It was something I never expected.
Which makes sense, since that kid was originally living in Daejeon.
And according to my memory, I was still living in Daejeon at this time, so my parents wouldn’t have had any reason to come to Seoul.
“Sis?”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Why are you just standing there?”
Su-yeon asked, looking puzzled.
I guess I had been frozen for quite a while.
Seo-yeon shook her head and approached the equally frozen child.
“Hello?”
“Oh, hello! Wow, it’s actress unnie. You’re an actress, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow, So-yeon’s sister is an actress!”
Hearing that made Su-yeon awkwardly shrug her shoulders.
Watching that was adorable but also gave me a strange feeling that she resembled me oddly.
Well, of course, she would resemble me; she must have grown up seeing me.
“But what’s your name?”
“I’m Yoo-na, Han Yoo-na.”
A name quite similar to my past life’s name.
Seo-yeon felt a strange yet complicated emotion about it.
As if her name was somehow connected to her past life.
“By the way, do you have an older brother?”
“Huh? No, I don’t.”
“Oh, I see.”
So, that meant Yoo-na was the oldest.
However, there was something oddly different in terms of timing.
In my past life, I was the same age as ‘Joo Seo-yeon.’
So, that meant Yoo-na was purely a latecomer.
“When did you become friends with Su-yeon?”
“Oh, I moved in and didn’t have any friends at kindergarten.”
Looks like she must have moved recently.
That timing was roughly when ‘Dream Future’ was having its fan meeting.
Since they had come to Seoul as well.
Her daughter liked ‘Dream Future,’ so they went to the fan meeting.
‘…Do kids watch dramas these days?’
That thought crossed my mind.
Or is it that ‘Dream Future’ was good enough for kids to watch?
Either way, it felt a bit off.
“Anyway, let’s go back. Where’s your house?”
“Um…”
I couldn’t just leave her like that, so we decided to go back together.
Su-yeon was excited, giving me a thumbs up.
Our Su-yeon, isn’t her expression just a tad outdated?
Even though I thought that, well, she was cute, so what the heck.
Honestly, I didn’t ask anything in particular.
There were plenty of questions I wanted to ask, but it would be rude after all.
I didn’t want to interrupt the sibling fun.
And I also thought there was no need to get too tangled up.
I felt a bit of unease for various reasons, though.
‘So, it was just a coincidence that they moved here.’
There wasn’t anything special about Yoo-na’s circumstances in coming to Seoul.
It was just that, as Yoo-na was born late, it seems her parents worked really hard.
Hence, they got promoted and moved to the headquarters in Seoul.
That must be how they came along.
Nothing special.
Yet, there were indeed several things that stuck in my mind.
Those weren’t about Yoo-na, but about myself.
“Sis, sis.”
“Yeah?”
“Look over there!!”
Su-yeon was tugging at Seo-yeon’s sleeve excitedly.
Curious about what was happening, I turned my head and saw a small event happening by the roadside.
It looked like a children’s animation event.
“Harara, Harara!”
“Harara?”
What a difficult name to describe.
But it was easy to pronounce, so it was memorable.
“Yeah, Magical Girl Harara. It’s a cartoon Su-yeon is watching lately.”
Seo-yeon saw a strangely huge penguin and a blue-haired magical girl standing beside it.
‘…Why a penguin?’
I thought the name was quite unique too, but the concept was also peculiar.
A penguin and a magical girl.
Whoever thought of this really stood out.
Anyway, it seemed to be pretty popular among kids these days, as it wasn’t just Su-yeon, but various kids and parents filled the roadside for the event.
‘This is quite an extravagant event.’
There was even a stage.
The setup was simple.
They had kids come up on stage to reenact scenes from the animation.
Finally, they whacked a game console with a rubber hammer, and based on the score they got, they received prizes.
An event where you smash a game console with a prepared rubber mallet to earn scores and receive prizes.
Of course, adults weren’t participating.
If adults were playing, the dads would have shown up.
When you’re a kid, there’s no muscular difference between boys and girls, so it’s fair game.
“Sis, sis.”
“?”
While lost in thought, Su-yeon tugged at Seo-yeon’s collar again.
And then, she gave Seo-yeon a piercing gaze.
It was a child’s intense stare, asking for something.
Seo-yeon immediately understood the meaning behind those eyes.
‘Are you serious? You want to do that?’
Seo-yeon wanted nothing more than to turn and walk away.
And who could blame her? They were about to reenact a scene from a toddler’s cartoon.
Playing the villain or the magical girl.
The kids and parents would split the roles and perform.
“Uh, no way.”
If she were little, she would have jumped at the chance.
After all, Seo-yeon had been a brazen little girl who didn’t know what nervousness or embarrassment felt like.
Her invincible audacity had stemmed from her unfamiliarity with emotions.
But that wasn’t the case anymore.
Even though she looked like this, she felt embarrassment like any ordinary person.
Really!
