Ch.242237 – Genius Discovery Team

Throughout history, South Korea’s educational fervor has never died down, though it takes different forms in each era.

From the mid-40s, public education declined while private education, which had been suppressed, began to flourish again.

Responding to this societal demand, a program called “Genius Hunters” returned with a new season following its previous format and gained immense popularity.

Both then and now, PDs and writers have always been thirsty for geniuses.

Just as “Masters of Living” changed course to restaurant exploration due to content exhaustion, “Genius Hunters” should probably rename itself to “Enthusiast Hunters” given how they’ve perfected the art of overhyping ordinary children.

“This time is different. We’ve scheduled it as a special two-part episode with all approvals already signed off. You absolutely cannot mess this up.”

The day to film a genuine genius—something that happens only a few times a year—had finally come for the junior PD.

They received orders from the CP (Chief Producer) of Genius Hunters to gather as much footage as possible.

However, filming with children always comes with numerous risks.

Children not cooperating during filming is common, and occasionally parents suddenly change their minds and refuse interviews.

Additionally, they’d encountered people threatening lawsuits for defamation if the broadcast portrayed them incorrectly, making first meetings always tense.

“Have you decided on a title? Let’s hear PD Park Yeo-reum’s naming sense.”

It was tradition at Genius Hunters to let the most junior PD name the episodes.

The creativity of young people supposedly resonates better with audiences.

Her heart pounding at the thought of handling NoName as her first assignment, she managed to speak.

“The reincarnation of original genius prodigy Ham Cho-rong. NoName, who solved mathematical problems through self-study. How about that?”

“It’s decent but… a bit bland for a special episode. Did you really come up with this? I’m slightly disappointed that someone who beat 120-to-1 odds to get hired would suggest something so basic.”

“Well… that’s…”

She nervously glanced sideways.

Her senior colleague suddenly turned his head, looking flustered.

“Huh? Don’t tell me you came up with it for her?”

“No, it’s just that what PD Park Yeo-reum originally suggested seemed inappropriate for broadcast…”

“Why are you making that judgment? What was the original title?”

“Do I really have to say it…?”

The junior PD’s pupils trembled visibly.

She bowed her head deeply and whispered in an embarrassed, barely audible voice.

“Swi…”

“I can’t hear you. Could you speak a little louder?”

“The 100-billion-dollar Korean super genius NoName who makes the Swiss government nervous and the German chancellor regretful… that’s what it was.”

“Oh my!”

“Pfft!”

“Hahaha! But why 100 billion? Wasn’t it 10 billion?”

“Rounded up to 100 billion?”

“Shouldn’t it be rounded, not rounded up?”

“Rounding up is the standard practice.”

“Why not just say 1 trillion then…”

“Wow… today’s kids are impressive in a different way. Were you running some nationalist YouTube channel before becoming a PD?”

“Well…”

“Well?”

“Just a little bit…! But I’m not politically biased! I just wanted to make some decent money…”

The senior staff were speechless at the junior’s bold confession.

During their conversation, the production team arrived at NoName’s home.

Though their appointment time was approaching, 9 AM might be early, so they called ahead.

“Yes, yes, thank you. Yes, we’ll enter with the filming crew when they arrive. Yes, thank you!”

Today’s weather ruled out outdoor filming again.

Instead, since it was their first day, they planned to simply exchange greetings and film NoName’s daily routine.

“Is everything ready? Let’s go.”

“Wait!”

Someone held back the writers and PDs as they opened umbrellas to exit the car.

“Remember to watch what you say in front of the child. Think ten times before speaking.”

This child has a painful past.

One wrong move that triggers trauma could escalate the situation dramatically.

The production team nodded in agreement and headed toward the apartment.

* * *

Knock knock knock-

“Hello, we’re from ZBS Genius Hunters! We heard there’s a friend here who proved a mathematical theorem. Are you NoName?”

“Your delivery is too artificial. Would viewers really believe this?”

“Huh?”

NoName peeked through the door crack with a frown.

An hour earlier, the production team had set up cameras in the room and living room, explaining the filming schedule to Professor Cheon and NoName.

Then they all went outside, asking them to pretend this was their first meeting.

But the PD’s awkward greeting clearly didn’t satisfy NoName.

“And people don’t normally bow their heads before the door even opens. It makes it look like you already know I’ll open the door.”

“Haha… is that so? Let’s try again—would you give us ladies another chance?”

“Can’t we just proceed normally? Please come in.”

While Professor Cheon went to the study for interviews with other PDs, the production team, including the junior PD, was left alone with NoName.

Without saying much, NoName lay down on the living room sofa and started watching foreign news on TV.

She crossed one leg over the other—a typical adult posture that looked adorably out of place on a child.

“Can you understand all of this English news?”

“Yes. It says if the US debt ceiling increase isn’t approved, there will be a $5 trillion default. This could lead to higher mortgage rates in the UK, worsening unemployment, and global inflation.”

“Wow, that’s amazing!”

“But Republicans and Democrats will surely negotiate. They’re just showing how serious the economic situation is for appearances. The stock market will rebound after its sharp decline.”

The news was entirely in English without any translation.

It was remarkable that such global economic crisis discussions were flowing from such a small mouth from the very beginning.

“So NoName, do you watch the news every morning like this?”

“I don’t usually watch TV. I prefer internet news. But since you’re from a broadcast station, I thought it might hurt your feelings if I didn’t watch TV too.”

