No Seungsik had been in a great mood since the moment he stepped into the hotel.
Just as the first floor of a department store has that distinct, luxurious scent of cosmetics, hotel lobbies have a similar aroma.
‘This is exactly why I became a reporter.’
When he was first assigned to the Social Affairs desk, he was more confident than anyone that he would excel.
But then, Lee Hyeonwook suddenly transferred from the Culture desk to Social Affairs and started causing a stir almost every single day.
Was he the only one capable of landing a scoop?
No Seungsik had originally looked down on Lee Hyeonwook.
He figured that while he was covering serious social issues, Lee Hyeonwook was the type of guy who would just chase after celebrities.
That was why, when Lee Hyeonwook first reported a scoop, No Seungsik dismissed it as a stroke of blind luck.
‘If I put my mind to it, I can catch up to someone like you in no time!’
However, the quality of Lee Hyeonwook’s reporting was on a different level from his own.
Furthermore, after witnessing the sparking tension between Kim Dusik and Lee Hyeonwook, the fan cafes that had already sprung up, and the way Department Head Lee Jinyeol treated Lee Hyeonwook, he gave up on that ambition.
Besides, wasn’t Lee Hyeonwook even participating in the auditions for the <9 O’Clock News Prime> anchor?
Since the situation had turned out this way, he had to change his course.
If he couldn’t establish a position as strong as Lee Hyeonwook’s within the newsroom, he had no choice but to find another way to survive.
‘Recognition from others? I don’t need that. Let’s go for practical gains!’
As a result, No Seungsik began conducting his “reporting” at hotels.
As he approached the entrance of the hotel’s breakfast buffet restaurant, a man in his 50s wearing a worn-out jumper stood awkwardly, then greeted No Seungsik brightly upon spotting him.
“Reporter, you’ve arrived?”
“President Kim, you’re here early. Shall we head inside?”
No Seungsik’s brow furrowed slightly at the sight of President Kim’s appearance. However, he quickly wiped the expression from his face.
‘Anyway, all I have to do is eat a delicious meal and get what I’m owed.’
And so, at 9:30 AM on a weekday, No Seungsik piled food onto his plate at a five-star hotel breakfast buffet, salivating.
Plates filled with various foods quickly crowded the table, and No Seungsik began eating, smacking his lips.
“This is the eco-friendly energy storage device our company developed this time.”
President Kim, who hadn’t touched his food and had only taken a few sips of water, spoke as he pushed the company’s promotional materials toward No Seungsik.
“I know. That’s why I contacted you first, didn’t I? If a company like yours approaches the Ministry of Environment or the business department, you’ll just be cursed at for wanting a promotional article. Everything must be approached as a social issue.”
“……Yes.”
While Lee Hyeonwook was engaged in passionate investigative reporting, No Seungsik had pivoted his position to that of a “small business hunter.”
He would contact companies that had just developed new technologies or those in need of support, talking a big game about scratching their itch.
“Think about it. An eco-friendly energy storage device… Do you think people will like it if you put out an article linking it to environmental protection? They’ll just say it’s the same old story, that they were baited by a company promo, and they’ll curse you.”
In truth, President Kim had wanted a promotional article.
That was why he had been puzzled when he first received the call from Reporter No Seungsik.
Why was it from the Social Affairs desk?
“But what if we write the article from a social perspective? Like, ‘Enormous social costs are being incurred due to environmental issues, and this all becomes taxes we have to pay. How can we reduce this?’ Then people will think, ‘Ah, it would be great if a good technology were developed so those costs wouldn’t be incurred,’ right?”
He had already heard it over the phone, but Reporter No Seungsik’s explanation sounded reasonable.
It wasn’t a world where simply promoting something worked anymore.
Still, he hadn’t expected to meet at a five-star hotel buffet first thing in the morning.
Nor did he expect the man to just gorge himself on food with such a lack of sincerity.
However, President Kim wasn’t entirely naive, so he had prepared an envelope of money in his jacket.
He hadn’t been sure how much to put in, so he had brought one million won…
‘Sigh, what should I do?’
He was hesitating over whether to take out the envelope, and if so, how to do it naturally, when it happened.
“So, President Kim. You should show some sincerity toward my efforts.”
No Seungsik demanded the money as if it were nothing.
Perhaps because he had received it several times before, it sounded as natural as saying, ‘The food here is delicious, please try some.’
But no matter how much he had anticipated it, President Kim couldn’t help his expression stiffening slightly at the sight of someone openly asking for money.
No Seungsik remained unfazed by President Kim’s expression.
Rather, he seemed to project an attitude of ‘What are you going to do about it?’, making President Kim feel intimidated.
Just as President Kim pulled the white envelope from his chest and No Seungsik reached for it with a delighted look…
A man dressed like a celebrity strode toward their table.
“You’re the one who should show sincerity. If a source provides a lead, it’s the reporter’s sincerity to treat the source to at least a coffee using their reporting expenses.”
No Seungsik whipped his head around to find Lee Hyeonwook standing there.
Dressed in a way that wouldn’t look out of place if he were hosting <9 O’Clock News Prime> right this second.
Beside him, the camera reporter who always stuck to Lee Hyeonwook like a set was filming.
‘Fuck, I’m screwed.’
“President. This is not normal reporting. This guy, who ate the most, will pay for the meal here, so please head back for today.”
I handed the white envelope that had been in No Seungsik’s hand back to President Kim.
President Kim, looking bewildered, soon grasped the situation, stood up, bowed politely, and left.
“So this is what you’ve been doing all this time.”
