Free Web Novel“At last—!”
After finishing the goblins’ stage and laying down the white jeoksam coats, cheers erupted from both the production crew and the cast.
“No joke!”
“They’ve all grown up. Our Blackies have come of age.”
As the Jusehan members teased that they’d raised us, we chuckled and shrugged on our parkas.
Standing beside the cast, we met their welcoming gazes.
“Oh Hyungseok shouted,
“Once again, the nation’s idols have returned to Jusehan! Welcome!”
“Thank you~!”
“How have you been?” freёwebnovel.com
“Good!”
Jiho grinned and said,
“I’ve been doing great.”
“Oh, really...?”
Sensing Jiho’s change in speech, the cast murmured among themselves.
Song Jinwoo asked,
“Jiho, you’re saying ‘yo’ now?”
“Yes.”
“Your sentence endings feel odd. Before, you always ended with ~yeo.”
“That era is over. I’m an adult now!”
With his proud, baby-mushroom expression, Yeo Heechan and Yeo Heeyeon burst into laughter.
Master Woo Jaeyong clicked his tongue.
“My, my. What’s so great about getting older? Wait five years—you’ll be trying to look young like Wooju.”
Taken aback by the sudden jab, I blinked—and my younger members burst out laughing.
“Master, when did I ever do that?”
“Or not~”
Caught up in the master’s good-natured tease, I stayed quiet, not wanting to be further picked on.
As expected, the hyenas circling their prey, I swiftly changed the subject.
“PD-nim!”
-Yes?
“What should we do now?”
We’d heard roughly what to expect, but not the exact rules.
“For starters......”
Bijoo wiggled her finger in the air, organizing what we’d just heard.
“So if we win, we take your gold coins, and if we lose, you take ours?”
-That’s right.
“But what do we do with the coins we take?”
We nodded. Usually there must be a reward motive to play a game, but in our case, receiving prop coins from Jusehan served no purpose.
“I thought you’d ask that.”
PD Koo smiled broadly.
“Now, please come forward.”
From behind the crew, carts began to roll out.
Midway sniffing the air, Junhyun’s face lit up with delight.
“Hyung—that’s it. The thing I mentioned.”
“That thing?”
“You kept saying you smelled something delicious.”
“So that was it.”
The metal carts the staff had rolled out looked like cafeteria trolleys, filled with covered containers.
“With the coins you hold, you may purchase any of these foods!”
At PD Koo’s gesture, the lids flipped open one by one.
“Number one: tteokbokki!”
“A-amazing...!”
In the bitter cold of midwinter, both Jusehan’s cast and we were entranced by the bubbling, glistening spicy rice cakes.
“And skewered fish cakes!”
The aroma of radish broth was intoxicating. Sighs and gulping sounds echoed everywhere.
“Next, our winter favorites: bungeoppang and hotteok!”
Then roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts appeared, followed by sundae and tempura, sending our stomachs into a frenzy.
Perhaps because we’d come hungry for the variety shoot, our insides churned.
Ri Hyuk said earnestly,
“I’m not one to get worked up over food, but......”
Our main vocalist’s eyes blazed.
“I have to eat that.”
“Of course.”
“We must drop everything and dig in.”
As we huddled like penguins, chanting encouragement, Jusehan’s cast, swallowing hard, asked,
“Can we eat too?”
-Certainly. You still have your coins, right? If you’d like to eat now, we can serve you immediately.
A staff member with a paper cup of broth scampered playfully before us and the cast.
PD Koo raised his megaphone.
“It’s very cold today, isn’t it?”
“Shut up, you devil!”
“You only need to spend one coin each. One coin per cup of broth. You can earn more coins by completing missions, right?”
The cup-bearing staff wafted the aroma toward Yeo Heeyeon, who squeezed her eyes shut.
Yeo Heeyeon peeked and said,
“I agree.”
“Yes, sister.”
“Do you want to die...?”
“!”
Immediately the maknae staff moved on to tempt Song Jinwoo.
