Chapter 63: Ramiel (1)
Chapter 63: Ramiel (1)
The post appeared on an online community.
At first, most people dismissed it as nonsense, but a few photos and videos taken out a window quickly grabbed everyone’s attention.
The video wasn't long.
Ten seconds at most.
It showed a man presumed to be the actor Kim Dae-heon and someone with a small frame.
What caught people's interest was the smaller individual.
-
It was clearly a scene where Kim Dae-heon was chasing the person in the raincoat.
What stood out was the extraordinary speed.
In the first ten seconds of the video, specifically the part where the "Raincoat Guy" (?) was running away...
There were even claims that the footage had been fast-forwarded.
As comments began to pile up on the ridiculous NG scene...
With that final comment, the post met its "deletion ending."
But.
The real story began after that.
*
"Seo-yeon."
Seo-yeon blinked at Director Bae Jin-hwan’s sudden call.
Did I do something wrong again?
Lately, she had been called over by the director quite often to receive feedback.
Of course, it wasn't just her; the other actors were in the same boat. In fact, Seo-yeon rarely received criticism unless it involved physical stunts.
Then again, she hadn't filmed that many scenes yet.
"Do you spend much time on online communities?"
"Pardon?"
Seo-yeon’s mouth hung open for a moment.
How should she answer that?
I do, but...
Actually, she should have said, "Of course I do."
She frequently looked up information on VTuber communities, posted, and commented. She was quite an active member. Not only that, she was well-versed in all sorts of communities.
And for good reason.
A VTuber must be well-versed in memes.
It was Seo-yeon’s "VTuber Theory," resurfacing after a long time.
At this point in time, community memes and various trends changed in the blink of an eye. Even if one wasn't obsessed with communities, one had to keep a steady eye on them to grasp the flow of trends.
These days, if you took even a year off, you’d become a "boomer" or "low-HP fossil"—or something like that.
"I don't do it that often."
"Right? You don't exactly look like the type to spend time on the internet, Seo-yeon."
"..."
But an actress had an image to maintain, after all.
Seo-yeon gave an awkward smile at Bae Jin-hwan’s remark.
"It seems someone posted a video of our filming site on a certain movie community yesterday."
"Oh?"
Was it okay to post things like that?
Well, I guess people could...
"It was taken down quickly, but... man."
"Is there a problem?"
"Take a look at this."
Seo-yeon looked at the iPad screen Bae Jin-hwan held out.
It showed a community site.
Incidentally, it was a place Seo-yeon frequented, so she almost flinched.
"It’s been circulating as a Short lately."
The video was the chase scene between Seo-yeon and Kim Dae-heon.
Specifically, the very first take of the chase.
The part where Seo-yeon had disappeared in an instant.
"It’s turned into a meme and is spreading as a GIF. It’s not just on this site."
"...Is that so?"
"Well, it’s an NG scene anyway, so it’s fine, but..."
He looked at Seo-yeon, lost in thought for a moment.
Seeing Seo-yeon blinking her large eyes, he thought she was a born celebrity. To think she could cause such a stir with just one scene.
"Because of this, people are starting to ask who the 'Raincoat Guy' is."
Raincoat Guy?
But I'm a girl.
"..."
Seo-yeon, who had thought that reflexively, suddenly flinched.
Why was she naturally thinking of herself as a girl?
She shook her head vigorously.
"Then, what should we do?"
She didn't think Bae Jin-hwan had mentioned this to her for no reason.
When she asked why, he gave a smirk.
"What else? We do nothing."
He grinned.
"Especially you, Seo-yeon. You must absolutely, positively not tell anyone your identity."
"Pardon?"
"It’s already become an issue. So, I thought it would be perfect to use for promotion."
The buzz was still spreading gradually.
However, if they kept feeding it "bait," it would spread like wildfire.
In a community, a "topic" was like a "fire."
Just like a flame, if it caught the right current, it would spread in an instant.
The production team of The Chaser intended to take full advantage of this.
"We announced that you’re appearing in the movie, but we didn't say what role you’re playing, right?"
"Yes. But there were already some mentions in articles..."
"Keep it a secret as much as possible. Because of your image, no one will ever suspect you’re the killer. Oh, and the articles weren't confirmed anyway, so we can just brush them off."
In a thriller like this, the question "Who is the killer?" was a crucial hook.
Furthermore, Seo-yeon’s image was that of Princess Yeonhwa.
She was the incarnation of pure and fragile beauty.
The impact would be doubled if it were later revealed that someone like her was the killer.
That was the production team's opinion, and Bae Jin-hwan agreed.
"Then... what about my promotions?"
"You’ll still do them. Of course, we plan to hide your role as much as possible."
In fact, it would be a problem if she was supposed to appear but didn't show up for promotions.
"As a convenience store part-timer."
"Pardon?"
"And I think the script will be modified a bit. The screenwriter just happened to come up with a better direction."
He said the script modification wasn't because of the community buzz.
There would just be some scene changes to reveal the killer's identity more impactfully; the core content remained the same.
A convenience store part-timer...
She wondered if people would fall for that, but then...
Come to think of it, my only career credit is Princess Yeonhwa.
In a way, it was a plausible role.
"She was cast in a small role because she’s a hot topic."
They might try to promote it with that kind of vibe. To make people think she was a heroine with a romantic connection to the detective.
