Chapter 85

First of all, the reason Seoyeon started learning dance wasn’t, surprisingly, due to a virtual YouTuber.

Right after receiving an award, Seoyeon took a break from acting for a while and ended up feeling down.

After all, she had suddenly quit something that had come to hold a significant place in her heart.

“Seoyeon seems really down lately.”

Of course, Sua was worried sick about her.

To that, Young-bin also responded after some serious consideration.

“What? Just finding something else to enjoy and giving her good praise should work, right?”

“Will that really work?”

Though Sua lightly scolded Young-bin for this,

since there wasn’t anything else to do, she ended up giving a lot of compliments to Seoyeon who habitually did morning calisthenics every day.

“Looking at how Seoyeon moves, it seems like she has a good sense of rhythm!”

“Is that so?”

“You should do well if you try learning dance!”

Seoyeon became quite interested.

Indeed, Seoyeon had a strong sense of rhythm.

Since she generally excelled at physical activities, she also picked up dance quickly.

“Well, you’re doing great. You’re really good at this.”

Anyway, Sua just continued giving praise to Seoyeon thoughtlessly.

In her own excitement, Seoyeon worked quite diligently at learning dance.

“Hmm, Seoyeon, you’re really good… but isn’t it a bit excessive?!”

“You’ve given too much praise.”

Of course, they eventually reached such a conclusion.

Anyway…

Seoyeon was quite confident in her dancing abilities.

After all, unlike singing, dance involves less emotional expression.

Pure physical aptitude.

And simply skill.

Of course, rhythm is important, but as mentioned earlier, Seoyeon didn’t have terrible timing.

Her inability to sing well was because she couldn’t convey emotions properly.

She wasn’t necessarily bad at singing; it just came off as unpleasant due to its lack of emotional resonance, much like Seoyeon’s emotional mimicry.

‘First…’

Seoyeon closed her eyes as the music began.

It was the pre-selected audition music.

In other words, a song by a certain pre-prepared singer that would later become the insert song for *Dream Future*.

‘Just doing any random dance isn’t acceptable.’

Though it was dance, it was also an extension of acting.

She needed to properly display this to the judges.

In the story, Joo Ha-rin was a character with a bouncy, cheerful personality.

Thus, Ha-rin was depicted as someone with considerable skill in dancing.

Naturally, Seoyeon also had a plan regarding dance prepared in advance.

‘First, a light hip-hop dance.’

This is commonly referred to as the most widely seen form of dance.

This is the type that the general public often finds ‘cool.’

Breakdancing, while possible, would be excessive.

It also didn’t fit the character concept.

‘Still…’

One or two moves would be fine.

She opened her eyes.

Seoyeon’s red eyes locked on the judges, making contact.

Breathing out, her lips curled into a subtle smile.

With a beat, Seoyeon’s foot moved.

Her shoulders spread naturally apart, and one foot stepped forward.

“Oooh…”

The first person to let out an exclamation of admiration was Shin Yoon, the casting director.

Perhaps because the song was somewhat ambiguous,

the dance stood out even more impressively.

‘Her long limbs create a sweeping, stylish form of dance.’

Of course, Shin Yoon wasn’t an expert in dance.

This was merely an evaluation from the perspective of an audience member.

But even to an ordinary audience, Seoyeon’s dance appeared impressively fluid.

At the same time…

‘Expression.’

Realizing rather belatedly, it occurred to him that Seoyeon was simultaneously acting.

‘Joo Ha-rin dancing on the street in the show.’

Other judges noticed this as well.

It wasn’t because of the dance or Seoyeon’s bright expressions.

‘Gaze.’

Park Jung-woo carefully observed the movement of Seoyeon’s gaze.

He thought the gaze was aimed at the judges, but as she turned her body 360 degrees, she attempted eye contact with everyone.

Audience.

It imagined that she was surrounded in a circle by an audience.

When Joo Ha-rin dances on the street,

the imagined audience is watching her perform street dance.

Her steps were somewhat limited,

and the movement of her limbs, as if showing her allocated space, suddenly stopped at some point.

It was almost like the space she occupied became visible.

In a way, the place where Seoyeon was dancing no longer felt like an audition hall, but rather like a street surrounded by an audience watching her.

