Chapter: 63
“Seoyeon, I brought some fruit…”
Min Sua knocked on her daughter’s door and slowly opened it, trailing off her sentence.
Seoyeon was slouched over her desk, her face buried in her arms.
‘Is she dead?’
For a moment, the scene suggested as much.
But just moments before, she must have been watching something, as a YouTube video with its playback finished was displayed on the monitor.
Ah, she’s at it again with her peculiar interests.
Sua thought as she placed the fruit next to her slumped daughter and quietly left the room.
It wasn’t the first time her daughter had shown strange interests…
‘Who could it be…’
Seoyeon slowly stirred, grabbing an apple from the plate and munching on it.
As the sweet flavor spread in her mouth, she felt her mind clearing up.
Although inside, she was bubbling with resentment.
Jealousy!
Unbeknownst to her, the emotion roasting in her heart right now was, in fact, jealousy!
She was chomping down on the apple, her subconscious revealing the feeling of envy she hadn’t recognized.
‘Who could help Ji-yeon with modeling or equipment?’
Nothing came to mind.
Among Ji-yeon’s acquaintances, who could that possibly be?
‘Was there anyone besides me?’
Clearly, back when Ji-yeon visited her house, she didn’t have a clue about virtual YouTubers at all.
Had someone asked someone else and sparked her interest since then?
“Ugh…”
There was no way to rewatch that video now.
That magician.
Wait, isn’t she already doing virtual YouTube? Maybe a search could clarify things?
Seoyeon knew a bit about domestic virtual YouTubers, but she didn’t know everything.
There were still unknowns.
Like that blue-haired magician.
‘She has 30,000 subscribers and around a thousand viewers.’
For a personal account, that’s doing quite well.
Why hadn’t I known about this?
More importantly, that wasn’t the point. Where’s that red pill?
‘None…’
I get that she’s been active as a virtual YouTuber for over a year, but there wasn’t much additional info available.
Hearing her voice, it was clear she had learned proper vocalization.
‘Vocalization?’
Having thought that far, Seoyeon hit upon a possibility.
If it’s someone close to Ji-yeon with good vocal skills, it really narrowed things down.
There must be someone from the voice acting academy…
Vroom!
That’s when Seoyeon’s phone rang.
She quickly picked it up.
“What’s up, Joo Seoyeon? You called?”
It was the grumpy voice of Lee Ji-yeon.
Seoyeon glanced at the monitor showing Ramiel and Ji-yeon’s overlapping figures.
‘Can’t I just ask?’
Right, this should be straightforward instead of overthinking it.
Seoyeon was about to casually ask, but then—
‘…’
She hesitated, wondering if it was okay to pry into such matters.
After all, it was blatant asking about that red pill.
And even if Seoyeon saw Ramiel and Ji-yeon as the same person, getting confirmation straight from her was another story.
“Ah, it’s because of midterms… the exam scope.”
“You’re not really studying, are you?”
“…”
Seoyeon was left speechless by Ji-yeon’s remark.
She couldn’t really dispute that.
*
The next day.
She wished she could rush to the voice acting academy right away, but sadly, she couldn’t.
Mainly because Seoyeon was buried in movie shootings, making it hard to carve out time.
Of all days, today had the morning shoot, and with no school, she couldn’t ask Ji-yeon anything.
“Seoyeon, you look a bit tired.”
“I’m fine.”
“Oh really? Still, it’s an important role, so you need to manage your condition well, okay?”
“Yep.”
Kim Dae-heon, the actor, said with a nod as Seoyeon acknowledged him.
She couldn’t admit that her restlessness from watching that virtual YouTuber stream last night had robbed her of sleep.
‘Condition management…’
That definitely made sense.
Seoyeon’s character was the main villain of the film, Cha Seo-ah.
Her presence in the story was significant, and if she missed shoots, it would amount to a lot of scenes being lost.
A few missed days were manageable, but frequent absences could delay the release.
‘It’s different from when I was a child actor.’
The sense of responsibility.
And the stakes.
