GIJS

Chapter 123 The Cunning 70-Year-Old Boys

Kim Han-beom, a 48-year-old taxi driver, had been driving a cab in Gyeongju for ten years.

Though he had transported many diverse passengers over the years, there had never been a moment as sweat-inducing as this.

Just like any other day, he had finished a simple meal with his colleague, Jeon Jung-seok, and was wandering around the hotel area.

As a tourist city, Gyeongju had the highest chance of picking up passengers near the hotel. These passengers were no exception.

From a distance, they were waving their hands, their long hair flowing. At that moment, Kim Han-beom thought they were just female tourists visiting Gyeongju.

However, as they got closer, something seemed off.

...Why are they so big?

The passengers were unusually large and imposing.

From under the long skirts of the passengers, he could see what looked like bridge cables as their Achilles tendons. The guests wearing modified hanboks had shoulders as broad as dump trucks.

"...Oh my..."

Kim Han-beom swallowed nervously. He wanted to escape but felt the force of the passengers made him press the brakes.

Where on earth are these passengers headed?

Kim Han-beom forced a business smile. Yes, it's a bad habit to judge people by their appearance. These might not be suspicious people after all...

"Driver."

"Yes!"

"Please follow the car in front."

"Eh—!?"

...Suspicious.

"Haha, what kind of car are you referring to..."

"That car over there."

"Ah, I see. I guess they are your companions."

"Yes, that's right."

The passengers' voices were deep and smooth. They didn't even attempt to mimic female voices. Their politeness only made the situation more unnerving.

"Are you here for sightseeing in Gyeongju, haha?"

"No, we're here for work."

"Oh, what kind of work?"

"That's something I can't reveal."

Kim Han-beom tried to ease the tension with conversation, but the polite yet suspicious youth was resolute.

"Don't worry, it's not dangerous."

"Haha, is that so?"

"I can only tell you that it involves filming."

Suspicious, it's clearly suspicious!

The suspicion had reached toxic levels. Just then, the traffic light turned red, causing Kim Han-beom to stop right behind the taxi he was following. It was Jeon Jung-seok's vehicle.

Through the rear window, he glimpsed the passengers in the front car. Three of them had long hair, their figures relatively slim but with an unmistakable height. Additionally, their shoulders were too broad for women.

It was clear they were part of the same group.

Kim Han-beom wanted to radio Jeon Jung-seok immediately, but his hand wouldn't move. His hand gripping the wheel was trembling uncontrollably.

"Whew."

As he tried to calm his nerves with deep breaths, he suddenly heard a thud.

"Gah!"

The most polite and suspicious youth placed a hand on Kim Han-beom's shoulder.

"Driver."

"Yes!?"

"Don't worry, we're not suspicious people."

Saying this, the youth smiled brightly. The face was so beautiful that it was impossible to determine their gender, making it even more suspicious.

"We're just wearing these outfits for work."

...So what exactly is this work?

* * *

Unaware of the taxi drivers' turmoil, the seven scholars got out of the taxi and walked towards the play area.

"Hehe, with this level of disguise, no one should recognize us. Truly, everyone is in awe."

"Do you really think no one will recognize us? We just had that drag live broadcast. If any fans saw it..."

"Eh, no way. It was only for a brief moment."

"Hmmm, is that so?"

"Yeah, Hyun-su is right. People might not be as interested in us as we think."

"Really? Was I being too self-conscious?"

But the world was very, very interested in them.

As they approached the play area, the commotion around them grew. High-pitched shouts were heard from time to time.

"Haha, what's going on?"

"It's probably because the drag is so interesting."

"Maybe they're surprised to see Woong and Hyuk-hyung..."

"What? They're surprised to see me? Why?"

"They're surprised because it's surprising. Why are you wearing pantyhose?"

"Huh? But isn't that our light stick?"

"Haha, that's a calligraphy brush. It's perfectly normal for young people to carry calligraphy brushes."

"That doesn't seem normal at all."

Kyaaa—

By the time they arrived at the play area, it was already packed with people. It seemed like everyone was only looking at them.

"...I knew this would happen."

"Why, the disguise was perfect..."

"Even with the perfect disguise, they recognized us. They must have seen the live broadcast."

Saying this, Hyun-su opened his smartphone and checked social media. Posts saying '7IN appeared in drag' were flooding the feeds.

Title:[The Chilling Transformation: Cross-dressing and Taking Over Gyeongju's Playground!!!!!!!!!]

[Oh my god, this is insane, such a big deal!!!][Pictures] [Pictures] [Pictures][Hahaha, what is this? Hahaha][I heard they were cross-dressing, but it was real?! Hahaha][Yesterday was Bulguksa, today is cross-dressing concert][Now they're doing a cross-dressing parade too?][How much more confused are we going to get, Chilling?][Hahaha, but they look so pretty in cross-dressing][Look at their outfitsㅠㅠㅠ Today's style is like Silla era][Did they match it with Gyeongju? They look so pretty][Did Hyeonsu do their makeup? It's so perfect][Pictures] [Pictures] [Pictures][Phew, I saw they went to Bulguksa yesterday, so I immediately took a day off and bought a ticket to Gyeongju. I hit the jackpot^^][ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I'm so jealousㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ][Should I really go to every historical site and wait?][But how about Inhyuk and Taewoongㅋㅋㅋㅋ What now?][Please protect those leg muscles][Ah, the cross-dressing is tough^^ Not easy to store][Inhyuk looks so chic, it's funny how seriously he participates in everythingㅋㅋㅋㅋ][The cross-dressing is intense tooㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

As Hyeonsu closed the SNS page with explosive reactions, he muttered to himself.

