Preparing for the Broadcast
Park Jungsoo had called me to the new Joongang Guild building for the broadcast. He’d mentioned that he bought a building in Pangyo because Gangnam was a bit too dangerous, but the scale of it was absolutely massive.
“This is a guild building?”
Seriously, what are they going to do with a building this big?
“With a building this huge, you’d just get lost.”
“True. Even I get confused in this wing sometimes,” Park Jungsoo said, tilting his head as he looked at me. “Wait, did you come here all by yourself?”
“Yeah, the other guild members all went to visit their families. I didn’t have anything to do.”
“Really? I should’ve sent a smaller car then.”
“Yeah. It felt pretty weird being the only one in that massive carriage.”
“It’s a car, not a carriage. People usually call it a van…”
Park Jungsoo muttered, “Tsk, never mind, what would you know anyway?” as he passed through the giant main gate.
“But why do you need two buildings? You have one in Gangnam, too.”
“This one is mainly for researching items, new techniques, skills, and strategies,” Park Jungsoo said while pressing the elevator button. “The Tower of Life has rapidly shifting terrain, and each floor is massive. We’re just preparing in advance.”
“Fair enough.”
As Park Jungsoo said, this Tower of Life was proving to be more of a headache than the previous ones. The first floor was a massive rainforest, and the second was a vast sandy desert. The environment changed drastically on every floor, and the area seemed to be at least four times larger than the previous towers. It was obvious that as we climbed higher, tracking the inter-floor gates would become a nightmare.
“Considering this is the lower level of the tower, we’re going to need a guide later on.”
“Tsk. You’re right. If the first and second floors are like this, the higher floors will be hell.”
“That’s why we’re researching terrain and developing devices that allow for communication inside the tower.”
“Wait, you can communicate with the outside from inside the tower?”
“No, we’re developing the tech to do that.”
“Aww, and here I was getting excited for nothing.”
As we chatted about the tower, we reached the fourth floor.
There, a massive broadcast set had been constructed.
“...”
I stared at it with a look that clearly said, ‘What is this?’ Park Jungsoo handed me an ice cream from somewhere—I had no idea where he got it.
“Here, here, just eat this for now. If I’m going to let you broadcast, I have to at least do this much.”
“...Something feels off.”
As I licked the ice cream, Park Jungsoo shrugged.
“Come on, man. You’re my friend. You think I’d just let you broadcast however you want? I’ve gotta help you save face.”
“Oh…?”
“I’ve got experts helping you out so there won’t be any issues. You like experts, don’t you?”
“...Hmm. I guess? I was a little worried, but you’re saying you’ll take care of it?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. I told you all you had to do was show up.”
Park Jungsoo winked. I smiled proudly and licked my ice cream. If I don’t know what I’m doing, I should just hire an expert. Just like hiring mercenaries when a dungeon is too difficult.
‘Even if that guy acts like a jerk sometimes, he’s actually a pretty decent person.’
“Alright, wait here a bit. I’ll go bring the experts.”
“Got it.”
Just as I was left alone, licking my ice cream, Yeon Eun-ah approached me.
“Oh, you’ve arrived, Hyunseo.”
“Oh, Eun-ah. Long time no see.”
She stopped for a moment as she looked at me.
“If you need more ice cream, I can buy you some more.”
“Oh.”
I felt embarrassed at her words and my cheeks flushed red.
“It’s not that I’m trying to make it last, it’s just a habit of mine to eat it like this.”
“Oh, I see.”
Eun-ah stared at me intensely. I felt the pressure of her gaze and took a step back.
“...Is there a problem?”
“No. It’s just… you’re having chocolate flavor today.”
“Yes! It’s my favorite!”
Eun-ah stared at me for a moment longer, then squeezed her eyes shut and quickly moved away.
“Uh, what was that?”
“It’s nothing. Really, it’s nothing…”
Eun-ah vanished just like that. Sigh, every time she looks at me, she has such a sad expression.
As I stood there, clueless, a group of people approached me.
“Oh, are you Hyunseo? Everlight?”
“Oh, yes, that’s me. Do you know where Park Jungsoo went?”
A crowd of people swarmed around me, muttering to themselves.
“Hmm, the size… no, white would be better… with this face… Oh, Park Jungsoo had some business at the Gangnam campus, so he left.”
“Oh, I see. Well, he’s busy…”
“What? Oh, right? No, wait, for that look, a t-shirt is better than a blouse. Tsk, a t-shirt would be too tight. Let’s go with a sweater. Yeah, let’s not make it too heavy. Tsk, the fit on that…”
“???”
