Yeonhwa High School.
Gil Dahyun, who served as the class president of one of the first-year classes, occasionally felt a strange sense of wonder.
There was a celebrity in her class.
Moreover, at the beginning of the school year, that female student had merely been a quiet girl.
'No, she wasn't just a quiet girl.'
To be precise, the prefix 'incredibly pretty' should come first.
Even from the start of the year, she was a student who felt somewhat out of sync with the others.
Of course, rather than a problem with the student herself, it was simply her appearance.
And her unique atmosphere was the issue.
Should I say it was an atmosphere that made it difficult to approach her easily?
She hadn't known the reason back then.
But as time passed and in
It was probably from then on.
That the school's atmosphere had subtly changed.
"Since it's come to this, I think it would be good to focus entirely on specializing in the arts."
"Significantly increasing the club budgets and creating an environment where students can learn more in this field..."
As the class president, she inevitably interacted with the teachers frequently.
So, there were various pieces of information she could pick up.
There were quite a few prestigious schools around Yeonhwa High School.
If they were to compete purely on academics, they were at a disadvantage.
Due to the sharp decline in the birth rate, the number of students had also decreased.
From the school's perspective, without some eye-catching merit, the student body would gradually shrink significantly.
'The number of schools closing down is increasing, after all.'
Amidst all this, Seoyeon's appearance must have been a highly welcome event for the school.
Currently, even the nearby middle schools were showing great interest in Yeonhwa High School.
Sure, with just Seoyeon, it was only one special person, but if another was added to the mix, it was different.
'Lee Jiyeon from the next class.'
With the rumor that Jo Seohee also frequented the school, talk of Yeonhwa High School was buzzing here and there.
"Putting Seoyeon's name outright on the school promotional brochure..."
"Can't Seoyeon decide that on her own? What was it. You have to tell her agency."
"Then I don't think they'll give permission..."
"Besides Ju Seoyeon, there's also Lee Jiyeon."
"They're in the same agency."
"Ah, really? Then should we contact that agency?"
"Did you not know they were in the same agency until now?"
"Ahem. You could not know that."
Whenever she entered the faculty office, she could hear such conversations taking place.
Dahyun, who had dropped by because she had something to discuss, paused to think upon hearing those words.
A school promotional brochure with Seoyeon's face plastered on it.
It might actually leave a good impression in various ways.
Anyway, from Dahyun's perspective, Seoyeon was honestly so beautiful that it didn't feel real.
"Ah, Dahyun. I'm really busy right now, can you come back next time?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Oh, and Dahyun, are you close with Seoyeon?"
At the homeroom teacher's words, Dahyun was about to nod but hesitated.
Were they close?
It was true they were friends, but they didn't exactly share deep conversations.
"Well, Seoyeon hardly talks to anyone else in the class except Dahyun."
Hearing it put that way, it did seem to be the case.
'We did study together, too.'
Seoyeon wasn't a talkative person to begin with.
She often heard that celebrities were different on broadcast than in daily life, but Seoyeon uniquely gave off that vibe.
'...Or is she?'
Then again, recalling her appearance at the school festival, it didn't seem like that either.
A student from another class.
According to Lee Jiyeon.
"Once she gets into the mood, she can't control herself, so you better be careful."
She seemed to have dropped those words casually as she passed by Dahyun.
Surrounded by a mob of girls led by Lee Jiyeon when she said that, Dahyun was honestly intimidated.
'Is she a delinquent?'
No, it wasn't like that either.
If anything, the delinquent groups were avoiding Lee Jiyeon.
Her looks were one thing, but since she was a celebrity, it was probably hard to mess with her easily.
In fact, among the current first-years at Yeonhwa High School, Lee Jiyeon could be said to have the strongest female faction.
'How exhausting.'
Anyway, separating classes by gender wasn't a good thing.
When girls gathered, factions would form whether they liked it or not.
That was why Seoyeon couldn't easily make friends either.
Of course, with Lee Jiyeon protecting her, there was no one who dared to touch her.
But now that she had become too famous, even more students were subtly avoiding her.
"Dahyun?"
While she was thinking that, the homeroom teacher called her again.
"Ah, yes."
"Could you perhaps ask Seoyeon if she could help a bit with promoting the school later?"
"Hmm, I understand."
