I Want to Be a VTuber Chapter 5

First Audition (2)

To be honest, at first, it felt pretty good.

Despite being nervous, my body didn’t shake and did its job well.

‘And this ti, I even have a cheat sheet.’

The comrcial I saw in my previous life ca back to with remarkable clarity. I rembered Kim Jung-ha’s acting and the performance of the child actor, Lee Ji-yeon, as if they were etched into my mind.

I can do this.

This should be fine.

Thinking optimistically like that, I went into the shoot.

‘...Sothing’s off.’

The girl on cara was lively and full of energy, unlike myself. However, it was still clearly ‘Ju Seo-yeon.’

This ant that my RP (role-playing) or acting wasn’t up to par.

‘What’s the problem?’

Even after thinking it over, I couldn’t figure it out. I had never formally studied acting; all I had done was mimic children’s shows and exercises.

Although I had acted out characters in my imagination, I had never directly fild and reviewed it.

“Hmmm…”

Director Cho Min-tae also had a worried look on his face.

“Honestly, it could work as it is.”

He responded to my suggestion to re-shoot.

“Frankly speaking, there isn’t a significant issue. Right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“I honestly can’t pinpoint what’s wrong.”

“Just… it feels a bit off.”

A staff mber made a casual comnt, but it struck a chord with . Sothing felt off.

‘Yeah, that’s it. There’s an odd feeling.’

Why is that? As I stared at the video intently, soone tapped my shoulder.

“Ms. Kim Jung-ha?”

“Um… well…”

She seed hesitant to speak, as if questioning her right to say anything.

So staff mbers shook their heads at her. Despite her good performance in this scene, she had shown inconsistent results previously.

It might have seed presumptuous for her to give advice after just one decent performance. But I knew better.

Kim Jung-ha was a future ten-million-ticket-selling actress, recognized for her talent by millions.

“Ms. Kim Jung-ha.”

“Yes?”

“I’ve never properly learned acting.”

At my words, her eyes blinked in surprise. She might have thought I was boasting.

“So, of course, I have a lot of shortcomings. If you notice anything off, please let know.”

I learned sothing during my ti working: if you don’t know sothing, ask. That saying doesn’t always hold in the workplace.

‘Figure it out on your own,’ was what my boss often said.

But Kim Jung-ha wasn’t my old boss.

Well, she did have the sa last na, but at least Kim Jung-ha wouldn’t yell at for asking questions.

She wasn’t stupid. She must have known that unsolicited advice could be t with ridicule, given her recent performances.

Still, she tried to tell sothing. So, I wanted to hear what she had to say.

“…This is really just my personal opinion.”

My words seed to reach her as she stamred a bit.

“Seo-yeon, your emotional acting is incredible. It’s amazing for soone your age. Honestly, I can’t even co close.”

With trembling hands, she pointed to the replaying video.

“But emotional acting alone can’t convey everything on a small TV screen.”

Her words made my eyes widen.

‘Oh.’

I understood what she was trying to say.

Cho Min-tae also let out a small exclamation.

“Yes, exactly. That’s the feeling. Seo-yeon, you said you’ve never learned acting?”

“…Yes.”

“That explains it. It shows here.”

I felt a bit embarrassed by his comnt. It made feel like an amateur, blindly diving into sothing without proper knowledge.

‘Acting isn’t just about emotions.’

And honestly, I didn’t fully grasp why everyone praised my emotional acting. Maybe it’s because it was my own performance, or maybe I had an issue with self-awareness.

But I understood the problem.

‘Gestures.’

Acting isn’t solely about emotions.

Tone, inflection, and the movents that accompany them.

These all co together to create a performance.

I had only been relying on emotions and mimicking the movents from my mory of the previous child actor, Lee Ji-yeon.

Naturally, it didn’t fully align with . It might have looked competent individually, but wasn’t a complete representation of my own acting.

‘But.’

I had little experience in using my body in acting.

“…Would it be okay if I showed you a few things? I feel a bit more confident about this.”

Hesitantly, Kim Jung-ha offered. As a future ten-million-ticket-selling actress, her advice was sothing I should obviously accept.

“Of course. I’d appreciate it if you could teach .”

Emotional acting is most powerful on the big screen, where the vast visuals and sound can deeply move people.

But on a TV or computer screen, the impact is lessened compared to a theater.

To compensate for that, visual acting is crucial.

“So, in this part, you should…”

Even though we had to re-shoot, none of the staff complained. They simply watched as Kim Jung-ha demonstrated various gestures and movents to .

