Actually, even for Jiyeon, who had watched over Seoyeon for a long time, she hadn't expected such a reaction.
Of course, Jiyeon knew what the "red pill" meant.
Naturally, as someone who worked as a VTuber, how could she not know?
That was why Jiyeon had consciously avoided talking about 'Lemiel' directly to Seoyeon.
Since she had been peculiar since childhood, it was difficult to guess how she would react in such matters.
But to think she would faint on the spot upon seeing Alice's red pill, not even Lemiel's.
And then, an hour later, when she suddenly opened her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Seoyeon said that.
"For suddenly fainting in the middle of our conversation."
"?"
"I'm pretty sure I was on my way to meet Seohee."
At Seoyeon's words, everyone exchanged glances.
Surely, she hadn't forgotten everything about seeing 'Alice'?
'No, no, that can't be.'
Jiyeon could see Seoyeon's lips trembling slightly.
Right, how could she lose her memory just from fainting briefly?
'A regrettable blunder!'
Just as Jiyeon thought, Seoyeon hadn't actually forgotten.
She merely wanted to forget.
'I completely forgot it was Alice's streaming time.'
It was probably because of her position as the chairman of a major corporation.
Moreover, the tension from various aspects of being Jo Seohee's father must have been the cause.
Of course, Seoyeon hadn't connected Alice with Jo Seohee.
What that meant was, Seoyeon purely believed that aside from the outward appearance of the VTuber shown to the public, the inside was also someone with the same setting(?) as the VTuber during the stream.
……Of course, Lemiel, who kept force-feeding her the red pill, couldn't possibly be that way.
At least Alice managed to maintain that belief since Jo Seohee didn't make it obvious, but she ended up consuming an unprecedented-level red pill that even Lemiel had never given her.
"I don't know how I'm supposed to look at Alice anymore……"
"……Is it that bad?"
Naturally, Jiyeon's face turned pale at Seoyeon's reaction.
There was some relief in the fact that the one who showed that reaction wasn't herself.
Of course, from Seohee's perspective, who had shown her extremely embarrassing side to her friends, it was nothing but unfair.
'Did they hear that "Ohohohot!" laugh too? They must have heard it, right?'
Seeing herself on stream was fine.
However, directly showing that to others was a different matter.
She's an actress so it's fine?
But even actresses get embarrassed about embarrassing things.
She had acted assuming it wouldn't be seen, so naturally it was embarrassing to show it directly.
"Anyway, I'm glad you seem healthy. Broadcasting diligently even in this situation—I should learn from you."
"……Hearing that from you sounds like you're making fun of me."
Jiyeon said as she handed over the fruit gift she had brought with Seoyeon.
Jo Seohee took it and replied sullenly before looking at Seoyeon.
Seoyeon couldn't easily meet Jo Seohee's eyes.
It felt like their relationship had returned to when they first reunited.
Feeling inexplicably depressed, she pouted her lips.
"Seoyeon was angry."
Jo Seokhwan, who had been quietly watching, spoke up.
Seoyeon was angry?
Could it be that she was angry because she saw the red pill?
That couldn't be.
Seoyeon had just fainted and woken up now.
"Excuse me? What do you mean?"
"I showed a little bit that I disapproved of you doing actress work. So, Seoyeon was in a very bad mood. To the point of snapping at me directly."
"……Really?"
Seohee hadn't expected Seoyeon to think of her that way.
Seohee knew her father.
A man who possessed sufficient dignity as the chairman of a conglomerate.
He had that kind of atmosphere, and it was not easy to bring up words in front of him.
It wasn't just the atmosphere; there was a sense of intimidation that emanated from his position.
To think Seoyeon would get angry at such a father.
And for her sake!
"That was, just how it turned out."
Only then did Seoyeon's face return to normal.
Since Seoyeon had watched Seohee from the side, she knew how serious she was about acting.
But hearing it put that way, she couldn't help but get angry.
Of course, there was also an embarrassing aspect to it, feeling like she had spoken thoughtlessly without knowing the other person's circumstances.
