Chapter 320


“Alright, good! Cut!”

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of filming, the cut sign was given.

“Sigh…”

I let out a deep sigh, my tense body finally relaxing, having anticipated that sign throughout today’s shoot.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded at the staff member who had approached me with a towel.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for the towel.”

I accepted the towel and wiped the artificial tears smeared all over my face. I said I was fine, but it had genuinely been tough.

The real issue was that I had too many NGs (no good takes).

It wasn’t necessarily a problem with my acting, but since the scene was crucial, we had to shoot it multiple times with great caution.

“Oh, you worked hard.”

So much so that even the director came over to check on me personally.

“Sigh… Is it finally over?”

I asked with my teary eyes from the artificial tears, and the director raised both thumbs up.

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s finally over.”

Today marked the end of the role of Sera.

It meant it was time for me to leave the filming location.

Feeling a bit strange, I went to the costume room to change my clothes.

So, that’s it for wearing luxury brands today…

Of course, looking at my bank balance, I could afford it, but I wasn’t really keen on doing so.

I had already grown tired of it.

And buying luxury clothes, what for? I had no place to wear them.

After changing clothes, I stepped back out to the filming area, where the staff congratulated and sent me off.

I felt a bit choked up; maybe I had grown attached to them without realizing.

Someone suggested we celebrate with a gathering, but… I decided to postpone that for later.

With the drama airing soon, everyone needed to focus on finishing up.

Of course, I had my own schedule afterward.

Although there was lingering emotion from the last shoot, I tried to suppress it during the ride.

I arrived in front of a building in the city.

A familiar place I had frequented just two years ago.

It was the building where the Vocal Academy was located.

Straight to the new place I had decided to attend right after filming wrapped.

Honestly, I had thought about just resting at home after the last shoot, but due to scheduling, here I was.

I walked in comfortably since I had re-enrolled at the same place.

“Have you arrived, Soo-hyun?”

The same receptionist from two years ago greeted me.

Since I had made a reservation over the phone, she wasn’t surprised to see me.

However…

“Um… could I get a signature?”

I handed over the notebook and pen I had prepared in advance.

“Oh, I’ll do that.”

Maybe due to having signed occasionally recently, it felt a bit familiar to me.

There was nothing special to it; I just wrote my name with a touch of style.

“Thank you!”

It was a gesture that didn’t particularly thrill me, but seeing someone who liked me reacting positively felt strange.

What on earth does a signature mean?

I wondered about Sake, who was thrilled to get BeastZ’s signature, and those who asked for mine. What were they feeling, I couldn’t grasp.

“Go on in!”

Anyhow, since I had booked an appointment, I headed toward the guided room.

Though I came to the same Vocal Academy, I wouldn’t be taking lessons from the teacher I had before.

“Soo-hyun, you’ve arrived.”

“Yes, Director.”

This time, the teacher who would be instructing me was, in fact, the director of the academy.

Honestly, I would have liked to take lessons from my familiar teacher, but… she specialized in J-Pop.

Moreover, due to scheduling difficulties, they decided the director would take me under her wing.

“Welcome. Please follow me.”

The director in her early forties led me to the lesson room.

Seeing this, I realized I was being treated differently now.

A few years ago, even if I had sought another teacher, I doubt the director would have stepped in personally.

It must be the result of gaining some notoriety as Lady Soo-yeon these days.

“Alright, let’s take it step by step.”

First off, I was here to learn singing.

That’s right; I was supposed to learn a cover track for my upcoming concert.

No matter how hard I worked on my original songs and the Celestial Realm group pieces, I had a maximum of ten songs.

The rest would need to be filled in with cover tracks, so it was essential to learn those.

And of course, refresh the basics I might have forgotten along the way.

“Soo-hyun, let’s start with…”

The song I would be working on had already been decided.

I had even thought of a guest to feature.

As I practiced singing in the lesson room, I reflected on how the concert was drawing nearer.

***

For my solo concert, quite a few guests are in attendance.

Well, there are many tracks I’m featuring on, plus group songs as well.

Therefore, I had already discussed the details related to the concert beforehand and secured the guests.

The good news is that all the guests I had in mind agreed.

Most guests wouldn’t be on site on the concert day; we’d be pre-recording, allowing flexibility with their schedules.

Still, with several people involved, it was impossible to coordinate without effort.

There’s even someone coming from Japan; it would be troublesome if recording or practice schedules overlapped.

That’s why I’ve been pondering over the schedule while attending lessons.

Thankfully, filming wrapped up, giving me plenty of free time now.

With one schedule off my plate, I have so much more time than before.

As I gained more time, my broadcasts became more frequent lately.

“Hello!”

-Kya hahahaha

-Mirooo

-Another day??

