One-Man Broadcast for the Gods

"Puhuk!"

The yellow-haired man took my fist square to the face, and his front teeth went flying. I looked down at the guy who had crumpled to the ground like a little girl and shook out my fist. Even I was surprised by how powerful the blow had been.

I glanced to the side.

"......"

The two remaining punks were already backing away, trying to slip off quietly. Then a message popped up.

Strength immediately drained from my entire body. That was exactly when the sound of sirens reached us from nearby.

"Fuck, it's the cops!"

The remaining punks rushed over to the fallen yellow-haired man in a panic.

"Boss, let's get out of here for now..."

"Ugh..."

"You, you little shit—consider yourself lucky!"

I didn't chase after them as they fled. Blood was pouring from my forehead and starting to blur my vision.

"Ah."

…Guess I got hit harder than I thought.

With the sirens ringing in my ears, I lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground. Someone caught my head with a soft, warm scent of skin, but I don't remember anything after that.

That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠same day.

The lounge on the first floor of the Emperor Hall was occupied by a small group of elite female students. True to the building's reputation for being luxurious and extravagant, the floor was finished with white marble and a dazzling chandelier hung from the ceiling, brightly illuminating the entire space.

Here, the girls were doing what most teenagers do—huddled together, excitedly sharing their impressions of the academy's first day. Naturally, their main topic was almost entirely about the male students' first impressions.

"Isn't Lee Dae-han from Class 1 seriously cool? He's tall, has broad shoulders, and looks like a total softie, but when he's serious it's no joke, right?"

"Totally! I think I might already be in love..."

"Ugh, you guys are so lucky. How can our class not have a single good-looking guy? The class assignment was a total disaster."

And among them, sitting on the sofa with the other girls, was the blonde Yu Hae-rin. As the daughter of the Storm Guild—ranked second in Korea—she had learned the importance of socializing from a young age. Still, whenever the conversation turned to boys, she didn't exactly feel great about it. Because...

"So what about Seo Geon-woo from Class 1? He's seriously handsome."

The freckled girl, Park Seung-hye, asked without thinking. At the mention of Seo Geon-woo, a few of the girls glanced at Yu Hae-rin and whispered quietly.

"Seung-hye, don't you know? He's already dating Hae-rin."

"Oh my!"

Some people might not know, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but the fact that Yu Hae-rin and Seo Geon-woo were in an arranged engagement was common knowledge. The every move of chaebol children tended to make the news, after all.

But Yu Hae-rin didn't seem to mind.

"I'm fine with it. We're not even dating yet."

"Oh right, you're engaged, aren't you?"

When the girls laughed, Yu Hae-rin laughed along with them. She didn't want to stir up any unnecessary trouble.

Then another rich girl, Su-jin, spoke up.

"What about Ha Yeonjun from Class 1?"

At the mention of Ha Yeonjun, everyone's eyes widened.

"What? Su-jin, do you actually have that kind of taste?"

Everyone was momentarily flustered by the sudden name, but they soon reached a common consensus about Ha Yeonjun.

"Well, sure, he's cute I guess. But as a guy, he doesn't really have any appeal, does he?"

No appeal as a man. That was the conclusion the girls had reached. Yu Hae-rin also knew a bit about Ha Yeonjun. But just like water and oil don't mix, her assessment of him was simply 'no interest' ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or 'no reason to get involved.' Having grown up as a chaebol daughter, Yu Hae-rin had always played with kids on her level. It wasn't that she deliberately chose to—it was just that otherwise people would keep watching her, and that always made things uncomfortable for her.

"Everyone, quiet for a second!"

At that moment, Kim Jeong-a, who had been quietly watching TV nearby, shouted. She turned up the volume, and an urgent news broadcast came on. Yu Hae-rin also turned her gaze toward the screen.

At the mention of an evil spirit, the girls perked up their ears.

"Last time it was Seoul, now Busan? Are they seriously insane?"

Evil spirits—the core of malice that appeared in the world we lived in, not in rifts, shaking the peace. These evil spirits were showing up more and more frequently across South Korea.

*

When I opened my eyes, I was lying in a bed in the dormitory. The sound of sirens still seemed to be ringing in my ears. I slowly sat up. My whole body ached with dull pain, but strangely, none of the wounds that should have been there were visible.

Yesterday's events... they weren't a dream, were they?

My fist was still trembling. The excitement of having fought someone—not in a spar, but a real fight—still lingered. And the female narration currently echoing in my head was proof of that.

Of course... it wasn't a dream. But a daily mission? What the hell was this?

I quickly tapped the daily mission message to check it.

"First punch...?"

But what shocked me wasn't the content of the mission—it was something else.

"Death if the daily mission isn't completed?"

This was completely different from the previous . Unlike the qualification review that had no penalty, this new came with an excessive penalty of death upon failure.

If this penalty was real, then I...

That was when laughter rang out.

A raspy male voice suddenly echoed inside the otherwise empty room. When I turned around toward the sound, I couldn't believe my eyes.

That was a monster... no, a mabul!

"Hwaaaaaah!"

I screamed and fell off the bed. How could a mabul be here? No, it didn't feel quite like a mabul. The thing floating in the corner of the room with its white wings spread had a massive cannon-like camera attached to its forehead and was staring at me with red, creepy eyes. It had a pale face with a bluish tint and was wearing what looked like a white school uniform, which only doubled its intimidating presence. It looked like a thug with a regent haircut.

The creature spoke.

"A-an angel...?"

The creature descended from the ceiling and sat on the bed. It certainly didn't look like it intended to harm me. And above all, I'd never heard of a mabul that spoke Korean... Plus, the 'angel's halo' floating above its head seemed to prove its words.

Gulp.

When I swallowed, the creature began zooming in with the camera on its forehead. Honestly, everything that had happened so far was clearly beyond the realm of normal humans. That was when the corners of its mouth twitched upward.

Cheon-gye TV. It was the company name that had been catching my eye ever since the first window appeared. So this guy was an employee there...

Lens pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket and showed it to me.

"One-man broadcast for the gods..."

I had vaguely guessed this part. The administrator had mentioned that gods also enjoyed internet broadcasts like humans, and that their main content was watching every move humans made. Ha, so that was actually true... Now I had no choice but to believe it.

I checked the contents written on the parchment. Among the densely packed text, the large letters reading Contract and my signature written in red stood out clearly.

…I didn't even remember when I wrote it.

Lens spoke again.

"Huh?"

The atmosphere suddenly changed. Lens leaned his face in close, eyes full of curiosity.

Lens tapped my forehead lightly. A special human, huh...

But I was only confused.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm completely ordinary. I haven't exactly lived a very interesting life."

"Maybe the gods got the wrong address?"

At the truth, Lens nodded as if disappointed. But soon a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"What do you mean by that?"

At the same time, the corners of Lens's mouth curled up into a grin. The atmosphere had completely changed in an instant. I held my breath and focused on his next words.