I Want to Be a VTuber

Filming for Mine officially began.

After that, everything proceeded at a breakneck pace.

As Director Han Yegeon had predicted, the shooting was moving so fast that, at the latest, it would be wrapped up by early next year, if not by the end of this year.

More than anything...

“It’s all thanks to Yeonseo.”

Jo Sehee said this, scanning the set.

Yeonseo’s action scenes appeared at least once every episode.

However, aside from the first action scene with Oliver, there hadn’t been any particularly spectacular action scenes yet.

Proper action would only start in the latter half of the series.

Before that, she would mostly be dealing with extras sent from the lab.

'Min Doha only appears after episode 1, starting from episode 5.'

Min Doha played the leader of a special task force handling shady business at the lab.

Shin Sojin.

She would have a chase scene with Yeonseo in episode 5.

Before that, Yeonseo, in pursuit of the lab’s secrets, would encounter Jo Sehee’s character, Hwang Ara.

Originally, she was the daughter of an investor in the lab.

However, at the point when Yeonseo disappeared, a lot happened at the lab, and during this process, Ara’s father was killed by one of the lab’s superhumans.

So, Ara seeks to use Yeonseo to get revenge for her father.

'Yeonseo would willingly play along.'

Yeonseo sighed deeply as she recalled these events.

For the most part, playing Yeonseo was easy for her.

For instance, the character was unfamiliar with emotions.

She had only used a limited range of emotions at the lab, and since entering society, she has encountered many more emotions.

This aspect was easy for Yeonseo to understand.

After all, she had been the same way.

'But...'

Aside from that, Yeonseo and Yeonseo’s emotional depth were quite different.

Though Yeonseo herself had an aggressive nature, Yeonseo’s core trait was looking down on others.

This was because Yeonseo considered herself the strongest of the superhumans.

It wasn’t just about her regeneration ability, but considering the root of her power, this made sense.

'Her personality is bad.'

It was different from Cha Seoah.

Cha Seoah had an inability to express emotions from the start.

Plus, she was a murderer, a villain.

But Yeonseo, despite having a bad personality, was still the protagonist.

So, making that character attractive was an entirely different challenge.

In other words, it was very difficult.

'Would this be what it feels like if I grew up without going through adolescence?'

For example, if Yeonseo had not had good parents and was an orphan like Yeonseo, it might have been similar.

Especially with the special physical abilities she has now.

'Things I haven’t experienced, I can only imagine.'

Honestly, Yeonseo, now, was more innocent than she was as a child.

She had grown and changed into a version more in line with her age.

For someone who had grown up watching Sua, Yeonseo’s character was honestly one she disliked.

“Hmm, but Arthur, that guy. He was mumbling for no reason. Apart from the action, there were a few things that felt lacking, you know?”

Jo Sehee said, glancing at Yeonseo’s face.

Yeonseo, who was busy eating a hamburger, had a face that was hard to read.

'She really likes hamburgers.'

Jo Sehee didn’t eat much, but during the breaks on set, a hamburger was the perfect quick meal.

Of course, Jo Sehee usually ate sandwiches made by the housekeeper at home.

She had to manage her weight, after all.

“That person’s right, though.”

“...Really? Everyone said the reviews were good.”

“Director Han gave it a pass, and I think Sehee might agree.”

What others didn’t notice was that their attention was fully captivated by Yeonseo’s 'action' in front of them.

Those who were seeing her strange physical abilities for the first time usually had that kind of reaction.

‘Even though the role suits her, playing a dislikable character is difficult.’

Honestly, there were moments when her immersion almost broke.

It was a good thing Oliver nailed the action sequences so smoothly.

“But...”

Yeonseo looked at Sehee for a moment, as if talking casually, but something about it felt a bit off.

“Is something bothering you?”

“Huh?”

“You seem a bit more anxious than usual.”

At Yeonseo’s words, Sehee blinked in surprise.

“...Does it show?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm, you're quick to notice things in strange situations, just like Lee Jiyeon said?”

But despite Yeonseo’s question, Sehee had no real answer to give.

This anxiety couldn’t easily be defined.

“There’s a Hollywood actor here, after all. Lately, I’ve been a little worried.”

“Worried about what?”

“I feel like my acting has become stagnant.”

Filming Kyungsung Lady made that feeling even more pronounced.

