Chapter 190: Japanese Variety Show (1)
Chapter 190: Japanese Variety Show (1)
With Lee Sang-soo’s casting confirmed, the filming for Lady of Gyeongseong, which had been at a standstill, gained significant momentum. Jo Seo-hee was busy scouring every corner of the industry to fill the holes left by Kang Seo-hyuk—the actor originally cast as Goto Isamu—and the others who had jumped ship with him.
Seo-yeon found the whole thing quite fascinating.
Actors that Director Baek Min-chan or the investors couldn't easily recruit seemed to come crawling out of the woodwork the moment Jo Seo-hee made a move.
While heading to school, she mentioned this to Ji-yeon.
"Well, the rumors about her are everywhere," Ji-yeon replied.
The rumor was that Jo Seo-hee was the daughter of the New Like Group, one of the top three conglomerates in the country.
Of course, she had never personally confirmed it.
"Actually, you're the only one she's ever really told," Ji-yeon added.
During Harara’s last performance, Jo Seo-hee had essentially let it slip to Seo-yeon. She had mentioned that the theme park they were at was owned by her family.
"Anyway, setting that aside, Jo Seo-hee is an actress who is incredibly well-loved by her seniors for many reasons."
Seo-yeon found Lee Ji-yeon’s words genuinely surprising.
Seo-hee was certainly beautiful. But how should she put it? If she held a folding fan, she looked exactly like a Villainess, and if you ran into her at night, she was the spitting image of Tomie. She had a strangely intimidating aura.
And yet, she was an actress who was suspiciously well-liked.
"The New Like Group, her family, is way bigger than the current investors," Ji-yeon explained.
To be honest, the investors currently backing Lady of Gyeongseong weren't exactly heavyweights. The funding had come from 'Best One,' a platform that had recently expanded into the cultural industry, managing music, movies, and animation.
"But if their daughter is starring in it, why didn't the New Like Group invest?"
"Jo Seo-hee probably told them not to. She’s not the type who likes relying on her family."
"Is that so?"
"Ju Seo-yeon, if you were in a similar position, you wouldn't have done it either."
Actually, I totally would have.
Seo-yeon, who was about to answer honestly, simply nodded coolly instead. She didn't want to sound like she lacked class.
But man, those two have gotten close.
Seo-yeon narrowed her eyes at Lee Ji-yeon.
Lately, it didn't seem like Ji-yeon was receiving separate acting lessons from Jo Seo-hee anymore. She had learned enough for now, and she probably felt bad about taking up too much of Seo-hee's time.
However, Seo-yeon knew they still met at least once or twice a week. Apparently, they went shopping or bought clothes together.
Perhaps because they both had such sharp features, their tastes in fashion were similar. They even claimed that when they walked together, no annoying guys bothered them.
And yet she never goes shopping with me.
Seo-yeon felt a petty twinge of jealousy.
"...So, I guess you two have been shopping a lot lately," she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
Lately, Seo-yeon’s only friends were on the internet. It was a relief that more of her classmates were talking to her now, though she wondered if it was a bit late for that, considering the school year was almost over.
"Huh? Ju Seo-yeon, do you want to go too?"
"I mean, I'll go if you're going."
"You don't even like shopping. You just pick out clothes at random."
Seo-yeon had no rebuttal for that. It was true; she rarely bought her own clothes. It wasn't that she disliked wearing women's clothing because of the influence of her past life or anything like that. Seo-yeon actually liked wearing pretty or cute clothes that suited her appearance.
Besides, skirts were surprisingly practical for movement. There was no risk of the crotch ripping when she performed a kick.
Anyway, that wasn't the point.
Seo-yeon definitely wasn't the type to enjoy the process of shopping. She usually just glanced at a few things, picked them out, thought, Hmm, looks good, and then satisfied herself with the thought, As expected, I'm beautiful.
But when Ji-yeon went shopping, it took hours. She looked at makeup, she looked at all sorts of strange things... she just looked at everything.
Is that just how girls are?
But usually, in situations like this, shouldn't the people around me lose their patience and drag me along to buy clothes for me?
Seo-yeon thought about this seriously. At least in the novels and manga she had seen, if there was someone as indifferent to shopping as her, people would usually say, "It's a waste to leave those looks alone!" and drag them along, ignoring their protests to buy them a whole new wardrobe.
