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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Assignment
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The moment he returned to his desk, the head of the Integrated News Department summoned him to the News Director's office.
When he got there, the director of the Culture Department, the director of the Entertainment Department, and a stranger were sitting inside. A quick glance at the ID card hanging around the man's neck suggested he was a PD from the Culture Department.
“Ah, Anchor Yoon. Are you alright?”
“I'm fine. What's this about…?”
“Hey, Anchor Yoon. We need your help with something.”
Seeing the News Director glaring at the Culture Director with clear displeasure, it seemed to be some kind of troublesome matter. The PD from the Culture Department stood up first and greeted Se-heon.
“Hello, my name is Park Min-su.”
“Yes. Hello, PD-nim. I'm Yoon Se-heon. What can I help you with…?”
“Well.”
The PD glanced around nervously before finally speaking.
“We're filming a new documentary, and we came to ask if you, Anchor Yoon, would handle the reporting.”
“Oh, is that so? That shouldn't be too difficult…”
“Hey, Anchor Yoon. Listen carefully. It's not narration, it's reporting.”
The head of the News Department, who had been standing by with his arms crossed, interjected.
Se-heon blinked. He had assumed it was for narration, as it was common for him to narrate documentaries produced by the Culture Department.
But it wasn't that?
The department head continued.
“These guys are filming a documentary on Team K, and they said they need to take you with them.”
Seizing the opportunity, the Entertainment Director grinned slyly.
“We did all the hard work, and now the Culture Department is intercepting it.”
The Culture Director cleared his throat, muttering, “Ahem, intercepting, you say,” but the department head spoke first.
“Ah, I feel embarrassed even saying this to Anchor Yoon. Hey, Culture Department. What are you going to do about this? He's not some contract reporter.”
“Ah, Department Head. I'm so sorry. But what can I do? I'm baffled too. I joined the Culture Department to film penguins!”
“Then go film your penguins!”
“But Team K said no to the Entertainment Department!”
“Hey, PD Park. Be honest. The Culture Director is pulling your strings, isn't he? Huh?”
While the middle-aged men bickered and pointed fingers at each other, Yoon Se-heon finally managed to grasp the situation.
So, there was Team K, led by the S-rank Hunter Kwon Wook. The Entertainment Department had been trying to get them on a show for a long time. It was only natural. Among the S-rank raid teams in the country, Team K had the most public exposure and the highest popularity.
However, as they were directly under a government agency, they had never once been cast in an entertainment program. After all, if civilian broadcast personnel entered a dungeon and something happened, the government would be held responsible.
But Team K, which had always refused, had apparently agreed to be featured this time.
On a few conditions. It had to be filmed by the Culture Department. And it had to be a serious documentary, completely devoid of humor.
And finally.
Yoon Se-heon, the star anchor of the public broadcasting station, had to join them as a reporter.
Se-heon smoothed his furrowed brow with his fingers. So that's why Bang Gyun-jong had been smirking. He must have known about this and had come to provoke him this morning.
This was the same Team K the Entertainment Department had been desperate to cast. This wasn't a request for Se-heon's permission; it was more like a notification.
The problem was that dungeons were no joke. As far as Se-heon knew, Team K was currently raiding an S-rank dungeon in the Sangam district. An S-rank dungeon. A place where even A-rank Hunters, let alone civilians, would die in droves if they let their guard down.
“Ah, they're not going into the Sangam district dungeon. They said they'll be entering a small, D-rank dungeon that's left in Eonyang.”
PD Park answered abruptly, as if he had read Se-heon's mind.
Eonyang was near Ulsan. This would obviously require him to be away for a few days, and it was shaping up to be an exhausting, potentially life-threatening schedule. Even if it was only D-rank…
Se-heon recalled the B-rank dungeon he had recently visited. A forest-type dungeon, but the air was heavy, and the only living creatures were monsters.
Meanwhile, the department head grumbled.
“Those damn bastards, do they think the News Department is a pushover?”
“Hey, we didn't want to involve you guys either, you know?”
The Entertainment Director snapped in a sharp voice.
“They have a former idol on the team, it would have been so easy to get good footage. But they said no to us. That dungeons aren't for entertainment.”
“Ah, and…”
PD Park glanced cautiously at Se-heon.
“Ms. Kang Ha-ra, who entered the dungeon with you, Mr. Yoon Se-heon, has joined Team K.”
“Her?”
Se-heon's expression twisted strangely.
“W-Would you maybe… consider going out with me…?”
He remembered the woman in the hospital gown, breaking out in a cold sweat as she said those words.
How flustered he had been when he heard that. He had even made up a non-existent girlfriend to escape the situation.
She may have been his savior, but he never imagined she would approach him like that. To think she had developed personal feelings for him.
Could she have specifically requested me to try and make a move? The thought crossed his mind for a moment, but Se-heon quickly dismissed it.
Team K was led by the S-rank Hunter Kwon Wook. The team members had strong personalities and were all relatively young, so the public tended to underestimate them, but they were the elite of the elite.
A team like that would never make a casting request based on personal feelings for a mere E-rank Hunter.