The song was approaching its climax,

and Seoyeon’s body bent downward.

“Huh?!”

Someone let out a surprised exclamation.

Of course, because naturally, the hip-hop seamlessly transitioned into breakdancing.

At the end, with a passionate beat,

Seoyeon’s body spun around.

And it spun fast. Very fast.

A windmill.

This was breakdancing.

Commonly known as breakdancing, it’s one of the foundational moves.

It’s also the most familiar form of breaking to the general public.

Still, even though it’s a basic move, it’s not something an average person can do easily, and if not learned properly, it comes off as awkward.

With her long limbs, it was so impressive, she even unintentionally made mouths drop.

Forgetting that it was part of an act,

And as the song ended,

Seoyeon’s hands touched the ground while her body was lifted upright in mid-air.

“Wow!”

Someone from the judges unintentionally exclaimed.

Freeze.

A pose where one uses the strength of the arms and upper body to support the body.

It’s a typical move shown at the end of breakdancing routines.

Seoyeon had done the windmill just to naturally incorporate this at the end.

As the rapidly spinning body abruptly stopped in midair, the music came to an end.

The judges sat still, mouths agape, and no one dared to speak first.

No, they couldn’t.

‘Is she really this good at dancing?’

No, more than that, how is she supporting her body like that right now?

Is she holding herself up with only her arm strength?

‘Wow, it actually works.’

For someone seeing breakdancing for the first time, it was indeed a marvel of a move.

Observing the amazed judges, Seoyeon proudly glanced toward them, her demeanor completely different from when she had sung.

Jung-woo chuckled at the contrast.

‘…Overacting.’

Of course, Park Jung-woo thought this while letting out a sigh of relief.

Watching Seoyeon bow slightly after standing up, Jung-woo nodded in return.

Anyway, it was clear that the negative from the singing had been more than compensated for.

‘Indeed, she seems to naturally excel at physical activities.’

The intricate dance moves are bonus points, but they don’t usually significantly affect the judging outcome.

Singing poorly doesn’t matter either.

However, when something is too good or bad, it clearly has an impact.

Seoyeon’s singing was one example, and her dancing was the same.

Especially considering the characteristics of the characters Song So-ha and Joo Ha-rin.

“The dance moves and acting were very natural. It definitely suits the character of Joo Ha-rin.”

The audition meeting for *Dream Future*.

“The singing was a bit lacking, but there’s time, and we can work on improving it to some extent.”

“But dance isn’t something you can quickly improve in a short period.”

Song So-ha.

Frankly, the production crew wanted to cast Seoyeon in that role.

However, the actress herself didn’t want the Song So-ha role.

After all, the character Joo Ha-rin in the story was known for her dancing prowess.

She wasn’t incapable of singing, but her vivacious personality was highlighted through her acknowledged dancing skills.

“But the weight of Joo Ha-rin’s role…”

Casting Director Shin Yoon muttered this while glancing toward someone else.

Specifically, toward writer Lim Jin-ha, who wrote the script for this *Dream Future*.

A writer still considered a newcomer by experience.

In normal circumstances, such writers in dramas have to make changes when asked.

“But can we adjust the weight of Joo Ha-rin’s role?”

“Maybe we could increase her appearance frequency a bit after episode 8.”

Upon hearing this from Casting Director Shin Yoon and Director Kim Pil-seok,

“I’d have to change too many parts of the script. The story will definitely collapse.”

Writer Lim Jin-ha shook her head in refusal.

Kim Pil-seok internally sighed at the expected response.

‘Tch. Unfortunately…’

In several aspects, Lim Jin-ha wasn’t very satisfying for Director Kim Pil-seok.

Despite being a newcomer, she had two hit series under her belt.

Technically, one of them was a co-writer role, but she did have one major hit.

Anyway, even for a newcomer writer, having a hit series makes all the difference.

Besides, Lim Jin-ha seemed to have some backing in the broadcasting company.

Likely connected to a certain PD in the Drama Department…

Anyway, because of that, even Director Kim Pil-seok couldn’t easily push through if she were to be stubborn.

“Writer Lim Jin-ha.”

