Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 13 (Part 2): I AM (5)

In an instant, I had fallen from 11th to 96th place. I was right next to Kang Hyun earlier, but now I was far from the camera’s focus.

Yoo Ji-in smiled from the center of the set.

“Before the official start of *Labyrinth Exploration NaN*, your rankings have been decided. But don’t be too disappointed or too excited. These rankings are clearly fake.”

The real rankings will ultimately be decided by the viewers’ votes… She wrapped up with that kind of remark.

“We’ll film the ending scene now~”

The staff intervened.

The cameras moved, capturing the faces of all 96 contestants in detail.

“Alright. That’s it.”

Filming ended. PD Yoon Sa-hyeok stood up.

“Let’s move out now.”

The contestants and mentors followed the staff’s guidance.

The once vibrant set emptied within moments, the lights dimmed, yet I remained seated.

Because of the pain in my knee.

I can barely stand anymore. Probably from landing wrong in the labyrinth.

So I closed my eyes and tried to endure the pain.

“What are you doing?”

Kim A-rang approached and asked.

“…Nothing.”

“Then come out quickly. We have some separate filming to do.”

Suddenly, I tapped my wrist. The NaN information window appeared on my retina.

[Labyrinth Exploration NaN]
Name: Seol Ha-woon
Rank: 96
Votes: Uncounted

“…Alright.”

96th place.

My mouth felt bitter.

I just hope I don’t get completely edited out.

—

### * * *

—

──────────
**New Season Explorer List for Labyrinth Exploration**
──────────

Order doesn’t matter; listed by agency. Some names may be missing.

**Celion**: Lee Jun-ho, Jin Ho-jong, Lee Yoon-seung.
**Jayros**: Seo Ji-woo, Ryu Yeon-hwa.
**Termion**: Ji Woon-yul, Han Yu-ah, Yoon Hwa-rim…
**Yutaka Holdings**: Kate.
…
**Unaffiliated**: Kang Hyun, Lee Dong-hyuk, Kim Yoon-seo, Lee Dong-ha, Seol Ha-woon.

────────
—Lots of unaffiliated folks, huh.
─Haven’t even watched Season 2… Should I watch Season 3?
—No one knows them lol, not really feeling it.
└There are tons of promising ones tho;; Lee Jun-ho alone has High-Ranker potential.
──────────

──────────
**If you’re curious about the explorers, check out the forums.**
──────────

Been a core fan since Season 1, but some people don’t seem to know, so I’ll highlight a few.

First, [Celion] – Lee Joon-ho.

Class: Warrior. Uses a longsword. The sword is about 120 cm long. He’s not just skilled—his looks made him famous even during his school days. There are a lot of old photos of him circulating, so check them out.

[Jayros] – Seo Ji-woo, Ryu Yeon-hwa. Jayros is known for nurturing mages. Both are considered generational talents. Seo Ji-woo gained fame saving victims of a car accident, captured on video. She was also a track athlete in high school—plenty of footage online showcasing her toned physique.

Ryu Yeon-hwa is from a magic school and has even done runway modeling. I’m not sure if it’s for money or attention, but she’s done a lot. Her snow-white hair is natural, by the way.

[Termion] – Ji Woon-yul. She’s also a mage. She’s really cute. Termion keeps things tightly under wraps, so not much is known about her.

Unaffiliated – Kang Hyun. Son of renowned explorer Kang Jong-hak. I’ve actually met him. He’s so good-looking that you need to mentally prepare yourself before seeing him. Otherwise, your heart might skip a beat…

…Sure, some of the 96 might not stand out, but saying the whole season is a flop is a huge overreaction;;

If you’re not going to watch, then don’t, but at least don’t bash Season 3 before it even starts.

────
─Wow, how do you know all this?
─Do you know all 96?
┗Almost? This is my only hobby.
┗Lol; Are there people you don’t know?
┗Among the unaffiliated, Lee Dong-ha and Seol Ha-woon. Lee Dong-ha is from a magic school, but I’m not sure about him. Seol Ha-woon—I have no idea who he is. I know the other 94, though lol.
─Still don’t think it’ll top Season 2 haha;;
└Season 2 was a monster hit, so yeah.
─But there’s no one on the level of Lee Je-hoon from Season 2.
┗Yeah, I think so too.
───

“Hmm.”

