'Feels like I've become a complete top star.'
It was enough to momentarily fluster even Seoyeon, an outstanding member of the National Recognition Association.
Flashes went off wherever she looked, and the murmuring voices of the crowd filled her ears.
Honestly, on the last day of the school trip, Seoyeon wanted to spend a bit more time with the students and savor the end of the trip, but seeing this scene, she couldn't help but realize Park Jung-woo was right.
"Usually, the agency spreads the word to gather reporters like this."
Park Jung-woo said to Seoyeon with a smiling face, waving his hand.
"An article came out this time. And since it specified it was a school trip, it wouldn't have been difficult for them to gauge the return date."
"Did they all swarm here just to take pictures of me?"
"Yeah. An article like that came out in France; do you think reporters would just sit still and watch?"
Honestly, Seoyeon did wonder if it was really that big of a deal, but thinking about it, she could understand.
In the end, this was also in the realm of national pride.
Especially since it wasn't even written by a domestic reporter, but directly by a French journalist.
There probably aren't many cases that fit the reporters' tastes this perfectly.
"Actor Ju Seo-yeon! Just a word, please!"
"How did you catch the pickpocket?!"
"Is it true that you met the British Princess Marie for the very first time on that exact day?!"
Like beasts of prey targeting their quarry.
That momentum was a gaze that saw her more as an exclusive scoop than a human being.
She could roughly understand why Park Jung-woo told her to stand behind him.
'Honestly, it is a bit overwhelming.'
Seoyeon glanced up at Park Jung-woo from behind.
Hmm, he teases her all the time, but at times like this, he does play the senior role.
Knowing she was prone to speaking out of turn, Seoyeon quietly followed behind him.
She was worried about getting in the way of other civilians, but fortunately, it was a time when there weren't many people.
If she had come with the students, it would have been absolute pandemonium.
"Phew."
"You worked hard, really."
Manager Park Eun-ha, who had stepped out of the airport a beat earlier, said to Seoyeon and Jung-woo.
It was to the point where they could only breathe a sigh of relief after getting into the van.
"In France, I was too busy being dragged around by the two princesses to notice, but you still do your part when it counts."
"……."
At Eun-ha's playful remark, Park Jung-woo looked at her in disbelief.
Anyway, thanks to meeting frequently because of Seoyeon, Park Eun-ha, who initially found Jung-woo intimidating, had now become close enough to joke around with him.
"Two princesses? One of them is……."
Park Jung-woo said so and looked at Seoyeon.
Seoyeon stared blankly back at him at those words.
The elegant atmosphere she had shown at the Violin Soiree had long since disappeared somewhere.
'Does this really make sense?'
Every time he saw her, he felt utterly dizzy.
Ju Seo-yeon had said that Princess Yeon-hwa was acting, but to some extent, it was also her original personality.
And that only different parts were highlighted for a special reason.
She had said such difficult-to-understand things.
'It's just acting. What original personality.'
Still, Park Jung-woo let out a smirk at Seoyeon like that.
Honestly, he felt more comfortable with this side of her.
What happened in France didn't feel quite real to Park Jung-woo, either.
Getting entangled with the British princess felt even less real.
Even though he experienced it, it didn't feel very real.
'Thank goodness nothing major happened.'
Park Jung-woo was finally able to let out a sigh of relief.
"Wanna play a round of Kalbaram when we get back?"
"I quit Kalbaram."
"……."
Wait, just like that?
She's always the one asking to start the game first, but she's also always the first to quit.
Is this right?
"Instead, you're going with Eternity Camp?"
"Did you really switch to that?"
"It's Dad's company's game. There'll be another ad later."
It was a statement full of motivation.
An Eternity Camp ad.
Who knows, they might make her do the next ad like a streamer.
It was an ad perfectly optimized for expanding Seoyeon's capabilities as a VTuber.
'Oh, right.'
Thinking about when she would shoot the Eternity Camp ad, Seoyeon began to think about her upcoming schedule.
This year, Seoyeon planned to reduce the number of acting projects compared to last year.
There were two main reasons.
First, the words of Nova Entertainment's CEO, Kang Chan-yul.
"You appeared in too many things last year, so there was a lot of image consumption. This year, it would be good to reduce the frequency and focus only on the big ones."
So, one drama, one movie.
She decided to film only these two.
Two 'big ones' in Seoyeon's mind.
Of course, Kang Chan-yul seemed a bit puzzled that Seoyeon chose Director Jo Bang-woo's 'Seoul Escape' as the 'movie', but he didn't explicitly dissuade her.
The movies and dramas Seoyeon had appeared in so far were generally full of issues.
