NOVEL NEXT 69
A towering figure cast a dark shadow over me. Her frizzy, unkempt hair stuck out in all directions, as if it hadn’t been tended to in ages.
With pitch-black sunglasses concealing her eyes completely, she exuded an aura of a “villain” straight out of a children’s storybook.
A child would likely burst into tears at the sight of her.
As I found myself involuntarily frozen by her appearance, her lips, thickly coated with lipstick, parted, and a single phrase shot out.
“Reporter Kang, do you have a death wish?”
What’s going on?
In an instant, the temperature around us seemed to drop by about 10 degrees. I could sense people around us whispering and staring.
“Hahaha. Why is our PD Kim acting like this?”
Kang Yu-ha continued with a soulless laugh.
“You’re scaring CEO Song. CEO, don’t misunderstand. PD Kim is just overjoyed right now.”
This is joy?
The woman called PD Kim stood there, exuding an atmosphere as chilly as a biting winter wind.
Standing with one leg cocked, arms crossed, looking down at me?
“CEO, this is PD Kim Seol whom I mentioned. PD, this is the CEO of
“Pleased to meet you.”
“……”
Kim Seol stared blankly at the hand I extended, looking me up and down.
What’s this about?
Even I, who rarely flinch at anything, felt intimidated by her presence. A PD? Her aura was more befitting of the only daughter of a gangster family.
“Aha. Ahahaha. Our PD Kim’s condition seems particularly bad today. Why are you acting like this in front of the guest I brought? Did something unpleasant happen?”
I could see Kang Yu-ha trying to lighten the mood with an awkward laugh.
Will that work?
If anything, her words seemed to irritate Kim Seol further, as one of her eyebrows arched crookedly.
“What nonsense are you spouting, Reporter Kang.”
See?
“Can’t you see I’m smiling broadly right now?”
Pardon?
Before I could express my bewilderment, Kang Yu-ha chimed in with a bright smile.
“Right? Oh my, I forgot since it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
Then she whispered to me.
“She’s always like this.”
“Ah, I see.”
“But she’s really talented. Every show she produces is a hit. She just moved from the variety department to the cultural programming department, and she’s passionate about beating the variety ratings with cultural shows…”
Kang Yu-ha shook her head.
“Reporter Kang. I’ve asked you dozens of times. Don’t you know anyone suitable for our program?”
“You have. You’ve called me at dawn so many times that I’ve lost 3 kilos.”
“And you’re playing games with me?”
I flinched involuntarily at her piercing gaze. Why, what’s wrong?
“To bring me someone like this…”
Hmm.
Is it too early for a TV appearance? Maybe I was hoping for too much with my newly gained recognition.
She said every show she produces is a hit, and this upcoming program is expected to be a massive success, so she must be quite a star PD.
But it’s understandable that she’d be taken aback by bringing in a businessperson with no entertainment experience as a potential cast member.
‘I’ve put myself in an awkward position by getting involved.’
As I smiled awkwardly, Kang Yu-ha hurriedly interjected.
“Why not? It’s a great image. A businessperson who overcame plagiarism accusations, using their unique creativity to show unexpected skills among professional chefs… How about it? I can already see the article headlines.”
I have nothing to lose.
I’m not a professional chef, just a food service management expert. Though I have researched cooking extensively.
In a one-on-one matchup, any chef who faces me will break even if they win, and be utterly humiliated if they lose. It would be the ultimate embarrassment.
If I manage to win even once, it’s enough to paint an interesting picture.
‘And I’m fairly confident.’
Although I’m not a chef, wouldn’t I be better at targeting the tastes of the guest participants?
Mass appeal without polarizing opinions. That’s my specialty.
‘The question is, does she know that?’
Kim Seol was looking back and forth between me and Kang Yu-ha with calm eyes. Being our first meeting, and knowing me only as the CEO of
‘How can I convince her….’
As such thoughts were rapidly rolling through my mind,
Kim Seol opened her mouth with a sharp tone.
“You knew about someone like this and didn’t breathe a word to me until now?”
Oh? This isn’t the reaction I expected.
As I looked at Kim Seol with wide eyes, she continued.
“Good visuals, decent title. Fresh character. Probably hasn’t had much image consumption by the public yet. But likely high public interest. Perfect.”
Kim Seol’s gaze met mine head-on.
Beyond the dark sunglasses, her chestnut-brown eyes shone brightly.
I could almost see the passion blazing within her. No, she looked more like a predator who had spotted its prey.
“This is exactly the kind of person I’ve been looking for!”
“Haha….”
Kang Yu-ha let out a small laugh. It was evident that she too had been on edge and was finally breathing a sigh of relief.
“PD Kim. I’ve begged you to fix that way of speaking… I really thought my heart was going to stop!”
