Mainstream (4)

HSN Broadcasting Station.

I attended a meeting for the upcoming show, 'Extreme Situations'.

The problem was, since deciding to appear on this show, I hadn't really been given any explanation other than the title.

'I know vaguely that they're gathering people from various occupations to do something, but.......'

Given that the show's title itself was 'Extreme Situations', it was probably no easy show.

In the first place, the spot I was filling had originally been meant for Shim Chun-hoo.

Even the title was only a 'working title', and the actual name hadn't yet been revealed to us.

"Oh, manager Park Jung-woo!"

Just as I was about to open the meeting room door, someone called out to me.

Turning my gaze, I saw a familiar face—a man waving at me with a welcoming smile.

"Oh, hello, Kyung-ho-ssi."

"After the last event, we're meeting again. Aren't we running into each other a bit too often?"

The man with the handsome features and a friendly smile was none other than actor Yeon Kyung-ho.

He'd been the lead actor in the film 'World of Superhumans', which Shin Ah-yeon starred in, and now it seemed he was trying his hand at variety shows.

"Are you also appearing on 'Extreme Situations' this time?"

"Yes, it ended up that way. My agency is pushing me to promote the film, so what can I do?"

When I asked out of curiosity, Yeon Kyung-ho shook his head and sighed.

"But with PD Jung, it'll be a show that the station pushes for... Well, it won't be as dangerous as last time in Jeju Island, right?"

It seemed that after the incident in Jeju last time, Yeon Kyung-ho had grown bolder.

Or perhaps he was just that desperate for the movie to succeed.

"Let's go in first. PD Jung is thoroughly hiding who the cast is, so I'm dying of curiosity."

Saying that, Yeon Kyung-ho opened the door and went inside.

Then the fairly spacious interior of the meeting room came into view.

"Huh?"

While I was scanning the meeting room, I heard a voice expressing admiration from somewhere.

Apparently, no one expected the popular actor Yeon Kyung-ho to participate in a variety show.

"I heard Manager Park Jung-woo is joining a variety show for real?"

"So the rumors were true."

"Is he planning to quit the manager job and go into broadcasting?"

"Isn't that better than being a manager for dangerous hunters?"

'Huh?'

Unexpected conversations were being exchanged.

Almost as if they were more interested in me than in Yeon Kyung-ho.

"He's made headlines back-to-back, so of course. Manager Park is in the limelight these days."

And to drive the point home, Yeon Kyung-ho quickly added his words.

"In the limelight," he said.

If I were a celebrity, that would be a thrilling thing to hear, but as a manager, it was anything but welcome.

"Oh, you're here."

PD Jung Jun-su, who had been handing out something in the center of the room, noticed the stir and approached us.

Apparently we were the last to arrive; there weren't many papers left in his hand.

'Let's see... There are more people than I thought?'

I was sure I'd heard there would be no more than five people traveling to America.

But there were over ten people gathered in the meeting room.

They were all staring intently at the papers in their hands with grave expressions.

'There's even a hunter.'

Most were ordinary people, not Awakener, but one possessed considerable magic power and was clearly an Awakener.

And he was a hunter I was well aware of.

'Kim Seung-hyun, the A-rank hunter from Moon Halo who's getting a big push these days.'

He had quite a handsome face and was also quite popular.

I'd heard he was hot on the heels of Baek Hojun, who had the largest female fanbase so far.

"Hello, PD Jung. This isn't a hunter variety show, is it? There's a hunter among us..."

"Oh, of course. I think you're referring to Hunter Kim Seung-hyun... He joined right at the end."

There was something peculiar in his tone.

As I looked at PD Jung in puzzlement, he handed me one of the papers he'd been distributing to the others.

'... What's this?'

On the paper was the title of the variety show we'd be filming.

Not 'Extreme Situations' as a working title, but the real title.

"Extreme Train?"

On top of that, the rest of the paper was filled with precautions—a kind of consent form.

This variety could be quite dangerous, so if you wish to participate, you had to sign the consent form.

That's when I realized why everyone else was staring silently at theirs.

"This is about crossing America on the Minerva, huh?"

Yeon Kyung-ho said to me in a trembling voice.

While he was the one reassuring himself that this would be less dangerous than Jeju Island, he was shaking far too much for that.

But it was understandable.

The Minerva was, after all, perhaps the most dangerous railroad in the world today.

'Didn't it run from New York to Los Angeles?'

The problem was, the railway's route passed through danger zones as risky as the demon realm.

America was so vast, there were plenty of places where dungeons hadn't been fully handled, and so, despite the gates not being open, there were still many monsters roaming about.

Although many American hunters were working hard to reclaim such regions, the number of monsters that had built up over the last hundred years was no joke.

'And Minerva was a railroad forcibly built by mobilizing countless hunters.'

Thanks to that, Minerva was the world's zenith of modern magic technology, something that could only exist with America's vast financial power.

"That's the one where monsters sometimes just pour through the stations, right?"

"I've heard there have been quite a few times when monsters charged the train and it almost derailed..."

The meeting room buzzed with murmurs.

