Chapter 34: Suddenly, the genre changed.

[Saengji: I’m really, really important today!]

The world of reporters never has a moment of rest, and it is incredibly chaotic.

The building where the entertainment reporters at ‘Star Catch’ work was no exception. Everywhere in the office, there were newspapers and sticky notes stuck to the walls, and the sounds of phone calls overlapped from every direction.

Everyone had shadows under their eyes, looking exhausted.

It was a state that clearly explained how demanding their work was.

[Saengji: Someone, please help me relax..]

[Saengji: Save me]

[Saengji: This is my first interview ever!]

The person busily typing away in the chat, going by the name Saengji, was Kim Seon-a, the youngest reporter at Star Catch.

“I’m so nervous….”

Beneath her wavy hair, she had a sharp nose, and on top, she wore large, round glasses. Her face, though showing signs of tiredness, looked unexpectedly bright.

Today was a very important day for her.

A solo interview. She finally got it.

She had done it! Now, she was a real reporter!

‘Even though the group is an unknown rookie girl group, so what?’

To Seon-a, the experience of a solo interview itself was invaluable, and the girl group that excited her had just arrived at the building.

“Hello! We’re Tralit!”

“Ah, welcome! Please come this way!”

They immediately moved to the interview room and began the Q&A session.

“Alright, the interview with the rookie girl group, Tralit, is starting now!”

But then, at that moment.

Bang!

The door slammed open, and a man barged in. It was the senior who usually pushed Seon-a around.

Did he forget something? Seon-a briefly wondered, but then he spoke.

“Kim Seon-a, did you finish the article you were working on yesterday?”

The senior’s question was rather unexpected.

“Yes, yes? Oh, that one. It’s almost done. I’ll finish it right after the interview. It should be done by today.”

“Not after the interview, go finish it right now.”

“But I need to do the interview…?”

“I’ll handle that. Just finish the one you were working on.”

“Th-This one? The interview I got?”

“Hey, Kim Seon-a! Every second counts as a reporter. Do you want me to keep repeating myself? I’ll take care of the interview. Go now!”

In the end, Seon-a had no choice but to leave, helpless.

Her mind went blank. She looked like her soul had left her body.

It was her very first interview, and now it was being taken away from her right in front of her.

After work.

[Saengji: Guys]

[Saengji: I think I’m going to quit my job.]

[Deer: Why are you using Sua’s signature line?]

[Monkeying: I thought Sua typed it too.]

─The chatroom manager has kicked out Deer─

─Deer has entered the chatroom─

[Black Bear: Haha, Sua was watching the chat, huh.]

“Sigh….”

Kim Seon-a let out a deep sigh.

She was frustrated. So very frustrated.

Right now, she felt more wronged than anyone else in the world, but she couldn’t report it to the police. The only place she could vent was here.

[Saengji: I’m really so upset, let me vent a little.]

[Saengji: Since I joined the company, all I’ve done is make coffee and run errands. I’m just a s*ave, a s*ave.]

[Deer: Isn’t that how it is for all new hires?]

[Saengji: The problem is, that period never ends!!!]

[Saengji: If you don’t get a solo interview and write some articles, you can’t get promoted. But the moment you seem halfway decent, they steal everything from you.]

[Saengji: They just bully powerless celebrities.]

[Monkeying: Bully? How?]

[Saengji: Look up Tralit’s recent articles.]

[Monkeying: What kind of group is Tralit? I’ve never heard of them. When I searched, I only found a few articles about attitude controversies.]

[Saengji: That’s my superior’s work. Tralit is completely innocent! They just nodded when asked, ‘You must be busy, don’t you have time to worry about this?’]

[Black Bear: So they wrote it like that? That’s too much.]

[Monkeying: Isn’t that a bit of devil’s editing?]

[Saengji: I’m telling you! Later, when they ask for revisions, they bully and extract everything, then brag to the juniors about it, saying it’s a skill… I can’t do this anymore.]

At that moment.

[Seu-a: Hmm.]

[Seu-a: Unni, it must be really tough.]

[Seu-a: Want me to give you a scoop?]

