I Want to Be a VTuber Chapter 324 (325/718)

"The test results show nothing major; you're perfectly normal. I don't think you need to come in anymore.."

Arthur let out a sigh of relief at the doctor's words and left the hospital.

Unlike the robust Oliver, he had come to realize now just how incomparably frail he truly was.

Having left the hospital, Arthur headed to the filming set as always.

His schedule was packed a full year in advance, and coming to America hadn't meant he could rest.

'But I'm exhausted as hell.'

Arthur sighed as he looked out over the Hollywood filming set he was seeing for the first time in a while.

"Arthur, I heard you went to Korea. Your complexion is something else."

"Roman. I'm not in the mood to talk today."

"Oh, since when have you ever been in the mood?"

There was someone speaking to Arthur in a cheeky tone while he heaved deep sighs.

The lead actor of the newly filming movie.

The one who harbored a one-sided sense of rivalry toward Arthur.

'He really reminds me of Stella and myself.'

Which meant he was not a particularly pleasant person.

Honestly, Arthur had no desire to talk to him either.

'If it weren't for his ability, I would've punched him and quit by now.'

The world surely had those with outstanding skills yet foul personalities.

Roman was exactly that type.

Of course, if Stella had been listening, she would've said, "You're not much different," but unfortunately, Stella was not present.

"Of course, I understand. You suffered in that tiny country for a while, didn't you?"

"Well……"

"There's nothing more grueling than appearing in a work that won't even be a hit."

"Huh?"

Roman said that and pointed straight at himself with his thumb.

"But look at me. I don't film many works a year, but I work efficiently. You need to develop an eye for quality projects."

"……You talked to me just to say that?"

'Just'? I'm worried about you. I heard this whole thing was because of Stella's provocation, too. You need to take your eyes off that woman for a bit. You shouldn't compete with a monster like that."

At Roman's words, several actors who happened to be listening nodded their heads.

Arthur let out a wry laugh at the surrounding reactions.

The treatment Stella received in Hollywood was truly something grand.

Arthur had indeed thought something similar to some extent.

That such an actress, that monster, would never appear in the world again.

But after returning from Korea this time, that thought had changed.

"Stella is indeed an amazing actress, but she's by no means an unattainable existence."

"Arthur, you're doing it again……"

"Besides, I'm not tired because the project failed or anything."

"I know. It 'hasn't' failed yet. It's releasing early this morning, right? Four a.m.?"

Has it already come to that?

Arthur thought of the PV that had been released recently.

He thought it was quite a good PV.

A PV that skillfully utilized scenes while hiding the truly interesting parts.

"Do you want me to fail that badly?"

"It's not that I want you to fail. Look at the performance of Korean dramas and movies Netflix has released recently."

The Korean dramas released in the past month had all flopped.

So it wasn't particularly strange that Roman was reacting this way.

"'s success gave that tiny country false hope."

"Well……"

"Well, the action was quite decent. Especially that girl who seems to be the protagonist. She was an incredible beauty."

Looks.

Arthur thought of Seoyeon's appearance.

Certainly, her looks were impeccably beautiful.

It's just that one didn't often get to focus on that beauty.

In many ways.

"The action was quite natural for something using stunts."

"That wasn't a stunt."

"……What? Then she did it herself?"

"Yeah, actually I'm the one who used a stunt. To properly coordinate with that girl, you'd need to be at Oliver's level."

"You're pushing the joke too far, Arthur. Oliver is the best stuntman I know. If you're trying to pull my leg, at least say something more plausible?"

Roman frowned as he spoke, and Arthur shrugged.

At that cryptic attitude, Roman took out his phone from his pocket and replayed a video he had watched recently.

The PV for .

"Look. All of these fight scenes, you're saying the girl did them?"

"Yeah."

"……Ha, there's a limit to treating me like a fool. But I do quite like this fight scene. The scene where she pushes the car with her foot is quite powerful."

In the action scene from the PV, Jin Yeonseo fighting against an unidentified man (Adam) was captured.

A concise fight scene. And finishing by forcefully pushing a car toward Adam with her foot.

Adam's desperate movement to narrowly dodge it was so frantic that Roman couldn't help but admire it.

"Korean CG has advanced quite a bit too. Very natural. To think they filmed a scene like this in a long take. It must've been incredibly difficult to insert CG."

"That's not CG though."

"?"

"She really pushed it with her foot."

Of course, it was done by mutual agreement.

Several practices.

Several times Oliver got hit by the car to film the scene.

