‘What’s that?’
Min Do-ha turned her body and ran away.
‘Dodging the paintball by hearing the sound?’
Chills ran down her spine.
If this scene goes out, there’s bound to be a huge uproar.
‘If I had continued the close combat…’
Originally, Min Do-ha intended to lure her into close combat after shooting from a distance, expecting to easily subdue a delicate high school girl.
But.
‘Absolutely no way.’
What the heck is that reaction speed?
And why are her eyes glowing so frighteningly?
“Huff, huff, huff.”
Min Do-ha jumped over an obstacle while hearing footsteps approaching behind her.
The set was filled with various cover spots where she could hide her body.
In other words, she thought if she jumped over the obstacles while escaping, she could easily get away.
And just as Min Do-ha expected, she felt the sounds of footsteps chasing her grow distant.
“Phew.”
Min Do-ha finally let out a sigh.
Running across the set left her breathless.
She took cover behind an obstacle and sighed.
Various noises were coming from around her.
Sounds of gunfire, shouts rehearsed for action acting.
‘Acting, acting.’
Min Do-ha suddenly realized she hadn’t shown any acting at all.
Even if it’s dangerous, getting into close combat at that moment… No, that’s definitely not it.
‘Huh?’
As she pondered this, she suddenly noticed that her surroundings had gone quiet.
And when she unknowingly looked up.
“……”
The first thing that caught her eye was black hair.
Fair skin.
Then, she saw red eyes and a smile forming at the corners of her mouth.
And she could feel those lips slowly moving.
「Found you.」
“Ahhh!!”
Min Do-ha screamed without realizing it and tried to get up but her legs went weak.
And she immediately started crawling away.
Joo Seo-yeon, aiming her gun at the fleeing Min Do-ha… slowly lowered it.
‘Great acting.’
She couldn’t help but admire it.
For a moment, she seriously thought Min Do-ha was genuinely screaming.
Add to that, the intense act of crawling away with weak legs.
The reason Joo Seo-yeon let Min Do-ha go was precisely because of that.
‘If this is acting, I need someone to match with.’
Even if she locked her character, she needed someone to match her character.
In that sense, Min Do-ha was quite a good character.
Surely, Min Do-ha had chosen physical enhancement ability.
So when she chased her, she had deliberately matched her speed while running.
It would seem strange for a regeneration ability user to run faster than a physical enhancement user.
‘Come back stronger.’
Joo Seo-yeon first decided to let Min Do-ha go.
She could have chased her right away, but she had chosen Min Do-ha as her partner to match her character, so it felt wasteful to just eliminate her.
And.
‘Strangely, it feels like a lot of people are focusing on me.’
Joo Seo-yeon slowly moved her gaze around.
Initially, about five people were focused on her.
But as time went by, she felt that number slowly increase.
Maybe it’s because she was running around too much.
Just as she thought that.
Whoosh!
Something flew and landed at Joo Seo-yeon’s feet.
“Huh?”
She dodged a paintball that had flown towards her shoulder and picked it up.
‘Earphone?’
No, it looked a bit different.
It seemed to be something that could fit in her ear.
Could it be a special item prepared by the production team? She thought as she put it in her ear.
「Can you hear me?」
Unexpectedly, Jo Seo-hee’s voice came through.
She was about to ask how she brought this, but.
‘They said we could bring props necessary for the movie.’
As long as it wasn’t a weapon or something of that sort, it could be brought in after screening by the production team.
Clearly Jo Seo-hee was set up as a rich and clever genius… or so it felt.
‘So she’s trying to use props.’
No, more importantly, where is she right now?
As she thought and turned her head around.
Once again, two or three bullets were fired.
One bullet accidentally got swatted away by her hand, scoring another point.
「Let’s form an alliance.」
“Uh?”
「You can’t do it alone, right? I’m at a bit of a distance from you. I’m in a high place, so I can see others well.」
Like a support character from a movie, Jo Seo-hee said that.
Only then did Joo Seo-yeon realize where Jo Seo-hee was.
‘She didn’t head toward the bag, but to the opposite side.’
A high styrofoam ruin near the hillside of the set.
She must be hiding down low up there.
「… I also got shot five times while running, so I have 5 points.」
Hmph, Jo Seo-hee said with a laugh.
