"……Hello, Sohee. It's been a while." "Yes, I'm... glad to see you, senior."

A strange tension lingered between them. Park Jung-woo and Jo Seo-hee.

They looked at each other with cautious eyes.

‘Why is she here?’ ‘Why is he here?’

They were smiling at each other, but there was an awkwardness that couldn’t be ignored. An awkwardness that shouldn't exist among young, highly acclaimed actors.

And then, caught between the two of them:

‘How did... it come to this?’

Joo Seoyeon slowly retraced her steps after the play ended. About an hour ago.

"Great job, everyone!"

After the performance. Especially after a successful performance, it's natural for everyone to feel excited. Reflecting on their own performance in front of a large audience. And recalling those brilliant scenes.

"Seoyeon, you were amazing. You really saved the day."

It was Lee Hye-jin from Song Min-seo who spoke first. It was understandable since the play might have been ruined if it weren’t for Seoyeon.

"It’s because you handled it so well, Hyejin." "Oh, you say such sweet things." "Did you see the audience's reaction today? It’s been a while since we got such a good response in the first run. Seriously."

The performance replayed in her mind over and over. A stage that met the excessive expectations. The feeling of accomplishment from pulling it off was indescribable.

"We should have a celebration! It's a bit early, but let’s go!"

It was Jo Do-yul, who excitedly suggested it. He was loudly declaring that he would treat everyone.

"But Seoyeon, don’t you have to go to school? And the director should stay behind, right?" "……."

Seoyeon closed her mouth at Sim Cheong-seok's words, which were, as always, said to dampen the mood. Still, he wasn’t wrong.

‘Come to think of it.’

Seoyeon was a high school student. If alcohol was involved in the celebration, it could cause some controversy. But she couldn’t just skip it.

Who was the superstar of this play? The one who saved the play when it was faltering was none other than Joo Seoyeon.

There’s no celebration without Joo Seoyeon!

"Oh, don’t worry about school. I got permission." "Really?" "Yes, as long as I meet the minimum attendance, it’s fine."

With Seoyeon’s calm response, everyone started moving busily, saying, "Let’s go, let’s go." Seoyeon felt a little proud of herself.

‘I did well today.’

It was different from when she was a child actor. Back then, she could feel everyone being considerate of her.

She knew she wasn’t good enough, so she wasn’t satisfied with her performances except for the last one. But today’s performance was very satisfying.

She added another “Joo Seoyeon Mad Movie” to replay in her mind before going to sleep. She thought she would sleep well tonight. Though it didn’t show on her face, Seoyeon was feeling elated.

Just as her mother, Soo-a, said. Seoyeon liked it when others praised her. Today was the peak of that.

Her expressionless face was slightly flushed.

Yes, everything was good up to that point.

"Though it's funny to ask now that we’re already here, is a barbecue place okay?" "Yes."

Seoyeon, who was sitting among the actors in the barbecue restaurant, suddenly realized that she hadn’t washed her hands after the play ended.

By the way, Jo Do-yul had stayed behind because of the next performance. It seemed like he left the actors in Sim Cheong-seok's care.

Sim Cheong-seok, despite not having much experience or age, had somehow taken on the role of leading the other actors since the performance.

"Oh, can I go wash my hands for a moment?" "Of course. If you go out and turn right, you'll find it."

Sim Cheong-seok answered while taking orders from the other actors. After watching the lively actors for a moment, Seoyeon happily stepped out of the restaurant.

And then...

"……."

She saw a man and a woman standing at the entrance of the restaurant.

‘Huh.’

They were both familiar to Seoyeon. The man first. Large sunglasses, a cap on his head. A black mask covering his face and casual clothes.

But the handsome face and the elegant facial features were very familiar to Seoyeon. Park Jung-woo. The one she had acted with in a variety show not long ago. And...

"Hmm."

The woman was looking at the man with a nasal sound. She was dressed in the same school uniform as Seoyeon. If Seoyeon remembered correctly, it was the uniform of a famous arts high school in Seoul.

