I Want to Be a VTuber

Hyper Action Star is strictly an audition show. This means that every episode is broadcast live from the first episode onward, and viewers can start voting immediately after the broadcast ends.

With a total of five groups, each time they compete, half of the contestants are eliminated, making each filming session extremely crucial.

“They’re broadcasting on both TV and the internet simultaneously. Man, this is already fun,” said Han Bongshik, a YouTuber with 1.38 million subscribers, as he let out a sigh of relief, noticing a slight recovery in his subscriber count.

‘I have to cover this.’

From the teaser alone, he could tell this show would be a hit. And more importantly, Ju Seoyeon was in it.

So, of course, he had to cover it. Ever since The Chaser, Ju Seoyeon had been like a goddess to Han Bongshik. Even now, in the teaser and the current footage, she was displaying an overwhelming presence.

As evidence of the show’s buzz, the number of viewers was about 30% higher than usual. Judging by the active chat, it seemed like many viewers were not regular subscribers to Han Bongshik’s channel.

“Ahem, for those of you who are new here, the show we’re watching today is Hyper Action Star. It’s an audition program for actors, and the winner gets the lead role in a movie.”

Han Bongshik explained what he had researched to his viewers—the format, how the show progresses, and how the final selection is made.

“Today’s theme is ‘Shootout.’ But what’s this? It’s not just a shootout. They have to act. It’s all about the acting!”

The viewers were understandably puzzled. After all, the superpower they chose during the rappel action would be the basis for their performance in the shootout. But, naturally, the actors themselves were ordinary humans. How were they supposed to incorporate superpowers into this?

“Well...this is just my guess.”

“I’ll explain once the first shoot begins.”

Han Bongshik chuckled at the viewers’ reactions. He indeed had a theory, but revealing it now would ruin the fun.

‘It’s likely about the acting.’

It had to be related to that. However, superpower acting could easily come off as ridiculous if not done well.

‘No, most of the time, it probably would look ridiculous.’

Superpowers without CGI—how different was this from the “Superpower” episodes on Running People? Therefore, one crucial element was needed.

In this kind of acting, the “receiver” was more important than the one performing it.

“So, after each episode, they’ll release a version with CGI added for the next episode.”

This part had already been mentioned by PD Lee Kitae of Hyper Action Star. By now, some viewers probably understood the “rules” of the show, as even Han Bongshik had caught on quickly.

Of course, this was all speculation. There was no guarantee that the superpower chosen in the audition would be the same in the movie.

‘But if it makes a strong impact, who knows?’

With that thought, Han Bongshik turned his attention back to the screen, focusing on the first live audition of Hyper Action Star.

The “Shootout.”

“As soon as filming starts, everything is acting. You’ve all seen the script, right?” Actor Cha Mingyu asked, looking at the gathered actors. They nodded in response.

However...

‘Can we even call that a script?’

It was more like instructions on how to act rather than a script. They were supposed to create a character based on their chosen superpower and then act it out. Most of the actors looked bewildered, but some found it intriguing.

‘I joined because of Ju Seoyeon, but this seems pretty interesting.’

Jo Seohui, in particular, felt that participating in this variety show was the right choice. Honestly, she wasn’t too confident about passing. She wasn’t particularly skilled in action.

‘But if this is about acting...’

Jo Seohui’s gaze sharpened as she looked at Seoyeon. This was her first chance to face Seoyeon in acting, before they eventually starred in the same movie. Though this was a variety show, acting was still involved, even if it wasn’t exactly like true acting.

‘I wonder how many of them have caught on to that.’

And you too, Seoyeon.

“...?”

Seoyeon flinched under Jo Seohui’s intense gaze. To be honest, that kind of look always made her uncomfortable.

‘I should invite her as a guest to the next festival.’

Unlike herself, who would freak out and crawl around in panic, Jo Seohui could instill fear just by standing there. Now that’s real terror. As she had these inappropriate thoughts, Seoyeon scanned the other contestants.

She recognized quite a few of them. Especially with her knowledge of the future, she could easily identify those she needed to be wary of.

In Group A, for instance...

‘Han Soyu.’

Later, she would receive great praise for her performance in the action movie Wicked and become a big name in OTT dramas. Her acting wasn’t top-tier, but her strength lay in her exceptional athleticism. Her long limbs made her movements look particularly dynamic.

‘As for the others...’

Seoyeon’s gaze briefly settled on Min Doha. She had gained some recognition from a previous movie or drama. But since Seoyeon didn’t recall her playing any memorable roles in the future, she didn’t dwell on her too much. When Seoyeon looked ahead again...

“Let me explain the rules first.”

Actor Cha Mingyu addressed the actors as he began outlining the day’s shoot.

“Today, we’ll be using model guns loaded with paint bullets. Everyone will be using handguns.”

The rules were simple. The “Shootout” would be evaluated on a points system. Each time you hit another actor with a paint bullet, you earn one point.

Then, there was a black bag at the far end of the set. Whoever held the bag when the scene ended would receive 30 points.

“And there’s an additional 30 points awarded for the acting evaluation.”

In other words, just hitting other actors wouldn’t be enough. But conversely, if you didn’t care about the bag or the acting and just focused on shooting as many opponents as possible, you could still rack up points.

“Everyone, please put on your goggles. There’s a penalty for shooting anyone in the face.”