At least she hadn’t died, which was something.
It seemed like she had moved away from running away as the bag was coming out soon.
If this is acting, chasing someone who’s helplessly running away isn’t fun.
‘Has she given up?’
Joo Seo-yeon was puzzled by Jo Seo-hee’s actions.
Did she really have no intention of passing?
It seemed as though she was behaving as if she had given up completely.
「This place is quite high, so you can see below well. No matter how good you are, your line of sight can’t reach everywhere.」
In reality, even if she couldn’t see, she could roughly grasp everything, but Joo Seo-yeon nodded.
‘Huh?’
At the same time, she felt that Jo Seo-hee’s tone of voice suddenly changed.
But she brushed it off.
It must just be the situation causing it.
「I’ll be watching from here and let you know positions. How about that for an alliance?」
“……Okay, I understand.”
An alliance!
Joo Seo-yeon inwardly envied the actors who teamed up earlier.
They managed to form a team in such a short time.
To be honest, she wanted to try it too.
But she didn’t expect Jo Seo-hee to make such an offer first.
Moreover, the fact that she was going to inform the opponent’s position sounded pretty nice.
「Alright. First, there are four people watching you over there. The others are gradually heading toward the bag. Oh, behind you!」
Along with that, the sound of gunfire was heard.
Joo Seo-yeon turned around and dodged it, leaning her body away.
She felt the opponent, who met her gaze, flinch.
And as she pointed her gun at her, they soon lowered their hand.
‘Shooting from a distance isn’t fun, after all.’
Joo Seo-yeon squinted at the gun she was holding.
Certainly, a gun was not really her style.
It lacked a sense of impact.
To put it simply, Joo Seo-yeon preferred close combat like with Cha Seo-ah.
Something like a hand axe suited her red eyes quite well.
… Though, it felt like a different genre altogether.
「Then, I’ll let you know. You trust me, right?」
“……A little.”
「That’s just right.」
As Jo Seo-hee’s laughter echoed, Joo Seo-yeon turned her body.
And she ran toward those pointing their guns at her.
Lowering her body, she swatted away the flying bullets with her hands.
And just like that.
[Joo Seo-yeon: 38 points]
Joo Seo-yeon’s score started to rise.
And at a rapid pace.
*
“Wow, what’s that?”
Han Bong-sik muttered as he slowly approached his 1.4 million YouTube subscribers.
It wasn’t surprising; he couldn’t believe what he was seeing in the video.
– Seriously, what is it?
– Is she dodging paintballs now without even looking?
– Isn’t it because Jo Seo-hee told her?
– If she knows everything to perform well, then I would’ve gotten a perfect score on the SAT.
– For real, lol.
The screen showed Jo Seo-hee.
Hiding in the styrofoam ruins, surveying the battlefield from a high spot.
Every time she spoke, Joo Seo-yeon’s body moved.
Almost like a solo performance.
That’s how fitting it was.
– Since Jo Seo-hee is informing her position, the snipers can’t get her.
– Aren’t they simply going up to beat each other anyway?
– Who is Joo Seo-yeon? Was she always like this?
– Yeah, she was always like that.
– ?????
– These kids are so naive, of course, it’s all scripted since it’s a variety show.
– Damn, how is that scripted, you crazy person.
Clearly, there were groups engaging in a paintball battle, showing off their acting skills in various spots.
But right at that moment.
– Joo Seo-yeon is here!
– Damn, is she a ninja?
The sudden appearance of Joo Seo-yeon threw everything into disarray.
And since she had regeneration ability, it was hard to kill her under normal circumstances.
She could block with her hands when she was about to sustain a severe injury.
“Still, I’m definitely maintaining my character. That’s why it’s scarier.”
Joo Seo-yeon was still acting.
The other viewers watching the broadcast were likely the same.
Most of the people typing in the chat right now were probably doing the same.
“Hitting arms and legs leads to a stop. But you know what’s funny…?”
– Didn’t it seem like she just got hit?
– ?
– “It feels like that. I said earlier, action acting must match.”
Han Bong-sik watched the video in 0.25x speed.
The muzzle aimed at Joo Seo-yeon.
The bullets flying toward her.