In the editing room, Kim A-rang scrolls through other communities on her smartphone.

───
**Labyrinth Exploration Season 3 NaN Confirmed for Global Simultaneous Release via OTT**
───
─ Already sensing the producer’s philosophy and artistic intent.
─ Doubt it’ll match Season 2, though. Will there be another Lee Je-hoon-level star?
└Seo Ji-woo’s freaking gorgeous lol, watch her running from her track days.
└Lee Jun-ho or whatever, heard he’s already got offers from the martial arts world.
─ How often do seasons come out anyway?
─Damn, I’m jealous. Just being on that show makes you so much money.
└Nah, the bottom ranks don’t have bright futures. Labyrinths aren’t what they used to be… Black Call’s frequent, one slip and you’re done lol. Hazard pay, sure.
└You need connections and strings. Being a salaryman might be less stressful than getting eaten by monsters.
└Didn’t you see? Goblins roasting explorers alive ㅋㅋㅋ Brutal AF.

“PD Yoon, shouldn’t we push some viral stuff?”

There were quite a few posts about this season, but they were all over the place.

“Not yet. We might not need to at all.”

Right now, it was a short break during editing.

Yoon Sa-hyeok was extremely meticulous about his routine—50 minutes of work followed by a mandatory 10-minute break. Repeating this 13 times a day for 7 years had made Kim A-rang his right-hand woman.

“So… have you thought about what I said earlier? About Seol Ha-woon?”

She broached the topic carefully.

Kim A-rang had shared her thoughts and information about Seol Ha-woon with Yoon Sa-hyeok. Yoon Sa-hyeok had also seemed quite surprised by Seol Ha-woon’s zero-trap incident.

“Yeah.”

“So, about that…”

“I’ll leave the editing to you.”

It was the answer she had been hoping for. Yoon Sa-hyeok said it as if it were no big deal, and Kim A-rang shrugged nonchalantly.

“Sure, alright. I’ll handle it.”

Despite her calm words, her heart was racing. She was in a much better mood than she expected.

“Do you know why?”

“…Why what?”

Yoon Sa-hyeok suddenly pointed at her.

“Why you’re in such a good mood.”

“…Why would I be in a good mood? I’m just tired.”

“It’s because you’re drawing the picture yourself.”

Yoon Sa-hyeok hit the nail on the head.

“…….”

Thinking about it, it made sense.

Every season of *Labyrinth Exploration* had followed Yoon Sa-hyeok’s vision, achieving massive success. Even Lee Je-hoon had been Yoon Sa-hyeok’s pick.

As a 7-year PD, Kim A-rang was now qualified to lead her own main projects, but she always felt overshadowed by Yoon Sa-hyeok.

No matter what she did, Yoon Sa-hyeok’s way was always the right way.

In that sense, Seol Ha-woon was the first character she had taken the lead on… Well, saying she was taking the lead felt a bit too responsible, but anyway.

He was a character she wanted to shape herself.

“Think you can handle it?”

Yoon Sa-hyeok twisted his lips.

“What do you mean?”

“If the picture you’re drawing breaks, you’ll be upset, right? It should be something that won’t break easily.”

“Break…”

Kim A-rang thought about Seol Ha-woon.

Considering what he had done to me during the first interview, he’s not someone who would break easily. He’s just slow. With one broken leg.

“…He’s already got a broken leg, though?”

“Pfft.”

Yoon Sa-hyeok chuckled at Kim A-rang’s joke.

He enjoyed cynical humor—a sign of his borderline sociopathic tendencies.

Kim A-rang stretched and said,

“Ughhh~ They say you can’t fill up on the first bite, right? If he breaks, it just means my gut was wrong, and I’ll deal with it.”

*Beep—*

The digital clock alarm goes off. Break time’s over.

Immediately, Yoon Sa-hyeok resumed editing, and Kim A-rang shook her head with a wry smile as she looked at her screen.

“…Seol Ha-woon.”

There he was.

Confirmed at 96th place, abandoned on the empty stage
after everyone else had left.

Alone in the darkness, staring straight ahead.

Coincidentally—or perhaps not—his eyes flashed blue for a fleeting moment.

It was the perfect shot for editing.

“This is the plight of last place…”

And how far will this 96th rank climb?

Is he worth watching?

Or will he fade into obscurity?

Kim A-rang smiled softly.

Dangun

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