Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: We Escorted the Queen Herself
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Young rookie actor Kujo.
Just hours ago, he had been filled with worry,
but at this moment, not a shred of that emotion remained in his heart.
A group of people gathered on the vast set before his eyes.
Blackstar, the alien forces plotting to invade Earth.
A race made up of brutish monsters and women with alluring yet wicked features.
Typically, the villains in mask hero shows were grotesque without exception,
but this time, having cast numerous high-paid actresses, they had crafted this setup to milk every bit of their beauty.
Veteran actors portraying Blackstar's executives on the expansive set.
Among them, all exuding an extraordinary aura as performers,
the perfectly made-up figure
slowly stepped forward.
Wearing an outfit reminiscent of a black dress,
a being with a pair of horns evoking a devil.
The moment her figure came into view,
from the actors in the scene
to everyone present,
a single word began to surface in their minds.
'Kaguya...'
'Kaguya... Sama?'
An overwhelming dignity emanating from her mere act of walking.
It felt as if Blackstar's lord from the lore, Queen Kaguya, had truly manifested before them.
Devouring the presence of every actor gathered here, Queen Kaguya boldly took her seat on the throne.
Gazing at her sitting with crossed legs in an utterly indomitable
and utterly arrogant pose,
the Blackstar monsters unwittingly dropped to their knees.
Animals instinctively lower their tails to those stronger than themselves.
The aura of dominance rising from pure instinct prevented them from even daring to look straight at her face.
At that moment.
"My sovereign, Queen Kaguya..."
In the profoundly solemn atmosphere, Yuuyuko opened her mouth with utmost reverence.
Playing Blackstar's female executive Chikage, she naturally conveyed awe as she bowed to the queen seated before her.
A scene clearly reaffirming who ruled over them all.
In response,
a cold smile crept across the lips of Queen Kaguya, who lounged arrogantly on the throne.
A smile brimming with vivid anticipation for the wicked scheme about to unfold.
The instant they saw it, Kujo and the other actors here felt a primal chill crawl up their spines.
Even knowing this was acting,
even knowing in their heads that the woman there was actress Chae Soo-jeong from Korea, not Kaguya,
her smile exuded a genuinely sinister malice reminiscent of a dark overlord...
"Prepare. For the glory of the Black Star."
-"Yes! Your Majesty!"
The queen's command, elegant yet laced with palpable danger.
Under the weight of that declaration, as heavy as a thousand tons,
the actors raised their voices, instinctively expressing submission.
-"Cut!"
"..."
"..."
Yet despite the director's call signaling the end of the take,
the actors gathered here remained silent for a moment, still kneeling without a word.
The lingering, intense pressure.
Though unlikely, the eerie vibe suggested something dire might happen if they rose carelessly, making them glance warily around.
At that moment.
Kaguya uncrossed her legs and slowly rose from her seat.
No... actress Chae Soo-jeong.
Yuuyuko, who had been kneeling beside her, promptly stood as well, then glanced around and spoke.
"What are you doing? It's an NG, so we have to reshoot."
"!?"
"Ah..."
Only then did the actors realize they had gotten swept up in the atmosphere and skipped some lines.
Feeling the sharp sting of a slap to the face, they scrambled to their feet.
*
"Good work. Shooting's wrapped."
"...Hoo."
"Ugh..."
Like wind-up dolls suddenly set in motion, the actors rose stiffly.
Unlike moments ago, now carrying a heavy sense of defeat in their hearts, they dragged their feet listlessly.
'No way... she's a rookie?'
'And Korean to boot... how's her pronunciation even better than mine?'
'What kind of acting is that... isn't it seriously dangerous?'
'What if she's not Korean but a real Blackstar? We actually escorted the Queen herself...'
A situation that made them question if the prior intel wasn't just meant to mess with them.
Resembling defeated remnants of an army, the actors dispersed limply, utterly drained.
Meanwhile, watching this, Kujo's heart swelled only with profound admiration.
Even facing off in a direct acting duel with any one of them would have been tough for him.
