An Ordinary Day (2)
"...What kind of bullshit is this talk about him leaving the show?"
In the editing room hallway, Kim A-rang snapped at Im Hyeong-uk. Im Hyeong-uk scratched the back of his neck.
"Come on, look at the situation. There's military violence, school violence..."
"So what? Did he fucking kill someone?"
"...Well, he probably did. He was a soldier in the special forces."
"Are you playing word games with me right now?"
Im Hyeong-uk let out a dry chuckle.
She's incredibly touchy. The veins on her neck are practically popping.
"...Fine. At this rate, he'll probably get eliminated during the first round of voting anyway. Even if we kick him off now, it'll just ruin the immersion for the World Labyrinth. It's better to just keep him on, for better or worse."
Kim A-rang bit her lip. Im Hyeong-uk tsked.
"But get a grip, Kim A-rang. You were the one who kicked Lee Jin-woo off last season when rumors of his school bullying started circulating."
"..."
What a shitty situation.
Yoon Sa-hyeok's words threatened to creep back into her mind. If the first picture we draw goes awry, the disappointment will be quite immense...
"I know. I'm just saying that if it really turns out to be serious, it won't be too late to kick him off then."
Kim A-rang brushed past Im Hyeong-uk.
"Yeah, yeah. Watch your blood pressure."
"Ugh, seriously..."
Was he mocking her? Kim A-rang bit her lip and rounded the corner of the hallway. Just then, a woman was standing right in front of her.
"Whoa, you scared me. Ji-woo?"
Seo Ji-woo. She nodded at Kim A-rang.
"I heard I had a separate shooting schedule, so I came."
"...The shoot is going to be delayed for a bit."
Everything was on hold. Seol Ha-woon was ranked around 10th to 20th, but his screen time in the next labyrinth was massive.
The next chapter was supposed to be around the top 10.
Seo Ji-woo asked, "Is that person leaving the show?"
"...Who, Seol Ha-woon?"
"Yes."
"We haven't even properly fact-checked yet. We'll decide after we do all that..."
Even if Seol Ha-woon really was that kind of person, they had to delay it as much as possible. They couldn't let it ruin Kang Hyun's narrative arc.
Scrapping the perfect scenario of the World Labyrinth without even writing it would be a loss not just for Labyrinth Exploration NaN, but for the entire country.
"Sigh. What am I even telling you this for? Go get some rest."
Kim A-rang massaged her temples and left the lobby. Seo Ji-woo watched her retreating back and sighed.
"...Seol Ha-woon."
Seo Ji-woo pulled out her smartphone. She frowned as she looked at the portal sites flooded with "Kill Seol Ha-woon" posts.
Was he really that kind of person? A bad person who hurt others without a second thought?
'I'll pretend to be a bit interested in you. You just keep doing what you're doing. Right now is perfect. Let's make our debut together, okay?'
She had hated Seol Ha-woon's face when he made that cowardly proposal, but...
"Ugh. I don't know."
Seo Ji-woo started to draft a text message asking if he was okay, but stopped.
If you want to debut, survive on your own~
The next day, noon. The Back Mountain.
I was meditating. Right now, mental management was crucial. I needed to keep electronic devices as far away as possible—
"Are you alright?"
A voice came from somewhere. Actually, I had known he was there from the start.
Lee Jun-ho was perched on a light tree branch above.
I looked up at him and frowned.
"Are you mocking me?"
"Come on. Mocking you? I survived thanks to you."
"At least you know. I saw you got an A+."
At the end of every week, performance evaluations were posted on the Labyrinth Exploration NaN gallery.
They weren't official, just written by users, but Lee Jun-ho got an A+.
"You got an S, Hyung."
"...Though it had '(including controversy)' in parentheses right after."
"Thanks to you, I didn't get labeled as a crazy bastard."
In the mentor evaluation of the Situation Labyrinth, thanks to my comment about considering wiretapping, Lee Jun-ho had suffered less damage to his image. In fact, it had actually improved.
"But. Did you really beat those kids up at school?"
"Yeah."
I nodded readily. Lee Jun-ho tilted his head.
"Why?"
"Because those bullies were pieces of shit, so I bullied them back."
I've always had a bit of a nasty streak.
If you don't want to be on the receiving end, you shouldn't do it to others.
"...Ah."
Lee Jun-ho smiled as if he understood.
With a strange grunt, he leaped down from the tree and offered me something. It was a cigarette.
"Smoke it yourself."
