I Want to Be a VTuber

While the complex thoughts swirled in Director Jeon Ha-young’s mind, Seo-yeon had no particular thoughts at all.

She just thought that coming on a reality show would be okay.

“After all, reality shows greatly change the image of celebrities.”

Reality shows had many aspects that easily connected with the public.

Thus, when somewhat distant celebrities appeared on reality shows, they often gained benefits.

Golden Duckling was no different.

Some somewhat distant young celebrities appeared, and celebrities are ultimately someone’s child.

Many preferred to see that kind of image.

“Of course, there are definitely people whose images worsened after appearing.”

There were certainly celebrities whose images went downhill due to the outrageous behavior towards their parents.

So Seo-yeon decided she had to be cautious as much as possible.

“Seo-yeon, have you watched our show?”

“Yes.”

“Oh really? Thank you! I also enjoyed The Chaser and Dream Future. I’ve been keeping up with all the recent variety shows, too.”

Recent variety shows would refer to Hyper Action Star.

“That’s officially an audition, though.”

It felt like many people thought it was just a simple entertainment show rather than an audition.

Maybe because it felt less like an audition?

Of course, it seemed the GH Group had directed it that way.

“Well… back to the main topic.”

After some routine chit-chat, Jeon Ha-young cleared her throat softly.

“Golden Duckling isn’t airing during the prime time rated shows, but its ratings are impressive for a variety program.”

Her tone was quite confident.

Golden Duckling boasted an astonishing 5 percent rating!

Considering the overall decline in ratings at this time, it was impressive.

Thinking about the replays and online streams, the exposure was actually more than what was shown in ratings.

“You’ll definitely not regret this choice.”

“Yes.”

Seeing Seo-yeon’s indifferent response, Jeon Ha-young was momentarily taken aback.

“…Is everything alright?”

Her worry stemmed from the fact that seeing Seo-yeon in person had seemed quite emotionless and quiet, which bothered her.

But then again, all the reality shows Seo-yeon appeared in turned out to be hits.

Not just the recently popular Hyper Action Star or Star Fisher.

Even the gaming broadcast If It Turns On, All the Way to the King had sparked significant buzz.

But meeting her in reality was entirely different from the TV persona.

“Now that I think about it, there aren’t many celebrities that I interact with, and if I only hear rumors, she seems to have a very quiet personality.”

Were her appearances on reality shows all just for show?

If so, it could be seen as an incredible professional consciousness, but from the perspective of a reality show PD, it was genuinely concerning.

Many celebrities showed drastically different sides in different broadcasts.

There were positive aspects, but surely there were negative aspects as well.

If Seo-yeon’s indifferent persona was indeed her true self, it could only be a disadvantage for her in variety shows.

If she was truly a studious overachiever with a quiet personality, then…

“Oh, right. Seo-yeon, your family will be appearing with you, but have they all agreed…?”

“Everyone said they’re okay with it. My younger sister was excited about it.”

“Oh, you have a younger sister?”

“Yes. She’s starting elementary school soon.”

Having a younger sister was quite a positive factor.

If a star’s younger sibling was cute, that alone could become a topic of discussion.

“What about your parents?”

“My mom found it a bit hard, but she agreed.”

Fortunately, Seo-yeon’s willingness to participate seemed assured.

“Seo-yeon’s parents, huh.”

Jeon Ha-young imagined Seo-yeon’s parents as a middle-aged couple drawn from a picture book.

If Seo-yeon’s parents had a child in her age group, they would be over forty.

With that appearance, they’d be a gently aged couple with just the right amount of wrinkles.

Such vague imaginings.

Because the parents of the celebrities that had appeared thus far were generally those that one would think of.

“Then, how about meeting with your parents next time?”

“Do both of them need to come?”

“Oh, no, no! Just one would be fine. Especially if your mother could participate as a panelist, that would be great.”

At those words from Jeon Ha-young, Seo-yeon felt a bit worried.

Unlike herself, who often mingled with others and was good at speaking, Suah had relatively poor communication skills.

“Sure, I’ll make it happen.”

Seo-yeon’s answer was straightforward.

Thus, Jeon Ha-young felt exceptionally pleased.

If she could build friendship with Seo-yeon and then have her appear on a program in the MDC drama department, that would be killing two birds with one stone, right?

At that moment, she thought just like that.

It was just a variety show; even if it just performed moderately well, that would be acceptable.

But then…

“Ah, hello. I-I’m Min Suah, Su-yeon’s mom.”

“I’m Seo-yeon.”

“I-I’m Seo-yeon’s mom….”

With her stuttering words and a bowing head, something huge bounced up and down.

Naturally, following that trajectory, Jeon Ha-young’s head and eyes went up and down as well.

