Idol Hides His Military Service

Part-time job.

If you were a young youth in South Korea, it was something you couldn’t help doing at least once.

"Hello, Yours! I’m Iam’s reliable older sister, Lee Gahyeon!"

But among Iam’s members, aside from Gahyeon, there wasn’t a single one with actual part-time job experience.

'We didn’t have time···.'

Shockingly, the four 97s who still hadn’t had their birthdays yet and were still minors, Shinyu who was about to go up to 11th grade, and lastly Yunkyung, who was still in middle school.

'No, even if Yunkyung becomes an adult, Yunkyung will never have a reason to work part-time.'

Anyway, only Gahyeon—the only adult among the members—was a veteran who’d experienced part-time jobs.

-So I thought it’d be best if you went first, Gahyeon.

Because of that, when she learned she’d been chosen as the first batter for Extreme Part-Time Job content, Gahyeon felt, for some reason, a faint surge of anger rise up from deep in her lower abdomen.

'It feels like I got played by Lee Sion!'

Gahyeon knew about herself, too—that she was easily swayed, and if someone praised her even a little, she’d puff up and go along with it.

-Seriously, this is something only you can do, Gahyeon.

And the one who’d figured that out faster than anyone was Lee Sion, who’d used that bewitching tongue to lure Gahyeon into taking over the dorm chores.

Every time, Gahyeon would get tricked without realizing it, get used by Lee Sion, then regret it later. And now, watching Producer Raon hype her up, saying there was no one else they could ask first except her, she was getting that same feeling.

But—

'I have to do it.'

It was very weird, but either way, it didn’t change the fact that this was her first-ever content where she was stepping out as the main character. And like Raon said, among the members, the only one who could be the first to show something like this and set an example was Gahyeon.

So once again, she steeled her motivation and loudly announced the start to the content team’s camera crew filming her.

"Today is Iam’s in-house content, Extreme Part-Time Job! I got the first slot!"

"Wooow!!!"

Since they always filmed as all seven together, doing it alone made everything extremely awkward.

The crew filled that gap with enthusiastic cheers.

"Today, I’m···."

At last, the moment came when she had to reveal the purpose of today’s shoot, and Lee Gahyeon, feeling like her breath was catching in her throat, furrowed her brows for the first time since filming started.

"I’m going to work a part-time job at a pork cutlet place."

But she knew she couldn’t stop, so she grit her teeth and spat it out—pork cutlet place part-time job.

Right now it was lonely, with only Gahyeon’s line coming out, but she could already picture it: by the time it went up on YouTube, it would have all kinds of flashy editing slapped onto it.

They’d definitely insert that scene from Agbaek too, where she and Lee Sion fought fiercely over pork cutlet.

'Be grateful.'

When she first got the nickname Pork Cutlet Thief Squad, she’d been so humiliated there’d been a period where she couldn’t stand it without hitting Lee Sion.

But looking back, because she had that nickname, she could raise her recognition even a little, and thanks to that, she made an unbelievable rise in rankings and could debut in Iam.

If you thought about how a lot of idol members might have pet names but not actual nicknames, then even if it was separate from the embarrassment, it really was something to be grateful for.

"Do you really like pork cutlet that much?"

As Gahyeon fell into thought for a moment, Content Team Lead Lee Hakyoon asked her a question.

Normally, it would’ve been filmed as just the members talking among themselves without staff stepping in, but since today was just Lee Gahyeon alone, he seemed to have come out.

"Pork cutlet··· I mean, I do like it, but I’m not crazy about pork cutlet the way you all think I am!"

"Then why did you fight so intensely with Sion back then?"

Of course it would be that.

Seeing Hakyoon grinning as he brought up that incident, Gahyeon felt like she was going to go insane from how unfair it was.

"During Agbaek, I was way hungrier than you all can even imagine. It’s not that I’m weird—back then, the other members also started off saying they were dieting, but···."

A torrent of grievance pouring out of Lee Gahyeon.

But as if it didn’t matter much, Hakyoon already moved on to the next question.

"Have you ever worked part-time before?"

"Yes. Starting with a bakery, then a convenience store, and then a barbecue restaurant!"

"You’ve done a lot."

"Yes!"

Truthfully, when it came to part-time work, Gahyeon was confident.

After graduating high school, to keep her trainee life going, Gahyeon worked part-time right away—so much that there was basically no part-time job she hadn’t done.

'I didn’t have a choice. It was embarrassing to keep reaching my hand out to my parents.'

While kids her age went to college or started working, Gahyeon was still living as a trainee, looking only at debut.

But unlike the name, being a trainee wasn’t an environment where you could just practice.

It was common for trainees to take separate vocal and dance lessons to improve even a little, and even if the agency provided basic training, they didn’t provide meals, transportation money, or living expenses.

Big agencies supposedly even had dorms for trainees, but Gahyeon’s agency didn’t, so she had to shoulder it all entirely on her own.

Thanks to that, to avoid overlapping with practice time, she’d experienced all kinds of part-time jobs, so today, too, she felt confident.