Because Seoyeon had personally reversed the image and contributed to their success.
And the other reason was...
'Her parents' words telling her to focus a bit more on her high school life.'
Being busy and making a lot of money is good.
If her prime is now, she should be the most active right now.
That was the iron rule of the entertainment industry.
However, Seoyeon's parents didn't particularly want that.
"Haven't you already made a lot? Take it slow. Take it slow."
"Your teens only come once. Mom wants you to cherish your high school life a little more."
Her dad, Young-bin, just looked at Seoyeon with a strange look in his eyes, as if saying, 'Why live so busily?', but her mom, Soo-ah, seemed genuinely worried.
"Mom's high school days were really fun. It was also when I met your dad."
Saying that, Soo-ah had quite a nostalgic look in her eyes.
Those eyes probably included not only Young-bin but also the two girls she hung out with back then.
"They were really close friends, but because of Mom, they had to give up their feelings and part ways."
'They both seem to have a lot of lingering attachments, though.'
Seoyeon couldn't bring herself to say the rest.
Did they know that the two, who claimed to have given up their feelings, were secretly dreaming of a reunion?
'Well, Aunt Yeo-hee talked about it on broadcast, so she probably knows.'
Anyway, Seoyeon thought her mom was right.
Ju Seo-yeon's first year of high school had literally passed by in a flash.
If this repeated for 2 or 3 years, it would be a shame.
Last year, she rarely went to the e-sports club she joined.
'I should focus more on school life this year.'
That was why Seoyeon made up her mind.
"Doesn't 'Seoul Escape' start filming soon?"
"Ah, that."
Jung-woo, who had forgotten about 'Seoul Escape' due to what happened in France, paused for a moment before opening his mouth.
"It seems there's still a problem casting the actors."
"Well, the filming will probably take place slowly, right?"
Still, since NewLike joined as an investor, there wouldn't be any major problems.
Park Jung-woo just thought so.
Until that moment, that is.
***
The first day of school after the school trip ended.
Seoyeon's morning wasn't much different from usual.
The only thing that changed was her younger sister Soo-yeon's behavior.
"Not today either."
"?"
"Soo-yeon likes her pretty sister."
Only then realizing what she meant, Seoyeon flicked Soo-yeon's forehead.
'She really takes after Dad, too.'
Why does everyone try to tease her every chance they get?
Still, with one flick to the forehead, Soo-yeon quickly hugs her, saying she loves her sister.
It seemed her parents had seen that appearance as well, probably because the Violin Soiree was broadcast on the news.
When Seoyeon returned to the country, Young-bin had been waiting at the entrance of the house with a nervous expression, but when he saw Seoyeon, he smiled broadly, which somehow irked her.
"There's our daughter."
The words irked her even more.
No, the nuance was a bit off.
'Anyway, I have to go.'
After exercising in the morning, she lightly stops by the convenience store as a warm-up.
Standing under a cherry tree that had started blooming for no reason, she slightly brushes her hair back as the wind blows when people are looking.
"Wow."
"Isn't that Ju Seo-yeon? The vibe is really……."
"She looks like a painting just by brushing her hair back."
As expected, ordinary people truly know how to give the proper applause.
Roughly satisfied with those reactions, Seoyeon arrives at the school gate.
'I don't really need to manage my image at school.'
That was the feeling, but today was a bit strange.
The students commuting to school now weren't particularly surprised when they saw Seoyeon.
No matter how pretty and amazing of an actor she was, once they recognized her as a fellow student, the sense of specialness somewhat diminished.
At the beginning of the semester, it was fun when the first-years were startled, but after a month passed, most of those reactions disappeared.
The only one who unfailingly acts surprised every time they meet is, unfortunately, the convenience store part-timer.
Truly lamentable.
'But.'
Something is weird today?
There were strangely many gazes looking at Seoyeon.
To be precise, there were a lot of gazes 'scrutinizing' her.
And there were many cases where people held up their phones and looked at her as if comparing her to something.
"Hello."
Amidst those gazes, Seoyeon opened the classroom door and went in, feeling puzzled.
At the same time, gazes flew and stuck to her.
"?"
The gazes of the students, who were in tears when Seoyeon left for Korea first, were truly sharp.
"……Is it not?"
"Doesn't seem like it, right?"
"Look, even her walk is different."
"When I looked out the window, I couldn't tell the difference."
"No, the posture is the same, but right now it's a bit sharper."
"I don't know what you mean."
Seoyeon couldn't understand what they meant either.
What is it, what on earth are they looking at and comparing with me?
The female student saying such things was even the girl who wore a court lady's outfit in France.
A drama club female student who also participated in
"Um, what's going on?"
