A Born Actress
A few hours after my phone exploded.
JO Entertainment.
I'd been told to rest today after last night's company dinner, but so much attention had slammed into me all at once that I had no choice but to come in, half-forced.
I tried to talk Tsuki out of tagging along. I couldn't. In the end, even she got summoned to the CEO's office.
I sat at the desk in the center of the room with Tsuki beside me. Across from us, Jo Kyuhyun wore a worried look, and next to him sat Kang Ho-yeon, her face ashen, like someone who'd committed a capital crime.
We'd been called together to set the policy for my acting career going forward — and to watch the drama that would start that evening.
"What do you want to do, Jiwoo?" Jo Kyuhyun asked gently.
What did I want to do?
A VTuber idol, obviously!
But the people falling for me right now weren't falling for Kuro the VTuber. They were falling for Lee Jiwoo the actress.
Letting go of either one would be hard.
Even if the Red Pill got exposed someday, I could spin it as a broadcasting gimmick. That was a plus, if anything.
Of course there were downsides too.
For one, time was brutally tight.
Luckily, this drama only had me appearing through episode 4 — a short, sharp impression with a lot of punch. As time passed, I'd fade from people's memories on my own. Eventually it would be, Oh, there was an actress like that, wasn't there?
Even now, reading scripts while practicing singing and dancing, I didn't have enough hours in the day. At this rate I might actually have to quit school.
I don't want that.
No matter how busy I got, I wanted to keep going to school. Part of it was wanting to make the friends I'd never properly built in my previous life. But the most important reason was the original owner's heart.
When I'd woken up in this body — even after collapsing — I hadn't received a single "are you okay?" text from anyone except family.
My previous life and this one had one thing in common. I hadn't made any friends.
Tsuki, looking at me with those bright, sparkling eyes, was the same age and technically a friend, but—
"No..."
I shook my head.
"Hm? Jiwoo-chan? What's no?"
Tsuki was closer to a little sister than a friend. From burrowing into my bed every morning to lunging at my chest at every opportunity, she looked for all the world like a little kid.
"Nothing. I was just thinking you look cute."
"Really?! Yeah! Tsuki's cuteness is number one in the world! I'll work even harder at it from now on! Together!"
"Together..."
Tsuki's words sparked a good idea. Jo Kyuhyun seemed to have caught a decent one from her too.
"CEO."
"Jiwoo."
Our words overlapped.
"Please, go first."
"Alright. I'll go first. Here's what I think. Right now, an idol—"
"A VTuber idol."
I cut him off and corrected the slip.
"R-right. You can't just become a VTuber idol overnight, can you?"
The number of VTuber idols the agency had settled on was five. Three was too few, and four was a little awkward. It wasn't just VTuber idols, either. Even real-life idol groups these days treated four or five members as on the small side. Most started with at least seven, and some teams ran past twenty.
The members currently locked in: me. Tsuki, currently crunching snacks beside me. And Lee Yuwol, who'd be streaming hard right about now — in other words, Luna.
We still need two more...
There was no way to find those last two immediately, and jokes were even floating around about starting with three if we were short-handed and recruiting later.
Either way is fine with me.
Jo Kyuhyun seemed to want me to focus on acting for now, and only concentrate on VTubing once the group was complete.
"How about focusing on acting for the time being?"
Just as I'd expected.
"So we put singing and dance practice on hold?"
"That's right... But it'd be a waste to throw away everything you've done so far. We can't just sit around waiting for a VTuber idol group that might never come together. So keep practicing on weekends and in your free time, and for the rest of your hours..."
Jo Kyuhyun held out a bundle of papers.
"This is..."
"Scripts that have come in for you. We've only reflected episode 1 so far, so there are only three, and they're all bit parts or supporting roles, but."
So? What do you want to do?
I could read it in his eyes. I didn't even need to think.
"No."
"Alright. Good decision. Which one— wait, what?"
Confusion washed over Jo Kyuhyun's face. He'd clearly expected me to go along.
"You're saying you're not going to act?"
Kang Ho-yeon, snapping out of it at my words, jerked her face toward me in shock.
I wasn't saying I'd quit acting. I set the script I'd brought onto the desk. Jo Kyuhyun and Kang Ho-yeon blinked and shifted their gazes to it.
Magnificent Bride.
The script I'd been reading and analyzing for a long time. Jo Kyuhyun might not know it, but Kang Ho-yeon certainly would — how much I'd read it, how much I'd practiced.
"Jiwoo, this script..."
"I know what you're worried about. But I'm sure of it. This movie isn't going to fail. That's how sure I am."
Jo Kyuhyun flipped through the script without a word. Red handwriting, highlighter everywhere, the character's personality analyzed in meticulous notes crammed into the tiny margins.
Incredible...
The phrase "a born actress" might as well have been invented to describe Jiwoo.
Flip. The more pages he turned, the clearer it became how serious she was about this script.
"Haa..."
Jo Kyuhyun skimmed it all the way through, then set it down.
"Alright. If you want to do this script, that's fine. But I have a condition."
"A condition?"
I tensed slightly. There was only one thing that could come out of his mouth here. Do what you want for now. But if you fail, you listen to the company. That was definitely what he was going to say. I was confident I could stay calm no matter what came out of Jo Kyuhyun's mouth.