At first, it seemed like coincidence, but he could see Joo Seo-yeon’s eyes move accordingly.
In other words, Joo Seo-yeon was ‘seeing’ the paintballs coming and dodging.
Whether this was truly possible was a different story.
“Well then, she could’ve dodged and got hit.”
For a moment, Joo Seo-yeon could have moved her body to dodge.
If she thought that was an opportunity and charged in…
“Say goodbye without a doubt.”
– What kind of talent is that, lol?
– But what about other people? Aren’t they using their superpowers?
– Maybe they just haven’t thought that far ahead?
Just like the comments, not many performers engaged in superpower acting.
It felt like they were struggling with how to act in such a situation.
But then.
– Han So-yu!
– Isn’t escaping the correct choice?
A woman with a rather cute face appeared on screen.
A caption instantly popped up saying, ‘Han So-yu’s ability is psychokinesis.’
Clearly a description that came up as if they had been waiting for the cast to show up.
Of course, so far, no one had properly used the superpower described.
Until now.
“This…”
Bong-sik could see Joo Seo-yeon’s eyes move.
As her gaze met Han So-yu’s, the left hand that didn’t hold a gun reached out toward Joo Seo-yeon.
At that moment, the camera zoomed in closer to Han So-yu.
It seemed the cameraman caught on to what Han So-yu was about to do.
“What I was trying to say earlier. This superpower acting, isn’t as easy as it sounds.”
– Isn’t that a given? Without CG, it’s all pointless.
– “So, especially what Han So-yu is going to do with her psychokinesis… that’s especially tricky. There’s nothing visible.”
While Joo Seo-yeon’s regeneration and physical enhancement could be overlooked, it would seem silly for anything requiring CG.
“However, at least with psychokinesis, it can be done without CG.”
– ?
– What does that even mean?
Bong-sik thought back to Joo Seo-yeon till that point.
It was amusing to think that Joo Seo-yeon, who had seemed to run around wildly, had some kind of rule.
First, she had recognized the opponent’s superpower.
For example, if someone had fire powers, she’d strongly avoid getting close or appear wary of something.
Though the person in question was merely recklessly firing their gun, it was futile.
‘They engaged in a gunfight not only for the sake of action but also to see if they could act out superpowers properly.’
Han So-yu likely knew that.
Just like Bong-sik had observed, she grasped Joo Seo-yeon’s logic.
So then how would she react to her psychokinesis?
“In other words, that’s what it is.”
Han So-yu’s hand pointed toward Joo Seo-yeon.
At that moment, Joo Seo-yeon’s eyes widened.
And she flew backward.
Whoosh, into a nearby styrofoam structure.
“Do you know WWE? It’s American professional wrestling. When performing action acting, being ‘receiving’ is called receiving.”
The role of taking the attack when the opponent executes their technique.
That was what brought ‘superpowers’ realistically to life.
Psychokinesis, after all, isn’t visible.
But Joo Seo-yeon ‘received’ it, throwing her body to express it properly.
“However, if you look at the whole screen, it still seems silly. Like a low-budget special effects film without good CG.”
So the camera pulled in.
Rather than showing her entire body, it showed only a part.
After that, if you only saw the scene of Joo Seo-yeon flying, it truly seemed like she got hit by something.
– It’s real.
– Isn’t the crew quite excellent?
“This is promotional material. It shows that the GH group sharpened their knives for this movie.”
Bong-sik looked at Joo Seo-yeon and Han So-yu.
As expected, Joo Seo-yeon responded correctly to Han So-yu’s psychokinesis.
The condition for activation was extending her left hand forward.
Her abilities manifested in the direction in her line of sight.
That was the ability described in the script of Han So-yu.
Previously, Han So-yu had experience playing a wizard in a children’s drama.
At that time, she merely acted cutely and humorously.
But depending on the nature of her opponent, it could turn into a truly threatening psychokinesis.
– Wow.
– It feels kind of real, doesn’t it?
Joo Seo-yeon could be seen moving out of Han So-yu’s line of sight, aware of how threatening her power could be due to the recent attack.
Everyone’s attention was focused on how Joo Seo-yeon would overcome that superpower.
「This is!!」
Han So-yu’s eyes twisted into a sinister expression.
