NOVEL WEB Chapter 268
Seo-yeon’s first exams are Integrated Social Studies and Korean.
Of course, I didn’t study for either one.
“Well, at least I thought I could manage Korean somehow.”
Seo-yeon was somewhat decent at Korean.
Even if it’s web novels, continuing to read helps.
Honestly, without studying, she could usually manage a solid C grade.
“Wait, that’s not really solid!”
Seo-yeon squeezed her eyes shut.
A C grade seems average in a five-tier grading system, but it’s absolutely not good enough.
Anyway, from Seo-yeon’s perspective, a C was enough to say she held her ground.
As for Integrated Social Studies… let’s just not mention it.
She had already crossed a point of no return there.
“……”
After finishing her first exam, Integrated Social Studies, Seo-yeon calmly sat at her desk, preparing for the next exam in Korean.
Everyone else was busy doing last-minute checks, flipping through textbooks or study guides, and they couldn’t help but be surprised by Seo-yeon’s calm demeanor.
‘Is Seo-yeon confident? She doesn’t seem interested in reviewing any further.’
‘Look at Sky Garden. See, Seo-yeon must be good at studying.’
‘But according to what I know, Seo-yeon’s ranking is…’
‘Must be some conspiracy going on.’
‘Really?’
Anyway, the superstar of the class, Joo Seo-yeon, was attracting attention in various ways.
Part of it was her role as Lee Yoo-joo in Sky Garden.
Recently, with another advertisement, many started to mistakenly perceive Seo-yeon as a top student who aced everything.
For example, if she went shopping with Min Suah, she could hear the whispers of the moms.
“Geez, how nice it would be if our daughter studied as well as Seo-yeon.”
“Exactly. Just look at how collected she is while shopping.”
Some had watched Seo-yeon since childhood, so they were mostly familiar with her.
Whispers and murmurs.
While walking down the street, it wasn’t rare to catch snippets of such chatter.
“Seo-yeon.”
“Yes?”
“I think it’s good that people have illusions about you.”
“……”
Suah’s statement carried a strangely heavy tone, hinting there was much she wanted to say but was holding back.
Anyway, everyone around was convinced that Seo-yeon was a good student!
‘But if I end up with catastrophic scores this time…’
If she got a score as mediocre as what’s currently hanging, it would surely stir up chatter.
Seo-yeon felt a cold sweat trickling down her back.
Having gradually regained her image as Princess Yeonhwa, it would be the absolute worst scenario to be labeled as a total airhead.
‘Why isn’t the knowledge from my past life helping me here?’
Seo-yeon was genuinely frustrated.
During the break, she couldn’t bring herself to open her textbook or study guide.
Other students assumed she was finished studying, but that was far from reality.
Given that nothing she did would change the outcome now, she simply acknowledged her defeat.
‘I can’t let this happen.’
At this rate, she could even end up being the last in the entire school.
The moment someone says, ‘I heard Seo-yeon’s grades are dead last…’ …
Her image as the model student in the Lee Yoo-joo advertisement would be utterly wrecked.
She probably wouldn’t end up breaking the contract by ‘damaging the image of our products with her grades,’ but.
‘People will definitely talk online.’
You never know what could pop up in the fan community.
The likelihood was low, but the possibility alone was troublesome.
Thus, Seo-yeon felt compelled to twist her body out of this situation.
“……Huh? You want me to help with last-minute cramming?”
“……”
So, the person Seo-yeon approached was the Class President, Gil Da-hyun.
Right after the exams ended, she dashed over and asked for help.
“Seo-yeon, exams should reflect what you’ve learned normally; cramming isn’t good.”
Da-hyun spoke the solid truth, but it didn’t apply to Seo-yeon.
“Well, considering Seo-yeon has been busy with acting, I guess she wouldn’t have much time to study.”
Having said that, Da-hyun recalled that Seo-yeon wasn’t an ordinary student like them.
Her schedule was indeed brutal, so thankfully, nobody found it strange.
“Alright, I’ll help.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, but could you do me a favor after the exam?”
At Da-hyun’s words, Seo-yeon tilted her head.
What could Da-hyun possibly want from her?
“Okay.”
“Great! So where do we start? What have you studied up to?”
Sitting together at Da-hyun’s house, Seo-yeon opened up her textbooks and study guides with a serious face.
As for what she had studied… Seo-yeon clenched her fist and slowly raised a single finger.
