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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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《‘Rex Nova’s Show Live’ Message Board》
[What lol, only commercials?]
It’s legendary that a commercial aired less than 5 minutes after it started, and they’re showing another one right away lol. Do they think viewers are stupid? Isn’t this like, a historic broadcasting accident?
ㅡ Actually, viewers were stupid. Humans are 70% water.
ㅡ But this is the thrill of live broadcasts lol
ㅡ It’s not historic lol; a while ago, someone shot themselves in the head right as the show started.
ㄴ Ah (Original Poster)
[I just got here, can someone fill me in?]
Hasn’t it been a while since it started?
Why are there still commercials?
ㅡ We don’t know either lol
ㅡ Guess we’ll watch together from now on.
[lol I don’t know lol]
(Image of Andrea)
Just “show” Andrea
Us 4.8 million Andrea fans support her through any controversy
ㅡ That’s a lot, damn. Half of them orcs?
ㄴ No slander ㄴㄴ (Original Poster)
[Oh it’s started again]
Title is the content.
ㅡ ? (Original Poster)
ㅡ ??? (Original Poster)
ㅡ Who the hell is he calling? (Original Poster)
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Even if I endlessly tried to ignore reality,
time was bound to pass.
The commercials that had protected our peace ended, and the filming, fraught with potential disasters, began.
Honestly, just looking at the complexions of the PD or Rex Nova, anyone could tell they weren’t in a state to conduct the broadcast properly.
But perhaps that’s what makes a professional a professional.
They persevered and continued the broadcast.
“…Show Live, we’ll resume now!”
As Rex Nova spoke, the sounds of laughter and applause from a non-existent audience filled the studio.
“We were in the middle of which corner─. Ah, the voice call, right. Haha, almost forgot.”
He looked like he’d just given up.
Rex Nova’s gaze, still filled with chaos and confusion, turned towards me.
“…Did everyone know that this call might be the last of our program? …Just kidding, of course.”
Rex Nova laughed emptily.
The other guests, Andrea and Vince Barbo, still seemed unaware of the situation.
They watched Rex Nova’s antics with bewildered expressions.
On this stage right now, I was the only guest who could guess his true feelings.
[Voice call waiting, caller ‘Chairman’]
I barely suppressed a sigh as I saw the name displayed on my visual interface.
How did things end up like this?
Who was I, and where was I?
I thought all I had to do was appear on the show and deny my relationship with Andrea.
How did things get so twisted?
I felt endlessly dizzy.
“…First, let’s hear what ‘The Man of Rumor’ has to say!”
Rex Nova finished his line and approached me.
His face was so drained of life that I wondered if a celebrity should be showing this expression.
He turned his back to the camera and looked at me. He covered the microphone with his hand so his voice wouldn’t be picked up.
“…Please, I beg you.”
His voice was desperate and pleading.
I didn’t know what he was asking me to do, but I decided to do my best, whatever it was.
I nodded at Rex Nova.
Vince Barbo, seeing us, muttered in a disgruntled tone.
“Ha, just a phone call, acting like it’s some big deal, anyone would think he’s talking to someone important.”
It was a quiet mumble, but since he was wearing a microphone, his voice was clearly transmitted throughout the studio.
The PD’s and Rex Nova’s complexions, which had been pale with anxiety, now started to turn dark.
I took a short breath and answered the incoming call.
Normally, he would have been working at this hour, in the middle-aged male body I had seen him in last time.
Strangely, the voice that came through the phone was that of the female body he had used at the party.
[Hello?]
“…Yes, how are you doing?”
[Between us, there’s no need for formalities, hee hee.]
Honestly, there wasn’t much of a relationship between us….
However, I couldn’t express my true feelings to the chairman of the world’s largest corporation.
[It’s been a while since then, how have you been?]
“…Same as always.”
Well, I had been fine until this phone call.
All eyes at the studio were on me.
Because it wasn’t a hologram call, only my voice and the chairman’s voice echoed in the studio.
[Oh, I should introduce myself first. I guess we’re live right now.]
“More importantly, how did you even know to call─.”
[Hello, viewers.]
The PD and Rex Nova, the only ones present who knew the truth, started to turn blue.
It wouldn’t have been strange if they’d had heart attacks right there.
Regardless, the chairman blithely ignored my question and continued.
[I am ‘Taylor Blackstar,’ Chairman of Black Monolith Corporation. I will leave a statement on Monolith’s official website confirming this.]
…….
A short silence followed.
The studio was generally quiet, but this silence felt different.
The staff, who had been worried about the broadcast, now worried about their necks and remained silent.
…Well, the ratings were guaranteed.
I wondered if I should have a serious discussion with the staff about my appearance fee.
Breaking the silence, the chairman spoke.
[I heard that my close friend was appearing on the broadcast, so I decided to call.]
…….
Since when was I a close friend?
I turned my head slightly and looked around.
Vince Barbo, still seemingly unaware of reality, stared at me with his jaw dropped. His face was meme-worthy, something that would circulate on Netspace as “Vince Barbo’s Humiliation.”
