From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 343: Vacation (5)
As Ari walked up to the front, he tried to get a peek at the jar, but PD Emily quickly handed it over to another staff member and made them stand in a line.
"The four of you are going to be team 1. Who wants to be the team captain and be in charge overall?"
"I’ll do it." William quickly stepped forward with a smug smile.
"Any objections?" PD Emily glanced at the 3 of them in turn, spending the longest time on Ari, but everyone shook their head.
"Excellent, then here you go, William. You’re your team’s official videographer and packmule." At PD, Emily’s words, a staff member brought a wooden basket that contained a handheld video camera, matching red vests with branding stickers, an ugly backpack with more branding, extra batteries, and other miscellaneous items, and quickly handed it to William.
As the blonde boy looked between the basket and the PD with an angry expression, PD Emily waved them off and took the glass jar filled with Popsicle sticks being handed to her.
"You four can sit down. Team 2 will be composed of...Jones James III, Moore Benjamin, Suzuki Rei, Choi In-su. Please come up." She quickly picked out four names and continued on as if nothing happened.
Ari could only watch with sadness as everyone else was put into teams that actually seemed fun, while he was stuck with William.
At least the other boy was miserable too.
Ari peeked over as William tried to push the basket away from him in disgust before hiding a smile.
It seems that the captain wasn’t too happy being assigned as the group pack mule and videographer.
When all the teams had their baskets, the PD continued speaking with that strange, forced smile and manic look in her eyes.
"Now that we’re all settled. Let’s look at our gift basket. As you can see, the most important thing in your basket is the cameras generously donated to us by GeoProfessional, who want us to explore the World and become heroes. A big thank you to our sponsor GeoProfessional."
Behind PD Emily, out of sight of the camera, a staff member held up a ’React Enthusiastically’ sign, and, used to these prompts by now, all the contestants clapped and cheered with practiced fake smiles.
"We’ve also been sponsored by Local drink company Sportyade - tasty drinks full of electrolytes to keep you hydrated in your body, mind, and Seoul, JansPack bookbags - carry the weight of the world, and Seoul city tours for the paper maps. Once again, thank you to all the sponsors."
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Good, good. Now, today, all of you will be the producers of your own mini reality vlogs. And the theme is.....Scavenger Hunt! We are setting you free in the city with some cash, one working phone, a map, a riddle, and a bingo sheet of iconic photo spots. Your job? Using only the tools we give you, solve the riddle, travel to the location, and take a photo for evidence before receiving a new riddle and continuing to the next location. The first group to reach the final location will receive a special prize. Those who get the most items on the bingo sheet will also get a secondary prize. Make sure you record everything and have fun. Any questions?"
Benjamin raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr. Moore?"
"Are we able to ask the public for help? For directions and whatnot. A lot of us are not local. A bit easy to get lost, innit?"
"If it’s to get directions, then that’s fine. Don’t cheat on trying to solve the riddle by asking them or using their phones to search the web for the answers."
"Course not."
Carlos raised his hand next.
"Mr. Rodriguez?"
"What if we run out of money before we get to the final location? Do we use our own money?"
"You can’t use your personal money. But if you’re smart, you shouldn’t run out of money. We put in enough for transport and full meals as you traverse the city. But if you do, find a way to reach the last location. Or you can call the production team and give up at any time. We’ll come pick you up. Any other questions?"
As the other contestants asked their remaining questions, the PD quickly answered them, then sent them one by one for quick interviews before the scavenger hunt officially began.
While Ari was waiting for his turn, he spotted Kate, the staff member with terrible driving skills, wheeling a cart with multiple identical glass containers filled with popsicle sticks.
Quickly rushing over, he got in the way of the cart with a wide smile.
"Quick question, Katie. Can I see a jar real quick? For research purposes."
"Uhmm...I’m not supposed to share but..."
Before she could say anything else, Ari quickly took a jar and pulled out a bunch of popsicle sticks.
There were only four names written among the sticks, and although it was quite subtle, there was a mark at different intervals on each one.
In other words, the teams were rigged.
He knew his luck couldn’t be that bad that he would be grouped with William!
"Tee hee. You caught on." Kate stuck her tongue out with a shameless smile.
Tee hee, my ass.
Knowing that it wasn’t her fault, it was that evil PD’s plan, Ari just rolled his eyes and put the jar back.
"Ariel? You’re up!"
When he walked into the interview room, Ari simply arched his eyebrow at the PD.
"Randomly chosen teams?"
"Yes. The order I called the names was random, wasn’t it?" PD Emily shrugged shamelessly.
