The Granddaughter of a Chaebol Family Is a Genius Child Actress - Chapter 9

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Chaebol Family’s Granddaughter Is a Child Acting Prodigy
Episode 9
Vroooom—
The car came to a stop in the Underground Parking Lot beneath a sprawling building.
“We’ve arrived. Shall we get out?”
…….
We’d finally made it.
The moment the car stopped, I could finally exhale the breath I’d been holding—a long, relieved sigh.
‘I thought I was going to suffocate.’
Jina really was as flawlessly composed as that first impression suggested.
During the drive, I’d tried my best to strike up conversations, hoping for any opening.
“Um, so Jina—”
“Please call me Secretary Kang, Miss.”
“……Oh, right. Secretary Kang, what’s your favorite fruit?”
“I don’t care for fruit.”
…….
But all I got back were robotic responses.
Grandfather hadn’t assigned her to me as a watchdog for nothing!
‘So tricks don’t work here…….’
My scheme to win her over and have her speak well of me to Grandfather had been a total bust.
“This way.”
“……Yes.”
A moment later, I followed along behind Jina as she led the way, and we soon stepped into an Office.
As I entered, familiar faces came into view.
Director Yu and Writer Jung—the ones I’d seen at the audition yesterday.
The moment we walked in, Director Yu sprang up from his seat.
And he was beaming—genuinely, warmly beaming.
“You made it, Yujin!”
“Oh, hello.”
“Ha ha, yes, yes.”
He greeted me so enthusiastically that I felt a little flustered.
After we’d exchanged pleasantries, Director Yu turned his head toward Jina, standing beside me.
“Yesterday I spoke with Yujin’s grandfather—I was just wondering what relation you two are?”
“I’m her cousin.”
“Ah! I couldn’t quite tell—you two have such different impressions. Ha ha.”
“I am her cousin.”
……Ha ha.”
To his joke-like remark, Jina simply repeated the same statement with an expressionless face.
Caught off guard by that delivery, he laughed awkwardly—ha ha ha—and withdrew the hand he’d been about to extend.
I watched the whole exchange with bewildered eyes.
‘She doesn’t look like a cousin at all…….’
That was just how Jina was.
In front of others, we had to appear as cousin and younger sister for safety’s sake.
Though I’d never actually had a cousin before, Jina’s demeanor seemed worlds away from what a real family member would show.
‘Should I give her acting lessons……?’
I was rolling my eyes as I thought this when—
“All right then. Yujin?”
“Oh, yes!”
At the sound of my name being called, I jerked my head up in surprise.
Undeterred by my startled reaction, Director Yu simply smiled warmly and slid something across toward me.
‘Oh, this is…….’
The moment I saw it, my eyes lit up.
A Script!
“I know it’s sudden, but would you read through this? Focus on the character Seoyoung—just up to Scene 8, all right? Can you read the letters okay?”
I nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes, I can read just fine.”
“Ha ha, very smart.”
…….
……I felt a little embarrassed being praised for being able to read Korean.
Even though I remembered my past life and was far more mature than a seven-year-old.
I let out an unnecessary cough and forced my attention back to the script.
So the drama’s title was…….

‘Hmm.’
Naturally, I’d never heard of it before.
I opened the script slowly.
‘A Chaebol Family drama, then.’
Without rushing, I read through the dialogue and stage directions from the first page, organizing them in my mind as I went.
Then I came upon a scene.
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[S# 5. Grandfather’s Study (Night)]
A pile of documents burns fiercely. Red flames flicker across Seoyoung’s youthful face. She tosses the remaining papers lightly into the fire. Even through the acrid smoke, her expression remains disturbingly calm.
Hearing footsteps, Seoyoung turns. Her eyes meet Jihun’s—frozen in shock beside the doorway.
Seoyoung: ……. (Stares quietly, then approaches slowly.)
The distance narrows. Jihun recoils in fear, legs giving way beneath him until he collapses. Seoyoung stands before him and regards him in silence from above.
Then Seoyoung raises her index finger and places it against Jihun’s lips.
Seoyoung: (Smiling like an angel) Shh.
Jihun: …….
Jihun’s breath catches. His terrified eyes grow unfocused, fear melting from his face as he stares blankly at Seoyoung.
====
—Oho.
The fox beside me, looking over the script, let out a small exclamation of interest.
—Just like that creature.
‘That creature?’
—Long ago, in a certain town, there lived a famous courtesan. Hollow inside, polished on the surface, feigning emotion with perfect artifice—a most fox-like creature, she was.
