“Really? You passed?”
Siyeon took a bite of spam and replied indifferently.
In contrast, Siyeon’s mom, Jiye, jumped with joy and clapped her hands.
“Con… congratulations, my daughter. But… do you think you can do it? You can do it, right? If it’s you, Siyeon?”
She thought her daughter was a little different from others.
But she never expected her to be cast in writer Kang Eung-sook’s drama.
At the audition, there were already quite a few famous actors, and it was the script of that writer Kang Eung-sook.
Despite the incredible news, her daughter seemed more focused on the spam in front of her, diligently using her chopsticks.
“But why did you suddenly decide to start acting?”
“Just because.”
Even though she was her daughter, there were times Jiye felt a sense of distance from Siyeon.
An extraordinary child who was hard to understand.
Sometimes, Jiye wondered if she had truly come from her womb.
Come to think of it, Siyeon had always been different from a young age.
At three years old, she could backflip. She claimed she was an assassin.
At seven, she jumped off a building rooftop and flung herself into a neighboring building’s window.
That was something even a real assassin wouldn’t dare attempt.
And then, she suddenly decided she didn’t want to appear on TV anymore, only to announce after seven years that she wanted to act again.
“Well, alright. Mom will help you as much as she can.”
“There’s no need to help much. Acting isn’t that hard.”
“Oh, really?”
Watching Jiye flutter around, Siyeon spoke.
Jiye wanted to help in any way, but she wasn’t much of a help after all.
‘I guess there’s no need to increase our debts any further.’
One of the reasons Siyeon decided to act was also because of money.
No matter how much parents sacrifice, the debt accumulated doesn’t disappear.
Her parents had spent a fortune raising her, and debts were something she felt obligated to repay someday.
Especially in this Confucian society, where supporting one’s parents was considered a duty.
Originally, she thought about working in the underworld once she became an adult to pay off the debt.
But after learning more about this world, she realized that wasn’t necessary.
She could make money through legitimate means. So it was best to clear the debt as soon as possible while she was still young.
Her goal was twofold: to use the spotlight to conceal her shadow self in the future and to earn money.
“Thanks for the meal. I’ll be going now.”
“Oh, okay. Be careful!”
As Jiye watched Siyeon’s back, she smiled.
Why did she always habitually tell her to be careful?
She was a child who seemed capable of taking down 100 thugs on her own.
Yet no matter how strong Siyeon was, she would always look like a child in her mother’s eyes.
“Hah…?”
Jiye suddenly remembered something from a long time ago.
When Siyeon was seven. The time of the kidnapping escape incident.
Back then, Jiye heard an unbelievable story from the police.
“Siyeon’s mother. You need to see this.”
“Pardon?”
“This is the condition of the kidnappers at the scene. One had a ruptured testicle, and two had their Achilles tendons completely severed.
And from the kidnappers’ testimonies, it seems… Siyeon did it.”
“…Excuse me? Siyeon?”
The story of a seven-year-old bursting a man’s testicle and severing tendons.
It was hard to believe, but every piece of evidence confirmed it was true.
Even when asked, Siyeon admitted it herself.
“But don’t worry. Thanks to her, we caught them quickly. And since Siyeon is clearly the victim, we’ll make sure there are no legal issues.
However… it’s hard for even me to believe a seven-year-old could do this.
I felt I needed to inform you as her mother. We’ll just need one or two more testimonies later.”
When Jiye first learned about this, her mind went blank.
How could her child do something like that?
What was going through her head with that pretty face?
For a moment, Jiye was even scared of Siyeon. She didn’t know what to do.
But soon, Jiye pulled herself together.
No matter what kind of child Siyeon was, she was her daughter.
And up until now, Siyeon had never done anything wrong.
For some reason, she possessed extraordinary strength, but all she did was train herself every day.
She didn’t seem to have any bad intentions.
And if it weren’t for her actions, she might have been taken away forever at the age of seven.
No matter what, Jiye decided to support her as a mother.
That resolve carried Jiye through raising Siyeon all these years.
“…Because I’m her mom.”
Now Siyeon had embarked on the path of being an actor.
As a mom, Jiye felt there was so much more to do.
Come to think of it, during the kidnapping incident in the past, there were even interview requests from abroad.
Jiye and Hye-won managed to block them, but it was such a major incident that the ripple effect was inevitable.
Among them, some famous foreign movie actor even expressed a desire to meet her, if Jiye remembered correctly.
Maybe, if the opportunity arises, Siyeon could even end up shooting action movies someday.
“…Aja aja!”
Jiye clenched her fists tightly, steeling herself.
As a mother, she vowed to support Siyeon on her journey as much as possible.
That’s what moms do. No matter what, Siyeon was her beloved daughter.
Despite being timid, Jiye reminded herself that she was also a mother.
“Haaa… Did Siyeon already leave for school?”
“What have you been doing to just wake up now? Hurry up and get to work, honey!”
“Ah, ah. Why are you hitting me first thing in the morning? Ow, ahng!”
Thwack, thwack, thwack-
Jiye firmed her resolve even more by using her husband as a punching bag.
“Really? You made it?”
“Yeah.”
When Siyeon mentioned her acceptance on the way to school, Chae-young jumped with excitement.
