Resignation of Bien

Work Work Work

"This has been Bien, y'all! Catch me again tomorrow! Same time, same voice, same frequency! Only here on one hundred point seven Sing FM!" Bien ended his show in his usual jovial way, playing a pop song.

Lucas entered the booth. "No post on SOCMED today?"

"I've been busy," Bien replied, loading songs onto the playlist.

"Are you not gonna get in trouble?"

Bien shrugged. "I don't think so. It isn't really my job. I was just doing it voluntarily. I'm sure the bosses will understand."

After finishing his tasks, Bien waved goodbye to Lucas. "Gotta go!" he said, eager to head home and relax before going to Bad Egg Productions.

"Bien?" called Noel Villanueva, the new Program Director, smiling warmly from his office door.

Bien quickly greeted him and followed him into the office, unable to think of an excuse to leave. He had no other choice but to follow. It would be rude not to when he was called directly.

"I understand that it is you who designs the layouts of all programs that are shown in our SOCMED, is that correct?"

Bien confirmed that it was indeed his designs—all of it—from the logo of all shows to the overlays on their social media. Mr. Noel nodded and grabbed his tablet, showing him a live broadcast overlay from the previous night—Sir Vil's show. The overlay of the live show was garbage—for lack of a better term. The nametag of the broadcaster wasn't where it was supposed to be, the camera was so stretched sideways that the broadcaster looked like somebody threw water on a perfect painting, and the palette was off-brand.

"I am having issues understanding the design of this layout." Mr. Noel sat back and exhaled, demanding an explanation from Bien. But how could he explain something he did not do?

"I assure you, sir. I did design the stream overlay for our live broadcasts, but this is not my work."

"So whose fault is it? You handle social media. This was shown all over the internet. We looked like a joke, honestly. You're the designer, the design is fucked up, this is your responsibility, is it not?"

Bien clenched his teeth and breathed slowly. "I will look into it, sir. However, I assure you that the designs are all good except for this show—if you check all the live broadcasts on our social media. So I don't have any idea how this happened." Bien stood. "If there's nothing more, sir. I'll excuse myself."

"Going home already?" asked Mr. Noel. "Without trying to fix your mess first?" He shook his head as he scrolled through his tablet.

"I will look into it now," Bien replied, maintaining a joyful tone despite his clenched teeth and forced smile. He wanted to tear the door apart or slam it behind him at least. He wanted to kick something. He returned upstairs. Blamed for something he had no idea of nor had any part of, he threw his handbag on a vacant chair as he reentered the booth where he announced his departure.

Lucas noticed him. "I thought you were leaving?" he asked.

"You and I both," said Bien, heading to the tech's booth where the technicians operate the software they use for their live broadcast on social media. At the far end of the room, Lucas was nonchalantly focused on the screen of his computer.

"When's your next talk?" Bien asked, referring to the time when the jockey airs.

"Not for another thirty minutes. Why?"

"Just gonna fix something here," Bien replied, going through the settings of the software, looking for the template of the show that was messed up. And just like what Mr. Noel showed him, it was not the layout he designed. It looked as though it was made by a fifth-grader, in fact, a fifth-grader could have done better. Bien called the tech on duty, Larry, who was out checking the transmitter.