[The Hidden Card]
DCN outdoor set in Paju, Gyeonggi-do.
Five-colored silk ribbons fluttering in the wind, intricately carved stone statues, and hundreds of candlesticks.
"Alright, standby! Audio check!"
"Camera 1, prepare to zoom in! Lighting team! Adjust the angle over there so it doesn't cast a shadow!"
True to a set that had two billion won poured into it, the scene was magnificent.
"Jimmy Jib camera, get the angle higher! Make it look grand!"
The set was buzzing with activity under the direction of PD Choi Seong-hun. Even though the first episode hadn't aired yet, rumors were already spreading within the broadcasting station that it was going to be a massive hit. With a simultaneous release confirmed on N-flix and the teaser trailer already surpassing one million views, the hype was real.
"The cast members are entering!"
At the FD's shout, the heavy gates creaked open.
Step, step.
The first to walk through the open gates was Yeonhwa-assi, a middle-aged woman dressed in a modified hanbok embroidered with flashy gold thread.
"Nice to meet you all."
Known as a "Manshin" (shaman) among the wealthy ladies of Gangnam, she wore a relaxed smile that matched her reputation.
"Ahem..."
"Why is the air like this? It's murky, so murky. It's crawling with filthy spirits."
Following her, Cheongwang Dosa, an elderly gentleman with a white-haired topknot, walked out with his hands behind his back, looking dignified. Finally, Jae-un, a young shaman with sharp eyes, appeared, his bells jingling loudly.
"Whoa, the aura is different indeed."
"Are they going to ride the blade again today?"
Exclamations erupted among the staff at the appearance of such renowned shamans. They were unconsciously overwhelmed by the flashy costumes and confident strides, even though they knew it was an illusion created by direction and lighting.
"Alright, recording starts! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"
As the slate clapped shut, Kim Sang-hun, the MC of War of the Gods, grabbed the microphone and kicked off the opening with energy.
"Those who stand on the boundary between gods and humans! The best spiritual practitioners in South Korea, who peek into fate and prophesy the future, have gathered in one place! DCN's super-large project, War of the Gods! We are raising the curtain on the second act!"
Waaaaah!
The staff clapped and cheered on cue from the assistant director. Amidst that heat, Kim Sang-hun conducted interviews with the cast.
"The production team was shocked by the supernatural powers you showed during the first shoot. Although it hasn't aired yet, we expect the reaction to be explosive. Yeonhwa-assi, how is your condition today?"
"Hoho, the General came to me in my dream last night and planted a large flag."
Yeonhwa-assi covered her mouth with her fan and continued.
"I think I'll be able to show you the efficacy of the spirits."
"The others seem well-prepared too. Are you confident?"
"Hoho, of course. Cheongwang Dosa and Jae-un are in good spirits today, but I'm no pushover either, you know?"
Starting with Yeonhwa-assi, Cheongwang Dosa and Jae-un all gave similar answers. A moment later, the interview ended.
"I'm looking forward to today's shoot as well. Right?"
"Hehe, indeed."
"Seniors, please take care of me today as well."
When the break was given before the main shoot, the three exchanged glances and smiled. They had agreed in advance to praise each other during the interviews.
"Dosa-nim, you've definitely received the divine message for today, right? I heard the set is like a maze, so it would be quite a struggle to find it on your own."
"Hehe, don't worry. I already have a map of where the flag is hidden in my head. We just have to go where the spirits lead us and pull it out, don't we?"
Just as the friendly atmosphere continued, Kim Sang-hun, who had stepped away for a moment, walked back in front of the cast.
"But you know what?"
He suddenly lowered his voice and stared into the camera in front of him.
"They say there is a new contestant who has challenged this sacred garden today."
"...Excuse me?"
"Ahem."
At Kim Sang-hun's remark, Yeonhwa-assi's fanning stopped abruptly, Cheongwang Dosa's brow twitched, and Jae-un's eyes turned fierce. Then, the three pairs of eyes turned toward each other.
'Did you know?'
But the three, who were thinking that, soon shook their heads lightly. They were in the same industry. Even if they were competitors, they had no reason to deceive each other, so they let go of their suspicions. Just then, Kim Sang-hun shouted toward the camera.
