Jurim stared at the middle-aged man kneeling before him as though he were a bug.
A chill!
A sudden shiver ran through him, and Producer Hwang blinked in bewilderment.
“Daddy!”
At that moment, Geuru shot her hand up.
“Geuru, got scouted!”
The child puffed out her nose proudly.
Producer Hwang spoke in a far more relaxed tone.
“Yes, yes. We’d like to cast Miss On Geuru in this variety show as well. Of course, everything will proceed in consultation with her guardian…”
“You’re going to do another variety show?”
She’d already done one last time, too.
At the disapproving tone, Geuru fidgeted with both hands.
“Can’t?”
“It’s not that you can’t…”
Jurim let his words trail off.
He was reminded of filming *Guild Master for a Day*. How troublesome had it been when she appeared on the show without giving him so much as a hint?
“Then can Geuru go to the countryside?”
“The countryside?”
When Geuru brightened, Producer Hwang lifted his head and hurriedly began talking, trying to exploit the opening Jurim had left.
“Yes, yes! It’s not anything strange. It’s simply an observational variety show about living in the countryside, with a healing concept that families can comfortably watch together.”
“Oh.”
Producer Hwang was the PD behind an observational variety show that had been gaining tremendous popularity by traveling around various countries, and Jurim had occasionally seen it on television and elsewhere.
Usually, it showed celebrities working hard in the everyday environments of foreign countries…
As Jurim recalled the celebrities who had busily made gimbap and served food, Geuru approached and clung to him as though climbing onto his lap.
Jurim tucked the hair beside Geuru’s face behind her ear, then took her soft hand and fiddled with it.
“Do you want to go to the countryside?”
“Yes!”
Still clinging to Jurim’s leg, Geuru swayed her body back and forth as she recited what Producer Hwang had told her to entice her.
“I wanna see the moo-moo cows. And I wanna see narrow-mouthed frogs, too. And I wanna see how many stars there are in the countryy…”
Producer Hwang hurriedly came over and thrust photographs at him, showing how beautiful the filming location was.
But as Geuru blinked up at Jurim, who barely seemed to be looking at them, she asked,
“Can’t?”
“…Hmm.”
Judging from his expression, Daddy seemed to be agonizing over whether he should let her go or not.
Geuru waited anxiously for his answer.
The variety show did look fun, but the truth was, she had to go to that “countryside.”
*If Geuru doesn’t want to become Groot, she has to go to the countryside…*
Geuru stole a glance at Kazuki.
Daddy had said that Master was sick. He had not properly explained where he was hurt, but surely the Elixir could cure him.
For that to happen, the acorn had to grow…
*It’s not growing!*
She had tried placing it in the warm sunlight, changing the soil, and adding nutrients, but the Elixir would not grow beyond 34%.
Just when she was wondering whether she should plant it in her head again, Producer Hwang had come looking for her, even sleeping rough along the way.
To take Geuru to the countryside!
At that moment, a gong seemed to ring in Geuru’s head, and she gained an epiphany.
The last place where the Elixir had suddenly grown was Yeonhamsa.
In other words, it had been a quiet rural area brimming with mana!
Mana tended to gather in places where ordinary people did not live. And wherever mana gathered, strange phenomena generally occurred alongside it.
Because of that, these days, fewer people visited the countryside—not only those seeking to return to farming, but even those traveling for leisure—apart from the natives who had always lived there.
The government often provided substantial support to prevent danger, but changing the public perception that a place was dangerous was an extremely difficult task.
So, according to Producer Hwang, the purpose of this variety show was…
“I want to capture on-screen the Korean countryside that has been completely forgotten by the public…!”
That was what he had said.
When Jurim fixed his gaze on him, Producer Hwang passionately continued.
“As you saw earlier, Korea has so many beautiful places. But the problem is that ever since the Cataclysm, no one has shown any interest in these out-of-the-way areas.”
Before the Cataclysm, it had been common for people to dream of returning to the countryside, and there had even been times when camping supplies sold out at the supermarkets.
But after the Cataclysm, interest in the countryside had completely died out.
“These days, children don’t go to the countryside to visit their grandparents. They think it’s dangerous. Before the Cataclysm, I can still vividly remember how jammed the roads were every holiday, with people heading out of the capital and coming back in… I interviewed some officials, and they said that no matter how hard the local governments worked, getting people to return to the countryside was incredibly difficult. Of course, it’s not as though that wasn’t the case before the Cataclysm, either. But now, it’s on an entirely different level. And the thing is, a village whose roads grow quiet has no choice but to die.”
Producer Hwang spoke in a low, pensive voice as he recalled the rural villages he had visited over the years.
“I’m no great revolutionary, but I hope the viewers who watch our show will think of rural villages once more, as they did in the past. To do that, shamefully enough, we need some buzz. Once a place becomes a hot topic on a variety show, it’s bound to become a tourist destination or something of the sort. Then it becomes famous because it’s famous, and people draw more people, don’t they? Haha! You know what I mean, right?”
He went on to explain how much promotional benefit the countries featured on *World Mart* had received.
His voice was filled with deep affection and enthusiasm for his program.
“With an observational variety show format, editing is important, of course, but the cast who can carry it off well are absolutely crucial. That’s why I don’t intend to use Amakusa Hunter as just a boisterous one-time guest… Do you see where I’m going with this? My vision is to place a famous person who least belongs in a remote Korean village right in the middle of one. Now, imagine it. A handsome face that looks like it belongs to a tattoo-covered gangster, struggling to live in the countryside.”
