Oh, Can't We Be on the Same Team?
"Oh, can't we be on the same team?"
'Of course not!!!' everyone on stage and in the audience screamed in their minds.
But Tae-hyun wore an expression of genuine, clueless innocence.
"Ah, I guess not. I really had no idea."
"But why are you so wary of Lee Se-yeon? Is it because of her skills?"
"No, it's not really her skills, but..."
Tae-hyun hesitated. He had been about to say he was wary of her because of her twisted, wicked personality, but he stopped himself. Lee Se-yeon was glaring at him, her eyes practically screaming:
'If you want everyone to find out you're the Kim Tae-hyun from Pan-On 1, just try it!'
"...Well, what else could it be but her skills!"
"Of course!"
"That makes perfect sense for Lee Se-yeon. She's been holding the number one spot since Pan-On 1, after all."
The commentators nodded in agreement. The name Lee Se-yeon carried that much weight.
A few more questions passed after that. Since they were standard questions from the script, Kim Chul-soo and Do Dong-su gave easy, textbook answers. Of course, it was incredibly boring!
People always preferred raw, spontaneous answers over rehearsed, textbook responses. The hosts could feel the shift in the room. The palpable energy radiating from the crowd!
"Talk to Kim Tae-hyun and Cain!"
"Show us something funny again like earlier!"
Sensing this atmosphere, the commentators hesitated. In a standard interview, it was only fair to rotate questions among all five players to draw out their answers. But fairness had nothing to do with entertainment! Honestly, even the commentators wanted to throw a barrage of questions specifically at Cain and Tae-hyun. That was how hard they had carried the opening broadcast today.
'Should we move on to the next segment?'
'Yeah, let's do that.'
"Alright, now it's time for our fans to participate! Those whose numbers are drawn can ask any question they like!"
"...!"
The players looked slightly surprised. They hadn't been told about this. An event for the fans who came to the studio! This meant they could face difficult, unscripted questions they couldn't prepare for.
'Ah, I have a bad feeling about this...'
Lee Se-yeon looked at Tae-hyun with growing anxiety. This nerve-wracking feeling of waiting for someone to cause a disaster... It felt exactly like...
'This isn't some group project!'
The more she thought about it, the more unfair it felt. She wasn't asking him to do anything bad; she had simply invited him to join a tournament that others would die to participate in. Yet, Tae-hyun hated it so much that he was actively trying to wreck the whole thing...
To put it bluntly, wouldn't winning be good for him too?
"Number 17! Whoever has number 17, please raise your hand!"
*Whoosh!*
One of the audience members raised her hand. It was a shy-looking female student.
"Oh! Who would you like to ask?"
"K-Kim Tae-hyun!"
"?"
Tae-hyun tilted his head. What was she going to ask?
"What is your question? Kim Tae-hyun will answer anything!"
"U-Um... well..."
The student's face flushed bright red. Seeing this, Lee Se-yeon and Lee Da-bi immediately caught on to what kind of question was coming.
'Well, it would be weirder if Kim Tae-hyun didn't have fans. He's that good at the game, and his real face is handsome too... Wait, who did his makeup today anyway?'
'Ah, could it be?'
However, neither Cain nor Tae-hyun noticed a thing.
'Why is her face so red?'
'Maybe it's hot in the studio?'
"I-I want to know what Kim Tae-hyun's ideal type is!"
*Whew!*
*Oooooh!*
Whistles and teasing jeers erupted from the crowd. A shy female fan asking a question loaded with personal interest! Naturally, the crowd reacted.
Everyone in the studio focused their attention on Tae-hyun. He had practically carried today's opening broadcast. What kind of witty answer would he give?
"Someone like Cain?"
"..."
The atmosphere in the studio instantly turned ice-cold, as if someone had dumped a bucket of freezing water over the crowd.
"P-Pardon?"
"I like people like Cain. They're very useful."
