Seoyeon hesitated for a moment, wondering what to say.
She ran a brief simulation in her head, but.
"Hello, Actress Go Mi-eun."
"Why are you opening your eyes like that?"
"You don't like me, do you?"
……Of course it wouldn't go that way, but a good future didn't seem likely.
If she tried to sabotage her, should she just take it?
If Seoyeon counterattacked in a fit of rage, Go Mi-eun would definitely become a deceased person.
She wasn't a renowned swordswoman like Pyo Ji-woo; Go Mi-eun was just an ordinary actress.
"Hello, Actress Go Mi-eun."
Still, she decided to greet her first, just as she had simulated in her head.
She felt Go Mi-eun flinch.
As if thinking, "Why is she at KMB broadcasting station?"
But it wasn't particularly strange for Seoyeon to be at the broadcasting station.
Just as Go Mi-eun was filming a drama, Seoyeon was also appearing as the lead in another drama.
"……Hello."
But contrary to expectations, Go Mi-eun hesitated but accepted the greeting normally.
Seoyeon felt relieved.
She thought that thankfully, Go Mi-eun was a sensible person.
Not sneering with "Parachute?" at her sudden appearance—how benevolent was that.
That's what she thought, but.
"Must be nice for you."
"Pardon?"
"Your drama is doing well, after all."
She suddenly brought up such a topic.
Seoyeon stared blankly at her.
Because it was difficult to guess the intention behind those words.
Did she bring it up to genuinely congratulate her, or was it meant to be sarcastic?
'Looking at her face, it doesn't seem like she's being sarcastic.'
Seoyeon examined Go Mi-eun's face.
Go Mi-eun's features were on the gentler side.
However, given her tall stature and the sharp way she had opened her eyes earlier, she might have quite a temper.
Then, the latter?
'But how do I respond? I can't say "Yes, it went well." And saying humbly "Oh, it's not that much" when it's doing too well...'
Seoyeon wasn't the type to twist others' words.
First, Seoyeon decided to think positively.
As it happened, Seoyeon had recently been reading a book on conversation skills.
'The Art of Praising Others.'
Something along those lines; she had read it to compensate for her relatively lacking conversational skills.
"Grand Game is doing well too. That's impressive."
"……But not as much as Sky Garden."
At Seoyeon's response, Go Mi-eun replied with a smiling face.
Being an actress after all, Go Mi-eun was excellent at hiding her emotions.
"I think not knowing what happens next is its charm. I learned this time that giving up some probability and developing the plot boldly is actually better."
Go Mi-eun, who found it hard to read the intention behind Seoyeon's words, evaluated Sky Garden as roundaboutly as possible.
The words were soft, but the gist was something like "They poured on makjang developments to pull in viewership ratings."
Actually, the latter half of
At Go Mi-eun's words like that.
"Certainly, Grand Game also had the feel of being unable to predict the next development. Truly impressive."
"Pardon?"
Seoyeon nodded and replied like that.
What's this? Was she giving a thumbs down to the romance suddenly popping up?
That was the only way it could be heard.
'Sure enough, she's not ordinarily strong-spirited as she appears.'
Go Mi-eun looked at Seoyeon and narrowed her eyes.
It wasn't for nothing that she only played villain roles.
Honestly, if it weren't for this situation, Go Mi-eun wouldn't have spoken to her like this either.
Moreover, saying "impressive" at the end of every sentence was grating.
But she couldn't resort to violence just because she didn't like the actress.
But, doing so...
At first she thought it was manipulated, but Seoyeon flying around on live broadcast came to mind.
Well, they said it was live, though it might have actually been recorded.
As Go Mi-eun stood there silently.
Seoyeon looked at her for a moment, then.
"I hope things go as well for you every time as they did this time."
"What?"
At Seoyeon's words, Go Mi-eun momentarily lost hers.
It was clearly a congratulatory remark, but it didn't sound like one.
