episode_0216
by adminIn truth, Soo-ah didn’t have many major plans in her head.
First, meet Hong Ye-ji at night.
Second, raise her ranking as much as possible until then.
With a clear goal, deciding what to do became easy. Successfully film the subway scene, which is the core of the early part of “Alien Game.” What else could there be?
‘My ranking is already in the early 3s. Who knows, maybe I’ll see rank 2 before meeting Hong *sunbae*.’
But Soo-ah’s plan, which had been so clear.
*Moo-uk…*
Whoosh─!
*…Moo-uk!*
It was completely derailed the moment Lee Seo-jung suddenly stuck her face in, blocking her view. Soo-ah had been planning to end the filming by winning a streak in *muk-jji-ppa* (Rock-Paper-Scissors), but it got messed up!
“I suspected it, but you were really seeing and winning…”
Soo-ah felt goosebumps all over her body as Lee Seo-jung said that. She noticed that Soo-ah was seeing and winning? More than that, was she that serious about *muk-jji-ppa*?
Did she have to research even that much?!
Just lose gracefully! Soo-ah is wronged!
“Why? Sung Shi-hyun *ssi*.”
In the meantime, Lee Seo-jung delivered her line.
“Did you suddenly get lost in thought?”
Lee Seo-jung brought her face so close that their breaths touched.
A pleasant scent tickles the tip of her nose. She is pretty, indeed. But Soo-ah couldn’t just admire her. Because something suspicious was burning in Lee Seo-jung’s eyes.
Something sticky, gooey, and intense…
…Hmm, this doesn’t feel good. Like a snake that has found a rabbit.
Soo-ah felt goosebumps ripple over her.
“Violence or a kiss. Which will you choose?”
“Of course, violence…”
Then Lee Seo-jung rummaged and took something out, putting it over her fist. It was a knuckle duster with studs.
Soo-ah was flustered. What is that? That wasn’t there.
“…Well, violence is a bit much, so let’s just call it even with a kiss.”
“Oh, how lovely. A very wise choice.”
Lee Seo-jung’s lips curved up so much they nearly touched her ears.
She started adjusting her suit with an air of ease, but Soo-ah’s thoughts were in chaos.
‘She’s probably just going to pretend without actually touching my lips, right? Or is it going to be a full-on lip-to-lip thing?’
There was no way to know. You’d have to have experienced it to know!
In any case, her first kiss was at stake.
She appeared calm on the outside, but her insides were going wild. Was this okay? After losing at *muk-jji-ppa* and completely derailing her plans, she was losing her mind.
“…”
In the end, Soo-ah had no choice but to trust the words she’d heard from Lee Seo-jung before. That a kiss in acting doesn’t tarnish your purity.
‘…I have no choice. Accept it.’
She had to raise her ranking as much as possible before meeting Hong Ye-ji, right? So she couldn’t reject the scene, nor could she whine for a redo.
Soon, even Soo-ah’s thoughts couldn’t continue for long.
“Uuuuuhm…”
Because Lee Seo-jung started closing the distance between their faces while standing on her tiptoes. Soo-ah pretended to close her eyes tightly. But she was actually watching with her eyes slightly open.
‘Close, closer, she’s really coming…’
Thump thump thump─!
Soo-ah’s heart was pounding. It was more fear than excitement. She’d decided to accept it, but it wasn’t easy. Still, she tried to endure it somehow, but…
‘…?’
Soon question marks started popping up in her mind.
‘Huh?’
In a brief moment.
Lee Seo-jung’s lips parted slightly, and she saw a tongue slithering out like a snake, and the maid Soo-ah inside desperately flailed that she had to stop it.
The gangster Soo-ah urgently stepped up in the next moment…
‘Ugh!’
Soo-ah squeezed her eyes shut.
*Tza-ak*─!
It happened at the same time as a loud cracking sound in the air.
◈◈◈◈◈
Meanwhile, the staff’s eyes widened.
“Director, director! Isn’t this an NG (No Good)?”
The staff, with eyes twice as big as usual, were making a fuss. It was understandable. Because the story unfolding before their eyes was so different from the script reading.
They wouldn’t have been surprised if it was just different.
But she slapped her cheek. She actually slapped her cheek!
“Was Seo-jung *ssi* supposed to win at *muk-jji-ppa*?”
“That’s not the point right now! Seo-jung *ssi* got slapped! Was that agreed upon beforehand by any chance?”
“…It looked like a real slap, though.”
