They say such people exist occasionally.
Humans who are born to become actors.
Kim Hyeong-seok had worked as a casting director for quite a long time, but he had never met such a person even once.
There were times when he saw impressive acting, but the phrase 'born to become an actor' always felt like mere exaggeration.
'It exists.'
However, he never thought those words he considered exaggerated would feel so real.
'A human born to become an actor.'
Just by smiling, the atmosphere changed.
The child who seemed to have no emotion suddenly became lively, like a bright and cheerful kid.
Is she holding a cup in her hand?
No, looking at the shape of her hand, it's a milk carton. Or perhaps something longer.
For example, something like a soy milk carton.
"Wow, sis! What's this?"
Jo Min-tae and Kim Hyeong-seok couldn't take their eyes off her bright, chattering appearance.
'Her gaze is directed upward.'
It's acting that assumes someone is filming with her.
'How?'
What they ordered was only acting of 'refreshingly and deliciously drinking cold milk.'
They never said this advertisement was for two people.
The girl holds something with two fingers.
A straw.
She inserts it into the soy milk carton held in her right hand, and sucks it with a smacking sound.
A trivial action.
Gulp.
But just by watching, their throats moved unconsciously.
It had a charm that made one unconsciously look for something to drink.
'It's not awkward.'
The most painful thing when watching beginner acting is when the actor themselves can't immerse in their own acting.
If they feel awkward or embarrassed about their acting, the observers also feel awkward and embarrassed together.
This is due to human empathic ability.
In other words, acting must be able to draw out that empathic ability to the extreme to become 'good acting.'
Can a child who's barely five years old do that?
Was she able to do that?
"……I'm done."
While they were staring blankly at her acting, the girl spoke those words at some point.
With an expressionless face, as if the lively appearance from just now had been a lie.
"Uh, um."
Jo Min-tae couldn't find what to say.
It would have been enough to praise her, saying she was amazing and did well, but those were the same words he had given to Number 13 who had acted before.
To say the same words, the difference in level was too great.
'This is a child actor?'
Among the child actors Jo Min-tae had seen at least, children who could act to this extent could be counted on one hand.
Even those children were mostly one or two years older than this girl, Joo Seo-yeon.
'Wasn't her audition experience, her first?'
A child with this level of acting ability couldn't have never passed an audition before.
Because child actors who knew how to act properly were rare.
This level of skill at her first audition.
If this wasn't being born to become an actor, who could use that phrase?
'Anyway…….'
'It seems decided, right?'
Jo Min-tae and Kim Hyeong-seok exchanged opinions and then nodded.
"She was the best among the child actors I've seen recently."
"Your acting was really good today. First, regarding the results, we'll notify you later by email or phone."
After saying that much, they continued to praise Seo-yeon.
How they really liked her immersion of emotion into the acting.
How her expression was extremely delicate.
'Hmm.'
Seo-yeon, who had been quietly listening to those words, tilted her head.
'Is it just that?'
They're overreacting.
That was the feeling.
Actually, she didn't know well how her own acting was.
She had practiced looking in a mirror, but how outstanding her acting was didn't really resonate.
'Maybe the delusions helped.'
Deluding things had been a specialty since her previous life.
Even when working at a black company, spending time with various delusions was her hobby.
What showed those delusions to her eyes was VTubers.
2D appearing in reality.
The shock she felt when she first saw that was enormously huge.
Like a person living in fantasy.
She wanted to live in such a fantasy herself too.
'……Anyway.'
Seo-yeon looked at the man who was still chattering with a bright face.
'Jo Min-tae, right?'
It was a soy milk advertisement.
The moment she entered the audition room, she noticed right away.
As expected, this audition was the CF for 'Clear Bean Pure Soy Milk' from Garam Dream.
'So it's true that Jo Min-tae was a CF director.'
This 'Clear Bean Pure Soy Milk' would be mentioned on broadcast roughly 10 years later.
At that time, because Kim Jung-ha, who had starred twice as the lead in a ten-million-viewer movie, and the director of her second ten-million-viewer movie was Jo Min-tae.
To be precise, the CF mentioned as 'he had done CF director work' was this Clear Bean Pure Soy Milk.
If she closed her eyes, the interview from that time came to mind clearly.
"The first thing I filmed with Jung-ha wasn't a drama or movie, but a soy milk CF. Do you remember?"
"Of course. I really had no idea the connection from that time would reach like this."
The appearance of the two talking with bright faces.
But Jo Min-tae's bright face didn't last very long.
A mere 3 years later, his father who was his idol committed suicide.
"So I really liked Seo-yeon's acting this time…… Seo-yeon?"
"Ah, yes."
"Oh my, it seems we've been holding you up too long."
Jo Min-tae bowed his head to Seo-yeon apologetically.
A quick glance at the clock showed almost 10 minutes had passed.
"As I mentioned earlier, the results will be delivered approximately one week later."
"Thank you both for your hard work."
Jo Min-tae and Kim Hyeong-seok greeted Seo-yeon and Soo-ah who had been watching from behind.
It was a greeting full of sincerity, as if thanking them for saving this CF.
"Seo, Seo-yeon."
"Yes?"
Coming out of the audition room, Soo-ah hugged her daughter tightly.
"Our daughter, you act so well. Are you really a genius?"
"I, I don't know……."
