Chapter 7
Ju Seo-yeon, age six, leads a busy life.
She wakes up in the morning, stretches with some squeaky exercises, and heads to kindergarten.
Her mental age is at least twenty while she interacts with kids of her own age for a few hours.
After kindergarten, it’s straight to the filming set.
“Cut, cut, cut! Wow, I’ve heard stories, but… Seo-yeon, you’re seriously amazing!”
“Not me! It’s all thanks to everyone’s support!”
Seo-yeon bows politely at Director Kim, who oversaw the latest CF shoot.
Her humble gesture brought smiles all around the set.
“Wow, how can our kid be so different? Not all six-year-olds are created equal.”
“She’s so mature; Seo-yeon’s mom must be really proud.”
Staff members passed by, expressing envy for Sua, thanks to Seo-yeon’s performances, which rivaled even the soy milk ad.
‘My Seo-yeon must truly be a genius!’
Since she was little, their daughter had been low-maintenance.
She seldom cried, managing quite well on her own, making Sua’s parenting incredibly easy.
Nodding her head, Sua looked up to greet the seasoned actress who acted alongside Seo-yeon in the ad.
“Ah! Ms. Kim Mi-yeon, thank you for all your help with Seo-yeon!”
“Oh, it was nothing. Seo-yeon acted so well that it made my job easy!”
Kim Mi-yeon smiled while watching Seo-yeon bow repeatedly in the distance.
“However…”
“However?”
“There’s a bit of an odd feeling.”
Kim Mi-yeon gazes at Seo-yeon.
Despite all the talk of method acting, her impression was different.
‘Actually, isn’t it the opposite?’
To her, Seo-yeon seemed to be expressing learned emotions quite beautifully.
Kim Mi-yeon was an experienced actress.
Having worked with big-name method actors, she was well aware of the struggles they faced.
‘Maybe I’m being too sensitive. After all, she’s still a child. It’s absurd to think she’s learning emotional acting…’
That sort of thing requires decades of experience.
Only after acting becomes second nature could it be possible.
Seo-yeon is still just six years old!
So, it would be impossible, even if she had been acting the moment she was born.
But still… there’s always the possibility of the “what if.”
“Ms. Sua?”
“Yes?”
“Seo-yeon looks quite strong, but it’s often the kids that seem tougher who have their weaknesses.”
Mi-yeon, observing, noticed Sua was still a young mom.
Over forty, Mi-yeon was a veteran and a mom herself.
“What we see isn’t always everything.”
Sua slowly nodded at Mi-yeon’s words.
‘Seo-yeon has weaknesses?’
Was there even such a thing?
That question lingered in her mind, but since it was advice borne from experience, she decided to take it to heart.
‘Now that I think of it, I also heard actors must consistently manage their stress.’
It might be best to take Mi-yeon’s advice and look into preventive measures.
*
‘This shoot was rewarding.’
Seo-yeon nodded to herself.
Money was piling up, and she was definitely getting quality acting practice.
It was also fun to notice that there were now little people who recognized her.
‘Ah, this is why I enjoy being in the spotlight.’
Getting real-time feedback for her actions through internet broadcasts, particularly as a VTuber, already had her excited about the joy ahead.
“You’re working harder than your dad here.”
Upon arriving home, Ju Young-bin remarked.
Strangely, Seo-yeon had gotten home later than Young-bin, who had just returned from work.
“So, did Mom tell you?”
“About what?”
“They say a drama offer came in for you.”
A drama?
For a moment, Seo-yeon thought she had misheard.
“D-drama? For me?”
“I heard it’s recommended by Director Jo Min-tae…”
Young-bin’s words finally made Seo-yeon piece things together.
‘So, Director Jo Bang-hoon pulled some strings.’
Jo Bang-hoon, the father of Jo Min-tae, was quite a prominent director in Korea.
Right now, even if he hadn’t directed a film that crossed ten million viewers, he had crafted enough successful movies that he was known as “the director who never fails.”
‘Just seven years from now…’
Later, Jo Bang-hoon would direct five films in four years, each ending in utter catastrophe.
Especially his last film would be the knock-out blow, leading to the disappearance of hundreds of billions in investment funds; he’d ultimately be found dead at home.
‘In other words, this is when he’s at the height of his power.’
In theory, getting a child actor with a couple of CFs to audition for a drama wouldn’t be impossible after all.
“Do you happen to know which drama it is?”
“I heard it’s from KMB. Probably a historical drama?”
“A historical drama… on KMB?”
“Yeah. Do you know something about it?”
Panicking at the sudden, curious expression on Young-bin’s face, Seo-yeon quickly shook her head.
It felt odd to act like she knew anything.
‘With an audition this early, plus KMB and a historical drama…’
A single thought struck her.
