Chapter 45

After finishing a few script readings, we were finally about to begin the full-fledged stage rehearsals.

Currently, we were deeply engaged in script analysis, but it was obvious things were about to get busier.

So, I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

I glanced sideways as Jiyeon entered, slipping off her shoes, and prepared tea casually.

Although we often hung out at school, Jiyeon didn’t visit my house very frequently. We usually met outside, and ironically, I went to her house more often.

‘Alright.’

Until now, I had been hesitant, but after seeing the list of third-year students for Seven Live, I made up my mind.

I decided I should at least try to say something. Who knows if she might show interest?

‘Since it could interfere with her acting career, I shouldn’t expect too much though.’

Still, couldn’t it happen occasionally, maybe just a bit?

“…Your face looks really unpleasant.”

“That’s too much.”

I furrowed my brow a little as I spoke, prompting Jiyeon to grasp my face gently with both hands.

“While your expression hasn’t changed, I’m getting this vibe. Are you thinking about something weird again?”

“Something weird?”

“You sometimes come up with truly bizarre ideas.”

It was the kind of comment that could easily cause serious misunderstandings.

I am, after all, a rather ordinary high school girl, except for the fact that I don’t have many friends… or well, I *am* still a high school girl.

“Mom, Jiyeon is here.”

“Hello.”

“Ah, if it isn’t Jiyeon. Without you, Seoyeon would be lost.”

Mom said this and quickly began getting dressed, probably intending to prepare some fruit for our time of leisure.

“Your mom.”

“Yeah?”

“She seems to have gotten an even bigger chest lately.”

“Are you serious?”

“And she hasn’t changed since the last time I met her. My mom is going to be sad when she hears this.”

“Well, your mom is still young.”

Indeed, Jiyeon’s mom also appeared rather young.

“I guess my mom puts in tons of effort, though. I should probably ask your mom some day how she takes care of her skin.”

Even after saying that, mom didn’t really put much effort into skincare—occasionally used a face mask before sleeping, that’s about it.

Still, she truly had an eerie level of youthfulness. Perhaps mom herself is the real marvel.

“Alright, what’s next? Want to watch a movie like usual?”

Jiyeon asked while gesturing toward the large TV.

Usually, when we were alone, Jiyeon and I watched movies or dramas.

It wasn’t just for fun but rather to observe the actors’ performances, having discussions or practicing acting ourselves. Jiyeon was sincere about acting and would often ask me questions about acting whenever there was a moment.

Ironically, these days, she now has more acting experience than me.

“Today…”

I started by casually turning on YouTube.

“…”

Then my finger paused.

I originally planned to casually bring up the topic of “there’s something like this recently” while showing her a Vtuber video, leading into a natural conversation.

Naturally…

…hmm.

It wasn’t as easy as I thought.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead, feeling Jiyeon’s gaze fixated on me.

Was this feeling strange?

If I suddenly turn on a Vtuber video now, it’s going to seem weird, right?

‘Pull yourself together, Sooyeon. Are Vtubers embarrassing?’

For some reason, I started having this feeling… maybe for the first time.

After all, Jiyeon is a real social butterfly who isn’t connected to things like anime. It’s impossible to predict how she’ll react, so my hands hesitated.

Would this small, simple hope of mine for Jiyeon to take just a little interest end here?

“Jiyeon.”

“Uh, yeah?”

“…Why do you have so many abnormal algorithms?”

My YouTube, obviously signed into my ID, naturally showed the most commonly watched videos. And among them were also Vtuber-related clips.

“This, Vtubers.”

I flinched.

How did she know?

If she did know, maybe I could have more naturally brought up the conversation…

Right as I was about to open my mouth, the worst line possible came out of Jiyeon.

“You’ve seen those?”

One of the scariest lines that could ever come from a friend, and it was right out of Jiyeon’s mouth.

I closed my mouth and merely shivered as Jiyeon sighed with slight amusement.

“I may have come across a little strong? I was just curious, you know.”

“… Really?”

“What, your reaction’s kind of strange.”

Jiyeon stifled a small laugh.

“Well, if there’s nothing else to watch, feel free to watch what you want.”

After hesitating for a moment, I slowly nodded.

Seeing Jiyeon input something into the YouTube search box, I squeezed my eyes shut tightly.

‘I’ve failed…’

Of course, upon reflection, it should’ve been obvious.

***

“Hmm.”

Jiyeon glanced at Seoyeon while changing the channels.

Seoyeon, eyes shut tightly while nibbling her lower lip, exhibited an expression rarely seen on someone who usually had such a composed demeanor.

Jiyeon smirked faintly looking at Seoyeon’s face, then subtly glanced at Seoyeon’s YouTube search history. Curiosity about Seoyeon’s recent interests was piqued.

Most of the search history was drama-related, causing Jiyeon’s eyes to narrow curiously.

‘So she really intends to seriously tackle this play.’

It was hard to understand why Seoyeon chose this play for her comeback piece.

If she asked, Seoyeon’s response would be cryptic:

“I have to do this for the next work.”

‘Seoyeon knows what she’s doing, so I’ll leave it to her.’

Jiyeon didn’t worry much about it. The play would reveal everything.

Instead,

‘Vtubers?’

In Seoyeon’s algorithm, this and that content appeared.

‘Hmm.’

Something clicked.

