Chapter 125: Honor Student (1)
Chapter 125: Honor Student (1)
An actor audition.
Specifically, Hyper Action Star, an audition program targeting action and stunt actors.
To be honest, most people’s reactions were lukewarm.
After all, audition programs had been done to death already.
However, that sentiment flipped completely after the teaser was released.
Specifically, after the clip of Seo-yeon’s spectacular rappel action was shown.
Of course, not everyone reacted positively.
There were many skeptical opinions. Because the action she displayed was so groundbreaking, people started claiming it must be fake.
The community reactions were generally along those lines.
Surprisingly, the quietest place was Ju Seo-yeon’s fan community.
Over there, the reaction was more like, "Well, that's just her."
Amidst the clashing opinions, the first episode of Hyper Action Star finally aired.
It was broadcast simultaneously on internet streaming platforms and general programming channels.
This alone showed how much effort the GH Group was putting into this variety show.
First up was Group A.
Twenty actors stood on the set, each with a nervous expression. The set, built with broken Styrofoam buildings, seemed to have a "ruins" concept.
While everyone else wore comfortable athletic gear, one person stood out.
Ju Seo-yeon.
Unlike the others who were visibly tense, she stood there with an exceptionally calm face, making her even more eye-catching.
Most participants wore comfortable clothes.
Among them, some had dressed according to their "character" concepts.
Jo Seo-hee and Han So-yu were of that type.
At this point, the viewers couldn't help but notice.
Ah, they have to establish a character starting from their outfit.
In fact, the actor Cha Min-gyu, standing at the front as the instructor, was observing the actors with sharp eyes and marking down scores.
It meant that their attire was also part of the evaluation.
The first mission that followed was a gunfight.
Cha Min-gyu explained the rules in more detail.
How the points would be calculated.
How they should perform.
The actors had been briefed beforehand, but this was new information for the viewers.
No matter how much of an action actor one was, handling firearms was a different story.
Even if they were model guns, it wasn't the same.
Of course, they had likely practiced to some extent since they were told in advance, but...
'Honestly, can they even hit anything properly?'
Most people thought it would be a relief if there weren't any safety accidents.
At that moment.
Bang!!
The sound of something being fired rang out.
The camera caught the scene: someone had dropped their handgun, and a stray bullet had gone flying.
And that bullet was flying straight toward Seo-yeon.
As if swatting away a fly, Seo-yeon flicked it aside.
Because the camera caught it clearly, the viewers' brains momentarily stalled.
Faced with a situation they couldn't believe even after seeing it, most viewers concluded it was a fluke.
Regardless, a brief commotion broke out before the start, and it took a few minutes to settle things down.
Once the situation was under control, Cha Min-gyu nodded.
And then.
BEEEEEEP!!!
A horn blared, signaling the start of the shoot.
Since firing wasn't allowed for the first few minutes, everyone ran to secure advantageous positions.
And then.
The camera caught four people.
Seo-yeon, and the three people chasing her.
The chat began to scroll rapidly.
Additionally, a scene was captured of Min Do-ha hiding and watching them.
Most expected Seo-yeon to be eliminated here.
After all, it was three against one.
It might be different for normal action acting, but this was a gunfight where points were on the line.
There was no way she could handle three people alone, but...
People who seemed to be Seo-yeon’s fans appeared in the chat, but even they were mocked.
While everyone predicted Seo-yeon’s elimination, the muzzles of the three handguns were simultaneously aimed at her.
And the moment the bullets were fired, she dodged.
Lowering her stance, she clearly "saw" them and moved.
'Huh?'
In that instant, the viewers felt it.
The actors facing her might have felt differently, but the viewers had no choice but to realize it clearly.
Seo-yeon had become a completely different person from a moment ago.
'Acting.'
Suddenly, they remembered that this was an audition to pick the lead for a movie.
Everyone involved was competing by acting out the characters they had set for themselves.
This gunfight was the same.
The superpowers and the protagonist's background mostly followed what the actors had envisioned.
'Cha Seo-ah?'
The thought crossed their minds for a moment.
But no, it wasn't.
The smirk playing on Seo-yeon’s lips proved it.
Cha Seo-ah didn't smile like that.
It was a provocative smirk, as if she were having fun, as if she were daring them to try harder.
The three enemies had fired first, but they were the ones completely overwhelmed by Seo-yeon’s character.
Two more bullets were fired in succession.
Seo-yeon swatted them away with a wave of her hand.
Unlike the first time, which people thought was a fluke, she did it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Even those who initially thought it was impossible started posting confused messages in the chat.
Swatting one by chance?
Sure, that could happen.
But dodging three simultaneously and then swatting two more with her hands?
No, seriously, does this make sense?
It was only natural for such comments to appear.
Furthermore, Seo-yeon didn't just shoot from a distance.
While dodging bullets, she actually moved forward.
Then, point-blank fire.
She didn't forget to whisper something into their ears before shooting, either.
The remaining two were also easily dealt with.
Then, Min Do-ha, who had been hiding and observing the situation, was seen aiming her gun at Seo-yeon.
