NOVEL FROG Chapter 121
Hyper Action Star is officially an audition variety show.
In other words, every broadcast is live from episode one, and voting starts right after the show ends.
There are 5 groups total.
So every elimination means half of the group drops out at once, making each filming incredibly important.
“Looks like it’s being broadcast live on both TV and the internet. Wow, this is already fun, really fun.”
With his subscriber count recovering a bit, YouTuber Han Bong-sik let out a sigh of relief.
‘This is a must-watch.’
The previews were promising from the start.
And more importantly, isn’t Joo Seo-yeon appearing?
Then it’s definitely a must-watch.
Since The Chaser, Joo Seo-yeon has been like a goddess to Han Bong-sik.
Even now, she was showing an overwhelmingly strong presence in the previews and on-screen.
– School uniform…really?
– Is that so? Did she look like a high school student?
– Joo Seo-yeon Special: She really is a high school student.
– Wow, to think she’d wear a school uniform. Is this an action scene?
– She must be wearing shorts underneath.
└ Hehehe
└ What an obvious statement…
– By the way, Jo Seo-hee is also the same age as Joo Seo-yeon.
– Jo Seo-hee as a high school student? LOL, no way.
– Really… I go to the same school, and honestly, it’s shocking to see.
As proof of the show’s buzz, the viewer count was roughly 30% higher than usual.
Judging by the actively rising chat, it seems many who usually don’t subscribe to Han Bong-sik were tuning in.
“Ahem, first, let me explain to the newcomers. Today, we’re watching Hyper Action Star. It’s an actor audition program where the winner gets the lead role in a movie.”
Han Bong-sik shared what he had investigated about the show with the viewers.
How it would proceed and how the final selection would occur.
“Today’s theme is ‘Gunfight.’ But this isn’t just any gunfight! You have to act! ACT!”
– But isn’t this a superpower action movie?
– How do you act in a gunfight?
The viewers were confused, which was natural.
After all, the first time you try rappel action, you designate your superpower.
You have to act out a gunfight based on that.
But of course, the actors are just ordinary humans.
How can you mix in superpowers with that?
“Probably… just my guess, though.”
– What’s your guess?
– Come on, Bong-sik, just spit it out already.
“I’ll explain after the first shoot starts.”
– Damn, why did you stop talking!!!!!!
– Gah, no way…
At the viewers’ reactions, Bong-sik chuckled softly.
He definitely had some expectations, but talking about it now would ruin the fun.
‘Probably acting.’
It was clear that this related to that.
However, if the superpower acting comes off as awkward, it could end up looking ridiculous.
‘No, usually it wouldn’t just look ridiculous.’
Superpowers without CGI.
How is that different from the Superpower Episode of Running People?
So, one crucial element remained.
In this kind of acting, the ‘receiver’ is more important than the ‘doer.’
“So after one episode ends, the CG will be revealed in the next episode.”
So far, this had all been noted by director Lee Ki-tae of Hyper Action Star.
By this point, some people would start to grasp the ‘rules.’
Even Han Bong-sik understood right away.
– But doesn’t this lead to a movie scene?
“No, this is purely an audition. …There’s a chance the superpowers will be similar.”
Of course, that was all just speculation.
There was no guarantee that the superpowers the protagonist would use in the audition and the movie would be the same.
‘If there’s a big impact, it could be different.’
With that thought, Han Bong-sik focused on the screen.
Watching the first audition of Hyper Action Star, the ‘Gunfight.’
*
“When filming starts, every scene is acting. You’ve all seen the script, right?”
All the actors nodded in response to Cha Min-kyu’s words.
However.
‘Can you really call this a script?’
Rather than a script, it was more of an acting instruction.
You must conceptualize a character according to your superpower.
And then, you’ll perform that acting.
Most of the actors were flustered, but some found it amusing.
‘I came for Joo Seo-yeon, but this isn’t so bad.’
