The Constellation's Game [Laika]

The meeting moved along at a brisk clip.

With a mountain of candidates to review, everyone was consciously pushing decisions through as fast as they could.

In any case, aside from the first applicant, Kang ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Min-woo, the profiles of more than ten applicants flew past in the blink of an eye.

But the person now appearing on the screen was not someone who could be brushed aside so easily.

From the PDs' perspective, she was a genuinely fascinating applicant.

Skin so pale it bordered on translucent, and cat-like eyes tilted up in permanent irritation.

In the photo, she radiated a sharp, cutting aura — as if she might tear the viewer apart at any moment.

"Aesculap? Why on earth is the pill-princess of that pharma dynasty applying here?"

Seyeon wore a puzzled expression as she spun her pen between her fingers, muttering to herself.

Aesculap — a corporate giant with a near-monopoly on the Korean potion market.

In other words, she came from a background that gave her no reason whatsoever to throw herself into a muddy survival variety show and compete for the mentors' approval.

And unlike Kang Min-woo, Kang So-hee's skills were the real deal, too.

"She's famous for being a genius, so there's hardly any need to verify her ability……."

Jungmin, listening to her muttering, nodded along and picked up where she left off.

"Right?"

"So why is she even applying? A hobby? Or did she fight with her dad and run away from home?"

"Hard to say. Her application essay just says she wants to 'gain experience' — reads like something she wrote without really meaning it."

Jungmin shrugged and thought to himself.

'Whatever her reason is, it doesn't really matter. What matters is the character.'

The glamorous banner of chaebol family's youngest daughter.

That alone was enough to guarantee buzz, at least on paper.

So if some distinctive element happened to attach itself to that……

"Hmmm."

While he was mulling it over, one of the assistant directors who had been sitting quietly spoke up carefully.

"About Kang So-hee, though — her personality is, um…… pretty intense. I was reading the Awakener Wiki, and she's got quite a few controversies."

"The Awakener Wiki? Her profile's famous enough to be on there?"

"Well, she's a chaebol princess, and her looks don't hurt……."

"Hmm. Princess syndrome? Something like that?"

"Not that — if anything, she's more feral. Even people inside Aesculap apparently go out of their way to avoid running into her……."

"Oho. Sounds like a personality-controversy bomb waiting to go off."

Having heard all this, Jungmin sketched a rough picture ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in his head.

'A third-generation chaebol ice queen with a broken personality, huh……. Whether that's actually true we'd have to see, but it's plenty interesting either way.'

If Kang Min-woo was the firewood that would make the genuine article shine, then couldn't Kang So-hee serve as the perfect trigger for trouble among the participants?

'If everyone's just sweetness and light, going "hyung! dongsaeng!" at each other, who the hell wants to watch a reality show?'

You had to unleash at least one mad dog to get its teeth into someone's hair before the broadcast would survive.

And this line of thinking, naturally, was not Jungmin's alone. In that spirit, Kang So-hee was passed with a unanimous PASS.

"Good. Let's keep it moving. We're short on time."

The meeting surged forward again.

After that, countless applicant profiles skimmed across the screen, and just as Jungmin had predicted, everything went incredibly smoothly.

The talent pool was, frankly, overwhelming — almost embarrassingly so compared to what had been projected back in the production planning stage.

A veteran from overseas mercenary work. A promising rookie armed with a letter of recommendation from an S-rank hunter. Even rookies who had awakened rare hidden classes.

Every last one of them was A-grade talent you could proudly show off anywhere.

"Oh, this one's a former trainee from Var's second team? Fundamentals will be rock solid."

"This kid placed second in last year's Academy practicals. Great physical stats."

"The Academy?"

"Yes, sir. You know, the one run by the Management Bureau."

"Ahh! Okay, move them all up. There's nothing to cut."

And then, at the very end of the meeting, the final profile appeared.

"Ha-HA."

At the sight of that familiar face, the entire production staff's expressions brightened.

Because this applicant's turn meant one thing: the long day of meetings was finally over.

"Well, this one hardly needs any discussion, does it?"

At Seyeon's question, heads shook reflexively from every corner of the room.

After all, he'd been deliberately placed in the final slot precisely because every reviewer already considered his participation a fait accompli.

The applicant named Lee Seong-hwan was the living embodiment of the word rookie.

'Even his presence is on another level, this kid.'

And in terms of talent and name recognition alike, he stood in a class apart from every other applicant.

Lee Hyunmoo himself — the Lee Hyunmoo of Silver Knights — had once publicly called him "a talent to marvel at."

'Level what, 49? Is this guy actually a rookie? This is supposed to be a hunter 180 days into the job?'

They say everyone favors their own blood — but a man of Lee Hyunmoo's stature understood exactly how much weight his words carried.

