"Hello, Mother. It's hard to see you these days."
Park Eunha, Seoyeon's manager, was the first to speak to Sua, who was watching the set with worried eyes.
During the early stages of her comeback, Sua would quietly visit Seoyeon's sets, but once she decided things were going smoothly, she stopped coming as often.
'Is the parent of a celebrity really different?'
Eunha always marveled whenever she saw Seoyeon. Who wouldn't be in awe of that radiant beauty?
And it wasn't much different when she saw her mother, Sua. In fact, in some ways, she was even more surprised.
After all...
'Is this really a woman in her forties?'
No matter how she looked at it, it was hard to comprehend. She simply looked like Eunha's own peer. Even if a woman in her forties manages herself well, she might not have wrinkles, but this completely shattered the concept of 'might not have.' Honestly, seeing an appearance that could only pass for someone in her mid-to-late twenties, Eunha couldn't help but be jealous every time she saw her.
Seoyeon was genuinely young, but this woman was literally the ultimate baby face.
"Ah, yes. Hello. Seoyeon is quite energetic, isn't she?"
Sua said with a slightly embarrassed expression as she looked at the set.
Currently, Seoyeon and Sooyeon were doing each other's makeup and chatting. It seemed like they were discussing how to shoot the scene. Sooyeon could be seen giggling at the staff attaching wires to her body.
"Sooyeon insisted on filming with her older sister this time..."
"Ah, I heard. Seoyeon was quite flustered by it."
"Seoyeon is usually very shy about the Harara stuff, but it seems she couldn't say no to her little sister."
Sua said with a faint smile.
But her daughter was a professional; she was carefully reviewing the script, pondering how to act. Despite her embarrassment, she had to do her job properly. The sponsorship and paycheck she was receiving for this commercial were substantial, so Seoyeon was highly motivated.
'Is our Seoyeon really that popular overseas?'
Honestly, it still hadn't fully sunk in for Sua. Articles kept popping up lately, and people talked about it on TV, but for a homebody like Sua, it didn't feel real.
Today was a prime example. The moment Sua entered the set...
"Oh, hello! I'm Sim Jinsoo, the general manager in charge of this project!"
A man nearly breaking his back in a deep bow at Sua's appearance, offering his business card.
Because of his considerably large build, Sua was inwardly startled, but she soon nodded.
"It would have been nice if you had also appeared in the commercial together..."
he said with a regretful tone.
The Harara commercial originally offered to Seoyeon was supposed to feature all three women—mother and daughters. Since Sua had dropped out, it was only natural for him to feel disappointed.
"I, I'm just a bit uncomfortable appearing on TV."
"Ah, of course I understand! It can definitely be overwhelming."
A wide smile was plastered across his face. It seemed he was immensely pleased that Seoyeon was starring in the commercial.
"Is our Seoyeon really that popular overseas?"
"Yes?! Of course, of course! Actress Joo Seoyeon. Everyone is desperate to snag a commercial with Actress Joo Seoyeon lately. Absolutely desperate."
He chuckled heartily as he calmly explained.
"First of all,
A celebrity's brand value. Being a luxury brand ambassador has a massive impact on that value. If someone becomes the official model for a renowned luxury brand, their name naturally exudes a sense of prestige. Even a simple house ambassador role doesn't change that fact.
However, at this Viola Show, a Global Ambassador—and the highest-tier one at that—Marie Mountbatten Windsor, had entered the show arm-in-arm with Seoyeon.
With just that one instance, the name Joo Seoyeon had imprinted its fame and brand value onto the world.
"Therefore, any company looking to expand overseas is probably trying to reach out. Even if Actress Joo Seoyeon hasn't said anything, I'm sure she's received an overwhelming number of commercial offers."
"I-Is that so?"
"Yes! Oh, I have to get back to the shoot now. Actress Joo Seoyeon is calling me."
As soon as Seoyeon stared pointedly in their direction, he hurriedly ran over to her.
That was what had happened earlier. Since then, Sua had been watching the shoot from a corner of the set with Park Eunha.
"Honestly, when the French gig was mentioned, I wondered if they wanted a 'princess' type character, but that wasn't the case. Zero-ro is a bit more of a cat-like character, which suits Seoyeon's usual vibe."
At those words, Sua looked at Seoyeon on the set.
'Princess...'