“The script is blank, so we have no idea how it’s going to proceed. Director, should we stop for now? How about we hear everything about it and then film again?”
There were many elements that seemed like an NG to them.
The situation was unfolding so differently from the script reading, and Lee Seo-jung really seemed to have been slapped.
However.
“配役をよく理解したようです.” (The actors seem to understand their roles well.)
Sawako suddenly interjected.
“Sawako-yang?”
The staff were taken aback, but they calmly called a translator. Sawako knew the story best right now, since Hong Ye-ji was absent. It was right to hear her out.
Soon, the staff and Sawako conversed with a translator.
“Sawako-yang, is there something you want to say?”
“Yes. The two actors seem to understand their characters well.”
“Yes?”
The staff tilted their heads slightly.
“You know that the motif for the woman in the suit is a demon, right? The goal of a demon in any medium is simple. It is to seduce humans and ultimately corrupt them completely.”
“Uhm, that’s true, isn’t it?”
“I think the two are portraying this well. I realized it by listening to the translations of Soo-ah *ssi* and Seo-jung *ssi*’s conversations.”
Then everyone’s eyes turned to the monitor.
The sounds of Soo-ah and Lee Seo-jung bargaining about the situation just now were leaking out. Lee Seo-jung stroked her cheek, which was red and swollen, and said.
“Not only did I lose at *muk-jji-ppa*, but I also got slapped? This is quite interesting. How exactly do you plan to handle the aftermath, Sung Shi-hyun *ssi*?”
“W-Well, we can just double the stakes for the next round…”
“Aha, do you have the money to double the stakes?”
“Well, I don’t, but… You can lend it to me!”
“How do you plan to pay me back?”
“Huh? That’s, um… By winning…?”
Now that they heard Sawako’s words, it seemed like that was the case.
Following the *muk-jji-ppa* loss and the impulsive act, Sung Shi-hyun was accruing a crazy amount of debt to the woman in the suit.
Soon, director Kim Young-gon, with his Guan Yu-like beard, nodded.
“There is no NG. Let’s continue as is.”
“Director?”
The staff exclaimed in surprise, but director Kim Young-gon shook his head. As if he had made a very firm decision.
“Sawako-yang is right. It’s sudden from our perspective, but it’s very appropriate in terms of the scene.”
“You felt that way too, director?”
“Yes. In fact, it was a bit of a strange setup for the demon woman in the suit to have all her money taken by Soo-ah in *muk-jji-ppa* and then participate in the Alien Game. In the first place, it’s a bit of a misfit that the demon’s entire fortune is just a bundle of money, right?”
“Ah, that’s true, isn’t it?”
“But how is it now? What if Sung Shi-hyun runs away to the Alien Game after accumulating a lot of debt? Wouldn’t she chase after her to collect the debt? It’s natural, isn’t it?”
“Ah…?”
“In the first place, the two actors are focused on the scene. They don’t even have the awareness that it’s an NG. The two of them have simply found the best scene to fill the plot holes.”
…Well, that’s what director Kim Young-gon thought.
But it was a very persuasive sound to the staff. Besides, the two actors were none other than Lee Soo-ah and Lee Seo-jung? The rumor spread quickly because they were two highly-regarded names.
“Everything is a bit subtle. From writer Hong Ye-ji, who left the scene blank, to the actors who fill in the scene and fill in the plot holes…”
“I know, right? There’s no such thing as this kind of drama filming, is there? Is this really filming? Isn’t it closer to a circus…?”
“…It’s good for us. We just have to watch.”
It was the moment when the part that Hong Ye-ji had erased and left blank, and at the same time, the part that even Sawako had carefully reviewed but couldn’t fill, was being filled.
◈◈◈◈◈
Soo-ah had thought.
‘Ugh, so this is what a first kiss feels like.’
Her palm was really tingly.
But when she thought about it, it was strange. Kisses are done with the lips, not with the hands, right? Why was her palm tingly? In other words, Soo-ah’s contradiction? Soo-ah’s strangeness?
‘…’
And after opening her eyes and facing the truth.
‘Heo-eok?’
Soo-ah was startled.
Her hand stretched out, Lee Seo-jung’s face turned sharply away. The situation was immediately grasped.
Yes, Soo-ah had slapped Lee Seo-jung’s cheek.
“…”
Emergency! Emergency!
Soo-ah’s mind fell into chaos.
‘This isn’t going to end with just an NG, is it? I touched an actress’s face! And not gently like in the script reading!’
However.
“Heu…”
That’s when.
