Who Do You Think You Are? (1)
On a night when overtime seemed endless, the atmosphere in the broadcasting station's meeting room was thick with exhaustion.
Producer Im Hyeong-uk shared a post from a specific online community with the writers and other PDs.
[Exposing RYH's Drug Party]
It's a well-known fact that RYH is a total club rat. Frequently spotted at Gangnam clubs, literally everyone knows...
"Has this been fact-checked?" Kim A-rang asked.
Im Hyeong-uk shrugged.
"Who knows yet."
It was an exposé accusing Ryu Yeon-hwa of drug use, and it was already racking up a massive view count. The site hosting it was notorious for its low credibility, meaning most users dismissed posts without concrete proof, but still...
Im Hyeong-uk continued, "I asked Yeon-hwa directly, and she says it's absolutely not true. Though she did admit she went to clubs."
"She went to clubs?" one of the writers asked, tilting her head.
"Yeah. Said she just danced to blow off steam."
"...Ah."
"What's with that look? Anyone can go to a club. You guys have gone too. The point isn't the club, it's the drugs."
Kim A-rang scrolled through the comments on the post.
"Most of the reactions are along the lines of 'no proof, fake'..."
"But reporters are already sniffing around. A reporter I know said some media outlet has already booked an interview. Apparently, the guy who wrote this has a ton of photos taken with Ryu Yeon-hwa."
Kim A-rang frowned. "What does Ryu Yeon-hwa herself say?"
"Well... she says she'll handle it herself. But honestly, it doesn't seem like she's the type to do drugs..."
"Is she going to ask her family for help?"
"Who knows. She's got a powerful background, so she'll probably hire someone to deal with it. Just wait until the facts are checked."
Ryu Yeon-hwa belonged to Jayros, a major spellcaster guild. Her father happened to be one of Jayros's largest shareholders.
"No point in us getting tangled up in a double response. I'm just letting you know."
"Still, it's drugs."
If it was true, it was serious. The premise that a drug-addicted explorer was far more dangerous to a broadcast than a murderous one was an obvious, undeniable truth.
"For now... I'll go see her myself," Kim A-rang said, rising from her seat.
After the In-Camera Scouting segment ended, I made my way up the Back Mountain.
Whoosh.
A sudden gust of wind brushed past. It was an artificial current. I turned my gaze toward its source. Ryu Yeon-hwa was hiding behind a tree.
She covered her mouth with her hand and whispered, "How much... do you want for the operation fee?"
"...What? Kim Du-gyeom won't help you?"
"No. Du-gyeom said he would help. But I can't burden that child any further."
"Don't call him a child. It's disgusting, damn it."
I waved my cane dismissively. Ryu Yeon-hwa flinched and instinctively raised her arms.
For someone of her status, she was surprisingly timid.
At any rate, it seemed Kim Du-gyeom's attempt to gaslight her had backfired. Ryu Yeon-hwa was a noble, wealthy lady; rather than relying too heavily on someone, she preferred to make a clean transaction.
"Fifty million won in cash will do."
"Please prepare a contract."
"No."
"...Then, please explain the operation."
A sudden urge to tease her washed over me.
"No."
"...Please give me your account number."
"Do you not know what cash means? Not an account transfer. Fifty million in cash."
"Fifty million won in cash?"
"Yeah. You must have servants, right?"
"...Yes. Should I have it delivered to you immediately?"
She was incredibly compliant. She must have been truly desperate.
I shrugged.
"Forget it, kid. The operation fee was a joke."
"A... joke?"
"Yeah. I was just testing your mindset."
"Then... it's free?"
Ryu Yeon-hwa's lips twitched as if she were desperately holding back a smile.
"It's not really free. Oh, right. Hey, give me your smartphone for a second."
I remembered the whole story behind this incident.
In the original timeline, Ryu Yeon-hwa had suffered in silence, having no idea who the blackmailer was. She had foolishly contemplated dropping out of the show before stumbling upon the decisive evidence by chance.
The drug rumor was a minor incident that should have ended quickly. Just a parasite clinging to a successful person. The only reason it blew up was Kim Du-gyeom's gaslighting.
"Here... but why my smartphone?"
I opened her blocked messages folder.
"Just in case. I want to check something."
Fortunately, her phone model saved messages from blocked numbers in a separate spam folder.
"Oh, here it is."
I turned the screen toward her.
"Look. This bastard looks like the culprit."
"The culprit...?"
"...Huh?"
Ryu Yeon-hwa stared blankly at the screen.
"Wh-What?!"
She clutched her smartphone with both hands.
"H-How did you know?"
"Know what? I just checked just in case. Is there any other reason to post stuff like that besides blackmail and extortion?"
There was no need to overcomplicate things. I wasn't Sherlock Holmes.
"Do you know who it is?"
"...Yes. I've blocked a few club promoters, but I recognize this tone. I blocked him because he kept speaking casually to me."
"Then prepare to counterattack. If he releases an article, hit back immediately."
Ryu Yeon-hwa blinked at me, hugging her phone like a sacred relic. It was a rather amusing sight.
"Just in case, back up all your text message data. Someone might delete it while you're asleep."
"Yes. Thank you."
"Sure. Good luck."
"...Wait!" Ryu Yeon-hwa stopped me.
"Why are you helping me? And for free, at that."
"Just think of it as my hobby."
It was a reward for her trust. And it was an easy fix anyway.
"Honestly, I find you more surprising. Why did you decide to trust me?"
Ryu Yeon-hwa stammered, then said something completely unexpected.
"Because you're Je-Mal-Olh."
"...What?"
I was dumbfounded. Ryu Yeon-hwa asked seriously, "I don't need to prepare anything else, right?"
