Aokigahara Sea of Trees...
Stella stood at the entrance to the forest, murmuring absently.
What kind of person thought it was a good idea to film in such a dangerous place?
And yet, here she was. It felt out of character for her.
Was it simply because she felt a sense of kinship with Seoyeon?
No, that couldn’t be it. Seoyeon was different.
A harmonious family.
Loving parents and a cute younger sister—
A picture-perfect family, just like the one she had dreamed of.
Back then, Stella had denied that Seoyeon could possibly be any different from others, but during the filming of Kyungsung Lady, doubts had crept in.
Had she been the one mistaken all along?
Still, unlike everyone else, Seoyeon stood out so clearly.
Why was that?
She found her gaze following Seoyeon again and again—
Even now, to the point of wandering all the way here without realizing it.
『W-Welcome!』
As she arrived at the entrance, the Japanese filming staff rushed toward her and bowed deeply.
『Hello.』
『We’ve been waiting for you!』
『Oh my.』
Were they that desperate to have this actress on the show because of Asher Baldwin?
'Too bad. I have no intention of getting close to her.'
Besides, Stella wasn’t even good at recognizing faces.
Even if they asked her to speak nicely, chances were she’d get it wrong anyway.
'She’d probably hate me.'
She could already picture Seoyeon’s wary eyes and the faces of the other two looking at her in discomfort.
Chuckling softly, Stella headed toward the filming location.
The shoot had already started a day ago.
Since she was late, she only needed to stay here for a day.
Hmm, what should I ask them to do? Maybe throw a tantrum like a proper noblewoman?
The Japanese broadcast might end up glaring at her for it, but who cared?
She didn’t plan on coming back to Japan—or Korea, for that matter—anytime soon.
It might be fun to mess with them a little.
With that thought, she arrived at the filming site.
“Cook.”
“?”
“Cook something.”
What had happened in just one day to leave the others so disheveled?
Stella instinctively realized—
Her refusal wasn’t an option.
One day.
To put it simply, too much had happened.
They’d all scattered and somehow managed to gather supplies.
“This is water, and here’s some meat. There are vegetables, too.”
“We’ve got a knife.”
“There’s a gas burner. We just need to cook, right?”
“How?”
“Just grill the meat.”
“We only have a pot.”
When Jiyeon pointed that out, Seohui glanced at Stella as if asking, Can’t we just grill it in the pot?
Well, technically, they could—but wasn’t that a bit strange?
『All the ingredients are for nabe.』
『Nabe?』
『Yes, like a hotpot. Maybe they wanted us to create a peaceful scene of everyone sharing a meal?』
Hotpot.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
It seemed the producers had set them up for a group stew.
Throw everything into the pot and boil it—simple enough even for beginners.
“We’ll need water for that, right?”
“But won’t it taste bland?”
For context, this happened while Seoyeon had gone off to find more supplies.
Apparently, it was less scary for her to go alone than to bring a group.
“Water? Is this enough?”
“Add more salt and chili powder. Japanese food’s too mild anyway.”
『W-Wait, don’t put in that much!』
Reika tried to stop them, but speaking in Japanese didn’t help.
Jiyeon didn’t understand Japanese, and Seohui was too absorbed in her first attempt at cooking.
“Why is there so much water now?!”
『Vegetables release water when cooked...』
“This tastes weird. Oh no, we didn’t even cut the meat.”
Twenty minutes later—
“What the hell happened here?”
Seoyeon returned and asked Jiyeon, who averted her gaze.
It was the same guilty look Seoyeon often made when she messed up.
A glance at the pot was enough to see the food was ruined.
“There’s still plenty of ingredients!”
“We lost half of them.”
If they failed again, it was over.
Worse, the meat was already ruined, limiting their options.
“I left out the mushrooms because I don’t like them.”
“...I want to go home.”
Seohui had turned into a fragile noblewoman.
But Seoyeon wouldn’t let them wallow.
“No choice. I’ll handle it.”
“Y-You, Ju Seoyeon?”
“What’s the problem? I’m better than you.”
Confidently stepping up, Seoyeon ended up wasting the rest of the ingredients.
“...We’ll have to go out and find more.”
“...”
All their hard-earned supplies had gone to waste.
Which meant they had to gather more.
“Well... it’ll be easier the second time, right?”
Jiyeon tried to lighten the mood.
“But what about the traps?!”
“AAAH!!”
“Who hung that doll in the tree?! I almost died!”
Venturing farther for supplies meant running into traps set by the production crew.
Hanging dolls from trees to create a spooky atmosphere.
Weird signs leading to fake paths.
The staff clearly had experience messing with contestants.
“At this rate, we’ll collapse before we find any food.”
Watching the chaos through the cameras, the staff laughed.
Seeing Korean actresses struggle against Japanese variety show antics was already entertaining.
To be fair, this was tame.
Originally, they’d considered digging pits, filling them with water—
Or even releasing a bear with a handler to cause panic.
But since these were foreign actors, they’d shown restraint.
“...By the way.”
“Where’s Ju Seoyeon?”
Unlike the others, who screamed and stumbled through the forest, Seoyeon calmly navigated the traps.
She dodged them so effortlessly it almost seemed like she was playing.
The only thing that startled her was the mannequin hanging from a tree.
She even caught falling dolls with her hands—
And when a speaker emitted creepy noises, she punched it.
In her defense, it looked like a reflex.
Still, it meant she wasn’t giving them the reactions they wanted.
While the others screamed, tore their clothes, and flailed around—
Seoyeon was mostly fine.
If I’d known, I would’ve hired someone to dress up as a ghost.
It seemed Seoyeon was weak to ghosts.
