NOVEL NEXT Chapter 661
“With this, whether I intend to or not… all the habits of the old man that you think of are naturally ingrained in this body, right?”
The moment Na-me said that, the air in the chat window froze like brrr.
Slowly bending back, hands trembling slightly.
In eyes that had long since dried up, there instead gleamed an old man’s wisdom as if overcoming something.
Especially when Na-me reached out to grab the cup on the table.
Her fingertips trembled as if recalling dozens of wounds.
As if the weight of decades had settled into that small body.
‘It’s like a person who has been trapped in a child’s form in a capsule for decades…’
Some even started to think Na-me might actually be an adult.
But that couldn’t be the case, as Na-me was a victim of the Valpurgis incident.
The age of the girl who escaped from MEIMEI-2X was only 10 years old.
– What was that just now
– The acting and the face felt so off, wtf…
– Did anyone else feel like the video and subtitles were out of sync?
└ LMAO, for real
– I don’t know anything about acting, but I can tell it’s amazing
– I got chills when she laughed like an old man
Responses overwhelmed by sheer acting talent erupted.
“This is a wall. I didn’t want to know this wall…”
In contrast, Cheon Saetbyeol was engulfed in frustration.
Na-me didn’t even perform any particularly emotional acting.
Rather, if it had been a scene bursting with earnest emotion, it would have been different.
It was just a simple act of taking a sip of cocoa and setting it down.
Defeating stir-fried pork with clear bean sprout soup.
“I can do it, but you can’t?”
Na-me’s eyes flashed fiercely.
As far as she remembered, her past life’s hardware was bursting with acting talent.
“Hehe, can I watch Saetbyeol’s acting?”
“Are you going to help?”
“Just bring any script. And I’m really curious about your acting. You’ve never shown it to me because you were too shy.”
“Isn’t that natural? It’s embarrassing to show this anywhere, especially to family!”
Saetbyeol rummaged through her bag with a cheeky expression.
She handed over the script to Na-me.
The yellow highlights made it hard to read the letters.
Na-me couldn’t help but smile at the evidence of Saetbyeol’s hard work behind the scenes.
“Unspoken? This is a drama. Don’t they usually proceed with a play?”
A school bullying revenge drama.
“A play is the second practical. This is the first preparation. Plus, the entrance exams for the theater and film department recycle every few years.”
Saetbyeol explained that such themes have been well-received by judges these days.
“Perpetrator? Victim?”
“If I’m the perpetrator, wouldn’t it stir up some controversy on the broadcast, haha…”
– Save Na-me!
– Honestly, I can’t relate to NoName being the victim, lol
– ???: Is she a new suicide hope?
– Show us the acting skills honed through VTuber RP!
– Cheon Saetbyeol will probably score in the first round as a face genius.
Na-me read the script slowly.
Since Saetbyeol had added annotations to each sentence, it wasn’t hard to interpret.
She contemplated what they might be teaching at the academy, straightened her back.
“Alright, let’s start!”
[Jealousy: Schadenfreude]
Shwaaaahh-
“…!”
A strong lilac scent stung her nose.
As if engaging in a magic duel, Na-me’s aura exploded dramatically.
The swirling golden aura tore out the black from Na-me’s hair and eyes.
“Doing this should make it easier for you to act, right?”
Golden eyes glimmered.
Na-me perched on her chair with a mischievous smile.
‘Nyang-me, please’ donates 10,000 won!
– Legendary Market Monster Gold Na-me appears ㄷㄷ
“What are you doing here, Saetbyeol?”
Viewers instantly sensed.
That from the very beginning, she was a being obsessed with tormenting others.
*
Actors live solely for the purpose of acting.
Saetbyeol would have wanted to utilize her sensitive emotions and excellent empathy in this path.
In contrast, acting had always just been a means for me.
I deceived the renowned Prince, tricked a nation’s king, and hoodwinked a ruler of a continent.
Nobody sees sheer deception as acting.
So, I silently watched Saetbyeol’s performance while conserving my counsel.
Because this was an area I was unfamiliar with.
“Honestly, I don’t get it. Why was it me? What did I do wrong for you all to treat me like that? Was it that… it seemed easy? Or was it fun?”
After a brief silence, I let out a tedious sigh, as per the script.
With disbelief in her eyes, a tear trickled down Saetbyeol’s cheek.
“Did you all know that? No, you probably didn’t care. Back then, I was nothing to you.”
Her monologue continued.
Even as the cold wind blew fiercely on the yacht, Saetbyeol’s bloodshot eyes remained unwavering.
“Do you know? If you water a plant too much, it rots from the roots. And plants can’t scream. So pray to your god to save it. Huh… this is about all I could prepare.”
– Wow~
– Saetbyeol is amazing too!
– Honestly, she’s so pretty that the acting feels overshadowed, lol
– Huaaa so cringy!!!
