Birds of a Feather (1)
“Hello.”
His hair was messy, yet clean and well-kept. The thick, oversized horn-rimmed glasses resting on his nose lent him an air of effortless intellect.
This was Main PD Yoon Sa-hyeok, a man whose impeccable styling frequently landed him in fashion magazines.
He was also the fandom's favorite punching bag, the designated scapegoat whenever anything went wrong with Labyrinth Exploration NaN.
As she stared at him now, Lee Si-ah felt a shiver run down her spine. Her heart hammered against her ribs, threatening to burst.
Not because of Yoon Sa-hyeok, of course.
“First of all, thank you all for coming out today when you could have easily watched this from the comfort of your homes. Did everyone enjoy the screening?”
The theater erupted into a roar of cheers that bordered on screams. After all, they had all just fallen victim to the ultimate cliffhanger.
“To start... I'm not the only one here today.”
The people in the front row looked ready to faint. When it came to stage greetings, those front-row seats were the absolute best spots in the house. Si-ah suddenly felt a sharp pang of envy.
“Please refrain from asking any questions that might spoil Episode 10. Alright, everyone, please come on in.”
Familiar silhouettes began to file onto the stage. There were eight of them in total.
From the East team: Lee Jun-ho, Seo Ji-woo, Yun Hwa-rim, and Jo Woon.
From the West team: Kang Hyun, Kate, Ryu Yeon-hwa, and... Seol Ha-woon.
They stood side by side in a neat line.
Amidst the thunderous, deafening cheers that shook the entire theater, Lee Si-ah experienced a profound visual shock. There wasn't a single visual flaw among them.
Especially Seol Ha-woon. She had felt it during the live broadcast too, but seeing him in person made her realize that the camera didn't do him justice. He was much, much better looking in real life.
In fact, he seemed to have gotten even handsomer.
“Since I'm sure none of you want to hear me talk...”
Yoon Sa-hyeok handed the microphone to Lee Jun-ho.
“Hello, everyone. I'm Lee Jun-ho.”
“Aaaaaaaah!”
The screams were so intense they sounded almost lethal.
“First... thank you so much for coming all the way to the theater. But to be honest, I don't actually know what happens in Episode 9. I just took a quick peek at the internet before coming here, you see?”
A wry, helpless smile played on Lee Jun-ho's lips.
“It seems we weren't the main attraction today. We did work hard in our own way, though. Sigh...”
His playful, sly sigh brought smiles to everyone's faces.
Next, Seo Ji-woo took the microphone.
“Wait, but seriously, everyone. Wasn't the East team's run fun too? Was the West team really that interesting?”
“Yes!”
The crowd answered in unison.
Seo Ji-woo's jaw dropped in mock betrayal.
“Wow, you guys are really too much. Please write some posts saying the East was fun too. There's literally nothing but talk about the West...”
Seo Ji-woo craned her neck to look down the line.
“What on earth did you guys even do over there?”
She was looking at Seol Ha-woon. Standing beside him, PD Kim A-rang handed him the microphone.
Seol Ha-woon spoke.
“Go home and watch the broadcast.”
That voice. Lee Si-ah nearly fainted on the spot.
It was one of the three pillars of Seol Ha-woon's unique aura, as meticulously analyzed by his fandom.
His tall stature with long hair, his cane, and his voice.
His looks were already a given, but that distinct, low-register bass of his was on a completely different level—far surpassing even the famous actor Kang Jun-ho.
“Tch... Well, anyway, thank you for coming! Everyone, please keep supporting Labyrinth Exploration NaN!”
Seo Ji-woo raised her fist and cheered, her signature high-energy spirit on full display.
Next was Yun Hwa-rim.
“Hello... I'm Yun Hwa-rim...”
She was shaking like a leaf. Her hand holding the microphone trembled uncontrollably.
“Thank... thank you so much for coming to see us...”
She immediately passed the mic to Kang Hyun.
It was a little pitiful to watch. She had taken a massive amount of flak in the early stages of the show.
While Seol Ha-woon had been vindicated through later editing, Yun Hwa-rim was still treated as an annoying, arrogant elite across various online communities.
Kang Hyun held the microphone and began to speak.
But no sound came out. His lips just parted and closed silently, like a carp.
He had accidentally switched the microphone off.
Kim A-rang quickly stepped in and turned it back on.
“Wait, ah. Ah. Testing, one, two. Sorry about that.”
The audience chuckled.
Lee Si-ah wondered about the expressions of the people in the front row. There were particularly many Kang Hyun fans down there; she wondered if they were about to pass out from pure adoration.
“Everyone's faces look so bright. I'm not the only one who thinks so, right?”
“Yes!”
“It seems you don't regret coming. That's a relief.”
Kang Hyun smiled.
It was that exact smile—the one his fandom described with dramatic prose, comparing it to "an oil painting unfolding" or "shimmering light."
“...Please come to the theater to watch the rest of the story too. Thank you.”
With a polite bow, Kang Hyun handed the microphone over.
Next was Ryu Yeon-hwa.
“Hello, everyone. I am Ryu Yeon-hwa. I heard that booking tickets was incredibly difficult. I hope your efforts were rewarded today. Also... I occasionally receive direct messages.”
Ryu Yeon-hwa started off with a long speech right from the beginning.
Direct messages? Did she mean DMs?
“They tell me that Labyrinth Exploration NaN is the only joy that keeps them going every week...”
Ryu Yeon-hwa spoke for a very long time, her tone reminiscent of someone reciting a solemn prayer.
“It gave me pause. Time flows, and our daily routines march on monotonously. But if we can bring you even a sliver of joy in those quiet intervals, there is nothing we wouldn't do...”
