An Ordinary Day, Part 4
Kim Du-gyeom wrote the post on his social media. He had panicked for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and responded.
The exposure was the work of just one bastard. He could easily guess who it was.
Excluding that goddamn piece of trash, the rest of them had taken his money, so they would keep their mouths shut.
In other words, as long as I bury this one bastard, I win...
With that thought in mind, Kim Du-gyeom lied. He lied to his guild manager, to his president, to the production crew of Labyrinth Exploration NaN, and to the one person he absolutely should not have lied to:
"So, Kim Du-gyeom. You're saying you've never bullied this friend of yours?"
Yoon Sa-hyeok, the main PD.
"Yes..."
Kim Du-gyeom nodded with a sorrowful expression.
"There's no one else who would expose me besides him. He's probably just... jealous of me."
Yoon Sa-hyeok stared intently at Kim Du-gyeom.
"I'll ask you one more time."
Thud. He set a cup of mix coffee down in front of Kim Du-gyeom. The dark brown surface rippled.
"Kim Du-gyeom."
"...Yes."
Kim Du-gyeom met Yoon Sa-hyeok's eyes. His pupils were excessively dark.
A darkness so profound that not even the patterns of his irises were visible. Could a human's eyes really be this deep?
"You have never bullied this friend?"
Why the fuck does he keep asking if I bullied him? I said I didn't. If I say I didn't, just fucking believe me.
"...Yes."
At that, Yoon Sa-hyeok let out a sigh. *Tap. Tap.* He tapped the table a few times, then placed his smartphone on it.
"I'm sorry about this. Since this leak is the production crew's fault, you're free to take legal action if you wish."
"What?"
Kim Du-gyeom blinked. What kind of bullshit was he suddenly spouting?
Yoon Sa-hyeok took a sip of his mix coffee and tapped his smartphone screen.
—That fucking piece of shit!
At the sudden burst of profanity, Kim Du-gyeom's shoulders flinched.
—I should just kill him, that motherfucking bastard. Where does that fucking cripple think he's acting up? I should just slit his throat...
His eyes widened.
—That fucking bastard with a broken leg, fucking piece of shit, motherfucker, seriously!
It was a voice all too familiar to Kim Du-gyeom.
His own voice.
"Th-this... what kind of voice synthesis is this? I heard AI has gotten really advanced lately..."
The corners of his mouth trembled violently as he forced the words out.
"When you went in as a scout."
Yoon Sa-hyeok calmly continued.
"There were no cameras, but it seems it was recorded."
"...What? No, no, this is..."
Kim Du-gyeom hastily looked at the smartphone screen.
It wasn't just an audio file; it was a video already uploaded to YouTube. The view count was climbing in real-time, and comments were pouring in.
"N-no. This, uh, what?!"
"It's our fault. Since it's a recording that no one but the production crew could have obtained, someone on the staff must have leaked it."
Yoon Sa-hyeok stared straight at Kim Du-gyeom.
"Personally, I'm sorry. I suppose one of our staff members was disappointed. Seeing you lie like that."
"No, no! You can't do this, this isn't right!"
Kim Du-gyeom screamed as if having a fit. The desk rattled, spilling the mix coffee.
Yoon Sa-hyeok asked back quietly.
"And why is that?"
"Y-you have to protect the cast! That's the production crew's duty. Even if there were no c-cameras, leaking this is... P-please, even now, just announce that this is an AI fabrication—"
"The production crew's duty is to produce an explorer chosen by the public."
Yoon Sa-hyeok crushed his paper cup.
"I'm sorry, but we don't have any clause requiring us to protect mere contestants."
—Fuck. Why are there so many people here?
The recording was still playing. Kim Du-gyeom blankly hung his head.
"Make your own decision."
Yoon Sa-hyeok stood up.
"If you want to hold out until the first tally, feel free. I won't stop you."
It sounded like he was respecting Kim Du-gyeom's choice, but his dry, desolate gaze made it clear: No matter what you do, you're finished.
Yoon Sa-hyeok left, leaving Kim Du-gyeom alone in the room.