His lips slowly opened.
"I won't oppose you going into this movie."
So far, as expected.
"But the condition I'm setting is this: you will make this movie a success. And if you fail..."
I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth from nerves and widened my eyes. Come on! Whatever you say, I'm ready!
"You'll work even harder and succeed on the next project. That's my condition."
"...Excuse me? What do you mean."
I'd sworn I wouldn't be thrown off. This wasn't being thrown off — I couldn't help being stunned.
"What? Don't tell me you thought we'd take the reins and control you however we wanted if you failed? That's disappointing."
Kang Ho-yeon snickered from the side. Honestly, that was exactly what I'd thought. This drama, Ghost Singer, had been a decision I'd made without consulting the agency, too.
"That was before you joined the company, wasn't it? We don't casually throw out work that comes in — not just for you, Jiwoo, but for anyone at this company. As long as it isn't something weird."
"She's right. This drama is more your achievement than the company's. And this script is the first job you and we are starting together, in sync."
Jo Kyuhyun chimed in at Kang Ho-yeon's words, tapping the script.
"Anyway. If you've decided on this script, I'll get in touch right away."
Jo Kyuhyun stood up.
"Looks like I'm about to get busy too... First let's go buy you a phone. And while we're at it, change the number. You can't keep living with that exploded phone, can you?"
I looked down at the wrecked phone without a word.
"No. I'll keep the same number. I can just block people and ignore them. And by now the calls should've died down."
"Yeah? Well, if that's what you want."
Kang Ho-yeon stood as well, stretching her back and rolling her shoulders.
"Nnngh!! First, hangover food. Last night's drinks still haven't worn off.... How about hangover soup, both of you?"
"Sounds good to me."
"Haechan-cook? I don't know what that is, but I like it too!"
There was still time before the drama started, so we decided to eat first.
"Ah... but Jiwoo. If you're going into the next movie, don't you need to watch your weight?"
That was outrageous! I said, in a trembling voice,
"...S-starting tomorrow... okay?"
After the meal, I returned to the CEO's office and we laid out plans beyond the film shoot. Setting up social media, going on variety shows to get my face out there — we talked for hours.
"Ah! It's starting!"
Meanwhile the sun had already set, and it was ten p.m. Tsuki fussed with the TV in the CEO's office and flipped to the channel.
Ghost Singer
Episode 2
Episode 2 began.
"This whole time... you had that kind of skill... and you were just toying with me?"
Kim Jinwoo looked at Kang Shin-hye, who had hidden her ability just to mess with him, and clenched his fist slightly. If she hadn't been a woman, he looked like he would have hit her. He swallowed the rising anger, packing it down.
"That's enough."
Kim Jinwoo said nothing more. He turned and walked out of the practice room. And right before he left—
"This month's evaluation... I'll take it that you'll be participating as well, Kang Shin-hye. With skill like that... I'm sure you'll be a great help to your juniors in the industry."
Slam!
With that, he left without waiting for Kang Shin-hye's answer.
"Shit... I didn't even do that..."
Swallowing the undeserved cursing from Kim Jinwoo, Kang Shin-hye trudged home. When she arrived and saw the lights on, for some reason, she broke into a run.
"I-I'm home!"
The scowl from a moment ago was gone. She greeted them with a bright, forceful smile.
"Our baby sister's home?"
"You're late. Come on, let's eat."
"...Yeah!"
Kang Shin-hye spent a pleasant moment with the family she hadn't seen in a long time — and then,
"Must be nice..."
Kang Sora, who'd been stuck to her side the whole time, spoke up.
"Don't talk to me. I'm eating. You'll make me choke."
"That's harsh. I even helped you out earlier."
"Who asked you to— that kind of—!"
"Shin-hye? Is something wrong?"
Because of what Kang Sora had done, she snapped — and ended up shouting in front of her family.
"N-no... my leg just fell asleep..."
She made a clumsy excuse and glared at Kang Sora.
"I'm not saying a word to you."
"That so? Then you can handle this month's evaluation by yourself, right?"
"...Dammit!!"
Kang Shin-hye ground her teeth. Watching her, Kang Sora just cackled.
Time flowed on like that, and then it was the day of the monthly evaluation. Between being hounded and cursed at by Kim Jinwoo, and cursing him right back in her head, the days flew by.
"Haa... it's my turn now... I've worked hard all this time. I can do this!"
Kang Shin-hye stepped onto center stage with confidence.
"I'll begin."
She hadn't trembled when she acted. But the moment she tried to sing with the judges in front of her, her hands started to shake — a sign that her whole body was shaking.
"Ah..."
From the very first note her pitch wavered, and the judges' brows furrowed. Kang Shin-hye squeezed her eyes shut, knowing she'd blown it.
It's over... m-my voice won't come out...
Then.
Sheesh... I knew it'd be like this. You really can't do it without me.
Kang Sora, who had watched over Kang Shin-hye for the past month, slipped into her body and sang.
"Ah—!"
A note that had recovered its stability, and a pleasant resonance that took over the stage. Everyone wore peaceful smiles, lost in the performance. Only one person was frowning.
"Just now, that was..."
Kim Jinwoo had seen it. For an instant — something hazy seeping into Kang Shin-hye's body.