Her daughter's appearance occasionally surprised her at home. Youngbin was absolutely horrified by it, but Sua quite liked it.
Previously, after finishing the Viola Show, Sua was preparing dinner when Seoyeon came out wearing an apron to help her cook. Whether it was her strangely giggling "hehehe," or when she let out an "Oh my," Sua felt a bit awkward, but as they cooked together, she often thought that this wasn't so bad.
'...Hmm. Well, our Seoyeon is a bit far from that kind of image.'
For example, there were fan communities. Since Sua was Seoyeon's mother, she would frequently browse Seoyeon's fan communities. Naturally, if she saw any strange rumors, she would leave comments to correct them.
However.
[This account has been suspended.]
"Huh?"
Wondering what on earth had happened, she checked the posts she had made so far.
- Please stop with the gorilla slander;; How can such a pretty and cute Joo Seoyeon be called a gorilla?
- No matter how pretty she is, the princess act is a bit cringy...
- Honestly, doesn't Joo Seoyeon seem like she'd be good at games? If she had good team luck, she probably would've hit Grandmaster in LoL lol I know right?
"……."
Feeling like she had seen something she shouldn't have, Sua decided to just let it slide.
'Our Seoyeon has incredible self-esteem.'
She wondered if she was doing the same thing with Sooyeon and Youngbin's accounts. She was a bit worried about what kind of posts she might be leaving on other fan communities where she could make multiple accounts.
'Still.'
Watching Sooyeon smile brightly as she ran into Seoyeon's arms, she really felt that she was a big sister in moments like this.
'Does Sooyeon want to be a celebrity too?'
Just like Seoyeon when she was little. Perhaps her genes had a certain flair for it. Sua fell into deep thought.
***
"Miss Sooyeon, you're going to go up in the air. Let's try the pose we discussed earlier."
"Yes!!"
Kang Deoksoo, the commercial director in charge of this shoot, smiled with satisfaction at Sooyeon's energetic response. At the same time, he was also worried.
'They're usually like this at the start, but after a little while...'
Why was filming child commercials so difficult? For starters, they often didn't understand instructions well, making them hard to handle. If it got tough, they'd cry, or fail to do what was asked—something that happened all too often.
'Still, she's Actress Joo Seoyeon's sister, so she should be fine.'
He vaguely held onto that thought. Plus, before the shoot began, Seoyeon had reassured him, "If it's Sooyeon, she'll be fine."
And then...
"Huh?"
As she was slowly hoisted up using the wire, Sooyeon was seen giggling brightly.
"Unnie, unnie, look! Sooyeon is flying!"
"Sooyeon, don't mess around too much."
Seoyeon tried to stop her in a panic, but Sooyeon, suspended by the wire, swung her body and struck various poses in mid-air. They were the signature transformation poses of Harara that had been requested of her before the shoot. Her movements were so perfect that it made sense she read a lot of comics.
'Huh? Wait?'
The staff couldn't believe their eyes. That usually wasn't an easy thing to do.
'Just how strong is her core?'
Children generally had good stamina. Compared to their body size, their muscle strength was quite good, too. However, a distinct characteristic of children was their heavy heads. Because of that, when suspended in mid-air like this, there were times they couldn't support their heads properly. The staff, who had been on standby for any potential accidents, were visibly flustered by Sooyeon's display.
After a few practice runs, the shoot began immediately.
「Love and care! And respect and kindness! The magical girl of mercy!!」
The staff let out gasps of admiration as Sooyeon struck her pose in mid-air with a 'Ta-da!' gesture.
'She really is fine, just like Actress Joo Seoyeon said.'
'How can sisters be that pretty? Truly a genetic win.'
'Their mother is here too. They both take after her.'
It was impossible not to have those thoughts. Especially with Sooyeon literally flying around on the wire, they almost wondered if it was okay for her to be doing that.
"The wires can hold an adult's weight, so there's no problem, but..."
"Huh, is it supposed to feel like this?"
Sooyeon was literally flying all over the place. Overflowing with energy and a lively personality, there was no stopping her. Perhaps because she was wearing the Harara costume, the synchronization felt exceptionally high.
However.
"Unnie! That's not the vibe of Zero-ro! You need to manage your expressions better!"
"……."
For the first time in her life, Seoyeon received acting criticism. And from her little sister, no less. Ah, well, excluding the feedback she had received from Actress Jung Eunseon, of course.
