The semifinals and finals of Hyper Action Star were all that remained, and most people had already formed a solid idea of who the final winner would be.

• Honestly, it looks like Ju Seoyeon is going to win.
• It's more of a battle for second place.
• I heard that if you place in the top three, you'll get casting offers?
• Yep, and if you're interested, you can join.
• Do we know what roles they're offering?
• Nope, not yet.

 

GH Group had mentioned that they were still discussing the details with the director, but no definitive answers had been given. This meant that even if you appeared in the final project, it might not be a very significant role.

However, if your ranking was high or you made a big impact, you couldn’t help but gain some influence. For a rookie action actor, just having the possibility of a role was enough to be valuable.

Especially for one person.

‘I have to win the lead role.’

Narumi Sora, the actress who had come from Japan, was determined. People were talking about the battle for second place.

There were many who agreed with that sentiment, and Sora could somewhat understand why.

She had been shocked when watching the auditions in Group A, especially by Ju Seoyeon.

The performance she had shown left a huge impact on Sora. It wasn’t just the acting—though Ju Seoyeon's acting skills were extraordinary for someone her age—it was her action scenes that really shook her.

‘Is she really dodging those paintballs?’

Dodging or blocking them, she handled both with astonishing ease. She could even avoid them just by listening to the sound.

To be honest, Sora had initially thought it might have been staged. But when she remembered her own experience, it didn’t seem like there had been any manipulation, so it must have been Seoyeon’s own skill.

‘Still.’

Even so, Sora didn’t want to lose. This time, she planned to show off her own secret weapon.

In her pre-match interview, Sora expressed her determination.

"I’m going to win."

Naturally, her confident declaration garnered quite a bit of attention in the online communities.

• She just straight-up declared victory in the interview!
• Not even "I think I can win," but "I will win"? Dang.
• Who is Narumi Sora, though? I only watched Group A.
• She's the dark horse from Group D, and she moves really well.
• I heard she learned action stunts on her own while doing events in Japan.
• She's also a fan of old Hong Kong movies.
• Hong Kong movies? That’s so old-school.

 

Narumi Sora’s cute appearance led many people to dismiss her bold statements as adorable. After all, compared to the rest of the cast, she was the only one with a somewhat soft appearance.

• Is she a hamster trapped among gangsters?

 

That was a common comment. But Sora didn’t mind.

The semifinals and finals would be one-on-one duels.

A series of sequences set in a dilapidated building. Everything would be evaluated, and the results would be decided solely by audience votes.

Votes, not scores.

As Sora checked her props, she felt a chill from the intense gaze Seoyeon had fixed on her.

‘Why is she staring at me like that?’

Could it be that Seoyeon was aware of her as a competitor? It made sense.

The other two semifinalists had already faced Seoyeon before and were familiar with her skills. Since Sora was the only one who hadn’t directly competed with her yet, it was natural for Seoyeon to be wary.

Meanwhile, Seoyeon was thinking...

‘I’ll have to ask her if she watches VTubers later.’

She made a mental note to ask Sora once the filming was over.

The matchups for the semifinals were as follows:

Jo Seohui vs. Ju Seoyeon. Min Doha vs. Narumi Sora.

It was a fairly balanced setup. After all, based on previous performances, Jo Seohui had already beaten Ju Seoyeon.

Min Doha and Sora both had superpowers that enhanced physical abilities. One specialized in firearms, the other in physical augmentation.

Since their powers were relatively simple, the match would come down to pure skill. However, the results were quite underwhelming.

In the one-on-one matchups, no matter what Jo Seohui did, she couldn’t defeat Seoyeon. And though Min Doha put up a good fight, she was easily overpowered by Narumi Sora.

Even though this was supposed to be an action performance, where it wasn’t strictly necessary to determine a winner, the outcome was clear.

• She used every prop in the building and still lost.
• Honestly, how could Jo Seohui ever beat Ju Seoyeon?
• But how is Jo Seohui so tough?
• She’s surprisingly resilient...