"Then I'll be going now. You seem healthy enough anyway."
When the embarrassed Seoyeon tried to get up, Jo Seohee raised her hand to stop her.
"Wait, wait. Since you're here, there's something I need to tell you."
"……Something to tell me?"
"We're going back to Japan for filming."
It wasn't to appear on Japanese variety shows or dramas like before.
It was purely to film
Snowy landscapes.
And because the building suitable for Michiko's mansion was exactly there.
Other than that, there was nothing else to do.
They might discuss the contact Seoyeon had received previously, but even that wasn't certain.
"After the last shoot, people from the Japanese broadcasting station spoke up."
Currently, there were people from the Japanese broadcasting station at the
It was to film the shooting location and later release it in Japan in a documentary-like format for promotion.
It seemed they had spoken separately to Director Baek Min after the last shoot ended.
The words were.
"Stella?"
"Yes, Stella Baldwin. Asher Baldwin's adopted daughter. The fairy of the century."
Jo Seohee said with a serious expression.
The best among female actresses under their twenties in the current era.
In Korea, her recognition wasn't that high, but she was said to be at the peak of popularity in Europe.
At a young age, she appeared in a movie based on a famous fairy tale, which was not only a huge hit but also won numerous awards.
After that, she continued on a smooth path as an actress.
"But why that actress suddenly?"
"She says she wants to visit our filming set. She also mentioned she's willing to make a cameo appearance."
Cameo.
Seoyeon narrowed her eyes at that curious word.
She had heard about the reason 'Asher Baldwin' contacted her before.
She heard he contacted her after being surprised seeing her cameo in a Japanese drama.
Honestly, she had the impression of "Is that really all?" but thought it was possible.
At that time, Seoyeon was confident that her acting was quite good.
However, Stella suddenly wanting to see the filming set or mentioning a 'cameo' was strangely concerning.
'The probability of it being simple speculation is high but…….'
If it wasn't speculation, there were many questionable aspects to Stella's actions.
It was true that Director Baek Min was a director more recognized overseas than domestically.
But apart from that, there was absolutely no need for Stella to visit in person.
And she wants to appear as a cameo herself??
It was incomprehensible in many ways.
"So what did Director Baek Min say?"
"Well, he seemed to say it was fine."
"……Really?"
Given Director Baek Min's personality, he would definitely extremely hate outsiders entering the filming set.
But he also permitted Stella's visit?
Could it be that he allowed her to participate as a cameo?
If Stella participated as a cameo, that alone would certainly have a huge impact on the box office.
But Director Baek Min wasn't the type of director to make such a choice simply for commercial success.
"Seohee, do you perhaps know the reason?"
"I don't know either."
Jo Seohee crossed her arms with a rather subtle expression.
She must also not understand Director Baek Min's intentions.
Surprisingly, Actor Sangsu Lee also said it was fine.
That was why it was ambiguous for Jo Seohee to object.
"Anyway, so don't be surprised if you run into Stella at the filming set. Especially you, Seoyeon—you said you received a contact from Director Asher, right?"
"Yes."
"Then even more so. From what I've heard, Stella doesn't just ordinarily respect her father, Asher Baldwin."
"Understood."
Jo Seohee's words added another reason to Seoyeon's speculation.
'There's a lot to think about in many ways.'
She thought it was an ordinary hospital visit, but she felt like she had heard a lot of stories.
The matter regarding Stella Baldwin was something she wouldn't know until she met her in Japan, but…….
'About Jo Seohee's mother.'
She felt like she needed to know about this at least once.
Because there might be things she could get wrong if she didn't know the details.
***
After meeting Jo Seohee, Seoyeon had some time to spare for the first time in a while.
First, love calls had come from the three major broadcasting companies as well as various cable variety shows, but she hadn't shown any intention of appearing.
For now,
And, in between that.
'The audition for Director Jo Bangwoo's movie.'
About a month? Two months from now?
Something like that would come up around that time.