Because it bothered her, Seoyeon approached Dahyun and asked.
Dahyun, who was previewing today's class, looked quite surprised by Seoyeon's appearance.
"Uh, hi? Hello?"
"Why are you using honorifics?"
"No, well. Should I say the impression from that time was strong?"
At Dahyun's honorifics, Seoyeon felt unnecessarily annoyed.
'Is this how Jo Seo-hee felt?'
No, she used honorifics from the start.
Maintaining those honorifics is different from starting with honorifics and then dropping them.
Seoyeon tried hard to think so and interrogated Dahyun.
What exactly all these reactions were about.
"Well, you know, something like that happened in France. So everyone can't help but care. They actually want to ask but are holding back."
"……Really?"
Seoyeon seemed to find it hard to understand.
But Dahyun couldn't bear to say everything and just smiled awkwardly.
'Well, wouldn't anyone be like that?'
Seoyeon had maintained a princess-like appearance until the morning of her departure.
To speak, from the evening after the show ended to the next morning.
Seeing Seoyeon sleep soundly at night without even having a pillow fight, the students could only quietly gossip.
"Something about her isn't like our Seoyeon."
"If you look closely, her habits are similar."
"Looking straight into the eyes while talking is the same, but…… it feels like she shrinks a bit."
The female students said so and sighed.
Not because they particularly disliked it, but rather it was a pleasant sigh.
As a rule, prettiness makes people feel good.
Of course, Seoyeon is usually pretty too, but the feel was different from that.
If the usual Seoyeon was a jewel made of ice.
Yesterday's Seoyeon was a radiant flower bed.
Honestly, it was easier to talk to her than usual, and when talking, the Seoyeon who would usually just nod, during her time as Princess Yeon-hwa, would...
'Oh my, that's fun. Will you help me next time I do it?'
Expressed empathy like that and naturally continued the conversation!
Words brimming with intellect and elegance!
Dual personality?
Or a side effect of method acting?
Such rumors circulated openly, but in the end, no one could come up with an answer.
The students seemed more comfortable with that version of Seoyeon, but her friend Dahyun was honestly much more at ease with the current Seoyeon.
"But I like the usual Seoyeon better. It's more comfortable."
"……."
At those words from Dahyun, Seoyeon couldn't help but wonder if she should be happy or think about it a bit.
And.
"Ju Seoyeon, that's banned. No princess mode for you."
She was banned by Lee Ji-yeon.
When she asked for the reason, Ji-yeon didn't bother to answer.
She just glared sideways, shooting daggers at the gazes following them around.
Thinking that she seemed a bit sensitive lately, Seoyeon had no choice but to nod.
'But, I'll have to act like a princess for 'Flower of the Imperial Palace' anyway.'
Of course, Seoyeon didn't bother to say that.
She'd think about that when the time came.
***
「A problem has arisen.」
It was a few days later that she received a call from Park Jung-woo.
"What's the matter?"
「It's about Seoul Escape.」
At those words, Seoyeon tensed up.
So many that even Seoyeon, who knew the future, couldn't accurately grasp what would explode.
「It seems a significant number of sponsorships and actors have flooded in.」
"……Why?"
「Needless to say, it's because of you.」
Strictly speaking, Park Jung-woo was included too, but if asked who carried more weight, it was undoubtedly Seoyeon.
Those who wanted to give advertisements to Seoyeon.
Those who wanted to ride on that buzz had made their move.
Since Seoyeon hadn't shot many commercials, that must have been the only way.
"Still, isn't it a good thing if a lot of sponsorships come in?"
「No. There are cases where the script changes depending on the sponsorship.」
At those words, Seoyeon couldn't help but flinch.
In her past life,
The work had few sponsorships, but because of that, it could focus more on the work itself, and the content received great acclaim.
However, if a massive amount of sponsorship and investment came in, the script could change.
Park Jung-woo was clearly worried about that too.
Afraid that the content would differ from the script he had seen.
"Did you tell the director?"
「Ju Seoyeon, that's crossing the line. No matter how much of an actor you are, you shouldn't interfere with such things.」
Truly a model student-like remark from Park Jung-woo.
However, his words weren't wrong.
An actor originally only needs to act as requested.
That was all, and that was what it meant to be a professional.
'……I hope nothing happens, but.'
Honestly, if it were Director Jo Bang-woo from the past, it wouldn't be something to worry about.
Even if there was pressure from investors, even if there were sponsorships, he always prioritized his own work.
He also had the dignity and power as a director.
But the current Jo Bang-woo was a man who had completely fallen apart.
He was the kind of director that investors had no need to accommodate.
It was uncertain whether he would make the same choices as in the past.