Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: The Members Over-Immerse in RP
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His hand broke.
It was completely shattered.
Crushed.
Reduced to powder.
It was a pain unlike anything he'd ever felt in his life.
How could a woman—no, a human—be this strong?
He didn't even have time to wonder.
No room to think about medical bills, assault charges, or prison.
It just hurt.
It hurt so much.
Maybe getting stabbed or shot would've hurt less.
It felt like shoving his hand into a junkyard hydraulic press and slowly crushing it flat.
But was that just an illusion?
When the woman let go of his hand after the handshake, the man's hand was perfectly fine.
"Gaaahhhhhhh!"
Only when the woman grabbed the next guy's hand did the man finally understand what had happened to him.
A person's hand isn't a balloon.
No, even a balloon would pop if squeezed like that.
The hand the woman gripped had sunk in soft as chiffon cake, crumpled into a shape it absolutely shouldn't have.
No trick of the eye.
He'd just experienced firsthand how excruciating that pain was, down to his bones.
Yet, once more, a miracle occurred.
By the time she released her grip, the man's hand—which had been total wreckage—was perfectly restored.
No ordinary human brain could comprehend it.
"Wh-what the hell did you do to my guys!?"
Two of his crew already down, only the last man remained.
He backed away in terror, but Evangelion closed in without mercy.
"Let's get along. Nice to meet you."
Evangelion waved her arm, and the third man let out the same scream.
Their minds went blank at the incomprehensible scene.
"A handshake feels too light. How about a hug? Free hugs!"
Having finished her "friendly" handshakes, Evangelion now offered hugs to the last guy.
Her beauty, killer figure, and skimpy swimsuit? None of it registered.
To survive, he had to run.
Instinct screamed it, so the men bolted in a panic.
"Sorry!"
"Spare us!"
"Uwaaaah!"
Evangelion clicked her tongue at the fleeing men.
"Hugs from this body are super rare. Rejecting it and running away? Bunch of idiots."
"Our apologies!"
The staff chased after the fleeing men, leaving only the company folks at the pool again.
Gyeon-u got out of the water and approached Evangelion.
"You okay? Not hurt anywhere?"
To a normal person's eyes, it'd looked like a full-grown adult tussle with burly men—dangerous stuff.
In reality, it'd been pure one-sided beatdown from Evangelion, leaving those guys with trauma for sure.
But ordinary folks couldn't even imagine such a scenario.
"I did great, right? Hehehe. Uta-chan, kissy here!"
Evangelion pointed to her cheek, demanding praise in the form of a kiss.
"Ugh. Looks like you're fine. Good."
Gyeon-u's expression hardened.
They weren't dating, and girls didn't kiss like that anyway.
Still, she had done well, and Gyeon-u was grateful.
A kiss was too much—maybe a hug instead.
"Uta-chan hugs are the best! Way more skin-on-skin than usual!"
Both in swimsuits, it was incomparable to normal—bare skin touching everywhere.
Gyeon-u had grown used to Evangelion's lecherous comments by now.
But what was this weird feeling?
Something off.
'Something feels strange.'
Wasn't this the classic summer event from anime?
Male lead and female lead at the beach, thugs hassle the girl, he saves her, she rewards him with a kiss.
So the problem was...
'I'm the heroine here?'
The venerable heroine position, passed down from prince-on-white-horse tales.
Realizing that made Gyeon-u's head spin.
'Good thing the rescuer's a beauty.'
If it'd been a guy, she'd have puked for sure.
Gyeon-u shoved the dissonance aside with that thought.
"We're truly sorry!"
The mood killed any more swimming, so after showering and changing, they emerged to staff bowing deeply to President Kim Mi-myo in abject apology.
Words alone rarely convey true remorse.
Thanks to the direct confrontation, World Live Entertainment got room upgrades plus vouchers for the hotel restaurant.
"Not trying to brag or anything, but this is all thanks to this old uncle, right? Uhahaha!"
