I Became An Idol To Pay Off My Debt

I had no special reason for becoming a master at sweet potato digging.

Pak, pak.

Su-wook.

“Hmm…?”

You see, when you grab one sweet potato root and pull, they come out in droves, allowing you to harvest a lot quickly.

“Ugh.”

“Is there anyone who can help me grab…!”

Of course, the sweet potato vines were tougher than expected, making it not so easy for the other members to pull them out…

Sock, sock.

But with my amazing lady strength, I could pull the sweet potatoes out without a problem.

Plus…

‘This is fun…!’

Digging up sweet potatoes hidden underground felt like hunting for treasure, and it was super enjoyable.

Suk, suk, suk!

“Whoa! Look over there!”

“Yerin unnie, amazing!”

“…Hehe.”

Compliments from the members were freebie bonuses.

I felt like I’d discovered a new talent as I dug up sweet potatoes like there was no tomorrow.

As I worked, I got better at it, and my speed increased…

Pababababak—!

As I reached the later stages, I was practically one with the ground, turning the sweet potato field upside down.

“Y-Yes, Yerin!”

Finally, Director Jeong, who had appeared out of nowhere, looked a bit pale as he begged us, no, me.

“I think you’ve dug up enough sweet potatoes…! Isn’t it time to stop digging…?”

“Excuse me? No way! If we want to eat a lot of pork belly, I think we need to dig a bit more?”

“…….”

After just two hours, we’d already surpassed eight boxes of sweet potatoes.

Feeling a sense of urgency, Director Jeong was dripping with sweat as he laid out the truth.

“Um, I’m sorry! I didn’t realize you all—no, Yerin alone—would dig up so many sweet potatoes! Actually, the sweet potatoes were a decoy, and there’s a real game set up, but… can you please stop digging so we can think about screen time…?”

“……What?”

Wait, so all this hard work was for nothing?

Ooo!

“That’s not fair!”

“You told us that if we dug sweet potatoes, you’d trade us what we wanted!”

With that, the members and I turned our hoes upside down and booed, leaving Director Jeong flustered as he wiped the sweat from his brow and continued.

“Ah, yes! Of course, I’ll exchange all the sweet potatoes you’ve dug so far! But if you keep digging, the games I prepared will be worthless…”

Director Jeong had always been meticulous and cold as he led our Rookies.

Seeing him so flustered…

“No way!”

I suddenly had the urge to tease him.

So I firmly shook my head to his words and raised my hoe.

“Our Rookies will dig up tons of sweet potatoes and enjoy this program leisurely.”

“A-Ah, no…! Yerin! Wait…!”

Pabababak—!

And before Director Jeong could say anything else, I started digging the ground again.

The other members, laughing, gathered the sweet potatoes I dug into boxes.

Before long, our Rookies secured over ten boxes of sweet potatoes.

Fortunately, Director Jeong didn’t forcibly take the sweet potatoes we dug or treat the items exchanged as if they never happened.

Thanks to that…

Zigle zigle.

We finally got to enjoy the pork belly we had been craving for dinner.

None of the six of us in Rookies had ever lived in a rural area before, but we still had seen some things.

We lit a fire in a pit and flipped over the cauldron, grilling the sweet potatoes along with the pork belly, kimchi, mushrooms, and garlic we exchanged.

And the taste was…

“……!”

Surprisingly delicious, I was astounded.

“Delicious…!”

Maybe it was because I hadn’t eaten pork belly in ages.

Or perhaps it was because I was sweating while eating, or maybe it was the fact that it was grilled in a cauldron.

The pork belly was so incredible that it nearly brought me to tears.

It seemed the other members felt the same way as they all stared wide-eyed, practically inhaling the pork belly.

Since it was a special day, even the fussy Director Jeong left us alone to enjoy the meal, so we got to eat plenty of pork belly.

Among us, Lee Hye-jeong especially stood out.

Having gradually increased her portions after debuting on a strict and healthy diet, she proved that her eating disorder was completely cured by devouring pork belly.

I felt proud seeing Lee Hye-jeong like that and furiously wielded my chopsticks so no one would take my share.

In the end, Rookies ate a whopping three kilograms of pork belly and nine bowls of rice.

“I knew you’d eat a lot since it’s been so long since we had pork belly, but I didn’t expect this much…”

Director Jeong stuck out his tongue, and we all laughed, lying back on the ground.

At first, I didn’t like that this was a reality show instead of a vacation, but…

Lying here, with full stomachs and a gentle breeze blowing, it felt like paradise.

