The filming location agreed upon with Director Hiro Kakeba was an empty alleyway.
Right nearby was a playground; it seemed two scenes would be connected.
'There are a lot of actors in school uniforms.'
Of course, among them, there weren't many who were actual high school students.
Most were adults.
I heard the female lead and a few actresses were high school students.
"I never expected to meet you like this."
Hiro Kakeba was a tall man with a rugged, strong-featured impression.
He looked to be in his mid-thirties.
He had looks good enough to be called quite handsome.
It wasn't for nothing he had so many female fans among young actors.
"Di-Director Kakeba says he's pleased to meet you."
"I'm pleased to meet you too."
Seoyeon bowed and replied.
Then, she pondered whether she should add something more.
Since she hadn't even seen Director Hiro Kakeba's works, she found it difficult to grasp where to start the conversation.
Seoyeon subtly signaled Sora for help.
Catching Seoyeon's gaze, Sora began to translate with a now-familiar expression.
"It is an honor to meet Director Kakeba, whose fame is renowned throughout Japan. I'm the Korean actress Joo Seoyeon. I heard you mentioned a cameo. I will do my best if you guide me."
Though Seoyeon didn't know exactly what she said, looking at Director Kakeba's face, it didn't seem like a bad remark.
'This is convenient.'
Director Kakeba couldn't speak Korean.
So whenever Seoyeon casually said something, Sora would appropriately translate and convey her words.
Of course, if he knew Korean, Seoyeon would have spoken to him directly like that, but since he couldn't, it couldn't be helped.
For now, Seoyeon sat down separately with Director Kakeba and exchanged various conversations.
Incidentally, also present at that seat was...
"I think it would be great if you could also tell us a little about *The Chaser*."
Reporter Yuito, who had arranged today's meeting.
Perhaps feeling good about having set up today's meeting, his smile was practically ear to ear.
A meeting between Joo Seoyeon and Hiro Kakeba.
No matter how he wrote the article, the view count was guaranteed.
"Ah~, I'll be watching *The Chaser* myself, so please don't tell me about it. You can only truly feel it when you go in knowing nothing."
"Ah, yes! I see. There's definitely some truth to that."
"Now that I think about it, you said your name was Furuhata, right? Thank you. Thanks to you, I got to meet actress Joo Seoyeon."
Furuhata was Yuito's surname.
Even though it must have been a rather sudden contact, Kakeba had readily agreed because Yuito had dangled Joo Seoyeon as bait.
The photo of Seoyeon sent via DM.
Seeing that, Kakeba couldn't help but bite.
That was how much Hiro Kakeba had already taken an interest in Seoyeon.
'I want to see her act in person.'
That was why he wanted her to at least make a brief cameo appearance.
"But what kind of role is it?"
"Since it's a cameo, your screen time won't even be a minute. Think of it as a denpa high school girl you briefly encounter on the street?"
The conversation flowed through Sora's interpretation.
But denpa?
Seeing Seoyeon's reaction, Sora added an explanation.
"In Korean terms, it means a 4D character."
"Ah, of course I know."
Rather, she just thought the character had quite a distinct personality for a cameo.
And the reason was simple.
It was because this character was someone Director Kakeba had spontaneously inserted after seeing Seoyeon in a jirai-kei outfit.
The impression of Seoyeon he had gotten from that photo back then.
A character created using that as a motif.
'A considerate script.'
Even the lines she received had the pronunciation and meaning written in Korean.
The amount of lines was at most around ten seconds.
From appearing to disappearing, her actual screen time was around a minute, just as Kakeba had said.
"For now, please rest a bit before we start preparing for the shoot."
Ending the brief conversation, Kakeba stood up from his seat.
Reporter Yuito followed along, of course.
Perhaps he had a separate interview to conduct with Kakeba, as he chased after him.
"Then we should also wait around nearby."
Walking around would draw attention in many ways.
Simply put, there were many people casting curious glances at Seoyeon, who had been conversing with Director Kakeba.
'A Korean actress?'
'Why suddenly? More importantly, who is she?'
Among the Japanese actors, many were looking at Seoyeon with eyes full of curiosity.
There were some negative gazes as well, but Director Hiro Kakeba was someone more genuinely dedicated to his works than anyone else.
He wouldn't casually invite someone to his set just because they were popular or because he liked them.
He preferred those who fit his dramas and could properly pull off their roles.
Even if they were just extras.
"I heard she's the actress who was on a variety show a while back."
"Ah, no wonder she looked familiar."
"But, how should I put this..."
A few of those looking at Seoyeon swallowed hard.
Seoyeon's appearance as she quietly reviewed the script was literally picture-perfect.
Working in the entertainment industry, they had seen their fair share of handsome and pretty actors, but she was in a league of her own.
