Was it because of the memories from her previous life?

Seoyeon had never paid much attention to her weight, neither in her past life nor in this one. It wasn’t uncommon for men to be indifferent to their weight, and this habit had persisted even after her reincarnation.

‘I'm already so slim,’ she thought confidently whenever she looked at her reflection, admiring her slender waistline. Her consistent exercise routine since childhood had granted her a body with no excess fat.

But things started to change when she began visiting the gym regularly and started checking her body composition.

“?”

That was when Seoyeon realized something odd. One thing that caught her eye was her weight.

“Hm, given this muscle mass, it’s still on the lighter side.”

“…”

The fitness trainer said this, but there was something that didn’t sit well with Seoyeon. No, rather, her TS (transformed) body seemed too strong. Wasn't the graph a bit strange?

‘Hmm.’

Although she felt uneasy, Seoyeon decided not to dwell on it. After all, being reborn was far more significant than having a strong body.

She decided to forget about the weight issue. Who would care about her weight if no one could lift her?

However…

“Seoyeon?”

Professor Kim Hongbaek's question made Seoyeon feel deeply conflicted. She had been introduced by Director Bae Jinhwan, and showing any signs of rudeness here would be disrespectful to him as well.

“Ah, I haven’t checked my weight recently…”

She barely managed to say.

“Then, let’s check it now. The scale is over there.”

Why is there a scale in the academy? While this puzzled her, it made sense since it was an action school.

Although Professor Kim Hongbaek was curious about Seoyeon's hesitation, he didn’t give it much thought. He simply assumed she might be sensitive about her weight, as many actresses are.

However, it was crucial to record this information accurately so that they could adjust the intensity of the action scenes appropriately.

“…”

Seoyeon stood silently in front of the scale. At least the other actors were far enough away. She could feel Professor Kim Hongbaek’s gaze on her.

Realizing there was no way to avoid it, Seoyeon stepped onto the scale. It was an analog scale, not digital.

As the needle moved, Professor Kim Hongbaek watched closely with his pen ready.

‘Let’s see, 30, 40, 50, 60…’

The speed at which the needle tilted was alarming.

“Hmm?”

Just as Professor Kim Hongbaek's eyes widened as the needle continued to move, Seoyeon quickly stepped off the scale. Her face had turned bright red, and her eyes, now glowing crimson, glared at the scale.

“Hm.”

Watching her reaction, Professor Kim Hongbaek furrowed his brows.

“It seems like the scale is broken.”

“…”

“It’s unfortunate, but please check your weight later and let me know.”

Recalling the number displayed on the scale, Professor Kim Hongbaek shook his head, convinced that the old scale had malfunctioned.

“Your height is 165 cm, right?”

“Yes.”

Her height was ordinary—neither tall nor short, just average.

‘There must have been some error with the weight reading,’ he concluded. Considering Seoyeon’s current physique, the weight displayed didn’t seem possible.

***

Despite the small incident, it didn’t affect the lesson. Today was just the first day, but Seoyeon's presence was clearly catching the attention of the other aspiring students. They seemed intrigued by her, as her appearance was quite disconnected from the world of action.

From their perspective, she was just a naive actress who had no idea what she was getting into. If one tried to force through action scenes without proper training, it could easily lead to serious injuries.

‘Director Bae Jinhwan wouldn’t recommend this if he didn’t see something in me,’ Seoyeon thought.

The fact that he had recommended this action school meant he had seen something in her.

“There are a lot of running scenes in The Chaser, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then, how about we try a run? I’ve heard you’re quite fast.”

Professor Kim Hongbaek led her to an outdoor track behind the action school, roughly 50 meters in length.

His goal wasn’t to check how fast Seoyeon could run, but rather her form. After all, the camera and directing could enhance the sense of speed, but the running form needed to be convincing.

Though Seoyeon had already received an OK sign for her running scenes, Professor Kim Hongbaek wanted to see for himself. Director Bae Jinhwan had specifically recommended her based on how she ran.

Naturally, a few of the aspiring students loitered nearby, curious to see how well she could perform. It was break time anyway, and they wanted to see just how good she was.

“Alright then.”

Professor Kim Hongbaek raised his hand and then dropped it quickly— the signal to start running.

Seoyeon, who was standing ready at the line, saw the signal and immediately launched herself forward. Her elastic body leaned forward, propelling her swiftly.

“Hmm…”

As he watched, two thoughts crossed Professor Kim Hongbaek’s mind.

First, he regretted not timing her. Second…

‘Why is she an actress?’

No other actor could keep up with her speed. It was easy to understand why Director Bae Jinhwan had recommended her to the action school just based on her running. She wasn’t just running; she was practically flying. Why was someone with national athletic potential here?

“Well, everything looked good, but…”

Despite her incredible speed, there was a minor issue.

“I think you should adjust your running form.”

“What?”

