Chapter 263: Half-Split-Kill
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 263: Half-Split-Kill
After I lightly tore apart the watermelon, the difficulty began to escalate.
The fruit the production team prepared for the third stage of the grip strength test was a melon. From my perspective, there wasn't much difference between a watermelon and a melon.
Ah, I’m talking about the rind, of course.
Crack!
Unlike the watermelon with its firm flesh, the melon was much softer. When I split it in half, a ton of juice came pouring out.
I frowned at the stickiness on my palms and set the melon down. The other cast members, who had been watching from the sofa, all rushed over to get a look.
"Whoa, no way."
"Incredible! He actually split it."
"You didn't pre-cut it or anything, right?"
The studio was a flurry of admiration, shock, and suspicion.
Well, it’s not like they were martial artists from the underworld. They were just a bunch of ordinary people, so it was no surprise they were shocked.
…The very fact that I’m thinking this way probably means I’ve strayed far from the path of an ordinary person myself, but I guess it’s a little late for that now.
Although the melon was just used for a simple display of strength, its flesh must have looked quite tasty, because the three main actresses from the drama grabbed spoons and started scooping it out to eat.
Of course, the MC wasn't about to miss that shot.
"How's the melon?"
"Huh?"
Caught off guard by the sudden interview, the actress, her mouth full of melon, covered her lips with a flustered expression.
Laughter erupted from all around.
Blushing, perhaps from embarrassment, she replied.
"…It's de-delicious."
"Cut!"
Just then, the main PD, who had been peering at the camera, gave the cut sign with a satisfied smile.
As if on cue, the cast members relaxed their shoulders.
"The floor's gotten dirty from all the fruit juice, so let's clean up a bit before moving on to the next stage!"
After shouting his orders, he started directing the nearby staff and assistant directors. When his eyes met mine, he approached me with a huge grin.
"Wow~ Great job! It was an unannounced test, but I never imagined you'd do so well, Kim."
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
"Let's just keep this energy going. Just like this."
The main PD patted my shoulder a few times before heading off to talk to the other actors.
"Sunbae, are your hands okay?"
Just then, Nao asked me with a worried look on her face.
"Yeah, more or less. It was my first time, so I was a bit worried, but it split more easily than I thought."
As I chuckled and replied, Nao stared intently at the back of the retreating main PD's head and said.
"That PD has a reputation in this industry for being a ratings-obsessed bastard. So if he asks you to do something too unreasonable, it's okay for you to refuse."
"Are you worried about me?"
"…Of course. I'm a kind junior, after all."
Nao grinned, then introduced the two other actresses who were approaching us.
"Sunbae, say hi. These are my close friends, Miyu and Ayaka."
"Osu, I'm Miyu."
"I'm Ayaka."
I don't know if all actors are like this, but both of them were overflowing with personality, just like Nao.
And it was obvious to anyone that these two were social butterflies, which was a hurdle far too high for an introvert like me.
"…Hello."
"Whoa, intense."
"With that serious face, you look just like a Guardian King statue."
The two actresses didn't hold back with their witty remarks, even though we had just met.
Nao, our only link, just smiled cheerfully and said to them.
"He's just nervous, so his expression is stiff. Don't worry. Sunbae is actually shyer than he looks."
"…Really?"
Ayaka looked at me as if she found that surprising.
Feeling a strange tension in the air, I instinctively averted my gaze.
"It's true. That's hilarious."
"Right?"
Miyu, who spoke like a typical high school girl these days, clutched her stomach and burst out laughing as she chatted with Nao.
Even though they were actresses, talking with a group composed entirely of high school girls felt… draining.
"I'll let you girls have a nice chat," I said, attempting a strategic retreat. But the three actresses, who had been messing around, sensed my movement with uncanny intuition and surrounded me.
"Heehee, you can't leave."
"Come on, hang out with us."
"Oppa, I heard you're a really good fighter?"
I could ignore the other comments, but not that last one.
"What? Who's spreading such ridiculous rumors?"
In response, Miyu and Ayaka simultaneously pointed at Nao.
And Nao, the designated culprit, said with a shameless expression.
"It's not exactly a lie, is it?"
Come to think of it, this girl knew about the time I fought 1-on-50 against those bikers.
It's been almost half a year, and the fact that I was the guy in the video still hadn't gotten out, so I thought she was pretty tight-lipped. I never imagined she would have told all her friends.