An hour passed. Then two hours.

“Okay, let’s start filming again!”

It was evening by the ti we finally resud shooting.

Standing with Kim Jung-ha on set again, I felt my body tremble. Nervousness and anxiety. Emotions I hadn’t felt during the audition now overwheld .

‘Can I do this?’

I wasn’t sure.

What I had just learned barely scratched the surface. It was a temporary fix for this CF.

‘But.’

I looked at the cara.

I saw Cho Min-tae’s mouth moving to give the cue sign.

And then.

“…Director Cho.”

“Yes?”

“This is going to benefit the advertiser way too much. It’s absurd.”

My first filming ended like that.

***

“Mom, you said I’d get it.”

“Ji-yeon, don’t worry too much. There will be more auditions.”

“But still~~!”

Hong Jin-hee sighed at her daughter’s deflated deanor after failing the audition. It had been several months since then.

‘Who ended up getting that role anyway?’

Although she grumbled, she had an idea of who it might be. That quiet child sitting alone.

The one who remained calm while all the other kids were nervous.

‘It must have been her. Probably pre-selected.’

That’s why she wasn’t nervous.

‘I’ve heard it happens sotis, but… it’s frustrating.’

She believed her daughter lost the role due to a pre-selection. The cute girl she rembered must have been chosen because of her looks.

Hong Jin-hee consoled her daughter with these thoughts.

“Our lovely daughter, you’ll be starting kindergarten soon, so stop crying.”

“Hmph.”

“Co on, it’s ti for Pingping, your favorite show.”

She turned on the TV to distract her daughter, who often whined about the failed audition.

“Huh?”

As they waited for Pingping to start, a comrcial ca on.

“Mom.”

“Yes?”

“I think I’ve seen her before.”

Jin-hee nodded at her daughter’s comnt. She had the sa thought.

It was a soy milk comrcial for a new brand they hadn’t heard of.

“Sis! Is this milk?”

It started with a long-haired girl pouting. Then, a lively woman appeared, wagging her finger.

“No way. It’s soy milk I bought for you.”

“Soy milk?”

The girl held the soy milk, closed her eyes tightly, and sucked on the straw. Her sidelong glances at her sister were irresistibly cute.

“Wow! It’s sweet!”

The colors brightened, and the girl’s face lit up. She bounced energetically, making it hard to take your eyes off her.

In the vibrant colors, she bounced around brightly, and the benefits of soy milk were naturally highlighted as the girl’s face was shown in close-up.

Bang-!

The bold text Pure Soy Milk appeared at the end.

“Mom.”

By the ti Jin-hee ca to her senses, her daughter Ji-yeon was tugging at her sleeve. From her daughter’s sulky face, it seed she had been calling her for a while.

‘That’s why.’

Jin-hee realized why her daughter hadn’t gotten the role.

‘That’s why we lost.’

She adored her daughter, but she couldn’t imagine her performing like that.

***

I was exhausted.

My mom dragged out early in the morning.

“Mom, I’m hypotensive...”

“Oh, co on, Seo-yeon. You’re not hypotensive.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong, but I hated moving in the morning, having been severely hypotensive in my previous life.

“And Seo-yeon, you need to get used to waking up early since you’ll be going to kindergarten soon.”

“Kindergarten…”

Just the na made not want to go. Such a pointless, tedious place.

Ju Seo-yeon, age six.

I was starting to wish ti would speed up. At least middle and high school would be more interesting. But kindergarten?

“Mom, we don’t have to rush.”

Rubbing my eyes, I told my mom. My mom, Suah, frowned as if questioning what I was saying.

“We would have left earlier if our pretty daughter hadn’t slept until the sun was high in the sky.”

“…”

Well, I understood why she was nagging . She had been like this since yesterday.

‘Since we watched the CF yesterday.’

Yesterday was the debut of the CF we had fild months ago. Mom had been recording it diligently, hugging tightly while calling a genius.

‘They’ll have plenty of stock.’

Pure Soy Milk from Garam Dream was a product that sold moderately well. It wasn’t a hot seller but sold decently thanks to Kim Jung-ha’s comrcial.

‘How much soy milk can people buy?’

Even the local store was quite large, so they should have had plenty of stock.

Or so I thought.

“…Sold out?”

“Yes, it all sold out in the morning. I should have stocked more.”

The store lady’s words made my mom turn her eyes on with a look of deep resentnt.

I never imagined it would sell out.