“Huh?”
Kazuki stared blankly at him and pointed to himself, while Jurim gave a small laugh and Geuru nodded deeply in agreement.
Seeing that the reaction was not bad, Producer Hwang smiled brightly.
“Wouldn’t that make people look forward to something funny and entertaining? Before the Cataclysm, there was a time when people called spending a vacation in the countryside ‘choncance.’ I’d like to promote choncance with this opportunity. I want to show viewers the joy of glamorous city people fumbling and struggling through life in the countryside. And our Geuru is the princess of the world’s greatest guild, isn’t she?”
At the word “princess,” Geuru whipped her head up, and Producer Hwang smiled.
“Wouldn’t a choncance with Amakusa Hunter and the String Princess satisfy both the need for buzz and the purpose behind the project?”
“…”
Silence settled over them for a moment.
After his passionate speech, Producer Hwang moistened his dry lips.
*Will this be enough? Can a few words really move On Jurim’s heart?*
Producer Hwang recalled On Jurim when he had descended from the Tower.
Back then, the man had been a blade of ice itself. Now, he seemed more like a languid predator—or perhaps a somewhat benevolent king.
It was probably because of Geuru.
He had just reached that conclusion when Geuru gave Producer Hwang a solemn nod.
“...?”
The passionate speech had struck a chord deep in Geuru’s heart, though Producer Hwang looked bewildered, as if he had no idea what the gesture meant.
*Geuru, a princess…!*
The word “princess” had touched her heart quite deeply.
Producer Hwang was the first person to call her a princess with such seriousness.
*Let’s help that mister and go to the countryside to grow the Elixir!*
To do that, there was something Geuru had to do. In Se-rhi’s words, she had to “land the killing blow.”
Geuru sat on Jurim’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Can’t? Even if I do this?”
She showered his cheeks with kisses. Jurim turned his face away, but the corners of his mouth curved gently upward, as though he did not dislike it.
Kazuki and Producer Hwang smiled warmly at the affectionate father and daughter.
“If it’s an observational variety show, we’ll have to stay in the countryside for quite a while…”
“Yes. Probably about a week…?”
Producer Hwang described the schedule in the shortest terms possible.
Jurim let out a small sigh and muttered,
“Will you be all right without Daddy?”
Ah! Geuru’s head shot up.
*So that was what he had been worrying about! Because she would have to be away from Daddy for so long!*
But Geuru quickly found the answer.
“Mhm, mhm. Because…”
Geuru smiled and pointed at Jurim with her index finger.
“Daddy can come too.”
*
Several working titles were tossed around, but the show was ultimately named *Clumsily Choncance!*
The cast consisted of On Jurim, Amakusa Kazuki, Iromi, Seo Uju, and On Geuru.
Thanks to Producer Hwang’s golden lineup, assembled by mobilizing every connection he had, the production received the network’s full support.
After several meetings between the cast and crew, they arrived at the entrance to a small village in Gokseong, South Jeolla Province.
“Unniee!”
Carrying a bundle of foxtail grass, Geuru ran along the rice paddy ridge and into Iromi’s arms.
An observation camera followed her.
The camera lens captured Iromi wearing loose mompe pants and a baggy shirt.
She hugged Geuru, who was likewise dressed in mompe pants and a grandmother’s vest, then set her down.
“Has Geuru been to the countryside often?”
Geuru shook her head.
“Really? Unnie lived in the countryside until I was Geuru’s age.”
Because of her distinctly urban appearance, people often mistook her for a Seoul native, but she had been born in the countryside near Namhae.
“So just trust Unnie.”
Iromi spoke proudly as she opened the gate to the remote rural house.
Creeeak—
The harsh sound of hinges scraping filled the air, and in the yard, Kazuki could be seen busily stoking a fire beneath the traditional furnace.
“I’ll help you!”
“No, no. This is too hard for a woman. It’s fine~”
Geuru, who had never seen a furnace before, watched it with great interest. Then she gave a few taps to Jurim’s thigh. He was lying on his side on the wooden platform, eyes closed.
“But Daddy’s a man.”
“…”
Jurim merely kept his eyes closed. He did not seem to be asleep, though.
“Daddy, Daddy, what are we gonna do?”
“…”
“Daddy, are you asleep?”
“I’m not asleep.”
“Are you going to sleep?”
“…”
“Mhm, mhm? Daddyyy~”
Jurim slowly opened his eyes and stuffed a steamed ear of corn from the basket into Geuru’s mouth.
“Mmph!”
Nom, nom, nom. Geuru chewed on the corn, then was shocked to see Jurim close his eyes again.
*How can someone be this lazy?*
It was raw, utter laziness, completely unconcerned with the camera.
Geuru watched him warily with her large eyes, but kind-hearted Kazuki merely smiled amiably and said—
“It’s okay~ Geuru-chan, it’s dangerous, so stay there~”
—before coaxing the fire higher.
*Hyeonak, is this really okay?*
The antis were probably laughing and saying, “I knew On Jurim would be like that,” but Jurim was displaying the ultimate pinnacle of laziness as though he did not care in the slightest.
Meanwhile, the production crew filming all this secretly welcomed Jurim’s behavior.
The moment had arrived when the roles were set for this family-concept observational variety show: a diligent, impossibly good mother and an incompetent, lazy father.