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 She is the husky voice that brings a sultry swagger to Clazziquai; the electro-acid jazz group that churned out hits like “Be My Love” and “She Is.”

Now, Choi Soo-jin a.k.a. Horan is following in the footsteps of fellow Clazziquai band member Alex, who recently starred in MBC’s “Pasta,” by steaming up the small screen as an intelligence bureau agent in KBS’ “Secret Agent Miss Oh.”

“I felt like I should really grab this opportunity,” Horan, looking svelte in a decolletage-baring little black dress, said at the drama’s press conference on May 3.

After focusing her creative energies on music – first with Clazziquai, then also as the vocalist for the band Ibadi – the 30-year-old singer latched onto this particular role, in part because of the engrossing synopsis and because of the captivating characters.

“I had a few offers before,” she said. “But I focused on establishing myself as a singer.”

Now she is giving the small screen a spin, tackling the role of agent Choi Eun-suh, ex-girlfriend and work colleague to Go Jin-hyeok (Kim Sang-kyung) and love rival to Oh Ha-na (Lee Soo-kyung).

Though this is her first time acting, she has always harbored a fascination for the craft. According to co-star Kim Sang-kyung, she has a gift for it too. “I think she will nab many important roles once she gets the hang of the technical aspects of filming,” he said.

“She is also great with a gun,” he said.

“It was my first time firing real rounds,” said Horan, who has been going to the shooting range for her role as an agent. “It was thrilling.”

“My target accuracy was good, 93 percent,” she added. “From the time I first grabbed a gun, it was 93 percent.”

In addition to target practice, Horan has been clocking in both acting and martial arts lessons. The martial arts is in preparation for action scenes.

“Horan will be doing the hard-core action,” Kim joked.

Trimmed down and toned up, the singer-turned-actress pointed to band member Alex as her source of guidance. From the moment she received the offer, through the script and camera tests, down to the casting and the script rehearsals, he was there for her.

“Even when I was dieting, he checked up on me, asking ‘Horan did you run? How many hours did you run? What did you eat today?’” she said.

“The advice he gave me that really hit home, to be frank, was about what I should do when I am waiting in the wings,” said Horan, laughing before divulging his tips, which included always carrying something around.

When she is not getting advice from Alex or attending lessons, she is out on set, absorbing as much information and know-how as she can.

“Even when she’s not filming, she comes and watches,” said co-star Kim. “She comes onto set and monitors other people.”

“I think I learn the most from being on set,” Horan said.

Horan, who made her small screen debut in Monday night’s episode, said: “I went into this knowing it wouldn’t be easy, but it was much more than what I expected.”

- The Korea Herald/Asia News Network