First of all, the reason Seoyeon learned to dance was, quite unusually, not because of her VTuber activities.
Immediately after receiving her award, Seoyeon took a break from acting for a while, leaving her feeling downcast for some time.
She had suddenly stopped doing something that had come to occupy a significant portion of her heart.
"Seoyeon seems really down."
Naturally, Sua was beyond worried.
In response, Youngbin also pondered seriously before answering.
"Well, what about this. If we just give her plenty of praise so she gets interested in something else, wouldn't that work?"
"Will that actually work?"
Sua scolded Youngbin for his remark, but...
In any case, with no better alternatives, she enthusiastically praised Seoyeon as she did her morning stretching exercises.
"Seeing how you move your body, Seoyeon, you must have a great sense of rhythm!"
"Really?"
"I bet you'd be great at dancing if you learned!"
Seoyeon's ears perked up.
In reality, Seoyeon's sense of rhythm was quite impressive.
Since she was generally good at anything physical, the speed at which she picked up dancing was also fast.
"Ah, you're so good. So good."
And so, without much thought, Sua continued to clap for Seoyeon.
Meanwhile, getting excited all by herself, Seoyeon put a fair amount of effort into learning how to dance.
"Umm, Seoyeon. You're doing great... you're great, but isn't this a bit too much??"
"You praised her way too much."
Of course, that was ultimately the conclusion they reached.
In any case.
Seoyeon was quite confident when it came to dancing.
For starters, dancing, unlike singing, required fewer emotional elements.
Pure physical ability.
And, skill was everything.
Of course, riding the rhythm was important, but as mentioned, Seoyeon wasn't exactly tone-deaf.
The reason she couldn't sing well was her inability to properly convey emotion.
It wasn't that she couldn't sing at all, but it was closer to her emotional mimicry, which could easily make one feel a sense of discomfort.
'First.'
Seoyeon closed her eyes as the musical accompaniment began.
The pre-prepared audition music.
In other words, a specific singer's song prepared in advance.
And this singer would later go on to sing the insert song for
'I can't just perform any ordinary dance.'
It was dancing, but an extension of acting.
She had to properly demonstrate that to the judges.
In the drama, Jo Ha-rin was a bouncy, lively character.
Because of that, she was depicted as someone who had a certain level of expertise in dancing.
Naturally, Seoyeon had also given some thought to the dancing aspect beforehand.
'First, light hip-hop dance.'
The kind of dance most commonly seen by the general public.
The category that the masses generally considered 'cool' mostly fell under this.
B-boying was something she could do, but it would be overkill.
It didn't fit the character concept to begin with.
'Still.'
One move should be fine.
She opens her eyes.
Seoyeon's red eyes flew toward the judges and anchored them.
Exhaling.
Seoyeon's lips curled into a grin.
With a thumping rhythm, Seoyeon's feet moved.
Naturally spreading to shoulder-width apart, one foot stepping forward.
"Oh..."
The first exclamation came from Casting Director Shin Yoon.
Perhaps it was because her singing had been so subtle.
The dancing felt all the more striking.
'Her limbs are long, so her dancing is expansive and clean.'
Of course, he was no dance expert.
It was merely an evaluation from a spectator's perspective.
However, even to an ordinary viewer, Seoyeon's dancing was incredibly dynamic and refreshing.
At the same time.
'Facial expression.'
Belatedly, he realized that Seoyeon was currently acting at the same time.
'It's the scene where Jo Ha-rin dances on the street in the drama.'
The other judges caught on as well.
It wasn't because of the dancing or Seoyeon's bright expression.
'Her gaze.'
Park Jung-woo carefully observed the movement of Seoyeon's gaze.
Her gaze, which he had thought was directed at the judges, swept around as she spun her body, attempting eye contact with the entire 360-degree perimeter.
The audience.
She was imagining an audience surrounding her in a circle.
When Jo Ha-rin dances on the street.
The crowd watching her perform her street dance.
Her movements were based on that assumption.
Her strides were restricted.
The movements of her limbs also halted at certain moments, as if showcasing the space allotted to her.
It was as if the physical space itself was visible.
As though the place Seoyeon was dancing wasn't the audition room, but a street corner where spectators were watching her.
The song headed toward its climax.
Seoyeon's body lowered toward the ground.
