Hobbyist VTuber

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“Happy 7th birthday, Haeun!”

“Congratulations, our daughter.”

“Congratulations!”

It was just a few days after my first audition.

A cake sat in front of me, now with one more candle than last year.

Coincidentally, there was also one more person celebrating my birthday.

“Um, Haeun. It’s better to blow out the birthday candles from a bit of a distance, so you don’t burn your mouth.”

The person hovering between my parents, overly protective even of a small candle flame, was Joo Jungyoon.

She was the manager that Director Jeong Do-cheol had promised to assign to me.

According to what I heard from Director Jeong and Jungyoon herself, it was her first time working as a manager.

I’m not sure if that was the reason, but she did have some clumsy parts about her.

After all, it was strange to assign a veteran manager to someone like me who barely had any schedule.

But still, she was a elite graduate of a prestigious university, and she was confident about her driving skills…

“I’ll handle the cake cutting. We can’t risk you cutting your finger, Haeun.”

‘…This is a plastic knife.’

How should I put it? Every moment felt just a bit over the top.

There were times I was speechless seeing her treat me like a precious gem, not tolerating even the smallest scratch.

But it wasn’t to the extent that I’d replace her as my manager.

For some reason, my mother and father seemed to like Jungyoon.

Most importantly, Jungyoon was a favor granted to me by Director Jeong Do-cheol.

It wasn’t easy for a tiny little kid, just 7 years old, to deny the truth that favors are given at the whim of the giver.

My 7th birthday party wrapped up early about 10 minutes after that.

“Um, Mom and Dad. I think it’s about time we should prepare.”

“Oh, okay. Then let’s get moving.”

Unlike last year when there was no plan at all, today by coincidence, the screen test for Kim Jia, the neighbor’s uncle’s role, was scheduled.

So, I was experiencing the peculiar event of going to a film set on my birthday.

There, I hopped onto the black van flaunting its presence between the small cars in the parking lot.

Heading towards the makeup shop I had pre-booked to look the part for Kim Jia.

“Oh my, Haeun! Long time no see!”

“…Hello.”

I reunited with the warm-hearted makeup artist I had met during the last music video shoot.

-Swish, swish.

-Tap, tap.

As expected, the tickling makeup brushes.

Honestly, I wondered why there was makeup for a screen test for Kim Jia.

In my memory, Kim Jia looked haggard and disheveled.

So I thought I could just go straight to the screen test without any makeup.

“If you go like that, you’ll shine too much, and it won’t do.”

“…I’m not bald.”

“I mean, your face shines. You need to at least look somewhat pretty.”

The makeup artist who just pinned a black hairpin in my hair said that I needed makeup to suit Kim Jia’s role.

So, for a whole hour, I received makeup that made me look plain instead of highlighting my features.

However, it seemed like even my noticeably plain appearance appeared as another kind of cuteness in my mother’s eyes.

Seeing her snap pictures like a professional photographer, asking me to try various poses in front of the full-length mirror, spoke volumes.

There was no greater delusion than this.

“You look just like a squirrel going back to the countryside to farm, Haeun. Let’s go to a farm experience program later.”

‘…The description is way too specific.’

After a bit of time as a model for Song Nayun Company, reluctantly striking poses according to my mother’s various settings…

I finally stepped away from the mirror at Jungyoon’s cautious voice that we had to head to the set soon.

So, I climbed back into the black van.

As I reread the script from the neighboring uncle I’d been clinging to for the past few days, we soon arrived at the building where the set was.

“I am Lee Haeun from Luna Entertainment.”

“Yes, confirmed. Please wait a moment.”

In this way, I finally grasped where I was, seeing Jungyoon starting to function as my manager.

It felt different from when I shot CFs or music videos.

A little while later, another staff member guided me into the set.

However, since there was still some time before the screen test began…

“Um, Mom. Should I go get some drinks for you and Haeun?”

“Oh, I’d appreciate it if you could, Jungyoon.”

I sat neatly in a makeshift chair in the corner, calmly waiting while scanning the set with my eyes.

But unexpectedly, there were more familiar things than I had seen for the first time.

‘It looks just like the movie.’

A plain tablecloth with no pattern.

The slightly cracked table glass above it.

Even the neatly arranged wooden chairs were just as I remembered.

And soon, I would have to perform in a scene against a backdrop identical to the one in my memory.

I wasn’t feeling anxious, perhaps because I had memorized the lines perfectly.

“I’m really okay. So… Evoking this feeling isn’t it.”

“Uh, Dayeon, I think you were fine just now.”

“What was fine? There were no emotions, emotions!”

‘Huh, who’s that…?’

From afar, I spotted a girl practicing a scene with the neighboring uncle’s thick script in her hand.

It wasn’t hard to guess that she was the child actress, Min Dayeon, who played Kim Jia in my memory.

“That girl is also working hard, Haeun.”

“…Indeed.”

Unbeknownst to me, I started to consciously notice Min Dayeon.

