chapter_0062

62 – I Wish for the Success of Operation 3

62 – I Wish for the Success of Operation 3

Fortunately, Team Leader Kang rushed over to help, and Maru’s tears quickly subsided.

Indeed, being a celebrity manager was something else entirely.

Not only did she have a change of clothes ready in wet wipes, but she also quickly brushed off the sand stuck in Maru’s hair and even finished with dry shampoo.

Maru’s bangs, which had been styled like a trident, were soon neat and tidy again.

Of course, Maru had intended to make Majiya cry, but ended up crying first, which was embarrassing.

As a result, Majiya, who was anxiously hovering nearby, found herself being avoided by Maru instead.

However, unlike Maru, who only knew how to physically chase, Majiya had a powerful weapon.

“How about we do 64 Cubics together next week?”

Komari barely managed to suppress her question about why only Maru was getting special treatment.

With 64 Cubics, she could slip in without worrying about being noticed.

Maru, who had been running away out of embarrassment, stopped in her tracks.

64 Cubics meant Maru. And Maru meant being a 64 Cubics addict.

“Really…?”

It was hard for her to bring it up even if she wanted to join, so hearing it first from Majiya was touching.

… Of course, it was a pity for Maru.

Majiya had only taken swift action because she didn’t want any issues with the vlog filming.

Even if it was a rational response rather than an emotional one, it was true that, as a result, the distance between Jia and the first-year students had narrowed again.

Seizing the moment, Maru and Komari each grabbed Majiya’s hands and dashed toward the sandy beach.

“Are you trying to bury me in the sand?”

“N-no, that’s not it.”

From the beginning, the members’ thoughts were consistent.

It was natural for the members to hang out together and film it.

And Majiya was not to be left out.

“Do a V with your feet. There’s something I really wanted to film here.”

As Majiya made a V with her small feet, the other four members clustered around her as if they had made a pact.

Soon, the five pairs of shoes formed a star shape.

As Team Leader Kang captured the camera angle from above, Maru led the members in a shout.

“Maru!”

“Dora!”

“Komari!”

“Rain!”

After that, the members’ gazes converged, and Jia, caught off guard, muttered softly.

“… Majiya.”

““Parallel Another, let’s go—!!””

Of course, after responding, and once the filming was definitely secured, she didn’t forget to add a word.

“But I can’t be part of Another. You four should make the star again. I’ll send you the separate video for the broadcast.”

However, the members wouldn’t allow it.

No matter what anyone said, today’s protagonist was Majiya.

“No~ that’s not true~ Jia unni is also Another~.”

“That’s right. Without Jia, there wouldn’t be an Another.”

“If it weren’t for Jia, the broadcast would have already flopped, right?”

“Broadcast normalization. Truly, the great Jia. That’s right.”

As if that wasn’t enough, the four of them held hands and began to spin in a circle to prevent Majiya from escaping.

Their bouncing and spinning was cute, so they stayed still for a moment for filming, but Majiya’s patience didn’t last long.

However, her strategy to slip away beneath their joined hands was lightly thwarted by Komari and Maru, who were closing in like sliding doors.

… Why is it that they only work well together at times like this?

In the end, Jia remained still with a sullen expression until the four stopped.

She felt puzzled about why they were acting this way, but since she couldn’t escape, she just accepted the situation.

After that, there was no moment captured on camera of Majiya looking resigned, but she was dragged around with the same expression throughout.

Even when she tried to find an opportunity to retreat, the four members kept alternating in holding Majiya’s hand.

Later, the five of them wandered around the early winter beach, skipping stones.

They shared shrimp chips with seagulls.

They met a wandering cat and petted it.

Until it was time to set up the tent, they spent their time happily running around the beach and the outskirts of the village.

Naturally, during that time, Majiya received compliments for everything she did, and by the time it was time to set up the tent, she was almost in a daze.

After throwing a stone a bit far, Rain exclaimed, “What the, Korean superconductor!”

After luring a seagull with shrimp chips and letting the members touch it, Dora asked, “Wow, is this the seagull Jia used to raise?”

When a stray cat suddenly rubbed against Majiya’s leg and flopped down, everyone chimed in, shouting, “It’s a druid!”

It was like shouting, “Oh my, our daughter is going to become the world’s greatest genius, creating technologies that make America fearful and China anxious!” just because she picked up a pen at a birthday party.

So, she was utterly exhausted.

While Majiya was used to physical fatigue, she couldn’t withstand the mental exhaustion.

As soon as she set up the tent, she sat down in the camping chair in front and began to doze off.

“Oh my, Jia, are you sleepy?”

In her mentally fatigued state, Majiya tended to speak in a way that drained energy.

While she always showed a composed demeanor at work, she wasn’t quite as stiff now that she was on a trip.

“No… I’m just mentally tired…”

Her slow speech and sluggish actions already showed that she was worn out.

So, Team Leader Kang was unnecessarily concerned.