Thanks to that, Oliver's desperate acting to dodge it felt incredibly realistic.

'Though I had to lie down for a while after filming this scene.'

Because of that, Arthur had to film a considerable amount of the subsequent action scenes himself.

"……A joke?"

"Well."

Arthur found Roman's now slightly angry face somewhat entertaining.

"If I get the chance, I'll definitely help you act together. Mainly action scenes."

"Your sense of humor has improved since I last saw you?"

Of course, Arthur wasn't really joking.

He sincerely wanted to help Roman try action acting with Seoyeon.

Wasn't it too unfair for only him to suffer?

Thrown around several times, hit through the protective gear, he could barely breathe.

Looking back, there were quite a few moments where he wondered how he managed to survive.

"Separately, I'm not worried about the drama at all."

"Because you think it's going to fail anyway?"

"No."

He wasn't Roman.

There was no such thing as a work destined to fail anyway.

If a work did fail, he would feel terrible stress over it.

"I'm the type not to worry about works that will do well anyway."

Moreover, a drama in which he wasn't the lead was outside Arthur's interest.

'Stella was right.'

In the end, Arthur had never once stood at the center of a work.

Stella's words 'you're not even worthy as a rival' had become the truth.

'It's not just Ju Seoyeon.'

Jo Seohui.

She was no ordinary opponent either.

Especially during the re-shoots, he had been overwhelmed by her.

'If acting like that fails…… well, I'll just have to accept it.'

That was practically an unavoidable fate.

But Arthur didn't think that would happen.

would establish itself as a new hit following .

Arthur was certain of it.

***

"N-now wait, Seoyeon. Say that again? Who did you say?"

Song Dayeon, faculty advisor of the Yeonhwa High School Drama Club, briefly doubted her ears.

After all, Seoyeon's words had come so suddenly.

Of course, even at Song Dayeon's reaction, Seoyeon merely explained calmly.

"Among the actors I filmed with this time, there's one named Jo Seohui. She asked if she could watch today's screening together."

It was a rather unexpected contact even for Seoyeon.

She had thought Seohui had an incredibly strong mentality and wouldn't be shaken by something like this.

Back during too.

Unlike the anxious Lee Jiyeon, Jo Seohui had been carefree.

Despite saying her acting was lacking, she didn't seem particularly burdened.

But it seemed was different this time.

"Of course, if it's too much, I'll refuse, so please don't feel pressured."

"No, no, no! It's absolutely not a refusal! Since it's absolutely not a refusal, could you hold off on contacting her first?"

"Huh?"

At the teacher's rather overreacting response, Seoyeon was puzzled.

Was Jo Seohui coming really something to be so surprised about?

As if reading Seoyeon's mind, Teacher Song Dayeon hurriedly added.

"Well, if you say Jo Seohui, isn't she an especially prominent actress among the young stars? So much so that you can easily see her face just by walking down the street…… Of course our kids would need to prepare themselves mentally, wouldn't they?"

Is that so?

Seoyeon accepted Song Dayeon's words while feeling a somewhat subtle emotion.

'No, I……'

She didn't particularly want to compare herself with Jo Seohui, but Seoyeon's performance last year had been amazing.

Yet judging solely by Song Dayeon's reaction, Jo Seohui seemed far more intense than herself.

"W-well, ahem. It's because Seoyeon is our school's student, right?"

"Is that so?"

"Y-yes, of course."

At Seoyeon's gaze fixed steadily on her, Song Dayeon gulped dryly.

'She's too scary when she stares like that.'

From the slightly timid Song Dayeon's perspective, Seoyeon's gaze was practically demonic.

Seoyeon seemed somewhat displeased at the feeling that Teacher welcomed Seohui more than herself…… but it was a misunderstanding!

In reality, Seoyeon's recognition was incredible, to the point where she had become a major reason new students chose Yeonhwa High School this year.

Nevertheless, the reason she didn't show an intense reaction in front of Seoyeon was purely because she was overwhelmed by Seoyeon's atmosphere and found it hard to make a fuss.

She had made a fuss several times before, but each time Seoyeon's gaze had been so sharp that it was burdensome.

"I need to tell the kids too! If everyone says it's okay, I'll let you know right away, Seoyeon."

"Yes."

Since she was a student from another school, from a teacher's standpoint, it might have been a vague situation to permit blindly.

'Did I ask too recklessly?'

But Seoyeon had her own concerns about Seohui.

There was what happened at the beach.

And there was one more fact she had recently learned.

Having one more connection from the past was quite an important part for Seoyeon as well.

