I Want to Be a VTuber-Chapter 253: Confrontation (2)

Seoul Escape was fundamentally an action film.

But not the kind where people fought each other.

The gas leak victims behaved like zombies, attacking those around them.

However, the movie wasn’t about fighting them.

It was about dodging.

Running away.

Hiding.

And ultimately, escaping.

The goal was survival—not saving the world.

The protagonists weren’t tasked with fixing the disaster.

That job belonged to the military and the police.

‘Still, the escape sequences are the core of this movie.’

It wasn’t as if the characters did nothing.

They helped others escape, saving countless lives along the way.

They showed what it meant to be everyday heroes.

Their key skill?

Climbing.

Scaling walls.

The movie also incorporated parkour elements.

Seoyeon had no issues with that kind of action.

If there had been scenes involving direct combat, it might have been trickier.

But Seoul Escape was different.

Seoyeon had no hesitation accepting the role, precisely because it didn’t focus on fighting.

That was something she’d have to do endlessly in Mine, the next film on her schedule.

“What do you think, Seoyeon? Are you okay with this?”

Director Jo Bangwoo asked carefully.

If Seoyeon was uncomfortable, they could always test her skills separately.

There was no need to accept Hwang Minhwa’s suggestion.

‘This is tricky.’

Seoyeon’s wry smile wasn’t due to nerves.

‘How much should I show?’

That was the real issue.

Climbing fast wouldn’t be a problem.

If she really wanted to, she could probably just jump to the top.

The problem was figuring out the right balance.

‘Should I just go fast enough to beat Hwang Minhwa?’

She had no idea how skilled Hwang Minhwa actually was.

The way she carried herself made it ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) seem like she might even be an expert.

Seoyeon was already sensitive about her image.

If another video of her climbing like a superhuman circulated, she’d never live it down.

‘The bear-riding footage hasn’t even aired yet.’

She shuddered at the thought.

Her fan café was still buzzing from the latest rumors:

Post: Breaking News—Ju Seoyeon Sent to North Korea as a Spy??

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“I thought unification was finally happening.”“There goes my excuse to dodge military service.”“Kyungsung Lady.”“So who’s stronger, Ju Seoyeon or a missile?”This was the toned-down version after she spent months working to clean up her image with her role as Magical Girl Harara.

And it wasn’t just fans she had to worry about.

Seoyeon glanced at Park Jungwoo.

‘I need to consider how people around me see me too.’

Sometimes, Park Jungwoo asked the most bizarre questions when they played games.

[Could you beat prime Ngannou in a fight?]

[Who’s Ngannou?]

[A UFC fighter.]

[......]

Honestly, she probably could.

Ngannou wasn’t stronger than a bear, after all.

But why was he even asking that?

The worst part?

He wasn’t joking.

He was genuinely curious.

‘He didn’t used to be like this.’

Seoyeon still remembered how flustered he’d been when they first met on Echoes of the Past.

He couldn’t even meet her eyes properly back then.

His voice had trembled.

‘Even the recent commercial shoot felt like that.’

What changed?

Did he see Ju Seoyeon and Princess Yeonhwa as two completely different people?

Seoyeon crossed her arms, sulking.

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She wasn’t worried about Park Jungwoo’s opinion specifically.

But it wasn’t just him.

Even variety show producers treated her strangely.

Jo Bangwoo, however, was different.

The way he looked at her now was refreshing—he still saw her as the 10-year-old Princess Yeonhwa from their past project.

Seoyeon didn’t want to ruin that image.

‘One by one would be better.’

If this turned into a competition, she knew she’d get carried away.

Then Park Jungwoo would probably say something like:

“You climbing the wall looked just like a cockroach.”

“......”

“Maybe it’s the shiny black hair. It was so glossy—”

“......”

He might not actually go that far, but the possibility was there.

And Seoyeon didn’t want to risk it.

“What’s the matter? Are you nervous?”

“Fine. Let’s do it.”

Seoyeon accepted Hwang Minhwa’s challenge.

“Hey, Jungwoo.”

Jo Bangwoo called Park Jungwoo over in a low voice.

“Yes?”

