Chapter 66: Advertisement (2)
Chapter 66: Advertisement (2)
Perhaps it was because of the memories of her past life.
Ever since her previous life, Seo-yeon had never really paid much attention to her weight. It was quite common for men to be indifferent to the numbers on a scale, after all.
Even after being reincarnated, that habit remained. Unless there was a specific reason, she rarely had any cause to weigh herself.
Besides...
‘I’m so slim, though.’
Whenever Seo-yeon looked in the mirror, she would smile triumphantly at her sleek waistline. Thanks to consistent exercise since she was young, her body was toned and free of any excess fat.
However, when she started hitting the gym in earnest and had her InBody checked...
“?”
She realized something was strange in many ways.
What caught Seo-yeon’s eye immediately was her weight.
“Hmm. For this much muscle mass, you’re on the lighter side.”
“……”
The fitness trainer said so, but there was a part of it that was hard to accept.
No, more importantly, this TS body is way too strong.
Isn't there something wrong with this graph?
‘Hmm.’
Despite her doubts, she figured it didn't really matter since she had been reincarnated anyway. Compared to the fact that she had been born again, having a sturdy body was something she could live with.
With that thought, she decided to forget about her weight. It wasn't like anyone was going to pick her up, so who would ever know?
But then.
“Ms. Seo-yeon?”
At Professor Kim Hong-baek’s repeated prompt, Seo-yeon felt a deep sense of conflict. She had come here through Director Bae Jin-hwan’s introduction; being rude here would be a slight to him as well.
“Ah, it’s just that I haven’t weighed myself recently.”
As she managed to squeeze those words out...
“Then let’s check it first. The scale is over there.”
Why was there a scale at an acting academy?
The question crossed her mind, but then again, this was an action school, so it made sense. Professor Kim Hong-baek noticed Seo-yeon freezing up, but he didn't pay it much mind. He simply assumed she was sensitive about her weight because she was an actress.
However, this information had to be recorded accurately. Only then could he properly adjust the intensity of the action training.
“……”
Seo-yeon stared silently at the scale before her. She supposed she should be grateful that the other actors were standing far away.
She felt Professor Kim’s gaze on her. Realizing there was no escape, Seo-yeon stepped onto the scale. It wasn't a digital one, but an old-fashioned analog scale.
Professor Kim held his pen ready, watching the needle intently.
‘Let’s see... 30, 40, 50, 60...’
The speed at which the needle swung was alarming.
“Huh?”
Just as Kim Hong-baek’s eyes widened at the sight of the needle continuing to tilt, Seo-yeon hurriedly stepped off the scale.
Her face was flushed bright red. Incidentally, her eyes had also turned a sharp red as she glared at the scale.
“Hmm.”
Professor Kim, who had been watching her quietly, frowned.
“It seems the scale is broken.”
“……”
“It’s a shame, but please weigh yourself separately next time and let me know the number.”
Recalling the figure he had just seen on the scale, Kim Hong-baek shook his head. He figured it was an old model and had simply malfunctioned.
“Your height is 165cm... right?”
“Yes.”
Her height was fairly average. Neither tall nor short.
‘As I thought, there must have been an error with the weight.’
Kim Hong-baek reached that conclusion. Looking at Seo-yeon’s current physique, that weight was simply impossible.
*
Despite the minor hiccup, it didn't interfere with the lesson at all.
Today was the first day. Seeing the other trainees glancing her way, it seemed Seo-yeon’s presence was quite distracting to them. After all, based on her appearance alone, she looked like the furthest thing from an action star.
From their perspective, she probably looked like a spoiled actress acting on a whim. If you forced yourself into this kind of action without properly conditioning your body, it could easily lead to serious injury.
‘Director Bae Jin-hwan wouldn't be unaware of that.’
The fact that he specifically recommended her meant he had seen something in Seo-yeon.
“There are a lot of running scenes in The Chaser, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then shall we try a run? I was told you’re fast on your feet.”
Kim Hong-baek led Seo-yeon to the athletic field outside the action school. There was a line marked at roughly the 50-meter mark.
Of course, Kim Hong-baek wasn't trying to check exactly how fast Seo-yeon was. What mattered was her form. The sense of speed could always be covered by the camera or editing.
However, the running posture was crucial.
Running as acting.
He knew she had already received the 'OK' during filming, but Kim Hong-baek wanted to check for himself. After all, the reason Director Bae Jin-hwan recommended Seo-yeon was because he had 'seen her run.'
Naturally, a few trainees loitered around the area to watch. It was break time anyway, and they wanted to see just how good she actually was.
“Ready.”
Kim Hong-baek raised his hand and snapped it down.
The signal to run.
Seo-yeon, who had finished her preparations at the line, kicked off the moment she saw the signal. Her elastic body leaned forward, and she burst forth instantly.
“...Hmm.”
As Kim Hong-baek watched her, two thoughts crossed his mind.
First, a sense of regret that he hadn't timed her.
And second...
‘Why is she an actress?’
He understood now why other actors couldn't keep up with her speed. He also understood why Director Bae Jin-hwan had recommended the action school based solely on her running.
No, she was practically flying. Why was someone who belonged at the National Sports Festival here?
“First of all, everything was good, but...”
Regardless of her speed, it wasn't as if there were no problems.
“I think it would be better to change your posture.”
“Pardon?”