A creature that mimics emotion, fox-like in nature…….
I turned the fox’s words over in my mind.
Soon I nodded slightly.
Yes, that was exactly the feeling I got.
And I knew what kind of character this was.
The moment I realized it, I murmured without thinking.
“A sociopath.”
***
Sociopath.
“…….”
“…….”
When that word fell from the child’s lips, the people gathered around the table held their breath.
In the brief silence, the gazes of Writer Jung and Director Yu crossed rapidly through the air.
The corners of their mouths were trembling slightly as they faced each other.
‘This is incredible.’
‘Absolutely.’
Of course, I’d thought the child was intelligent from the start.
Especially after learning everything that happened yesterday, I was even more amazed.
How did she know the audition was happening, come find it, and sweep through the set without even a guardian?
And she was only seven years old.
I’d suspected something exceptional about her, but to grasp the character so immediately—that was extraordinary.
“Is that so? What made you think that?”
Writer Jung asked carefully, trying hard to conceal his agitation.
The child continued without taking her eyes from the script.
“Here, where Seoyoung is cradled in her mother’s arms and cries loudly with sobs.”
“……Right. And why is that?”
“When kids are really sad, they usually just squeeze their eyes shut and cling to their mom and cry, you know? But Seoyoung’s different. It says here that she glances at her own face reflected in a mirror over her mother’s shoulder.”
The child chattered on eagerly, as though she’d discovered hidden treasure.
“That means she’s not actually crying because she’s sad! She’s checking to see if she’s doing it right! She’s not sad at all inside—she’s just pretending to cry on the outside!”
The child’s clear eyes sparkled with pure delight as she spoke.
It wasn’t simply the kind of acting someone was making her do.
She was genuinely enjoying analyzing the emotions of a character written in script.
‘A born actor, truly born for acting.’
Writer Jung felt the urge to jump to his feet and applaud right then and there.
And her interpretation was precisely correct.
He never imagined a seven-year-old actor would appear who understood the exact emotion he’d wanted to convey.
Where on earth had such a miracle fallen from?
‘First, calm down… Just calm down.’
Writer Jung pressed down on his heart, which had begun racing with excitement, and spoke as gently as he could.
“Then, do you think you could try acting out this Seoyoung character?”
“Hmm…”
Yujin seemed to consider for a moment, lowering her head as she continued reading through the Script.
Before long, she nodded vigorously.
“Then, how about I try this part?”
“…”
The place Yujin had pointed to with her finger.
Reading over that passage, Writer Jung found himself swallowing hard, almost without realizing it.
‘She found that part again.’
That scene was, without exaggeration, the one that best revealed the character of Seoyoung that Writer Jung had created.
And for that very reason, it was also the most technically demanding scene.
Was it coincidence, or had she chosen it deliberately?
Either way, it was perfect.
Writer Jung took a breath to compose himself and nodded.
“All right, give it a try.”
“Yes.”
Yujin nodded, then set the Script down on the table without hesitation.
She hopped down from her chair with a light bounce and walked naturally into the open space.
The moment she did, everyone’s attention fixed upon her.
“…”
Yujin steadied her breathing as if to center herself.
How much time passed then?
Yujin’s eyes snapped open and she began gazing down at something.
“Mm.”
After staring quietly downward for a long moment,
…no—a certain ‘child’ slowly crouched down.
A natural immersion so complete she didn’t even register her skirt dragging across the floor.
The child lowered her gaze as if meeting the eyes of someone invisible below her.
As if truly perceiving something that existed, her eyes locked with perfect focus on a single point in empty space.
And then, her small hand began gently stroking at that invisible something.
“Why are you crying? Does it hurt? How did you get hurt?”
Encountering something incomprehensible, the child’s head tilted.
Writer Jung’s throat tightened sharply.
This scene—it was the first meeting between the young male and female leads.
The female lead, bleeding, confronted the male lead weeping bitterly.
As if conversing with something beyond her sight, the child gazed into empty space for a long time.
And then, finally.
“…Ah, I understand now.”
A radiant smile bloomed across the child’s face.
Like having discovered the answer to a puzzling riddle that had long eluded her—a pure, crystalline joy.
“I’m supposed to say I feel sorry for you right now, aren’t I?”
“…”
In that instant, a electric thrill coursed down Writer Jung’s spine and flooded his entire body.
‘I found it.’
Writer Jung laughed aloud without meaning to.
The ‘monster’ he had drawn in his mind all this time—it was right here before his eyes.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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