[Monkeying: Watch out, Sua.]

[Deer: Sua popped up again today like a damn nuisance.]

[Black Bear: What is she going to say? Haha.]

Then, Seon-a’s phone rang.

This time, it wasn’t a group message, but a personal one.

[Seu-a: Unni, I’ll give you a scoop.]

In the midst of all this, Seon-a felt pathetic at how her body stiffened at the four letters “scoop.”

Ugh, this is such a pitiful occupational disease…

[Saengji: I’m going to quit anyway, you know…?]

But soon, every action of Kim Seon-a came to a complete stop.

“…!”

Shock spread across her eyes.

The next message she received was quite shocking.

Kim Seon-a swallowed dryly.

No matter how much the other person was Lee Sua, and even though she had already decided to quit being a reporter…

[Seu-a: Special Forces 808 Kim Yuhan.]

[Seu-a: I know the truth about him.]

[Seu-a: Isn’t this helpful information?]

It was the kind of content that made her stop in her tracks.

The next day.

Sua arrived in Wanju, Jeonbuk.

[Acting Commander]

[Characteristic acquisition complete!]

[Activated automatically in certain situations.]

[Activation effect: Encourages nearby acting.]

It was when a characteristic had been acquired.

“What is this?”

That was Sua’s reaction.

Can you encourage my acting too? I’m trembling so much.

Anyway, Sua had decided to diligently fill her portfolio, and now it was time for her to handle her own schedule.

Today, there was a “sword” shoot in the dense cypress forest.

“Aah, this is actually the real deal, so I’m a bit nervous.”

The Special Forces 808 had held mock shoots with a large budget, but for this sword shoot, the situation wasn’t as generous. They had to jump straight into the actual shoot.

• “I plan to make it short and intense within a week.”

As Director Park Jun had said before, the shoot period was one week. They would stay at a hotel in Wanju, Jeonbuk, while shooting for a week.

It was exciting, scary, and nerve-wracking…

“It’s my heart, but I really don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

At times like this, Sua’s 3-second method.

Clearing her mind completely.

Soon.

“Ugh…”

When she let go of all her intellect, the tension slightly eased.

After that.

Three hours later, in the cypress forest, in an artificially built hut.

“Huh? I didn’t expect them to build something like this?”

Someone reacted, surprised.

The expectations for the “sword” shoot had been so low. Naturally, they thought they’d be filming in an environment with no auxiliary buildings.

Soon, the actors started gathering one by one.

“This forest feels really eerie. It’s like a ghost could come out.”

There were fewer than ten people. They hadn’t even seen the lead actors yet, and they were all strangers to each other.

The investment issue had been resolved, but the deadline for the short film festival submission was tight. Because everything had been rushed, there hadn’t been any detailed explanations about anything.

Therefore,

Everyone was awkwardly watching each other, not knowing what was going on, just gathered there for the time being.

Then, at some point.

“Huh?”

“Oh!”

There were extras who recognized each other.

“We’ve met before, right? We were extras back then.”

“Oh, right! You were the one we saw back then!”

“You can do fusion historical dramas too? Your spectrum is broad.”

“Well, I’ve been acting since I was young. And I’ve got quite a bit of experience as an extra. I can just do it.”

“But you got completely edited out of the last project…”

“…What are you talking about? I appeared for a brief moment around 48 seconds.”

Just by listening, it was clear that they were total rookies.

There was someone who found them particularly laughable.

That person was Son Ji-a.

She had been planted in this project to act as a spy for Yang Ha-rin’s agency, CT Entertainment.

Son Ji-a scratched her head in disbelief.

“…What, are all these rookies gathered here? Is this really happening?”

Son Ji-a had built up her skills in an acting troupe before debuting, but she was still lacking in recognition. That might be the reason she was able to blend in here.

“1 point. Everyone here gets 1 point.”

Her instinctive habit, scoring the actors.

A simple way to measure combat power?

It was necessary to survive in the filming industry. If you hang out with people who have high scores, it’s obvious that you’ll gain something. Those with low scores were just trash. She didn’t even want to treat them like people.

