142: Chapter 141 The eldest brother wants to borrow the eldest sister's mobile phone to make a phone call.

As night fell, the creaking iron door of the old apartment was pushed open by the last to return, Kwon Eunbi and Choi Yena (who was also laboriously dragging a creaking, simple sausage cart). The dim yellow lights inside illuminated a floor covered in "corpses."

Yes, corpses.

On the old carpet in the living room, which was almost worn bald at the edges, the other ten members of IZ*ONE were "slumped" in various poses that completely abandoned their image.

An Yujin was lying flat on her back in a star shape, staring blankly at a crack in the ceiling, as if her soul had drifted away along with the slogan for "Lava-Roasted Rich Tonkotsu Ramen."

Yabuki Nako looked like an exhausted little hamster, curled up in a corner of the sofa with her small face buried in a throw pillow, showing only the messy top of her head.

Kang Hye-won lay on her side on the floor, one leg draped over the edge of the coffee table, unconsciously squeezing an empty ramen bowl while her eyes were glazed over.

Lee Chaeyeon lay face down on the carpet, her chin resting on the floor, tracing invisible circles with her finger as she muttered: "Meteor Chashu Soft-Boiled Egg... Meteor Chashu Soft-Boiled Egg..."

Kim Chaewon, Jo Yuri, and Honda Hitomi were squeezed together on another short sofa, their expressions unified in a state of world-weariness. A small piece of uncleaned colored glitter (remnants of TikTok props) was still stuck to Chaewon's head, Yuri's cheeks seemed a bit flushed from wearing a headpiece for so long, and Hitomi's gaze was vacant, as if she could still see juice bottles and laundry pods flying by in slow motion.

Miyawaki Sakura sat against the wall with her arms around her knees, her face buried deep within them, only the tips of her bright red ears exposed. Clearly, the aftereffects of the "Rice Cake Ball Instant Kill Array" and the Purple Cabbage Court were still intense.

Jang Wonyoung and Kim Minju were slightly more "decent," sitting on the only plastic stools that were still somewhat intact, but they were also drooping. Wonyoung subconsciously touched the top of her head, as if she could still feel the cold touch of the water bottle and the strap marks on her chin. Minju's eyes were unfocused, her hands unconsciously mimicking the motion of striking a gavel.

The aura of exhaustion, shame, and spiritual depletion almost solidified, permeating the cramped space.

"We're... back..." Kwon Eunbi greeted weakly. She took off the lion headpiece from her shoulder—which was already somewhat deformed and stained with suspicious Slime (Slime residue?) and sausage grease—and tossed it disdainfully into a corner by the door. Choi Yena was much more cheerful(?); she stacked her equally weathered duck headpiece on top of the lion one and then enthusiastically began moving her precious sausage cart into the room.

"Unnies! I'm back! And I brought trophies!" Yena's voice sounded exceptionally energetic in the deathly silent room.

The eyeballs of the "corpses" on the floor turned extremely slowly, focusing on the creaking cart that emitted an enticing aroma of grease, and on the simple sausage machine on the cart where a few shiny, oily sausages were slightly trembling in keep-warm mode.

The air shifted subtly.

"Sau... sages...?" Kang Hye-won's nose twitched first. She struggled to prop up her upper body, her eyes fixed on the sausage machine like a traveler in the desert seeing an oasis.

"Yena-yah..." An Yujin spoke with a raspy voice, "How... how did you get this thing back here?" She remembered the amusement park wasn't close at all.

While deftly flipping the sausages, Choi Yena said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "I told the production crew oppas! This is my 'trophy' and a 'Star Fragment Vessel' (she remembered PD Jiang's made-up setting very well); it's a sacred object of the 'Pisces Sausage Saintess'! It had to be brought back! They... uh, probably thought it was funny, so they helped me call a car to transport it back!" She laughed lightheartedly, clearly not thinking there was anything wrong with this.

Everyone: "..." They had a new understanding of Choi Yena's social skills (or rather, her obsession with PD Jiang's settings).

"Grumble..." Someone's stomach made an honest sound, catalyzed by the aroma of the sausages.

