Chapter: 59
Normally, Looking Like a King was practically a raw broadcast.
While they didn’t use vulgar language, the atmosphere among the cast was light and carefree, characterized by a decent level of playfulness.
But…
‘Why is everyone frozen?’
Seoyeon felt a bit perplexed. The vibe around her seemed oddly stiff. Was it because she was an actress?
Yet, the reason for their stiffness was quite obvious.
‘Wow, she’s really pretty.’
‘Is she really one of us?’
Seoyeon’s appearance naturally muted their chatter, and the main host, Hwang Joon-ho, was equally overwhelmed.
‘She can really game, right?’
Should he have discussed beforehand what games they would play? In the past, they’d usually have a pre-briefing.
However, as the broadcast concept gradually shifted to a raw format, they now decided things on the fly with a roulette wheel.
‘But if he had any sense, he would probably have picked something suitable.’
Hwang Joon-ho thought as he wheeled over the rotating roulette.
“Alright, let’s choose the game that will take center stage today.”
The roulette was covered in Velcro, hiding what games were in play, which were revealed once the wheel was spun.
‘Please, something easy!’
Seoyeon looked like someone who wouldn’t have much connection with gaming.
Sure, there were a lot of trendy celebrities nowadays pushing their ‘fashion gamer’ concepts, but Seoyeon didn’t even come close to fitting that image.
Feeling skeptical about her gaming skills was completely understandable.
“What game do you hope it lands on?”
Hwang Joon-ho asked.
“Any game, I’m confident!” Seoyeon said with flair.
Her unwavering confidence suggested she had ruled out any possibility of not being able to play games.
In fact, this wasn’t baseless confidence.
Seoyeon’s overwhelming physicality proved otherwise.
Isn’t it natural for someone blessed with a TS body to have amazing reflexes?
At the very least, Seoyeon firmly believed she could excel in anything physically demanding.
‘But, thinking back, I haven’t tried gaming in this life.’
To justify that, just about every game she had encountered had already been completed in her previous life.
She couldn’t fully feel the emotions, leading to clearing those games with little to no excitement.
Those memories remained vividly etched in her mind.
Whenever Seoyeon considered her past life, the details of the story, endings, and strategies surfaced without a hitch.
‘Since I played many games in my previous life, I should be just fine this time too.’
Thus, she was confident.
With her strategies and memories, and this invincible TS body in her arsenal!
Brimming with such thoughts, she spun the roulette.
[OUT CRAZY 2]
It was a game where a journalist sneaks into a mental hospital.
In other words, a horror game.
“?”
Of course, Seoyeon had never played that game.
Not even in her past life.
*
Who would’ve thought a horror game?
The roulette seemed to reflect the production team’s malice.
However, Hwang Joon-ho felt a bit of admiration.
If the target was someone unfamiliar with games, horror games could often provide the best reactions.
Although it was still a matter of luck since it was a roulette.
Just for reference, the other games on the roulette were mostly what you’d call jar games or nasty types.
Seoyeon probably didn’t realize it.
She should have been relieved to land on a horror game.
“Seoyeon, have you played any horror games before?”
“…I don’t think so?”
“Oh dear.”
Hwang Joon-ho smacked his forehead and subtly gave the production team a thumbs up.
Horror games are most entertaining when played by those without any tolerance.
‘It’s easy to transition if they naturally pass the baton.’
If someone says they can’t go on, the other cast members can just take over.
On another note, Hwang Joon-ho was fairly skilled at puzzle-type games like horror games.
“Alright, let’s get started. Please check the time.”
The other cast members lined up on the prepared couch.
Seoyeon, who received the game controller first, swallowed hard as eerie background music filled the air.
That scene looked quite dramatic, indeed.
‘Hmm, but I need to deliver some juicy reactions.’
Worrying about this, Director Choi Kwang-soo was a bit concerned.
Being an actress, wouldn’t she prioritize her image?
In entertainment, if you can’t let go of your image, it just isn’t fun.
With that concern lingering, the game began.
Seoyeon watched as the journalist entered a creepy asylum and said, “It looks obviously dangerous, why go in?”
“Ah, you need to watch the previous episode.”
“If something happened in the last episode, shouldn’t we avoid it even more?”
A pure question.
In response, everyone was momentarily speechless.
Well, it wasn’t an incorrect statement.
After all, life comes first.
“But do you feel confident about horror games, Seoyeon?”
“Me?”
As she awkwardly manipulated the unfamiliar controller, she began to navigate the dark ward.
Even though it was supposed to be a horror game, Seoyeon couldn’t grasp the feeling of fear.
And rightly so.
“I’ve never felt fear in my life.”
“……”
Such a declaration could make one feel like a conqueror, leaving Hwang Joon-ho speechless.
However, it wasn’t wrong either.
In her past life, she didn’t know fear due to illness, resulting in her emotional dullness.
“So even if you ask if this is scary…”
Seoyeon spoke in a calm tone as she controlled her character through the eerie ward.
Moving seamlessly forward, her steady pace led the cast to think, ‘Wow, she really seems confident in horror games.’
Then it happened.
“Not much.”
[AHHHH!]
A classic jump scare.
As she turned a corner, a bizarre creature leaped out, accompanied by the sound of something breaking.
“Huh?”
As Hwang Joon-ho glanced down, he saw the controller in Seoyeon’s hands.
The joystick that controlled direction was gone.
Looking closer, it hadn’t simply vanished; it had snapped off and flown away.
‘Was that supposed to break?’
Such a question popped into his head in that instant.
The thoughts of the other cast members watching from behind were similar.
As the monster jumped out, Seoyeon’s thumb had pushed the joystick hard, causing it to break off in the process.
