Chapter 25: Preview Screening (2)
Chapter 25: Preview Screening (2)
The official promotional video was posted on the drama’s teaser site.
The reaction to the video, which was barely a minute long, was far more explosive than Seo-yeon had anticipated.
Sua had been making a fuss about it all night.
“Our daughter looks so beautiful in this!”
“I suppose so.”
“Right? There’s going to be an absolute uproar at the school play tomorrow.”
Will there?
Seo-yeon blinked as she watched the drama advertisement reflected on the computer screen.
The timing of the video’s release—right on the eve of the school play—was quite remarkable, but she couldn't really gauge how much influence a teaser video would actually have.
“Don’t put too much pressure on the kid. Didn’t you see the news? There’s a reason child actors don’t last long.”
Ju Young-bin chided his wife in a low voice, worried that Seo-yeon might feel burdened by her mother’s excitement.
“I know that, but… Seo-yeon secretly enjoys this kind of thing.”
“…She does?”
“Yes. She actually loves it when people hype her up.”
Sua whispered her reply.
In the past, it had been hard to tell, but ever since her daughter started acting, her emotional expressions had become much clearer.
She still sat at the computer desk with a stoic, calm face, clicking the mouse as she watched the video, just as she always had.
However, if one looked closely, it was obvious she was repeatedly rewatching only the parts where she appeared.
“…See?”
“Hmm. But there are hate comments too…”
Just as he said that, the girl started acting strangely, as if she had seen something on the screen.
She started firing finger guns at the monitor, blowing hearts…
“What is she doing?”
“She does that when she sees a good comment. She says she’s practicing her ‘reactions.’”
“What kind of reactions?”
“I don’t know either. She said she has to work hard while she’s still a ‘small-time streamer’…”
“What on earth is a ‘small-time streamer’?”
Young-bin watched his daughter with narrowed eyes.
Looking closely, just as Sua said, he could see her flushed cheeks and her body subtly swaying with excitement, despite her expressionless face.
She definitely looks like she’s in a good mood.
There were bound to be hate comments, but she didn't seem to care at all.
I don’t think we need to worry about the play tomorrow.
Young-bin nodded to himself.
In any case, the window of opportunity for a child actor is limited—especially for one who has a major hit.
Of course, if she wants to keep working, she certainly could.
Young-bin intended to help Seo-yeon do whatever she wished.
That was his role as a father.
And Seo-yeon seemed to have reached her own conclusion on the matter.
*
The Arong Darong Kindergarten talent show.
As the largest kindergarten in the area, the scale of the talent show was massive.
First of all, it wasn't held at the kindergarten itself but in a rented auditorium. With over 300 students, the number of parents in attendance was staggering.
“You know, right? That girl is in the Sun Class.”
“Oh, Princess Yeonhwa… what was her name again?”
“If you mean the child actor, it’s probably Seo-yeon—Ju Seo-yeon. My daughter is in the same class.”
While their husbands stood around awkwardly, the mothers gathered in groups, and their conversations mostly revolved around such topics. Since every parent wants their own child to be the best, a particularly prominent child was bound to become a topic of conversation.
“She’s a very good actress. I’m thinking of getting an autograph if I see her.”
“It might just be because it was a commercial. I mean… I’m not trying to badmouth her, but child actors are all pretty much the same.”
“True. I heard the Sun Class is doing a play today…”
Word was that there were two child actors in the Sun Class.
If one of them was the child actor who had just appeared on TV and was being pushed by KMB, it was obvious she would steal all the attention at this talent show.
In fact, there were those who were waiting anxiously just to see Seo-yeon appear.
“I heard the play is Snow White, but she’s playing the Mirror. Apparently, she gave up the lead role.”
“Oh, really?”
The news that she was playing the Mirror brought a mix of relief and disappointment.
Regardless, Seo-yeon was drawing a lot of attention at the talent show for various reasons.
After all, that teaser had just dropped yesterday!
The rumors that had been circulating quietly had now become the talk of the town for every parent attending the event.
“Honey, why don’t you go over there and join the conversation?”
When Ju Young-bin, who had been listening to the parents' chatter from a distance, suggested this to his wife, Sua slowly shook her head.
“I joined the parents' association once before, and the way they looked at me was so uncomfortable.”
“I-Is that so? Ahem!”
Young-bin had heard bits and pieces about that.
It wasn't so much that they were being mean, but rather that they couldn't help but stare.
Looking at his wife, he thought that was probably unavoidable.
I hope Seo-yeon is okay.
Sua, unaware of Young-bin’s thoughts, looked toward the back of the auditorium, worried about her daughter.
By now, her daughter would be finishing her preparations and getting ready to head out according to the schedule.
Even if she was just a mirror…
No, because she was a mirror, there was something strangely more worrying.
Her daughter, who could be unpredictable at times, had a tendency to put far too much effort into the strangest things.
*
“Ju Seo-yeon.”
“What?”
“I’m going to show everyone what I’m made of today.”
Show them what?
I glanced at Ji-yeon. She was wearing a princess dress with an impressively gaudy color scheme.
Strangely, the outfit looked like it belonged to a different princess rather than Snow White.
“But don’t you need to put on any makeup?”
