I Want to Be a VTuber

The lights in the inn all turned off at once.

Incidentally, the inn where Seoyeon had arrived wasn’t exactly a proper inn to begin with.

Technically, it had once been an inn, but after closing down, it was repurposed as a set. Of course, there was no issue with staying or eating there, and the facilities were still intact.

However, since it had been remodeled into a set, it now had additional features for various uses.

"Alright, all the lights are off."

The actors involved in this prank nodded as they watched the Korean actors looking around in the darkness. Most of them seemed visibly startled, as shown by the night-vision cameras.

Incidentally, two of them seemed to have caught on. One was a particularly perceptive person, and the other was a manager who had already been informed.

But that was fine. The person they intended to prank was none other than Seoyeon, who was now blankly staring into the dark.

"She doesn’t look as scared as we thought, does she?" "Aww, that’s not good."

For the actors who had gone to great lengths with makeup, it felt a bit disappointing. This happens sometimes.

Especially in horror pranks, there are people who pretend to be tough. Even if they aren’t genuinely scared, they should play along to fill the show’s airtime.

The problem was, since this was a hidden camera prank, if she didn’t get scared immediately, it would clearly seem like an act.

"For now, let’s focus on using the setup and try to guide her to a specific spot."

Hearing this, PD Nanjou whispered quietly. Currently, they were on the floor above where Seoyeon was.

It was an empty space created when they remodeled the place into a set.

"If she doesn’t get scared, we’ll have to make her scared."

PD Nanjou said this as he looked at Seoyeon on the monitor. She had started leading the others, walking through the dark.

She was heading down the now pitch-black hallway to turn on the lights.

‘I’m not scared.’

Seoyeon thought as she walked down the hallway. As she repeated this thought to herself, she suddenly remembered a horror game she had played before.

Back then, she thought she was only scared because the character she was controlling was weak. If she could actually enter the game herself, she thought, she would have just mowed down those creatures with a chainsaw or whatever.

That boastful thought was still lingering in her mind. At the time, she had meant it sincerely, but now... maybe it really was just bravado.

Step.

"S-Seoyeon? Why did you stop all of a sudden?"

Her manager, Park Eun-ha, stammered, her voice tinged with fear, as Seoyeon abruptly stopped in her tracks.

‘Oh, this kind of atmosphere is really not good.’

Even though she had been informed beforehand, Park Eun-ha was still terrified. She had never been able to watch horror movies or play horror games.

The only time she’d done anything remotely close was an escape room with friends. It was at a place in Gangnam known for its horror-themed rooms, and she nearly fainted from the experience.

‘That time, it just had to be a Japanese horror-themed escape room, too.’

This felt exactly the same. If something suddenly dropped here, it would be exactly like... that.

Thud!!

"Aaaaaaah!"

Park Eun-ha screamed, her voice echoing loudly. Something round had fallen from the ceiling with a loud thud.

Thwack!!

In that instant, Seoyeon reflexively reached out her hand. It was a completely instinctive reaction.

And Seoyeon’s hand pierced right through the round object.

"Huh?!"

Narumi Sora let out a genuine Japanese exclamation in shock. Seoyeon’s open hand had pierced right through a mannequin’s head.

‘Not even a fist, but... is that... a hand strike? With just her fingertips?’

How did that even happen? What was more terrifying than a mannequin head falling from the ceiling was the fact that she had somehow managed to pierce it with her hand.

"...."

Seoyeon stared at her hand, which was embedded up to her wrist in the object. It was dark, but her sharp, shining red eyes didn’t have much trouble seeing.

So, even in the dark, she could see the meticulously crafted mannequin head. In fact, it hadn’t even registered in her mind that it was a mannequin.

The red liquid inside dripped out, and the strange texture against her skin was unsettling. Human perception relies heavily on sight, after all.

Though she knew it was a mannequin, its too-realistic form gave her an indescribable feeling.

"S-Seoyeon?"

With Park Eun-ha trembling beside her, Sora cautiously asked. For some reason, Seoyeon’s reaction seemed odd.

"Take... take it out, please." ‘What?’

