30 minutes later.
“Okay, Se-ah. Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
At her reply, filming equipment was set up in Ji-hee’s room. Dan crossed his arms and stared at the monitor next to Director Park.
Se-ah was lying in bed, covered with a blanket, in the small screen.
“Play the song.”
At Director Park’s signal, Dan’s new song, ‘Even If I Can’t See,’ began to play. It was a device to better blend into the atmosphere. ‘Even If I Can’t See’ was a comfortable but charming song with a bouncy rhythm.
Even if I can’t see, even if I can’t hear I know More than you think I know The rules that make up the world I hope you do too
It didn’t blindly ask for consideration for the weak. It implied maintaining minimal mutual respect with the simple message that since I know the rules of the world, I hope you do too.
“Cue.”
Se-ah’s eyes, which had been still, half-opened. She, who had just been staring blankly without blinking, slowly sat up.
The wind fluttered outside the window, and sunlight pierced her face through the swaying leaves. It was strong enough sunlight to make an ordinary person squint, but her long eyelashes didn’t move.
“……”
Dan lifted his gaze from the monitor and looked at the scene. Even from here, the sunlight is so bright. He stared at Se-ah for a moment before turning his gaze back to the monitor.
“Cut! Good, Se-ah.”
At Director Park’s words, Se-ah’s eyelids fluttered open. In the close-up of her face on the monitor, light entered her pupils, which had been black and lifeless.
Dan, who discovered it, was shocked as if he had been hit in the back of the head. He took one of his arms, which had been crossed, and covered his mouth.
“Okay, let’s go straight to the next scene. Cue.”
Se-ah’s pupils, which had closed tightly and then opened at the sign, were once again black and lifeless, with no light visible. How is that possible? Dan’s expression, watching the monitor as if he would bore a hole through it, became serious.
She slowly pulled back the blanket and got up. Her eyes, which were open as if looking down, didn’t move at all.
She groped for the frame of the bed, moving towards the head. From there, with her back to the bed, she took two steps straight. Extending her right arm, she checked if her fingertips touched the wall, then turned her body to the left and took seven steps. In front of her was Ji-hee’s closet.
“……!”
The watching staff silently swallowed their shock. The invisible Ji-hee freely roamed the room according to her own rules.
Right. Because it’s her room. Because it’s a space she’s spent a long time in. There was no need to stretch out her arms and grope or drag her feet to check for obstacles. At the same time, it was easy to imagine how much trial and error she had gone through to become so familiar.
Ji-hee took out clothes and closed the closet. With the closet behind her, she took eight steps. From that state, she moved two steps to the left, sideways, and when she reached out her hand, she immediately grabbed the bathroom doorknob.
“Cut!”
Squeak— As the bathroom door opened, Director Park’s excited voice echoed through the set.
“Oh, Se-ah! Se-ah. Huh?”
With a joyful face, Director Park couldn’t continue speaking, saying how could she be like this, and repeatedly called her name.
“So good. Good!”
He raised both thumbs and shouted to the staff.
“Okay, let’s set up in the bathroom!”
The excited staff, cheered by his energetic voice, began to set up the equipment in the bathroom with beaming faces.
The following filming was also smooth. With a blank face and her gaze lowered straight ahead, she brushed her teeth and washed her face without a moment’s hesitation.
In every moment, she became Ji-hee and perfectly performed the role of being invisible.
After finishing all the indoor filming, they filmed the scene of going outside the building. The warm sunlight and the bouncy yet comfortable rhythm of [Even If I Can’t See] blended softly.
Even if I can’t see, even if I can’t hear I know
Ji-hee, having finished preparing to go out, comes outside. Holding a white cane for the visually impaired, she begins to step on the yellow Braille blocks laid out for guiding the visually impaired.
More than you think I know The rules that make up the world
How far had she gone? Partway, the Braille blocks stopped, and she stopped, seemingly flustered.
I hope you do too
It was because of an illegally parked vehicle. The sound of the wind and surrounding noise grew louder, and Ji-hee’s lost cane was zoomed in on.
“Can I help you?”
It was perfect Korean pronunciation and voice, but the person captured on the screen had dark skin, short curly hair, and was wearing a familiar school uniform.
A student who appeared to be from a multicultural family asked, but Ji-hee couldn’t react because she couldn’t hear. The hesitant student gently grabbed the tip of her hand.
Startled, Ji-hee quickly gasped and stepped back.
The student carefully took her hands with both hands and slowly patted the back of her hand with her palm.
Ji-hee, who had been hesitating, seemed to decide to trust the warm warmth and clasped her hands. With the student’s help, she was able to go around the large vehicle and find the yellow blocks again.
She arrived at the photo studio, her destination.
The busy staff, taking photos of the families who had arrived earlier, didn’t notice Ji-hee’s condition.
The child was left out, and only the couple remained to continue the photoshoot for a while. The child, who had come down and sat on the waiting sofa, discovered Ji-hee. The child gently grabbed her fingertip and led her. They sat together on the waiting chair.
Ji-hee taking photos.
