NOVEL WEB Chapter 356
Chapter 356. Coming Soon! (4)
*Thud―*
A loud sound echoed as a hand struck the wall. Someone let out a small gasp from somewhere, but the person who extended their arm remained firmly composed.
– “Listen up.”
Amidst the fresh cherry blossom CG filling the screen, the protagonist of the *wall slam* raised his head. With a gaze that was both chilling and rebellious, he stared intensely at the other person.
– “I, the number one ranked in the world, declare this now.”
– “From now on… the true number one is you, Han Sti.”
Suddenly, strange muttering filled the air like background sound effects.
– “Seriously, what kind of half-baked concept is ‘Han Sti’? It’s not even like some cheesy female lead fanfic with ‘Kim.'”
– “I asked the PD earlier, and he said he just had a gut feeling the female lead should have the surname Han.”
– “But isn’t the national rule that the surnames should be Kim, Lee, or Park?”
– “Huh, this is deep. In web novels, Kim, Lee, and Park are just the friends of the male lead, the female lead, the teacher, or the initial minor antagonist that picks on the female lead. Is this surname discrimination?”
– “…I don’t understand a single word of what you’re saying.”
– “I told you, don’t try to understand. You won’t get it anyway.”
Unable to withstand the local radio-like commentary, Taehyun’s expression collapsed as he yelled in frustration. The four people sitting against the wall, watching Seo Taehyun’s world verification mission unfold, all started looking elsewhere at the same time, avoiding his gaze.
It was infuriating how they sat there in perfect age order—Jung Siwoo, Lee Doha, Kang Hajin, and Lee Yugeon—chattering like unemployed bums.
Hearing this, the unhelpful crew (from Taehyun’s perspective) took the opportunity to spill out their thoughts, jumping in as though they had been waiting for this exact moment.
<↑↑ Big brother #1 excited to tease his younger brother ↑↑>
<↑↑ Big brother who can’t even hide his excitement to tease ↑↑>
<↑↑ Big brother who’s blind to anything but hints ↑↑>
<↑↑ Friend who’s just enjoying his friend’s misery ↑↑>
*Cherry Flavored Lip Balm* was driven to madness by his carefree teammates.
*(Skull Emoji)*
Taehyun, clearly thinking *”I can’t believe these guys are my hyungs,”* pressed his temples in frustration. Though he grumbled about how they were never helpful, knowing that time was running out, he took a deep breath and composed himself once again.
He slammed his hand against the wall again―thud―!
This time too, it looked quite painful, but Taehyun gritted his teeth and continued his lines.
– “I, the number one ranked in the world, declare this now.”
– “From now on… the true number one is you, Han Sti.”
– “Because the only woman in the world to conquer the number one ranked… is none other than you.”
Despite struggling to maintain his male lead expression, Taehyun’s face contorted awkwardly at the word *”conquer,”* and he eventually burst out laughing, collapsing onto the ground.
Falling into self-loathing, Taehyun tried to crawl out of the mission room, but the spectators lounging against the wall leisurely strolled over, grabbed him, and sat him back in front of the mission area.
With Taehyun thrashing around, the scene cut with a *click* sound effect and the CG of a clapperboard appeared.
When the clapperboard CG disappeared, it showed Hajin and Yugeon taking the stage, with Yugeon supporting Hajin, who looked like he was on the verge of collapse.
Following this caption, a melancholic, traditional Korean music track began to play. The video quality was cropped to an old-fashioned 4:3 ratio, with sepia tones, making it feel like an actual nostalgic melodrama from the past.
With the heartbreaking sound of the *gayageum* playing, Hajin, looking half-dead, weakly raised his hand in Yugeon’s arms.
Of course, that tender eye contact didn’t even last three seconds.
– “…This is ridiculous.”
– “Nah, we can’t do this. No way.”
– “Those guys are seriously…!”
– “Taehyun, hold on! It’s our show!”
With Hajin and Yugeon unable to even get a word out before calling it quits, the camera cut to Taehyun fuming from a distance.
Next up was Doha’s turn in front of the camera.
– …
– ….
– ……
– ……….
