NOVEL NEXT Chapter 264
“Let’s see… So, the meetings are all done now? Just the filming left, right?”
Suah, who was watching YouTube on TV, double-checked Seo-yeon’s schedule.
She doesn’t chase after Seo-yeon at work like before, but she still keeps an eye on the schedule regularly.
Sometimes she checks with Park Eun-ha, the manager, but it’s still awkward, so she mostly confirms with Seo-yeon directly.
“Yes. First, we’ll film *Mine*, and as soon as that’s done, I’ll start filming Director Jo Bang-woo’s movie.”
“And after that is *The Flower of the Imperial Palace*?”
“Yes.”
Practically, next year’s schedule is just *The Flower of the Imperial Palace* and *Mine*.
This year, I filmed way too much. Two projects a year is already plenty.
Besides, out of what I filmed this year, *Sky Garden* was the only one where I played the lead.
The others had significant roles, but not quite lead-level.
That’s why I had the time to film multiple projects.
“Yesterday, Ji-yeon and Seo-hee contacted me. They said the Japan filming is done now.”
“…Really?”
When on earth did those two get so close to Mom?
Seo-yeon was genuinely curious.
“They said there’s not much left for the Korea filming, right? Once that’s done, it’s straight into promotions?”
“Yes.”
So, two things left for this year.
Promoting *Gyeongseong Young Lady* before its release and filming *Mine* in between.
I’ve been so busy that I’ve turned down most ads, so it’s just these two things.
‘I’ll go on variety shows next year.’
For now, I plan to focus on school.
I barely attended during the busiest quarters of the past year, so I need to make up for that.
“I see. The CEO of Aids contacted me, asking if you could film more ads.”
Seems like they reached out to Suah too.
‘They probably want Mom to appear with me.’
Seo-yeon didn’t dare say that out loud.
Anyway, since Suah appeared on a variety show, requests have been coming in through Park Eun-ha occasionally.
Mostly ads for baby food or things where moms and kids appear together.
Suah and my younger sister Su-yeon have both gained a lot of popularity.
Because of that, fan communities for Suah and Su-yeon have popped up too.
Those feel like proper fan communities.
Unlike my own, which feels more like a gladiator arena.
“By the way, what are you watching now?”
“Huh? This is Park Soon-cheol TV. It’s a channel that uploads car accident footage, like black box videos.”
“Ah, that one.”
Seo-yeon knew about it too.
A YouTube channel that covers all sorts of car accidents and incidents.
It’s so famous that posts like “Another legendary moment on Soon-cheol TV lol” often pop up in communities.
‘Mom’s into it too, huh.’
After Seo-yeon grew up, Suah quietly started watching anime again, and now she’s expanded to YouTube.
As they quietly watched the screen.
[Today, we received a very strange report. Let’s watch the video first.]
The mention of a “strange report” made the YouTube chat go wild.
If Park Soon-cheol says it’s strange, it’s definitely not ordinary.
– Is today another legendary moment?
– That’s wrong, every moment is legendary, so “another” doesn’t make sense.
– Lol true.
The video showed a car speeding through a narrow alley.
Clearly driving dangerously.
Watching it, Seo-yeon felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Why does this feel familiar?
– Who speeds like that in a narrow alley?
– From the interior, it’s a Carnival.
– Typical Carnival driver lol.
– No need to watch, they’re gonna crash again.
Long-time viewers of Park Soon-cheol TV could predict what would happen next.
Either a car would suddenly appear from the alley and collide, or they’d crash into the alley.
Just as they expected, a child and their mother holding hands appeared at a crosswalk without a traffic light.
Given the Carnival’s speed, it was impossible to avoid.
The situation was extremely dangerous.
– ?
– Is this a fatal accident? OMG.
– Did this psycho upload footage of themselves hitting someone???
– If they submitted this because they felt wronged, they’re insane???
The moment that scene appeared, Park Soon-cheol paused the video.
He often pauses right before the accident, so viewers assumed the next scene would show the two being hit and flying away.
Since he doesn’t show explicit accident footage, they thought the video ended there.
But.
“What I found strange is this part. Honestly, I thought it was a fatal accident too. But, this!”
The video resumed.
The mother and child noticed the car too late.
The Carnival slammed on the brakes.
But there was no collision sound. The car just slid forward.
“No collision, right?”
