A History-Making Commercial Shoot (2)
A History-Making Commercial Shoot (2)
Thursday came quickly.
It was the day of the commercial shoot.
"Here is Cadet Alice Littenwood's weapon checkout permit. It is academy equipment, so bring it back in one piece."
Alice and I had submitted an absence form for the day.
We'd also brought weapons designed for awakeners.
If awakeners were appearing in a commercial, they ought to show off a little.
Doing that bare-handed, without a weapon, just wasn't cool.
"Thank you... ah, what about Yujin?"
"I can just take mine. I have an awakener license."
"As expected of Yujin! Amazing!"
"By the time you graduate, you'll...."
"Enough chatter. Look here a moment."
The Chairwoman's expression turned serious as she faced our excited selves.
Hands on her hips, pushing out her meager granny tits.
The shameless pose made me frown.
"I'm saying this out of an old woman's concern... Seo Yujin, what's the matter with your eyes?"
"Your august countenance was simply too dazzling."
"Spare me the soulless flattery. Anyway, be careful. I have a bad feeling about this."
Then the Chairwoman began lecturing us.
She invoked her Innate Talent, Sixth Sense—a simple but versatile ability that had carried her all the way to S-rank No. 4.
"The feeling isn't strong, so it may be nothing... but you two are weak."
"The Cheonhwa Clan is providing bodyguards, so it'll be fine!"
"Still, don't relax. Carelessness could lead to an accident."
And with that, she reeled off a long list of potential problems.
At the minor end, one of my stalker fans might attack.
A patient demanding treatment could cause a scene, or a politician might ruin the mood just to speak with me.
At worst...
"———A villain might come after your life directly."
A villain might try to kill me.
It was a sincere warning from the Chairwoman.
Hearing that, I showed Seol Hayeon—the S-rank No. 4 and a hero of Korea—the respect she deserved...
'It was only because a minor A-rank Gate was about to open. I was planning to zip over and clear it alone.'
Respect, my ass. The old hag was already losing her touch.
Time spared no one.
I waved off her concern as excessive.
"Of course I'll be careful, but... as long as it isn't Winterer, I'll be fine. Few countries have villains as weak as Korea's."
What kind of country was Korea?
In other countries, they couldn't screen out villains in advance, so the villains ended up mixed among awakeners like ticking bombs.
Wasn't Korea a country that, thanks to the Chairwoman, boasted a zero-percent villain rate among registered awakeners?
That was why, the moment they realized they'd fallen into villainy, they fled to the mountains instead of registering as awakeners...
In a peaceful country like this, how strong could they become without an academy? At best, they'd be nationally notorious thugs.
Consequently, Korean villains were pathetic. Even the successful ones only reached about C-rank awakener level.
Winterer and Haru, test subjects of the 'Awakener Proliferation Plan,' were the only unusual specimens.
The Chairwoman gave a sheepish laugh.
"Well, if that really is all, Cheonhwa's bodyguards will handle it without you lifting a finger. Unless Grade 1 Villain Winterer herself pays a visit."
"Chairwoman! What are the chances it is Winterer...?"
"Impossible. The night before she attacked, I was too anxious to sleep. If she were targeting Yujin, I'd feel far worse than this."
Her wry smile suggested she knew she was being overprotective.
But that was only for a moment.
Worry returned to her eyes.
"Still, I truly mean it when I say be careful. If anything happened to you cadets—especially you, Seo Yujin..."
-Mutter, mutter.
"My perfect life plan—to dump this damned Association presidency, retire, and live a peaceful, carefree life in the countryside..."
Her heartfelt concern for us came as a bonus.
Whatever she was muttering, she was probably praying.
Lots of people find religion in their twilight years.
This time, I didn't make a wisecrack and accepted her concern gratefully.
Only a monster would interrupt someone praying for him.
'If she were praying to some cult like the Church of the Lord, I'd refuse... but she had been Catholic in the First Round.'
-Glance.
"Alice and I will return without so much as a scratch."
"Yes! We're Pine-Needle comrades!"
To put her mind at ease, I firmly told her not to worry.
That nothing would happen to us.
That whatever adversity came crashing down, my wife and I would be safe, without shedding a single drop of blood.
* * *
"The king of the Republic of Korea!!!!! Is Seo Yujin!!!!!"
"Replace!!!!! the government!!!!! with Seo Yujin!!!!!"
"Make him!!!!! president!!!!!"
-Crunch.
'...What grudge did you have against me to do this?'
So much for my confident promise. I ended up drawing blood.
Civilians packed the filming site.
Cheonhwa had them under control, so I'd entered without concern, but...
What was with that long-range sonic attack? It cut through the crowd and rang out loud and clear.
Worse, the content itself was enough to destroy my mind.
The taste of blood flooded my mouth.
It was the first blood I'd tasted since Công's visit.
'Father-in-law, was this image management or an election campaign? Did you hypnotize them!?'