If something like
But hearing it from the actress who stood on top of
Is she suggesting a showdown after all?
The moment she was looking at Seoyeon with such thoughts.
"Well now, the stars of KMB dramas' hot topics are all here."
It was a man's voice.
Seoyeon turned her head to look.
There stood a man with a gentle, amiable impression.
His age was roughly similar to Seoyeon's father, Youngbin?
He wasn't that much older.
"This is our first time meeting, Actress Joo Seo-yeon, right? Nice to meet you. I'm PD Baek Tae-soo."
"Ah, yes. Hello. I'm Joo Seo-yeon."
"I've heard about you, but your manners are really good."
At the name Baek Tae-soo, Seoyeon finally realized.
'This is the person who will become the head of Drama Department 2.'
Even in her past life, the fight between Drama Department 1 and 2 was quite fierce.
But Drama Department 1 in her past life eventually lost to Department 2.
Because the KMB president was backing the head of Department 2, capable PDs flocked to Department 2.
The head of Department 1 also fought hard, but there were limits to individual ability.
By the way, she learned all the names in this life.
Actually, she saw various things in her past life, but she didn't know the names of broadcasting station department heads.
"If there's an opportunity, let's work together next time."
"PD-nim?"
At Baek Tae-soo's sudden words, Go Mi-eun looked at him with flustered eyes.
She hadn't expected him to say something like that to Seoyeon, who was practically an enemy.
At her reaction, PD Baek Tae-soo spoke with a smiling face.
"Mi-eun, it'd be good for you to work with an actress like Seo-yeon too. Acting is all about chemistry. When an outstanding actress works together, the synergy is extraordinary."
"That's, well, true but..."
"Everyone did well with this drama, so let's continue to get along well."
At Baek Tae-soo's words, Go Mi-eun nodded.
Seoyeon also nodded to him, but.
'……I don't get a good feeling from this person.'
Not that he's a bad person.
But she could tell he was not an easy person in many ways.
Instinctively.
"Next time, if there's an opportunity."
So Seoyeon answered like that.
Even though it was the same KMB drama, she had already heard from others how important this drama was.
An in-house fight.
Originally, in-house fights are usually more fierce and petty.
At least Seoyeon was being used as a single sword in this fight.
So, she probably didn't look good to PD Baek Tae-soo.
How many people could smile and say let's work together despite that?
Even if one's head thinks they should, emotions don't work that way.
At least, the people Seoyeon had observed so far were like that.
"Yes, that's fine."
At Seoyeon's answer, PD Baek Tae-soo only smiled.
It was a smile filled with genuine feeling, not acting.
PD Baek Tae-soo didn't want to make Seoyeon an enemy.
Rather, she was a talent he absolutely had to bring in.
'Like Go Mi-eun.'
Go Mi-eun was also originally an actress who mainly appeared in MDC dramas.
Baek Tae-soo had brought her over.
'Actors are swords wielded by directors and PDs.'
So, their master could change at any time.
He was not petty enough to get angry over a mere sword.
***
"You're a little late?"
When she entered the meeting room she had been directed to, PD Lee Min-hwa of
"On my way, I met PD Baek Tae-soo and Actress Go Mi-eun."
"Huh? I don't think... anything happened to you."
"?"
Lee Min-hwa had heard plenty of rumors about Seoyeon.
Those rumors were mostly about dodging flying bullets, or folding coins for fun.
Well, there were those absurd things too, but it was clear that Seoyeon had exceptional physical abilities.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to win
Plus, she wouldn't be stupid enough to sabotage a rising actress.
"More importantly, please greet this person. This is PD Nanjo Katsuo from Japan's YHJ."
"Pardon?"
A considerable number of people were gathered in the meeting room.
Among them, there were clearly people dressed differently, and one of the men stood up at PD Lee Min-hwa's words and greeted her.
"Hello. I am Nanjo Katsuo."
It was quite fluent Korean.
