The release date for
If considering film festival awards, it's a very tight schedule.
'With a late release, it might be difficult to receive good evaluations at the awards.'
If aiming for one, it would be better to look toward the Baeksang Arts Awards next May.
Seoyeon thought so and glanced at Jiyeon.
'But Lee Jiyeon wouldn't particularly care about that.'
A nervous face.
It was her first proper promotional outing as the movie's lead, so it was natural to be nervous.
Above all, her first lead role.
The pressure from that exceeds imagination.
She absolutely couldn't stay calm.
That her own failure would directly lead to the movie's failure.
The possibility of rendering the efforts of countless people in vain.
If people around mocked her acting, saying the movie flopped because of it.
How many actors could endure that?
'But.'
Looking at the nervous Lee Jiyeon, Seoyeon smiled softly.
'She'd hate it if I comforted her.'
Seoyeon knows.
Lee Jiyeon has strong pride, and she had revealed that inner side to Seoyeon back in middle school.
So she knows.
Poke.
Seoyeon lightly poked Jiyeon's side with her finger.
Then, Jiyeon looked back at Seoyeon with a displeased face.
"What?"
"Just because."
"Hey, I'm nervous, are you messing with me?"
Normally, she would have counterattacked by now, but today her reaction was completely un-fun.
So Seoyeon poked her a few more times.
Each time, Jiyeon flinched.
No matter how softly she poked, it hurt when Seoyeon poked her.
"Ah, seriously! Want me to bother you just the same during the interview later?"
"That won't work."
"Ugh."
Jiyeon glared at Seoyeon while clutching her throbbing side.
Indeed, Seoyeon's skin was unusually thick, so even if she poked her a hundred times, only this side's finger would surely hurt.
The memory of trying to counterattack in elementary school and breaking her index finger from poking too hard remained vivid in Jiyeon's mind.
'...Well.'
Still, her tension did ease a little.
Thinking that made her strangely frustrated again.
Anyway, she was the type whose inner feelings didn't show easily to others.
She wasn't expressionless like Seoyeon, but with her constantly sullen expression, even her parents couldn't easily guess whether she was in a good or bad mood.
"Why?"
Answering chicly, she was exactly the cold beauty her face suggested.
But unlike that haughty shell, inside she was a girl like a gentle lamb.
While she usually had terrible intuition, sometimes she caught onto things like this well.
Was this kind of thing hereditary?
'Anyway.'
Jiyeon thought so and sighed.
Her side still throbbed a bit...
But definitely, she felt a bit calmer.
Thinking about that still made her frustrated.
***
Today's filming location was the KMB broadcasting station.
Since she was now a familiar face, everyone greeted Seoyeon warmly upon seeing her.
That was only natural!
How much had Seoyeon achieved at KMB this year?
If it were up to them, there would be plenty of people wanting to roll out a red carpet along Seoyeon's path.
As they headed to the filming set for today's shoot, Director Baek Min, who had arrived first, welcomed them.
He observed Seoyeon and Jiyeon's faces for a moment, then smiled.
"You can relax. Miss Jiyeon, and Miss Seoyeon."
Just looking at his smile, he was a person who truly put people at ease.
But on set, there was no smile more ominous than his.
"Shall we go? The staff is calling."
Today's broadcast was a light interview for the movie's promotion.
KMB's
It was also one of the rare shows broadcast on KMB's official YouTube that got quite a few views.
"Hello! I'm Gong Ye-chan."
"I'm Lee Do-ah, please take good care of us for the interview today."
Heading to the pink-themed studio, a respectable-looking male and female idol welcomed them.
They were idols belonging to different groups, but their recognition had risen significantly by hosting this
In fact, these two were the main drivers pulling up the view counts for
After greeting Director Baek Min first, they saw the two actresses entering behind him.
'Wow, I heard about it, but...'
'I shouldn't sit next to them.'
Gong Ye-chan and Lee Do-ah each had those thoughts and forced stiff smiles.
It was because their mouths naturally fell open seeing Seoyeon walking in slowly behind Jiyeon.
It wouldn't be strange to call Joo Seoyeon one of the hottest figures in the entertainment industry right now.
If a movie, a movie.
If a drama, a drama.
Plus variety shows and commercials.
Whenever she appeared, it drew explosive interest, so it was only natural.
Because of that, among idols and actors, there were people searching high and low to somehow build a relationship with Seoyeon.
For in the entertainment industry, nothing was as helpful as connections.
So Gong Ye-chan and Lee Do-ah also planned to exchange numbers with Seoyeon at this opportunity, but.
'It seems hard to strike up a conversation.'
'Agreed.'
The two briefly exchanged glances.