“Euehehehe…”
Lee Seo-jung let out a chilling laugh.
“Resistance? I like the feistiness…”
Soo-ah was inwardly very surprised. Lee Seo-jung didn’t shout NG and was staring intently only at Soo-ah. Was she continuing the acting? Soo-ah checked the trait.
[ Alien Game ]
▶ Implementation elements sufficient
▶ 2.5 rank
‘2.5 rank? It actually went up?’
Soo-ah didn’t know what the principle was.
But what she had to do was clear. So she had to come to her senses. If continuing the acting would help raise her rank, it was an opportunity she could never miss.
‘I don’t know at all, but… It’s not an NG. And Lee Seo-jung seems to be continuing to act. I don’t know, let’s just try it.’
Sssssss─!
Soo-ah put on “Sung Shi-hyun” once more and began to talk to Lee Seo-jung. She plausibly packaged the act of slapping her cheek, the sudden situation that had just happened.
“Not only did I lose at *muk-jji-ppa*, but I also got slapped? This is quite interesting. How exactly do you plan to handle the aftermath, Sung Shi-hyun *ssi*?”
“W-Well, we can just double the stakes for the next round…”
“Aha, do you have the money to double the stakes?”
“Well, I don’t, but… You can lend it to me!”
“How do you plan to pay me back?”
“Huh? That’s, um… By winning…?”
But the biggest misconception Soo-ah had was that Lee Seo-jung wasn’t acting. She was only thinking of ambushing Soo-ah, putting all the shooting aside.
Yes, I can’t stand it.
In the end, Lee Seo-jung.
“…Why are you talking so much! Just come here!”
She pounced on Soo-ah like a beast hiding in the bushes. Declaring an all-out melee.
‘What?’
Soo-ah was flustered, but she didn’t just take it. Why? Because she had gangster Soo-ah inside.
Thud!
They both fell to the floor, but Soo-ah pushed Lee Seo-jung’s chin with her palm to prevent her from forcibly kissing her. Both sides were very desperate.
The camera captures the scene with a close-up.
“C-Crazy! It was *muk-jji-ppa*!”
“You were the one who broke the rules first!”
The two of them were constantly turning over and entangled. The dignified appearance from the beginning was nowhere to be found, and it was almost a mud fight.
In an instant, they were both covered in sweat and panting. They rubbed their bodies together wildly. So Lee Seo-jung made a *hehehe* sound. Just this alone achieved her goal.
“…”
At the same time, the staff inwardly gasped.
‘They’re both unbelievably desperate…?’
‘Two actresses who value their image more than their lives are getting entangled? It’s a passion I can’t even imagine…’
‘The viewers’ reactions are going to be insane. It’s subtly erotic and funny at the same time. There’s definitely a demand for this.’
While the staff was silently surprised, Go Eun-bi also admired. Frankly speaking, she felt a wall.
‘…Acting means not sparing your body. It’s on a completely different level from me flirting in front of the monitor.’
When Soo-ah and Lee Seo-jung had rolled around about three times, director Kim Young-gon shouted with a satisfied expression.
“Okay! Let’s cut it here! Cut!”
As he shouted into the megaphone, the staff laughed and applauded. The two who had been wildly entangled also finally separated.
‘I protected it. My purity…’ ‘I fulfilled it. My desire…’
Each was satisfied with their respective results.
“…I really don’t know what to make of it anymore.”
Soo-ah muttered while looking at the air. The trait window once again showed an unexpected result.
[ Alien Game ]
▶ Implementation elements sufficient
▶ 2.4 rank
The rank went up again.
‘I think this work is unusually different from other works. You can’t apply common sense…’
The Soo-ah Association argued with her, asking where her common sense was, but Soo-ah ignored them. Ah, never mind, never mind. Anyway, the rank is still going up, so that’s good enough. Soo-ah is satisfied.
Then director Kim Young-gon approached.
“Soo-ah *ssi*! Seo-jung *ssi*!”
Soo-ah and Lee Seo-jung just stared at the director. They were too out of breath. Both were panting.
“That scene was unbelievably intense! It was so lively! I cut it well here, right?”
Soo-ah nodded.
‘If we had done more, I might have been forcibly done to…’
She was seriously running out of stamina. If the filming had continued, she wondered what kind of sight she would have been in front of everyone.
Kim Young-gon, with his Guan Yu beard, continued excitedly.
“Now, I think we can end the scene with Soo-ah resisting, pushing Seo-jung *ssi* away, and running away.”