Woah, that’s really big.

No, I shouldn’t think like that.

Is this for real? Wow.

“Wow.”

Jeon Ha-young blurted out an admiring exclamation involuntarily, immediately covering her mouth.

A mom with a high school student?

Is she really a mom?

With that radiant beauty, it was only fitting to say that Joo Seo-yeon was a rising star amongst young actresses.

Since she was Seo-yeon’s mother, it was reasonable to expect her to have a decent appearance.

“But, e-excuse me, how old are you…?”

“I’m, I’m thirty-nine years old.”

Thirty-nine.

Auntie.

There’s someone who quite doesn’t fit that word.

At that age, if you have those looks, it’s not normal to not have some sagging, right?

Jeon Ha-young was now in her mid-thirties.

Having become the main PD at such a young age and built a pretty good career, she was a career woman.

Although some wrinkles had recently begun to appear on her face, she had been comforting herself saying they were just the scars of life.

But.

A person older than her, without a single wrinkle, is that a scam?

Is this even logical?

Feeling that unfairness,

“This, this might be quite… no, very good.”

Jeon Ha-young couldn’t help but think.

This would definitely shock the public.

This is going to work!

“C-Could we talk a bit more in detail? Really, you’re stunning.”

“T-Thank you.”

Seeing the flustered PD acting like that…

“What is up with this? Am I not the one who’s supposed to be on the show?”

Seo-yeon couldn’t shake off the feeling of being sidelined.

*

After confirming her appearance on Golden Duckling.

The filming date was set soon.

In about a month.

Right after the finals of Hyper Action Star concluded.

It seemed the MDC wanted to have Seo-yeon appear as quickly as possible.

However, they didn’t want to interfere with Seo-yeon, who was in the thick of auditions, so it seemed they had chosen that timing.

“Somehow, I feel a bit strange about this.”

If I talk about the recent events, Seo-yeon felt strangely at ease.

Just ‘Ah, I’m appearing on a variety show.’

Everyone reacted to that level.

Once they knew it was Golden Duckling.

“Take it easy.”

Lee Ji-yeon said that.

“And sometimes showing a decorated version of yourself is nice.”

CEO Kang Chan-yul of Nova Entertainment had even said such a thing.

Please don’t let it be too much of a hassle.

Hearing those responses, Seo-yeon’s mouth pouted.

But if Suah announced her participation…

“Your mom? Seriously?”

Lee Ji-yeon was shocked.

“Suah is participating? Really? Hehe, this seems like something I should start preparing for in advance!”

CEO Kang Chan-yul rambled on and disappeared.

Isn’t this a bit much for the affiliated celebrities?

“Seo-yeon, I’m really looking forward to this variety show!”

“…Yes, thank you.”

Only manager Park Eun-ha seemed to cheer for Seo-yeon excitedly.

So pathetic.

Why does everyone only care about mom?

“Well, I know the reason but.”

Even objectively, Suah’s beauty was at an impressive level.

She didn’t seem to age at all, and now people around her were starting to ask her for her secrets.

A prime example was Ji-yeon’s mother.

I heard Park Jung-woo’s mother seems similar too.

Anyway, everyone welcomed Suah’s appearance on the variety show, leading to quite complex feelings, but there was also good news.

Seo-yeon had been thinking quite often that it would be nice if Suah dressed up and went out.

After a long time preparing and putting on makeup, it definitely seemed much more fun.

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t told Dad yet.”

It wasn’t that she meant to hide it.

It just happened that way.

But now that she thought about it, she felt something weighing on her mind.

“If I mention it, won’t he act differently than usual?”

Seo-yeon was a lot like that in caring about her image.

If it were a broadcast, the sweetest dad in the world would probably come on it.

But then again, if she didn’t say anything…

“Mm.”

If I annoy him like usual, it would make me feel worse.

During filming, I would have to endure all of it.

“I guess there’s no way around it.”

I’ll have to tell him later.

The show might end up being a bit dull, but at least her mind would be at peace.

Seo-yeon decided so.

Exactly two days later, she forgot.

*

From the sixteenth round on, Hyper Action Star began to include live voting.

As they rushed out, performing action acting, they had reached the point of conducting actual role-play.

It was now essential to show ‘acting’ not just ‘action.’

As things progressed, the significance of the sixteenth round began to fade, and victories became far too easy.

“I never imagined Jo Seo-hee would make it to the semifinals.”

In the last two weeks, the charm of Jo Seo-hee had been prominently showcased in the repeatedly broadcast Hyper Action Star.

To be honest, comparing her acting skills with other actors would be downright unfair.

The only one comparable to Jo Seo-hee was Seo-yeon.

