Sua.
No matter how many times they looked, the person in front of them was undoubtedly Sua.
“….”
The three members of the Sua chatroom were in a state of staring at the screen in front of them as if time had stopped. Of course, their thoughts were different.
It was as if their minds had been completely flipped upside down into chaos.
First, the black bear with his hair cut short.
‘…Is this a hidden camera prank for enlistment? Am I being fooled?’
Next to him, Saeng-ji Kim Sun-a’s expression had grown slightly serious.
‘I knew deepfake crimes were rampant, but it hits differently when it’s a friend. Although, this is strange. It’s almost as if it’s better made than the original…’
Finally, Monkeying, who had finally lived up to their nickname.
‘Shit? Shitshit! Shit? Shit…? Shit!’
Due to their immersion in the community, curses were the first thing out of their mouth.
Reaching the level of expressing all emotions solely through curses.
「Calm your inner self. That is the way of the swordsman. One must wield the heart before the sword.」
Even though Wi Ji-hye had said to steady their minds,
the three were instead losing their sanity. It wouldn’t be odd if they fainted right away because, right now, the world was definitely out of whack.
It’s not that they disliked Sua at all.
It’s just that it was too far from common sense.
Like seeing the sun hanging at night?
Or the feeling of water flowing from the ground to the sky?
Or like if Gremium Bell invented the telephone and already had 100 missed calls? It’s ridiculous, right?
「…Hmph.」
Yet, Wi Ji-hye’s single smile was enough.
‘What are you smiling about!’
‘Wow, Sua. Shit, no, shit… Sua…’
‘….’
The three felt their mental states collapsing. When common sense crumbles, it cannot help but be a great shock to humans.
Meanwhile, Sua wasn’t looking at the screen.
Movies? Nah, they already saw it with the editing team.
It’s much more fun watching the reactions of the people in the front row!
Thus, at that moment, Sua was more focused on:
‘…Hey, did I expect that reaction from you guys?’
It was like watching Arctic foxes shaking their heads and writhing after being hit hard.
It was exhilarating. The fact that friends were making such stunned expressions, and that she was the cause of it.
‘It’s really too funny, but I guess they don’t realize it?’
Though the friends had always acted flawlessly in front of her, they now looked incredibly foolish. Watching them widen their eyes or stretch their necks out gave her immense satisfaction.
‘Hehe. Stupid, such fools.’
[ Usually ]
[ Friends ]
[ Have thoughts like these ]
Sua quietly turned off the special menu. Noticed.
Then, whispers from the front row reached her ears.
“…This is just unbelievable.”
The black bear with the short-hairdo vigorously shook his head.
“That’s Sua?”
“It’s Sua. Definitely Sua.”
“No, what the hell…”
Around that time, Saeng-ji joined the conversation relatively seriously.
“I’ll report this.”
“…What are you talking about?”
After a pause, the three turned their eyes back to the screen.
Continuing to chatter would obviously bother others, and suddenly rushing out would also violate movie-watching etiquette.
Still, their conversation had its own merit. They finally realized that Wi Ji-hye was truly Sua.
“…”
After that, the three continued to deny reality.
「It was said, ‘The net of Heaven is vast, but not a single thing is missed’.」
(Ancient saying: 天綱恢恢 疏而不失)
What? Yeah!
The fact that Sua could deliver such lines was absurd!
‘Are you serious, Sua? You, the one who confuses “상부상조” with “삼부삼조”, saying lines like that?’
‘…How did you memorize a twelve-word line?’
‘Sua, do you even know the meaning of what you’re saying?’
They had a deep connection with Sua and cared for her deeply.
Every time Sua made illogical typos in chats, they corrected her, so the shock they felt was all the more intense.
Why has your intelligence increased?
“…”
But it’s often said that there’s no greater medicine than time.
Moreover, humans are, after all, creatures of adaptation.
“…”
Surprisingly, the three were gradually accepting the fact that Sua was on the screen. Thus, their thoughts started to change subtly.
From “why is Sua here?” to “to what extent has Sua succeeded?”
However.
“?”
They faced another shock.
Until now, the only one who had appeared on the screen was Wi Ji-hye—Sua. The substantial amount of dialogue given to Sua was clear in its implications. In fact, Sua was the main character.
“…”
As the shocks piled up each second, they still decided to wait for the movie to end. After all, compared to usual films, the runtime was much shorter, so they would wait until the end.
「Right. I am indeed the best under heaven.」
“What is this?”
“What madness…”
“What the hell…”
The three were about to stand up simultaneously.
In that moment, it felt like electricity was coursing through the chairs.
No, they knew. Even though the scene was clearly important, it was just too hard to accept. The world where Sua was number one under heaven was absolutely unacceptable. That couldn’t happen.
It wasn’t a matter of liking or disliking it.
A world where Sua was number one simply shouldn’t exist.
A world where Sua was number one would inevitably be disastrous. It would fail.
Or was it a world that had already collapsed where Sua was number one?
Still,
“…”
The three looked around to see if there was any way out, but it was impossible. They were stuck in the middle, so they couldn’t navigate through the other spectators’ knees.
With a sigh, they exchanged glances.
There was no choice. They would watch until the end.
“Haaaa…”
As the black bear crossed his arms and closed his eyes, Monkeying immediately extended a finger to forcefully reopen his eyelids. This was her way of saying it would be unfair for her to watch alone and implying that he should too.
