Chapter 03 First Audition

 

First Audition (2)

 

Some people are said to be born to be actors.

 

Kim Hyung-seok had been a casting director for a long time, but he had never met such a person. He had seen many impressive performances, but the phrase "born to be an actor" always seemed like an exaggeration.

 

‘They exist.’

 

However, the saying he once thought was an exaggeration now seemed very real.

 

‘A person born to be an actor.’

 

Just by smiling, the atmosphere changed. The child, who seemed emotionless, suddenly became lively and cheerful.

 

Was she holding a cup? No, from the hand shape, it looked like she was holding a milk carton or something longer, like a soy milk carton.

 

“Wow, what’s this, big sister?”

 

With a bright smile and chatty demeanor, Cho Min-tae and Kim Hyung-seok couldn’t take their eyes off her.

 

‘Her gaze is directed upwards.’

 

She was acting as if she was with someone.

 

‘How?’

 

They had only instructed her to act like she was drinking cold milk deliciously. They hadn’t mentioned that this commercial involved two people.

 

The girl mimicked holding a straw with her two fingers. She pretended to insert it into the soy milk carton in her right hand and took a sip.

 

A simple action.

 

Gulp.

 

But just watching her made their throats move involuntarily. She had a charm that made people want to drink something too.

 

‘It doesn’t feel awkward.’

 

The most painful thing to watch is when an actor isn’t immersed in their performance. If they find their acting awkward or embarrassing, the viewers will feel the same discomfort and embarrassment.

 

This is due to empathy, the ability to share and understand another's feelings. Thus, good acting should be able to evoke that empathy to the fullest.

 

Can a child around five years old do that? Could they?

 

“...I’m done.”

 

Lost in watching her performance, they were startled when the girl spoke. She was now back to her expressionless face as if the lively performance earlier had been a lie.

 

“Oh, um.”

 

Cho Min-tae couldn’t find the words to say. He could have praised her for being great, but that was the same compliment he had given to number 13 earlier.

 

Repeating the same words felt inappropriate given the disparity in their performances.

 

‘Is she really a child actor?’

 

Of all the child actors Cho Min-tae had seen, only a few could perform at this level. Most of them were older than Ju Seoyeon by a year or two.

 

‘Wasn’t this her first audition?’

 

A child with such acting skills wouldn’t have failed every audition. Good child actors were rare, and her performance at her first audition was this skilled.

 

If she wasn’t born to be an actor, who else could claim that title?

 

‘It seems…’

 

‘We’ve made our decision, right?’

 

Cho Min-tae and Kim Hyung-seok exchanged opinions and nodded.

 

“You were the best child actor I’ve seen recently.”

 

“Your performance was excellent today. We’ll notify you of the results by email or phone later.”

 

After saying this, they continued to praise Seo-yeon. They praised her for immersing herself in the emotions and for her delicate expressions.

 

‘Hmm.’

 

Listening to their compliments, Seo-yeon tilted her head.

 

‘Is it really that great?’

 

It felt like an exaggeration.

 

Honestly, she didn’t know how good her acting was. She had practiced in front of the mirror, but it was hard to gauge her own performance.

 

‘Daydreaming might have helped.’

 

Daydreaming had been a specialty of hers since her previous life. Even when working at a black company, she spent her time daydreaming.

 

The concept of Vtubers brought her daydreams to life. A 2D figure in reality. The shock she felt when she first saw that was immense. It felt like living in a fantasy.

 

She wanted to live in such a fantasy world herself.

 

‘Anyway.’

 

Seo-yeon watched the man talking to her with a bright face.

 

‘That’s Cho Min-tae, right?’

 

She recognized him. It was indeed the soy milk commercial.

 

The moment she entered the audition room, she realized it. This audition was for Garam Dream’s “Pure Soy Milk” CF.

 

‘So Cho Min-tae was the CF director.’

 

This “Pure Soy Milk” would be mentioned on a TV show about ten years later. Kim Jung-ha, who had starred in two ten-million-viewer movies by then, and the director of her second hit movie, Cho Min-tae, had first worked together on this soy milk CF.

 

Specifically, during an interview, they mentioned this CF saying,

[ The first time I worked with Jung-ha wasn’t in a drama or a movie, but in a soy milk CF. Do you remember? ]

 

[ Of course. I never thought our connection from back then would lead us here. ]

 

Their bright faces during the interview were clear in Seo-yeon’s memory.

 

But Cho Min-tae’s bright face wouldn’t last long.

 

Just three years later, his idolized father would commit suicide.

 

“So, I thought your performance was excellent… Seo-yeon?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Oh, I apologize for keeping you here so long.”

 

Cho Min-tae apologized to Seo-yeon, looking at her with a hint of regret. A glance at the clock showed nearly ten minutes had passed.

 

“As I mentioned earlier, we’ll notify you of the results in about a week.”

 

“Thank you both for your hard work.”

 

Cho Min-tae and Kim Hyung-seok bowed to Seo-yeon and her mother, Suah. Their gratitude seemed genuine, as if they were thanking her for saving the CF.

