Chapter 134
At some point, only three contestants remained in the Last Man Standing competition.
On its final stage.
“The last question, I’ll deliver it myself.”
The moment Leonard Moore barged in and dropped that shocking statement like a rock.
One sentence.
That single sentence caused the audience to stir all at once.
“Leonard Moore?”
“He’s the original host of Last Man Standing, isn’t he?”
“Is that era returning?”
Their reactions were akin to believers witnessing a miracle that should not have occurred.
The shock in their gazes was no ordinary sight.
Why did a single line from the producer announcing his intent to ask the question carry such weight?
The reason was simple.
“Could it be that there might not be a winner at all?”
It was because Leonard Moore was a notoriously malicious question setter.
As the audience murmured with worried expressions, someone asked as if they couldn’t understand.
“Is that such a big deal?”
“You don’t get it. Back in the day, there were episodes where there were literally no winners about half the time.”
“Right, I heard people would quit voluntarily if they even made it to the top 10.”
That’s right.
Although Last Man Standing has become somewhat milder with a new host, the difficulty level of its questions in the past was so brutal it was reminiscent of a battle royale.
Why does Last Man Standing have a voluntary withdrawal system in the first place?
It was because the higher the stage, the more absurdly difficult the questions became.
Even if contestants gave up the grand prize, earning some money midway and quitting was a more practical choice.
It wasn’t like now, where winners were common.
‘Well, this was all part of my plan anyway.’
Leonard Moore smirked, seemingly satisfied with the reaction of the crowd.
As the original host and producer, he had remained the real power behind the scenes, steering the overall direction of the show.
While the host and presenter could change, the reduced question difficulty was entirely his doing.
“Well then, seeing no objections, let’s start the question now.”
Leonard Moore spoke in a voice as rough as grinding metal.
“Since this is the final question, let’s make it a bit tough. Tough enough to stop even a crying baby.”
Lee Min Ki was briefly thrown into confusion by Leonard Moore’s sudden intrusion.
‘A twist like this here?’
It was beyond bewildering.
Until now, he had climbed his way up the competition relying on memories from the past, or so he thought.
‘I was so close to winning.’
Was luck not enough to serve everything on a silver platter after all?
Well, perhaps it had been too easy so far.
With a subtle sense of disappointment came a strange sense of relief.
‘If I can reach the finale with my real skills, then so be it.’
Besides, hadn’t he already achieved his initial goal?
Recognition.
By reaching the top three, he had garnered attention several times over.
Thanks to the MC’s skilled hosting, the airplane incident was brought up again.
That alone was equivalent to publicity before millions of people.
If the media caught on, it could spread to tens of millions more.
‘But no one remembers a silver medalist. Let alone a bronze.’
In the end, it was win or nothing.
In that sense, this was the real deal from now on.
Zero or one.
Standing on the fine line like a machine code, Lee Min Ki broke out in cold sweat as Leonard Moore began to speak.
“I’ve arrived, but I’m not sure what to use as a question. If I were the boss, I’d fire an employee like me. Thankfully, contract workers don’t need severance pay.”
After tossing out a sarcastic remark for a while.
At the most fitting moment.
The question emerged like a thief on a dark mountain path.
“Fashion shows these days are fun, aren’t they? I watch them often too—not because I plan to wear the clothes.”
As faint laughter trickled through the audience, the question was revealed.
“2016 was a year when the U.S. lingerie market saw massive growth, wasn’t it? A model became a superstar that year, making headlines for dating a famous soccer player. She also walked the Dolce & Gabbana runway. So, let’s figure this out together. What is this model’s name?”
Difficult.
It was blatantly a difficult question.
A model who walked Dolce & Gabbana’s runway and gained fame as a soccer player’s partner?
“To give you a hint, it was recently covered in LE. Surely, there’s no one here who doesn’t read LE, right?”
What a terrible hint.
‘Who would know that?’
The collective thought of the audience.
‘Shouldn’t a question like this be multiple choice?’
‘They’re clearly trying to eliminate contestants.’
‘Leonard Moore really is a devil.’
Even the MC standing on stage and Jeffrey Rogers in the monitor room were dumbfounded.
‘What is that old man thinking?’
‘Could this be…?’
The only guess Jeffrey Rogers could come up with was one.
‘Did he take a bribe?’
A bribe.
That unspoken truth.
How could Jeffrey Rogers, a former host of the show, not know?
Whenever Richard Moore meddled excessively, a peculiar winner always emerged.
And all those winners invariably became celebrities.
‘Then the winner this time will be that Argentine model, and his bad habit is rearing its head again.’
It was maddening.
And his suspicion was correct.
‘Kid, be satisfied with third place and back down.’
Indeed, Richard Moore had rigged the question to favor the model blatantly.
‘Georgina Rodriguez, Cristiano Ronaldo’s partner.’
That was the correct answer.
There was no way the Argentine model wouldn’t know it.
Why?
Because Georgina Rodriguez was also an Argentine model.
Moreover, she was a legendary figure in the modeling industry, famous for her extraordinary success story.
‘If they’re from the same country, how could she not know?’
It was a giveaway.
But this kid, Lee Min Ki, had no chance.
How many models dating soccer players are there?
And how many walked Dolce & Gabbana’s runway? Easily hundreds. There was no way he could pinpoint the one from Argentina.
‘There’s no way an Asian would know.’
Richard Moore smiled leisurely.
‘Sorry, but this is the end. The answer should come out any moment now.’
Expecting everything to proceed as planned.
But.
“……”
Even as time passed.
“……”
“……”
The answer he wished for.
“......”
“......”
“......”
Did not come at all.
