The audition program Hyper Action Star created a much bigger stir than anyone had anticipated. While the outlandish action sequences Seoyeon pulled off were part of the reason, it was the last-minute twist by Jo Seohui that brought an extra layer of fresh excitement.

• "LOL, Jo Seohui betrayed her at the end!"
• "Weren’t they friends?"
• "Survival comes first before friendship, doesn’t it?"

Reading these online reactions, Jo Seohui couldn’t help but feel reassured in her decision. The majority of online communities were buzzing with positive feedback.

Though Seoyeon had shown her strength, there were some who thought, "Does this kind of domination even make sense for an audition?"

Seoyeon’s performance was so overwhelming that such a reaction was inevitable. However, with Jo Seohui's betrayal at the end, it was clear that Ju Seoyeon wasn’t invincible after all.

Even the show’s PD, Lee Kitae, personally praised Seohui.

“Seohui, that was amazing. The production team was blown away.”

In fact, Jo Seohui hadn’t planned on betraying Seoyeon. She was content to just give Seoyeon a little help along the way. After all, she wasn’t that committed to making it through the round herself. She just thought it would be fun to act alongside Seoyeon for a bit.

And honestly, their brief acting collaboration was enjoyable.

"But…"

Jo Seohui came to a realization. This was entertainment. If one person shone too brightly, it would surely lead to criticism—towards Hyper Action Star and, perhaps, even Seoyeon herself.

If Seoyeon’s dominance continued unchecked, viewership would likely drop since the show would start feeling too predictable. That’s why Jo Seohui decided to introduce a small crack in Seoyeon’s facade—to give her a more human touch.

Besides, it made the show more entertaining. So, no, Jo Seohui didn’t regret her betrayal.

Or at least, she didn’t think she did…

Jo Seohui: “Hey, Ju Seoyeon. Are you there?” Ju Seoyeon: (Read) Jo Seohui: “If you read this, could you reply…?” Ju Seoyeon: (Read) Jo Seohui: “Hello?” Ju Seoyeon: (Busy emoji)

Before filming Hyper Action Star, Seoyeon would have responded to Jo Seohui’s messages promptly. But after filming, her replies were sparse, mostly consisting of non-committal emojis.

That’s when Jo Seohui realized…

“She’s upset…”

It felt like all the rapport she had painstakingly built with Seoyeon had suddenly crumbled. Was she back to square one? Surely it wasn’t that bad… right?

Then again, Seohui wasn’t sure. She had never actually seen Seoyeon get angry before.

“Should I apologize?”

That would probably be the quickest solution. But would Seoyeon even accept her apology? In fact, Seohui worried that apologizing might even make things worse. Seoyeon was the type to understand why Seohui made the decision for the sake of the show, but she probably wouldn’t appreciate a simple “sorry.”

So instead of apologizing, she needed to find another way to make it up to her. But how?

Jo Seohui racked her brain.

Meanwhile, Lee Jiyeon, who had been watching the situation from a distance, couldn’t help but comment.

“Why do you keep waiting around like that?”

A luxurious imported car was parked in front of the school gate, drawing the attention of passing students. And standing in front of it was someone even more eye-catching.

“You’re here.”

The dignified way she spoke was almost laughable. Seohui had slightly shorter black hair than Seoyeon, pale skin, and a sharp beauty marked by a small mole under her eye.

Where Seoyeon’s striking appearance and impassive gaze made people feel intimidated, Jo Seohui’s sharp features and haughty aura exuded a different kind of dominance. She looked like someone straight out of a famous horror manga.

It wasn’t just her physical appearance—her whole presence made it hard for people to approach her.

"Is this about Ju Seoyeon?" "Um, well... kinda! You have good intuition."

Ji-yeon had watched Hyper Action Star and remembered the dramatic betrayal Seohui pulled on Seoyeon in the final moments. Plus, Seoyeon had vented to Jiyeon afterward, clearly upset about what happened.

“She’s not answering my messages…” “You’re messaging her?” “All I get are these ‘busy’ emojis.”

Seohui shuffled her feet anxiously. Had she not thought about the aftermath when she betrayed Seoyeon?

"Of course I did! That’s why I’m here, asking for your help to fix things!"

Ji-yeon recalled Seoyeon’s reaction after the show. She had been slightly peeved but hadn’t really seemed to hold a grudge.

Actually…

“I think the show got more popular because of your betrayal.” “Really?” “Yeah. When I watched the aired episode, I noticed that I had way more screen time than I expected.”

Seoyeon had said that with a sandwich in hand, casually recounting how much of the show’s footage had been focused on her.

Her bullet-dodging and flashy action scenes had been impressive, but nearly the entire episode had focused on her performances. Despite the fact that Hyper Action Star was meant to highlight a variety of different actresses, the spotlight remained firmly on Seoyeon.

Next to Seoyeon, Jiyeon had realized something important.

"Points… are bait."

The point system of the show had made contestants focus more on the shootout and less on their acting. That’s why, out of the twenty actresses, only a few had given standout performances.

Ju Seoyeon, Jo Seohui, Han Soyu, and Min Doha.

Seoyeon and Seohui, of course, had shone. Han Soyu had delivered a powerful telekinetic performance with Seoyeon, and Min Doha had portrayed an intense escape scene straight out of a thriller.