Jiyeon knew some basic information, having met voice actors through acting school friends.

Ultimately, it was all about voice acting, wasn’t it?

Though she didn’t find it particularly interesting due to the apparent potential for failure without talent, seeing Seoyeon’s reaction made it sort of amusing.

Jiyeon had known Seoyeon often flinched about her own voice.

Currently, Seoyeon looked like she failed in something, visibly crestfallen.

Perhaps it related to Vtubers?

“Seoyeon.”

“…Yeah?”

Jiyeon looked at Seoyeon, who was uncharacteristically deflated, and chuckled.

“It’s nothing.”

She was just amused by her own thoughts.

***

A few days passed, and the official stage practice began.

Having extensively researched beforehand, Seoyeon realized this was entirely different from a TV drama’s experience.

The theater, with 600 seats, didn’t feel too large at first glance.

But, once on stage, the scale was surprisingly overwhelming.

‘Performing in front of this many people isn’t… new to me.’

She thought, remembering *Snow White*. She looked around at the empty seats from the stage.

“Hey, are you scared?”

As she was lost in thought, a teasing voice reached her ears.

Turning, she found Cheong-seok Sim watching her as usual with a smirk.

“No.”

“That’s what I thought.”

He grinned despite his sharp features, making his smile somewhat animalistic. It was hard to imagine a guy who fit the role of *Baesung-hak* better.

‘But his skills are real.’

He was indeed extraordinary in this play. A rising star in the theater world, and apparently, it wasn’t just small drama roles anymore. He even scored a lead role in a major OTT drama, a step beyond me, who had once played *Princess Yeonhwa* in *The Moon That Hid the Sun*

Unlike Seoyeon, who had at least auditioned to get that part, Cheong-seok hadn’t even needed to.

“Listen.”

Cheong-seok erased his smile and spoke in a lazy tone.

“If you don’t fully adapt to the stage, your skill won’t even come out halfway. I’ve seen plenty where kids shine during readings but completely falter on stage.”

Then he seemed to recall something and added:

“Of course, this isn’t really directed at you. You definitely have a different vibe.”

…Vibe?

Confused by his odd phrasing, I looked up at him.

“Tip: actual performance needs to be like practice.”

“Like practice?”

“Dramas can be re-shot, but plays have no second chances. So, don’t overexert yourself.”

He approached me.

“If you overexert yourself, you might even mess it up.”

“Isn’t that usually how acting works? Putting your all into it.”

“Mmm, sure, if you’re capable.”

That was…

A challenge, wasn’t it?

Seoyeon gazed directly into his eyes, trying to detect his true intentions behind those words.

Was it a provocation?

Or curiosity?

The emotions were unreadable. While Seoyeon was detached from her own feelings, she was highly sensitive to others’. This, of course, stemmed from the accumulated ‘information’ she’d experienced over time.

“The role of Hong Jeong-hee is crucial.”

He observed her, adding:

“Because it’s the villain role.”

“The role of a non-existent villain essentially doesn’t exist.”

Cheong-seok shrugged.

“At least from what I’ve seen in the script read-through, that won’t be the case here. And…”

He looked at other actors entering the stage, whispering into Seoyeon’s ear:

“I want to see a proper performance.”

A proper performance?

Seoyeon watched as he faded off with a faint smirk.

…He was really an unpredictable person.

***

At Yeonhwa High School, a private school with approximately 800 students.

It was renowned for its students’ talents in arts and physical education, although slightly weaker academically.

Overall, an average high school.

“We’ve received a request to film something here at our school.”

“Film?”

This sudden announcement was made at a staff meeting.

Film?

A drama, perhaps?

Staff turned toward the principal, who cleared his throat and explained:

“The program is called ‘Looking Back: Past Memories.’”

Did such a program exist?

Most hadn’t heard of it.

A less popular variety show…

“Oh, yes, I know about it. An old variety show aired on Sundays at five, right?”

The familiar timing elicited recognition.

With that nod of recognition, the principal relaxed.

There was at least some awareness.

“If this goes well, it could promote our school, right? I hear they’ll be recreating old dramas or variety shows.”

“Yes, my understanding is the students will reproduce them.”

However, those teachers familiar with the show wore skeptical expressions.

‘Will this even promote the school?’

To be honest, it wasn’t very entertaining.

Occasionally, when a student performed exceptionally well or hilariously poorly, the show was amusing. That was about it.

“Hmm! And, coincidentally, this time there will be guest actor support during filming.”

“Guest actors?”

Thinking this variety show wouldn’t attract much fame, someone guessed it would involve relatively unknown actors.

“Park Jung-woo, he’s the actor,” the principal announced.

“Wow, really?”

“Is Park Jung-woo coming here?”

Park Jung-woo, once a title of being the “actor’s son,” had stepped away from that label.

Now the most popular actor among teenagers in Korea, leading the top spot for actors 20- and 10-year-olds want to meet.

“Alright, so for the Drama Department… Daeyeon Song, correct?”

“Ah, yes.”

“They requested about ten students be selected ahead of time for the filming. Is that possible?”

“Of course!”

Song Da-yeon was confident.

After all, Jiyeon, currently starring in a cable TV drama, was also a member of the drama department—though unofficially, it was true.

“Jiyeon would surely agree to participate, right?”

Given her passion for acting, it seemed like she would.

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