Meanwhile, the extras had started chatting with each other.

“You’re the one who dies from a sword strike, right? Want to give it a try?”

“Sure. You go ahead and swing it, and I’ll react.”

“Whoosh!”

“Graaagh!”

“Oh? You’re pretty good!”

Son Ji-a shook her head in disbelief.

“I can already tell without watching any longer. This is already a failure.”

Perhaps because the preparation period for the project had been so rushed, there was no one here who exuded the aura of a professional. All she could see were pathetic extras.

Then, someone else spoke up.

“Is it really necessary to try that hard?”

Another extra interjected, with a cynical tone.

“You all saw the articles, right? This project is in trouble. Plus, we’re just extras. No one’s going to complain if we just do a half-hearted job.”

“…Well, that’s true.”

“You and I think the same. I came here thinking of it as just a short-term part-time job.”

Everyone seemed to agree to some extent.

Even at this very moment, sharp critical articles about Director Park Jun and his project were pouring in, so there were few actors who genuinely cared about “Sword.”

Most had just approached it like a high-paying part-time job or were tempted by rumors of famous actors.

“I heard Seo Yeon-ju was coming…”

“Is she really coming though? I haven’t seen any articles confirming her joining.”

“If it’s a lie, I guess I’ll just go home.”

“I saw her at the interview. She looked amazing in person.”

Son Ji-a, who had been watching them, thought to herself.

“As expected.”

“See? There’s no hope. The atmosphere is already a mess.”

A project is the result of everyone’s collective effort.

If just one or two people work tirelessly, a good project can never come to life. In fact, their blood, sweat, and tears only serve to highlight the laziness of others.

But what about these people?

“From the start, their acting skills are far below par, and they don’t even have passion. The kind of people who would be satisfied just by seeing Seo Yeon-ju’s face.”

It wasn’t just about the skills; these people lacked passion.

The majority of them would be content just by seeing Seo Yeon-ju in person and then head home.

How could you make a good film with people who didn’t even have the desire to try in the first place?

What is the only possibility for this project to revive?

None.

If I really had to force one, maybe just one?

“The lead actor dragging everyone along? That’s the only thing I can think of.”

By “dragging everyone along,” I didn’t just mean talent. I meant someone who could encourage everyone around them and ignite the dying passion of others.

But the lead here is Lee Sua. A rookie. No experience.

“Impossible. It’s impossible even if they died and came back to life.”

In Son Ji-a’s mind, it was nothing but an impossible assumption.

What made Seo Yeon-ju and Kim Sun-il even join this project? No, how did this hopeless film even get funded?

Just as her thoughts were swirling in her mind, someone muttered.

“But what about Wi Ji-hye?”

The conversation had started to flow a little now.

“I heard Wi Ji-hye’s role was originally assigned to Yang Ha-rin. Why was that canceled? What happened?”

“Really? Was there a better actor?”

“I heard she’s just a rookie. Even the crew didn’t know much about her.”

“Huh? Did they even cut CT Entertainment’s investment for a rookie?”

Son Ji-a, uncertain, listened closely, hoping to hear anything about Lee Sua.

But in the end, no one knew anything. In fact, Son Ji-a, who was there during the interview, knew the most.

Just then.

“Alright! We start filming in one hour! Everyone, get ready!”

Director Park Jun’s loud voice rang out, and Son Ji-a immediately started typing on her phone.

It was a text to the representative of CT Entertainment.

• “Sword” filming starts now. I’ll report the situation on-site.

Also, I’ll check Lee Sua’s acting ability.

The waiting extras asked.

“Director! What about the person who’s playing Wi Ji-hye’s role?”

As if he expected the question, the director nodded.

“Of course we brought her. Our Wi Ji-hye! Come on out!”

The actors widened their eyes and eagerly awaited the appearance of the person in question.

And finally.

Thud—thud—

“Hello.”

When the person revealed themselves, there was a brief silence.

That silence lasted quite a while.

In that moment, as if time itself had frozen due to her striking presence, only Son Ji-a moved her fingers.

First of all, the genre had suddenly changed to horror.