‘The Moon That Conceals the Sun.’
A virtual historical drama with a peak viewership rating of over 40 percent.
In truth, it was practically a melodrama disguised as a historical piece, yet its impact was undeniable, sweeping every award that year and gathering all the actors into its fold.
‘And I could be in it?’
That’s quite a leap!
KMB’s drama auditions typically attracted well-trained child actors from academies or the upcoming stars from major entertainment companies.
An inexperienced child actor with just two mediocre CFs certainly wouldn’t make the cut.
“Well, you don’t need to get your hopes up too much. Even if you get it, it’ll probably just be a minor role.”
“Right?”
It’d be a relief if that were true, but in reality, landing even a minor role in such a grand historical drama would be a great asset.
However, Seo-yeon understood.
As an extra, there’s no real need to audition for such roles.
‘The audition Director Jo mentioned is most likely…’
Princess Yeonhwa, Lee Hye-wol.
In other words, it would be for the main character of The Moon That Conceals the Sun.
*
“Hey, you. What are you thinking about?”
Looking up, Lee Ji-yeon glared at me with a sulky face.
She had been trailing me since the kindergarten entrance ceremony, and now it felt more like surveillance.
“Unlike you, I have a lot on my mind.”
“We’re the same age. Are you daft?”
I clicked my tongue.
Unlike the emotional kids around us, Ji-yeon was sharp and incredibly clever.
Just by talking to her, you’d start to doubt if she really is just six years old.
‘Is this what it feels like when others look at me?’
In any case, Ji-yeon was a bit of a nuisance.
Sure, she has her cute moments, but she’s got the clingy personality of a leech, making it incredibly difficult to shake her off.
Once she latches on, she won’t let go till the end of time.
What a nuisance! All because of that soy milk ad she keeps jabbering about whenever she sees me.
“More importantly, Ju Seo-yeon, open this for me.”
Ji-yeon thrust two glass bottles of orange juice at me.
She must’ve worked hard to bring them on her own.
“Why two?”
“One is yours, duh! Can’t you see that?”
Hmm, Ji-yeon can be annoying, but it’s hard not to find her cute at times.
Perfect timing, too, because I was quite thirsty.
“Here.”
With a pop, the orange juice bottle opened easily.
Ji-yeon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“How are you so strong? Even the teacher couldn’t get this open!”
“Really?”
Did she already ask the teacher to try?
Usually, wouldn’t friends turn to a teacher when they can’t open something?
‘Am I strong?’
Thinking back, I realized my strength standards were based on men.
To be precise, adult men.
How odd! It doesn’t feel strange thinking that physical traits remain from my past life.
Did I struggle with anything I tried to do with Seo-yeon’s body?
Besides being short or having the limbs of a toddler, of course.
‘Looks like it?! Why am I this strong?’
A six-year-old’s strength equating to my past self’s strength?
If I continue growing like this, I might as well turn into a super soldier!
My eyes can sometimes turn red too; it’s downright terrifying.
“Just in case, let me tell you, don’t you dare hit me!”
“Why would I hit you?”
Ji-yeon did not bother to answer.
She must have thought that since she sometimes got cranky, she might take a swing at me out of anger.
Fights among kids are surprisingly easy to come by.
“Hey, did you know?”
A moment later, after finishing her orange juice, Ji-yeon opened her mouth.
“Know what?”
“I heard there’s an audition at KMB coming up. I can’t participate, but my agency’s older siblings are going.”
Older siblings?
‘Ah, so the child lead audition includes the young male leads as well.’
That came as an unexpected piece of info.
“Ju Seo-yeon.”
“Yes?”
“Are you going to that audition?”
In an instant, I lost the words to say.
Should I speak the truth? Or should I tell a fib?
“I’m going.”
I didn’t want to lie.
If by some miraculous chance I did get selected, it would lead to complete chaos.
Of course, I absolutely knew I wouldn’t get picked.
I understood how fierce the competition was for child actors in that audition.
“Uh-huh, really?”
I expected a scream or some loud reaction from Ji-yeon, yet she surprisingly kept calm.
“What? Is that all?”
“Well, I mean, what can I do? I can’t go. It’s not an option.”
Ji-yeon shot me a glare as she remarked.
“Just wait! One day I’ll get to go to something like that too. It’s just because my older siblings went that I’m stuck this time!”
She certainly had some spunk.
Her self-esteem seemed soaring high.
I pondered on how she fared in her past life.
‘Since the soy milk ad, nothing appears to have changed, huh?’
Yet surprisingly, Ji-yeon had already landed another ad.
She was giving me a peculiar feeling lately.
“I’ll be the star of a drama next!”
“Good for you.”
After replying to Ji-yeon, I found myself smiling unconsciously.
That must have been quite a rare smile for me.
So many ways.
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