Some of them were busily holding clothes up against me, while a tall woman moved her fingers around, observing my face.
“What is all this…?”
“Oh, Hyunseo, what kind of style do you prefer?”
I stood there blankly, having no idea what was going on. The person who asked me laughed brightly.
“Ah, that expression. It’s perfect for today’s concept. If you’re not sure, would you mind if we styled you?”
“Excuse me…?”
At my words, the tall woman pushed up her glasses and giggled.
“Understood. We’ll get you ready right away. First, let’s take off that serious hoodie and those shorts.”
“Take them off???”
“Follow us. We’ll get you ready immediately.”
“...”
I guess it’s best to just follow them obediently? I have no idea what they’re talking about, so I can’t even argue. I tilted my head and followed them into a small room.
Eun-ah felt her heart pounding and took a deep breath. "Phew… I’m hopeless." She had thought of so many things just by looking at Hyunseo’s face a moment ago. As a result, her heart was beating like it was about to explode. "Haa. I should never keep that person near me." She sat down, listening to her dangerous heartbeat. "Ugh, my face isn't red, is it?"
While Eun-ah bit her lip and sat there, a text message arrived on her phone.
[Eun-ah, Hyunseo is going to be fully styled for the broadcast today, so take good care of him.]
"Haa…" Fully styled. Eun-ah felt the world go dark. "No, he’s already cute as he is, but if they fully style him…" She might actually want to bite him to death. She might just want to chew him up with her teeth. "Ugh. Seriously! Why are his face and his actions so completely my type?"
She shouldn't have watched those cartoons every night when she was young. She shouldn't have read those novels that shook her values—the ones where men become women and women become men. No! If she hadn't, she wouldn't have been able to taste even 1/10th of the pheromones Hyunseo was giving off! She was going crazy. How could such a case exist in reality? Shouldn't they only exist in comics or novels?
Eun-ah felt goosebumps running all over her body. "Oh, a nosebleed." She wiped away the blood that had finally burst out with her handkerchief. "Phew." A man who became a woman. And he’d lived such a miserable life. So he was wandering around, not knowing how to be loved! Wow… She wanted to stroke his hair. She wanted to see that flustered face—the one he made when he received the credit card—asking, "Is it okay for me to receive this? Why are you being so nice to me?"
'Ugh, I can't take it.' Honestly, she’d handed over her credit card just to see that one expression. 'But he only bought one chocolate milk and one cream bread.' He must have been so excited to pick out that cream bread and chocolate milk. What kind of expression did he have? Even as she thought that, she shoved the delusions into the deepest part of her mind. "But now is the time to work. Come on, sad thoughts, sad thoughts." She had to think of the saddest things possible. Otherwise, her expression would crumble. For instance, if she thought about the death and hardship Kang Hyunseo had endured… Ah, no. It would be better not to think about Hyunseo at all today.
Eun-ah’s eyes regained their cold, rational light. Yeon Eun-ah was a hardcore fan of TS (gender-bender) content, but she was also a professional.
They were definitely experts. They were swift and decisive, and my body seemed to change instantly with every touch.
“...”
I looked at my reflection in the mirror and clenched my fists.
“How is it, honey? Pretty, right? Instead of those dull-colored hoodies and shorts, this kind of outfit suits you.”
“Wow, the original material is no joke, so the result is amazing.”
“Hyunseo, you know, don’t shake your head too much. The skirt might be a little short. You have to sit modestly so there isn't a broadcast accident.”
What does sitting modestly even mean? I felt my face heating up and pressed down on the skirt as much as I could.
“Why? A service scene like that wouldn't be bad.”
“Hey, Director, we’ll get cut the moment we start our first broadcast.”
“Hyunseo…”
“Hyunseo, so…”
People were giving me warnings, but I was already in a state where I couldn't hear most of what they were saying.
“Excuse me, the skirt is too short. I really think my underwear is going to show.”
“Oh, honey. It’s fine. You’re so pretty. In all my time doing this job, I’ve never seen legs this beautiful.”
Pat, pat.
The woman who patted my hips twice scanned me up and down.
“Wow, but honey. Are you really going to be a hunter instead of a celebrity? You have star quality. You could be a star that defines an era.”
“N-no, still. This is too short…”
As I fiddled with the skirt, the person called the Director shouted.
“Alright! Let’s start filming!”
“What?”
Filming? What are we filming?