Naturally, the character Seoyeon controlled met their demise.
“Uh, Seoyeon?”
“Just, just a little mistake!”
Something about her response felt off.
Her pupils were shaking, and her voice trembled slightly.
“It seems you were quite shocked.”
“I wasn’t scared!”
Seoyeon received a new controller.
‘Could it be the durability of the controller was already low?’
Everyone stared at the broken controller.
It was surprising but somewhat amusing to see the joystick cleanly snapped off.
With such a tiny hiccup, the game officially began.
And that’s when it started…
“Left left left!”
“……!!”
“No! If you go there, you’ll roll! Roll!”
“I pressed it! It won’t roll…”
[AHHHH!]
Crunch!
The jumping scare scene was when they had to switch controllers.
The condition of the numerous game controllers scattered on the floor was absolutely tragic.
Joysticks flying off and dodge buttons that were stuck down making them unresponsive.
“Hm.”
As Director Choi Kwang-soo filled a box with broken controllers, he thought.
‘Did they pick the wrong broadcast to come here?’
At first, it was a coincidence.
But when it happened two or three times, it started to become clear.
How could all the game controllers meet such a sad fate?
It was time to bring in some spares.
Moreover.
‘Why doesn’t she just give up?’
Of course, it was entertaining to watch.
Seoyeon’s uninhibited performance was more than a bit reckless… or was she genuinely terrified?
“…If it’s too scary, should I take over?”
Four hours into filming, one of the cast members, Gong Tae-kyun, casually suggested.
“I’ll try a bit more!”
“It seems like the controller is giving you trouble…”
“The pad can’t keep up with my reflexes!”
Oh, really?
Even objectively speaking, the movements were clumsy; her reflexes were clearly quick.
The timings of the monsters attacking and the controllers breaking were almost synchronous.
‘This cannot be happening.’
Seoyeon was fully committed, diving head-first into the game.
Never in her life had she thought she wouldn’t be able to play games.
Shouldn’t being TS naturally come with gaming skills?
If you’re TS but can’t game, are you even TS?
That sounds more like a regular girl.
The world was crumbling, and common sense was being challenged.
Anyway, Seoyeon was feeling an unexpected gender conflict while gaming.
[GRRR, AHNNN!]
“AHHHH!”
The sudden appearance of a bizarre mini-boss creature!
Seoyeon screamed for the first time in her life at the astonishing visual.
Bang!
And at that moment, her controller finally shattered in two.
As plastic shards flew everywhere, Hwang Joon-ho felt he was witnessing something incredible.
With the game over, Seoyeon’s body slumped to the side.
Did she just faint?
That scene was so dramatic it made everyone wonder if she had actually passed out.
Everyone shared that sentiment as they stared at Seoyeon.
“Please do something!”
Was there really a reason to despair over a game?
Yet Seoyeon weakly murmured.
That was exactly at the six-hour mark since filming began.
*
Thus, after what was arguably a successful shoot, Looking Like a King aired.
Given its historically low viewership, it didn’t initially create much of a stir.
However, as various shorts and clips of Seoyeon circulated online, the atmosphere began to shift.
At the time of airing, it recorded slightly over 0.8%, surpassing previous ratings.
But on the official YouTube channel, the repost garnered over a million views within a week.
– Is that a fashion gamer? More like a fashion gorilla, right?
– I’ve never seen a controller break like that before.
– I’m an active personal trainer. I tried smashing it with a hammer and barely succeeded!
– If you can break it by gripping, who’s using those controllers?
– Doesn’t she need to be training instead of acting?
– “I’ve never felt fear in my life.”
– Sounds like she really hasn’t experienced anything like that.
Having been in the spotlight recently, the actress drew a lot of mentions.
Her age and appearance in a school uniform were also hot topics.
– Wearing a school uniform? That’s so clever!
– It’s hilarious watching everyone avert their gazes! LOL!
– Looks like a fashion gamer but seems to know a lot; is it real?
– I don’t think it seemed like she couldn’t game at all.
– That last segment with Ring Fit was intense; just quit the acting already!
– In the end, she cleared the game, so let’s raise a toast for her!
Among all this, Seoyeon stumbled once but ultimately succeeded in clearing the game.
It took a whopping 8 hours and 45 minutes.
It may have been a bit slow, but considering the delays from breaking controllers, it was a pretty decent time.
Moreover, her swift completion of the Ring Fit mini-game drew applause.
Notably, during Ring Fit, there was not a single fail or death.
‘But that wasn’t a proper game, was it?’
As everyone gave their thumbs up during Ring Fit, Seoyeon felt gloomy.
She wanted to be complimented for her gaming skills.
She vowed to practice later.
When the show was over, she quietly made that commitment to herself.
Regardless, despite not going as she intended, she managed to generate some buzz in the community, creating a positive image for herself.
The image of Princess Yeonhwa.
And surely, it would help mitigate her image regarding the villainous role she was about to take on.
“Seoyeon! You got a CF offer!”
While watching the replay of Looking Like a King, a gloomy Seoyeon was greeted by her manager, Park Eun-ha, who beamed with joy.
At first, it felt a bit awkward, but Eun-ha quickly became familiar with Seoyeon.
Now they were more like siblings.
“…What kind of CF?”
“A game controller advertisement.”
“I’m not doing that.”
It was an ad boasting the durability of game controllers.
Of course, Seoyeon had absolutely no intention of participating.
A week later.
Just when Seoyeon had finally settled her feelings, she heard a particular piece of news.
“Have you heard? Actor Hwang Min-hwa…”
Seoyeon caught wind of something that piqued her interest.
It was the news that the star of Nova Entertainment, Hwang Min-hwa, was leaving the company.
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