In fact, when she had recently brought up the topic of shopping at home...
"I can't drag my daughter along if she hates it," Sua had replied with perfect common sense.
"To you, aren't clothes basically just like an outer skin?" Young-bin, who had seemed troubled for a while but was now back in high spirits, had answered.
It seemed his issues with the company and work had been resolved. Regardless, Seo-yeon had confiscated Young-bin’s computer again after his "Do you even understand the concept of clothes?" style of response.
Did she suddenly get interested in shopping?
Ji-yeon wasn't the type to drag someone along if they didn't want to go. But since Seo-yeon had brought it up, she had no reason to refuse. More importantly, Jo Seo-hee had asked a favor of Ji-yeon a while back.
This was about a week ago, when Seo-yeon was busy preparing for Lee Sang-soo’s audition.
"She... she seems to treat me and Alice as two completely different people," Jo Seo-hee had said with a serious face during their last shopping trip.
"Ju Seo-yeon is very particular about things like that," Ji-yeon had replied.
"Is... is that normal?"
"I heard it's pretty common."
Whether it was the Red Pill or the Blue Pill. In truth, even though Ji-yeon was a VTuber herself, she didn't know all the terminology. She had just naturally picked it up from the chat.
"She kept nagging me to open that 'Super Chat' thing. Why does she want to spend money on something like that?"
"...If you say that in front of Ju Seo-yeon, she'll get mad."
"She... she will?"
Why would she get mad when I'm just worried about her spending money?
Jo Seo-hee couldn't understand it at all. If Seo-yeon had something to say, couldn't she just call her directly? Honestly, she wanted to talk to Seo-yeon about the things that happened during the Alice broadcasts.
After all, when she was streaming as Alice, Seo-yeon was incredibly affectionate. She wanted to feel that same warmth in reality!!
The last chat message felt a bit strange, but that was generally the vibe Seo-yeon gave off. At first, Seo-hee had doubted if it was really Seo-yeon, but Lee Ji-yeon had confirmed it.
"All her IDs and passwords are the same."
"...Isn't that dangerous?"
"She says it's too much of a hassle to change them."
It was a strangely boyish way of thinking.
Anyway, because Lee Ji-yeon had told her never to reveal that she knew Alice was her, Jo Seo-hee was suffering in silence. She felt like the person who discovered the secret that "The King has donkey ears." She wanted to bury her face in her pillow before bed and scream that she was Alice. Of course, if she actually did that, her family would probably drag her straight to a hospital.
Her father, who had accidentally seen her broadcasting, had said:
"Come to think of it, I heard the GH Group has been interested in that field lately."
"The GH Group?"
"Apparently, there's an executive there who's very interested in that sort of thing."
Jo Seo-hee certainly thought broadcasting was a fine hobby. But as for whether it was a business worth serious investment... she wasn't so sure. It had potential, but wasn't it a bit niche? Not that there was anything wrong with it, but still.
"Anyway, Seo-yeon is the only one who won't speak casually to me."
"That's true. Maybe she just feels more comfortable using formal speech with you?"
"I—I don't like that!"
Jo Seo-hee shook her head vigorously. Lee Ji-yeon watched her with half-closed eyes. She often thought that while Jo Seo-hee had a face that belonged in a horror movie, her behavior was strangely like a small, skittish animal. Well, mostly just around people she was close to. She could see why the senior actors liked her.
"But I think Ju Seo-yeon does consider you a friend in her own way."
"...Really?"
"The formal speech is probably just because of what happened in the past."
"..."
In a way, Ju Seo-yeon was incredibly petty for holding onto something from ten years ago.
Well, honestly, she probably doesn't think much of it and just finds formal speech more comfortable with Jo Seo-hee.
Ji-yeon didn't really know the criteria either. It wasn't like Seo-yeon had a set of rules; she mostly just acted on a whim.
"Well, I'll try to bring it up naturally next time."
Regardless, Ji-yeon had received a lot from Jo Seo-hee. It wasn't just the help with acting lessons. Jo Seo-hee was, after all, a rich man's daughter. She earned money as an actress, but money wasn't particularly important to her. So, if she saw something interesting, she would buy it, and she often gave the things she didn't use to Ji-yeon. She figured since she wasn't going to use them, she might as well give them to someone who would. But most of these items were incredibly expensive...
