The rapid spread of Seoyeon’s participation in a street event was nothing short of instantaneous.
First, it went viral on YouTube Shorts, and then parts of it started circulating on various online communities.
– HAHAHAHA. What is she doing there? HAHAHA.
– I didn’t know Sooyeon Joo could look this cute.
– Is that Sooyeon Joo’s younger sister? Wow, the older sister really is just a lesser version of the younger one, isn’t she?
– ???
Apparently, her younger sister had wanted a toy, so she participated.
Initially, many claimed that it was planted publicity from the event’s organizing company or even an edit.
– They could’ve called in the actress for promotional reasons.
– But honestly, if it were for promotion, wouldn’t she be too embarrassed?
– Really! Haha. This is the first time I’ve seen Sooyeon Joo looking this bashful.
Seoyeon’s performances on TV had been numerous. Even during “<Dream Future>“, because of the outdoor shoots, several clips had already circulated.
But every time Seoyeon acted bashfully on-screen, her expression never wavered. Now, however, it was unmistakable to anyone watching that she was genuinely bashful.
To put it plainly, Seoyeon’s always-on-point ability to convey emotions was now vividly expressing her embarrassment.
– Su-yeon is too cute, sob.
– I want a younger sister or daughter like Su-yeon.
– Me too… The director of the event said she’d been given a good role since her sister always plays bad ones.
– Really?
– Yes, I asked the event manager separately. Of course, she also mentioned she’s a fan of Zero-ro. Haha.
Before long, the event managers were summoned to headquarters to explain the situation. Loop Entertainment, the production company behind <Magical Girl Harara>, quickly uploaded the relevant videos to the company’s YouTube channel.
In just three days, this entire process was completed.
In the simplest terms, a flash of time.
“Hey, how was it working with actor Sooyeon Joo and her younger sister for the toy advertisement?”
“Oh, the offer was made a while back.”
The promptness of the response showcased just why she had become a popular figure recently—efficient handling.
Of course, the party who received the news…
“Alright, Seoyeon? Since you’ve done it once, wouldn’t doing it again be fine?”
“…”
Currently, watching a YouTube Shorts video heading toward five million views, Seoyeon sighed.
Her long-awaited image recovery…
She couldn’t have foreseen it would be accomplished so pointlessly.
‘Apparently, improving one’s image isn’t something you can force.’
Still, her efforts over time had paid off. However, there hadn’t been this kind of dramatic improvement.
Actor Sooyeon Joo was, to the public, still somewhat unfamiliar and strongly recognized as one who specialized in villain roles.
Even though she’d played Jo Ha-rin in <Dream Future>, ultimately people remember the most impactful role.
Of course, those who watched <Dream Future> first might recall Seoyeon as Jo Ha-rin.
But Jo Ha-rin’s role…
‘When I think about it, I’ve played quite a few intense roles.’
Lee Yoo-joo wasn’t a murderer, but aside from that, she hadn’t portrayed particularly virtuous characters either.
Despite this, Yoo-joo’s popularity remained high.
Probably due to being perceived as a victim of enforced education from her parents while young and presenting an imperfect, unstable character, many viewers anxiously followed her journey.
Like a time bomb.
‘And because of her overwhelming personal capabilities.’
In the story, there aren’t many characters superior to Yoo-joo.
However, despite possessing such exceptional abilities, Yoo-joo is an imperfect protagonist.
Primarily in terms of her mental state. Within the narrative, Yoo-joo isn’t described as someone with a strong mental fortitude.
‘Anyway.’
Yoo-joo is Yoo-joo, but the immediate issue was <Magical Girl Harara>.
“Alright? Do you want to do it? Doing toy advertisements would improve your image among mothers!”
“It’s a toy promotion?”
<Magical Girl Harara>, upon later investigation, reportedly has so many transformation varieties that it’s jokingly called <Bankrupt Girl Harara>.
Its popularity extends not just to young children but also to middle schoolers. Some adults enjoy the character designs too.
“Pfft, it’s all just play.”
But when it came to making a decision on her own, she hesitated, mainly because the offer wasn’t just for her. It was for her younger sister Joo Su-yeon too.
Upon returning home, she tentatively brought it up.
“I’LL DO IT!!!!!”
Her shout was almost like a “Bick!” scream that made Seoyeon immediately cover her ears. Physically strong and sensitive Seoyeon thought her eardrums might have burst.
