I Want to Be a VTuber-Chapter 246: Movie Princess (2)

"Father."

Jo Mintae spoke as he gazed at his father’s slumped back.

Once an acclaimed advertising director, he had followed in his father’s footsteps to become a film director.

As time passed, Mintae rose to fame, churning out hit after hit. Meanwhile, his father had become a completely different person.

"You’re being too hasty."

"......."

His father, once hailed as a "box office magician," had seen a string of failures. Now, no one wanted to work with him.

There was a time when actors would reach out first, checking in on him. Those days were long gone.

The only ones left were Park Seon-woong and his son.

Even so, reaching out to them wasn’t easy.

"......The actress originally cast for the lead role turned down the offer."

"The lead actress? Are you talking about Yeonari?"

"Yeah."

Yeonari—a rising star who had steadily built her reputation over the past three years.

She was an actress under Horizon Company, one of the agency’s promising stars.

In the past, Jo Bangwoo might have hesitated to cast her due to her relatively short career. But in his current position, he no longer had the luxury of being picky.

"Why? It’s a film with investors backing it..."

"I don’t know. Word is, a senior actress blocked her from taking the role."

"A senior actress..."

Jo Mintae paused to think.

There weren’t many actresses at Horizon Company with better careers or reputations than Yeonari.

Among them, who would do something like this?

'Hwang Minhwa?'

That was the only name that came to mind—just a suspicion, but a strong one.

Hwang Minhwa had played the lead role in Utopia, which flopped and was pulled from theaters shortly after its release.

'It had the misfortune of opening at the same time as The Chaser.'

The Chaser.

Ju Seoyeon.

Mintae couldn’t help but think of her.

Earlier that year, she had made headlines as the "Returning Princess of the Screen."

Her debut film had been an explosive success, propelling her into stardom.

Even the projects she took on afterward, despite shaky starts, turned out to be major hits.

She was now regarded as a genius actress with an exceptional eye for choosing scripts.

'That girl...'

Mintae felt a wave of nostalgia.

Ju Seoyeon’s very first appearance had been in his own soy milk commercial.

She starred alongside Kim Jungha, another talented actor Mintae had discovered.

For ten years, Seoyeon had disappeared, leaving him a bit disappointed. Yet seeing her succeed so brilliantly proved that his instincts had been right all along.

'Which makes it all the more likely that Minhwa is behind this.'

Jo Bangwoo and Jo Mintae had been briefly mentioned in the media as the directors who discovered Seoyeon.

With Seoyeon’s rise, their names had become a staple on gossip channels and YouTube.

Knowing this, it wasn’t far-fetched to suspect that Minhwa wanted to sabotage Bangwoo’s movie out of spite.

A petty move to humiliate the director who discovered the actress that overshadowed her.

'It’s just a suspicion, though.'

Publicly, Minhwa was seen as a generous and charitable figure, frequently engaging in donations and volunteer work.

But Mintae knew better.

He couldn’t forget the way she had looked down on him when he was just a rookie advertising director.

Nowadays, she avoided him altogether.

'If I tell him this, it’ll only make him feel worse.'

Mintae sighed and watched his father silently down another drink.

He briefly considered calling in favors from his own network of actors.

'But he’ll never accept that.'

Mintae knew his father too well.

He might be proud of Mintae’s success, but as a fellow director, he also saw him as a rival.

The idea of needing his son’s help to fill a role would crush him even more.

It would mean admitting that he’d fallen so low he couldn’t direct without his son’s charity.

"What about holding auditions earlier than planned?"

"......Why?"

"You never know. Extending the timeline might help us find someone decent."

"Mintae."

Bangwoo looked at his son, a beer can still clutched in his hand.

"The issue is the lead role."

"Even without name recognition, we just need an actor with real talent."

"I wish it were that simple. Do you think the investors will see it that way?"

"......."

"They tolerated Yeonari as the lead. But now that she’s out... I can tell they’re thinking about pulling out."