"...I've realized something today."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"It's okay if we're a bit self-conscious."

"Haha, I see."

Since it had come to this, they would fulfill their duties as idols.

"Hyeonsu, do you have all the accompaniment?"

"Yeah. Just in case, I brought a mini amp too."

"Excellent."

First, Inhyuk and Taewoong calmed the crowd. Although they were intimidating with their usual physique, adding cross-dressing made them even more formidable.

As the fans calmed down, Gunjia cleared his throat. He had to start with a proper greeting in front of the fans.

However, Gunjia understood the meaning of disguise. Being in disguise was like adopting another persona. It wasn't just a change of appearance.

Therefore, the introduction should be different too.

"Hello!"

"Wow—!"

"We are the new girl group, Chilsun—!"

"Waaa—!!"

Laughter and cheers erupted. Online responses were also coming in real-time.

[New girl group Chilsun.jpg][Gunjia just introduced them as Chilsunㅋㅋㅋㅋ][ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ][Why Chilsun?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ][Chilling -> Sunyi -> Chilsun?][ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Chilsun are correcting themselves][Crazy, so realㅋㅋㅋㅋ][Seems like they're doing idol stuff to make people laugh][Never seen such pretty Chilsun grandmas][Didn't they realize people would gather?ㅠㅠ][They look flustered, so cuteㅋㅋㅋㅋ][How could anyone not recognize them after such a broadcast?][ㅋㅋㅋ Please post more picturesㅋㅋㅋ]

Though the members were initially shocked by their new group name 'Chilsun,' they soon accepted their new persona.

"Yup, we are Chilsun!"

"Wow—."

"So, let's start the Chilsun party now!"

"Wow—."

As Hyeonsu connected his smartphone to the amp hidden under his skirt, the familiar MR began to play. It was 7IN's first hit song, [Unmannered Ones].

Kyaaaaa—.

The performance began with the geomungo intro. Whether it was because of the cross-dressing or the new group name, the choreography was extraordinarily charming.

"Ah, so cute—."

"Chilsun! Chilsun!"

As GIFs and videos of Chilsun's performance were being posted in real-time, their performance continued with songs like [Unmannered Ones], the final song [Concept: Loyalty], and the title track [Origin].

In [Confucian Woman], Yuchan played the role of the Yeonguijeong of Confucian Women.

As the performance went on, the audience grew larger. Even people who came to watch the Playground performance began to gather around Chilsun's performance area.

Seeing this, Gunjia slapped his forehead and muttered.

"Oops."

"What's the problem now?"

"We might be causing trouble."

"...I've been worried about it too..."

"Is it because of the Playground? If more people gather here, won't it be good for them too?"

"But they might just come for our performance."

"Hmmm, maybe."

"To those performing, the cheers of the audience are the best reward. We all know that from experience."

"That's true."

"Even though we ended up here by chance, we shouldn't take away from their sense of achievement."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Gunjia's opinion.

In fact, they came to the Playground not for the performance but to test Gunjia's acting skills, so now it was fitting to head to the Playground.

"Fans, we are going to the Playground performance now."

"Yes—!"

"If you want to join us, let's go to the Playground..."

"Yes! Yes! Yes—!"

...It was a needless question.

Gunjia cleared his throat and headed toward the Playground. Numerous fans followed him.

Even the performers at the Playground, who had been watching Chilsun's performance with a slightly displeased look, changed their expressions when they saw the crowd approaching.

As they settled in, the Playground performance troupe began their show. The performance, including tightrope walking, traditional Korean music, fan dance, and sword dance, offered a different kind of fun from Chilsun's show.

"Wow—."

"Fantastic!"

The voices of 7IN's fans were thunderous. It's natural for fans to cheer for what their favorite likes. Since 7IN members enjoyed the Playground performance, their fans responded enthusiastically to the show.

The performers, experiencing cheers from idol fans for the first time, felt an exhilarating sensation as if walking on clouds. Even with the same moves, they felt as light as feathers.

Jumping—.

Thanks to this, they jumped higher than usual and succeeded in more precarious moves.

"Everyone, calm down! Be careful not to get hurt!"

"Yes, Manager!"

But perhaps because of their overflowing excitement,

At the end of the first part of the performance, a performer on the tightrope twisted his ankle during the landing.

"Ah!"

"!"

The injury of the tightrope performer, a crucial part of the act, darkened the manager's face.

"Didn't I say not to get too excited...!"

"...Sorry, Manager."

The manager couldn't scold them. He understood all too well why they got so excited.

"So many people came, and we were trying to do our best..."

"Ah, really."

After quickly sending the injured performer to the hospital, the manager fell into deep thought. Although the injury was unfortunate, the performance had to continue. So many audience members had come.

Even if it's a small Playground performance, he had a responsibility to show the best performance to the audience.

But how to continue without the tightrope performer?

While the manager was deeply troubled,

"...Excuse me."

"?"

"Are you perhaps looking for a tightrope performer...?"

A white and beautiful boy (or girl) timidly approached him.