The Vicious World of Broadcasting
"...You must never forget that. Got it?"
"I got it..."
Fortunately, because there was a shoot scheduled, Tae-hyun's nagging ended quickly.
"So, what did you guys talk about?"
"He asked if I had any complaints lately, or if I needed anything, stuff like that."
"Ah."
Tae-hyun realized why Kim Team Leader had asked that. He wanted to identify any potential dissatisfaction in advance and prepare for it! As expected, the man was highly competent at his job.
"You didn't say anything weird, did you?"
"Hmph. How many years of experience do you think I have? I wouldn't make a rookie mistake like that."
Though, has it really been that many years?
"I told him I had no complaints other than the training being too intense."
I don't think that's what he was asking about...
He probably wasn't asking about their training, but rather if there were any complaints regarding their sponsorship...
"Prosdas has been treating us well, so we keep extending the contract, but if they ever treat you poorly, don't hold back—tell me right away."
Tae-hyun brought this up to Cain just in case. Although it was rare for a sponsor to mistreat a top-tier player, such things happened surprisingly often. Mistreatment didn't just mean kicking someone out openly. It could be making them wait after calling them in for a contract meeting, accidentally pulling out another player's negotiation data, changing the order of meetings... If they truly valued the player, such careless mistakes wouldn't happen. The occurrence of such mistakes was proof they looked down on the player.
Tae-hyun, who was one of the top players in the world, was unlikely to face this, but Cain was a different story. He might get ignored somewhere, with people claiming he was just riding Team KL's coattails.
Plus, this idiot is so dense he might not even realize he's being looked down on.
"Of course. If I hear something like that, I'll notice immediately. Who do you think I am?"
"..."
Seeing Cain speak so confidently, Tae-hyun stared at him with even more disbelief. Cain cried out, feeling wronged.
"I'm serious! I noticed something just today!"
"What? What happened?"
"Well... it's no big deal, but the security guard didn't recognize me and wouldn't let me in."
"..."
"..."
"..."
An anecdote that silenced even Choi Sang-yun and Jeong Su-hyeok, who were standing nearby! It was an anecdote so awkward it was hard to even react to.
"...Did you get mad?"
"He said he was a fan of mine, so I just let it slide."
"...?"
If he's a fan, why didn't he recognize your face...? Choi Sang-yun, who was about to ask, just shut his mouth. He felt too sorry for Cain.
"Right. Speaking of treatment, I have a worry."
"Probably another useless story," Sang-yun muttered.
Cain flared up at Sang-yun's words. "Is not! It's a serious matter!"
"What is it? If you're complaining about training again, even Tae-hyun will get mad at you."
"It's about my sister."
At Cain's words, the people around them sighed.
"Apologize."
"I don't know what you did wrong, but please apologize quickly."
"Yeah. It's probably best to apologize."
"..."
The warm response of his teammates made Cain's heart burn with rage.
"I didn't do anything wrong, okay?!"
"What?! Really?!"
Their genuinely shocked reactions hurt even more! Cain's younger sister, Kim Ye-ri, was the exact opposite of Cain. She was smart, capable, and took care of her own business. If anything, she would be the one worrying about Cain, not the other way around.
"Is it about university?"
"If it's university, she's your junior, Tae-hyun. Help her out."
"We're in different departments... and besides, I'm just a ghost on campus who's about to graduate."
Tae-hyun was currently aiming for a quiet graduation. But that didn't mean he lacked a presence.
"How could you lack a presence? Don't talk nonsense."
"He's right. Sometimes, your international fans come to campus, Senior. They ask where Kim Tae-hyun is."
"...Really??"
Tae-hyun was horrified. That was happening without his knowledge?
Jeong Su-hyeok's words were true. International fans, thinking Tae-hyun would be there if they went to his university, would visit and ask, "Where is Kim Tae-hyun?" Of course, Tae-hyun spent very little time at school.
"It's no exaggeration to say you're the most famous person at Hankook University."
"Fine, fine. So, what's going on with Cain's sister?"
"She said her club got casted for a drama shoot, so she's going to participate."
"Isn't that a good experience?"
"Yeah. Sounds fun."
The members of the club Ye-ri joined were going to make a brief appearance as extras! It would be a fun experience in many ways.
"What do you mean fun?!"
"??"
When Cain shouted, everyone looked at him in bewilderment. What was his problem?
"Do you know how vicious broadcasting station people can be...?! What if they ignore and mistreat her just because she's a student and an extra?!"
"Aren't you letting your imagination run a bit too wild?"
"Actually, that sounded strangely specific. Have you experienced it yourself?"
"Did Cain ever get mistreated at a broadcasting station?"
Usually, because Tae-hyun was with him, he was welcomed rather than mistreated.
"I worked a part-time job there in the past."
"Ah..."
"Anyway, that's why I'm worried."
"If you're that worried, why don't you just go with her?" Tae-hyun suggested.
Cain hesitated. "Uh..."
"Wait. Tae-hyun. Cain might be lying just to skip training..."
"No matter how much I want to skip training, do you think I'd sell out my own sister, you bastard?! And... if I go... it's a bit embarrassing."
"Cain, don't be ashamed of yourself. You are an excellent player."
"...I didn't mean I'm embarrassed of myself! I meant my sister would find me embarrassing!"
Jeong Su-hyeok pointed out a completely unexpected angle! Cain replied in anger.
"If family follows her all the way there, she'll ask why I even came, she'll feel self-conscious, and when we get home, I'll get nagged... and then my meat side dishes will be confiscated..."
"Alright, I get it, so stop. If you're that worried, I'll go."
"Huh? Really?"
"It's looking out for your sister. I can spare a day."