"A hidden card ambitiously recruited by the production team! Will he be able to threaten the existing powerhouses? We'll bring him out right now! Please come out!"
As the side door of the set opened with the sound effect of a grand drum, everyone's eyes turned toward it. What kind of great shaman would come out? What kind of flashy divine robes would he be wearing? But the person who opened the door and walked out was someone completely outside their expectations.
Thud, thud.
A young man in grey sweatpants with slightly baggy knees and a black hoodie. He was holding nothing but an old red fan in his hand. It was Kang Jinwoo.
"......"
Silence flowed through the set at Kang Jinwoo's appearance.
"Ah, yes! Welcome! Please introduce yourself!"
Even Kim Sang-hun, who had been briefed by the production team, seemed flustered; his hand holding the microphone was slightly off-target. Kang Jinwoo took the microphone and stared indifferently at the camera lens that had approached him.
"I'm Kang Jinwoo. I do internet broadcasting. Mom, Dad, Jina. I'm on TV."
That one sentence was all.
"I-is that it?"
"Yes."
At the short and insincere introduction, Kim Sang-hun tried to manage the situation with a forced laugh.
"Haha, it seems our new challenger is very nervous."
"I'm not."
But the spilled atmosphere was in a state that could not be managed at all.
Clack.
"Mr. PD."
Yeonhwa-assi folded her fan and glared at the production team behind the camera.
"Are you trying to play a joke on us right now?"
"Ah, ma'am. That's not it..."
"Where did you bring some rootless entertainer to share a table with us? The spirits are angry, and they're telling me to get up and leave right now!"
At her scolding, Cheongwang Dosa also clicked his tongue.
"The class is dropping. It's not like serving the gods is a game. Internet broadcasting... he must look down on shamanism."
As the two shamans reprimanded him, the atmosphere on set froze rapidly.
"Wait."
At that moment, the young shaman Jae-un couldn't hold back his temper and stepped forward.
"Internet broadcasting? A guy who just does clown acts, where do you think you are, crawling in here?"
Jae-un, who approached right in front of Kang Jinwoo while shaking his bells, frowned.
"Hey, the smell is reeking. You're not a body that has received a god; you're just full of the smell of minor spirits. Where are your roots? Who is your spirit mother? Which mountain did you roll out of?"
Jae-un circled Kang Jinwoo with exaggerated gestures as if to suppress him.
"Tell me! Who is your master? What kind of god do you serve?"
At Jae-un's continuous questions, the surrounding staff murmured. They had expressions asking what that meant. In fact, in the shaman industry, a pedigree is like a license. And who their master is and what god they serve determines their hierarchy. But there was no way Kang Jinwoo would have such things.
"I don't have a master. I do serve someone, but it's a bit complicated. Should I say it's a boss-employee relationship?"
"What?"
"I am Kang Jinwoo, who serves a mother without a mother."
"...A properly crazy guy has come."
Jae-un shook the bells in his hand roughly toward Kang Jinwoo's face.
Jingle! Jingle! Jingle!
Ear-piercing noise. Insulting remarks.
"You're not someone to be looked at by someone who dares to carry minor spirits around. Get lost! Before you bring bad luck."
Meanwhile, the staff watching held their breath. They had expected Kang Jinwoo to be intimidated by Jae-un's momentum or to get angry and start a fight. But.
"Pfft."
What burst out of Kang Jinwoo's mouth was a clear sneer.
"...What? Are you laughing now?"
At the completely unexpected reaction, Jae-un's face turned red.
"No, I was just wondering how great a person you serve."
"Ha! Your eyes haven't opened yet, have they? Can't you see the Blade General behind me? How dare you wag your tongue!"
"Really? From what I see, not at all."
"Wh-what!"
"You're just a minor spirit trying to get some sacrificial food, acting like a general and expecting me to bow down. If your eyes are crooked, you should go to an ophthalmologist, so why are you a shaman? It's embarrassing."
"Th-this bastard!"
The moment Jae-un, enraged by Kang Jinwoo's mockery, clenched his fist and raised his hand.
"Alright, alright! Please calm down!"
MC Kim Sang-hun hurriedly blocked the space between the two.