“Isn’t Ju Seoyeon pushing herself too hard?”

“What?”

Park Jungwoo glanced at Seoyeon, who was testing the climbing wall grips.

Was she overdoing it?

Well, if he was being honest, the wall was the one at risk here.

“I heard she’s athletic, but the height difference...”

“She’ll be fine.”

“Hmm. You’re cold, you know that? A man shouldn’t be so indifferent.”

“......”

“Think about how she must feel. Hwang Minhwa’s great at action scenes and athletic too. Being compared like this...”

Park Jungwoo couldn’t believe it.

How was he supposed to worry about Seoyeon in this situation?

To Jo Bangwoo, she was still the fragile young princess from ten years ago.

‘I should set him straight.’

Ju Seoyeon wasn’t just climbing this wall—she could probably destroy it if she wanted to.

“Director, about Ju Seoyeon...”

But Park Jungwoo trailed off.

Seoyeon was staring at him.

Her crimson eyes practically glowed.

“...You’re right. She does seem a bit fragile. I’m starting to worry too.”

Especially about my own life.

Park Jungwoo forced a smile at her.

Only then did Seoyeon look away.

‘Did she hear that?’

It was impossible, right?

And yet, with Seoyeon, it somehow felt possible.

“This is just a test. Don’t worry too much about winning.”

The staff reassured the actresses.

All three nodded.

Yes—three.

‘Why am I even here?’

Kim Siyu, who got roped into the competition, already wanted to go home.

She couldn’t back out without looking cowardly.

“Ready...”

The three actresses stared at the wall.

Hwang Minhwa looked especially confident.

‘I’ll just climb high enough to watch them struggle below.’

She had no intention of losing.

Hwang Minhwa knew better than to fall for Seoyeon’s variety show image.

People often exaggerated physical abilities for entertainment.

And look at Seoyeon—delicate and fragile, practically ethereal.

“Start!”

At the signal, Hwang Minhwa reached for the first hold.

She grabbed it and pulled herself up—

Crack.

A strange noise came from beside her.

Turning her head, she saw a broken hold in Seoyeon’s hand.

Seoyeon rarely looked flustered.

But this time, she did.

Her gaze flickered nervously toward Jo Bangwoo as she discreetly checked his reaction.

‘What rotten luck.’

What were the odds that the supposedly sturdy climbing hold would break?

But...

‘Wait, why did it break?’

That hold was designed to withstand heavy loads.

Hwang Minhwa paused halfway up the wall, glancing to the side.

She saw Seoyeon climbing again.

‘What... What the hell? Why is she so fast?!’

Even after breaking a hold and losing time, Seoyeon had already caught up to her.

It wasn’t even climbing at that point—it looked more like she was leaping from one grip to the next.

But then—

Thunk.

“...!!”

Seoyeon froze the moment she grabbed the next hold.

‘This is... a kids’ wall.’

She realized it instantly.

The wall wasn’t built for professional climbing.

It was just a prop—a cheap one at that.

Of course, it wasn’t unsafe.

It wouldn’t collapse under normal circumstances.

But for an actual climbing test? It was clearly inadequate.

No wonder it was shaking.

It wasn’t even meant to be used today.

Probably just set up for show.

But even so, was it normal for a grip to shatter the moment she touched it?

And the problem wasn’t just the holds.

Seoyeon could feel the entire wall shift slightly under her weight.

At the same time, she sensed Park Jungwoo flinching behind her.

She didn’t need to turn around to know what he was thinking.

‘Wow, Ju Seoyeon. She must be really heavy.’

‘I’m not heavy!’

Seoyeon protested internally.

Okay, maybe she wasn’t featherlight.

But she was still well within normal human weight ranges!

It wasn’t her fault she was built a little sturdier than she looked.

Creak.

“!”

The holds under her hands and feet wobbled dangerously.

‘Seriously? How cheap is this thing?!’

In the end, Seoyeon had no choice but to scale the wall as quickly as possible before it gave out.

And by the time she reached the top—

“Ah.”

She realized something.

Hwang Minhwa hadn’t even made it halfway up.

*****

“Oh no, it looks like the wall wasn’t secured properly. Sorry about that.”