“…”
“Contacting powerless small businesses, dangling the bait of an article, getting entertained, and demanding money. It’s a hotel breakfast buffet now, but I wonder if you’ll be asking for drinks and a second round later.”
“What? Are you done talking?”
“Do you think I’m done? You’ve been going around damaging the company’s dignity like this; do you think it ends with a few words?”
“So what? What are you going to do about it?”
Bluffing until the very end.
What’s the point of glaring? Your pupils are shaking like an earthquake.
What’s the point of shouting? Your lips are bone dry.
“With the evidence I witnessed and Myeongjin filmed, you wouldn’t have a word to say even if you were kicked out of the station. Changing jobs? If you take a test at another media outlet, I’ll tip this video off to them. Fabrication? Well. As you know, there are so many aspiring reporters. Do you think I’ll go through the trouble of proving it’s a fake video for your sake? There’s a truckload of candidates lined up, begging to be hired and promising to work hard.”
“…What do you want?”
“Now we’re finally speaking the same language.”
From now on, you’re Kim Dusik’s lackey, you bastard.
The waiting room for the internal male anchor auditions for KCN’s 9 O’Clock News Prime.
When I returned immediately after parting with No Seungsik, four applicants were already seated.
Since they had passed the document screening, the number of candidates had been significantly narrowed down.
Kim Dusik was among those four.
Kim Dusik glared at me with a murderous look.
‘What? What are you going to do by staring?’
Just as I was staring back with equal intensity…
“We will now move to Studio B for the camera test.”
An assistant director entered the waiting room and guided us to the studio.
As I crossed the threshold of the studio, I made a decision.
‘Shall I properly show off the skill of an experienced news anchor and the insight of a Head of News who participated as a judge for the 9 O’Clock News?’
KCN Station, Studio B.
It was clearly a camera test site.
It was the set for 9 O’Clock News Prime, and five judges were seated opposite the anchor’s table.
The Head of News, the News Director, the Production Head, the Production Director, and the Head of the Announcer Department.
“We will proceed in alphabetical order. We already know who you are, so please skip the introductions and approach this as if you were being deployed directly into a broadcast,” the Head of the Announcer Department explained.
The order was reporters Gu Junyeol, Kim Dusik, Park Sunwoo, me, and Choi Chulgi.
They were all people with 3 to 8 years of experience, but since I knew who they were and what kind of reporting careers they would have, I wasn’t nervous at all.
‘Thanks to K, I think I’ve already gained the upper hand with my visuals.’
In the past that I knew, Kim Dusik became the anchor.
He told me the story about giving under-the-table money to the Head of News only after he had come to trust me completely.
At the time, I didn’t ask about the source of that money, but now I know that Assemblyman Jin Woo-il stepped in for him to become his mouthpiece.
And that the Head of News was also part of that gang.
‘But what about now?’
The situation had changed.
After my regression, President Ju Yeong-eun, who had been pushed around in terms of power, began to speak up, and as I produced results with exclusive scoops and viewership ratings, the Head of News could no longer blindly protect Kim Dusik.
Above all, since Jin Woo-il could no longer receive money from Jin Hwaju, wouldn’t it be difficult for him to scatter cash?
The world is small, bad people are many, and they were all connected.
Cutting those ties is my job, and to do that, I have no choice but to become stronger than the bad guys.
“Good evening, viewers. This is Gu Junyeol for 9 O’Clock News Prime.”
Reporter Gu Jun-yeol’s camera test began.
The prompter, which allows the anchor to read the script, operated, and Reporter Gu Jun-yeol was reading calmly when he suddenly hesitated.
‘The prompter stopped.’
It was a kind of quick-thinking test.
Hesitating is a point deduction.
Whether the prompter stopped or turned off is none of the viewers’ business, so it is the anchor’s job to proceed without making it obvious.
“Good evening, viewers. This is Kim Dusik for 9 O’Clock News Prime. Our first story. The ratification agreement for the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement has passed the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. This comes four years after the FTA was signed. Reporter Lee Seok-ju reports on what changes will occur in the Korean economy. Ah, before that, we have breaking news. There is news that the Gongmin Party has finalized its candidate ahead of the Seoul mayoral by-election.”
During Kim Dusik’s turn, a sudden situation occurred where breaking news was shouted through the in-ear monitor.
The principle of news is to report the most important things first.
When breaking news comes in, the current news must be stopped and the breaking news delivered first.
Even if the PD speaks incoherently through the in-ear?
You still have to deliver it smoothly.
If you don’t know the details, you should say you’ll provide more information as it comes in, but you must not panic.
Kim Dusik, who had always wanted to go to the Political desk, delivered the breaking news confidently, and in my view, he handled it quite well.
After Park Sunwoo who lacked impact, it was my turn.
“From now on, we will show you a screen without audio. You must deliver the news on the spot based on that screen.”
Looking at the monitor installed right below the camera, CCTV footage of some interior was playing.
In the upper left of the video was the date 20XX-03-11, and Japanese text was visible on the wall.
People in the screen were swaying back and forth, books on a bookshelf were pouring out, and objects on a table were repeatedly scattering.
It was an earthquake that occurred in Japan.
“In the screen you are seeing now, people are panicking as they feel the shaking. Books are falling and objects are sliding. This is CCTV footage taken during the earthquake that occurred in Japan on March 11, 20XX. It was a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake that occurred off the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region.”
My long-standing habit of speed-reading the main news every day and prioritizing them had left a lot of information in my head.
I spoke, mixing descriptions of the video with information about the event.
This was a very easy camera test.
Just as my suspicion grew that they wouldn’t give such an easy test, sure enough, the screen suddenly froze.
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