Chapter 4 : Mother is better than daughter 

“Uh… Mom, are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

“Are you really okay? You won’t cry anymore?”

“Yeah. I won’t cry. Thank you for worrying about me, my daughter.”

On the way home.

Sunhwa, with her tiny hands, still gently holding my trembling hand tightly.

Seeing my good child worry that something might have happened to her mother, a gentle smile spread across my lips.

It had been quite a while.

It was the first time in a long time I had immersed myself so deeply in a role.

Especially since it was a female role, not a male one, and performing properly in front of others—not just practicing—it was practically the first time ever.

The acting technique called Method Acting, where I make myself one with the role.

If I hadn’t adapted to living as a woman for the past seven years, and if I hadn’t been quietly honing my skills alone to keep the feel alive, I wouldn’t have been able to pull off this performance.

The aftereffect was incredibly intense, and even though an hour had passed, the lingering emotions still made my heart race.

At this moment, this was the best wholehearted acting I could give.

Just by changing the atmosphere around me, I could tell that my acting had somewhat landed.

However.

“Even so, this much would only stand out among beginners… Honestly, it’s not that great.”

That was my self-assessment, exactly that.

Though my acting wasn’t recorded on video or anything,through my past life’s experience, I could easily guess that my acting wouldn’t seem very special to the eyes of experts.

Having spent 20 years as a perpetual supporting actor, that truth left no room for doubt.

But still, among puppies, the wolf is king.

Among mothers who had no acting basics, my professional (past life) acting was bound to stand out.

Since it was a huge success in the end, I could say that at least for this moment, my insufficient skills had done their job.

In fact, it was a bit of unfair advantage, but anyway, I had won through acting.

Just that fact was enough to bring me satisfaction.

Just seeing my daughter’s happy face, still somehow excited, brought me pure joy.

Shaking off the lingering emotions, I moved my steps into the subway.

Tonight, I’ll make curry—Sunhwa’s favorite, I thought.

Then— Brrrring~.

“Mom, it’s a call.”

“Hm?”

My phone suddenly started ringing.

The number was unfamiliar, but I didn’t have much trouble guessing where the call was coming from.

“Hello?”

“Hello, this is Lee Dongcheol, the drama PD at ZTVC. Are you Chae Sunhwa’s mother?”

“Yes, that’s me. May I ask what this is about?”

From the moment I heard the word ‘PD,’ a smile automatically formed on my lips.

Since it was the PD himself calling, it was almost certain what he was going to say.

They wouldn’t directly call to deliver a rejection.

Strengthening my confidence in victory, I waited with a pounding heart for the upcoming acceptance notification.

But then—“If it’s not too much trouble, could you come back to the broadcasting station? I have a personal proposal—or rather a request—I’d like to make to you.”

“Ah? Yes, yes, I understand. I’ll be there shortly.”

The word ‘request’ was a little different from the ‘proposal’ I expected.

But it wasn’t hard to guess that this request involved some kind of contract.

Basically, since I was accepted, they wanted me to come sign the papers.

With a buoyant heart, I returned to the broadcasting station lobby.

Unlike the first time I came, the place felt quieter, with almost no outsiders present.

There, I saw the group of people I had seen during the audition—two men ranging from young to middle-aged, and a woman in a suit who looked about our age or slightly younger.

“Sorry for the wait. I meant to contact you earlier, but there were too many eyes watching a moment ago, so I called late. Please come this way.”

With those words, the man guided us into an office inside.

When I saw his slender build and rather sharp features up close, I could recall who he was from my past life memories.

Lee Dongcheol, PD. 

I never imagined I’d meet a future master at a place like this.

Although I had little personal contact with the broadcasting station since it was different from where I used to appear, from memories of various works, I could easily guess what kind of person he would become in the future.

Lee Dongcheol, PD.

Later called the King of Dramas,the man who transformed the struggling small to mid-sized broadcasting station ZTVC into a drama-specialized channel.

Dramas he touched averaged nearly 20% viewership ratings, and because of that, actors lined up desperately hoping to appear in his works.

And the fact that this man had personally called me—or more accurately, our daughter—and even came out to greet us made a deep joy well up inside my heart.