Finally, we asked Director Jeong if he was okay with our screen time.

“It’s fine. Fans will like to see these healing moments. Plus, something massive is waiting in the next segment… so no need to worry about screen time.”

“…….”

Is it that anyone who becomes a main PD goes a little crazy?

Director Jeong’s chuckle looked almost wicked.

So, feeling somewhat uneasy about the rugged shoot ahead, we decided to take some rest.

That’s when the unexpected happened.

Maybe it was due to the rural area, but even though it was summer, it got dark outside faster than expected, and the flying insects began to swarm around the lights.

We lit some mosquito coils to fend them off, but soon enough, a troublesome visitor showed up that we couldn’t handle with coils at all.

Flutter flutter.

Plop.

“Ahhh—!”

As each of us lay on the floor, drifting off, we heard Seo Yoo-jin’s piercing scream and jumped up.

“What, what’s wrong?”

“Over there…!”

Seo Yoo-jin was pointing at something…

“On, on top of Seol unnie…!”

On Yoo Seol’s sleeping face…

Was a gigantic moth with green wings…

“Ahhh—!”

“What’s that?! It’s so huge…!”

I’d only seen such a thing online before, but seeing it in person was another level of shock. It was huge enough to cover half of Yoo Seol’s face!

Flash.

As we screamed, Yoo Seol woke up too.

But…

“What is this thing on me?”

“Don’t move, unnie!”

The moment she realized the massive green thing sitting on her forehead, she froze.

Tremble.

Being a girl, Yoo Seol looked extremely disgusted at the moth-like insect.

Her face turned pale in an instant, and her arms and legs started to shake.

The other members and staff, frantically fanning her to drive the moth away, only made it flap its wings harder over Yoo Seol’s face.

Flap flap flap—.

“Ahhh—!”

Instead of helping, it only made the situation worse as the moth clung onto Yoo Seol even tighter.

“C-Can someone please, hurry…!”

It was just when Yoo Seol was about to cry.

“Wait a moment. Everyone, step back.”

“……!”

I squeezed through the panicking members and staff to reach Yoo Seol.

And…

Swish.

“Huff…!”

“Use your hands…!”

I caught the moth, which was the size of my palm, by its wings and…

Flap—.

Threw it outside the house.

“…….”

“…….”

The staff and members stared at me in awe, and before long, they cheered as if I’d returned from a battlefield.

“Wowwwww—!!”

“Unnie, amazing—!!!”

“You’re so cool!!!!”

Yoo Seol, the one involved, confirmed the moth was completely gone and sighed in relief as she lightly hugged my waist.

“Phew… Thank you. You saved me.”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“Wasn’t that huge? Weren’t you scared?”

In both my past and present life, I had lived in poverty since childhood.

I lived in an attic in my previous life and now floated between halfway basements, so I had no choice but to get used to bugs.

So to me, Tinkerbell?

Just a green paper airplane.

Yet, hearing praises and compliments like this from everyone made me feel like my shoulders and nose reached the sky.

So I said…

“I’m a little tough in that regard, so I wasn’t scared at all.”

“Wowww—!”

I shrugged my shoulders, showing off my courage to those around.

“Yeah, yeah! Yerin is super brave!”

“She dug up sweet potatoes like a champ!”

“The sweet potato and courage queen!”

With my earlier performance adding to the mix, the members showered me with pets and praises.

Compliments can make a whale dance, and they sure made me smile.

“Hehe….”

As I basked in the compliments of the members, I smiled softly.

My belly was full, I felt good.

I was so tired that I’d probably fall asleep right away if I lay down.

If things ended this way, today would truly be the best day ever.

But then, it happened.

“Oh, so you’re all still awake.”

“Director Jeong.”

Today, Director Jeong seemed to be wandering around and had just now arrived.

It seemed that a few other staff members had also disappeared while I dozed off.

“Where did you go?”

“I brought back something really fun.”

We tilted our heads, and Director Jeong chuckled softly.

“Now, everyone. We have one last segment before bed.”

“Last segment? At this hour?”

After eating and resting, it was already past 9 PM.

What segment could possibly happen this late at night?

As we looked confused, Director Jeong handed out three flashlights.

“The final segment is a courage test.”

“…….”

“You will form pairs of two and visit a total of three abandoned houses. It will be an unforgettable memory in your lifetime, haha.”

At the mention of the courage test, I turned to glance outside.

It was pitch black.

“…….”

Outside, it was already enveloped in darkness, with not a single light from the city.

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