"…Was that even acting?"

At that moment, Seoyeon had seemed genuinely terrifying. Maybe it hadn’t been acting at all…

In any case, those four were now the most talked-about names on the internet.

"Are you listening to me?!" "I am listening." "You were clearly lost in thought!"

Seohui tugged at Jiyeon’s sleeve. They had moved to a nearby café to avoid drawing too much attention at school.

“Lower your voice.” “Okay…”

When Jiyeon shot her a sharp look, Seohui shrank back timidly.

“Is she one of those girls who just acts tough?” Jiyeon wondered. Despite Seohui’s intimidating appearance, she was far less forceful than she seemed. If anything, Jiyeon had the more imposing presence.

"Do you have any idea how I can smooth things over? Or maybe something Seoyeon likes?"

“Something she likes?”

Ji-yeon thought for a moment. There was one thing she knew Seoyeon was into—it always appeared on her YouTube playlist. And Jiyeon, who was deeply involved with it herself, knew exactly what it was.

“Seoyeon doesn’t have strong preferences, really…”

“She doesn’t?”

Seohui’s acting was solid, her character appealing, and Jiyeon could always help with content. But how could she actually make amends with Seoyeon?

“You really want to make it up to Ju Seoyeon?” “Of course!”

Honestly, Jiyeon hadn’t liked Seohui at first. There was still some lingering resentment from the time Seohui had called Seoyeon a "nepotism case." Though she’d softened a bit after seeing how desperate Seohui was now, she still felt a tiny urge to mess with her.

Besides, they were currently lacking in good content ideas.

“Jo Seohui.” “Yeah?” “Have you ever tried voice acting?”

At Jiyeon’s unexpected question, Seohui tilted her head, completely puzzled by the suggestion.

Meanwhile, while Jiyeon and Seohui were having their conversation, Seoyeon was incredibly busy.

She knew that Jo Seohui was constantly messaging her on KakaoTalk, but she just couldn’t find the time to respond properly. The messages always seemed to come in while she was working.

“This is Producer Han Pyo-yeol, who will be helping with Seoyeon’s OST project.” “Ah, nice to meet you.” “The pleasure’s all mine. I’ve been following your work closely, Seoyeon.”

Seoyeon nodded nervously. Acting and music were completely different worlds for her.

“You’ll be recording two songs for this project.”

Though it was only two songs, the number of people involved in the process was overwhelming. The team had already been handpicked by Producer Han Pyo-yeol, and the tracks were mostly finalized.

“You’ve already received the guide track, right? What did you think?” “Yes, I liked it. It had a… sentimental feel?” “Exactly! It’s a soft and emotional song, perfect for your image.”

"…"

Sentimental? Soft? Seoyeon took great pride in managing her image carefully.

"Isn’t that… not quite right for me?"

Seoyeon preferred to project a strong image. Think of characters like Cha Seoa or the powerful persona she had crafted in Hyper Action Star.

“Why do they keep photoshopping my face onto elephants and gorillas?”

Not that Seoyeon disliked elephants or gorillas—they were strong, after all. She even liked hippos because of how powerful they seemed. But still, having her face pasted onto an animal was a bit much.

One meme featured King Kong eating octopus, with Seoyeon’s face added to the body. And of course, Min Doha always appeared in the background, caught by King Kong's hand.

"To be fair, Min Doha… kind of deserves it."

Seoyeon sighed. At least her fans liked her strong, fiery image, even comparing her to iconic figures like Cha Seoa. She even saved some of these fan-made images in a special folder.

But poor Min Doha… she was stuck with the nickname “human musical instrument,” forever immortalized in internet memes.

At least Seoyeon’s image was more dignified. She nodded to herself, satisfied. Being a "fashionable gorilla" was far better than being a meme in an F1 racing video, with your screams dubbed over an engine roar.

Just as she was deep in thought, the producer spoke again.

“Oh, and we’ve got a special guest for this project—'Summer Girl' will be singing alongside you.” “Pardon?”

Summer Girl?

“Yeah, it’s probably because of Cha Nahyi. She performed a song in Dream Future too.” “Is she appearing in Heaven’s Garden too?” “Didn’t you know?”

Cha Nahyi, appearing in Heaven’s Garden?

"That wasn’t supposed to happen."

There had been an idol actress in Heaven’s Garden, but she had only sparked controversy due to her poor acting skills. If Cha Nahyi was joining the cast, she was likely taking that spot.

"I can guess why this happened."

It was most likely because of Cha Nahyi’s recent performance in Dream Future. In fact, Seoyeon had been cast in Heaven’s Garden because of her success in Dream Future. Since the script for both projects had been written by Min Sehee, it made sense that the director would want actors who had already worked well with the material.

Especially considering that Cha Nahyi had held her own alongside the likes of Park Jungwoo. It was no surprise that she had been cast in another youth drama like Heaven’s Garden.

"So Nahyi is working on the OST too."

Seoyeon felt a bit uneasy. She knew how Summer Girl typically treated Cha Nahyi.

“Well, we’re about to start recording. Are you ready?” “Yes, I’m good.”

With a nod to the producer, Seoyeon headed into the recording studio. There was one more thing she had to address in the near future—one last visit to Ho-yeon to set things straight.