I Became the One Who Takes. 238

## Chapter 238 - (12)

This flag-grabbing game was a team event.

The two teams that secured the flags first:

Me and Jessica, Taesung and Jinjoo.

These two teams ended up doing something unexpected: a photoshoot.

An advertisement shoot for the sports brand we were currently wearing.

'...Is this a good thing?'

It probably is, since someone would gain promotional benefits, and the brand models would also receive model fees.

Of course, I didn't need either.

In the distance, a bus slowly approached and parked by the beach.

Then, people started pouring out.

"Wow, it's people..."
"Wow, look over there!"

It was quite a sight to see the contestants, who were practically celebrities themselves, marveling at the film crew.

It was probably because they had become deeply immersed in the resort life in just three days.

The people who rushed to the beach professionally set up cameras, lights, and chairs.

They seemed used to filming on beaches like this.

"Wow... I'm jealous... Are they sports brand models?"
"Yeah, usually it's popular idols or actors who shoot those."
"I want to shoot one too..."

Hearing everyone say that made my shoulders puff up a little.

It felt like Hanna was being recognized.

"Taesung and Jinjoo, you'll shoot first."
"Yes? Ah, yes!"

Come to think of it, they were professionals too.

As soon as they were called, they calmly sat in the chairs and started getting their makeup done.

Closing their eyes and subtly adjusting the angle of their heads came naturally to them.

We also sat next to them and got our makeup done.

Perhaps because I often had my makeup done by Hanna, I seemed to know roughly when to close my eyes and when to lift my head.

After the makeup was done, a woman approached me and hesitantly handed me a strange string-like object.

It was a band that stretched like a rubber band.

"This is a rubber band, it's usually used for bulking up... but don't... use it?"
"Excuse me?"
"No, I think you look fine. You look good. Right now."

Then she took back the rubber band she had given me.

I was dumbfounded, wondering what it was all about, but Jessica took the rubber band instead and started exercising, stretching it this way and that.

...Come to think of it, I don't exactly have a body that needs bulking up.

I peeked at Taesung and Jinjoo's photoshoot.

The director had them strike poses that highlighted their strengths.

Taesung, befitting his profession of standing on stage, was asked to strike flamboyant, stage-like poses, while Jinjoo, a former sports announcer, was asked to strike relatively static and clean poses.

They would first have individual shots, then couple shots with their partners.

I wondered what kind of poses they would ask me to do.

"Next, Sunghan and Jessica."

The director looked at me and his eyes widened.

He had been holding the camera with a cold expression until just now, but suddenly he looked surprised, which made me flustered.

'Is something wrong?'

I looked down at my body and outfit, but it was just a normal swimsuit.

"Did you say Sunghan?"

The male director slowly approached.

"Yes."

He asked my name in a slightly serious voice, which made me uneasy.

The director slowly approached and nodded.

"Hmm, hmm!"

The film crew awkwardly laughed at the director's bizarre behavior, as if they were used to it.

Their expressions seemed to say, 'Oh, there he goes again.'

"Natural, right?"
"Excuse me?"
"You're not using drugs, are you?"

I never thought I'd hear those words in my life.

But to be sure, after learning martial arts and rolling around in various worlds, my body was quite—

'Suspicious, I guess.'

It was to that extent.

So, did I feel bad about being suspected?

Quite the opposite.

"Ahem! I'm not."

I felt good.

It was proof that I had a body good enough to be mistaken for using drugs.

And the film director acknowledged it.

"Okay, try this pose."

The director nodded and suggested a pose for me.

The pose in the phone he held out for me to take was—

A pose that was synonymous with bodybuilders.

"...Isn't that concept too different from the people who shot before?"
"Doesn't matter, it's this pose."

The director's expression and tone were firm.

Since he was so firm, I had no choice but to do it.

He must have his reasons.

The director told me to watch closely because it was a difficult pose, but I shook my head.

Now that I had mastered the art of handling my body, it wasn't difficult for me to strike a pose I had seen once.

I put both hands on my waist and took a deep breath.

My stomach was compressed, revealing clear abs, and my chest muscles bulged out as much as the deep breath I took, contrasting with my abdomen.

At the same time, I tensed my shoulders to spread my shoulder blades, and it was complete.

Click.

"Oh..."

Before the director could even give the signal, the staff member in charge of the shooting pressed the shutter.

Then the director shouted.

"What are you doing, keep shooting!"