"A fine tribute. I shall praise thee."
The upgraded rooms were at least twice as spacious and luxurious as the originals.
Wang Rang, thrilled with the bigger space, started bouncing around the room.
Gyeon-u's take: The original was plenty nice—did it need to be this big?
But gazing at the view through the massive new windows lifted her spirits.
'Next time I see a view like this, I'll think back to now, huh?'
The scenery evoked that one-night hotel staycation with A-ryeong and A-ri.
In truth, they'd gotten blackout drunk and passed out nearby, never venturing far.
But dazzling moments link together, one memory sparking another.
'Memories are nice.'
Her life before had been utterly devoid of them.
No one loved her, so she never learned to love; unloved, she couldn't love anyone—a vicious cycle converging to infinite zero, utter emptiness.
Adrift, unsure what to eat or live for, until scouting upended her routine.
Then a flurry of bewildering changes.
After that, nothing but joy.
Meeting quirky members and bonding, training vocals and forging new ties, syncing with a passionate composer to craft songs—all pages worthy of her memory book.
'What if it all falls apart?'
That's what made her anxious.
All this could vanish in a flash.
The stream fizzles, company tanks, everyone scatters, she's alone again.
In an industry where countless dreamers start strong only to leave scarred, the odds weren't low.
"Based on data collected so far, our success rate is 100%."
"Whoa!"
Yun Byeol sneaked up soundlessly and spoke, startling Gyeon-u.
Short, light on her feet, silent—she got right up close undetected.
"So no need to worry."
"Trying to cheer me up?"
Gyeon-u hadn't said a word—how'd she know she was spiraling?
Slightly shocked.
Always spouting nonsense, offbeat kid, but a good one deep down.
A good connection.
'Even if the group flops, these bonds won't snap clean. Probably.'
Such good people.
"Facial analysis: You don't believe me."
"Nah, I do."
"Voice analysis: You're lying."
Evangelion would've crushed the clever kid in a hug.
Gyeon-u wasn't the huggy type, so she pinched Yun Byeol's cheek instead.
"No retort, resorting to assault."
Not assault—affection.
Too embarrassed to say it. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ People's patience is wearing thin.
They crave more immediate thrills in content.
We all know folks skipping 40-hour dramas for YouTube summaries because they're "too long."
Sure, original fans rage at summary-only pretenders, but in this content-saturated era, the shift to shorter, punchier stimuli is a clear cultural trend.
Corporate investments in "short-form content"—videos barely a minute long—prove it.
So, let's kick off with the highlight.
"I'm a shining star aaa aaa-."
What’s a highlight?
In novels, the climax where all conflicts resolve.
The peak of exposition, rising action, crisis, climax, resolution.
Not just novels.
Highlights need buildup rails to reach them, and cooldown afterward for lingering impact.
But this song shattered norms.
Drops straight into the highlight.
Can a climax sans buildup or development even taste good?
Not standard songwriting.
"I'm a shining star aaa aaa-."
Composers say: Fail to hook in 30 seconds, listeners skip to the next track.
At least grab 'em in a minute.
But starting at peak right off the bat?
No buildup means no emotional payoff.
So the singer pulled a trick.
A bonkers vocal range: Belting B5 in head voice, light as air.
Too high for lyrics, perfect for flaunting vocal fireworks—like wielding an instrument.
An opening high-note phrase ended a full octave up.
Unheard in pop, ears can't resist the novelty.
And smack in the broadcast center: one bold message.
[Now Live] No lip-syncing. 💬 Live Chat — Anonymous What high note even is that? — Anonymous Is she a dolphin goddess? — Anonymous Uta-hime concept is solid — Anonymous Queen of Singing has arrived ㄷㄷㄷㄷ — Anonymous Princess, not queen — Anonymous Kya — Anonymous She's alive! — Anonymous Would she be streaming if dead lol