Yet despite a multitude of such actors, Chae Soo-jeong had utterly overwhelmed them with sheer presence...
It stirred in Kujo not just surprise, but outright respect.
'I heard she was a rookie like me... Could I... ever reach that level someday?'
The sight of someone he had felt a kinship with unilaterally crushing those he deemed far superior.
This gave Kujo, who had been wandering aimlessly in a slump ever since landing the mask hero lead role,
a new goal.
To one day deliver acting like that as an actor—
fierce acting that could dominate an entire room.
*
I was reasonably familiar with Japanese.
Travel aside, I had always liked anime quite a bit, and among the games I played right before dying, even Korean ones often had Japanese dubs.
However, for truly flawless acting, that alone wasn't quite enough.
From fine-tuning pronunciation to more precise intonations, I needed a more solid method.
So I reached out to two people I could contact right away for help.
One was Han Jeong-hwa, the department head who dragged me into this and somehow always hovered nearby when nothing was going on.
The other was Yuuyuko, whom I met on my first day here and exchanged contacts with through Director Oda's arrangement.
She had seemed oddly grumpy at first sight, but afterward started sneaking glances at me.
Ignoring the details,
since she was playing my 'Kaguya' queen's top subordinate in this tokusatsu shoot, I contacted her first for help.
Of course, if she was too busy and refused, that would've been that, but surprisingly, Yuuyuko agreed readily.
I had memorized the script the night before, and with her correcting my tones and pronunciation, I went over every line of my dialogue for all five episodes.
Bonus: she watched Seon-hwa the whole time during pronunciation drills, letting me practice comfortably.
Unlike that slightly awkward first impression, realizing she was actually a really nice person, I successfully nailed my lines to the level I wanted.
By the end, Yuuyuko was dozing off in front of me, with Seon-hwa passed out in her arms, but this ironclad body of mine felt only mild fatigue—still manageable.
And right now,
I was showing them the finished product of my acting, unfiltered.
Not simply for the drama's success or anything like that.
The insular nature of Japan's entertainment industry that had made Plea cry tears in my past life.
To crack even a little that rigid, painful wall, I—as a Korean actress and that child's mother—needed to throw myself at it with all I had.
'Gotta push... so my girl suffers even a bit less...'
If it meant my child shed one fewer tear, a parent could gladly weep blood.
Plus the grudge-not-grudge(?) from her past-life hardships was icing on the cake.
From script reading to the shoot itself, after pouring out my all in every performance,
I finally dragged my exhausted body out of the studio.
Unlike their chatter that morning among themselves, leaving behind the Japanese actors staring silently with heavy quiet.
*
"Zzz... Hmnyang... Hmnyang..."
"Hmmm..."
Seon-hwa asleep in one corner of the set.
With the child on her lap,
Han Jeong-hwa sat quietly in her spot.
The business with Asaha Broadcasting Station was more or less wrapped up.
Contract talks, new ad discussions, etc.
Just as Chae Soo-jeong had been swamped with acting these past few days, Han Jeong-hwa had been equally frantic without a moment's rest.
But even with the work stuff nearly done, Han Jeong-hwa had no plans to return to Korea yet.
Partly a sense of duty as a guide, sticking around to match Chae Soo-jeong's drama schedule to the end,
but honestly, a more important reason.
Not because she wanted to gaze at her ultimate bias forever, but
this very situation was sparking inspiration for what she considered her top priority: the next ad production.
'Queen of the Universe, huh...'
The previous ad had used a gender-reversal twist for massive impact,
and tying into the drama, it earned rave reviews from the public.
To achieve similar... or greater results this time, she needed fitting concepts and ideas.
In that regard, Chae Soo-jeong's Kaguya performance before her eyes was teasing something just out of reach, stimulating her thoughts.
And so, after much deliberation, one concept emerged.
The 'Kaguya' on display here.
And the 'Choi Soo-jin' from Reply 1989.
Two roles in stark contrast, like the two faces of a coin.
Building on that, as the image in her head took shape, Han Jeong-hwa jotted down notes and sketches with a deep smile spreading across her lips.