Well, if it’s someone like him, it’s only natural he’d recognize Sunhwa’s genius.

It was none other than PD Lee Dongcheol.

Of course, at this point in time, he hadn’t yet earned the title of “King,” but a person of his caliber would have definitely noticed something in our daughter’s acting that ordinary people wouldn’t see.

And my assumption seemed correct. 

Lee Dongcheol subtly glanced at me before cautiously beginning to speak.

“I watched your performance earlier. It was truly amazing. I never expected to see such great acting in a place like this.”

“Thank you for your kind words, PD-nim.”

Honestly, my acting was just the kind that any professional actor could do, so there wasn’t much to praise.

From the start, the target of this audition was our daughter.

Given that, it was clear that what surprised Lee PD was that he had recognized the acting talent of our still-young daughter.

In fact, since Preah was not only a singer on the level of a deity but also a fairly skilled actress, this reaction was only natural.

Although the acting our daughter showed this time was merely a role that suited her, fitting well into the character is an important skill for an actor.

Especially for a child actor, for whom talent can be difficult to assess, this element becomes a meaningful measure of hidden potential.

While I was thinking this, Lee Dongcheol’s expression grew more serious as he spoke.

“Well, since you must be busy, I’ll get straight to the point. Are you considering debuting as an actor?”

“By debut, do you mean something more official than this minor role—like signing a formal contract?”

“Exactly. If possible, we want to cast her as a lead… as the main actress in our next new production after ‘The Flower of the Palace’ finishes.”

“Wha— the lead role?”

I had only expected a contract with the network or agency, something simple like that.

But hearing such a big offer caught me off guard.

“The lead role… she hasn’t even officially debuted yet. Are you really willing to do that?”

“The truth is, we’re currently preparing a new production, but due to internal issues, it’s been hard to cast actors.”

“Especially finding a lead suited for the role has been difficult, but based on the performance you showed earlier, I thought she’d be perfect.”

The desperation in the two PDs’ voices was quite palpable.

Come to think of it, ZTVC had hit some rough patches around this time—the mass food poisoning incident, the deputy director’s sexual harassment allegations, and quite a few other things that hadn’t been made public, I suppose.

But even considering these circumstances, the two words that came from the PD’s mouth gave me a considerable shock.

Lead role.

Two words that, despite twenty years of acting in my previous life, I had never once received.

Not just a minor or supporting role—more like a moving prop—but literally the protagonist herself.

Of course, since it’s a child actor, the role would be the young version of the protagonist appearing for the first two or three episodes.

But still, to be offered the lead role right from the start.

The moment I heard that, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of joy and a slight bitterness.

“Lead role from the very first debut. As expected, my daughter really is a genius. Unlike her talentless mother…”

What parent wouldn’t want their child to succeed?

But on the other hand, I couldn’t help but feel a bit empty about the fact that my daughter was effortlessly achieving what I had struggled for twenty years to reach.

Once again, it was proven that the clumsy efforts of an ordinary person can’t beat the snap of a genius’s fingers.

However, setting aside these personal feelings, I began to seriously consider this matter.

Of course, I originally wanted my daughter to become an idol, but if such a huge unexpected opportunity came along, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to seize it.

She had only come in to secure the ‘senior’ title, but if she took the actor route for now and later switched to being an idol, that would also be a good build.

There was only one problem.

“How about it, Sunhwa? Do you want to be an actor?”

“Hmm… Sunhwa is…”

Ultimately, the important thing was my daughter’s own wishes.

This time, I pushed her a bit under the pretext of giving her experience, but I didn’t want to force her into officially becoming an actor.

Besides, throughout this life and the last, her aptitude was more for singing than acting.

But then.

“?!… Ah… um… I think there’s some misunderstanding.”

“Pardon? A misunderstanding?”

“Ah, excuse me. I think we spoke a bit unclearly. Let me start over.”

PD Lee Dongcheol looked flustered.

Sensing my confusion, he composed himself and spoke again with a serious tone.

“Not only your daughter… ma’am, have you ever considered acting yourself? Under the same conditions I mentioned earlier, as the lead in our next production.”

“…Excuse me?”