NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 36
Chapter 36. The One Who Reaches for the Sun (2)
As we reached the top floor at a rapid pace, what greeted us was yet another dark green, vine-covered wall and two doors.
“A door?”
“Looks like we have to choose one and go through it.”
Sure enough, the monitor installed in the center lit up with a flash.
〜〚Choose YOUR way〛〜
The first threshold to your destiny!
Trust your instincts!
Left? VS Right?
From the start, it’s a game of chance? Since I had no idea what the setup was, I couldn’t easily react or try to figure out the quest to choose the advantageous option.
‘There’s no audio, so they’re probably just going to capture some rough footage.’
It’s better to keep it simple in situations like this.
“Which way do you want to go? I’m picking right.”
As I decisively made my choice and looked back at Lee Doha, who had been frowning in thought, he soon asked a question.
“Do we have to go through different doors?”
“Well, there were no specific instructions, so I don’t think it matters.”
“Then I’ll go right too. It seems safer to stick together at the beginning.”
I almost asked if this was a survival game but quickly closed my mouth. Well, it is a survival game.
No matter what, they wouldn’t actually shoot and kill people on TV, right? Suppressing the urge to joke, we opened the door on the right.
And we were stunned.
“Oh, my God.”
“…….”
These crazy people, they actually built a real maze?
* * *
“Hello, PD.”
“Oh, hello, Team Leader.”
“Thank you for your hard work so early in the morning. Please have some of these while you work.”
“Oh my, thank you so much. You didn’t have to.”
Meanwhile, on the 5th floor of the maze (behind the wall Hajin and Doha saw earlier).
Ji Suho, who had entered the production headquarters with Assistant Manager Yoon, began handing out the vitamin drinks he had bought beforehand while observing the atmosphere in the production room.
On the monitor, which could display multiple camera feeds like CCTV, trainees struggling in the maze (not the company’s name, but an actual maze!) could be seen.
‘They must be confused, but they’re adapting well.’
When Suho heard that they would start filming without prior notice to the trainees, he was secretly worried. It was understandable since he had to pay extra attention as it was their first broadcast exposure.
Even so, the fact that this crazy setup was approved was entirely due to the efforts of the two people in front of him.
“The first team to escape is coming out. Get ready. Make sure to mic them up once they exit and give them pre-shooting instructions.”
“PD Kwon, I’m heading up to the MC script reading now.”
“Yes, yes. The MC should be on standby by 30 minutes. The kids are coming out faster than expected.”
“I’ll have it done by 20 minutes. Taeil is a pro, after all.”
PD Kwon and Writer Go.
They were the main PD and writer duo for this broadcast. Among all the production companies they had met for the Maze Survival production, this was the team that Suho trusted the most.
‘This was the last production company on Kang Hajin’s recommended list.’
Though they were a relatively new company, Suho was initially skeptical. However, considering it was founded by a PD who had worked in the broadcasting station’s entertainment department for a long time, the infrastructure was better than expected. The portfolio they had built so far was decent too.
‘But why hadn’t I heard of them before?’
With this much potential, they could definitely grow more. However, from the first time Suho met this production company until now, he never felt any particular aura from these two.
‘Not all stars are celebrities.’
Suho could sense the energy of people who would become ‘stars,’ even if they weren’t celebrities. Forming connections with those who would become star PDs during their early days, buying them coffee and drinks multiple times, had significantly contributed to his current position as the “Guardian of Miro.”
‘The investors… it’s fortunate that everything went smoothly.’
As Suho thought about the biggest sponsor that made this enormous scale possible, he sighed and looked at the monitors. A few trainee boys were struggling, trying to find their way in their own way. Suho suddenly recalled the sole condition the investor had laid out and smiled bitterly.
‘I’ll have to discuss that with Hajin later.’
Even though there was a significant age gap between them, Suho found it difficult to address Hajin informally. He was supposed to call him Hajin in front of others, but, well… With a faint smile, Suho pulled up a chair and sat down to monitor the broadcast seriously.
“How’s it going? Our kids haven’t had any broadcast exposure yet.”
“So far, it’s interesting. Actually, this isn’t the part that’ll be broadcasted in its entirety, but I tried to make the opening a bit more ambitious. I think it’ll turn out well, though.”
PD Kwon slightly moved to let Suho have a better view of the monitor. On the multiple monitors, the trainees were being filmed from various angles as they tried to escape the maze garden, which had been produced with a massive budget.
“These kids are the first.”
-1st place!!!!!!!!!!!
As soon as they saw the colorful neon sign that read ☆EXIT☆, Dan Haru and Joo Eunchan sprinted past in an instant. Following closely behind them, with calculated camera angles that perfectly captured him in all the surrounding cameras, Seo Taehyun, who was showing off his extensive broadcast experience, chased after them.
Of course, his angry shouts at the two younger ones, who were focused solely on running, accompanied him.
-Stop running already!!!!!!!
Seo Taehyun’s thunderous shout was vividly transmitted even through the headphones.