Just when it seemed like she was about to finish, she would continue, and then continue again. Kate, who was next in line, repeatedly reached out to take the microphone only to pull her hand back, over and over.
Ryu Yeon-hwa was truly a fascinating character.
“Thank you. I sincerely wish you all peace and happiness always.”
Finally, Kate received the microphone.
“Meeting you all in such close proximity brings back so many emotions.”
Hearing Kate's pronunciation in person was even more mind-blowing. How could someone with her foreign appearance speak Korean more naturally than a native?
“...No matter how we are portrayed on screen, we always carry a deep sense of gratitude for our fans. There are still many episodes left to air. Please keep watching over us until then.”
Kate offered a sweet smile.
She was gentler to her fans than anyone else. There was a reason she was so popular.
And finally...
The person Lee Si-ah had been waiting for.
Seol Ha-woon gripped the microphone.
“Hello, I'm Seol Ha-woon. First... I hope you all enjoyed it. You invested your precious time to be here, after all.”
He scanned the theater, a gentle smile on his face.
“And, though I'm not sure where the episode cut off—”
“Am I a Labyrinthin?!”
At someone's despairing, resentful shout from the crowd, Seol Ha-woon let out a soft chuckle.
“Ah. I see. That must be tough.”
Seol Ha-woon was gentle. He was meticulous and firm in everything—especially in this World Labyrinth, where he was the only one to see through Seer's intentions—yet he smiled so easily for his fans.
Lee Si-ah stared blankly at him. Before she knew it, a silly, goofy grin had spread across her own face.
“...Oh, right. We actually have some Labyrinth Exploration NaN T-shirts signed by us here.”
Seol Ha-woon rustled as he pulled something out. The other explorers did the same.
In an instant, the entire theater went wild.
Lee Si-ah had no memory of the next five minutes.
But when she finally snapped out of it, she was clutching a T-shirt with Seol Ha-woon's autograph. It was a massive success.
We toured several theaters at Yongsan Station CVG, and as a reward, we were granted some free time—a vacation.
“Well, if it isn't the troublemaker. Long time no see.”
I paid a visit to David Han's Magic Bookstore. The old man's attire had changed significantly since I last saw him.
“...Why are you wearing a leather jacket?”
“Do you not know who I am?”
“You're David Han.”
“Yes, I am David Han. Do you have any idea how many tens of thousands of followers I have now?”
He seemed to have caught a severe case of celebrity syndrome, but either way, business was apparently booming.
“Old man. Do you happen to sell generators and laptops?”
“What, do you think this is an electronics store? ...I do have them, though.”
“Really? Then give me those.”
The old man brought the items out from his warehouse: a state-of-the-art laptop and a small magic stone generator.
A cutting-edge artifact that generated electricity using magic stones.
Magic stone generators were classified as artifacts.
“Put it on my tab. You know the drill.”
“...You're awfully shameless about buying on credit.”
I leaned back against the wall.
“You know how it is. My face is practically collateral now.”
Old Man David narrowed his eyes.
“Did you catch celebrity syndrome too?”
“...I was actually about to say that to you.”
“What was that?”
“How much is it?”
“Well... you know magic stone generators don't come cheap, right?”
“Of course.”
Devices like magic stone generators were typically reserved for military use first before being distributed to civilians.
Which meant I had plenty of experience using them.
“I'll knock off twenty-five percent. Eighty million won.”
“That's surprisingly cheap.”
“I'm giving you a massive discount, you punk. In exchange, sign all of these before you leave.”
Old Man David shoved a stack of nearly a hundred blank sheets of paper toward me.
...It made me want to give up the discount entirely.
“Sure, I'll do it. But by any chance, do you have any more books by the mage Tae Hyeok?”
“Books?”
“Something a bit more advanced...”
“No books, but you can ask that guy. Speak of the devil.”
The old man smirked and pointed toward the door.
A man dressed entirely in black—a black fedora, a black coat, a black tie, and black combat boots—pushed open the door to the bookstore.
I recognized his face instantly, just as I had before.
The Mage, Tae-woo.
“You've gotten quite popular.”
Tae-woo spoke as we stood in the empty lot behind the bookstore.
“Yes. I got lucky.”
I looked at him.
He was about my height, perhaps slightly taller, but the aura radiating from him was extraordinary. He carried a weight of presence that surpassed even the massive Old Man David.
“You're curious about 'Concepts'?”
“Yes.”
Tae-woo readily agreed to a one-day lesson, calling it repayment for a past favor.
I was slightly anxious. They say that if you change masters, your foundations can get muddled.
Still, whether it was Tae-woo or Tae-yul, they both stemmed from the same root: Tae Hyeok.
Moreover, if I learned from Tae-woo and then compared it to Yu Yul's teachings, I would finally be able to confirm whether or not she was actually Tae-yul.
“A Concept is engraving a system within yourself. Manifesting your own logic that transcends intuition.”
Snap. Tae-woo snapped a branch, plucking a leaf along with it.
“As everyone knows, in a vacuum, these two fall at the exact same rate. It is a law of nature. This, too, is a Concept.”
He dropped the branch and the leaf simultaneously. They descended at the exact same speed.
My eyes widened.
“...This isn't a vacuum.”
“It is merely a small trick. A spellcaster does not warp the laws of nature. To think a mere human can rewrite the world is nothing but wretched arrogance.”
Tae-woo continued.
“A spellcaster is merely someone who temporarily tricks the eyes of the world. The causality of mana manipulating a fleeting gap. Stacking those tricks layer upon layer becomes a spellcaster's Concept.”
I activated Sequence. My ears, my eyes—I engraved everything Tae-woo said into my mind.
“However, an individual human's Concept does not accumulate. No matter how much you build it up, it vanishes when your lifespan ends. There is zero sustainability. That is why universities exist, and why families rule.”