‘More importantly, if I do something like this…’
She was certain.
With this many people around, if Seo-yeon performed with her sister, it would undoubtedly get filmed and spread all over the internet.
She had put on sunglasses and done a full disguise, but if she performed, she’d have to take it all off.
Since [The Chaser], her popularity had skyrocketed, and with the lineup of [Dream Future] and [Sky Garden], Seo-yeon was currently extremely well-known.
Especially since the main audience for her dramas was young women.
The young moms here fit perfectly into that demographic.
“…Are you not going to do it?”
“…”
“This magical girl, Yuna, that’s being given as an event prize is a magical girl that Yuna absolutely loves.”
It seemed that there wasn’t just one type of Harara transformation.
First off, the protagonist, Harara, had fifteen transformation forms.
When considering all the other magical girls, there were at least dozens.
‘Wait, that means the plum blossom transformation looks different.’
In a way, it was like the Peeni-Ping she had watched when she was younger.
If there was also a transformation encyclopedia for Harara, it looked like the other magical girls had more than just one or two forms.
They were an army of magical girls, ready to empty parents’ wallets.
Among them, the event prize was Yuna’s favorite magical girl, Inana’s transformation form.
“…..”
Seo-yeon saw Yuna looking at her with eager eyes.
Even her little sister wanted to give her present to Yuna!
“Alright, I get it.”
Seo-yeon squeezed her eyes shut.
No matter what, Yuna was Seo-yeon’s fan.
And with her little sister Su-yeon involved, it was a fight she couldn’t win.
*
The host, Jin Young-yeon, at today’s children’s event, smiled happily as she watched the excited kids and the baffled parents.
She didn’t make much money from hosting such events.
But that was okay.
She wasn’t a professional MC; in fact, she was a YouTuber reviewing kids’ toys.
Since she targeted children with her channel, she was invited to host the event.
So, she didn’t care much about the money.
Just seeing happy parents and kids was enough to make her smile.
‘Looks like the promotions have been effective.’
As a toy review YouTuber, she definitely made a strong pitch for the latest Harara magic wand and magical girl set.
Naturally, with her almost perfect review, the kids were busy begging their parents to let them participate in the event, and the parents had reluctantly come out.
These days, kids’ toys were expensive, and since they were practically giving away those pricey toys if you met the event requirements, there was no reason not to join.
And so, after running the event for two hours, it was now time to wrap things up in just an hour.
In an hour, today’s event would be wrapping up.
“Alright, next person!!”
As Jin Yeong-yeon shouted, a woman in the front stood out by raising her hand vigorously.
Why did she stand out? Well, first off, her appearance.
Sunglasses on, wearing a mask, and a hat to top it all off.
If those two girls weren’t energetically raising their hands below and if this wasn’t an event venue, one would definitely stare suspiciously at her.
She caught everyone’s eye, and perhaps because of her outfit, curiosity was piqued.
“Then, could the person in sunglasses come forward!”
At the host Yeong-yeon’s words, the woman in sunglasses flinched and brought the two kids to the front.
It truly was a peculiar sight.
It wasn’t just Yeong-yeon who noticed it.
As the three stepped onto the stage, all attention was immediately drawn to them.
Firstly, there were three of them, and they were a striking combination in various aspects.
“What’s our little friend’s name?”
“It’s Su-yeon! Joo Su-yeon!!”
With shoulders held high, she announced proudly, causing a stir among the parents watching from the sidelines for a brief moment.
Yeong-yeon was slightly puzzled by the reaction.
As Su-yeon introduced herself, the parents suddenly started whispering among themselves.
At that moment, one of the event hosts rushed over and whispered into Yeong-yeon’s ear.
“That’s the kid from ‘Golden Duckling’, the one who appeared recently!”
“Huh?”
“She’s the sister from the family of actress Joo Seo-yeon!”
Yeong-yeon wasn’t much into watching TV shows.
Videos she watched were mostly just on YouTube.
She hardly ever turned on the TV.
Of course, she knew ‘Golden Duckling’ existed.
It’s a variety show showcasing the lives of young or child celebrities.
But if that kid appeared there……
‘Does that mean she’s from a celebrity family?’
Yeong-yeon gulped at the realization.
Then who is that strangely dressed woman over there?
The situation was starting to come together in her mind.
The murmurs from the crowd turned their attention back to the woman on stage.
“Um, you saw the event description, right? Now we’re going to reenact a scene from Harara! You can choose from these options.”
“I choose number 3!”
As soon as the examples were presented, Su-yeon immediately picked number 3 without hesitation.
That was nothing special.
It was the easiest scene out of the options presented.
It was the moment when Harara fights against the villain.
A straightforward script where she delivers some catchy lines and hits the villain with her magical girl finishing move.
Very simple and easy.
“Great! Then, here’s the magic wand….”
As Yeong-yeon held out the Harara’s magic wand, Su-yeon stopped it with her palm.
