Chapter 55

The next day.

Seoyeon completely forgot about her daily routine of stopping by the convenience store and hurried to school.

She wanted to ask Jiyeon on the sly if what she had seen yesterday was correct, so she came early.

“Oh, Jiyeon said she’d be late because of the morning shoot…”

That’s right.

Seoyeon closed her eyes tightly.

Thinking about it, Jiyeon was also very busy.

She was appearing in a drama, and with her growing popularity, it seemed she also got a CF contract.

‘And after [Past, Memories to Watch], it looks like she’s gotten close to Director Jung Min-jae.’

In any case, compared to herself, Jiyeon was clearly someone with excellent communication skills.

It was probably because of her natural talent that she became a popular VTuber so quickly in her past life.

“…Yeah, if Jiyeon comes, tell her later.”

Saying this, Seoyeon turned and walked away sluggishly.

As a result, the female classmate who had been about to talk to Seoyeon suddenly became the center of attention.

“Why? What did she say?”

“I’m seeing her up close for the first time, but her face is really small. Is that what a celebrity looks like?”

“So, Jiyeon really is a celebrity.”

The students chatted animatedly about such things.

True, some of her old friends had become too familiar and forgotten, but currently, since Jiyeon had been in the entertainment industry longer than Seoyeon, more people knew her.

Sometimes, you just don’t know certain things because you’re too close.

Particularly, the impact from her recent shoot of [Past, Memories to Watch] was immense.

“I’d like to talk to her, though…”

“She seems a little scary…”

There’s a saying that if someone is too pretty, it can be intimidating.

It was a phrase that fit Seoyeon perfectly.

Plus, unlike when she smiled on her convenience store visits, Seoyeon always maintained an expressionless face.

She didn’t exactly mean to, but she tended to give off a cool and aloof impression to the students.

If Jiyeon had been there, she might have said, “Just smile a bit like you do when you go to the convenience store,” but Jiyeon was not present.

Later, during the fifth period Physical Education class, Seoyeon finally spotted Jiyeon during the joint PE session with the neighboring class.

“Play catch casually. Be careful not to get injured.”

As usual, gym class was about playing dodgeball.

Though they called it dodgeball, it was more like a self-study period.

Surprisingly though, due to it being part of the sports day competitions, some students took it quite seriously.

Schools that prioritize art and physical education naturally had many students confident in sports.

‘I want to talk to her…’

Lost in random wandering near the dodgeball game, Seoyeon ended up joining the match with the other class and fell into deep thought.

She could see Jiyeon, looking tired, standing there listlessly.

It was probably because of the morning shoot; her pale face showed signs of fatigue.

Across from Seoyeon, that is, on Jiyeon’s class’ side, a female student was looking at Seoyoen with a sharp gaze.

“Joo Sooyeon.”

Even among other girls, her striking appearance stood out.

Was she really an actress?

‘But…’

The female student clenched her dodgeball tightly.

Yeonhwa High School’s dodgeball team was always in the top four in national competitions.

Though she was a reserve player, she was still a team member.

‘Let’s give her a proper lesson.’

This was definitely not out of petty jealousy or anything.

Not really.

Just because Seoyeon seemed to get too much attention, stealing all the male students’ glances.

It wasn’t because the senior she liked in the dodgeball club had feelings for Seoyeon, or anything like that!

‘Now’s the time!’

At the moment Seoyeon was watching Jiyeon.

The girl threw the ball with all her strength.

“Haaap!!”

Aiming at Seoyeon’s vulnerable spot where she wasn’t looking, the ball flew sharply.

“Tak!”

“?”

The ball was caught with astonishing ease in Seoyeon’s single hand.

No need for two hands, it was caught with one.

You could see the ball was slightly squished by her grip.

‘But her hands aren’t all that big?’

Why was it caught?

How strong is her grip?

And she wasn’t even watching this side.

In the midst of these thoughts.

“Pang!!”

“Ahh!”

The ball returned at lightning speed, making the girl fall over after getting hit in the waist.

There was no way to avoid it at such high speed, let alone dodge.

Witnessing this, Jiyeon’s reaction was?

‘…This girl’s at it again.’

Seoyeon’s face appeared, triumphant after hitting three people at once.

To others, her expression might have seemed calm, but Jiyeon knew better.

“Hmph.”

Jiyeon could see that Seoyen was now drunk on her own dodgeball prowess.

Though Seoyeon clearly had something she wanted to say initially, it all changed the moment she threw the ball.

More specifically, from the moment the classmates started cheering “Wow!” and clapping.

“Concession.”

“Huh?”

Realizing that getting hit by Seoyeon’s throw would hurt, Jiyean calmly opted out.

As the day passed, during the short break after their dodgeball match.

“Anyway, are we all agreed about the movie?”

“Yeah.”

While resting, Seoyeon and Jiyeon sat next to each other and talked.

‘Isn’t she overdoing the villain roles?’

While observing the silent Jiyeon, Seoyeon kept hesitantly opening and closing her lips.

It wasn’t easy to bring up her YouTube channel.

If she just asked, it would have been simple, but…

‘The red pill!’

Seoyeon bit her lower lip.

If she asked now, she would be revealing herself with the so-called red pill.