 

“Seo-yeon, dear.”

 

“Yes?”

 

Outside the audition room, Suah hugged her daughter tightly.

 

“My daughter, you did so well. Are you a genius?”

 

“I… don’t know.”

 

Suah hugged her so tightly that Seo-yeon could hardly breathe. Moreover, her mother’s ample chest made it even more uncomfortable.

 

It was an indescribable feeling for Seo-yeon. After all, she still had memories of being a man in her past life.

 

“Hmph, she’s exaggerating.”

 

Some mothers narrowed their eyes at Suah’s reaction. Few truly believed in such effusive praise for their own child.

 

‘Parents always think their child’s acting is the best.’

 

Still, with a child as pretty as Seoyeon, they couldn’t help but be curious. Especially Hong Jin-hee, Ji-yeon’s mother, who had received good feedback today.

 

‘Could it be…?’

 

Considering Suah’s reaction, Seo-yeon’s audition time was too long to be mere maternal fuss. While other auditions took as little as five minutes, Seoyeon’s lasted nearly twenty.

 

With this realization, Hong Jin-hee closed her eyes tightly. She had a feeling this audition wasn’t going to go in their favor.

 

***

 

A week later, they received the news that Seoyeon had passed the audition. Suah, who got the call, jumped around excitedly, and her husband, Joo Youngbin, was speechless.

 

‘Really?’

 

He briefly wondered if his wife was joking, but she wasn’t the type to lie about something like this.

 

“Seo-yeon is truly a genius. What should we do? Did I make our daughter too beautiful?”

 

“Calm down. Just calm down.”

 

“But!”

 

His young wife hadn’t changed since her twenties. Perhaps their daughter inherited this girlish charm from her.

 

“What about you, Seo-yeon? Do you want to continue?”

 

Seo-yeon sat maturely on the sofa. She watched the TV show Pingpong with a serious face, as if the audition success was a matter of course.

 

‘Hmm.’

 

Without taking her eyes off the TV, Seo-yeon tilted her head slightly. She wanted to turn to look at Youngbin, but her eyes stayed fixed on the TV.

 

Perhaps her mind was influenced by her younger body, finding Pingpong more entertaining than expected. Anyway.

 

‘...I got accepted.’

 

In her past life, she had never passed an audition on the first try. Who knew it would turn out like this?

 

After a moment of contemplation, Seo-yeon spoke up.

 

There was no real problem with accepting, after all.

 

“I want to try it.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Appearing in a CF would bring in some income. Knowing this, Youngbin decided how to handle that income for their daughter.

 

“All the money will be saved in your account, Seo-yeon. You can use it when you grow up.”

 

For university, or any other expenses. Ensuring this showed that Youngbin and Suah were really good parents, unlike her past parents.

 

‘Money, huh. I’ll definitely need it.’

 

Thinking about her debut as a Vtuber, she realized she would need a lot of money.

 

Possibly more than a regular streamer.

 

Regular streaming equipment, a 3D model, full tracking equipment. She might even need a separate room. Soundproofing... there were so many expenses to consider.

 

‘I need to save up.’

 

Seoyeon didn’t want to burden her parents. Initially, it felt awkward, but now they were precious to her, and she wanted to manage on her own.

 

Moreover, she still felt like an adult mentally. Doing what she wanted to do by herself was her motto.

 

“If you’ve decided, let’s go together next time, okay?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Good. And well done on passing the audition. You’re amazing!”

 

With Youngbin patting her head energetically, Seo-yeon nodded. She didn’t know why she passed the audition.

 

But since she did, she planned to do her best.

 

***

 

In a small studio in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Kim Jung-ha, who was waiting for the audition to start, let out a nervous sigh.

 

‘Let’s do well, let’s do well.’

 

This was practically her first job. She had tried many auditions but never got a proper role. Currently a freelancer without an agency.

 

If she could catch attention with this CF, she might find a decent agency.

 

‘I shouldn’t overdo the emotions.’

 

Her consistent failure in auditions was due to her acting not matching the advertisement’s tone. Even in drama extras, her acting stood out too much.

 

So she often ended up with roles that didn’t even have lines.

 

“Jung-ha, don’t be too nervous. What’s a pro? Just do as per the payment.”

 

“Ha, haha.”

 

Trying to relax her, a staff member’s words made Jung-ha laugh awkwardly. The payment for this ad wasn’t much, so they couldn’t get a big name actor, which is why they hired someone like her.

 

“By the way, I heard from Director Cho that the child actor coming today is amazing?”

 

“Amazing?”

 

“Yes, yes. The casting director and others were raving about her. I couldn’t tell if it was real or not with all the hype.”

 

As someone who had only received positive feedback once, Jung-ha felt envious. And that one positive feedback was from her recent audition.

 

‘I wonder what kind of kid she is.’

 

Still, Jung-ha thought, ‘She’s just a kid.’ Especially since child actors in such small ads were often average or below.

 

But.

 

“Hello, Kim Jung-ha.”

 

Seeing the politely greeting child, Jung-ha had to change her mind. She realized there truly are geniuses in this world.