Yuito, a reporter for the Tokyo Daily, genuinely thought it was a good thing he had learned Korean.
If he hadn't, he wouldn't have been able to call out to Seoyeon, let alone conduct an interview.
'Where did she leave her interpreter to be walking around alone?'
He had more than a few questions.
Why was she walking around alone, and why the jirai-kei outfit?
A simple disguise?
If so, there would have been many other options.
"But we caught her, so what interview are we doing?"
"Ah, we grabbed her so suddenly that I didn't even think about what to ask."
Yuito and his fellow reporter, Ouki, exchanged such words.
Incidentally, Seoyeon had stepped away for a moment, saying she had a call to make to Korea.
It seemed she was planning to ask about things like this interview.
"You made me wait."
Seoyeon returned after roughly ten minutes had passed.
Seeing Seoyeon quietly take her seat, Yuito momentarily lost himself in a daze.
'It suits her to a terrifying degree.'
Yuito unconsciously swallowed a dry breath.
Seoyeon's gaze as she looked at him with tranquil eyes was so impassive that words didn't come easily.
Even though her face was covered by a mask, should he call it an aura?
She had a presence that overwhelmed her opponent.
It made him wonder how he had even worked up the courage to speak to her.
But, regardless, they were reporters.
They had to snag a scoop somehow.
"First, as I mentioned earlier, we are reporters from a place called the Tokyo Daily."
At Yuito's words, Seoyeon looked at the business card he had given her earlier and nodded.
'I don't know what's written on it.'
She wanted to check it with Papago, but the atmosphere definitely wasn't suited for that.
Still, she could read the symbol embossed on the card and the Chinese characters meaning 'Tokyo.'
'Then again, if they were simple paparazzi, they would've just taken photos in secret and left.'
Of course, if they had, Seoyeon would have chased them down and confiscated the film.
Anyway, seeing their presentable demeanor and the way they confidently handed over a business card, the possibility of them being actual reporters was high.
"How did you know it was me?"
"Ah, about that."
It was Ouki, not Yuito, who answered.
He explained that he had seen Seoyeon take off her mask while her face was reflected in the café glass.
'So it was visible from the inside.'
She thought it wasn't visible because it was semi-transparent.
However, the moment she took off her mask was truly brief, so she thought the reporters' observation skills were impressive.
To think they recognized her from just that fleeting glance.
"Um, will photos be included in the interview?"
"Yes? No. If you don't want them, we won't include them!"
That made her trust them a little more.
But Seoyeon shook her head.
"It's fine to include photos."
"Pardon? But..."
"Since it's an interview, wouldn't people believe it more if there are photos?"
Generally, all sorts of articles went up in Japan.
That also meant there were plenty of fake news.
"I've never worn this kind of outfit in Korea either, so they'll think it's a photo taken in Japan."
At those words, Yuito and Ouki looked at each other.
No, well, that was fine for them.
It was almost too good, to the point of being flustered.
An outfit she hadn't even worn in Korea.
What about its appearance? It was packed with nothing but things Japanese people would love.
On top of that, the jirai-kei outfit, which was currently trending in subculture.
Real jirai-kei gave off an impression to be avoided, but an actor wearing it was undeniably different.
"T-Then, may we ask for one photo?"
"M-Me too..."
Seoyeon made a V-sign while they took her picture.
It felt like it came out quite well, and Seoyeon thought it was pretty good.
'There needs to be a photo for my image to change.'
With the firm resolve not to make the same mistake as with the gorilla incident.
It was a photo containing her strong determination to become a jirai-kei actor instead.
'Good, it came out pretty.'
Seoyeon nodded.
Incidentally, regarding this interview, Seoyeon had already obtained permission from Nova Entertainment.
From none other than Representative Kang Chanyul.
「An interview? In Japan?」
"Yes."
「There are way too many trash rags there~.」
"They call themselves the Tokyo Daily."
"Oh, that place isn't bad. It's a fairly respectable newspaper in Tokyo. Not trash rag level."
Seoyeon and Representative Kang Chanyul kept in touch occasionally.
Their relationship was naturally good.
Anyway, to Representative Kang Chanyul, Seoyeon was a goose that laid golden eggs.
Moreover, having watched her since her child actor days, he felt more like a friendly uncle than a representative.
So, Seoyeon called Representative Kang Chanyul.
'Eunha unnie would probably say no.'
Eunha generally prioritized safety as much as possible.
Besides, even if Seoyeon told her about it, she'd have to ask Representative Kang Chanyul anyway, so it was better to call him directly.
'I also didn't want to interrupt her sleep.'
After getting permission from Representative Kang Chanyul, Seoyeon considered letting Eunha know too, but soon shook her head.
It hadn't even been that long since noon, so the probability of her still sleeping was high.
That would mean waking her up, and Seoyeon didn't want to do that unnecessarily.
