episode_0187

After Minami Akiko returned to Japan.

A meeting of the production team for the winning entry of the ‘Japan Noir Contest.’

“Did something pretty big happen?”

Most of the people involved were puzzled by Akiko’s statement. It was only natural, as they thought that there would be no future crises.

One of the people involved asked,

“Was that Korean actress that great?”

“Yes, she was great.”

Then, the person in charge of the ‘Japan Noir Contest’ spoke up. He seemed calm.

“Hmm, I figured you’d say something like that.”

“You’re not as surprised as I thought you’d be, Chief?”

“Yes. I vaguely thought you might say that after returning.”

Akiko lowered her sunglasses slightly.

“Even before I went to Korea?”

“I didn’t think much of it until then. I wasn’t really impressed when I saw Soo-ah’s profile. I just thought she was an actress with a piercing gaze and an impressive presence.”

“But?”

“I couldn’t just wait around in Japan doing nothing. I watched the drama that actress was in. It was called Special Task Force 808.”

“Ah.”

Akiko hadn’t even bothered looking up Soo-ah’s videos. She wanted to observe her acting directly without prejudice.

The person in charge continued,

“Of course, this work isn’t a movie, but it was still amazing. I recommend you watch it sometime. If you watch it quietly, you’ll feel many things.”

Then, another person involved chimed in with a dissatisfied voice. He hadn’t seen Special Task Force 808.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to say something like Japanese media is behind Korea again? Using a moderately successful drama from Korea as an example?”

“Moderately successful? It had over 40% viewership.”

“40%? Did you just say 40%…?”

The eyes of the person who had voiced his dissatisfaction widened. Others who hadn’t seen Special Task Force 808 reacted similarly. The person in charge nodded.

“Recording viewership of over 40% in this day and age? It’s like a miracle. If it was just a work with ordinary strengths, it would have only had moderate success, as you said.”

“Then something other than ordinary strengths, could it be…”

“Yes. I think that’s Soo-ah.”

The voice of the person in charge had a hint of admiration.

“Soo-ah plays a genius detective, and her acting was so great that she even transcended gender. Honestly, until I saw the later episodes, I was just thinking about when Soo-ah would come out. I was completely fooled.”

At this point, Akiko nodded.

“She is a good actress. But, there’s one more thing.”

“One more thing?”

The eyes of the people involved widened.

“Leadership qualities. She has the ability to draw people in and encourage them at the same time. Showing an example based on her own charisma.”

“…”

There was silence for a while after that.

Actively discussing the excellence of an enemy, not an ally, can only demoralize people. In fact, the people involved now had looks of worry on their faces.

Eventually, one person spoke up.

“I’m getting a little scared since you, Chief, and the writer are all praising her so much. Does what you said about something big happening mean that we have even less chance of winning now?”

“No, of course not.”

Akiko chuckled.

“What I mean is that we’ve finally created a place to have a real match. A clash between Korea’s biggest interest and Japan’s biggest interest is a big deal, isn’t it?”

“Ah…”

“So, I have one request to make.”

Akiko’s expression became quite serious.

“Don’t let your guard down and give it your all.”

A simple but effective strategy above all else.

Akiko had seen countless cases of people letting their guard down like fools and suffering fatal blows. They were a pathetic bunch in her eyes.

“I’ll be refining my writing from the beginning too.”

A swordsman should think about fighting with a sword, and a writer should think about fighting with words.

Discard carelessness and ignite fighting spirit. That was Akiko’s state of mind. Soo-ah’s spark had ignited her heart.

‘It’s been a long time since my heart has burned like this.’

Akiko was suddenly very interested in this match. She felt that it was no longer a match with her daughter, but a match with Soo-ah. And that seemed quite interesting.

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.

.

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Meanwhile, in South Korea.

Sawako was also discussing Yuusaku and Soo-ah.

“Director, is Soo-ah *nim* really going to be the lead in my work?”

“Yes, Sawako.”

Sawako asked this question almost 10 times, but Yuusaku answered with a smile every time. Anyone would be happy to have an actress like Soo-ah in the lead role.

In fact, Sawako’s eyes were sparkling.

“Director Yuusaku *nim*’s connections are amazing. To be able to cast such a wonderful foreign actress…”

Then, Director Yuusaku burst out laughing.

“You think too highly of me. It wasn’t as easy as Sawako thinks to cast her.”

“Ah? Then how was she cast? I don’t think Soo-ah *nim* was charmed by my script and decided to participate…”

Sawako knew her place. She knew that she was still far too young as a human being and as a writer.

“Hmm. That’s…”

Yuusaku pondered for a moment.

“Sawako, your writing is completely unrefined. To put it nicely, it’s uncompromising, and to put it badly, it’s very unrealistic.”

“…Yes. My mother said the same thing.”

“But Sawako, do you know what?”

“What?”

“A pure writer can compromise, but once a writer has compromised, it’s impossible for them to become pure again. That’s been the case for every writer I’ve ever seen.”

“Ah?”

“It would be nice if writers could stay pure forever, but reality isn’t easy. The world frustrates people many times and eventually forces them to kneel. To compromise. But.”

“But?”

“I thought Soo-ah *ssi* might be able to protect your purity, and it seems like Soo-ah *ssi* also thought the same thing. She thought your script was worth doing.”

“So, Soo-ah *nim* is doing this for me…”

Yuusaku nodded.

“Yes. I think she wants you to continue writing with purity. As a fellow artist, it’s like encouragement.”

Of course, this was a story that would surprise Soo-ah so much that she would do a cartwheel. I just said I’d do it because she was a *yakuza*, right? I’ll do it if I like the special grade, right?

But right now, Director Yuusaku was serious. Ah, now one more person has been added. Sawako, who wrote the script, was also like that.

