To put it simply, Seoyeon was upset.
A hidden camera prank might explain it.
At the time, things were a bit confusing, so she hadn’t thought about it much, but she had seen Korean entertainers go through similar situations before.
Moreover, there should have been suspicions about the inn shooting since there was no staff around.
But, how could anyone ignore someone being chased by a ghost?
“I saw it when I was running away from the ghost. Sora was closing the doors most enthusiastically.”
Seoyeon said curtly.
Sora, who had passed out right after and woke up ten minutes later, felt wronged by Seoyeon’s words.
“Running away hard? Exactly when?”
Upon reflection, Seoyeon had felt something following her, but the memory was blurred by her fast escape.
“The question is, because Seoyeon was crawling so fast, it didn’t really register.”
“Ah, but why did you bring back the axe?”
“In case the ghost attacked, I wanted to defend myself.”
“…”
Of course, the axe was a prop, made of somewhat sturdy plastic.
Still, hadn’t it hit the ground while chasing after her?
How was that possible? Sora didn’t dare to ask.
Since Seoyeon was grumbling.
“How could you ignore a cute girl trying her best to run away?”
This wasn’t just Sora. When the closing doors had trapped her, she had also seen male actors trying to escape.
Even then, because the ghost costume was peeling off as they ran, it wasn’t as terrifying.
“But my legs were shaking from fear.”
“Yes, that’s why.”
“You saw me crawl fast, didn’t you?”
Normally, no one could crawl as fast to escape. Was it possible only for Seoyeon? And surprisingly, her legs didn’t have any scratches despite crawling so quickly.
“Yeaah, that hit the mark!”
The day after the hidden camera shooting, Katsuo Nanjou PD, who had overseen everything, sincerely said,
“Our hidden camera crew’s efforts were cleverly turned around by you, creating another hidden camera.”
“That’s right?? Your reactions were as if you had anticipated the hidden camera from the beginning, weren’t they?”
“By surprising us in return with fantastic ghost acting, it was truly brilliant. Excellent work. The best!”
Seoyeon stood dumbfounded, not knowing how to respond.
“I don’t know what he’s talking about.”
Despite watching some animations, she assumed she understood what was being said, but when a local spoke, she had trouble adapting. Especially since Nanjou PD was supposed to know Korean, couldn’t he have spoken in Korean instead?
She also couldn’t distinguish between the Japanese actors and the staff.
“Could you translate for me?”
Seoyeon asked Sora using her eyes. Naturally, Sora saw this as, “Hey, translator, why aren’t you translating?”
Sora quickly interpreted for Seoyeon.
“Uh, it seems the hidden camera reactions were excellent.”
“Is that so? Honestly, I was running around so much, I didn’t really notice. Hmm, please let the actors know they did a great job with the ghost acting.”
If mentions were made about turning the tables on the hidden camera or ghost acting, there was bound to be trouble. So, Sora had no choice but to soften Nanjou’s words.
After all, Seoyeon’s escape scene was nothing more than the adorable escape of a naïve girl.
“So, when will the hidden camera be aired?”
“Perhaps it will air in three days. There’s not much to edit, and originally we planned to include something else, but dividing this into two episodes might be better.”
Conversations naturally flowed through Sora’s interpretation. It’s certainly convenient to have a native speaker around.
Seoyeon thought so too.
“In any case, it seems the reaction was good, so I guess that’s a success.”
It was impressive how advanced hidden camera pranks are in Japan. Nowadays, so many things are off-limits in Korea’s recent variety shows, making it nearly impossible to produce this kind of content.
Though Japan could be excessively extreme at times, the purely entertaining aspect of “variety shows” has not faded away.
“Sure, sometimes overly extreme.”
Even this hidden camera prank had been extremely surprising.
“So, are these shoots in Japan everything?”
After parting ways with Nanjou PD, Seoyeon moved to the arranged lodging in Japan.
She was sure she would be staying for about two weeks, and couldn’t imagine it would just be non-stop fun during that time.
