Martial Arts Returnee’s Game Broadcast

Chapter 270

1.

Ye Ji-su really liked Director Min.

Ye Ji-su: "If you're watching the broadcast, please save us! Could you at least make up an excuse about us needing to go to the competition program? I feel like I'm going crazy at this point!"

With trembling hands, she sent a desperate text message.
It was a message she couldn’t send anywhere, visible only to the viewers watching her broadcast. She didn’t expect it to work, thinking it was nothing more than a prayer, like someone desperately calling for their mother or a deity when they're cornered.

"Director Min is a god."
"Ye Ji-su, are you sick?"

The prayer was answered.
The miracle came true.
Ye Ji-su made up her mind.
For Director Min, she would do anything.
Min Woo-sung brushed it off lightly.

"Well, after spending a long time in that cold building, it’s no surprise you might be feeling unwell. If you’re not feeling well, don’t hide it. Just speak up right away."
"Director Min, what’s your wish?"
"Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?"
"Because you granted my wish, so I want to grant yours."
"...."

Min Woo-sung narrowed his eyes.

• Director Min is a god!
• I love Director Min!
• I want to be Director Min’s suit jacket. That way, I can be with him all the time!

Unlike those who were confused because they couldn’t read her mind, Ye Ji-su’s feelings were so transparent that it almost made others uncomfortable.
It wasn’t just simple affection.
It was more like a crush.
The affection she had built up towards him as "Director" exploded with today's Zombie Hazard rescue.
Her crush on him was so overwhelming that it made her anxious.
It was a crush that any ordinary man would have easily accepted without hesitation, but Min Woo-sung wasn’t an ordinary man.

"I don’t have a particular wish."
"Well, at least tell me one. Huh? Maybe I’ll become successful enough to grant Director Min’s wish someday."

She didn’t stop until she heard an answer. Min Woo-sung crossed his arms and shook his head.

"If I had to choose, I’d say ‘don’t get sick.’ That’s my wish."
"Would you be sad if Ji-su got sick?"

Is she really not sick?
Min Woo-sung reached out and gently touched Ye Ji-su’s forehead.

"No fever."
"!!"
"If the direct disciples of Haenam Faction were to drop out of the competition due to health issues, I’d be upset. Please, take extra care of your health."

Ye Ji-su, whose heart was racing from the unexpected skinship, felt a flutter of excitement.
Instead of a shy smile, she showed a faint curiosity, remembering the warmth that touched her forehead.
Her emotions were changing so quickly that it almost felt like a whirlwind.

"Direct disciples?"
"You might not have realized this, but Haenam Faction’s Guild Master doesn’t take many disciples. Besides the special training disciples who paid a large donation, you could say you are the first."
"...We didn’t learn anything from the Guild Master. We just have memories of rolling around in Zombie Hazard."

Min Woo-sung shook his head.

"Did you know that the Guild Master controlled the number of zombies outside the building that you could handle during your survival period?"
"I heard something was going on from Ji-yeon, but he was doing that too?!"

Was this the wrong approach?
Before realizing the Guild Master's consideration, it only made them more scared.
Min Woo-sung brushed it off vaguely.

"Anyway, the Guild Master has high expectations for you all."
"What about you, Director Min? Do you have high expectations for me?"

Ye Ji-su's question ignored the clear gap between them, but Min Woo-sung left the room without answering.

"Let’s go by car. Everyone will be waiting."
"Aah, that’s unfair. At least tell me. Do you expect something from me? Do you? Do you~?"

Ignoring her, Min Woo-sung quickly stepped forward.

‘Is she a beautiful woman?’

In the viewing section for the competition program officials, Min Woo-sung was lost in thought as he watched Ha Eung Eung, who was sitting as a special judge.

Even beauty has its limits.

At first, even a man who blushed just from making eye contact with a beautiful woman would eventually become indifferent to her, living with her for a long time.
In that sense, Ha Eung Eung was a strange woman.
She was the target of the association.
A person whose inner thoughts needed to be deciphered.
When he first made contact with her, he thought she was a spy from China who could kill someone just by touching them, and when he felt the fear he had kept hidden, he prayed that his body wouldn’t tremble from the fear.

‘I didn’t have any feelings for her as a woman back then.’

It had been about a year since he started working as her secretary, trying to gain her trust by staying close to her.
Soon, he found himself desiring to monopolize her.

What triggered this?

Was it the innocence of her childlike joy when she jumped over a white line on the sidewalk?
Or was it the loneliness he felt watching her stare at dandelion seeds blown away by the wind?

‘Is there a class of beauty?’

Unlike ordinary beauty, which fades with time, Ha Eung Eung’s beauty grew more refined.
The more time passed, the more his face grew shy as he met hers.
It was the complete opposite of what would happen with an ordinary beauty.
With time, she became more and more mysterious, and he couldn’t help but realize the depth of her beauty.

"That’s what older men call ‘true beauty,’ isn’t it?"

The judge’s words were so perfectly in sync with his thoughts that Min Woo-sung jumped.

"That’s right. Just like how the true value of something reveals itself over time, the Haenam Faction contestants are also pushing beyond their limits. We can see their growth."
"Kim Han-na, Ye Ji-su, Cha Ji-yeon. I can feel their resolve from the Haenam Idols group contestants."

For the mid-course group dance battle, the judges’ reviews were full of praise.
Just like Min Woo-sung had always noticed the different charms and depth in Ha Eung Eung, the judges saw the same in Haenam Idols’ development.
The next up were the special judges.
As they sat with an air of importance, one judge rummaged through his score sticks.
Unlike the usual boss, who would score between 10 and 8, or the teen entertainment experts who gave scores between 7 and 4, this was the familiar sight of Ha Eung Eung, with her scores fluctuating wildly.

[3 points]

No wonder she was flipping through the score sticks frantically. It seemed she had been struggling between 2 and 3 points, even holding an unused score stick in her other hand.
When he heard from I So-hye, he didn’t believe it at first, but could she really be planning to eliminate the trainees and take them for a game?
Unlike the betrayed looks of the trainees and the shocked gazes of the others, Min Woo-sung stayed calm, his usual blank expression in place.

"Hey, Min. Doesn’t your Guild Master seem strange? Why is he giving such low scores to his own people?"
"His standards are just different. The Guild Master isn’t the type to give unfairly low scores."

Min Woo-sung knew.
Although the Guild Master’s judgments often appeared chaotic, they always had a deep, “martial artist’s ego” as a key element.
As expected, when asked about her criteria for evaluation, Ha Eung Eung gave her usual answer.

[3 stars.]

3 stars because it’s 3 stars.
Although it wasn’t clear how martial achievement in the group dance was measured, her bold approach of assessing everything through martial arts was admirable.
The trainees, hearing the standards, were relieved that 3 points was actually high. However, those from outside the faction saw it differently and couldn’t stop laughing.

• Seems like they’ve been marked for elimination, huh?
• Is it like a cut-off string?
• She has a decent face, but would she be acceptable in our faction? Her popularity is pretty high.
• Kim Han-na likes exposing herself, so maybe she could work in night clubs.
• If they start getting sponsorships, they’d rake in money, huh? The old guys will love it.

Feeling a headache from these disgusting thoughts, Min Woo-sung sneered coldly.

• I love Director Min!

How could he not resent the pure-hearted child imagining such degrading thoughts?
As the saying goes, only those ready to accept the consequences should wield a sword.
Those who try to overreach without even handling their own house will pay the price.
Min Woo-sung made up his mind.
They had only imagined touching his trainees, but he would make sure the trainees of Teen Entertainment left the company.
A war without guns had begun.