– That’s just how dramas are, haha.
Cheers from the viewers made Saetbyeol’s face brighten.
With a big smile, she went to replay the scene.
“Eww, I look ugly!”
I patted Saetbyeol’s crouching head.
“Good job.”
“Yikes! Oh really? Did I do well?”
“Yeah, I think you did great. I’m curious about what the victim went through specifically?”
“Oh, so during school days, I was severely bullied… and then they ran over the protagonist’s mother on a motorcycle, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.”
“That’s some deep-seated enmity.”
“Seems like it, huh?”
“It felt like emotions didn’t rise gradually but jumped around. What do you guys think?”
– Isn’t that overacting?
– But in that situation, overacting might be valid.
– Overall, well done.
– It has moments that feel off as Na-me said, it seems like each line takes a different path.
“Ah, you say there’s no unity in this? I wasn’t aware of that. I’ll fix that quickly!”
“And just two more things.”
“Sure.”
“One is that it feels like you’re enjoying this situation a bit too much? While it’s right to feel elation from the revenge, I wonder if the victim wouldn’t feel any fear in that scenario?”
Even though the drama is a revenge story, it wasn’t classified as a picaresque.
If it came off too villainous, it could lack emotional resonance.
“Yeah, I think that makes sense. Trauma wouldn’t just disappear easily.”
“The first part is open to interpretation, but don’t you think your voice projection is lacking…?”
“Huh.”
Saetbyeol’s preparation was not for acting but ‘audition acting’.
Meaning they were evaluating foundational acting aspects like expressiveness, comprehension, imagination, and vocalization.
“Maybe it’s because we’re on a yacht, and the wind is too strong…”
“How do you usually practice vocalization?”
“Uh? At the academy, they just have us read scripts while doing planks.”
“Then do it.”
“Huh?”
“Plank, do it now.”
With her elbows down, Saetbyeol lay face-down.
Eek!
I perched on her back and positioned the script above her head.
“Alright, pitiful cat, start from the top again.”
“Ugh! Wait, sis! You’re so heavy! I can’t hold on like this!”
“How dare you use your aura? Let’s see how long you can keep that up, hehe.”
It was surprisingly enjoyable to witness someone else’s misfortune.
I gently stroked Saetbyeol’s trembling arms.
“No one here is going to help you. Nothing’s going to change if you do this.”
*
“Ugh… ah… I can’t take it anymore…”
I reached out towards her neck and shared my aura.
Just enough for her to hold on for another minute.
“Still, you need to keep reading the script, right, Saetbyeol?”
“You like looking down on me… that’s why I’m lifting you up. So you can look down on me from anywhere. Hah… hah…”
Saetbyeol’s breath hitched.
Vooom-
The golden aura wrapped around her again.
Guhhhhh!
23 minutes of planking.
She was on the verge of collapsing.
“Okay, last line.”
“Ack! Hah… haa! Ughhhh! I can’t do it anymore!”
“Save me, Cheon Saetbyeol. This crosses the line. Do you want to rot in prison for life? Is this really the life you wanted?”
“Hahaha! From now on, you’ll have to beg to die, right? Unless you want to live a miserable life like my mom, I’ll hang you back up again.”
Thud-
“Good job there. That last line was truly great.”
“Ughhh! So hard! Sniff… but did I do well?”
Tears, uncertain if acting or truth, glistened in her eyes.
As I brushed her sweat-soaked hair aside, I pinched Saetbyeol’s cheek.
“Sloppy, can’t even control your vocal cords? If your emotions drown your voice, how will people far away hear you, you foolish cat?”
“It’s you who can move your vocal cords so freely that’s weird, isn’t it? Are you a parrot?”
“I’ll make you do a 100kg plank next time, so brace yourself!”
“Are you trying to turn me into a super soldier instead of an actress or what?”
– LMAO
– Acting is sloppy~
But the workout is sloppier~
– Gold Na-me is ridiculously cute, lol
– Actors who don’t use stunt doubles have high price tags, haha.
– Please let the plump cat debut as an action star!ㅠㅠㅠ
– The action scenes that Na-me directs would just be a calamity, it seems.
– Who will match the combos? NoName should just do magic duels.
– Honestly, Cheon Saetbyeol performed well, despite any biases, haha.
– Vocal projection is definitely important.
– If emotions are infused in the last line, Adella would get major votes.
Plop-
A thin droplet grazed past my cheek.
“Huh?”
“Oh, it’s raining.”
[Lily, over here.]
Ruri, who was standing behind the camera, opened the door leading into the indoor lounge.
“Wow, so this is what it looks like inside the yacht! Wow, a plush sofa too!”
“Since it’s cold, how about serving us a warm dish?”
The captain opened a large aluminum pot as he spoke.
We all nodded, and soon bowls and utensils were set up on the table.