She was hugged so tightly she couldn't breathe.
Moreover, her mother Soo-ah's chest was…… burdensomely large.
Because of that, Seo-yeon felt an indescribable feeling.
Anyway, she had memories of being a man in her previous life.
"Hmph, overreacting."
At Soo-ah's reaction, some mothers narrowed their eyes and watched.
Not many people took Soo-ah's reaction seriously.
'It's always the case that your own child's acting looks the best.'
Still, with such a pretty face, she was noticeable.
Especially Hong Jin-hee, the mother of Lee Ji-yeon who had received good evaluations today, felt even more so.
'No way, right?'
For it to be the fuss that mothers usually make, Seo-yeon's audition time was too long.
While others came out within 5 minutes for short ones, Seo-yeon came out after almost 20 minutes had passed.
Having thought that far, Hong Jin-hee squeezed her eyes shut.
It seemed like, this audition was probably a miss.
***
The notification of passing the audition came a week later.
Soo-ah, who received the call about passing, jumped around and relayed the news to her husband, and her father Joo Young-bin was at a loss for words.
'Really?'
He briefly considered whether his wife was joking, but his wife wasn't the type of personality to tell such lies.
"Seo-yeon is really a genius, I think. What do we do? Did I give birth to our daughter too beautifully?"
"C, calm down. Please calm down."
"But!"
His young wife hadn't changed from her twenties.
The daughter might have inherited the sensibility of such girlish wife.
"What about you, Seo-yeon? Do you want to keep doing it?"
Rather, the daughter was sitting demurely on the sofa.
As if passing the audition was a matter of course, she was watching Pingping with a solemn face.
'Umm.'
With her gaze fixed on the TV, Seo-yeon tilted her head crookedly.
She tried to turn her head toward Joo Young-bin, but her eyes fixed on the TV didn't move as she wanted.
Perhaps because her body became young, her mind was also affected; Pingping seemed more fun than expected.
Anyway.
'……I passed.'
In her previous life, she never had the luck to pass on the first try, but to think it would turn out like this.
After pondering for a moment, Seo-yeon opened her mouth.
Because it wasn't like there was any problem with passing.
"I want to try it."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Anyway, appearing in a CF advertisement would bring income.
Knowing that, Joo Young-bin firmly decided with his daughter what to do with that income.
"I'll save all this money in our Seo-yeon's bank account. You can use it when you're older."
For when she goes to college, or when there's other business she needs money for.
Seeing them protect this firmly, Young-bin and Soo-ah were truly good parents.
Unlike the parents in her previous life.
'Money. I definitely need it.'
Thinking about when she debuts as a VTuber, there were many places money would need to go in various ways.
Perhaps more than an ordinary streamer.
Equipment needed for ordinary streamers.
3D model.
Full tracking equipment.
Maybe she'd even need to get a separate room.
Soundproofing walls installation…… thinking about it, there was an enormous amount of money that would go in.
'I have to save up diligently.'
Seo-yeon had no desire to ask her parents for money and make them struggle.
At first it was awkward, but now they were precious parents, so she wanted to do it with her own strength as much as possible.
Above all, Seo-yeon was aware that at least her mind was that of an adult.
Let's do what she wants to do herself, that was Seo-yeon's motto.
"Then if you've decided to do it, let's go together with dad this time too."
"Yes."
"Alright, and good job passing this audition too. As expected, our daughter!"
At Joo Young-bin's action of vigorously patting her head, Seo-yeon nodded.
She didn't know why she passed the audition.
But if she was going to do it, she planned to do it properly.
***
A small studio in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
Kim Jung-ha, who had come early and was waiting for the filming of this audition, let out a nervous sigh.
'Let's do well, let's do well.'
This was virtually her first job.
She had challenged auditions many times before, but she had never properly passed.
Without an agency, she was currently a freelancer.
If she could get some attention with this CF, she might be able to find a proper agency.
'I shouldn't put in too much emotion.'
The reason she kept failing auditions was also because Kim Jung-ha's tension didn't match the advertisements.
The same went for ordinary drama extras.
Even as an extra with a few lines, her color stood out too much.
So at best, she only played roles mixed in the crowd without a single line.
"Jung-ha, there's no need to be too nervous. What's a pro? Just do as you're paid."
"Ha, haha."
At the words of the staff who came to relieve her tension, Kim Jung-ha laughed awkwardly.
The contract fee given for this advertisement certainly wasn't much.
So it must be because there was no decent actor that someone like her was chosen.
"Come to think of it, I heard from Director Jo that the child actor coming today is supposedly amazing?"
"Ama…zing?"
"Yes, yes. The casting director too, they were going on about how pretty she was. Even the staff who saw her at the audition kept talking so much. They said they couldn't tell if it was real or not?"
For Jung-ha, who had received a good evaluation at an audition only once, it was a truly enviable evaluation.
Even that good evaluation was the first one she received at this audition.
'What kind of child would she be?'
Still, Kim Jung-ha inwardly thought, 'At best, she's just a child actor.'
Especially for a child actor coming to such a small advertisement, most would be ordinary or worse.
However.
"Hello, actress Kim Jung-ha."
Looking at the child greeting demurely, Kim Jung-ha had no choice but to revise that thought.
Because she realized that in this world, a species called geniuses does exist.