"Should we go too?"
"Sure, why not."
"...W-Wait, why you guys?"
Cain said, looking disgusted. Tae-hyun was one thing, but Choi Sang-yun and Jeong Su-hyeok going was a bit much...
"Do you have a problem with us going?"
"Yeah. I do."
"...Tae-hyun. Ignore that guy. Let's go together."
The members of Team KL put their hands together and made a decision. Let's go cheer on Cain's sister!
"What were you guys talking about?"
Lee Da-bi approached.
"Lee Da-bi. Want to come with us for a break?"
"Huh? Just the two of you again?" Cain turned his head and asked, having been in a daze.
"What do you mean 'again'? Did they go out together before?"
"..."
He's unnecessarily sharp at times...!
"Thank you so much."
Cain's sister, Kim Ye-ri, greeted them politely. Then she nudged Cain. Doing useless things...! her look seemed to say.
"You can just relax."
Tae-hyun opened the door of the van he had borrowed (without asking) from Kim Tae-san. After all, a sports car couldn't fit everyone.
"But..."
Tae-hyun looked at Yu Ji-soo in confusion.
"Ji-soo. Are you participating too?"
"I'm just here to watch."
Well, if Ji-soo is here, it doesn't really matter, does it?
Come to think of it, the two of them were close friends. Having Yu Ji-soo there would be much more helpful than Tae-hyun or the others tagging along. After all, one phone call from her family, and the broadcasting station's president would probably show up!
Yu Ji-soo whispered softly.
"But really, why did you come?"
"Cain was worried about his sister."
"...What is there to worry about??"
"Exactly. I wasn't really that worried either, but I brought everyone along to get some rest."
"Ah. True. You have to pause the whipping for a moment so the next strike hurts even more."
"...That's a slightly weird metaphor."
Yu Ji-soo's metaphor carried a hint of madness that hadn't been there before. That madness was something she had learned from Tae-hyun, but Tae-hyun pretended not to notice.
"I heard you've been meeting up with Nekdon's friend to do quests lately?"
"Yes. That crazy knight."
"...I'm sorry."
It wasn't exactly Tae-hyun's fault, but he apologized anyway. Since the NPCs belonging to the Archisus Church were causing trouble, Tae-hyun wasn't entirely free of responsibility!
The former Royal Knight, Nekdon, had disappeared for a while, but Yu Ji-soo had found him while completing a quest. He was busy converting his friend, the Tower Keeper Ancolas, to the faith of Archisus.
...Thanks to that, Yu Ji-soo, who had come to learn secret archery skills, had to deal with Nekdon instead.
"Still, I'm glad he's not as crazy as the Tyrum Hunters."
"..."
"Oh, right. While completing the quest Nekdon gave me, I realized it might be a class-change quest related to Archisus."
"What? Really?"
Tae-hyun was startled. It was one thing for Nekdon to convert the Tower Keeper Ancolas, but for Nekdon to actually give a class-change quest related to Archisus! He hadn't expected Nekdon to have such a capability.
He's much better than Pelmas.
Pelmas couldn't even find a single quest, yet Nekdon had somehow managed to bring back an Archisus-related class.
"But Ji-soo, you already have the Tyrum Ranger class, so you won't be doing that class-change quest, right?"
Yu Ji-soo was one of the few players who had started in Tyrum. Furthermore, she had even obtained a Tyrum-related class, so her pride and affection for her class had to be immense. She wouldn't easily change it.
"Huh? No. If I compare them and the new one is better, I'll switch immediately."
Yu Ji-soo looked at Tae-hyun as if he was asking a silly question. Her eyes seemed to say:
What kind of amateur nonsense are you talking about?
You've really grown!
Tae-hyun was slightly touched. Where did the innocent, naive kid from when she first started the game go, and when did she become such a pragmatic player?
"But isn't there a high chance that an Archisus-related class will be bad?"
"That's why if it looks bad, I'm going to intentionally fail the quest and run away."
Yu Ji-soo already had a whole plan laid out. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me! If the Archisus-related class turned out to be weird, she had no intention of looking back.
Hmm. But...
Tae-hyun started to say something, then stopped. There was no point in warning her anyway.
With Archisus-related classes, sometimes you get forced into the class-change without even a chance to run away. Shouldn't she be careful of that?
Tae-hyun was the very victim of such a case. Normally, when you finish a class-change quest, you'd expect a message window asking, "Would you like to change your class?"
But for the Avatar of Archisus, it had just forced the class-change on him and then displayed:
Class change complete. Cancellation is not permitted. lol
Other Archisus-related classes could be the same!
...But even if he told her, there was no way to avoid it in advance, and Yu Ji-soo was no longer a beginner.
Ji-soo will handle it on her own.
If Yu Ji-soo had heard his thoughts, she would have flared up, thinking, No! Why! Just tell me already!
"Are the preparations for the shoot going well? How are the extras doing? You said you called some university students?"
"Ah, yes. They'll be here soon."
"Wait. We don't have any spare space on set right now, do we? Where are you going to have them wait?"
"Just having them stand around should be fine. They're all young kids anyway, and we'll shoot their parts quickly."
"Do you know how scary young kids are these days...? What if they start complaining?"
"Don't worry. I'll keep them in line. They'll be so distracted by the fact that they're appearing in a drama that they won't complain."
"Alright. Just handle it well."
Once the director gave the OK and moved on, the PD let out a sigh of relief. When shooting with a fixed budget, the most important thing was speed. To achieve that, there was a strict hierarchy of who got treated well. Extras were inevitably pushed to the very bottom.
A little sweet-talking should be more than enough.
It seemed they had just arrived. The PD raised his head. Time to give them orders right away...?