Chapter 265: The Plot Thickens
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 265: The Plot Thickens
I managed to block the broadcast equipment from falling on Nao's head in the nick of time.
It was a good thing I happened to be at the scene of the incident; if I hadn't been, Nao would have been seriously injured.
The broadcast employee who made the fatal mistake repeatedly banged his head on the ground, apologizing over and over. He was so desperate that it was embarrassing even for me to watch.
"We're fine, so please get up. You're making people stare."
"No! I'm truly sorry! I will definitely compensate you for this!"
Wondering why he was acting this way, I quietly asked Nao, who answered with a bitter smile.
"My mom has a pretty big influence in the broadcasting world. If he makes one wrong move, he could be completely kicked out of the industry, so he's desperate."
I see. So this was his own desperate struggle to avoid getting fired.
To the man who had just caused a major accident at work, anything we said would probably sound like a death sentence. So, I ended the conversation by taking his business card, telling him we'd contact him later if any hospital bills came up.
Once the commotion died down, Nao, feeling it was no longer an atmosphere for fun, sent her friends off first and then asked Yoko-san, who was standing beside her.
"So, Mom, what are you going to do now?"
"...About what?"
"Didn't you originally come to the studio to get me?"
At that, Nao's mother, Yoko-san, silently turned her head away.
It seemed she'd hit a nerve.
But soon, she looked back and forth between Nao and me, then spoke with a look of resolve.
"Kim Yoo-Sung-kun?"
"Yes."
"I want to sincerely apologize for my rude behavior earlier."
As she said this, Nao's mother suddenly bowed deeply.
"Huh? What is this all of a sudden..."
As I tried to stop her in my confusion, Yoko-san began to speak.
"Nao is a child who resembles me in my youth in many ways. That's why I thought, being her mother's daughter, she would have no eye for men. But Kim Yoo-Sung-kun, you were completely different from what I expected—a 'good man.' Not only that, but you also risked your life to save my daughter, so I believe it's only right for me to apologize a hundred, even a thousand times."
Lifting her head, she turned to Nao, who was dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.
"Daughter, Yoo-Sung-kun is a real keeper, so don't you ever let him go."
I had planned to just listen quietly, but when she said something I absolutely couldn't ignore, I instinctively interjected.
"No, no, no, I told you I already have a girlfriend!"
"Of course! Your mom's daughter is a tougher woman than you think!"
But mother and daughter alike, they weren't listening to a word I said.
Is this something parents and children normally have in common?
As I stared blankly at the mother-daughter duo who had suddenly joined forces, I felt foolish just standing there and decided it was time to go home.
"It was nice meeting you. I'll be on my way now."
"Ah! Please wait."
But Yoko-san, not allowing me to escape, asked with a slightly worried expression.
"I heard you say you were fine earlier, but just in case, how about we go to the hospital together?"
"Huh? The hospital, all of a sudden?"
"Even if you don't feel any pain right now, you could have a fracture in your collarbone or shoulder blade."
"..."
She had a point.
That is, if the nature of the Ki I'd mastered wasn't Indestructibility.
But telling ordinary people, "My body can't even be pierced by bullets," would be met with scoffing at best. So, I quietly agreed to get a ride in Yoko-san's car to a nearby university hospital.
I had a feeling this conversation wouldn't end unless I went.
*
About three weeks later, when the production announcement for the second season of ~The Blue~ School Youth Apocalypse! was aired on a terrestrial broadcast as a year-end special, various online communities and viewer forums began to blow up, for better or for worse.
And the reason was, of course, 'Kim Yoo-Sung.'
The sole disciple of Fuma Kotaro, currently the strongest martial artist in Japan. The man who, after appearing as a villain with overwhelming charisma in the hit youth drama The Blue that aired in the second quarter of this year, single-handedly broke the record for the highest viewership rating per minute.
At a time when public interest in him was at its peak, he had declined all broadcast offers, leading to speculation that he was employing a mystique strategy. That very same Kim Yoo-Sung had suddenly, without any warning, appeared at the production announcement for the second season of the drama he had starred in.
Naturally, both online and offline, everyone was in an uproar over the topic.