 

Despite Jo Seohui’s loss, her efforts became a topic of conversation. She had prepared thoroughly, using every possible prop and trap in the dilapidated building during the preparation time.

The rules were simple. If you were hit by a paintball or sustained what could be considered a major injury, you were declared “dead,” and could no longer perform, thus losing the match.

Jo Seohui had made full use of this rule. However...

「…….」

As the preparation time ended, Seoyeon, who had been warming up, immediately moved upstairs to chase after Jo Seohui. The moment she stepped forward, she felt something catch her foot, like a string.

It wasn’t enough to trip her, and she easily snapped it. At the same time, paintballs flew from both sides, which she dodged effortlessly by ducking.

• ?
• How did she dodge that?

 

That was only the beginning. Jo Seohui had worked hard on her traps.

Bullets flew at her from all directions, but Seoyeon either dodged or destroyed them by throwing a nearby foam ball. Water poured down on her, and paintball grenades exploded around her, but she dodged everything.

Seoyeon broke through every trap, staying within the allowed range for injuries, and eventually cornered Jo Seohui.

• This is the badass action star we were looking for!
• LOL this is what makes sense.
• But seriously, how could Jo Seohui ever beat Ju Seoyeon???
• Only if they had the same mom.
• ??? Are you saying Jo Seohui and Ju Seoyeon have the same mom?

 

The result was predictable. No one had thought Jo Seohui stood a chance against Seoyeon.

"Still, both performances had plenty to show."

"We didn’t see much acting this round, but we saw plenty in the earlier rounds, so I think the focus was on action here."

Cha Mingyu, one of the actors who had been watching the semifinals, gave that assessment, and the MC, announcer Yoon Kyung-deok, nodded in agreement.

If the Seoyeon vs. Jo Seohui match had been focused on action, then the Min Doha vs. Narumi Sora match leaned more heavily on acting.

In terms of action, Min Doha’s performance was fairly weak. She lost easily to Sora.

• But Min Doha did well with her shooting, didn’t she?
• Yeah, but in close combat, she was no match.
• Are we going to hear that supercar scream again?
• That only happens when she fights Ju Seoyeon, lol.

 

Min Doha was definitely a skilled marksman. After all, she wouldn’t have made it to the semifinals without some level of ability, even if luck played a big role.

She used plenty of props and her shooting skills were impressive, but Sora’s agility allowed her to close the distance and take Min Doha down.

• Did Narumi Sora dodge paintballs too???
• No, she figured out a strategy for dealing with them.
• She just moves as soon as she sees the gun pointed at her.
• That’s still pretty impressive, isn’t it?

 

The semifinals revealed Narumi Sora’s action potential, solidifying her as a dark horse. The public’s interest in the final match between Seoyeon and Sora began to grow.

It would be their first direct confrontation.

[Hyper Action Star surpasses 8% viewership!] [Can the finals hit 10%? Hyper Action Star’s action stars shake up the industry.]

Articles began to surface around that time, and the general public started to take more notice, beyond just the online communities.

“She’s got something about her.”

Jo Seohui, who had been knocked out of the semifinals after being pummeled by Seoyeon, made that remark. Though she had lost, Jo Seohui didn’t mind.

She had never expected to win with her action skills anyway. She wasn’t the type to excel in physical roles.

Honestly, if it hadn’t been for Seoyeon, she would have been eliminated in the preliminaries. For Jo Seohui, the real value lay in getting to act alongside Seoyeon before their upcoming project, Gyeongseong Lady.

“The finals will be fought in a much smaller space than the semifinals, so individual action skills will be more important.”

Seoyeon nodded in agreement.

She had watched Sora and Min Doha’s match, but there were still many things she didn’t know about Sora.

More importantly, Sora’s movements were sharp, indicating she wasn’t just an ordinary actress.

“It’s surprising she was relatively unknown. I still don’t understand why she didn’t stay in Japan.”

Jo Seohui muttered and glanced at Seoyeon.

