LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 252
Chapter 252
According to the production team, they would not replace Lee Se-jun with a new MC nor overhaul the entire MC lineup, despite the many incidents and accidents involving the current MCs.
There had indeed been some talk among the Music Fangfang production team about completely replacing the MCs due to the unusually high number of incidents this season.
However, after the news of Lee Se-jun’s drunk driving broke, the Music Fangfang viewer board was flooded with posts demanding only Lee Se-jun be removed and for the rest of us to stay. This showed the high viewer preference for me and Gyeon Ha-ram (most of these posts were probably written by our respective fans).
The main PD liked me very much, and the main writer strongly argued that since our chemistry was good, we should continue with me and Gyeon Ha-ram. It seemed that this person had contributed significantly to keeping me anchored as an MC for Music Fangfang, for which I was grateful.
I understood why they insisted on me and Gyeon Ha-ram.
It was a bit… complicated.
Anyway, it was a relief that this incident didn’t lead to both me and Gyeon Ha-ram being cut.
“It’s a comeback, and something like this happens. What are we going to do?”
“Haha, since it’s a comeback, we just have to do even better.”
“Right. You work well with Ha-ram, so you two will do great. Fighting. Our director really likes you, Raon, and wants to keep seeing you for a long time, but he’s worried it might not happen.”
This was an unspoken plea to be careful and not cause any more trouble.
“Yes. I will continue to work hard!”
I smiled brightly, pretending to know nothing.
[MBS Lee Yoon-hyung thinks it doesn’t matter as long as they can see your face more often. Lee Yoon-hyung’s favorability +4. Current favorability +53]
The effect of face attacks was excellent.
After the staff left and we returned from dry rehearsals, we took selfies at various photo zones around the waiting room or played basketball games under Gyeon Seong-ha’s leadership.
“Hey, be sincere about taking selfies. I taught you last time, so why are you back to square one?”
“But no matter how well I take it, I can’t even capture half of my real face. Whether it comes out a little bad or a lot bad…”
“Ugh.”
After a long lecture on the charm and significance of selfies from selfie master Gyeon Seong-ha, we had lunch and then Gyeon Ha-ram visited our waiting room.
As someone who debuted much earlier than us, Gyeon Ha-ram was a senior in the entertainment industry, so it should have been us visiting them first.
However, with their family member Gyeon Seong-ha present, it seemed they didn’t mind much.
“Why are you here?”
Gyeon Ha-ram ignored their grumpy older brother Gyeon Seong-ha and greeted me and the other members.
“Hello. Congratulations on your comeback.”
“Thank you.”
Maybe because Lee Se-jun, who had been a constant annoyance, was gone, Gyeon Ha-ram seemed to be in the best mood since I met them.
“See you later when we go over the script.”
“Sure.”
Even though they were in a good mood, they didn’t seem interested in getting personally close, so Gyeon Ha-ram exchanged a few polite words and returned to their waiting room.
Afterwards, I felt a burning gaze on my face.
When I turned to look, I saw Gyeon Seong-ha, the second older brother of Gyeon Ha-ram, staring intently at me.
“Why?”
Gyeon Seong-ha, hugging a basketball that looked small compared to his body like a beloved stuffed animal, opened his mouth as if making a big decision.
“I really, really, really don’t want to believe this, but… you two aren’t in that kind of relationship, are you?”
What?
“…..”
Unable to say anything in response to such an unthinkable question, Gyeon Seong-ha grabbed my shoulders and shook me, looking more shocked than I was.
I’m getting dizzy, you crazy guy.
“Why, why aren’t you answering? It’s not true, right?”
“…Are you really crazy?”
I denied the ridiculous nonsense, using all the muscles in my face, even risking a penalty for using foul language. Only then did Gyeon Seong-ha let me go, relieved.
As punishment for spouting nonsense in broad daylight, I beat Gyeon Seong-ha with a whale-shaped cushion brought by the Music Fangfang production team.
“Raon, you’re raising dust.”
“That guy’s slander has tainted my pure heart!”
Gwak Sang-hyun wondered if I was clumsy with Korean, then gave up and told me to do as I pleased.
“Okay… better your pure heart than your purity.”
I wondered if Gwak Sang-hyun was comparing me to Ban Yo-han, but decided to focus on hitting Gyeon Seong-ha for now.
Embarrassed by his own imagination, Gyeon Seong-ha couldn’t lift his head and curled up like an ammonite while I hit him with the cushion.
“Oh my, our Seong-ha was worried his little brother was dating his sibling?”
“How awful. Ha-ram can’t even date because their brother is so scary.”