“Huh? Did Seoyeon not check the schedule?”
“I did, but there’s a bit of ambiguity.”
She only heard that they would do one thing.
But, they had already done the hidden camera prank, hadn’t they?
“It was added recently. Originally, we had plans for an interview variety show.”
“Ah.”
“And if there’s time, doing one more episode might be good?”
Japanese hotels were just that—ordinary hotels.
“I thought a Japanese inn would have been nice.”
A ryokan or something like that. But regardless, Seoyeon found it more interesting.
Of course, they were fake ones.
“Is this because of Dream Future?”
When recalling an earlier meeting with Yeon-woo Ma, something he had said a few days back came to mind.
“These days, Dream Future is quite popular in Japan.”
“Is that so? What is it?”
“……Heh, that might be a bit harsh.”
“Oh, no. I didn’t think it was a drama that would appeal overseas.”
Since “Golden Kitten” MDC has continuously approached Seoyeon about featuring on various shows. Seoyeon, who recently had a great interest, found herself visiting MDC more. While waiting to perform on a music show, she met Ma Yeon-woo.
“It fits perfectly with the Japanese sensibility. And apparently, you’re quite popular there.”
“Really?”
“It matches their taste.”
“Hmm.”
Seoyeon did notice many anime characters similar in style to herself. There’s a traditional Japanese ideal of beauty, Yamato Nadeshiko, and she seemed to fit that image.
“Of course, it’s from an image standpoint. Image-wise.”
“Why are you emphasizing that so much?”
“Oh, just saying.”
While maintaining her signature grin, Ma Yeon-woo confidently crossed his arms. Maybe it was because their “Just X” song was a prime candidate for first place in the music show today, his confidence stood out even more.
“Since you’re here, why not stay and watch the music show?”
At his words, Seoyeon remembered the other members of “Just X.”
This group always caused problems.
“With the trouble-making season approaching.”
Seoyeon glanced at Ma Yeon-woo. For someone who is immensely proud of “Just X,” it might not be a positive development. By next year, they probably won’t be able to properly continue.
“Yes, understood.”
While reflecting on this, Seoyeon watched the “Just X” performance and returned.
Indeed, regardless of their individual characters, their stage presence was impressive. It wasn’t for no reason that they’re a top idol group.
“Seoyeon?”
Coming back to reality, Seoyeon realized Park Eun-ha was asking if she had been quiet during their conversation.
She must have been lost in thought for a while.
“No, let’s do another one after the hidden camera airs, if possible.”
Seoyeon, of course, didn’t give it much thought. Honestly, all she remembered was escaping.
She obviously had no idea how she appeared at that moment. Her only memory was of escaping fiercely from the ghost chasing her.
“I wonder if any decent footage will be in the broadcast.”
Thus, Seoyeon worried. She didn’t want her first Japanese variety appearance to stumble due to poor content. Seoyeon had intended to occasionally visit Japan under the guise of filming, so she hoped everything went well.
Truthfully, Seoyeon’s anxiety was unjustified.
The part-time worker at a Japanese convenience store, Satou Isami, was yawning while watching over the counter. It had been an unusually busy day, and he was quite exhausted.
‘Finally, it should quiet down for a bit.’
His legs ached, and all he wanted was to go home.
If it weren’t for his boyfriend’s gift, he wouldn’t be working here like this. He was contemplating this when the convenience store door opened.
‘Huh?’
A striking beauty entered.
She had an immaculately pure quality, reminiscent of forget-me-not flowers.
Satou instinctively rubbed his face with his palm. Her skin, in particular, was extraordinary.
‘Spotting a beauty—this is definitely a good sign!’
An actress? Or an idol? She had such an entertainer-like presence. Yet, her being unfamiliar made him stare intently.
The door opened again.
“!!”
Another woman entered.
Seeing this woman, Isami’s eyes widened.
The previous visitor had been beautiful, but this one was entirely different.
