"Are you going to Japan again?"
Sua asked Seoyeon with a worried face as she was stuffing luggage into her carrier.
Why does a girl pack so mannishly?
"Cosmetics?"
"There are people who pack those even without me."
"Did you pack underwear?"
"……."
No, even so, she wasn't a child.
Wouldn't she obviously pack the basics?
When Seoyeon quietly averted her gaze, Sua flinched.
"But Seoyeon, you're surprisingly clumsy when traveling. For example, last time you almost forgot the was……."
"Wait a minute."
No, just how far was she going with this?
In the end, Seoyeon grumbled as she packed her luggage from the beginning, one by one.
'Well, there's no harm in packing thoroughly.'
Certainly, leaving everything to Manager Park Eunha felt a bit too much.
Then suddenly, the mine-field outfit she bought in Japan last time came to hand.
A moment of hesitation.
'I guess since there's no occasion to wear it in Korea.'
Ah, is this why she only wears it in Japan?
Such a thought suddenly crossed Seoyeon's mind.
However, since she wasn't going personally this time either, Seoyeon hung it neatly in the wardrobe next to her.
She'd try wearing it next time she went for fun.
"Come to think of it, around the time you return from Japan, it'll be final exams, right? Did our daughter study?"
"O-of course."
That wasn't a lie.
Seoyeon had studied diligently whenever she had spare time this round.
Of course, she didn't do it on her own—
"With Sky Garden being such a hit, it wouldn't do for the protagonist Lee Yujoo's grades to be disastrous, would it?"
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Jo Seohee and Lee Jiyeon had insisted as such, studying together during every break on set.
'I want to play games.'
Her heart was full of such thoughts, but even Seoyeon couldn't refuse when they said they were helping.
Thanks to that, quite unlike Seoyeon, she had mostly cleared the exam scope.
Of course, that didn't mean she could expect grades as good as Jiyeon's, but at least it would probably be the best among all of Seoyeon's past grades.
A vague sense of anticipation.
Anyway, having packed all her luggage like that, Seoyeon had only to wait for the filming day.
Among the three with significant roles in
Well, her basic role was a villain to begin with.
On top of that, Director Baek Min had been considerate of Seoyeon, scheduling her shoots together, so having free time was only natural.
'Should I have a meeting with Eclat Etoile or Aidez?'
The two brands that had been in constant contact since filming
However, it seemed Eclat Etoile found it subtle to capture the 'student' concept of
They hadn't shot many advertisements targeting minors, and for the adult side, they probably thought it was difficult to shoot now given Seoyeon's age and the lingering image of Lee Yujoo.
On the other hand, Aidez, the moment they learned Seoyeon was currently filming
"I saw the Japanese variety show you appeared on! The response in Japan was incredibly hot, you know? We were actually targeting overseas markets recently. And for the first step, where else but Japan? We'd already made our own product, but we just couldn't find the right advertisement for it."
Of course, they apparently sold various products online and through shopping malls.
Separate from that, TV commercials were nonexistent.
In such a situation, Seoyeon not only created a huge issue in Japan but was also appearing in
Moreover, the amount they proposed was at a level that made one gasp 'hundreds of millions,' and Seoyeon almost nodded without thinking.
'It's not the amount of money that's important right now.'
In the first place, Seoyeon wasn't in desperate need of money right now.
How diligently had she worked this past year?
Even if she didn't shoot one or two CFs right away, enough money had already entered her bank account.
Of course, Youngbin, having seen Seoyeon's bank account, had greed pooling in his eyes.
Naturally, with Mother Sua standing beside him with glaring blue eyes, he couldn't bring himself to touch it, but he kept slyly asking for this and that.
"You see, Dad has a game he wants to play recently……."
"They say UMPCs are trending nowadays. As you know, Dad works at a gaming company. So he needs to keep up with trends……"
Well, it wasn't like he was asking for anything grand.
If only he hadn't come fully armored, afraid of possibly getting hit when saying that.
Of course, before Seoyeon could even hit him, he got dragged away by Sua.
In the first place, even Seoyeon wouldn't hit her parents.
She merely wondered what they thought of her.
Sometimes it was confusing whether they were joking or serious.
'Come to think of it.'
Looking back on her busy activities, Seoyeon suddenly realized she hadn't visited the KMB broadcasting station for a while.