And it wasn't as if his temperament was loose enough to inflate his nephew's evaluation without cause.

'He's not a drama protagonist, for god's sake.'

In that spirit, Jungmin found himself genuinely marveling at Lee Seong-hwan's profile all over again.

Tall and well-built, with a clean, handsome face; a quiet trustworthiness radiating from his firmly pressed lips.

Even the line in his application — "I am applying to prove myself through my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠own strength, without relying on my uncle's shadow" — was the textbook standard, through and through.

The Lee Seong-hwan on the screen practically glowed.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

And so Jungmin……

'I honestly cannot understand this guy.'

Ironically, of all the applicants, Lee Seong-hwan was the one he understood least.

'The nephew of Lee Hyunmoo showing up here? It's pure nonsense.'

He was elite among elites — a man whose lifelong wealth and glory were guaranteed if he simply kept his head down and joined the Silver Knights.

Why on earth he would go looking for hardship was utterly beyond comprehension.

'Given that he wants to join some guild other than Silver Knights…… I doubt it's strategic branding for them or anything like that…….'

In any case, with everyone's unanimous approval, the grueling two-hour marathon meeting finally drew to a close.

Two hundred candidates had already been screened out through the document review.

From that pool, one hundred provisional acceptances had at last been confirmed.

Now, if no hidden gems emerged among the second-round applicants, these hundred would go on to become the show's mentee contestants as-is.

"Whew…… finally done."

As Seyeon's voice rang out formally concluding the meeting, Jungmin stretched and sank back into his chair.

'I'm too tired to even feel sleepy at this point.'

His dry, bloodshot eyes drifted unconsciously toward the screen, where the faces of the final hundred were arranged like squares on a go board.

A truly all-time-great lineup.

With this alone, the success of Hunter's School Season 3 seemed all but guaranteed.

'We picked well. No question.'

And yet Seyeon's expression as she stared at the monitor was oddly ambiguous.

Satisfaction — but behind it, half-hidden, a faint sense of something niggling at her.

Jungmin felt an inexplicable chill crawl over him at the sight……

"Hey, Lee Jungmin."

"Yes, sunbae."

And sure enough, that ominous feeling did not miss.

"The lineup is killer, no question."

Seyeon tapped the desk lightly with the end of her pen.

"But doesn't it feel a little…… too clean to you?"

Jungmin felt cold sweat trickling down his spine.

'What nonsense is this woman spouting now?'

He fired back an answer like a bullet, purely on reflex.

"If it's clean, isn't that a good thing? No one's going to cause trouble, and the skills are all verified."

"No, not that. A broadcast is supposed to have that little bit of creak and grind to it, you know? But these kids are all finished products. It feels like we've rounded up nothing but honor students off the elite track."

Honestly, Jungmin grasped what she meant in an instant.

No — more than that, he'd probably already felt the same unease himself, and simply been turning a blind eye to it.

"Here you go again."

Even in this lineup, there was already a soft touch like Kang Min-woo, and a viper like Kang So-hee.

But even they were, in the end, characters who existed within a predictable range.

What was missing was a wildcard — something unpredictable, capable of flipping the entire board and hitting the viewers square in the back of the head.

If the show were a dish, it was like being short that one sharp, pungent spice that would make the flavor truly pop.

"Two percent short. Just two percent."

Seyeon smacked her lips and murmured.

Jungmin agreed with her, but forced himself to shrug with feigned nonchalance.

"That's just a full stomach talking, sunbae. This much is more than we deserve."

"I suppose so?"

"You didn't see what happened when sunbae Yoon Jin-gu bet everything on that one reality show last year?"

"I know. I know. But what's a shame is still a shame."

"Well then, for the time left…… all we can do is pray a star falls out of the sky."

"That's actually not a bad idea."

Creeeak—

Seyeon gave a small snort of laughter, then rose from her seat and smacked Jungmin on the back.

"Good work today. Let's go get dinner. I'm picking the menu."

"Company card?"

"My own money, you brat. Come on."

As the production staff streamed out of the room, Jungmin gathered his things piece by piece.

Then, for some reason, his gaze snagged on the calendar on his desk.

He'd said it as a joke, but…… who was to say a star really couldn't fall out of the sky?

And if it did, he hoped Hunter's School 3 would open to a monster premiere — so that the year of his life they'd all poured into this pitch would finally get its due.

'Hmm.'

He was mulling it over when……

"Hey! What are you doing, not coming?"

Seyeon's sharp voice rang out from the far end of the corridor.

"Coming, coming!"

Jungmin hurriedly shouldered his bag and left the meeting room behind.

As for what came next……

He figured he'd worry about it after filling up on his sunbae's treat and getting one long, deep night's sleep.