Chapter 70
70. After the Shoot
Small talk flowed before heading to bed.
We all sat around in front of the tents, lit a small fire, giving off a slight campfire vibe.
“Have you had a hard time at the Mutant Crime Control Bureau?”
“Well... to be exact, Yeonhwa unni went through a lot before the Bureau was even founded.”
“Ah, Yeonhwa did?”
As we shared trivial stories, the topic naturally shifted to us.
Mostly about things the viewers would be curious about.
What the Mutant Crime Control Bureau does.
What kind of mutant crimes we've encountered... and so on.
“Yeah. As far as I know, Yeonhwa unni finished her mutation about two months after the mutations first started... Society was incredibly chaotic until then, right?”
“It was. I really thought we were doomed.”
“Before that, there’s a mutant who helped out a lot with this kind of work, though she isn't here right now. Sia unni... I mean, Choi Sia, a High Elf currently living in the US.”
“A High Elf...?”
Hearing Harin's explanation, the cast looked puzzled. Sia, a High Elf-type mutant, rarely appeared in official settings, so she was unfamiliar to the public.
Of course, only to the general public. On the other hand, she was quite famous in online communities because she constantly trolled and drew attention. Those who know her, know her; those who don't, don't... exactly that kind of person.
“You guys probably don't know her well. She's mostly famous among mutants... Anyway, she helped out a lot in the beginning. She secretly gave a lot of help regarding mutant crimes too.”
I took a sip of my drink and added an explanation.
“Oho...”
“By the way, has anyone seen the drone footage from when I went to the US recently? The one where a massive walking mountain fought a corpse dragon... well, officially it was a blurred-out monster, right?”
“I saw it, I saw it.”
Sia’s wooden giant was pretty famous too. The combat drone didn’t just film me; it captured the entire flow of the battle.
The Governor of California ended up revealing that footage as well. Not just to show my existence, but to highlight Sia protecting the mutant village.
“The one who made that wooden giant is Sia. Anyway, from what I've heard... she's done a lot.”
“Hearing things like this really makes you feel like she’s from another world, doesn’t it?”
“Technically, she is from another world... Our daily lives have turned into a fantasy.”
“That's true.”
Harin replied with a slight smile.
“But how did Seohyun end up becoming the Bureau Director?”
“I think it started... maybe a couple of months ago? Remember when the Minotaur-type mutant went on a rampage? I got seriously involved after subduing that guy. Then, after dealing with the Demon-type mutant, I was called out for a press conference.”
“It was quite a mess back then...”
“I thought it was a movie when I first saw it. But I was shocked to hear it happened right in the middle of Seoul. And I even saw it firsthand just this morning.”
At that moment, the PD, who was filming us from a distance, chimed in.
“Now that I think about it, you were originally just supposed to fly in and land, so we were really surprised when you suddenly appeared in your dragon form.”
“I just wanted to do a little surprise...”
As I awkwardly scratched the back of my head, Harin held back her laughter and said,
“She was so excited she even commissioned new clothes from Seo Jinha. Including the outfit she's wearing right now.”
“Were you that excited?”
“Of course I was... I'm appearing on a variety show I've been watching since I was a kid.”
“You only agreed to appear this time because you thought you wouldn't have to suffer, right?”
“Yes.”
I answered immediately. To be honest, with my current body, nothing really felt like hard labor anyway.
That was part of the reason I readily stepped up.
Just setting up the tents alone—I had two of them pitched in barely 10 minutes...
Starting from there, we were talking about what happened during table tennis and the race, when Harin suddenly asked.
“Unni, can you take out your tail for us?”
“My tail? Why my tail?”
“I've seen you take out your wings and transform into your main body a lot, but I've never seen you take out your tail.”
“Well... It's quite big, I'm not sure if it'll be okay.”
“Tail?”
“Yeah. Seohyun unni mentioned last time that she could take it out.”
“Could you show it to us?”
Suddenly, these people were clamoring to see my tail. Well, there was no reason not to.
Honestly, it made sense that they were curious.
Aside from my family member Seoa, Jinha was the only person who had actually seen my tail.
I hadn't taken it out once since that modeling shoot.
Seeing the expectant gazes of Harin and Yeonhwa unni... I might as well just take it out.
I've always had a soft spot for the people around me.
With a cracking sound, my tail popped out through my tailbone.
As the large tail—which looked like a shrunken version of my massive main body's tail—burst forth, the eyes of the cast, the filming crew, Harin, and Yeonhwa unni went wide.
“Aren't there a lot of mutants with tails...?”
“I've never seen a tail this big on anyone other than a shark beastman.”
“Really...?”
“Wow... It looks really smooth. Can I touch it?”
“Sure.”
Next thing I knew, all of them were continuously stroking my tail.
“Wow, it's like silk.”
“I touched a snake once while traveling... This feels completely different. What is this? It's a unique texture, but it feels really nice.”
“Whoa...”
“I thought it would feel really sharp and hard, but the texture is unexpected...”
I felt a strange, ticklish sensation.