Ji-young, on the other hand, weakly smiled and congratulated her, looking worn out.
Siyeon handed Ji-young a red ginseng stick, guessing she had been practicing until late last night.
“Thanks, Siyeon. Hehe.”
“Sure.”
“Wait, Yu Ji-young, move aside! Did you really make it into Kang Eung-sook’s drama? As a major supporting role at that?”
“I told you, yes.”
Chae-young, leaning in close with her face, shouted excitedly.
Her skin was smooth, without a trace of fuzz.
“You said you weren’t going to act, and now you’ve been cast there? Does that even make sense…?”
Chae-young was currently going through a slump, having been rejected from several auditions recently.
She thought it was inevitable, considering her age, but it seemed like the situation was giving her anxiety.
In such cases, people usually said to encourage hope.
Though it wasn’t in Siyeon’s nature, her experience as a spy had taught her to feign kindness at times.
“You’ll get your chance someday.”
“Are you mocking me?!”
With a huff, Chae-young turned away. Guess that wasn’t the right approach.
Her temperamental nature always reminded Siyeon of the third princess from her previous life.
Well, no big deal. It wasn’t the first or second time.
-Oh, what’s this?
At that moment, Siyeon sensed a faint presence somewhere.
A weak voice. A fragile life force.
The presence drew closer to her, and it wasn’t moving slowly either.
Moreover, the smell accompanying it was unpleasant.
Was this a vagrant’s ambush? Siyeon had thought the city was safe.
Pretending to look forward calmly, she focused her attention on the direction the presence was approaching from.
Their intent was likely to launch a surprise attack. But they had chosen the wrong target.
She was Nameless, the assassin who once ruled the continent’s underworld.
There was no way such a crude tactic would work on her!
“E-excuse me, stu-“
“-Hah!”
Creak-
Just as they reached her back, Siyeon pivoted on her left foot, delivering a powerful kick aimed squarely behind her.
The heel of my foot struck the back of his head precisely.
The man, hit between his cheekbone and skull, fell with an unpleasant sound.
“What, what’s going on?!”
“Why, what’s wrong, Siyeon?”
“This guy suddenly tried to ambush me from behind.”
As expected, it was a man who looked like a beggar.
His hair was covered in dust, and his face was filthy, as though he hadn’t washed in days.
“Huh…?”
“Do you know him, Chae-young?”
“N-no, I was just startled.”
“We should deal with him… No, let’s hand him over to the police.”
I twisted his leg to make sure he couldn’t run and pulled out my phone.
They said you just had to call 112.
To think I’d ever need the help of law enforcement.
But I couldn’t go around killing people in broad daylight, so there was no choice.
“W-wait! That’s not it! L-look at this!”
The man, flailing and shouting, pulled out a business card from his pocket and held it out.
It seemed he was from a company called AS Entertainment.
“I-I may look like this now, but it’s a legitimate agency. You have potential! I’ll make sure you succeed!”
Hmm. It didn’t seem like a lie.
I released the beggar from his restraint.
“Huff, huff…”
This wasn’t the first time I’d been handed a business card on the street.
Until now, I hadn’t cared and had ignored them all.
“You have what it takes to make it big. Please, at least tell your parents. I promise you’ll succeed!”
…But something about this beggar’s eyes caught my attention.
It was a look I knew very well.
‘…Desperate.’
The trembling hands holding out the business card, the eyes—those were familiar.
Not just from one place.
I’d seen that look countless times, from countless people.
People on the edge of a cliff, barely holding on by a thread.
People who, despite being pushed to the brink, were trying to climb back up.
Desperate people.
The distinct emotions of such individuals were deeply etched in this beggar’s gaze.
“…Siyeon, let’s go.”
Chae-young tugged at my arm.
But I didn’t budge.
I stood there, unwavering, staring into the beggar’s eyes.
It was not a look I disliked.
On the contrary, it was a look I admired.
It was the look I once had, long ago, before I came to rule the darkness.
The look of the comrades I chose and fought alongside.
When I selected people to stand by my side, I always chose those with this look.
People who had been pushed to the brink of death.
And who, even in that state, clung desperately to survive.
People who overcame their crises and rose again.
Survivors of hell were fundamentally different from ordinary people.
Even if they seemed unimpressive at the moment, those with that look would always repay my faith someday.
I accepted the beggar’s business card.
“T-thank you. I may look like this now, but I’m not usually like this. It’s a legitimate, proper company called AS Entertainment…”
The man began to ramble about his agency and its vision, even though I hadn’t asked.
I didn’t care about the content of his words.
I was paying attention to his ‘attitude’ and ‘desperation.’
“Anyway, please talk to your parents about it. You’ll definitely succeed. I promise!”
I put the card in my pocket and nodded.
The man’s face brightened, and he bowed repeatedly.
As he continued to bow and began to leave, he suddenly stopped.
“W-wait! Oh?!”
He seemed to have just noticed Chae-young standing beside me.
“Ch-Chae-young…?”
“Let’s go quickly. We’ll be late!”
Chae-young grabbed me and Ji-young, pulling us along.
Since it seemed the man had finished his business, I turned and followed her.
I didn’t need an agency immediately, so for now, I just needed to remember.
The details could wait for later.
After that, I was officially cast for Heirs.
The day of the script reading had arrived.