Watching Seoyeon, who hadn’t even broken a sweat, Professor Kim Hongbaek was once again impressed. At first, he had been indifferent, but now he was completely captivated. Seeing her athletic prowess, he couldn’t help but want to work with her. If she had such physical abilities, the possibilities were endless.

‘If trained properly, she could become extraordinary.’

Professor Kim Hongbaek had trained many top action stars across the country. To his eyes, Seoyeon was a raw gem—one that was destined for success.

What if he could polish this gem just a little?

She could become one of the actors that would shine the name of Cheonghong Action School.

“By changing my form, you mean…”

“Right now, you’re running too much like an athlete.”

That’s why she was so fast. But if her character, Cha Seoa, ran like that, it would definitely seem out of place. Seoyeon quickly understood Professor Kim Hongbaek's point.

“Action acting is still acting. The action should match the character.”

This applied to even simple movements like running. Cha Seoa might be a murderer, but she wasn’t an athlete. Nor was she a superhuman—just a broken human being.

“You can practice adjusting your form. After that, we’ll move on to the other action sequences step by step.”

“Ah, yes.”

Seoyeon nodded, a bit taken aback by Professor Kim Hongbaek’s sudden enthusiasm. His attitude had completely shifted.

And as for the aspiring students who were watching from the sidelines…

‘Is that even possible?’

They were simply dumbfounded.

***

After that, Seoyeon’s days were packed. After school, she would head straight to the set. On days without filming, she went to action school.

However, she wasn’t overly busy; she still had enough time to rest and work at a manageable pace. At least, that was how it felt to Seoyeon. For most teenage actors, it would have been overwhelming, and they would have burned out by now.

But even now, Seoyeon was holding a game controller, not resting for a moment.

She was in her personal room provided by the agency. Since playing games at home made her feel uneasy, she had moved all her gaming equipment here.

Not that anyone at home minded her playing games. Her mother, Sua, trusted that Seoyeon was handling her responsibilities, so she didn’t interfere. Her father, Youngbin, occasionally watched her play and would remark, “You’re not very good at this,” before walking away.

Despite her father’s teasing, it wasn’t that playing games at home bothered her. It was just that she felt self-conscious, especially when thinking about her dismal grades.

‘But I have to practice.’

The humiliation she felt during King of Games was still fresh in her mind. Even now, online communities ranked her as one of the “celebrities who are bad at games,” and the shame of it made her tremble with frustration.

As a man, there is no greater insult than being told, “You’re bad at games.” Even though Seoyeon was now a woman, she still couldn’t tolerate such a remark.

She vowed to redeem herself on the next reality show or whatever she participated in. She would make her father, Youngbin, finally say, “You’re good at this.”

With this resolve, she was in the middle of an intense training session.

“Seoyeon!”

Just then, Park Eunha burst into Seoyeon’s waiting room while she was in the middle of a game. Seeing Seoyeon still deeply immersed in the game, Eunha’s eyes widened.

‘This girl’s stamina is not normal.’

Most people would have collapsed by now, but Seoyeon hadn’t taken a single break. To Park Eunha, even gaming was labor.

Seoyeon hadn’t taken a break from school or filming. On weekends, she was at action school. From Park Eunha’s perspective, Seoyeon truly seemed like someone born to be an actress.

“Is something up?”

Seoyeon paused her game and asked. Park Eunha nodded excitedly.

“Yes, something really good!”

“Something good?”

“You got a commercial offer! A commercial!”

A commercial. For celebrities, commercials were a measure of their popularity. The very fact that Seoyeon received a commercial offer meant she was gaining recognition.

This was Seoyeon’s second commercial offer! Although she had declined the first one, the second offer had come right away.

‘The only significant appearance I’ve had is King of Games.'

Yet, she still received a commercial offer. Though her theater performance was a success, that wasn’t typically a factor that appealed to advertisers.

This was purely due to Seoyeon’s rising popularity. The charm she displayed in Past Memories and King of Games had resonated with the public.

“…It’s not another game controller commercial, is it?”

Recalling the commercial she had previously declined, Seoyeon asked skeptically, and Park Eunha shook her head.

“Don’t worry, it’s not that. You’re going to like this one.”

“Oh? What is it?”

What kind of commercial could it be? Seoyeon had only done two commercials before, both when she was a child. One was for soy milk, and the other was for a children’s multivitamin.

The children’s multivitamin commercial was especially notable as it was released right after Seoyeon had announced her break, making it a huge success. The vitamins sold out rapidly, and the advertiser had even asked if Seoyeon could do another commercial for them.

And now, this was her third commercial. What could it be? Seoyeon was secretly excited.

“It’s a cosmetics commercial!”

“…”

In the world of female celebrities, a cosmetics commercial was a testament to both their appearance and popularity. Only truly popular idols or actors with beautiful faces received cosmetics commercial offers.

For Seoyeon to be offered a cosmetics commercial was highly unusual. It was likely that the company was investing in her future potential rather than her current fame.

However…

“Cos…metics?”

Seoyeon felt a bit bewildered by the offer.