After standing in front of the camera for what felt like an eternity, Doha suddenly turned around and asked.
In the end, the last hope lay with the official *Kairos wild card,* Jung Siwoo.
– “Please, please, please, hyung, I’m begging you. We’re almost at the end of the first turn. You’re our only hope!”
With everyone’s eyes on him, Jung Siwoo calmly picked out a dialogue card. He scanned the boxes that were assigned to each capsule, then casually chose one from the middle box.
<‘The Four Kings of Terror’>
It was quite an unexpected choice, but it seemed like he was trying to eliminate the roles furthest from his image first. After reading the dialogue card carefully without showing it to anyone, Siwoo placed the card down with a peculiar expression.
– “What is it, hyung? Show us too.”
– “Hey, be quiet! He’s trying to focus.”
– “No, this isn’t something you can ‘focus’ on. The moment I see my face on the monitor, the existential crisis hits hard.”
Ignoring the chatter from the peanut gallery, Siwoo, unlike his younger brothers, took his position further from the camera near the door.
Even though all he did was stand in front of the door, his unreal visuals made the scene somehow convincing. A shot of Hajin openly admiring the sight was left uncut.
– “I’m starting now.”
The moment Siwoo gave the start signal, his eyes changed. He deliberately switched to the kind of expression he would use in a music video, slowly running his hand through his bangs as he approached the camera.
– “Was it you?”
– “…The bastard who made my wife cry.”
As soon as the overly cliché dialogue slipped out of his mouth, the audience’s reactions exploded in real time.
– “Aaaaaagh!!!! Aaaaagh!!!! Aaaaaghhh!!!!”
– “Ugh, I’m too nauseous. I can’t stay here anymore.”
– “Are we really okay with this? Is this really what we’re doing? Is this what *Destis* want? Are we sure?”
– “…Siwoo hyung is good at acting. Yep. Very… good at it…”
Even Jung Siwoo, flustered by the dynamic reactions of the crowd, took a moment to calm himself by avoiding the camera lens. His figure leaning against the wall looked particularly worn out.
♩♪♩♬♫♪♩―
And at that very moment, the bell signaling the end of the first turn rang throughout
the broadcast.
As the three of them chatted, Siwoo, having just overcome the existential crisis, patiently waited for the results of his world verification. Yugeon, who had been sitting nearby, slowly stood up and walked toward Siwoo. Even though he pretended not to care, it was clear he was curious about Siwoo’s result.
Soon, a result slip slid out from the bottom of the camera stand.
Yugeon and Siwoo’s shocked faces were zoomed in on. Siwoo, who was usually hard to surprise, blinked in genuine confusion as he flipped the result slip back and forth, trying to make sense of it.
Seeing their reaction, Hajin asked. Siwoo turned around with a bewildered expression and nodded.
Everyone’s attention turned to Siwoo. Even Siwoo himself blinked, unsure of how to react to the result.
After staring at the slip for a while, Yugeon, with the innocent curiosity of a novice, asked Siwoo.
Despite having gained a crucial hint, Siwoo’s face remained conflicted as he ran his hand over his tired face.
* * *
Shortly after, the second turn of partner matching began.
Now that the first turn was over, it seemed everyone had developed their own strategies.
Although what hints and extra information they had gained remained unclear, as soon as the signal for the matching started, everyone bolted off to various parts of the set.
Meanwhile, a scene caught Yugeon, who hadn’t had much screentime except for stopping Taehyun during the first turn, grabbing someone by the arm. The member who turned around was none other than Siwoo.
Though surprised that Yugeon had approached him, Siwoo didn’t show it and asked casually. Yugeon pointed at the capsule in the center of the set and spoke.
At Siwoo’s question, Yugeon hesitated for a moment before pulling something out of his pocket.
It was a hint card identical to the one Hajin and Siwoo had received, as well as a paper they hadn’t seen before.
<‘Joo Eunchan’s role is ranked second.’>
The hint card revealed Joo Eunchan’s role, and on the other piece of paper―
<★Virtual Casting Board★>
<‘Not Carol’ MV screenshot of Yugeon.jpg>
Yugeon revealed some powerful information that could shift the entire dynamic.