Sora could feel Seoyeon’s voice shaking. Getting closer, Sora finally realized that the object in Seoyeon’s hand was a mannequin head that resembled a human head.

‘Eugh, it’s creepy.’

To make it worse, the head was wedged in such a way that the eyes looked slightly popped out. Of course, it didn’t look entirely like a real human head.

Just a well-made mannequin head. But the dim lighting and eerie resemblance created an uncomfortable feeling.

"I-I’m fine." "...."

Despite Sora’s reassurance, Seoyeon couldn’t bring herself to look at her own hand. She had tightly shut her eyes, clearly spooked.

‘So Seoyeon can be scared too?’

Watching her, Sora felt something unusual. She’d thought Seoyeon was practically invincible, but maybe not.

"I-I’ll catch up later, could you two go ahead and turn on the lights?"

"What?"

Saying a line straight out of a horror movie?

"I-I’ll go."

Under different circumstances, they might have waited without question. But, right now, they were in the middle of filming.

So, it was better to leave Seoyeon alone. After all, she was the target, so the footage would be better if she was left by herself.

"I’ll go turn on the hallway lights!"

The light switch for the hallway was down the hall, around the corner, and a fair distance away. This wasn’t a small inn.

‘What do I do?’

After sending Sora ahead, Seoyeon stood there.

‘M-my legs won’t move.’

How could this be? This didn’t make sense.

Seoyeon couldn’t accept this situation. To be honest, she still hadn’t even considered that this might be a hidden camera prank.

She had never watched hidden camera shows, and such things were foreign to her generation, especially being abroad. She had no concept that she might be part of a hidden-camera prank in a foreign country.

...The moment she pierced the mannequin’s head, her thoughts became confused, which only added to her disorientation.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever felt fear.’

Except maybe in games. Could it be that she was actually vulnerable to fear? She recalled that she hadn’t been scared when playing a ghost role back in school.

As Seoyeon considered these things, she noticed a growing, unfamiliar sensation creeping into her. Usually, when experiencing different emotions, Seoyeon felt things like joy and the satisfaction of hearing compliments rather intensely.

Those were the feelings that typically had a strong impact on her. But fear? She hadn’t thought it was something she’d ever truly felt.

‘B-but why am I scared?’

Her legs felt strangely weak. She found herself unable to move forward.

And as this creeping sense of dread started to overwhelm her senses, she suddenly became aware of a presence behind her.

Thump.

A dull sound accompanied by the unmistakable sensation of someone standing right behind her.

"Now! Now’s the time!"

Seeing that Seoyeon was suddenly alone, the actors dressed as ghosts eagerly rushed into their positions.

They’d planned to lure her down the hallway, then use other setups to separate her from the others. But having her left alone like this was perfect!

‘Is she weak to fear? She’s frozen solid!’

The lead actress, known for her roles in haunted house attractions and horror-themed performances at theme parks, smirked and moved forward.

‘Time to set off the devices, too.’

Thud, thud, thud.

The faint vibrations and sounds began resonating down the hallway.

‘Perfect atmosphere.’

The actress exited the secret passage within the building, emerging from behind a fake wall. To anyone else, it would appear as if she had suddenly materialized in the middle of the hallway.

She positioned herself about three meters away from Seoyeon.

"Heh, heheheh."

A chilling laugh escaped her lips, a sound soaked in madness and the anguish of vengeful spirits.

It was a laugh that had terrified countless people in haunted themes. Hearing it, Seoyeon slowly turned her head with a creak.

‘Yes, that reaction....’

The actress’s satisfaction quickly turned to shock. In the darkness, a pair of blood-red eyes glared back at her.

‘W-why are her eyes glowing red?’

Did she have lightbulbs in her eyes? The thought crossed her mind just as Seoyeon collapsed to the ground, as if her legs had given out.

‘Huh?’

Forget the glowing eyes. Why had she fallen? Were her legs really that weak? How were they supposed to lure her now?

‘Wait, maybe something is really wrong with her body.’

As she cautiously approached, Seoyeon suddenly jerked backward, scrambling away on her hands to avoid the actress dressed as a ghost. The actress tried to move faster to close the gap.