And the situation was no different on this anonymous forum, where only the most avid fans of The Blue gathered.
1\. From an Anonymous VIP: 2017/12/30(Sat) 18:23:18.47 ID:BlackCOW
See! I told you Kim Yoo-Sung would show up!
2\. Anonymous Office Worker
Wow;;; The prophecy actually came true. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, I guess.
3\. Anonymous High School Student
Just how much money did NHK spend to make a guy who never showed his face, no matter how many love calls he got from other places, come crawling out on his own?
4. Anonymous College Student
I envy the guts of someone who can look at that physique and that face and call him a 'guy'.
5\. Anonymous Clerk
It's because he's a typical internet warrior. Guys like that would definitely stutter if they met someone like Kim Yoo-Sung in real life. ...That's what always happens to me.
6\. Anonymous Office Worker
5<<< That personal story is so sad. You said you live in the same neighborhood, right?
7\. Anonymous Clerk
Shut up! Don't look at me with those eyes!
8\. Anonymous College Student
But what's still amazing is that those muscles weren't just for show. I've never seen someone split a watermelon in half with such a relaxed expression.
9\. From an Anonymous VIP: 2017/12/30(Sat) 18:23:18.47 ID:BlackCOW
It's more amazing that you looked at those muscles and thought they were for show.
10\. Anonymous College Student
I mean, you know how it is. Usually, the hidden masters you see on TV are all slender, but Kim Yoo-Sung is jacked like a bodybuilder.
11\. Anonymous High School Student
Ah, I get what you mean. But isn't his master, Fuma Kotaro, also jacked? Feels a bit late to be bringing that up now.
12\. Anonymous Clerk
You fools! How can you not understand this simple fact! There's no way a 'fighter's' 'muscles' would be the same as an ordinary person's!
13\. Anonymous High School Student
!!!
14\. Anonymous Office Worker
!!!!
15\. Anonymous College Student
!!!!!
16\. Anonymous Office Worker
How do these bastards only unite at times like this?
17\. Anonymous High School Student
Well, that's what you get from people who are messing around on a forum like this instead of spending the New Year's holiday with their families.
18\. From an Anonymous VIP: 2017/12/30(Sat) 19:18:23.12 ID:BlackCOW
Why is this bastard picking a fight with such specifics?
19\. Anonymous Office Worker
It's not the first or second time the high school kid has been trolling. It's much more beneficial to just ignore the troll than to stoop to his level.
20\. Anonymous Clerk
More importantly, was I the only one who lost my shit seeing him split that coconut so cleanly? I thought human grip strength had its limits, but starting with the pineapple, I feel like I've witnessed a new realm in many ways.
21\. Anonymous High School Student
I tried one when I went to Hawaii before, and coconuts aren't the kind of fruit you can just tear open with your fingers. It was definitely rigged.
22\. Anonymous Clerk
Yep~ Here he goes again, pretending to know everything. I'm not asking for much else, but for my New Year's wish, I hope that guy and Kim Yoo-Sung run into each other outside, 1-on-1. Honestly, it's unfair that I'm the only one who has to meet him.
23\. From an Anonymous VIP: 2017/12/30(Sat) 19:22:54.13 ID:BlackCOW
He'd definitely piss his pants before anything even started lol
24\. Anonymous College Student
So, if a gorilla and Kim Yoo-Sung had a grip strength test, would it be a good match?
25\. Anonymous Office Worker
We'd have to hear Mr. Gorilla's opinion on that. Honestly, I don't think even a gorilla could split a coconut with its bare hands.
26\. From an Anonymous VIP: 2017/12/30(Sat) 19:28:31.47 ID:BlackCOW
(A GIF of Kim Yoo-Sung splitting a coconut in half.)
27\. Anonymous College Student
Honestly, with that grip strength, isn't it totally possible to split a skull in half? It'd probably be better for your survival rate to just surrender and expose your belly the moment you meet him.
28\. Anonymous Clerk
Hey, that's already a sign of submission lol. I'll try putting that into practice next time I see him at the store lol.
29\. From an Anonymous VIP: 2017/12/30(Sat) 19:34:11.53 ID:BlackCOW
This guy lol, more serious about begging for his life than anyone lol.