Chapter 55: The Toilet Plunger War of the Successors

The rooftop garden of the SBS broadcasting station was bathed in a golden layer of sunlight.

Several MCs were trading witty remarks and bantering.

Amidst the laughter and chatter, the background music suddenly swelled—

The elevator doors slowly slid open.

Kim Woo-bin stepped out with one hand casually tucked into his pocket. Before he could maintain his cool, detached expression for even three seconds, his foot missed the step and his body lurched forward.

Yoo Jae-suk instinctively reached out to steady him, only to be smoothly pulled into an impromptu "wall-ding" (pinning against the wall) pose.

“……”

The set fell silent for two full seconds.

Song Ji-hyo suddenly leaned in closer:

“Jae-suk oppa, how does it feel to be wall-pinned by a younger man?”

Yoo Jae-suk pushed up his glasses, which had slid down to the bridge of his nose, and replied with absolute composure:

“Would you like to try it too?”

“Sure~” she responded with a bright smile.

“Yah! Do you guys even consider me a person?!”

Kang Gary charged forward in a single bound, stepping in front of Song Ji-hyo:

“Just last week you said I was the man meant for you by fate!”

“Hahaha—”

Amidst the roaring laughter.

Kang Jae-hoon stopped beside the exact step where Kim Woo-bin had just stumbled, turned around, and extended his hand toward Krystal Jung standing behind him:

“Soojung, watch your step here.”

“Mhm~”

Krystal’s eyes curved into crescent moons, her fingertips resting lightly against his palm as she took a light, graceful step down.

The pink romantic bubble between the two hadn’t even lasted two seconds before it was popped by Haha’s raspy, megaphone-like voice.

He pointed a trembling index finger back and forth between the "wall-pinning group" and the "staircase group":

“Yah, we’re all doing the same classic drama tropes, so why do they look like a romantic idol drama, while ours looks like a horror movie?!”

“Perhaps because the leading lady on this side is a grasshopper?”

Lee Kwang-soo’s swift and lethal tactical blow instantly set off the entire cast.

In the Running Man program, many segments appeared to be quite ordinary settings when looking purely at the script.

It was entirely thanks to this group of people, relying on their variety show instincts carved into their DNA, their seamlessly synchronized comedic timing, and their effortless aura of humor, who brought mundane scenes to life into legendary moments that made viewers laugh until they pounded the floor—this was the irreplaceable core competitiveness of the Running Man members.

As the three guests made their grand entrance and exchanged greetings with the MCs, the official recording of the show began.

This episode was a "The Heirs" crossover special, themed around the "Heirs Stock Competition."

Every time a mission was completed, the winning team would receive a savings book containing shares of the RM Group.

The ultimate winning team would compete for the sole title of the Heir.

The ten members were divided into two teams—

RM Fashion Team: The three guests, Yoo Jae-suk, and Kang Gary.

RM Oil Team: Kim Jong-kook, Song Ji-hyo, Lee Kwang-soo, Haha, and Jee Seok-jin.

After PD Myeong announced the rules, everyone headed to the locker room to change into their iconic RM tracksuits.

The exact moment Kang Jae-hoon lifted the fabric curtain of the locker room, a passing draft playfully ruffled the wisps of hair on his forehead.

The cinched waist tailoring of the blue RM tracksuit outlined his inverted-triangle silhouette, and the cotton fabric was gilded by the midday sun into ripples reminiscent of the Aegean Sea.

Krystal abruptly halted mid-motion while tying her ponytail, her hair tie wrapping three times around her fingertips before she managed to secure it again.

“Yah!”

Lee Kwang-soo tugged at his trouser waistband and stepped closer to compare:

“How come you look like the male lead of a campus drama, while I look like a dad who sneaked into his son's school uniform?”

Kang Jae-hoon turned his head—

The size that fit everyone else perfectly had transformed into capri pants on Lee Kwang-soo’s long legs.

“Kwang-soo-yah—”

Yoo Jae-suk laughed and teased:

“Just admit it, the clothes were never the strange part.”

“Hahaha……”

While the entire cast was doubled over laughing, all their cell phones buzzed simultaneously—

【Will the Heirs please proceed immediately to the first-floor lobby! The team that arrives first will decide the order of attack!】

“Heirs, let’s go!”

Kang Jae-hoon lagged leisurely at the very back of the group, his peripheral vision locked onto Krystal’s swaying ponytail.

Lee Kwang-soo sprinted while using his long legs to block paths, looking precisely like an obstructive ostrich.

Upon reaching the entrance of the sightseeing elevators.

He suddenly spun around, using his long arms to bar Krystal and Kang Jae-hoon, who were trailing at the end of the group, from entering the elevator:

“This road was paved by me!”

“Kwang-soo oppa~”

Krystal blinked cutely, attempting to duck low and slide right under Lee Kwang-soo’s armpit.

Right at that moment.

Yoo Jae-suk squeezed out from inside the elevator and poked Lee Kwang-soo sharply right under his armpit—

“Ahhh, PD-nim, isn’t this workplace bullying?!”