She could always tell her after returning anyway.
"So how will the interview be conducted?"
When Seoyeon said that after organizing her thoughts, reporters Yuito and Ouki swallowed dry breaths.
Now that they were actually facing her, it was awkward to know where to begin.
'What should we ask first?'
'Yeah, what indeed.'
Suddenly, they recalled that Seoyeon had stayed in Akihabara for a long time and had mentioned 'VTubers' on a broadcast.
Then...
"Is there a manga you like in Japan?"
"Manga?"
At that question, Ouki looked at Yuito with bewildered eyes.
Actually, in any country, asking about one's own culture was common.
A question like "Do you know Japan?" wasn't strange, but of all things, it had to be manga.
No matter how one looked at her, Seoyeon didn't seem like someone who would like manga.
Even though she had mentioned VTubers yesterday, not many people thought she was being sincere.
Ouki was similar.
"I like fighting manga."
"Pardon?"
"Things like Baki or Kengan Ashura."
"?"
Why fighting manga here of all things?
The two reporters couldn't help but be bewildered.
"Um, may I ask the reason?"
"Because I can get a lot of inspiration from them."
Where on earth could one get inspiration from fighting manga?
W-Well, Yuito also knew those manga were amazing works.
He was even quite a fan.
But the question of "But why???" simply wouldn't leave his mind.
Usually, isn't that the kind of manga men prefer rather than women?
"Also, I like strong things."
Seoyeon snorted and shrugged her shoulders.
It seemed she liked reporter Yuito's question somewhat.
"Shall I show you later?"
"Pardon?"
Show what exactly?
Yuito also became curious about what she could show from those manga.
'She's joking, right?'
The Japanese reporters didn't know what Seoyeon had done on
Even if they had seen it, they would have thought it was just exaggerated variety show editing.
Anyway, the impressions of Seoyeon accessible in Japan were the movie
It wouldn't have been strange to view Seoyeon as having a fragile image.
"Ah."
Belatedly realizing something, Seoyeon hastily added.
"O-Of course, I'm joking. My body is weak, so I do have some longing for such things."
"Ah ha."
As Yuito nodded, Seoyeon spoke again.
"Please make sure to include what I just said in the interview."
"Yes? Which part?"
"The talk about manga and the reason I like it."
"Ah ha, um. Understood."
Belatedly, Yuito nodded as if convinced.
At his reaction, Seoyeon breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
'Without thinking.'
She had finally decided to shed her violent image, so giving such an interview would have been putting the cart before the horse.
Still, it was a relief that Japanese reporters let it slide easily.
'But was she fragile?'
Of course, Yuito also felt a little unconvinced.
After all, the image of Seoyeon crawling on the floor in a variety show seemed far from fragile...
"Ahem, then I'll continue with the questions."
Anyway, Yuito asked Seoyeon one by one.
"What brought you to Japan?"
"Who is your favorite Japanese actor?"
"What Japanese food do you like the most?"
The answers were relatively ordinary.
Compared to the manga topic, most were perfectly normal.
To those questions, Seoyeon answered normally, somehow looking disappointed.
There were a few unique answers, but compared to the first question, most were safe responses.
'So why.'
She answered games and manga in detail, but seemed largely uninterested in the rest.
Normally, wouldn't an actor be more interested in other areas?
'Is it a concept?'
Japan also had many celebrities with various concepts.
Among them, some were quite individualistic, or had overly exaggerated concepts.
However, actors from overseas didn't need to establish such concepts.
They already had a certain level of recognition in their own country.
A jirai-kei actress who also liked games.
She even had extensive knowledge of anime.
'It's clearly the kind of answer a specific demographic would like...'
A specific demographic—in other words, it seemed targeted at the otaku layer.
She knew too much for it to be a prepared script, which confused Yuito quite a bit.
"Then finally..."
What question should he ask last?
Just as he was thinking that, the words posted on Twitter after the broadcast suddenly came to mind.
Specifically, those about a certain director.
"Do you happen to know Director Kakeba Hiro?"
"Yes?"
Seoyeon pondered for a moment.
Although she possessed various entertainment industry knowledge, unfortunately, she didn't know much about the overseas side.
"I'm sorry, I've never heard of him."
"Not at all. He's still an unfamiliar director in Korea. He's a genius director currently rising in Japan."
He was a director who used filming methods more suited to overseas rather than the commonly used filming methods in Japan.
Incidentally, he was currently filming a drama.
Its popularity was so-so, but that was less because it was uninteresting and more because it broke away from the sentiment of existing Japanese dramas.
It was rather surprising that it achieved that level of viewership despite that.
"He saw your recent variety show, Actor Joo Seoyeon, and posted about it on his personal Twitter. Not just one post, but several."
"Did he?"
Come to think of it, Twitter could be called the national SNS in Japan.
People of all ages and genders used it extensively.