“Oh, we have a lot to shoot today, like your profile and other things.”
“I came here because you said we were doing a broadcast.”
“Yes, we’re doing the broadcast, and we’re shooting your profile, too. It’s a waste not to, now that you’re dressed up so beautifully.”
At those words, I clenched my fists.
‘Park Jungsoo, you bastard…’
No matter how I look at it, I’ve been tricked. He definitely only talked about a broadcast! I thought I just had to talk casually like Eunseo did! Are they trying to make me a celebrity hunter?
As I was fuming inside, thinking I’d been deceived, I saw Eun-ah.
“E-Eun-ah!”
I pressed down on my skirt with one hand and waved the other to call her over. Eun-ah rushed toward me.
“Did I get tricked by that bastard Park Jungsoo? I never heard anything about doing this. He clearly said I just had to do one broadcast…”
“Oh…”
Eun-ah looked at me with her signature sad eyes.
“This is something we always do before a broadcast shoot.”
“Really…?”
“Yes, to broadcast professionally, this kind of setup is standard.”
“But Eunseo just did it.”
I looked at her with a look that asked if this was really right, and Eun-ah turned her head away.
“Oh, of course there are times when we do it that way, but the Guild Leader wanted Hyunseo to do well.”
“...No, still, this is.”
Eun-ah glanced at me and nodded as if it were nothing.
“You look really pretty like this. Why don’t you try enjoying it a little?”
“Enjoy it?”
“Yes, it’s not cumbersome, and it’s a reasonably modest outfit.”
“This is?”
“Yes! You aren't wearing any high heels or accessories at all.”
“Oh, is that so… I guess you’re right.”
I nodded at Eun-ah’s words. I suppose broadcasts come in many varieties. There are small fencing tournaments held in training halls, and there are massive ones that involve the entire floor, like the 24th floor of the Tower of Earth.
‘That A-rank Sword of the Sun I ate back then was pretty decent.’
As I was thinking that, Eun-ah said quietly:
“And please take that outfit home with you.”
“?”
“So please make sure to wear it often.”
“No… how could I wear a short skirt like this?”
“You’ll get used to it once you wear it.”
“No…”
While I was talking to Eun-ah, people called out to me.
“Alright, Hyunseo, let’s start the profile shoot first!”
“Ugh, what, what are we doing?”
I didn’t know what a profile was, and I didn’t know what the shoot was, so I decided to just do as I was told.
“First, please stand here~”
I moved my body stiffly. The feeling of having only a piece of fabric underneath was very strange, and I had a gut feeling that if I moved like I usually did, something terrible would happen.
‘It’s going to show. If I move even a little too much, it’s definitely going to show.’
I felt my ears burning hot as I stood in front of the machine.
“Alright, could you sit in the chair and look at the camera for one photo?”
“...”
I sat down in the chair as carefully as I could. Naturally, I tensed my legs, and my knees pressed firmly together.
“Oh my, I love that modest posture, honey.”
“Ah, but the gaze is a little lacking.”
“We’ll have to edit the neck and ears later.”
“Really? I think this is going to be the most delicious cut.”
People were whispering among themselves.
‘Ugh, I came here because they said they’d give me ice cream if I broadcast, and look at this mess.’
I’m never doing a broadcast again.
“Alright, let’s start the real filming!”
I was exhausted after being asked to do this and that in front of the small machine.
“...Are we done now?”
At my words, everyone gave me a thumbs up.
“You’re the best!”
“Good, good.”
“Wow, seriously. It was an honor to shoot with you today, Hyunseo.”
“Then, good luck with the broadcast today!”
“Alright, let’s start the broadcast!”
The person who was fiddling with the small machine left, and others began to busily prepare something.
Eun-ah came up to my side and began to explain how the broadcast would proceed.
“This broadcast is a collaboration with a platform called SOP.”
“Platform? SOP? Collaboration?”
As I blinked, Eun-ah thought for a moment before speaking.
“We’re going to display your broadcast on the status window that everyone can access.”
“Aha.”
“You’ve done a broadcast before, so you know roughly how it goes, right?”
“Oh, right?”
“We’ll handle the volume, lighting, and cameras, so just think of it as hanging out with friends.”
“Oh, like we did in kindergarten?”
At my words, Eun-ah gave me that sad look again.
“...Yes.”
“Okay. I’ll give it a try.”
“Great. It’s just a simple Q&A broadcast today, so don’t worry too much.”
And so, my first broadcast began.