– ???
– What’s going on???
– Is this magic?
– Why did the people in front just disappear????
“I found this strange too. Let’s watch it again in slow motion.”
The video played at a much slower speed.
Just before the car hit the people, something flashed past.
The face wasn’t clear, but from the physique, it looked like a woman.
The woman seemed to push the two out of the way, but the footage was shaky, probably due to a cheap black box camera.
– I thought that was a shadow, but it was a person?
– Did she run out and save them?
– An alien????
– Does that even make sense????
– That’s a person? Lol.
– Feels like the world just changed.
“I’ve been watching accident footage for over 10 years, but this is a first. The Carnival driver reportedly deeply regretted it.”
– Regret lol, they’ll do it again.
– Since no one was hurt, there’s no way to punish them. People like that shouldn’t drive.
– But who is that person?
– The Carnival isn’t the issue, what’s with that??? Is the frame glitch making it look like a person????
“The person who submitted the footage said they didn’t get a clear look either. They were wearing a mask and a hat, so their face wasn’t visible.”
Definitely suspicious attire.
So, the chat was flooded with all sorts of theories.
Aliens, or a superhero hiding their identity.
Though the latter got told to stop reading so many comics.
As Suah watched this bizarre accident footage.
“…Seo-yeon?”
“…”
“Was that you?”
Seo-yeon subtly avoided eye contact.
She never dreamed this incident would come to light like this.
***
– Isn’t that Joo Seo-yeon?
– Hmm… plausible, I agree.
– Why would Joo Seo-yeon be there lol.
– I heard YTBC Broadcasting Station is near that alley. If she had business there, it’s possible.
– This is such a stretch.
– But it’s pretty convincing, right??
Seo-yeon carefully scanned the posts online.
Especially in her fan community.
Thankfully, most of it was just speculation.
‘Thank goodness my face was covered.’
Since she didn’t talk much, they probably didn’t recognize her.
The mother and child who were saved could’ve seen her better than the Carnival driver, but they didn’t seem to notice either.
Probably… right?
‘Anyway, I won’t have to worry about *The Flower of the Imperial Palace* for a while.’
I sent Jung Ha-ran back safely after she kept muttering “status window” like she was out of it.
It’ll take a while to find the rest of the cast.
“Are you… not nervous at all?”
Seeing Seo-yeon calmly looking at her phone, Narumi Sora, sitting next to her, cautiously spoke up.
She was feeling the pressure of the situation.
*Mine*.
Now that the filming was about to begin in earnest, all the actors had gathered in one place.
‘There are some familiar faces.’
Sora quietly shifted her gaze and looked around. She could see some faces she had seen in <Hyper Action Star>.
‘There’s Han So-yu too.’
It seemed they had picked up some decent people from those who came. And among them was Min Do-ha, who looked half out of her mind.
‘Why am I…’
Min Do-ha, the woman who screamed like a supercar, didn’t want to appear in <Mine>. When the offer came, she outright refused!
But.
“Do-ha, think about it. This is an opportunity!”
“It’s an OTT drama that GH Group has been sharpening their knives for. Appearing in it is a guaranteed win!”
“Ah, if you really don’t want to do it, give it to me. I really want to do it.”
From her manager to her fellow actors, even the CEO personally called her. At this point, even Min Do-ha found it hard to refuse. She knew how big this opportunity was. The role she was cast in wasn’t a bad one either.
If she did well, it could significantly boost her recognition!
‘But…’
Min Do-ha quietly glanced at Seo-yeon, who was sitting a little distance away. While everyone else looked visibly nervous, the lead actress was just staring at her phone screen.
She’s only been acting seriously for a year now, but she looks like a seasoned veteran.
‘Actually, she’s done as many projects as a veteran.’
An overwhelming number for just one year. Fellow actors even wonder if Seo-yeon is some kind of iron woman.
Some worry about image consumption, but because she’s shown so many different sides in just one year, her image hasn’t had a chance to solidify.
Cha Seo-ah? Recently, Lee Yoo-joo?
Mostly a cold impression. But recently, her image flipped again with a Beol commercial.
She really is an actress with a thousand faces. Of course, to Min Do-ha, she was just a terrifying presence.
‘Yesterday, that monster on Park Soon-chul’s TV, it was definitely her. It’s her.’
