The email arrived late in the night.
The subject line:
"Invitation to Lead – Sang-Jae Yoon, Director"
The name hit hard.
Sang-Jae Yoon—the Korean director known for cinematic masterpieces, the man who hadn't cast a non-Korean lead in over a decade. His last film won Cannes. His scripts were poetry carved in silence.
And now… he wanted Lina Vale.
[System Notification: Major Career Fork Triggered]
[Main Task: Accept or Decline Sang-Jae's Offer]
[Choice Deadline: 48 Hours]
Offer Details:
Lead Role in "Glassmouth", a psychological drama about identity, memory, and media.
Shooting Duration: 4 months in Seoul.
Language Requirement: Korean (Advanced).
Co-Star: Confidential (High-profile male actor).
Payment: Prestige over profit.
[AI Companion: This is not about money. This is legacy.]
[System Prompt: WARNING – Accepting the role will trigger Personal Memory Sync Protocol to deepen character performance.]
"You will be asked to give a fragment of your past."
Lina sat in her dark hotel room, legs curled beneath her.
"Give what?" she whispered.
[System Directive – Memory Sync Protocol Explained]
To unlock deeper character realism and skill enhancement, you may voluntarily release a sealed emotional memory. This memory will be used to enhance performance, granting a permanent skill buff, but:
You will re-experience the memory.
You may lose your ability to emotionally repress it.
System will preserve it for activation during critical scenes.
Accept Memory Sync?
[Yes] [No]
Lina's hand hovered.
Then slowly, silently:
[Yes]
[Sync Protocol Initiated]
Selected Memory: "The Night She Chose to Stop Crying"
Emotion Index: 9.8 / 10 (Suppressed Trauma)
Duration: 11 minutes
System Stabilizers: Active
The world blurred.
And then she was back there.
Fourteen years old. Kneeling on a tiled bathroom floor. The lights had been off. She remembered her aunt yelling behind the door. The betrayal of her only friend echoing in her ears. Her voice had cracked when she tried to explain. No one listened.
No one ever had.
She hadn't cried after that night. Not once. Not for anything.
But now…
The tears came.
Hot. Silent. Devastating.
When she opened her eyes again, the sky outside her window had shifted to early dawn.
Her phone buzzed.
Caden: "Something happened. I felt it. You okay?"
She didn't answer.
But she sent a single picture—of the sunrise, breaking gold against the clouds.
A new light.
A new chapter.
[System Update: Role Accepted – "Glassmouth" Lead Confirmed]
[Memory Sync Complete – Emotional Depth +2 | Acting Mastery +1 | Korean (Intermediate)]
[Permanent Trait Unlocked: Truth Wound – Your pain bleeds into your art]
[AI Companion: Thank you… for trusting me with that.]
System Log: Lina Vale
Emotional Depth: +2
Acting Mastery: +1
Language Progress: Korean (Intermediate)
Trait Gained: Truth Wound
International Reputation: Surging
Loyalty v. Ambition Conflict: Triggered (Pending Narrative Split)
End of Chapter 34