With a small pop, a bullet flew toward Seo-yeon’s back.
Of course, Seo-yeon dodged it as if it were nothing.
As if she had heard the chat, Min Do-ha began to flee.
In fact, Min Do-ha was a fast runner.
She sprinted across the set so quickly that other actors couldn't even aim at her properly.
"Huff, huff."
Just as she thought she had finally lost her and took a breath.
Seo-yeon’s head suddenly popped out.
Her red eyes were sparkling brilliantly.
Naturally, Min Do-ha let out a scream and scrambled away, practically crawling on the ground in terror.
Seo-yeon, who was initially going to chase her, watched her and nodded with a face full of genuine admiration, not acting.
"Her acting is so good."
A small mutter to herself.
Anyway, thanks to Seo-yeon’s "heroics," she drew the attention of the other actors.
Gradually, the number of actors targeting her increased.
And in that crisis, her only ally, Jo Seo-hee, appeared.
With Jo Seo-hee’s help covering her blind spots, Seo-yeon literally flew around.
She dodged and swatted away incoming bullets.
And through it all, she made sure to keep her acting sharp.
The viewers were even able to immediately identify the weakness of the character Seo-yeon was playing.
The viewers gradually became more heated, even scolding the other actors.
Anyone could feel it.
The protagonist of this gunfight mission was Ju Seo-yeon.
Ultimately, what is a protagonist?
The basic requirement of a protagonist is to make the viewers immersed.
In that sense, Ju Seo-yeon was the truly perfect lead for this variety show.
Watching this through the TV, a man muttered.
"This is... impressive."
The man GH Group had slated to direct Mine.
Director Han Ye-geon.
He stroked his scruffy chin, immersed in the screen.
'Ju Seo-yeon.'
The person GH Group was considering for the lead in Mine.
To be honest, he had been puzzled as to why they were holding an audition to pick her.
"I see. So... they had a plan after all."
Seo-yeon’s physical abilities were certainly at a surprising level.
I mean, she was dodging paint bullets by sight.
However, what caught Han Ye-geon’s eye wasn't just her physical prowess.
'Acting.'
She was one of the few actors on this battlefield who was performing properly.
Even though she was getting the most screen time.
In particular, what amazed Han Ye-geon was her acting with Han So-yu.
'Even though she could have performed in a way that made her look overwhelmingly superior...'
She didn't.
She properly "received" Han So-yu’s "telekinesis acting" and reacted with her body.
As if to remind everyone once again that this was an audition for a superpower action movie.
The chat window exploded at her realistic portrayal of being blown away.
People said it looked like real superpowers.
They said it would look amazing once CG was added.
"...Honestly, I was considering turning this down."
Han Ye-geon was an action director who didn't particularly like CG.
Having been enamored with Hong Kong action movies as a child, that tendency was even stronger.
But looking at Seo-yeon, he couldn't help but feel greedy.
The first mission was nearing its end after she defeated Han So-yu.
And as for the conclusion...
"Oh my, good work, Agent."
Bang.
With a small gunshot, Seo-yeon was taken out by Jo Seo-hee.
The chat window exploded instantly.
It wasn't a smooth victory for Seo-yeon, but a betrayal by Jo Seo-hee at the very end.
An entirely unexpected twist for a variety show.
Watching that, Han Ye-geon simply laughed.
He felt like he had already met some very interesting actors.
*
A few days later.
The survivors of the first mission were announced.
'I probably failed.'
Min Do-ha didn't even want to check.
She really hadn't done anything.
Did she even engage in a gunfight when she got the bag? She thought she might have.
She hadn't even checked her score properly until the end.
'I'm glad I failed.'
Instead, Min Do-ha felt relieved.
Relieved that she wouldn't have to be involved with Ju Seo-yeon anymore.
This audition had left Min Do-ha with nothing but horrific memories.
Even now, when she slept, all she could remember was a red-eyed creature chasing her.
'Maybe I should look for a normal romance movie next.'
Even a supporting role would be fine.
Something that could help her recover her peace of mind...
"Oh, Do-ha! Congratulations!! You passed the first audition!!"
"..."
But the next day, hearing her manager’s smiling words, Do-ha momentarily thought she had misheard.
I passed? Me?
Min Do-ha hurriedly checked the email sent to her.
It even included her evaluation scores.
Her score from the gunfight was only about 16 points.
It seemed she had hit some people while firing wildly.
Since she was marked as "dead," that was halved to 8 points.
That score alone would never have been enough to pass, but...
[Acting Score +20 points]
"..."
Min Do-ha felt despair at that evaluation item.
She wanted to call them right now and protest.
That wasn't acting.
But if she were to reject this...
"Do-ha, congratulations! Hyper Action Star is such a huge topic right now. I was worried about what would happen if you failed, but thank goodness!!"
Seeing her manager so genuinely happy, Min Do-ha had no choice but to squeeze her eyes shut.
The red-eyed creature, smiling brightly, floated into her mind.
Tonight, for some reason, she felt like she was going to have a nightmare.