Tae-hyun meant Cain was easy to exploit and put to work. Of course, that was not how it sounded to anyone else!
"Bwahaha! Kim Tae-hyun! That was an answer beyond anyone's wildest imagination! That's not what she was asking, though!"
Watching this from the control room, the staff's estimation of Tae-hyun soared even higher.
"Wow, that was a really witty dodge."
"It's much better to deflect it like that than to give some awkward, half-hearted answer. He's seriously good at this."
The staff completely misunderstood, thinking Tae-hyun had given that answer just to brush off the question!
"Next is... number 109! Whoever has number 109, please raise your hand!"
*Whoosh!*
A familiar face raised her hand. It was Lee Da-bi.
"..."
"..."
A brief moment of silence fell over the stage.
"Please ask whatever you'd like! Surely you don't have nothing to ask? Hahaha!"
The commentators laughed, misunderstanding Lee Da-bi's silence as stage fright.
Lee Da-bi's mind raced. She hadn't prepared a question at all. Other fans might have been thumping with excitement, planning what to ask, but Lee Da-bi could literally just ask him anything whenever she wanted!
With nothing else coming to mind, she blurted out the first thing that popped into her head.
"U-Um... What is your favorite guild in Pan-On?!"
"..."
Tae-hyun stared at Lee Da-bi, utterly dumbfounded. Lee Se-yeon, who recognized Lee Da-bi's face, also stared at her in disbelief.
However, the commentators, completely unaware of the situation, found it highly intriguing.
"His favorite guild! Now that is an unexpected question!"
"There are so many guilds in Pan-On. In fact, almost all the players participating today belong to a guild. It's rare to find a player who isn't affiliated with one. Kim Tae-hyun is a rare solo player, right?"
"Exactly. So asking about his favorite guild is a great question."
"I bet the other players are hoping he names their guilds right now. If he does, they might even try to recruit him!"
Tae-hyun thought for a moment. It was glaringly obvious that Lee Da-bi had been caught off guard and panicked when her number was called. What would be the best way to answer?
'Should I just say the Suning Guild?'
Su Ning would definitely be watching this broadcast. If he heard Tae-hyun say, "My favorite is the Suning Guild!" he would probably clutch the back of his neck in fury.
'No, there's no need to do him any favors.'
"I like the Power Warrior Guild the most."
"Power..."
"Warrior...?"
"Power Warrior?"
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. The audience was puzzled to hear the name of the Power Warrior Guild.
"The Power Warrior Guild? You mean *that* guild? The one famous for its advertisements..."
The commentator brothers played Pan-On too. Although they didn't play as intensely as they did in their prime, they knew what kind of guild Power Warrior was. A guild famous for being famous!
"Come to think of it, there have been rumors that Kim Tae-hyun hangs out with members of the Power Warrior Guild. Kim Tae-hyun, why do you like Power Warrior?"
Tae-hyun had only picked them because he had no other guild to choose. But he couldn't exactly say, "I just picked them because I couldn't think of anyone else." That would be a bit too harsh!
Tae-hyun wracked his brain. What were the strengths of Power Warrior?
"I like them because Power Warrior is a truly great guild."
"...!"
"???"
The players from the other teams were shocked, the audience was stunned, and even Lee Da-bi was taken aback. Even the guild master herself was hearing this "Power Warrior is a great guild" theory for the very first time!
Despite seeing everyone's shock, Tae-hyun didn't stop. Since he had already said it, he had to spin it somehow!
'Ah, whatever. Here goes nothing.'
"First of all, Power Warrior is free. Unlike other guilds, they don't have qualification tests when you join. If you want to join, they accept you."
"Oh, that's actually amazing. Usually, guilds are quite selective about their members."
In reality, Power Warrior required absolutely nothing to join. If you wanted to join, you were in! The reason was simple: if they had any entry requirements, absolutely no one would join a guild like Power Warrior!
But Tae-hyun packaged this beautifully.