We’re in an era where a 3% rating is considered a huge success.

Television has failed to win back public interest, and broadcasting stations are fighting for ever-smaller pieces of the pie.

NoName, who had benefited greatly from solo broadcasting, turned off the news after offering words of comfort to the PDs who had just been unexpectedly called out.

She then signaled the PDs to follow her to her room.

‘The room seems rather empty.’

The PDs were surprised by how clean it was.

There were no walls of bookshelves or Post-it notes covering the walls as they had expected.

“Do you study here, NoName?”

“I study papers with Professor Cheon in the kitchen in the evenings, and for personal research, I mostly use virtual reality.”

“Ah, virtual reality!”

Today’s Alpha generation apparently does all their studying in virtual reality, and NoName was at the forefront of this trend.

Some parents disapprove of their children studying this way, but that’s a misconception.

The Genius Hunters PDs had learned from expert interviews that studying in a comfortable environment yields the best learning efficiency.

“You seem organized. Do you have a schedule?”

“It’s in my head. I don’t set specific times, just daily goals.”

“Could you show us what you normally do?”

“It’s actually exercise time, but I’m still embarrassed to show that on camera. Would you mind if we skip it?”

“Exercise? What kind?”

“Just light stretching, something like yoga.”

“Hmm… Oh! How about this?”

One of the PDs took out their phone and showed her a saved video.

“We have footage from Germany. Is this you, NoName?”

NoName’s face darkened immediately.

If it was footage from Germany, it could only be “that video.”

As she suspected, the video showed NoName sending threatening men flying.

“Yes, that seems to be me…”

“Could you explain how you did these movements, or describe the situation?”

“The situation? You want to know what was said?”

“Yes, yes. Everything including that.”

NoName thought for a moment, resting her chin on her hand.

She was clearly judging whether this was appropriate for broadcast.

“Here they said, ‘Die Chinesen sind wirklich überall.’ Then in poor English, they kept asking where my mother was, and at this point, they said ‘Vielleicht ist er bereits krank und gestorben.’ The coughing man kept shouting ‘corona.'”

“…? You speak German too?”

“Enough to communicate.”

The PDs looked at NoName with gleaming eyes.

They hadn’t even filmed for an hour, but this already seemed broadcast-worthy.

Smiling broadly, they asked her to translate the meaning.

“‘Chinese people are really everywhere. Maybe she’s already sick and dead.'”

“W-wait! Stop filming! Stop filming!”

“They were insulting my mother who died protecting me. Who could stay calm in that situation? So I told them to get lost before I kill their parents too and turn them into kraut.”

Kraut—pickled cabbage and also a derogatory term for Germans.

The Korean equivalent would be kimchi or doenjang.

NoName had decided to respond to racism with racism.

The PDs panicked and stopped filming as the conversation quickly reached a level that couldn’t pass broadcast standards.

But they couldn’t simply delete the footage.

‘We’re doomed…’

The young PD and assistant directors dreaded facing their CP, who would be full of expectations.

“I’m sorry. Was that too inappropriate?”

“Well…”

NoName’s eyes drooped.

The production team’s hearts ached seeing the girl’s expression, like a rain-soaked kitten.

Talk of her mother was clearly a sensitive topic for the girl.

They knew from NoName’s previous competition interviews that her mother had sacrificed herself to protect her.

It was natural for the girl to react harshly when someone insulted her mother.

After a brief discussion, the production team made a decision.

“Let’s include this in the broadcast too.”

“Are you crazy?”

“We can just edit out what NoName said. And think about who watches Genius Hunters.”

No matter how famous the program was, nobody in Europe would watch Korean entertainment shows.

But Asian countries were different.

The top three countries where Genius Hunters earned the most revenue were Indonesia in third place, Turkey in second, and in first place…

“China…! But wouldn’t that make things too complicated?”

Looking at the Germans’ words, they were mainly disparaging China rather than Korea.

Considering China’s current global position, everyone needs to maintain good relations with them publicly, regardless of personal feelings.

The junior PD was making a fuss, wondering if this might negatively affect German-Chinese diplomatic relations, when her seniors shared some worldly wisdom.

“Who cares? We just need to focus on ratings.”

The seniors, armed with capitalist mindsets, resumed filming.

“I’m feeling a bit unwell, so it’s difficult to demonstrate right here. I’ll show you in virtual reality instead.”

“NoName! Could we also film your broadcast?”

“Broadcast? You mean my Twissy stream?”

“Yes! It’s actually scheduled for later, but it might be good to show today too. What do you think?”

“It’s a bit sudden, but let’s give it a try.”

“Yeo-reum, contact the camera director and tell them we need filming support in virtual reality too.”

“Yes!”

Before connecting to virtual reality, NoName turned on the capsule and set it to cleaning mode.

Electricity and mana flowed simultaneously as dust was expelled through the outlet.

The camera director, who had just finished filming Professor Cheon and entered NoName’s room, was briefed on the upcoming schedule.

After exchanging a few words with people, he suddenly pointed his large camera at NoName.

“…?”

A production staff member standing nearby conveniently asked her a question.

“What tier are you, NoName?”

“Tier? Ah.”

Finally understanding the camera director’s intention, NoName looked at him with a meaningful smile. The tier question was inevitable.

“I’m not sure which game you’re referring to. I’m Grandmaster in World of Arsheria and Challenger in League of Legends.”