"A cameo?"
"Stella Baldwin?"
"Director, is this for real?"
I could feel the film set buzzing.
The staff who already knew the fact were slightly less surprised, but even they were losing themselves in Stella's appearance.
They were merely wondering how on earth Stella came to appear in
But the surprises weren't over yet.
"He's here."
A staff member spoke to Director Baek Min with a tense face.
There was no need to ask who had come.
Because behind Stella, who had finished her makeup and was smiling at those looking her way, Asher Baldwin had revealed himself.
If Stella's appearance had raised simple questions, this time it was sheer astonishment.
They had at least crossed paths with Stella for a while, but no one had thought Asher Baldwin would appear here.
"Asher Baldwin in the flesh?"
"Stella's doing a cameo, so he came here in person?"
"I can't exactly say 'just for that'... but really, for that?"
Staff and actors alike, with flustered faces, all turned their attention to Asher Baldwin and his daughter Stella Baldwin, who had appeared on set.
Then, their gazes shifted to Director Baek Min, who was quietly smiling.
'Certainly.'
Director Baek Min fully empathized with their feelings.
After all, when he first heard it, he had doubted his own ears for a moment.
When they arrived in Japan and Stella Baldwin was being dragged away by her bodyguards, Director Baek Min was meeting with Asher Baldwin.
『Stella has requested to participate in your film.』
『Appear in the movie, you say?』
『Of course, I'm not asking you to prepare a special role for her right away. If I must put it..., yes, a cameo would be appropriate.』
He never imagined the word "cameo" would come from Asher Baldwin's mouth.
And not just any actress, but Stella Baldwin wanting to make a cameo appearance in his film.
From a Korean film director's perspective, it was literally a mind-boggling situation.
Of course, with the recognition of Korean films gradually rising recently, it wasn't impossible.
Among famous Korean film directors, some had already filmed movies with overseas popular stars as leads.
However, a star of that caliber had never "personally" proposed to make a cameo appearance first.
While Director Baek Min's film had some recognition overseas, it wasn't to the extent that someone would come visit and speak to him directly.
『May I ask the reason?』
『Hmm.』
Asher Baldwin looked at Director Baek Min for a moment.
He thought the director was young, but found him hard to read.
Considering the weight of his name, Director Baek Min's reaction would typically fall into two categories.
Discomfort at someone suddenly intruding on his film.
Or bowing his head first to build a connection with him.
The world ultimately runs on connections.
If Asher Baldwin exerted his influence, properly showcasing a Korean director in Hollywood wouldn't be a problem.
If he mentioned participating as an assistant director or cinematographer in Director Baek Min's film, he could gather as many Hollywood actors as he wanted.
So, those who wanted to play in the big waters would naturally bow their heads to Asher.
But Director Baek Min was neither.
Pure curiosity.
『It seems Stella has an actor she's interested in.』
『You mean Actor Joo Seo-yeon.』
『You know.』
『Well, I did come all the way to Korea.』
Director Baek Min said with a smile.
『What exactly made Actor Stella interested in Actor Joo Seo-yeon?』
『If I must speak of a catalyst, it might be because I made a bit of a fuss.』
A Korean actor who made a cameo appearance in a Japanese drama.
At first, he was surprised by her appearance, and the second time, he was surprised by the presence the actor showed in her performance.
Presence is something you're born with.
He even heard that Seo-yeon could barely speak Japanese.
So it was impossible to feature her as the lead in a movie.
Since she couldn't properly deliver her lines to begin with, she inevitably couldn't take a lead role with many lines.
However, to Asher's ears, Seo-yeon's Japanese pronunciation wasn't particularly worth criticizing.
He had a certain expertise in Japanese, though he hadn't bothered telling the Japanese broadcasting station staff.
He simply hadn't mentioned it.
To someone like him, even if Seo-yeon had stayed silent and only smiled, she would have overwhelmed the other actors.
Even without speaking, attention naturally gravitates toward you.
The actors who had given Asher this kind of feeling could be counted on one hand.
If he looked among actresses, Stella Baldwin was the only one.
And now, that "only" had become "two."
『But that child going all the way to Korea must certainly be because she saw her acting.』
『Is that jealousy from a father praising a child other than his own?』
『Hardly. Stella isn't that simple a child. She is simple, but... that's mostly limited to her goals.』
『Goals?』
『I've spoken too long. To summarize, Stella has expressed her desire to appear in your film, Director Baek Min. She even acted cute to her father for the first time in a while, asking me to put in a good word.』
At those words, Director Baek Min smiled.