"...What? You weren't a smoker?"
"I quit."
Lee Jun-ho put the cigarette between his lips. Chssssst. He lit it using the friction of his sword and scabbard, then spoke.
"Then... did Kim Du-gyeom bully someone?"
"Quite severely."
There was no reason to hide Kim Du-gyeom's past. Whether he believed it or not was up to him.
"...Really? How did you find out?"
Lee Jun-ho exhaled smoke.
"Have you checked, Hyung? You're currently ranked 40th. In the individual profile voting."
"...I was 20th."
"No. 40th."
"Like I said, I was 20th."
"I'm telling you, you're 40th."
"And I'm telling you, I was originally 20th."
Lee Jun-ho blinked, then nodded.
"Ah~ you were 20th before? You dropped a lot. The cutoff for the first round of voting is 50th. You're barely hanging on."
"...This punk."
Was it because he was always 1st or 2nd? He probably didn't even think about the lower ranks.
Well, I'd probably be the same in his shoes.
Lee Jun-ho smirked.
"Honestly, I don't like it. You have to stay until I can defeat you myself."
Then he inhaled the cigarette smoke deep into his lungs.
"Defeat who?"
Did he suddenly get a case of eighth-grader syndrome?
"Hmm..."
Lee Jun-ho seemed lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly chuckled and nodded.
"Well, then. Should I go check for myself? Since I did receive some help from you."
"Check?"
"Yes. I'm off."
Lee Jun-ho turned around. As he walked down with long, striding steps, his loose training robes fluttered and billowed.
"What is up with that guy?"
He was quite different compared to before the regression.
Did he actually take my advice to 'acknowledge yourself' seriously?
...I was just saying whatever came to mind.
In the cafeteria of the NaN facility, Im Hae-jun was eating his meal while glaring at someone.
It was Kim Du-gyeom. Kim Du-gyeom, who had piled his plate with spaghetti, five slices of pizza, and nearly forty buffalo wings.
"...Hyun-hyung."
"What."
"Don't you find him suspicious?"
"Who."
"Kim Du-gyeom."
Im Hae-jun's radar was picking up something sinister from Kim Du-gyeom. It was a radar he had developed since childhood. Having dealt with so many people trying to use him, he had a radar for filtering out those types.
"What are you suspicious of?"
"A truly good person doesn't take that many buffalo wings when the quantity is limited."
Im Hae-jun looked at his own tray. There were only eight buffalo wings.
They had run out.
It wasn't a supply shortage.
No matter how much they prepared, there were just too many heavy eaters. Even the skinny Yoon Hwa-rim ate a whole pizza and twenty buffalo wings.
"Wow, Seo Ji-woo... that's just too much. Every time I see something like that, I completely lose respect."
Im Hae-jun was appalled by the state of Seo Ji-woo's tray.
She had nearly sixty buffalo wings. Why was there an elephant in the cafeteria?
"Isn't that way too selfish?"
"They'll make more."
"But it takes time! Time! I'm hungry right now!"
If he waited, training would be pushed back, and he'd just get even sleepier from the food coma.
"But why suspect him over something like that?"
"What do you mean why? Ha-woon Ssaboo is currently getting canceled!"
"...Canceled?"
Kang Hyun asked while eating his spaghetti.
"What? You don't even know what's going on?"
"What is it."
Im Hae-jun looked at him with a betrayed expression. Kang Hyun shrugged.
"Whatever it is, he'll handle it on his own. People on the internet were saying that worrying about Je-Mal-Olh is completely useless."
Just then, the cafeteria doors swung wide open. A man pushed them open with both hands.
Lee Jun-ho walked in, his wide training robes billowing.
Today, of all days, he had a massive grin on his face.
"Lee Jun-ho must really hate Ssaboo."
The tension between Seol Ha-woon and Lee Jun-ho had always been strange.
Im Hae-jun's theory was that it was probably because of Seo Ji-woo. An invisible love triangle between the three of them. Im Hae-jun just knew.
"Hey."
Suddenly, Lee Jun-ho stood in front of Kim Du-gyeom.
"Yeah?"
Kim Du-gyeom asked. Lee Jun-ho smiled. A grin so wide it almost reached his ears.
Was he going to compliment him or something?
"Why is your face like that?"
"...Huh?"
Im Hae-jun tilted his head, and Lee Jun-ho leaned his body forward.
Im Hae-jun watched them with pouting eyes.
"I asked why your face is like that."
"Oh... No. I'm fine."