5 minutes.

My shoot ended even faster than the makeup time.

And then the couple shoot began.

"Hoo... Both of these teams..."
"This is a bit..."
"Wow..."

Unlike the quickly finished individual shots, the couple shoot was facing difficulties.

Even the participants who were watching the camera together let out sighs.

However, everyone was holding back their words, so I couldn't tell exactly what the problem was.

"Would you like to come over here and take a look?"

Eventually, the film crew called us over, and we were able to check the photos of the couple shoot.

Only then did I realize why the participants were holding back their words.

Taesung and Jinjoo seemed to have taken good photos, but Taesung was a bit short, and Jinjoo was tall, so the photos showed a slightly sad height comparison.

On the other hand, the photos of me and Jessica had a slightly dangerous feel.

The problem was the obvious difference in physique and Jessica's expression.

It was nothing special.

Because of the height difference, it was just a photo of me bending down and putting my arm around her shoulder.

But Jessica, whose favorability rating would skyrocket just from a simple arm around the shoulder, had an awkward smile and blushed on both cheeks.

Her body was twisting and turning.

The resulting photo was—

"It looks like... she's being scouted by a bad guy on the beach."

Someone from the film crew muttered quietly.

I don't know who said those words.

Maybe they just blurted it out following the stream of their consciousness.

"N-no, no~"
"I-it's not that bad... uh..."

Everyone glanced at me and Jessica, trying to deny it, but I could feel that they were secretly agreeing in their hearts.

I felt a little wronged.

This time, it wasn't my fault.

It was Jessica's fault for making that kind of expression and pose.

"Maybe we should switch partners..."
"No way!"

Jessica rejected the director's suggestion with lightning-fast reflexes.

I had never seen Jessica make that kind of expression before.

It was the face of an angry chihuahua.

"It's a dating program, it wouldn't make sense to switch partners!"
"Hmm, then..."

Jessica's argument was convincing.

In the end, the shoot continued.

Taesung and Jinjoo took somewhat active poses to avoid noticing the height difference.

And me and Jessica easily progressed just by Jessica diligently managing her expression.

[Now that the shoot is over, we will announce the number of votes.]
[The votes are not cumulative, but only the results tallied the day before are announced.]
[Jessica, Ella, and... Sunghan have 2 votes.]
[Those with 2 votes or less will not be announced separately.]

I guess getting 1 vote doesn't mean anything anymore.

And—

'Why do I have 2 votes?'

I was flustered.

One vote must be from Jessica, and the other one is—

Jinjoo made eye contact and smiled awkwardly.

Did she vote for me out of guilt for betraying me on the first day?

The other participants glanced at us with a slightly bewildered look, as if we had received 2 votes.

Most of the gazes were directed at me and Ella.

Kangyul seemed to be the most shocked.

Even though he was trying to act calm, his eyebrows were twitching.

Well, yeah.

He had received 3 votes the day before, but today he didn't receive even 2 votes.

[From now until dinner, it's free time.]

After that, it was free time.

The film crew packed up, and since most of us were wearing swimsuits, we tried to enjoy the clear sea at the beach.

I just slowly moved to my room.

Shooting, it was more physically demanding than I thought.

Not just the photoshoot from earlier, but the resort life that had been going on for days.

From waking up in the morning to falling asleep.

Being conscious of the cameras installed all over the resort was surprisingly tiring.

I entered the room, opened the window wide, and looked out at the beach.

The other participants were either used to the cameras or full of energy.

They were casually enjoying playing in the water.

"That's a photoshoot."

When handsome men and beautiful women sprinkle water on each other, that's a photoshoot.

Shouldn't the film crew have been filming that?

"You were here?"
"..."

Jessica strode in and leaned against me.

I glanced at Jessica.

[Favorability: +85]

"Do you want to go to the smoking room?"
"...Do you smoke?"
"No, not that... Ah, have you been to the massage place or the sauna?"
"...I've been there."
"Do you want to go?"

I glanced back at Jessica.

She couldn't keep her body still and was slowly swaying.

What do the smoking room, the therapy room for massages, and the sauna have in common?

The answer is that they are blind spots for cameras.

What are you planning to do?

"No."

A firm refusal.

Nevertheless, Jessica's expression only brightened.

I was a little scared.

What would she do if her favorability increased even more?

I glanced at Jessica, who was heading somewhere for a moment, and after seeing Ella entering the resort, I moved my feet.