Lee Kwang-soo instantly curled up into a ball as his defense completely collapsed.

Kang Jae-hoon immediately shielded Krystal and squeezed inside the elevator.

Just as the metal elevator doors narrowed down to a thirty-centimeter gap, Lee Kwang-soo wedged the tip of his shoe into the remaining space.

“Kick him.”

Just as Kang Jae-hoon was thinking of making room for Lee Kwang-soo, he heard Yoo Jae-suk mutter those words in a low voice.

Startled for only a split second, Kang Jae-hoon quickly raised his foot and gave a light tap to the outer side of Lee Kwang-soo’s knee.

His kick was exceptionally light.

Yet Lee Kwang-soo catapulted backward as if someone had stepped on a hidden spring, his backside sliding half a meter across the tiled floor.

“？？？”

Kang Jae-hoon looked down at his right foot in sheer disbelief—

Could it be that I possess hidden potential as a soccer player?

It wasn't until he heard Yoo Jae-suk pounding on the door-close button with the ferocity of someone performing CPR on an elevator that it finally dawned on him that this was all for variety show effect.

At the exact microsecond the doors sealed shut.

Kang Jae-hoon locked eyes with Lee Kwang-soo through the explosion-proof glass—

The twitching corners of the other man's mouth were unmistakably concealing a smile, and he even gave a stealthy thumbs-up.

After all nine members had arrived in the first-floor lobby and chatted animatedly for a solid five minutes, Lee Kwang-soo finally burst out from the emergency stairwell:

“KANG! JAE! HOON!”

Hearing a sudden roar detonate behind his head, Kang Jae-hoon took off at a full sprint toward the Roman pillars.

Lee Kwang-soo chased after him, his arms flailing wildly, creating afterimages as he looked precisely like an enraged gorilla whose banana had been stolen.

“Yah! Stop right there!”

“Senior, promise you won't use physical force first!”

“……”

The two of them circled the load-bearing pillars, staging a modern-day reenactment of King Qin circling the pillar.

By the tenth lap, Kang Jae-hoon suddenly slammed on the brakes, changing directions and using Lee Kwang-soo’s blind spot to dart directly behind Yoo Jae-suk.

Completely oblivious, Lee Kwang-soo continued to circle the empty air for an eleventh lap.

It wasn't until he bent over with his hands on his knees, panting like a broken bellows, that he abruptly realized the entire set had fallen dead silent—everyone was standing around watching his solo performance.

“Kwang-soo-yah.”

Jee Seok-jin handed over a mineral water bottle to serve as a microphone: “How does it feel to chase your own shadow?”

“This is workplace bullying……”

Lee Kwang-soo’s hands were shaking as he unscrewed the bottle cap: “I’m reporting this to the Labor Board……”

“Attention, Heirs!”

PD Myeong raised a megaphone, cutting short the tragic melodrama:

“Our first challenge is an aristocratic sport—”

“Golf!”

“Curling!”

“It has to be equestrianism!”

The moment the canvas curtain was whipped back, the entire cast turned to stone—six heavy-duty toilet plungers were firmly suctioned onto the load-bearing pillar.

“The team that takes the shortest amount of time to pull off the pressure rods wins. The first round is an individual match, and the Blue Team may choose to attack first or second.”

After a brief discussion, the group decided to let Kang Jae-hoon go first.

“Get ready, timing starts—now!”

The moment the words left the PD's mouth.

Kang Jae-hoon immediately flashed forward into position, striking a pose resembling a strongman pulling up giant radishes as his biceps flexed into a striking arc—the rubber suction cup didn't budge even a millimeter.

In truth, the suction force wasn't quite as difficult to break as one might imagine, but it certainly wasn't effortless either.

He was purely putting on a show.

Hwang Jung-min’s advice echoed continuously in his mind—forget about winning or losing, just focus on how to make the audience laugh.

When pulling the second toilet plunger, Kang Jae-hoon deliberately faked a slip of the hand.

When he lost his grip and tumbled backward into a turtle-on-its-back posture, Krystal covered her face and squatted down:

“Pabo-ya (Fool)……”

By the third one.

Kang Jae-hoon clamped the plastic handle under his armpit, spreading his legs wide into a deep lunge, looking precisely like someone dealing with severe constipation struggling against a smart toilet.

The exact instant he ripped the plunger free, he dropped to his knees and bowed deeply toward Krystal.

The fourth one took the longest.

First, Kang Jae-hoon wiped the handle with the hem of his tracksuit, then blew warm breath onto the suction cup, followed by affectionately stroking the load-bearing pillar as if confessing his undying love.

Taking advantage of the pillar's momentary inattention, he suddenly exerted all his strength. With a loud "pop," the rubber suction cup detached, and he tumbled—plunger and all—directly into Kim Woo-bin’s arms.

“……”

Not until the very last toilet plunger was successfully pulled off did PD Myeong announce his final time for the round—2 minutes and 29 seconds.