Not just looks but the entire aura was different.
It was a tranquil, serene ambiance, something unlike anything else. Her entrance caused every single customer picking items to pause and look.
His eyes naturally followed the shift of attention. A man selecting pudding suddenly realized he was unconsciously piling up pudding.
She had long, black hair.
A stark contrast to her snow-white skin.
Her eyes had a peculiarly deep red hue.
Her beauty almost felt otherworldly.
She was having a conversation with the earlier beauty.
‘They’re friends!’
Beautiful people do associate with each other, it seems. But when this newcomer stood beside the earlier beauty, the first seemed diminished.
It likely wasn’t just his impression.
Even when they stood together, the focus was solely on this one.
Daydreaming about this, he suddenly realized the long-haired girl was right in front of him.
Oddly, the other woman behind her looked uneasy.
Empty-handed, she obviously wasn’t here for purchases.
Could she need information or something?
‘Why?’
Curious, he stared at her.
“….”
The girl silently stared deeply into Isami’s eyes for a moment, as if contemplating what to say next.
“Customer…?”
Out of curiosity, he inquired.
The sharp intelligence in her eyes returned; her piercing gaze fixed directly on Isami.
Her beautiful eyes had a striking edge.
However, it was quite cold and somewhat intimidating.
This is what being frighteningly beautiful means.
Still lost in thought, when suddenly,
The girl’s mouth slowly opened.
“Hey, Onna.”
“?”
Isami froze in shock.
The words out of the girl’s mouth were entirely unexpected.
Seoyeon was happily sightseeing in Japan.
No need for early mornings and upon waking, just eat and tour around Tokyo.
“Weren’t we here yesterday?”
Sora, on the other hand, was quite perplexed.
‘Why does she like Akihabara so much?’
It was because Seoyeon’s trip to Japan was overly concentrated in one direction.
In truth, Seoyeon wasn’t the type to enjoy foreign landscapes or scenery.
Moreover, everything Seoyeon desired was gathered in Akihabara.
Animation, gacha games, and even virtual YouTubers.
‘Japan has many second-hand shops, huh?’
Many items hard to find in Korea were available here.
Also, how accessibly structured it was for adult content was astonishing.
Seoyeon accidentally stumbled into a place filled with adult manga, screamed, and fled.
Even Seoyeon would be surprised upon encountering such content unprepared.
‘I guess my resistance against that kind is low.’
But now, she couldn’t get that scene out of her mind.
Maybe next time, she’d sneak in there without Sora.
With that idea, it was day two of the Akihabara tour.
Then a sudden thought crossed her mind.
‘I haven’t visited a Japanese convenience store yet!’
When mentioning Japan, convenience store food was also quite famous.
True, South Korea’s convenience store products have also improved recently.
Still, the popular opinion was that Japanese convenience store food was still superior.
Naturally, Seoyeon was also interested.
After all, to Seoyeon, convenience stores were a ‘duty.’
She was accustomed to regularly visiting convenience stores.
Of course she had to visit one in Japan.
‘They’re saying this chocolate is a collab with a virtual YouTuber, right?’
In Japanese convenience stores, there are often collaborations with anime or virtual YouTubers on their products.
Seoyeon, already aware of this, had been thinking of getting plenty.
After visiting the store,
“Next time, I’ll handle all the talking.”
Sora gave her that advice.
‘Japanese is difficult.’
Seoyeon had merely said exactly what she heard in Japanese anime.
She only adjusted her tone a bit when Nanjou PD mentioned, “Seoyeon-ssi talks like a gal high schooler.”
‘Calling someone ‘Key-sama’ wasn’t well-received.’
Seoyeon had intended to say, “Excuse me, Lady.”
Then why isn’t calling a woman ‘woman’ acceptable?
Seoyeon was genuinely confused.
At any rate,
As Seoyeon’s Japanese tour continued,
On the next day at 6 PM,
Seoyeon’s first Japanese variety show aired.
