Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Inside the two Gold Balls I obtained through the treasure hunt were two slips of paper.
[Guitar]
[Flower Crown]
“……Ah.”
This is hopeless.
Guitar? I can’t play it.
A flower crown? Maybe I could make it work with my Grade A Appearance stat or as a piece of content.
No, even if I poured all my current points into Appearance, a flower crown wasn't a good option. It was an item that had absolutely nothing to do with the 'approachability' I was aiming for.
Objectively, both items were high-tier, but for me, they were total landmines.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
I should try to trade them for the slips Keun Se-jin or Gold 1 didn't pick. If that fails, I'll have to find another participant.
Just as I was about to turn around, the participants came flooding into the assembly area.
— 20 seconds remaining!
“Whoa, whoa!!”
“Hey, wait! Just a second!”
It seemed they had sprinted to the assembly area after hearing the announcement to avoid having their balls snatched.
Is it even possible to request a trade through this chaos?
Just as a skeptical feeling began to settle in, a familiar face caught my eye.
It was Seon A-hyun, his face pale as a ghost. He was clutching a Bronze Ball in his hand.
Given his personality, it was a miracle he’d managed to snag even a Bronze Ball. But looking at his expression, it seemed his draw had been a disaster.
At that moment, I spotted the slip of paper inside his already-opened Bronze Ball.
[Frozen Food]
Jackpot.
I quickly pushed through the crowd and approached Seon A-hyun.
— 5 seconds remaining!
Seon A-hyun looked flustered.
— 5!
“I-I…”
“Do you know how to play the guitar?”
— 4!
“Th-that, uh, I can p-play a bit…”
“Do you like flowers?”
— 3!
“U-uh-huh.”
“Then want to trade?”
— 2!
“Wh-what?”
I’ll take that as a yes.
— 1!
I handed him the two Gold Balls in my hand and snatched the Bronze Ball away.
— Ding! The treasure hunt is now over!
Seon A-hyun stood there with a dazed expression.
Amidst the cheers and groans echoing around us, I looked down at the Bronze Ball in my hand with satisfaction.
It was an excellent trade.
I gave him two Gold Balls for one Bronze Ball; surely no one could complain about that.
*
Thursday, 7:50 PM—just before the PR Live for Re-listing! Idol Inc. was set to begin.
Internet communities and social media were buzzing with excitement and a flurry of opinions.
It was a chaotic melting pot of various personalities expressing themselves, but one thing was certain: the mentions of the participants had increased several times over.
People who had grown fond of the participants after watching the first episode were genuinely waiting with high expectations for the content.
And then, at exactly 8:00 PM.
The 'Live' indicator appeared on the WeTube channel.
Soon, promotional posts for various participants began to flood in. Comments from people only interested in their own favorites overflowed, nearly burying the malicious ones.
It was then.
Intrigued, several people clicked the link.
“Hello.”
Park Moon-dae’s face appeared on the screen.
Holding a piece of chicken feet.
The participants couldn't see the real-time comments, but Park Moon-dae’s live chat was already exploding.
In contrast to the chaotic chat, Park Moon-dae continued speaking as if the chicken feet in his hand were no big deal.
“Um, the product I’m promoting today is… the (Jin) Direct-fire Boneless Chicken Feet from T1 Food.”
Park Moon-dae was sitting in front of a table fully set up with a griddle.
The boneless chicken feet held in his gloved hand looked appetizing enough, but compared to the thumbnails of other participants' videos, it created a massive sense of cognitive dissonance.
“First… I’ll eat and then review it.”
Park Moon-dae gallantly tossed a piece of chicken feet into his mouth. After chewing diligently and swallowing, he spoke again.
“First of all, the smoky flavor is good, and it’s not too spicy, so I think I can keep eating it. There’s no gamey smell, so the aftertaste is clean. The texture is also nice and crunchy.”
The chat wailed at the sight of Park Moon-dae being so sincere about the review. However, before long, the atmosphere shifted again.
Park Moon-dae’s mukbang was surprisingly watchable.
And Park Moon-dae continued his diligent review.
The chat flipped out once more when he even pulled out a tuna mayo rice ball, saying it goes well with chicken feet.
By that point, posts were even popping up on social media and communities.
=========================
[The Aju-sa participant currently doing a live mukbang.jpg]
: Omg, Park Moon-dae is eating chicken feet.
I thought he was the main vocal, but is he a mukbang star on WeTube?
Park Moon-dae’s PR video is insane lol.
=========================
The viewer count surged in an instant.
Park Moon-dae’s viewership, which was already quite high, was now breaking into the top 5.
The participants couldn't see the comments, but they could see the viewer count. Park Moon-dae blinked as he saw the number of viewers surpass the tens of thousands.
“There are… a lot of viewers. Thank you. I will work hard.”
Park Moon-dae was in the middle of reviewing the taste of the rice ball in detail.
Just then, an alarm went off on the clock at the corner of his desk.
“Ah, time is up.”
The PR Live was basically given 10 minutes.
Then, by converting the number of viewers and likes into a score, only the top 33 participants received an additional 5 minutes and a special gift.
Park Moon-dae thought, 'These bastards have no conscience, making us do commercials too,' but of course, he didn't show it and gave a polite bow.
“Since this might be the end, I’ll say my goodbyes in advance. Thank you.”
Park Moon-dae bowed his head. Then, after hesitating as if contemplating for a moment, he added:
“…Please tune in to the second episode of Re-listing! Idol Inc.”
About ten seconds after Park Moon-dae’s closing remarks, a ringtone suddenly echoed from the screen.
“Ah, it seems the results are out.”
Park Moon-dae pulled out a clunky smartphone from under the desk. It seemed he had received the results via text from the production team.
However, the commenters, who already knew Park Moon-dae had easily made it into the top 33, were focusing on something else.
Park Moon-dae had simply chosen a free phone to maintain a minimal lifestyle within his budget, but it was creating an unexpected synergy.
Anyway, since Park Moon-dae also suspected his high ranking, the results were announced without much tension.
“Ah, I made it into the top 33, so I can continue the broadcast. I look forward to your support for the next 5 minutes as well. I will do my best to host.”
Park Moon-dae gave a bow and immediately picked up the chicken feet again. Then, he gallantly took another bite.
The speed of the comments increased at a terrifying rate. Even if Park Moon-dae had been looking, it would have been impossible to read them.
Just then, Park Moon-dae’s smartphone rang again. It was the production team once more.
‘What is it? Ah, is it that special gift or whatever?’
“Another notice has come from the production team. Just a moment…”
Park Moon-dae checked the text. It was quite long.
[Special gift for participants! It’s communication with the viewers! From now on, viewer donations are enabled! Participants can see donation pop-ups for amounts over <10,000 won>.
Please inform the viewers. ^^ (※ Must announce that all donation amounts will be donated to charity!)]
Donating the entire amount was to prevent any potential controversy.
However, considering the participants would receive the donations and the donation would be made in the program's name, it was honestly a petty move.
‘I knew they’d pull something like this to avoid spending their own money.’
Though Park Moon-dae thought this indifferently, he obediently read the text aloud exactly as it was.
Most of the comments were cursing the production team, but that didn't mean there were no donations.
Immediately, the first fanfare exploded on the screen. It was a donation notification.
“Ah, User 123. Thank you…”
Park Moon-dae read the donation message appearing on the screen while fighting off a wave of intense existential dread.