GIJS

Chapter 190 Sniping?

After the fluorescent pants gang incident, the 7IN members and Team Leader Seo Eun-woo had a meeting.

As soon as he faced Team Leader Seo, Gunja bowed his head deeply and began with an apology.

"Team Leader, I'm sorry..."

However, instead of reprimanding Gunja, Team Leader Seo held his hand with a worried expression.

"I didn't call you here to scold you."

"..."

"I wanted to check if you were hurt or if your condition was alright."

"...Team Leader..."

"Is everyone okay? If there are any lingering psychological impacts, we will cancel all remaining filming for 'Restaurant Maker'."

At Team Leader Seo Eun-woo's bold statement, all seven boys shook their heads and waved their hands.

"No, we're fine, Team Leader!"

"As long as Gunja is okay, we're all okay! Gunja went through all the trouble."

"Ahaha, it was a great shoot except for those thugs~"

"...Y-yes... PD Yang Hong-seok was very considerate..."

"If we quit now, we wouldn't have the face to meet Teacher Baek."

"We want to continue, Team Leader."

Hearing the members' opinions, Team Leader Seo Eun-woo nodded quietly. When the members finished speaking, Manager Lee Yong-jung scratched his head and spoke cautiously.

"I'm sorry, Team Leader. Such an unfortunate incident happened while I was briefly away. If I had handled things properly, our kids wouldn't have been caught up in this..."

"It's not your fault. No matter how many security personnel are stationed at a soccer stadium, crowd intrusion incidents happen every year. No matter how prepared you are, you can't completely block out such crazy people."

"Still, I should have done better. I'm sorry."

Manager Lee Yong-jung repeatedly apologized in a low voice, but Team Leader Seo Eun-woo's expression remained calm.

"It's alright. The incident has already happened, and now our job is not to assign blame but to deal with the aftermath."

With that, Team Leader Seo Eun-woo checked Gunja's condition again.

It was fortunate that there were no injuries, but Gunja had used violence. This was not the Gunja that Team Leader Seo knew. It seemed clear that Gunja's mental state was shaken when he clashed with the fluorescent pants gang.

"Are you really okay? If you want, I can arrange for you to see a counselor."

"No, Team Leader. I'm really fine."

"Alright. If you need anything, just let me know anytime."

"Yes, Team Leader. Thank you very much."

"My team and I have complete trust in you, Gunja, and the 7IN members. But to be blunt, it is true that you used violence this afternoon."

"..."

"Again, I'm not saying I'm going to assign blame. However, it is highly problematic for an idol to use violence in any way."

"..."

"I want to commend you for subduing the unhinged individuals and protecting our members and the filming staff. However, separate from that, I hope that in the future, you will avoid using violence in any situation. Of course, if your safety or that of those around you is seriously threatened, it's understandable, but please try to endure as much as possible."

Gunja nodded slowly, taking Team Leader Seo Eun-woo's words to heart. Yu-chan, standing beside him, fidgeted anxiously.

"...U-uh, then..."

"Yes, Yu-chan."

"...D-does it mean that... what Gunja-hyung did could also be a problem...?"

"Yes. It could potentially be a problem."

Yu-chan gasped quietly at Team Leader Seo Eun-woo's words. However, Team Leader Seo Eun-woo maintained a confident expression.

"But you don't need to worry. We've already started addressing the situation."

* * *

The next day, filming for 'Restaurant Maker' proceeded as scheduled. Before the filming began, all the staff, including PD Yang Hong-seok, conveyed their apologies and gratitude to the 7IN members.

"We're sorry, and thank you very much. We're quite embarrassed that the cast had to resolve the issues that occurred on set."

"It's okay. It was an unexpected situation, so we're just glad someone was able to handle it."

"Such an incident will never happen again. From now on, only guests selected by lottery will be allowed."

As PD Yang Hong-seok said, starting from the second day, pre-selected guests filled the tables.

Although these guests were chosen by lottery, they were unaware of the presence of the 7IN members at 'Restaurant Maker'.

As a result, every time the guests entered the restaurant, the hall erupted in astonished exclamations.

"Wow, wow, this is amazing—!!"

"Isn't that 7IN!?"

"Wow, can we take pictures—!?"

Despite the fact that more and more people recognized them wherever they went, the attention and love they received never felt excessive. Every time guests entered the restaurant, recognized them, and cheerfully jumped with excitement, the boys felt a deep sense of pride and happiness.

"Here's the acorn jelly and potato pancakes~"

"Wow, thank you! I'll enjoy this!"

With a limited number of guests allowed in the restaurant, running the business became much easier. Moreover, within just a day, the members' skills had improved so much that even the kitchen staff had the occasional free moment to step out into the dining area.

Thanks to this, they had time to freely interact with the customers filling the hall.

"I really, really didn't imagine this. I feel like I'm on top of the world right now!"