"Whoa!"
Someone let out a startled gasp of admiration.
That was because it naturally transitioned from hip-hop into breaking.
With the final, passionate beat.
Whoosh, Seoyeon's body spun.
And fast. Extremely fast.
Windmill.
Also known as breaking.
It was one of the most fundamental moves in the dance commonly referred to as b-boying.
Furthermore, it was the most recognizable breaking move to the general public.
However, even if it was a basic move, it was difficult for an ordinary person to pull off, and without proper training, it would just look clumsy.
Thanks to her long limbs, it was impressive enough to make them gape without realizing.
Forgetting that this was supposed to be acting.
And the moment the song stopped.
Seoyeon's hands touched the floor, and she held her body completely still in the air.
"Wow!"
Involuntarily, one of the judges let out an exclamation.
Freeze.
A posture supporting the body using the strength of the arms and upper torso.
Typically the finishing move in breaking.
The reason Seoyeon had deliberately performed a windmill was to showcase this move as naturally as possible at the end.
As her body, which had been spinning at high speed, came to a dead stop in mid-air, the music ended.
The judges stared with their mouths agape, and no one dared to speak first.
No, they couldn't.
'Wait, isn't she too good at dancing?'
No, more importantly, how is she supporting her body like that right now?
Is she holding herself up purely with arm strength?
'Wow, is that even possible?'
To those seeing b-boying for the first time, it was an undeniably fascinating move.
Looking at the stunned crowd, Seoyeon glanced over with a smug, proud look.
At Seoyeon's completely different attitude compared to when she sang, Jung-woo smirked.
'...Showing off, huh.'
Of course, thinking that, Park Jung-woo also let out a sigh of relief.
Watching Seoyeon stand up and offer a polite bow, Jung-woo nodded in return.
In any case, it was safe to say that the deficit caused by her singing had definitely been made up for.
'As expected, she seems to be good at pretty much anything physical.'
Usually, flashy dance moves were nothing more than bonus points and didn't heavily influence the audition results.
The same went for poor singing.
However, if it was exceptionally good or terribly bad, it would definitely have an impact.
Seoyeon's singing had been the latter, and her dancing was the former.
Especially when considering the character traits possessed by Song So-ha and Jo Ha-rin.
"The dance moves and acting are very natural. It definitely suits the character of Jo Ha-rin."
The audition meeting for
"Her singing is a bit lacking, but we have time, so she can improve it to some extent."
"But dancing isn't something that can be learned in a short period."
Song So-ha.
Honestly, the production team wanted to cast Seoyeon for that role.
However, the actress herself didn't want the role of Song So-ha.
More than anything, Jo Ha-rin's specialty in the drama was dancing.
She wasn't a character who couldn't sing, but the setting was that she had a certain expertise in dancing to showcase her bouncy personality.
"But Jo Ha-rin's screen time..."
Muttering so, Casting Director Shin Yoon turned his gaze somewhere.
To Im Jin-ha, the writer who penned the script for
A writer whose career was still at the level of being called a 'rookie'.
Normally, if a drama writer of this caliber said 'Change it,' it had to be changed.
"Is it perhaps possible to adjust the screen time for Jo Ha-rin's role?"
"I think it would be good if her appearance frequency increased just a little more after episode 8."
To the words of Casting Director Shin Yoon and Director Kim Pil-seok.
"Then there would be too many things to fix in the script. The story would definitely get ruined."
Im Jin-ha refused, shaking her head.
At the expected reaction, Director Kim Pil-seok clicked his tongue inwardly.
'Tch. Of all people.'
For one reason or another, Writer Im Jin-ha was displeasing to him in many ways from his perspective as the director.
Her career was that of a rookie, but she happened to have two hit dramas.
Actually, she was an assistant writer for one of them, so she only had one proper hit.
Regardless, whether a rookie writer has a hit drama or not makes a world of difference.
On top of that, as far as he knew, Im Jin-ha had backing in the broadcasting station.
He believed she was connected to a certain PD in the drama department...
In any case, because of that, if she insisted on something, even Director Kim Pil-seok couldn't easily push through.
"Writer Im Jin-ha."
Towards her, Park Jung-woo spoke with a gentle smile.
At that smile, Im Jin-ha's stiff expression softened.
