"Seoyeon, Mom brought some fruit..."
Sua, who knocked on her daughter's room and carefully opened the door, trailed off.
Because Seoyeon was face-down with her head buried in her desk.
'Is she dead?'
It was a sight that made her wonder that for a moment.
But as if she had been watching a video until just now, a finished YouTube video was displayed on the monitor.
Her daughter was watching something strange again.
Thinking that, Sua placed the fruit next to the face-down Seoyeon and disappeared.
It wasn't like her daughter being strange was a one or two day occurrence.
'Who...'
Seoyeon sluggishly got up and chewed on the apple placed on the plate.
As the refreshing sweetness spread, she felt her head clearing up.
Of course, her insides were boiling.
Jealousy!
Seoyeon hadn't yet realized it, but this feeling burning inside her right now.
That feeling of tearing into the apple with her teeth without even being conscious of it was precisely jealousy!
'Someone who could teach Lee Jiyeon about modeling or equipment.'
Nothing appropriate came to mind regarding that.
Among the people around Jiyeon, someone who could do that.
'Was there anyone besides me?'
Clearly, even when Jiyeon had visited Seoyeon's house before, she seemed to know nothing about VTubers.
After that time, did she ask someone, become interested, and start?
"Ugh."
She couldn't play the video again.
That mage.
No, the mage side already seems to be doing VTuber activities, so wouldn't I know if I searched?
Seoyeon knew to some extent about domestic VTubers, but she didn't know all of them.
There were some she didn't know.
The blue mage right now was such a case.
'30,000 subscribers with about 1,000 average viewers.'
For an individual, this was a really successful level.
Why didn't I know?
More than that, this isn't what's important. Isn't there a Red Pill?
'There isn't...'
She could tell it was a VTuber who had been active for over a year, but there was no other information.
Listening to the voice, it was someone who had properly learned vocalization.
'Vocalization?'
Having thought that far, Seoyeon guessed one possibility.
If it's someone close to Lee Jiyeon with good vocalization, the range narrows significantly.
Definitely from the voice acting academy...
Bzzzt!
At that moment, Seoyeon's phone rang.
As she hastily picked it up.
"What is it, Ju Seoyeon. Did you call?"
She heard Jiyeon's prickly voice.
Seoyeon overlaid Lamiel on the monitor with Jiyeon.
'Can't I just ask?'
Right. Making something simple complicated.
Thinking that, Seoyeon tried to ask nonchalantly, but.
'...'
She wondered if it was okay to ask something like this carelessly.
After all, wouldn't it be asking about Red Pill outright.
And even for Seoyeon, even if Lamiel and Jiyeon were the same person, hearing it directly from the person's own mouth was a different matter.
"Ah, midterms... because of the exam scope."
"You don't study."
"..."
At Jiyeon's words, Seoyeon lost her words.
Because she couldn't bring herself to refute that.
***
The next day.
She wanted to immediately ransack the voice acting academy, but unfortunately, she couldn't.
That was because Seoyeon could hardly make time due to the movie filming.
Of all days, today had morning filming, so she skipped school and couldn't ask Jiyeon either.
"Seoyeon, you look a bit tired?"
"I'm fine."
"Really? But it's an important role, so you need to manage your condition well. You know that?"
"Yes."
Seoyeon nodded at actor Kim Daeheon's words.
Because she couldn't bring herself to say she couldn't sleep properly due to her indignation from watching the VTuber stream yesterday.
'Condition management...'
That was definitely right.
Seoyeon's role was Cha Seoa, the main villain of this movie.
With her enormous importance in the work and frequent appearances, if Seoyeon missed filming, the number of scenes that could be shot would decrease significantly.
A few times would be fine, but if frequent problems arose, it would delay the release.
'It's different from when I was a child actor.'
The responsibility demanded.
And the importance too.
Seoyeon tried hard to steady her mind.
The filming began like that.
'Cha Seoa's acting is almost to the point of being herself.'
Director Bae Jinhwan felt a bit disappointed in the previous filming.
To be honest, Seoyeon's Cha Seoa acting had no flaws.
But, just a little.
It felt like just one more thing should be added.
Namely, the motive for murder.
And Cha Seoa's emotions appearing there were ambiguous.
Of course, even if it's ambiguous, there's a fun in audiences guessing it.
Cha Seoa's motive for the crime.
And her feelings toward murder.
But Bae Jinhwan thought it would be good if Seoyeon expressed it a bit more clearly.
'Is it too much to ask of a teenage actor?'
Rather, he thought he was being greedy.
Asking an actor who's already doing well enough to do better?
Honestly, it could ruin even the acting that was going well.
But.
'Still, let me try saying it after seeing today's acting.'
What is a director anyway.
Ultimately, it's a role that guides and demands acting to get the desired scene from actors.
If something is bothersome, you have to say it.
'And definitely.'
With Seoyeon's potential, she could do it quickly.
Bae Jinhwan had that kind of faith.
"Today's scene is the modified one. You heard, right? That Cha Seoa's setting was partially changed?"
"Ah, yes. A convenience store part-timer, right?"
The one who said that was actor Jung Sihyun, who played the victim Han Yehwa.
Today was her first appearance scene.
Originally it was a scene where they coincidentally met on the street, but the modified scene was changed to them meeting at a convenience store.
"Scene number 34."
The timeframe was the day after the chase with the detective.
In other words, after the fourth victim appeared.
Police cars lined up on the street.
And the sight of busily moving police is shown.
In contrast to that, showing the happy Han Yehwa, it was a scene hinting at the next victim.
Han Yehwa, who was both a victim and practically the heroine of this movie.
Her first appearance scene.
"The atmosphere is important in this scene. Sihyun and Seoyeon, your atmospheres need to contrast with each other."