“Huh?”
“I’m going to be the villain!”
“……?”
“I like the villain Zero-ro!”
Wait, she’s choosing the villain here?
Yeong-yeon was taken aback.
Kids usually pick the magical girl.
Because she’s the protagonist.
And she’s pretty.
Of course, Zero-ro was also a cute villain in her own right.
With her fierce gaze and black hair with red eyes, she had a cat-like charm.
So even as a villain, she had a bit of merchandise going for her, but to pick Zero-ro in this setting!
‘Wait a minute then.’
Yeong-yeon looked at the other person on stage.
The figure hiding behind sunglasses seemed to stiffen noticeably.
It appeared she was slowly realizing the fate that had approached her.
“Um, since you’ll be acting, could you please remove your mask and sunglasses?”
“……”
The person hesitated slightly.
But that moment was brief.
Slowly, she took off her sunglasses and mask.
Instantly, the murmurs in the crowd fell silent.
And then.
“It’s really Joo Seo-yeon, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s her. She was on ‘Golden Duckling’.”
“Mom, who’s that sister?”
“She’s an actress, sweetie.”
The crowd began to buzz with excitement.
Who would have thought that an actor would show up at the kids’ event out of nowhere?
Normally, you just buy stuff, you don’t participate in events like this.
Of course, the event organizer was all smiles.
“This promotional event is a hit!”
I didn’t even spend any money, and it felt like a star just walked in on their own.
Although the crowd suspected that maybe they were being paid to appear at the event.
“Anyway, it doesn’t matter.”
“It’s not like they’re giving out prizes based on rankings.”
Since the prizes would be distributed fairly as long as the event conditions were met.
“Um, you must be her sister?”
“……Yes.”
“Please take this magic wand. Have you seen Magical Girl Harara?”
“Just now….”
Right before going on stage, I had checked the event scene on YouTube.
So, Seo-yeon couldn’t help but tremble with the wand in her hand.
This was probably the reddest her face had ever been in her life.
She had never felt embarrassed about her acting before, but this time it was hard to hold her head high.
Shame!
That was an emotion she somewhat knew without needing to learn, but this was the first time it felt so intense.
“Wow!! Magical Girl Unnie!!”
Unaware of Seo-yeon’s feelings, her younger sister Su-yeon, dressed in a villain’s cloak like Zero-ro, raised her arms high and beamed.
And next to her, Yoo-na was also clapping excitedly with sparkling eyes.
“Unnie, you always play the bad role, you should play the good one too.”
This was somewhat Su-yeon’s attempt at being considerate.
Although Zero-ro may have been the better role.
“Okay, then. Let’s shout the lines together. Harara, Harara~.”
“H, Harara, Harara….”
“Your voice is too soft! Harara~ Haralara~!”
“H, Harara, Harara!!”
With the actor’s appearance, the host Yeong-yeon’s enthusiasm skyrocketed to 200 percent.
She perfectly embodied the movements and transformation lines of Harara with her whole body!
Thinking she needed to show off her amazing acting as an actress.
At this moment, Seo-yeon swore she literally couldn’t think of anything.
She just squeezed her eyes shut.
“Ma, Magical Girl Harara~!!”
And vigorously swung the shining magic wand.
And, thanks to that passionate performance.
Fortunately, with Su-yeon’s splendid hammer hit, they not only met the target score but exceeded it.
Yoo-na got to take home the magical girl toy she wanted.
Truly a fortunate event.
*
“Actor Unnie!! Thank you!!”
“U, uh huh.”
Yoo-na replied with a big smile, hugging the magical girl Inana toy.
‘…T, this must be okay.’
No one must have captured it, right?
Since it was awkward with Yoo-na, this thought seemed better.
“Yoo-na had a birthday recently, so you can think of this as a birthday present?”
“Eh?, When is your birthday, Yoo-na?”
“June 8th!”
It was Su-yeon answering on Yoo-na’s behalf.
June 8th.
The moment Seo-yeon heard that birthday, she slightly frowned.
Because that was exactly the same as her birthday from her past life.
“I’ll cherish this gift from Actor Unnie! I’ll shake it a lot while thinking of you!”
“U, um. Ah, right.”
While thinking it would be nice if Yoo-na could hold back a bit, Seo-yeon hurriedly mentioned something she had forgotten.
“Is it a secret to Mom that I met you today?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Um, uh, it’s a secret that Unnie is a magical girl.”
Unable to say she was embarrassed, she replied that way.
Yoo-na’s eyes widened for a moment then she beamed.
“Yeah!”
Even if she was captured, Yoo-na was in the back, so she wouldn’t be clearly visible.
So as long as Yoo-na didn’t say anything, they likely wouldn’t find out.
Seo-yeon decided to think that way.
As long as her video didn’t hit 3 million views from top to bottom.
Fortunately, Yoo-na hadn’t been filmed, but Seo-yeon had to change her blanket.
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