Even if it were a doctorate from a prestigious university.
Even if it were Lee Min Ki.
Even if it were an Argentine model he openly provided the answer for.
None of them could offer any answer and were hesitating.
‘No way.’
Richard Moore glanced at the model with a look of disbelief.
But all he could see was.
‘This is maddening.’
Her shifting her gaze left and right restlessly.
As if hoping the answer might fall from the distant sky.
‘Tsk.’
Richard Moore smiled brightly but inwardly bit his lip.
Was it possible she didn’t even know the name of a supermodel from her own country?
He’d practically given away the answer, yet she still didn’t know.
What on earth was she thinking?
And here.
Here is where Richard Moore’s first mistake emerged.
‘What should I do?’
The problem was that she had too many names in mind.
‘Amara Simpson? Gabriella Samuel? Claire Mint? Georgina Rodriguez? Which one is it?’
She knew far too many Argentine models married to soccer players.
She also knew far too many models who walked the runway for Dolce & Gabbana.
This was her issue.
It wasn’t that she didn’t know—it was the opposite. She knew too much.
If the problem had stopped there, she could have just blurted out a name and made an excuse.
But Richard Moore had added another hurdle.
[Here’s a hint: There’s a recent report on this in LE.]
He tossed out a so-called hint.
She hadn’t read it.
Recently, she hadn’t read [LE].
Unfortunately, since LE was a mass-market fashion magazine, its trends didn’t align with the field she mainly worked in.
The hint became a dead end.
‘Who appeared in LE? If I say the wrong thing here and get eliminated...’
That would be a disaster.
Her agency had assured her she would win.
Paralyzed by fear of making a mistake, she couldn’t act.
Bang!
Suddenly, someone rang the bell.
It was one of the three contestants here, the one who had been particularly quiet.
It was.
“I have something to say.”
The PhD graduate from a prestigious university.
He pressed the bell with a calm expression.
‘No way. He doesn’t look like that kind of person, though?’
Richard Moore’s eyes betrayed his disbelief.
But this time was different.
“I’ll forfeit.”
The doctor’s words were unexpected.
Hearing the surprising response, Richard Moore let out a sigh of relief and spoke.
“...Alright. You’ll leave with the accumulated $10,000 prize money. That should be enough for your research funding.”
“It’s not for research funding.”
“Thanks to you, Doctor, humanity will surely progress further. Congratulations. Please, everyone, give him a round of applause.”
Just like that, one person voluntarily withdrew in an instant.
Now, only two people remained.
In this critical moment, relying solely on one rope to cross a single-log bridge, there was still someone whose eyes shone brightly.
It was.
‘Could it be?’
Lee Min Ki.
‘I think that’s it.’
Less than 24 hours ago.
When he was still seated in the business class of a plane heading from Korea to the U.S., he had been reading a book.
[LE]
That’s right.
Lee Min Ki had been reading LE in his airplane seat.
It was an obvious thing to do.
He was about to have a photoshoot with LE.
It was only natural for someone like him, who was meticulous in his preparations, to review the product of the company he would meet.
For someone like Lee Min Ki, it was as routine as sprinkling salt on food.
‘Is there anyone else?’
Lee Min Ki prioritized and thought of other possible answers.
But he didn’t feel the slightest regret.
‘I don’t know.’
He couldn’t recall anyone else.
Honestly, who memorizes these things?
Even in Korea, he didn’t remember more than 50 models’ names. How could he remember every Argentine model?
In this moment, however.
‘Anyway, I only have one name I can say.’
It became an advantage.
He could narrow down the options.
If you had too many weapons, you’d have to choose one from among them.
Conversely, if you only had one answer you could give, you might as well give it.
Before the Argentine model next to him proudly gave away the right answer.
‘Whatever, let’s go for it.’
Resolving himself, Lee Min Ki hit the bell with a sense of resignation.
Bang!
The sound reverberated solemnly through the hall.
“Georgina Rodriguez. The correct answer is Georgina Rodriguez.”
His voice was so clear.
The pronunciation was natural, though slightly trembling.
Faced with that name, Richard Moore could only give one response.
“..............We have a winner.”
Along with a small sigh, his voice carried a mix of reluctant acknowledgment and frustration over the complaints he would receive from the model’s agency.
“Congratulations. K-Pop star.”
He couldn’t hide the displeasure on his face at the unwelcome result.
But what could he do? If he didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere, he had to congratulate him.
“I’d like to hear your thoughts on winning.”
Standing in front of him, Lee Min Ki smiled brightly and said.
“Could I trouble you for a picture together?”
“......”
At his innocent request, Richard Moore’s face twitched as he replied.
“...Let’s do it after the shoot.”
Last Man Standing.
Lee Min Ki stood victorious.
Shortly after.
Cheers erupted like a downpour, filling the venue.
A quiet warehouse.
“...What even is he?”
A man, CEO Yoo Gyu Eon, muttered in disbelief.
“On the way here, he saves someone on a plane, and as soon as he arrives, he wins a quiz show?”
His eyes were fixed on an article on his phone.
[K-Pop star Lee Min Ki, crowned champion of Last Man Standing.]
An absurd situation had unfolded.
He had asked Min Ki to come over in his spare time since he’d already be in the U.S. working.
And then, this happened.
‘How does he gather attention like picking fruit from a countryside farm?’
Was that even a real life?
Most people experience one such event in their lifetime and make it their proudest achievement.
Why was he experiencing them two days in a row?
He wasn’t a protagonist from some novel.
“This is driving me crazy.”
He muttered in disbelief.
The man next to him, also examining the outfits in the warehouse, approached and said.
“As expected, my instincts were spot on.”