Just standing face-to-face with Seoyeon put incredible pressure on them.
The atmosphere from her looks.
Plus the aura unique to actors.
Even though she was a girl young enough to be a younger sister, she was hard to approach easily.
"Then please sit here... we'll start when you're ready."
In the interview, Gong Ye-chan basically took the lead.
Adding interjections from the side or occasionally asking questions was Lee Do-ah's role.
Like that, after the three took their seats.
After briefly exchanging looks, Gong Ye-chan calmly opened his mouth at the camera director's OK sign.
"Wow, it's truly an honor to meet you like this. I'm a fan of Director Baek Min's movies."
"Thank you. It must have been quite boring."
"No, no, what do you mean. It's really a movie that makes you think a lot when you watch it, to the point where I thought, 'Ah, so this is what watching a movie is,' you know?"
Making light jokes like that, the interview proceeded in a lighthearted atmosphere.
The first questions asked were directed at Director Baek Min.
"I heard
"That's, actually there were many changes made during the planning stage."
Words about the movie.
It was a basic interview explaining what kind of movie
And, as the conversation with Director Baek Min somewhat wrapped up, Gong Ye-chan spoke to Seoyeon, whom he'd been waiting to talk to.
"Actor Joo Seoyeon's intense acting shone again in this trailer. Wow, early this year you captivated the audience as Cha Seo-ah in The Chaser, and at the end of the year, it felt like you were hammering in another impression with a bang bang bang."
"Ah, thank you."
Seoyeon answered calmly, but her eyes narrowed slightly.
For Seoyeon, whose facial expressions rarely changed, it was a rather explicit reveal of her feelings.
"I heard there was also great interest in Japan. Plus, you made a big splash on Japanese broadcasts and became a hot topic. How did you end up appearing on a Japanese variety show?"
However, Gong Ye-chan, who didn't know Seoyeon well, continued to ask her questions.
The questions themselves were ordinary to begin with.
There was nothing particularly offensive about them.
So neither Gong Ye-chan nor Lee Do-ah beside her noticed Seoyeon's change in mood.
But.
'Good grief.'
Director Baek Min laughed bitterly inwardly.
'Miss Seoyeon is displeased.'
Perhaps because he had watched her continuously during
Director Baek Min could now gauge Seoyeon's mood to some extent.
"……."
Seoyeon's gaze briefly turned to the clock on the set.
There would be editing, but the actual interview time was generally about one or two hours.
However, during her own interview following Director Baek Min's, over an hour had already passed.
"I'm curious about what kind of acting you showed this time. Perhaps some behind-the-scenes stories from the set..."
Saying up to there, Gong Ye-chan trailed off.
The reason was because Seoyeon slowly raised her right hand.
What is it? Does she have something to say?
As the two looked at her with such thoughts.
"Ah, it seems my interview is getting a bit long."
Generally, those who participate as supporting actors don't get interviewed much.
Even if they do, minimally.
Because the important thing in a movie was the lead, not the supporting actor.
'Of course, Yuina is classified as a lead.'
But she is not the 'protagonist'.
Strictly speaking, the protagonists of
Yuina, the role Seoyeon played, was a 'villain' and a heroine, not the protagonist.
'Then why are they only asking me?'
Since it was for the movie's promotion, the focus should be on the movie's lead.
So, Seoyeon intended to only answer secondary questions.
But to think they would try to spend all the time on her.
If time was abundant, it would be one thing, but they had another shoot to do, so it was ambiguous to use more time.
"Considering the time, it seems Actor Lee Jiyeon's interview time will be insufficient."
But the time spent on Seoyeon so far was excessively large.
Above all, she didn't like that the very first question was directed at her rather than the protagonist, Lee Jiyeon.
'Oops.'
Gong Ye-chan belatedly cast his gaze at Jiyeon sitting next to Seoyeon.
Except for the occasional questions Lee Do-ah asked, he had been almost exclusively focusing his questions on Seoyeon.
Gong Ye-chan glanced at the PD of
Seeing that side, their face was slightly frozen too.
Generally, celebrities like having the focus on themselves.
Asking Seoyeon many questions in this interview meant that Seoyeon's proportion in the broadcast would increase that much, and these things became a star's assets one by one.
But to think she would say such a thing.
'But it can't be helped.'
The PD of
Whose answers would viewers want to hear in this interview?
The lead played by an actress whose name they barely knew from the trailer, who didn't stand out much?
Or the supporting role played by the genius actor who had been a constant hot topic recently?
So this was a realistic division of screen time.
As for whether they didn't ask Lee Jiyeon any questions at all, that wasn't the case either.
In that briefly stiffened atmosphere.
