Chapter 310

“Your skin is so soft! Are you bored waiting? Just a little longer, we’re almost done! Now, let me apply a very light touch of lipstick! Want to try making a face like mine?”

“Ugh…”

“That’s right! You’re doing great, great, great!”

A man with heavy makeup was holding a lipstick in his hand.

I tightly closed my eyes.

The history of makeup traces back to Neanderthals.

Humans have liked to adorn themselves since ancient times, not hesitating to apply powders made from shells, balsam, or even a type of lead called white lead.

So I found comfort in the thought that I was merely submitting to an irresistible, massive historical flow of human history.

Three makeup artists swarmed me at once.

While the youngest one diligently curled my hair from behind, the others patted white powder on both sides.

In my previous life, the makeup sessions would easily take four to five hours, so waiting itself was nothing new to me.

Especially since a hologram connected to the internet was right in front of me, leaving no room for boredom.

“By the way, do you have any other ads shot besides this ice cream one?”

“Last week I shot a short film for a public service announcement, along with ads for Nike shoes, a modern group shopping mall, a Samsung Electronics capsule, and Gigastudy.”

“Whoa! In just a week? That’s a ton!”

“You’re totally an idol! I have to make sure to watch the ads you’re in later!”

“Is there a reason you suddenly started filming so many ads?”

“Why are you asking such things?”

The older ones cast sidelong glances at the youngest.

Since I couldn’t nod due to the makeup, I opted to briefly close my eyes to indicate my affirmation.

“I needed a lot of money to buy mana.”

“Ah, so you needed money. I’ve heard it costs a lot to attend an academy.”

“You’re impressive, working hard to earn money all on your own. Alright, all done! You did a great job! Have a good shoot!”

I hopped down from the tall chair, my feet not touching the floor, and landed lightly on both feet.

Lost in various thoughts, I put my hands behind my back and moved to the next location.

The day before yesterday, I had completed my calculations by running a program to estimate the exact mana cost.

Magic of six circles and beyond cannot be used without government approval, so I planned to connect five circles of Persona Phisina and Dragonia Nasentia in parallel using dimensional descent.

It was merely a pretense of being five circles, as it wasn’t truly five circles. There’s a progressive tax on mana.

To sum it up, the Akashic record cost 675 million won, Persona Phisina 8.61 billion won, and Dragonia Nasentia 12.23 billion won, totaling 2.091 billion won.

Furthermore, simply paying enough money doesn’t mean one can use mana freely.

Mana is a finite resource.

So, once the Gunsan mana power plant is completed next year, timing it before it links with the industry would be the best move for now.

For that to happen, all the gears must mesh perfectly.

The success of the Bio-Akashic new drug, the proposal for a friendly merger.

The issue of Adella’s position was complex enough to leave for later.

‘Sigh, nothing is easy.’

Screeech—

A vast set that could not even be compared to the location of the public service advertisement came into view.

Slides, swings, seesaws.

And on the ground, soft plastic balls everywhere.

It was hard to believe that this entire playground was built just for a single advertisement shoot.

Ah, I guess it wouldn’t be just once since there’s also a behind-the-scenes clip.

“I’m going to standby!”

As instructed by the PD in advance, I climbed to the center of the set and waited for the ice cream truck.

Honk honk—

A fairy-tale-like white vehicle that could never be seen on the streets stopped in front of me.

Soon, the side door opened wide, and a charming Western actor with a mustache stepped out and waved.

“Merhaba!”

It means hello in Turkish.

I didn’t learn Turkish separately; it was one of the three Turkish phrases I knew.

Merhaba, hello, sağ ol, thank you, and benim dondurma ile oynamayın, don’t play with my ice cream.

An ice cream on a metal stick soared toward me in a parabolic arc.

‘Now!’

Swish—

As I swiftly swung my arm, the ice cream cone landed perfectly in my hand.

“Huh?”

“Oh Jesus…!”

According to the script, I was supposed to drop it here, but I caught it without thinking.

“Cut! Nameya! Your reflexes are impressive!”

“Oh… I’m sorry…”

“Wahaha!”

The filming crew burst into laughter.

“Hmm, we might as well use this as it is! The scene turned out fun.”

“Wait, PD! Then what about the storyboard?”

“The storyboard? Our talented writers can adjust it again. Alright?”

“Y-yes…”

And then the ad shoot continued in an environment where some couldn’t even laugh.

* * *

[Last modified: 2051-11-28 16:34:47]

[Public Service Advertising Council War Against Advertisement Controversy]

[This document contains detailed information and explanations of real incidents.]

1. Overview

On November 24, 2051, the Public Service Advertising Council uploaded an anti-war and child protection public service advertisement in collaboration with Save the Children on its official YouTube channel.

This ‘moversal’ (movie + commercial) caused a stir with Noname starring in it, but soon after it hit social media, controversies regarding child abuse spread.

The contention was that Noname was a real victim of Valpurgis, and the content was likely to induce PTSD in the actress.

2. Opinions and Issues

(…)

Director Chang Pyeong-sik was waiting outside the Baskin Robbins filming site, scrolling through the latest articles.

He wanted to talk with Noname when she finished her ad shoot.

“It’s a first for me that acting too well has become a problem.”

Anyone can cry on cue, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Let alone adults, child actors who can truly cry are even rarer.

Moreover, it wasn’t just any ordinary crying performance.