She was expressionless as always. Knowing that the photoshoot was over from the tapping on the back of her hand, she got up from her seat.
Someone was holding her hand, but her foot got caught on the equipment’s electrical cord. Everyone inside was surprised, some catching her as she fell, others picking up the dropped white cane for the visually impaired and putting it in her hand.
As she left the photo studio, the student who had helped her on the sidewalk was waiting, worried. The student helped her once again in the same place.
The cane following the yellow Braille blocks looked lighter than when she had left the house. After walking for a while, Ji-hee, having arrived in front of her house, looked back.
She wouldn’t be able to see it, but the people who had helped her in the camera were watching with a mix of worry and support.
Ji-hee looking forward again. A smile spreads across her face, which had been expressionless the whole time.
“Cut! Great job!”
With Director Park’s cheerful shout, Se-ah’s eyelids blinked widely. After a little time passed, light returned to her black pupils.
She had been slightly lowering her eyes. Once she had truly fallen into the acting, she had felt the illusion that she really couldn’t see. Had she ever fallen so deeply into a role like this before?
It was difficult to come to her senses for a moment in the chilling ecstasy.
“Se-ah.”
Worried that she was standing still, her manager Ye-won approached and met her gaze.
“I have some lingering feelings.”
Se-ah, laughing hollowly, raised both hands and lightly patted her cheeks. The acting was over. It was time to shake off Ji-hee. She felt a strange sense of regret, though.
The staff around her watched her shaking off the lingering feelings with curious eyes. Ye-won’s shoulders lifted as if to say, where did such a monster rookie come from?
Ye-won had actually been thinking of quitting her job as a manager.
Every celebrity she managed had ignored and mistreated her. There were many actors who weren’t like that, but why was she only assigned to such people…? She had tried changing jobs and changing her personality, but nothing changed.
Still, she had started this job because she liked it herself, so she tried to endure it. But she became tired of everyone wanting to succeed by luck rather than effort. She now wondered if this path was not for her.
At that time, Team Leader Song Yun-mi had recommended that she manage Se-ah for just three months and then decide. And, seeing her doing her best in everything, Ye-won didn’t want to quit her job even before three months had passed.
Se-ah, who had somewhat sorted out her emotions from the role, and Ye-won, who had been watching her, met each other’s gaze. Smiles spread across their faces.
“Let’s go. Go home and get some rest, Se-ah.”
“Yes, unnie.”
She was about to get into the car after hearing praise-filled greetings from Director Park. That’s when someone called Se-ah from across the street.
“Actress Im.”
Turning around after opening the car door, she saw Dan leaning against his car door, looking down at her. Director Park had really liked the filmed footage, but was he still not satisfied?
She didn’t know what to say, so she stood still. Dan, who had been quietly meeting her gaze, lowered his head.
“Thank you.”
Somehow, his expression seemed more comfortable than before filming. Seeing that he was saying thank you, her acting must have been okay after all. Se-ah’s eyes crinkled as she gave a relieved, bright smile.
Dan’s eyes widened slightly, and his ears turned red. Ye-won, who had been watching from the driver’s seat, meaningfully raised her eyebrows.
“That’s a relief.”
“No, well. I mean……”
Dan, scratching the back of his neck as if embarrassed, slightly averted his gaze. He bit his lip and coughed a few times before meeting her eyes again. He hesitated before opening his mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
The warm sunlight, with the energy of winter having subsided, slanted down.
***
‘Let’s have a meal together after a long time.’
Se-ah, recalling her father’s voice, let out a deep sigh. Meeting her patriarchal and overbearing father was always a burden.
The sky lounge of a five-star hotel in Seocho-gu.
Se-ah was riding the elevator up to the restaurant with a panoramic view of the city.
Her stomach felt heavy, as if it were blocked, from her father’s phone call last night. He had been displeased, saying that his business was on a downward trend and asking how long she was going to insist on being an actress. That was the framework. To quit and get married. So that she could be of help to the family.
Just like around this time before the regression.
In the past, she had felt sorry for her father’s words and hadn’t been able to say anything. But this time, she had said firmly.
‘I have no intention of quitting.’
Her father, who had been silent for a long time, had made an appointment to see her face after a long time. After her mother passed away, they had become even more estranged as father and daughter. Moreover, about her married life before the regression, her father……
‘Aren’t you having children? You need to make an effort.’
He had scolded her, saying that her in-laws were stingy with business investment because she didn’t have children.
“Haa.”
A sigh escaped her lips. At the same time, the elevator doors opened, and the scenery of the restaurant came into view, along with the sky lounge’s unique panoramic windows.
“Do you have a reservation?”
At the kind and friendly restaurant manager’s words, she gave her father’s name, and the manager immediately reached out his hand and guided her. The cell phone in her hand rang as she followed the manager. It was a message from her father.
[An.B Group Managing Director Park Ji-man. It’s a blind date, so behave yourself.]
Oh my god. Her mouth dropped open in absurdity. At the same time as confirming the contents, the manager arrived at the reserved table and pulled out a chair for her.
“I’m Park Ji-man.”
