My Favorite Has Started A Live Broadcast!

“Oh…”

I stared intently at Si-ha, who was cosplaying as Sledge—the character I had always wanted to portray. The quality of the Sledge costume was remarkable.

The thick clothing in a subtle shade of blue, the black bulletproof vest resembling those worn by any military unit, and the gas mask that covered most of the face were all incredibly realistic.

If I hadn’t come here with Yoon Gae, I wouldn’t have recognized that it was Si-ha.

“…Hmm…? Wait a second…?”

I was solely focused on the costume when I felt something strange.

The feeling was vaguely familiar yet awkward, so I stepped back a little and looked at Si-ha again. That’s when I realized what was off.

“…There’s… hair?”

Sledge’s identity, of course, was defined by his hammer—able to smash through barricades, doors, windows, floors, and anything destructible.

However, even more definitive of Sledge’s character was his bald head.

Sledge had a shiny scalp, required no shampoo, and not a single hair above his eyebrows. But Si-ha’s head had hair, perfectly intact.

“…Originally, we were going to use a bald cap, but it felt too suffocating with the gas mask on top of it. I barely managed to talk him out of wearing both.”

“He’s… not bald…”

“Well, we couldn’t just shave a kid’s head because it was inconvenient. There’s no helping it. What’s the lineup order?”

“Oh, yes. We’re the last ones. I’ll go out first, and then you’ll go last, Senior.”

“Really? We have plenty of time to spare then.”

“It’s probably based on the order of application. How long do you think it’ll take?”

“Hmm… Since we’re the models—not you, though. It’s not just walking out and coming back. We’ll have to kill about an hour.”

“What should we do for an hour?”

Si-ha set the hammer down on the floor with a small, heavy thud and removed his gas mask before sitting naturally in an empty spot.

When I lightly tapped the hammer, I found it heavier than a handgun but still not heavy enough to be a real hammer. It was just a prop.

“…Is the gas mask a prop too?”

“Yes, it’s fake. There are no real filters or anything. What you see is what you get.”

“Oh…”

For a few minutes, I listened to their professional-sounding conversation without understanding much of it. I was studying the floor patterns when I got a call from Chocoa.

“Hello!”

—Hey, Su-yeon. It looks like it’s about to start. When are you coming out?

“I’m coming out last! They said it’ll take about an hour. Is my sister with you?”

—Yeah, right here. Want me to pass the phone?

When I answered “Yes,” I heard some noise, and then Min-young’s voice came through.

—Unnie! Are you okay? If someone asks for your number or starts praising you, just ignore them casually.

“Uh… yeah. Anyway, it’s going to take a while, so stay close to Ga-young unnie if you go anywhere. There are a lot of people, so don’t get lost.”

—I’m not a little kid…

“Just be careful and wait.”

—Okay, good luck.

After hanging up the phone, I remembered that Si-ha was nearby.

“Oh… sorry. I should have let you talk to them.”

“It’s fine.”

“Hmm… hmm…”

With no topic left to talk about, I was about to go back to studying the floor patterns when Seol-hwa sat down next to me.

Having stood for a long time, she stretched her legs out as soon as she sat and let out a sigh, sounding as though she was half-dead.

“Ughhh… Haah. By the way, Baraa… The stage is designed to highlight something about Lesik. It’s kind of recreated to resemble one of its maps.”

“It has some cover, shooting dummies, barricades… just a few elements. But… would you be interested in fighting on stage?”

“…What?”

Her suggestion was for me and Si-ha to perform some of the action sequences from Lesik on stage since we were the last participants in the competition.

“…This thing doesn’t shoot…”

“Hand-to-hand combat!”

“Uh… but that’s a game…”

Even Si-ha seemed taken aback, his eyes widening at the suggestion.

“Is it not possible…?”

Seol-hwa gave me a pleading look, but what wasn’t possible simply wasn’t.

It hadn’t been discussed with Si-ha, and even though we were the last performance, using props as we pleased wasn’t appropriate.

More than that, I had no confidence to replicate in reality what I could only do with a mouse and keyboard in the game.

“I really want to see it! If you do it, I’ll make tons of donations! Si-ha, too!”

“Si-ha, how should we set up the scene?”

***
Choi Ga-young POV

After standing still for an hour, my legs were starting to ache. Beside me, Min-young was fiddling with her camera, completely uninterested in the other performances.

It made me curious.

“…Has she always been like this?”

“Pardon?”

“Well… how should I put it… her hair and eyes… I’ve seen them in videos. It wasn’t always like this, was it? It’s hard to believe it changed so suddenly.”

