Chapter 158 — Filming the KZ Headquarters Tour (Real Life)
Probably because of the FOXY interview?
So are the two of them actually going to 1v1?
If they do, who wins? For real, I need to know.
"Whoa... there's a shark in here?"
"Yes. It's a blacktip shark. Every shark in this tank was one nature had already weeded out, so we take care of them..."
After a short round of introductions with Jaeseong, we started on the first floor and worked our way through the building at an easy pace.
"This is the café inside the headquarters. The front-desk staff use it whenever they like, too."
"I see. Does FOXY use it often?"
"No, I barely come in here. Our coach does, though. He's a complete caffeine addict."
"Pfft—! Ah, r-right..."
We took in the aquarium with its unmistakable shark, the first-floor café, the paintings hung along the walls. There were, of course, places I would rather have skipped.
"And this is the cafeteria, where the KZ people eat."
"Ah... r-right."
I shot Jaeseong a desperate look. Can't we just not eat and keep walking? It did nothing.
"If you haven't eaten, would you like to try some? I haven't had my meal yet either."
Whether Manager Han had drilled it into him or not, he only looked back at me with pity.
"Th-then I'd love to! I'll see for myself what the food at KZ headquarters is like."
And so I was going to be force-fed cafeteria food that wouldn't agree with me.
"What's on the menu today?"
"Hmm... not sure. The menu changes depending on the day."
I already knew that. Show me a cafeteria that doesn't rotate its menu — but KZ's didn't merely swap dishes. Certain days brought Chinese, others Korean, others Western. A varied spread was this place's one real virtue, if you could call it that.
Wait. Hold on. Today was Wednesday, wasn't it? Western food?
"It's Wednesday, so it's Western. Do you like pasta?"
Jaeseong named it as if he were confirming the thought in my head. I smiled at him.
"Of course I do!"
Whew. Thank God.
If it had been Korean, I never would have kept a straight face. Raised on the housekeeper's cooking — she was the standard by which I judged all Korean food — I can't be satisfied with anything ordinary. Even a restaurant with a Michelin star only gets a hmm... that's good out of me. Anywhere else wouldn't stand a chance. I hadn't wanted to wrinkle my nose while everyone else was happily eating and calling it delicious, so Western instead of Korean was a genuine mercy.
The moment we stepped inside, a mouthwatering smell filled the room. It was about time for people to eat; of course the cafeteria smelled like this.
"Follow me, noona."
Jaeseong took off toward the kitchen at the back, and I went after him.
"Hello, Auntie!"
"Oh, Jaeseong? Didn't you say you were heading down to your parents'?"
A woman stood in the kitchen. One I knew very well. The auntie talking with Jaeseong now was—
"I am going to satisfy you, Eunha. I swear I will."
"This one's a little salty, you said? Hmm..."
"This one's bland? No... I don't think the seasoning is the problem...?"
She was the auntie who had fed the players and the staff here even back when I was still Galaxy on KZ.
"Yeah, that was the plan, but I'm going down tomorrow instead. Means I get one more of your meals on the way out. Talk about a lucky break."
"Aigoo, listen to you, sweet-talking me. And who's this pretty young lady beside you? A new hire?"
Her attention slid from Jaeseong to me.
"She's not staff. She's a streamer we invited."
"Uh... hello. I'm Eunha. I stream."
"Oh... ah, so you're the one who does K-tube?"
Uh... strictly speaking, I wasn't on K-tube at all.
"Um... yes! That's right!"
Given her age, I figured she wouldn't know much about what an internet broadcaster even was, so I just agreed. And strictly speaking, a K-tuber and a streamer were nearly the same job anyway.
"The team invited her to promote the building. Everything we film is going up on K-tube, so please take really good care of us."
Why is he saying things that don't need saying?
"Ah, you really don't have to go to any trouble..."
I didn't want special treatment just for being a guest, so I hurried to tell her she needn't feel pressured. But—
"If it's going up on K-tube, I'll have to be careful. All right. Shall I show off a little, for the first time in a while?"
Hmm. She did look thoroughly burdened. I glared at Jaeseong with everything I had for running his mouth.
"Why are you looking at me like that, noona?"
"Never mind... it's nothing."
He only grinned, unbothered, and waited for her cooking. My fault for forgetting he had no sense for these things.
Western, not Korean — and sure enough, her cooking was more than satisfying. The picky part of my palate stopped at Korean food.
"Ah, I'm full..."
