'Hmm.'
Arms crossed, eyes closed, I thought to myself.
'I'm nervous.'
Just because my gender changed doesn't mean I stopped being human, right?
Scary things are still scary, and nerve-wracking things are still nerve-wracking.
'It wasn't like this during the audition.'
Honestly, I thought I'd fail the audition.
Maybe the mindset of thinking "this is all experience" ended up working in my favor.
"Oh my, Seo-yeon, are you nervous?"
"No, I'm not."
"You are too."
"I'm really not."
At times like this, the sharp Su-a saw right through me and called me out.
When I glared at her with puffy eyes, Su-a gave me a tight hug with her large chest.
Hmph, whatever.
"This must be the studio, let's go in."
At my father Joo Young-bin's words, I nodded.
I couldn't really gauge the size of the studio.
It was my first time in a place like this, after all.
"Ah, you're here."
As we entered the studio, CF director Jo Min-tae greeted us as if he'd been waiting.
While Mom and Dad had a brief conversation, I looked around the studio interior first.
'How fascinating.'
Reflectors, filming cameras, and various props were laid out in the square space.
Plus, the staff had decorated it beforehand, giving it quite a charming composition.
It was completely different from the audition venue, which was simply a somewhat spacious room.
Should I say it gave me a strong sense of being a more professional place?
"Hello."
"Ah, so you're that Joo Seo-yeon. I'm looking forward to your acting today."
I trotted around giving belly button bows to the staff.
Children's belly button bows are an incredibly powerful weapon.
In my past life, when my nieces and nephews did it to me, I'd open my wallet without even realizing it.
Especially with someone as cute as me greeting them like this, it was only natural for the staff's expressions to soften.
'Reputation management is always important.'
I might succeed as a VTuber and go on broadcasts later.
Preparing for that possibility was also important.
"Oh my, how cute."
"If only my daughter looked half like that kid..."
Sure enough, sighs of admiration could be heard at my belly button bows.
'Hmm?'
As I went around greeting people, a woman caught my eye.
A woman sitting on a white plastic chair, looking anxious and deep in thought.
'Kim Jeong-ha.'
The Kim Jeong-ha I know is the ten-million actor Kim Jeong-ha.
Seeing Kim Jeong-ha's face "before success" like this was extremely unfamiliar.
"Hello, Actor Kim Jeong-ha."
When I gave her a belly button bow again, I could feel Kim Jeong-ha's eyes widen.
"Are, are you the child actor who's appearing in this CF?"
"Yes, that's right. My name is Joo Seo-yeon."
The term "child actor" felt oddly awkward, but I accepted it for now.
"Wow, really... people are different."
"Yes?"
"...Never mind."
Kim Jeong-ha crumpled like flowing water.
Curling up on the plastic chair as if she didn't want to talk anymore, Kim Jeong-ha was a completely different person from what I had imagined.
'This person filmed that CF?'
Kim Jeong-ha, who always showed a bright and cheerful image on every broadcast.
But the Kim Jeong-ha in front of me right now—how should I put this—was like a hikikomori, the very embodiment of a loner, making me wonder how she even managed to step outside.
'Will I be able to match her breathing?'
I was already nervous enough, but I didn't expect this from Kim Jeong-ha too.
It seemed better to drop the idea of leaning on a senior's presence.
"Jeong-ha ssi! Miss Seo-yeon!"
At that moment, another staff member waved toward us.
"We're getting ready to start filming. You've memorized the script in advance, right?"
At the word "script," I recalled the one I'd left in the car earlier.
The commercial filming script sent by mail after the audition results came out was very different from what I expected.
Unlike drama or movie scripts densely packed with dialogue, how should I describe a commercial script?
It was like a webtoon.
Pictures and dialogue were written together, showing the concept and direction of each scene more directly.
'So it's different from regular acting.'
They say aesthetic sense is important for a CF director.
Direction.
Because they have to create images that can visually and auditorily resonate with people.
At first, I didn't understand what that meant, but after receiving the script, I could immediately tell.
'I should get some help from this when I do VTuber later.'
If I have good aesthetic sense, it'll help in many ways.
Moreover, Jo Min-tae isn't just a CF director; he later achieves tremendous success as a ten-million director.
If I'm even considering a guest appearance, it was important to make a strong impression here.
"Alright then, we're starting the shoot!"
At Jo Min-tae's words, numerous people moved.
Even though it was a low-budget commercial without much money invested, it still required this many people.
Flash!
The lights turned on all at once, and the staff bustled about moving reflectors.
Lighting is extremely important in CFs.
Props and actors all need to appear bright and vibrant.
"Miss Seo-yeon must have a heart of steel. She doesn't look nervous at all."
Seeing that, Jo Min-tae said with a laugh.
Unlike at the audition venue, he definitely gave off the vibe of a "director" now.
"Y-yes."
I tried to sound nonchalant, but it seemed my voice trembled a bit, as I could hear Mom and Dad laughing while watching the shoot.
'I'll have to say something to them later.'
Anyway, aside from my voice shaking a little, my invincible poker face remained intact.
As I stood confidently with my arms crossed, Actor Kim Jeong-ha beside me matched her steps with a hunched posture.
"Let's start with the first storyboard. Going in 3, 2, 1, action."
The first storyboard.
It seemed to be the first scene from the script I had seen.
"Alright, action!"
With Jo Min-tae's shout, filming began.
***
Kim Jeong-ha had thought so from the very first time she saw Seo-yeon.
Ah, so this is a natural-born actor.
A person that heaven designated to be an actor from the moment they were born.
She felt that instinctively.
And when the actual filming began, Kim Jeong-ha felt it vividly.
The sight of flowers instantly blooming on the face of a child who had been so expressionless.