Aside from Seoa at home, no one else had ever touched my tail... It felt unfamiliar, and sort of, kind of... embarrassing, I guess.
“Alright, that's enough for now.”
I said that and lightly swished my tail to escape their hands.
Their faces instantly filled with obvious regret. If I hadn't told them to stop, these people probably wouldn't have let go of my tail until right before they went to sleep.
I wrapped my tail around my waist and took another sip of my drink. It was gradually getting to be bedtime for everyone.
We had to do the morning wake-up mission tomorrow and finish packing up to go back.
After safely wrapping up the morning mission the next day, we finally called an end to the long shoot.
“Great job, everyone!”
“You all worked hard!”
The filming crew, the PD, the cast—everyone wore beaming smiles.
It’s finally over.
Filming is definitely no ordinary task.
I didn't even feel like I did much, but there must have been so much hard work from the crew and the PD behind the scenes.
Anyway, it's over.
...I wonder if the footage came out well.
I just hope there aren't any harsh reviews.
“Please come back on the show if you get the chance next time.”
“Ahaha, that might be a bit difficult. I didn't realize filming was this hard. Well... maybe if it's just a quick guest appearance?”
“Is that a promise? Anyway, thank you. The footage turned out great in many ways.”
“Do you think the ratings will be good?”
At my words, the PD nodded.
Although the times were shifting away from television and people were becoming more absorbed in the smartphones in their hands as internet media developed... he said he still expected pretty excellent results.
I really hope it turns out well.
At the very least, I hope it doesn't look awkward when my family watches it.
While Seohyun was in the middle of filming As Long As It's Not Me, online communities were blazing with eyewitness accounts of her.
[Live above Seoul]
The Director just showed up and did a superhero landing with her wings
LOL
-?? What are you talking about
-Looks like she's on some variety show? There were cameras everywhere, and I saw Kang Woohyuk and PD Lee Myungho
-Isn't that As Long As It's Not Me?
-Is the Director making her public TV debut? Modeling wasn't enough, now she's taking over variety shows too. Shivers.
[I think it's true that the Director is on a variety show?]
I saw her moving with the cast and crew of As Long As It's Not Me at the train station today.
It was so surreal.
-For real?
-Yeah, dead serious;;
And seeing this, Seohyun's college classmates wore dumbfounded expressions.
“Hey, it says she went on a variety show.”
“Which show?”
“As Long As It's Not Me.”
“Really?”
“Posts are popping up in the communities right now.”
“No wonder she said she couldn't make it when we tried to get together today after so long... Guess she was filming a show.”
“How does she just go do something like this without telling us?”
“Let's pretend we don't know for now, and when the broadcast airs, we'll clip the screenshots and spam the group chat.”
“That’s a freaking great idea. Come to think of it, is she going to be screaming 'As long as it's not meee!' too? That would be hilarious in its own way.”
At Taehoon's words, all of Seohyun's classmates burst into laughter.
The Yoon Seohyun, gathering every ounce of energy she had, screaming 'As long as it's not me.'
They couldn't imagine it.
“But seeing her go on TV makes you realize how funny life is. They say you never know where life will take you...”
“You can say that again.”
“Why, are you jealous?”
“I'm jealous, but I'm also not.”
“What kind of Zen riddle are you trying to pull now, Yoo Hangyul?”
“No, it's just... everyone has their own struggles. I am a bit envious, but becoming a super famous celebrity known by everyone isn't exactly something to envy, you know?”
“Ah, I think I get what you mean. South Korea is a country where becoming famous is actually a disadvantage.”
“Exactly. Just having a lot of money without the fame is the best. But she has to be careful with her every move now.”
“...Actually, with her specs, doesn't Yoon Seohyun not really need to be careful?”
“True, but her mindset is different from those mutants who just go completely off the rails... Hey, what if another one of us becomes a mutant?”
“What do you mean, what if? We just treat them like normal. Did our stance toward Yoon Seohyun change just because she transformed?”
“That's true...”
At that moment, Jo Minhyuk, who was watching them, spoke up to Han Taehoon and Yoo Hangyul.
“Hey, no other mutants have popped up since the first wave, so don't get ahead of yourselves. Just wait for next week's episode. If we want to tease her properly, we need to prepare from all angles.”
“You crazy bastard. Typical of a guy who loves video editing. But what have you been up to lately? You've been hard to catch.”
At Han Taehoon's words, Jo Minhyuk replied.
“Just doing some editing while watching internet streams.”
“Does that make good money?”
“Man, I just started, there's no money to speak of yet. I'm just doing it because it's fun.”
“Aren't you going to become an editor for super famous streamers later?”
“Why are you guys getting so ahead of yourselves today? Stop talking nonsense and do your assignments.”
“Ugh, please, Professor... why is there so much homework? Oh, there is one more thing I'm jealous of about Seohyun.”
“What?”
“Her speed at finishing assignments has gotten insanely fast. I'm so freaking jealous of that.”
“Ah, I'll admit that.”
Hangyul grumbled. He was genuinely envious of Seohyun, who could now breeze through her assignments in a flash.