Chapter 43

‘Should I call this big money?’

Channel One was a subsidiary of Il-Sung, the world’s largest company and had the largest broadcasting power even in District 34 where various media outlets were present. In order to secure work here, I adjusted my part-time schedule again. The day off on Wednesday was moved to the weekend. As a result, my workload changed to five days a week! It felt like I was constantly adjusting my time, but Woonnye Steelworks originally had a normal schedule of five days a week so there was no problem with the rest. This could be considered the only advantage of hourly part-time jobs.

“No, boss. There are three products scheduled for filming today. Is it okay?”

“Don’t worry. My body is sturdy.”

We entered through an exit at the back of the building and took the staff elevator. When we got off the elevator, a female writer with a worried expression asked while flipping through her script, “Is Changsik here again? I understand having extras as staff but isn’t it dangerous to do stunts?”

“Hey! Despite how I look, I am trained in biological energy?”

“Sigh. What good is biological energy? You should focus on beauty… Ah! It’s Han Jae-yeon-ssi, right? I heard you did well last week. Today… Eh? Three products? Can you handle it?”

The place we visited was ‘Guardian Angel’, one of the numerous sub-channels operated by Channel One.

It was a plausible name but…

‘Home shopping, after all.’

Of course, it wasn’t selling ordinary items but artifacts and self-defense equipment.

[There have been too many strong incidents lately? Ohhh~ I am really scared. The priests of Justice can’t properly deal with stalking cases, and there is terrorism happening whenever people forget about it. Of course, when an incident occurs, the police handle it well, but by then, harm has already been done! It’s truly scary, so I can’t walk on the streets at night.]

As I listened to the host’s exaggerated words, I put on the black outfit provided by the writers. Basically, with my large build and scarred neck, anyone would see me as a suspicious criminal dressed in black clothes.

“Now please wait.”

My part-time job as a guardian angel was a type of stunt. However, it differed from ordinary stunts since I wasn’t performing synchronized actions for movies or dramas but demonstrating the performance of protective equipment.

“Okay, let’s go!”

Following the writer’s words, I stepped forward towards the camera. A pretty woman looked at me with fear on her face.

“W-Who are you?”

Of course, it was acting. It was incredibly poor acting.

“Just come somewhere with me.”

“N-No way!”

“Don’t talk and follow quickly.”

“Why should I follow you?”

I didn’t bother to act hard. Since my role was just a reenactment actor, my acting skills weren’t heavily scrutinized!

As such, I just frowned and growled at her.

”…Did you talk back?”

”…!”

It was just ordinary words. However, for some reason, the face of the woman who had been acting poorly until now turned genuinely pale.

“N-No way! This will be fired!”

‘What is she saying?’

This wasn’t the timing to shoot, and it wasn’t part of the script.

‘Does she want to act more ambitiously? How diverse. Really.’

In this annoying situation, my face distorted as I pressured her.

“You will fire? Yes! Fire away!”

“Kyaaak!”

Paat!

At that moment, the ring on her finger emitted light and shot towards me. I avoided it, following the instructions ‘Even if you can take the hit, try to avoid it’.

Paat!

The beam of light I avoided changed direction like lightning and flew towards me again. I bent down sharply to avoid it once more.

Paaht!

It changed direction again. I bounced to the right and evaded,

Paaht! Paaht!

The movement of the light became increasingly fierce. I tried my best to evade. After all, she asked me to try avoiding if possible. However, at one moment…

‘Eh? Do I have to avoid it again?’

I had avoided it eight times but the ninth was ambiguous. It could be avoided. But unlike the previous eight instances where I relied on battle experience or reflexes, this time Combat Preconception recognized the attack. Since revealing Combat Premonition on camera wasn’t ideal, instead of immediately dodging, I turned to assess the trajectory of the light beam-

Bam!

“Ugh!” I groaned. In fact, it was acting. The protective suit I wore beforehand blocked most of the impact. Of course, it wasn’t completely painless. It would still hurt even if wearing a bulletproof vest and getting shot.

Zzzzzz!

Magic power surged as steel chains wrapped around my body. I was bound up and rolled over on the ground.

[The report has been completed. Police will be summoned in 10 seconds. 9. 8. 7…]

Pop!

Space split apart, revealing a slim police officer in uniform.

“Hello! Police with citizens! This is Special Forces Combat Police Officer Song Hana!”

I laughed at her refreshing appearance.

Who would think this person could single-handedly dismantle criminal organizations as a combat police officer?

Moreover, she was familiar to jae-yeon.

Isn’t that the dog owner from before?

She had clashed with one of the apostles of justice for bringing her pet into a restaurant. He’d initially assumed she must be some kind of guild master, but it turned out she was a cop.

“Well then, since the test is done, I’m off! Good-bye, everyone!”

With Song Hana gone, the host took back over the presentation.

“The Safety Ring series has tradition and history behind it, making each ring both a luxury accessory and a high-level magic tool. Did you see those incredible acrobatics by our stunt performer just now? Not just anyone possesses such athletic prowess. She appears to be quite a powerful ability user.”

However! Even such a person couldn’t escape from the Safety Ring’s binding spell! It was truly the best means of ensuring our safety. The detailed resources for this Safety 332 model are as follows. And all of this…”

I listened to the explanation while chained up. This was something new that I had recently acquired. In fact, there weren’t many volunteers for this job. No matter how much protective clothing guarded the body, it only prevented serious injuries and couldn’t completely eliminate harm. Moreover, the self-defense items sold by Guardian Angel were top-notch, so a regular person could be at risk if they used them incorrectly.

