The Divine Genius’s Game Broadcasting Chapter 114

Episode 114 – New Purge Day (1)

Urgent need to recruit a fourth member.

Lee Kyung-bok relayed this situation to his friends.

“No, I don’t know if I should like this or not. It just means we’ve grown that much.”

“… … It’s not a situation where I can leisurely enjoy a signing event.”

Choi Byung-hoon and Park Joo-ho's expressions immediately became serious. Park Joo-ho, in particular, looked as if he was making the decision of his life.

“Work comes first. It’s unfortunate, but I have no choice but to go back…”

Park Joo-ho knew how to distinguish between work and construction. However, his determination was in vain, as Lee Kyung-bok had a blank expression.

“I didn’t say anything about going back?”

"ok?"

"then?"

Lee Kyung-bok burst into laughter at the serious faces of his friends.

“It’s not even tomorrow, so there’s no need to rush like that. You should rest when you have time. Besides, it’s not just us who are running, Genom Hyung and Ikle are there too. And… … ”

"and?"

Lee Gyeong-bok was about to tell Newton about the identity of Yun Nara, but he soon shook his head.

'It's not that I don't trust these guys, but the fewer people who know a secret, the better.'

There's an old saying that goes, "If three people know something, it's no longer a secret."

Including my friends, there were exactly three of us.

“If three of you miss out, it would be rude to the fans who couldn’t come here.”

Lee Kyung-bok continued to speak naturally and encouraged his friends.

The two looked at each other with expressions that seemed to wonder if this was okay, but eventually agreed.

“Yeah, in times like this, it’s right to follow the boss’s orders.”

“I can trust your judgment.”

While they were talking, the lottery drawing came. Lee Kyung-bok showed his ID to the on-site staff.

“Oh, could you please take off your mask for a moment?”

"yes."

When Lee Kyung-bok took off his mask, the staff member's eyes widened. Only after Lee Kyung-bok tilted his head in puzzlement did the staff member come to his senses.

“Oh, excuse me. Your identity has been verified, so please draw three cards.”

"thank you."

Lee Kyung-bok put his hand into the lottery box. Park Joo-ho looked at him with an earnest look.

Then he picked three numbers sequentially.

in result.

“… …Is this good or bad?”

“It seems good since two out of three were chosen well, but the remaining one is number 100.”

The first two digits and the last number, 100, came out in order. It was an ambiguous result that made me neither happy nor disappointed.

“See, I said luck?”

Lee Kyung-bok's friends nodded in agreement, but then became serious again.

“No, but if we do this, won’t one person be completely left out?”

“This is difficult… … ”

“Can I swap seats with another fan?”

Park Joo-ho frowned at Choi Byeong-hun’s question.

“No matter how many times I say it, the later you get, the more time you will be pressed for time. If it’s the 100th time, it’s the riskiest among them, so who would change it?”

“Miss… … Then what should we do?”

“I’ll sit in number 100.”

The two people turned their attention to Park Joo-ho's declaration.

“I can’t mess up my first fan signing. I’ve had a few experiences so this is right.”

As he said that, he stretched out his hand, but what he held in his hand was not the 100th.

"what?"

"you?"

Lee Kyung-bok took number 100 first and gave the remaining numbers to his two friends.

Lee Kyung-bok smiled and said to the two who were looking at him with disbelief.

“This is just the place for me.”

“What does that mean?”

“Didn’t Joo-ho tell you before we left? He said it’s better to avoid being exposed in photos. If you’re the last one in line, you’ll actually be lucky.”

The camera's focus would always be on Sweeties. They would attract less attention if they were captured last.

'And there's another reason.'

Another reason your friends don't know.

'You might be embarrassed if I reveal that I know your identity. But if it's the last one, it won't interfere with the autograph session.'

If Yoon Nara's concentration was disrupted, it would be a burden to the on-site staff, fans, and all the Sweeties members. So, the last turn was the best time to cast her.

“That’s true, but.”

“Okay, okay. We still have plenty of time, so let’s go to a cafe. I have to write a fan letter too.”

“Okay, if you like it. I’m curious what’s different about the hotel cafe.”

After finishing cleaning up, the three headed to a cafe to spend their remaining time.

* * *

The on-site staff moved busily.

“Please prepare to enter the Sweeties autograph session.”

They announced their preparations using holographic signs and low voices so as not to disturb other guests.

Fans scattered everywhere, including Lee Kyung-bok, began to move.

“I wonder if this is really true… … ”

“Hey, are you really okay?”

“I said it’s okay. I’ll see you when I’m done.”

