The Great Mage Playing Gas (2)
"Why the hell is this guy suddenly calling now and acting up?"
Sung-hwan, who didn't have a good impression of JM, imdiately spat out a curse.
It was only natural.
After all, they had been working behind the scenes on Unique's hunters, and it was these guys who had snatched up Lee Sung-yun this ti.
"Should I answer this or not?"
"Please answer it."
I said calmly.
Chief Yu Dong-suk was probably flustered right now.
He'd just managed to poach Lee Sung-yun, who he thought was Unique's core, only for Shin Ah-yeon to pop up out of nowhere.
Sung-hwan pressed the call button, his face twisted in annoyance, clearly reluctant to answer.
"Hello, sir. This is Chief Manager Yu. Have you been well?"
"I could have been, had you not taken our hunter."
"'Taken your hunter'? That sounds serious! All we did was leave our contact info to give the hunter more options."
Chief Manager Yu replied in a smooth, oily tone to Sung-hwan's blunt words.
In reality, Chief Manager Yu hadn't used any illegal thods; he'd only offered better terms.
Still, there was nothing good about forcing a hunter under contract to break it and follow you.
"So, what is it?"
"I watched today's broadcast. How on earth did you get in touch with Shin Ah-yeon? I heard she never goes out and is a complete recluse."
"Just get to the point."
"It's nothing major; I just called with a proposal."
"A proposal?"
When Sung-hwan asked, sounding wary, Chief Manager Yu responded as if he'd been waiting for the question.
"You know the program 'Dungeon Exploration Team'? It just so happens two spots have opened up. We thought it'd be great if Sung-yun and Shin Ah-yeon appeared together. They're both from Unique, so wouldn't the chemistry be great?"
"What? Dungeon Exploration Team?!"
Dungeon Exploration Team wasn't quite top tier, but it was a long-running show with a steady fanbase.
It was also the perfect platform for hunters confident in their skills to show them off—almost every skilled hunter dread of appearing there at least once.
"Jung-woo."
After hastily ending the call, Sung-hwan quietly called
over.
"... This is a trap, right?"
"Of course."
It was an obvious trap no matter who looked at it.
Especially for , who knew the show well, I could guess exactly why Chief Manager Yu made that proposal.
"Of the two open spots, one is probably a reserve."
"A reserve?"
"Since Dungeon Exploration Team deals with dangerous situations, sotis sothing happens to a hunter during filming. If that happens, their footage is edited out, so they bring in extra hunters to fill the gaps."
Of course, despite this, there were more than enough hunters eager to get in, but except in case of accidents, those reserves never even made it on air.
They're just there as stand-ins.
'Their goal is either to create a situation to approach Shin Ah-yeon, or to use the filming as a chance to crush her.'
Sung-yun, who had a grudge against Ah-yeon, was the perfect candidate.
'He's probably chalked up his previous loss to carelessness.'
After all, at the ti, Ah-yeon's magic power was far less than Sung-yun's.
He'd know Shin Ah-yeon's strength wasn't what it used to be, so this ti, he'd go all out.
"So, do we refuse?"
"No."
"What? Are you seriously telling
to take this? There have to be lots of other offers pouring in right now!"
Just as Sung-hwan said, causing this much of a stir on cable was no small feat.
There were already several news articles online.
"She's ranked third in Naver's real-ti search! At this rate, she'll soon hit number one!"
Director Song hurriedly chid in.
Shin Ah-yeon's cable broadcast appearance created more buzz than expected.
Considering the show had just ended, the speed at which her na climbed the rankings was astounding.
Most likely, this was because the show's main viewers were active Internet users.
'Originally, the show I wanted her to appear on was sothing else.'
I never expected an offer from Dungeon Exploration Team here.
To be honest...
This was perfect.
"A trap that's plain as day can be used to our advantage."
"... So you want
to accept?"
"Yes."
I smiled at Sung-hwan, who looked dissatisfied.
"It's ti to move to the next stage."
We'd achieved our goal more perfectly than expected.
The stage I'd originally prepared was different, but since a better platform landed in our laps, there was no reason to ignore it.
'You can't afford to underestimate a forr S-rank hunter.'
JM must have thought they had the situation under control and would gain from this.
It would have worked on an average hunter.
But S-rank hunters were never 'average'.
That was true even for 'forr' S-rank hunters.
***
"Excellent decision. We'll inform the Dungeon Exploration Team, so you needn't worry!"
Chief Manager Yu hung up, beaming at Unique's representative, Choi Sung-hwan's answer.
"How'd it go, Chief Manager Yu?"
"Oh, sir! They agreed!"
"Really?"
At Chief Manager Yu's reply, JM's President Bong Jun-shik smiled, nodding in satisfaction.
"If only we'd contacted her right away instead of Sung-yun, things would have been easier. Good thing we've got a chance now."
Chief Manager Yu quickly agreed with Jun-shik, but inside, he felt differently.
'He was so pleased when we stole Sung-yun.'
A B-rank hunter could pull their weight in any guild or agency.
Now, just because Shin Ah-yeon had gotten so attention, he was talking like this.
It was Bong Jun-shik who'd sneered at the start of the show, calling her a washed-up hunter turned clown.
But the mont she beca an internet sensation, he flipped his attitude instantly.
'And Shin Ah-yeon had only just joined Unique!'
She'd joined just before Sung-yun left, so there hadn't even been a chance to approach her.
'Damn it, who knew that kind of show would blow up like this.'
Recently, Chief Manager Yu hadn't even been checking the Internet out of rising irritation.
No matter what community he browsed, Shin Ah-yeon's na would pop up.
==
Title: Just saw Shin Ah-yeon's broadcast—is this real?
No way;; she's seriously so good. Isn't she basically a pro?
Did she just do nothing but ga for three years?
Reply
????: Looks like she played LON occasionally, but her main ga was World of Acrather.
??AyeonLove: For real?
??????: Yeah, if you turned it on, she even shows up in the king's postga scene. Supposedly a ranker.
??AyeonLove: Whoa, is this for REAL?
==
Most reactions online were like this.
She'd already beco a
on so gaming sites.
The rumor was GGN was desperately trying to get Shin Ah-yeon back for another appearance, and even major network variety shows were eyeing her.
'... Whatever. I'll make contact and recruit her this ti.'
Choosing a ga broadcast for her debut probably ant her abilities as a hunter weren't what they once were.
Even Sung-yun had said so: despite a little friction with her, her magic power was so low he thought he could win.
'I'll approach her through Dungeon Exploration Team and make an offer.'
If Chief Manager Yu offered her B-rank hunter treatnt, it'll tempt her—since Unique wouldn't ever offer that.
But if she rejects...
'Dungeons are places where accidents happen.'
Dungeon Exploration Team was the perfect show for Chief Manager Yu's sche.
***
"Dungeon Exploration Team? Weren't we only doing gaming shows for a while?"
"You'll keep doing those. But there's no reason to limit ourselves to just that, right?"
I'd chosen to put Ah-yeon on a ga broadcast for a few key reasons.
'To change Shin Ah-yeon's established image.'
"Great Mage Shin Ah-yeon" is a grand title, but for Ah-yeon now, it was just a shackle.
Sure, there are people who'll cheer for her, but only temporarily.
The mont she failed to show her old skills—or even if she surpassed them—people would soon get bored.
'Her Great Mage image is already spent.'
If she were to keep pushing the sa concept, people would just get tired of her.
That's why I chose cable TV.
Network television would demand "the forr Shin Ah-yeon
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