While everyone else was just speculating, Min Do-ha was certain. Because, unnoticed by others, in slow motion, you could see a faint red glow when she ran.
‘That woman’s eyes!!’
Even now, when she sleeps, she sometimes dreams of a red-eyed murderer chasing her. That’s why she could tell immediately. That’s Joo Seo-yeon!
“Do-ha, stop talking nonsense.”
“……”
Of course, no one believed her. As Min Do-ha quietly shook her head, the surroundings started to get a bit noisy.
The number of attending actors was gradually increasing.
“Jo Seo-hee is also reappearing, right?”
“Joo Seo-yeon and Jo Seo-hee? Really? She’s not here today.”
“That’s because she has another movie filming schedule overlapping.”
Joo Seo-yeon and Jo Seo-hee are among the young actors closest to being major stars. The fact that both are appearing in the same movie…
‘They recently appeared together in <Gyeongseong Young Lady>.’
‘They’re close, so maybe they’ve already talked about it?’
‘But both have strong colors, wouldn’t their presence in <Mine> just distract attention?’
Such various thoughts. But the real important thing wasn’t the two actresses.
“Hey, is that the issue now? Arthur Diaz is appearing, right?”
“But is Arthur Diaz really participating in this movie?”
“Arthur Diaz?? Really? I’m so excited! I’m a fan!!”
“GH really has money. They brought Arthur Diaz all the way to Korea?”
Such conversations among the actors could be heard. Today wasn’t so much a script reading as it was a chance to get to know each other and understand how the filming of <Mine> would proceed.
Not just actors, but GH Group personnel were also occasionally seen. That’s how much expectation is riding on this drama.
And then.
Clunk.
The door opened again, and a group of people entered. Bodyguards in black suits. And a considerable number of staff.
In the center stood a blond man.
‘It’s Arthur Diaz.’
‘It’s really him in the flesh!’
Even though they’re actors, seeing a famous Western actor can’t help but evoke a similar reaction as ordinary people. Especially since Arthur Diaz is a celebrity even overseas.
In Korea, he’s the first name that comes to mind when you think of a ‘prince’. Acting skills verified in the ‘world’ of Hollywood.
With his radiant looks, several actresses were mesmerized.
‘…Quite a crowd.’
Arthur Diaz quietly observed the people. Not just the lead actors, but supporting roles and even extras seemed to be gathered.
Are they doing this haphazardly because they have me?
‘Maybe for the making film.’
Cameras were set up here and there. Just like in <Hyper Action Star>.
‘That variety show must have been rigged.’
While adjusting his schedule in Korea, Arthur watched <Hyper Action Star>, the audition variety show for <Mine>. His impression was quite straightforward.
‘Korean variety shows are also full of rigging.’
It’s natural for variety shows to be scripted. Even though it was live, some actors moved as if they had rehearsed.
The pinnacle of that was Seo-yeon.
‘It must be rigging, right?’
Suddenly, she ‘saw’ and dodged a paintball flying towards her. Her red pupils followed the trajectory of the bullet. Since it was live, it couldn’t be CG.
‘……’
Arthur gave up thinking deeply about it. Anyway, apart from that, the actions were things that could be shown if rehearsed in advance.
‘There it is.’
Arthur gave everyone a gentle smile. Stella called it a ‘fake prince’ smile. She said his face looked too good when he smiled like that.
No idea what she meant, though.
“Gasp.”
Some actors who saw the direction Arthur was walking held their breath. Whether rookies or veterans.
Because the place Arthur stopped was none other than where Seo-yeon was sitting. Thanks to that, Narumi Sora, sitting to Seo-yeon’s left, almost had a fit.
“See you again, Seo-yeon.”
His tone was quite friendly. Naturally, the surroundings buzzed at Arthur’s reaction.
‘Are Arthur and Joo Seo-yeon acquaintances?’
‘I heard Arthur Diaz rarely greets first unless it’s someone special.’
‘Wow, but he’s really handsome.’
Hearing such whispers, Arthur’s shoulders unconsciously rose. And just as he was about to sit in the empty seat to Seo-yeon’s right.
“There’s a seat here.”
“Huh?”
“It’s for my friend, sorry.”
At Seo-yeon’s apologetic words, Arthur froze with his smile still on. No, not just Arthur.
The other actors were equally shocked. No one expected her to flatly refuse Arthur’s offer.