Reincarnation

When a person is hit with something truly absurd, their thoughts tend to lock up.

Just like mine, right now.

"...Excuse me?"

A semi-transparent message floated right in front of my eyes.

"Wh-what the hell is this?"

I tried to check behind it, but it was pointless. No matter which way I turned my head, the message kept tracking my field of vision.

I reached out and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠carefully brushed a finger against the holographic text, the way you'd touch a baby's cheek — and new words appeared.

An actress? Me? Says who?

My career path had just been decided out of nowhere.

I pressed it again.

"Filmography?"

What even is that?

An unfamiliar word had popped up, but I'd deal with it later.

Something that looked like a game skill had just appeared.

"Is this like a starter pack?"

"Huh? Wait—!"

The message finished saying what it had to say and vanished.

First things first — I set out to figure out my current situation.

"So basically…"

From the ID card I found in a wallet on the desk of a tiny studio apartment: Gil Ara. Age twenty.

Name and age, confirmed.

The phone next to it was locked, but it opened with a fingerprint. And when I checked the contacts — not a single person saved.

I used the computer sitting there to look up my family register and certificate of family relations. Everything came back zero.

"No parents, either."

The bank account I checked on the phone had only about a thousand bucks in it.

Next, I searched the word the message had used — filmography.

"So it wants me to build a career? Fine."

I'd more or less got the picture.

"But what the hell are 'clues'? Reincarnation? Past life?"

No idea. But that was something I'd learn once I filled out the filmography.

An actress? Fine. I'll do it. There had to be a reason someone reincarnated me.

There was just one minor problem.

I looked at the mirror mounted on the shoe cabinet door.

"I've never acted before, but this perk thing should help, right?"

No family?

"Lonely, sure — but honestly, it's cleaner this way. Fine by me."

No friends?

"Friends? I can make those."

No money?

"Money? I'll earn it. But… fuck, this is not fine…"

I pinched my cheek and stared at the person in the mirror. Glossy black hair falling long, and bright yellow eyes staring right back at me.

"Not having the middle part is a hard no!!! Seriously!!!"

Something that should definitely have been there was nowhere to be found.

I had been a man. My memories were hazy, but that one fact was absolute.

And this time, I was a woman.

Once I'd calmed down, I steeled myself and started over.

"Alright. What's done is done. And besides…"

Only now did I take an objective look at my appearance.

"Holy shit."

She was beautiful enough to make a curse slip out on its own. And the body? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Curves where they should be, taper where it should taper — a figure so close to ideal it was almost unfair.

"But I'm not really feeling anything."

There had been a time when I'd thought, if I ever became a woman, there were a million things I'd want to try. Now that it had actually happened, I felt almost nothing.

So I cut my interest in the face and body right there, and moved on to checking the perk I'd been given.

The moment I thought I wanted to see the perk list, it floated up into the air on its own.

"What is this, an actual game…? Anyway, how do I use this thing? Sensory Sharing!"

…

"Nope…"

There was nobody around, but I still felt weirdly embarrassed. Since I'd already embarrassed myself, I figured I might as well try everything.

I made a hand shape like I was about to shoot webs.

"Sensory Sharing!"

Then I thrust my hand forward like I was blasting out some massive energy, the way you'd shout "Open sesame!"

"Sensory Sharing!!"

I ran through every piece of performance art I could invent, hunting for the method — and then it hit me. The purpose of the perk.

"Isn't this supposed to help with my acting?"

Sensory Sharing.

Senses were just that — senses. I zeroed in on the sharing part.

"Who am I sharing with? Other people? Like, if I cry because I'm sad, does everyone else start crying too?"

No idea. But if that were the case, it would be completely broken.

"Ah, whatever. Forget it."

I was about to drop it when I steeled myself again.

"Ugh. This is just my luck. And how the hell do you even act, anyway?"

I had no clue. I sat down at the computer desk and started searching the internet.

"How to act…"

Search results.

"Ah. Right. You need a script…?"

I'd just realized the obvious.

"A script, huh… Should I look one up? Something easy?"

I had no intention of going deep right out of the gate. Everything needs a solid foundation first, after all.

"Found one!"

Scripts were easy enough to find. Long live the internet.

"Kind of lame for a full-grown adult, but who cares."

It wasn't like anyone was watching. And people who laugh at someone who's actually trying are the weird ones, anyway.

I selected View.

"Huh?"

A list of characters unspooled one after another.

"Whoa!! Holy shit!? What is this!!!"

The shock lasted only a second. Out of the three, I selected the protagonist — Cinderella.

Along with the message, something poured into me.

Ah…

The grief of the persecution she had endured. The thrill of slipping on the glass slipper and climbing into a pumpkin carriage. The love she felt the first time she met the prince. The sorrow of having to flee before midnight.

Every memory, every emotion came crashing over my entire body like a wave.

Whoa…

It felt exactly like being possessed.

And on top of that, I had perfect control over it.

What kind of broken-ass ability was this?

"This is actually insane?"

Honestly, never having acted before had left me completely lost — but I'd just been handed a massive army of reinforcements. And it wasn't limited to dusty old books or paper scripts, either. It worked on modern stuff like phones and computers.

If I had to pick one downside to this overwhelming power, though:

"Guess I still have to memorize the lines myself."

