Chapter 192

“Will the filming be in Hakone?”

Seoyeon looked thrilled.

This was her first time in Japan.

Her first time abroad!

Thus, her happiness was evidently brighter than usual.

‘I… Seoyeon, haven’t you already been overseas?’

Of course, Manager Eun-ha didn’t want to dampen Seoyeon’s mood.

However, had she forgotten about *Desert Survival*?

Or, perhaps Papua New Guinea wasn’t counted as overseas?

Then again, maybe it was the concept of traveling that made this trip unique for her. This was, in fact, the first time for her to combine work with leisure.

“It seems the production team has arranged for us to stay at a guesthouse for a day.”

“Yes, it looks like the filming will be done there too.”

Narumi Sora muttered as she checked the schedule.

Manager Park Eun-ha responded with a slightly odd look on her face.

Seoyeon seemed oblivious, but Sora had definitely picked up on it.

In the end, dodging and hiding only seemed to hone the skill of reading others’ moods.

‘Something’s up!’

Sora knew Japanese variety shows extremely well!

Being Japanese, how could she not?

In the past, aggressive Japanese plots were often used in Korea, but recently there wasn’t much adherence to traditional Japanese variety show methods.

But Japan had largely preserved its past variety show style.

A bit extreme.

No, not a bit — extremely so.

‘It’s not a late-night show, so it won’t be too extreme.’

Late-night variety often pushed boundaries and featured things that could even become controversial if filmed at an onsen.

However, judging by Manager Eun-ha’s reaction, it probably wasn’t going to be that extreme.

As Sora had guessed, Manager Eun-ha had learned that the filming would take place at a designated inn.

“Is it a hidden camera segment?”

“Yes! What do you think?”

Listening to the enthusiastic voice on the phone, Park Eun-ha hesitated.

Hidden-camera sketches from Japanese variety shows were often large-scale and had even featured Korean celebrities numerous times.

Not only actors like Seoyeon but also global idols had been part of such shows.

One advantage was that no special preparation was needed.

“Will it be a little teaser before the main broadcast?”

“Perhaps a special episode will be aired then.”

Following the enthusiastic words of PD Katsuo Nanjo, Park Eun-ha replied, understanding the situation.

Rejecting too much during Seoyeon’s first foreign filming could leave a poor impression.

The only issue was that Seoyeon couldn’t be told about the hidden camera.

‘Judging by the horror games I’ve seen…’

There were honestly worrying aspects, but not concerning Seoyeon directly, rather other complex factors.

“Ah, and there’s one thing I’d like to mention…”

Preparing for the unexpected, Park Eun-ha carefully instructed PD Katsuo Nanjo.

Listening to Park Eun-ha’s words, PD Nanjo looked a little perplexed.

“Huh? Was she denied?”

Asked by a colleague upon seeing PD Nanjo’s face, Katsuo shook his head.

It wasn’t rejection. In fact, it was rather easy to get approval.

Just that…

“Yes… She mentioned being careful with human actors. Apparently, using tools and devices would be better…”

It was definitely a strange request. It was essentially impossible to conduct a horror-themed hidden camera without involving people.

“You can use people, but maintain a certain distance…”

The somewhat ambiguous instruction from Park Eun-ha had its reasons.

Should there be any physical contact, it might leave Seoyeon with unnecessary violent impressions or prejudices.

Thus, she had to phrase it carefully.

“Ah, maybe it’s for image management?”

“That’s probably it. Didn’t I hear she’s never felt fear?”

Ah, so that was the concept…

Thought PD Katsuo. There were countless entertainers who operated on these kinds of quirky, multi-dimensional concepts.

Though, in reality, Seoyeon had straightforwardly declared that she had never experienced real fear.

Initially, PD Katsuo didn’t think anything of it, but after hearing the manager’s words, it sounded more like a concept.

“Hmm… But…”

“Wouldn’t you say that makes it even more appealing?”

“Right?”

In any case, at one hot spring inn in Hakone where Seoyeon would arrive, various preparations were in full swing, determined to shock the visiting Korean actress.

***

“…”

Seoyeon silently glanced around.

Since getting into the van at the airport, she had been in this state.

To put it simply, Seoyeon was extremely excited about her visit to Japan.

“Isn’t this your first time on a Japanese variety show? Aren’t you nervous?”

Sora subtly asked seeing Seoyeon’s expression.

Surprisingly, despite being paired with Seoyeon for this trip, this situation was making Sora quite uneasy.

Honestly, she had assumed there would be other celebrities.

She hadn’t expected this to be just her, Seoyeon, and the manager.

On Seoyeon’s part, however, she didn’t seem to have any such concerns.

‘This is a good chance to get close before our ‘Mine’ movie.’

And since Narumi Sora spoke the best Japanese among them, it was a great opportunity to familiarize herself.

Seo Hye-jo also spoke well, but unfortunately, she was busy with other things.

Thus, Seoyeon wanted to take this chance to befriend Narumi Sora.

‘This might lead to making a hundred friends, right?’

Her confidence had reached new heights lately.

Finally adapting perfectly to society was something she hadn’t been able to do in her previous life.

Seoyeon’s confidence was at an unprecedented peak.

“That’s fine. My variety shows have been getting good reactions so far.”

Seoyeon’s confident statement left Sora more anxious than ever.

“Have you ever watched Japanese variety shows?”

“Hmm… Not really…”

While she might have watched a lot of Japanese anime, she hadn’t seen much Japanese drama or movies.

Thus, naturally, she hadn’t seen any variety shows.

‘Does she know Japanese?’

