Chapter 21: Try broadcasting.

Celebrity.
Literally, a person whose name is widely known.

If you were to convert the number of celebrities into a figure, how many would there be?
Even if limited to South Korea, not the entire world, it was naturally clear that there would be too many to easily count.

Then, what if we twisted that slightly and asked, ‘Who is the most famous person in South Korea?’
Similarly, it would undoubtedly be an ambiguous topic to pinpoint.

Nevertheless.
At this very moment, there was one celebrity universally acknowledged as South Korea’s greatest.
“…Huh? Hwang Gilsu…? Is that person perhaps… that person?”

I stared at the TV, feeling bewildered, and asked.
Lee Hyejin, equally flustered, gave a small nod.

“Ah, yes, that’s right…. Wow… but that person even appeared in court…?”

Whether intentional or not.
In any case, it was the middle-aged man who had suddenly cursed at me over the phone, and whose actions had spread across South Korea.

It was Hwang Gilsu.

‘The charge is blasphemy….’

Hwang Gilsu entered the courtroom with his head bowed low, receiving scolding from countless people as if he had committed a heinous crime.
Looking at his appearance, which seemed even more pathetic due to his half-balding head, I thought.

‘I don’t think it was that big of a mistake….’

Clearly, his intention to speak harshly to Kim Heejung and the CS team was a big mistake.
But still, I didn’t think it warranted being socially condemned to that extent.

“Don’t you think that’s too much…?”

Feeling a bit sorry for him, I subtly probed Lee Hyejin’s thoughts.

“Huh? No way~! Since he’s gone that far, it’s definitely the death penalty!”

An answer beyond imagination immediately came back.

“…….”

What should I say… an answer that completely left me speechless.

‘I guess I’m the idiot for asking…?’

I quietly stood up and began to look for Park Kyutae.

Hwang Gilsu was ultimately sentenced to prison.
No matter how much I thought about it, it felt like an excessively harsh punishment for simply saying the wrong thing, and his situation kept bothering me.

My heart grew even more troubled when I saw the lengthy letter of forgiveness posted by someone who claimed to be his daughter.

Because of that, I spent several days feeling stifled, as if something was caught in my throat.
Eventually, I decided to film a video to express my opinion on this incident, which could be called a press conference.

For reference, Park Kyutae handled all the preparations, and Lee Hyejin’s only role was to give me snacks.

‘…I’m glad Kyutae is here.’

His preciousness was felt anew.
Sitting on the sofa, I took a deep breath due to nervousness and looked at the camera in front of me.

Behind the camera, the broadcast screen was also set up to be visible, and looking at it now, an incredible amount of attention was pouring in, more than I expected.

‘Ugh… I-I didn’t expect this many people to watch….’

Was Park Kyutae’s resourcefulness exceptional?
Or were people simply very interested in this incident?

Even though there was still some time left until the broadcast started, the number of viewers gathered was an astonishing 30 million.
It was a number that was hard to believe for a broadcast only happening in South Korea.

“Hoo….”

Thanks to that, I, completely tense, fidgeted with my hands and quietly exhaled again.

‘I-I should have written a script….’

This belated regret now came to mind.
Surely, if I continued like this, my mind would go completely blank, and I would forget everything I wanted to say.

Because of that, as I was thinking, ‘Should I postpone it a bit and prepare now…?’

‘…Huh?’

A strange red text crossed the broadcast screen.
My attention was naturally drawn to it.

[ Notice – Our Angel will be sharing precious words. Everyone, prepare your body and mind properly… ]

It was because the content was utterly absurd.

“Um… Hyejin… What is that strange red text?”

It was so long that no matter how long I looked at it, new content kept flowing out of the notice.
As I stared at it blankly and asked, Lee Hyejin smiled confidently.

“Ah, that’s a notice. It tells you what you need to do to listen to Our Angel’s words.”
“…….”

No… that’s not what I meant….
I already know what a notice is, you know….

Her answer was quite off-topic from my expectation, and her attitude was incredibly confident.
Unable to speak, I quietly stared at the notice, and its content became more and more outrageous.

Why was sitting properly necessary to listen to a story, and why did they need to bathe in formal attire?
Naturally, I felt bewildered and immediately asked Park Kyutae.

