Ro from Just X.

Among the members of Just X, a group notorious for its scandals, his position was particularly unique. Later, when he ran the club Shine Moon, the whole country would be rocked by drug-related controversies.

Despite being implicated in scandals involving other celebrities, Ro had always managed to escape unscathed. The online community had been furious, and Seoyeon vividly remembered the public outrage.

'Even without this absurd knowledge from my past life, I probably would’ve remembered him anyway.'

It was one of the most infamous incidents in the entertainment world.

“Oh, when’s the opening? It’s coming up soon, right? Next week, I believe,” Ro announced casually.

Next week. That meant the club that would be at the center of the scandal hadn’t opened yet.

‘So, this is where he gathers people.’

Seoyeon’s eyes narrowed even further as she watched Ro. The club had been a hot topic in her previous life, with rumors flying about various “business meetings” held there.

Naturally, Seoyeon didn’t think highly of the crowd gathering around Ro.

“What are you staring at?”

“Nothing,” Seoyeon replied indifferently.

Jo Seohui, noticing where Seoyeon’s gaze had fallen, glanced over at Ro and grimaced. She let out a small sigh.

“It’s best not to get involved with them,” Seohui muttered.

“Really? But Just X is a pretty popular idol group right now,” Seoyeon responded.

“Yeah, they’re popular, but their reputation isn’t great.”

Covering her mouth with her fan, Seohui leaned in and spoke quietly so only Seoyeon could hear.

“I’ve heard Ro is tied to RY’s CEO in more ways than one. There are even rumors that RY’s money is behind the club he’s opening.”

“And how do you know all this?”

Seohui smirked. “There are ways to know these things.”

The smile on Seohui’s face made it clear she really didn’t like Ro. In moments like this, it was hard to believe they were the same age.

‘I wonder who Seohui’s parents are...’

Seoyeon found herself increasingly curious. From what she could tell, Seohui wasn’t just from any wealthy family. Being invited to events like this meant she had to be from a highly influential background.

‘She’s really like a villainess from a drama.’

Seoyeon nodded to herself. That explains why she’s so good at betrayal. Seoyeon shot Seohui a sideways glance, and Seohui flinched.

“W-why are you looking at me like that? I’ve been helping you out.”

“Oh, I was just thinking about what happened on the show.”

“T-that was just for the show! Entertainment, you know?”

What Seohui had done definitely spiced up the show, and Seoyeon didn’t really hold any grudge against her.

The viewers loved it too, but…

‘It’s still frustrating to have fallen for it twice.’

Having been outwitted twice while chasing Min Doha made Seoyeon feel like she’d been a prey tricked by a clever hunter. As she shot a cold glance at Seohui, the other girl began to sweat nervously.

‘You’re terrifying when you look at me like that.’

There was a reason Seoyeon had become famous for her role as Cha Seo-ah. Her ability to mask her emotions made her seem inhuman, especially when her gaze was devoid of any discernible feelings. Coupled with her beauty, it gave her an otherworldly presence.

‘I think I’m beginning to understand why people find me so scary.’

Seohui now grasped how others might feel when they found themselves on the receiving end of her own intimidating stares.

Regardless...

‘There’s quite a mix of people here tonight.’

Among the guests, there were not only entertainers but also internet personalities and even athletes. Some of them were already eyeing Seoyeon, hoping to approach her.

Snap!

The sound of Seohui’s fan snapping open sent several of them retreating. It seemed that with Seohui by her side, getting close to Seoyeon wasn’t an easy task.

However, there were always some who were bold enough to push past that barrier.

“Oh, Seohui unnie, you’re here!”

It was the host of tonight’s party, a young girl who was supposedly a year younger than them.

Her outfit was extravagant, and she carried a designer handbag in her hand.

“You said you weren’t coming.”

“Well, things changed.”

“And this is… Oh! You’re Cha Seo-ah, right?”

“She’s Ju Seoyeon, the actress. My… ahem… my friend,” Seohui said, sneaking a glance at Seoyeon for approval.

Seoyeon simply looked at her blankly, offering no objection.

Friend, huh? Seohui felt a wave of happiness at the thought.

“Hi, I’m Chae Min-young.”

“Hello,” Seoyeon replied calmly.

The flat, emotionless response seemed to irritate Min-young, who had likely been expecting a more impressed reaction.

“My parents run Hyo-young Group.”

“Ah.”

That was all Seoyeon said.

Her lack of enthusiasm made Min-young frown, clearly displeased that Seoyeon wasn’t reacting the way she’d anticipated.

