Come on, do it for meee~”
Kimchi lay on the floor and began throwing a tantrum, but I couldn’t indulge her any longer.
“Oh, look at her pronouncing everything perfectly only when she does this.”
“Not true. My pronunciation is perfect when I rap, too.”
“Yeah, thank you so much for at least pronouncing your words properly when you rap.”
Doing it all day should have been enough.
That deranged little demon.
“Ughhh!! I even brought a Wonder Woman costume, but it’s all ruined, aaagh, it’s ruined!!!”
But now I was kind of curious what the Wonder Woman thing was about...
To be honest, I had found it pretty funny and enjoyable─.
“Hm?”
Meanwhile, Uah unni was slowly feeling around her back as though she were uncomfortable.
“What is it? Does your back hurt?”
“Uah, do you have a bruise on your back? Let me see.”
“No, no, it just feels warm...”
Even if Chiyo unni had only hit her lightly as a joke, she’d been subjected to five full minutes of Indian Poker by herself. Good grief.
“It did hurt a little when Dohee hit me earlier.”
Me? I-I only hit her once, fair and square.
“More importantly, PD-nim, about tomorrow’s filming.”
“Yes? Go ahead.”
“I was wondering if it was mine.”
“Ah~ Yes, tomorrow we’re planning to start with Uah’s avatar blind date. I’ve heard the garden view at a nearby café is supposed to be so beautiful...”
No.
“It’s great, then.”
No.
This evil that had begun with Kimchi.
This vicious cycle growing ever more intense... I couldn’t allow it to continue...