“......”

“How did you even climb that?”

Apparently, there had been a mistake during setup.

The staff apologized profusely, but Hwang Minhwa was stunned.

‘She climbed that shaky mess... so quickly?’

No wonder it broke.

They hadn’t expected multiple people to climb at the same time.

And Seoyeon, who started at the far end, had the worst holds.

Yet she still climbed it like it was nothing.

Hwang Minhwa was beyond shocked—she was outright horrified.

“Oh, it’s fine. I didn’t get hurt.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Seoyeon’s calm response made Hwang Minhwa’s blood boil.

It wasn’t just that she’d lost.

If Hwang Minhwa had been in Seoyeon’s position, she definitely would’ve gotten hurt.

“Seriously? What if someone got injured?!”

“Well, I...”

“You can’t just say it’s for auditions and slack off on safety. And you—Ju Seoyeon.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t just brush this off. Being too nice doesn’t make you kind—it makes you a pushover.”

Seoyeon blinked, then nodded.

Hwang Minhwa scoffed.

Her words weren’t meant to help Seoyeon.

She was just venting her anger.

Because there was no denying it—she had lost.

In both acting and physical ability.

Seoyeon’s performance had been exactly what Hwang Minhwa had considered but decided against.

While Hwang Minhwa played the classic romance heroine, Seoyeon took a lighter, sitcom-like approach.

‘Forget the lead role... Maybe I can aim for a supporting part.’

But even that thought made Hwang Minhwa grit her teeth.

“We’re done, right?”

“Uh, yes.”

Without waiting for more, Hwang Minhwa stormed out of the audition room.

She was clearly fuming.

‘How did she climb that?’

The thought crossed her mind again.

But she quickly brushed it off.

Maybe Seoyeon’s variety show image wasn’t entirely fake after all.

“Honestly.”

Park Jungwoo approached Seoyeon.

“I thought you broke it.”

“Do I look like the Hulk? Why would I break it just by grabbing it?”

“Ahem.”

Jungwoo cleared his throat, embarrassed.

It was pure luck that Seoyeon hadn’t gotten hurt.

And Hwang Minhwa wasn’t wrong—this was a situation where Seoyeon should have been more upset.

Even Director Jo Bangwoo apologized to her directly.

But Seoyeon understood.

‘This production must really be struggling.’

If their props were this poorly maintained, it said a lot about the movie’s budget.

“It’s fine. Honestly, I expected something like this.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. And it looks like the investors aren’t putting in much either.”

“True. The director’s already worried about screening availability.”

Jo Bangwoo busied himself dealing with the broken wall and other issues.

Meanwhile, Seoyeon’s thoughts drifted to the supporting roles.

Hwang Minhwa’s sudden departure left a gap in the cast.

Even if she wasn’t the lead, her character had been important.

Replacing her wouldn’t be easy.

‘Who could step in?’

Neither Lee Jiyeon nor Jo Seohui were available—they were still tied up with Kyungsung Lady.

Then Seoyeon remembered Kim Siyu, the actress stuck between them earlier.

Her performance had been overshadowed, but...

“Hmm.”

“What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“Weird.”

After finishing her chat with Park Jungwoo, Seoyeon left the audition room.

The results wouldn’t be announced for another week.

All she could do was wait and hope for the best.

“Seoyeon! How did the audition go? I heard Hwang Minhwa was there.”

Park Eunha was waiting outside.

Seoyeon had arrived alone, but she didn’t want to leave alone.

“Yeah, she was there.”

“...Really?”

Eunha’s history with Hwang Minhwa wasn’t great.

She had been rooting for Seoyeon to crush her.

And based on what Jungwoo had said earlier, it seemed like Seoyeon had done just that.

‘Serves her right.’

While Eunha grinned, Seoyeon spoke.

“Actually, Hwang Minhwa seemed pretty nice.”

“What?”

“She looked out for me a lot, even worried about my image.”

Eunha froze.

“You’re being gaslit!”

Of course, Eunha wasn’t having any of it.

In the following days, anticipation grew as Seoyeon’s Japanese variety show episode neared its release.