Lee Chaeyeon slowly crawled up, her eyes shining: "At least... we can eat grilled sausages—" She drawled, as if stating a grand proposal to save the world.

These words, like a stone thrown into a calm (deadly silent) lake, instantly stirred up ripples.

"Right! Sausages!"

"I'm starving to death..."

"I didn't eat properly at all today..."

"The staff meal at the ramen shop was good, but shouting those slogans made my stomach hurt..."

"Filming TikToks made me want to throw myself and those props into the Han River together..."

"I spent half an hour talking to a purple cabbage at the market..."

"I walked three kilometers with a water bottle on my head!"

"I was saved by a rubber duck..."

Complaints and vents poured out like a floodgate opening. Everyone seemed to have found an emotional outlet, using the most vivid language to describe the "inhumane treatment" they encountered today.

"That 'Lava-Roasted Rich Tonkotsu Ramen'! Do you know the look the customers gave me when I recited that name? Like they were looking at an idiot!" An Yujin pounded the floor.

"'Meteor Chashu Soft-Boiled Egg'! Why is my name the longest and weirdest?!" Lee Chaeyeon cried out in grief and indignation.

"The little black person headpiece! I'll never forget that sensation in my life!" Jo Yuri covered her face.

"And the slow motion! My arms got sore from throwing juice bottles! And I had to keep my expression!" Hitomi felt wronged.

"Purple cabbage!! He gave me a purple cabbage!! And said it's like an olive branch!!" Kim Minju raised her volume for once.

"I had a water bottle on my head! My chin was about to be snapped by the strap! And I had to do some balance trial dance!" Jang Wonyoung felt lingering fear just thinking about it.

"Rice Cake Ball Instant Kill Array... I... I..." Sakura buried her face deeper, her voice muffled and carrying a sob (of shame).

"I was surrounded by a group of jelly monsters spraying Slime! And I had to play whack-a-mole with an inflatable hammer! Finally, I was saved by a rubber duck!" Kwon Eunbi concluded the summary, her tone filled with absurd exhaustion.

The sound of complaints rose and fell, and "vitality" temporarily returned to the room, though this vitality was driven by resentment and shame.

Just then, Jang Wonyoung, who hadn't really participated in the complaining and was just silently staring at the sausages and swallowing her saliva, suddenly blinked her beautiful big eyes and said softly in her unique, clear, and somewhat innocent tone:

"Unnies... that... weight management..."

Before she could finish her sentence, it was like a collective switch had been flipped.

"Wonyoung-ah!"

At least seven or eight voices rang out simultaneously, filled with warnings, breakdowns, and wails of "please don't mention it."

An Yujin did a carp kick-up (failed to kick up, changed to sitting up with difficulty) and pointed at the sausage machine, speaking with righteous indignation: "This is energy replenishment! It's strategic material reserves!"

Kang Hye-won nodded repeatedly: "Right! How many calories did we burn today! The psychological consumption was even more than the physical! We must make it up!"

Lee Chaeyeon waved her arms: "Without eating our fill, where will we get the strength to fight PD Jiang?!"

Kim Chaewon pushed up non-existent glasses (remnants of her daytime styling): "From a scientific perspective, moderate fats and carbohydrates help recover from neural stress damage."

Jo Yuri said quietly but firmly: "I wore that headpiece for so long, I need comfort..."

Hitomi weakly raised her hand: "I threw so many things, I need to replenish..."

Sakura lifted her head from her knees, a suspicious glint of tears in the corners of her eyes (from laughing), but her tone was resolute: "To forget the purple cabbage and rice cake balls, I need the taste of sausages to overwrite my memory!"

Kwon Eunbi made the final decision (no gavel, used a hand gesture): "Wonyoung-ah, remember! This isn't indulgence! This is for tomorrow's revenge!!"

The word "revenge" was spoken by her with such force, it was as if she wasn't talking about dealing with a variety show PD, but planning an interstellar war.

