And Then, Spring
And then, spring.
In front of the gates of Seoyeon High School.
In the middle of the school grounds, where cherry blossom petals drifted pleasantly on the breeze, Seo Da-young stood still with a light grip on her bag strap.
She was doing nothing more than standing there, letting the spring wind wash over her — and yet the entire surrounding landscape seemed to recompose itself around her, as if the world itself had decided she was the focal point. That overwhelming presence left the students arriving for school hovering near the gate, reluctant to simply walk past.
"…Is that girl waiting for someone?"
"Whoa, she's unreal. Is she even human? I thought they were filming a movie."
"With a face like that… she's gotta be waiting for her boyfriend, right?"
"Ah, no way. How can something so cruel even exist in this world."
The boys nearby swallowed a strange, deep sense of loss and regret as they stared blankly at her silhouette — and right then:
"Da-young. What are you doing?"
A clear, quiet voice settled beside her.
The moment people confirmed who that voice belonged to, the murmuring crowd had to catch its breath all over again.
"Holy… who's that one?"
"Since when did our school become an entertainment specialty high?"
The aura radiating from the newcomer was no less formidable.
If Seo Da-young, with her soft and pure impression, called to mind an elegant princess, the girl walking toward her carried a cool, composed dignity — calm and intellectual. Slightly upturned eyes, clear skin, a cool-beauty type of pretty girl.
Watching her approach without the slightest concern for the stares pouring onto her, a bright smile spread across Da-young's lips.
"Obviously I was waiting for you. Kim Chae-eun."
"Honestly. You could've just gone into the classroom like a normal person. Why stand out here gathering every pair of eyes in the school?"
Chae-eun let out a quiet sigh that sounded like a scolding, but the look in her eyes suggested she didn't entirely mind that Seo Da-young had waited for her.
Kim Chae-eun.
After that retirement announcement on awards night, the two of them had set down the title of child actress together. Through elementary school and middle school, and now, before they knew it, they had enrolled in high school side by side.
"More importantly — did you stay up all night gaming again and oversleep?"
When Da-young asked with a slight furrow of her brow, Chae-eun quietly averted her gaze and tried to change the subject.
"…I didn't game."
"Then what?"
"I watched anime."
Chae-eun turned her head away, looking embarrassed even to herself, and Da-young finally couldn't hold it in — she let out a long sigh.
Who would ever have imagined that a child actress who once shook all of South Korea would end up as an otaku staying up all night watching anime the day before her high school entrance ceremony?
"You're one to talk. Why are you sighing when you're just as bad?"
"I wasn't late, so I'm safe."
Da-young smirked and took the lead, and the two of them passed through the school gates with the spring wind at their backs.
The students still standing at the gate watched the two girls walk into the school grounds and, as if by prior agreement, felt an indescribable emptiness settle in a corner of their chests — then let out a long, delayed sigh.
"Ah… that's a painting. A real painting."
"Wow. I am so glad I got into Seoyeon High…"
The boys stood there, expressions blank with awe — and right then:
"What are you all doing standing around at the gate like that?! The entrance ceremony is starting! Get inside, hurry!"
A guidance teacher's belated shout rang out, and only then did the students snap back to their senses and hurry along. The small morning incident came to a close.
Once the tedious entrance ceremony was over and class assignments were finished, Chae-eun and I naturally headed for a café near the school.
Stopping by a café after school just to chat… In my past life I never understood why anyone would deliberately order expensive drinks just to sit around talking, but after living seventeen years as a girl, I'd gotten pretty used to it.
"Yogurt again?"
Chae-eun tossed out the remark the moment our drinks arrived and I stuck a straw in mine.
"What's wrong with a yogurt smoothie? It's refreshing and delicious."
"Honestly. You've been completely helpless around yogurt since we were little, and even as a high schooler nothing's changed."
She had a point.
That strange appetite that went wild at the mere sight of yogurt or anything yogurt-related had been with me since childhood, and at seventeen it was still going strong. Apparently Seo Da-young's body just really, really liked yogurt.
As I took a long pull through the straw, Chae-eun quietly pushed her Americano aside and reached toward me.
"Just one bite."
"No — drink your own. Why are you stealing someone else's?"
"Iced Americanos taste bad."
"Then order something that tastes good!"
Chae-eun casually ignored my incredulous protest, scooped a big spoonful of the yogurt ice cream sitting on top of my smoothie, and made a thoroughly satisfied face.
"I have to save money."
"…You dumped your whole allowance into gacha again, didn't you?"
"…"
At my question, Chae-eun's eyes wavered. The way she quietly looked out the window told me I'd hit the bullseye.
"Auntie Baek Seo-jin was saying she thinks you've been spending way too much on games lately. She was worried your money habits are getting out of control."
"What? My mom said that to you?"