"I'm proud that you like it so much."

"Wow, your accent sounds so old-fashioned!"

"Ha-ha, I must sound like that because I am indeed old-fashioned."

'Restaurant Maker''s production team had drawn guests from various age groups. Perhaps because of this, the stories from the guests were all different.

"Gunja oppa, I got a top grade in Korean history because of you!"

"Oh, a top grade? Are you talking about the College Scholastic Ability Test?"

"Yes! I used to be really bad at Korean history, but you told us to study hard during the live broadcast, so I studied really, really hard from that day."

"Ah, then you must have had good results on the College Scholastic Ability Test too."

"No, I only studied Korean history, so my grades in other subjects dropped. Hehe."

"Oh..."

"So, I'm repeating the year!"

"...I'll have to tell the viewers to study hard in all subjects, not just Korean history, in the next live broadcast..."

A fan who had improved her Korean history grade thanks to Gunja shared her story.

"Our whole family are fans of Chillin."

"Thank you. Do you have a favorite member?"

"We like them all!"

"Ah, so you're all fans!"

"You're all so pretty and lovable."

"Hehe, thank you. It's so cute and nice to see your whole family dining out together like this!"

"Oh, don't mention it. We were originally a very distant and non-communicative family."

"Really? I can't imagine that from how you are now..."

"But it's not a lie. Watching Idol Training Simulation together helped us start talking and rebuild our relationships."

"Really?"

"Yes. Having family time on Friday nights naturally led to more communication. Plus, our picks all debuted, so since then, we've all become fans of all the members."

"Wow, that sounds like an ideal family!"

"It's thanks to you all. I didn't expect things to turn out like this, but I really wanted to say thank you. Eunchae, Eunsu, you should also say thank you. Why are you just sitting there with your face all red?"

"...Thank you..."

The story of a family fan who managed to restore their distant family relationships thanks to 7IN made all the members feel proud.

"Hello!"

"We came to Korea because of Chillin."

"Oh, are you exchange students?"

"Yes, yes, we came from Germany, France, and Sweden!"

"I really didn't expect this. You're all so handsome, really."

"Kyaah, my heart is racing so much!"

"Unnie, I think I'm going to die. The acorn jelly is so delicious."

European students who had applied to study abroad in Korea specifically to see 7IN displayed ecstatic reactions, barely noticing the food as it went into their mouths.

A mother and child, having quietly finished their meal, approached Gunja at the counter to express their gratitude.

"Excuse me, Gunja. My child has something they really want to say..."

"Yes, what is it?"

The small, shy daughter, with a flushed face and eyes fixed on the ground, spoke resolutely.

"...Actually, I've been struggling a lot because of trauma from school bullying. But... watching Sing Along Duo really gave me a lot of strength. I saw how confident and cool you are, and it gave me courage... I used to rarely go outside before..."

After finishing her words, the girl bowed her head and left a small chocolate on the counter before quickly exiting the restaurant. Gunja, happily eating the chocolate, wore a deeply contented smile.

"It's really sweet, isn't it, Hyun-su?"

"It is. I guess running a restaurant suits me a bit."

"Hehe, when you retire from being an idol, let's start a business together. With your skills, you could easily start a franchise and succeed quickly."

"Are you serious, Teacher? We don't like empty words~"

"Empty words? No way. I really care about you all. I've seen many idols and broadcasts, but there's never been an idol as sharp and hardworking as you."

The morning before the third day of business, it suddenly rained heavily and the temperature dropped sharply. Although a decrease in sales of cold soybean soup was expected, the 7IN members quickly came up with an alternative and turned the crisis into an opportunity.

"We have plenty of blended beans, so how about using them to make bean paste stew? We can add chunks of pork and some delicious kimchi."

"Hmm, that sounds like a good idea. I already bought pork for tofu kimchi, so we can use that."

"Ah, on a cold day, a bowl of bean paste stew and rice would be perfect."

Thanks to Hyun-su's skillful cooking and quick thinking, the business continued smoothly despite the sudden cold weather. The newly added bean paste stew quickly became popular, proving Hyun-su's resourcefulness.

"Phew, great job today too!"

"We're halfway through now. Ugh, I'm so tired."

"Let's hurry to the accommodation and take a half-body bath~"

"Hey, Kwon Tae-woong, you're not going to use the bath salts I bought again, are you?"

"Oh, that stuff is really good."

"Crazy, that's something I'm saving!"

"Huh? Didn't we buy it to share? You eat a lot of my snacks too."

"No, snacks and bath salts are not the same..."

Despite the fluorescent pants gang incident, the 'Restaurant Maker' shoot seemed to be running smoothly.

However, that night, a post appeared on an anonymous online community with 7IN's name in it. Until now, 7IN had only been generating positive stories, but this time, it was a post with a clear intention of targeting them.