“I just have to stand behind the board.”
What kind of disguise does a mirror need?
I just had to stand behind a mirror made of thick cardboard decorated with silver foil and speak.
In a way, this was Ju Seo-yeon’s first VTuber debut.
The kids are definitely nervous.
While some kids were just grinning brightly, others looked visibly tense.
The one who seemed the most nervous was the boy playing the Prince.
It was a role that was strangely significant yet insignificant at the same time.
Because the other boys had avoided it, he had ended up being stuck with the part.
“M-My stomach… ugh.”
He was so nervous that his face had turned pale.
Is he going to be okay?
But I understood.
Just look at the number of people filling the auditorium.
A kindergarten talent show is much bigger than I expected.
I had a vague idea.
Once the number of students exceeded 300, I predicted it would be substantial, but I didn't expect it to feel like this.
A kindergarten talent show was nothing to scoff at.
Above all, since almost every parent attended, in some ways, the level of interest seemed higher than at a middle or high school.
“I heard only our class and the Sprout Class are doing plays.”
“What are they doing?”
“King Lear.”
It was a title I never expected.
Wait, is that a play kids can even do?
Aren't Snow White and King Lear… like, for very different age groups?
Anyway, there were ten classes in total at Arong Darong Kindergarten.
The Sun Class was fifth in the lineup, right in the middle.
After waiting for a while…
“Everyone, it’s almost time to go out. Get ready! You’ve all practiced hard, so it’s okay even if you make a mistake! Fighting!!”
When the Sun Class teacher, Min-ah, spoke, the children shouted back with a loud “Yeah!”
The act before us was a stage featuring light rhythmic movements and singing.
It was a short performance, but a good setup to show off the children’s cuteness.
“Seo-yeon, tell me when you’re moving the board. I’ll help you.”
“No, I’m fine.”
As the Mirror, I had to carry this cardboard panel around.
It might be heavy for a child’s strength, but to me, it was literally just a piece of cardboard.
I could lift a steel plate of the same size; a piece of paper was nothing.
When I hoisted it up and moved around, Teacher Min-ah’s eyes went wide.
“S-Seo-yeon, you’re so strong. Is it because you’re an actress?”
I don’t think that has anything to do with being an actress.
But since I had no other excuse, I just gave a vague nod.
“Anyway, alright then, Sun Class, fighting!”
Soon, with Teacher Min-ah’s encouragement, the play began.
Hiding behind the board, I didn't feel much pressure, but the gazes of the parents in the auditorium seats all flew up and pinned themselves to the stage.
This is… different from filming a drama.
This had its own unique flavor.
Should I try doing a children’s musical later?
But to do a musical, I’d have to learn how to sing… and since being a VTuber also requires singing, it might be good to think about it later.
*
“It’s this class.”
“Oh, the play that girl is in?”
There was no need to specify who “that girl” was.
It was the name that had been mentioned most among the mothers today.
Ju Seo-yeon, who played Princess Yeonhwa and had gained attention after the Taesumdal teaser was released yesterday.
“I heard she’s playing the Mirror.”
“That’s a shame. I wanted to see how well she acts.”
They were curious to see if she really acted as well as she did in the teaser.
At the same time, many understood that if a real “actor” was involved, it might be burdensome for the other children.
And so, amidst great interest, the Sun Class’s play began.
The lights dimmed, and a small spotlight illuminated the stage as the play commenced.
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?”
Unlike a typical children’s play, the background music was low and atmospheric, creating a surprisingly decent mood.
It was also clear that the girl playing the Queen had practiced a lot for this performance.
She was the one who had originally competed with Lee Ji-yeon for the role of the Princess but had unfortunately lost and taken the role of the Queen instead.
To the Queen’s passionate performance, the Mirror responded with acting to match.
「Oh, it is the beautiful Queen, of course.」
It was a strangely neutral voice.
The parents who heard that voice flinched for a moment, and a murmur ran through the crowd.
“As expected, an actress is an actress. Isn’t there something different about her?”
“It’s her… vocalization, right? This? The feeling is definitely different.”
Among the murmuring parents, Sua’s eyes also went wide.
“She said she wanted to attend a voice acting academy a while ago. I guess this is what she was practicing on her own.”
Unlike her acting, this vocalization was something Seo-yeon had been working on for a long time, even when she was younger.
If her acting was a product of pure talent, her voice was the result of long practice.
Thanks to that, even in the drama, Seo-yeon’s voice had a clarity that was unusual for a child.
The parents, who had been watching with smiles as if it were just a children’s play, gradually became immersed in the drama.
The play proceeded smoothly.
As per the well-known story of Snow White, the words of the Mirror, which had always praised the Queen’s beauty, changed once Snow White was born.
「A beautiful princess with skin as white as snow; her name is Snow White.」
The refreshing voice, which tucked itself neatly into the ears, was a pleasure to hear.
Even though it was an ordinary children’s play, it was a voice that made one strangely immersed.
My vacation… my vacation is right before my eyes!
Teacher Min-ah of the Sun Class trembled with joy.
If things continued like this, the vacation reward would be hers.
The stage certainly seemed to be progressing smoothly.
Until then, that is.