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Spring.

Cute little birds chirp and colorful flower petals dance in the breeze of this vibrant season.

And….

“Alright, everyone, put down your pens. The person in the back, go collect the OMR sheets~.”

It’s the season of midterms.

Whether Haeun is preparing for her fantasy world interview or recording a part for Doublie’s new song, or planning to attend the action school introduced by Representative Jeong Do-cheol, it didn’t matter.

Since Haeun was seated at the very back of the classroom, she had to get up to collect the OMR cards.

Still, well, for Haeun, now a second-year high school student, this was a familiar sight, the fifth time including her middle school days.

Studying for exams was something she had done even in her past life.

To be precise, her past studies were not really related to grades, which set it apart.

After all, she wasn’t in a physical state to attend school back then.

However, now she was healthier than anyone else.

Finally experiencing the ordinary life she had desired so much….

“Ah, can’t I just skip the exam?”

“Only a kid who studies well can say something that carries weight. Like me, for example.”

‘…Didn’t those two sleep through the whole thing?’

No, she wanted to be devoted to her school life, even if it felt somewhat unfamiliar.

Studying was part of that devotion.

It wasn’t so much about being obsessed with grades as it was about enjoying the ‘process’ of sitting at the same desk in the same classroom and taking the same lessons with everyone else, but whatever.

Since her grades were decent enough, there was really no reason for Haeun to dislike studying.

On the other hand, in the class right next to Haeun, Dayeon….

“Just you wait, Lee Haeun. If you compare grades with that brat again, I swear I’ll turn everything upside down….”

She absolutely hated studying.

Anyway, because of her busy schedule, she couldn’t study properly, and she was living a life unconcerned with school grades.

So, it didn’t make sense to compare Haeun’s grades, which were relatively relaxed, with Dayeon’s.

The problem was that, regardless of Dayeon’s thoughts, her parents often brought up Haeun’s grades in passing.

Thanks to that, during exam periods, Dayeon regarded Haeun as the so-called “ideal daughter.”

Strictly speaking, Dayeon’s parents and Haeun’s parents were not that close, but Haeun’s grades certainly fit the description of an “ideal daughter.”

Once, frustrated beyond measure, she interrogated Haeun about whether she would stop her acting to go to college.

However, the answer that came back from Haeun, who smiled awkwardly in front of Dayeon, was.

“I plan to try going to college if I can.”

A type of answer that was more than enough to raise Dayeon’s blood pressure a few notches.

“Don’t worry too much, Dayeon. Even if I go to college, I won’t stop acting—”

“Shut uuuup!!”

So, for a while, she regarded Haeun as her arch-nemesis.

Not until a few days later, when she coincidentally ran into Haeun at the school’s snack bar and tore into two packs of strawberry milk and pizza bread, did she cool off.

Whether the same thing would happen during this midterm was to be seen, but regardless, that annoying exam was finally over.

– Squelch.

Just like the last eleven years, she turned toward Haeun, intending to chit-chat about the drama Dayeon was currently filming.

Well, for all intents and purposes, it was just chit-chat.

In reality, it was Dayeon’s one-sided brag about Haeun, who had hardly ever played a lead role.

To be precise, even if it wasn’t a lead role, Haeun’s natural talent for stealing scenes was still very much alive.

However, the value of the term “lead” couldn’t be undermined so easily.

Thus, she reminded Haeun that, currently, Dayeon was ahead of her.

At the same time, she aimed to instill a bit of anxiety in Haeun to encourage her to be more passionate about acting.

“Hey, Lee Haeun. Stop grading and come outside… What the?”

Predictably, Haeun was glancing between the test and answer sheet.

However, Dayeon’s eyes caught Haeun in a slightly different light than expected.

“If you’re going to dress as a boy, don’t you think you should deal with that long hair first?”

“Uh, well. It’s for a historical drama. I think I’ll have to keep my long hair for the shoot.”

“Hmm… Then let’s just make your eyebrows a bit thicker for now. You already have sharp eyes—”

On the other side, Haeun was surrounded by three or four classmates.

And they were chatting away with an intimacy that seemed too close for comfort.

When you think about it, it wasn’t such a weird sight.

Considering that there were mostly regular kids in elementary school, it’s not surprising.

At <Narae Arts High School>, where many artists other than just Haeun and Dayeon were enrolled, it was overflowing with kids who could easily approach Haeun.

To begin with, Haeun’s calm demeanor made her more approachable than a sharp-tongued person like Dayeon.

Still, it felt strange.

For some reason, Haeun’s perfectly normal and non-peculiar demeanor felt bizarre to Dayeon.

–Snap.

“…We agreed to go to the snack bar together. Come out.”

Even going so far as to invoke a promise that had never existed, Dayeon dragged Haeun out of the classroom.

It was after that when she asked about the conversation she had overheard between Haeun and the kids.

“What was that about a historical drama? And what’s with the dressing as a boy?”

“Ah, that’s—”

And then, the story Haeun relayed after that was just as unremarkable as you might expect.

She wanted to try acting as a boy at some point and happened to be casting for a historical drama with a female lead who dresses as a boy.

The original novel of the drama was quite famous and interesting, and she wanted to land the lead role.

