Chapter 73: Guess What? (1)
73. Guess What? (1)
The real reason the two had arranged to meet today only came back to me after the entire lavish course of the high-end hanjeongsik meal had been laid out on the table.
"Shall we eat first? Talking about 'that' over a meal feels a bit inappropriate."
"I don't mind either way. But seriously, are you going to keep using formal speech with me?"
"I'll ease into it gradually."
"Good. Honestly, I'm too hungry to even argue right now."
"Then eat up."
At Suho's urging, Hajin swiftly picked up his chopsticks.
The food looked expensive at a glance, and it was just as refined in taste, with an impressive variety.
Hajin absentmindedly thought of his family back home.
"...What's wrong? Does the food not taste good?"
"Ah, no. It's delicious."
How much would a place like this cost? He recalled that his appearance fee would be coming in soon. If it's manageable, I should bring my parents here sometime.
Lost in thought, he mechanically shoveled food down his suddenly dry throat. With two grown men determined to eat, the mountain of dishes disappeared in no time.
"Alright, let's get to 'that talk' now."
As expected of a high-end restaurant, even after finishing the meal, they were free to enjoy desserts and other treats for the remainder of their reserved time.
Hajin pushed the glossy rice cakes and sweets aside and cut straight to the chase.
"Did you check what I asked you to?"
Last night, Hajin had given Suho a heads-up about today's discussion and made one request:
To check the status of the viewer votes that had started at 6 PM yesterday.
Suho's expression darkened as he gave a small nod.
"It's just as you said."
"......"
"Seong-woo's vote count is skyrocketing at an alarming rate. Even though online feedback about him isn't particularly strong, he's been consistently ranking near the top."
"That kid... in a way, he's painfully predictable. I should've known he wouldn't stray from expectations."
Hajin sighed and shook his head.
Suho hesitated, lips twitching. He had no idea what kind of fallout this conversation would bring.
"When I first found out Seong-woo was a nepotism hire backed by the department head, and now that his connection is Yoon CP..."
"......"
"Did you know back then? That the two of them would rig the viewer votes?"
At Suho's words, even the faintest trace of playfulness vanished from Hajin's expression.
Suho recalled their last conversation—when Hajin had exposed Seong-woo's nepotism.
—Then let's leave it be for now.
—Leave it?
—We don't have proof anyway, and even if we did, there's nothing we can do. It's not like we can outright accuse them of wrongdoing.
Back then, Hajin had been surprisingly calm for someone who could've exposed the rigging and tainted the program.
After that, there had been no further discussion, no gestures. And now, suddenly, he's caught them in the act?
"Well, I did suspect they'd tamper with the viewer votes if they were going to do anything."
"Why?"
"Because Mentor Evaluations have Seo Tae-il, and Agency Evaluations have you, Team Leader. Viewer votes are the easiest to manipulate without leaving a trace."
Hajin spoke with certainty, adding that mentions of Seong-woo online would likely increase soon. After all, a bit of viral marketing always followed these kinds of schemes.
"Actually, that's partly why I provoked Han Seong-woo on purpose. He's probably fuming by now."
Hajin's tone was light, like he'd just played a harmless prank on an annoying kid. Suho didn't get it.
Provoking them into committing fraud just to catch them? That's like burning down the house to kill a flea!
"What are you even thinking? Before, it was just about a trainee's connections, but viewer votes are different. Exposing this could seriously damage our survival show!"
Frustration sharpened Suho's voice.
Even now, Han Seong-woo's fraudulent votes were piling up.
And yet, Hajin—who had been casually popping rice cakes into his mouth—just laughed.
"Who said anything about exposing it?"
"What?"
"Why would I expose it? Where would I even expose it? That'd just cause more trouble."
Hajin was eerily calm. So calm that Suho wondered if he'd eaten something wrong.
Leaning forward with a mischievous grin, Hajin continued.
"There's no way I'd let those bastards tarnish this program. Too many futures are riding on it."
"......"
"Rigging an entire show just because Han Seong-woo got on their nerves? That's absurd."
"So you're just going to let it slide? Even if Han Seong-woo wins through fraud?"
"Hey, Team Leader, you're too quick to jump to conclusions."
Hajin waved his hands in a calm down gesture before pulling a memo from his bag and sliding it across the table.
<Shin OO 010-XXXX-XXXX>
<God's Choice, 1! 2! 3!>
<Find My Self>
By the time Suho finished reading, Hajin had also produced a small USB.
Suho stared at the unfamiliar items. "What's this...?"
"The name at the top belongs to the guy Yoon CP paid to rig the votes. The two below are previous shows Yoon CP rigged the same way."
"And the USB?"
"Shin's the paranoid type. He saved all his calls and texts with Yoon CP. I just... borrowed a copy."
"How?"
"...Trade secret. Knowing might hurt you."
Hajin coughed awkwardly.
Even though he'd come clean to Suho about his regression, he couldn't exactly say, Oh, I pulled this evidence straight from my memories.
'Thanks to that damn Returner, my life's already got enough hashtags without adding #WantedByTheLaw...'
Honestly, retrieving this evidence from Yoon CP's memories last night had been pure luck.