With that one line, her character instantly became clear.
‘She took on the role of the antagonist.’
Bong-sik judged Han So-yu to be clever.
Using superpowers alone would never be enough to take out Joo Seo-yeon.
By rule, the way to eliminate opponents is by hitting them with a paintball.
Superpowers could only determine acting scores but couldn’t clearly specify death conditions.
Unless the other person acted along with it.
To defeat Joo Seo-yeon, who had overwhelming physical abilities, was indeed impossible for Han So-yu.
Judging this, Han So-yu framed herself as a ‘strong villain.’
By simply making Joo Seo-yeon, who had previously been overpowering others, fly with psychokinesis brought an enormous sense of crisis.
Once the atmosphere shifted, the rest was simple.
Avoiding Han So-yu’s reach, Joo Seo-yeon approached.
As if twisting her arm from the psychokinetic force, she dropped the gun.
Joo Seo-yeon kicked the dropped gun away.
“Eep!!”
She sprinted toward Han So-yu, who let out a shocked scream, grabbing her with her unharmed left hand.
As Han So-yu hastily stretched her hand forward, Joo Seo-yeon’s gun touched Han So-yu’s chest.
Tatata-tang!!
A crisp gunfire sound.
[Joo Seo-yeon: 68 points]
And with that point, scoring over half on her own.
“!!”
Min Do-ha, hidden while clutching a bag, took a sharp breath.
The previously noisy surroundings had suddenly fallen silent.
‘What just happened?’
Min Do-ha’s enthusiasm had diminished completely since Joo Seo-yeon ran away.
Still, she managed to obtain the bag, so she decided to shift her strategy to just protecting it.
‘In the first place, it was wrong to fight something like that.’
How could she fight while dodging paintballs?
Min Do-ha was genuinely feeling wronged.
Could it be that she underwent special training or something?
Without that, it was simply unbelievable.
‘But if I can just protect the bag, that’s 30 points…’
「There you are.」
“……”
Min Do-ha lost consciousness on the spot.
*
Joo Seo-yeon’s points, along with obtaining the bag, effectively made her score over 80.
It was likely a score that even the production team hadn’t dared to predict.
Even halved, it would still be good enough for first place.
And if acting scores were added, it could exceed 100 points.
Since it was overwhelmingly strong, even the other participants joined in simply laughing in disbelief.
Even though they lost to Joo Seo-yeon, ultimately, moving on to the upper round was determined by points.
Death was, after all, just part of the acting.
Even those who suffered serious injuries continued to stick around.
Even if their acting scores took a hit, they still sought alternative points.
‘Still, I made it into the top 10.’
‘It seems like this kind of acting just didn’t suit me.’
While feelings of joy and sorrow intertwined, filming time was now roughly 5 minutes left.
The remaining survivors were now just two.
Joo Seo-yeon and Jo Seo-hee.
Having secured the bag, Joo Seo-yeon headed toward where Jo Seo-hee was.
Though there were some paint stains, Jo Seo-hee, cleaner than others, was there.
‘But…’
Joo Seo-yeon glanced at the scoreboard.
Jo Seo-hee’s score wasn’t displayed.
Practically a score of zero.
In a situation where anyone could see that she was disqualified.
Even if Joo Seo-yeon handed her the bag.
Just as she was about to approach Jo Seo-hee to ask if she was okay.
「Oh my, you’ve worked hard, our agent.」
Jo Seo-hee smiled sweetly with a playful grin.
At Jo Seo-hee’s demeanor, Joo Seo-yeon momentarily froze.
‘Acting.’
Why now of all times?
As she thought that.
Bang.
A crisp gunfire sound.
Joo Seo-yeon looked down.
A paintball was splattered on her chest.
So close to her heart, Joo Seo-yeon’s only weakness as a regeneration ability user.
And there was no time to dodge in a moment of carelessness.
[Jo Seo-hee: +34 points]
Scoring enough to reach the fifth place.
Even though she had been hit before and had 29 points, she still gained substantial ground.
Joo Seo-yeon stared at Jo Seo-hee in disbelief as she checked the score displayed on the scoreboard.
“Sorry. But I’ll still give you the bag.”
Despite her attempt to soothe Jo Seo-yeon, she felt upset.
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