The time their eyes met was not long at all.
A few seconds at most.
Literally, just the brief moment of spinning around once and exchanging glances with the children in the audience.
But Seoyeon's eyesight accurately found Gil Dahyeon sitting right there.
It wasn't just Gil Dahyeon.
The five or six female students sitting beside her.
To put it simply, she clearly saw that her classmates were sitting right there.
At this completely unexpected sight, Seoyeon's eyes almost wavered for a moment, but she soon smiled brightly.
'I was only embarrassed before because I wasn't prepared.'
Now it's fine!
Seoyeon struck Harara's signature cute pose toward the children, eliciting a response from them.
"I heard that Zeroro is plotting another ba~d scheme today."
"Harara, you know the location, so there's no need to go just yet. You have to go to school."
At Harara's words, a wooden board with a penguin painted on it, located near the mascot penguin sitting on her shoulder, moved as a line flowed out.
Contrary to its cute appearance, the voice was incredibly cool and deep.
Hearing that voice, Seoyeon felt her slightly heated body cool down.
Right, it's fine.
She was a little—truly just a little—flustered, but wasn't she standing on stage as an actress this time?
Her heart was pounding a bit, and cold sweat was dripping, but there was no problem!
'No, it's not fine!'
Seoyeon inwardly put on a crying face.
Honestly, any other acting would have been completely fine.
It felt like it would be better to show her friends a murderer role instead.
But Harara was just... no.
Even now, as she let out a cute voice and made a finger heart, the eye that was about to wink almost trembled.
That was because, upon seeing Seoyeon acting like this, Gil Dahyeon and the other female students wore expressions that were truly hard to describe.
How would one feel if a classmate acted cute right in front of their eyes?
Seoyeon found it honestly difficult to imagine that feeling.
Then, the spotlight shone on Zeroro again, and Zeroro's lines flowed out.
"Harara should be at school by now. Knowing this would happen, I already told the teacher in advance that I'd be leaving early today."
Zeroro, dressed in a black gown, giggled as she spoke.
The diligent villain Zeroro, who had informed the teacher in advance about leaving early in preparation for this very day.
In other words, Jo Seo-hee had just felt relieved watching Seoyeon's acting.
'As expected, she's different on stage.'
Children's acting was surprisingly something that could be difficult to ease into if one didn't approach it with the right mindset.
No actor actually thought they could just slack off because it was children's acting.
However, there were cases where it unconsciously ended up that way.
But with children's plays, one often had to deliver more exaggerated lines and acting.
On top of that, some expressions were somewhat too childish for an adult actor to utter, making it hard to fully immerse themselves in the lines.
Of course, most overcame this through practice, but Seoyeon's practice time had been short.
Yet, in that short amount of time, Seoyeon had adapted perfectly to Harara.
'She really meant what she said to me.'
Seoyeon had said this to Jo Seo-hee, who was worried after watching the previous Shorts video:
"I'm a bit emotionally dull, so I've never really felt nervous when acting."
At those calm words, Jo Seo-hee recalled Seoyeon's past performances.
During her child actor days, even in situations where everyone else was trembling, Seoyeon hadn't shown a single change in her expression.
It was the same during
Back then, unlike others who felt burdened about their performances, Seoyeon's acting had flowed out without any hesitation.
Considering that even Jo Seo-hee needed some preparation, Seoyeon's emotional control, which allowed her to dive right into acting and deliver her lines with zero hesitation, was astonishing.
'Emotional acting was her forte.'
Everyone who had met Seoyeon said so with one voice.
That her ability to convey emotions was the best among all the actors they had ever met.
In her childhood, that had manifested as method acting, but now there was no need for that anymore.
Method acting was ultimately just a means to immerse oneself in a role.
Since 'Cha Seo-ah', there hadn't really been a role that required Seoyeon to perform such deep emotional acting.
"But being nervous and being embarrassed are two different things, right?"
"An actor shouldn't be embarrassed about acting."
Answering calmly as always, Seoyeon spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"In the first place, I've never felt that kind of shame befo—, before."
She was going to say "before," but...
Recalling the recently exploded blanket incident, she corrected her words.
At Seoyeon's reaction, Jo Seo-hee nodded.
'She looked so embarrassed in the Shorts that I was worried, but...'
Seeing such a strong will, it seemed like she would be fine.
Indeed, Seoyeon during the rehearsal had been thoroughly professional.
"I need to cause a commotion early today! If I'm late, I won't be able to study in advance!"
Finishing her thoughts, Jo Seo-hee—or rather, Zeroro—spat out that line.