At Cha Mingyu’s words, the actors nodded, their expressions tense as they felt the weight of the upcoming shoot.

“Alright, everyone, get ready.”

At Cha Mingyu’s signal, the actors entered the set. The set was quite large—a wasteland.

It looked like a ruin. Pieces of styrofoam designed to mimic debris from destroyed buildings were scattered everywhere. Styrofoam walls, various props, and a building in the distance.

‘That’s probably where the black bag is.’

The actors thought to themselves as they checked the model guns they had been given, their faces tense with anticipation. Since most of the actors were women, many were handling a model gun for the first time.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, one of them accidentally dropped her gun, and as she hurried to pick it up, she accidentally pulled the trigger.

Bang!!

The gun fired, and the paint bullet inside shot out. This mishap occurred just before the shoot officially began.

The bullet flew straight toward Seoyeon’s face, of all places.

“Watch out...!”

No one had time to react properly. Since they weren’t wearing their goggles yet, one of the actors cried out in alarm.

But then—

Smack!!

Seoyeon’s hand moved, swatting the paint bullet away as if she were swatting a mosquito. Of course, it was still a paint bullet, so it burst upon impact, splattering paint on Seoyeon’s hand.

“...Huh?”

Some of the actors who witnessed this stared in disbelief. Did that just happen? Did she really just swat away a paint bullet mid-flight?

But she hadn’t even looked at it. Her eyes had been focused elsewhere.

‘It must have been a coincidence, right?’

The few who had witnessed it stood dumbfounded, thinking to themselves. No way. It’s impossible to swat away a paint bullet like that. Normally, paint bullets travel at 90 meters per second.

Even though these were probably slower for the broadcast, it still wasn’t something you could swat away without looking.

‘No, it can’t be...’

One of the actors, lost in thought, quickly rushed over to Seoyeon, bowing her head.

“S-sorry! Did that scare you?” “Huh? No, it’s fine. This is nothing.”

Nothing, she says. Though that was a loaded statement, the actor just sighed in relief.

“But your hand must really hurt...”

She winced as she looked at Seoyeon’s hand, but Seoyeon just smiled awkwardly.

“Really, it’s fine.”

In truth, Seoyeon hadn’t been hurt at all from deflecting the paint bullet. A mere paint bullet wasn’t enough to scratch her invincible TS skin.

‘Maybe I should have just caught it.’

She only grimaced because the paint had splattered on her hand. She had forgotten that paint bullets burst on impact.

‘Then again, with my regeneration power, catching it wouldn’t make much sense.’

Swatting it away didn’t quite fit either. She would have to focus more on avoiding them in a way that made sense for her character.

Anyway, this was a minor incident before the shoot officially started. Since there were few witnesses, it didn’t cause much of a stir on set.

However, because the moment was caught on camera, some viewers began reacting strongly in the chat.

“...That wasn’t a coincidence, was it?”

Han Bongshik replayed the clip he had just captured. This time, he slowed it down.

“It looks like a paint bullet was fired by accident...”

The scene showed the bullet flying straight toward Seoyeon’s face. At that moment, the camera didn’t fully capture Seoyeon’s face, just a partial profile.

At 0.25x speed, you could see the paint bullet in slow motion. Then—

At 0.25x speed, you could clearly see Seoyeon’s eyes tracking the bullet. And in the next frame, her hand swatted it away, as everyone saw.

“Uh, that wasn’t intentional, right?”

As Han Bongshik pondered the comments, he thought back to the Ju Seoyeon he had seen in Survival of the Fittest and Star Fisher.

“...Hmm. I suppose she could.”

Thinking about it, he felt oddly at ease.

“Let’s keep watching.”

Whether it was intentional or not, he didn’t know. But it was more fun to believe it was, so he decided to go with that.

“The total filming time is 30 minutes. Keep that in mind. Also, any dangerous or unsportsmanlike conduct will result in immediate disqualification.”

At the mention of disqualification, the actors nodded, their faces tense with anxiety.

‘Should I focus on the shootout?’ ‘Or should I aim for the bag...?’ ‘How will the acting be evaluated? Through superpowers?’

As these thoughts raced through their minds, Min Doha looked at Seoyeon. Having witnessed the earlier incident, she bit her lower lip.

‘Whether it was intentional or not, that scene will cause a stir when it airs.’

Cha Mingyu, who wasn’t aware of the full details, would later reprimand her harshly, so it was bound to create some buzz. From the beginning, Seoyeon was already drawing everyone’s attention as if she were the main character.

‘I can’t lose in action acting.’

Losing to a delicate-looking high school girl would be a humiliation she couldn’t bear. With that determination, Min Doha fixed her gaze on Seoyeon. Shooting wouldn’t be allowed until three minutes after the shoot began.

‘The bag will appear ten minutes later.’

Until then, everyone needed to secure their positions.

And then—

Beep!!!

The signal to start filming blared. At that sound, all the actors rushed forward.

Min Doha calmly followed behind Seoyeon, who was jogging at a relaxed pace. The rule was that getting shot didn’t mean you were out.

But if they were “acting,” then they would have to act as if they died when hit by a bullet. It was all up to the actor’s discretion. Ultimately, it depended on how the judge, Cha Minseok, and the viewers interpreted it.

‘Sorry, but I’m going to take you out here.’

Of course, she wasn’t really sorry. It was only natural to eliminate the strongest competitor.