'Recently, Drama Department 2 was established.'
After
KMB had established Drama Department 2.
Naturally, the head of Department 2 was Baek Taesoo.
Although he was destroyed by
'Hmm.'
Come to think of it, Jo Seohee had also had a drama hit, so she said it would be nice to visit and say hello once.
If she went to Japan and came back this time, the timing would become ambiguous again, so…….
'Should I drop by for a bit?'
That was all she thought.
***
'But.'
Around the time she had almost arrived at the KMB broadcasting station.
Seoyeon realized one thing.
'Can you just visit a broadcasting station like this?'
Come to think of it, this was the first time she had visited without any particular business.
On top of that, she usually came after Manager Park Eunha scheduled things first, so this was the first time Seoyeon had trudged here alone.
Of course, Seoyeon knew a few PDs.
However, even for Seoyeon, she wasn't in a position to tell PDs to come or go as she pleased.
In the first place, PDs held absolute power in broadcasting stations.
Those who held the leashes of ordinary entertainers.
'Hmm.'
Should she ask Manager Park Eunha even now?
With such thoughts, as she walked to the entrance of the broadcasting station.
There was one noticeable person.
A girl in a white dress.
A bob cut with golden hair slightly draped over the shoulder line, visible from behind.
Rather than dyed, it seemed to catch the sunlight, shining like gold.
Her height was roughly a little smaller than Seoyeon's?
'……A foreigner?'
A tourist?
At first, she thought so.
However, her figure swaying gently as she looked up at the broadcasting station was extraordinary no matter how she looked at it.
An appearance that couldn't be seen as a simple ordinary person.
Even though what Seoyeon saw was merely her back, she felt a strong presence.
"Mm?"
Did she feel Seoyeon's gaze?
The girl wandering around near the broadcasting station spun around.
And then.
[Ah, found you.]
She suddenly pointed at Seoyeon and said so.
For reference, Seoyeon couldn't understand the girl's words at all.
'English? Well, she's a foreigner so she'd use English.'
Although she couldn't understand the words, she could roughly infer from the girl's action of pointing at her.
Because her attitude was as if she had found Seoyeon.
Wait, if so.
'How did she know it was me?'
After
She wore a hat, and a black mask covered her face.
Then most people wouldn't notice she was Seoyeon.
'She must have mistaken me for someone else.'
Just as Seoyeon thought so and was about to wave her hand to say no.
The girl strode right up to Seoyeon's nose and looked up from a distance where their breaths could touch.
[Ahaha, it is you. It's me. I told you I'm lucky? I came to the broadcasting station on a whim, and I was wondering how to get in~]
'What is she even saying.'
There was still a little time left before final exams, but she felt like she was already doing a listening comprehension test.
Seoyeon barely understood what she was saying.
She just thought the kid was really pretty.
'Somehow, she feels familiar.'
She wasn't a Korean celebrity.
If she were, there was no way Seoyeon wouldn't know her.
Then, from overseas.
But was there anyone overseas who would know Seoyeon?
In the first place, Seoyeon had hardly done any overseas activities yet.
At most, Japan.
Among the movies or dramas Seoyeon appeared in, none had entered the overseas market yet.
In other words, there was no work that such a foreign girl would know about.
[Hmm?]
Seoyeon stared blankly at the girl like that.
At Seoyeon's reaction, the girl suddenly smiled strangely.
[Hello? You're Joo Seoyeon, right? Your eyes were a bit redder in the video, was that contacts? Unique taste, huh?]
A tone of subtle mockery.
Of course, Seoyeon didn't understand.
Seeing Seoyeon like that, the girl nodded as if she had expected it.
"You don't speak English?"
"Huh?"
"What, did you not know I could speak Korean?"
The girl stepped forward one more pace.
Now at a distance where their breaths could almost touch.
Seoyeon's face was reflected in the girl's pupils.
"It's nothing special. Besides Korean, I can speak about four more languages."
It was fluent Korean without any awkward feeling.
Honestly, it felt unreal.
Her appearance was one thing, but those colors were so vivid that she felt different from ordinary people.
But fascinating was fascinating.
Seoyeon tilted her head at the girl who was smiling at her.
"But who are you?"
"……Huh?"
The girl froze with her eyes wide open as if she hadn't expected Seoyeon to not know her.
"You don't know me?"
