LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 59
Typically, Kyeosseum Wangkkaji was basically a raw broadcast.
While they didn’t use profanity, the atmosphere among the cast was so light it felt like it could take off, characterized by a suitably free-spirited playfulness.
But.
‘Why is everyone so frozen?’
Seo-yeon felt a bit puzzled.
Everyone seemed oddly stiff.
Could it be because she was an actress?
But there were reasons for their behavior.
‘Wow, she is really pretty.’
‘Is she really of the same species?’
Seo-yeon’s looks naturally muted their voices.
On top of that, Hwang Joon-ho, who was virtually the main host, felt quite awkward himself.
‘Can we really play a game?’
Shouldn’t we have discussed what kind of game we could play in advance?
In the past, we used to give a heads-up beforehand.
But as the broadcasting concept gradually turned raw, it changed to a roulette style where decisions were made on the spot.
‘Still, he must have thought things through and selected something appropriate.’
Hwang Joon-ho thought as he rolled over the wheel, Dadal-dal.
“Okay, first off, we’re going to select the game that will be responsible for today’s broadcast.”
The roulette was covered with Velcro so you couldn’t see what game it was; it seemed they would reveal it once the wheel was spun.
‘Please, something easy!’
No matter how you looked at it, Seo-yeon had a face that seemed totally unrelated to games.
Of course, there were many celebrities these days who pushed a fashion concept like fashion freaks or fashion gamers, but Seo-yeon’s look didn’t even fit that.
It was reasonable to doubt Seo-yeon’s gaming skills.
“What kind of game do you want it to be?”
Hwang Joon-ho asked.
“I’m confident in any game,”
Seo-yeon said cheerfully.
She showed no sign of even considering the possibility of being bad at a game.
In fact, this wasn’t an unfounded assumption.
Seo-yeon had overwhelming physical capabilities that proved it.
Isn’t it a given that a trans-gender body has exceptional reaction speed?
At the very least, Seo-yeon was confident that she could excel at anything physical.
‘But wait, thinking about it, I haven’t played games since being reborn.’
To make excuses, most games she’d seen before had already been completed to the end.
Because she couldn’t truly feel emotions, she cleared games without much thrill.
Those memories still remained vividly in her mind.
To say it simply, Seo-yeon only held onto the memories of visual media she watched in her past life—
In other words, creations like dramas or movies, or information about the entertainment industry.
And among them was information about games.
Whenever she tried to recall those, everything came back to her without any omissions, from the game stories and endings to strategies.
Of course, some of it was gradually fading away.
‘Since I played a lot of games in my previous life, I should be able to do well again this time.’
So she was confident.
With strategies and memories in hand, and now with this invincible trans-gender body!
With such thoughts, she spun the roulette.
[Out Crazy 2]
It was a game starting with the protagonist, a journalist, infiltrating a mental hospital.
In other words, it was a horror game.
“?”
Of course, this was a game Seo-yeon had never played before.
Neither in this life nor the previous one.
*
The horror game she never expected.
The roulette reeked of malevolence from the production team.
However, Hwang Joon-ho was, in a way, impressed.
If the target was someone who didn’t know much about games, a horror game might actually make for a good show.
Of course, since it was roulette, it was all up to luck.
By the way, the other games included in the roulette were the usual jar games or the notorious evil-type games.
Seo-yeon wouldn’t know.
It was a blessing in disguise that she had landed on a horror game.
“Seo-yeon, have you ever played a horror game?”
“…I don’t think so.”
“Oh dear.”
Hwang Joon-ho smacked his forehead and subtly gave the production team a thumbs up.
Traditionally, horror games are most entertaining when played by someone who has no resistance.
‘It’s easy to pass the game on if someone gives up.’
As a side note, Hwang Joon-ho was quite confident with puzzle-type games like horror games.
“Okay, let’s get started. Check the time, please.”
The other cast members sat lined up on the sofa, ready.
The first to get the gamepad, Seo-yeon swallowed hard as she listened to the eerie background music.