‘Wait, she's not E-rank anymore.’
Se-heon knew that Ha-ra had met a Constellation in that dungeon and received an S-rank awakening quest.
But Chief Jeong had strictly warned him. The fact that Ha-ra met a Constellation was a secret.
Se-heon also knew there were some restrictions on Ha-ra's use of her S-rank skill, so he had kept his mouth shut.
However, those on the inside likely knew about Kang Ha-ra's condition. Did that mean she was an S-rank now? A flicker of curiosity sparked in Se-heon.
That timid young woman, an S-rank? Most of the publicly known S-ranks were bold and self-assured.
In contrast…
Se-heon shook his head, cutting off the thought.
‘No. She was brave.’
She was the only one who had reached out to save him when everyone else had pretended not to see. And considering how she had braved the danger to check on an isolated girl in the middle of the night, she certainly had the right qualities.
If it weren't for that sudden confession, Se-heon would probably have had a very favorable impression of Kang Ha-ra.
Regardless, the department head and the directors were busy talking amongst themselves.
“I thought that Hunter was E-rank. How did she join Team K?”
“I'm not sure. It doesn't seem like she's a full member of Team K.”
“It makes sense. Team K taking an E-rank into a D-rank dungeon. It's like they're carrying her.”
At the young PD Park's explanation, the directors asked what “carrying her” meant, leading to a lengthy explanation from the PD.
“Isn't the government just using us for some new PR stunt?”
“They have their own X-Tube channel, don't they? If that were the case, they wouldn't work with us.”
Then, the Entertainment Director asked Se-heon.
“Mr. Yoon Se-heon, do you have any idea what's going on?”
“I don't know the details… and it's off the record, so I can't say.”
Off the record. At those words, the Entertainment Director's eyes gleamed.
“Hey, looks like there really is something to this.”
“He's calling it off the record? Who?”
Se-heon struggled to fend off the middle-aged men, who were suddenly closing in on him with shining eyes. Amidst the chaos, the Culture Director clung to Se-heon, pleading, “Hey, scoop or not, let us have some fun too. We're the ones realizing the value of the license fee, but all we get is flak for not making money. Huh?”
In any case, it wasn't an atmosphere where he could refuse. Only after he finally agreed did the Entertainment and Culture Directors back off.
The head of the News Department sighed and asked.
“We already figured it'd be tough for you to do the news every day with your injury. Who should we get to fill in?”
“I heard Gyun-jong filled in while I was gone.”
“You want Bang Gyun-jong to do it?”
The unspoken question was, *But you two don't get along, do you?* Se-heon shook his head.
“Please ask Min-yeong. Or maybe Gyeong-jin, who does the afternoon news.”
“Right. That Bang Gyun-jong, he's been insufferably arrogant after anchoring the weekday news for just one week. It's sickening. Ah, is your father doing well?”
“Yes.”
The department head patted Se-heon's shoulder.
“Whatever happens, do a good job. Who knows? It could turn into a great program. It's certainly getting a lot of buzz.”
“Buzz…”
The department head belatedly cleared his throat, looking awkward.
“Well, it's not exactly a good thing since it's buzz that came from you nearly dying, Anchor Yoon, but…”
It was obvious. This was an era where viewership ratings for terrestrial broadcast dramas hovered in the single digits. License fees were seen as a waste, and ad revenue was dropping. So, of course, every single broadcast like this was considered important.
In an age where people watched the news online, if the main anchor of the 9 o'clock news tried to pull rank based on his fame, he'd only earn their ire.
If he had been anchoring the news as usual, he might have used that as an excuse to refuse, but he had already been away for a week, and it did seem like it would be too much for him to anchor every weekday with his injury.
When Se-heon first landed the main anchor position for the 9 o'clock news, what the higher-ups loved most was the boost in ratings. With a young, handsome anchor at the helm, the news, which had always hovered in the low 10% range, saw its ratings climb to the high 10s and stay there.
Se-heon checked the news ratings from when he was recently absent. Normally, they would have dropped. But because Se-heon, the very person driving the ratings, had been sucked into a gate—and because a gate had opened at the broadcasting station itself—the viewership had actually increased.
Of course, it wasn't a positive increase.
The broadcasting station that had opened a gate in the middle of Yeouido by extracting a magic stone during the Drama Department's renovation. Public opinion was at an all-time low.
Producing a culture documentary with Team K at a time like this? The higher-ups must have already done the math. It would improve their image and pull in ratings.
“Just do it for a year, wrap things up, and come back.”
Someone's voice suddenly echoed in his mind. Se-heon frowned and gripped the phone in his pocket, but he didn't take it out.
“Serve as a spokesperson for a bit, then run for assembly. I'll back you. It'll be great. I'll hand over the district, you'll be a second-generation assemblyman…”
“The Culture Director said he's buying a nice lunch later. Said he's treating us to sashimi. Let's go together, huh?”
The department head's meaningless words went in one ear and out the other. Se-heon gave a practiced nod and went to sit at his desk. By then, the flustered, stammering, bespectacled woman was the furthest thing from his mind.