Sora was genuinely curious.

Though it seemed Seoyeon was looking forward to this trip to Japan, it was hard to guess why, given she didn’t seem to consume Japanese media nor have connections with Japanese celebrities.

‘Should I ask? Can you speak Japanese?’

No, if she were good at it, they probably wouldn’t have brought her.

Still, just in case…

“By the way, do you know what to call other people in Japanese?”

Sora asked something basic to start.

She responded fairly smoothly with words like this and that.

A bit of a gal-like tone, but…

“Kisama.”

“No, no! You absolutely shouldn’t say that!”

“Okay?”

‘But they all say that in anime, right?’

Seoyeon nodded, trusting her.

After finishing her conversation with Sora,

Seoyeon turned to the car window, enjoying the Japanese scenery.

‘It feels just like what I saw in the anime.’

With such thoughts, they arrived at the inn in Hakone where today’s filming was supposed to happen.

It was already dark, as winter had set in and the sun had set quickly.

“Welcome.”

An elderly woman greeted Seoyeon and her companions upon arriving at the hot spring inn.

She had a placid expression, but her complexion seemed tired and somehow unsettling.

Sora felt a chill down her spine.

‘This must be it!’

Was it a hidden-camera segment?

Since they were told filming would take place at this inn today, it was practically confirmed.

Moreover, there were no Japanese crew members in sight despite the filming announcement, making it almost certain.

Should she say something? Looking at Seoyeon…

“Will we be staying here tonight?”

“That’s correct. Please follow me inside.”

“Alright.”

Seoyeon politely responded.

She showed no reaction to the unnerving appearance of the old woman.

Rather, her manager Park Eun-ha and Narumi Sora reacted much more strongly.

“Isn’t her expression kind of scary?”

“You shouldn’t say that. Living with such an expression must be hard.”

Is that not worse?

While Narumi Sora had such thoughts, Seoyeon seemed completely unfazed.

Then again, after saying that, Seoyeon seemed to realize something.

“When I think about it, this elderly woman speaks Korean very well. Korean tourists must visit frequently.”

Seoyeon looked up at the entrance of the inn they had arrived at. It was about three stories tall.

The size was considerable, and being made of wood, it looked worn out and slightly eerie.

The old woman was strange, but it was no big deal.

‘Hmm…’

It suddenly felt eerie too, which made Seoyeon question.

‘Could they have deliberately chosen this place?’

She didn’t think much about the elderly woman aside from noticing she didn’t look too healthy.

But seeing the reactions around her, even Seoyeon started to pick up on it.

Seoyeon’s ability to transmit emotions was just as potent the other way around.

‘Nah, in reality, it must be different.’

In games, all she could do was scream, but this was reality!

With that thought in mind, she confidently walked into the inn.

***

“Dinner is here.”

The interior, in contrast to its aged exterior, was decent.

The meal was excellent.

It was called kaiseki, wasn’t it? A course meal style that thoroughly satisfied Seoyeon.

“There are a few things I’d like to ask you to keep in mind.”

While enjoying her food, the innkeeper said.

“Please do not panic if there’s a sudden blackout after 10 PM.”

“If there is a bit of noise coming from the room at the end of the corridor, please do not go out into the hallway.”

“If you wish to use the hot springs, please use it in the morning. We recommend not using it after 10 PM.”

“If you do come out into the corridor, for any reason, please go directly to the room at the opposite end.”

While eating, Seoyeon tilted her head, not understanding completely.

Her comprehension of Korean here was limited and somewhat confusing.

However, the halting speech of the innkeeper was eerie enough to make Park Eun-ha and Sora uneasy.

‘Issues with the old inn, I guess.’

Seoyeon simply thought that.

Unaccustomed to horror games or horror movies, Seoyeon didn’t perceive the underlying ominous feeling in the innkeeper’s words.

‘When will the filming be then? Tomorrow?’

She found that more interesting.

But seeing no staff around, she simply thought it might just happen later.

“We should probably be careful moving around at night. It looks like we’re alone here.”

Sora, frightened, said to Seoyeon.

“There are other people at the inn, right?”

Looking around briefly, Seoyeon replied.

There were quite a few noticeable presences.

‘Are they ninjas?’

The positions were vague, which was strange.

Of course, her reaction led to Narumi Sora’s thoughts.

‘What? That’s even more terrifying.’

What was she looking at?

Anyway, after finishing their dinner and wrapping up at the in-house shower,

“Eun-ha?”

Park Eun-ha called out to Seoyeon.

Seoyeon, idling around playing a game, looked up at the sound of her name.

“Want to try the hot spring?”

“The hot spring?”

At Park Eun-ha’s question, Seoyeon tilted her head in thought.

“Didn’t they say not to go?”

“It’s still before 10 PM.”

“That’s true. Let’s go.”

Seoyeon got up coolly.

This easily?

Park Eun-ha gave an awkward smile and sighed inwardly; it was all for the broadcast.

“Sora, you should come too.”

Park Eun-ha hinted.

Sora, who was about to apply a face mask, made an annoyed face upon hearing this.

‘Here it comes.’

But it wasn’t supposed to show.

Sora nodded and went along quietly.

“Which way is the hot spring?”

“Go out from the central part of the third floor, and it should be there.”

“Is the hot spring on the third floor?”

“Maybe it’s an artificial hot spring?”

Eh? Seoyeon didn’t think too much about it.

While heading out into the hallway, the corridor was still well-lit.

“Nothing out of the ordinary.”

As she said this and walked to the middle of the hallway, the lights suddenly went out.

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