“Run away?”
“Yes! Then that’s reason enough for the woman in the suit to be obsessed with Sung Shi-hyun, right? She ends up chasing her into the Alien Game! Thanks to you, the content has become much smoother.”
“Ah…. Uhm…”
Soo-ah pondered and then.
“I acknowledge it.”
She unleashed Soo-ah Chop for the first time in a while.
Anyway, if it turned out well, it turned out well. Soo-ah is relieved.
And Lee Seo-jung was belatedly shocked.
‘Ah, I was momentarily blinded by desire and did whatever I wanted… Huh? But come to think of it, I got the OK sign?’
It was amazing from Lee Seo-jung’s point of view.
She was excited at the thought of being able to kiss Soo-ah after unexpectedly winning, and later lost her mind. But when she came to her senses, she had gotten the OK sign? Why?
‘Lee Soo-ah must have sensed that I was acting strangely, but in the meantime, she changed it to fit the scene? Anyway, she has a chilling side as an actress…’
This soon led to pure admiration for Soo-ah.
‘She’s usually clueless, but she’s highly intelligent in her field…’
Of course, Lee Seo-jung’s admiration.
‘…It makes her even more worth taking her virginity.’
The problem was that it led to more dangerous thoughts.
. . . . .
After that, several retakes followed.
Kim Young-gon stroked his Guan Yu beard and suggested.
“The feeling of the filming just now was good, but I came up with some amazing angles and directing to add. Let’s go one more time.”
Soo-ah first gauged Lee Seo-jung’s mood.
That was because.
‘You’re going to retake that scene?’
Retaking meant that Lee Seo-jung would be slapped again. But surprisingly, Soo-ah’s concern wasn’t long. Because Lee Seo-jung answered quickly.
“Yes. As much as you want.”
An unexpected answer.
So Soo-ah inadvertently nodded as well.
“Uh… If Seo-jung *ssi* is okay with it, then so am I…”
Inwardly, she was greatly surprised.
‘She’s okay with it? Is this really okay?’
Well, what could she do if the person in question was okay with it?
So Soo-ah and Lee Seo-jung’s messy filming started again. The overall framework remained the same, but only one thing changed. Soo-ah had loosened the strength in her hand.
In short, she was only pretending to slap.
‘Let’s hit her softly this time. Only pretend to hit…’
However.
“Wait! Wait a minute! NG! Suddenly, the feeling isn’t coming alive!”
Director Kim Young-gon said one word.
Even Lee Seo-jung said to Soo-ah as if asking a favor.
“If there are too many NGs, you’ll end up getting hit even more. So just hit me in one go. With full impact.”
“…Yes? Are you okay? The director’s instructions are to create a fierce feeling, but that doesn’t mean you have to actually get hit, does it?”
“If you actually get hit, won’t it give a fierce feeling too?”
“No, but what about Seo-jung *ssi* being in pain?”
“Then does it not hurt to get slapped on the cheek? Don’t worry about it.”
“Uhm…”
Soo-ah scratched the back of her neck and nodded. On the one hand, she was surprised by the absurd display of the trait.
[ Alien Game ]
▶ Implementation elements sufficient
▶ 2.5 rank → 2.4 rank → 2.5 rank
‘Why is it suddenly acting up again?’
But she soon realized the reason.
‘…It drops every time I don’t hit with all my strength?’
What an absurd thing this was.
Let’s say it’s understandable that the rank drops because the feeling doesn’t come alive when you hit softly, but what’s the reason for the rank dropping even if you only ‘pretend’ to hit hard?
…Why does it only go up if you actually hit? Even if you ‘pretend’, it looks like you hit hard on camera, doesn’t it?
Why?!
It was a reason that Soo-ah could never know.
*Tzak*─!
However, even when Soo-ah hit with all her might.
“Ah, sorry. I forgot my line.”
Lee Seo-jung made a few unprofessional mistakes.
Soo-ah tilted her head. Why all of a sudden now?
*Tza-ak*─!
In the end, Soo-ah slapped Lee Seo-jung’s cheek a few more times, and while she felt sorry, she would get goosebumps when Lee Seo-jung gave an inexplicable smile.
It was a situation where she didn’t know what was going on at all.
Only one thing was certain. The rank was going up.
▶ 2.1 rank
‘…It’s really uncanny.’
As a result.
“Okay! Good! That’s all!”
The scene filming was completed only after Soo-ah swung her arm almost four times and rolled around on the floor with Lee Seo-jung for a long time.