"Oh, and Gyeongseong Lady is moving forward soon. The script is still being worked on."

"It’s not finished? Jiyeon said she saw it."

"The writer decided to make some revisions. You’ll probably get the script after the audition is over. You can decide about the role once you’ve seen it."

Seoyeon was quite positive about appearing in Gyeongseong Lady, but she was a little worried about her schedule.

‘Next year’s going to be really busy.’

There was a high chance she’d be juggling three projects simultaneously.

Gyeongseong Lady. If she won the final, she would take the lead in Mine as well.

And right after that, there would be an audition for Director Jo Bang-woo’s upcoming film.

‘For now, Haneul Garden is the priority.’

With the drama schedule still ongoing, it seemed like things could get even busier. Without her strong physical endurance, Seoyeon would have struggled to handle it all.

"And… you’re going to be on that variety show next month, right?"

"Ah, yes."

"I’ll make sure to watch."

Jo Seohui laughed and said with a smirk.

Even though they had only spent a short time together on Hyper Action Star, Seohui had gained a deep respect for Seoyeon’s acting skills.

Next time, she hoped they could work together in a non-action project. That’s why Gyeongseong Lady was so important.

‘I’ll have to push the writer to finish the script.’

If the script wasn’t up to standard, Seoyeon might turn down the role.

‘But.’

Seohui hesitated, glancing at Seoyeon. There was something she wanted to ask, but after betraying Seoyeon so many times in the show, she felt too guilty to bring it up.

‘Why does she always speak so formally to me?’

We’re the same age.

Jo Seohui felt a little hurt.

Seoyeon’s days flew by. How could they not? She had so much to do.

Filming for Haneul Garden. Preparing for the fan meeting that Cha Nahyi had mentioned.

That alone filled her week.

At least Hyper Action Star would end this week.

‘Though, being an audition, it feels like it’s just beginning.’

It wasn’t as if Seoyeon thought she was guaranteed to win the final.

She recalled her opponent in the final, Narumi Sora.

Sora had only started to stand out in the semifinals, but her acting and action skills were undoubtedly genuine.

Though Sora was a Japanese actress, her acting style was reminiscent of Korean cinema.

‘But if she’s a fan of Hong Kong movies, why did she come to Korea?’

That part puzzled Seoyeon, but she didn’t care too much.

She just had a lot of things she wanted to ask Sora later.

And so, the final of Hyper Action Star arrived.

"At last, the day has come! Today, we will crown the winner of Hyper Action Star!"

The finals were hosted by announcer Yoon Kyung-deok, who had gained popularity in recent weeks, just like in the semifinals.

There were even more spectators this time. The tickets for the finals had sold out in just ten minutes.

Among the audience were Kang Taejin, director of GH Group’s cultural affairs division, and Han Yegun, the director slated for Mine.

The two of them were watching the final stage.

"Who do you think will win?"

"Well."

Han Yegun assessed everything he had seen so far objectively.

"It will be Ju Seoyeon."

"I think so too."

"Which makes me wonder if the final will even be meaningful."

Han Yegun muttered as he watched the stage.

A screen had been set up to show highlights of both finalists’ performances so far.

The lead role in the GH Group-backed movie was a juicy prize.

‘But it’s not a guaranteed success.’

Strictly speaking, it was a high probability of success.

A lot of investment. Significant marketing efforts and a large budget for filming.

With GH Group footing the bill for everything, the movie had a higher chance of success than most.

That’s how audition programs usually go.

It feels like winning is the end, but in reality, it’s just the beginning.

That’s why, when Han Yegun had first heard about the audition, he hadn’t been particularly interested.

"…But. If someone shows something special here, things might change."

"Are you rooting for anyone in particular?"

"Both of them. If they don’t both give it their all, this won’t be satisfying. Honestly, I was hoping Han Soyu would make it to the finals."

"But she lost to Narumi Sora in the round of 16."

"So, I’m hoping she lives up to expectations."

Otherwise, it would be a very boring final.