“Don’t bother with that,” Seohui said, cringing.

“It just makes you look desperate.”

Min-young stomped her foot. “I-I just didn’t think she knew!”

Still pouting, Min-young turned to Seohui, exclaiming, “Well, whatever! You’ll never get to work with our family’s group! I’m going to tell my dad!”

“Go ahead. I’m shaking in my boots.”

With that, Min-young stormed off but still managed to give a polite bow to Seoyeon before leaving.

‘At least she has some manners.’

Apparently, Min-young had just entered high school, and to Seoyeon, there was something almost cute about her.

“She’s kind of cute.”

“That? Cute?” Seohui gave Seoyeon a bewildered look, as if asking if she’d lost her mind.

“You’ve never said anything like that to me,” she grumbled.

“Ju Seoyeon, you…”

But before Seohui could finish her sentence, another voice interrupted them.

“Oh, fancy meeting you two here.”

It was Ro, who had been busy promoting his club earlier, now walking over to them. His eyes were fixed on Seoyeon, not Seohui, as he waved nonchalantly.

“Is this the second time? Or the third?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” Seoyeon replied coldly, uninterested.

Ro’s expression briefly darkened at her dismissive tone, but he quickly recovered with a smile.

“We keep running into each other. If you’re ever interested, feel free to stop by.”

He handed her a small card—the address of Shine Moon printed on it.

Seohui’s eyes sharpened instantly.

“You’re crazy, aren’t you? We’re minors.”

“Huh? What? Oh… really? I thought that was just your image.”

Seoyeon was slightly taken aback. She was used to people mistaking Seohui for being older, but this was the first time she’d been mistaken for an adult herself.

“Oh, no, no, I wasn’t saying you look old! You both just have a mature aura. I naturally assumed you were adults,” Ro said quickly, trying to smooth things over.

He leaned in closer and whispered, “Besides, being a minor doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get into certain places. Let me know if you’re interested.”

Seoyeon narrowed her eyes dangerously at his words. Ro flinched slightly but quickly covered it with a laugh.

“I’m just kidding, just kidding.”

With that, he disappeared into the crowd, clearly realizing that pressing the issue any further was pointless with Seohui around.

“He’s out of his mind,” Seohui muttered with a bitter laugh.

Even as a joke, there were things you didn’t say, and inviting a minor to a club—especially a public figure like Seoyeon—was definitely one of them.

It sounded suspicious, and that raised all kinds of red flags.

“Just throw that away,” Seohui said, referring to the business card Ro had given her.

“Okay.”

Seoyeon glanced down at the card for a moment. Although she intended to toss it as Seohui had suggested, she hesitated. You never know when something like this might come in handy.

‘And besides…’

Seoyeon’s eyes flicked to where Ro had just approached Chae Min-young and her group. The way they screamed and flocked to him made Seoyeon frown.

‘A fan?’

That seemed like the only plausible explanation for their reaction. Watching them exchange pleasantries, Seoyeon felt a strange discomfort rising within her.

It was a feeling of revulsion—something slimy that clung to her emotions.

For the first time, Seoyeon realized what true disgust felt like.

After that, the rest of the party passed uneventfully. Meeting various people from the upper class had been a somewhat eye-opening experience for Seoyeon.

It had also been an opportunity to gauge her own popularity.

Several people had tried to approach her, but most of them had been quickly warded off by Seohui and her fan.

‘Just who are her parents, anyway? To scare people off with just a fan...’

On the way back, Seohui explained that the guests at this party were mainly nouveau riche, which was why they weren’t as composed as the upper echelons of society.

“Sometimes the parties hosted by celebrities are better. People from the industry often show up.”

Apparently, such gatherings were often held to manage and expand networks, and they could even provide opportunities to form connections with important figures.

“If you’re interested, you could go sometime, but I doubt you need to worry about that.”

Seoyeon simply nodded, not particularly keen on attending any more parties like this.

Her career was progressing well enough on its own.

‘Still, I can’t shake the feeling about Ro from Just X.’

The way he interacted with Chae Min-young and her group had unsettled her. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but given that he had handed her his club’s business card, she couldn’t rule anything out.

‘Maybe I should mention this to Jiwoo unnie.’

For context, Jiwoo had single-handedly shut down a club even bigger than Shine Moon in the past. The reason that incident had become so infamous was because the club had thirty security guards—every one of them taken down by Jiwoo as she stormed the place to achieve her objective.

If anyone could handle something like this, it was Jiwoo.

‘Although… that’s probably not going to happen.’

