Chapter 183: Seizing the Initiative (1)
Chapter 183: Seizing the Initiative (1)
"Da-hyeon, it's our day off. Want to go to Mirinae Park?"
To be honest, it was a complete coincidence.
Gil Da-hyeon, the president of Seo-yeon’s class, wasn't the type to frequent places like amusement parks.
Since she was young, her parents' financial situation hadn't been great, so there was never an occasion to go. By the time their circumstances improved as she grew older, she had naturally lost interest.
So, when her friends suggested going to an amusement park, her first reaction was confusion.
An amusement park?
Isn't that a place for little kids?
"Wait, what do you mean? Have you never been to an amusement park?"
"No."
"What do you mean, 'No,' like it's obvious? Let's go today then!"
"But what about studying?"
Did you guys even do well on the last exam?
When she looked at them with that expression, her friends all avoided her gaze. Still, an exam was an exam, and didn't they need to blow off some steam?
"There’s a rumor that a celebrity is coming to Mirinae Park today."
"A celebrity?"
"They’re doing a Harara play at Mirinae Park, but apparently, the reviews have been a bit lukewarm."
Da-hyeon knew who Harara was. It was an anime her younger sisters loved. Unlike her, her sisters had several toys, so she had seen plenty of Harara-related merchandise.
"But if it's a celebrity, we see one every day."
"No!!! It’s different!!"
Of course, they knew Seo-yeon, who sat in their class, was an incredible actress and a celebrity. Honestly, seeing her just walk into class and sit down normally was still a bit surreal.
However, seeing a classmate at school was one thing; encountering a celebrity out in the world was a completely different experience.
"Class Prez, you might not know this, but this is all part of gaining social experience. Later on, you won't be able to play like this even if you want to."
Gil Da-hyeon was left speechless by her friend’s overly serious tone. It sounded like something an adult would say, coming out of a teenager's mouth.
"……Well, fine. If you put it that way."
Since she had never been, she did feel a spark of curiosity.
"Oh, so you're coming? Then I'll call the others too!"
"Sure, I don't mind."
She figured this wasn't a bad idea. Da-hyeon thought her hobbies were limited to watching movies or dramas, but as her friends said, this was an experience in itself.
*
Though she had been fussing and squirming while being poked in the side, Jo Seo-hee was an actress. Above all else, she possessed a fierce sense of professionalism.
In the past, the reason she had looked down on Seo-yeon was because she thought Seo-yeon was a "parachute" hire who lacked talent.
...Because of that, Seo-yeon still treated her like a "self-proclaimed friend" even now.
Anyway.
Even if it was a children's play, Jo Seo-hee had no intention of slacking off. In fact, because it was for children, she felt she had to do even better.
Childhood memories last a long time. Therefore, she had to leave them with the best memory possible—one they could look back on and smile about.
"So, you can't act like you did in those Shorts."
Just in case, Jo Seo-hee warned Seo-yeon.
Seo-yeon’s eyes widened at the mention of "Shorts," but she quickly realized she meant the Harara Shorts.
She saw those too?
Then again, considering how viral they went, it would be weirder if she hadn't. Lately, she’d noticed some kids in class who looked like they were dying to bring it up. Of course, they couldn't quite find the right moment.
After all, the Seo-yeon in the video and the Seo-yeon at school had completely different images. Rather than being funny, the gap was just too jarring.
"You know how it is."
In a play, if the audience senses that the actor is embarrassed, they start to feel awkward too. That’s because an actor’s job is to draw out the audience's empathy.
A person who makes fiction feel like reality. That is an actor, and therefore, they must immerse themselves in their role on stage more than anyone else—even without using Method acting.
That was the basic attitude of an actor.
"I'm sure you'll do fine, but you looked so embarrassed in those Shorts."
Of course, actors are human, and there are certain roles some just can't pull off. Even though Jo Seo-hee was the one who scouted her, she worried that Seo-yeon might be weak in this specific genre of acting.
"Since I've agreed to do it, that won't happen."
Seo-yeon was well aware of Jo Seo-hee’s concerns. It was likely because of how she appeared in the Shorts. In fact, even the actor Park Dong-hwan, who would be sharing the stage with them, was looking at her with a worried expression.
She had received the script a while ago. She had been practicing in between her other filming schedules.
