Chapter 43: The Surprise Live Broadcast

“I have a surprise announcement for the both of you.”

While the word ‘surprise’ usually carries a positive connotation, in the world of broadcasting, it almost always meant something unpleasant.

“Could you go to our official account right now and check the top post?”

Woo-joo hurriedly looked for his phone, only to remember he had left it inside the tent.

Inevitably, he leaned in close to Won Ji-tae, who had already pulled out his phone and was quickly tapping the screen.

“…….”

As Ji-tae checked the post, his expression shifted subtly.

“What is it? What’s going on?”

Woo-joo pressed his face closer.

After checking the screen, Woo-joo’s expression gradually began to mirror Ji-tae’s.

[Two_together

The hit variety show! <Living as Two> Season 4! Surprise Live Broadcast Notice

To thank you for reaching 2 million views on the pre-release video, we have prepared a gift.

It’s a surprise live broadcast with Actor Won Ji-tae and Athlete Kang Woo-joo!

The live stream is scheduled to start today at 8:00 PM, so see you then!]

15,569 Likes

[1,045 Comments]

• Omg, no way, they’re doing a live broadcast?

• ㅠㅠ I love this so much

• Thank you, I’ll live a good life, I’ll work hard from now on

• Ah… I love it, but the server’s going to crash, isn’t it…? Waiting in line now

└ Definitely going to crash

• Isn’t this a bit too much fuss when the show hasn’t even officially started?

└ They made that ‘fuss’ and hit 2 million views, though. If I were them, I’d be making a huge scene and acting like a total fool too.

└└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Agreed

• A live stream! ㅠㅠ I get to see the oppas moving! ㅠㅠ

└? They were moving in the pre-release video too.

• I love how the production crew works so hard here.

The current time was 7:30 PM.

The time indicated by the letters floating dizzily before Woo-joo’s eyes was 8:00 PM—meaning, in 30 minutes.

That meant he had to do something called a live broadcast with Won Ji-tae in 30 minutes.

Woo-joo and Ji-tae both pressed their hands to their foreheads at the same time.

It seemed the production crew had been keeping it a secret the whole time just to trick the two of them.

“You’ve checked it, right?”

From behind them, Seon-hyeok approached with a tablet in hand, wearing his characteristic smile.

Ji-tae gave him a pointed glare, but Seon-hyeok simply responded with a laugh.

“Wow, PD-nim, does it really make sense to tell us this 30 minutes before?”

Woo-joo laughed as if he had reached a state of enlightenment.

Regardless, Seon-hyeok set up the tablet in front of them.

“That’s what makes it fun. Now, let me give you a brief explanation.”

Seon-hyeok briefed them on various things to prepare for the live broadcast in 30 minutes.

He focused on how they would appear on screen, where the chat window would pop up, and what buttons they shouldn’t press.

“There’s no need to feel pressured; we’re just doing this for promotion, so we’ll keep it short. Just pick out suitable questions from the chat and focus on answering those.”

Seon-hyeok walked away after leaving them with a final instruction to avoid spoilers about the upcoming broadcast as much as possible.

The words ‘The live stream is about to begin’ appeared on the screen.

“Kang Woo-joo, have you ever done anything like this before?”

“Hmm… Not officially. I’ve just shown my face a bit when a teammate turned one on for SNS?”

Choi Seok-hyun loved communicating with fans, so he would occasionally do live broadcasts on his own account.

Every time, he would forcibly drag Woo-joo in to show his face.

However, after seeing the fans react with even more enthusiasm for Woo-joo than for Seok-hyun himself, he had issued a declaration banning Woo-joo from appearing on his lives.

“What about you?”

“Me neither, not really….”

Perhaps it would be different if he were an idol, but as an actor who had just started rising in popularity, Ji-tae hadn’t done this sort of thing often either.

But what could they do? They had to do it, whether they liked it or not.

Eventually, the time arrived, and the screen flickered on, showing the two of them sitting side by side.

• Wow, daebak!

• Hello!

• Oppaaaaaaa!

As soon as it started, the chat began to pour in like a wildfire.

It was at a speed that made it impossible to even read.

The two of them, watching the passionate reactions from the fans, were about to give their greetings when—

“Huh? It stopped.”

The tablet screen suddenly froze and wouldn’t move.

The chat that had been flying up like crazy stopped as well.

When Woo-joo looked up, the production crew began moving busily.

“I guess the server crashed.”

Ji-tae muttered nonchalantly.

“The server?”

“Too many people connected at once, so the server couldn’t handle it.”