Especially Jo Seo-hee thought that participating in this show was the right choice.
She honestly had no confidence in making it through…
She wasn’t particularly good at action either.
‘But if this is acting…’
Jo Seo-hee looked at Seo-yeon with sharp eyes, unlike usual.
In front of taking the movie they would shoot together, an opportunity to confront Seo-yeon with acting for the first time.
Variety and acting.
Although it’s a different kind of acting, it’s still acting.
‘How many here would realize that.’
And hey, Joo Seo-yeon too.
“…?”
Seo-yeon flinched at Jo Seo-hee’s gaze.
Honestly, it was a look that she couldn’t get used to no matter how many times she saw it.
‘I should invite her again if there’s another festival.’
While she would be crawling around clumsily, Jo Seo-hee would surely just stand there, looking intimidating.
That’s scary.
Seo-yeon thought about how much of a nuisance that was as she took in the other faces.
There were quite a few familiar faces among them.
Especially with her future knowledge, Seo-yeon could immediately identify people to be wary of.
First off, in Group A:
‘Han So-yu.’
A woman who would later gain great acclaim for her action movie, Wicked, and rise to stardom in OTT dramas.
Her acting skills weren’t remarkable, but her strength lay in her excellent athletic ability.
At least, her long arms and legs made her movements very fluid.
‘Anything else…’
Seo-yeon momentarily lingered on Min Do-ha.
Reports claimed she had gained some notoriety from a previous movie or drama.
In the future, she didn’t seem to land any particularly memorable roles, making it hard to recall anything notable.
Once Seo-yeon finished her thoughts and looked ahead:
“First, let me explain the rules.”
Cha Min-kyu began explaining the filming to the actors.
“First, we have model guns filled with paintballs. Today, they’re all handguns.”
The rules were simple.
The evaluation of the ‘gunfight’ would be scored.
1 point for every other actor you hit with a paintball.
And the black bag at the end of the set.
The one holding it at the scene’s conclusion gets 30 points.
“And an additional 30 points for the final acting evaluation.”
In other words, it meant that simply hitting your opponent wasn’t enough to win.
But conversely, it meant that you could gain points just by shooting a lot, even without aiming for the target ‘black bag’ or acting.
“Please all wear goggles. Hitting someone in the face results in point deductions.”
At Cha Min-kyu’s words, everyone nodded nervously, realizing that they were about to officially start filming.
“So, everyone, prepare yourselves.”
As Cha Min-kyu spoke, each of the actors moved onto the set.
The set was quite large.
In ruins.
That was the precise look.
Foam blocks mimicking broken buildings were scattered everywhere.
Walls and various objects made of foam.
And in the distance, a building could be seen.
‘That black bag must be over there.’
With that thought, the actors anxiously examined the model guns they received.
Many of the female actors were handling such model guns for the first time in their lives.
“Ah!”
As one of them accidentally dropped her handgun and instinctively reached to catch it…
Bang!!
The trigger was pulled, and a paintball shot out.
An accident happened before filming began.
That projectile, by chance, was flying straight for Seo-yeon.
Even more coincidentally, it was aimed at her face.
“Watch out…!”
At a moment when no one could react properly, and the actor hadn’t even put on her goggles yet, she yelled in surprise, just as…
Pow!!
Seo-yeon’s hand moved as if she were swatting away a mosquito.
Of course, since it was a paintball, at that moment it burst on her hand.
“…Huh?”
Those few actors watching the incident were wide-eyed.
Is this real? Did she just swat away a paintball flying at her?
No, it didn’t seem like she even saw it coming.
Her gaze was fixed somewhere else.
‘A coincidence, it must be a coincidence.’
The handful of witnesses thought in sheer awe.
Come on, swatting away a flying paintball is just absurd.
Typically, a paintball travels at around 90m/s.
Of course, it could be slower than that on a broadcast, but still not fast enough to swat away without looking at it.