Jang Wonyoung was stunned by the Unnies' sudden, united "sausage justification theory." She opened her small mouth and finally, amidst the increasingly rich aroma of sausages and the "fierce" (longing) looks of the Unnies, she nodded obediently: "Ne... the Unnies are right. It's for energy replenishment, for... revenge."

Choi Yena timely raised her tongs, like the Goddess of Victory raising a torch, and announced loudly: "Then! 'Pisces Sausage Saintess' Choi Yena's first Post-war Sausage Consolation Meeting officially begins! One for everyone! First come, first served! Choose your own sauce!"

"Yay—!!!"

The "corpses" who were half-dead a moment ago instantly burst with incredible vitality, rushing toward the sausage cart in various distorted but rapid poses. Those who grabbed a sausage immediately took a large bite, inhaling sharply from the heat but unwilling to let go, their faces showing the first truly heartfelt, satisfied smiles of the day.

In the small, old apartment, the charred aroma of sausages, the sweet and spicy scent of sauces, and the chatter of girls temporarily forgetting their shame and immersing themselves in the simple joy of food filled the air.

They sat around (or slumped) together, devouring the food while continuing to vent about Jiang Zhiyu's various "evil deeds" and began to seriously(?) discuss "tomorrow's revenge plan."

"Tomorrow we must make him wear a headpiece too!"

"Make him sell rice cake balls!"

"Give him a slogan too!"

"Make him do the shower dance!"

"Throw rubber ducks at him!"

The plans were each more unreliable than the last, but the girls' eyes gradually brightened amidst the steam from the sausages and the atmosphere of "sharing a common enemy."

Today was a day of being "humiliated" in every way by Jiang Zhiyu.

But, they were still together.

They could still grab sausages to eat together.

They could still vent together and fantasize about (unrealistic) revenge together.

This was probably what they called... the power of a team?

Although this power was currently mainly reflected in grabbing sausages and cursing the PD.

Kwon Eunbi took the last bite of her sausage. Looking at the younger members in a mess before her, a corner of her mouth finally curved into the most genuine, warm smile of the day.

Fine, Jiang Zhiyu.

Consider this a win for you today.

But tomorrow...

We'll wait and see.

At least, only after eating our fill do we have the strength to fight.

Even if the way we fight might still be wearing strange headpieces, shouting shameful slogans, or... being saved by rubber ducks.

The greasy aroma of sausages still lingered on their lips, and a relaxed atmosphere like surviving a disaster, accompanied by the comfort of food, filled the simple apartment. The sounds of venting gradually died down, replaced by sighs of contentment and occasional naive fantasies about "whether the PD will be more restrained tomorrow."

Just then—

"Ring ring ring—!!!"

A sharp, urgent, death-knell-like phone ring suddenly shattered the silence in the room.

Everyone's movements froze instantly.

Choi Yena, with the last small section of a sausage bamboo skewer in her mouth, froze.

An Yujin, who was secretly smearing sauce on a second sausage, had her hand shake.

Sakura and Kim Minju, who were leaning against each other dozing off, woke up at the same time.

Even Lee Chaeyeon, who was slumped in the furthest corner and seemed to have fallen asleep, snapped her eyes open.

A dozen gazes, like searchlights, shot simultaneously toward the source of the sound—the "task-only phone" issued by the program crew, belonging to leader Kwon Eunbi, on the wobbly low table in the living room.

The phone screen glowed persistently in the dim light, and the caller ID jumping on it consisted of three characters that made everyone's blood flow faster:

Jiang Zhiyu.

The air froze once again.

The relaxation and warmth that had just filled the air were instantly sucked dry, leaving only familiar tension, vigilance, and... a hint of irritation at being disturbed late at night.

"Why... why is he calling?" Jo Yuri hugged her knees tightly, her voice tense, as if she felt the constriction of the yarn headpiece again.

"It's definitely nothing good..." Kim Chaewon pushed her forehead, a weary expression of "I knew it" on her face.

Kwon Eunbi took a deep breath. As the leader, she knew this call had to be answered. She raised her hand, signaling for everyone to stay calm (though her own heart was pounding), and then, under the watchful eyes of everyone, she pressed the answer button and... turned on the speakerphone.