Because it was a trace of a connection that had changed yet remained unchanged.

And so.

5 p.m.

The time when was released on Netflix.

"It's really Jo Seohui!"

"So Senior Ju Seoyeon really was close with her?"

"Wow, I just thought it was a concept."

Arriving in style on her bicycle, Seohui reached Yeonhwa High School.

'Huh?'

Of course, Jo Seohui was bewildered.

Today she had simply come to watch the drama as an ordinary student.

The reason Seohui had particularly wanted to watch with Seoyeon this time was none other than……

She had just been feeling uneasy lately.

'I keep having trouble sleeping lately.'

It felt like she was dreaming of something, but she couldn't remember it well.

Still, she felt like she was beginning to understand something more than before.

'It's all because I'm stressed about . Hmph, I'm so weak.'

Seohui was thinking that when she suddenly thought of Seoyeon.

And on impulse, she had made such contact.

Could she watch together?

Honestly, Seohui had thought Seoyeon might refuse.

Seoyeon had a rather rigid side to her; what she deemed impossible was absolutely impossible.

Was that why she kept speaking formally to Seohui?

"S-should I get an autograph? I, I look up to actress Jo Seohui as my role model."

Seoyeon, who had brought the arrived Seohui to the drama club, glanced over at those words.

Kim Hyeri was pulling out an autograph paper from her pocket with a flushed face.

'Why is she reacting differently from how she is with me?'

That sensitive chihuahua showing such a reaction to Jo Seohui was truly astonishing.

However, from Seoyeon's perspective, it felt quite strange.

The chihuahua who used to lower her head to Seoyeon was completely different from the present chihuahua.

Strangely displeased by that, Seoyeon shot a slight glare at Jo Seohui.

'What, why.'

What did I even do wrong?

Seohui felt wronged.

After all, she was an external student, so it was natural they'd be surprised to see her.

An elusive senior was bound to seem more novel than a senior from the same school.

"Ahem, ahem! Then attention! I'm telling you in advance, but absolutely do not check internet reactions while watching the drama!"

"Yes!"

"You must write a review after watching the senior's acting. Understood? It's this week's assignment."

"Whaaat?! I don't want to!!"

"Nope, can't do that. You must do it. The vice principal said so."

"Aww~~!"

At Song Dayeon's words, brief jeers erupted from all around.

'A review?'

Seoyeon was slightly taken aback at those words.

Was she supposed to write one too?

Being asked to evaluate her own acting directly was as embarrassing as it got.

"Must be nice, Ju Seoyeon. Such a senior-like assignment."

Lee Jiyeon looked at that, chuckled, and glanced at Seoyeon.

She inwardly felt relieved that nothing like this had happened when they watched .

Unlike Seoyeon, her own acting had quite a few holes in many ways.

At Jiyeon's strangely sassily spoken words, while Seoyeon was staring fixedly at her, Teacher Song Dayeon continued.

"Then, I'll play the video now…… Don't talk, okay?"

The beam projector prepared for watching the drama started running, and the familiar Netflix screen came into view.

And the poster for displayed on the banner.

"I'm nervous."

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Seohui said that to Seoyeon while looking at it.

Having filmed so many works, she was more nervous about , released today, than any other time before.

Perhaps because it was the moment to show her new acting to the world.

Her acting as Jo Seohui, not her mother's acting which she had always tried to emulate.

Her acting that had stepped outside the textbook and out into the world.

"It'll be fine."

Seoyeon said that and looked at the screen displaying .

Several logos came up, and the name of the investor, GH Group, was stamped largely.

"Definitely."

Those words were for Seohui as much as they were for herself.

An acting where not an inch of the future could be foreseen.

Since the ordeal that all actors always experienced had now come to her too.

'I should have called Min Doha and Sora too.'

Since she was calling Seohui anyway, she thought she should have called the others too.

Especially Sora.

Min Doha had coordinated well with her during filming, so she wanted to see her too.

While Seoyeon was thinking such thoughts, the logos slowly filling the screen disappeared.

What came next was the sound of rain.

In the closed space, the sound of rain came from a small window.

「Yeonseo, you were here?」

Adam's low voice was heard, and the darkened screen brightened.

The appearance of a bleak laboratory.

And on the screen was Jin Yeonseo crouching there, and Adam speaking to her affectionately.

The proper screening of .

Unlike Arthur's bright voice, with endlessly heavy background music, everyone held their breath and waited for the next scene.

If what they saw in the PV was correct, something terrible would soon happen here.