“Good work!”

At 3 p.m., I finished three shoots and received payment. It was 1 million won for each of the three cases, totalling 3 million won. Additionally, two more bookings were scheduled for Sunday.

‘Not bad?’

I was a bit sore but eating some high-quality Songpyeon would help. This work could only be done on weekends, but with this amount of earnings, it seemed possible to give pets to my elite soldiers.

“Boss! Did you finish well? Ugh… My waist hurts so much from rolling on the ground. I have to act, not do stunts…” Changsik ran over and started complaining.

‘I thought it might involve some illegal activity due to the high pay.’

However, what he asked was more wholesome than I imagined. It was humiliating to be hit by artifacts several times but the pay was good so I was satisfied.

“Did you finish well?”

“I helped with stunts and some staff members before coming here. Ah, those PDs… it feels like my position is always at stake, constantly hoping under their torture…” Changsik suddenly fixed his gaze on one spot, making me curious as well. I turned my head to see what had caught his attention.

There, stood a bear.

‘What, a smart pet? This is the first time I’ve seen one this big.’

It wasn’t suitable for regular people due to its size. Not only would it be difficult to transport in a vehicle because of its bulk, but the teleportation cost also increases significantly with mass.

It wasn’t hard to figure out its purpose.

‘Broadcasting equipment, and it seems designed for outdoor filming.’

Indeed, three women were gathered in front of the bear, chatting animatedly.

“Okay, say hello to our viewers, boss. Hello there! Today we’re visiting the Doyeon Channel set.”

“Woah, so many people here. It’s triggering my panic disorder…”

“The weather is really nice today. Perfect day for lifting weights.”

“Hey, ask them to shoot a moon balloon, a moon balloon!”

“But isn’t it almost time for broadcasting now? The deadline is approaching soon.”

Despite their conversation-like appearance, not a single exchange between these three qualified as actual dialogue. They were essentially engaged in collective monologues, each speaking their own thoughts without interaction.

Watching this scene unfold, Changsik groaned.

“Ugh. They seem to be doing broadcasting carelessly, yet they have five million subscribers… I’m jealous, really.”

“Famous people? Comedians?”

“Huh? You don’t know them? They are best-selling novelist Amundsen, manhwa artist Strong Sword known for his shonen works, and comedian Boosoman.”

“I don’t know them. Are they that popular?” Unfortunately, I hadn’t heard of these guys before. It seemed like I wasn’t interested in such things from the beginning. Changsik made a frustrated expression.

“No boss, what do you usually do in your life? Despite how they look, they are top writers on large portals or platforms.”

“Hrmm. I guess they are popular.” Obviously, it was a topic that didn’t interest me. What did popular novelists or manga artists have to do with me now? However, his next words caused my head to automatically turn towards him.

“Very popular. He makes more than one billion won per month just from copyright fees.”

“What…?”

I was surprised. No, how much did you say?

“Well, popular novelists or manhwa artists earn far more than most celebrities. The problem is that they also attract attention through streaming platforms and variety shows, appearing not only on internet broadcasts but even on mainstream channels. Ugh. I’m really jealous.”

Although Changsik continued talking about various things, I couldn’t hear any of it. Only one word echoed in my ears like a reverberation:

‘One billion won per month. One billion won per month…’

In the past, working for 24 hours a day throughout the entire month earned me 10 million won. This meant his income was 100 times higher than mine. Moreover, this was ‘just from copyright fees’, implying he made even more? What if I could have such earnings?

‘I can produce 100 knights who can fight one-on-one against Sword Master.’

This feeling was completely different when looking at other rich people. In almost 100% of cases, their wealth came from inheriting it or receiving support from others. However, these two had created their current income starting with nothing.

“Uh boss? Why do you look so lost?”

“Ah, just tired.”

“Well, that makes sense? Ugh. Even I am sore after introducing you.” As he spoke, we exited the waiting room and encountered a group approaching us.

“Oh! Scarlet-ona! Are you here for broadcasting?”

“Yes, but why… Huh?”

Scarlet, who was listening to Changsik’s words with surprise, stopped abruptly when she saw me. Then her manager, cameraman, stylist and makeup artist also halted their movements.

“Eh? What is it?”

“Ah, nothing. But isn’t that the bouncer? Why is he here?”

“I have some connections at the broadcasting station! I introduced him for a part-time job.”

“A part-time job at the broadcasting station? Weren’t you going to be a recluse…?” She trailed off almost whispering but couldn’t escape my sensitive ears.

‘Firstly, I understand now that you didn’t believe a single word I said.’

Despite this, Scarlet regained her composure and smiled brightly.

“Well, hello there! I didn’t expect to see you here, so I’m surprised.”

“Oh, yes. I thought you were just a radio DJ, but it seems you’re involved in filming as well.”

“Well, just at the level of broadcasting. A-anyway, I will be going now! Goodbye!”

“Yes.”

I nodded strangely and went my way. Behind me, I heard nonsense like ‘Sis? Why are you acting so stiff?’ or ‘Oooooh! Sis, maybe?’, but I didn’t care about it at all.

‘One billion won.’

That was all that occupied my mind.

‘One billion won per month.’