"Phew, Dahyun is so decisive, it gives me a lot of peace of mind."
At those words from the homeroom teacher, Dahyun smiled awkwardly.
Decisive.
Diligent.
These were words Dahyun heard often.
At first, it wasn't bad, but it felt like a roundabout way of saying she was a rather boring kid.
You can study anywhere.
She came to Yeonhwa High School with that thought, but looking at Seoyeon, she somehow had various thoughts.
'Especially.'
The drama that recorded the highest ratings among the dramas aired in the past few years.
After that drama ended, Yeonhwa High School was noisy for a while.
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When Seoyeon came to school, students from other classes came to see her.
There were even cases where people from the neighborhood swarmed in.
Reporters, paparazzi.
She saw all sorts of people coming and going.
And yet, Seoyeon was like a ninja, vanishing completely in an instant.
Where on earth did she disappear to?
Dahyun was genuinely curious.
"In
In the midst of that daily life, Seoyeon approached only Dahyun and said that.
"When I was acting as Yooju, I referred a lot to the class president."
Lee Yooju, the protagonist within
The process of Lee Yooju changing, who had only been able to walk and think along the route set by her parents.
A story of finding a new dream.
A drama with a thriller added to it.
'Lee Yooju and me?'
It was a remark that wasn't easy to understand even for herself, who had watched the drama.
Honestly, it didn't seem like they had much in common.
Whether it was her personality, or the sight of Yooju deciding her own future in the latter half.
'If I had to say...'
Maybe they were similar in the fact that she hadn't harbored any particularly special dream.
But it didn't seem like Seoyeon was saying she referred to Yooju in that sense.
What did she see to say such a thing?
It wasn't like she was finding her own path like Yooju.
Anyway.
The homeroom teacher wasn't the only one asking or making requests about Seoyeon.
In particular, now whenever relatives gathered, the topic would come up.
This time was no different.
"This time, our daughter said she really wants to enroll in Yeonhwa High School. So, I'm thinking of having her stay at your house for a while, is that okay?"
Especially, there was always a particularly conspicuous type among the relatives.
Unlike Dahyun, who came from a relatively poor middle-class family with working parents, this person belonged to the so-called golden spoon.
That child was similar.
Her interest in arts and physical education rather than academics was probably for that reason too.
Of course, having an interest in the arts wasn't exclusively a golden spoon thing.
But normally, it was hard to think about without financial leeway.
"Sis, have you ever seen Ju Seoyeon?"
Her younger cousin was a rather pretty girl.
Her name was Song Narin, perhaps.
A slightly ill-mannered kid who seemed to look down on Dahyun.
In truth, she wasn't the only cousin who looked down on Dahyun's family.
That side of the family was generally—no, the other relatives were all similar.
"Yeah, well, I've seen her."
I mean, they were in the same class.
But she didn't bother to say that much.
It felt like it would just be exhausting to mention.
"Have you ever tried talking to her... actually, probably not. You wouldn't be interested in that kind of thing, sis."
As if that remark was calling Dahyun a boring person.
"Still, please take care of me from now on, sis."
Her parents had decided to take Narin in.
Apparently, the relatives had promised to send a quite generous amount of money.
For her parents, who were tight on money with both working, it would be quite precious money.
'A somewhat exhausting feeling.'
Dahyun let out a sigh.
Thinking that next year would be quite exhausting.
***
'...Somehow, the number of people is increasing.'
Seoyeon thought as she slipped out of school.
She had roughly jumped over the wall and slipped out, hiding her body rustling among the trees, but she felt that the number of people visiting the school was gradually increasing.
'The impact of
But after
Simply reporters.
Paparazzi.
Plus YouTubers and all sorts of diverse people from the surrounding area.
To be honest, it wasn't easy to roam around freely like before.
'Jo Seohee visits easily on her bicycle despite that.'
In terms of fame, Jo Seohee was still more famous than Seoyeon.
Despite that, Jo Seohee would always ride her bicycle energetically all the way to Yeonhwa High.
"Well, I haven't appeared in any recent hit works."
Jo Seohee said that while hungrily scanning Seoyeon.
It was a gaze that clearly wanted to put her on the back of her bicycle.
Why on earth did she want to put Seoyeon on her bicycle so much?
She had her doubts, but she could tell she roughly wanted to get closer.