But she couldn't help it. Watching her flying little sister made her expression unconsciously soften. Not only did it ruin her cold expression management, but it also made her forget she was supposed to be acting as Zero-ro.
"Ahem. I'm going to do this properly."
"Yeah!!"
Anyway, she couldn't show an embarrassing side to her little sister, so Seoyeon reined in her emotions. They would shoot the music video later; today was just a simple commercial shoot. There wasn't anything particularly difficult about it.
「I am Zero-ro. I came to the human world to find the Blue Tower. I will defeat my rival, Harara, and become the greatest mage in the world. Because the secret lies within the key to the Blue Tower that Harara possesses!」
After speaking up to that point, Seoyeon suddenly pondered Zero-ro's character setting.
'...She's not really a bad kid, is she?'
Strictly speaking, Zero-ro's goal was to challenge Harara to a fair duel, win, and take the tower's key. She wasn't really a villain, right? If anything, the people manipulating Zero-ro were the villains... Zero-ro herself was just a girl with a perfectly wholesome goal of becoming the greatest mage.
The moment she had that thought.
「Harara Flash!!」
It was Harara's ultimate move that Seoyeon had used before. A powerful kick aimed squarely at her face flew straight toward Seoyeon.
Seoyeon instinctively deflected it, causing Sooyeon's body to be sent flying sideways, dangling limply from the wire. Seeing her attack blocked, Sooyeon's cheeks puffed out in frustration.
"Unnie! Why did you block it!"
"Are you telling me to just take it?"
"It says right here in the script that Harara shows off a cool technique and Zero-ro gets hit by it."
The 'cool technique' requested there was clearly supposed to be something they could overlay with CG, not a physical attack.
"But most of Harara's techniques are just punches and kicks?"
"Isn't the story about becoming a grand mage?"
"That was added in season 3."
"Then were seasons 1 and 2 just about Harara beating up Zero-ro?"
"No! Zero-ro fought back bravely!"
As the sisters bickered, a staff member hastily interjected.
"W-Wait a minute!"
The staff member wiped the sweat from his forehead, letting out a sigh of relief seeing that neither of them was hurt.
'Wait, how did she fly just now?'
There hadn't even been time to stop her. Looking closely, it seemed she had swung her body hard like she was on a swing, launching herself forward.
He had no idea how she did it, but that wasn't important right now.
"Miss Sooyeon. In this scene, you wave your wand and chant a spell. They told you the spell, right?"
"Hmph, but Harara rarely uses that. She only ever punches and kicks Zero-ro."
"……."
For a moment, the staff looked over at Sim Jinsoo of Loop Enter, Harara's production company.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Sim Jinsoo replied, "K-kids usually grow up fighting like this, don't they?"
Of course, the staff was aware of Harara's lore. It was just a bit absurd.
'Isn't Zero-ro supposed to be a traditional mage-type?'
She commands a familiar named Choegwaisu and knows how to use proper dark magic. It was just that she always got pummeled by Harara's mana-infused punch magic and kick magic through sheer brute force.
Director Kang Deoksoo, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, stroked his chin and nodded.
"Hmm, but Sooyeon handles the wires so well, it should be fine. Let's try to capture the feel of the original work a bit more here. Are you okay with that, Actress Joo Seoyeon?"
"Ah, yes. I think... I'll be fine."
"Yay!!"
Sooyeon threw her arms up in a victory cheer. It seemed she was happy that they were sticking to the 'original' lore. Or perhaps...
"Are you just happy because you get a legal excuse to hit your sister?"
"Huh?"
"Even if you give me that cute look, I'm not falling for it."
"Hehe."
Seeing Sooyeon beaming with a bright smile, Seoyeon let out a deep sigh. She felt like this particular trait really took after her.
And so...
[Breaking! Actress Joo Seoyeon and her sister Joo Sooyeon's Harara Commercial Shoot Film]
The video, immediately uploaded to Loop Enter's YouTube channel, caused quite a stir in the communities once again.
- lol Joo Seoyeon is completely helpless against her little sister
- Is Sooyeon hanging from a wire?
- She's practically flying?
- Well, she is Joo Seoyeon's sister ㅇㅇ;
Because seeing her not as a princess or an actress, but just as an ordinary older sister, Joo Seoyeon, gave off a completely new vibe.