The sight was comically determined; it made for quite the picture.
‘Hmm, though, I should have some entertaining reactions…’
The director, Choi Kwang-su, who was filming Seo-yeon at that moment, felt anxious about this.
Being an actress, wouldn’t she prioritize her image too much?
In variety shows, if you can’t embrace the embarrassment, it just doesn’t hit right.
With those worries, the game began.
Seo-yeon watched as the journalist character entered the gloomy psychiatric ward and said,
“Why would you go in when it looks so dangerous?”
“Oh, you need to see the prequel for that.”
“If something happened in the prequel, shouldn’t they avoid it even more?”
A pure inquiry.
Everyone felt they had nothing to say to Seo-yeon’s words.
Well, it wasn’t an incorrect statement.
Life was the most important thing, after all.
“But Seo-yeon, are you confident about horror games?”
“Me?”
Seo-yeon started maneuvering the unfamiliar gamepad, moving cautiously through the dark ward.
Even though it was a horror game, she wasn’t quite getting the vibe.
And that was understandable.
“I’ve never felt fear in my life.”
“…”
Such a declaration, reminiscent of a world champion, left Hwang Joon-ho speechless.
But on a separate note, it wasn’t wrong.
In her previous life, she had never known fear due to illness, and as a result, Seo-yeon was somewhat dulled to emotions she hadn’t adequately learned.
“So asking if this is scary might be….”
Seo-yeon casually controlled her character through the initial section, speaking with a calm tone.
With steady steps, she calmly navigated the eerie ward, as the cast thought, ‘Wow, she must really be confident in horror games.’
“Not really.”
[Kyaaah!!]
A typical jump scare.
Suddenly, a bizarre creature leapt out around a corner, and with a Crash!!
Something shattered.
“Eh?”
Hwang Joon-ho looked down and saw the gamepad in Seo-yeon’s hands.
The joystick that controlled the direction had vanished.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t missing; it had broken and flown off.
‘Was that supposed to break?’
A moment’s confusion raced through his mind.
The cast observing from behind thought similarly.
The moment the monster lunged, Seo-yeon had shoved the joystick with her thumb, and it had broken off and flown away.
Naturally, the character she was controlling died.
“Uh, Seo-yeon?”
“I-I had a little mishap.”
The reaction was decidedly different from just moments before.
Her pupils shook, and her voice trembled.
“You must be quite shocked.”
“I wasn’t scared.”
Seo-yeon received a new gamepad.
‘Was the durability of the gamepad really low?’
Everyone looked at the broken gamepad.
The joystick part had cleanly snapped off, leaving everyone in sheer disbelief.
With that small mishap, the game officially began.
Then it started.
“Move left, left, left, left!”
“…!!”
“No, if you go that way, you’ll roll! Roll!”
“I-I pressed it, but it’s not rolling…”
[Kyaaah!!]
Crunch!!
The jump scare section was when they switched the gamepads.
The state of the numerous gamepads scattered on the ground was utterly tragic.
Joysticks flying off.
The evasive buttons sunk in and wouldn’t respond.
“Hmm.”
Choi Kwang-su, the PD, stuffed the broken gamepads into a box, pondering.
‘Did I mistakenly pick the wrong show to work on?’
At first, it felt like a coincidence.
But after occurring two or three times, it was hard not to notice.
How could the gamepads get destroyed like this?
At this point, they might need to bring some spare ones.
Moreover.
‘Why doesn’t she give up?’
Well, watching it was enjoyable.
Her efforts were far more unrestrained than expected… or was it genuine fear?
“…If you’re scared, should I take over?”
After around four hours of filming, cast member Gong Tae-kyun casually said.
“L-Let me try just a little more.”
“The controls seem a bit unfamiliar for you…”
“The gamepad can’t keep up with my reaction speed.”
Ah, is that how it works?
But objectively speaking, her controls were simply faulty; her reaction speed was undeniably fast.
Seeing the creatures charge while the gamepad shattered almost simultaneously.