As if sensing this, Park Jung-woo smiled at her.

The tension in Lim Jin-ha’s face relaxed somewhat at that smile.

“Yes?”

“Then, if an unexpected situation occurs, is it possible to make modifications?”

“An unexpected situation?”

“For example, what if a role unexpectedly becomes extremely popular?”

The role Park Jung-woo mentioned in his words was clearly someone.

Joo Ha-rin.

When Kim Pil-seok or Shin Yoon had brought it up, it caused a rigid expression on their faces.

“Of course!”

While laughing softly, her easy response made Director Kim Pil-seok awkwardly cover his face with his palm.

Anyway, there was no helping her expression.

Park Jung-woo’s words carried deep meaning.

An unexpected situation where someone garners tremendous popularity…

Did this imply that Joo Ha-rin was predicted to gain greater popularity than expected? Or…

Kim Pil-seok had an idea.

The premiere of *The Chaser* coinciding with *Dream Future*.

If Park Jung-woo had considered these factors,

“Too exaggerated praise, I guess, is not out of place.”

Seoyeon’s acting during the audition.

And the unexpected dance skills.

According to Jung-woo, it indicated that physical activities came naturally to her.

In summary, she possessed a considerable amount of talent.

“Alright then, let’s decide.”

Director Kim Pil-seok looked at two photographs and spoke.

Song So-ha.

And the chosen actress for the role of Joo Ha-rin.

***

It was two days later that Seoyeon received notification about the results of *Dream Future*.

Manager Park Eun-ha gently patted Seoyeon’s shoulder with a look of regret.

“Seoyeon, what should we do?”

Seeing her gloomy expression, Seoyeon felt a sharp tension.

‘Did I… fail?’

Even if she couldn’t sing well, it felt excessive to reject her.

Just as Seoyeon was about to feel down,

“Contact came in casting her for the role of Joo Ha-rin.”

“Ah, really?”

“Uh?”

She was expected to look disappointed, yet Seoyeon’s face instantly lit up.

Although her expression didn’t change, her sparkling eyes betrayed her excitement.

In any case, after being around her, one gradually comes to understand Seoyeon’s way of emotional expression.

She just doesn’t express emotions well.

But in recent times, her emotions themselves had become increasingly more profound.

‘Be amazed.’

Did you really think I failed?

Seoyeon originally took the audition targeting the role of Joo Ha-rin, but Manager Park Eun-ha seemed to think that Seoyeon aimed for the role of Song So-ha all along.

Given that Song So-ha represented the main heroine in the story.

“Oh, and…”

Just as Park Eun-ha was about to say something else,

Uuung!!

The buzzing of her pocket caught attention.

Upon naturally retrieving her phone and checking it, she wore a somewhat indescribable expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmm? Ah. You’ll understand once I hand this to you, Seoyeon.”

“Huh?”

What was happening?

Though such a suspicious call wouldn’t be handed to her this casually.

“Hello?”

As she casually answered,

“Joo Seoyeon?!”

Hearing this, a surprised voice came from the other end.

It was a woman’s voice.

Seoyeon, unfamiliar with the tone, asked,

“Who is this?”

“…?”

An almost disappointed tone came from the other side, but it was probably just her imagination.

Anyway, after adjusting her breathing for a moment, the person spoke,

“It’s me, Jo Seohui.”

“Jo Seohui?”

Her voice trembled.

Ah, Seohui.

Thinking back, her voice was indeed like that.

Initially, Seoyeon hadn’t really thought deeply about their childhood friendship.

She just let it be.

“Hello.”

“Ah, yeah. Not exactly a nice day though…”

Upon hearing Seohui’s slightly deflated tone, Seoyeon momentarily detached the phone from her ear and furrowed her brows.

The unusually subdued voice made her wonder if it was really Jo Seohui.

“Anyway, why did you call?”

“Well…”

Seohui hesitated.

It seemed she was debating whether to say it or not.

But soon,

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“The movie you were talking about… I didn’t know it was something like this.”

At this sudden confession by Seohui,

Seoyeon finally realized the reason.

‘Ah, it’s because of that.’

Seohui had finally realized what Director Baek Min’s movie was about, as mentioned earlier.

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