In the hallway, Kim A-rang and four or five writers were waiting. Kim A-rang approached him first.
"...I had no idea Du-gyeom was that kind of person. But look at this, the YouTube views are already at 330,000. It's only been uploaded for about ten minutes."
"Ratings will probably go up next week."
"Huh? No, more importantly, shouldn't we find out who actually leaked this?"
"Leave it."
"Aaaaargh!"
Some beast roared from inside. It was Kim Du-gyeom's scream of rage.
Kim A-rang flinched and scratched the back of her neck.
"Well... sigh. PD Yoon."
"What is it?"
"What would have been the best outcome? For us, and for Kim Du-gyeom."
"The best outcome would have been not leaving behind such a past in the first place."
Yoon Sa-hyeok replied curtly as he prepared another mix coffee.
"I don't understand people who waste their past. It's the only thing in this world that can never be changed."
He gestured with his chin toward the room where Kim Du-gyeom was.
"Well, keep up the good work."
It was his way of telling her to handle the rest.
"...Yes."
Just as Yoon Sa-hyeok was about to leave, Im Hyeong-uk appeared from around the corner of the hallway and bowed deeply.
"Great work, sir!"
"Get back to work."
"Yes, sir."
As if taking over Yoon Sa-hyeok's shift, Im Hyeong-uk approached.
"...Ah, PD Kim, you're all here. I still have no idea what the hell is going on. Haha. Shit."
He laughed in disbelief.
"But listen carefully. We absolutely have to kick him off the show. The exposure post is just the tip of the iceberg. I've already been contacted by a second and third victim."
Im Hyeong-uk had an unnecessarily wide network. Because of this, most rumors in the explorer industry went through him before any articles were even published.
"The sexual assault is a fact, too. This bastard Kim Du-gyeom has done it more than once or twice. He paid them off to hush—"
"Shh."
Kim A-rang placed a finger over her lips.
"He's still inside."
"...Oh, really?"
Thud—
Just then, the sound of something striking the floor echoed.
Im Hyeong-uk turned toward the sound and gasped. He took a step back, looking like a thief caught red-handed.
It was Seol Ha-woon.
*Thud. Thud.*
With the hem of his coat fluttering, limping more heavily than usual today, he approached and gave a polite nod to Im Hyeong-uk and Kim A-rang. Im Hyeong-uk quickly nudged Kim A-rang's back.
"...What brings you here?"
Kim A-rang faced Seol Ha-woon.
"By any chance,"
Seol Ha-woon asked politely.
"if there are no separate filming schedules, would it be alright if I took two or three days off?"
A polite request. Kim A-rang and Im Hyeong-uk were slightly surprised. Im Hyeong-uk, in particular, had expected him to say something smug like, *'Serves you right for coddling Kim Du-gyeom.'*
"...Yes. Even if there were schedules, we'd have to cancel them anyway. Go ahead, it's fine. But only three days, starting today."
"Understood. Thank you."
Seol Ha-woon turned around.
The writers watched his limping figure walk away with pitying eyes.
"A vacation... I thought his mental state was so solid that even a knife couldn't scratch it. I guess this whole ordeal has been really hard on him."
The writers began to chatter among themselves about Seol Ha-woon.
"It's probably because... his past and personal life were exposed to the public, right? Someone like him would hate being pitied the most."
An orphan from an orphanage. His grandmother passed away when he was five, and he was sent to an orphanage.
Becoming a soldier the moment he reached adulthood, recognized for his abilities by the country, only to lose everything in the end—Seol Ha-woon.
His life was filled with misfortune.
"He must have been deeply hurt, right?"
Someone muttered. Kim A-rang frowned. She whipped around to face them and spoke pragmatically.
"If he were that fragile, he wouldn't have come on the show in the first place."
He had revealed himself to the world because he had something he wanted, a goal he wished to achieve. Therefore, pity was a useless emotion. There was nothing more meaningless than pitying others. They should worry about themselves instead.
"The public will put a price tag on his misfortune. Our job is simply to help him sell it for the highest price possible."