"Yes?"
"Then, if an unexpected situation arises, would it perhaps be possible to revise it?"
"An unexpected situation?"
"Ah, for example, if a certain character... gains unexpected immense popularity."
It was obvious who Park Jung-woo meant by 'a certain character'.
Jo Ha-rin.
It was a topic that made her stiffen her face when Director Kim Pil-seok or Casting Director Shin Yoon brought it up, but...
"Oh, of course."
Seeing her chuckling softly as she said that, Kim Pil-seok needlessly stroked his face with his palm.
In any case, you just couldn't fight a pretty face.
'...In any case.'
Park Jung-woo's words were highly significant.
The phrase, 'If she gains unexpected immense popularity.'
'Is he saying Jo Ha-rin will get a bigger reaction than expected? Or perhaps...'
One thing came to Kim Pil-seok's mind.
The release of
If Park Jung-woo had said that with that in mind...
'Then I can't exactly call it an exaggerated assessment.'
Seoyeon's acting seen at the audition.
And her unexpected dancing skills.
According to Park Jung-woo, she had a knack for being good at anything physical.
In many ways, she was a kid with real talent.
"Then, let's decide."
Director Kim Pil-seok said, looking at the two photos.
Song So-ha.
And the faces of the two actresses decided for the role of Jo Ha-rin.
***
It was two days later when Seoyeon was notified of the results for
Manager Park Eun-ha patted Seoyeon's shoulder with a look of regret.
"Seoyeon, what are we going to do?"
At her depressed expression, Seoyeon felt her fur stand on end.
'Did I... fail?'
No matter how bad my singing was, really.
But failing me entirely is too harsh, isn't it?
Just as Seoyeon was about to feel downcast.
"They called to say they want to cast you as Jo Ha-rin."
"Ah, really?"
"Huh?"
She thought Seoyeon would naturally be disappointed, but Seoyeon's face brightened rapidly.
There was no change in her expression, but her eyes were sparkling.
One way or another, by constantly staying by her side, you could subtly understand Seoyeon's way of expressing emotions.
She just wasn't good at expressing them.
Her emotions themselves had recently become quite rich.
'Be surprised.'
You thought I failed.
She had originally auditioned aiming for Jo Ha-rin, but it seemed Park Eun-ha assumed Seoyeon had naturally auditioned for the role of 'Song So-ha'.
Since that was the main heroine in the drama.
"Ah, and also."
The moment Manager Park Eun-ha was about to say something else.
Bzzzt!!
A vibration sound came from her pocket.
Taking it out naturally to check, she made an expression that was hard to describe.
"Why?"
"Huh? Ah. You'll know if you take this, Seoyeon."
"Yes?"
What could that mean?
She wondered that, but first took the phone Park Eun-ha held out.
If it was a suspicious call, she wouldn't have handed it over like that in the first place.
"Hello."
The moment she answered casually like that.
「Joo Seoyeon?!」
As soon as she heard that voice, a startled voice came from the other end.
It was a woman's voice.
At the unfamiliar voice, Seoyeon asked.
"Who is this?"
「......」
She felt a strangely disappointed vibe from the other side, but it must have been her imagination.
In any case, the other person caught her breath for a moment before speaking like this.
「I-it's me, Jo Seo-hee.」
A trembling voice.
Ah, Jo Seo-hee.
Come to think of it, her voice was indeed like this.
To begin with, Seoyeon hadn't thought deeply about her friend Jo Seo-hee, who had brought it up.
She just figured that was how she was.
"Hello."
「Ah, yeah. I'm not doing so well, but...」
At Seo-hee's words, Seoyeon pulled the phone away from her ear for a moment and frowned.
Because her voice was so unusually cowed that she wondered if it was really Jo Seo-hee.
"But why did you suddenly call?"
「Well.」
Jo Seo-hee's voice hesitated for a moment.
It seemed like she was debating whether she should really say it.
But soon.
「It's, it's a misunderstanding.」
"Pardon?"
「The movie they said they wanted to shoot with you... I didn't know it was that kind of movie.」
At Jo Seo-hee's sudden confession.
Seoyeon finally understood the reason.
'Ah, it's because of that.'
She finally realized what Director Baek Min's movie, which Jo Seo-hee had mentioned before, was actually about.