Chapter 66: I Became the Older Brother of a Top Star

"…So, that's how you became the first regular members of our program. Of course, the decision is yours."

Is this how the future changes again?

The program was originally supposed to proceed without regular members and eventually disappear.

While their stubbornness did work to some extent, it ultimately led the program down the path to its demise.

However, they wanted to use Yuna and me as regular members.

Due to the new lives of Yuna and me, the program also underwent changes.

"I completely love it!"

"Really? That's a relief. Yuseong, what about you?"

But is this really the right thing to do?

Even if Yuna and I become regulars, can a program that should have been canceled be revived?

The PD looked uncomfortable when I didn't answer.

"Yuseong doesn't seem to like it."

Then Yuna looked at me with a slightly surprised expression and said in a dejected voice,

"If you don't like it, I won't either..."

"Ah. Got it. If one of you doesn't like it, there's nothing we can do."

It's not that I don't like it.

"I like being a regular member, but..."

"Okay. Do you have any other suggestions?"

At that moment, I could see the auras of the PD and writers in the meeting room rising.

Although it wasn't a long time, I had met them several times and knew they were definitely skilled.

That's why they were able to boost the ratings of a cable variety show to this level.

In other words, their instincts were quite good.

If the broadcasting station had provided more support, they could have turned it into a long-running program without the burden of costs.

I slowly absorbed the auras rising from them.

To learn their instincts for broadcasting.

'So, everyone had their own reasons.'

I couldn't know their inner thoughts, but through their auras, I could feel the emotions they had toward the broadcast.

They are anxious.

They must have run the numbers hundreds of times.

They also knew very well that the show would collapse if it continued as is.

"Isn't it a bit risky to continue the show like this?"

The PD and writers were taken aback by my question.

"Huh? What do you mean by risky?"

"Even though Yuna and I are regulars, you'll still keep inviting other members, right?"

"Right."

"Then won't the casting costs increase? You'll have to keep inviting new members."

The former PD stared at me blankly for a moment before nodding.

"Haha. I didn't expect to hear that from you. I want to say, 'Don't worry!' like a man, but you're right, the casting costs are higher than expected."

"Then, why not use other members as regulars as well?"

"Hmm? Other members too?"

"Yes. Here's what I mean. Introduce a season system. Invite different members for each season. This way, you can significantly reduce the casting costs, right?"

The PD and writers blinked.

"Introduce a season system...?"

"Rotate the members each season?"

It could significantly reduce costs and avoid using invited singers as one-offs.

Moreover, it could showcase the diverse musical talents of the invited singers.

"Wait. It seems better than I thought..."

"Exactly. It's not a bad idea, right?"

"Why didn't we think of that? With the season system, we could produce more episodes."

They would have thought of it eventually.

Or, if they hadn't, they would soon.

I could come up with this idea thanks to their auras.

"But I'm not sure if the higher-ups will approve. They opposed using regular members at first."

"It's a season system with regular members. Can't we suggest it?"

"Sure. I'll suggest it. Thanks to you, we've achieved record-high ratings and gained a great idea. Thank you."

I gave this advice because I wanted the program to succeed.

Because I could feel that Yuna really cared about it.

I hoped that if we were regular members, the program wouldn't disappear.

* * *

Munch, munch.

After being obsessed with hamburgers for a while, Yuna is now into tteokbokki.

How should I put it?

Once she gets hooked on something, she sticks to it.

She seems to be hooked on tteokbokki now.

While she was dipping the fried food into the sauce and eating it enthusiastically, our eyes met.

Then she quietly put down her chopsticks.

Why is she suddenly being cautious?

"Brother."

"Yeah?"

"Brother, do you not like being a regular member of the show?"

"No, I like it. It's fun to perform songs we haven't released on the album there."

Through the show, I plan to release songs we haven't included in our albums. Since I own the copyrights, I can release them in the music market after they gain popularity on the show.

This way, we can benefit from both the show and the music market.

"That's a relief. I thought you didn't like it and were just doing it for me."

"Don't worry. If I don't like it, I'll say so."

"Phew. That's a relief."

But I know that even if I don't like it, I'll endure it if Yuna likes it.

"But, brother."

"Yeah?"

"Those two over there seem to really like tteokbokki."

Yuna pointed to an elderly couple.

This is a spicy tteokbokki specialty shop, so mostly young people come here, and it's rare to see elderly customers.

"They must really like spicy food."