***

"Give me one bite of pork cutlet and I won’t eat you!"

"Ah···."

"···I’m sorry."

"No, it’s okay. Do you want a bite?"

"···I’m really fine."

Saying she was fine, Lee Gahyeon still snatched the piece of pork cutlet the customer offered and popped it into her mouth.

"Keuuh··· yeah, that’s Gahyeon."

"I really didn’t think she’d do it."

"Our girls put up a fierce fight before they start, but once they start, they do it well."

"She’s amazing. That ‘variety idol’ nickname didn’t stick for nothing."

Hakyoon nodded at his team member’s words.

Variety idol.

Maybe because they debuted through a survival program, but the Iam members all had very distinct characters.

Thanks to that, no matter what show they went on, they could always snag at least one usable cut.

-Iam kids gave up on image management?

-lol but every time Iam comes out it’s funny so I end up watching

-If you listen to them on radio, you seriously can’t tell if they’re idols or comedians

-They diss each other viciously, but if someone else attacks, they instantly band together

-My mom knows Lee Sion as the kid who picked a fight with Kang Hobong lol

So these days, Iam’s nickname was variety idols.

Not just a nickname—there were so many variety programs that wanted to book them that lately KJ Entertainment was happily agonizing over where they should send them.

And watching Lee Gahyeon go all-out again today, living up to that nickname, Hakyoon realized once more that his and PD Raon’s judgment had been excellent.

"Become delicious, moe moe kyun!"

"···."

"Please don’t look at me!!!"

Even now—after saying the line the writer gave her—Lee Gahyeon was even more embarrassed than the customer and was telling the customer not to look. It was such a heartwarming sight that even if you weren’t her agency’s idol, just seeing it as a normal person made you smile automatically.

'It was really good that Gahyeon took the first slot.'

Extreme Part-Time Job content, set up by booking a famous pork cutlet place near the company.

-You look like you don’t have any work sense.

-Why, ma’am, I work well! But what do I look like?

-You look picky.

-Ma’am!

From the start, Lee Gahyeon showed great back-and-forth with the pork cutlet shop owner, and it wasn’t empty talk—she really was good at the job.

-Can you slice this?

-Of course!

When the owner, worried, told her to try slicing cabbage, she was flustered at first, but then did it skillfully and shocked everyone.

Now she was even serving, looking like a pretty convincing part-timer.

And even while sighing at the mischievous script the writer had put in, she still carried it through—a pro.

If it hadn’t been filming, Hakyoon felt like he wanted to clap with all his might.

And what was amazing was—

"Gahyeon, I’m seriously such a huge fan!"

"Thank you!"

"Can I take a photo?"

"Of course!"

Even though they hadn’t announced this shoot on social media, somehow word had spread. People had already flocked to see Gahyeon, and the pork cutlet shop was packed.

It had always been a popular place, but it wasn’t the kind of place that got a waiting line. Now people were lined up not just inside but outside too, filming Lee Gahyeon working inside and whispering to each other.

It really showed Iam’s popularity lately.

Second place on the digital charts right after debut.

Album sales at 200,000—numbers you wouldn’t compare to a rookie girl group, but to boy idols.

More than anything, Iam’s status—writing the first-ever rookie girl group record of a grand slam with their debut song—was clearly different now.

The members themselves probably didn’t realize it yet, but right now, in Korea, they were one of the hottest idols.

That was the address of current Iam.

"Oh my, your hands are so quick and sharp for how you look, Gahyeon."

"Ma’am, what kind of face do I have?"

"You? Gahyeon has the kind of face that makes you uneasy if you meet her at a formal marriage meeting."

"What? Me?"

"You look like you’d eat men."

"No!"

"I mean, you’re so nice and soft, but how does your face look like that! You look like a model."

"This is a compliment, right?"

Lee Gahyeon was showing social skills that blended perfectly even with the shop owner, a middle-aged woman of a respectable age.

Sure enough, unlike her urban looks that made you think of a chic model, among Iam members, she had the most innocent, rustic side.

'It’s not like Lee Sion messes with Lee Gahyeon for no reason.'

If you poke her, she reacts, popping back with responses—how could you not keep poking?

Maybe that was why fans loved the chemistry between Lee Sion and Lee Gahyeon so much.

When Lee Sion would slyly start messing with Lee Gahyeon, Lee Gahyeon would take it and take it, then finally explode and smack Lee Sion’s back—those sitcom-like sequences.

Like a duo that had worked together forever on variety, the two of them were already famous among fans.

'It’s a little too bad it’s solo content. It would’ve been nice to get the other members’ reactions too.'

Thinking it wouldn’t be bad to pair them up two by two starting next episode, Hakyoon continued filming.

So—Lee Gahyeon moving busily while handling the rush of customers, and the content team filming her.

Before they knew it, quite a bit of time passed, and as today’s in-house content was nearing its wrap-up timing, the final customer opened the door and came in.

"Come here!"

"Welco—Lee Sion?"

A familiar figure walked into the shop as the little bell hanging on the door jingled.