Of course, the pronunciation itself was quite awkward, but it wasn't to the point of being bothersome.
The level where you could pass it off as someone who's just a bit awkward at speaking.
"You speak Korean very well, don't you?"
"Y-yes, you do."
Seoyeon can also speak Japanese.
Due to the influence of anime, the problem was that she mainly spoke like a Japanese high school girl.
'No, that might have been a problem in my past life, but wouldn't it be fine now?'
Seoyeon was a high school girl now, after all.
"I saw the recently released
"Yes, that's right."
As expected, the energy level itself was a bit different from Korea.
Despite his somewhat serious impression, he gave the impression of being a very bright person.
At the mention of Seoyeon being an active high school girl, the other staff who came from Japan could be seen whispering.
"Korea's genius actress. The child actress who disappeared 10 years ago. Wow, that's a great title."
At his reaction, Seoyeon quietly asked PD Lee Min-hwa.
"Didn't he come after watching Sky Garden?"
"That hasn't been delivered to Japan yet in the first place. He saw The Chaser when he came for tourism last time, and Dream Future is currently airing."
Originally, today was supposed to be a discussion about how to broadcast
Along with that, they say he's also very interested in Seoyeon.
Actually, among the people who came today, there was even a PD who works in YHJ's variety show department.
"Actually, before discussing Sky Garden, there's something I'd like to personally propose to Actress Joo Seo-yeon."
PD Nanjo Katsuo said so and looked at Seoyeon.
"Recently, a Korean wave boom is rising again in Japan. The influence of OTT dramas, and the expansion of the idol industry would be the reasons. So, I'd like to invite Actress Joo, who's been making headlines in Korea recently, to a variety show."
The biggest reason for that was Seoyeon's titles of being a high school girl and a genius actress.
PD Lee Min-hwa later said that those two titles worked very well in Japan.
"Moreover, Seo-yeon, you have black hair. Neat black hair."
"Th-that's right?"
"There are many types who absolutely die for that."
Of course, that was mainly about the old-generation viewer demographic, but the underlying principle didn't change.
Actually, in Japan, there were quite a few people who would criticize idols just for dyeing their hair.
Things have changed a little now, but such tendencies wouldn't have completely disappeared.
"But it doesn't seem like a bad proposal. There's nothing bad about raising your recognition, right?"
The suggestion that going on a trip to Japan and doing one variety show wouldn't be bad.
At PD Lee Min-hwa's suggestion, Seoyeon eventually nodded.
It certainly wasn't a bad idea.
***
"PD Nanjo."
Having safely finished the meeting related to
He was the person scheduled to be the next variety show department head at YHJ.
His voice was that influential.
However, there was some divergence in his tendencies; he was originally someone who dealt with overseas stars.
In particular, he didn't really like Korean celebrities appearing on variety shows.
It's not that he disliked Korean movies or dramas.
Rather, he liked them.
That's why he even learned Korean.
However, separately from that, he didn't like Korean celebrities appearing in Japan.
Because of that, his proposal this time felt very unfamiliar to them.
"Why are you interested in an actress named Seoyeon... I think an idol would be better."
At those words, Nanjo looked at him as if he were pathetic.
"Because she's a good product. If no one has laid hands on her yet, it's right to preempt her."
"Is, is that all?"
"Have you seen
When was the last time he received such a strong impression from a young actress in
On top of that, Seoyeon's appearance had everything that would absolutely appeal to Japan.
A slightly sharp impression... but.
Apart from that, in many ways, everything.
"If we build a small bridge this time, we'll be able to reach out at a truly important moment later."
The actress named Joo Seo-yeon would definitely grow bigger from here.
Nanjo Katsuo had such conviction.
And.
"……Japan trip? Me??"
A woman who had been sleeping at home opened her eyes and received a phone call with wide eyes.
The runner-up of
Narumi Sora had unexpectedly received an invitation to Seoyeon's Japan trip.