No matter how elaborate the traps, she wasn’t fazed—except by ghosts.
Meanwhile, the other three barely lasted five minutes before Seoyeon vanished.
“She’s not on the CCTV.”
“Isn’t this bad?”
“Contact Kujo! Tell him to find Ju Seoyeon immediately!”
Did something really happen in just five minutes?
Did she fall into a hole or something?
But this filming site wasn’t supposed to have any dangerous spots.
Japanese variety shows often took risks, but this time, since the cast included Korean actors, they’d toned things down considerably.
They had even guaranteed that there would be no truly dangerous areas—
And yet, Seoyeon had suddenly vanished!
“Should we tell the others on set?”
“If we tell them now, the shoot will have to stop.”
“Let’s look for her ourselves first...”
“And what if something happens? The show won’t even air!”
Amaya Hiroki PD decided to halt filming and prioritize finding Seoyeon.
“Actress Ju Seoyeon is missing—”
He was in the middle of relaying the news to the crew when—
“P-PD!”
“What? This is urgent—”
“L-Look at the CCTV footage to the north!”
Turning toward the monitor, Hiroki saw it—
A bear lumbering around.
An actual bear.
“That’s not... That’s not the trained bear we planned to use for filming, right?”
“No! It’s not! It’s a real one! Why is it even here? Shouldn’t it be hibernating this time of year?”
“It’s a bit early for that...”
“Anyway, it’s still far off. Let’s evacuate the crew immediately and call the police!”
Fortunately, they had installed thorough CCTV coverage and multiple safety measures,
so the staff tried to stay calm—
“Wait!”
“What now?! We don’t have time for this!”
“On the bear’s back...”
“What about the bear’s back?”
Annoyed, Hiroki turned back to the camera, already dreading the ruined shoot—
“...What?”
He couldn’t help but gasp.
Because there, sitting calmly on the bear’s back, was Seoyeon.
*****
To start, Seoyeon had always been a bit curious about bears.
In manga, it was practically a cliché for a character in training to encounter a bear in the wilderness.
Strength! Power!
Bears and tigers were often mentioned as symbols of such traits.
Not that she had any real desire to meet one.
It wasn’t just about herself—others could get hurt too.
“Hm?”
Seoyeon was packing utensils she’d found into her bag when she noticed something strange.
The forest still made her uneasy, but this time, it wasn’t the scenery that bothered her.
This isn’t human.
Focusing, she listened carefully to the approaching footsteps.
Something felt off.
That’s why she ran toward the sound—
Just in case it was something dangerous that she needed to warn the others about.
“A bear?”
No, it was a real bear.
But it wasn’t as big as she’d expected.
Walking on all fours, it actually looked kind of... cute.
Of course, even a small bear could easily kill a person.
Is it here because of the smell?
It was heading straight for where the others were gathered.
Maybe the overpowering scent of their ruined stew had attracted it.
Or maybe not.
“?”
The bear paused when it noticed her.
Then, cautiously, it started moving closer—
Like it was checking whether she was food.
Saliva dripped from its mouth, and it looked unmistakably predatory.
They say even professional fighters can barely stand up to a bear.
Most successful bear encounters involved climbing onto its back and choking it out—
because bears couldn’t reach their own backs.
Hmm.
Seoyeon considered her options.
Should she run—or...
Wouldn’t a bear be slower than a paintball gun?
That thought led her to face the bear head-on.
If things went south, she’d just run.
She had brought plenty of animal-repellent sprays, just in case.
So, she punched it.
Roughly as hard as she’d hit that arcade punching machine.
Her fist landed squarely on the bear’s nose.
“Does it hurt?”
The bear recoiled, swiping its paw—so she hit it twice more.
Thud. Thud.
Its body lifted slightly with each impact.
“Does it still hurt?”
It seemed softer than steel, so she kept hitting it, figuring it wouldn’t be too bad.
The bear’s movements were slower than bullets, making it easier to dodge.
More than anything, it looked confused.
“Bears really are tough.”
After a few minutes of this, the bear calmed down.
Maybe manga had a point—
A skilled boxer really could handle a bear.
Can bears be tamed?
Worried it might attack again, she gave it a couple more flicks to the forehead.
The bear let out a pitiful whine and lowered its head.
And that’s how Seoyeon rode a bear back to camp.
*****
“Who the hell rides a bear back to camp?”
Jiyeon looked completely exasperated.
Behind her, the bear was happily eating the ruined stew.
Then it turned to Jiyeon, opening its mouth wide—
like it was comparing her head to its jaw.
“Is it trying to see if it can swallow me whole?!”
“It’s probably fine.”
Seoyeon lightly patted the bear’s cheek,
and it flinched before flopping onto its back like a puppy.
“It’s cute, like a panda.”
“There’s blood on its nose.”
Seohui frowned, examining the bear’s swollen face.
Had someone punched it?
Wait—did Seoyeon punch it?
No, that couldn’t be.
“Was this bear brought in for filming?”
When Seohui asked, the Japanese staff shook their heads furiously.
So it really was a wild bear.
I want to go home.
For the first time, Seohui genuinely wished she were back home.
She’d already torn her clothes, screamed herself hoarse, and nearly fainted when the bear showed up.
And then Seoyeon appeared—on the bear’s back—
“Good evening!”
—with the bear raising its paw as if to wave.
The production crew had been too panicked to know what to do.
But in hindsight, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» their reaction made sense.
An actress riding a bear wasn’t exactly normal.
And so began their night with the bear.
No proper meals.
No proper sleep.
And constant fear that the bear might attack.
“Is... is this really a bear? A real one? Can I just go home now?”
“No.”
Seoyeon—their only hope for cooking—shut that idea down immediately.