After polishing off the last grains of pumpkin rice and brushing stray whitebait bones off their plates, the cast let out collective sighs of satisfaction.
The air had cooled slightly, carrying with it the earthy scent of rural soil and smoke from the firepit.
It was one of those quiet moments where everyone felt just a little more like family.
Jaeseok leaned back against a wooden bench, patting his full belly, and cleared his throat with mock authority.
"Since it's getting late, we're skipping the usual after-dinner games tonight," he announced.
"Instead, we'll be making kimbap to give to the villagers nearby. A small gift, from our family to theirs."
Everyone murmured their approval—exhausted, but willing.
A warm gesture like that felt right in the countryside.
Then Jaeseok, trying to add a touch of poetic flair to the evening, lifted his hand and pointed dramatically to the sky.
"Look! The full moon is out!"
All heads turned upward instinctively.
The village, tucked deep in the countryside, was far from the glare of city lights.
Most houses had dim, yellow bulbs barely flickering from windows, and the roads weren't lit at all.
So when Jaeseok pointed, they expected to see something special—a glowing orb in the sky, serene and timeless.
"Where? Where is it?" Taeyeon squinted, her brows furrowed as she searched the heavens.
Jihoon, already chewing a late-night snack and watching this unfold like a sitcom, let out an exaggerated sigh and shook his head.
"Hyung... are you saying your house bugs can fly to the moon now?" he muttered, deadpan.
Taeyeon froze mid-search.
Then she looked again—really looked—and suddenly understood.
The so-called "moon" Jaeseok was marveling at… was one of the massive studio lighting rigs brought in by the production team.
A giant, round floodlight mounted high on a crane, softly illuminating the filming area.
For a full second, silence.
Then Taeyeon collapsed sideways onto Jihoon's shoulder, mouth wide open, letting out a thunderous, iconic ahjumma-style laugh.
The kind that started from the belly, snatched her breath halfway through, and forced her to clutch her stomach as she doubled over in pain.
The entire cast erupted. Daesung nearly fell off his seat. Hyori wheezed with laughter.
Even the camera crew lost composure, some doubling over behind their rigs, trying to keep the footage steady.
It was chaos—but the good kind.
Meanwhile, Jaeseok just stood there, finger still half-raised, wearing the expression of a man who'd just tried to recite Shakespeare and ended up quoting a shampoo bottle.
He blinked, lowered his hand slowly, and muttered, "It looked... moon-ish…"
"Hyung," Jihoon said, still laughing, "you really tried to give us a moment, huh?"
"I was setting the mood!" Jaeseok defended, clearly embarrassed but trying to play it off. "A little drama, a little sentiment! This is still a variety show!" he added, trying to convince the others that it was intentional—and not just a slip-up.
"Well, congratulations," Yejin added between giggles. "You gave us a scene we'll never forget."
Taeyeon wiped tears from her eyes, still leaning against Jihoon's shoulder, breathless.
"That moon… really shined tonight," she choked out, sending the group into another round of laughter.
Even the staff clapped, someone calling out, "Best scene of the shoot!"
Under the glow of the studio's giant floodlight—masquerading as a full moon—Yejin, ever the spontaneous one, clapped her hands and said cheerfully, "Let's all make a wish to the moon!"
Everyone chuckled at the idea, but no one objected. It was cheesy, sure, but under the peaceful countryside sky—even if it was artificially lit—it felt fitting.
"I'll go first," Jongshin offered, sitting cross-legged and rubbing his knees like an old sage.
"I hope my family stays healthy… and that I stay even healthier," he added with a chuckle. "And may all our work go smoothly."
The others followed, each taking turns to voice simple, heartfelt wishes—health, happiness, love, success. The kind of wishes that revealed more about each person than they probably realized.
Then it was Taeyeon's turn.
She tilted her head, pretending to think hard. "Hmm… I wish Jihoon would write more good songs for me and my group," she said with a playful grin.
Jihoon's head snapped toward her. "YA! You're making a wish to that damn lantern—not to me! Why am I suddenly the one who has to grant it?"
He pouted, pretending to be offended, and continued barking, "If you want me to write a song, shouldn't you be making the wish to me instead?"
Laughter erupted all around.
Jaeseok clutched his stomach, shaking his head. "Jihoon-ah, seriously… just come shoot this program with us. You're comedy gold."
Jihoon scoffed and curled his lip. "Why does that not sound like a compliment coming from you, hyung?"
Taeyeon tilted her head again, her eyes twinkling.
Then, with a mischievous smile, she reached out and playfully ruffled Jihoon's hair. "You're like Aladdin's magic lamp," she said.
"And you… you're the genie! I just rubbed you three times. Now you have to grant my wish."
