NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1
Chapter 1
My daily life after being reborn was quite fulfilling.
Every morning, I’d wake up and immediately do some stretching, followed by vocal exercises.
On top of that, I never forgot to practice various acting techniques while watching TV.
So, why was I studying acting, you ask?
Well, it was all for the sake of maintaining a desirable RP (role-play).
What is RP, you wonder? It’s essentially the mask and concept I’d use while acting as a VTuber.
In other words, it’s the setting that the VTuber character possesses.
Among VTubers, there were those who strictly adhered to their RP, and many who didn’t stick to it at all.
For the record, I had a tendency to get a bit grrrr frustrated when I saw VTubers who didn’t respect their RP.
I mean, how different is that from just being a streamer?
Hmmm… “Even if I say this, I haven’t seen many VTubers in the first place.”
As a busy office worker pressed for time, I couldn’t watch them often, and even when I did, it was just shorts or clips posted by others.
Wyuu~ “I should have watched more back then.”
Since the industry wasn’t properly formed at the moment, I found myself at a loss about what to do.
First and foremost, I needed to focus on vocal training and acting.
And if I wanted to be a streamer, I obviously needed a certain flair…
Tek! “It’s hard to get a feel for broadcasting skills unless you actually try it out.”
In many ways, it was a difficult journey.
Regardless of whether it’s a streamer or a VTuber, brainstorming content is absolutely crucial.
If I could get a head start on that now, I wouldn’t have to struggle later on.
Pop! “I should be good at games, right?”
The body I had been reborn into had reflexes that were on another level, after all.
So, I didn’t worry much about the gaming aspect.
Hmm… “But if I’m doing RP, what kind of character should I portray?”
Thinking about such concepts for VTuber personas was a fairly pleasurable experience in its own right.
With kindergarten starting next year, I knew that such time would be scarce, so it was better to plan ahead.
Hmm… “Come to think of it, I could also do a male persona as a VTuber.”
Since my male identity was still quite potent, that thought crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head.
I had been born with a good voice, so ruining that advantage would be a fool’s errand.
Thus, I diligently followed my daily routine.
Though I wouldn’t have lasted even a month in my previous life’s routine, it had now become a habit.
“Hey, daughter, have you thought about auditioning for a child actor role?”
My mother suddenly threw that question at me.
*
“No matter how much of a public audition it is, geez…”
Casting director Kim Hyungseok scratched his head and let out a sigh.
While it was indeed an audition to find a child actor for a commercial, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he had messed up.
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to just use a more well-known child actor?”
At that comment from a staff member, Kim Hyungseok shook his head.
“Do you think that would be easy? The budget just doesn’t allow it, unfortunately.”
“Why are the advertisers being so stingy…?”
The staff complained, but there was nothing they could do.
After all, it wasn’t a big corporate advertisement; it was a job given by a small business.
Having worked as a casting director for quite some time, Kim Hyungseok found such situations to be incredibly rare.
In such cases, it was typical to run ads online rather than squeezing every penny to make a commercial.
Sure enough, that director seems like a newcomer with little experience.
It was no surprise that someone with connections wouldn’t be giving such a young person the director’s chair.
Everything had been skimped and budgeted down to the last penny.
It was laughable that the highest-paid person on the team was the casting director himself.
At least they had a properly prepared studio, which felt like a stroke of luck.
It seemed the rookie commercial director understood this, as he came up to Kim Hyungseok first to greet him.
“Ha ha, um, I look forward to working with you. I haven’t been in commercial design for long before jumping over to this…”
“Oh, yes, according to the advertisers, I’ve been told to give it my all.”
“Ah, ha ha.”
Seeing the man awkwardly laugh caused Kim Hyungseok to click his tongue.
What was his name again? Jo Min-tae, was it?
Of course, Jo Min-tae had no way of knowing that Kim Hyungseok was judging him, so he tried to strike up a friendly conversation.
“Ah, casting director. Have you checked the profiles of the kids who participated in the audition today?”
“The profiles? Ah, yes, I glanced at them…”
Profile pictures at a child actor audition didn’t provide much information.
Especially in public auditions like this, it was even more limited.
“It’s hard to see the teeth in these pictures… I guess I’ll have to check each kid individually.”
This was a critical issue when shooting commercials for ‘food-related’ products.
In child auditions, kids often had wobbly teeth, making it difficult to film nicely, so they usually avoided such scenarios.
“Ah, you probably narrowed it down to children aged around five to seven, right?”
“Yes. That’s about the age range the advertisers wanted…”
Kids younger than five are tough to communicate with, and those older than eight don’t fit the image either.
From among such kids, Kim Hyungseok selected one that stood out.
“Has this kid arrived at the audition venue?”
“Let’s see… It doesn’t seem like they’ve shown up yet?”
“Oh, really? I hope they come.”
Seeing Jo Min-tae’s reaction of disappointment made Kim Hyungseok sneak a glance at the profile.