"Right. It's hard to digest, I wonder if they're okay."

"That's overstepping. Finish your food quickly."

"Okay!"

Yuna panted and finally finished the spicy tteokbokki.

"Phew. The stress is gone."

I can understand why people relieve stress with spicy food.

I felt the stress melting away as I sweated from the spicy taste that tingled my tongue.

"Shall we go now?"

"Sure!"

These days, there are so many people who recognize us that we always wear masks and hats when we come to places like this.

We were about to gather our things and stand up when—

"Oh! Honey!"

With a loud noise, the elderly couple we saw earlier shouted.

"What's wrong?"

"Ugh! Cough, cough!"

"It looks like something is stuck in his throat!"

The grandfather was choking, his face turning blue, while the staff and grandmother were at a loss.

"Brother, I'll call 119 right away."

I remembered learning how to handle a choking incident in the military.

It was called the Heimlich maneuver.

"Oh no! What to do! He's a hospital director, but he can't handle this alone..."

Wait. Hospital director?

Then I saw an ominous aura coming from the grandfather.

Could that aura be...

"Wait a moment!"

My body moved before my mind could think.

I ran over and lifted the grandfather, who was struggling to breathe on the floor.

I could see the aura inside him, thrashing about like a survival instinct.

'Your master, I'll save you, so stay still!'

Did he hear my command?

The aura, which was shaking like an earthquake, calmed down and flowed into my body.

I instantly assessed the grandfather's condition based on the medical knowledge that flooded my body.

The foreign object had completely blocked his airway.

He was in immediate danger if emergency measures weren't taken.

I quickly grabbed the grandfather from behind.

'Place it between the sternum and the navel...'

I applied strong pressure to his abdomen.

The first attempt didn't work.

I released the pressure and tried again with more force.

"Keh!"

Finally, the piece of tteok that was blocking the grandfather's airway popped out of his mouth.

Tteok is usually very hard to dislodge, but fortunately, it wasn't stuck.

"Are you okay? Yuna, get some water."

"Ah, okay!"

Yuna, who was urgently calling 119, quickly brought water.

The grandfather's complexion gradually returned to normal.

"Thank you."

The grandmother, who was standing next to him, patted my shoulder.

"Student, thank you so much. I thought we met the Grim Reaper today."

"No, it was just my duty."

Then the grandfather grabbed my hand and asked,

"By the way, are you a medical student?"

"Huh? No, I'm just a high school student."

"Really? The Heimlich maneuver isn't an easy emergency measure, but you did it so skillfully..."

The Heimlich maneuver is an emergency measure for when something is stuck in the airway.

"I remembered it from school. Luckily, it worked. But I might have damaged your ribs, so please get a check-up at the hospital."

"Right. Thank you so much. Oh! I'll give you my business card. If you ever consider medical school..."

The grandmother, who was holding the grandfather's hand, slapped his shoulder.

"Honey, don't you know who this student is? Medical school, what?"

"Huh?"

"This student is a very famous celebrity, a celebrity. Look at this handsome face. He's going to medical school?"

"No, he's on TV. Phew. His emergency response skills were impressive. Maybe he should consider changing his career path..."

"This guy is being silly. Get up quickly. You need to get a check-up at the hospital!"

Indeed, the Korean medical system is fast.

The 119 emergency services had already arrived.

"We received the call! Where is the patient?"

"Ah, here."

"Phew. You look fine."

"Hehe. The student here saved me."

"Really? That's amazing... Wait. Are you the Daily Siblings?"

The grandfather had taken off his mask and hat during the emergency, and people in the store started to recognize me.

I quickly put my hat back on before it got too chaotic.

"Then I'll be going. Take care, sir."

"Student, take this with you."

As I was about to leave, the grandfather grabbed me and handed me something.

The business card showed that he was the director of S University Hospital.

"Contact me if you need any help."

"Ah, okay."

I had a feeling his aura was ominous.

I quickly left the store with Yuna.

"Ugh. My stomach hurts from the rush."

"Sorry. Are you okay?"

"Hehe. Yeah. But, brother, you're amazing. Where did you learn emergency response?"

I can't say I just learned it on the spot.

'Anyway, I unexpectedly gained a lot of medical knowledge.'

Even though it was a brief aura, the owner must have been skilled, so a lot remained. Especially the emergency response, I feel I can do it well even without the aura's help.

'This could be useful to keep around.'

You never know what might happen in life.