Is today the seventh consecutive day I’ve been on air?

After shooting ended, I had almost gone live every day, and public sentiment was excellent.

[User ㅇㅇ donated 1,000 won!]

Ah, damn;; Lady Soo-yeon didn’t show up until the end of the drama.

At that moment, a donation popped up.

Drama?

Oh, right, today would be the final episode.

“How did everyone find the last episode?”

Honestly, I hadn’t watched it from the middle on.

It seemed like Mrs. Jang was watching it closely, but once I missed one episode, I lost interest.

– It was somewhat of a hot take, hehe.

– Why didn’t Lady Soo-yeon show up more??? Damn!

“Lady Soo-yeon? That character was just a brief cameo in the early episodes, right?”

As I said this with a chuckle, the chat buzzed with activity.

– Damn, haha

– You shouldn’t say that, haha

– Release Lady Soo-yeon!!

– Cameo is a bit harsh;;

“Well, if it was fun, I’ll have to watch it again later.”

– You should definitely watch, it’s worth it!

– Didn’t you watch the drama? haha

– No, you should watch! haha

– This guy is real;;

“Ahaha… I just postponed it.”

Although I say that, I might not watch it at all.

Not that I have to watch it just because I was in it.

I’ve heard many actors don’t watch their own works.

It’s strange for Moon Chang-sik to rewatch a project he was a part of.

After chatting about the drama for a bit, I shared something I had planned to mention.

“Oh right, it seems an album is coming out.”

– Really??

– I heard talk about it before.

– Kya, haha

– When’s it coming out??

“I don’t really know. I heard that The Six is working on it.”

– Kya, haha

– Da Six

– Those guys just know how to get things done, right?;;

I had thought about doing a surprise reveal, but since I already mentioned it during a previous collaboration, I brought it up.

The album would likely be released after the concert.

Including the last track, “Completion.”

While we did create a music video for Completion, we decided not to release it right away.

Since it’s a solo track without any features, it would be better to save it as a special reveal for the concert.

Speaking of which, I need to plan a gathering with the Miro Family soon.

It’s better to arrange it while I have some free time now, but I’ve decided to put it off for a bit.

The reason being, the College Entrance Exam is just around the corner.

I’m being considerate of Jeong-hoon, who is a senior in high school.

Although he insists he won’t go to college, he seems to still study hard during exam times, so he might have lingering regrets about the exam.

Speaking of which, I wonder how my cousin Kim Nam-seok (19) is doing with his studies.

I haven’t been able to check in on him much amidst the busy filming schedule.

Well, I haven’t contacted him with “Study hard!” either.

“Are there any high school seniors taking the exam?”

Having thought of it, I decided to ask the chat.

Since my broadcast audience includes students, I thought there might be some present, but…

– Ehh

– Yep

– Yeah, studying’s on hold while watching the broadcast haha

Surprisingly, quite a few responded.

“Wow, did I really have this many students in my stream?”

– I’m taking the exam but not a student?? haha

– I’m a repeat student haha

– I’m a third-time repeat student haha

– I’m 23 haha

“Oh, I see.”

It seems there are indeed current students, but a lot of repeaters and third-time repeaters too.

Well, repeaters often feel lonely, so they might seek refuge in streams like this.

“Good luck on the exam, everyone. I hope my cousin is studying well too.”

– You have a cousin too??

– Thanks for the support!

– Is she a girl?

– Did you do well on your studies?

“Me? I did alright. It was no joke.”

Wait, am I talking about myself?

Though I did hit a bit of a jackpot during the exams, it was all thanks to a solid foundation.

I had answered all the questions, after all.

Hitting the jackpot just meant I scored well without making my usual mistakes.

But…

– Haha, then?

– Didn’t you get into the university thanks to your practical skills? haha

The viewers didn’t seem to believe me.

Well… if you search “red pill,” the university and major will come up, so they might think otherwise.

But still… isn’t it frustrating to hear such remarks after putting in so much effort studying?

“Come on, try solving a problem?”

My memory serves me just fine.

Sure, a lot of time has passed, but…

I still have confidence in my memory.

– C’mon c’mon

– Wanna bet?

– Are you sure you can do it?

“What subject should we tackle?”

– Math, let’s go!

– Let’s do science instead!

Seeing the chat, I confidently downloaded last September’s mock exam paper and opened it.

“Let’s give it a shot.”

Then, I began solving the math section proudly, being a former top math student.

After a while of working on the problems…

– Hahahahahahaha

– Hahaha

– Mi-pyeong-oh, haha

– It’s surprising, haha

“Uh oh.”

After grading my answers, I was hit with a bit of a shock.

…It seems too much time has actually passed.