For someone like Haeun or Dayeon, who were both aspiring actors, this wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary.

However, because Dayeon found out about this one detail later than everyone else…

“Find out about the drama titled <The Moonlight Split by Clouds>. If possible, also check the content of the original novel.”

That evening, Dayeon even asked her manager, Kim Jin-soo, to look into the drama for her.

She couldn’t even tell if her worry was about the drama, about Haeun, or about the unpleasant strangeness.

“Apparently, they’re only casting for the lead roles of ‘Yeongwol’ and ‘Queen Yoon.’ All other roles have already been decided.”

“What kind of role is ‘Queen Yoon’?”

“Just a second… Oh, it seems she plays the villain and makes life hard for the female lead? She’s in the position of a young mother-in-law.”

Only one thing was certain; she had to somehow relieve the fluttering in her chest.

…So, was that why.

“Jin-soo oppa. I want to be Queen Yoon.”

“Uh, Dayeon, but Queen Yoon is the villain. You’ve always said you didn’t want to play evil roles.”

“I don’t care.”

She wanted to take on a role that viewers would despise for the first time, something Dayeon had never done before.

As long as she could go through that experience with Haeun again, it didn’t matter.

After all, Haeun would certainly be cast as the lead.

She had never encountered another outcome.

She could confidently believe that she wouldn’t in the future either.

So, this time, she wanted to compete with Haeun not over the same role, but as Queen Yoon, competing with the character Haeun would portray, Yeongwol.

Right now, Queen Yoon seemed to be the only way to calm the fluttering in Dayeon’s heart.

Dayeon had walked the path of an actor since childhood, so she couldn’t think of any other way.

*

“Um, I came for the fantasy world interview….”

“Oh, so you’re a fantasy world applicant. May I ask what your name is?”

“Dia. It’s Dia.”

“Ah… Uh, please hold on a moment!”

Then, a flustered-looking female employee hurriedly disappeared into the office.

Haeun was puzzled by the employee’s behavior.

Currently, Haeun was dressed in what is commonly referred to as a celebrity ‘secret’ outing look.

Like when she shot the dance video last time, wearing a baseball cap and mask, the employee definitely wouldn’t have recognized her.

After all, she had treated her normally until she mentioned Dia’s name.

The puzzling part was why the employee’s attitude changed 180 degrees the moment Dia’s name was mentioned.

Even though she hadn’t written her application email weirdly and hadn’t arrived at an odd hour for the interview either, it was bizarre.

Ten minutes later, the employee who had just disappeared returned, but now besides her, another unfamiliar person appeared in front of Haeun.

‘…Did I come to the wrong place?’

She seriously considered running out of this building right then and there.

A familiar voice came right after.

“Hello, Dia. I’m Daramji. My real name is Ji Hyemin, so feel free to call me whichever you prefer.”

She had brown bobbed hair.

Her face generally exhibited a cute appearance.

However, more than anything, it was the remarkable prominence of her chest that showcased her incredible presence.

Haeun was left speechless by the reality of actually meeting Daramji and the surprising fact that it truly was a human chest.

“Um, well… Please follow me. I think it would be better to talk in the interview room.”

And so, without realizing it, as she kept sneaking glances at Ji Hyemin, Haeun followed her and soon arrived at the interview room.

After Ji Hyemin’s cautious voice assured her to sit down comfortably, Haeun settled herself on the black wooden chair placed in the middle of the interview room.

“Um… Do you have any burns or scars on your face?”

The request from another interviewer to show her bare face if possible soon followed.

With no choice, Haeun took off her cap and mask, only to be met with the same astonished eyes.

“Are… are you really Lee Haeun? It’s not a case of mistaken identity?!”

“…Yes.”

She already knew during the face-to-face interview process that her identity would be revealed.

So, she quickly asked them to go ahead with the fantasy world interview first.

“Um, before we begin the interview, can I ask just one more thing? Are you the same person as D.A, my broadcast manager?”

“Oh, yes. Daramji-sama had said before to just hold onto the manager rights—”

“Is it really D.A?! Is this person actually that person?!”

As a result, instead of a serious interview atmosphere, it became even noisier.

Not seconds after that came the words “You are accepted.”

“Why would I, of all people, interview someone who’s none other than D.A? We should hurry up and prepare for a contract—”

“Calm down a bit, sister. Even so, shouldn’t we ask the necessary questions?”

And while Ji Hyemin was truly trying to pull Haeun into the fantasy world project without a hitch, she was stopped by Lee Dong-jin next to her.

Then, with a solemn expression, Dong-jin opened his mouth again.

“Do you have any unforgettable anime or cartoons, Miss Haeun?”

He was testing if Haeun was someone who could meet the viewers’ needs first.

And up to that moment.

He had firmly believed she would only name popular picks like One Piece or Demon Slayer.

“Fullmetal Alchemist.”

“Accepted.”

Upon hearing the name of the masterpiece that only true fans recognize, all of Dong-jin’s prejudices and preconceived notions about Haeun were immediately overturned.

Of course, Ji Hyemin, who witnessed Dong-jin’s sudden change in attitude right next to him, was just left dumbfounded.