Chapter 4 : TV Appearance (2)

Chan-guk made calls here and there.

It was to prepare for the next episode of ‘Garterbelt’.

“Ah, yes. Director. Thank you.”

Assassin girl Kim Siyeon. The child who knocked him out.

He didn’t know how she did it, but one thing was certain.

‘The ratings will skyrocket.’

Not only was her appearance striking, but her martial arts talent at such a young age was incredible.

With Siyeon alone, they could produce a lengthy segment.

Usually, each participant gets at most 30 minutes of screen time.

But they were even considering giving Siyeon more time.

Various setups were prepared for her.

Special people were even scouted just for Siyeon.

And it wasn’t just about this ‘Garterbelt’ broadcast.

Once this episode aired, she would undoubtedly receive countless love calls.

Siyeon was definitely going to become a star.

It was Chan-guk’s strong intuition after years of working in broadcasting.

If he started building a connection with Siyeon now, he could surely secure a position for when she became successful later.

In fact, Chan-guk already had countless entertainment show ideas involving a grown-up Siyeon in his head.

“Ah, yes. Ms. Siyeon’s mother. The reason I’m calling is about Siyeon’s appearance in…”

Chan-guk was more passionate than when he first directed ‘Garterbelt’.

“Ah, hello, Podong Oppa.”

“Hey, Jihyun! How long has it been?!”

“I was busy with recent projects, haha. Please take good care of me today.”

“No, it’s me who should be asking for your help!”

The filming site of ‘Garterbelt’.

Today’s guest, Jihyun, greeted the MC, Kang Podong.

She had just finished filming her recent drama.

Before entering her break period, she was appearing on a few variety shows.

Among them, ‘Garterbelt’ was an easy choice—less pressure and familiarity with the MC, Kang Podong.

“Wow, today’s your lucky day. Just relax and react when needed.”

“Lucky?”

“Producer Kang Chan-guk put a lot of effort into today. Something about an assassin girl? Anyway, it’ll be fun.”

“Sounds like today’s guest is highly anticipated.”

The filming set was unusually busy.

There were more people than Jihyun expected.

After greeting Podong, Jihyun moved to the guest seating area.

She greeted other idols, singers, and comedians.

“Hello! We’re rookie idol group Ninety-Ninety-Nine!”

“Oh, hi. Nice to meet you.”

The younger celebrities greeted Jihyun with utmost respect.

She was only 30, but with over ten years of experience in the industry.

Her long time in the entertainment industry had earned her some standing.

She no longer needed to walk on eggshells on variety shows.

Still, seeing younger stars rising made her feel a bit uneasy.

She’d have to put in some effort not to fall behind them.

“Alright, the belt among belts, Garter~~~~belt begins now!”

The recording of ‘Garterbelt’ began with cheers from the audience.

Although it was a recorded broadcast, they had a live audience during filming.

‘The atmosphere here is great.’

Studio broadcasts like this often had stiff atmospheres.

But today, the staff and everyone else seemed excited.

The director, in particular, was extremely passionate.

“Alright, and next up… Wow… What is this?”

After several ordinary participants passed by, it was time for the final act.

Reading the script, Kang Podong acted overly surprised.

“This is the youngest participant we’ve ever had. And unbelievably… Wow, is this script wrong? Anyway, let’s welcome the assassin girl!”

-Woooaaaaahhhhh!-

The red curtain lifted amid the audience’s cheers.

From behind it, a little girl walked out confidently.

When her face was revealed, the cheers grew even louder.

“Wowwwww!”

“What is this? She’s so pretty!”

“She’s so cute, I want to put her in my pocket.”

“How can a five-year-old be this pretty? I want a daughter like her.”

She wore slightly baggy black jeans and children’s combat boots.

Over a slim black turtleneck, she wore a leather jacket.

Her androgynous outfit paired with her flawless face made it impossible to look away.

‘Wait a minute. That kid…?’

Jihyun, sitting among the guests, was stunned when she saw the child.

That was definitely Siyeon from her daughter’s kindergarten.

There couldn’t be two such beautiful five-year-olds in the world.

“Alright, please introduce yourself!”

“Hello! I am five-year-old Kim Siyeon!”

-Wahahahahaha!-

Just from her introduction, cheers and laughter erupted.

Her calm and confident attempt to introduce herself brought smiles to everyone—audience, staff, guests, and MC alike.

“Alright, great! So, Siyeon, what are you good at?!”

“I can do assassinations.”

“Assassinations?!”

“Ueeeehhhhhh?”

This time, the audience let out a collective confused sound of “Uehh?”

It was a word they never expected to hear from such a pretty and adorable little girl.

MC Podong added an explanation.

“Alright, our Siyeon is an incredible martial arts prodigy! And her dream is… it says here… assassin! Is that correct?”

“My dream is to be a spy.”

Wahahahahahaha –

Realizing the situation, the audience burst into laughter again.

It was a common thing for kids that age.

But hearing a little girl proudly say “spy” made her even more adorable.

“Alright, before we see Siyeon’s assassination skills! Let’s have an interview with someone. It’s Siyeon’s Taekwondo instructor! Instructor?”

“Yes.”

“I heard you noticed Siyeon’s exceptional talent from the very first day she joined the dojang?”

“Yes, that’s right. On her very first day, Siyeon kicked my mitt right out of my hand. The kick from that little girl was so powerful, I ended up injuring my wrist.”