‘Is it okay to do a hidden camera like this…?’

When people are mentally exhausted, they can easily become emotional.

Even if Majiya usually appeared calm, if the kids who had been playing with her suddenly started to exclude her, she might sulk.

Honestly, it had been mentally exhausting all afternoon.

She was tired, but.

After starting to eat the large shrimp, she completely recovered in just 30 minutes.

“It’s delicious…”

Ah, shrimp. Especially since they were big, the meat was plump and chewy.

At this rate, she could handle the important event planned for that night at the campsite without any trouble.

Everyone was busy chattering among themselves, so she felt like she had been slightly pushed to the corner of the table.

But she found this environment rather comfortable.

Originally, staff were expected to be discreet in such situations.

After all, she had just slipped in as an uninvited guest among those six people who always hung out together.

This was how it should have been from the start.

For some reason, the atmosphere felt off from the beginning, and she ended up being dragged around.

Anyway, she hoped no one would pay attention to her until she finished eating.

Quietly, really quietly, she prepared a separate grill to roast the shrimp, tearing them apart and eating them. She diligently restored her energy.

It was just as she was peeling the shell off her fifteenth and final shrimp that the Boss approached, tapping her shoulder and whispering in her ear.

“I’m going to film the vlog near the kids, so I’m going to take the car for a bit. Do you want to finish eating first?”

Since she ate slowly, the members had already finished and left the table.

For some reason, everyone seemed busy today.

It seemed they had filming left to do for the one-year anniversary.

“Sure. I’ll call you when I’m done eating.”

Strange things had been happening throughout her meal.

Cups disappeared after she went to the bathroom. The location of her phone changed. A chair suddenly tipped over.

However, she had expected some misfortune since this morning.

Well, she thought, today was just a bit unlucky.

But by the time she finished eating, it was strange how naturally the destinations were splitting.

She was pondering how to slip away and set up the kids’ gifts when suddenly, luck was on her side. This way, she could return to the campsite alone.

In the dim surroundings, with only a few streetlights illuminating the campsite, what if she waited there and activated the setup when the kids arrived?

Perhaps she could leave them with an unforgettable memory.

Beep! Beep!

“… Oh.”

However, even someone as thoroughly prepared as she was sometimes forgot one or two things.

Today, it was the portable charger.

“Oh no.”

She had been so busy worrying about the kids’ gifts in her bag that she hadn’t realized she forgot it, especially after talking to her parents right after.

The remaining battery was now barely 5%.

Even if she managed to last on power-saving mode, 30 minutes was the limit.

But thanks to advancements in civilization, messaging apps now had very useful features.

“Just in case, I should set a scheduled message for an hour later.”

About 55 minutes later.

Team Leader Kang’s worry about Majiya’s mental state cracking from being excluded during mealtime became a reality.

“Jia… I can’t reach her at all.”

After finishing filming, he had been on the phone for nearly 20 minutes, but Majiya, who said she would contact him after eating, was still unreachable.

She didn’t reach out first.

When he called, it said the phone was turned off.

When he went to the restaurant where they had left Jia earlier, the owner said she had already eaten and left.

Given Majiya’s appearance and the unique color of her eyes, there was no reason to mistake her for someone else.

“This is driving me crazy. Is she really… gone home?”

“During dinner, we did kind of exclude her too much…”

“No, but… it was a hidden camera… did we go too far?”

“I wouldn’t have noticed on a normal day, but today, Majiya seemed a bit mentally strained…”

“Ugh…”

Maru was already losing her mind, constantly trying to call Majiya, who wasn’t picking up.

“What do we do? Because of me. Because of me, Jia… I shouldn’t have suggested this…”

The other members were trying to comfort her, but there was no way to solve it.

What could they do if they couldn’t reach her?

If she had made it home safely, that would be a relief, but if not, they might have to report her missing to the police.

Even if she didn’t think so, Majiya was only 140 cm tall.

To anyone else, it would look like a child wandering alone late at night.

‘No, let’s not think bad thoughts.’

Dohee focused all her mind on trying to guess Majiya’s whereabouts.

If she had finished eating, where would Jia head?

It would obviously be the campsite.

Since it was only 500 meters away, she might have thought it was better to walk there rather than call Dohee.

“Right… the campsite!”

The campsite was the place they had overlooked because they were all dazed after suddenly losing contact with Majiya.

Could she be waiting there since her battery had died?

Just as Cheon Dohee was putting her phone in her pocket and heading toward the car.

Ding.

“…!”

The caller was Majiya.

Dohee frantically tapped the screen.

Perhaps because her hands were sweaty, the fingerprint recognition didn’t work properly.

As she unlocked the phone, three letters appeared on the screen.

[Jia Manager: (Location) – Map App]

[Jia Manager: I’ll wait for you]

An indescribable sense of relief warmly enveloped her heart.

But at the same time, a feeling of absurdity and confusion hit Dohee from behind.

“…… You’ll wait?”