But no cast members succumbed.
Na Miri said,
“You know what else there is before you buy and eat this? You might end up going to Alaska to earn more coins.”
-Don’t worry. There is no Alaska.
The PD smiled and continued,
“Instead, there is the Antarctic King Sejong Station.”
“That’s a devil! A real devil PD!”
Seeing why no one gave in to temptation, I understood.
“Let’s sum up once more.”
PD Koo spoke into the megaphone,
“In the end, you just need to avoid letting goblins take your coins. Then you can exchange them for food.”
“Ah...?”
“Right?”
-If you win, you receive additional coins. Use those to buy food.
“Oh!”
He then turned the megaphone toward us.
“Goblins: you wouldn’t leave without eating anything, would you?”
“We’ll eat later......”
“But at that moment, won’t you think: ‘What did that tteokbokki taste like?’ They say it’s from the best eatery around the TBC station.”
“We’ll ask for the address afterwards......”
“We won’t give it to ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) you.”
PD Koo’s dazzling rhetoric had us in his thrall. Together with my members, we stared at the tteokbokki, swallowing hard.
Being egged on to fight entertainingly, we couldn’t help ourselves.
“......”
Finally, our and the cast’s gazes locked in midair.
“Sorry, Blackies. We have to win.”
“No—first, we should apologize.”
“For what?”
“Because we’re going to win.”
At that, the minions behind me added their mocking laughter.
They’d be better off not laughing at all.
“Just you wait.”
Yeo Heeyeon—an ex-athlete known for her competitive spirit—tied her hairband and said,
“I’ll strip the flesh from your bones today.”
“Bones...?”
Terrified, we watched as Yeo Heeyeon blinked and realized,
“Was that too scary?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll pretty much smash you!”
“Th-thank you.”
As the other cast member gave her own family a wry look, we struck poses again and exchanged electric stares with the Jusehan members.
“It’s really heating up in here.”
A satisfied voice echoed across the TBC plaza.
“Now, the first game!”
-Body Charades Game!
“Yai...!”
As soon as the game’s identity was revealed, the Jusehan members bristled.
“Are you kidding?”
“PD Koo—haven’t you seen their MeTube videos? They won five million won doing this in Japan.”
“There’s a crazy person here—how can we win?”
While the minions patted Wooju’s shoulders, the PD raised his hands in a calming gesture and spoke into the megaphone.
“Since you feel that way, we’ve decided to apply a handicap to NewBlack. You’ll receive far more difficult words.”
“Oh, so then......”
The elders asked primly,
“Much harder?”
-Hard enough to surprise you.
At that, Jusehan’s members’ expressions relaxed a bit.
After determining order by tossing coins, the first Jusehan members gathered before Oh Hyungseok.
Behind them, a staff member flipped a sketchbook.
[Ghost]
Oh Hyungseok chuckled and made a light-beam gesture over his face.
“Specter?”
“Ghost? Ghost!”
In this game, one mimes a given word, and teammates guess. The veteran variety cast’s savvy humor combined with Oh Hyungseok’s excellent acting sent answers flying.
“Time’s up—five minutes! Twelve out of twenty correct!”
At 25 seconds per word, that wasn’t bad. The Jusehan members high-fived, beaming.
“Well done. We can definitely win with this.”
“Piece of cake.”
“Blackies! What to do? I think we won~?”
Seeing that, Wooju and the minions formed their own game formation, smiling disdainfully.
Surrounded in a semicircle, the minions stood before their boss. As the Jusehan members watched with grins, the first prompt appeared.
[A crane inviting a fox and offering a long-necked bottle]
The Jusehan members burst out laughing.
“What the—why is it so long?”
“Shh, don’t say it’s long! That’s part of the hint.”
“Ah, right.”
“Wow. This handicap is crazy.”
Their tongues clicking in astonishment, NewBlack’s eyes narrowed slightly at the word “long.” Sunwooju elegantly lifted her leg andTiptoed forward. Hand wings made it unmistakably a crane.
