Chapter 14

Eun-seon Jeong’s words froze the atmosphere on the filming set.

Of course it was bound to happen.

Anyone could see that Seoyeon’s acting was good just a moment ago.

‘As expected.’

Gong Jung-tae squeezed his eyes shut.

Eun-seon Jeong clearly didn’t like Seoyeon, as expected. Given how much she favored Seohui Jo, she must have been upset that Seohui lost the audition.

Or perhaps she thought Director Jo Bang-woo pulled some strings.

“Actress Jeong Eun-seon.”

In a situation like this, it was ultimately only he who could mediate. As a veteran actress and the most powerful actress of this drama, she was unmatched.

“That, your words are too harsh. Seoyeon’s acting was more than excellent.”

The expectations for child actors aren’t usually that high. As long as they can deliver their lines clearly and stay true to the emotional tone, they are already considered promising actors.

There’s no reason Seohui Jo is called the princess of daily dramas. Gong Jung-tae hadn’t seen a child actor who acted as well as her.

At least not until he saw Seoyeon.

‘This child’s acting has strength.’

Even if her technique is lacking, she is someone with the power to stir emotions. Though it might be tough to pull off in a drama, didn’t she just admirably prove it moments ago?

“Hm?”

At Director Gong Jung-tae’s words, Eun-seon Jeong looked at him with narrowed eyes. The gaze was sharp like a blade, similar to that of Queen Dowager Eun-hye, making him unconsciously flinch.

“Ahem. Aren’t your words a bit too harsh?”

No matter that she was a veteran actress, he was the director of this filming set. Her attitude was something he could not overlook.

No wonder even those who once viewed Seoyeon with prejudice thought that it had gone too far.

“……”

Eun-seon Jeong remained silent for a while at Director Gong’s words.

“I think you’ve misunderstood the meaning of my words.”

“Excuse me?”

Was there something in his words moments ago to misunderstand? Though flustered, Gong Jung-tae questioned her back, but Eun-seon Jeong’s gaze remained fixed on Seoyeon.

Despite her gaze, Seoyeon could only look back at her with a baffled expression. She didn’t fully grasp the situation.

Frankly, from Seoyeon’s standpoint,

‘Isn’t that something worth pointing out?’

Manager Kim always found fault with her this way. She continued contemplating in this tranquil manner.

“Director Gong, how was Seoyeon’s acting just now?”

“If? Of course, it was good. It was good, so I gave the okay sign, wasn’t I? Rather, I’d like to ask, what exact part of Seoyeon’s acting was unsatisfactory to Actress Jeong Eun-sun?”

“I never said that.”

Eun-seon Jeong responded firmly to his words.

“What I said was that there was no emotion or sincerity in this child’s acting.”

‘…Isn’t that what you just said?’

Though that thought crossed his mind, Gong Jung-tae quietly listened to her.

“There is no doubt about the acting. Yes, it was really good, honestly I was quite surprised.”

An unexpected compliment. As Gong Jung-tae looked at her silently baffled, Eun-seon Jeong briefly turned her gaze towards Seoyeon.

Her eyes were clear.

A mysterious pupil tinged with red—perhaps that was one of her charms.

“Director Gong.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Could I have a word with Seoyeon’s mother?”

At her words, Gong Jung-tae had no choice but to tense up. This, too, was something completely unexpected.

***

“……”

Sua slightly shrank back as she looked at the middle-aged woman in front of her. Frankly, Sua didn’t like Actress Jeong Eun-seon.

It was only natural. To criticize Seoyeon’s acting which everyone applauded!

Had another staff member not intervened, she would have run onto the set.

Instead, the conversation twisted in an unexpected direction, leaving her face-to-face with Eun-seon Jeong.

The filming had paused momentarily. Seoyeon was waiting outside, and now only Gong Jung-tae, Sua, and Actress Jeong Eun-seon were in the small waiting room.

“There’s no sincerity or emotion in Seoyeon’s acting.”

“…What exactly do you mean?”

Though Sua had been quaking, she flared up at Eun-seon Jeong’s words. Just as she was about to slam her hand on the table to retort, she stopped at Eun-seon Jeong’s next words.

“There’s no sincerity or emotion, and yet she performed at that level. …Everyone seems to think that this child’s forte is emotional acting.”

“A.”

It was only then that Gong Jung-tae realized what Eun-seon Jeong was talking about. With extensive experience as a director, he could understand her meaning.

In fact, he felt he realized this too late. However, unlike Gong Jung-tae, Sua couldn’t grasp what Eun-seon Jeong was getting at.

“That’s….”

“Initially, I thought it was a misconception too. But watching her performance today confirmed it.”

Eun-seon Jeong had first met Seoyeon through a yogurt commercial. At that time, she simply thought, “What a cheerful kid.”

She hadn’t considered it acting then. The next time she saw Seoyeon was during the auditions for *The Moon That Hid the Sun*, as part of the making film for her protege, Seohui Jo.

“There’s something… off.”

The acting competition between Seohui and Seoyeon was split into two parts. It was, unmistakably, superb.