To investors, actors weren’t just performers—they were box office draws.

They didn’t care about talent. What mattered was the actor’s ability to sell tickets.

And to make matters worse, the male lead hadn’t even been cast yet.

Two main roles—completely empty.

No wonder the investors were hesitating. Pulling out now would minimize their losses.

"Still, isn’t it better to try something than sit here doing nothing?"

"......."

Bangwoo lowered his head at his son’s words.

Mintae was right.

Drinking himself into a stupor wasn’t going to fix anything.

'But an audition alone won’t be enough to keep this afloat. I need something more.'

As Bangwoo wrestled with his thoughts, his phone screen lit up silently.

"Father, you have a call."

"Ignore it. It’s probably the investors. They must’ve heard about Yeonari dropping out. An audition? They’ll laugh at that. This might already be over."

"No."

"Park Jungwoo."

Jo Mintae’s expression shifted as he saw the name displayed on his phone.

“Park Jungwoo?”

“...What?”

“Park Seonwoong’s son—Jungwoo.”

He stood up shakily, rubbed his eyes, and stared at the screen.

Park Jungwoo? Was it really him?

But why was he calling?

“H-Hello? Oh, it’s been a while!”

Truthfully, Jo Bangwoo had barely spoken directly to Jungwoo before.

When he was still a thriving director, he had once laughed and said, “I’ll cast you in one of my films someday when the opportunity comes.”

Even though he had Jungwoo’s number, he hadn’t dared to reach out.

After all, his position now was nothing like before.

“W-What did you say? The lead role? It’s... it’s open! Of course, it’s open!”

Jo Mintae could hardly believe what he was hearing.

Jungwoo, at this moment—so dramatically—

“Then... would it be alright if I take the male lead? I’m fine with auditioning if you prefer.”

“No, what audition? Of course! Absolutely fine!”

For Jo Bangwoo, who desperately needed a recognizable actor to reassure investors, this couldn’t have been better news.

Yeonari? A rising star, yes, but nowhere near Jungwoo’s level.

Park Jungwoo was famous for his selective roles.

Any project he joined was almost guaranteed to succeed, often becoming the biggest hit of the year—both critically and commercially.

A young actor and a rising star who carried the weight of his father’s legacy.

With his clean reputation and polished image, Jungwoo was a favorite among investors.

“And... there’s one more thing.”

“What—what is it?”

Worried Jungwoo might suddenly back out, Bangwoo asked nervously.

“No, it’s just... you might not like hearing this.”

“Hmm?”

“I thought about it after hearing Yeonari dropped out. How about moving up the audition date?”

Move up the audition?

That was exactly what his son had suggested earlier.

At the time, Bangwoo had brushed it off.

But hearing it from Jungwoo made it impossible to dismiss.

Investors were already leaning on Jungwoo’s name—he couldn’t ignore his advice.

“...Can I ask why?”

“Why, you ask?”

Jungwoo paused.

And then—

“You’ll understand when you see it for yourself.”

There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

“There’s an actress—someone who insisted she wanted to be part of your film.”

An actress?

Jo Bangwoo turned to look at his son in confusion.

Mintae simply shrugged, equally puzzled.

An actress, insisting on starring in his film?

He found it hard to believe.

Part of him wondered if it was just flattery from Jungwoo.

“It’s no problem. We were already discussing extending the audition period anyway.”

That was how the audition dates ended up being pushed forward.

But—

“Why was it moved up? Did something happen?”

Ju Seoyeon found herself puzzling over this sudden change, racking her brain for possible reasons.

It wasn’t until the day of Jo Bangwoo’s film audition that she found out.

*****

“What? The actress is sick?”

Park Jungwoo stared in disbelief.

Filming just wouldn’t go smoothly, would it?

Today’s shoot was for Violle’s ad campaign, where Jungwoo served as the brand’s Korean ambassador.

But the actress he was supposed to shoot with had suddenly fallen ill.

“Can’t you just shoot alone?”