How could it be heard without a mic? As the production crew marveled at the phenomenon, Suho felt a bit embarrassed.
“This group seems to be struggling… It shouldn’t be that difficult.”
In another angle pointed out by PD Kwon, several trainees were struggling, having reached a dead end.
Was the opening too intense? Just as PD Kwon was scratching his forehead with a pen, Ji Suho spat out his coffee, staring intently at one part of the monitor.
“…? Team Leader Ji, what’s wrong…?”
Seeing Suho coughing and wiping his mouth with a tissue, PD Kwon looked at him with wide, confused eyes.
And at that moment, one of the assistant directors stationed at each spot to monitor the trainees’ movements came through on the radio.
-Sen… Senior. This is A2 Spot. Th- the trainee is climbing over the wall.
“Huh?”
-He’s climbing the maze wall… Should we leave him be? Or intervene…?
PD Kwon, wondering what on earth was going on (or more precisely, confirming if his suspicions were correct), checked the monitor again. He didn’t need to count to know where Spot A2 was. The shaky angle of the hidden camera operator said it all.
-Hey, do you see Kim Wonho?
-I can’t see him here. Do you see Doha hyung?
-I didn’t even climb up there in the first place.
“What are these lunatics doing now?”
On the screen, three grown men were balancing precariously on top of the green wall, trying to find an escape route.
As the camera struggled to track the individuals who had suddenly disappeared from view, the leading lunatic, Hajin, found the camera, looked directly into it, and smiled.
-To reach the sun, you’ve got to aim high first.
Then, with a swift leap, he jumped toward the next wall, disappearing from the camera’s view again. Usually, such situations would be considered a broadcasting accident, leading to a complete edit, but….
“Why intervene? Hurry, grab an ENG camera and follow them. Is the ceiling mount rolling?”
-Yes! It’s rolling.
“Let’s attach one more ENG camera since the others won’t escape for another 10 minutes anyway.”
-Yes, sir!
“Writer Yoon, make sure to interview them later. That scene.”
“Yes, I’ll relay it to the interview writer.”
PD Kwon, with a gleam in his eye as if he had found something interesting, tapped the intercom. The camera operators, writers, and PDs all took their positions. Suho blinked blankly at the sight of Hajin’s head popping up over the green wall on another camera.
‘What the… what is all this?’
So, here’s how it all happened.
* * *
30 minutes earlier.
Doha and I, upon entering the maze, realized the seriousness of the situation and decided to stick together for now. After all, in this kind of setup, it was obvious that if you were alone, you’d miss out on screen time, and having two brains might help us come up with something.
“Hey, Kang Ha hyung?”
While we were moving, we ran into someone who was most likely missing out on screen time because he was alone. It was Kim Wonho, who had recently bleached his hair a striking blonde during the break.
“What are you doing?”
“Well, I confessed my deepest secrets as instructed, but the door won’t open. I gave it my all.”
“That sounds weird.”
With an unusually betrayed expression, Kim Wonho glared at the door and grumbled, unlike his usual self. At that moment, Lee Doha, who had been quietly examining the square, dead-end maze, pressed a red button hidden among
the bushes.
Bzzz-.
“I confessed five of my most shameful and embarrassing secrets, and this is a betrayal, wait, what?”
“Isn’t it a problem that you even have five of those?”
“It says ‘press the button’.”
Thanks to Doha, who opened the door within three seconds of arriving, Kim Wonho looked even more betrayed and cried out. Wow, this is seriously messed up. Grumbling and mumbling, Kim Wonho naturally joined us.
‘Oh, come to think of it.’
As I watched Kim Wonho and Doha walking ahead, navigating the maze, I remembered something I had forgotten.
‘Check the rewards.’
I had intended to check earlier, but Doha had beaten me to it. Now was the time to finally confirm the quest rewards.
When I opened the system window, the notification that had been highlighted in red appeared at the top.
[Single Quest 03.]
[‘Do you want to be special?’
Content: The trainers aren’t showing much interest in you, a rookie trainee. Achieve excellent results in the monthly evaluation to stand out and join the special class!]
[You have completed the quest.]
[Reward: Clue for tracking regression & Recruit a companion]
[Would you like to claim your reward? (Select the reward you wish to claim)
1. Clue for tracking regression
2. Recruit a companion]
If I chose the first one, I’d end up being the person attacked in this dark maze, so I skipped it for now and selected the second option. Then, the notification window appeared again.
[System Alert: ‘Lee Doha’ (Response rate 68.9%) and ‘Kim Wonho’ (Response rate 92.3%) have responded to you. You can recruit one of them as a companion based on your choice.
※ The response rate of the unchosen person will accumulate, but the timing of recruiting a companion is not guaranteed ※]
[Companion Recruitment Status: 2/??]
When did they respond like this? Choosing between the two felt like a luxurious dilemma.
I looked at the two people in front of me.
“Oh, found it. Doha hyung, isn’t this it?”
“That’s just a bug.”
“Ah! You should have told me earlier!”
Kim Wonho and Lee Doha.
It was time to really trust my instincts.