Je couldn’t lift his head because of those people who were teasing him endlessly for once saying something stupid, after always being right.
After punishing Gyeon Seong-ha with all my might, I leaned against the sofa, exhausted from swinging the cushion a few times, and checked today’s script properly.
From my experience of hosting alone with Lee Se-jun when Gyeon Ha-ram wasn’t there, hosting with two people was twice as much work and much more challenging than with three.
Not wanting to be kicked out of the waiting room for continuous teasing, Kang Ji-woo and Ban Yo-han, threatened by Gyeon Seong-ha, closed their mouths and cautiously approached me.
It seemed they were curious because it was their first time seeing me do something as an MC.
“Is there a need to study the script when they show everything on the prompter anyway?”
“I thought it would be fine too, but after monitoring, my eye contact was off. So, it’s better to familiarize myself with it in advance.”
Understanding my explanation, Ban Yo-han, who had asked, and Kang Ji-woo, who was listening, nodded.
“You’re working hard.”
“No, and by the way, hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“When I told your father what you said earlier, he said that even cold water has an order, so where does a kid, who still has wet hair, dare to covet his place? He said not to even dream about it.”
“!”
It seemed he forgot that in Korea, there is a clear hierarchy within families.
Not that I truly regarded Kang Ji-woo’s parents as my own, but respecting those who came first was only natural.
Kang Ji-woo, recalling how his parents had called me “son, son” during the last holiday, widened his eyes.
“Dad……!”
Kang Ji-woo regretted and beat the floor, frustrated that his parents’ position could be taken away.
Thus, the nonsensical topic involving the Kang Ji-woo family and the neighbor’s parrot came to an end.
“But it seems like they paid a lot more attention to the waiting room than before.”
“Yeah, this is the first time we’ve used such a spacious waiting room.”
“It’s not because we’ve done well; it’s entirely thanks to the youngest carrying Ten to Ten and MCing Music Fangfang.”
Quickly recovering his mental state, Kang Ji-woo, who declared he would be my sworn brother in any country, again praised me.
“Yeah. Excluding the 14% share of the success due to you guys, the rest is all thanks to me. Be grateful.”
As I accepted the praise with a swagger, Gyeon Seong-ha and Ban Yo-han looked at me disdainfully but did not refute.
After returning from camera rehearsals, I saw something bizarre while mindlessly browsing SNS, causing me to spit out the water I was drinking.
“Pfft!”
“Gross.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
I wiped the water and picked up my phone again to confirm what I saw.
– (Photo) Saw Hero Manager yesterday. Were the kids filming here?
┗ Isn’t the manager a regular person, not a celebrity? Is it okay to post photos like this?
I wasn’t mistaken.
It was Lee Young-min, whose appearance was unmistakable to anyone.
Ever since he saved me on the stairs by sacrificing himself, he earned the ridiculous nickname ‘Hero Manager,’ and despite his gloomy demeanor, his good looks had quietly become a hot topic among our fans.
‘He said he was out on a field assignment. What is he doing with his body?’
Just then, as if unable to stay calm, I received a call from Lee Young-min.
Seeing the caller ID “Lee Young-min Manager” on my phone screen, I made a strange expression.
Why would he use this phone instead of the system window?
I wasn’t sure if the caller was Larry in Lee Young-min’s body, just Lee Young-min, or Zero in Lee Young-min’s body.
Regardless of who it was, I didn’t expect a normal conversation, so I stepped out of the waiting room.
“Hello?”
– Why are you only answering now when your phone is perfectly fine?
I could tell instinctively from the nerve-racking first words.
Ah, it’s Larry.
Since there were no people passing by, I hesitated for a moment before responding in English.
No one would find it strange if a foreigner spoke their native language.
“[Why are you using Lee Young-min’s phone when you have a perfectly good system window?]”
– Didn’t you see I wrote I was out on a field assignment? I’m so disappointed you never thought of looking for me. I feel like taking away all your stats right now.
I had no idea what he was talking about.
“[If you do that, you’re dead.]”
– Haha.
“[What are you doing wandering around with that conspicuous body to get spotted on SNS?]”
– I’m providing a free, top-notch on-site service to prevent your life genre from turning into an A***rs series or a Great Detective C***n movie.
“What?”
The moment I asked back, loud explosion sounds came from the other end, and the call quality suddenly deteriorated.
“……”
I distanced the speaker from my ear as the crackling noises continued and made a vow.
Never be curious or try to find out what that non-human is doing.
It might seem like Zero is the cause, but I wouldn’t consider it my fault.