“Crane!”
As the members shouted in unison, the leader nodded and beckoned someone over. Swapping places, he made a fox face, wagged an imaginary tail, and strutted.
“Fox!”
Wooju drew an OK sign with his hand, resumed the crane, and presented a long bottle where the fox had stood.
“Why can I see the bottle?”
“Can he mime, too?”
“They do everything. I saw them do magic on stage.”
Junhyun raised his hand and called out,
“Junhyun! A crane inviting a fox and offering a bottle!”
-Correct!
Exactly ten seconds. Next, Sunwooju’s mime of [a red blood cell fighting a white blood cell] had Ri Hyuk shouting the correct answer with excitement.
The second prompt took only thirteen seconds.
“...What.”
With under fifteen seconds per prompt for a perfect score, the difficult words fell away in rapid succession. Veteran actor Woo Jaeyong’s eyes trembled.
“In my seventy-plus years, I’ve never seen anything like this......”
“If they’d debuted during Family Game Night, they’d have scooped the prize money.”
Then NewBlack answered the final prompt, [a whale shark sad because it has no friends], and erupted in hugs and cheers.
“Guys!”
“Hyung!”
“Praise me!”
“We love you, Sunwooju! Forever together!”
Their uproarious celebration was unmatched. With twenty seconds still on the clock, the dancing goblins ran over to the saddened cast and began acting out with fervor.
“Gabi Gabi Dotgabi~”
“Remember it! Gabi Gabi Dotgabi~!”
Their hearts-and-cute gestures had even the cast breaking into smiles. How could anyone resent them?
“Oh my......”
As veteran actor Yang Ok-bun laughed and patted Wooju on the back, PD Koo announced,
“Twenty to twelve! A perfect victory for team Goblins NewBlack!”
“Waaaaa!”
“Now, we’ll deduct five coins from each team’s stash.”
“Five each...?”
Seeing their hard-earned coins from Haenam’s land’s end to San Francisco melt away, the cast gripped their necks.
And then.
“First, tteokbokki! Definitely tteokbokki first! Fill your cups to the brim!”
“Fish cakes, tempura, sundae......” ƒгeewebnovёl.com
“Let’s load up on street food. That’s the answer.”
Excitedly, the goblins filled plates with food and began eating before the cast, who watched in slack-jawed amazement.
The maknae devouring tteokbokki excitedly, Bijoo wiping his mouth and dipping tempura, Junhyun chomping away and Wooju and Ri Hyuk seasoning sundae—
“Wow, those coins sure melt away......”
“That we’re eating our coins, huh?”
“Eating well...”
Seeing those who’d danced so powerfully before now squealing over snacks, Bijoo looked apologetic and asked,
“Would you like some?”
-Sharing is not possible.
“Is that so...?”
Disappointed, Bijoo and the others glanced at the Jusehan cast, who waved smilingly that it was fine.
Once more, the goblins feasted joyfully. As if their earlier gloom had been a lie, the atmosphere transformed instantly.
“Whoever picked this album concept, great choice.”
At Song Jinwoo’s remark, everyone nodded. Winning with bizarre talents and then throwing a feast truly embodied goblins.
“Ri Hyuk hyung, describe this taste!”
“It’s the flavor of our blood and sweat. The reward for effort is indeed sweet.”
“You worked hard.”
“Wooju hyung, you really worked hard!”
Their self-praise made the Jusehan cast laugh again.
“Guys.”
That’s our coins......
After the team game, individual matches began. It resembled the structure of a battle manga—boss on floor one, boss on floor two, etc.
“Seol-Ri Hyuk—he’s the weakest of our Four Heavenly Kings.”
“Can’t you be quiet, Jiho?”
In this format, Jusehan cast members challenged us one by one. Those who challenged Ri Hyuk in a word-chain game fell one after another.
“Flower crab!”
“Germanium.”
“......”