“That acting… it was truly the eyes of a soldier who has experienced war…”

Ten years ago, when he shot a movie about the Middle Eastern war, he had interviewed soldiers and war correspondents.

PTSD. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Among younger generations, it’s often casually referred to as thinking one might get PTSD.

But Director Chang knew well that it wasn’t a topic to be taken lightly.

They couldn’t function in their daily lives without taking six pills of tranquilizers three times a day, and they often fainted at even a similar sound.

However, Noname’s case was different.

As soon as the director called cut, she wiped her tears and smiled with an angelic expression.

During the shoot, all the staff had their hearts in their throats, though.

Fortunately, the Public Service Advertising Council did not pull the ad like other companies, monitoring public reaction.

“Should I be grateful that they’re a public enterprise in moments like this?”

In fact, looking solely at the advertisement itself, praises were overflowing, saying things like, “It opened a new horizon for Korean public service ads, which used to be at middle school UCC level,” and “The quality could stand up even at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival.”

As an industry professional, ignoring that diamond in the rough would be unacceptable.

Among actors, how many had excelled in their studies and had top grades or graduated from prestigious universities?

After a long wait, Noname burst out of the set with a black plastic bag in hand.

“Wait a minute!”

The problem was that Noname completely bypassed Director Chang Pyeong-sik.

“Wait!”

I reached out toward her, who was running without looking back.

An impromptu chase unfolded in reality.

The problem was that Director Chang was a chubby man in his late forties, avoiding aerobic exercise.

“Gah… Hah…! I can’t run…! Huh?”

And Noname was a skinny girl with no muscle on her body.

“Ugh… I can’t run without aura.”

Noname set down the icebox and gasped for breath.

The chase at a speed of 10 km/h ended in less than 15 seconds.

“Why are you running away, Namya?”

“Because you keep following me like a stalker! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’m scared, it’s just that it’s dirty!”

“Dirty? What an excuse!”

A dagger flew into Director Chang Pyeong-sik’s heart.

“This is ice cream I received, so I can’t chat for long. I need to put it in the freezer quickly.”

Noname pointed to the black plastic bag.

“Then let me be direct. Would you like to be my colleague, or rather, be in my movie?”

“No way.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not planning to be an actress. Unless you give me a billion won.”

A billion won.

That’s the kind of pay only the top-ranked Hollywood actors could expect.

In Korea, it was an amount that one couldn’t even dream of; it was absurd to offer that sum to a supporting actor.

“Why not?”

“If you’re curious, a billion won.”

Noname replied dismissively.

After all, an child’s stubbornness is unbendable.

Director Chang understood this well and sat down on the concrete floor.

“Well, there are definitely many things you can do besides acting, so I shouldn’t pressure you.”

“Then can I go—”

“Wait a minute. There’s something I really want to say, so could you spare just a little bit of your time?”

“Only five minutes.”

“Alright.”

It was now the third day since Director Chang had been following Noname.

Still unable to shed her doubts, Noname stood with her arms crossed.

“This ad has been getting a lot of buzz for various reasons. All thanks to your godlike acting.”

“Really? I haven’t seen it yet.”

“Seriously, in your lifetime… Wow, even if you searched the whole world, you wouldn’t find anyone your age who can act like that! Anyway, that’s not the important part. I wanted you to clarify something. This ad, based on my intuition, might just be a candidate for the Cannes International Advertising Festival.”

“So?”

“What clarification?”

“This is an unprecedented level of advertisement that can hardly be found in Korea. If it’s going to be showcased on the international stage, having such poor public opinion in Korea could definitely pose a problem, don’t you think?”

“I don’t think it’s going to be a problem for me.”

Director Chang found himself at a loss for words.

Even he couldn’t find a reason why there would be an issue.

“Uhh… Right! Noname is shooting a lot of ads these days! If a regular person can earn that much money from ads, people’s perception won’t be as positive as before. But with this opportunity, it could widely showcase your acting talent, leading to better treatment as an entertainer and more ad opportunities, right?”

“I’ve been mindful of public opinion for a long time now.”

Noname fiddled with her phone a few times before showing the screen to Director Chang.

An article that had been posted an hour ago.

[Exclusive) Noname, donates the entire 50 million won appearance fee for the public service advertisement to Save the Children.]

“Doesn’t this work?”

By notifying her worth of at least 50 million won, she could also earn significant social applause – a calculated move.

‘Wait, where did the Public Service Advertising Council get that much money from?!’

Even for the famous Noname, spending 50 million won on a public service advertisement seemed absurd.

From the beginning, it was produced under the sponsorship of Save the Children—‘Seoul is at War Right Now.’

The money circulated back to absorb it again.

The Public Service Advertising Council was pleased not to have spent additional money, and Noname was satisfied to receive the title of having donated.

Noname pocketed her phone and subtly said to Director Chang.

“I want to do what I can excel in. Right now, because I’m young and somewhat mentally mature compared to others, you might see me as having talent, but I wonder if I’ll still be able to act well when I grow up.”

“Of course you will—”

The director hesitated.

Visions of child actors who briefly shone and then vanished without a trace flickered through his mind.

“More than anything, I don’t particularly enjoy acting someone else’s life… Can I go now? Don’t worry; I’ll clarify your earlier point at the right time.”

Noname clenched the black bag in both hands and left.

“Oh, right. And that wasn’t acting.”

“What?”

“I hope the advertisement achieves good results. I really hate war, too.”

Director Chang Pyeong-sik froze at her profound words.