"Huh? I was comfortable just sitting quietly. It was a relief that Actor Joo Seoyeon answered for me instead."
Lee Jiyeon answered in a light tone and shrugged her shoulders.
At those words, Seoyeon narrowed her eyes and looked at Jiyeon.
A somewhat displeased look.
Meeting that gaze, Lee Jiyeon poked Seoyeon's side with her index finger.
"You can't just dump the interview on me for no reason, right? I was nervous."
Words that lightly refreshed the mood.
Thanks to that, the atmosphere that was about to freeze up loosened slightly.
"Ah, haha. Right, right. We left Actor Lee Jiyeon too idle. N-now that you mention it, you two said you're friends from the same high school, right?"
Gong Ye-chan quickly changed the subject and naturally asked the two of them.
Seoyeon sent a sullen look at his skillful hosting, but didn't say anything more.
Because Jiyeon kept poking her side.
At the interview finally proceeding peacefully, Jiyeon sighed inwardly.
Actually, Jiyeon was comfortable with this.
'Why care.'
Rather, this was natural.
Anyone would want to interview a more famous and recognized figure.
Of course, she wasn't disappointed by that, nor did she harbor any bad feelings about the situation.
'Because that's just how it is.'
The world of actors is cold.
Having talent or not is distinguished much more clearly than one might think.
To borrow Jo Seo-hee's words, actors who shine like starlight.
And actors who are worse than the flame of a small match.
While some actors receive cheers upon appearing.
There are also actors who make people frown just by coming out.
She sometimes thought about it.
Which side was she on.
Joo Seoyeon would be the starlight without a doubt.
So, in the past, she had often gotten angry at Seoyeon over this.
Probably because she was in her puberty too.
Her own dark history.
"I didn't like it."
Finishing the interview, Seoyeon said that first.
A sullen face.
Not the occasionally pouting face that looked like a joke, but a face genuinely angry.
"It's fine."
"But..."
"Well, it'll be different once the movie is released."
Inside the van heading back, Jiyeon said so.
Looking at the scenery quickly passing by outside the window.
'Really.'
She didn't feel disillusioned with acting over such a trivial thing.
It'll be different once the movie is released.
That wasn't spitting out a vague hope.
Funny enough, Jiyeon had a little confidence in this movie.
If asked which side she was between a star and a match flame, she would definitely be the match flame.
'But, a mere match flame can also become a big blaze.'
Seeing Jiyeon resting her chin with such thoughts, Seoyeon tilted her head.
Unlike the prideful Lee Jiyeon, she was truly calm.
'...She really seems to be okay.'
She thought it was a relief if so.
As Jiyeon said, it would eventually be different once it's released.
Seoyeon thought so too.
'I wish it would open soon.'
Seoyeon just thought so and appreciated the quickly passing scenery outside the window.
Hoping that time would come, like this fast-passing scenery.
***
Like that.
Two weeks after the interview ended.
Mid-October.
The preview date for
"I'll give you plenty of preview tickets, so hand them out to people you're close with."
Being a movie insider, getting preview tickets was simple.
Normally she would have just given them to her family and been done with it, but this time Seoyeon was different.
'I should bring my school friends too!'
Although many things had happened, after the last party, a number of people had started talking to Seoyeon.
Of course, there were still many who looked on from afar, but it was something.
Especially the class rep and her friends occasionally became people who ate with Seoyeon during lunch.
'There are only two months left of our first year.'
It was quite sad that the human relationships she had worked so hard to build were on a countdown with not much time left.
Still, there would be people who would be in the same class, so wouldn't it be easier in the second year than it is now?
"Thanks, Seoyeon. I'll definitely go see the preview!"
Anyway, like that, Seoyeon scattered the tickets given to her to her classmates!
And, when she told Jiyeon about it with a proud heart.
"Is Joo Seoyeon crazy?!"
Lee Jiyeon jumped up as if she was going to fly into the air.
"?"
"Why are you acting like you don't know anything! What are you going to do scattering those at school!!"
People who are going to see it will see it anyway, so what.
Seoyeon had been thinking so calmly, but suddenly belatedly remembered what genre of movie
A movie that people normally wouldn't seek out before word of mouth spread.
A genre that was practically a significant entry barrier for ordinary people.
"Ah."
"What, 'Ah'! Ah, seriously, how am I going to come to school from tomorrow."
"No."
"What do you mean 'no'. You, you you commute to school separately from me for a while. Got it?"
Lee Jiyeon disappearing while screaming at the top of her lungs.
Seoyeon swallowed dry saliva looking at her back.
'...What do I do.'
Because it was hard to guess how the kids in the class would look at her after the preview.