Lee Kyung-bok soon had to separate from his friends. As he was the last in line, he went to the back of the line.

“Oh, over there.”

Just then, someone spoke to him. He turned around to see a man standing there smiling.

"yes?"

“Are you number 100?”

“… … But?”

“If you don’t mind, would you mind switching places with me? I’m number 24.”

A proposal to change seats.

Lee Kyung-bok's eyebrows furrowed.

'You want to switch seats with number 100?'

Isn’t this the opposite of what Park Joo-ho said? The man seemed to have anticipated such a question and immediately added an explanation.

“Oh, it might seem strange. Everyone avoids the last priority. But in my view, the last one is a little different.”

“Different?”

“Of course! Our Sweeties members are also people, so they can’t remember 100 people. But if it’s the last one, they can leave a strong impression.”

It was a reasonable explanation.

But Lee Gyeong-bok had no intention of handing over his position to him anyway.

“The exchange has been completed.”

“Huh? But it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long since you became a Brix… … ”

“Excuse me, do you have any thoughts on number 99?”

The moment the man tried to persuade Lee Gyeong-bok again, a woman approached him.

At this, the man rolled his eyes and exchanged numbers with her.

'Something feels a bit off… … '

Lee Kyung-bok wrinkled his nose as he looked at the back of the head of the 99th man sitting in front of him. Shin-gi sensed his discomfort.

“We will begin the entrance! Please take out your ID and number in advance. Thank you!”

The position began to change within a short time.

The spacious signing room had 100 seats, and small bags of cookies were placed on top of them.

[Thank you for coming! Enjoy your meal!]

A handwritten note attached to the bag. It was a homemade cookie made by the Sweeties members themselves.

It was a gift from an idol to their fans, a so-called 'reverse tribute'.

'It's surprisingly delicious?'

Lee Kyung-bok took out the cookie and ate it right away, but other fans kept the cookie carefully like a treasure.

After finishing cleaning up for a while, the fans started to get ready busily.

Unlike Lee Kyung-bok, who only brought fan letters, other fans brought out gifts one by one.

'……doll?'

Lee Kyung-bok's gaze soon turned to the man next to him, number 99. He had prepared a figure skating character doll.

The man felt the gaze and opened his mouth with a smirk.

“Oh, my favorite member is Nara. You know she used to be a figure skater, right?”

Of course I didn't know.

'Figure skating? I thought you had some serious athletic ability.'

Lee Kyung-bok didn't bother to answer. The man continued talking right away, perhaps wanting to show off his efforts.

“This is a limited edition that is only sold during the Winter Olympics, but the country is very attached to figure-related products and really treasures them. That’s why I had a hard time getting it.”

Before Lee Kyung-bok could say anything, the chairman became agitated.

It was thanks to the stage door opening that the Sweeties members appeared.

“Gyaaaaaaah!”

“Sehee! I love you!”

“Nara, unnie!”

The commotion soon turned into cheers. Then the frighteningly fast shutter sound began to resonate.

The photographers started taking continuous shots as if they didn't want to miss a single frame.

'Ow… … '

Lee Kyung-bok let out a sigh at the sudden change in atmosphere. How can someone shake people’s hearts like this just by appearing?

Soon, the members lined up and received microphones. The leader, Yoon Nara, briefly checked the microphone and opened her mouth.

“One, two, three!”

With that slogan, the noise disappeared in an instant. It was clear that the fans reacted as if they were one, so as not to miss the voices of the Sweeties.

“Sweeten your day! Hello! This is Sweeties!”

As the members greeted each other, cheers erupted again. Some even wiped away tears of happiness at those words.

'Wow, this is an idol.'

Lee Kyung-bok turned his gaze toward the stage in renewed admiration. His gaze was fixed on the leader, Yoon Na-ra.

After that, the Sweeties members briefly greeted the fans and asked about their well-being, and the full-scale autograph session began.

Fans began to come up on stage following the staff's instructions.

'Surprisingly, there's nothing pretentious or anything like that.'

Lee Kyung-bok's intuition is good at picking out people. However, despite his intuition, he did not detect any negative energy from Yoon Na-ra or any of the other members.

'Are both of these appearances the same person?'

The leader of Sweeties, who showed a bright smile to the fans and the Newton seat that we met in the game, they were all aspects of Yoon Nara.

At first glance, they looked so contradictory that I thought one side was fake, but I was wrong.

She was sincere to both.

'Oh, it's your turn.'

Soon, Lee Kyung-bok's attention turned to the newly arrived fans. He saw Park Joo-ho and Choi Byung-hoon going up on stage.

