14 - The Second is Skillfully
A sharp shout from outside the door pierced the seminar room. It was Heo Yuri's voice. The reading in progress came to a halt.
The door burst open, and Yuri stormed in, panting. All eyes were on her, but she didn't even glance around, rushing straight to Director Kim.
"Directooor. I wanted to come earlier, but I was late because of my co-star."
Instead of an apology, she rattled off excuses, which made not only Director Kim but also the people around him frown.
Yuri bowed to Director Kim and went to her seat, hurriedly taking out her script. Everyone was speechless at her behavior, which didn't even wait for the director's response.
"Oh my, this isn't the right script."
Was she trying to brag about her busy schedule? She took out another script, placed it on the table as if flustered, and then called her manager.
"Can't you even get the script right?"
It was a whisper, but in the silent space, with everyone focused on Yuri, it was loud enough to be heard.
Moreover, due to the nature of the drama, there weren't many actors with a lot of age or experience. Currently, Yuri was the most recognizable and active actor in this drama.
Perhaps knowing this herself, she seemed to flaunt it even more, acting haughtily.
"Heo Yuri-ssi."
Director Kim smiled kindly, resting his chin on his clasped hands. However, Yuri's face flushed red at the words that followed.
"Don't ruin the atmosphere when you're late, and focus."
A secret smile appeared on the lips of others at the satisfying reprimand. The interrupted reading resumed, and the briefly awkward atmosphere became friendly again thanks to the other actors' flavorful performances.
Meanwhile, Hyun-joo, who played Min Hyo-ryeong, couldn't help but admire Se-ah's acting, the lead role, as she responded to it.
'She's a monster.'
Even though it was clear that she was holding back a bit since it wasn't the actual filming, her immersion was amazing. She even drew out Hyo-ryeong's emotions as she conversed with the protagonist, Ji-an.
If she wasn't careful, she felt like she would be swept away by that acting and lose her own. It seemed like she needed to prepare more thoroughly. Hyun-joo's lips slightly curved upward as she looked forward to the first day of filming.
Before his regression, Se-ah's husband, Ji-man, an executive director at An.B Group, habitually turned on the TV while getting ready for work. Then, he put on a neat suit and styled his hair up as always.
"……."
He was drinking the juice prepared by the housekeeper when a familiar face appeared on TV. It was an advertisement for Miso Confectionery featuring Se-ah.
He glanced at his watch. An advertisement being broadcast at dawn, when people were unlikely to see it... He chuckled.
He had briefly looked up her agency and filmography. It seemed like she had spent several years without any significant results. He couldn't understand why she would reject his marriage proposal, claiming to pursue some kind of art in the meantime.
"I don't want to get married or anything."
Ji-man frowned slightly and clicked his tongue. There were plenty of women he could enjoy when he wanted to. Perhaps that was the problem. He felt a bit skeptical about marriage. He didn't want to be tied down by the shackles of marriage.
"So what if you're the only son in three generations?"
Chairman Park, Ji-man's father, took a hard line when he showed no intention of marrying even as he got older.
He told him to get married in order to proceed with this business deal. With Chairman Park, who held the final decision-making power, withholding approval, all schedules began to be delayed.
It wasn't that the project was up for bidding with a competitor, or that the timing to seize it was crucial, so it wasn't urgent. But dragging it out made him look incompetent, which he didn't like. It wasn't like he had to do it with CEO Im.
"It doesn't have to be Im Se-ah."
Ji-man sat on the island table, arms crossed.
It was a news program on the TV screen now, but somehow her face seemed to linger.
"I'll admit she's pretty."
Among the candidates his mother had brought in photos of, she was the one who immediately caught his eye. Her gentle eyes, round forehead, and plump lips were a perfect combination. Her long, straight neck and shoulders looked elegant. Ji-man, lost in thought, tapped his long fingers.
"Women are trophies anyway."
Either way, he didn't like the idea of marriage. Rather than marrying just anyone who met the conditions, wouldn't it be better to marry a woman whose face he liked, at least? He had also gained some benefits with CEO Im, so it would be a bit morally wrong to ruin the relationship. He nodded, firming his resolve.
He could just make her give up her career. How many celebrities abandon their careers to become housewives of large corporations? It would be more comfortable than smiling and laughing in front of the public.
"She doesn't even know it's a good thing and is trying to kick away her good fortune."
Well, she could do that if she didn't know. Ji-man, pretending to be generous, raised the corners of his lips and picked up his phone to make a call.
"Oh, Chief Cha. Sorry to bother you so early."
It wasn't a sorry tone at all, but the other party readily accepted it and bowed obsequiously. He looked at his wristwatch and grabbed his car keys. 6 a.m. It was early, but he usually went to work at this time.
"You know some entertainment agencies, right?"
There was no way the chief of staff would know, but Ji-man didn't care. To him, his secretary was someone who would bring him anything he asked for.
"Get me the personal number of Heo Jun-seong, the CEO of UZ Entertainment."
He gave the order, saying he had something to call about as soon as he got to work, and then whistled as he got into his foreign car.
"First, let's find out Im Se-ah-ssi's schedule."
