ROBIN LEROUX
Haneul was surprised seeing the other. Not because the guy was handsome and obviously didn't look very Korean, but because he knew the other. Not personally, of course. But from watching Boys Odyssey in his last life.
He remembered the other person quite well because he was the non-Korean who almost became part of the debut group. He became the sixth place at the finale and fell just one spot short of the coveted opportunity to be among the five members selected for debut.
If he remembered correctly, his name was...
"Do you have number 124?" the other asked before Haneul could remember his name. "I'm 123, you see. And I'm not sure if I went to the right seat," the other added, pointing at the number attached to his shirt.
It was only then that Haneul remembered he hadn't yet put the number given to him on his own shirt. That was probably why this person was unsure if they were in the right seat.
He nodded. "Yes, I'm 124 and you're in the right place."
After he said that, he quickly put the number tag on his shirt.
The other let out a sigh of relief and plopped himself down. "Thank god, I thought I went to the wrong row or something. Ah! I'm Robin Leroux, by the way. You?"
That's right. His name was Robin Leroux. It was actually at the tip of his tongue. But since it had been 10 years since he watched Boys Odyssey, it's actually a bit hard to recall. Even if it's the name of an outstanding contestant. The only ones he still remembered the name of were the debut members.
"I'm Kang Haneul," he said, answering Robin's question.
"Nice to meet you, Haneul," the other said. Then, as if he realized he did something wrong, he added, "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have called your name so directly. It's still hard for me to differentiate between formal and informal speech, you see."
Haneul remembered another thing when Robin mentioned that. Since the other was pretty popular with international viewers of the program, he had always had a high rank during elimination rounds. If the ratio of the international votes was larger than the domestic votes, then he would have been in the top 3 for sure.
Unfortunately for him, the program's PD didn't want him to be part of the debut group. Considering that all those who debuted were Koreans or at least had a Korean blood, it was obvious that the PD had a strong case of xenophobia. Since he couldn't rig the votes, there's only one thing he could do.
So, what happened was Robin was evil edited in a couple of episodes before the finale. Like, he was super evil edited.
And the root cause of it all was him not using formal speech.
Korean society, as a whole, was deeply influenced by the use of formal and informal speech, reflecting its emphasis on hierarchy, respect for authority, and social cohesion. The emphasis on formal speech highlighted the importance of etiquette, politeness, and maintaining harmony in social interactions.
The use of informal speech among peers of the same age was fine. It could even be negligible for someone who didn't grow up in Korea like Robin. So, how could he be evil edited based on that?
Well, that shitty PD released a footage of Robin seemingly 'disrespecting' the staffs as part of an episode. Robin used informal speech towards the staff and they edited it in a way that would make it seem as if he was being disrespectful.
And it worked.
The Korean public watching the program bashed Robin non-stop. It's as if they had all forgotten that, even though he was pretty fluent in the language, he pretty much grew up in a foreign country. It's like everyone's inner xenophobia was ignited at that moment. If not for his international fans, he might have not reached the finale.
Haneul smiled at the other, and then responded to what he said earlier, "It's fine, I don't mind. It seemed we're the same age, anyway."
Instead of replying, Robin blinked and fixed his gaze on Haneul. "Haneul, for a moment there, why do you seem to be glowing?"
Haneul almost let out a curse when he heard that. This damn 'black magic'. At the end, he could only let out an awkward laugh.