No, if it were Jiyeon, the blue pill would be more fitting, but either way, it wasn’t even certain that the channel was solely for being a VTuber.

As her gaze aimlessly shifted around, Jiyeon spoke first.

“And about the variety show.”

Before Seoyeon could say anything.

“How about cable TV variety?”

“Cable?”

“Public broadcasting doesn’t have anything suitable right now, and it can be a bit stressful, right?”

Although [Past, Memories to Watch] was technically a public broadcasting variety show.

Its ratings were so low that it was essentially on par with cable TV variety.

Seoyeon was, for now, an emerging child actress returning after a decade.

She was currently a hot topic on recent variety shows.

If she wished, she could surely appear on public broadcasting too, but since Seoyeon had never actually done a proper variety show, it felt daunting.

After all, [Past, Memories to Watch] felt more like theater than actual variety.

‘Cable variety.’

Seoyeon did have a few options in mind.

However, cable variety usually leaned towards edgy or unscripted content.

Plus, would it really help soften her villain image?

“Ah.”

Thinking up to this point, Seoyeon remembered something.

‘It hasn’t ended yet, has it?’

Upon reflection, there was one cable variety show that wrapped around this time.

It was rare among cable TV programs, something that could actually influence an actor’s image.

A variety program that was often referenced in online communities.

“So, there’s one I’m thinking of…”

Curious if it would work, Seoyeon spoke up to Jiyeon.

“…What?”

The response was a skeptical glance.

It was understandable.

The cable variety show Seoyeon suggested was a long-running hit in the cable game channel scene, having aired for ten years straight.

***

With the appearance in [The Chaser] confirmed, everything was finally wrapped up with the agency.

Nova Entertainment.

The agency I would officially be signing with.

Letting out a nervous sigh during my infrequent outing with my mom.

“But, what about Miss Seoyeon’s mother? I really think it’s a possibility.”

“Mom.”

The president of the agency, Kang Chan-yul, was serious, but my mom nervously laughed as if dismissing the possibility.

…Was he joking?

Though, looking at his face, President Kang appeared to be quite sincere.

‘Mom does look young, but…’

Seoyeon glanced at herself and then subtly shifted her gaze downward.

Still, her presence was undeniable.

Lowering her gaze further, she focused on herself this time.

It wasn’t anything special.

Really, no particular significance.

‘…Is it going to get bigger here?’

Is it because of mom’s heritage?

It’s already more than enough, but if it were as big as mom’s, it might be… too big.

To be honest, it might feel uncomfortable during acting.

“I’m really sorry, I’m too busy with household chores.”

“Very unfortunate.”

To President Kang, it truly seemed unfortunate.

Considering the almost unearthly looks and figure of Mom and Sooa, it was expected.

Would it surprise you if a passing actress asked what makeup they used?

In any case, an entertainment career wouldn’t be suitable for mom.

Beyond appearance, her personality tended to be more reserved in social situations compared to mine.

“So, have you made a lot of friends at school? Well, of course excluding Jiyeon.”

“…”

“Hmm? Is there something wrong with school life?”

I quickly shut my mouth at this unexpected sharp question.

It felt like he had read my thoughts.

“More than you can count on both hands.”

“Indeed.”

Excluding Jiyeon, it was a truth few would believe.

But apparently, my school life had no problems, and Director Kang nodded in agreement.

“It’s important to maintain harmonious relationships even if you’re absent a lot. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“If any of your friends want to come visit, let me know. The students might want to see a celebrity, right?”

“That… Yes. Absolutely, I’ll bring them the next time.”

What should I do?

I smiled awkwardly while pondering.

Thankfully, there was no set deadline.

“Alright. Now that the contract is done, this is Manager Park Eun-ha who will be handling Seoyeon from now on.”

Thinking the meeting was over, he introduced the woman beside him.

Judging by her appearance of mid-twenties with a kindly demeanor, it was clear that she was quite nervous.

“Given her experience overseeing actress Hwang Min-hwa, if you have questions, feel free to ask.”

“Yes.”

I nodded while studying Park Eun-ha’s face.

As someone who handled Hwang Min-hwa, she must be dedicated to my needs.

However, there was something curious about this.

‘Is she leaving soon?’

Typically, an assigned manager doesn’t change unless there’s a special circumstance involved since daily work is necessary to form a rhythm that might be complicated to shift.

Besides, she seemed overly nervous for someone responsible for a big-name actress like Hwang Min-hwa.

‘…I should probably investigate a bit more later.’

There might have been issues involving Hwang Min-hwa’s transfer to another agency.

Considering that Nova Entertainment unusually let go of Min-hwa, a star who had brought in ten million box office viewers, it was certainly unusual.

After all, letting go of a major talent to another production company wasn’t common.

‘Hmm…’

I sensed something wasn’t quite right about this transfer.

Though I couldn’t uncover anything significant at the moment, I resolved to monitor the situation.

If there was an issue, it would surely surface soon enough.

And two days later.

“Alright, everyone’s here?”

Director Bae Jin-hwan smiled as he scanned the gathered actors, clearly satisfied.

The look he gave me exuded high expectations.

“Alright, let’s start.”

The movie [The Chaser].

A tragic film that concluded with 2.5 million viewers.

The proper shooting has now officially begun.

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