A scene of her diligently making something appeared, and then the scene transitioned again.
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This time, it was Harara's turn.
Harara appeared, wandering the streets to prevent Zeroro's scheme.
Then, she ran into some underlings and, without even transforming, started swinging the penguin on her shoulder to beat them up.
"...Is Harara really a magical girl?"
Gil Dahyeon, who had been quietly watching the stage, muttered.
More importantly, why is she hitting them with a penguin doll?
Wasn't it her friend that she was resting on her shoulder and talking to just a moment ago?
"That's because Uranos is Harara's weapon."
It was her friend, Minji, who cleared up that doubt.
"Uranos?"
"The penguin's name. When Harara transforms, the penguin transforms into a magic wand too."
No, why is a penguin's name so grandiose?
Come to think of it, the penguin's voice was pretty cool too.
Seeing as no one found it strange, the penguin's voice must be like that in the original work too.
'Isn't it a mascot?'
It looked completely cute, but its voice had a sense of gravitas—like Optimus Prime or something.
Then again, they were fighting to save the world, so maybe that level of gravitas was necessary...
'Something feels... off.'
Wasn't Harara skipping school without permission right now?
Zeroro at least mentioned leaving early, but Harara hadn't even gone to school in the first place.
The kids were giggling and loving it, but was this really okay?
"Everyone except Harara is diligent, so it's fine. It's such an educational anime."
"...Is it?"
Regardless, the play continued.
Zeroro had been plotting her scheme, but once all her underlings were defeated, she made a grand entrance, backed by a giant doll.
She then began to fight Harara in earnest.
"Hmph, Harara! Today will be different! I'll show you the true power of Lord Zeroro!!"
At those words, something sparkled on stage as special effects went off.
At that sight, the children went "Wow!" and clapped their hands.
The Harara uncles sitting in the front row ahead of Dahyeon threw both arms up into the air.
"Harara, transform! Harara, transform!!"
"I've been waiting for this!"
"Gooo!!!"
At the booming voices of the uncles, Dahyeon and the female students sitting behind them flinched.
"Th-they must really like Harara."
"My mood just dropped."
Wasn't today Seoyeon's first performance?
Did she already get fans? Or did they just genuinely like Harara?
Dahyeon was genuinely curious about that.
Anyway.
Along with the uncles' shouts, Harara's transformation music started playing.
'The moment of truth has come.'
Seoyeon tensed up at the sound of the music.
The scene from the Shorts with millions of views was precisely this part.
Harara's transformation scene!
Originally, she had mentally prepared herself, so it wouldn't have been a problem.
She had done fine during the rehearsal.
But doing this in front of her school friends was not easy.
"Love and care. And respect and kindness. The magical girl of mercy!!"
Along with the flashing effects, the flashy lighting that had been on Zeroro shifted to Harara, revealing Harara, who had changed outfits in the meantime.
"Harara~, Hararara~!!"
Holding a pink magic wand, Seoyeon encouraged a response from the children in the audience.
"Harara! Harara!!!"
The men's voices mixed in among the children's voices sounded particularly booming, but since the children's cheers were even louder, it felt okay.
On top of that, she could also hear the voices of her classmates, and Seoyeon began to feel her earlobes heating up.
It was the first time in her life she had felt this kind of heat while acting.
'I can't be awkward. I can't be embarrassed!'
Smiling brightly, Seoyeon chanted Harara's name and continuously waved her magic wand.
Since her emotional delivery was usually regarded as her forte, if Seoyeon showed any embarrassment in her acting, that emotion would be clearly conveyed to the audience.
That couldn't happen.
She couldn't disappoint the children who had come to watch the play.
But!
'Ughhhh!'
I-I'm embarrassed.
Seoyeon felt the burning heat radiating from her face.
Fortunately, thanks to the bright lighting tinted with red, it probably wouldn't be too noticeable to the audience.
"That's as far as you go, Harara! This time, even you won't be able to handle it! Not against my super monster!!"
However, Jo Seo-hee, standing on stage, could vaguely sense it.
Because she was a fellow actress.
And because she was relatively close, she could see Seoyeon's earlobes gradually turning red.
And as Seoyeon whipped her body around at her words, chewing on her lower lip, her face was truly a rare sight.
It was an incredibly rare sight, filled to the brim with shame.
'Huh, what's this, she's cute.'
For a moment, even though she knew it was wrong to think that way about someone on stage, she couldn't help but think it.
In a spot where her face was hidden from the audience, Seoyeon seemed unable to properly control her expressions.