Because coming from Asher Baldwin's mouth, it was exceedingly cute English.
Stella Baldwin, acting cute.
From Director Baek Min's perspective, it was hard to imagine.
Though she showed an angelic appearance, from what he heard from Jo Seo-hee, her actual personality seemed quite strong-willed.
Of course, that wasn't Director Baek Min's concern.
『I must decline...』
『I understand your concern that Stella's appearance might ruin the tone of the work.』
Cutting off Director Baek Min's words of refusal, Asher spoke.
『From what Stella said, it seems many young talents are participating in this work.』
Asher's eyes were fixed on Director Baek Min.
Unwavering eyes.
He had clearly heard that his previous work had failed, but those eyes showed no wavering at all.
Under the pressure that a grandmaster could exert, Baek Min had no choice but to stop speaking.
『It will certainly be a good stimulus for those actresses. It's just a cameo anyway. It won't ruin the work.』
Or do you think your work and actors would be consumed by a mere cameo?
Asher Baldwin seemed to be saying exactly that.
It was a provocation.
A rather willing one at that.
Someone of his stature was going out of his way to provoke him just to get his daughter into the film.
Not just any director, but one whom even Korea's renowned directors would bow their heads to beg, only to be refused by an actress who wouldn't even meet them—personally.
『Well.』
Director Baek Min also thought about it.
Joo Seo-yeon was one thing, but he wondered how Jo Seo-hee and Lee Ji-yeon would react to Stella.
Certainly, Stella was similar to Seo-yeon in many ways.
Looking at the films she had appeared in so far, that was clear.
Watching Stella's acting, one naturally empathized with her emotions, and naturally laughed and shed tears at her dialogue and words.
Eight years old.
From the moment she drew universal empathy in her very first film at that young age and won the youngest Best Actress award at the Berlin Film Festival.
It was a film Director Baek Min had also watched several times.
'Seo-yeon is quite considerate of the two.'
It was funny, but Director Baek Min was similar to Asher in this regard.
If Asher had recalled Stella upon seeing Seo-yeon's acting, there was a child actor he had recalled upon seeing young Stella's acting.
It had been 10 years since Stella won at the Berlin International Film Festival.
And there was a child actor who had appeared in a drama that caused a huge stir in Korea around that time.
Naturally, if comparing just the works, it couldn't even remotely compare to Asher Baldwin's film that Stella had appeared in.
Director Baek Min hadn't even seen
But after Seo-yeon joined
'I found out too late.'
No, perhaps that was actually a blessing.
If he had seen Seo-yeon's acting back then in real-time.
And if he had known she would disappear for a while.
He might have searched for Seo-yeon for a long time, just like Seo-hee.
That much, he was confident that the acting Seo-yeon showed back then was in no way inferior to the acting Stella had shown at the time.
And the only time Seo-yeon showed that level of acting after her return was in 'Cha Seo-ah.'
『Don't you feel greedy? It could be an opportunity to turn a rough stone into a gem.』
At Asher's words, Director Baek Min smiled.
Then he slowly nodded.
Well, honestly, it wasn't a bad proposal for a director.
The investors would probably be overjoyed at the news.
If he only considered his 'work,' he should refuse, but he thought this wouldn't be bad either.
『I'll accept your proposal. However, before that, one thing I'd like to say...』
Director Baek Min said in a calm voice, looking at him.
『Our actors are not rough stones.』
They are already gems.
Gems that simply haven't yet found their place to shine.
Director Baek Min believed so.
***
"Stella Baldwin, who suddenly joined us today, plays the daughter of a Western merchant and tycoon, a character with childhood ties to Michiko."
The script was naturally revised on the spot.
When the screenwriter heard that Stella Baldwin was participating, they excitedly completed the script in just two days.
For something written in a short time, the completion was high and it was quite decent.
A character was added to the auction scene that originally appeared in the work, and it was added quite convincingly.
However, if there was a problem, it was that her screen time was quite substantial for a cameo.
Usually, a cameo is about a little over a minute, a brief appearance.
'Isn't this practically a supporting role?'
Everyone thought so as they looked at Stella.
Her screen time easily reached 5 minutes.
