LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 54
<‘In the Past, Seeing Memories’ Hot Topic Child Actor, Joo Seo-yeon Nova Hang>
[Nova Enter Ten Million Actor Hwang Min-hwa and Shared Rice]
An article that popped up in the morning.
Seeing that, RY Entertainment’s head of actor management, Lee Hwi-rok, frowned heavily.
It was just the day before yesterday.
The mention of moving forward with a contract for Joo Seo-yeon had come up.
And to come directly to the school the next day.
“But I heard she already signed.”
Did she really go to Nova Enter, which just mocked RY?
A chuckle escaped him.
It’s not a bad place.
But compared to RY, it’s…meh.
‘Looks like they foolishly signed a contract first and got locked out.’
He clicked his tongue but that was all.
He considered it a good catch, but isn’t this all part of his luck?
‘She’s still young, definitely too hasty.’
It was a bit surprising, but the actress was not at the level for RY to cling to or mourn over.
Just a lottery ticket with a slightly better chance of winning, maybe.
“Indeed, a person should see the forest, not just the trees.”
He smirked, then closed the internet article.
Deciding to forget about the actress named Joo Seo-yeon.
*
Meanwhile, while Lee Hwi-rok was busy checking internet articles.
Seo-yeon had just finished a play and was greeting director Bae Jin-hwan of [The Chaser] at a nearby café.
“Seo-yeon, you made a good choice. Opportunities like this are rare.”
Jo Do-yul, who was responsible for Seo-yeon’s introduction, said with a bright face.
‘It would be nice if she occasionally made an appearance in theatrical performances.’
Having seen Seo-yeon’s acting this time, Jo Do-yul felt a bit regretful.
Considering her popularity, expanding onto the theater stage could also be an option.
But, he didn’t want her to miss the chance to rise higher as an actress.
It’s not that the position of a theater actor is low, but it’s about having opportunities to become more recognized.
Who knows?
Now that the OTT market is gradually activating, maybe her name could spread overseas.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Bae Jin-hwan, the director of [The Chaser].”
A middle-aged man with a pleasant impression extended his hand to shake.
Startled for a moment, Seo-yeon hurriedly took his hand.
“I am Joo Seo-yeon of Nova Enter.”
“Oh, I saw an article that you found an agency. Nova Enter is a good place. I believe you can learn a lot from incredible actress Hwang Min-hwa.”
Hwang Min-hwa.
Seo-yeon remembered her from the recent Ten Million Movie [Professional].
Before [Professional], she had participated in notable films and dramas, making significant contributions to Nova Enter’s growth.
Hearing her name, Seo-yeon awkwardly smiled.
‘Didn’t she leave this year?’
She couldn’t remember the exact timing.
What she vaguely recalled was that she left Nova Enter before [The Chaser] premiered.
So, it seemed not much time was left.
Hwang Min-hwa moved to Horizon Company.
A planning agency categorized as a solid second tier.
In other words, it could be said to be a step above Nova Enter.
“Yes, I’ll make sure of it.”
“That’s good. Always keep an attitude of learning.”
Of course, Bae Jin-hwan couldn’t know Seo-yeon’s inner thoughts and chuckled.
He really liked Seo-yeon.
Her calm and composed vibe.
Like a precious young lady showcasing her talent on stage.
She was a figure that captured the gaze at first sight.
“By the way, have you heard anything about ‘The Chaser’? I think it has already become quite an issue.”
In fact, the announcement of [The Chaser] had been made a while ago.
Was it a few months ago?
During that time, they had been gathering actors, refining the script, and taking their time.
Just one thing—they hadn’t found the actress to play the main villain, Cha Seo-ah.
They were in a state where filming could begin the very next day if they wanted to.
“I’ve heard about it. It’s a thriller movie, and I heard GH Group invested in it…”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s an anticipated piece invested by GH.”
Bae Jin-hwan took a sip of Americano and continued.
He appeared quite confident.
A movie prepared ambitiously with investment from GH Group.
So, it would be impossible for him not to be confident.
He was a director whose abilities had been proven, with overflowing budgets.
With GH Group backing up, he wouldn’t have to worry about publicity or the number of theaters showing it.
He would clearly have a degree of certainty regarding results.
It was just a matter of how much of a hit it would be.
‘But.’
Seo-yeon knew.
Originally, [The Chaser] wouldn’t gather much of a box office.
It was solely because of the main villain’s actress, Cha Seo-ah, who got herself into big trouble.
Pyo Ji-woo.
She had staged a knife attack at a club alone.
The incident had made headlines, capturing public attention everywhere.
An actress convicted for attempted murder.
What kind of evaluation would a movie featuring an actress who actually was a murderer receive?
The premiere was delayed, and she received criticism on top of that.
Of course, some people took an interest in it, but the numbers were not significant.
They hastily reshot the parts that featured Pyo Ji-woo with another actress.
Afterwards, in hopes of recouping the investment costs, they showed the film, resulting in a total audience count of 2.5 million when taken down.
Considering all sorts of adverse events and the limited number of theaters, the figure was surprisingly high.
And Seo-yeon was one of the 2.5 million audience members.
‘The hastily recruited actress was indeed disappointing.’
She felt the villainous acting Pyo Ji-woo portrayed in the trailer was a far cry from the new portrayal.
However, the storyline of the film was good.
It was probably one of the rare cases where her past self felt that emotion of ‘liking’ something.
And that was for various reasons.
The reason she desperately wanted to be in this movie.
“The Chaser is a thriller movie about a detective pursuing a psychopathic murderer.”
After saying that, he added, “By the way, technically, he’s not a psychopath. Though the detective believes so while chasing him.”
“Yes, I’m aware.”
Right, she knew it very well.