“Doo Seo-yeon? Well, that goes without saying.”

Seo-yeon was practically a natural-born action actress.

There wasn’t an action scene she couldn’t handle, and her acting skills were outstanding.

Honestly, now I understand why GH Group went through the trouble of preparing a reality audition.

“We practically thought it was a given outcome.”

“That’s why, since the initial gunfire scene, it feels somewhat underwhelming.”

“That’s true.”

Though Seo-yeon couldn’t be beaten in terms of action, she often appeared like an invincible NPC wandering alone.

Both acting and action required synergy with others.

But since there were hardly any characters engaging with Seo-yeon, there wasn’t much for her to showcase.

“Thank goodness for Jo Seo-hee.”

“Erm, it seems the actor has developed a slightly unfavorable image.”

Jo Seo-hee had a somewhat fierce appearance.

However, through Hyper Action Star, she acquired a new image.

‘Betrayal Icon.’

After all, if you betray someone three times, a certain image is inevitable.

Twice in the preliminaries.

Once briefly during the quarterfinals.

After about three times, Seo-yeon’s eyes narrowed as she beat Jo Seo-hee senseless.

If you consider how she managed to survive without serious injuries, Jo Seo-hee seemed tougher than expected.

“Then there’s Min Do-ha.”

“Uh, how did she make it? And they’re all in Group A?”

“She did fairly well.”

She showcased quite a lot in the preliminaries.

Thus, Min Do-ha made it to the semifinals.

Now, only the final round and the championship remained.

There were just two broadcasts left.

“Then there’s….”

One remaining.

“A dark horse that emerged from Group D.”

“Oh, that actor, isn’t she foreign?”

“Yes, she’s probably of Japanese nationality. A friend who came to Korea to pursue acting.”

“She was the one who defeated Han So-yu.”

This was a truly rare case.

Idols crossing over had become fairly common, but not for actors.

People had strong prejudices regarding this.

Given that Japan and Korea require different emotions in acting.

Many saw the exaggerated style of Japanese acting as silly.

“Narumi Sora, right?”

“Yes, she’s probably around nineteen. She’s quite young but an expectedly promising actress.”

“More than anything, she’s got an amazing gaze.”

Having a great gaze…

Those who have never seen her acting wouldn’t know exactly what that meant.

Moreover, she was very talented in action.

She already knew how to emphasize her unique colors.

“Her action using weapons is very good. It’ll be exciting to see if she faces Seo-yeon.”

“She mentioned she’s had some training, right?”

“That’s what she said in her interview.”

“She won against Han So-yu, so expectations are high.”

Everyone had predicted Han So-yu would win, but the winner was Narumi Sora.

People had started paying attention to her around that time.

“This is going to be really fun.”

As the semifinals shoot approached, the PDs expressed their excitement.

Essentially, the four of them could potentially lead to additional actors appearing, not just the main leads based on GH’s decision.

They all wanted to see properly acted scenes laid over with CG for a movie, not just a simple audition.

Everyone on set thought the four actors competing were formidable.

Of course.

“Why, why on earth…”

At the set, an actress was left in a daze.

Min Do-ha stood with that feeling.

Well, it’s the semifinals, after all!

Even simply making it this far was lucky, but confidence was starting to grow.

“As long as I avoid Seo-yeon, I can manage. Well, I also have to dodge Jo Seo-hee…”

The least intimidating appears to be the Japanese actress whose name I barely remember.

While Min Do-ha was vaguely regaining confidence, she suddenly found herself peering at something.

“…….”

“…….”

At the filming set before the semifinals.

The actress with black ponytail hair glanced over.

A woman with a picture-like appearance was watching her.

‘Why the school uniform?’

Even Narumi Sora, who had been quite earnest in her concept, was taken aback by this Korean girl.

And what was bothering her was that since the moment she arrived at the filming location, Seo-yeon kept watching her.

Why is that?

Could it be territorialism in Korea?

Or is it because they said she’s a genius actress, trying to intimidate her?

If that were the case, she would at least feel good about it, but something about it felt strange.

As Seo-yeon’s gaze stuck to her, Jo Seo-hee, who was switching her attention between Sora and Seo-yeon, frowned.

Since arriving on set, Seo-yeon seemed always focused on Sora.

‘Did she get really mad after the last betrayal?’

Such thoughts crossed her mind, making her too reluctant to approach, merely gnawing her lower lip.

While both focused on Seo-yeon’s reaction…

“Hmm.”

Truthfully, Seo-yeon’s thoughts were extremely peaceful.

“I wonder if she likes anime since she’s Japanese? She might watch VTubers, too…”

Though it might have been a narrow-minded thought or even borderline racism…

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