'If I had to say, it would be better for me to carry Seohee on the bicycle and run.'
If she rode on the back and Jo Seohee struggled, it felt like she would receive a huge psychological shock.
"It'll probably be like this for a while. Usually, if it's quiet for about a year, it dies down... but I'm not sure if that will happen for you."
Seohee looked at Seoyeon, who was staring blankly at her.
Compared to her fame, she was not a familiar face to the public.
It was because she hadn't filmed commercials that would plaster her face all over various buildings and skyscrapers.
It was the same for
Honestly, there were fewer people looking for Seoyeon than Jo Seohee had expected.
Considering the drama's ratings, the attention shouldn't be 'only' this much.
'Is it because there have been too many hit works in the past year? Or...'
Are they fighting underwater to reach out to each other?
She could ask her father about things like this, but honestly, she didn't want to ask.
She was an actress, not a businesswoman.
"Anyway, what's important is the next shoot."
Jo Seohee said as she walked alongside, pulling her bicycle.
"You said you had a concern about your acting last time, did you resolve it?"
"Yes."
"...Really?"
If it wasn't resolved, she was going to use that as an excuse to hang out like last time.
Jo Seohee felt inwardly sullen.
"It will be different this time."
Seoyeon said confidently.
It seemed she had gained some kind of tip.
"Hmph, I'll look forward to that."
Seohee smirked as she looked at Seoyeon.
Well, she figured there would be other opportunities to hang out next time.
***
Director Baek Min thought as he replayed the videos they had shot so far.
That he had a lot of luck with actors.
Since there were no acting mistakes from the lead actors, the filming pace had also sped up.
There was no need for loud shouts on set.
After all, various issues could arise during acting coaching.
But there were no such issues with Jo Seohee or Seoyeon.
'Above all, actress Lee Jiyeon is unexpected.'
She was doing much better than expected.
As if she had frequently done such acting before.
But looking at the other roles she had taken on so far, there was no role quite like the current 'Yeon Seonye'.
Was this type of role originally a good fit for her?
"Personally, I think Ms. Seoyeon is swaying a little."
As he was watching the video like that, a deep, heavy voice came from behind.
"Actor Lee Sangsoo."
"Hello. My, thinking about filming for the first time in a while, I arrived a bit early."
At actor Lee Sangsoo's appearance, the set buzzed.
Most knew he was participating, but because it was kept quiet for secrecy, there were some who hadn't heard.
"Originally, actress Ju Seoyeon is an actor with deep emotional lines. But... looking at it, it still feels a bit faint."
"Are you saying she hasn't fully immersed herself in the role?"
At Director Baek Min's words, Lee Sangsoo smiled gently.
"You know that wasn't my intention, right, Director? If a rumor spreads that I said that, I might get hit once by actress Jung Eunsun."
"...It seems actress Jung Eunsun is paying a lot of attention."
"She's showing immense interest in this *Gyeongseong Lady*. After all, it's a work featuring the two actresses she cares about the most."
Jung Eunsun's love for Jo Seohee had been famous for a long time.
She probably thought of her as the actress to succeed her.
And Seoyeon also had a deep connection with actress Jung Eunsun.
"She seemed ready to participate even as a cameo if given the chance."
"...Hmm. A cameo."
He recalled that Seoyeon had recently left a huge impression with a cameo in Japan.
But Jung Eunsun of all actors as a cameo...
'It's an excessively luxurious cast.'
Honestly, it was beyond imagination when he was planning the first shoot.
Jo Seohee wanted to participate herself, but the rest were on a level that far exceeded Director Baek Min's expectations.
'Anyway.'
Director Baek Min watched the video again.
Apart from Lee Sangsoo's words, Director Baek Min had roughly been thinking the same thing.
That she couldn't immerse herself in the role, or that there was a mistake in her acting.
It wasn't that kind of remark.
Rather, yes.
'It's as neat as a painting.'
A feeling as if the emotions were painted.
There were no flaws to catch, and it was a beautiful performance... but it was a different feeling from Seoyeon's recent acting.
Because when Seoyeon's acting shone, it rather had a strong raw feeling.
'But expecting her to show more than this is honestly the director's greed.'
Still, it was a bit disappointing.
Director Baek Min couldn't help but think so as he watched Seoyeon's acting.
At least.
Until he saw her acting today.