Jungwoo shook his head at the director’s suggestion.

Sure, he was the centerpiece of the campaign, and the female model was technically just there to complement him.

But that didn’t mean he wanted to ruin the concept they’d planned.

“We need the women’s wear to be featured too.”

“...True.”

The director sounded disappointed.

Today’s Violle ad was meant to showcase couples’ outfits, and visually, a pair would look much better.

'Damn it. The guy’s annoyingly good-looking.'

The shoot focused on modernized hanbok-inspired designs.

Violle often released clothing lines inspired by different cultures, and this year, Korea was the theme.

The outfits—modern takes on traditional hanbok—blended tailored suits and dresses.

Jungwoo, dressed in a white suit, looked stunning, prompting wistful sighs from the female staff.

“Why didn’t Violle pick a female model?”

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

“They did. Violle’s headquarters rejected all the candidates our branch suggested.”

Apparently, aside from Jungwoo, none of the models had been good enough for Violle’s high standards.

“What about bringing someone from your agency?”

“...That’s an option.”

The director had already made calls, but no one seemed to fit the bill.

'Damn it. I can’t just pick anyone.'

Whoever stood next to Jungwoo would inevitably be compared to him.

And if the pair didn’t look harmonious, it would be better to shoot him solo.

Even the temporary model they’d arranged was under scrutiny from Violle’s headquarters, which kept pushing for a replacement.

It was no wonder the actress had bailed—probably not just because she was sick.

Jungwoo finally broke the silence.

“I do know someone...”

“Who?”

“A female actress. She’s free today.”

“An actress, not a model?”

Not that actresses were bad—but models usually wore clothes better.

“If it’s okay, I can give her a call.”

“Well... If you vouch for her, I’ll trust you.”

Honestly, the director had already resigned himself to shooting Jungwoo alone.

Luxury ads came with enough pressure as it was.

“Who is she?”

The director had to know, so he could report it.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jungwoo answered.

“...They’ll love her.”

Sure enough, the agency’s response was overwhelmingly positive.

There was simply no one else who fit the concept better.

*****

Seoyeon was deep in thought.

It wasn’t because of Jo Bangwoo’s mysterious film.

No matter how much she racked her brain, she couldn’t come up with a plausible reason for the sudden change in the audition schedule.

“Hmm.”

Crossing her arms, Seoyeon frowned as she scrolled through the posts online.

“This is starting to get dangerous.”

The carefully polished image she’d worked so hard to maintain was starting to slip.

Thanks to her appearances on Japanese variety shows, old perceptions of her were creeping back.

Last time, it was harmless edits—gorillas and strange elephant hybrids.

But now? She was wrestling ghosts.

Post: Ju Seoyeon vs. Sadako

Who would win?

Replies:

Ju Seoyeon breaks Sadako’s spine as she crawls out of the TV. GG.Forget crawling out—the TV explodes first.Haven’t you seen her riding a bear? Does Sadako beat a bear?

For the record, the Japanese variety shows hadn’t even aired yet.

All it took were a few leaked photos from the filming set.

One picture, in particular, showed Seoyeon riding a bear.

With her commanding posture, the image could have easily passed as a scene from an action movie.

‘What am I supposed to do °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° about this?’

Once the show aired, her image might become completely irreparable.

Seoyeon rolled around in her chair, then on her bed, groaning in frustration.

With no pressing work at the moment, her mind wandered endlessly.

She scoured the internet, searching for her own name—on Google, Naver, and countless community forums.

After hours of web surfing, she let out a sigh of relief.

For now, her reputation hadn’t completely spiraled out of control.

Thanks to the magical girl persona she’d built and her recent efforts to rebrand, her image was still relatively intact.

But if things kept going like this...

And then—

[So, the Violle ad model spot is open. I know it’s short notice, and it might be a bit much, but... think of it as a quick side gig.]

“I’ll do it.”

Seoyeon’s reply to Park Jungwoo’s unexpected job offer came almost instantly.