"It's your first time meeting, so there seems to be a misunderstanding! Jae-un, please soothe the spirits' anger. Kang Jinwoo, your words were also a bit excessive. Today's mission is ready! Isn't it a matter of proving it with skill?"
Jae-un glanced at the camera, then lowered his hand while huffing.
"Fine. Skill? I'll clearly expose how shallow your bottom line is. Don't come begging for your life then."
Jae-un glared at Kang Jinwoo with contempt and returned to his spot. Then, Yeonhwa-assi and Cheongwang Dosa also crossed their arms and treated Kang Jinwoo like an invisible person. But Kang Jinwoo yawned nonchalantly in that hostile air.
"Mister, when do we start?"
A face where not a shred of tension could be found.
'...Is he crazy?'
At Kang Jinwoo's appearance, Kim Sang-hun swallowed the thought of what kind of crazy guy this was and gripped the microphone.
"There's no need to drag it out, right? Alright, I will reveal the first mission!"
As the curtain at the back of the set was pulled back in time with Kim Sang-hun's shout, a huge abandoned house covered in gloomy fog appeared, and at the same time, the large screens on both sides of the set turned on. It was a camera screen showing the inside of the abandoned house.
"It's a set specially produced by the production team!"
With Kim Sang-hun's explanation, the screen switched. Hallways tangled like a maze, stairs that looked like they would creak, and tattered curtains hanging from every broken window. The abandoned house on the screen was so elaborate that it was hard to believe it was a set.
"First mission, find the soul! The production team has hidden a flag inside that complex abandoned house. I'll tell you just in case, our War of the Gods is a 100% real survival show with no prior information or scripts! Only your miraculous divine power will be the only compass to find the flag!"
Of course, Kang Jinwoo smirked as he looked at the set the production team had ambitiously prepared.
'Real survival, huh.'
That flashy abandoned house set was just a well-decorated stage, and those fakes must already know the location of the flag. And the picture of him, knowing nothing, wandering around between them and becoming a laughingstock. That was the 'real' the production team wanted.
"Alright, we will enter in order! The time limit is 30 minutes!"
As the production team gave the signal to start, Yeonhwa-assi, Cheongwang Dosa, and Jae-un headed to the entrance of the abandoned house with determined expressions. Kang Jinwoo also followed the three.
-Hmm, I can feel the energy over there.
-The General is opening the way for us.
As soon as the three entered the entrance, they moved toward the direction where the flag was hidden without hesitation, as if they had promised to do so. The production team watching the monitor smiled with satisfaction at that sight.
"Good, the footage is coming out."
"They are veterans indeed. The acting is very natural."
The perfect movement and appropriate acting, moving according to the scripted plan, didn't have a single cut to throw away. But then, a staff member pointed to another monitor.
"But what is that guy doing?"
At the staff member's words, the eyes of PD Choi Seong-hun and the production team turned there all at once. On the screen, Kang Jinwoo was visible, standing blankly at the entrance of the abandoned house as if nailed there, rather than moving busily like the other cast members.
"No, it's been a while since we started, so why is he still at the entrance? If he does that, there won't be enough footage! Is anyone near the set?"
It was the moment PD Choi was about to grab his radio with an annoyed voice. Kang Jinwoo on the screen unfolded the old, dark red fan he was holding. Then, dust suddenly rose at the entrance of the abandoned house, vivid enough to be seen even through the screen.
"...What is he doing?"
While the production team was puzzled, Kang Jinwoo lifted his head and stared at the camera in front of him. His eyes seemed to be looking at the production team beyond the monitor. His lips parted slowly.
"Turn up the volume."
When the audio director hurriedly turned up the volume at PD Choi's words, a low singing voice flowed out of the speakers.
-Hide and seek, hide and seek, don't let your hair show.
A song children sing when playing hide-and-seek.
-Hide and seek...
But the moment Kang Jinwoo sang the song and lightly swiped the fan into the air.
Static!
The monitor screens were all covered in noise.
"Huh? What! Why is the screen like this!"
"Audio! Check the audio!"
It was before the flustered production team could even shout.
-Kyaaaaaah!
-S-save me! What is this!
-Uaaaaah! Don't come! Don't come!
Screams too desperate to be acting.
-Go, Knight Choi! Body slam!
Amidst that chaos, a particularly clear and cheerful voice pierced through the speakers.