The Next Morning, At a Café.
There was a woman who particularly caught the eye, taking up a corner of the seating area. Her face was partly hidden by a black mask covering her lower half, but her striking presence was undeniable just from her eyes alone.
Of course, her striking eyes weren’t the only reason she stood out.
It was her outfit.
Her dress was covered in frills with plenty of black ribbons.
Her hair was tied in two braids, a style some people might call “mento,” though the woman’s identity was actually Go Eun-bi.
A Virtual YouTuber under NeoLive named Shikarin.
And in the group chat, known as “Deer.”
Eun-bi was currently rummaging through her phone to make a call while waiting for someone.
Why wouldn’t someone pass the time with a call while waiting at a café?
So, the person on the other end didn’t really matter to her. She just wanted someone—not anyone in particular—to pass the time with her.
Thus, Eun-bi had chosen the easiest target, a friend who was always casual, relaxed, and, judging by their demeanor, quite free.
“…?”
But why? The call wasn’t being answered.
“Why isn’t she picking up? Unemployed?”
Eun-bi was genuinely puzzled.
“Isoo-a, starting the morning off by pissing me off…”
In Eun-bi’s mind, Sua was the epitome of unemployment.
But not just any kind of unemployed—she was the kind of unemployed person who was still somewhat useful.
Someone who didn’t contribute anything to society but would always log in whenever Eun-bi wanted to play a game.
Like a puppet that existed only to help Eun-bi? Something like that?
“Ugh…”
Eun-bi grumbled.
Talking on the phone with Sua had been fun, in its own way. There was an ease in how they teased each other and opened up honest conversations. But there’s nothing to be done if she’s not picking up.
Eun-bi dialed another number.
Saeng-ji. Kim Sun-a.
Thankfully, Kim Sun-a answered.
“Who’s this? Eun-bi, is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Uh-huh. What’s up, Eun-bi?”
“Well, I’m at a café waiting for someone, and I’m bored. Why hasn’t Sua picked up her phone? It’s so annoying.”
“Hmm, isn’t Sua a bit busy these days?”
“What does she have to be busy with? Did she take on some new thing? Soccer, baseball, basketball, swimming… She can’t seem to stick with anything, you know.”
“Maybe she started acting?”
“…Acting?”
Eun-bi inadvertently narrowed her eyebrows.
This felt like hearing the sun rise from the west.
“What kind of acting? Is she an actress now?”
“She told me she got a lead role, but I’m guessing it’s more of a joke. We’re always joking around in our group, anyway. In reality, she’s probably just attending an acting school.”
Eun-bi clicked her tongue.
“Does she have endless money or something? She sure knows how to live. Trying her hand at every field at least once is pretty enviable. I have to work, but still….”
“Work? Come to think of it, what does Eun-bi do these days?”
“Me?”
Eun-bi hesitated for just a second.
“Super hard, super rewarding work… Also… society values it highly, you know. I’m Eun-bi, after all. Anyway, the person I was waiting for just arrived. Gotta go.”
Click.
Eun-bi abruptly hung up. Normally, behavior like this would result in being immediately blocked in any normal relationship, but these were her long-time friends from the group chat.
A relationship built without pretenses.
And, sure enough, the person she was waiting for did arrive.
“Eun-bi!”
Approaching cheerfully and waving, was a woman.
An older sister among the NeoLive VTubers who had quit acting after facing issues with director Kim Jun-ki.
Sure enough, she wore an unusually bright expression today. And why not? Director Kim Jun-ki had been thrown into rock bottom.
The two had planned to stroll around the city today, but since they shared the same profession, they were bound to talk about work as well.
The older sister broke the ice.
“Hey, Eun-bi, did you hear?”
“What?”
“We’ve finalized the list of short films for the festival we’re promoting. It’s thirty works that made it to the finals.”
“Thirty…”
Eun-bi’s face soured.
“These are short films, so they’re all really short. Think of it like watching a batch of video donations. Plus, the ad revenue is supposed to be enormous. Apparently, it’s going to be the biggest ever.”
“Oh? Then that’s different.”
Eun-bi’s eyes lit up. After all, money moves the world!
And then, she remembered Sua and…
“Hey, Sister.”
“Yes?”
“You’ve tried being an actress, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So, is becoming an actress really hard?”
“Why? Have you developed an interest in acting?”
“Well, I have this slightly immature friend. At this age, she suddenly wants to try acting. Does that even make sense? Does someone like that have any chance of succeeding in this industry?”