Seoyeon steeled her resolve.
The shoot began.
‘Seizing the essence of Cha Seo-ah is practically natural for her.’
Director Bae Jin-hwan had felt a hint of disappointment in the previous filming.
Seoyeon’s portrayal of Cha Seo-ah frankly had no flaws, to be honest.
But still, he felt she needed just a little something more.
Namely, the motive behind the killings.
The emotions of Cha Seo-ah surrounding those acts were somewhat vague.
Though vague was okay; it added a layer of suspense and enjoyment for the audience.
The motivations and feelings of Cha Seo-ah’s actions needed to come through a bit clearer.
‘Is it too much to ask of a teenage actor?’
He questioned if he was being unreasonable, wanting more from an actress who was already performing so well.
If you start demanding more from a sufficiently performing actor, you could ruin what’s already good.
But still—
‘Let’s see what happens today.’
That was the job of a director.
To guide and demand the desired performances from the actors.
If something was nagging him, he had to say it.
‘And surely…’
With Seoyeon’s potential, she should be able to do it quickly.
Bae Jin-hwan believed that strongly.
“Today’s scene has some adjustments. Did you hear? Some of Cha Seo-ah’s character settings changed?”
“Oh, right. She’s the part-time convenience store worker, right?”
The one who said that was Jeong Si-hyeon, the actress playing the victim Han Ye-hwa.
Today marked her first appearance in the film.
Originally, she was to randomly run into the character on the street, but later revisions now had the two meeting at the convenience store.
“Scene number 34.”
The setting took place the day after the chase with the detective.
In other words, after the fourth victim appeared.
Police cars lined the streets.
And the hustle and bustle of officers was observable in the background.
In contrast, the joyful appearance of Han Ye-hwa foreshadowed yet another victim.
Han Ye-hwa, the victim, was practically the heroine of this film.
Her initial scene.
“This scene is about the atmosphere. Si-hyeon and Seoyeon, you need to contrast each other’s vibes.”
Before filming began, Bae Jin-hwan laid out basic guidance for their performance.
The camera movement.
And the emotion line he envisioned.
For Si-hyeon, it wouldn’t be too difficult.
Han Ye-hwa didn’t even consider that the current murders might happen to her.
She merely had to portray the joyful woman, excited about her promises with her boyfriend.
Most importantly, the focus was on Seoyeon.
Cha Seo-ah was to face her with a smile while exuding tension.
Cha Seo-ah’s dark emotions had to starkly contrast Han Ye-hwa’s joy.
As strikingly defined as possible.
“Alright! Let’s give it a shot.”
With a clap of his hands, everyone began moving to their assigned locations.
Cameras were adjusted, sounds checked, and actors prepared to shoot.
Jeong Si-hyeon moved to the street.
Seoyeon took her place behind the convenience store counter.
‘I can’t believe I’m playing a part-time convenience store worker.’
Seoyeon thought as she touched the uniform she was wearing with her fingers.
Who would have thought she’d wear the uniform from her favorite convenience store?
‘Cha Seo-ah’s emotions.’
To be honest, the customer service role didn’t really suit Cha Seo-ah.
Since her character struggles to express feelings properly, she wouldn’t ideally be in customer service.
That would be impossible for her.
But the need for dramatic fun might have led to them sacrificing some realism.
‘Or maybe I can think of it as just mimicking, like I do.’
Masking her illness, or acting as if she’s overcome it.
But in truth, she hasn’t changed at all.
Seoyeon felt her portrayal of Cha Seo-ah was awkward and rough compared to her past self.
Thus, Cha Seo-ah rarely portrayed emotions openly.
She hadn’t contemplated them deeply.
No matter how she expressed herself, it merely evoked discomfort from others.
So, it went.
The door of the convenience store swung open.
Today felt like a typical day.
At least, it did for Cha Seo-ah.
Though she felt a bit sore from all the unusual happenings last night, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
She could explain it away as having exercised a bit too much.
As that thought crossed her mind, she caught sight of an incoming customer.