That made Father-in-law's ability seem terrifying all over again.
He'd promised proper image management and said he'd turn me into a saint, but...
Could this happen without hypnosis?
That middle-aged woman had practically turned into a rock singer.
Afraid I'd burst if I listened any longer, I fled at almost a run.
I escaped the commotion and headed toward Alice, who'd arrived first and was getting her full makeup done.
"Ah, Yujin! I just heard someone shouting your name. Did something happen?"
"...Too much happened. I'm exhausted. Seriously."
Only after I entered the makeup room did I collapse.
Alice pestered me about what had happened, but I could only shake my head and say it hadn't been dangerous.
I couldn't laugh in case it ruined her makeup.
"As for your makeup, Seo Yujin...."
"Why would a guy wear makeup."
"...You definitely don't need any. In fact, the sporty look may be better."
Makeup was naturally skipped.
Then I picked up the script that had arrived only yesterday.
It called for me to swing a sword while sweating, then wipe my brow in the shade of a tree...
and take one delicious-looking sip of the drink.
Alice's script seemed a bit more complex, but...
Well, Alice was practically a commercial in human form.
She'd gone out of her way to order Pine-Needle Snow from Britain through international shipping, so she'd be fine.
Anyway, even after all that, Alice's makeup still wasn't finished.
To kill time, I walked around the set greeting people.
It was partly flattery—a plea to shoot me well enough not to damage my image—and partly because accumulating heartwarming anecdotes would help.
"I'm counting on you all for the shoot today!"
"M-Mr. Seo Yujin!?"
"I brought you some vitamin drinks. Have one before we start!"
-Murmur, murmur.
"Is he thinking of becoming an actor later or something...?"
"He'd be amazing as a movie actor."
"He'd nail action scenes without any CG, after all."
Judging by the staff whispering behind me as they looked at the drinks, my little image-building exercise had worked.
I only returned after handing out every drink in the box.
I figured Alice's makeup would be finished by then.
-Creak.
"Ah, Yujin!! Look at this, look!!"
"With the makeup on, I look just like a real K-POP idol!! I look ready to dance in a practice room!!"
Her makeup was finished after all.
What was Alice's concept again? A British idol trainee who'd come to Korea out of admiration?
She looked exactly the part.
Though I couldn't tell whether she was wearing makeup at all.
"How is it? With proper makeup, I look totally different, right!"
"Not really. You were already the most beautiful woman in the world. If anything, you might be a little cuter normally."
"......Whaaaat!?"
Alice's cheeks reddened at my lukewarm reaction.
I quickly realized my mistake and corrected myself.
"O-Of course, you're incredibly pretty right now too! If I'd seen you on the first day, I would've thought you were a celebrity!! No, prettier than any celebrity!!"
"S-Stop it...."
"When this commercial airs, you'll be called a goddess! A cute and beautiful goddess from Britain!"
A relentless barrage of compliments.
Every single word was sincere.
I just didn't like heavy makeup. My wife really was the most beautiful woman in the world.
"O-Okay, I get it, so stop... I'm embarrassed, so stop......."
-Tremble, tremble.
My recovery must have worked, because the corners of Alice's mouth twitched upward.
She was acting embarrassed, but she clearly didn't dislike it.
As expected, it never hurt to compliment a woman.
-Whisper, whisper.
"So people like that really do exist. He's flirting without a single change in expression."
"And it seems like he genuinely doesn't even realize it?"
"Did he hypnotize himself into being oblivious? Maybe he'd suffered because of women before?"
"Maybe. Nothing else could explain something this absurd."
The stylists whispered behind us after seeing that, but...
I figured there was no need to pay attention to gossip.
* * *
After a while, it was time to shoot.
I was up first.
Countless cameras and crew members surrounded me.
'In the First Round, I hadn't adapted, stammered through the shoot, and created a lifelong embarrassment... but this time was different.'
I remained composed even before the crowd of cameras.
I even flashed a confident smile.
It showed how confident I was that this trivial shoot would end quickly.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes, Director!"
"Heh heh. It's fine if we do a lot of retakes, so don't push yourself too hard."
"Understood!"
"In that case, ready......."
At the director's cue,
Alice's and my commercial shoot began.
———Except that...
-Rumble.
'This was... a Gate!? Had it already appeared!? I thought I had about an hour and could slip away during Alice's shoot!!'
A Gate began forming right as the shoot started.
"Hold on!! Everyone, run!!!"
"Huh? Yujin, what do you mean...."
-Shing!!
There was no time to explain. I had to hurry...
I drew my sword immediately.
"———We're busted!! Everyone, hurry and waste that bastard!!!"
-Whoosh!
"......!!!!?"
'Villains had shown up too!?'
Villains were flying toward us in the distance.
The commercial shoot descended into chaos—exactly as I'd expected, and not at all as I'd expected.