10 - The Second is Proficient
“……?”
“I’m doing well these days thanks to you paving the way for me.”
Im Se-ah frowned at the sudden remark. Heo Yuri started talking to herself when Se-ah ignored her, not knowing what to say.
“I’m talking about the Snack Chips commercial. After seeing that, MBS offered me a leading role in a drama.”
Heo Yuri confidently slung her bag over her shoulder again, saying she bought it with the money she earned this time. Her expression seemed to say, You can’t afford this brand with your pay yet, can you? It was ridiculously childish. Did she not realize how immature she looked?
Ye-won, who was watching from beside Im Se-ah, glared at Heo Yuri with a disapproving look.
“So, thanks. I guess I’m being compared to you a lot.”
Heo Yuri raised her nose and entered the audition venue first. Heo Yuri’s manager sighed deeply and whispered, “Sorry.”
“Tsk, tsk, she won’t last long.”
Im Se-ah shrugged at Ye-won’s words. There had always been controversy over her acting skills, but Heo Yuri had been steadily active. Im Se-ah didn’t know if it was because her father, the head of the agency, was good at lobbying or what.
“I don’t care.”
Im Se-ah said indifferently as she walked slowly. She really wasn’t curious. No matter what activities Heo Yuri did or who she met.
She didn’t want to waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on useless emotions like love or jealousy. She just needed to rise to a position that no one could reach, so high that they couldn’t even look up at her.
That was her revenge.
“We will begin the audition.”
Im Se-ah sat down in the waiting area for the auditionees and took out the designated acting script. It wasn’t a public audition, but one that was being conducted through acquaintances, so there weren’t many participants.
“I am Director Kim Seong-cheol. As you were informed, we will only be looking at the designated acting.”
Five people were competing for the lead role. Heo Yuri was the first in line.
“Hello, I am Heo Yuri.”
She confidently greeted everyone and expressed her ambition with a bright smile, saying she didn’t want to miss this opportunity. The officials gave her a perfunctory smile and gestured for her to begin acting.
The audition content was a scene from “Elite High School Romance Records.” There was really nothing special in the designated acting script she had received in advance.
The female lead, Ji-an, finds her piano sheet music in a used bookstore and cries. She happens to meet the male lead, Woo-seok, who is visiting the place, and they have a conversation. The only instructions and lines were a simple direction to smile at the end of the conversation.
It seemed that the flowery language and explanations were minimized to see the actors’ interpretation of the work and characters.
The key to this audition was: finds, cries, smiles.
“I will begin.”
Heo Yuri lowered her head and gathered her emotions. Her tomboyish energy subsided, and she became calm.
“Here…….”
She looked around and took a step forward. The setting was that Ji-an’s mother, unable to watch her daughter give up on the piano, had taken all the sheet music to the used bookstore.
Heo Yuri glanced around and went through the chairs that were placed as a substitute for a door.
Her eyes were glistening. Heo Yuri desperately rummaged through the table, pretending to look for the sheet music. Heo Yuri, who had been searching the small bookstore as if she were catching lice, stopped abruptly at a certain spot.
“My sheet music.”
She grabbed something and hugged it tightly. Thick tears fell drop by drop on the empty table. Heo Yuri, who had been standing, collapsed, sobbing. A sorrowful scream echoed in the audition room.
After a while, a staff member who was supposed to read the male lead’s lines instead read the script.
“Seo Ji-an?”
The emotionless tone seemed to shatter the atmosphere.
“The piano is my everything.”
The immersion seemed to be slightly broken, but Heo Yuri continued acting smoothly. She cried and sobbed even more to keep the atmosphere going.
“I can’t believe it. That I can’t play the piano anymore.”
Her voice cracked terribly as she spoke while crying. The staff member recited the lines again.
“Is what you want to make a name for yourself as a pianist?”
“No. I just want to play the piano.”
She looked pitiful as she cried endlessly, saying that was all she wanted. Director Kim and the writer, who were judging, wrote something down.
“Then do it.”
Don’t damage your hands any further for now. After focusing on recovery, you should be able to play the piano, even if not as well as before.
“I’ll be watching you.”
At the staff member’s last line, the judges sharply observed Heo Yuri.
“Thank you.”
Heo Yuri, who had been listening to the male lead’s lines blankly, as if she had realized something, brightened her face and smiled brightly.
“That’s all.”
Heo Yuri, who had returned to the judges, bowed her head with a beaming face.
“Good job. Please sit down and wait.”
Meanwhile, Director Kim Seong-cheol pushed up his glasses and nodded slowly.
Heo Yuri’s acting wasn’t bad. It must have been difficult to act because the staff member read the lines so dryly.
“Let’s see the next one.”
He had been playing around in the film industry, but now that he was going to film a web drama, his mindset was a bit lighter. He had filmed a movie with decent results, and now that he was collaborating with a famous cable broadcasting company, it seemed that quite a few decent people had come to the web drama audition.
“I am Im Se-ah.”
The person standing in front of him was one of them. The acting he had seen in a snack commercial by chance had something that caught Director Kim Seong-cheol’s eye.
Heo Yuri, who had auditioned earlier, was the one who stood out in a lively way, but when it came to pure acting, Im Se-ah seemed to be a cut above. That’s why he was looking forward to it.
“Yes, please begin.”
However, the audition acting was different again. Even Heo Yuri seemed natural, but there were still some shortcomings.
This scene was set quite a while after the female lead Ji-an injured her hand in an accident. She had to have sorted out her feelings to some extent. The crying scene would be dealt with in the early scenes. Well, he was willing to take that into account since he hadn’t received the early scripts.