Andrea, who had also taken on the chairman’s escort request with me, listened to the call with a disgruntled expression.
The expressions of Rex Nova and the PD, already seemingly ascended to heaven in resignation, were impossible to decipher.
The chairman, (presumably) unaware of the situation at the studio, continued speaking mercilessly.
Truly the head of a megacorp, Monolith.
[So, what was the topic of the broadcast?]
“I’ll explain.”
Rex Nova, bowing his head as if the chairman were right in front of him despite it being just a voice call, started to explain.
[Ah, my chief of staff told me. Something about a famous singer involved in a bigamy issue.]
“…Haha.”
Rex Nova glanced at me and took a step back. He seemed curious about my relationship with the chairman.
In the extremely unlikely event that I had a special relationship with the chairman, the broadcasting station would have been demolished.
The chairman’s voice came through the phone.
[That’s obviously a lie, isn’t it?]
I sighed lightly at those words.
If the chairman were to get playful and say something strange, I could be in a difficult position.
Fortunately, it seemed like she would be honest.
I knew I could trust you, chairman…!
[As someone who thinks of him like a close friend, I believe he deserves someone better than those ordinary people.]
“?”
Chairman?
[For example, me─.]
At that moment, the chairman’s voice was cut off.
Checking the visual interface, I saw that the call had ended.
What was going on now?
[I blocked unnecessary call content.]
Eve’s voice came through.
…As expected, I knew I could trust you!
Andrea, who could also hear Eve’s voice, discreetly gave a thumbs-up.
Why was she doing that?
Rex Nova, noticing that the call had ended, immediately picked up the slack.
“…Yes! That was unbelievable! To actually have a call with the Chairman of Monolith! We sincerely thank you for taking the time!”
He was showing his professionalism.
Trying his best to finish the broadcast properly.
“The Chairman of Monolith himself explained it! He said it’s not true! Then of course it isn’t true!”
Perhaps because he wanted to quickly move on from this topic, he tried to change the subject without further explanation.
If he were a dragon, flames would probably have erupted from his mouth, but unfortunately, being human, only saliva emerged.
“Another of Neon City’s noisy rumors has been revealed to be false. That’s a relief─, no, a shame!”
Having finished his last line, Rex Nova approached Andrea.
It seemed like he intended to conclude the segment after hearing from Andrea, who was at the center of the controversy.
“Now, let’s hear from Andrea and move on to the next topic!”
He could have approached me first for an interview, but due to the various issues that had arisen because of me, he seemed to be avoiding any possibility of further problems. It was very unfair, as I hadn’t intended any of it.
Rex Nova turned his back to the camera again and faced Andrea.
His eyebrows twitched intensely.
He was pleading with his entire face, begging her not to cause any more problems and to let the broadcast end smoothly.
However, Andrea’s expression was strange.
She looked extremely displeased.
It had been like this since she heard the chairman’s call.
Having known Neon City’s number one troublemaker, Catherine, for a long time, I had a bad feeling about this.
…This. Something was about to happen.
But before I could get up and stop her, Andrea beat me to it, crushing Rex Nova’s desperate hopes.
“That’s not true.”
“…Excuse me?”
A dumbfounded voice escaped Rex Nova’s lips at her unexpected words.
Everyone froze, as if time had stopped.
“Bigamy, I’m seriously considering it. There are so many people after me, it can’t be helped. But if I’m going to do it, the first spot─.”
“We’ll be right back after these messages!!”
Rex Nova shouted, cutting Andrea off.
I covered my face with my hand.
How did things get this bad?
While Rex Nova was sweating profusely due to the unexpected broadcasting accident,
the PD outside the stage was suffering from a different problem.
“You’re saying the rest of it didn’t air because of a hacking? …Should I call this fortunate?”
Apparently, the entire broadcasting station had been hacked, and the live broadcast had been stopped. Thanks to that, Andrea’s shocking statement hadn’t aired.
I eavesdropped on Andrea quietly muttering to herself, too softly for the microphone to pick up.
“Hey, you did the hacking, didn’t you?”
[I did not.]
“Don’t lie, who else would hack at this exact moment?”
[Hee hee hee]
“This damn─.”
…….
I felt a headache coming on, one that might send me to the hospital.
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“…I’m exhausted.”
Finally back home after a long day, I slowly opened the front door.
And stopped.
“?”
Something was strange.
…Since when was my house this big?
“You’re back?”
Catherine, who had come through “next door” into “my house,” greeted me.
Such a physically impossible act was possible because the wall separating the two houses had vanished.
“…What is this?”
“I decided to live with you, so I combined them.”
“…….”
What about my privacy?
Then, behind me as I stood dumbfounded, Andrea’s voice rang out.
“Oh, I moved here too.”
“?”
“There was a vacancy on this floor. Thought it was perfect timing, so I signed the lease.”
I looked in the direction Andrea pointed.
It was Bill’s old apartment.
He had run away, leaving it vacant, and she hadn’t missed the opportunity.
…Hmm.
I seriously considered moving.
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