“…Someday, my sister might tell you herself. I’d prefer it if you didn’t ask her directly for now. Any other questions?”

“Then… what was she like before? Not about her appearance or anything—just her personality, you know?”

Min-young gave a small laugh, took a brief moment to think, and then spoke.

“She was so… cool? Even when she was shorter than me as a kid, she used to carry me on her back, play with me… She was really pretty too! She had a similar vibe to now. Back then, she used to run around the fields, ride cows… and even fought a wild boar once…”

“…??”

When I put on a puzzled expression, Min-young, as if realizing she didn’t fully understand it herself, made an awkward face and explained.

“Well… we went up the back mountain together, opp—no, unnie and I, and this huge wild boar appeared… It was kind of black with massive tusks… Oh, it looked a bit like that. Si-ha, right?”

Following Minyoung’s pointed finger, I turned my gaze to the stage.

There, Si-ha, cosplaying as Sledge, was walking slowly to the center of the stage under the host’s guidance.

Swinging the heavy-looking hammer with precision and flair, he moved confidently, capturing everyone’s attention.

The host, barely hiding his surprise, shifted naturally out of the way to avoid obstructing the audience’s view.

“Unnie?”

From the right side of the stage, a woman with neatly tied silver hair walked out slowly.

The weighty sound of her military boots echoed, not drowned out even by the murmuring audience.

Her sharp eyes, not soft or rounded, paired with her disciplined stance, and the handgun she carried like a soldier gave her an entirely different charisma.

The usual adorable and bubbly image she exuded was nowhere to be seen, replaced by an intense aura that silenced the crowd in an instant.

I could hear the cautious click of a camera from the side, but I didn’t have the time to turn and look.

“Wow…”

I couldn’t help but marvel at the powerful presence she radiated, something I had never seen before.

Even earlier, when she had tried on the outfit, she hadn’t looked like this. Back then, she resembled a little girl wearing her father’s clothes—cute and warm.

Now, however, her entire being resonated with a cold, trained sharpness that perfectly suited the outfit.

For a few seconds, I was lost in her walk and the atmosphere she created.

Then, a loud, intense sound rang out.

Thud!!

At some point, she had moved to the cover at the far edge of the stage.

As if to signal her presence, she slammed the hammer down on the floor with an enormous force. The heavy, reverberating sound created a brief moment of silence.

Su-yeon’s movements changed.

The slow steps she took suddenly quickened as she darted to the cover where Si-ha was hiding, her gun raised.

The audience, viewing this as a third party, could see the thin wall and an even thinner barricade separating the two.

Su-yeon aimed her gun while Si-ha slowly lifted his hammer.

At the height of the crowd’s confusion and tension, the massive hammer swung.

***
Lee Su-yeon POV

(“Deposit Complete”)

This internet slang refers to someone working diligently as soon as they’ve been paid, even if they usually don’t put in much effort. While we hadn’t technically been paid yet, we had secured a promise, and since Si-ha was okay with it, we used the remaining time to discuss a lot.

Seol-hwa, standing like a film director, orchestrated the angles and action scenes while convincing the staff behind the stage.

“You seem to enjoy this kind of thing.”

“I love action movies! After watching you play Lesik, I went on a spree of movies like John Wick! Of course, we can’t shoot real guns now…”

Time passed quickly.

Si-ha went on stage first, followed by me according to the scenario we had planned.

But even though I had an interest in such things, it wasn’t possible to choreograph a full action sequence in just a few minutes.

Except for the initial plan, most of it became an improvised mix of performance and combat.

Thud!!

The sound echoed as I climbed onto the stage, setting my stance and searching for Si-ha.

From far beyond a wall, I heard the noise again, this time louder.

I marveled briefly at how the fake hammer could make such a sound, then moved cautiously.

The green barricades resembled those from the game as closely as possible. The source of the noise was behind one of them.

“Huff…”

This wasn’t a monitor; it was unfolding directly in front of my eyes. I felt a mix of tension and slight excitement.

Bang!!!

As I approached the barricade, a loud noise erupted, sending shards flying.

Reacting instantly, I kicked off the ground to put some distance between us.

Si-ha’s hammer had swung downward to smash the barricade.

Though I tried to retreat, he swung again, forcing me to block with my handgun.

The hammer handle collided with the gun, and even though it was a prop, the weight resonated through my fingertips. I scrambled to widen the gap between us.

“…Who’s going to win?”

“Whoever wins gets to decide.”

We charged at each other.

“Ugh…”

“Sorry about this, Si-ha…”

Si-ha let out a faint groan, clearly feeling the pain from the intense combat.