"Ju Seo-yeon."
Recalling that conversation, Lee Ji-yeon decided to put in a little effort. It was clear that Ju Seo-yeon was interested in Jo Seo-hee in her own way. More importantly, they had to film Lady of Gyeongseong together. So, there was no harm in them becoming closer. They would likely know each other for a long time. Perhaps even for a lifetime.
"Do you want to come along next time I go shopping with Jo Seo-hee?"
"...Ah, yeah."
At Ji-yeon’s offer, Seo-yeon gave a slight nod. She felt a bit like a child who had just thrown a tantrum to be included.
*
Although she had made the shopping plans, Seo-yeon secretly wondered if it would be okay. And for good reason.
"You—you're Ju Seo-yeon, right? I'm really enjoying Sky Garden!"
"Hey, look, it's Ju Seo-yeon."
"Really? Wow, her face is so small!"
Now, if she didn't hide her face, people would swarm around her in an instant. It was understandable.
[Sky Garden's ratings are truly reaching for the sky! Episode 18 hits 30%!!]
[The winner of the family feud is Sky Garden. Grand Game Episode 18 ratings at 11%]
The internet was flooded with articles like these. Sky Garden had just aired its 18th episode. There were only two episodes left until the finale.
"I love Lee Yu-ju’s acting so much."
"I cried so hard watching episode 18."
Sometimes, while walking, someone would suddenly grab her arm. Seo-yeon briefly realized why celebrities used bodyguards. Of course, Seo-yeon had no intention of hiring one since she was stronger than any bodyguard. She had sensed the person approaching, she just hadn't expected them to actually grab her.
Currently, Sky Garden was focusing on Lee Yu-ju’s growth following episode 14. Of course, many criticized it as a "makjang" drama, saying the plot was too provocative. After seeing Lee Yu-ju return from the brink of death at the cliff, a frantic Lee Min-seo eventually attempted suicide. Lee Yu-ju stopped her just in time.
Lee Yu-ju also retracted her decision to help Lee Min-hyuk. She began to reflect on her original goal—her desire to climb to the top by stepping over them. Of course, the people around her wouldn't leave her alone.
With each episode delivering such a whirlwind of developments, the ratings soared. It had reached a staggering 30%. This was 8% higher than the ratings for Sky Garden in her past life.
To be honest, it didn't feel real to Seo-yeon. In the past, she had been a child actor, so she hadn't understood what it meant to be in a high-rated drama. But now, she had no choice but to realize it. Everywhere she went, people flocked to her.
I need to work on my disguise skills.
She finally understood why Park Jung-woo was always nagging her about it. It seemed it would be difficult to meet up for a while. Still, she was glad they had met up beforehand. He had given her a firm commitment to appear in Seoul Escape.
As long as Jung-woo sunbae is in it, most of the problems are solved.
However, she still had to compete against the other actress in the audition and win. How embarrassing would it be if she recommended it to him and then failed to get the part herself? But Seo-yeon believed it would be fine. She knew that the actress who had appeared in Seoul Escape in her past life had essentially been pressured into the role.
"Seo-yeon, I'm really enjoying the drama."
"What brings you to KMB today?"
When she stopped by the KMB broadcasting station for some business, everyone she passed greeted her. Seo-yeon was at the station today for something related to Sky Garden. Apparently, a Japanese broadcasting station had seen the drama and taken an interest in her. She was curious whether they were interested because of the drama or because of her as an actress.
If there was a chance to go to Japan, Seo-yeon was secretly looking forward to it.
I should buy some merch.
In her past life, she couldn't go to Japan, and she had no reason to. Her family hadn't allowed her to go abroad. So, if she got the chance this time, she definitely wanted to go. She was thinking about this when the opportunity presented itself.
As she walked through the station, bowing and greeting people, she stopped.
"...Huh?"
She locked eyes with a very tall woman. A familiar face. The woman’s eyes sharpened the moment she saw Seo-yeon.
Only then did Seo-yeon realize who she was.
It was Go Mi-eun, the female lead of Grand Game. In other words, she was the one who had been completely crushed by Seo-yeon in the ratings battle.