If you asked viewers who made the most impressive performance in the movie, everyone would probably have different answers.

Lee Jiyeon’s acting.

And Lee Sangsu’s.

Or maybe people would mention Yeonseo or Stella.

But would anyone choose their own performance?

Probably not.

She did well.

She was flawless and outstanding, but was there something truly impressive about it? She wasn’t sure.

Her acting mentor, the actor Jeong Eunsun, said she didn’t need to worry because she was still young, but when her fellow actors kept progressing, it was hard not to worry.

“You act like such a model student.”

“Really?”

There was no mistake in Sehee’s acting.

It was clean and flawless.

But if someone were to say it lacked something, she had no answer.

“Yeah, that’s the issue.”

Sehee said this, glancing toward Arthur, who was sitting a bit farther away.

Not that he had done anything special for Sehee.

‘If I were to put it bluntly, the issue is that he seems to completely ignore me.’

As soon as Sehee arrived at the set today, she could feel that for sure.

She had planned to get one over on him during Mine, but she wondered if she could really pull it off against a Hollywood star.

‘I don’t really want to think about it.’

Sometimes, she had such thoughts.

When a formidable opponent appeared, she wondered how nice it would be if she had the same talents as her mother.

Those kinds of thoughts.

If she had the same star-like talent as Yeonseo beside her.

"Anyway, I’ll leave the shooting to you today."

“Okay.”

Sehee said this as she stood up to go get her makeup done.

Yeonseo, watching her, shoved the remaining hamburger into her mouth.

“...Hmm.”

Yeonseo silently watched Sehee’s back.

Even though Sehee was anxious, she wasn’t visibly shaken.

Her mental fortitude was solid, like steel.

‘But.’

Sometimes, being too strong means you don’t notice things.

Her wall was too high for her to see what was outside of it.

‘Action acting isn’t the only thing I should be concerned with.’

In Mine, Sehee’s role was incredibly important.

She was, in a way, Yeonseo’s 'true friend.'

She was the character with whom she would have the deepest emotional exchange in the drama.

*****

“Team Leader Ju, have you heard my story?”

Suddenly, Kang, a director at Raywill Games, who was relatively close to Youngbin, called him.

For Youngbin, who was incredibly busy at the moment, this was an annoying situation.

There were plenty of tasks he needed to handle if he was going to move forward with the independence project he had mentioned earlier.

“Huh? What’s this about?”

“Why are you being so cautious? Relax, just listen comfortably.”

Youngbin could hardly believe what Kang was saying.

After all, these days, everyone at the company was waiting for an opportunity to speak with him, even if it was just a quick word.

‘It’s been a while since the Golden Duckling incident.’

Back then, the gaze on him wasn’t filled with goodwill but rather thoughts of how to get rid of him.

There were so many questions, especially about his relationship with Yeonhee and his current wife.

The colleagues had to ask, and it was tiring.

He even ended up overseeing events.

‘I really need to get independent soon.’

Although, in reality, it wasn’t full independence—it was more about gaining more freedom in development. If the company had another event, they would call him in anyway.

“This Kyungsung Lady is really a hit, right?”

“Yeah, well. I’m not sure about ten million, but it’ll definitely go over eight hundred thousand.”

“How many movies even hit ten million a year? Eight hundred thousand is more than impressive!”

That’s true.

While ten million is a reachable goal, in reality, if the movie performs well, it’ll probably hit around nine hundred thousand.

Considering the genre, it’s impressive even if it’s not ten million.

Though for the people involved, the fact it may not hit ten million is a bit of a regret.

‘It’s actually more than ten million in practical terms.’

The movie has already surpassed five million in Japan, so it holds the value of a ten-million domestic movie.

No domestic film has ever achieved such results.

Now, when Youngbin goes to the company, lines of people are waiting to ask for autographs from {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} his daughter.

If someone visits the company, they’ll be introduced as, “This is actor Ju Seoyeon’s father.”

At first, it was flattering and made him proud, but now, it was just tiring.

“So, here’s the thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Seoyeon is really into games, right?”

“She doesn’t play our games.”

“Why not?”

“Because you have to spend too much on in-game purchases, and the balance is a mess.”

“......”

More than that, his daughter prefers playing as a wizard in RPGs.

Maybe because she feels like she lacks intelligence in real life, her game characters tend to be the ones that require a lot of thinking.

