I Want to Be a VTuber

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“Father.”

Cho Min-tae said while looking at his shabby father’s back.

He had once been an advertising director and followed in his father’s footsteps to become a film director.

As time passed, he became a famous director, churning out hit after hit, but his father had turned into someone entirely different.

“I think you’re too impatient.”

“……”

Once hailed as a box office wizard, he had become a director nobody wanted to hire after series of flops.

Actors who once reached out first now barely remained in contact.

If anyone was left, it might be Park Sun-woong or his son.

That was the last connection left for Jo Bang-woo.

Thus, it was hard for him to easily ask them for help.

“……It seems the actress slated for the lead role has turned down her participation.”

“Are you talking about the actress Yeonari?”

“Yes.”

A popular actress who had been steadily gaining recognition over the past three years.

She was one of the actresses being promoted by Horizon Company.

In the past, Jo Bang-woo might have hesitated at this career opportunity, but now he had no resources left to search for a better actress.

“Why? After all, it’s a film that’s received investment…”

“Well, I don’t know. I heard that a senior actress blocked her.”

“A senior actress……”

Cho Min-tae fell into thought for a moment.

Few actresses in Horizon Company had a career better than Yeonari’s.

If there was someone who would do such a thing…

‘Hwang Min-hwa?’

That was the only name that came to mind.

It was only a suspicion, but…

After starring in the film <Utopia>, which had received ambiguous results, her name took a beating, especially after being released during the same period as The Chaser.

The Chaser.

Joo Seo-yeon.

Cho Min-tae couldn’t help but think of that name.

The return of Yeonhwa Princess had caused quite a stir earlier this year.

And she had instantly become a star with her ludicrously impressive results from the film she launched.

Subsequent films and dramas she featured in, even if they didn’t start well, ultimately turned into hits.

She became known as a genius actress with an exceptional eye for good works.

‘That girl…’

Cho Min-tae honestly felt a wave of emotion.

The first video Joo Seo-yeon starred in was his soy milk advertisement.

She was the genius actress he discovered, alongside actress Kim Jung-ha, whom he is presently working with.

He felt a bit lonely during the ten years he had been absent, but seeing her succeed as expected warmed his heart.

‘So, it’s even more likely that Hwang Min-hwa is behind this.’

Jo Bang-woo, the director who discovered Joo Seo-yeon, had been briefly mentioned on broadcasts before.

Successive successes of Seo-yeon became a common topic on channels dealing with gossip.

If that were the case, it made sense that Hwang Min-hwa would block a junior actress from appearing in Jo Bang-woo’s film.

An actress who had disgraced him.

To humiliate the director who discovered that actress.

‘This is just a suspicion, though.’

The public perception of Hwang Min-hwa was that of a generous actress who often participated in charitable services.

But Cho Min-tae knew that image management was at play.

He couldn’t forget how, when he hadn’t yet succeeded, they looked down on him as just an advertising director.

Perhaps that’s why she was now gradually avoiding him…

‘If I mention this, he’d be even more disappointed.’

Cho Min-tae sighed as he silently stared at his father, who again began to drink.

Should he gather some actors through his contacts? He thought, but…

‘There’s no way he’d accept help from me.’

He knew.

Right now, he was his father’s proud son, but at the same time, he was also a rival as a director.

And even if he obtained actors with his father’s help, it would only make him feel more miserable.

Would he have fallen so badly that he couldn’t direct unless he reached out to his son?

“What if we hold the audition a little earlier?”

“……Why?”

“You never know. If we extend the period a bit more, we might find a decent actor.”

“Min-tae.”

Jo Bang-woo stared at his son while clutching a beer can.

“The problem is the lead role.”

“……Even if they don’t have recognition, we can cast a good actor in the lead role, can’t we?”

“I’d like to, but do you think investors will accept that?”

“……”

“If it wasn’t for Yeonari’s popularity, the investors might have overlooked it. But now that Yeonari is out… I feel like they’re considering pulling their investment.”

Surprisingly, the actors’ identities were incredibly important from an investor’s perspective.

What they looked for was not pure acting skill but rather the box-office power of the actor.

Furthermore, the leading male actor was yet to be decided.

Two leads.