"Huh?"

Momentarily forgetting her role as a ghost, she gasped in surprise. Seoyeon, whose legs had given out, was crawling down the hallway on her hands, moving fast.

‘Wait, hold on.’

Wait. She was supposed to wait.

Thinking this, the actress picked up her pace, but Seoyeon started crawling even faster. Ridiculously fast. How was she moving so quickly on just her arms?

Hold on, if she kept going that way...

At that moment, an ear-piercing scream echoed through the inn.

"For now, let’s just stay here, then head back to the room." "W-what about Seoyeon?" "The production team will... probably handle her, right?"

Sora turned right and stopped, figuring she’d distanced herself enough from Seoyeon. Besides, they weren’t supposed to turn the lights on, and she didn’t want to move further into the creepy atmosphere.

She let out a sigh, thinking that the production team would probably do something with Seoyeon.

“?”

When she looked up, there was suddenly a monster behind Park Eun-ha. More precisely, an actor dressed as a monster.

Wearing a rotting mask and holding a hatchet, he looked like a zombie with a terrifyingly large build that added to his menacing presence.

Just looking at him was unsettling.

"Eek!"

Realizing it a moment later, Park Eun-ha recoiled in fear. Watching the monster approach slowly, she grabbed Sora’s sleeve and shook it.

"Aren’t they supposed to go after her, not us? Maybe... try using the nunchaku you practiced?" "N-no, I can’t. Besides, I didn’t bring it here."

It wasn’t allowed on the plane anyway. After all, it’s classified as a weapon.

Noticing their reactions, the actor holding the hatchet took another step forward, seemingly enjoying himself. Then he stopped, his gaze fixed on something else.

"Huh?"

Both Sora and Park Eun-ha, initially paralyzed with fear, looked puzzled. Why did he suddenly freeze?

Then something even stranger happened.

Not only did he stop, but he began to back away slowly.

What? Why is he doing that? It’s as if... something is behind us.

Both Sora and Park Eun-ha turned around in reflex.

And they saw it.

Something was crawling toward them at an incredible speed.

".........!!!"

For the first time in her life, Sora felt the kind of terror that made her forget to breathe.

She suddenly remembered a particular RPG game that had been popular some time ago.

Wasn’t it called The Witch’s House? There, a witch with no lower body crawls after the protagonist with her arms.

That scene was exactly what this looked like.

Long, pitch-black hair, with bright red eyes shining through.

And a woman, crawling on her arms at an inhuman speed.

Her lower body was barely visible, obscured by the darkness.

The critical part was, this woman was crawling down the hallway at terrifying speed. And something ghostly seemed to be following her.

"R-run! RUN!!"

In response to Sora’s cry, the first to flee was the actor playing the monster.

He even dropped his hatchet, stumbling backward. Sora and Park Eun-ha followed suit, thinking that as an actor he must know his way around.

Thud!!

Curious about the noise, Sora glanced back while running.

The woman who had been crawling picked up the dropped hatchet, still crawling forward.

Thud, thud, hitting the floor as she moved.

Why was she hitting the floor? It made it scarier. Why was she doing this?

And her speed was increasing.

"Ahhh!! Aaaaahhh!!"

The actors stationed in various places to jump out and scare Seoyeon were startled by the sight of Sora and Eun-ha running toward them. Originally prepared to startle them with loud screams, they saw what was chasing and immediately joined in fleeing.

"There’s a partition wall! Over here!"

Even the actors in ghost costumes, abandoning their roles, quickly banged on the wall to open the door.

"Close it! Close it!"

If they got through the partition, they’d be safe. The three ghosts they encountered frantically urged each other.

As they closed the partition, however—

Rattle, rattle!

"It’s... it’s not closing!!"

Sora cried. Looking down, she noticed that a hatchet was jammed in the partition gap.

Wait, hold on.

Everyone’s gaze shifted downward.

Clunk.

Through the opening, a pale hand appeared, gripping the partition door.

Dark hair slid down, and they saw red eyes staring up through the gap as the hatchet twisted, prying the door open.

At that moment—

‘No, this can’t be happening.’

Sora fainted.