Yuusaku said with emphasis in his voice.

“I’ve been impressed by Soo-ah *ssi* since the short film, but now I’m sure. Soo-ah *ssi* can bring your script to life. She will definitely accomplish something.”

“Honestly… I’m a little scared.”

Sawako said.

“I’m worried that I’m giving Soo-ah *nim* too shabby of a script, and if Soo-ah *nim* modifies everything, then it can’t be said to be my writing…”

However, the girl soon shook her head.

“…The strange thing is, even though I’m so scared, I want to try it. It’s the first time I’ve felt so drawn to something.”

Then the girl stares intently at Yuusaku.

“Director, I have a request.”

“What request?”

“I want to talk to Soo-ah *nim* directly.”

Director Yuusaku was inwardly surprised. Sawako doesn’t enjoy interacting with people and is also very shy. For such a girl to ask to have a conversation first.

“A conversation?”

“Yes. I think I can get a lot of inspiration.”

“Well, nothing is as important to a writer as inspiration.”

Soon, Director Yuusaku smiled.

“Okay. I’ll ask her.”

◈◈◈◈◈

The next morning.

“Hmm…?”

Monkeeying, who was managing the community as usual, frowned without realizing it. He noticed posts that were eye-catching. It seemed like something had happened overnight.

[ Lee Soo-ah Gallery ]

[ Title: Is this the average Soo-Gallery user LOL ] [ Title: Take this kid to your gallery; ] [ Title: I heard this kid is from your gallery ]

“What’s this?”

Monkeeying immediately looked at the posts. When he clicked on a post, he first saw a picture of a screenshot of another post.

[ Title: This kid is too scary ] 【 I called a few people, and they all said the same thing

Let’s eat something good before we die, let’s go to karaoke, let’s drink alcohol, and if you have any regrets in life, let’s talk about it.

Forget about all that stuff, isn’t there anyone who’s really cool and wants to die with me right away? Isn’t there anyone who’s ready? 】

[ Keeps spamming this kind of post in the depression gallery, and looking at the account history, there’s a trace of activity here. Take her back. It’s really scary…. ] ─Bullshit, you guys take her, get lost ─Is she a girl? ─Is she pretty? ─I’ve never seen that nickname here?

‘No, I’ve seen the nickname itself before.’

Monkeeying thought this and searched the nickname in the captured post. This is one of the administrator’s privileges. Soon, all the posts written by that nickname were visible.

‘No posts, but a lot of comments.’

[ Yang Ha-rin is better than Lee Soo-ah ] [ Compare things that are comparable, Yang Ha-rin is a top-tier rookie ] [ Agreed, she’s not good at acting ]

Checking the time, these were comments made in the very distant past. At this point, Monkeeying frowned. Something distinctly noticeable was visible.

[ Lee Soo-ah… is amazing. ] [ LOL, life must be interesting. ] [ I wonder how it feels to live like that. ] [ I’m just jealous. I’m jealous. ] [ Good for her…. ]

He thought she was just a simple hater, but recently, there were traces of her only writing fairly mild comments. Monkeeying shrugged it off. He had seen countless people who started as anti-fans and then gradually assimilated.

Anyway, an explanation comes first.

Monkeeying immediately created a post.

[ Title: Hard to see her as our gallery user ] [ It’s true that she visited the Lee Soo-ah gallery, but she has much more activity in the depression gallery. This is something the depression gallery should handle on their own, she’s blocked here ] ─Kya ─Clean handling of work, based ─That’s right, what Soo-Gallery user is that ─When are you giving out burgers ─Agreed, the leader should apologize and buy us burgers

◈◈◈◈◈

At the same time, Soo-ah was at the management center.

Soon, a cute otherworldly something snuggled into Soo-ah’s arms. It was none other than Sumi.

─Mother!

“Sumi!”

─Mother!

“Sumiiiiii!”

Soo-ah rubbed her face all over Sumi’s soft body, and the people around her were sweating profusely. It suddenly looked like Soo-ah was eating Sumi’s insides. What is this? Abuse?

Anyway, the reason Soo-ah visited the center today wasn’t for a regular visit. There’s a much bigger reason!

“Manager, I can take her with me now, right?”

Soo-ah asked with sparkling eyes.

Yes, the great reason is this.

Soo-ah will be able to take Sumi with her from now on. Of course, she can’t take her with her all day long, and she can’t go anywhere with her….

…So what? This alone is the best! Soo-ah happiness!

“Yes. Sumi is unbelievably smart, and even though they’ve been apart for a long time, Sumi is strangely close to Soo-ah *ssi*. It’s possible.”

“Ehehe.”

After that, the manager sincerely explained some precautions, and Soo-ah listened carefully. Of course, to be exact, Yoo Han-soo-ah listened and memorized everything.

In the meantime.

‘Huh?’

Soo-ah blinked without realizing it.

The special feature window suddenly popped up again.

[ Yeoncheon Gyeong Register ] [ 1. Kim Seon-il ─ Yeoncheon Gyeong: Reconciliation ] [ 2. Seo Yeon-joo ─ Yeoncheon Gyeong: Affectionate Passion ] [ 3. Hong■■ ─ ■■■■ ] [ 4. ■■■ ─ ■■■■ ]

‘…What is this again? Two people in the register?’

But Soo-ah soon clicked her tongue and lost interest. Let’s think about it later. Anyway, it’s not my Yeoncheon Gyeong, right? Let’s investigate and solve it step by step.

But then.

[ 4. ■■■ ─ Yeoncheon Gyeong Cannot be Released ] [ Deceased ]

Soo-ah frowned without realizing it.

“…What?”

Along with a stupid sound.