"No. I didn't ask if you were fine."
The corners of Lee Jun-ho's mouth, which had looked like they were offering comfort, twitched strangely. He reached out and grabbed the tray with a death grip.
"I asked why your fucking face looks like that, you motherfucker!"
A roar that echoed through the entire cafeteria. Food erupted into the air.
Lee Jun-ho flipped the tray right over Kim Du-gyeom's face.
Everyone watching gasped, Im Hae-jun's jaw dropped, and spaghetti and buffalo wings flew through the air, splatting and sticking to Kim Du-gyeom's upper body.
"Whoa, whoa!"
"What are you doing?!"
"What-What's going on?!"
While the other explorers jumped up in shock, Lee Jun-ho only stared intently at Kim Du-gyeom's face.
Was it because he was caught off guard?
Or because it was so sudden?
His expression faltered.
For a split second, the raw face behind the mask was laid bare.
"...Fuck."
Kim Du-gyeom muttered a curse under his breath.
A deep smirk spread across Lee Jun-ho's face.
"Fuck?"
Kim Du-gyeom quickly tried to control his expression, realizing his mistake, but it was already too late.
"He was right. You're wearing a fucking mask, aren't you? Get up."
Lee Jun-ho reached out and grabbed Kim Du-gyeom by the collar.
"Get up, you bastard."
"Hey, Lee Jun-ho!"
Ryu Yeon-hwa stepped in to stop Lee Jun-ho, who was trying to force him up.
"Are you crazy? Why are you suddenly doing this?"
She grabbed Lee Jun-ho's arm.
"...Let go."
Lee Jun-ho warned her coldly. His dry eyes sharpened like blades.
Ryu Yeon-hwa snapped back, equally angry. "And if I don't?"
"..."
Lee Jun-ho froze. He glared intently at Ryu Yeon-hwa's face. He scrutinized every tiny ripple of emotion on her face.
"I've hated that look in your eyes for a long time. Am I beneath you?"
Ryu Yeon-hwa sighed.
"Jun-ho. That's what we call a victim mentality."
"...Victim mentality?"
Lee Jun-ho laughed. His eyes curved into deep crescents.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
Seo Ji-woo quickly stood up. Lee Jun-ho got like this when he was absolutely pissed. There was no one more dangerous than a guy who smirks when he's angry.
"What the hell is wrong with you guys again?"
Seo Ji-woo tried to break them up, but—
"Move."
"Oof!"
Lee Jun-ho shoved Seo Ji-woo aside. Seo Ji-woo spun like a top and fell flat on her butt.
"You, follow me."
At Lee Jun-ho's gesture, Ryu Yeon-hwa readily nodded.
"Ah, is that bastard seriously insane?!"
Seo Ji-woo rushed at them again.
"Guys, stop!"
"Please stop!"
Not just Seo Ji-woo, but Yoon Hwa-rim, Jo Woon, Kim Dong-ha, and others... even people from outside the cafeteria ran in to break them up.
Im Hae-jun glanced over.
Why were they suddenly fighting among themselves?
Well, they say you can map the currents of the ocean, but you can never map the human heart.
"Hyun-hyung. Shouldn't we stop them?"
"...They'll handle it on their own."
Kang Hyun remained perfectly calm.
"Are you some kind of mountain hermit? Always saying everything will handle itself... Hyung, but don't you think Jun-ho-hyung has changed a bit?"
Lee Jun-ho's character had subtly shifted.
In the recent broadcast, there were a lot of compliments calling him a 'real man'. Was he planning to completely lean into that concept?
"Yeah. He changed."
Kang Hyun had already finished his tray. A bad feeling flashed through Im Hae-jun's mind.
Im Hae-jun quickly looked at his own tray.
"...Ah! You ate mine!"
"No, I didn't."
"What do you mean 'no'? One of my buffalo wings is missing!"
"..."
Kang Hyun quickly got up from his seat.
"Seriously! You're robbing a beggar!"
Furious, Im Hae-jun was about to chase after him when he spotted Seo Ji-woo's tray. It was piled high with buffalo wings.
It looked like their fight was going to take a while to end.
Sneakily transferring Seo Ji-woo's buffalo wings to his own tray, Im Hae-jun pretended nothing had happened, looking at his smartphone while gnawing on a wing.
"...Huh?"
He spotted a post on a community forum.
"Whoa?!"
A new post starting with a title like this:
Im Hae-jun's eyes widened as they scanned the screen.