he glances around with a smile, looking calm and relaxed, yet inside, he is still cursing his roommate for signing him up for this and only telling him about this until today morning, leaving him no time to prepare.

 

he shakes his head, eyeing at what he was wearing today, a green-coloured hoodie with ripped skinny jeans. dress to impress, wow, i wonder how i'm going to impress people, like this. wonderful job, cheon jaehyun. 

 

as the interviewer gives a cue, signalling the start of the interview, he smiled widely and started with the very basic things about himself.

 

"hello," he bows while sitting down, in which, right after, he leans back against the backrest of the chair and comfortably crosses one leg over the other. 

 

"i'm cheon jaehyun and i'm born on the eleventh of january, nineteen ninety-two, which makes me - ah yes! twenty-five this year, in korean age."

 

sensing the dreary mood, considering how he was one of the first few to be interviewed in the morning, he quickly adds, "and as you all can guess, people often calls me cheonjae [genius in korean]. but i think my real name should be 'pa bohyun'." damn, that was a really bad one, jaehyun - oh wait! those female writers are giggling, yes!! i did it!!

 

"i graduated from konkuk university, majoring in early childhood education and with my love for children, i became a kindergarten teacher!" obviously, jaehyun, obviously, what else can you be if you major in early childhood education, get your together, dude.

 

the interviewer nods as he speaks.

 

"i used to live with my family in daegu but i have been moving around quite a bit ever since i entered university. i'm currently living with my friend in his apartment, though i do have to pay rent. and if you're curious about him, his name is na soohyuk, twenty-five this year and the only thing he is good at is being a chaebol. and that piece of - ", he stops himself just in time, "he was the one who signed me up without telling me." too much information, jaehyun, they only asked you about where you live at.

 

 

"i think i'm a rather laidback person and i can adapt well to my surroundings. i guess that's good, right? but soohyuk says i get too comfortable with people around me and the environment i'm in easily, which i'm not exactly show if it's good or bad. i'm also talkative, humourous and rather straightforward, but well, this is kbs! i shall try to refrain from being too straightforward. i am really impatient at times and i can't stand tardiness." okay, jaehyun, you're doing great now, let's keep it up.

 

to the interviewer's surprise, jaehyun manages pretty well as he adds on a surprise question.

 

"oh, regarding stress ... well, as mentioned above, i adapt well in any surroundings and that actually includes any form of situation so ... i take everything in my stride! i mean, if life gives you lemon, then make lemonade!" interesting way to end off, lemon lover, you are so good at this. 

 

the interviewer shows him a thumbs up, signalling the cameraman to stop filming and prepare to start the next part of the interview.

he sighs as he hears the question. how is that even related to a cooking competition - tv-worthy. tv-worthy. tv-worthy. ah - right. that incident!

 

"i think this will shock all of you, but i saved a four-year-old boy from drowning when i was doing part-time as a lifeguard at the beach. i'm just doing my job, actually, but i became such a hot topic back in daegu and even appeared on the newspaper because that boy's dad is like one of the richest man in daegu. but obviously that happened a few years ago so i'm no longer relevant now, hah." nice one, jaehyun. 'few years ago' equals to eight years but it's okay, it's just a white lie.

 

the interviewer's eyes widened with admiration, to the man's delight.

 

"oh, and i have been voted as the 'most caring teacher' and the 'best teacher' by my kids - i mean - the children in the kindergarten, three months in a row. children speaks no lies, isn't it? i'm rather dedicated to my job, as you can see. plus point, they're really cute, let me show you their pictures."

 

he takes out his iphone 6 in a swift motion, showing the screen to the camera before pressing the button, which the screen lits up - a picture of soohyuk! oh what, why are they laughing? he takes a look at his screen. oh my god, that piece of . i'm so going to kill him.

 

while the female staff members gush over soohyuk's good looks, jaehyun scratches his head in embarrassment and quickly shoves his phone in his pocket. na soohyuk, look at what you have gotten me into.

 

the interviewer clears his throat, in an attempt to end the previous incident, then probing a really challenging question for him, at least, that made him just a little flustered. 

 

"if i do get chosen then - as i have mentioned, i'm pretty dedicated. i will probably apply for unpaid leave or the likes of. i mean - you can't expect me to quit my job just because of this show, right? the children will probably be excited that their teacher is going to appear on television, aren't they? hopefully the kids and my co-workers won't miss me too much when i'm away!" he laughs at the thought of the kindergarten.

 

 

"oh, and i can't stand the smell of yoghurt? i feel like puking when i smell it. it may come off as a surprise since i'm always in contact with kids and they love yoghurt drinks. that's why during snack time, the kids only get banana milk and never yoghurt drink but they never know why. but if they ever watch this or this ever get aired then ..." he trails off. i'm dead. the kids will probably tease me to no end.

 

 

the interviewer tries to hides his/her laughter while jaehyun says that, because it really does come off as a surprise to him.

 

"i visit my parents once every one or two weeks and i think i am going to call and tell them about me participating in this after the interview ends. i mean - i only know about me participating in this competition today so - our relationship is pretty good, i guess they will be really proud of me since their only son is going to be on television? what more, on kbs. they are probably going to paste all the cuts of me on this show all over their marinated crab restaurant and boast about me." he shake his head at the thought of that and laughed. 

 

 

"overall, my life is pretty great and enjoyable. i have friends and a shelter to live under, nothing could be better than that!"

 

he grins and scratches his head as the camera stops rolling. two down, one more to go.

his face immediately turns serious as he hears the question and sits up straight.

 

"well, i haven't exactly thought of that, but now that i have gone through the interviews and some briefing, the only reason i'm joining is to take on the challenge, i guess. i like the whole mystery box idea, so. and make new friends with similar interests as me!" that was so thoughtless, you .

 

"i think i have every single chance of entering at least the semifinals, although i literally am not competitive at all. because of how i was living alone - or, now, with a friend that wails at the sight of fire, i'm accustomed to fixing meals for myself and others, even finding enjoyment and pleasure while cooking. i find plating very important also, because if the food taste good but doesn't look good, then it wouldn't be right! i started out with following recipes, then improvising on them, and lately i've been coming up with my own! i'm not bragging, but the feedbacks are pretty good. i think the judges will like my food too, hopefully." he smiles nervously. chill, jaehyun, no use being nervous over this.

 

 

the interviewer, nodded purposefully, then signalling him to end off.

 

"i hope everyone will support me and hopefully, my food appears good on television too! i envision everyone to be drooling when they zoom in into my food," he gives a playful wink, "nah, just joking! thank you, and i hope you guys will enjoy watching the whole process as much as i think i'm going to!" 

 

the interviewer claps his hands, a signal to the cameraman to stop filming. as soon as that happened, jaehyun stood up and yawned, before bowing.