Season 2: Chapter 29. The Misunderstanding That Came to Light (1)
“Shall we bring in the next guest?”
Ju-Hyeok shouted excitedly, "Ah! Here he comes! Here he comes!"
It seemed like Ju-Hyeok was the one appearing on TV. The person beside him with a nonchalant expression poured the coffee like he was the manager.
"Woah."
Swish.
Sang-Hyeon also drank his coffee and at least gave some reaction.
“From archery prodigy to a regular employee at a major company, and then to a game streamer! The genius of changing roles! Streamer Almond is here!”
Sang-Hyeon's face turned red. It sounded alright to others, but the introduction seemed a bit exaggerated to him.
'It's somewhat embarrassing to watch.'
It felt different from solo streaming. He saw his face adorned with an unfamiliar persona in such talk shows.
Sang-Hyeon led a life far from celebrities and struggled to seem cheerful while chatting with others on the TV. Fortunately, the audience felt that his demeanor was natural, which was enough for him.
“So, you started with archery. Did you continue to become an athlete like that?”
“Yes.”
“Wow, you must've been talented.”
“Yes.”
“???”
— This Almond nut came out raw, lol.
— Hey! You can’t behave like that here, okay?!
— Lol, Han Min-Gu was taken aback for 0.1 seconds
— His response speed lol!
Almond appeared on Evening Wide just like his usual self to the viewers. He was good at not expressing his internal conflicts. Many called that a thick face.
“Wow, are you a genius?”
“Yes, I am a genius.”
Even when he said that, his expression barely changed. His ignorant response, combined with his quick responses, became a comedic highlight.
— Lol!
— He’s a genius, right? A broadcasting genius.
— How many times do you want him to confirm? Lol!
— I don't know about archery genius anymore! He’s the comedy genius now! Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience
— Among all the talk show guests, he's clearly top-tier.
The reactions seemed overwhelmingly positive because the PD edited the chat messages before they aired.
"Wow, they edited this really well, didn't they?" Ju-Hyeok mumbled excitedly beside Sang-Hyeon.
"It's funnier than the live show."
"Right," Sang-Hyeon nodded too.
They both agreed that the editing was well done. It was apparent why this wasn't just any major channel. The show’s atmosphere clearly differed from a stream.
“You really have quick responses. It’s really fast.”
“Hahaha! Right! He’s somehow half a beat faster than the others.”
— Even Han Min-Gu also recognized his reaction speed.
—The first streamer to be recognized by a top-tier MC, lol
— Kim True is genuinely laughing at him, lol.
The PD thought this segment was fun, so he put almost all the scenes from the live show in the edited version. It wasn't a bad choice. After that, they smoothly transitioned by introducing a clip from Sang-Hyeon's past.
“Um... There's that video, right? The one where you won a competition. Let's watch that together.”
Sang-Hyeon felt somewhat uneasy and fiddled with the coffee machine again, diverting his gaze. That topic was still a little uncomfortable for him. Doing a few interviews and sharing stories on a show wouldn't naturally erase such a past.
He felt relieved for a moment, but it was fleeting.
Shivering...
His right hand trembled after holding the coffee cup too long as if to remind him that he couldn't change his past.
Sang-Hyeon decided to head back to his room.
Ju-Hyeok turned to him and asked, "Huh? Why aren't you watching?"
"I don't need to watch what comes next."
"...?"
‘Hey, the fun part is just coming up...’ Ju-Hyeok was interrupted before he could tell him that.
“All ten! All of them! Every single one goes right into the center!”
When the host asked if In-Ho had greeted Almond like that, the production team decided to close in on In-Ho's face.
'Guess he didn't greet him,' the manager concluded without any further thought.
It was a common thing that happened. Fitting into the situation on the show and wearing the right mask was often more important than telling the truth.
The audience demanded this flexibility and In-Ho had a knack for picking the right mask for each situation.
'But this is too obvious.'
However, the story changed when the mask was exposed. When hints of the face behind the mask were revealed, the face became more important than anything else even if there was no initial interest.
Therefore, viewers wanted to be perfectly deceived. They didn’t want the mask to be removed or revealed. Was the mask off or on?
It was very ambiguous yet eerily clear. For instance, the close-up on In-Ho's face was a clear instance of the mask being removed. It was hard to articulate why, but everyone felt it. Both the manager and In-Ho felt like they had been wronged.
'Isn't this the fault of the edit?'
Despite being a professional idol, one couldn’t hide such minute expressions and shouldn't have to. Editing should naturally account for this. If not, celebrities could never function properly. Rightfully, it should’ve been edited.
What if...
'If they intentionally aimed to damage In-Ho's reputation...'
They would’ve edited it properly if they weren’t deliberately trying to bury a guest.
The manager started writing a message to the production team.
[Mr.PD, the editing direction seems very different from what we thought. Can we talk over the phone?]
[Mr.PD?]
However, the message wasn’t read until 9 P.M. when Evening Wide broadcasted. Only then did the manager realize.
'Shoot... something went wrong.'
In-Ho and the manager going up to the upper floor to discuss things had backfired.
***
An unexpected downpour began around 9:20 P.M.
Shaaaa!
Raindrops lashed against the sleek curtains of the office. The rain was so loud that it drowned out the other noises.
"Is that Yu Sang-Hyeon?!" a voice pierced through the rain.
It was the team leader Sang-Hyeon used to work for. Due to that, the break room at Ahsung grew noisier with voices than the rain.
"Yu Sang-Hyeon?!"
"What?!"
Employees doing overtime from other teams gathered around in shock.
“Huhhhhhh?”
“Whattttt...?”
Only two newbies who didn’t know Sang-Hyeon stared at all the others weirdly screaming.
"Uh, uh, oh my! It really is Sang-Hyeon!" a female employee, somewhat acquainted with Yu Sang-Hyeon, exclaimed.
He had met her at a company dinner a while back.
"Yu Sang-Hyeon?"
"The guy who left a while ago?"
"The one who had a big fight with Director Park and left?"
The rumors attracted the employees with even more rampant curiosity.
"Is that Yu Sang-Hyeon?"
"He looks younger."
"This is back in the day when Sang-Hyeon was an archery athlete."
"What? An archery athlete?"
"I guess he did it as a hobby?"
"It was a rich hobby. And he landed here through connections."
On the screen, a younger Sang-Hyeon wore a white uniform that suited him better than any other outfit. The weather on the screen was a sunny summer, unlike today.
Sang-Hyeon briefly adjusted his cap. The sun seemed to be in his eyes and distracted him.
Then, he pulled the bowstring. The string reflected the sunlight and brightly shimmered. When the viewers felt it shimmering exceptionally bright, he released the arrow.
Swish!
It landed dead center.
"...?"
"!?"
The expressions of the employees watching momentarily mirrored the expressions of the talk show participants on the screen.