"Wow, honestly, with looks like that, it wouldn't matter even if her acting was a little lacking."
"I looked it up, and she's supposedly famous as a genius actress in Korea."
"Honestly, with a face like that, it's worth promoting her as a genius actress."
There was a rumor that good-looking actors had relatively worse acting skills.
Especially when they were young, even if their acting was somewhat lacking, there was a tendency to just push through with their looks.
Put another way, it meant that even if their acting was a bit poor, they could cover it up with their face.
Therefore, while most doubted Seoyeon's acting skills, they also accepted it.
Thinking that with a face like that, it was probably fine if her acting was a bit lacking.
"Hmmm, but I heard she can't speak Japanese at a~ll. Will that be okay?"
"I know she doesn't have many lines, but... even if just a few lines are awkward, the scene will totally feel off."
Such whispers circulated around the set as people watched the actress standing quietly by herself.
It was the female lead of the drama currently being filmed, *First Love Moment*.
Goto Reika, a girl with a relatively pure and innocent appearance fitting for a female lead.
She was nineteen this year.
Since her acting was highly praised among her peers, her pride was exceptionally high.
'But of all scenes, it had to be this one.'
'I have to appear alongside that Korean actress.'
Of course, since she was the female lead, it was only natural for her to be in the scene.
But honestly, it was burdensome.
Because it was a cameo with very few lines, her visual appearance would inevitably be emphasized even more.
"We just need to win with our acting."
"That's right, Reika."
The actress was the hottest star right now.
Therefore, there were quite a few actresses following her on set right now.
Her troubled mind was somewhat soothed by their words, but her displeased mood didn't change.
'What on earth is she doing?'
There was still some time before the shoot.
It was because Seoyeon had said she needed a little time to look over the script and practice.
Why would she need practice for a mere one-minute appearance?
She barely had any lines.
'A 4D denpa girl. A character who appears in a group only to criticize the male lead.'
The scene went like this.
The male lead, Kento Kusakabe, and the female lead, Mio Sato, somehow end up together until late at night.
The two bicker over a trivial misunderstanding from the morning and briefly separate.
As Kento sits alone in the park, debating whether he should apologize to Mio, a group of girls approaches him.
Their role was simply to hit on the handsome Kento.
Of course, the scene ends with Mio, who had been hiding and watching Kento's reaction, jumping out and chasing them away.
It wasn't a particularly important scene, just a little episode.
'And that's all it is.'
Watching her quietly, Seoyeon had handed the script over to the Japanese girl called 'Sora' and was making her read it repeatedly. Why wasn't she looking at it herself, and why was she ordering another actress to do that?
'Ah, is she not an actress?'
A manager? Or just an interpreter?
If she were a fellow actress, treating her like a handmaid was incredibly arrogant.
She was called a genius actress, so her nose must be pretty high in the air.
Mio was roughly thinking along those lines when...
"Reika."
"Yes?"
"The girl reading the script over there. I know her."
"Oh, really?"
Hearing the story, it seemed she really was an actress after all.
An aspiring actress, at that.
"I worked part-time at a theater troupe before. I think I ran into her briefly then."
"But why is she with the Korean actress?"
"She said she was going to Korea to do some action acting... anyway, she was a weird girl."
A weird girl, huh.
From what she heard, Sora had apparently criticized that Japanese action acting was different from what she thought it was.
So she fled to Korea like she was running away?
'Then that's actually perfect.'
Reika smirked and said.
"Going all the way to Korea only to do menial work like a handmaid..."
Just as she said that, she flinched.
Seoyeon's eyes were directed right at her.
She hadn't even seen when Seoyeon turned her head.
'D-Did she hear what I just said?'
No way.
They were quite far apart to begin with.
On top of that, it was before the shoot, so the surroundings were quite noisy.
'A-And they said she couldn't speak Japanese.'
Even if she heard it, she wouldn't have understood it.
The red eyes that had been aimed at her soon turned back to Sora.
Only then could Reika breathe a sigh of relief.
"T-That was scary. Reika."
"I don't know about her being a genius actress, but she definitely has a certain... aura."
Reika couldn't help but agree with the other actresses' words.
The actress named Joo Seoyeon gave off an somehow chilling vibe.
***
"Then we will begin the shoot."
A little while later, the returning Director Kakeba announced.
The staff moved about busily.
Seoyeon had also disappeared to change into her costume.
Once she was done changing, the shoot would likely begin.
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"Miss Narumi. Does it seem like Actress Seoyeon's script preparation went well?"
Just then, Reporter Yuito, who had sidled up to them, approached Sora and struck up a conversation.
At first, Sora didn't realize he was calling her.
Since coming to Korea, she had been called by her first name, 'Sora,' far more often than her surname, 'Narumi.'
