GIJS

Chapter 195 Let's Watch Together

A week before the concert, the rehearsal room was filled only with the boys' groans.

"Ugh, ugh..."

"Puhaha, Hyun-su hyung! Stop making old man noises every time you sit down."

"I can't help it. After a round of practice, my whole body aches..."

"Well, this practice has been especially tough. Ugh, ugh—"

"What? You're making old man noises too."

"Wow, really? I didn't even notice... Huh..."

"You're in your 20s now. You need to take good care of your body~"

"Ugh, why do you look so excited, Hyun-su?"

"Ha-ha, there's a reason I'm excited."

Saying this, Ji Hyun-su lifted his T-shirt slightly. The usually soft and protruding belly had become noticeably slimmer.

"Taewoong, look at this. I have abs now."

"Oh, really? Let me see."

"Eek, eek—!!"

"What, what's up? Did you catch a cold?"

"No, coughing makes the abs show more."

Taewoong, peering at Hyun-su's belly, pulled down the hem of his T-shirt with a look of sympathy and said.

"So, you do have muscles in your belly?"

"Of course, everyone has them."

"That's true."

"What do you think? Give me an assessment."

"Well, it looks more like your body fat has decreased so much that the abs are showing rather than you developed new abs..."

"Really?"

It wasn't just Hyun-su who had lost weight. Due to the grueling concert practice schedule, all the members had lost an average of 2-3 kg. The only member who maintained his weight was Si-woo.

"Haha, is everyone okay~? I hope no one else is dieting except me~"

"It looks like the practice has been really tough..."

"Yeah. Hyun-su's once-soft belly was like a signature thing, but now it's gone and replaced by abs. It's a bit sad."

Even though Solar system had been putting in various efforts to maintain the members' health, keeping up with 100% condition was difficult due to the tight practice schedule.

Moreover, after a tough practice session, their appetites decreased, making it even harder to have regular meals.

"Is today the [Restaurant Maker> watch party live stream]?"

"Yes, that's right. It starts at eight."

"I should ask them to pay extra attention to the makeup. If we look too skinny, the fans might worry."

"Or we could just eat a lot of ramen now? That might make us look a bit fuller."

"No, I can't do that. After such intense practice, my stomach is all messed up, and I don't think I could eat anything."

After covering their slim faces with makeup as best as they could, the 7IN members started the [Restaurant Maker> watch party live stream.

With little time to interact with fans recently due to comeback and concert preparations, the [Restaurant Maker> content was a valuable opportunity for both the members and the fans.

"Hello~"

"Chillingz! I missed you!"

"Haha, so many of you have joined already~"

"I'm so grateful..."

Today's theme was watching the main broadcast of the variety show [Restaurant Maker> that was filmed around March. Since the concept was to eat while watching TV, some simple dishes were prepared in front of the members.

[Chillinsㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [Haaah I really missed you] [Haha I held my breath for so long] [My heart races just seeing your faces♥︎♥︎] [Yuchani, what happened to your skin toneㅠㅠㅠㅜ] [We're more grateful, Gun-ja] [Woong's chest seems to have gotten a bit smaller^ㅅ^] [Wungnyeo checking out chest size as soon as the live starts, what a mess] [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋSorry~~] [Hoo hoo, I've been holding off on chicken for two weeks for today] [Eating while watching TV with Chillins, this is paradise]

"How have you all been? We've been so busy preparing for the concert that we haven't had time to visit often. Sorry for that... But I've still been leaving greetings on SNS! Did you see them?"

As always, the conversation revolved around Hyun-jae, the communication king.

[Of course, we saw themㅎㅎㅎㅎ] [Hyun-jae, what do you think of usㅎㅎㅎ] [It was good that you kept updating on SNS, it wasn't boring] [It must be tough with concert practiceㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [Even though you're busy, it's touching that you still pay attention... Hyun-jae, how do you take such good selfies] [Please tell Hyuk-oppah to stop using the snow camera, Hyun-jae] [Hahaㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [No, it's not funny] [Seeing a 188cm muscle man with tiny eyes sparkling is really something] [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋHyuk-oppah's selfies are really bad] [But somehow, they're also cuteㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [Hyun-jae and Si-woo should start a selfie class... Please···] [No, Hyuk-oppah isn't cut out for a one-day class] [Haa, I want to take pictures and teach him myself^^]

As they chatted and passed the time, it was soon time for the main broadcast of [Restaurant Maker>. Most fans watched the [Restaurant Maker> main broadcast on a large monitor while keeping 7IN's live stream on their smartphones, switching between the two screens.

The production of [Restaurant Maker> by PD Yang Hong-seok was as plain as a bowl of soup. The episode started with the members brainstorming ideas for a "mountain trail restaurant" in a meeting room.

Watching the footage, the members fidgeted nervously. They worried that the video might be too calm and not entertaining enough for the fans.

However, these concerns were unwarranted.

The fans were 200% satisfied with seeing the members in a new light.

It was fine without grand backgrounds or thrilling stories. The fans were simply happy to see the members brainstorming ideas, interacting with the production team, and occasionally throwing in some jokes.

