NOVPUBWatching Japanese variety shows in Korea isn't particularly difficult. In fact, Yeongmi occasionally found herself watching Japanese broadcasts live. While there was a slight delay of about ten minutes, it wasn't significant enough to matter.
"Though, to be honest, it's not a variety show... it's anime."
Yeongmi couldn't bring herself to admit this to Gilda-hyeon, the ultimate social butterfly who probably wouldn't be caught dead watching cartoons.
Regardless, Yeongmi was quite intrigued by the fact that Ju Seoyeon, the star of their class, had appeared on a Japanese variety show. After all, when a classmate is a famous actress and even appears on foreign television, it’s hard not to take notice.
“It’s starting.”
One of the friends present announced as much. Unlike Korean variety shows, Japanese ones started with flashy text and an oddly chaotic energy.
“What are they saying?”
“It’s a special segment: ‘A Genius High School Actress, Reika, Films with Korea’s Top Young Stars for Four Days!’ or something like that.”
“‘Genius’ is starting to feel a bit overused, isn’t it?”
Yeongmi didn’t know how to respond to her friend’s skepticism. Stealing a glance at Seoyeon, she saw her sitting composed—or was she? Upon closer inspection, her pupils seemed to be trembling slightly.
Was she nervous?
But why? It was just a variety show.
‘Oh, maybe she’s embarrassed to watch a show she starred in with her friends.’
That thought made Seoyeon seem oddly cute.
“And so, the four actresses head somewhere unknown...”
A gloomy soundtrack played as the narrator spoke, and the screen transitioned to show the Aokigahara forest.
As one of the world’s top ten spooky locations appeared, the panelists screamed exaggeratedly, their voices loud and dramatic.
“Ehhh~! Are they really camping in Aokigahara for four days?!”
“This is outrageous! Who’s the producer responsible for this?”
The Japanese celebrities jumped up in mock outrage. Of course, it was just for show.
The screen rapidly previewed upcoming scenes: actresses scavenging for ingredients in the forest, gathering to cook, and staff members heightening the eerie atmosphere with ominous background music.
As a scream echoed—
“Konbanwa.”
“?”
The screen cut to Seoyeon, riding a bear. The brief teaser ended abruptly, leaving even the panelists momentarily speechless, blinking in confusion.
It was clear the broadcast had been pre-recorded, but the reactions seemed genuine. No exaggerated gasps or laughter, just wide eyes and silence.
“That was a bear, right?”
“You’re joking. It has to be fake.”
“Come on, it’s obviously a fake bear made for TV. Don’t act like amateurs.”
“Amateurs?! That’s a bit much, isn’t it? Anyone would be shocked if an actress appeared riding a bear out of nowhere!”
“That’s Ju Seoyeon, isn’t it? The Korean actress trending on Twitter lately.”
“Yeah, yeah, I laughed so hard when I saw the clip.”
The panelists debated the brief scene with surprising seriousness before the show officially began.
Meanwhile, the five girls sitting around Seoyeon, munching on rice cakes and tteokbokki, all turned to look at her in unison.
‘Was that a real bear?’
‘Do actresses really ride bears?’
‘It’s gotta be a prop, right?’
Their reactions varied, but one thing was certain—Seoyeon felt sweat forming on the back of her neck.
“Seoyeon, was that a real bear?”
The only one brave enough to ask directly was Gilda-hyeon.
“Well...” Seoyeon hesitated before answering.
“The production team brought in a trained bear. It was really calm and well-behaved...”
“Really?”
Satisfied with the explanation, Gilda-hyeon dropped the subject, allowing Seoyeon to breathe a sigh of relief. She hadn’t expected the show to air her bear-riding scene.
‘...Wait, no. If they hadn’t shown it, I wouldn’t have been on screen at all.’
After spending the whole day riding a bear, cutting it out would mean cutting her out entirely. In the end, it was her own doing.
Well, at least the worst was over—
“It says it’s a wild bear, though?”
“....”
As the show continued, the screen prominently displayed the words “wild bear” stamped across the animal’s head as Seoyeon appeared riding it again.
Seoyeon had no choice but to fall silent, realizing there was no way to explain her way out of this one.
*****
When the Japanese variety show featuring Ju Seoyeon first aired, posts began popping up on her fan cafe. At first, the comments were subdued, as many assumed it to be just another run-of-the-mill camping show.
Most fans weren’t particularly interested, figuring someone would summarize the highlights later. But then—
As screenshots from the live broadcast circulated, showing Seoyeon happily smiling atop a bear, the fan community sprang into action.
“She’s riding a bear!” Fans spread the news like wildfire across not only her fan cafe but also platforms like Twitter and other social media, where Ju Seoyeon had a significant following.
As more people learned about the show, both in Korea and Japan, live viewership began to climb rapidly.
Post: Ju Seoyeon enters Japan’s trending topics, lol
Comment Section:
With the buzz at its peak, the show cleverly returned to the past to explain how Seoyeon ended up riding a bear.
The narrative shifted to the four actresses stranded in Aokigahara forest, trying to figure out their roles. Jo Seohui seemed to naturally assume the leader's position.
“What? None of you can cook?”
A tense silence fell over the group. All four actresses, including Jo Seohui, awkwardly averted their gazes.
Even without cooking skills, they had to gather ingredients. The actresses dispersed into the forest, each tasked with collecting food. Seoyeon swiftly collected items with ease, unlike the others, who struggled.