Soo-ah sat down on the floor and vigorously shook the hair that was all covered in dust from side to side. Was this okay?
She glanced at Lee Seo-jung.
“Um, Seo-jung *ssi*, are you okay?”
And she was about to offer her thanks.
“Thank you so much, Lee Soo-ah.”
What was this? Instead, Lee Seo-jung thanked her.
“…Thank you? For what exactly?”
“I was very satisfied.”
It was a story Soo-ah couldn’t know.
She didn’t think she could understand it even if she thought deeply about it, so Soo-ah left the scene. CEO Kim Yi-seo immediately handed her water and wiped Soo-ah’s face with a wet wipe.
“Soo-ah, you really worked hard.”
“I might not have worked particularly hard, though.”
She was being sincere. Wasn’t it Lee Seo-jung who worked hard?
While Soo-ah was thinking, CEO Kim Yi-seo held out a tablet screen. A MuTube channel that was empty because no videos had been uploaded was noticeable.
[ SUMIHO ] [ Singing Neo-Live Idol, Sumiho🦊]
It was Soo-ah’s formidable rival, the Sumiho channel.
◈◈◈◈◈
At the same time.
“This place is nice.”
Director Go Tae-min of ‘Crescendo From Tomorrow’ said.
[ Hyunhwa Arts High School ]
It was in front of the front gate of an arts high school that was written boastfully.
While the ‘Alien Game’ production team was burning with enthusiasm in the subway, director Go Tae-min, who was in charge of ‘Crescendo From Tomorrow’, was also moving diligently.
Because scouting locations was also their job.
Compared to other general high schools, it was very stylish in appearance, and there were several people besides director Go Tae-min here. Everyone was a film-related person.
One person stepped forward and said to director Go Tae-min.
“This school is very pretty, right? It’s clean because it hasn’t been completed for several years. Overall, it has a strong sense of sophistication.”
He was a location coordinator who had recommended Hyunhwa Arts High School to director Go Tae-min. He judged that this place would be a good place to film ‘Crescendo From Tomorrow’.
“Hmph.”
While director Go Tae-min was pondering while rubbing his chin, students began to stick their faces to the windows one by one. Students who were going back and forth to the cafeteria also stretched their necks and started watching.
“Who are those people?”
“They said they came for filming-related things? If we’re lucky, they might film a movie at our school.”
“Really? What movie is it?”
“I don’t know, but I hope a famous celebrity comes.”
Stylish school, young students chirping like sparrows, vibrancy, the faint sound of music leaking through the open window… Soon director Go Tae-min made a decision.
‘This is the place.’
He finally decided to film here.
At the same time, he raised the corners of his lips.
“I’m curious about the reaction when Soo-ah *ssi* appears here. The students are going to be very surprised and make a fuss.”
“…Are only the students going to be surprised? I think the teachers will be surprised too.”
Everyone burst out laughing at someone’s joke.
◈◈◈◈◈
Late at night. After finishing the ‘Alien Game’ schedule.
‘Ah, Hong *sunbae* seems to have come.’
Soo-ah instinctively knew that Hong Ye-ji had come. The staff gathered to one side and started greeting her.
As expected, Soo-ah’s expectations were correct.
She heard the staff say writer *nim*, writer *nim* and saw Hong Ye-ji’s figure in the distance. It was the same as usual. A strong and very solid appearance as always.
But she couldn’t talk to her right away.
“…” “…”
Because the atmosphere was somehow strange.
Soo-ah didn’t have the intelligence to clearly define this phenomenon, but at least she felt it instinctively. Something had happened now. Something very different from usual.
It’s quiet.
“…”
“…”
It seemed like it wasn’t a normal thing. The fact that people weren’t talking noisily was proof. Rather, everyone was busy watching each other’s faces.
As if no one should open their mouth.
Soo-ah looked around blankly.
Suddenly, she ended up hearing a conversation.
“…Is it true?” “Yes. Hong writer *nim*’s father just passed away.”
“…!”
Soo-ah widened her eyes without realizing it.
Shocking news.
It was accompanied by a sensation of her brain freezing.
[ Alien Game ]
▶ Implementation elements sufficient
▶ 1.5 rank
“…”
Soo-ah felt an emotion close to fear.
However, it wasn’t that she was surprised by the sudden current situation, and it wasn’t that she was surprised that the rank had gone up.
She just got goosebumps at herself for checking her rank even in this situation. A beat later, the thought that this wasn’t right began to sprout wildly.
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