Kim A-rang gestured to the writers.
"Go back to work, everyone. We need to keep things running smoothly."
I left the Labyrinth Exploration NaN dorms and sat down at a bus stop.
Wow, so everything Kim Du-gyeom did was just an act??
This motherfucker deserves an Oscar, holy shit lol
Seol Ha-woon is officially re-evaluated. Absolute legend.
Du-gyeom, I won't be seeing you off. Get lost.
Did TruthSpeaker foresee even this?
As I waited for the bus while scrolling through the comments, *rustle!* The bushes shook, and a person emerged to sit down next to me.
"Where are you going?"
It was Seo Ji-woo. I slipped my smartphone into my pocket.
"Vacation."
"...Whew. You're not leaving the show, right?"
"Why would I leave? It's over."
It was over. Kim Du-gyeom was ruined, and I had survived.
Yet, I felt strange. I wasn't entirely happy; rather, I felt somewhat melancholy.
It was unexpected help.
Kim Jun-seok. A subordinate who hadn't seemed very reliable because of his age and poor physical condition.
Lee Do-hyeon. An orphanage younger brother whose youthful face I could barely recall, and whose voice I couldn't even remember.
Am I really someone who deserves this kind of help from them? Do I even have the right to receive it?
"...You know, I've been thinking," Seo Ji-woo suddenly said, rubbing her hands together.
"What you said. It didn't sound too bad."
"What did I say?"
"What? You don't even remember your own words?"
Her response immediately jogged my memory. I calmly brushed my hair back.
"...Ah. That? My mind's a bit of a mess right now."
"Well, it's understandable that you're distracted."
"So?"
I asked her back. Seo Ji-woo stared at the road, smacking her lips, before nodding as if she had made up her mind.
"Let's do the dating show concept."
Excuse me?
I was taken aback, but I didn't let it show.
"It feels a bit weird, like we're deceiving the viewers, but in the end, it's all about entertainment, right?"
She meant we should fake a romance.
What is wrong with her?
But if I pushed her away here, it would ruin my concept.
Perhaps Seo Ji-woo suspects me. She's throwing this proposal out precisely because she doubts me.
If I refuse, I lose.
"I'd be grateful, of course."
"Right? Then, shh."
Seo Ji-woo placed a finger over her lips. Then she gestured with her eyes. Before I knew it, a camera had approached.
Seo Ji-woo, swinging her legs like a child, opened her mouth.
"Are you okay?"
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Camera, action. The acting began.
I adjusted my tone as well.
"...None of your business."
"Well, I guess it really isn't my business."
Seo Ji-woo shrugged. She was a good actress.
She fidgeted with her fingers and muttered.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For not... contacting you."
As she spoke, she swept her hair back. She couldn't keep still, looking genuinely embarrassed. It wasn't... acting; it was real. Sweat was breaking out on her palms.
"I guess... I was scared too. I couldn't trust you. I kept thinking you wouldn't be that kind of person, but..."
Even if it was acting, the sheer embarrassment of saying such things made her performance incredibly realistic.
"...It's fine."
I told her.
"I'm used to it."
Because I'm used to playing the villain...
Conveniently, the bus arrived. I quickly stood up from the bench. Seo Ji-woo grabbed the edge of my sleeve with her fingers.
"When do you plan on coming back?"
"Three days, maybe two."
"What are you going to do?"
"Just... there's something I'm a bit anxious about."
The bus stopped in front of me. Only then did Seo Ji-woo let go of me, staring at me until the doors closed. I didn't avoid her gaze either.
...What an absolute shitshow.
I sat in the very back row of the bus.
Outside the window, the VJ was filming me, and Seo Ji-woo waved her hand. She mouthed the words, 'Goodbye.'
*Vrooooom.*
The bus slowly pulled away.
Once they were out of sight, I closed my eyes. I gritted my teeth. Leaning my head back, I massaged my throbbing temples.
"...She really is something else."
As expected of Seo Ji-hyuk's sister.
Yet another headache had been added to my plate.