Da-hyun saw that and thought, ‘Wait, does that mean she only finished one subject?’ She looked at her in disbelief.
“Page one.”
“?!”
“I only got to page one of Integrated Science.”
“……Seo-yeon, that’s basically saying you didn’t study at all.”
Fortunately, the next exam is Korean History and Integrated Science.
They were subjects where she could feasibly rely on memorization.
‘Math is on the last day… I’ll just have to wing it.’
Da-hyun steeled her resolve.
No way could she allow her friend to slide into the bottom three in the school rankings.
***
“Joo Seo-yeon can’t attend today’s shoot due to exams.”
“……”
Director Han Ye-geon stifled a laugh at Arthur’s distressed expression.
‘Man, he’s really fired up.’
Of course, as Arthur grew more agitated, the surrounding actors became visibly tense.
‘He’s definitely a great actor.’
What impressed him wasn’t just Arthur’s acting skills.
‘It’s the language.’
Arthur was truly excellent at Korean.
And I don’t mean just “good” level.
When acting, the feeling is entirely different between performing in one’s native language and a foreign one.
You need to grasp the nuances of the language perfectly.
It’s said that Hangul is easy to learn, but Korean itself is tough.
But Arthur interpreted even the nuances and methods of expressing feelings in that language nearly flawlessly.
Other actors were visibly overwhelmed during simple script readings.
‘Glad I verified this.’
Before the script reading, investors asked Director Han Ye-geon,
“Why are we doing the readings while Joo Seo-yeon is absent?”
“Is there really a rush? Since it’s exam time for Joo Seo-yeon, we could start the readings once they’re over, right?”
“Even if the schedule is tight, we could just push it back?”
Kim Chang-kyu, Head of Cultural Affairs at GH Group, questioned almost accusingly.
That was understandable.
Mine was a drama centered around Seo-yeon.
There were 12 episodes.
It was an OTT drama still quite rare in Korea.
Yet, to push on with readings without the lead? Kim Chang-kyu simply couldn’t understand Director Han Ye-geon’s choice.
Han Ye-geon replied,
“Arthur Diaz is conscious of Joo Seo-yeon.”
“That makes it even more necessary to time their readings…”
“Other actors don’t seem to mind. The others feel pressured acting with Arthur Diaz.”
“……”
He’s one of the biggest stars from Hollywood.
If he didn’t feel pressure, it would be a lie.
At this point, just the number of personal staff he brought to set was considerable.
That number alone was already a source of pressure.
Of course, veteran actors would likely handle it without much fuss.
So, Han Ye-geon didn’t worry about that.
But this Mine drama didn’t have too many veteran actors.
It was overwhelmingly comprised of young actors.
Actors with little experience, focused solely on action.
“If Arthur Diaz can only act with Joo Seo-yeon, isn’t that problematic?”
“It’s not just that. Having a lead stabilizes everyone around them…”
“What about the days when Joo Seo-yeon isn’t at the filming location?”
Without Joo Seo-yeon, Korean actors would struggle to match Arthur Diaz.
If Seo-yeon were there, surely the other actors wouldn’t feel as tense.
But filming isn’t always done with Seo-yeon present.
As for veteran actors?
They probably wouldn’t want to get involved with Arthur all that much.
Not just due to age, but because of the overwhelming experience difference in the younger actors.
So, under equal conditions.
He would look for a younger, incredibly talented actor like Seo-yeon.
“So will the other actors just be looking for Joo Seo-yeon to help them out? Actors who need to perform alongside Arthur Diaz?”
“……”
“More importantly, Joo Seo-yeon is still a young actor. Isn’t it irresponsible to place everything on such a young person? Wasn’t casting Arthur Diaz a choice made by GH Group? Did you not anticipate any troubles from that?”
“……That’s.”
Han Ye-geon sighed.
‘Do they think filming is a joke?’
Readings aren’t just a place to test acting skills.
They’re where characters are interpreted, interactions are made, and create a sense of unity.
Sure, Arthur and Seo-yeon would handle it fine.
But what about everyone else?
If they dodge now, it could be even harder on set later.
“That’s definitely not our part to discuss. I apologize.”
Kim Chang-kyu replied, finally managing to grasp Director Han Ye-geon’s intention.
“…So you intentionally scheduled the readings without Joo Seo-yeon? But isn’t Joo Seo-yeon going to start filming without having done any readings?”
