Chapter 32
“No.”
Ji-ye shook her head and carefully observed Daeun, who was holding back her words.
The truth was, in her previous life, Daeun had been a stunt performer—but there was no way to explain that, so she could only deny it. And Ji-ye had no way of knowing anyway.
“…You’re really good. I’ll show you the next sequence.”
Looking at her suspiciously, Ji-ye began demonstrating a choreography that used props this time.
It was an action sequence where the character subdues an opponent holding a gun—one of Siho’s signature moves in Jackpot.
The moment the opponent aims the pistol, the character knocks the gun aside with the back of her hand, grabs the opponent’s wrist with the other, twists it, snatches the gun, and fires.
Compared to the previous basic sequence, this required more precise movements and more strength than expected.
Because of that, the overall flow often became stiff and unnatural.
“Is this how you do it?”
“….”
Ji-ye was at a loss for words.
In an instant, Daeun had disarmed her and was pressing the muzzle of the gun to Ji-ye’s forehead.
One hour later.
Ji-ye and Daeun were exchanging multiple action combinations that included kicks.
People scattered around the training hall stopped what they were doing and watched Daeun.
Even Hajung was busy filming her, fully absorbed.
She can even keep up with a sequence this long?
Ji-ye had no time to observe anything around her—she was too busy responding to Daeun’s movements.
Her timing, posture, and power control were perfect.
On camera, the result would undoubtedly look dynamic and—most importantly—real.
It was a moment that made Ji-ye’s ten years as a stunt performer feel almost meaningless.
Director Kim Tae-woong, the action director for Jackpot, was probably watching Daeun right now too.
With this much attention focused on her, it would be hard not to notice.
If he somehow hadn’t seen her yet, Ji-ye planned to praise Daeun until her mouth went dry.
There was one scene that action director Kim Tae-woong had been forced to cut while designing the action for Jackpot.
It was originally Siho’s action sequence, but it had been removed for two reasons:
it was extremely difficult—and it required a full frontal shot.
Because it couldn’t be doubled by a stunt performer, assuming a newly debuted rookie could pull it off carried far too much risk.
After numerous meetings with Director Ji Seung-gyun, they had simplified the scene significantly.
But—
If the actress playing Siho could follow along this well, things might change.
“Good.”
After finishing the sequence, Ji-ye looked around for action director Kim Tae-woong.
As expected, he was watching.
“That’s all for today. Let’s continue tomorrow.”
After a brief hesitation, she said goodbye to Daeun.
She had considered taking her straight to discuss the action scene—but that would be too hasty.
She needed to talk to the action director first and introduce Daeun properly.
“See you tomorrow.”
With her face slightly flushed with excitement, Ji-ye headed straight toward Kim Tae-woong.
“You progressed fast. What do you think?” he asked as soon as she approached.
“Director. Let’s do that scene.”
Confident and certain, Ji-ye’s words made Kim clench both fists tightly.
And so, the Jackpot action team meeting about restoring the scene began.
Daeun finished her training and visited her agency for the first time in a while.
“Daeun, you were so good!”
Hajung had praised her nonstop on the way here, to the point Daeun didn’t know what to do with herself.
It was the result of her hard work in her previous life, but now that the process had been erased, it looked like she had some kind of natural genius.
“No, unnie…”
Daeun laughed awkwardly, flustered.
In her past life, she had been complimented for learning fast, yes—but it had still taken time to make things feel natural.
Maybe she should’ve acted clumsy earlier.
But that would’ve looked even more awkward, so she had just done it normally.
Before Hajung could continue talking, Daeun quickly opened the office door.
“Manager Moon.”
“Ah! Come in.”
She had come to the agency to meet Manager Moon Kijung.
He had mentioned discussing her next project after Jackpot, but Daeun also suspected he would try persuading her to move to the new company he was forming.
The office that used to be tidy was now a complete mess.
Documents were scattered all over the sofa table.
Manager Moon hurriedly stacked the papers onto his desk.
“Coffee? Or tea?”
“Tea, please.”
Three warm cups of tea were soon placed on the table.
“Alright, we have a lot to discuss.”
Rubbing his hands together, he brought over a large shopping bag and handed it to Daeun.
“These are the scripts you’ve been offered.”
All lead roles.
Daeun’s eyes widened at the sheer volume, and she immediately reached for the scripts.
“Wow, that’s a lot!”
“Everyone loved your acting. Pick your next project.”
It was an honor.
With sparkling eyes, Daeun pulled out a few scripts to skim through.
While giving her time to look, Manager Moon continued.
“We Must Be, the drama, did extremely well. Everything you wore or used in it has become a hot topic.”
“Clothes, bags, shoes—so many things sold out,” Hajung added, showing her a list of brands on her tablet.
“Jackpot has a looser shooting schedule, so you can probably handle all the commercial offers. Ideally, we’d accept as many as possible…”
Manager Moon trailed off, watching Daeun’s reaction.
“I’m grateful for anything.”
If scheduling could be managed smoothly, there was no reason to refuse.
Seeing her nod, Moon smiled brightly and said they would proceed.
“And… we have something to celebrate.”
Daeun tilted her head. Something to celebrate?
“You’ve been invited to the Cheongyeom Film Awards for Secret Letter.”
“You’re nominated for Best New Actress!”
She couldn’t believe it.
Daeun froze, mouth slightly open, a script still in her hands.
Hajung laughed, tapping her shoulder.
“Congrats on the nomination!”
“Wow… th-thank you.”
It was an honor.
She had only appeared briefly as a child version of the lead.
Being invited was already unbelievable—but being nominated?
“I’m nervous.”
She clasped her trembling hands together and took a deep breath.
In her previous life, No Hyeyeong—who played that part—was never given this opportunity.
And yet here it was for her.
As the thrill settled, Manager Moon continued.
“There’s more. Your official fan café just opened. Congratulations! The membership count is already pretty high.”
“F-fan café?”
Her heart almost stopped.
Daeun’s vision went white for a second.
A fan café?!
“Look—‘Nation’s Next First Love, Kang Daeun!’”
There were already over 200 members.
She had only been in two projects—one of which was a ten-minute child role—and still had this many fans.
Daeun browsed through the café slowly.
The boards and the main page were incredibly polished and professional.
“Register and post something occasionally.”
Her eyes welled up as she nodded.
She’d upload something tonight.
“Now, the final—and most important—discussion.”
Manager Moon clapped once to get their attention.
Daeun looked at him.
“As Hajung probably told you, I’ll be leaving the company to start my own.”
As expected.
He continued carefully.
“We’d really like you to come with us. What do you think?”
He was trying to be cautious, but his eyes showed confidence that she would join him.
Daeun grinned and scrunched her nose playfully.
“I’d be sad if you didn’t take me.”
Manager Moon burst into laughter, and Hajung pulled Daeun into a hug.
“I’ll send the new contract through Hajung soon.”
It seemed several actors from BM Company would move with him because he was splitting the label off with its own corporate registration.
It wouldn’t have been easy—it was almost like taking BM’s resources with him.
Daeun later learned from Hajung how he had managed it: Manager Moon had gathered extensive evidence of CEO Bae’s corruption and used it to negotiate leverage.
“You worked hard today. Go get some rest,” Moon said, standing up.
“Yes. See you next time.”
Her arms were full of scripts, and she was excited to read them one by one at home.
Just as she and Hajung left the office and stood in front of the elevator to head to the parking lot—
Ping—
The elevator doors slid open.
And she found herself face-to-face with Hyeyeong—clinging to President Hong Mooseok’s arm.