But I couldn't just admit it here, so I feigned ignorance.
"Sorry, but just because someone has big muscles doesn't mean they're a good fighter. If that were true, bodybuilders would dominate every fighting tournament in the world."
"Ah, that makes sense. My dad told me once that the real masters actually have lean muscles."
As Miyu nodded in understanding, Ayaka, who was standing next to her, agreed.
"I read that in a magazine, too. They said that's what real practical muscles look like."
Yes, this is it. I finally felt like I could breathe again.
However, Nao, an unwavering muscle fetishist, seemed displeased by her friends' reactions. She crossed her arms and muttered.
"Idiots.Therealawesome-musclesarethefirmonesbuiltthebodybuildingwaythataregoodtolookatandgoodtotaste.ThisiswhyIshouldn'teveneatwithpeoplewhoaremuscle-ignorant."
She spoke so fast I couldn't catch everything, but it sounded like she was subtly dissing her two friends for being "muscle-ignorant."
"Haha…"
Watching Nao get lost in her own world gave me the creeps, and I felt a desperate urge to run away.
But as if to say that escape, of all things, would not be permitted, the filming resumed at the most impeccable timing.
I silently prayed to the God and Buddha I rarely ever sought, pleading for them to help me get through today's recording safely.
*
After the floor was cleaned, the filming resumed.
Following the progression of Stage 1: apple, Stage 2: watermelon, and Stage 3: melon, I had half-expected it. The fruit for Stage 4 was a pineapple.
"Whaaat~~~!"
"No way! How can you split that in half with just your hands!"
"This is seriously too much!"
At the sudden spike in difficulty, which seemed a bit excessive, the actors began protesting the PD's decision one after another.
But since this was my first time on a variety show, I thought it would look strange if I just stood by quietly. So, I decided to calmly take on the challenge of splitting the pineapple.
Of course, the result was painfully obvious.
Crack!
"He even split the pineapple in half!"
"…Is he a god?"
"Kim Yoo-Sung punch! Kim Yoo-Sung punch!"
The other actors, now half-converted, started chanting my name along with Nao.
Of course, I knew they weren't genuinely cheering for me, but for a brief moment, being the protagonist and monopolizing the spotlight felt better than I had expected.
In any case, thanks to me clearing the fourth stage in an instant, only the final, fifth stage of the grip strength test remained.
And the fruit chosen for the fifth stage was—
"Seriously, how are you supposed to split a coconut with your bare hands?"
"Even the locals use an axe to crack this thing open."
"You've done more than enough, Kim. Don't push yourself and get some rest. If you get hurt trying too hard, that would be putting the cart before the horse."
"Understood."
I replied soullessly while loosening my wrists.
Of course, I had no intention of giving up so easily. I was going to try splitting the coconut with my bare hands.
It's human nature to want to do something even more when you're told not to.
"Hoo— well then, here I go?"
First attempt.
I planned to start by digging my fingers into the shell, just as I had with the watermelon and melon.
But the coconut's reputation for being hard enough to break a stone wasn't for nothing. Even my fingers, which could easily bend a coin in half, couldn't penetrate its shell.
'This isn't going to be easy.'
If I channeled Yang Energy into my fingers like I usually do, I could pierce it easily, but relying on my ki for something like this would be admitting defeat from the start.
So, I pondered how to split the coconut in half using pure physical strength, and I soon found a clue.
A tiny crack, likely from being transported by ship, as coconuts are tropical fruits.
But it was more than enough space for two of my fingers to squeeze into.
"Hnngh!"
As I began to exert my strength in earnest, my forearms, deltoids, and biceps swelled up.
It might look ridiculous to others, me using my full power just to split a single fruit, but to me, at least, it had meaning.
"No way!"
Someone watching the situation muttered in disbelief.
Crack!
The hard coconut shell began to split under my fingertips.
If there hadn't been even a sliver of an opening for my fingers, it might have been a different story. But now that I had managed to wedge a knuckle's length inside the shell, it was only a matter of time before the coconut split in two.
Crack! Craaack!
The crack slowly widened until, finally, the coconut split cleanly in half.
The clear coconut water inside once again drenched the studio floor, but who cared?
I just split a coconut with my bare hands.
I raised the two halves of the coconut shell above my head and flashed a victor's smile.