For someone so young to perform at that level impressed Eun-seon Jeong.

She admired Seohui Jo, but she couldn’t help but be drawn to Seoyeon.

“It’s strange.”

She revisited it several times. Seoyeon’s acting captivated people.

Emotional acting.

The subtitle even mentioned that her forte was emotional acting. Method acting.

“No.”

But Eun-seon Jeong herself was an actor who specialized in method acting. Because of her expertise, she knew.

Seoyeon isn’t doing real method acting.

If it were method acting, one wouldn’t pull out of the emotion so quickly. Especially not a child.

Moreover, the claim that a child actor’s forte is emotional acting was, frankly, risky. Was it possibly edited for broadcasting? Had there been something she hadn’t seen?

But if that were genuine…

Eun-seon Jeong bit her lower lip. There’s no way an ordinary kid could do this.

Even saying it’s innate talent for emotional acting doesn’t hold. While the perfection puzzled her, this kind of “experience”-driven acting wasn’t something innate.

So, she presumed there must be an external cause. And the person most likely to influence child actors?

Parents.

Since recalling that, Eun-seon Jeong had been in a persistent bad mood, presuming it was the parents causing issues. She thought there was something problematic about them but Sua, in front of her now, didn’t appear to have any major issue.

“…Method acting is like throwing oneself into a deep sea.”

Immersion in the role makes one sink deep like being underwater. Coming out of it is exhausting; it’s hard to leave the emotion behind right away.

“But Seoyeon isn’t like that, that’s doing superficial acting. The impression of emotional acting is because she’s accustomed to how others perceive her. This kind of characteristic rarely shows up in ordinary kids….”

“Is that… not good?”

Sua asked cautiously. Eun-seon Jeong hesitated on how to respond.

If method acting is diving deep into the sea,

then Seoyeon walks on its surface.

She was peering into the water, acting as if mimicking emotions without understanding them. How such a thing is possible still eludes Eun-seon Jeong.

However,

“…Even without using emotions, she’s at this level. Probably still due to lacking technique.”

That’s why Eun-seon Jeong favored Seohui Jo. Seohui understood boundaries.

She knew the limits of appropriate emotional usage. But Seoyeon lacked such limits.

There was no brake. Likely because she didn’t know her own capabilities. The reason her boundaries were upheld so far was because she didn’t yet know how to integrate emotions into acting.

But if,

Seoyeon learns to act. If she performs genuine method acting.

If she ever truly starts acting with real emotion,

“I’m not quite sure either. Maybe nothing will happen… But Seoyeon is still young.”

Eun-seon Jeong pondered. Emotional acting is toxic for children. She was quite certain of this.

Excessive emotional acting is something best avoided.

Particularly, if a highly emotionally sensitive child were to get involved in method acting, it would be very tough to escape its impact for a long time.

Yet, even if it’s just pretend, to see a child deliver such deep performances…

“What might happen when Seoyeon starts genuinely acting as an actor?”

That’s why Eun-seon Jeong disliked Seoyeon’s acting. Her unease had persisted precisely for this reason.

While wandering the stream of emotions and gazing at the surface, it felt like the child might stumble and fall into the water.

Yes, a child tossed into the river.

“Let’s hope my worries are unfounded.”

At Eun-seon Jeong’s words, neither Sua nor Director Gong Jung-Tae could say anything.

***

Though there was a slight disturbance, the filming was successfully completed, after all. The scenes featuring Actress Jeong Eun-seon had been approved on the first try.

The footage wasn’t bad at all. Despite returning home with a somewhat troubled expression, Actress Jeong Eun-seon even apologized for being too harsh.

“Seoyeon.”

“Yes?”

Then, on the way back, her mother quietly asked.

“How’s acting?”

Mom seemed unusually down. It was hard to tell why. Maybe Actress Jeong Eun-seon said something?

That doesn’t seem likely though. Honestly, though I’m not great at reading people, I didn’t get the vibes that Actress Jeong disliked me.

She did gaze disapprovingly a few times, though.

“It’s fun.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

At first, it felt like just practice before becoming a Vtuber, but now, I kind of like it. After all, it’s similar to being a Vtuber in how it lets you embody a completely different self.

‘I don’t particularly like the red mask…’

Still, even if it’s a regular Vtuber with a red mask, wouldn’t it be cool if it were a famous actor?!

No, even then, the red mask is a bit…

“Seoyeon, if you ever encounter anything tough, you have to absolutely let Mom know, alright?”

“Hm? Oh, okay.”

At Mom’s words, I carelessly agreed. I think I’ve been living quite diligently compared to my previous life, at least recently.

Proof of that—my bank account is steadily filling up! If I keep working hard here, do more ads, appear in more dramas…

‘Hmm…’

Suddenly, I remembered Actress Jeong Eun-seon’s words from today: that my acting lacked sincerity and emotion.

While others might not get it, I somewhat resonated with those words.

‘…Geez.’

I crossed my arms and sighed. Recently, I’ve started to vaguely suspect why.

---