Obviously not.
Sensing Seoyeon's mood, the girl let out a hollow laugh.
"Goodness, no joke? I'm surprised. You really are a kid who has no interest in anything outside Korea, huh?"
It was a casual remark, but with a subtle nuance.
Arrogant, perhaps. A haughty tone.
But it also felt fitting with her lilting voice.
"Well, fine."
The girl raised both hands up and took a couple of steps back from Seoyeon.
"I flew to Korea on impulse."
"Ah, yes."
"Because I was curious about who you are. By myself."
Since Seoyeon had also become curious about who she was, she could quite relate.
In the first place, she was merely curious about where she flew from.
"But, I came with absolutely nothing, so I'm in a bit of a difficult situation."
"Yes?"
"In other words, I'm a lost child."
"……?"
"You asked who I am. I'm saying I'm a lost child with only a passport in hand."
Even after hearing that Seoyeon didn't know her, the girl's attitude was quite peculiar.
As if gauging Seoyeon's reaction.
A slightly insolent attitude.
The underlying tone contained a nuance of looking down on the other person.
"If you don't mind, could you help me a bit?"
"Yes."
She didn't have anything to do anyway, so Seoyeon nodded.
She was going to enter the KMB broadcasting station, but she had become inwardly curious about who the girl was.
But before that.
"Can I ask one thing I'm curious about?"
"Yeah, what?"
Smiling as she spoke, she looked ready to answer who she was at any moment.
She probably thought Seoyeon would ask who she was.
Of course, that was also quite curious, but Seoyeon was more curious about something else right now.
"Why are you speaking informally?"
"……."
Of course, the girl couldn't say anything to that either.
***
[Are you saying Actress Stella went to Korea?]
Amaya Hiroki, a PD who had come to interview the fairy of the century, 'Stella,' doubted his own ears.
He couldn't help it.
Just yesterday, the actress who had been wandering around the Japanese broadcasting station had vanished completely.
There was no one in this YHJ broadcasting station who could stop her actions as she wandered around as if the station were her own home.
Arrogant and无视一切.
It was certainly such an attitude, but Stella was also someone it suited.
A person who subtly walked the line, somewhere between rude and not rude.
If she were simply a star of one country, someone in the Japanese broadcasting station might have said something.
However, Stella was no ordinary heavyweight.
At least among her peers, she had no equal, and even going up 10 years.
Even if they brought in the top stars among them, there would only be about five at most.
'Above all, an actress who won the Best Actress award at the Berlin International Film Festival at the age of eight is truly one of a kind.'
The youngest winner in the history of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Moreover, that was her debut work.
She hadn't won any awards from the Academy yet, but it felt like it might be prejudice against Stella, who was of mixed race.
But that too was surely just a matter of time.
Stella was that kind of actress.
A person not called the fairy of the century for nothing.
An actress who had never experienced failure from her debut year until now.
That was why they had let her do as she pleased all this time.
To ask for an interview even once.
But she went off to Korea?
[Even if you say that, there's nothing I can do.]
At Asher Baldwin's words as he shrugged his shoulders, Amaya Hiroki stuttered out his English.
[What do you mean there's nothing you can do? Rather, did you send your daughter to Korea alone?]
[When I woke up in the morning, she was gone. Stella is a child who acts according to her mood, so it can't be helped.]
[What if something happens?]
[Like Japan, Korea isn't that dangerous a country either.]
That, well, was true.
Korea's security was certainly good enough by global standards.
But even so, there was always the 'what if.'
Of course, with the situation having already unfolded, there was nothing they could say about it.
[Haa, so why did she go to Korea?]
[Well, I'm not entirely sure myself either…… but I have one guess.]
A guess?
As Amaya Hiroki frowned at Asher's strange words.
[Perhaps, she went to meet that actor named Joo Seoyeon.]
[What?]
Amaya Hiroki couldn't help but be flustered.
He hadn't expected Joo Seoyeon's name to be mentioned here at all.
And, at that very moment.
"Honorifics."
"Huh, English doesn't really have honorifics."
"I know there are."
"Oh? You know about that kind of thing? Aha, but I don't have them. I absolutely won't use them."
At the sight of Stella sticking out her tongue with a "nehneh," Seoyeon came to understand Jo Seohee's feelings a little.
Although their positions felt completely opposite.