“I want to be on TV with my sister!”
Of course, her eardrums weren’t that weak.
“Did you get an advertisement request, Su-yeon?”
“Yes, it seems so.”
Sua just watched the entire exchange with amusement.
‘Considering Mom rejects all advertisement offers anyway.’
She might’ve allowed one or two, but worried about public pressure, she hadn’t. Still, Su-yeon had often expressed wanting to see her mom on TV, so all hope wasn’t lost completely.
Sua, appearing perplexed while delaying the decision, somehow felt obliged to do at least one.
“Since the response was good this time, try again. Didn’t Seoyeon also like similar things when she was young?”
“Y-yes, but…”
Back then, shouldn’t girls of her age play with these toys?
At first, she had the mindset that she should play with these toys because her parents wouldn’t find it strange.
‘But, thinking about it now, I might have actually liked it.’
At the time, she wasn’t fully aware of her own feelings, so she didn’t know exactly why she did it. But reflecting on how she played with them alone sometimes, there was a hint of fondness.
She had only suppressed it with the compulsion that it shouldn’t appear odd to others.
“…By the way, what exactly are you doing, Mom?”
“Hm?”
Sua was in the living room at the moment, tidying up something with Su-yeon. Quite old items.
Some were related to Seoyeon, like clothes or toys she wore or played with as a child. Even older items included things like worn-out CDs and photo albums.
“I’ve just been remembering things since I’ve been watching variety shows these days.”
The recent variety shows must have been <Masked Singer>. After all, Sua wasn’t someone who watched much variety programming.
Sua had been behaving peculiarly recently. She’d sometimes space out or search for <Masked Singer>-related videos for no reason.
“What is this CD?”
Seoyeon pointed to an especially conspicuous CD. Given that CD’s were now practically obsolete and this one looked custom-made, it stood out.
Upon seeing it, Sua smiled and explained.
“It’s a game CD.”
“Game CD?”
No title?
“It’s the first game made by your dad and me. Well, of course, we had help from our club mates.”
Ah, so this was that game. Dad, Joo Young-bin, always boasted proudly about it.
He made a game in high school that won an award at a big competition. That record got him scouted into a gaming company.
It was something Seoyeon practically memorized verbatim because it was mentioned every time her dad had a drink.
“Would you like to try it? But there’s no way to play CD games anymore.”
“It is true.”
Nowadays, computers don’t have CD drives. The only place you’d see something like this is perhaps retro game consoles.
“What’s this?”
“Oh, this is from high school… It’s the album that got us together.”
“An album? There’s a comic title written on it.”
“Back then, Korean songs were attached to imported comics, and they were released as albums like this.”
“Not on public TV, right?”
“No, it was on cable.”
While saying this, Sua chuckled nervously.
“Back then, actually, I thought Japanese songs were better suited for comic soundtracks… When your dad said the songs were good, I thought they were the original and played them for him… Hmm. Let’s leave it there.”
Later, she realized that what Dad had referred to were the Korean remakes of the soundtrack.
‘Mom was an otaku back in the day.’
True, just by the style of drawing she could tell. And she doesn’t exactly flaunt this side to Seoyeon.
And after growing up, it seems she doesn’t indulge in such hobbies much anymore.
‘Comic soundtrack.’
The song Sua pointed out was one Seoyeon vaguely recognized. It could be a hidden classic, often remade and released.
“Mom’s dream was to make games. In a way, it came true back then.”
“Why didn’t you enter a company like Dad?”
“That’s because I couldn’t create the things I truly wanted to.”
Sua laughed like a child.
“I did freelance programming, and sometimes helped Dad with planning, but those things were unrelated to my dreams.”
Initially, with two daughters, she didn’t have the luxury of working full-time. Sua believed parents were essential for young children. She thought conversations and shared time were significant.
“Of course, Dad was a bit different.”
Focused on building experience and increasing recognition, he wanted to eventually establish his dream as an entrepreneur when the conditions were right.
“Mom already asked you.”
Feeling Seoyeon’s gaze, Sua continued.
“Back when you were little, it seemed like you wanted to do something else.”
“…Did it seem that way?”
“Because from what I saw, you didn’t seem particularly interested in acting.”
If she continued observing Seoyeon, it became inevitable to understand the direction of her efforts, and where her interests lay. Sua may not clearly know what Seoyeon was interested in, but at least she knew it wasn’t acting.