[So that's why they chose the mountain trail restaurantㅋㅋㅋ] [It really fits perfectly with our kidsㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [Even people in their 20s go hiking a lot these days] [It's both nostalgic and trendy, really fitting the trendㅋㅋㅋ How come our kids always have such brilliant ideas?] [A group that dominated with just one idea and won first place in a competition~] [Gun-ja and Yuchan using knives makes my heart race every timeㅠㅠ] [When they're chopping, it feels like my heart is getting sliced too] [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Stop with the horrifying commentsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [Ah, it's so healing. This PD seems to have really thought a lot about making sure our members look good] [Yeahㅋㅋㅋ Just the GIFs alone are legendary... They look so beautifulㅠㅠㅠ] [White shirts and aprons, seeing Chillins like that feels like a crime]

At first, the members were worried that the content might be too trivial, but soon they got absorbed into the plain yet comforting style of [Restaurant Maker> and began to interact freely with the fans.

"Look at that, Gun-ja hyung showing off his skills. Whenever there were customers he liked in the hall, he'd always carve the potato pancakes into heart shapes and serve them."

"Oh, pointing out the embarrassing parts, how awkward."

"Yu Gun-ja, you've really become quite the show-off, haven't you?"

"Hehe, I've just lost a bit of shyness. I've never been stingy with expressing affection to those I've loved for a long time."

"Woong, you should come out of the kitchen sometimes. There are quite a few fans who came to see you."

"No, I have to carry heavy things in the kitchen, how could I do that?"

"Huh? Isn't the love from the fans heavy...?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant!"

While watching the main broadcast of [Restaurant Maker> and following the members' reactions, fans were so engrossed that they barely noticed if their food was going into their mouths or their noses.

[Ah, it feels like Chillins are all over my house] [I definitely have to rewatch the [Restaurant Maker> main broadcast and the live stream laterㅋㅋㅋ] [Watching while eating makes it hard to fully enjoy the food] [But eating with Chillins is something I can't give upㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [The editing direction of [Restaurant Maker> is really goodㅠㅠㅠㅠ I'm so grateful that they highlighted the members' and customers' interactions without adding unnecessary stimulation] [The hall was very noisy, but the sound was captured well... Definitely, [Restaurant Maker> is more to my taste than that other channel's SSS-grade weird foodㅠㅠ] [I also love hiking, and I always beg my friends to go, but they never listen, so I'm upsetㅠㅠ I'll show them this [Restaurant Maker> episode and ask them to go again] [If this [Restaurant Maker> episode becomes a big hit, hiking might become trendy among 1020sㅋㅋㅋ] [That would be greatㅠㅠㅠ Is that too much of a wish?] [No, it's definitely possible] [Remember how when a celebrity ate gopchang on [Only I Am Alone>, there was a nationwide gopchang crazeㅋㅋㅋㅋ Hiking could definitely become a trend too] [Exactlyㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

Watching the edited program brought back memories for the members. While they were busy during the shoot, seeing the video in a calm environment made each customer vividly come to mind. There were even customers who were currently joining the live broadcast.

[I was thereㅠㅠㅠ] [Whoa, really?] [Is this real!?!? Wow, I'm so envious] [When was it? What day did you go???] [It was the first day! I went hiking with my parents by chance and ended up at the restaurant, where I met all the Chillins membersㅠㅠㅠㅠ I complained about getting up early for hiking... I'll live my whole life trying to be a good child] [Wow, I couldn't get in, just me·········] [Seriously, I'm so enviousㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [I went on the third day! I went because I was selected from the [Restaurant Maker> program applicants, but I never imagined I'd see the Chillins membersㅋㅋㅋㅋ Thanks to that, I became a fan···ㅎㅎㅎㅎ] [Ahhhh, if I had known Chillins would be on, I would have applied tooㅠㅠㅠ] [How was it? Did our kids look handsome?] [Seriously, they looked 344693486 times better in person, really] [Even just seeing them on the monitor makes my heart race, and they were 43903465346 times better in person!?!?] [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why add more numbers betweenㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [Ah, I'm so envious, please share that memory with meㅠㅠㅠ···] [I'm really going to go hiking all the time and visit the mountain trail restaurant······]

Seeing the chat full of cute envy and jealousy, the members couldn't help but smile. Fans, following the members' traits, were mostly cute and harmless.

As they enjoyed the main broadcast of [Restaurant Maker> while eating together, the program ended before they knew it.

[Hoo, it felt like 2 hours in 2 minutes] [I hope next week comes quicklyㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [I want to see the next episode of [Restaurant Maker> and go to the solo concert] [I'm so envious of those who succeeded in solo concert ticketingㅠㅠㅠ] [By the way, today's Jangpoong Ajeossi made weird food againㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [Viewership ratings!! I wonder how it did this time] [I hope [Restaurant Maker> wins against the SSS-grade bizarre food chef this timeㅠㅠ] [Yeah... Ratings aren't everything, but still! I hope we win]

The 7IN members shared the same feelings as the fans. Even though [Restaurant Maker> was meant to be a "healing" concept, there were staff members who expressed disappointment over always being the second in viewership ratings.

"Hehe, I really hope we win the ratings for this episode, honestly. I do like Jangpoong Ajeossi, but it would be great if our program came in first!"

"I think the ratings article will come out soon..."

As Hyun-su predicted, right after [Restaurant Maker> and [SSS-grade Chef Making Bizarre Food> aired, articles comparing the ratings of the two programs began to appear.