The Harara from back then and the Harara now are different.
Besides, as an older sister, she had to show her younger sister something cool! Even though Zeroro had been snatched away by Jo Seo-hee, if she nailed the role of Harara, wouldn't her sister start liking Harara instead of Zeroro?
And you have to be even more careful with small stages like this.
Especially for a children's play, parents would definitely be there. Parents' eyes are sharp. If something goes wrong, or if they feel their child is having a bad experience, they are highly likely to lash out. If she gave a poor performance in such a setting, bad rumors would surely spread.
"Unnie, Unnie! Should I stay with Seo-hee's manager ma'am?"
"……Ma'am?"
Seo-yeon glanced back. Jo Seo-hee’s manager, Shin Yu-kyung, was standing behind them with a calm smile. However, Seo-yeon didn't miss the way her smiling lips trembled.
"Su-yeon, you should call her 'Miss,' not 'Ma'am.'"
"But she's much older than you guys."
"Ugh."
"……I mean, there are lots of people older than us."
"Hmm, okay then."
Su-yeon looked up at Yu-kyung with innocent eyes. Her gaze seemed to ask, Is it really okay for me to call you 'Miss'? Shin Yu-kyung flinched.
Since Shin Yu-kyung was in her late twenties, it wasn't entirely strange for Su-yeon to call her "Ma'am," but she was still at an age where "Miss" was appropriate. She was right on that awkward borderline.
I hope Manager Shin Yu-kyung doesn't say anything to Su-yeon while I'm gone.
Seo-yeon felt a bit worried. She couldn't even begin to guess how deep the grudge of being called "Ma'am" might run.
"Let's start with a light rehearsal. We still have about four hours before the show starts."
They had arrived early to coordinate. During those four hours, Su-yeon would be playing in the amusement park with the manager. Seo-yeon and Jo Seo-hee planned to practice their chemistry for the upcoming play.
「Zeroro!! Haven't you learned your lesson yet? Stop your evil deeds!!」
As the rehearsal began, Park Dong-hwan, who was sandwiched between the two actresses, let out a breath of admiration.
To be honest, I didn't think she'd fit the role at all.
He probably wasn't the only one thinking that. The other actors present likely felt the same. Although it was a children's play, there were six actors in total, including Seo-yeon and Seo-hee.
Four of them were actors who had already been part of the Harara production. There had been some grumbling when they heard two celebrities were suddenly joining the cast, but since the play's performance had been lower than expected, it was unavoidable.
However, those complaints mostly vanished once they heard it was Ju Seo-yeon and Jo Seo-hee.
I heard rumors that Jo Seo-hee was from the New Like Group family, I guess it's true.
They have the same last name. I thought it was just a guess.
Are Ju Seo-yeon and Jo Seo-hee friends? They appear together a lot.
They were on 'Hyper Action Star' together, so maybe?
They figured the two got along well since they were the same age. But regardless of that...
Both of them have such strong impressions; I wasn't sure if they'd suit Harara.
Anyone could pull off Zeroro. But it felt like no one could pull off Harara. That was the consensus. Honestly, looking at their faces alone, it seemed like a difficult task.
One had a cold, icy impression, while the other looked like a haughty, high-born lady. They didn't seem like they would match the bubbly Harara at all.
However, the moment Seo-yeon gripped Harara’s magic wand and began the play, those worries vanished completely.
「Ouch~! How could you just throw a car like that!」
「Wait, 'ouch' shouldn't be the end of it. You just got hit by a car.」
The dialogue between Harara and Zeroro continued. Watching the light, comedic banter, Seo-yeon’s Harara—magic wand in hand—was the perfect embodiment of the cheerful character from the anime.
Most importantly, it was clear she was trying to mimic the anime voice actress as closely as possible.
"Seo-yeon, have you ever done voice acting before?"
"Huh? I've studied it."
"Ah, I guess these days actors do voice acting too?"
After the rehearsal ended, the actors approached Seo-yeon one by one to ask questions. They hadn't been worried about Zeroro since the role fit Seo-hee’s image perfectly. The concern had been Harara.
The previous stiff image had been completely erased by Seo-yeon’s acting. Seo-yeon, for her part, looked a bit flustered.
I guess I really do have a more approachable face than Jo Seo-hee.