“Is it, is it okay to write something like that…?”

To me, it looked like a very mischievous message.
I asked because I was worried about Lee Hyejin, as it was the kind of thing that would cause bewilderment to viewers.
And she could also end up getting a lot of reprimands or complaints.

But the answer I heard was completely different from what I thought.

“Yes, because challenging anything related to Our Angel can lead to serious trouble. Even if it’s a bit excessive, everyone just accepts it.”
“…?”

Hmm…?
So, that means Lee Hyejin played a prank by taking advantage of the fact that people can’t easily question things, right…?
Of course, knowing her, I think she probably wrote it sincerely, not as a prank….

It was a statement with various meanings depending on how you interpreted it.
I tilted my head for a moment and then decided not to think deeply about it.

In fact, this wasn’t the first or second time this had happened.
And honestly, I didn’t think anyone would genuinely care about that.

Anyway, the broadcast soon began as scheduled, and I saw my image appearing on the screen.
As expected, my appearance on screen still felt unfamiliar.

However, regardless of that, perhaps thanks to Lee Hyejin…
I was able to face the camera completely relaxed.

“Um… hello.”

So, the first thing I did was naturally greet them.
It was a simple, gentle greeting with nothing particularly special about it.

[ Hello! ]
[ Wow! Our Angel even greets well! ]
[ Her greeting is cute too! ]

Of course, even that garnered an explosive reaction from the viewers.

‘…This, they’re not making fun of me, are they…?’

The praises were so exaggerated that such a suspicion naturally arose.
Perhaps it was because I had experienced this often lately?
I had developed some immunity to seeing such things in the chat, so I was able to continue calmly without getting flustered.

“What I want to talk about today is… about Hwang Gilsu-nim.”

[ Ah, that fing bstard…? ]
[ Don’t worry, Angel! We’ll all agree on the death penalty! ]
[ Death penalty! Kill him! Kill him! ]

Huh? E-everyone, what on earth are you talking about?
That’s not what I want at all…!?

Unlike at first, everyone suddenly became incredibly aggressive.
Unable to last even 5 minutes, I was startled and quickly added.

“Oh, no! What I intended was to ask for him to be forgiven…!”

[ Is there a need to keep such an evil of society alive? But if it’s Our Angel’s wish… ]
[ To forgive such rude words and actions… ]
[ As expected, Our Angel is gentle, benevolent, cute, cute… ]

Public opinion and the atmosphere changed immediately, like a lie, with every word I spoke.
Are these people really okay with anything I say?

I felt confused about whether I should like this situation or not.

“Um… anyway, I don’t think it was an extremely big mistake…. He did it to me, so if I forgive him, it’s okay, right…?”

[ Of course! If Our Angel forgives, everything is fine! ]
[ If you don’t forgive them, we will definitely make them forgive! ]

‘Huh? How are you going to do that?’

Although many ominous answers were mixed in, everyone’s reactions were positive nonetheless.
Thanks to this, I thought it would be easier to get him forgiven than I expected, and as I let out a deep sigh of relief inwardly…

[ By the way, what’s Our Angel’s favorite snack? ]

Out of the blue, someone suddenly asked this.

‘No…. Are they asking that…?’

At the unexpected question, I suddenly felt a surge of bewilderment and disappointment engulf my entire body.
A sigh escaped me without me even realizing it.

Because of that, I puffed out one cheek and stared intently at the camera, saying.

“That would obviously be Mango Bingsu!”

I couldn’t believe there was still someone who didn’t know that!
It was quite disappointing that they would ask such a basic thing, especially with cameras installed in my room.
I couldn’t help but wonder how little interest they had in me to still not know.

But anyway, there was something more important right now.
I tried to continue with the original topic…

[ But isn’t Choco Bingsu tastier than Mango Bingsu? ]

I found a comment that I couldn’t just ignore and pass by.

“Oh, come on…. Chocolate is too sweet…! The milky part of Milk Bingsu is what makes it delicious. You need to taste its original flavor….”

And so, Hwang Gilsu was put on the back burner.
I ended up discussing snacks with the viewers for a long time.

‘Huh? This doesn’t seem right…?’

That thought occurred to me exactly one hour later.