"So, don't tell anyone."
"Not anyone?"
"We can't help those who already know. But make sure to tell them to keep it strictly confidential."
Seo-yeon nodded.
Currently, the only people who knew she was playing a villain in the movie were her family and Lee Ji-yeon.
She felt she should contact them today and ask them to watch their mouths.
"Well then, let's work hard on today's shoot too."
"Yes. I look forward to working with you."
Bae Jin-hwan smiled warmly as he watched Seo-yeon bow politely.
She truly had the right attitude for an actress.
An actress who had gained popularity since childhood but showed no sign of arrogance.
...Of course, we'll have to see how long this lasts.
Bae Jin-hwan thought.
That starting with this movie, Seo-yeon’s life would change completely.
*
[The person you have called is unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone...]
"..."
I had called several times, but it just kept ringing.
I tossed my phone aside and leaned back in my chair.
"Why isn't she picking up?"
I needed to tell her about this.
I crossed my arms, feeling troubled for various reasons.
Most of it was about my acting this time.
There were no issues with the physical parts, like the chase scene.
The problem was the character "Cha Seo-ah" herself.
A character who shares the same condition as me.
Cha Seo-ah was a version of me who had been abused by her parents.
So, it was understandable that she was twisted and broken.
Humans are naturally similar to other humans, but they feel a sense of revulsion when they see something that is "different."
The past me, and Cha Seo-ah, were beings standing on the borderline of that revulsion.
Beings who had human forms but did not possess human-like emotions.
It was similar to being a psychopath or a sociopath, but different.
Those were cases of something being missing, but Cha Seo-ah and I had everything.
We just didn't know how to use or accept it.
So, my understanding of the character Cha Seo-ah was nearly perfect.
Except for one thing.
The motive for the crimes.
I was acting while empathizing with the broken emotions of Cha Seo-ah, but that part bothered me.
Cha Seo-ah sees people who are happy—unlike herself—and commits crimes impulsively.
That is her first murder.
Jealousy.
Yes, jealousy.
People who are ordinary, unlike her.
She can't stand the happy appearance they show and commits the crime.
The problem was that I had never felt that emotion called jealousy.
At least, not yet.
So, that part was difficult to empathize with.
Cha Seo-ah described it as "feeling a pain like a knife stabbing the heart."
Jealousy, jealousy.
"Ugh," I groaned, tilting my head.
I could mimic it.
After all, jealous behavior was easy to observe.
I understood why it happened, but since I had never felt it myself...
Even when I asked Mom or Dad...
"It's because you're too generous, Seo-yeon. You give up things you like easily and you're not greedy, so that's why."
Mom had said that while giving me a tight hug.
"Hmm, isn't it just because you live your life without thinking?"
Dad had said that.
I really wanted to give him a smack.
"Mom is right."
It’s because I’m too generous.
Whether it was the influence of my past life or not, I was born with too broad a heart.
This is a problem.
What if I never understand the emotion of jealousy?
Just as I was thinking that...
Vrrrrt!
"Huh?"
My phone vibrated.
I checked to see what it was.
<Ramiel has uploaded 2 new videos>
I rubbed my eyes as I looked at the notification on my phone.
Wait, what on earth is this?
Is it real?
Could it be someone with a similar name?
For some reason, I was afraid to check the video.
What if I watched it and it wasn't the Ramiel I knew, but someone else?
She might not even be a VTuber, just a regular YouTuber.
Those agonizing thoughts swirled in my head, but...
"...I still have to check."
I squeezed my eyes shut and clicked on the new video.
Then, I slowly opened one eye.
And.
「Hello, I'm the rookie VTuber, Ramiel!」
A cheerful voice.
Bright blonde hair and wings on her back.
She had an angelic appearance, but her race was a Harpy.
The voice reaching my ears was the same one I knew.
"The modeling is..."
Just how much money did she pour into this?
I recalled the modeling of Ramiel when she was with a corporate agency in the past.
That was certainly good enough, but the current one was on a completely different level.
It was rare for an individual to debut with an avatar of this quality.
"The facial tracking... the facial tracking is incredible."
Just how expensive was the equipment she was using?
I wondered about that as I watched.
Ji-yeon prepared all of this alone?
Beyond just having the money, it was something that required knowledge to pull off.
With those questions in mind, I finished watching Ramiel's first video.
The video uploaded today seemed to be just a promotional one.
Seeing as she was announcing when her first broadcast would be.
It's a unique method.
Thinking that, the moment I clicked on the second video...
「Let me introduce my friend!」
Ramiel said in a bright voice.
A friend?
With that question, a new character appeared beside Ramiel.
「She's a precious friend who brought me here when I was just sleeping in my nest.」
Following Ramiel's words, the character appeared.
Ramiel tightly hugged the blue-haired female mage character.
I realized it.
That blue-haired mage VTuber was the person who had helped Ramiel until she could upload her videos.
"...Who is that?"
Even at a glance, the blue-haired mage character and Ramiel looked very close.
Wait, a collaboration from the second video? Is this right?
「Oh, stop teasing me.」
At the sight of Ramiel responding like that to the mage's teasing...
"Who the hell are you!!"
A fire erupted in my heart.
It was one of the most intense expressions of emotion I had ever felt in my life.