‘No, that can’t be right.’
In the daze of that thought, an actor rushed over to Seo-yeon, quickly bowing her head.
“I-I’m so sorry. Did I scare you?”
“Me? No, it’s fine, really.”
Saying it was fine was quite a profound statement, but the actor let out a sigh of relief.
“But your hand must hurt a lot…”
Looking closely at Seo-yeon’s hand while furrowing her brow, she noticed that Seo-yeon’s face turned a bit awkward.
“Really, I’m okay.”
In truth, Seo-yeon wasn’t hurt by swatting away the paintball.
Not a single scratch could harm her invincible TS skin.
‘I should have just caught it.’
It was the paintball bursting on her hand that made her grimace.
She had forgotten that paintballs explode and was just caught off guard.
‘No, with my regeneration, catching it isn’t an option.’
Swatting it away didn’t feel quite right either.
She felt as if she should be doing her best to avoid damage.
Anyway, what could have been a tiny accident before the filming began.
Without witnesses, it didn’t turn into a commotion on set.
– What just happened?
– Did she just swat away that paintball with her palm?
That scene, unlucky for them, was caught on camera, causing some viewers’ intense reactions to flood in.
“…That can’t be an accident, right?”
Han Bong-sik watched a replay of that clipped scene.
In slow motion.
“Looks like the paintball was fired by accident…”
Specifically aimed at Seo-yeon’s face.
At that moment, her face hadn’t been captured clearly in the camera.
Just a blurry side profile.
In 0.25 speed provided by YouTube, the paintball was flying toward her.
At that moment…
– Did her eyes move?
– Aaaaahhh!!!
At 0.25 speed, it was very clear that Seo-yeon’s eyes moved towards the paintball as it came.
And the next scene, like everyone knew, was that she swatted the paintball away with her hand.
“Um, there’s no way she meant to do that, right?”
– Joo Seo-yeon could do that.
– What?
– Ah, is that what it means? (still confused)
Han Bong-sik read the comments while pondering deeply.
The images of Joo Seo-yeon seen on Without Escape or Star Fisher flashed in his mind.
“…Hmm. It might actually be possible.”
With that thought, his mind settled in peace.
“Let’s watch on.”
After all, whether it was intentional or not, who could tell?
It would be more fun to believe it was intentional.
“The filming time is 30 minutes in total. Keep that in mind. And any dangerous or rude behavior will result in immediate elimination.”
The mention of elimination made the actors nod nervously.
‘Should I focus on the gunfight?’
‘Maybe I should aim for the bag…’
‘How will the acting be judged? Superpower?’
With those questions swirling in their minds, Min Do-ha glanced at Seo-yeon.
Having witnessed the earlier incident, she bit down on her lower lip.
‘Whether by coincidence or not, when this broadcast airs, that scene will definitely make waves.’
As Cha Min-kyu, who would understand the context later, made a big deal of it, there was no avoiding the discussion.
She couldn’t stand the thought of Seo-yeon stealing her spotlight from the start, shining like the protagonist.
‘In action acting, I can’t lose.’
It would be the ultimate humiliation to lose to such a delicate high school girl.
With that resolve, Min Do-ha stared intently at Seo-yeon.
Shooting would be allowed starting three minutes after filming began.
‘The bag will appear after ten minutes.’
Until then, everyone had to establish their positions.
And then…
BEEP!!!
The signal announcing the start of filming rang out.
Immediately, the actors took off running.
Min Do-ha leisurely followed behind Seo-yeon.
There was no rule stating that getting hit by a bullet meant death.
But if they were ‘acting’, they couldn’t avoid pretending to die when hit.
In the end, it would rely on the actors’ discretion.
And also how the judge, Cha Min-seok, and the viewers perceived it.
‘Sorry, but I’ll take you out here.’
In truth, she didn’t feel all that sorry.
It was only natural to eliminate the strongest competitor.