The soy milk in her hand looked as sweet as nectar, a celestial beverage.
What was more important wasn't simply that atmosphere.
"Unni, is this milk? Or soy milk?"
The child saying this with a bright smile wasn't Seo-yeon.
It was as if the child from the script had jumped right out.
'Method acting.'
It didn't make sense, but Jeong-ha instinctively thought of that term.
It was as if Seo-yeon had become a completely different person.
If this wasn't method acting, then what was?
Perhaps it was because of Seo-yeon's acting.
Kim Jeong-ha had no choice but to desperately match Seo-yeon's performance.
"Hmm."
Jo Min-tae's mouth twisted as he watched.
It meant he wasn't satisfied.
"Cut, cut. Let's do it again. Jeong-ha ssi, please be a bit more natural."
"Y-yes."
In filming, it's usually the young child actor's performance that becomes the problem.
But right now, she was the problem.
'I'm not confident with still acting.'
Of course, an actor shouldn't make excuses like this, but at least that's how Kim Jeong-ha felt right now.
'Especially with a monster child like that.'
Her confidence dropped even further.
Maybe she really wasn't cut out to be an actor?
"Cut! Again!"
Several more takes of the first storyboard, but the situation didn't improve.
The atmosphere on set grew heavy, and Jo Min-tae's eyebrows furrowed deeper and deeper.
'Stuffy.'
Even the soy milk I drank a little felt like it was suffocating me.
No, the stuffy feeling wasn't just from the soy milk.
"Um, Director."
At that moment, Seo-yeon, who had been acting quietly, raised her hand.
"I liked the second storyboard better."
At Seo-yeon's innocent remark, the surrounding staff burst into laughter.
Usually, an actor would never be the first to say something like this.
But there was only one reason they laughed.
Because she was still a child.
And because Seo-yeon had shown such outstanding acting so far, they could just laugh it off.
"Ah, you mean the second storyboard?"
Jo Min-tae looked over the second storyboard at Seo-yeon's suggestion.
For Jo Min-tae, who wanted to create a more family-oriented atmosphere, it wasn't a very satisfactory storyboard.
'The concept is too bubbly.'
He glanced at Jeong-ha.
'Wouldn't it be difficult?'
Still acting had its own difficulties.
Bubbly acting had its own difficulties too.
If still acting went wrong, it became bland like this.
If bubbly acting went wrong, it became extremely childish.
Kim Jeong-ha, who couldn't even do still acting properly right now, attempting bubbly acting...
"Hmm, then let's try it."
Anyway, it seemed like continuing with the first storyboard wouldn't make any progress.
The biggest obstacle in filming food commercials is eating.
At least it was soy milk, so they could pretend to drink, but both Jeong-ha and Seo-yeon said that actually eating made it easier to bring out the emotions.
As filming began again.
"Huh?"
"This is pretty good?"
Surprise filled the staff's eyes.
When the acting changed to something more energetic, Kim Jeong-ha started coming alive surprisingly.
When the bubbly acting began, the previously depressed Kim Jeong-ha's acting came alive.
No, more than coming alive, her tension shot up through the roof.
'She matches it perfectly again.'
In this commercial, Jeong-ha and Seo-yeon had the concept of older sister and younger sister.
An energetic older sister and a bright younger sister.
Seo-yeon's acting was excellent even for this.
She was the very embodiment of a lively younger sister.
'So that's it.'
Unlike the staff who merely admired it a little, Jo Min-tae got goosebumps.
Because the current acting was a carbon copy of the acting Seo-yeon had shown at the audition.
'How can it be this identical?'
Does that even make sense?
It couldn't be that the script was leaked.
Because he'd been watching the acting in a daze, he couldn't even shout cut properly.
"Ah, I'm sorry. Cut, cut, cut! This is really good. I think this works?"
In stark contrast to all the struggling earlier, an OK sign came out in one take.
Thanks to that, Kim Jeong-ha, who wiped the sweat flowing down her forehead, couldn't believe this situation.
'In one take? Really?'
She was confident in bubbly acting, so she acted desperately to salvage the situation.
But she never expected to get an OK sign in one take.
'Did she know this would happen?'
Seo-yeon, who suggested the second storyboard anew, was astonishing.
'I-It must be a coincidence, right?'
If she did it on purpose, it would be terrifying.
When did she even observe her?
"Alright, let's check it, so Jeong-ha ssi, Miss Seo-yeon, please come this way."
Jeong-ha approached the camera they had just filmed the commercial with alongside Seo-yeon.
On the small square screen, the footage they had just shot played back.
"Unni, this is soy milk!"
The video started with Seo-yeon's bubbly exclamation.
Watching it, the staff let out brief admiration, and Jeong-ha blinked blankly.
'Wow, this is so clean?'
Was filming originally this easy?
Thinking that, Jeong-ha subtly examined Jo Min-tae's face.
'Huh?'
Jo Min-tae's expression was somehow furrowed.
It wasn't just Jo Min-tae.
Seo-yeon also had a face deep in thought.
"That's strange, this is clearly quite good..."
Jo Min-tae reviewed the video over and over.
Kim Jeong-ha's acting was flawless.
Seo-yeon's acting was really good too.
Wasn't it?
Was this, really okay?
"I think we should film it again."
Before Jo Min-tae could even speak, Seo-yeon's mouth opened first.
This was Seo-yeon's first time filming a CF.
And it was also her first time watching freshly filmed footage like this.
But still, as long as she had eyes, she could certainly tell if something was off or not.
Especially if it was her own mistake.
"I didn't do it right."
Jeong-ha couldn't understand what Seo-yeon meant.
What could possibly have gone wrong in the filming just now...
'Ah.'
Only then did she realize.
The reason Seo-yeon asked to film again.