LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 62
– Yesterday, they were filming a movie in front of my house.
It was a post that appeared on some community forum.
At first, most people dismissed it as nonsense, but a few photos and videos taken from outside the window caught people’s attention.
– Is that Kim Dae-heon stalking another criminal role or something?
– From the video, it looks like he’s the one chasing??
The video wasn’t long.
At the most, it was about 10 seconds.
It featured a man presumed to be actor Kim Dae-heon and a small-framed person.
What drew people’s attention was the small-framed individual.
– Ugh, the quality is terrible!
– Change your phone!
– Who’s the person in the raincoat???
– Wow, they run super fast, lol!
It seemed like the person in the raincoat was being chased by Kim Dae-heon.
What stood out was that incredible speed.
Especially in the first 10 seconds of the video, where the raincoat person (?) was fleeing.
– It looks like the frame got cut off.
– Did they just disappear? Are they a ninja??
– You can’t even see their face, but why is Kim Dae-heon’s face visible?
– For real, lol!
People even started mentioning that it looked like it was fast-forwarded.
Comments began to accumulate on that ridiculous NG footage.
– But can you just post something like this without permission?
With that comment, the post reached its end and was deleted.
However.
The real story began after that.
*
“Seo-yeon.”
Sudden calling from director Bae Jin-hwan made Seo-yeon blink her eyes.
‘Did I do something wrong again?’
Recently, she had been called out by the director a lot.
Of course, it wasn’t just Seo-yeon; other actors were also in the same boat.
In fact, Seo-yeon hadn’t been particularly criticized unless it was about physical actions.
She hadn’t even filmed that many scenes yet.
“Are you active in any communities?”
“Yes?”
At those words, Seo-yeon instinctively opened her mouth.
What should she reply?
‘Well, I do…’
Actually, she should’ve said, ‘Of course I do.’
She often checked information on Vtuber communities, posted comments, and wrote posts herself.
She was quite active, in her own way.
Moreover, Seo-yeon was the type to conquer every community.
Because after all.
‘To be a Vtuber, you need to be familiar with the memes.’
It had been a long time since she mentioned her thoughts on Vtubers.
Around this point, the memes and various issues in the community began to change rapidly.
Even if she wasn’t deeply engrossed in a community, regularly checking it helped her keep up with the trends.
These days, taking a year off could easily lead to becoming outdated, so it was vital to stay in the loop.
“I don’t enjoy it that much, though.”
“Is that so? I mean, you don’t seem like the type to spend much time online.”
“……”
But isn’t there an image to uphold as an actor?
Seo-yeon awkwardly smiled at Bae Jin-hwan’s comment.
“Someone seemed to have posted a video of our filming yesterday in a specific movie community.”
“Yes?”
Can they post things like that?
Well, they could, but…
“It got posted and was quickly taken down. It’s quite something.”
“What happened?”
“Look at this.”
Seo-yeon glanced at the screen of the iPad Bae Jin-hwan presented to her.
The screen displayed some community forum.
For reference, it was a site Seo-yeon frequented, so she flinched for a moment.
“Apparently, it’s been circulating as shorts lately.”
The video featured a chase scene between Seo-yeon and actor Kim Dae-heon.
In fact, that was the first shot of the chase scene.
The part where Seo-yeon had vanished in an instant.
“This has become a meme and is spreading everywhere. It’s not just isolated to this site.”
“…Really?”
“Well, it’s an NG scene, so that’s fine.”
He looked at Seo-yeon with a slight hesitation.
Seo-yeon blinked her big eyes.
She realized she was born to be in showbiz.
Just one moment like this could create a stir.
“Because of this, there’s talk about who the yellow raincoat person is.”
Raincoat person?
But I’m a girl.
‘……’
Seo-yeon shivered at that thought.
Why would anyone just assume she was a guy?
She shook her head in frustration.
“So what should we do about it?”
It didn’t seem like Bae Jin-hwan mentioned this merely for casual conversation.
When she asked the reason…
“Well, we should just let it be.”
He said that with a grin.
“Especially you, Seo-yeon. You must never, ever tell anyone your identity.”
“Yes?”
“This has turned into a hot topic, so it seems perfect to use it as promotion.”
The issue was still gradually spreading.
However, if they kept feeding the audience with more content, it would spread quickly.
Topics in a community are like fire.
If the flow is right, it can erupt into flames in no time.
The production team of [The Chaser] was considering maximizing this opportunity.
“You mentioned that Seo-yeon will be in the movie, but you didn’t specify the role, right?”
“Yes. But it has been slightly mentioned in the articles…”
“Please keep that under wraps as much as possible. With your image, nobody would think of you in a murderer role. Oh, and it hasn’t been confirmed in articles yet, so you can downplay it.”
In a thriller movie, “Who’s the culprit?” is an extremely vital topic.
Moreover, Seo-yeon’s image is that of Yeonhwa, the princess.
The embodiment of innocence and purity.
Revealing that Seo-yeon plays a murderer later would have a bigger impact.
That was the opinion of the production team, and Bae Jin-hwan agreed.
“Then… what about the promotion?”
“That should proceed. Of course, we’ll keep the role as hidden as possible.”
Not promoting after confirming her participation would cause issues.
“Something like a convenience store part-time worker.”
“Yes?”
“And the script might get modified a bit. The screenwriter mentioned he got some better ideas for the direction.”
The script revisions weren’t due to the community issue, they said.
They simply wanted to reveal the identity of the murderer in a more impactful way through scene modifications without changing the content.