PD Jung stood by and watched quietly for a moment, then spoke into a microphone.

"Now, I believe everyone has checked what's written in their consent forms."

The contents were simple.

The show would send us to America, and we'd travel by train from New York to Los Angeles.

The problem was, that train was Minerva.

"Um, but it says the shoot will take a month—does that mean we'll be on the train the whole time?"

A singer, who I remembered seeing often on TV, raised a hand to ask. His face was so pale I felt sorry for him.

"No, that's just to allow for emergencies—the actual travel time on the train is about four days. But, if you add the time we'll spend getting off at stops to film, it could take about a month."

"Ah......"

Minerva was no ordinary danger; thus, the conditions were tough.

The train was actually intended for hunters, so Awakeners could ride without trouble, but with ordinary people in this broadcast, there had to be a hunter as escort just in case.

"No need to worry too much. There haven't been any deaths on Minerva in the past year."

"......"

PD Jung's reassuring tone spawned a heavy silence.

No deaths in the past year—meaning someone did die the year before.

"Still, participation isn't mandatory. That's why we started with a big group."

With that, everyone in the room once again stared at their consent forms.

It was undeniably an appealing show.

But it was a show that might risk your life.

'This is something for hunters to film!'

That thought seemed plain on everyone's faces.

Still, it made some sense that PD Jung Jun-su particularly sought out an ordinary cast.

It was a matter of tension.

Minerva was certainly dangerous, but with a group mainly of hunters, the sense of tension would fade.

With a mostly ordinary cast, no matter how many hunters were added as escorts, the sense of crisis would be easy to create.

From the audience's perspective, they'd naturally identify with the ordinary people.

"Those wanting to participate should sign the consent form and stay; if not, you may leave. There will be no disadvantage if you decline, so make your decision comfortably."

At PD Jung's words, everyone exchanged glances and slowly began to get up.

No matter how hungry you are for airtime, it's not worth betting your life.

"Well, PD Jung, I guess this simply isn't my destiny. I'll see myself out."

"I can't participate, but I wish you success."

Like the receding tide, those leaving each offered a brief farewell to PD Jung and disappeared.

That left only four of us behind, including Yeon Kyung-ho and myself.

"Huh—I didn't expect almost everyone to leave."

PD Jung gave a hollow laugh, as if it was fewer than he'd expected.

"Four is a bit too few... I guess I'll have to find just one more somehow."

"PD Jung."

"Yes?"

Interrupting his disappointed mumbling, I quickly spoke up.

"If you don't mind, could I recommend someone?"

Though PD Jung seemed very disappointed at the low number of interested participants, I felt this was a huge opportunity.

'Given the scale of this show, it's definitely gotten some major investment.'

Even with all the money HSN had, it wouldn't be easy to cross America on the Minerva.

To board Minerva, you needed not just money but 'connections'.

'Which means a foreign investor is involved in this variety show.'

Thinking that way, something came to mind.

I'd picked up some fun info through the Tae-yeong Group.

'HSN is planning a show funded by Dotflix.'

Dotflix was now the giant platform dominating the world OTT market.

If this variety show ran not on HSN, but on Dotflix, the impact would go far beyond Korea to the global audience.

'And there's the Mexico incident, too.'

It would be a huge relief to investigate the situation in Mexico with Shin Ah-yeon or Lee Soo-ah by my side.

Unless it were a particularly powerful demon, most would find it very difficult to take on either of those two.

"Manager Park, if you're going to recommend someone, you mean Ah-yeon-ssi or Soo-ah-ssi, right?"

"Ah, yes. They are scheduled for another variety show, but... since it's the same HSN network, I think I could pull at least one of them."

Shin Ah-yeon and Lee Soo-ah were slated to appear in 'Living Together', but PD Do would probably let one go if I asked, especially since there was a bet involved.

"Ah, but S-rank hunters are an issue for me. As I'm sure you can guess, manager Park, tension is important for this show. But with Ah-yeon-ssi or Soo-ah-ssi, that tension would drop."

"But isn't A-rank hunter Kim Seung-hyun also participating?"

"As you know, manager Park, A-rank and S-rank feel completely different."

"Hmm......"

He was right.

There was a truly unbridgeable gap between A-rank and S-rank.

'What should I do?'

It seemed clear that bringing along Ah-yeon or Soo-ah would be difficult.

But if it was a hunter who wasn't S-rank, was there anyone suitable...?

"Ah."

Suddenly, someone came to mind.

Someone PD Do had asked to appear together on 'Living Together', but whose absence wouldn't really be a problem.

"PD Jung, so A-rank or below is fine?"

"Yes? Oh, yes. But won't having two hunters on the team create too much overlap, image-wise?"

"There's no need to worry about that. The feeling is completely different from Hunter Kim Seung-hyun. You'll definitely like them when you see them."

In the first place, their very race was only half human, so of course they would feel different.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=Yeah, I guessed it before, Yeon-ji will be brought along.Yeon-ji's appearing more like a slave by the day.But I guess it would be good exp for her.【(˶• ֊ •˶)】

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