Chapter 109: Bang! (Sound of head exploding)

‘What on earth is this?’
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That was Sua’s brief thought.
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Something unbelievable had happened, but she couldn’t just deny it.

No matter how many times she blinked, the scene remained the same.
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[ Seo Yeon-ju ─ Yeoncheonkyeong Release Impossible. ]

[ Dunce Judged. ]
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‘Yeon-ju unnie is a dunce? Does that even make sense?’
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Yeoncheonkyeong (演天境).
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It was said to be a state achieved when an actor’s earnestness reached the heavens, allowing them to embody and express it.

That’s why the question deepened.
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It was hard to comprehend logically.
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‘Isn’t Yeon-ju unnie’s skill unmatched?’
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From what she had observed firsthand, Yeon-ju’s skill was excellent.

She was undeniably exceptional, an actress with much to learn from; that was Seo Yeon-ju.

But for what reason did the perk call Seo Yeon-ju a dunce?
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She suddenly thought of Kim Sun-il.
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His Yeoncheonkyeong, Reconciliation.
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Thanks to it, Sua had been able to successfully film the climax scene of Special Mobile Unit 808.

But this made it even stranger.

Aren’t Seo Yeon-ju and Kim Sun-il equally skilled?
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‘Is it not about acting skill? Did some other problem arise? Is there some separate condition required?’
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As her thoughts continued.
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Sua felt her head start to boil.
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‘I want things to go well for Yeon-ju unnie.’
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Seo Yeon-ju was like an older sister to her.
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A person who had shown affection to Sua, who had no family.

She had never shown worldly greed and had just been endlessly kind.

Kind enough to readily agree to support the short film ‘Sword’.
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‘Grade 5, and even Yeoncheonkyeong is impossible…’
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It was all negative factors.

What should she do about this?
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How could this be resolved?
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It was then.
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Bang─!
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“…!”
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Startled, Sua jumped up from her spot.
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Suddenly, she heard the sound of a thunderclap bomb exploding inside her head.

Not an exaggeration, truly.
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But looking around, nothing was happening.
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Only Kim Yi-seo was staring at Sua as if asking if she was okay.

It seemed the sound had only rung inside Sua’s head.
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“Sua, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Yes. Of course.”
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Sua said, touching her forehead.
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She didn’t feel any pain, so what was it?

Ah, anyway, where was I thinking?

It felt like she couldn’t quite remember.
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It was then.

The perk suddenly came to mind.
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[ …Error Occurred… ]

[ …Searching for Cause… ]

[ …Searching for Solution… ]
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‘Error? What error all of a sudden?’
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[ Cause Identified. ]

[ Head Overload Occurred. ]
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‘What?’
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Sua’s eyebrows twitched.
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‘Ah, no, how much did I even use it to get overloaded?’
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It was baffling.
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How long had it been since she started seriously using her head?
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Making the decisive choice for ‘Crescendo from Tomorrow’, finishing the group call with her friends, figuring out the marketing stance of separating Soo-ahn and Sua using only her own strength…
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…That was it?

Excuse me?
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[ Cause: Exceptional Ignorance ]
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‘W-wait. Isn’t this going too far?’
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[ Reflect on your own life. ]

[ A life of seriously contemplating something. ]

[ For Sua, such a life is the first ever. ]
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“…”
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Sua was rendered speechless.
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She couldn’t easily refute it.

It was true.

Before unlocking the perk, she lived without thinking, and even after unlocking it, she mostly just swung around Sua’s basic techniques.
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No! Still, it’s unfair!

‘I’ve been making an effort lately! Desperately, too!’
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[ If simply changing one’s mind made a difference ]

[ The world would overflow with geniuses. ]
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Immediately after, the illusion of a metallic cube appeared before Sua’s eyes.
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At first glance, it wasn’t ordinary metal.

How should she put it, it looked incredibly hard just by looking?

A fictional alloy? Something like that.
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‘Why this illusion all of a sudden? What are you trying to show me?’
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[ Example. ]

[ This is Sua’s brain. ]
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‘…?’
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And this time, a nail and hammer materialized in the air.
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[ Example. ]

[ The nail is the perk. ]

[ The hammer is Sua’s effort. ]
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The nail and hammer began to strike the metal.
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Clang─! Clang─! Clang─!
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But it was futile.

With each strike, both the nail and the hammer broke, one by one.

Its durability was truly immense.
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Clang─! Clang─! Clang─!
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[ Being too sturdy is the cause. ]

[ Recovery Difficulty: Extreme. ]
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Clang─! Clang─! Clang─!
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How much time had passed?
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By the time about a thousand hammers had broken, and the nails bent into the shape of the letter ‘ㄱ’ formed a mountain, the metal had softened just a little.

‘…’
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Sua-dismayed….
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[ For softness. ]

[ Much time, much effort. ]

[ Required. ]
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‘Ah, no…’
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Sua had to embrace despair once more.
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She had hoped for rapid progress, like how she could act immediately after experiencing a script, but unlike other abilities, it seemed intelligence couldn’t be absorbed quickly.

Worse, the reason was her original intelligence…
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Just this much caused an overload, and now she had to invest immense time going forward?