Yuito showed Seoyeon the recent posts left by Kakeba Hiro on his phone.
With translations, of course.
==
@kakeba_hiro
After watching the variety show, I became interested in actor Joo Seoyeon, so I watched the Japanese trailer for The Chaser.
Despite being short scenes, there were many moments where you could feel her acting skills.
Acting that proved her ghost acting wasn't simply a coincidence.
@kakeba_hiro
The more I watch, the larger the gap between Dream Future and The Chaser feels.
The same actor, but a completely different atmosphere in the work.
Perhaps the reason I can't properly associate Jo Harin and Joo Seoyeon together is because of that.
(Their images are considerably different.)
@kakeba_hiro
I heard that a Japanese broadcasting station quickly reached out to 'Sky Garden,' which recently ended popularly in Korea.
Honestly, I thought 'well...' at the time, but now I think the opposite.
She's an actor I definitely want to film with if given the chance.
==
There were many such posts.
Seeing such tweets, Seoyeon somehow felt a little embarrassed.
No matter what, hearing such praise in person, even someone like Seoyeon couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
'More than that, that wasn't acting.'
Already mistaken as acting, nothing she said would change their minds.
And, Seoyeon also preferred being mistaken for acting.
If... it became known that she truly ran away out of fear, her image would become irreparable.
'More than that, a Japanese drama.'
It wasn't that she wasn't interested.
In truth, she had only seen one, and that was just watching it beside her mom.
To describe the emotion she felt at the time, the sensibility and acting were definitely different.
"...What do you think?"
"Pardon? Ah, I'd like to meet him if given the chance."
It wasn't just lip service.
If he was called a genius director in Japan, there was no harm in making a connection.
Besides, it was clear he viewed Seoyeon favorably.
"Then."
At Seoyeon's words, Yuito hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Would you like to meet him once?"
"Pardon?"
At that sudden remark, Seoyeon couldn't help but be a bit flustered.
She never expected the topic of meeting him to come up here.
***
"But what does that have to do with a cameo?"
Afterward, Seoyeon returned to her hotel room.
Even though it was a brief interview, it still took up a considerable amount of time, so the timing to go meet him right away was ambiguous.
Eunha, who had thought 'did she already go meet him?' when Seoyeon mentioned Director Kakeba, felt slightly relieved.
"You startled me. At least tell me properly..."
Fortunately, it seemed she hadn't gone to meet him alone.
It sounded like they had only roughly talked on the phone for now.
"The reporter seemed to be acquainted with that Director Kakeba Hiro. He said they were high school classmates. He said he would contact him on this occasion."
Of course, it felt quite ambiguous.
It wasn't a relationship where they contacted each other often, just enough to initiate a conversation?
Well, to move him, that alone seemed sufficient.
"So, did Director Kakeba say okay? And that's the cameo?"
It was Sora who opened her mouth at Seoyeon's words.
As a Japanese director, she couldn't help but be interested.
"To be exact, he asked to meet at the filming set. And he said if there's an opportunity... he asked if I could make a cameo appearance."
Even though it must have been a sudden contact, Kakeba readily gave an okay sign at Yuito's words.
Was he that interested in Seoyeon?
Or perhaps Yuito the reporter had spoken well, she didn't know, but.
"Sora, do you know Director Kakeba?"
"Hmm, I do know him... but honestly, I haven't really done any acting activities in Japan."
Having been an aspiring actress, Sora also knew of him.
She had even watched a few of the dramas he filmed.
A quite youthful sensibility.
And a director who liked restrained emotional lines, which was rare in Japan.
'Anyway, a landmine didn't explode.'
Park Eunha breathed a sigh of relief.
She had thought Seoyeon had already made the cameo appearance and even finished filming.
Honestly, if Seoyeon said she would do it, Eunha couldn't stop her.
It wasn't a personality that could be stopped in the first place, and when Seoyeon said she would do something, there hadn't been a single failure yet.
If all of this were instinct, it would be truly terrifying.
'Seoyeon is a bomb, but that explosion always ends up as her gain.'
Whether it's instinct, or whether she truly thinks and acts, she didn't know.
Anyway, Eunha didn't oppose Seoyeon making a cameo appearance.
There was nothing bad about appearing in anything.
At Eunha's reaction...
'Good.'
Seoyeon inwardly felt relieved.
'As expected, there's nothing better than broadcasting for changing an image.'
First, they decided to let it flow through an internet article.
If she made a brief cameo in a drama on top of that, wouldn't the perception of her being a ghost disappear?
'Besides.'
Stepping forward proactively wasn't simply because of her image.
The Japanese OTT market was quite large, and breaking through when an opportunity arose would be useful in many ways.
'Then I can use filming as an excuse to come play in Japan of... no, to come work in Japan often.'
Seoyeon nodded at what was truly a perfect plan.