The entire group broke into another round of belly laughs.
Even the production crew was giggling behind the cameras, loving every second of the unscripted chaos.
Jihoon, meanwhile, was about to fire back with another sarcastic comeback—but then he stopped.
His face froze mid-expression, his eyes unfocused.
Taeyeon, noticing the shift, gently tapped his shoulder. "Jihoon? Hello? Earth to Jihoon?"
He blinked and came back to himself, but something had shifted. Taeyeon's playful imagination had triggered a spark—key words like magic lamp, genie, and wish swirled in his mind, stirring up a vivid memory and a melody that began to take shape.
He looked around slowly—at Taeyeon's innocent face, at Hyori's playful smirk, at Yejin quietly smiling beside her—and then looked up again at the fake "moon."
"Hey," he said suddenly, "If Hyori noona, Yejin noona, and Taeyeon were all magical beings—like genies or elves or whatever—who would you want to grant your wish?"
It was a completely random question. But also… weirdly impossible to ignore.
The male members didn't even hesitate.
"Taeyeon!" Sooro blurted out instantly.
"Taeyeon, of course," Chunhee echoed.
Jaeseok raised both arms dramatically. "We're SONEs! SONE! SONE! SONE!" he chanted like he was leading a fan club protest.
Even the camera crew started joining in the chant for fun, and soon the entire yard was full of voices cheering for Girls' Generation.
"YA!" Hyori yelled, feigning outrage. "You seriously asked that just to embarrass me and Yejin, didn't you?!"
Jihoon gave her an unapologetic grin and pointed dramatically at the lighting rig. "Well… maybe you should try wishing to that moon again. Seems like it's working pretty well for some people."
"Boya? What do you mean?" Taeyeon asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Her wide, blinking eyes were full of curiosity and a little sparkle—so innocent and cute it made Jihoon crack a smile.
Then, Jihoon turned to the production crew. "Director-nim, do you have paper and a pen? I need to jot something down."
The mood instantly shifted.
Everyone knew what that meant.
It wasn't just a random thought anymore. Inspiration had struck.
Taeyeon's mouth opened in surprise. "Wait—really? You're writing another song? For me?"
Jihoon glanced at her and smiled. "Not for you. For you guys."
He paused for dramatic effect, then added, "I was still deciding whether to give this next song to Hyori noona… or to your group. But seeing how all the hyungs reacted just now, I guess your wish came true."
"YA! KIM TAEYEON!! Give my song back!!" Hyori shouted, lunging playfully at Taeyeon and shaking her shoulders like a jealous older sister.
Taeyeon squealed with laughter, trying to wriggle away, her eyes squeezed shut from laughing too hard.
The others burst into laughter, some clutching their stomachs, the entire yard echoing with joyful chaos.
Then Jaeseok, always the quickest to seize a comic moment, suddenly dashed over to the massive lighting rig pretending to be the moon.
In two exaggerated steps, he reached it, bowed deeply, pressed his hands together, and shouted, "Please bless me with huge fortune every year!"
The rest of the male cast members didn't hesitate.
One after another, they scrambled over to the light like it was a sacred shrine, all competing to make the silliest or most dramatic wish.
Even if the wishes didn't come true, they figured it was worth the laugh—and definitely worth the airtime.
Only Jongshin stayed behind, still seated, patting his knees and muttering to himself, "Well, at least I'll settle for a healthy body."
Meanwhile, Jihoon sat cross-legged nearby, quietly accepting a pen and piece of paper handed to him by the director. He scribbled down a line across the top:
"Tell me your wish, Genie."
Then, below it, he began jotting down a few rough phrases that sounded like early lyric sketches.
Taeyeon, who had calmed down and was peeking over his shoulder, raised an eyebrow. "Why are you only writing lyrics? Where's the melody?"
Jihoon glanced at her with a shrug. "I haven't thought of it yet. The melody's still hiding somewhere in the back of my head."
"I just didn't want to forget this moment—it came too suddenly. If I'm lucky, the rest will come to me later. Maybe even the full arrangement."
Taeyeon smiled and nodded, understanding the fragile spark of inspiration when she saw it.
Jihoon jotted down a few more lines before carefully folding the paper and tucking it into his jacket.
This was a show after all—he couldn't let filming come to a halt just because of a creative whim.
As the laughter settled and the night deepened, everyone shifted into their next task.
With full stomachs and high spirits, the cast began forming teams to make kimbap and dumplings—one final gift to the village and the perfect way to end a day full of food, fun, and unexpected inspiration.
[Author's Note: Heartfelt thanks to Wandererlithe, JiangXiu, OS_PARCEIROS, Night_Adam and Daoistadj for bestowing the power stone!]