‘Unless they have considerable experience, they’ll all be similar.’
Heo Yuri had a more similar outward appearance to the role of Seo Ji-an, but he would make a decision after seeing all the auditions.
Director Kim Seong-cheol leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. He folded his arms and stared ahead as Im Se-ah’s acting began.
She slowly walked and stood in front of the used bookstore door. Her face was blurry, as if she had given up halfway but still had lingering feelings.
“Here…….”
If Heo Yuri, who had acted earlier, had a desperate feeling, Im Se-ah looked somewhat despondent.
She stared at the bookstore for a moment, then lowered her head. She raised her hands and looked at them blankly, then dropped them powerlessly and turned her back on the bookstore as if she were averting her gaze.
‘Why is she trying to just leave?’
Director Kim Seong-cheol narrowed his eyes and watched her. An actor had to act according to the script. No matter how good the acting was, he couldn’t give a good score if it deviated from the script.
Im Se-ah, who had moved a few steps away, stopped abruptly. Her gaze, turning only her head to look at the used bookstore, was filled with lingering feelings.
‘She can express it like that too.’
Director Kim’s eyebrow rose at the good feeling.
She turned around and slowly walked inside. It was a pace that contrasted with Heo Yuri’s acting, who had been searching frantically. It felt like she was wavering countless times, wondering if it was a good idea to come here.
Im Se-ah sighed as she walked between the tables, as if she was pathetic for recognizing her condition and giving up on her dream but not letting go of the last thread.
Then she stopped abruptly. Her gaze was on the sheet music on the table.
Director Kim had to shake his head slightly for a moment because he felt like he could actually see the sheet music.
“My sheet music.”
A sigh-like murmur brought a rush of regret and confused emotions. Her dry face and restrained expression made his hair stand on end.
She stood there as if she were nailed to the spot.
‘I wonder how she will act next.’
Director Kim Seong-cheol had already unfolded his arms and was leaning forward, as if he was about to get up.
“Seo Ji-an?”
When the staff member said the line, Im Se-ah’s fingertips twitched. It wasn’t that the immersion was broken, but rather a movement that showed she didn’t expect someone to call her. She turned her head and looked at the staff member.
It was a different move from Heo Yuri, who had continued the audition while looking at the judges.
A moment of bewilderment flashed in her eyes as she recognized that the person who had called her was Woo-seok from the same class, but she soon regained her composure. Director Kim swallowed unconsciously at Im Se-ah’s delicate acting.
“The piano is my everything.”
She turned her gaze and picked up the sheet music. She looked like she was about to crumble soon, but anger surged as if she didn’t want to admit it.
“I can’t believe it. That I can’t play the piano anymore.”
The hand holding the sheet music was clenched tightly. He could see the intense emotions in the bulging veins on the back of her hand. It was more touching than crying. Director Kim raised his hand and wiped his mouth.
After the staff member read the remaining lines, he recited the last line.
“I’ll be watching you.”
Her pupils trembled as she turned to look at the staff member. Her eyes were red with hope, as if asking, ‘Can I do it again?’ The staff member nodded, moved by Im Se-ah’s acting. A short burst of laughter and a tear fell.
“…….”
Silence filled the audition room. Not only the actors who had come to audition, but even the judges who had to evaluate were immersed as if they had seen a performance.
“Thank you.”
The audition would have been delayed a little longer if Im Se-ah hadn’t come back to the judges and greeted them.
“Yes……. Next, please come forward, actor.”
Director Kim Seong-cheol lowered his head deeply. He couldn’t focus on the other participants’ acting at all. He had to cast Im Se-ah no matter what. With this level of acting, he couldn’t afford to consider appearance and atmosphere.
Besides, if it was her. If it was her, she would be able to perfectly pull off that role in the script he had been keeping. Her empty yet determined eyes were a perfect match.
Director Kim Seong-cheol’s eyes flickered so much that they seemed to be shining as he picked up a pen and scribbled something down.
\*
‘Mr. Geon-ha, when are you free?’
He made an appointment for that evening after receiving a slightly urgent call from Director Kim Seong-cheol.
He was taking a break from work because he hadn’t found a script he liked recently. He remembered that Director Kim Seong-cheol had said before that there was a script he wanted him to do together.
“I hope it’s a good script this time.”
Geon-ha chuckled at his manager Seung-yeop’s complaining words.
“He’s telling you to work a little.”
“Yeah. Work a little. I’m getting restless.”
Seung-yeop whined, saying he wanted to escape from being unemployed. He would be following the schedules of the company’s other actors when Geon-ha didn’t have work anyway.
“You like acting so much, but you don’t work.”
“I like it, so I have to choose carefully.”
He couldn’t just choose anything. He couldn’t just do the roles he wanted to do, but that was only applicable when he was a rookie.
He was an actor who had taken on the lead role in his first work and had attracted 8 million viewers, making it a huge hit. So, scripts came pouring in, and they still did.
“You’re choosing a work like you’re choosing a lover. And you don’t even film melodramas.”
Geon-ha chuckled at Seung-yeop’s words. Like choosing a lover, huh? It was an appropriate analogy. Because he only chose the scripts he liked.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m late.”
The small restaurant in Sinsa-dong was a place where people who had difficulty appearing in front of people, such as celebrities and politicians, could gather from time to time.
It was a bit secluded, so it was good for not being noticed and for getting around. Director Kim Seong-cheol carefully closed the door and came in.
“No, Director. We just got here too.”
Seung-yeop smiled amiably and stood up, extending his hand. Director Kim, who exchanged a light handshake and eye contact with Geon-ha, continued to smile.
“Is something good happening?”
“Yes, there is!”