‘This can’t be happening.’
Seo-yeon was putting in her best effort to focus on the game.
She had never thought about being unable to play a game in her life.
Isn’t it common sense that you do well in games after a TS?
If you can’t play games post-TS, then aren’t you just a girl?
The world was crumbling, and common sense was being denied.
Anyways, Seo-yeon was feeling that unexpected gender conflict while gaming.
[Grroar, Kaaah!!]
“AAAHHH!!”
The shocking appearance of a bizarre mid-boss creature.
With that shocking visual, Seo-yeon screamed for the very first time in her life.
BANG!
Then, simultaneously, her gamepad was crushed in half.
As she watched the plastic shards scatter, Hwang Joon-ho thought he was witnessing something truly fascinating.
With the game over, Seo-yeon’s body slumped sideways.
Did she die?
Such a thought lingered, producing a scene of valiant collapse.
As everyone shared that sentiment, they looked at Seo-yeon.
“Please, don’t stop.”
Maybe it was ridiculous to be so hopelessly despairing in a game.
But Seo-yeon weakly uttered as she lay there.
That was around the six-hour mark after filming had started.
*
Afterward, following what could be considered a successful shoot, it was aired on Kyeosseum Wangkkaji.
Since the viewership ratings had been so poor, initially, it didn’t cause much of a stir.
However, as Seo-yeon’s videos circulated online as shorts and memes, the atmosphere shifted dramatically.
During its initial airing, it recorded a bit over the existing viewership ratings at 0.8%.
Yet, the rebroadcast on the official YouTube channel smashed through a million views in just a week.
– Is that a fashion gamer? Or a fashion gorilla?
– I’ve never seen a gamepad break like that before.
– As a current fitness trainer, I failed to break one even after hitting it with a hammer.
– Who the heck can break a gamepad with grip strength like that?
– Should she be exercising instead of acting?
– “I’ve never felt fear in my life.”
– Yeah, it seems like she probably hasn’t.
With the actress’s recent string of buzz, there was much mention of her.
She was youthful, and the fact that she donned a school uniform became a topic of discussion.
– The school uniform decision is top-notch.
– The way everyone tries to avoid her gaze is hilarious! LOL!
– Looks like a fashion gamer, but seems to know quite a bit; it makes you wonder if it’s real.
– I didn’t think she seemed incapable of gaming.
– That last moment with Ring Fit was epic; she should just quit acting.
– But in the end, she cleared it, so let’s toast to that!
Though she had slipped once in the middle, Seo-yeon ultimately succeeded in clearing the game.
It took an astounding 8 hours and 45 minutes.
While a bit slow, considering the delays from breaking the gamepads, it was a respectable time.
Furthermore, she wrapped the mini-game-like Ring Fit without a single fail or death.
‘But that wasn’t a pure game, was it?’
While everyone thumb-upped during Ring Fit, Seo-yeon felt down.
She wanted to receive compliments for being good at gaming.
She vowed to practice later.
When the broadcast ended, Seo-yeon pledged to herself.
Anyways.
Though her intentions veered slightly off course, it can be said she managed to establish a positive image through the community.
The image of Yeonhwa (Princess).
And it would surely help dilute the image she would bear in the forthcoming villain role.
“Seo-yeon! You got a CF offer!”
While watching the re-broadcast of Kyeosseum Wangkkaji, her manager, Park Eun-ha, cheerfully approached the glum Seo-yeon.
Initially, it felt awkward, but thankfully they quickly became familiar.
Now, they were pretty close, almost like sisters.
“…What kind of CF is it?”
“A gamepad advertisement.”
“I’m not doing it.”
A commercial touting the durability of gamepads.
Naturally, Seo-yeon had zero intention of doing so.
A week later.
Just as Seo-yeon was finally gathering her spirits.
“Did you hear that?”
“Not really, about Hwang Min-hwa…”
Seo-yeon suddenly caught wind of something.
It was the news that Hwang Min-hwa, the star of Nova Entertainment, was leaving the company.