The woman wore a mask that covered her face and glasses. But there was no need to say anything more. Right behind her, there was a sign with her face on it.

Jo Seo-hee. The girl Seoyeon had met during the audition for The Moon That Hid the Sun in her childhood.

"……Huh?" "Huh?"

The two of them noticed Seoyeon belatedly and turned their heads. At the same time, both of them flinched.

They seemed to have just realized how they must look. A strange silence. No one spoke first, and they were all just gauging each other’s reactions.

"It’s a misunderstanding."

Seohee was the first to speak.

"I just came to watch the play today and wanted to talk a bit."

Seohee spoke with a very serious face. It didn’t seem like she was joking.

"…Talk?" "Yes."

Seoyeon looked at Seohee. It was the first time in a long while she had seen her in person since they were children. To be honest, she was a bit impressed. At Seohee’s face, which had grown up without changing much.

‘She’s pretty.’

Overall, she had a cat-like appearance. Similar to Seoyeon but different.

If Seoyeon was a lazy cat, this one was a sharp cat. With raised claws and bristling fur. Anyway, she didn’t look like a cat with a good personality.

It felt like she might get hit if she said something wrong. Of course, Seoyeon thought her punch would be stronger, so she was ready if it came to that.

"But."

Seoyeon asked, as if curious.

"So, we…"

We’re not that close, are we? These words were on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t say them.

Because wasn’t that the truth?

‘Oh, the parachute?’

That was practically the only communication between Seohee and Seoyeon. Although she had seen so many commercials that she felt a certain level of internal familiarity, she didn’t expect Seohee to show up like this.

In fact, Seoyeon wanted to ask Seohee. Why did she really come?

"Ah."

Seoyeon didn’t say the last words out loud, but Seohee seemed to roughly understand what she was going to say. As Seohee froze, unable to say anything.

"Heh."

Park Jung-woo chuckled and unfolded his arms.

"Sohee. This is a bit awkward, you know. It’s not proper to just show up uninvited when we’re not even close." "……." "Well, I acted with her in a drama, and we recently appeared in a variety show together, so we have an acquaintance. And a connection."

"……."

At Park Jung-woo's words, Seohee bit her lip and glared at him. But Jung-woo just shrugged.

Seohee was smaller and three years younger than him, so she was no match for him.

‘Really?’

Seoyeon wondered how close she really was to Jung-woo. Well, more than Seohee, for sure. They had recently done a variety show together... But she didn’t expect him to come and watch her play in person.

"…Hmph."

Seohee regained her composure and smiled sweetly.

"But as a senior, let me give you some advice. It’s better to be careful. When a male actor casually interacts with a female actor... you know what can happen, right?" "……." "And, for me, Seoyeon is someone I’m really grateful to, so I came to say thank you. That’s all."

Seoyeon became more curious at Seohee's words. She could understand Jung-woo, but Seohee was completely unexpected.

"Grateful?" "Yes. Ten years ago, during the audition for The Moon That Hid the Sun."

Seohee reminisced about that time as she spoke.

"When I lost the role of Princess Yeonhwa to you, Seoyeon. It was a good lesson for me."

This was sincere. At that time, Seohee thought she had become arrogant at a young age. Of course, she still had confidence, but there’s a difference between arrogance and confidence.

"So I really wanted to meet you. To say thank you when you returned." "Really?" "Yes. And this time I…"

As Seohee naturally continued her words, Park Jung-woo's eyebrows twitched. He could roughly guess what she was going to say.

"Wait…"

As Jung-woo hurriedly tried to stop her.

"You said you were going to wash your hands, but why are you taking so long? …Hmm?"

Sim Cheong-seok, who had come out to check on Seoyeon, who had been gone for a while, saw Park Jung-woo and Jo Seo-hee. With half-closed eyes. Looking at them alternately with a disinterested expression.

"What’s this? A hidden camera prank?"

It was a combination that made one think that way.