It felt like being blocked by an incredibly high wall.
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‘Ah, maybe I should just live ignorantly.’
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Just as Sua momentarily entertained that thought.
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[ Compromise Recommended. ]
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‘Compromise with whom about what?’
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Sua’s voice had already become slightly crooked.

Sua-crooked.
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[ Give up on becoming smart yourself. ]

[ Live by holding meetings with the Sua Association. ]

[ Because Sua’s brain. ]

[ (Shakes head) ]
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‘…Hey.’
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Then the perk spoke soothingly.
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[ The very reason for the Sua Association’s existence. ]

[ Find the present answers with them. ]

[ Coexist with them. Grow together. ]
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‘Ughhh…’
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Should she consider this fortunate, relatively speaking?
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─ So, if what I heard is correct…
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It was then that Wi Ji-hye’s voice was heard.
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─ Sua’s brain is the brain of a beast, a dunce among dunces, so it overloaded just trying to take the steps of an ordinary person? What sin did I commit to be trapped in such a body…
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Sua pretended not to hear.

Sua-oblivious.
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Her face flushed slightly at the same time.
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Since all the Suas were listening to the conversation with the perk anyway, what would they think of their master, Sua?

It was embarrassing.
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This time, Kim Yuhan chimed in.
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─ Sua sunbae, there’s really no need to be depressed. Isn’t it good that you avoided the worst-case scenario? The Sua Association is always inside you, sunbae.
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‘…Is that so?’
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─ Of course. We share the same fate anyway, so we’re in a position where we must do our best to help Sua sunbae. Try thinking what it would be like if even this didn’t exist. Then by now, Sua sunbae would be…
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Instead of continuing, Kim Yuhan gestured to the side.
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Then, someone approached close to Kim Yuhan, munching on bread.

A vacant expression.

It was none other than Kim So-hee.

[TL Note: Kim So-hee is a character previously established as simple-minded.]

─ You would have become like Kim So-hee, right?
─ Bread yummy, hehe.
─ Right, So-hee-ssi?
─ Uuuuh! Uwaaaaah!
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‘…’
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Sua stopped talking.

Let’s not talk.
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Anyway, it was true that she should be grateful for this situation.
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It couldn’t be helped.

She’d give up on becoming a genius immediately.

Whenever she had questions, she decided to share opinions with the Sua Association.
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“Phew.”
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Sua dismissed the perk and looked at Kim Yi-seo.

Kim Yi-seo was looking up at Sua with worried eyes now.
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“CEO-nim. About this project that Yeon-ju unnie signed up for. Has all the casting been completed already?”
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Her lacking intelligence was unfortunate, but finding a way to save Seo Yeon-ju was the priority.

She was a precious person to Sua.
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Fortunately, Kim Yi-seo shook her head.

“Yeon-ju jumped in saying she loved the script, so besides Yeon-ju, there are no other actors yet. But they’ll gather quickly. They’ll flock seeing Yeon-ju’s name value.”

“Hmm, in that case…”
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Sua looked at the script once more.
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[ Lie, Lie, Lie. ]
▶ Implementation Elements Sufficient.
▶ Grade 5.
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[ 001 ─ Park Si-yeon (Seo Yeon-ju) ]
[ 002 ─ Im Su-hee (Lee Sua) ]
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The words ‘Grade 5’ flickered like a candle flame in the wind.

As if implying it would change depending on Sua’s participation.
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Therefore.
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“I’ll consider it too. Please don’t rush things.”

“This one?”

“Yes.”
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Kim Yi-seo blinked, then.
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“Right, Yeon-ju also joined ‘Sword’ after seeing Sua. It wouldn’t be strange for the opposite situation to occur.”

“Yes. Then I’d appreciate it if you could do that.”
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It was then.
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“CEO-nim! CEO Kim Yi-seo!”
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Someone ran towards them with an urgent face, a familiar face.

It was the employee in charge of greeting visitors.
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However, the urgency was no joke.

To the point where it wouldn’t seem strange if they collapsed out of breath right then.

“CEO-nim! I think you need to come over!”

“What’s going on? Did something go wrong?”
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Kim Yi-seo furrowed her brow as if already expecting trouble, but the employee shook their head as if that wasn’t it.

“There’s no problem with work. However.”

“However?”

“Someone is urgently looking for you, CEO-nim…”
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“No.”
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Kim Yi-seo cut them off firmly.
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It was accompanied by a dismissive wave of her hand.

“Tell them no. There’s exactly 1 hour left until Special Mobile Unit 808 airs. If it’s an ordinary visitor, tell them to come another day, and if it’s someone of significant scale, give them my business card.”
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At the same time, Kim Yi-seo tapped Sua’s shoulder.

“Sua, let’s get ready slowly. Let’s go.”
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However.
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Kim Yi-seo, who had started walking briskly, soon had to stop.
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Because the identity of the visitor was exceptional.

“Ah, I’ve been waiting!”
(Ah, mattemashita!)

[TL Note: The visitor speaks Japanese.]
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It was a person Sua could recognize immediately.
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A face resembling a Hahoe mask.

Because it was Director Yusaku.