He had assigned someone to find out if she had any men she was sleeping with, but. It was difficult to know her future schedule in advance with that alone.
Ji-man pulled out of the garage and took out his sunglasses in the bright morning sunlight.
He was planning to block her from auditions and everything else from now on. Even if she met a good director and passed the audition, he could cut off the investment and make the production fall through. Thinking such terrible thoughts, Ji-man smiled brightly.
The first day of filming for 'Elite High School Romance Records'.
Se-ah put on her school uniform and successfully filmed her first scene. The first scene was where Ji-an, the transfer student, first meets Woo-seok, the male lead.
"Good job, everyone. Let's take a short break and gather in the music room!"
As she was about to go to the waiting room at the staff's guidance, Yoon Joo-ho, who played the male lead Kang Woo-seok, called out to her.
"Se-ah-ssi."
"Yes?"
He received a bottle of drink from his manager and brought it to Se-ah.
"I think you're really good at acting."
"Ah……."
"I think I'm going to become a fan of Se-ah-ssi. I mean it."
"Thank you."
His words, spoken with a bright smile, made her feel good but also a bit burdened. As she smiled slightly and accepted the drink, Joo-ho said to rest well and see her later, then turned away.
Feeling somewhat dazed, she looked back and forth between the drink and his back. Whether she happened to see it or not, Yuri scoffed and sneered.
"You're happy even with just empty words. How pathetic."
Then, she clicked her tongue and bumped her shoulder before entering the waiting room first. Se-ah shook her head and sighed.
The filming location had a shortage of waiting rooms, so two or three people were using them together. She looked at the paper on the door that read 'Im Se-ah, Kang Hyun-joo, Heo Yuri Waiting Room' before slowly opening the door and entering.
"……."
Perhaps because it was still early in the filming, it was extremely awkward. Hyun-joo was looking at the script, and Yuri was busy redoing her makeup. She approached Ye-won, who was waiting.
"You worked hard. What's this drink?"
"Ah, Joo-ho-ssi gave it to me earlier."
"Really? Are you going to drink it?"
"Um. I want to drink water."
"Then I'll put it in the icebox for now."
"Thank you, Unnie."
Ye-won put the drink in the icebox and took out water. Se-ah, who had quenched her thirst, opened the script.
The second scene was a scene where she played the piano in the music room.
"I have to play the piano, shouldn't I loosen up my hands?"
"They said it's being tuned."
Instead, she was doing finger stretches and listening to the song she had to play. Still, she would be able to play it a few times before filming. She had heard that she could use a stand-in, but she wanted to do it herself. Since Ji-an, the character Se-ah played, was set to have injured her hand, it didn't matter if there were some mistakes, so the director readily agreed.
She had also practiced in advance after hearing that there was a piano scene.
It was the piano she had learned in her school days, so her hands were a bit stiff, but after practicing only one song, her hand movements became somewhat smoother.
"We'll start filming!"
After some time, a staff member knocked on the door and announced the resumption of filming. Hyun-joo and Yuri also got up from their seats and headed to the music room as it was a scene filming a class.
A piano was set up on the stage in the music room. As befitting the setting of a school attended by the children of the top 1% of chaebols, various high-end instruments, including the piano, were displayed as if they were on display.
Ding- Ding- Ding- Ding-
Se-ah tapped the tuned piano. As she played the intro of the song she had practiced to loosen her fingers, exclamations of "Ooh" popped out from among the staff. After checking the condition of the piano to some extent, she came down and sat next to Joo-ho.
Extras wearing the same school uniforms filled the music room, and Hyun-joo and Yuri took their seats in the row next to Se-ah.
Director Kim Seong-cheol, who was watching the monitor from the back of the classroom, checked the camera and audio status and called out the cue sign. Children who are close to each other whispering and Ji-an quietly keeping her place in it.
"Today, let's learn about Beethoven."
The door of the music room slid open, and the teacher came in and stood in front of the podium to announce the start of the class. He explained enthusiastically about Beethoven for a long time.
"Teacher! We have a Beethoven in our class too!"
Sol-mi, who was looking in the mirror and twisting her wavy hair, suddenly shouted. At that, the attention of the teacher as well as the other students was focused on Ji-an.
Ji-an, who had been active as a pianist, had an accident one day and could no longer play the piano, so she transferred to Elite High School.
Elite High School was a private high school attended by the children of the top 1% of chaebols. Most of them had their career paths set, and their ranks were determined not only by their grades but also by their family's businesses.
Woo-seok, the second son of S Group, a leading domestic company, was undoubtedly at the center of the students. There were also many female students who liked Woo-seok.
Among them, Hyo-ryeong, the eldest daughter of G Group, was convinced that she was Woo-seok's match with her outstanding appearance and grades. To the point where even other students couldn't refute it, she had everything from family to appearance, grades, and personality.
However, Woo-seok was not interested in Hyo-ryeong. The same was true for other female students, but. It was obvious that he was being kind to Ji-an, who had transferred, and kept giving her glances.
Sol-mi, who was watching Hyo-ryeong's jealous eyes, volunteered. To put Ji-an down in front of everyone.
"That's right. Ji-an, can you play a song for us?"