At least, not at first.
“Now, I think acting is what you genuinely want. I think it’s been that way since the filming of <The Moon That Hid the Sun> was complete.”
That was true. The moment Seoyeon decided to become a “great actress” was around then.
“But, did you abandon the things you wanted to do before?”
“That’s…”
Seoyeon wanted to say no, but couldn’t easily say it. It wasn’t abandoned, really.
There was just something holding her back.
“Why did you decide to work so hard at being an actress in the first place?”
“…”
Sua smiled as Seoyeon failed to answer.
“I think you’re hesitating precisely because of that.”
The reason why Seoyeon started putting her heart into acting.
The turning point when she decided to aim to be a great actress.
“Since you were little, you weren’t the type to procrastinate on things.”
She was the type to finish one thing before moving on to the next. Seoyeon had always been like that.
“Something you really must finish, from your childhood.”
Of course, it didn’t mean the thing she had to finish was “acting.” Maybe it was something else entirely.
To Sua, there was definitely something like that within Seoyeon. She didn’t know exactly what, but she believed it existed.
*
After the 6th episode of <Sky Garden> aired, the ratings didn’t change drastically.
The popularity of <Grand Game> remained higher, and its story dominated online communities.
However, starting from episode 4 of <Sky Garden>, ADiz chair advertisements began to run earnestly.
Since episode 4 focused on Yoo-joo and Min-seo’s rigorous exam preparations, the desks and chairs used during the study sessions featured ADiz products.
– How’s the ADiz chair? It looked pretty decent while watching <Sky Garden>.
– I don’t really know about the previous ones, but the model for kids seems to be pretty good.
Such conversations were casually exchanged. There wasn’t much buzz yet. After all, <Sky Garden> hadn’t yet become the talk of the town.
“Miss Seoyeon, are you tired today?”
“Huh?”
“Today’s performance seemed a bit lacking in energy.”
Is that so?
Seoyeon frowned slightly at Director Kim Il-soo’s words but had to admit the feeling wasn’t entirely wrong.
“Go home and rest after today’s shoot. It’s going to get tough from the next sessions.”
“Yes.”
When they began shooting episode 10, the story would shift dramatically to a lot of outdoor scenes. That was also when Yoo-joo’s character would begin to significantly falter as the real events of the story unfolded.
“Young dream…”
Back home, Seoyeon replayed all the aired episodes of <Sky Garden> from the beginning.
Yoo-joo was an extremely flat character.
It wasn’t Seoyeon’s fault, but because Yoo-joo was inherently designed that way. Ultimately, her behavior was just mimicking her father’s ways.
Even if she denied it, viewers could tell. Yoo-joo ultimately embodied nothing more than her father’s words and actions.
A kid who never found what they truly wanted to do.
An immature child.
That’s who Yoo-joo was.
“Actor.”
Perhaps, from the fact they both started as something recommended by their parents, there were similarities between Yoo-joo and Sooyeon.
Both started with that as a catalyst for choosing this path.
However, they were certainly different.
Yoo-joo had “nothing else,” while
Sooyeon had something else she wanted to do.
Then, why had she felt it necessary to prioritize acting?
“Actually, I’ve had a vague understanding.”
Han Yoo-na, the child she met this time, shared a similar name with herself in her previous life.
The age and upbringing were different, and unlike Seoyeon who received harsh education from her parents from a young age, Han Yoo-na was happy.
She had no emotional disturbances, just a pretty and adorable child.
There was no ill feeling from Seoyeon about it. If anything, she thought it was fortunate.
Only.
She had uncovered something because of this meeting.
It was one of the things she had discussed with writer Min Se-hee recently, as well as what Seoyeon wanted to pursue in the future.
The one necessary task before fulfilling her childhood dream.
“An actor as the only channel for communication.”
Maybe what she wanted to display was precisely this.
No, it was definitely so.
By becoming a famous actor.
By becoming an actor everyone knows.
If she could do that, the parents from her previous life might see her.
So…
“Maybe I made a small mistake in Yoo-joo’s portrayal.”
After reviewing the drama multiple times, Seoyeon realized it.
There had been a faint sense of dissatisfaction in the way she portrayed Yoo-joo.
Only today did she feel like she understood.
In a sense, Yoo-joo was an undeniably character similar to her.