"You’re shameless."
"Aren’t I? Thank you for the compliment! Now, tell me how you feel about your team. You and William are grouped up, and he’s your captain. It seems the universe is conspiring against you?"
It’s not the universe, it’s you!!!
You’re the one conspiring!
[I truly admire her.]
[Her crafty mind and shamelessness never cease to amaze me.]
[I’m taking notes!]
Don’t! She’s not a good person, and neither are you!
When he finished with his loaded interview with the PD, he changed into one of the clothing sets Chloé had brought him, put on some comfortable shoes, and went back to his team meeting room, it was to see William already nagging Daniel, who was staring at the ground while clutching the backpack, and Vishal, who was staring at the ceiling with blank expressions.
"Fish boy."
Ari glanced at the cameraman, who hadn’t started recording in the corner, before grabbing a vest and calmly taking a seat and staring at William silently.
As always, he didn’t know who this fish boy was, because that certainly wasn’t the name on his birth certificate.
"Fish boy. I’m talking to you."
Ari began to zone out, thinking about how he could shorten his valedictorian speech even more.
Could he get away with just congratulations, everyone and saying ’We did it!
He didn’t pay attention until someone stood right in front of him, blocking his vision.
"Hey, I said I’m talking to you! Are your ears for show?!" William yelled as he tried to intimade Ari who yawned.
"That’s not my name, and you know it."
"But you knew I was talking to you, didn’t I? Answered immediately like a good dog." William asked with a smirk.
Not even in the mood to entertain nonsense, Ari directly went for his throat.
"So, if I call you captain blonde cheater who steals everything and a physical assaulter who only gets to throw his weight around because his uncle has a high position, you would respond? It’s a bit of a mouthful, but I’m sure I can manage it each time I need to call you. Should I?"
William’s face turned red, and just as he was about to respond, Ari cut him off.
"Look. I want today to be peaceful and fun. This is self-recorded content for the fans, so let’s do a good job and not fight. That starts with you speaking like a human being to the people around you. You know what my name is, and you know that’s not a nickname I approve of, so use my proper name when speaking to me, and I’ll do the same. Got it? Otherwise, if you think you’re being funny, I’ll show you that I’m hilarious."
"....fine. Ah-riel. May I speak to you?" William bit out sarcastically.
"Yes, Will. I. Am? What’s wrong? I’m listening." Ari sarcastically called his name in return.
William: ಠ_ಠ
Ari: ಠ_ಠ
"I was just telling our teammates that it’s unfair that I have to record the entire day. Especially when there are 2 cameras and 4 people in total."
"As the PD said, that’s the captain’s job, right? Thank you in advance for your hard work, Captain Will. I. Am." Ari replied lightly
"It’s not fair to me, because I won’t appear on camera as much as other people. As I was telling them, others should work too." William said with his full intention to pass the duty off to everybody else.
"Then we can take turns. Let’s switch per riddle? What do you guys think? We can also switch who holds the backpack so one person isn’t suffering all day."
Ari turned to ask the other two, who were just silently watching their showdown.
Daniel looked between Ari and William before nodding faintly.
"That sounds good." Vishal chimed in.
"Great. We’ll start with our captain recording things for the first riddle. Anything else, Captain Will. I. Am?"
William didn’t say anything, just sat down with an angry huff.
The room was deathly silent, with each person sitting against a different wall, until PD Emily came in with their riddle in a colorful envelope.
The cameraman turned the camera on, and like a switch, the atmosphere shifted.
Everyone began fake smiling or at least looking more amicable. They gathered together at the center of the room and feigned excitement.
"Here’s your riddle, boys. Open it on 3." PD Emily handed the envelope to William, who had clumsily taken out the handheld camera and was trying to record simultaneously.
Ari briefly considered helping before restraining himself.
Who knew what his royal highness would say if he did?
Eventually, William figured out how to balance the two items, and they began counting down.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
On one, William opened the envelope, which shot out confetti, and the three of them arranged themselves around him to try to read the hint.
It was in the form of a poem.
Mountain behind me, wide avenue in front, I guard the city’s heart.
Burned to ashes, rebuilt strong, I wear red gates and tiled roofs.
Who am I, with 500 years of tales, who now has hundreds of daily visitors?
"What the hel-heck does this mean?" William quickly corrected himself as he tried to understand the words.
Not one to actually use his brain if he didn’t have to, he immediately turned to Daniel Kim, the only Korean member of their team.
"You’re Korean. What’s the answer?"
"Uhhhhh...."
Suddenly put on the spot, Daniels’ eyes began flickering around as he panicked.