In a situation where that position was wide open, investors would have no choice but to think twice about investing in Jo Bang-woo’s film this time around.

If they pulled out now, it would minimize losses.

“Still, isn’t it better to try something?”

“……”

At his son’s words, Jo Bang-woo lowered his head.

He knew that was true.

Sitting there and drowning in alcohol wouldn’t lead to any proper solutions.

‘Still, we need some excuse to keep the production going. Just doing auditions won’t cut it.’

Just as Jo Bang-woo was thinking along those lines, the light came on his phone, which he had on silent.

“Father, it’s a call.”

“Leave it. It’s probably from the investors. They’ve heard that Yeonari has dropped out. What do they want with auditions? It might end right here.”

“No.”

Cho Min-tae looked at the name displayed on his smartphone with a strange expression.

“It’s Park Jung-woo.”

“……What?”

“The son of actor Park Sun-woong, it’s Jung-woo.”

Stumbling to his feet, he rubbed his eyes as he looked at the smartphone screen.

Park Jung-woo? Is it the Park Jung-woo I know?

But why is he calling?

“Y-yes, hello. Oh, it’s been a while.”

In fact, he hadn’t had many direct conversations with Park Jung-woo.

The last time was when he had confidently said, “I’ll cast you in my film someday when I get the chance.”

So, he knew the number but didn’t feel confident enough to call.

Everything had changed since then; he couldn’t imagine saying such bold words from his current position.

“Uh, uh, what? A movie? The lead role? It’s- it’s vacant. Vacant and all!”

Cho Min-tae could hardly believe his ears at what Park Jung-woo said over the phone.

Could it be that at this moment, Park Jung-woo…

“So, would it be fine for me to take the male lead? I’m okay with auditioning, too.”

“No, what audition? Of course, that’s fine.”

To Cho Bang-woo, who needed an actor to offer to the investors, there was no greater blessing than this.

Yeonari? A promising actor, but not anywhere near Park Jung-woo’s caliber.

Park Jung-woo was known to choose scripts very carefully.

Because of that, projects he starred in were typically successful, often being the year’s biggest hit with artistic merit.

A young actor.

And now a young man.

The son who had perfectly inherited his father’s name.

He was a model actor with no shortcomings in personality and virtue, making him a favorite among investors.

“And…”

“What, do you have more to say?”

Worried he might say “I think it’s not going to work” now, Jo Bang-woo asked in a tense voice.

“No, I think I might have to say something that you won’t like.”

“Huh?”

“After hearing about Yeonari dropping out, I thought, what if we pushed the auditions forward?”

Push the auditions forward?

Wasn’t that the same thing his son had just said?

It didn’t seem to mean anything, but if it were Park Jung-woo’s suggestion, he had no choice but to nod along.

Right now, the stakes rode on the investors who were tied to his name.

“But can I ask why?”

“Why? Well…”

Park Jung-woo hesitated for a moment over that question.

And then he said, “I think you’ll understand once you see for yourself.”

In a voice tinged with a peculiar chuckle, he continued, “There’s one actress who has told me that she really wants to star in your film.”

An actress?

Director Jo Bang-woo looked at Cho Min-tae with a puzzled expression.

His son looked equally baffled and shrugged.

Was there really an actress who desperately wanted to star in his film, which had become a relic?

Honestly, it was hard to believe.

Perhaps it was just a form of lip service from Park Jung-woo.

“That’s not too hard. We were already thinking of proposing a longer audition period.”

He said this while accepting Park Jung-woo’s suggestion.

That was the reason the audition period had been moved up prior.

Of course.

“Why was it moved up? Is there some problem?”

Because of that, Seo-yeon started searching her mind for reasons why the audition would be moved up.

She would learn the answer on the day of Jo Bang-woo’s film auditions.

***

“Excuse me? The actress is sick?”

Park Jung-woo said with a dazed face.

Filming wasn’t easy after all.

Today’s shoot happened to be for Beol’s advertisement, in which he was the Korean promotional model.

However, the actress he was supposed to star with had fallen ill and wouldn’t make it.

“Isn’t it okay if you shoot it alone?”

At the director’s comments, Park Jung-woo shook his head.