Given Seoyeon's career, she could bring it up first, but the problem was that Seoyeon was an actress who had only been active for one year.
No matter how well she was doing this year, it felt strange for an actress with one year of activity to say "Please let me in."
Moreover, Seoyeon was still in her teens.
An age that seemed completely young from other actors' perspectives.
So if she entered without an 'audition,' she could unnecessarily create misunderstandings or instill distrust.
'First, there doesn't seem to be any talk about an audition yet.'
Seoyeon, who roughly checked the situation on the internet, nodded.
She felt like she would have to ask Park Eunha about this separately later.
"Then……"
What Seoyeon searched for next was exactly what she had heard during her previous visit to Seohee.
Namely, information about Jo Seohee's mother.
The Cinderella who married the chairman of a major corporation.
And the nation's little sister, the nation's actress.
Or the actress who was called a supernova.
Information about Baek Seo-ran.
Naturally, those articles were from a very long time ago.
Most of them were articles written even before Seoyeon appeared in
'10 years…… no, even before that.'
Before Jo Seohee even debuted.
In other words, long before she was called the princess of daily dramas.
Seoyeon searched the keyword 'Baek Seo-ran' on the internet, but many articles were not visible, perhaps having been deleted.
Perhaps the 'Newlike Group' had requested the articles to be taken down.
No matter how much of a journalist, it would be hard to keep posting articles that went against the mood of a conglomerate.
If her death was quite disgraceful, even more so.
But one.
She was able to find an article related to it.
[Recollections of an Actress Who Was Like Starlight]
It was roughly that kind of title.
Seoyeon hesitated for a moment before clicking on the article.
Because she had a bad feeling about it.
==
A year ago, an actress who was like starlight passed away.
From her debut, she was called the nation's little sister, and whenever she filmed a movie, the modifier 'nation' was always attached before her name.
A night when one wonders when such an actress will appear in Korea again.
==
The article began with those words.
It was a strangely emotional article.
Because of that, it resonated even more.
It seemed like the emotions the article's author had felt toward the actress Baek Seo-ran were deeply embedded in it.
'Mostly, about actress Baek Seo-ran's achievements.'
How great of an actress she was.
How immense her influence was on Korea through movies and dramas.
Such words were written in the article.
Seeing only this, it looked like a post left by a fan of the actress 'Baek Seo-ran.'
No, perhaps the author actually was a fan.
However, the ending was like this.
==
But the end of that starlight was too sudden.
Her fans.
The 'nation' that always preceded her modifiers disappeared without even having time to sense anything was wrong.
The sparkling light left behind only such deep darkness that it made one afraid to even gaze at its end.
Perhaps the darkness felt even darker because the light had been so bright.
To think that such a bright actress would make such an extreme choice.
I still can't believe it even now.
==
Extreme choice.
Those words captured Seoyeon's attention.
It was a phrase that made her hesitate to scroll down further in the article.
Or should she say it was a relief.
The article didn't continue much longer.
It ended after just a few lines.
The final line was this.
==
The first to discover her end was said to be her only daughter.
==
After reading up to that point, Seoyeon closed the internet.
The 'unsatisfactory article' that Jo Seokhwan mentioned was definitely this one.
An article that didn't even appear properly when searching for Baek Seo-ran.
To find this article, one had to follow the 'starlight' to barely reach it.
Suddenly, Seoyeon recalled the first time she met Seohee.
The sight of Jo Seohee scoffing and calling her a 'parachute.'
At that point, it hadn't been many years since Jo Seohee had lost her mother.
Thinking about it, Seohee's appearance could actually be considered remarkable.
If the story that her own mother, who made an extreme choice, was discovered first by her was true…….
'That, I told you there was a reason I called her a parachute back then.'
The words Jo Seohee had said recently like an excuse.
Thinking up to that point, Seoyeon felt her head go cold.
'……Did I perhaps do something wrong?'
For a reason separate from the VTuber incident, Seoyeon became unsure of what face to look at Jo Seohee with.