Shrimp rosé pasta, steak, and a chicken salad. All of it pleased me beautifully. It had been a long time since food made by anyone but the housekeeper left me wanting another bite. I would have eaten more if I could, but the circumstances wouldn't allow it.
"Huh? That's all it takes?"
"The young lady hardly eats a thing... Was it not to your taste?"
Well, this damned body could barely manage a single portion.
"No, no! It was incredibly good. I just don't eat much to begin with..."
Force anything past the stomach's limit and it throws a full-blown fit. How do I know? I've been through it.
"I'm glad you liked it. Film it nicely for me, all right?"
I'd thought the plating looked more careful than usual. So it really was for the camera. Looking back, she hadn't seemed burdened so much as fired up.
"Yes. I'll make it look as good as I can."
There was the old connection, and she'd fed me well, so I did my best to shoot it beautifully. I'd never filmed anything myself. Whether it would turn out well, I had no idea... but sincerity was what mattered, wasn't it?
"Don't worry, Auntie! Eunha's an expert at this sort of thing."
"Eh? Uh... right. An expert."
Ugh. This kid, I swear.
I glared with all my might, a silent order to stop talking.
"Huh? It still wasn't enough, was it? Want some of mine?"
He missed it again.
"...No."
You win, Jaeseong.
We finished at a reasonable pace and moved on. The next stop was the first basement floor, supposedly the most popular spot in the whole building—
"Whoa. I didn't know they had a place like this."
...the gym.
"You live in the building, don't you, FOXY? How do you not know that?"
"Um... I knew there was a gym. That it was down on B1 — that's news to me today."
"Uh... r-right."
For a second I wondered what was wrong with him. Then I decided this was probably normal. Most of KZ, Jaeseong included, lived about as far from a gym as a person could.
Contrary to the idea that all you do is play games, pro gaming quietly demands a body, which is why so many teams keep a gym in the building.
"Exercise? Sure, it's good for you. Helps your stamina. But I'm not going to force it. Honestly, I think you'd be better off resting or practicing in that time."
Our coach, of course, wasn't the type to force it, so most of the roster had never set foot in a gym.
"Do you exercise much, Eunha?"
"Um... exercise?"
Exercise. My viewers would never believe it, but this body had once belonged to the middle-school basketball club. I was never good enough to see the floor — always Benchwarmer A, cheering my friends from the sideline. That was the extent of my place. Even so, I showed up for club without fail, and I was passionate enough never to miss a training camp or a live-in.
"I used to, a little. These days, I'm not sure."
But that had ended with middle school. Once I started high school I barely exercised, and now the body itself had been swapped out. Next to what I used to have, my stamina and strength were absurdly weak. It was no exaggeration to say the life I lived now had nothing to do with exercise.
"Oh... then since we're here, want to give it a light try?"
"A-a try? Out of nowhere?"
"It's a shoot. Don't you think you need at least that much, or the video won't come together? Everywhere else does it."
Hmm. He had a point. Me actually working out would play better than a flat and here is the gym.
"Then which one should I do? I don't know how to use the machines, and they're a little intimidating..."
"How about that? Seems doable enough."
What his finger landed on was nothing other than a dumbbell. A barbell, the machines — I didn't know how to use any of it, and it all felt like too much. A dumbbell I could lift one-handed, though, that seemed about right.
"Hup— want to try this one? It's pretty heavy."
Let's see. The weight...
The number was printed clear as day on the side. Even an idiot like Jaeseong could tell it meant the weight.
"Five kilos? Please. I can lift that easy."
I couldn't remember exactly, but back when I used to train, a dumbbell that light had come up without any trouble. So this much, no problem—
Bang!
"...Noona?"
"W-wait. I just went for it too fast, that's all."
Maybe it had simply been too long since I'd used any real strength. It felt heavier than I'd expected. And more to the point — noona? Again? We were filming. It was supposed to be Eunha.
"I'll lift it again... Okay. One, two..."
This time I drew a full breath, counted all the way to three, and heaved—
"W-wait! This is too heav—!"
Bang!
"..."
"Uh..."
"I'm begging you. Could you just not say anything? I am so embarrassed right now."
Even Jaeseong, who never read a room, seemed to catch this one. He glanced at me and offered a way out.
"Should we just... move on to the next spot?"
"...Yes."
I accepted without another word.
The dumbbell challenge I had taken on so confidently ended in a defeat that left nothing behind but bruises.