Notably, Lee Jiyeon and Reika teamed up to search for mushrooms.
"Can you eat this mushroom?"
"What are you saying? Speak English."
"It seems edible, I think?"
Their conversation didn’t go anywhere, each ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) speaking their own language while gathering random items.
Eventually, the pair split up, each going their own way.
Back at the campsite, Seoyeon returned with a full haul, only to find it deserted.
“?”
Her expression clearly asked, Why isn’t anyone here yet? Unlike her, who had diligently gathered supplies, the others seemed half-lost. After waiting 30 minutes, Seoyeon sighed and set out to find them.
The first person Seoyeon found was Reika, who had collapsed in fear and couldn’t move. With no other option, Seoyeon hoisted her onto her back and started walking.
"I thought no one would come for me. I was so scared," Reika sobbed.
"Could you not whisper in my ear? It’s terrifying," Seoyeon replied.
"Thank you so much for being so kind. Sniff sniff."
"Please stop crying in my ear. It’s scary."
"Sniff sniff sniff sniff!!"
"You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?"
Seoyeon flinched at every sniff, while Reika clung tightly, oblivious to her distress.
Next, Seoyeon found Lee Jiyeon stuck in a tree.
With Jiyeon’s legs too shaky to move, Seoyeon carried her princess-style back to camp. Her calm demeanor caught the attention of viewers.
"Seoyeon, are you casually carrying two people right now?"
"Eh? Oh! I was so calm I didn’t even notice!"
"This is... bizarre. You’re carrying two grown women."
"Korean actresses are amazing..."
"No, no, no! This isn’t normal! Seoyeon’s the weird one here!!"
The panelists’ reactions clued in viewers, who hadn’t realized the absurdity of the situation.
The final missing person was Jo Seohui. When Seoyeon finally spotted her, she froze. A figure emerged eerily from the shadows, walking toward her.
Accompanying the broadcast was a chilling BGM, amplifying the fear for viewers. Step by step, the figure approached, with the wind accentuating the unsettling scene. Seoyeon instinctively took a few steps back.
Then, Jo Seohui suddenly broke into a run, charging directly at Seoyeon.
“KYAAAAAA!!!”
Panicking at Seohui’s approach, Seoyeon let out a scream and immediately turned to run, ignoring the desperate cries of, “Come back!” and “Don’t leave me!” behind her.
All while still carrying two people.
After somehow rescuing all three actresses, Seoyeon returned to the campsite. Jo Seohui, trailing behind, eventually made her way back on her own, though it took some time.
Once everyone was back, Seoyeon had to spend quite a while comforting Seohui. Still, the next problem soon emerged.
“We have no idea what we’re doing,” Seoyeon muttered.
Despite having gathered plenty of ingredients, none of the actresses could cook. They tried their best, but nothing edible came of it, only wasting their supplies.
The pitiful sight of four actresses failing to make anything remotely edible was broadcast in all its glory.
While the three actresses continued struggling, Seoyeon stepped out to gather more ingredients.
As it turned out, the others kept getting lost, so Seoyeon had essentially taken full responsibility for finding supplies.
As she wandered the forest, she suddenly stopped, her expression darkening. She turned toward a specific direction, her eyes sharp.
Without a word, Seoyeon broke into a sprint. In a flash, she disappeared from the view of the CCTV cameras.
The TV screen displayed the words “Emergency Situation!!”, and the PD appeared to explain.
“While we were focused on the actresses cooking, Ju Seoyeon suddenly vanished. It felt like she noticed something and ran toward it.”
“We were completely shocked. One moment she was there, the next, gone.”
“But the real surprise came after that.”
The broadcast then showed the crew’s panicked reactions as they realized Seoyeon was missing. Talks of halting the shoot and fears of something serious happening created palpable tension.
Even the panelists, who had been joking and laughing moments before, grew somber as they watched the screen.
Five minutes passed. Then ten. Finally, Seoyeon reappeared on the CCTV feed.
“Eh?”
“Wait, is she riding a bear again?”
Seoyeon was, indeed, riding a bear. As the animal tried to veer off course, she repeatedly smacked the back of its head, prompting soft whining noises from the creature.
Viewers were stunned to discover that bears could whimper.
Of course, Seoyeon’s actions weren’t entirely unprovoked—this bear had initially come to attack them, leaving her no choice but to subdue it.
Unaware of the context, however, the audience could only see a seemingly sad bear being controlled by the merciless actress.
Casually returning to the campsite atop the bear, Seoyeon began petting its head as it grew more obedient.
“So, no ramen? Can’t we at least cook ramen?” Seohui asked, mid-conversation with Jiyeon.
“We don’t have ramen, but we have meat—” Seohui’s words abruptly stopped as she froze, her face paling.
Ji-yeon frowned. “What’s wrong? Why’d you stop talking?”
“Behind you. Look behind you.”
“Why are you stuttering? Just spit it out—”
Ji-yeon turned, only to come face-to-face with the bear, now standing on its hind legs, towering over her.
It was massive, and worse, there was the distinct scent of blood in the air.
Is this a trained bear? she wondered. No... it smells like blood.
Just as the bear raised one paw, Seoyeon’s face popped out from beside its head.
Holding the bear’s paw, she cheerfully waved it side to side.
“Konbanwa!”
A blood-curdling scream echoed through the forest as Jiyeon’s terrified voice pierced the air.