Seeing them defeated by our word-weaponized Ri Hyuk, they felt a shared humiliation.
“Pathetic, Seol-Ri Hyuk.”
“Can’t you be quiet? I need to win coins!”
Finally, after ‘East’ → ‘Radium’ → ‘Cefazolin Sodium’, the Jusehan members who lost watched us eat roasted sweet potatoes in dazed silence.
Of course, we didn’t win every game. Some teams excelled in events where they beat us.
“And now: One-handed cube-steak flipping: Team Na Miri wins!”
In the mini-game of cooking all sides of a cube steak, Bijoo placed third. Jiho also lost at jegichagi against Master Woo.
“Haha! Oh, this sweet potato tastes divine~”
“Thank you for the meal~?”
The winners used coins to buy snacks and flashed us bright smiles. We returned awkward grins.
“This isn’t the time for celebration......”
I couldn’t forget PD Koo’s grin behind the cast. They toyed with matches now, but after the games, they’d realize their coins had melted away and panic.
The writers and directors from Jusehan gave us thumbs-up, saying “Well done.” Meanwhile, Junhyun took the stage.
“Next: untangling the magic rings.”
This game required disentangling two interlocked metal rings. The sturdy-looking rings clinked as everyone began working. Yeo Heeyeon and Master Yang’s eyes burned as they clanked.
Junhyun pried and clicked until—pop!—he produced a distinctive sound.
“I’m done.”
Thirty seconds flat. Everyone’s eyes widened at Junhyun’s calm declaration.
“Did he break the ring?”
“No way it could break by hand.”
We and the Jusehan cast buzzed in awe.
“How did you open that?”
“Who’s in charge of props? They said you couldn’t pry that open by hand!”
“No, that thing wouldn’t come apart without serious force......”
Exclaiming “Crazy!” they watched Junhyun lift two intact rings.
“I untangled them.”
“......”
“It’s true.”
As they stared in disbelief, Junhyun looked hurt.
“I really untangled them......”
“You didn’t break them with force?”
“You said I have good spatial sense, hyung.”
Unbelievable. Our kid actually used his brain.
“Why did you think I’d break them?”
“Well... that’s not the point.”
“?”
“That you’re smart is the point.”
“I’m smart, right?”
He beamed as if asking “Am I smart?” and we laughed.
The maknae said proudly,
“It’s true—he’s so smart he doesn’t need his strength.”
“Viewers, remember: Kim Junhyun is officially a Smart Guy.”
We cheered alongside Junhyun, who held up the rings triumphantly. Jusehan members replayed the moment skeptically, but bowed to Junhyun’s silent-focus skill.
Buying roasted chestnuts with coins, I casually asked,
“You really didn’t use force?”
“It felt like I’d snap them if I did, so I used my brain. You can’t just break props casually.”
“Well done.”
I praised his restraint and fed him a roasted chestnut.
Now only I remained. Stretching and loosening up, I saw Jusehan’s members smile warmly.
“It’s Wooju’s turn.”
“Wooju, right.”
“Shall we forfeit? Forfeiting costs three coins and that’s it.”
“This has too low a win rate.”
They debated losing fewer coins by forfeiting versus risking more by playing. I smiled and asked,
“PD-nim! So what’s the next event?”
Determined to win lightly and treat my juniors to snacks, I listened as PD Koo gave a teasing smile and spoke.
-The next game is called “Game.”
“Game...?”
-Yes. A classic game you’ve likely played.
An old handheld game console emerged from among the staff. As talk of the retro game buzzed, the maknae and other juniors spun around, sending urgent signals with their eyes.
“Hyung, you’re terrible at games.”
“This is bad.”
The cast’s “Game?” confusion faded as I sized them up and swallowed.
Stay calm, Sunwooju. Think how Ujuseon would handle this situation. After a moment, I turned to them with a composed, poker-face smile.
“So......”
To the anxious cast, I said,
“Will you challenge me?”
For now, I decided to bluff.