Since she was standing with her back to the audience, they probably couldn't see her face.
The moment Jo Seo-hee faced that expression of Seoyeon's, she suddenly started getting excited.
Looking at that face made her chest tickle strangely, filling her with the urge to see more of that expression.
"No way, Harara Flash!!"
Zeroro was sitting atop a giant bear doll set up on the stage.
Toward it, Harara launched a cool kick.
"Harara Flash. It's a technique where Harara instantly strikes the chin, snapping the opponent out of their daze. That's why it's called Harara Flash. It's the skill Harara uses most frequently."
"Isn't that a magical skill?"
"She has a separate one for that."
While Dahyeon and her friends were having that conversation.
The staff members below the stage were momentarily startled.
"Was there supposed to be wire action in this stunt?"
"Huh? No? We removed that because it requires a lot of practice. There are no action scenes this time."
In the first place, wire action couldn't be done with just a brief practice session.
Practicing haphazardly could lead to serious injuries.
"Then how did she do that Harara Flash just now? Without wires?"
"I have no idea. She practically flew."
"Actor Ju Seoyeon must have great jumping power."
Was this something that could be solved with jumping power?
Anyway, since the audience's reaction was full of cheers, they figured it was fine.
Anyway, despite Zeroro's struggle, Harara's skills continuously struck the super monster!
"Harara Heartlight!!"
"That's where Harara strikes the opponent's chest with a light hook..."
"Minji, you know a lot about this."
"M-My younger sibling watches it a lot."
Anyway, amid such flashy action scenes, the audience's excitement reached its peak.
But Seoyeon shot a piercing glare at Jo Seo-hee.
Jo Seo-hee, who was supposed to slowly come down from the doll and make a cool exit via Harara's magic, wasn't coming down.
Hmph, I'm still fine, okay? It's fine! The super monster is invincible!
She was shouting out unscripted lines like that, intoxicated by the thrill atop the doll.
It seemed she enjoyed seeing Seoyeon tremble every time she shouted Harara's skill.
Of course, the audience loved the suddenly extended action scene, and the staff was happy with it too, but it was becoming unbearable for Seoyeon.
So she decided to put an end to it.
"Zeroro. Even a super monster has its limits. Then I'll blow you away in one go!"
"Huh?"
At Harara's sudden words, Jo Seo-hee looked down at her from atop the doll.
The doll was easily close to three meters tall.
Seated safely on top of it with her body strapped to a wire, Jo Seo-hee flinched at Seoyeon's words.
The line just now had been Harara's finishing line.
"Now, children. Please give Harara your power."
Holding her magic wand, Harara waved it to the audience.
"Harara~, Harara Starlight Power!!"
The more she said those words, the redder Seoyeon's earlobes became.
Hiding the heat rushing to her face as much as possible, she smiled naturally.
Now red from her face down to her neck, Seoyeon whipped her body around, riding the cheers of the crowd.
Her face, looking at Jo Seo-hee, was full of shame.
At her burning eyes, Seo-hee let out a hiccup without realizing it.
'I went too far.'
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Seoyeon jumped high into the air from the stage.
A height that reached right above the head of Jo Seo-hee, who was sitting on the bear doll.
She hurriedly tried to scurry down the doll, but.
"Where are you going?"
Harara was faster.
Startled, Zeroro looked up at Harara.
Harara—no, Ju Seoyeon—looked down, her face flushed bright red, with strangely moist eyes.
Seeing that, Jo Seo-hee smiled awkwardly.
"Ar-Are you going to hit me?"
"Yeah."
At the same time, a new Harara skill.
"Harara Magical Drive!"
Grabbing Zeroro's body, Harara jumped from the doll and drove Zeroro's head straight down.
Of course, since it was a soft doll, it only resulted in the doll's head getting half-squashed.
Zeroro simply dangled from the wire and made her exit.
"Ooh, a new skill!!"
"She's so cool!!"
"Is that a magical skill?"
"It has 'Magical' in the name, so it probably is?"
The impact must have been considerable, as this skill was later reverse-adapted into the animation after the play.
Of course, Jo Seo-hee had a hard time for a while afterwards, trying to soothe Seoyeon's hurt feelings.
Separately, Mirinae Land actively used this play for promotion.
As a result.
[Mirinae Land, Harara Play Shorts Views: 5.82 Million]
With an astonishing promotional effect, the play was a huge success.
Even without Seoyeon's appearance, the number of people visiting the theater naturally increased.
Seoyeon's Harara Shorts Part 2.
That was also when the offers for Harara-related commercials came flooding in.