Ueeeehhhhhhhhh – ?

The audience gasped in shock.

It was all part of the scripted broadcast, and the instructor, Suho, was quite nervous, but the audience played along.

With such an adorable child, nothing else mattered.

“Wait, are you saying a five-year-old’s kick injured a full-grown adult’s wrist?”

MC Kang Podong pretended to be overly excited, even slipping into his dialect to hype up the crowd.

His excellent hosting skills drew the audience in even more.

“Alright… Siyeon, would you like to… try kicking my hand once? Let’s see how strong this legendary kick really is.”

“Yes!”

Podong raised his hand to about Siyeon’s face level.

As a former Ssireum (Korean wrestling) athlete, his hands were large and thick.

His hand was far bigger than Siyeon’s face.

Without hesitation, Siyeon aimed a kick at Podong’s hand.

“Whoa!”

Ooooooohhhhhhhhh!

Siyeon’s leg shot straight up with perfect form.

Her impeccable technique impressed both the audience and the guests.

Smack!

In an instant, Siyeon’s foot struck Podong’s thick hand.

“Whoa!”

Crash!

Pretending to be knocked back, Podong dramatically fell over.

The audience roared with laughter at his physical comedy.

Of course, this was all part of the pre-planned script.

The bit was for Podong to pretend to fall dramatically after being kicked by Siyeon.

Obviously, no adult would actually fall from a child’s kick.

‘W-what the…?’

But inside, Podong was genuinely surprised.

The fall was planned, but the feeling in his hand was not light at all.

The kick of a five-year-old girl had left his palm tingling.

Even catching a boxer’s jab barehanded wouldn’t feel this intense.

“Wow… wow… unbelievable!”

Shaken but maintaining his composure, Podong continued hosting.

There was an odd sense of unease, but the show had to go on.

As planned, they moved on to the next segment.

“But everyone, Siyeon’s specialty isn’t Taekwondo—it’s assassination! Assassination!”

“Don’t worry, she’s not actually going to kill anyone!”

“Hahaha! That’s right. Using just a toy knife and her fists, Siyeon will single-handedly take down seven enemies and assassinate the final target. Wow~!”

Ooooooohhhhhhhhh –

The audience gasped along with Podong.

But just hearing it wasn’t enough for them to understand how it would work.

Noticing the puzzled expressions, Podong added more context.

“Alright! Here we have seven stuntmen.”

At the same time, seven stuntmen appeared from backstage.

All were experienced stunt professionals specializing in action filming.

They had been personally recruited by Chan-guk for today’s shoot.

“And here, I’ll place a chair.”

Podong brought a chair to the opposite side of the stage.

Seven stuntmen lined up in sequence along Siyeon’s path to the chair.

“Everyone, you’ve all seen movies, right? Our Siyeon will handle these seven stuntmen and then assassinate the target sitting in that chair.”

Waaaaaaahhhh!

It was a type of stunt action sequence.

The audience cheered at the unexpected performance.

A five-year-old girl performing action stunts against seven adult men?

It was an unprecedented sight on any TV show.

But at the same time, they didn’t have high expectations.

No matter how much of a martial arts prodigy she was, Siyeon was still just five years old.

And the stuntmen were all well-built adults.

The idea of a child defeating seven grown men alone was unrealistic.

It was obviously a choreographed sequence.

Yet, the audience still looked forward to it and cheered.

With a face so rare it might only appear once in a millennium,

Just seeing that child on stage brought smiles to everyone’s faces.

They all watched Siyeon with loving eyes.

“And the target Siyeon will assassinate today will be one of our guests…”

The role of the final target sitting in the chair.

That role was always assigned to one of the guests.

Such roles were decided on-site based on the guest’s condition and atmosphere rather than being pre-agreed.

“Actress Jihyun! Jihyun, you’ll be the target today.”

“Huh? M-me?”

Podong pointed at Jihyun.

She was in good condition today, and as an actress, she had the potential to deliver an excellent performance.

Caught off guard, Jihyun was momentarily flustered but quickly smiled and walked onto the stage.

“It’s an honor to be the first person assassinated by Siyeon. Please go easy on me, little assassin!”

Hahahahahaha!

The audience burst into laughter at Jihyun’s witty response.

Meanwhile, Siyeon’s expression remained serious.

“Can I really assassinate you, unnie?”

“Hahaha, of course!”

Jihyun laughed as she answered.

The audience wore the same amused expressions at Siyeon’s adorable question.

Looking down at Siyeon, who stared back up with wide eyes, Jihyun couldn’t resist patting her head.

“Hahahaha! Of course, you won’t really kill her, right, Siyeon? It’s just a toy knife!”

“But I can kill someone with my bare hands.”

“Hahahaha! Isn’t she just adorable? But please, let’s avoid real assassination, okay?”

“Yes!”

“Alright then, give her a round of applause!”

With Podong’s smooth hosting, applause erupted.

Jihyun gave Siyeon another affectionate pat before walking past the stuntmen and sitting in the chair.

Completely unaware that Podong might have just saved her life.

“Alright, let’s begin!”

The stuntmen and Siyeon assumed their positions.

Beyond the seven stuntmen sat Jihyun, turned away in the chair.

‘The target is an unarmed adult woman. But the seven bodyguards are highly trained professionals.’

Siyeon calmly analyzed the situation.

Having completed her calculations, Siyeon pushed off the ground with her foot.

?!??

Every face in the room was frozen in shock.