LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 73
“…….”
Joo Seo-yeon eyed the room like a guilty puppy.
Lee Ji-yeon sighed at her expression, one that seemed to escape from reality, as she rolled her eyes just by moving them to the upper side.
“You, seriously…”
She had expected it.
Seo-yeon probably wasn’t satisfied with the ghost acting they did during practice.
So, she must have been practicing separately by watching movies.
‘Exorcist.’
It seemed that was the film she referenced.
Seeing her descend the stairs backward, Ji-yeon honestly felt a chill run down her spine.
But wouldn’t a ghost crawl down a bit slower?
Instead, she came down so quickly that it was more like a giant insect than an exorcist.
Of course, it was scary in its own right.
“Do you know?”
“?”
“What you just did is what real ghosts are known for.”
“I-I didn’t know that!”
Seo-yeon stammered back.
After meeting Ji-yeon, her acting had been a bit mediocre, but the ghost movie itself had been a huge hit.
Seo-yeon’s hot acting had become the talk of the town.
“I didn’t expect you’d just walk around like that; it’s classified as hallucination or a real ghost sighting.”
How can a person crawl down like that?
Or at that speed, it wouldn’t even seem possible.
With such common-sense comments, the boys chased by her became witnesses of a real ghost.
The old school building would probably be the students’ bravery exploration site for some time.
Hearing Ji-yeon’s words, Seo-yeon reflected on herself.
Honestly, she knew she went a bit overboard.
‘I reacted too vividly.’
She apologized inwardly to the boys.
Especially, there weren’t many students who made it to the second floor, and those who were startled like that were practically non-existent.
Who would’ve thought her excitement would end up being an issue?
‘Such a pity.’
Honestly, she wanted to do more.
While she was a bit reluctant to wait alone, scaring the students was fun in itself.
Now she understood why creatures in games chased after people like that.
Seo-yeon felt she could sympathize a bit with the mindset of creatures.
“Joo Seo-yeon, you might really get hurt like that. What if a boy gets startled and fights back?”
“I’ll win.”
“…….”
Ji-yeon was left speechless.
Not that she’d lose, but it made her wonder if that’s something an actor should say.
Watching Seo-yeon ramble on about defenses against roundhouse kicks while instinctively facing downward.
“So…”
She tried to change the subject to more masculine talk about how to fight and win.
“Have you made any friends?”
“……Um.”
Seo-yeon, who had been discussing grappling techniques, abruptly closed her mouth.
Her gaze turned forward.
Currently, they were sitting on a bench in the schoolyard.
The closing ceremony of their school festival.
Yeonhwa High School’s festival lasted two days, and during that time, Seo-yeon had been actively working on her ghost performance.
‘Hmm.’
Seo-yeon pondered.
Had she made friends? She wasn’t sure.
“Halfway, maybe?”
“Well, it’s possible to have only half a friend since they’re classmates.”
Seo-yeon sulked slightly at Ji-yeon’s comment.
“I’m in the class chat.”
“Good for you.”
“The rest will come soon.”
Seo-yeon said confidently.
However, the female students who saw her crawling on all fours seemed to avoid her.
Even though the rumors spread, there were actually witnesses.
“Joo Seo-yeon.”
Ji-yeon said.
“You’re two months away from your birthday, right?”
“Hmm? That’s right.”
“Okay.”
At Seo-yeon’s answer, Ji-yeon silently gazed into the schoolyard.
Seo-yeon tilted her head at Ji-yeon’s expression.
She had no idea what she was thinking.
She thought that as she directed her gaze toward the schoolyard.
Then fireworks soared into the sky.
Fireworks.
It felt satisfying that the school had prepared this properly.
A peaceful school life.
‘When I think about it.’
Seo-yeon suddenly realized.
Watching the school festival with friends.
It was something she couldn’t have even dreamed of in her past life.
What kind of emotions is one supposed to feel during such times?
It felt like an overall good feeling.
Something tickled in her chest.
Her past self.
And feelings not granted to Cha Seo-ah.
‘…….’
She learned the face of horror through acting as a ghost.
And the emotions that flowed from within Cha Seo-ah.
Jealousy toward those who had what she could not.
‘Simple madness.’
That was the setting for the character Cha Seo-ah.
She was a villain.
She didn’t know emotions. She was abused.
Even if she made such excuses, the countless murders were not justified.
Therefore, she aimed to express Cha Seo-ah’s fear through this performance.
‘I could add one more.’
Looking at the exploding fireworks, Seo-yeon thought.
About the feeling of something a normal girl couldn’t enjoy.
Certainly, Cha Seo-ah wouldn’t have committed such acts purely out of simple jealousy.
Seo-yeon had such vague thoughts.
“Lee Ji-yeon.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you free this weekend?”
She probably meant to meet up.
It was a common phrase, but…
“…….”
Seo-yeon’s face, watching the fireworks in the sky, was something Ji-yeon had never seen before.
But it wasn’t exactly an expression to expect from a typically blank girl.
“Alright.”
Ji-yeon nodded.
She didn’t ask why.
*
The highlights of The Chaser had all finished filming.
The remaining scenes regarding Cha Seo-ah were about her daily life.
And scenes showing Cha Seo-ah killing other victims.
To show her aspect as a source of fear.
Scenes that depicted why she committed such crimes.
Her jealousy toward others and her gradual detachment from humanity.
They needed to show that to the audience.
Originally, Seo-yeon had planned to depict her past self as it was.
If she had been abused.
And if she hadn’t been able to properly act out others’ expressions.
She thought she only needed to portray that assumption.
But.
‘Acting is me.’
She could still vividly recall her past self.
How she thought back then, how she acted.