“Garlic baguette with herb garnishing and some salami.”
“Ugh. This is just vegetable soup.”
I stirred my spoon, not really eating.
Surely the fish could benefit from it more than I could.
Then I suddenly asked Saetbyeol.
“Why do you want to act, Saetbyeol?”
“Huh? Why?”
She paused her soup-slurping momentarily.
“Acting has to strictly follow what the director says, right? I thought that wouldn’t suit your free spirit.”
“Well, I guess you could think that way. But I feel much freer when I’m acting.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Do you know what I think of myself?”
“What do you think?”
“A child with dementia at 15.”
Saetbyeol used her knife to cut the salami, bringing some to her bowl.
“Oh, I grabbed too many by mistake.”
“Yeah, just eat both.”
I hadn’t even realized she had grabbed one earlier.
“I don’t have any past. So whenever I stream or talk with my school friends, it’s really tough. There’s no common ground to talk with people.”
Saetbyeol lowered her shoulders with pity.
“You’re right… that must have been really hard.”
“So my strategy was to talk about the latest dramas and movies.”
“?”
“We’re talking about stories from other worlds, and everyone starts on the same starting line. New stories, new backgrounds, new villains. It’s a fresh slate for me, for you, for all of us. So for a while, I was a full-on movie buff. Of course, I still enjoy it now.”
That was a story I had never heard from Saetbyeol before.
“Is that why you like acting?”
“Yeah. I can learn about personalities, relationships, and lives that are unknown to me all over again. Of course, they mix up filming scenes at the location… but still, it must be thrilling to receive the script for the first time. Hehe.”
“Did you prepare for interviews or something?”
“Huh? What for?”
“Ah, never mind.”
She probably had no worries about interviews at all.
Could there be such a powerful and reliable motivation for her aspirations?
As I held Saetbyeol’s hand resting on the table, I offered her some words of encouragement.
“I can’t wait to see what kind of acting Saetbyeol will showcase in the future. If you keep it up like today, you’ll achieve everything you wish for as an actress.”
“Thank you! I’m getting all this praise from you!”
Squish-
“Could you maybe stop eating salami? Let me have some too.”
“Look at you being greedy in the midst of all this! How many pieces have you had? I’ve only had three!”
“Two pieces…”
“Are you lying? Wanna replay it and check? If you lie in this industry, you’ll lose your hand.”
I’d say there’s no need to worry about her future.
She was handling everything quite well by herself.
*
“Thank you for your hard work. We’ll meet again in the next content.”
“Thanks for watching, everyone! Don’t forget to take care of me when I’m a newb actress, okay? Mew!”
[Stream has ended]
[Watch NoName’s other videos]
The Norway Aulanfjord broadcast came to an end as the yacht docked on land.
“Sigh. My arm feels super numb. You’re gonna massage it later, right, sis?”
“Already acting like a diva just because you think you’ll be an actress? Tsk, tsk, you won’t last long.”
“Ugh…! Is the ending that I repay you with acting?”
As we shared small talk on the way back to our accommodations,
Saetbyeol stretched and said, “But thanks to Na-me today, I had fun.”
“I’m glad.”
“I’ve been under so much stress lately. Maybe I should consider changing acting academies.”
“Why?”
“There are a lot of jealous people in the academy. They say I’m going to get into college because of my sister. If Na-me is around, I’ll get cast as the lead in any project. They should just practice instead of gossiping, ugh.”
“So that’s what was going on. You seemed a bit down lately.”
“Did you sense it too? Sigh I’ll have to reflect on that.”
“No need for that. Just be more successful than them.”
“Hehe, you’re right about that! Why don’t you also become an actress? When you used your aura earlier, your emotions were really conveyed well. Let’s do a live-action deep yuri rom-com together—”
“…?”
“Sorry.”
“I’ll acknowledge your quick apology.”
I thought the trivial banter would continue endlessly.
Pap-
Until Ruri jumped ahead, blocking us with open arms.
“Ruri, what’s up?”
“What’s going on?”
[Cheon Saetbyeol, you.]
Even though the street was deserted, she spoke through a form.
[Don’t think Mom’s intentions bore ill will towards insignificant matters.]
“What does that mean? Acting isn’t trivial for me.”
Saetbyeol replied directly.
A subtle tension hung between them.
[How could you not understand your mother’s intentions? I’ve watched you with patience and tolerance for long enough, but you’re clearly not the one meant to be by her side.]
“Hold on, Ruri. Did something bother you?”
“What’s your intention? Speak it out loud. With your lips.”
Ruri slowly lifted her gaze, her jet-black eyes glinting.
[You plan to kill many people from now on. I’ll follow my sky-like mother.]
“Hey.”
“What are you…?”
[Cheon Saetbyeol, you cannot stay with us. Find your dreams and leave.]