“Hey, oppa! I’m alright, really. I get it.”
A young woman brightened up, chatting on the phone with her harried expression.
She had brown hair, with an overall cute vibe to her appearance.
It was as if she was born to be loved by others.
“…”
There were other customers in the convenience store, but Cha Seo-ah’s gaze slowly trailed behind the cheerful woman.
The smile gracing Han Ye-hwa’s face.
Gradually, Cha Seo-ah’s eyelids began to tremble.
Her lips, incapable of discerning the right emotions, twitched as they involuntarily reacted.
She couldn’t pinpoint what she felt right now.
Even with other customers present, it was as if Cha Seo-ah was enchanted, her pupils moving slowly.
And the camera zoomed in perfectly on Cha Seo-ah’s gaze.
‘What is going on?’
Bae Jin-hwan found himself unknowingly gaping at the unfolding scene.
And for good reason; the emotions vividly reflected in Seoyeon’s eyes.
Jealousy.
That intense flame was unmistakably felt.
It wasn’t just Bae Jin-hwan who sensed it.
Other staff members did too.
A tense atmosphere contrasted sharply with Han Ye-hwa’s cheerful conversation.
Especially for the camera operator, who was focusing on the unfolding moment.
Seoyeon had always had a high sync with Cha Seo-ah.
Now, with the addition of Cha Seo-ah’s motive for her crimes.
When layered with the jealousy towards happy humans, it felt like the tension up until now could be disregarded entirely.
As if the real thing was standing right in front of them…
“…!”
Perhaps that’s why.
As Han Ye-hwa, still on the phone, turned to face the counter, Jeong Si-hyeon faltered slightly.
She responded instinctively to the overwhelmingly potent performance, more than she anticipated.
‘This is simply unavoidable.’
As humans, they couldn’t help but respond to such things.
All of this wasn’t predicted—now Cha Seo-ah’s noticeable tension.
And the unsettling sensation, akin to being human but not fully regarded, caused that reaction in her.
This wasn’t a mistake.
It was only natural.
But, as it so happened, it was an NG because of the scene, and Bae Jin-hwan was about to shout “cut.”
“…Nice day, isn’t it?”
Han Ye-hwa spoke.
With a smile towards Cha Seo-ah, who was gazing back at her.
“Yes?”
“Seemed like you were feeling a bit tired. On a lovely day like this, who wouldn’t?”
Especially on days like this in spring.
She said this.
When the weather’s nice, afternoons can make anyone heavy with sleep.
Han Ye-hwa pushed a glass bottle up towards Cha Seo-ah at the counter.
It was a vitamin drink she’d just bought.
“Drink this and perk up.”
Han Ye-hwa smiled warmly as she said it.
Cha Seo-ah mindlessly accepted it, watching Han Ye-hwa’s departing back until she heard another customer call out to her.
Lost in thought.
“CUT!!”
As Bae Jin-hwan shouted, the take wrapped up.
Though it felt like an NG, who would have thought Ji-hyeon would stumble upon a natural ad-lib there?
‘Was that a line that wasn’t originally in the script?’
‘Yes.’
‘Ji-hyeon’s acting today is on point.’
It felt like a natural performance.
That brief moment of uncertainty seemed to showcase Han Ye-hwa’s character even more.
“Seoyeon.”
“Yes?”
Before complimenting Ji-hyeon’s ad-lib, Bae Jin-hwan called out to Seoyeon first.
“Did you have some special training or something?”
“Huh?”
“Actually, I thought we’d need to discuss a few things today, but now that’s unnecessary. You really embodied Cha Seo-ah’s emotions perfectly.”
And Seoyeon could only look at him with a puzzled expression.
“…?”
Just like that? Wouldn’t it be more normal?
It was just a regular performance.
But suddenly—
“Ah.”
Seoyeon realized.
What feeling had crossed her mind during this acting?
Jealousy.
One emotion likening close to it.
“Aha, yes. I, um, trained!”
She couldn’t bring herself to say what triggered that.
Seoyeon at least had some sense about it.
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