Of course, he was the main model for Beol, and the other model was merely a prop to elevate him.

The focus was on him.

But he didn’t want to ruin the originally planned concept of the advertisement.

“We do need a female counterpart.”

“That’s true.”

The director agreed, seeming disappointed.

Indeed, the Beol advertisement they were filming today looked best when featuring a pair.

‘That guy is ridiculously handsome.’

This shoot involved a hanbok concept outfit from Beol.

Each country had outfits inspired by their national images, and this year it happened to be Korea.

While it was closer to a modernized hanbok, it still resembled a suit or dress from there.

Park Jung-woo, in his white suit, looked so visually striking that all the female staff let out deep sighs.

“Why didn’t Beol choose a female model?”

“They had one. They just dismissed her because they didn’t like her.”

That “they” clearly referred to Beol headquarters.

Aside from Park Jung-woo, anyone recommended by the Korean branch had been rejected as a model.

“How about if Jung-woo’s agency requests a female model to bring someone in?”

“That would….”

Well, that was an option.

The director seemed to be trying different calls but couldn’t find a suitable candidate.

‘But it’s unavoidable.’

Given that he was Park Jung-woo, he had no choice but to go for a female model.

After all, there would be a visual imbalance, and just having Park Jung-woo alone would fare worse than having no one.

The temporary model they were using now was also continuously receiving requests from headquarters to be swapped out.

The Korean branch had been at least trying to fend them off, but that model surely knew the circumstances.

The fact that she didn’t show up today likely wasn’t solely due to being sick.

At that moment, after pondering for a while, Park Jung-woo opened his mouth.

“One…”

“Yes?”

“There happens to be an actress who’s currently not busy.”

“An actress, not a model?”

Oh, it’s not that being an actress is bad.

But female models naturally tend to look good in clothes.

“If it’s okay, I think I can give her a call.”

“Yes, well. If it’s through Jung-woo’s eyes, I can trust it.”

To be honest, the director would’ve just accepted shooting alone and carried on without much concern.

Filming a luxury goods advertisement was, to be frank, a little nerve-wracking for the director.

There were so many people with opinions.

“But do you know who that actress is?”

Regardless, he had to pass the word along, so he asked.

After some hesitation, Park Jung-woo finally spoke up.

And then…

“……She says she’s totally down for it!”

The branch office welcomed the idea with open arms.

That’s because there wasn’t any actress better suited for this concept.

***

Seo-yeon was indecisive.

After all, it wasn’t because of Jo Bang-woo’s film, for which she could find no reason.

She squeezed her brain dry but couldn’t find a proper explanation.

“Hmm.”

Just with her arms crossed, Seo-yeon frowned at the articles popping up on the internet.

“This is getting a bit dangerous.”

The image of her as Harara, which she had tried so hard to maintain, was slowly reverting to her past self due to her recent appearances on variety shows in Japan.

At least last time, they only exchanged her with a gorilla or a weird elephant.

Now, she was wrestling with ghosts.

==

Post: Joo Seo-yeon vs Sadako

Who wins?

Comments

– Joo Seo-yeon breaks Sadako’s spine when she crawls out of the TV 😂

– Not only does the TV explode before she even crawls out.

– Have you not seen how she rides a bear? Sadako loses against that bear!

==

By the way, Japanese variety shows haven’t aired yet.

Only a few behind-the-scenes photos were loosely circulating.

One of those photos featured Seo-yeon riding around on the bear.

That stunning sight looked as if it were a movie scene.

‘What should I do?’

If this airs, will her image crumble to a point of no return?

Seo-yeon rolled around on her bed with such worries.

With nothing else to do, her thoughts only seemed to get heavier.

She searched extensively on the web for hours and looked up her name, Joo Seo-yeon, on Google, Naver, and various communities.

Even now, her image wasn’t as bizarre as before.

Her magical girl identity remained, and the recent efforts to manage her image were still having an effect.

But if it continued down this path…

And then, at that moment.

[So, right now the Beol advertisement model position is vacant? It might feel like a bit of a burden, but if you could just come in for a bit as a part-time gig… ]

“I’ll do it.”

A surprisingly appealing part-time offer came through from Park Jung-woo.