Chapter 25
Children generally tend to strive to meet their parents’ expectations.
This was also the case during events like today’s exhibition, especially for those taking on significant roles.
The role of the “magic mirror” assigned to me wasn’t particularly long.
As Snow White grows up, the child playing the queen will ask the magic mirror a total of three questions.
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?”
Originally, the mirror would respond with “You, my beautiful queen,” but that answer changes as Snow White grows.
The most beautiful one is Snow White.
After hearing that answer three times, the mirror gets smashed.
My debut as a virtual YouTuber was supposed to wrap up right there.
“Dare!!”
As soon as the line “The most beautiful one is Snow White!” was spoken, the girl playing the queen poured her heart into her performance and threw a punch. By the way, this scene was one that Teacher Min-a had insisted be added.
Ordinary Snow Whites can be a bit dull, so I had arranged it somewhat…
Regardless, the little queen, in line with the teacher’s expectations, energetically slammed her fist into the mirror made of foil.
Really energetically.
“……”
It was a mirror made from a paperboard with a round hole and foil layered over it.
Even a punch from a 7-year-old can easily pierce through foil if it’s thrown with enough strength.
If I hadn’t instinctively tilted my head to avoid it, I would’ve taken that queen punch straight on.
‘What to do…’
The judgment was quick.
Originally, the magic mirror meets its end here with a “Gah!”
I’m not sure if the magic mirror actually shatters here, but at least the Haet-nim class’s mirror met its end this way.
Anyway, it would be rude not to properly react to such a passionate performance from the queen.
I adjusted my emotional mimicry, which had been dialed back a bit, to an appropriate level.
And then.
“AAAAAH!!”
With a magnificent scream, Joo Seo-yeon flopped down.
Her grand death scene instantly silenced the previously noisy area.
Good, all eyes must now be on the two of us.
At this moment, if the queen spoke to set the tone, the atmosphere would surely turn dark.
The screams of a child evoke fear more easily.
If I let it out under the ominous background music currently playing, even the most ordinary lines would transform into the queen’s charisma!
……
‘……Huh?’
There should have been the queen’s lines following that, but it was silent.
Peeking open my eyelids, looking up, I saw that she was frozen, still in her pose, piercing the mirror.
“Hey, Seo-yeon?”
Cautiously, Teacher Min-a, who had come to the corner of the stage, asked.
“Are you alive?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t we do this differently during practice?”
As she asked, I was at a loss for words.
If I said I was just reacting to the queen’s performance, it would kind of sound like blaming her.
“I’m just stage-oriented…”
“Well, that’s true.”
It seemed my death act was so realistic that Teacher Min-a came up to check.
I realized then. I had overdone it.
The moment of Joo Seo-yeon’s first acting failure.
“You surprised me.”
“At first, I thought something had really happened.”
Fortunately, the audience’s reaction was favorable.
The ominous background music blended well, leading them to interpret the absence of lines as an emotional performance from the queen.
“Phew!”
It seemed Teacher Min-a also recognized that fact, as she dragged me off the stage along with the cardboard.
Thanks to that, the girl playing the queen briefly widened her eyes but quickly resumed her performance.
“Phew, you surprised me.”
In any case, the play proceeded without any further issues.
The girl playing the queen expelled Snow White, and the children playing the dwarves each did their roles well.
‘There’s definitely a difference between kids who’ve acted before and those who haven’t.’
Lee Ji-yeon was still a child actor who had only done commercials.
However, compared to the other kids, she possessed a vibrant presence.
The mischievous demeanor she usually displayed was now perfectly embodying Snow White.
Her lines came across clearly, and just looking at her, it was difficult to believe she would later quietly disappear.
It must have been because of the scars inflicted by the agency.
“Um, teacher.”
While I was watching the performance.
I saw the child playing the soldier approach Teacher Min-a with a wrinkled forehead.
‘What’s going on?’
Curious, I momentarily diverted my gaze from the stage to look over there.
“The prince’s pants look weird…”
Which received a very horrifying response.
*
Little Lee Ji-yeon’s first stage.
Having only starred in commercial ads, she was doing her best even on this exhibition stage.
Although it wasn’t very visible, her mom would be watching.
‘Gosh, why can’t everyone act properly?’
Such complaints surged up, but that was to be expected.
How many kids at this age have actually learned to act properly?
In fact, considering the age, they were doing fairly well.
Even though I thought that, a sense of disappointment was still overwhelming.
If only she could perform even as well as the girl playing the queen.
‘Surely Joo Seo-yeon should have taken on a different role.’
Even if I had just played a dwarf, it would have been better than now.
Everyone was watching the kids with smiles, but Ji-yeon wanted to show something more amazing than that.
That was the child’s heart.
And just like that, Snow White eats the poisoned apple and faints.
She lay in a transparent, plastic glass tube made for props.
In that tube, Ji-yeon opened her eyes slightly and looked at the side of the stage.
‘If that prince doesn’t act well…’
The boy who had been cast as the prince through a lottery among the boys.