It seemed short, but in a typical 2-hour runtime film, 5 minutes was a very long time for one person to occupy.
"Joo Seo-yeon."
Lee Ji-yeon spoke to Seo-yeon, who was standing quietly.
"What are you thinking about?"
Seo-yeon said nothing.
She just stared in Stella's direction.
Was she nervous because an unknown figure was joining the film?
No way.
Since childhood, Ji-yeon had never seen Seo-yeon nervous when joining a film or drama.
Rather, she had recently felt Seo-yeon feeling burdened by her acting in Director Baek Min's film.
Mainly in the romance scenes.
But the scene they were shooting this time didn't particularly involve romance.
"Just. I had a strange feeling."
Seo-yeon looked at Stella.
She was simply quiet, like herself before filming.
She wasn't smiling angelically like usual.
Nor was she showing her arrogant side like when she was with her.
She was quiet.
Eyes closed, expressionless, like a doll.
But that appearance felt closer to her true essence than ever.
'Could it be.'
Seo-yeon narrowed her eyes as she looked at her.
For some reason, it reminded her of herself in her past life.
So, naturally, she recalled the illness she had experienced in her past life.
Alexithymia.
However, that was not a disease that helped with acting.
The reason she could now utilize it in her acting was precisely because she no longer had that illness.
Having seen her films, Seo-yeon thought Stella absolutely had nothing to do with that.
Emotional acting.
An actress who performed acting that drew others' empathy couldn't possibly have such a disease.
In the first place, even in her past life, Seo-yeon was a special case; normally, even mimicking expressions was impossible.
But, how should she put it.
She did have some guesses.
Judging from Stella's remarks so far, it was definitely...
"I'll be right back."
"Huh? What? To who?"
"To Stella. It's better to talk before filming."
There was still some time before filming anyway.
So, having a brief conversation should be fine.
Everyone's gaze followed Seo-yeon's back.
But Seo-yeon didn't mind.
There were plenty of bodyguards on Stella's side, and when Seo-yeon approached, they blocked her way.
As she stared straight at that,
『Yeah, move aside. If she says she wants to meet me, you won't be able to stop her anyway.』
Stella's voice came from behind the wall formed by the bodyguards.
At her words, the bodyguards made somewhat peculiar faces but soon stepped aside.
『Hmm, that was a double-meaning statement. Those people seem to simply think of you as an "actress," though.』
At Stella's words, Seo-yeon stared blankly at her.
Because she had spoken in English, she couldn't properly understand what she was saying.
"...Koreans aren't good at English?"
"Another discriminatory remark."
"No, not this time. And I'm being careful lately. If you give me a noogie, my head will definitely cave in."
"I don't go around hitting people carelessly."
Stella said so while clutching her head.
Whether she was genuinely being careful or not, it was certainly less than before.
More than that, Seo-yeon had some awareness of her own English skills.
To work as an actor for a long time, being good at English was basically essential.
That way, she could also land overseas roles.
At this rate, she'd definitely be limited to domestic roles.
"Let me know if you need English. I'll teach you."
"...Later."
Anyway, that wasn't what was important right now.
Seo-yeon stood face to face with Stella.
Stella in a Western dress, Seo-yeon in a Japanese kimono.
Creating a curious contrast, the bodyguards shielded the two from view.
Those who had been watching the two facing each other let out disappointed sighs, but Seo-yeon was inwardly relieved.
"There's something I'd like to ask."
"What is it?"
To Stella, who was smiling cheerfully, Seo-yeon hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.
"You said you can't properly distinguish people's faces."
Seo-yeon said up to there, then hesitated whether to continue.
She had wondered if it was simply a joke or a habit.
Or an expression of her own rudeness, but something felt different.
That's why she wanted to ask.
At least if she knew before filming, she could correct her potentially rude expressions.
"Yeah, up to there."
Stella smiled and placed her index finger on Seo-yeon's lips.
"That's not particularly important right now, is it? Ah, are you worried I'll make a mistake during filming? Because I can't even distinguish the roles?"
She said so, and smiled at Seo-yeon, who was quietly looking at her.
"Don't worry. I can properly distinguish the faces of the roles."
With a smile as beautiful as an angel's.
"The roles, you see."
At that smile, Seo-yeon couldn't smile back.
Because that smile was practically proof that Seo-yeon's thoughts were correct.
And.
With their conversation concluding like that.
The filming in Japan began in earnest.