“Huh? What did I do?”
As Kang Yu-ha lamented, burying her face in her hands, Kim Seol tilted her head as if wondering what the problem was.
She seems like someone who doesn’t realize how she comes across to others.
“No, why are you so tall today, and what’s with your hair?”
“Oh, I’m wearing heels. I had a meeting somewhere else. And my hair’s like this because I let it down after it was tied up.”
“Why are you wearing sunglasses?”
“These?”
Kim Seol flipped her sunglasses up.
“Ah.”
I couldn’t help but let out a small exclamation.
“It’s bruised.”
One of her eyes was swollen.
“Oh my goodness. What happened to your eye? Did you get into a fight? I knew this would happen. I knew PD Kim would cause trouble one day.”
“Fight? No. I hit my head on a telephone pole while drunk. Damn it.”
As the conversation continued, it became clear that many of her earlier impressions were misunderstandings.
“Ah, sorry. I must have startled you. I’ve been pulling all-nighters for a week trying to cast participants for this show.”
Kim Seol lowered her sunglasses and spoke in a voice heavy with fatigue.
“If Reporter Kang had told me about CEO Song a little earlier, I wouldn’t have had to go through this hell.”
The piercing glare she shot was rather fierce. Kang Yu-ha made a pitiful face as if wronged. Kim Seol, disregarding this, extended her business card to me first.
“This is who I am. You’ve probably heard a rough explanation from Reporter Kang.”
“Ah, yes. Here’s my card as well.”
The act of exchanging business cards had a distinctly office worker feel to it. For someone who seemed like a free spirit, she was surprisingly professional in these matters.
“I’ll take my leave now. Have a good talk, you two~.”
“Yes, take care on your way home.”
“Thanks, Reporter Kang. I’ll treat you to a meal next time.”
With a bow, Kang Yu-ha left her seat.
Immediately, Kim Seol took the seat Kang Yu-ha had vacated, sitting across from me.
Her sparkling gaze was so intense it almost made my face burn.
“I suppose you’ve heard a general explanation about the program. Shall I explain it again?”
No. I know enough about that program. What I want to ask is…
“Have you finished recruiting all the other chefs besides me?”
Kim Seol flinched slightly at my question.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“And they’re all chefs with impressive credentials, I assume.”
“Yes. It is a cooking competition program, after all.”
Kim Seol replied firmly. While there were various side elements, the core point was ‘cooking.’
“For entertainment value, we do have some participants with broadcast experience. But there are quite a few who are new to broadcasting like you, Song Woo-yeon-ssi, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to adapt.”
“Strictly speaking, it’s hard to call me a chef. I’m worried that my presence might damage the image of a ‘cooking show.'”
“You don’t need to worry about that. From the start, we were planning to cast one person who was completely different.”
In my previous life, that was someone else. But this time, I’ve become a candidate for that role.
“I understand what you’re concerned about. We’ve met many civilian participants who had similar worries. That’s why we’ll be conducting continuous monitoring and…”
When talking about work, Kim Seol switched from her sharp tone to a clean and neat manner of speaking.
Her voice was calm, but her eyes were full of passion.
She’s a good PD. That thought naturally crossed my mind. The intense first impression from earlier was already fading.
People who are passionate about their work shine brightly in any field.
“…and we’ll keep paying attention to that. If you want, you can request a consultation anytime during…”
“I’ll do it.”
It was a decision I’d made before coming here.
Kim Seol momentarily closed her mouth at my words. I spoke once more, as if driving home the point.
“I’d like to participate. If that’s alright with you, PD.”
“…That’s more than alright with meeee!”
I stiffened momentarily as Kim Seol suddenly hugged me. Soon, bewilderment washed over me as I felt my shoulder becoming damp.
Is she crying?
“P-PD?”
“Waaah! I’ve finally found someone! Anyone decent refuses, saying they don’t want to be on TV, and those who come wanting to be on TV are all just trying to promote their own businesses!”
She must have been under a lot of stress. Tsk tsk. Regardless of my physical age, to me, she still seemed quite young. I felt sorry for her, seeing how much she had struggled.
As I patted her back, Kim Seol’s crying intensified.
There, there. Let it all out…
Half-resigned, I offered my shoulder for her to cry on.
‘This might be the most bewildering thing that’s happened to me recently.’
Even the plagiarism controversy wasn’t like this. That was more about figuring out how to resolve it quickly.
‘Life really throws all sorts of surprises at you. To think I’d be appearing on TV.’
That thought made me chuckle involuntarily.
Yes.
That’s what I thought. Until the first recording of the show.
“The world’s gotten so easy.”
I never expected to meet someone who would say such things to my face.
“Sell some soup and snacks, and they call you a chef.”
…Oh ho.
So that’s how you want to play it?