However, Joo Seo-yeon had emotions in her.
She had no clue how she viewed the world at that time.
In the first place, she didn’t even recognize that.
She felt she needed to understand those emotions to grasp Cha Seo-ah’s motivations better.
The feelings she had for others at that time.
‘Here’s…’
It was the weekend.
She heard tomorrow was the filming, but Seo-yeon and Ji-yeon had to head to the countryside.
Daejeon.
Surely they weren’t just coming here to buy bread at Seongsimdang.
‘Her expressions are really peculiar.’
She had half-listened.
She wanted to prepare one final thing for tomorrow’s shoot.
She wondered what that had to do with coming to Daejeon.
‘How can I know what’s in her mind?’
Seo-yeon had always had strange quirks since her childhood.
Now, she was somewhat used to many things and didn’t think much about it.
Even if she did something odd, she always had her reasons.
‘Especially, she probably doesn’t have much experience in the countryside.’
Ji-yeon followed behind Seo-yeon’s path.
Daejeon.
A city about one and a half hours by train from Seoul.
Not too far, but not close either.
Naturally, Seo-yeon, who had lived her whole life in Seoul, hadn’t come here much.
Yet, Seo-yeon walked as though she was familiar.
Like someone who had lived there for a long time.
Unrestrained in her steps.
“Joo Seo-yeon, who are you meeting?”
Finally asking that, Seo-yeon replied.
“Not anyone.”
Just that simple answer.
They continued walking, and Seo-yeon casually stopped by here and there.
A slightly worn shopping area.
Old signs lined the alley.
And an elementary school that seemed a bit dated.
In contrast, a very well-kept middle school.
“Where’s high school?”
“It’s too far.”
That was a strange remark.
The last destination was an apartment complex tucked away in a less trafficked area.
It did seem fairly neat and tidy.
Because they’d been wandering around, the sky was now darkening.
And the cars leaving work were forming a line.
Then.
A warm-looking family caught her eye.
A girl beaming with a smile, as if she’d just returned from somewhere, holding hands with a pleasant-looking woman.
Ji-yeon couldn’t help but let a loose smile slip at that sight.
“…….”
But Seo-yeon merely stared at the scene.
Somehow.
Seo-yeon’s eyes held very complex emotions.
‘Why?’
Was this person more than just a stranger?
If she knew them, why didn’t she say anything?
At that moment, a thought crossed her mind.
“Ah, I see.”
Seo-yeon murmured that.
It was just a simple remark.
After saying that, she slowly turned her back.
“I wanted to refer to something for my acting.”
“Yeah?”
“Cha Seo-ah’s motivation.”
At that statement, Ji-yeon grew puzzled.
Wasn’t she already doing an excellent job? That’s what went through her mind.
“I think I understand a bit.”
At Ji-yeon’s remark, Seo-yeon smiled.
“I’m good now.”
It was a clean smile that had dispelled the shadows that briefly lingered.
Seeing Seo-yeon like that, Ji-yeon finally felt relieved.
Thus, the two returned to Seoul.
Starting from the next day.
The filming of The Chaser, which had been postponed, began.
*
“Good job everyone!”
“You too, Seo-yeon. Is this the end of your Cha Seo-ah scenes?”
A month had passed.
Filming for The Chaser had reached its climax.
They had at least shot all the remaining scenes related to Cha Seo-ah.
“Yes, it’s over.”
Seo-yeon wiped the sweat from her forehead with a relieved expression, prompting Director Bae Jin-hwan to fall deep into thought.
‘Her acting has improved.’
Seo-yeon as Cha Seo-ah felt like seeing the real person.
The performance was so remarkable that he had no regrets about casting her as this role.
Especially, it shone through in the highlight scenes.
He deemed that the connecting scenes could be at a satisfactory level.
“Honestly.”
Director Bae Jin-hwan smiled.
“I mean, every scene is great, so it’s tough to edit. The staff is totally in tears over it.”
“……Really?”
“Oh, absolutely. Seo-yeon, where did you learn to act? This Cha Seo-ah is truly something else.”
In thriller movies, antagonists were vital.
They needed to instill fear in the audience for them to immerse themselves.
If the motivations behind the crimes weren’t understandable to the audience, it could disrupt their engagement.
In that regard, the character Cha Seo-ah’s motivations were quite complex.
If it appeared as mere jealousy.
That would come off as slightly dubious.
‘Just for that?’
Such sentiments would spell disaster.
However, Seo-yeon brilliantly conveyed Cha Seo-ah’s reasons for her actions through her acting.
“It’s a very profound emotional performance… for your age, it’s just unbelievable.”
“……Really?”
She flinched momentarily at the mention of age.
After all, she was a high school girl, a high school girl.
While Seo-yeon was repeating that in her mind.
“The filming is almost done. Soon, you’ll need to start promoting.”
“Promotion?”
“Yeah, going on broadcasts and stuff, Seo-yeon. Do you have any ideas in mind? I think we should hear that first.”
Movie promotion.
Going on various variety shows or events to showcase her face.
Seo-yeon was already familiar with such things, having done similar promotional activities during The Moon That Hid the Sun.
Of course, since she was a child actor, it hadn’t been done that often.
‘But this time, being the villain means it’ll happen even more often than before.’
However, when it came to promotion, Seo-yeon didn’t have a specific idea.
She wasn’t well-versed in all these aspects yet.
“If you don’t have any particular thoughts, I’ll let the promotion team know separately.”
“Okay, I’ll leave it up to you.”
“Other actors will probably be joining as well, so don’t worry too much.”
At Director Bae Jin-hwan’s words, Seo-yeon nodded.
She just thought it would be similar to interview broadcasts or past promotional events.