I could see a few other child actors, but Min Dayeon remained the most likely candidate for the role of Kim Jia in this space.

Either way, she was the child who would have been cast as Kim Jia if things had gone normally.

She was a talented actress who had already played the lead in the film “Travel” before the neighboring uncle.

But that didn’t mean I planned to back down from the screen test.

I just was well aware that she wasn’t an easy opponent to beat.

Competitive spirit.

Or perhaps jealousy.

Now that I had the chance to challenge for the role of Kim Jia, I didn’t want to waste this rare opportunity.

The key was to find a way to surpass Min Dayeon’s performance, which was the so-called “model answer.”

‘…If I just mimic her poorly, it would be a disaster.’

To be frank, the way Min Dayeon appeared in my memory was evaluated as the most ideal after multiple takes.

Her performance exceeded the director Kwon Jonghyuk’s tolerance, and thus the “ok” sign was given, ultimately captured on the screen at the theater.

Mimicking Min Dayeon’s performance exactly as it was stored in my memory could have been one way.

The problem was that Min Dayeon herself was right in front of me.

No matter how perfectly I imitated, I could never be more Min Dayon than the original herself.

Then, maybe I should slightly deviate from her performance.

‘Well, it’s not like this is a first-time experience. I really don’t mind, so Chairwoman, please do as you wish.’

‘…If you insist on it, then okay.’

In the vivid memories of my past life, I decided to briefly pull out scenarios similar to Min Dayeon’s situation as Kim Jia.

I felt it was only proper to give it my best shot against Min Dayeon.

By putting it into all my means to compete with Min Dayeon, no matter the outcome, I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

*

“I’m really okay. So please, don’t look at me like that.”

Finally lifting my head, I locked eyes with Kang Sunwoo, who was playing the uncle, Jin Gangshik, and Min Dayeon’s performance concluded.

And almost simultaneously…

“Cut!”

The “okay” sign from Director Kwon Jonghyuk reached Min Dayon’s ears.

Technically speaking, it wasn’t a perfect performance without even a trace of regret.

‘Anything further is probably going to be pretty difficult.’

Min Dayon’s performance was commendable enough for the veteran actor Kang Sunwoo himself to declare it satisfactory.

It was clear why Min Dayon’s fame had spread throughout the industry.

Thus, after a short time, the set was being reorganized.

As Min Dayon reflected on her performance from a few moments ago, she spotted a girl.

‘…Is she nervous?’

If I exaggerated, I could say that she looked more like a robot than a human with her expressionless face.

Still, Min Dayon’s gaze remained fixed on her because the girl was not only beautiful but also was supposed to play Kim Jia next.

That girl was, after all, a competitor to Min Dayon herself.

Of course, while she wouldn’t possess performance surpassing mine, based on getting to this screen test, she had to have some level of skill.

It wouldn’t hurt to see how good Haeun was after all.

After some time passed, the preparations on the set were finally completed.

After Kang Sunwoo, who had briefly left the set, returned.

“Well then, let’s begin. Get ready… Action!”

With Director Kwon Jonghyuk’s shout, the final screen test kicked off.

“…Jia?”

The performance began with the deep voice of Jin Gangshik.

Just a neighbor uncle living right next door to Kim Jia, he inexplicably sensed something strange about Kim Jia, who had been quiet today, and began to scan her body with his eyes.

In less than a few seconds, the small scars and scratches caught Jin Gangshik’s attention.

On the slim legs of Kim Jia, many dark blue bruises were swollen.

“What’s this… Who did this to you?”

Anger and confusion began to slowly appear on Jin Gangshik’s sturdy face.

In response, Kim Jia trembled in fear of him for a brief moment.

Finally, as he thankfully calmed himself, he asked in a slightly softened voice if Kim Jia was okay.

Then, Kim Jia slowly raised her head and met the eyes of her only conversational partner, Jin Gangshik.

At that moment, Kim Jia’s eyes, filled with resentment, hatred, sadness, and resignation, finally met with Jin Gangshik.

“…Are you okay?”

That was all.

At that moment, Kang Sunwoo realized that they were still merely acting.

“Yeah, I’m fine. No matter how much I think about it, she wouldn’t kill the child she bore.”

With a voice noticeably trembling, her small mouth slightly curled into a smile.

Jin Gangshik’s, no, Kang Sunwoo’s mouth went dry, causing the next line to get stuck in his throat.

“…What’s with this all of a sudden? You knew, didn’t you?”

It was something almost entirely natural.

It was emotion that a child shouldn’t have known.

“Still, I mean, you didn’t break anything. You can still go to school.”

Even though he began to gradually confront Kang Sunwoo’s teary gaze, he remained composed from start to finish.

The scars on her two legs were just a part of Kim Jia’s life that she would have to carry with her forever.

“I’m really okay. So, don’t look at me like that… Please. Because of that look, you’re making me feel like I’m actually pitiful.”

She firmly warned Kang Sunwoo not to regard her normality with pity.