The problem is, she can’t handle those characters well, so she usually ends up playing as a melee character instead.

“Ahem, well, our company does have pay-to-win mechanics.”

“Honestly, why would a high schooler play such a competitive game?”

“Well, I guess there’s no reason they couldn’t.”

“Anyway, no.”

“......What?”

“You’re not trying to make my daughter do an ad or anything, are you?”

At Youngbin’s words, Kang looked at him with a “Caught me” expression.

It was to be expected.

If a company team leader’s daughter is a famous actress, it wouldn’t be strange to bring it up.

Especially since they had even appeared together on a broadcast, the resistance would be lower than with other celebrities.

In fact, whenever Raywill Games runs an ad with another celebrity, Seoyeon’s name usually comes up.

That kind of reaction was common.

After seeing it a few times, even the ad planning team couldn’t help but talk about it.

“Director Kang, I heard you’re close to Team Leader Ju Youngbin. How about giving it a shot?”

Youngbin had always brushed it off before, but this time, the Kyungsung Lady success was too big.

“Seoyeon really hit it big in Japan.”

“Yeah.”

“Our company’s new release will be launching globally on Steam, and we need to promote it in Japan. I was thinking about using a local actor, but... don’t you think Seoyeon could work for both Korea and Japan?”

“Eh, no. I’m asking you, but would my daughter even listen to me?”

“If we offer a lot of money, won’t she listen?”

“She’s already making more than enough.”

At that, Kang had no further arguments.

After all, in a year, she had done a few projects and shot a few ads—there was no way she needed more money.

There was no real reason for her to do a game ad.

“Ahem, but if you let her visit the company for a tour, don’t you think she might change her mind? Maybe she’ll even like our new game. I’ll make sure the money is right... By the way, how much does Seoyeon get paid for an ad?”

At those words, Youngbin casually held up a few fingers.

When Kang saw the number of fingers, he said,

“...That’s a bit much?”

“Yeah. Everyone asks for this much now, but she won’t do it. She doesn’t spend much, and the most she spends is superchatting streamers.”

“Superchat?”

“That’s a thing.”

Anyway, in situations like this, there was a stubborn streak.

He probably didn’t like the idea of using his daughter.

‘Ugh.’

Kang was at a loss.

Recently, the company president was on Youngbin’s side, so it wasn’t easy to say anything.

If he had known this was going to happen, he wouldn’t have boasted to the ad planning team.

“...But, could you at least mention it? There are other conditions, too.”

“Fine. But if she says no, I’m not going to push it.”

“I know, I know. We’re not forcing anything. It’s not like it’s the old days.”

With that, Youngbin took the rough contract with the terms written on it.

The amount seemed reasonable.

And there were other many terms listed as well.

Oddly enough, there was a note, written almost like a post-it, asking her to come visit the company for a tour.

It felt pretty desperate, which made him laugh.

‘Well, she won’t do it.’

Youngbin wasn’t worried about it and passed the paper to his daughter.

“This isn’t bad.”

“Yeah, I’ll tell them we’ll decline... Wait, what?”

“It’s not bad.”

Seoyeon looked over the general terms and nodded.

Youngbin would never allow Seoyeon to visit the company.

He knew it would become a tiring situation.

So, getting a legitimate reason for Seoyeon to visit his company was quite a win for her.

At home, he was just the father she wanted to hit, but at the company, he was the team leader.

She had a desire to see him working.

Moreover, the advertising format was even more important.

There were essentially two kinds of advertisements.

One was a typical ad video, about five minutes long, but Seoyeon wouldn’t appear much in it.

‘The second is a live stream where she cosplays a character and plays the game.’

This was important.

In other words, it was an opportunity to indirectly experience her broadcasting skills!

Watching Ramiel or Alice stream so smoothly, Seoyeon couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Though she had decided to leave the past behind, she still couldn’t shake the anxiety.

‘It’s important to get the hang of streaming early on.’

It had been a long time since Seoyeon had the chance to train for VTubing.

She probably didn’t need to act as a character, but it wouldn’t hurt to approach it like an RP.

‘I’ll definitely do it.’

Seoyeon nodded seriously, and seeing her determination,

“...Are you really going to do it? Oh, really?”

Youngbin couldn’t help but ask, surprised.

He never knew what direction his daughter might take.