Hardly anyone approached Seo-hee. Because of that, Seo-yeon could see Jo Seo-hee hesitating, looking like she wanted to come over but couldn't because everyone else was crowding around.
Anyway.
She hadn't studied voice acting specifically for her acting career, but it ended up being helpful like this. It really went to show that you should learn everything you can.
Lee Ji-yeon is actually better at voice acting than I am.
Maybe she should lure Lee Ji-yeon into performing in a Harara play later. She thought it was a great idea. That way, Ji-yeon wouldn't be able to tease her with the Shorts anymore.
*
"Wow, Da-hyeon. There are so many people."
"It's a children's play, but it's not just kids here, is it?"
"Why are there grown men here?"
"Look over there, there's a guy in a Harara t-shirt. That's hilarious."
Da-hyeon’s friends, each wearing rabbit or mouse ears on their heads, chatted noisily. Even though they had already ridden several attractions, they were still bursting with energy.
We should be able to see pretty well from here.
Thinking that, she took a seat. A man in a penguin suit appeared on stage. As she stared at him, wondering who he was, her friend Min-ji spoke up.
"That penguin is the Harara mascot."
"……That thing?"
"It's just because it's a costume. It's cute in the anime. In the play, they just wave a board with a penguin drawn on it."
Da-hyeon glanced at Min-ji. How do you know so much? Do you watch Harara?
"Young friends! Are you ready to play with Harara today?!"
At the penguin's shout, the children screamed "Yes!" in unison. Da-hyeon smiled warmly at the kids. For the record, the grown men in Harara t-shirts shouted along too. That was a bit creepy.
But the kids are cute.
Da-hyeon liked children. But then, she realized there was a strangely familiar figure among the kids.
Huh? Isn't that Seo-yeon’s sister?
Seo-yeon’s younger sister had become quite famous after Golden Duckling. Her name was Ju Su-yeon, if she remembered correctly. Next to Su-yeon was a woman who wasn't Seo-yeon or her mother.
Who is that?
Amidst her curiosity, the lights dimmed, and the play officially began.
「Ugh, what should I do? If I fail again, the Demon King will be so angry.」
A bright spotlight turned on, and the play began with a girl in black clothes talking to herself on stage. The moment her face was revealed, a strange wave of admiration rose from the front rows.
"It's Jo Seo-hee! Jo Seo-hee is playing Zeroro!"
"Jo Seo-hee? For real?"
"They promoted that a celebrity was coming, but why didn't they say who?"
"They said the reveal would be after the first performance."
They had advertised that a celebrity would appear, but not who. They clearly intended to create a buzz after the first show and then start the full-scale promotion. The flyers had even mentioned that the cast for the first performance would be a secret. It was a common tactic to use the first show as a special event.
「Harara’s fists hurt the most. Why does she even carry that magic wand around?」
The grumbling was cute, yet delivered with a strangely elegant, high-class tone. Watching this, Da-hyeon was inwardly impressed. She had already seen several of Jo Seo-hee’s movies. But seeing her in a play like this was different. It felt completely fresh. She was glad she had come to the amusement park.
「Ah, right. That’ll work. It won't be easy this time!」
As Zeroro clenched her fists, the light on her abruptly cut out. Soon, the stage was flooded with bright light. Then, a schoolgirl with a small penguin plushie on her shoulder stepped onto the stage.
The moment they saw her...
"Ack."
"Wait, seriously?"
Her friends gasped in shock, speaking for Da-hyeon, who was momentarily speechless. Anyone would be shocked if their classmate suddenly appeared on stage.
Ju Seo-yeon?
Seo-yeon is Harara? Da-hyeon couldn't even begin to imagine Seo-yeon acting as Harara.
「Mmm~, the weather is so nice. I should have hit Zeroro more yesterday.」
But that imagination was shattered instantly.
The voice of Ju Seo-yeon—no, Harara—was completely different from the person she knew. Her usually sharp eyes were wide and bright, and the firm line of her mouth was replaced with a beaming smile.
A bubbly, energetic girl stood on the stage.
「Right~?」
As if seeking agreement from the children in the audience, Harara spun around and looked out at the crowd.
And then, her eyes met Da-hyeon’s perfectly.
It all happened in a single heartbeat.