Seo-yeon knew better than anyone what kind of person the main villain, Cha Seo-ah, was.
“Let me explain the character you’ll be portraying, Seo-yeon. Cha Seo-ah is a complex character…”
Bae Jin-hwan looked at Seo-yeon and took a moment to gather his thoughts.
Cha Seo-ah had that much complexity to her character.
“Perhaps Seo-yeon doesn’t know, but there’s a condition called ‘Alexithymia.’”
He said that and calmly continued his explanation.
“It’s a disease where one cannot properly feel or express emotions. Can you imagine? Not being able to fully laugh or cry.”
Seo-yeon slowly nodded her head.
Hearing this, she felt a complicated emotion that words couldn’t quite capture.
Yes, emotions.
“Cha Seo-ah suffered abuse in her childhood because of this. A broken woman.”
In the story, the motivation of Cha Seo-ah was achingly simple.
She felt a sharp pain in her heart whenever she saw someone who looked happy.
So, she pursues and kills those people.
Without regard for gender.
“The terrifying thing about Alexithymia is that it’s not that one cannot feel emotions at all.”
That was true.
It wasn’t that one didn’t feel them at all; it was more about not being able to recognize them.
She didn’t know what emotions she was feeling or expressing at that moment.
So, she felt pain, and sometimes even pleasure.
But her brain just couldn’t properly judge it.
That’s why her past self took a long time to express ordinary emotions.
Even that was through acting, after all.
“So she killed. With emotions of anger and jealousy she couldn’t even recognize herself. Cha Seo-ah is that kind of villain. And even though she’s a villain… she’s a somewhat sad person.”
Bae Jin-hwan said that, looking at Seo-yeon.
“I think it’s quite a challenging role to portray. But after seeing this play, I thought Seo-yeon might express such a Cha Seo-ah well.”
At his words, Seo-yeon gazed at the chilled glass of water in her hands.
She held it tightly with both hands to cool her warm head that was running a little hot.
“Yes.”
Seo-yeon calmly looked at Bae Jin-hwan and said.
“I’m confident.”
Like how Pyo Ji-woo expressed Hong Jeong-hee’s character in [Close Your Eyes] better than anyone else.
Seo-yeon felt she could portray Cha Seo-ah in [The Chaser] better than anyone.
She was, her past self.
“I’ll take it. I definitely want to do it.”
It was her when she hadn’t met kind parents.
*
“Unnie!”
Upon returning home, the sound of patting footsteps echoed.
Joo Su-yeon, her seven-year-old little sister.
I took Su-yeon in my arms and spun her around.
“Ahahaha, higher, higher!”
Seeing little Su-yeon laughing charmingly, I smiled gently.
Today had been complicated in many ways, but seeing Su-yeon lightened my heart a bit.
“Wow, Seo-yeon, you’re late today!”
“Had a meeting about a movie.”
“Oh, right.”
Mom, holding a ladle, had a puzzled expression seeing me spinning Su-yeon around.
“Our daughter is so strong…”
Su-yeon must have weighed at least 20 kg.
Swinging her around like that with both hands probably dropped Mom’s jaw in disbelief.
Isn’t it time my strength got used to this?
“By the way, I remember you were playing a villain role before, are you okay with that?”
Mom said that as if she had been waiting, placing dinner on the table.
She had prepared the meal in advance to have it ready when her daughter came back late.
As I sat at the table, my little sister crawled onto my lap and blinked her big eyes, asking.
“Unnie, are you playing a bad guy again?”
Again, huh?
But it’s true that after Yeonhwa, I played two consecutive villain roles.
‘Moreover, Su-yeon hasn’t even seen Yeonhwa.’
To her, it might just seem like I’m always playing bad roles.
That could be how it looks.
“Yeah, so I’m considering doing a drama or a variety show together.”
“That sounds too busy, doesn’t it?”
“After the movie shoot, it should align very well.”
Typically, the filming period for a movie is about three months.
If I begin filming a drama right after, it would probably air around the same time as the movie or just a bit sooner.
‘Of course, I’ll need to think about what to do for that, but…’
Thinking about [The Chaser], there’s definitely a possibility of my villain image being firmly established.
In my previous life, the sudden replacement of the actress led to a negative reception, but Cha Seo-ah’s role carries immense weight in the narrative.
If I showcase even slightly good acting, it’s sure to impact my acting image.
“How about a romance drama?”
“…Huh?”
“Why are you looking at me like that? If you’re worried about your image from playing a bad guy, wouldn’t acting sweetly help improve it? My daughter is too dull, and that makes me worry.”
Is that so?
Could it really turn out that way?
I took a sip of cold water.
Hmm.
I considered it for a moment—romantic acting… that’s…
‘I don’t think I can do it right now.’
I really feel sorry for Mom, but it’s just too much right now.
For real.
Well, even if it’s not a romance, I need to carefully think about whether there’s a good role available.
“And stop looking at YouTube while eating.”
“Yes.”
I glanced at the smartphone carelessly placed on the dining table, trying to calm the chaotic thoughts in my mind.
Thinking about [The Chaser] and future roles, there were so many considerations.
‘In my past life, I used to heal by watching Ramiel’s channel at times like this.’
Though I didn’t know my exact feelings, I thought it was just healing.
It had given me a sense of comfort.
Ramiel, who used to consult viewers, had me as a recipient of that a few times.
‘Sigh.’
I pressed down on the search box for YouTube and typed in ‘Ramiel’ with a longing heart.
Something strange popped up.
“Huh?”
A channel called [Ramiel] that I had never seen before was created.
“Uh???”
There were no videos or anything, but I could only stare at it with my face buried in my smartphone.
‘Could it be… no way?’
Until Mom told me to sit up straight and finish my meal.