'I'm Miss Narumi, and Seoyeon is Actress Seoyeon.'
Sora smiled bitterly at the difference.
Then again, she hadn't even appeared in a proper drama yet.
She had appeared in small plays and as an extra, but a substantial role was a first with
It would only be after
"Yes, it seemed like she had already memorized the script in under ten minutes."
"Oh, that's fast? Then what were you doing up until now?"
"What we've been doing up until now?"
"You were the only one continuously reading the script, Miss Sora. At first, I thought you two were practicing acting together, but that didn't seem to be the case."
Ah, that.
Actually, Sora had been a little flustered by that part too.
She only found out the reason after hearing Seoyeon's explanation later.
"Ah, that's..."
Just as Sora was about to explain it.
"Ooh!!"
An exclamation burst out from somewhere.
Wondering what was going on, she turned her head, only to see Seoyeon stepping onto the set in her jirai-kei outfit.
'It really does suit her.'
When she had seen her at the hotel last time, she had merely been wearing the clothes, but today, she even had the makeup done properly.
Indeed, Seoyeon's looks could pull off even an outfit like that without any awkwardness.
No, it was more accurate to say that such an image suited her perfectly.
"First, let's try a light take."
At Director Kakeba's words as he clapped his hands, everyone nodded.
Typically, a shoot wasn't something that was done in one or two takes; there were many cases where they had to film for quite a long time.
At those words, Seoyeon's eyes darted quickly.
Probably to grasp the cameras' positions.
However, there wasn't much need to figure that out.
Japanese drama shoots didn't use as wide a variety of cameras as in Korea.
'The main cameras are quite high-end, but there aren't many of them.'
To begin with, there was a stark difference in manpower.
There simply weren't enough people to use a variety of cameras.
'It's probably a budget issue.'
Fundamentally, the budget allocated for drama production in Korea was much larger than in Japan.
Just looking at the set made that clear.
An alleyway, and an empty lot with a playground attached.
At first, she didn't think much of it, but after reading the script, she realized it couldn't be called a "perfect" filming set.
It was likely because the locations permitted for filming by the local municipalities were extremely limited.
Seoyeon took a deep breath as she watched the actors take their designated spots one by one.
Looking at them, she recalled the drama she had been watching since yesterday.
*First Love Moment*.
She virtually overlaid the tone of that footage onto the scene.
Not a Korean drama, but a Japanese one.
The difference wasn't simply in the equipment.
'I am a cameo.'
Screen time is one minute.
A role where just showing her face once and spitting out a few lines was all there was to it.
Of course, that didn't mean she was going to do it half-heartedly.
Although the opportunity had stemmed largely from self-interest, that was separate from her work as an actress.
"Ah, whatever! Do what you want, Kusakabe-kun!"
"Sato, you just!!"
Exaggerated movements and an argument.
Compared to other Japanese dramas, there was quite a difference in the acting.
But even so, it was still different from Korean ones.
The drama she watched yesterday overlapped in her mind, and Seoyeon parted her lips.
The intonation Sora had spoken of earlier.
And she moved her tongue, mimicking the feel of how they spoke.
Tone.
And the color of the drama.
It was like choosing paint.
Paint with the appropriate color to apply to her acting.
She didn't know about others, but for Seoyeon, it was an extremely familiar and natural action.
'What?'
Then, when it was Seoyeon's turn.
The actresses who were preparing to appear alongside Seoyeon flinched.
The face of the girl, who had been expressionless just a moment ago, was now colored with emotion.
A slightly gloomy, unpleasant-looking denpa girl.
At the drastically changed presence, their feet, which had been about to move, came to a halt.
"You asked earlier why I was the only one reading the script."
Seeing that, Sora opened her mouth.
"Actually, I had been practicing a bit at the hotel even before we received the script."
"Practice, you say?"
She was about to answer the question Reporter Yuito had just asked.
However, Reporter Yuito's gaze was already fixed on Seoyeon.
Pen and notebook in hand.
As if he wouldn't miss a single moment.
"Yes, you could call it the tone of the acting."
"...The tone of the acting?"
"And the pronunciation."
She had the lines and knew how to read them, but since it was Japanese, it had its own unique intonation.
The emotion contained within the words.
She needed to understand that.
That was why Seoyeon had listened to Sora read the script over and over again, interpreting the character in her own way.
Mixing the tone of Japanese acting and the tone of Korean acting appropriately.
"What's up, handsome? Are you alone?"
A damp, gloomy girl's voice.
A tone slightly more honeyed than usual, mixed with more exaggerated emotions.
But it wasn't awkward.
Gloomy yet endearing, a trifling little jirai-kei girl.
Displaying the color.
Yet without making her presence too overwhelming.
With that perfect balance.
The gaze of everyone began to focus on the extra who didn't even have a name.