The idea was half a joke. After all, you can’t just solve problems like that in modern society. It would definitely make the news.

In any case...

‘At least I think I understand now.’

Seoyeon felt she could better grasp the emotions that the protagonist of Sky Garden, Lee Yu-joo, would have experienced.

Her cynicism, her disdain for others… Seoyeon had a sense of what that must have felt like.

Yu-joo’s parents, obsessed with academic prestige, must have appeared to her just like the people at this party.

Including herself and her own parents.

"Today, we’ll be doing the script reading.”

Seoyeon picked up her script. Today was the first script reading session, and the atmosphere in the room felt unusually tense.

It was as if everyone was watching, waiting to see whether the “lead” actress could live up to expectations.

‘First leading role.’

Seoyeon’s grip on the script tightened. She’d played many roles before, always giving more than what was expected of her.

Villains, supporting characters with significant screen time—she’d done them all.

But this was the first time she would truly be the protagonist.

Even at the party earlier, she’d gotten a taste of how she was perceived.

“Isn’t she Cha Seo-ah?”

“I saw The Chaser, and she was great.”

Most people still knew Seoyeon as “Cha Seo-ah.” Occasionally, someone would mention Jo Ha-rin from Dream Future, but Seo-ah was the role she was most famous for.

It made sense, given that Seo-ah had been the antagonist driving the plot in The Chaser.

If someone were to list Seoyeon’s most iconic roles, The Chaser would always come first.

Her other works might be seen as secondary.

‘But Sky Garden is different.’

This was her first chance to be the protagonist.

It was an opportunity to test her abilities as an actress in a leading role.

And the pressure that came with being the main character was unlike anything she’d experienced before.

‘If you fail, everyone fails.’

That’s what their stares seemed to say.

And they were right.

In any work of fiction, if the audience can’t connect with the protagonist, the entire story falls apart.

Being the protagonist meant drawing viewers in, making them care about the character and the story.

“Even though you’ve all read through the script, I’d like you to approach it as if we’re shooting a thriller,” Director Kim Il-soo said, looking around at the cast.

“This drama relies heavily on atmosphere, and your acting needs to reflect that tone.”

After his words, his gaze landed on Seoyeon.

Seoyeon, holding her script, appeared calm and composed.

A young actress.

Kim Il-soo didn’t doubt her abilities as an actress.

He had no reason to.

She’d already proven herself time and again. The younger actors might be upset about her being cast without an audition, but Kim wasn’t.

Sure, if she had been an untrained idol shoved into the lead role, it would have been infuriating.

But Seoyeon wasn’t one of those.

The head of the drama department, Ha Tae-oh, wasn’t the type to pull strings like that either.

‘The head knows talent when he sees it.’

Ha Tae-oh had climbed to his position without a single failure. He had never forced an unqualified actor into a role.

So, Kim Il-soo was more excited than anything. He couldn’t wait to see what Seoyeon would bring to the table.

And then...

“Are we starting with Scene 17?”

“Yes, that sounds like a good place to begin.”

“Alright, let’s do it.”

The actress who replied was Imi-ran, the seasoned actress playing the role of the matriarch of the Lee family, the wife of Lee Hyuk-soo in Sky Garden.

‘She’s known for her emotional depth.’

Imi-ran glanced at Seoyeon, wondering how the young actress would approach the role.

When she’d heard that Seoyeon was cast in Sky Garden, she’d sought out Kim Dae-heon, who had worked with Seoyeon on The Chaser.

She had wanted to learn more about Seoyeon as an actress.

“Don’t underestimate her.”

“I don’t plan to.”

“No, it’s easy to fall into that trap when you meet her. She’s young, and her resume, at first glance, isn’t that long.”

If you counted her child acting years, Seoyeon had been in the industry for a decade. But she had a significant gap in her career, and she’d only starred in two major projects since her return.

It was easy to question her abilities based on her limited experience.

But...

“You’ll see for yourself.”

Kim Dae-heon had spoken with absolute certainty.

And just as he had said…

“Hoo.”

Seoyeon exhaled and lifted her head.

Her once peaceful eyes had shifted, her entire demeanor transforming.

Everyone in the room could feel it—the intense shift in atmosphere.

It wasn’t Seoyeon sitting there anymore.

It was Lee Yu-joo.

The protagonist of Sky Garden had taken her place.

Goosebumps ran down Imi-ran’s arms.

The sheer depth of emotion radiating from Seoyeon’s performance was staggering.

It was as if a completely different person had stepped into the room.