'Park Joo-ho, that kid. He doesn't smile like that even when he plays with us.'

Park Joo-ho always maintained a strict, dignified, and serious appearance. However, the Park Joo-ho who came up on stage now looked completely different.

The clown, who had a big smile on his face like a golden retriever, went up and seemed to have no intention of coming down.

‘Byeong-Hoon… …Why is he acting like that?’

On the other hand, Choi Byung-hoon blinked with his mouth slightly open. He was surprised to see the real-life version of an idol he had only seen on screen.

But that time wasn't that long, with fans only having about a minute to talk to each member.

Thanks to that, Lee Kyung-bok's turn, who was the last in line, came sooner than expected. Following the staff's instructions, Lee Kyung-bok also walked toward the stage to prepare in advance.

"uh……?"

"and……"

Then, several people let out a small gasp. Even though his face was covered by a mask, his outstanding face was still visible. Furthermore, his tall stature, muscular body, and broad shoulders were enough to catch people's attention.

Then the shutter sound became louder. Some female fans released the zoom they had been using on the members and captured him through their lenses.

It wasn't just other fans who were surprised by her appearance.

“Welcome… … ”

The members who met Lee Kyung-bok for the first time were surprised and their eyes changed as they greeted him. They tried to treat their fans as fairly as possible like professionals, but they were also people.

“Excuse me, are you a trainee from our agency? Are you here to create an issue without telling us?”

A member whispering in a low voice.

It was a question that came up because the person had an appearance that made it hard to believe he was an ordinary person.

Lee Kyung-bok waved his hand with a hollow laugh.

“Yes? No. I’d like your autograph here.”

Usually, idols refrain from skinship unless their fans ask for it. They don't do it even if their fans ask for it.

But without realizing it, she hit Lee Gyeong-bok on the shoulder and asked.

“Wow, your voice is really nice. Aren’t you really my business partner?”

“It’s nice to hear that as a compliment.”

“Oh, really? This feels like I’m having a fan meeting.”

The smiles never left the members' faces. However, since it was the last minute, there wasn't much time.

She sent Lee Kyung-bok aside, but instead fixed her gaze on him as if she felt regret.

The reactions of the other members were not much different. Lee Kyung-bok rather calmly received the autograph and moved on.

“Wow, the doll is so cute! Thank you so much!”

Finally, it was the leader, Yoon Na-ra's turn. Lee Kyung-bok sat down in front of her and greeted her.

"hello."

Yoon Na-ra also flinched when she saw Lee Kyung-bok. She also seemed surprised, but quickly regained her composure.

A leader is a leader after all.

“Nice to meet you. Is this your first time here?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Thank you so much for coming!”

Lee Kyung-bok smiled and handed over the photo card and post-it note he had prepared.

“It’s Mr. Lee Kyung-bok, you’re going to write it with your autograph… ”

Yoon Na-ra paused as she prepared to sign while continuing the conversation.

It was because of the signature text that Lee Kyung-bok wrote on the post.

[The Gunner Ground and Elden Soul matches were fun.]

Yun Nara's eyes shook.

Fortunately, I had lowered my head to sign, so no one else would have seen me.

“This is a fan letter.”

Lee Kyung-bok handed over a fan letter as if nothing had happened. Then he whispered quietly so that no one else could hear.

“We know each other’s faces, so it’s okay, right? I’ll wait for your answer.”

At those words, Yun Nara flinched. Soon, her hands moved quickly.

When she raised her head again, a smile appeared on her face, though her glare was fierce.

“Time is up! Please leave!”

Lee Kyung-bok took the photo card at the words of the staff member behind him.

“That’s too bad. If we had more time, we could talk more.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Lee Kyung-bok responded with a light smile to the words that contained bones. Lee Kyung-bok, who was about to leave, turned his head.

“Oh, and you’d better take a good look at that doll.”

"……yes?"

Yoon Na-ra looked at the doll she had received as a gift with bewildered eyes. When she turned her gaze again, Lee Gyeong-bok had already returned to his seat.

* * *

The vehicle returning to the Sweeties accommodation.

“Wow… … He was really really handsome, wasn’t he?”

“Hey, it could be a magician.”

“You said that and you still can’t take your eyes off me.”

The members talked about this autograph session. Most of them talked about the last one, the 100th fan.

“I told you, it was so funny that I even remembered his name.”

“Isn’t this Lee Kyung-bok?”

“I didn’t think I was really that stupid, but I guess I’m not.”

“No, sis. To be honest, it’s not just your face that’s handsome. Have you seen your body? It’s crazy.”