Before filming began, Bae Jinhwan briefly guided the acting.
The general camera movement.
And the required scene and emotional line.
For Jung Sihyun, it wasn't that difficult of acting.
Because Han Yehwa was an ordinary person who couldn't imagine that the murder cases happening now would 'possibly' happen to her.
She just needed to act as a happy woman excited about making plans with her lover.
The important one was Seoyeon.
Cha Seoa had to treat such a woman with a smiling face, creating tension.
Cha Seoa's gloomy emotions, contrasting with the happy Han Yehwa, had to be revealed.
As intensely and clearly as possible.
"Alright! Then let's try it first."
With a clap of hands.
Everyone started moving to their assigned places.
They checked the camera and sound.
Each actor also moved to their places for filming.
Jung Sihyun to the street.
Seoyeon to the convenience store counter.
'To think I'd end up playing a convenience store part-timer role.'
Thinking that, Seoyeon touched the uniform she was wearing with her fingers.
To think she'd end up wearing the uniform of a convenience store Seoyeon frequently visits.
'Cha Seoa's emotions.'
Honestly, a customer service role doesn't suit Cha Seoa.
That's because Cha Seoa, who has an illness where she can't properly express emotions, can't do customer service in the first place.
She can't.
But such authenticity issues were probably sacrificed to some extent for the entertainment of the drama.
'Or maybe, I can think of it as faking it like me.'
Acting that hides the illness, or seems to have overcome it.
But in truth, herself who hasn't changed at all.
Cha Seoa's acting was more awkward and clumsy than her past self.
So Cha Seoa mostly doesn't make expressions.
She didn't think deeply about emotions.
Because no matter how she expressed them, it only caused discomfort to others.
Like that.
The convenience store door opened.
Today was an ordinary day.
At least for Cha Seoa it was.
Her body was a bit stiff from various things that happened last night, but that much was fine.
She could just consider it as having exercised a bit hard.
Thinking that, she looked at the customer who just entered.
"Yeah, oppa. Nothing's up with me. Right, I know too."
A woman talking on the phone with a bright face, holding her phone in one hand.
With brown hair, she was a woman with an overall cute impression.
A face as if she was born to be loved by others.
"..."
There were other customers in the convenience store, but Cha Seoa's gaze slowly followed her.
The bright-faced woman.
Han Yehwa with a happy smile.
Little by little, Cha Seoa's eyelids trembled.
Her lips, unable to find the appropriate emotion, twitched like a spasm.
Because she herself couldn't judge what emotion she was feeling right now.
Despite there being other customers, as if under a spell, Cha Seoa's pupils slowly moved.
That.
The zoomed-in camera precisely captured Cha Seoa's gaze.
'What is this.'
Bae Jinhwan saw the series of scenes and unconsciously opened his mouth.
That was because the emotion clearly reflected in Seoyeon's pupils.
Jealousy.
That intense flame, it was felt vividly.
It wasn't just Bae Jinhwan.
The other staff were the same.
There was a tension contrasting with Han Yehwa who was happily talking on the phone.
Especially the camera director who was directly zooming in on the screen felt that emotion vividly.
Seoyeon had always had a high synchronization rate with Cha Seoa.
On top of that, Cha Seoa's motive for the crime.
When jealousy toward happy humans was added.
They could feel something that would make the tension they'd seen from Cha Seoa until now seem 'trivial.'
As if the real thing was right in front of them...
"...!"
Was it because of that.
The body of actor Jung Sihyun, who played Han Yehwa and was turning toward the counter after finishing her call, flinched.
She unconsciously reacted momentarily to acting that was more intense than expected.
'This can't be helped.'
If human, one would unconsciously react like that.
If they hadn't been expecting it, to the tension felt from Cha Seoa right now.
And the discomfort of something human but not human, they couldn't help but show such a reaction.
This isn't a mistake.
It's natural.
But since it was an NG scene-wise, it was the moment Bae Jinhwan was about to shout 'cut.'
"...The weather is nice today, isn't it?"
Han Yehwa said.
To Cha Seoa looking at her, with a smiling face.
"Excuse me?"
"You look a bit tired. On such a nice day, anyone would feel that way if they were working."
She said it's especially so in a spring like this.
Han Yehwa said so.
On an afternoon with nice weather, one's body naturally becomes drowsy.
Han Yehwa held out a glass bottle placed on the counter to Cha Seoa.
It was the vitamin drink she had just purchased.
"Drink this and cheer up."
Han Yehwa said so with a good-natured smile.
Cha Seoa inadvertently received it and watched the back of Han Yehwa leaving the convenience store.
Continuously until another customer called her.
Endlessly.
"Cut!!"
As the scene concluded, Bae Jinhwan shouted.
He thought it was an NG, but he didn't expect Jung Sihyun to naturally ad-lib there.
'It wasn't originally in the script, right?'
'Yes.'
'Jung Sihyun's acting is really on fire today.'
It was natural acting.
The brief moment of shaking rather seemed to show Han Yehwa's character.
"Seoyeon."
"Yes?"
Before praising Jung Sihyun's ad-lib, Bae Jinhwan first called Seoyeon.
"Did you do some special training?"
"Yes?"
"Actually I was thinking of talking to you a bit today, but I guess there's no need now. You seem to have expressed Cha Seoa's emotions perfectly."
And to Bae Jinhwan's words, Seoyeon.
"...?"
Just thought, is that so?
She thought she acted as usual.
But suddenly.
"Ah."
Seoyeon realized.
What she had unconsciously recalled while acting this time.
Jealousy.
One emotion that was very similar to it.
"Ah, yes. I, I did special training."
Seoyeon couldn't bring herself to say what the catalyst was.
Because even Seoyeon had that much sense.