‘A convenience store part-timer, huh.’
Would that really be enough for people to buy it?
‘Come to think of it, my entire career has been about playing Yeonhwa.’
That might be a reasonable role.
It all fell into place because of the issue.
They might be trying to tease the audience into thinking she could be the heroine who has something going on with a detective.
“So, you must not tell anyone.”
“To no one at all?”
“Those who already know are unavoidable, but do tell them to keep it a secret.”
Seo-yeon nodded.
Currently, only her family and Lee Ji-yeon knew that she was playing a villain in the movie.
She should contact them today and remind them to be cautious with their words.
“Then, let’s do our best for today’s shoot.”
“Yes. Thank you for your support.”
Bowing slightly, Seo-yeon greeted Bae Jin-hwan, who smiled warmly.
She really was an actor with the right attitude.
A child star who gained popularity without any sign of arrogance.
‘…… Of course, we’ll see how long this behavior lasts.’
Bae Jin-hwan thought.
From this movie onward, Seo-yeon’s life would completely change.
*
[Your call could not be connected, so we are connecting to voicemail.]
“……”
I’ve called several times, but it just keeps ringing.
I threw my phone aside and rested my body in the chair.
“Why aren’t they picking up?”
I had to talk to them about this situation.
I crossed my arms, pondering various things.
Mostly it was about my role in this piece.
The physical demands of the chase scene weren’t an issue.
The problem was the character named “Cha Seo-ah.”
‘A character sharing similar afflictions as me.’
Cha Seo-ah was abused by her parents.
So it made sense she ended up twisted and broken.
Humans are originally like humans but feel discomfort when they look at different beings.
Both past me and Cha Seo-ah were on the borderline of that discomfort.
They had a human appearance but didn’t share the same emotions as humans.
Similar yet different from psychopaths or sociopaths.
The latter are missing that element, while Cha Seo-ah and I had it all, we just didn’t know how to use or accept it.
So, I had a near-perfect understanding of the character Cha Seo-ah.
However, there was just one thing missing.
‘The motive for the crime.’
I was empathizing while acting out Cha Seo-ah’s broken emotions, but that part troubled me.
Cha Seo-ah commits a crime impulsively upon seeing the happy lives of those different from herself.
That was her first murder.
‘Jealousy.’
Yeah, it was jealousy.
Ordinary people living happily, unlike her.
Unable to bear the sight of their happiness, she committed a crime.
The problem was that I had never felt that emotion, jealousy.
At least, not so far.
So that part was difficult for me to empathize with.
Cha Seo-ah described it as ‘feeling a pain like being stabbed in the heart.’
‘Jealousy, jealousy.’
Ugh, I tilted my head.
I could mimic the feeling.
Because jealousy is a common sight.
I understood why it happens, but having never experienced it myself.
Even if I asked my mom or dad.
“Seo-yeon is just too generous. She easily gives up what she likes, and she’s not greedy.”
Mom said while hugging Seo-yeon tightly.
“Hmm, maybe you’re just living without thinking?”
Dad replied.
I really just wanted to smack him once.
“Mom is right.”
So I was too generous.
It seems I was born with a heart too wide, perhaps due to the influences of my past life.
What a dilemma.
What if I can’t understand the emotion of jealousy like this?
Just then…
Vrrrr~
“Hmm?”
At that moment, my phone vibrated.
Wondering what was happening, I checked it.
<#Ramiel has uploaded 2 new videos.>
I rubbed my eyes in disbelief at the title.
No way, what is happening here?
‘Is this real?’
Could it be someone with a name similar to hers?
Checking the video made me anxious.
What if it’s someone entirely different, not the Ramiel I knew?
It might not even be a Vtuber but just an ordinary YouTuber.
Those thoughts swirled in my head, but…
“…I still need to check.”
I squinted my eyes and tapped on the new video.
Then, slowly, I opened one eye.
And there it was.
“Hello, I’m the new Vtuber Ramiel!”
A cheerful voice.
Bright blonde hair, wings on her back.
She looked like an angel, but she was actually a harpy.
The voice ringing in my ears was the same as the one I knew.
“The modeling…”
How much money did she spend on this?
I recalled the previous Ramiel model when she was with the company.
It was good enough, but this… this was on a different level altogether.
It’s rare for an individual to debut with such high-quality modeling.
“Her facial features… the facial features are amazing.”
What kind of expensive equipment is she using?
I thought to myself, puzzled.
Did Lee Ji-yeon prepare all this by herself?
It wasn’t just a matter of having money; it required expertise as well.
As I held onto those questions, I watched the entirety of Ramiel’s first video.
It seemed the video uploaded today was mainly promotional.
It mentioned when her first live stream would be.
‘Interesting way to do it.’
As I thought that and clicked on the second video…
“Let me introduce my friend!”
With a bright voice, Ramiel spoke.
A friend?
With that thought, a new character appeared next to Ramiel.
“I’m the precious friend who brought me here from my nest where I just slept all day.”
Saying this, Ramiel hugged the character, a blue-haired sorceress tightly.
Seo-yeon realized.
That blue-haired sorceress Vtuber was the one who helped Ramiel upload the video.
“…Who are you?”
Just by looking, the blue-haired sorceress and Ramiel looked very close.
Wait, are they collaborating in the second video already?
“Come on, stop joking with me.”
As the sorceress teased, Ramiel responded with playful banter.
“Who are you anyway!!”
My emotions surged as the feeling of rage boiled inside me.
It was one of the most intense displays of emotion I had ever felt in my life.