He showed no eagerness to act and couldn’t perfectly memorize his lines, which disheartened her.
Thus, the prince, who was supposed to appear halfway, only showed up at the end to mumble a few lines.
He had better get that right.
Ji-yeon thought that as she awaited the prince’s appearance.
Along with the dwarf’s pretend crying, the somber background music played.
Thud.
Footsteps echoed.
For some reason, the audience stirred at that moment.
‘What’s going on?’
Ji-yeon squinted to watch what was happening, but couldn’t see well.
What on earth did that prince do to cause this reaction?
As she pondered, the footsteps grew louder.
“Why are you crying so sadly?”
The prince asked the weeping dwarves.
It was a clear boyish voice.
‘Huh?’
Ji-yeon almost opened her eyes wide at that moment.
That voice was familiar.
More accurately, it was slightly lower than the voice of the mirror she had just heard.
And to Ji-yeon, the only person who could produce such a voice was one.
The very Joo Seo-yeon, who was unnecessarily boasting about her voice training!
“No, honey. That kid, isn’t it Seo-yeon?”
“Uh, it seems so… But Seo-yeon is definitely playing the mirror role, right?”
Joo Yeong-bin narrowed his eyes and looked at the stage as he listened to his wife’s words.
It was strange that the back of the stage had been somewhat chaotic earlier; what was going on?
‘This is the first time seeing my daughter perform so close, but…’
Having seen her acting in a milk ad before this, it was his first time witnessing such a ‘play’.
The impression was astonishing.
Immediately around them, the reactions echoed that sentiment.
Given parents generally want their child to stand out,
This wasn’t necessarily a delightful situation.
A child who just gained attention from yesterday’s drama teaser was sweeping the surrounding interest all at once.
But still.
“Snow White?”
Eyes were drawn in.
Continuing on,
“How could someone so good-hearted and beautiful have such misfortune?!”
Listening to the dwarves’ explanation, the prince’s expression slightly scrunched up.
With his long black hair tied back in a single ponytail, wearing black pants and a relatively unassuming outfit, he seemed a bit underdressed for a prince.
Only the crown on his head indicated he was royalty.
Yet, every action exuded nobility.
The child playing the prince had to be a girl.
However, every movement and action was undeniably masculine.
As if she had experience living as a man.
Eventually, the prince gently lifted the body of the sleeping Snow White in both hands.
“Hey, what’s going on, Joo Seo-yeon?”
Ji-yeon murmured quietly.
Peeking aside, she spotted the prince, neatly combed black hair flowing back.
It was Joo Seo-yeon, disguised as a boy.
“Just bowing my head doesn’t get me into the character.”
What followed was the glorious kiss scene created by Teacher Min-a.
Since they were kids, it wasn’t exactly a kiss scene.
But due to the size of the glass tube, it was difficult for such a small child to find a good posture.
“You really…”
“Why?”
Snicker, Seo-yeon smiled charmingly like a true prince.
Of course, she was a prince right now.
“Aren’t you supposed to act properly?”
As Ji-yeon was about to say, ‘No, this is a bit different,’
The prince turned and held Snow White in his arms.
“Especially…”
Turning away from the audience so they wouldn’t see their heads properly.
Then the prince’s head tilted.
“Gotta go out with a bang!”
Of course, there wasn’t an actual kiss, but it might have seemed so to the audience.
That was their intention.
Hearing the audience’s sharp gasps, Seo-yeon fixed her gaze on Lee Ji-yeon’s round eyes right in front of her.
“It’s my first acting debut, you know?”
Well, by this point,
It felt like quite the glamorous finale.
*
Thus, little Lee Ji-yeon’s grand debut performance on stage successfully concluded.
All the participating children were satisfied.
Being successful in claiming summer vacation, Teacher Min-a even had tears of joy welling up.
…Except for one boy who played the prince, who had an accident due to nervousness.
Due to that, I had to be urgently prepared to improvise.
In other words, every line I delivered as the prince could be said to be improvised.
‘Still, in the end, I made a reappearance as a prince.’
Naturally, Snow White was revived by the prince’s kiss.
Following that, the play concluded with a happy ending after a showdown with the queen.
After it ended, though, I had to endure quite a bit from the audience, but that too became a good memory.
“By the way, Mom.”
“Yeah?”
I sat in the backseat of the car and let out a deep sigh.
“Do I really have to participate?”
“Well, after all, this time at the premiere, you and Jung-woo are leading roles, right?”
And thus, the premiere approached.
Honestly, for me, who found the previous event burdensome, I had decided to avoid this one at all costs.
But isn’t that how social life goes?
You can’t just live doing only what you want.
‘If I want to work as an actor later, I shouldn’t get on anyone’s bad side, right…’
I had heard that even the drama director was involved.
In a situation where such high-ups were taking notice, it wouldn’t bode well to simply skip out.
Moreover,
‘Mom’s also looking forward to it.’
Seeing my mother’s smiling face while driving… well, I thought this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
After all, it probably wouldn’t be long until I began participating in such events again.
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