“You crazy bitch, what are you doing?”
“You watch too. Watch Sua carefully.”
By then, Sua was swinging a sword alone.
Engaging in dialogues with a woman’s voice narrating in the background.
「Master, what is strength?」
The identity of the one who asked the question was still unseen. Sua remained still, silently swinging her sword as a response.
「It is about not compromising.」
「If so, what am I to do, having compromised already?」
「Even a misstepped path is still a path.」
「Do you mean I should continue on it?」
「Both the path and the answer are already within you.」
“The Sword” was a serene fusion historical drama but was tastefully philosophical in its implications.
It was more than just reading lines. As visible media, one could see Sua drawing crisp sword trails as the dialogue progressed.
At first, her movements were stiff, but gradually became softer.
And eventually, when the stunts became impossible to imitate, the three had passed through the unpleasant valley and found themselves atop the delightful mountain, now starting to marvel.
“Wait, why is she actually good?”
“But it’s subtly impressive.”
“Is this the power of current AI technology?”
Among the three whose hearts were gradually softening, the person who was especially shocked was Monkeying.
“Her expressions are strange, memorizing lines is strange, but her movements are the strangest. How did she do it..?”
Monkeying was a community addict.
Therefore, during the height of “dance challenges,” she naturally suggested they try it together with Sua. The process was simple: just follow a short dance routine with some music.
How was her dancing back then?
…Like a roach hit with insecticide?
But the movements she saw now, why were they so precise and fluid? Her brain was about to overload and explode.
However,
When humans face inexplicable phenomena, they inevitably try to understand. Monkeying was no exception. Several clues quickly popped into her mind.
First, the fact that she hadn’t played games recently.
“Suddenly quitting all games?”
Sua had always played games, even during her days of being bogged down with part-time jobs. In fact, she played more and became a recluse during part-time work; relieving her stress.
“…This time, did she make an immense effort? Without any time for gaming?”
Now that she thought about it, Sua had mentioned being busy and tired recently. Could she have been practicing alone in solitude?
“No, no, that makes no sense.”
Still, it was something that truly defied common sense.
“To someone who doesn’t even understand that the Earth is round, how could she act like this? How could she survive in such a brutal industry?”
Still, Monkeying eventually had to accept.
No one knew exactly what Sua had done during this blank period. But the Sua currently on screen was undoubtedly excellent. In fact, she was nearly perfect.
Of course, Sua was still observing the three.
Praise! Applaud! Be further amazed!
“Yup yup, I like your reactions.”
Yet soon Sua’s heart began to pound heavily.
“…Why are they focusing on me? Now I’m nervous.”
The three had started to fully immerse themselves in “The Sword.” Consequently, the situation had reversed. Now, Sua was nervous.
“Hm, well, now it’s established that I’m an actor.”
She had pondered how to let them know, but this was interesting enough. Upon reflection, broadcasting Special Mobile Unit 808 wouldn’t immediately reveal her identity. They would probably know her as “Lee Su-an.”
Sua scratched her cheek.
“It’s kinda hard to explain how I practiced…”
After all, one couldn’t explain about special abilities, right?
But there was definitely an answer.
─Senior, don’t worry. I’m here, you know.
─…This guy’s dangerous. Let me give advice too.
Sua had two incredible weapons in her mind. Yes, two would give advice. She could rely on Han Su-a and Ji-hye Su-a without any worries.
“Now that I’ve seen my friends’ reactions…”
Sua finally perked up her ears to hear other responses.
Only now did she realize it, but the people in this room who were affected weren’t just her friends. Even random spectators with no connection to her were whispering quite a bit.
“Hey, didn’t you say you’d go to the bathroom?”
“…Let’s wait a little longer. It’s more interesting than expected.”
To Sua, these were reactions that could only make her excited and proud. With a little courage, she looked more broadly and saw that everyone was staring at the screen intently.
It was only natural for them. Even short films didn’t usually get high expectations, but “The Sword” had delivered more than that.
Swoosh…
Sua soon tapped into the perceptive senses of Kim Yu-han.
“Not bad. The structure’s pretty good.”
“Nice sword dance. Very elegant.”
“I liked the philosophical discussion on the art of the sword. Every move had meaning.”
“Pretty actress. I’ll check her profile after it’s over.”
“…But she’s kinda scary, isn’t she?”
She heard it; praise being lavished on Arctic Fox.
Right then,
「Then Master,」
And finally, the previously unseen disciple who had only provided narration made an appearance.
「I am still on this path alone.」
“…!”
The eyes of everyone, including her three friends, widened.
“What? Who’s this in the short film?”
“Seo Yeon-joo? Seo Yeon-joo? Seo Yeon-joo…?”
The friends began to feel dizzy. After all, who would believe a Seo Yeon-joo from the screen addressing Sua as “Master”? It was insane!
The audience was equally shocked, causing a temporary silence in the space. This was when everyone fully immersed themselves.
At the same moment,
The phones of the Sua chatroom members began glowing one by one.
It was due to notifications in the group chat.
Someone was spamming the chat relentlessly.
[Deer: @Sua]
[Deer: @Sua]
[Deer: @Sua]
[Deer: @Sua]
[Deer: @Sua]
Yes, someone was currently the most excited.