“Hmm…”
The older sister adopted a serious contemplative demeanor.
Frankly, Eun-bi hadn’t expected some profound answer, but this was her sister’s nature. She was determined to respond thoughtfully to Eun-bi’s question.
“Eun-bi, is your friend’s face somewhat attractive?”
“Hmm…”
Eun-bi thought for a bit and then continued.
“She hears that she’s pretty, often. But not as much as me.”
The older sister nodded. Generally, if someone says it that way, there’s a high chance they’re referring to someone more attractive than themselves.
Confirmed: The friend has a face that’s even more attractive than Eun-bi’s…
…Which makes her quite stunning.
And if so, there’s a chance she might at least make a decent start.
Just like a VTuber with a striking appearance and a pleasant voice has some advantages, so too does an actor whose looks are their main selling point.
“Great, does she have any talent?”
“No…”
“Perseverance?”
“None…”
However, the subsequent answers were deeply disappointing to the older sister. Without talent or perseverance, even a pretty face makes acting difficult. Unless we’re talking about modeling…
“Anyway, Eun-bi.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry to say this about your dear friend…”
“She’s not dear, though.”
“Huh?”
The older sister thought she had misheard and carried on.
“Tell your friend to just take acting as a hobby. And also warn her to be careful when various offers start coming her way.”
“What for?”
“Even if someone is very pretty, if they can’t act, they might get some very bad offers. Like, ‘spend one night with me, and I’ll give you a great opportunity.’”
“Oh?”
“And naturally, after that, chances for better opportunities don’t come. She’d just be sacrificing her innocence.”
Eun-bi quickly jotted this down in her memo app.
Though tempting to hassle people from all sides, that’s Eun-bi’s special privilege alone. She didn’t want her friend to suffer such consequences.
Having noted all that, Eun-bi stretched.
“I’ll definitely have to tell her. Thanks. Oh, I’m also worried about whether watching movies might get boring. If it were a drama, I could fully immerse myself.”
“What? You like dramas, Eun-bi?”
“I like Kim Sun-il, actually.”
The brilliant trash, Kim Sun-il.
Truthfully, Eun-bi had only recently discovered Kim Sun-il, but a quick glance at a teaser had been enough to make her fall for him.
Like a crow sculpted into a handsome human. All black, a mysterious aura emanating from him. He completely hit Eun-bi’s preferences.
And right now, she was eagerly waiting for “808’s” premiere.
“Oh? You too? Special Operations Task Force 808?”
At that moment, they exchanged glances.
And in perfect synchrony, they each grabbed the other’s shoulder.
“Hey, Sister, would you like to watch the premiere with me?”
“Eun-bi, let’s watch the premiere together?”
◈◈◈◈◈
Meanwhile, Sua had just awakened.
Rising early catches more prey, like a polar fox hunting. With that mindset, Sua had started waking up early recently, and was now immediately checking the new script she had just received.
“[Starting tomorrow: Crescendo]”
“✔ Sufficient visual elements.”
“✔ Rating: 1.9”
She was quickly impressed.
“Whoa, such a high rating from the start. This is good, isn’t it?”
She checked the cast list, which also seemed different this time.
001 – Kim So-hee
002 – Park Min-seo
003 – Lee Seung-myeong
“Great! Let’s start!”
Sua immediately dived into her role practice.
“….”
After finishing the practice, a question arose.
“…Isn’t she just a piano prodigy?”
Kim So-hee was a piano prodigy suffering from Savant syndrome.
This made Sua anxious.
Lately, she was developing.
Through Kim Yu-han, she was gradually embodying more advanced ways of thinking and actively growing her ‘musician’ talent by experiencing various roles recently.
But suddenly, Savant syndrome?
What if this symptom randomly manifested one day?
“…Wouldn’t that be kind of scary?”
Dumbing down again? Absolutely unacceptable!
But then.
[Status of the Special Talent Holder]
[Diminished Intelligence]
[No disadvantageous effects present]
“…What?”
What?
“Wait, what?”
Just as Sua felt a twinge of injustice,
Ding-ding!
Her phone began ringing uncontrollably.
She wasn’t receiving messages from several people—it was just one person sending them nonstop.
Director Park Jun from the project “Sword.”
Sua quickly understood why the calls were pouring in.
[Caller: Park Jun]
✔ Sua!
✔ I did it! We made it!
✔ Sword! It has passed!
✔ We’re in the finals!
A stunning piece of news awaited her.