I could feel Cinderella's emotions and senses as if they were my own, but without knowing the dialogue, my mouth just locked up. Lines were on me.

"Whatever. I'll just memorize them. Now I can't help but wonder what the next perk is going to be."

Alright. There was only one thing left to do.

Become an actress.

"But how do you even become an actress?"

A new drama series was about to launch on MBS.

Forest of Crime.

As the title suggested, it was a story about detectives dealing with violent crime. Filming hadn't even started yet, but among enthusiasts it was already generating enormous buzz.

One reason was the writer, Kim Eun-bi. Still only in her mid-thirties — young, depending on how you looked at it — her scripts had hit one massive success after another. Despite her relatively young age, she had already secured her place as a star writer, a guaranteed box-office draw. And Forest of Crime was the project she had poured special effort into this time.

The second reason was Director Ha Il-gwon. A director with a formidable career of his own, his distinctive style of direction had become a signature — a trademark that defined him. This time, he would be helming Forest of Crime alongside Kim Eun-bi.

Producer Lee Young-min was no lightweight either, but the explanation was getting long, so we'll skip that.

A meeting of three heavyweights like this was bound to draw attention.

And the reason the three of them had gathered today was to cast the culprit for the first episode of Forest of Crime.

"Hello!"

"Writer Kim. Full of energy first thing in the morning, I see."

"That's one of Writer Kim's strengths, Director. How have you been?"

They had assembled here as the audition panel.

"Did you see the people outside? There was a huge crowd."

"Of course. Whose script is this, after all?"

"And it's a blind audition, too. Hidden actors must have caught the scent and come pouring in."

They talked for a while, until Producer Lee Young-min checked the time and called for a start.

"Shall we get going, then? Any later and we'll all be stuck here past quitting time."

"Alright."

"Yes!"

At that moment, I was sitting in the audition waiting room of MBS's drama department.

Whoa — there are so many people.

Searching online for how to become an actress, I'd found a casting call for an audition today. The role being cast wasn't listed. Not that it mattered. I had an invincible perk. As long as there was a script, nobody would be able to touch me.

The strange part was that even after arriving at the waiting room, nobody was handing out scripts. And another thing:

Are they not casting just one role?

Men and women were mixed together in the waiting room.

I'll figure it out if I wait. Still…

I'd felt those intense stares from the moment I walked in. Nobody was looking outright, but the constant sidelong glances were unmistakable. This wasn't paranoia — it was cold, hard fact.

Whoa… who is that? Her face is insane.

Are those contacts? No way those eyes are natural?

Not a celebrity. Some agency trainee? With a face like that, there should definitely be rumors by now.

Theater company? Or a university club?

That is an unreal level of gorgeous… Should I ask for her Insta?

Now that it was my own body, I didn't particularly care — but there was no denying that my TS'd appearance was performing at an absolutely ridiculous level. And on top of that, the perk.

Broken plus broken. Who was going to stop this?

Perk, go! Clues, go!

I was mid-self-congratulation when someone who looked like a station staffer entered the waiting room.

"We will now begin the audition! Please enter the audition room in order of the number called! First — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Contestant Number One!"

"Yes."

"This way, please."

A solemn-faced Contestant Number One walked into the audition room, and the door shut firmly behind them.

Less than two minutes later, Contestant Number One came back out wearing a hollow expression.

"Contestant Number Two!"

"Contestant Number Three!"

From Two through Three, the combined time spent inside barely scraped five minutes. Every single one of them came out wearing the same look as Number One.

Huh?

Only then did Ara grasp the reality of the acting world.

Are auditions always like this? This is actually brutal.

No — the other actors in the waiting room looked just as rattled.

Nothing in this world is easy. I shouldn't get cocky.

She hadn't meant to, but Gil Ara found herself reflecting.

Time flowed on, and before long the waiting room that had been packed with actors was nearly empty.

"Contestant Number One Hundred Twenty-Three!"

And at last, Ara's turn arrived.

"Yes."

She stood with the answer and walked slowly toward the audition room. At the same time, the few remaining actors' eyes all turned toward her.

Alright. Let's do this. Don't tense up. You've got the perk. You've got the looks. This is nothing.

Ara held onto her composure as best she could, stepped into the audition room, and stood before the three judges.

"Hello. Contestant One Hundred Twenty-Three, Gil Ara."

Whoa…

Oh…

Well now…

The judges didn't say it out loud, but they were deeply impressed by Ara's appearance. And that made it all the more disappointing — because she was a world away from the image of the role they needed.

Still, they had to see her act, didn't they?

Ha Il-gwon spoke.

"Yes. Nice to meet you. I'll explain the audition content now."

So they hand out the script here after all. No time to prepare in advance.

Vicious. Absolutely vicious. But that didn't apply to her. Bring it on. She'd chew through whatever they threw at her.

"Please perform static madness."

"Pardon?"

The demand was so hard to parse that she ended up asking again.

Static madness? What even was that? Being crazy, but quietly crazy? And they wanted her to do that? With nothing given? Just like that?

"Simply put, imagine a psychopath. We'll give you one minute to prepare."

And so began Ara's first audition after reincarnation.

No script. Vague requirements.

Oh, come on! Perk or no perk, that makes the whole thing pointless? This is not okay?

She was screwed.