"Furthermore, they don't demand anything from their guild members."
Large guilds often collected a certain amount of gold from their members every month, justifying it as "fair compensation for using the guild's hunting grounds and receiving benefits." But the Power Warrior Guild did no such thing. They had nothing to give in the first place!
"And there are hidden masters within their ranks..."
Hidden masters. To be precise, they weren't high-level players, but rather experts in tormenting people in bizarre ways—just like how they had scammed the Suning Guild before!
But to everyone else, it sounded like: "The Power Warrior Guild has high-level rankers hiding in its ranks."
"Is that really true?!"
"Of course."
"Is that true?"
"Isn't he just bluffing?"
"No, is Kim Tae-hyun the type to lie about something like that? I mean, it's Kim Tae-hyun."
"Wow, I had no idea Power Warrior was such a great guild. I guess you really can't trust rumors."
Hearing the commentator's remark, Tae-hyun turned his gaze to Lee Da-bi. This was more than enough of a glowing endorsement, right?
'There, Lee Da-bi! You'd better be grateful!'
Tae-hyun expected Lee Da-bi to smile and secretly give him a thumbs-up. Instead, her face was bright red, and she was hanging her head in sheer embarrassment.
"??"
The next question went to Lee Se-yeon, the one after that also went to Lee Se-yeon, and the one after that went to Cain.
Tae-hyun leaned over and whispered to Do Dong-su.
"It's okay. It's not your fault you're unpopular."
"Shut up...!"
While they bickered, a fan who drew the next number raised their hand.
"I have a question for Kim Tae-hyun!"
"?"
"There's been a lot of talk, so I've been curious. What is your relationship with the Kim Tae-hyun of Pan-On 1?"
"!!"
Tae-hyun's eyes gleamed. What a question. This was the perfect opportunity! He could finally deflect all the lingering resentment from Pan-On 1 once and for all!
"I was a big fan of the Kim Tae-hyun in Pan-On 1. We even share the same name, right? So I benchmarked him in many ways—his combat style, his character build, things like that."
"Ah, so you have no actual connection to the Kim Tae-hyun of Pan-On 1?"
"Exactly!"
Tae-hyun answered enthusiastically, thrilled that a fan had scratched his exact itch.
"Is that really true?"
"?"
The one throwing cold water on the mood was Do Dong-su.
"From where I'm sitting, you look way too similar to the Kim Tae-hyun of Pan-On 1. Isn't it a bit too identical to just be a fan copying him...?"
He muttered it under his breath, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Lee Se-yeon panicked even more than Tae-hyun. She realized what Do Dong-su was trying to do. He was targeting Tae-hyun's only weakness!
'What do we do?'
But Tae-hyun was not someone to be easily pushed around by the likes of Do Dong-su.
"Haha. I can understand why Dong-su would say that. He's still bitter about losing to the Kim Tae-hyun of Pan-On 1."
"What kind of bullshit is th—urk!"
Tae-hyun slung his arm around Do Dong-su's shoulder, pulling him close. To anyone else, they looked like close friends sharing a warm moment, but Do Dong-su's face contorted in agony. Tae-hyun was using sheer physical force to shut him up! How petty!
"Ever since he lost to the Kim Tae-hyun of Pan-On 1 and that player disappeared, Dong-su has been grabbing random people and accusing them of being Kim Tae-hyun."
Laughter erupted from the audience at Tae-hyun's words. Do Dong-su wanted to argue back, but the pain in his shoulder was no joke. He was breaking out in a cold sweat!
"Sigh, it's honestly been so troublesome... Not just Do Dong-su, but all these rankers from Pan-On 1 keep coming up to pick fights with me just because of my name and style... It makes me regret naming my character this way."
Lee Se-yeon shook her head in sheer disbelief. To think he could deflect that attack so flawlessly! It was a powerful counterattack that completely neutralized not just Do Dong-su, but any future accusations from other players like Jekas.