Five years old… and facially, they’re definitely nice enough.
Their eye color was oddly distinct.
It looked brown, yet somehow appeared reddish due to lacking pigmentation.
To be honest, he was surprised by the appearance alone.
“Of course, you know it’s not just about being pretty, right?”
“Oh, of course I know.”
Jo Min-tae said this with a playful smile as Kim Hyungseok nodded.
Then, he saw parents and kids entering the audition room just as the blinds came down.
Each parent, confident in their own right, seemed to believe their child was the most beautiful.
Hmmm… “Considering there doesn’t seem to be any experienced participants, this might get intense.”
Inside the audition, as Kim Hyungseok thought, a subtle psychological battle was occurring.
“Oh my, Mi-yeon’s mom is here too.”
“I think I’ve seen you at the last audition. Hi, Hyun-soo~.”
Though they greeted each other with smiles, the exchange was loaded with underlying tension.
Didn’t you flop last time? How can you show your face again?
You should just give up already; your kid just doesn’t have it!
Some parents sought the public audition channel, and among them was a child who had come after receiving acting lessons from an agency.
“My Ji-yeon is different from those kids. You know that, right?”
“Yes, mom.”
Lee Ji-yeon puffed out her chest in response to her mother’s words, scanning the surroundings.
Unlike the other kids trembling in fear, Ji-yeon displayed a rather confidently poised attitude.
I’m already under management, after all.
Of course, the agency she belonged to was still pretty small.
But compared to the other kids who had never acted before, she had received decent training.
Ji-yeon is definitely the prettiest here.
After glancing around, Ji-yeon’s mother, Hong Jin-hee, clicked her tongue lightly.
What were those other kids even wearing for makeup?
With those looks, they didn’t seem to grasp what being a child actor truly meant.
She should be able to get cast easily.
It was Ji-yeon’s first opportunity.
Hadn’t the agency mentioned that girls with her level of skill would breeze through a small audition like this?
It was just for experience and a chance to add a line to her resume.
Thud.
Lost in such thoughts when the waiting room door suddenly swung open, Hong Jin-hee, who was nearest to the door, casually turned her head.
“…!”
A cute girl with neatly arranged long black hair entered.
What stood out was her strikingly unusual eye color.
Her fair face and elegant appearance made her the prettiest child Hong Jin-hee had ever seen at an audition.
However, if it had only been her appearance that caught her attention, Hong Jin-hee wouldn’t have been so astonished.
What is it… this atmosphere feels different?
There was a strangely transcendent aura about her.
It carried a similarity to the aura that actors possess but with something entirely unique.
Who is she?
How would I know?
It seemed that she wasn’t the only one feeling this way, as the waiting room buzzed with chatter.
In the commotion, Seo-yeon’s mother, Sua, smiled brightly.
“Oh my, look! There are friends over there, Seo-yeon. But you know mommy thinks you’re the prettiest, right?”
Holding the hand of the woman who seemed to be her mother, she walked in, emitting a strangely non-childlike vibe.
Typically, a child would respond with something like, “Really??” or “Oh, stop joking~” at such a statement from their mother.
“Yeah.”
Her response was utterly resolute, as if such a statement were merely common knowledge.
It wasn’t just a claim of being pretty in her mother’s eyes; it was a ‘Yes’ that dripped with confidence, asserting that she was the prettiest child in that audition room.
Thanks to that, the mothers in the audition had no choice but to ponder over who that child was.
Could she have previously done some acting somewhere?
While they exchanged short opinions, they couldn’t gather any relevant information.
Hmm…
Watching them, Seo-yeon crossed her arms and nodded.
This is also an experience.
A casting audition.
To be honest, it was something I had never really anticipated, so I found myself taken aback at first.
But upon reconsidering, this was actually a wonderful opportunity.
Isn’t this part of acting too?
Looking ahead to when I’d debut as a VTuber, I figured such experiences would prove useful.
They’d aid my RP, and the more conversational practice I got, the better my talking skills would become.
I might even spin tales about how I starred in a commercial as a kid, or about acting experiences.
So, I didn’t really mind how the auditions turned out.
Of course, I’m the prettiest, but…
Having a transcendent appearance was unbeatable.
No ordinary girl could even come close.
That said, I knew that auditions aren’t solely based on looks.
With that in mind, Seo-yeon casually plopped down in an empty seat.
In her actions, there was no trace of the slightest hint of anxiety that a typical child would exhibit.
Is she really a child who’s used to auditions?
Or… maybe she really is a child from a management agency?
Though no manager was in sight, it’s quite customary for mothers to take on that role for child actors.
So it made total sense if Seo-yeon belonged to a management agency or was one of the child actors in a major company.
Our Seo-yeon is quite composed, isn’t she?
As various mothers and staff members whispered amongst themselves, Seo-yeon’s mother, Sua, simply continued to stroke her daughter’s round head.
To her, her daughter was just the cutest thing in the world.