Chae-eun flinched, eyes going wide.
"No. My mom heard it from your mom."
"Ah, seriously…! Why does Mom even tell your mom stuff like that? Aren't those two a little too close…?"
Chae-eun let out a long, mortified groan and collapsed face-first onto the café table, equal parts wronged and embarrassed.
On the outside she looked like a cold, lofty ice beauty — but on the inside she was this soft and flimsy. Sprawled across a table, whining…
Still, I agreed with her on one point. In the ten years since we retired, my mom and Chae-eun's mom had gone past being neighborly friends and become practically sisters.
"Honestly, if you look at them, our moms are closer to each other than we are."
"That one I actually agree with."
I poked the top of Chae-eun's head with a finger as she kept her forehead planted on the table.
"Anyway, stop wasting money and spend a little more carefully. Don't make your parents worry."
Chae-eun, cheek still pressed to the table, cracked one eye open and glared at me.
"Wasting money is when you pay and still don't pull the rate-up character. I pulled mine, so it was smart spending."
"Yes, yes. How magnificent, Customer Kim Chae-eun."
"Anyway, let's talk about something else. Something else."
Slightly flustered, Chae-eun cleared her throat once and changed the subject.
Her motives were transparent, but as always, I decided to play along with her rhythm this time too.
"Alright, fine. How's the streaming prep coming along?"
At my question, Chae-eun's eyes sharpened in an instant.
"That's exactly what's been giving me a headache. Corporate Vtubers have been expanding their territory one by one lately. It's already a red ocean as it is — if we just leave things like this, new entrants won't even be able to break in later. I have to debut as soon as possible."
Kim Chae-eun's biggest dream right now.
That was becoming a Vtuber.
Back when we retired as child actresses, internet streaming had been a minor genre among minor genres. But over the ten years that followed, the streaming market had grown at a terrifying pace, and now it was massive enough to call a major among minors.
And Kim Chae-eun had fallen completely under the spell of that captivating world.
She used to be such a sharp, talented kid who could act circles around everyone — how had she grown into this regrettable creature who only looked put-together on the outside?
It was probably the influence of a certain bad kid who'd spent the last ten years as her childhood friend…
Yeah. Well. Not my fault.
She'd always had plenty of otaku tendencies to begin with.
"…Why are you looking at me like this is someone else's problem?"
Chae-eun propped her chin on her hand and gave me a cold stare.
"Huh? No, I was just thinking you're really passionate…"
"Don't play dumb, Seo Da-young. You're prepping for streaming too."
I flinched.
"W-well, yeah… haha."
I laughed awkwardly and quietly looked away.
Right. The truth was, just like Kim Chae-eun, I had set debuting as an internet streamer as my ultimate goal.
I wanted to enjoy life as an ordinary high school student, sure — but before becoming an adult, turning on my own stream, talking with fans, and playing games? Just thinking about it made my chest swell.
After quitting child acting, I'd spent the last ten years carefully thinking about what I actually liked, and it turned out I was pretty into the otaku life.
I'd already been the type who lived and died for games and manga in my past life, after all.
"Anyway, I'm debuting before I turn eighteen, no matter what. There's a rumor that a company I've had my eye on for a while is recruiting a new generation, so I need to get ready in advance."
"Yeah, yeah, sure."
I nodded along with a suitably agreeable air.
"Da-young. This isn't something you can take lightly. Getting into a corporate agency takes serious preparation."
The moment the conversation turned to hardcore otaku talk, Kim Chae-eun's word count exploded. She launched into a passionate speech about how important preparation was.
Everything she said was sound, but…
"Eh, well. I don't particularly want to start under a company anyway. Isn't it freer and more comfortable to go indie?"
"What? Are you serious?"
"Of course."
Sure, debuting with a company at your back meant heavy promotional support from day one, collabs with existing members for that sweet trickle-down effect, legal protection, and all kinds of other advantages…
But I still wanted to live free as an indie.
Joining a company meant that many more strings attached. A life where freedom got restricted for the sake of stability was not something I wanted to choose in this lifetime.
If I were going to live that kind of life, wouldn't I have just stayed in the entertainment industry from the start instead of retiring as a child actress?
…The entertainment industry.
Thinking about it now, it had already been ten years, but I still found myself replaying those child-actress days from time to time.
Well, no point dwelling on it. I was fully retired from the industry. It was just a memory of a past I would never return to.
I pushed the sudden wave of nostalgia deep down and asked her a question.
"So, setting me aside — what exactly is this preparation for getting into a corporate agency? Do you have any concrete ideas?"
I asked while sipping my yogurt, and Chae-eun quietly set down her cup.
Then, in a calm voice, she delivered an answer so out of left field it left me speechless.
"First, I'm returning as an actress."
"…Huh?"