"Hey. Do you think your opponent is some state-level power? He's just a low-life junkie. A dumbass who spits out threats without thinking of the consequences."
Ryu Yeon-hwa covered her mouth and laughed. She liked it when someone else swore on her behalf, probably because she couldn't bring herself to say such vulgar things.
"I'm saying you don't need to worry too much. I'm off."
I headed up the Back Mountain, waving my hand behind my back. I wasn't sure if she was watching, but the gesture felt right.
The Back Mountain. A place that had now practically become my personal training ground.
I silently looked up at the night sky. Dark clouds drifted between the swaying branches, and a pristine half-moon shone quietly. The cold air brushed against my skin.
Using this monotonous scenery as a canvas, I conjured my mental image.
Wind Ring.
The spell Kim Jeong-uk had demonstrated today.
I visualized it clearly in my mind.
He had condensed mana in the air, forming a ring of wind. It wasn't moving the wind, but transforming the mana itself.
I closed my eyes.
Whoosh...
I let my mana flow into the texture of the wind brushing my collar, unraveling it like invisible threads, letting it seep into the atmosphere.
I opened my eyes.
In the high night sky, blue particles like a galaxy shimmered. It was a stream of mana visible only to my eyes.
I focused and activated the mana.
Kim Se-jin had once said that the pinnacle of spellcraft, the path of magic, lies in the 'eyes'.
A spellcaster didn't need to move their body. They could achieve everything through mere observation.
Flash!
The sky brightened.
Responding to my will, the mana bound firmly. The particles connected to form a ring.
It was smaller and cruder than Kim Jeong-uk's, but the principle was identical. In fact, my spell formula composition might have been even more precise.
But I wasn't done.
I wanted to add an idea to the ring.
'What if I combine my magic bullets with that wind?'
The moment the imagination ended, reality manifested.
Whoosh!
The wind surged. Blue, ember-like fragments mixed within the howling gale.
Pitter-patter!
A dazzling trajectory of buckshot cut through the sky and rained down, painting the Back Mountain like fireworks. Wind and bullets entwined, exploding and raging repeatedly.
There was no pain.
It was a simulated spell formula I had intentionally set up that way.
"......."
Infinite possibilities rose in my mind. Numerous images combined and expanded into other formulas.
If I mixed Sequence into this... if I infinitely amplified the speed of the wind and magic bullets...
Suddenly, I felt the world vibrate.
I placed a hand on my heart. It was pounding hard.
I realized with absolute certainty:
If it was a spell formula I had observed with my own eyes, I could definitely replicate it. What someone else spent countless efforts to reach—or what they couldn't achieve even with endless effort—I could recreate through sheer visualization.
Yes.
This was the privilege of a genius.
Meanwhile, Kim A-rang returned to the editing room. Im Hyeong-uk spotted her in the hallway and tilted his head.
"What? You already met Ryu Yeon-hwa?"
"No. It looks like it's going to be resolved."
"Huh?"
Actually, it was already resolved. She had even seen how it was resolved.
Kim A-rang sat down wearily.
"Then where did you go?"
"The Back Mountain."
"The Back Mountain... Oh right, doesn't Seol Ha-woon go there often? How about we install some cameras? Looks like he's training or something."
Kim A-rang hesitated, then shook her head.
"...Leave him be. He needs his personal space."
"Wait, what? Personal space? Are you really Kim A-rang? You're not a Labyrinthin, are you?"
Kim A-rang narrowed her eyes.
"What's the point of filming that anyway?"
"Hey, you said you're building his genius image. Then we should film him training."
"A true genius shouldn't look like they're putting in effort."
"...Ah~ I guess that makes sense."
Kim A-rang had just seen Seol Ha-woon. She had witnessed his training—the footsteps of a real genius.
"I wonder... what if Seol Ha-woon had chosen this path from the very beginning?"
Suddenly, she recalled something Mentor Yu Yul had said.
"...What are you talking about?"
Seol Ha-woon had wasted his talent until now. He should have been in a school, not the military; in a university, not a battlefield.
"What do you think?" Kim A-rang grinned at Im Hyeong-uk. "I'm saying Seol Ha-woon is going to take first place."
A man whose very existence was dramatic, whose life was like a movie. How far would he go, and where would he reach?
Kim A-rang held exactly half a measure of certainty.
A few days later, the club promoter who couldn't extort money threw a stone out of spite.
Immediately, as if waiting:
Ryu Yeon-hwa's Drug Rumors Spreading Wildly?
Ryu Yeon-hwa Releases Blackmail Text Messages. Sues Club Promoter for Spreading False Information...
Ryu Yeon-hwa Tests Negative in Rapid Drug Test. Natural White Hair Since Birth, Never Bleached Once.
Ryu Yeon-hwa: "Clubs are just a hobby, I don't spend fortunes booking tables... I only feel sorry for causing trouble to the broadcast."
Ryu Yeon-hwa's response was like an aerial bombardment. Along with her lawsuit announcement, articles popped up like mushrooms. With the station and the guild promising active support, her rumor was put to rest.
Instead, Ryu Yeon-hwa got a new nickname: "Bamboo Shoot."
Because her latest social media post read: "I prefer bamboo forests over the noisy city."
Club rat + Bamboo forest = Bamboo Shoot.
It was pretty funny. Someone who hates noise goes to clubs that much?
I received the strange text from Ryu Yeon-hwa. I turned on the TV without replying.
The main broadcast was about to start. This was the last broadcast before the first vote tally.
"Should I just not watch it?"
The subtitle of this episode might as well be "The Downfall of Je-Mal-Olh." Kim Du-gyeom's public image was still great, and his school bullying exposure was still weeks away.
Until then, wouldn't I be the one getting blasted by the public?
"...Hmm."
I checked the online communities first.
Right on cue, the broadcast began.