If Yoon CP had noticed the USB during his visit to Shin's office, it never would've ended up in Hajin's hands.
In the original timeline, Yoon CP had destroyed all the files the moment he found them. But Hajin had the ability to pull objects from memories into reality.
'Though it came with a penalty...'
Since only a "Comrade" could materialize objects from memories, Hajin had to pay another penalty for this.
[System Notification: Normally, this would be impossible... But just this once, I'll use my authority!]
[System Notification: However, I can't predict what penalty will be imposed.]
[System Notification: Do you still wish to claim the item?]
'Worst case, I cry in front of Seo Tae-il again and whine a bit in front of the kids. Not like I haven't done worse.'
With nothing left to fear, Hajin pushed the evidence toward Suho again.
It took five more reassurances that nothing illegal had been done before Ji Soo-ho finally accepted the memo and USB.
"Still, this isn't enough to do anything. It's not even admissible as evidence."
"It's not court-worthy, but it's enough to blackmail someone into stepping down."
Suho's eyes shifted at Hajin's words. He was starting to see the bigger picture.
"...Are you planning to blackmail Yoon CP?"
"Yes. To force Han Seong-woo to voluntarily withdraw. Before the first broadcast and the third mission recording."
Hajin's gaze was unwavering, filled with absolute confidence.
Now Suho understood why Hajin had been so indifferent to Seong-woo's fraudulent votes.
Hajin intended to erase Seong-woo from the show entirely.
'No.'
And that was something Suho couldn't allow.
"It's not that simple. We can't afford to antagonize the network. Blackmailing someone like Yoon CP isn't easy."
Even though NTV was primarily a cable music channel, its parent network had recently surpassed major broadcasters in influence.
Not to mention the festivals, events, and award shows they bankrolled with their corporate backing.
'Considering UPIA's recent resurgence and Endway's crucial pre-contract phase... We can't risk making enemies with a network.'
Especially since they were already on thin ice with one major broadcaster due to an incident during UPIA's debut.
As these calculations ran through his mind, the color drained from Suho's face. Just as he opened his mouth to protest again, Hajin—still smiling—cut him off.
"Don't worry, Team Leader."
"How can I not worry when you keep dropping bombs like this?!"
"Still. Don't worry."
Hajin set his empty glass down with a clink.
The motion reminded Suho of a chess player making a decisive move, leaving him momentarily speechless.
"I'll be handing this knife to someone else. Even if you wanted to wield it, you couldn't. Frankly, you don't strike me as the blackmailing type."
"......"
"Instead, I've got another role for you. Passing the hilt to someone more... talented in coercion."
"......"
"Ready to hear my grand plan now?"
Hajin was still smiling.
Suho could only nod, spellbound.
Meanwhile, at an outsourced production company—
Three weeks before the first broadcast, the usual chaotic buzz was absent, replaced by an eerie silence.
"—I'm back?"
"Oh, you're here?"
"Y-Yeah."
Assistant Producer Park, who'd stepped out to restock office supplies, hiccuped in surprise at the unnatural atmosphere.
"What's going on? Why's the office like this?"
She glanced around before whispering to a senior colleague organizing props for the next shoot.
"They screened the rough cut of Episode 1 for the higher-ups... Looks like Yoon threw another tantrum."
'The higher-ups' referred to the CEO, main PD, main writer, and senior producers—followed by secondary directors and writers, and finally Yoon CP, the show's ultimate authority.
And 'Yoon' throwing a tantrum again...
"No way, more edits? Is he insane?"
"Tell me about it. I've lost count. Anyway, the higher-ups are in an emergency meeting without him."
"Seriously, what's his problem?"
"No clue. The tension earlier was insane. The team leader straight-up yelled that he couldn't work like this anymore."
Most survival shows left a long gap between the first recording and broadcast to maintain a 'live' feel as the competition intensified.
Idol survivals took this to extremes. Since viewers were also fans, their reactions and votes had to be reflected immediately.
In short, no matter how early they started filming, the schedule eventually became a hellish cycle of shoot-edit-broadcast, barely distinguishable from a live show.
'That's why most survivals rush to finish early episodes ASAP!'
Miro Maze was no exception.
It was already mid-April—over a month since the first mission recording. By now, Episodes 1 and 2 should've been nearly complete, with 3 and 4 taking shape.
'But we're three weeks from broadcast and still tweaking Episode 1?! That's insane!'
Assistant Producer Park's internal scream went unheard.
The first teaser had dropped days ago, followed by the second and third. Even the performance video was out yesterday.
Soon, they'd need preview clips for Episodes 1 and 2—but with Episode 1 still in limbo, everything else was stuck.
'It's all Yoon's fault.'
She mentally chewed out the so-called 'main network CP.' She'd long given up counting how many revisions they'd done.
If only he'd give clear feedback instead of vague, abstract nonsense like 'It doesn't feel right'!
Sure, last-minute edits were normal in broadcasting—sometimes even splicing together live segments minutes before air—but this was ridiculous!
'At this rate, the entire schedule will collapse... Ugh, so frustrating! Without Yoon, our show would run so much smoother!'
Can't someone just get rid of that bastard?
Clicking her mouse furiously, Park channeled her rage into Photoshop.
Unaware that her wish was already in motion.