“I didn’t realize it, but I slightly shook his shoulder. But his muscles were really… …”

While the other members were happily chatting, only Yoon Nara was looking out the window with a serious expression.

“Unnie Nara, what do you think?”

"huh?"

“I’m talking about the fan who came last.”

Yoon Na-ra shook her head with a bitter smile.

“I don’t know because I only saw it for a short time.”

“Ah… … That’s right. Were there too few hours?”

“Are you coming again for the next fan signing?”

“No, you have to win to come.”

While they were laughing and talking like that, the car arrived at the dorm. The members quickly returned to their rooms, and Yoon Nara also entered the room.

'Eww!'

As soon as she was alone, her expression immediately relaxed. She screamed inwardly and fell onto the bed.

'What is it, what is it! What the heck!'

Embarrassment, confusion, doubt, and even unknown shame.

A mixture of suppressed emotions came rushing out.

'That guy is Purple? How did he know my identity? Were you a fan from the beginning? Enough to come to my autograph session?'

The poor blanket and pillow were crushed with a loud noise by her fists.

But instead of calming down, her emotions became even more entangled and violent. With trembling hands, she took out the fan letter she had put in her pocket.

Normally, the manager and staff would take care of fan letters and gifts, but he brought this himself.

'What on earth are you talking about… … '

Dry saliva ran down my throat.

She opened her eyes wide and took out the fan letter and read it. But it wasn't a 'fan' letter.

"ha ha ha……"

Her eyes twitched with a hollow laugh. She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyelids.

'Event? You want to recruit me as a team? Me?'

That was nonsense.

Newton, who is famous for being a sniper, teams up with Purple, who was his sniping target?

It was an offer that I would have rejected outright. No, it wasn't even worth responding to.

But she couldn't do that.

'Instead, I'll give you what you want… … '

The price Purple had proposed for the recruitment was quite attractive, even considering the fact that it was limited to 'possible'.

Just then there was a knock at the door.

“This is a gift for Mr. Nara.”

It was the manager's voice.

She hurriedly hid the fan letter and opened the door. Before she knew it, she had returned to being the leader of Sweeties.

“Oh, thank you!”

“Are you going to clean it up yourself this time too?”

“Yes. Just put it on the floor.”

As she was about to quickly send the manager away, her gaze suddenly turned towards the box containing the gift.

'But what about the doll story?'

Before Lee Kyung-bok, the figure skating doll that fan number 99 gave him as a gift. Why did he tell him to be careful with this?

It was a sudden remark, but I don't think you're the type of person to say something unnecessary.

“Then take a rest.”

“Manager, just a moment.”

"yes?"

“Excuse me, can you take a picture?”

“Are you filming?”

“Yes, I have something to check.”

Yoon Na-ra said that and picked up the doll. The manager looked puzzled, but did as he was told.

'I don't think there's anything strange… … '

She examined the doll carefully. The soft cotton and smooth texture were conveyed. No matter how you looked at it, it was a luxurious doll.

'uh?'

A feeling of discomfort that passed in an instant.

But she didn't overlook it.

'What was it?'

A subtle movement was detected from the doll's eyes. I wouldn't have guessed it was anyone else, but it was Yun Nara.

Her hands went towards the doll's eyes. She even closed her eyes to enhance the sensation.

'What is this?'

The touch felt foreign to me, and I couldn't simply see it as a doll's eye.

She looked back at her manager with a stern expression.

“Please give me just one pen.”

“Huh? Oh, yes, yes.”

Yoon Na-ra stabbed the doll's eyes with a ballpoint pen. The manager couldn't hide his embarrassment.

“No, if you damage the gift… … ”

Before he could finish speaking, the doll’s eyes suddenly fell off. Yoon Na-ra immediately shut her mouth tightly and took something out of it.

“What, what is this… … ?”

It was a very small camera.

“Report this immediately and contact the legal department. Don’t tell the other kids… … just yet.”

“Yes, yes yes!”

The terrified manager finished filming and ran away. Yoon Na-ra bit her lip and put the camera away.

She wanted to just destroy it, but she couldn't because it would be evidence. Instead, she turned the camera inward and placed the doll in a corner.

'What the heck… … '

I pretended to be calm in front of the manager, but she was also very surprised. But more than that, I was curious.

'How did Purple know this?'

She took out Lee Gyeong-bok's letter again.

[If you don't mind, let's talk about the details directly. I'll create a disconnect room at the address below.]

A suggestion to chat on the messenger program 'Disconnector' that guarantees anonymity.

'I guess I should listen to the story.'

Yun Na-ra made a decision.