Looking at Seo-yeon, who hadn't broken a single drop of sweat, Kim Hong-baek marveled once again. He had been a bit indifferent at first, but now it was different. Seeing that athletic ability, he couldn't help but covet her talent.
National Sports Festival aside, an actor with this kind of physical ability...
‘If I teach her properly, she’ll be truly incredible.’
Kim Hong-baek was a master who had raised the best action actors in the country. In his eyes, Seo-yeon was a literal diamond in the rough. A diamond whose success was guaranteed.
What if he polished her just a little bit? She would become one of the actors who would bring glory to the name of Cheonghong Action School.
“When you say change my posture...”
“Right now, Ms. Seo-yeon, you run too much like a professional athlete.”
That was why she was so incredibly fast. But if Cha Seo-ah ran like that, it would definitely feel out of place. Seo-yeon immediately understood Professor Kim Hong-baek’s point.
“Action acting is, in the end, acting. The action must change depending on what kind of person the character is.”
Even a simple running motion was the same. Cha Seo-ah was a killer, but she wasn't an athlete. She wasn't a superhuman either; she was just a broken human being.
“We can practice the posture. We’ll go through the other actions step-by-step after this.”
“Ah, yes.”
Seo-yeon nodded, slightly taken aback by the sudden surge of enthusiasm in Professor Kim’s voice. It felt like his attitude had completely shifted.
And as for the trainees watching from the sidelines...
‘Is that even possible?’
They were simply dumbfounded.
*
After that, Seo-yeon’s days were packed.
As soon as school ended, she went straight to the set. On days when there was no filming, she had to go to the action school. It wasn't so busy that she couldn't breathe, though; she had enough time to work while getting a decent amount of rest.
Of course, that was only by Seo-yeon’s standards. Any ordinary teenage actor would have collapsed long ago.
Yet, even now, Seo-yeon was holding a game controller without resting.
This was her private room at the agency. She had moved all the gaming consoles she couldn't play at home—out of a sense of self-consciousness—to this location.
It wasn't that anyone at home actually gave her a hard time for gaming. Her mother, Sua, didn't mind because Seo-yeon handled her own responsibilities well. Her father, Young-bin, would occasionally come by, watch silently, and then walk away saying, "My daughter is trash at this."
Regardless of her father getting on her nerves, gaming at home just felt uncomfortable for various reasons. After all, considering her own disastrous report card, she couldn't help but feel self-conscious.
‘Still, I have to practice.’
The humiliation she felt during Play Until the King. Even now, she was proudly listed on online communities as a 'celebrity who sucks at games.' It was so humiliating and shameful that her body practically trembled.
Traditionally, a man can endure any insult except "You're bad at games." Although Seo-yeon was now a woman, that sentiment remained, and she couldn't just let the "bad at games" comment slide.
Next time I go on an observational variety show or whatever, I will have my revenge.
And she would make her father, Young-bin, say the words, "You're good."
With that firm resolve, she was currently in special training.
“Seo-yeon!”
Just then, Park Eun-ha opened the door and entered the waiting room while Seo-yeon was in the middle of a game. Her eyes widened as she saw Seo-yeon gaming without a break.
‘This kid’s stamina is really something else.’
Normally, it wouldn't be strange for her to be lying down as if she were dead, but Seo-yeon never rested. From Park Eun-ha’s perspective, gaming was also a form of labor.
She didn't skip school, she didn't miss filming, and on weekends, she even went to the action school. Looking at Seo-yeon like this, she truly seemed like someone born to be an actor.
“Is something the matter?”
At Seo-yeon’s question as she paused the game, Park Eun-ha belatedly nodded.
“Ah, yes. It’s really good news.”
“Good news?”
“You got a commercial! A commercial!”
A commercial. It went without saying, but commercials were a barometer of popularity for a celebrity. The very fact that a commercial offer came in meant the celebrity had significant public recognition.
And this was already Seo-yeon’s second commercial! Although she had unfortunately turned one down, a second one had come in immediately.
‘The only major thing I’ve appeared in so far is Play Until the King.’
And yet, the offers were pouring in. The play was a success, but that wasn't a factor that appealed much to advertisers. It was simply the buzz Seo-yeon generated. It meant the charm she showed in Looking at the Past and Memories and Play Until the King had properly appealed to them.
“...By any chance, it’s not another game controller ad, is it?”
Recalling the ad she had already rejected once, Seo-yeon asked with a suspicious look. Park Eun-ha shook her head.
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing like that. You’ll like this one, Seo-yeon.”
“Then what is it?”
What kind of commercial could it be? So far, Seo-yeon had filmed two commercials, both when she was a child actor. One was for soy milk, and the other was for children’s vitamins.
The vitamin commercial, in particular, became a huge topic because it was released after Seo-yeon had announced her hiatus. Naturally, the vitamins sold like wildfire... and the advertiser had even requested if Seo-yeon could film another one.
And now, this was the third. What kind of ad would it be? Just as Seo-yeon was inwardly anticipating it...
“A cosmetics commercial!”
“……”
In truth, a cosmetics commercial was proof of a female celebrity’s beauty and popularity. It was something only truly popular idols or actresses got. And unless your face was beautiful, cosmetics ads simply didn't come your way.
It was a truly exceptional case for Seo-yeon to receive a cosmetics offer. It was highly likely they were investing in Seo-yeon’s future rather than her current popularity.
However...
“Co... smetics?”
From Seo-yeon’s perspective, it was a somewhat bewildering offer.