Hands clasped behind her back, walking in with a swagger like some Joseon-era nobleman doing a leisurely strut—Lee Sion.

Thud.

Then she dropped into the corner of an empty table, slung an arm over it like a thug, and lifted a hand lightly.

"Waiter, order here."

"You’re insane! Why are you here?!"

"Why else? I’m here to eat pork cutlet. Ahem—does a part-timer speak casually to a customer who’s basically the sky?"

"You—You—"

At Lee Sion’s behavior, dripping with the vibe of a blatant trouble customer, Hakyoon and the crew suffered trying to hold back laughter, while Lee Gahyeon could only groan as she struggled to hold back her anger.

"Hmmm~ what’s good here?"

"The most ordered is the king pork cutlet, and there’s a half-and-half cutlet with fish cutlet too, or the jjolmyeon-and-cutlet set also sells well."

As if proving she hadn’t wasted today’s part-time content, recommendation lines flowed naturally out of Lee Gahyeon’s mouth.

With how skilled she looked—like a part-timer who’d worked here forever—the shop owner smiled with satisfaction too.

"I didn’t ask for your opinion. I’ll eat what I want."

"This—seriously!"

But the moment Gahyeon was about to raise her fist, unable to endure Lee Sion’s outrageousness that made even her competent response meaningless—

"Ma’am~ this part-timer is so violent! Look, she’s making a fist!"

"I—when did I, sir!"

"If not, then never mind."

After briefly toying with Lee Gahyeon by pulling the trouble-customer special move, Call the Boss, Lee Sion seemed to have decided, because she folded the menu and ordered.

"One king pork cutlet!"

"You were going to order pork cutlet anyway!"

"Since we have a pork cutlet thief in the group, if you factor in getting it stolen, king pork cutlet is the only option."

"Sir, you shouldn’t spread those kinds of baseless rumors."

"But it’s true, right?"

Lee Gahyeon was getting whipped around by Lee Sion’s brutal tyranny as she used the absolute hierarchy of customer versus part-timer.

'This was it!'

There had been plenty of funny moments even when Lee Gahyeon was alone, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} but now Hakyoon could tell: this was the “missing” part he’d been feeling while filming.

"Pork cutlet doneness: medium rare!"

"This is a diner-style pork cutlet. Just eat it how it comes, please!"

"This place has an unfriendly part-timer."

Lee Sion, who normally at least pretended to speak politely because she was the older sister, was rampaging like a train that had lost its engineer.

And at the same time, Lee Gahyeon’s face was getting redder and redder.

Watching the two of them do their bit, not only the remaining customers but even the owner was smiling like they were enjoying something fun.

"How did you even find out about this place?"

"If I want to know, I can know everything."

Since this shoot was Gahyeon solo, they hadn’t bothered to tell the other members, so it was nothing but curiosity how Lee Sion found it.

At last, the pork cutlet Lee Sion ordered came out, and—

"Gahyeon, you worked hard today too. Eat with her."

"Ma’am···!"

"Oh my, having two pretty sons, the shop feels bright. Come play often."

"Yes!"

The owner even prepared pork cutlet for Lee Gahyeon too—who hadn’t ordered—and set it on the table.

After that, sitting face-to-face eating pork cutlet and chatting about this and that, Lee Sion and Lee Gahyeon—

"Back at the group training dorm, the pork cutlet was really so good."

"That was during the period when we’d been getting nothing but greens for a while, so it felt even more like that."

"It still bugs me that I lost the chopsticks battle that day."

"What?"

"Yah!"

Tap.

In an instant, Lee Sion stole a piece of pork cutlet Lee Gahyeon had cut up, and Lee Gahyeon tried to interrupt Lee Sion’s chopsticks—recreating their Agbaek days.

Even though right now there was more than enough for both of them to eat without fighting, it was hard to understand why they were trying to steal each other’s food.

But watching the two of them excitedly fight with chopsticks made Hakyoon smile for no reason.

"I’m glad I came to KJ Entertainment."

"Me too."

While Hakyoon was in the process of settling in at MPlay, even when his senior Hyuksu told him it could be a good opportunity and recommended he switch jobs, he’d been half in doubt.

Because if he stayed at MPlay, he could someday take a PD spot and make a jackpot program like Agbaek.

But now, he thought switching to KJ Entertainment had been a good decision.

Being able to watch from the side just how far Iam members would grow—this was a precious experience you couldn’t get anywhere else.

"Thank you for your hard work today!"

Soon, at the same time Lee Gahyeon and Lee Sion finished eating, today’s shoot ended.

After thanking the shop owner who cooperated with filming, and Lee Gahyeon finishing the closing line cleanly too, she and Lee Sion headed to a café to drink coffee—like they still had something to talk about.

The crew stayed behind, discussing editing and future schedules.

"The members still don’t know yet, right?"

"Yeah. It was when we told them to keep two days open next week."

"By then, Yuri who went to Japan and Shinyu who went to Jeju will be back too, so it’s good timing."

Because this leave content wasn’t over yet.