With Sim Cheong-seok's appearance, Park Jung-woo and Jo Seo-hee were startled and ran off. Given their personalities, he thought they would naturally get involved, but apparently not. As Sim Cheong-seok blankly watched them go, he asked me.

"Are they friends of yours?" "……Well, sort of." "Hmm."

Can I really call them friends? Jung-woo, maybe, but Seohee was a surprise.

I didn’t realize she was paying so much attention to me. I didn’t expect that her current success had something to do with that.

I felt a strange mix of emotions.

‘Is that all you felt after seeing them?’

Seeing his nonchalant reaction to meeting two top-tier actors made me think I saw a glimpse of why he would face harsh treatment on a drama set later.

"Great job, everyone!" "Let’s keep up the good work for the next performance!"

With the successful celebration wrapped up, I mentioned it to Lee Ji-yeon at school the next day.

"For your information, I watched the play too." "Really?"

Then you could have joined us for dinner. I tried to convey that sentiment.

"It would have been rude for an outsider to join. I’m sure those two left because they knew that." "Really?"

Were they really that considerate? Honestly, I wasn’t sure, but since Ji-yeon said so, I guess it must be true.

‘By the way.’

I was sitting on the bench where I usually spent lunch with Ji-yeon. But I felt that the atmosphere had changed a bit.

Maybe it was because I had been busy with the play and hadn’t been to school much lately. It was the first time I really felt this kind of atmosphere.

"It’s been crazy."

As if reading my thoughts, Ji-yeon spoke.

"Everyone keeps asking me why I didn’t tell them. Did I hide it? They just didn’t notice." "Is it really that much?" "What do you mean? Joo Seoyeon. Do you want to sound like my dad?"

Ji-yeon responded as if she found it absurd. For reference, the "dad" she mentioned was my father. Then she pointed her finger at each of the students who were staring at us.

"There, there, and there."

On top of the school building. Through the classroom windows. Peeking while using the vending machine.

It was a little funny to see the students jump in surprise and scatter as Ji-yeon's finger pointed at them. Apparently, the influence of filming a variety show at school had been pretty significant.

‘I still don’t have any friends, though.’

Couldn’t someone just come up and talk to me? The only conversation I had today after coming to school was with my smartphone’s voice assistant. Oh, except for Lee Ji-yeon, of course.

"And."

After dispersing the attention, Ji-yeon spoke.

"You need to find an agency soon. What are you going to do?" "What do you mean?" "You said you had a place in mind before."

There was a place I had in mind. The agency where Kim Jeong-ha, the actor I once filmed a commercial with, was signed.

It was actually the agency I recommended to Lee Ji-yeon. It was about time for Kim Jeong-ha to rise in fame, and since the agency was currently receiving mixed reviews, it wouldn’t be too difficult to join now. But...

"…Is there room in your agency?" "Why ask the obvious? If you want to join, they’d make room for you even if there wasn’t."

The agency Ji-yeon belonged to, Nova Entertainment. It was the agency she moved to after leaving Eunha Entertainment.

Back then, it was a mid-sized agency, but now it had grown quite a bit. Of course, it still lacked in many ways to be called a major agency, and its influence was relatively weak. But it was a place that had survived for a long time, had wide connections, and was sure to grow into a major agency in the future.

‘I’m also familiar with the people there.’

Considering everything, there really was no place better than Nova Entertainment.

‘Yes, let’s do that.’

As Seoyeon made that decision.

Bzzz!

Suddenly, her smartphone buzzed.

"Who is it?" "Oh, that…"

When she checked the screen, the caller's name appeared. Jo Do-yul. The director of Eyes Closed. Seoyeon looked at it for a moment and then calmly answered the call.

"Hello, this is Joo Seoyeon." "Ah, Seoyeon. It’s your lunch break, right? Sorry for contacting you out of the blue." "No worries. What’s the matter?"

Seoyeon had some free time today since her schedule didn’t start until the evening. She just had to be there by around 4 PM.

"There’s a director I know…"

As he said that much, Seoyeon realized.

"Would you be interested in appearing in a movie?"

Finally, what she had been waiting for had come.