Woo-joo’s eyes went round.

Now that he heard it, it was something Woo-joo had experienced a few times as well.

Woo-joo had a younger sister named Kang Saet-byeol, and there was a time she had asked him to help her with ticketing for an idol concert.

He had wondered how hard it could be that she was even seeking help from her brother, whom she usually ignored.

But to his surprise, Woo-joo had been utterly flustered in front of a frozen computer window that wouldn’t even let him move to the next page.

‘Ugh! These bastards don’t manage their servers at all!’

It was only after being terrified by the sight of Kang Saet-byeol fuming and spitting out curses like a wicked witch that he personally felt the terror of ticketing.

“Are we… at that level?”

He found out later that the idol Saet-byeol liked was a group currently holding a firm position at the top.

“Well, the reactions to the pre-release videos were good. And… the videos of our past matches went viral too.”

“Ah, right.”

Woo-joo nodded.

So Won Ji-tae had seen them too.

The reason he hadn’t said a word about it until now was probably because the subject was uncomfortable.

“We’ll be reconnected soon! Please get ready!”

The same image as before appeared on the screen.

Woo-joo and Ji-tae offered their greetings first, saying it was nice to meet everyone.

• What was up with the server crashing?

• No, if you expected this many people to show up, you should have prepared for it;;

Perhaps angry that the live stream had been cut off right as it started, curses were appearing at the top of the comments.

“Everyone, what have you all been up to?”

At that moment, Ji-tae smiled and opened his mouth first.

“We’re actually out camping right now.”

• Camping?

• Omg, I’m so jealousssss

• Isn’t it cold?

• Oppas, please call my name ‘Yujin-ah’ just once.

“Because we’re outdoors, the connection seems to have been a bit unstable. But it’s connected well now, so don’t worry too much.”

Only then did Woo-joo realize Ji-tae’s intention for opening the conversation that way.

With that one sentence from Ji-tae, the comments with curses vanished in an instant.

• Ah, I want to be right there between them.

• Which campsite is it?

• Oppas, please call me ‘Yujin-ah’ just once ㅠ

• I took an exam today and got a Grade 1.

“Uh, where we are is…….”

Woo-joo was naturally about to say the location of the campsite when Ji-tae suddenly covered his mouth.

“We’re not supposed to give spoilers.”

“Is saying the region of the campsite a spoiler?”

Woo-joo, whose mouth was suddenly covered, frowned slightly.

“It’s related to the broadcast.”

“The PD said it’s okay to say a little bit. You weren’t listening earlier, were you?”

“I was listening. I listened harder than you did.”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

• ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

• Ah, they’re fighting here too ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

• Stop fighting already ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

• ㄷㄷ;; Watching them fight live is so fun.

The two of them cleared their throats and focused back on the screen.

Once the atmosphere had relaxed to some extent, the live stream proceeded stably.

The production crew instructed them to read questions from a sketchbook and answer them.

Since the crew was also monitoring the live stream, they would pick out comments worth answering and let them know directly.

• How many times a day do you fight?

“How many times a day do we fight? Hmm…….”

Woo-joo stroked his chin seriously.

“But actually, we don’t fight as much as it seems. We just have light bickers, that’s all.”

Beside him, Ji-tae chimed in, agreeing.

It was one of those rare, precious moments where their opinions were unified.

• Isn’t that the same thing? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

• I think it’d be more believable if Woo-joo hyung said he was going to become a soccer player.

• Wow, I don’t believe this at all.

• No, isn’t this being too shameless? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

• They only get along at times like this.

• Oppas, please call me ‘Yujin-ah’ just once ㅠㅠ

Woo-joo had spoken with all his heart, but the chat window was completely plastered with laughter.

At first, they focused on answering questions about the show.

They took turns answering things like whether anything was difficult while filming, how they usually lived together at home, and if there were things they wanted each other to fix.

Then, the atmosphere naturally began to shift from the show toward their past.

• Did you two first meet in high school?

Woo-joo shook his head.

“No. Since middle school. We both played volleyball at different schools back then too.”

• Please tell us where you first met!

There were surprisingly many comments with a nuance asking them to tell a romance story.

To that question, the two of them happened to answer at the same time.

“In our first middle school practice match,” Woo-joo answered after thinking back.

“At the neighborhood community gym,” Ji-tae answered without a moment’s hesitation.

Their gazes naturally crossed.

• The answers are different?

• What’s this, what’s this? Whose words are correct?~~~

• If a couple did this, it would have been a total catastrophe.