“That won’t be a problem.”
“What?”
“From my perspective… that might even be better.”
Arthur doesn’t know Seo-yeon.
Encountering the raw Seo-yeon on set might provide a stronger stimulus.
Of course, there would be additional time provided for the missed readings.
“Well, you know how they say WWE these days, right? Readings are that, and the filming is UFC.”
“I don’t quite get what you’re saying…”
With Kim Chang-kyu’s words, Han Ye-geon shrugged.
He wasn’t trying to make it clear after all.
Director Han Ye-geon wasn’t really one to have long chats with investors, anyway.
Anyway.
Having convinced the investors in this manner, Han Ye-geon watched the readings without Seo-yeon.
The outcome?
‘Not good.’
Han Ye-geon thought, stroking his chin.
Narumi Sora, who had made it to the finals in Hyper Action Star, couldn’t hold a candle to Arthur.
She could barely spit out a few lines properly.
Seeing her, he sighed, ‘Is this the same actor who made it to the finals?’
‘…It seems like Narumi Sora is genuinely just nervous.’
But thinking of the finals, her mental state definitely couldn’t be weak.
However, she fell short under the pressure from Arthur.
‘She’s not the type who acts sweetly like Joo Seo-yeon.’
Honestly, Narumi Sora was only at a ‘not bad?’ level, even during the finals, not good enough to be praised for her acting.
She had potential, though.
‘But.’
Arthur saw Narumi Sora trembling like a poodle who just got kicked.
When it came to action acting, excluding extraordinary cases like Seo-yeon, he was sure that no actors present could outdo Narumi Sora in stunts.
He was confident.
***
It had taken a long five days.
Finally, the last day came to a close with Math as the finale of finals week.
As soon as the exam ended, Seo-yeon collapsed onto her desk.
When was the last time she thought so hard?
‘Does an actor really need math? I mean, my manager handles all the calculations for me.’
Seo-yeon was serious.
Math wasn’t all that helpful in life.
‘I feel like I used to be pretty good at studying in my past life.’
Just barely failing to get into a school in Seoul.
Wasn’t that a level not too shabby?
‘Or maybe not?’
Seo-yeon was quite lenient on herself.
In any case, thanks to the help of Da-hyun, the MVP of this finals, it felt like Seo-yeon narrowly escaped disaster.
Probably…
‘That, that must mean I won’t end up in total disaster.’
Seo-yeon let out a sigh of relief.
“Seo-yeon.”
“Yes?”
While she enjoyed a brief moment of relief, Da-hyun approached her.
“Did you do well on the exam?”
“…Thanks to you.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
To be honest, she couldn’t necessarily say she did well, but she couldn’t exactly trash the help given by Da-hyun.
‘Maybe I should have just cheated instead?’
Seo-yeon could have considered it.
From the start of the exam, just making a rough mental note of Da-hyun’s movements could have worked, right?
Can’t I?
Never even tried.
‘What is this, a ninja exam?’
Even so, Seo-yeon didn’t want to go to such lengths.
Exams by one’s own ability! If cheating counts as skill, then she had nothing to say about it!
“So, about that thing I mentioned before, do you remember?”
“That thing?”
“The favor I asked when the exams were over.”
Hearing this, Seo-yeon recalled Da-hyun’s earlier mention.
A favor in exchange for help with studying.
What could Da-hyun possibly want from her?
‘Is she asking me to get autographs from celebrities or something?’
Or maybe… Seo-yeon wondered, could it be something she’d have to take care of? Of course not.
“After our exams, we’re planning a party with the class at the end of the year.”
“…A party?”
“Yeah, like a Western-style gathering.”
“……”
Is this the trend in high schools nowadays?
But the class?
“C-Could I go with a friend from the adjacent class?”
“Nah, just our class.”
Seo-yeon’s pupils quivered.
A party with just her classmates?
No Lee Ji-yeon, just me?
Seo-yeon subtly turned her head around.
All the students were staring at her.
Feeling their gaze, Seo-yeon blurted out,
“O-Okay, I got it.”
“Really? I’ll tell you the meeting place! Just come in party clothes!”
With those eyes on her, Seo-yeon could only mechanically nod.
How could she say no under such scrutiny?
‘What should I do…’
It was, in a sense, an even greater challenge than finals for Seo-yeon.