2 - The Second is Proficient
A ringing echoed in one ear, and a headache surged.
“Hey, Im Se-ah!”
A familiar voice, whispering as if to wake her, roused her. Someone's touch shook her roughly.
“I know you do a radio show at dawn, but how can you doze off at an audition?”
Heo Yuri's voice, which she had thought was annoying but full of affection. Se-ah strained her heavy eyelids.
Her brow furrowed involuntarily at the suddenly brightened view.
“It’s almost our turn.”
Along with the words to wake up, a sharp palm struck her forearm.
“Ah!”
She was busy gathering her scattered mind amidst the bustling waiting room scenery and murmuring sounds.
How did this happen?
Habitually, she rummaged through her pockets and took out her phone.
“Good heavens!”
Her mouth dropped open at the date that came into view. The audition waiting number in her hand became crumpled.
“Are you awake now?”
The winter of 10 years ago, when she had just turned twenty-five.
It was the audition site for the Snack Chips commercial model, a hit product of Miso Confectionery.
“Participants number 26 to 30, please enter.”
The number 30 was written on the number ticket in Se-ah's hand. When Heo Yuri next to her jumped up, she also reflexively got up and walked.
She felt dazed.
Was it a short dream, a glimpse of the future? Or was it another chance given to me?
She entered the audition room and sat in order on the chairs placed against the wall.
It was as if she was sitting in a G shape with the judges. In the center was a large table and a chair, and on the table were piles of Miso Confectionery snacks.
“Number 26, please start.”
The audition was simple. She had to find Snack Chips among the pile of snacks in front of her and act out a scene of eating them deliciously.
“What should I do? She’s too frozen.”
Se-ah ignored Heo Yuri's whispering and stared at participant number 26. Watching her stiffly holding the snack and eating awkwardly, she organized her thoughts.
Her life at thirty-five had been full of ups and downs.
The memories of 35 years that she groped through were too clear and vivid to dismiss as a dream. So much so that she would believe it if she were told that now was the dream.
‘Still, you’re lucky. You caught the eye of the fickle god. I hope you live the life you want this time.’
Had she really returned to the past? The words ‘this time’ to live the life she wanted flashed through her mind.
“Delicious Snack Chips! So delicious!”
The numbers were steadily decreasing, and it was already participant number 28's turn. While watching the audition, Se-ah recalled the memories of the past, 10 years ago, little by little.
She couldn't remember what she had auditioned with.
Who was selected as the commercial model?
It was a whopping 10 years ago. She had forgotten her dream and lived as a housewife for 8 years, so today's events were a distant memory.
“Number 29, Heo Yuri.”
The moment the audition host called Yuri's name, it suddenly came to mind.
It was Heo Yuri who was chosen in this audition. Thanks to the great lobbying skills of her father, Heo Jun-seong, the CEO of the agency. Heo Yuri herself had said so after being selected.
Realizing that there was a predetermined person, Se-ah became convinced that she had returned to the past while watching the audition.
Yuri finished her greetings and self-introduction and began acting.
“Found it!”
She picked up Snack Chips and looked around cutely.
As if trying to eat alone secretly, she held the snack box and giggled before hiding under the table.
The space under the large table did not block the judges' view as much as she thought.
Crunch, crunch! Sitting down on the floor, Yuri devoured the snacks very deliciously. Even sucking her fingers.
“Snack Chips? Snack Chips!”
She peeked her face out from under the table, winking, and then picked up another Snack Chips with a nonchalant expression. Heo Yuri's audition ended with her hiding under the table as if to eat again.
It was natural and cute, but not a particularly outstanding performance. The judges' expressions were ambiguous.
In her memory, Heo Yuri's acting and everything else was exactly the same as 10 years ago. Not only the expressions, voice, and lines, but also the composition of the play and even the plagiarism of her own ideas.
Yuri would take her ideas as they were if Se-ah received a later number than her, and when she was the later number, she would openly ask for ideas. Saying that if she didn't help her because she really wanted to play this role, she wouldn't be her friend.
So what if she didn't have that friend? What was so difficult back then?
“Number 30, Im Se-ah.”
Se-ah sighed softly and stepped forward. Snack Chips were her favorite snack. It was a hit product, but it was also scheduled to be discontinued next year due to competition from a rival company.
‘This is delicious.’
She was glad to be able to eat it again, and also sad to think that she wouldn't be able to eat it again in the future. Should she hoard it before it's discontinued and eat it to her heart's content?
She wondered if it would be meaningful since it was an audition with a predetermined person, but she decided to do her best anyway.
Because Im Se-ah loved acting.
Even after quitting her job, Se-ah did not let go of acting. Her mother-in-law verbally abused her, saying that watching dramas made her look like a typical housewife. Throughout her difficult married life, watching dramas and movies, researching acting, and practicing were her only joys.
Standing in front of the table and facing the judges, her eyes sparkled.
Meanwhile, Director Ju Hyeon-ho, one of the judges watching the thirtieth audition, was clicking his tongue inwardly. There wasn't a single decent kid.
Number 29 wasn't bad either. She was an impressive participant who had been strongly lobbied by UZ Entertainment.
Her acting was quite natural, and her visuals were above average.
‘But what should I say…….’
Director Ju Hyeon-ho, resting his chin on his hand, absentmindedly twirled the pen in his hand and pondered.
She was okay, but there wasn't a feeling of 'this is it!'
Finding such a participant at every audition was like picking a star from the sky, so he wondered if he should just be satisfied with Heo Yuri.
“Number 30, Im Se-ah.”
Director Ju Hyeon-ho raised his head at the soft but ear-catching voice.
Everyone started by finding Snack Chips in the pile of snacks, but this participant moved to the far corner of the audition room instead.
“I will begin.”
Approaching the table at a pace that was neither slow nor fast while looking at her phone, she sat down in a chair and kept her eyes on the screen.
Without even looking at the table, she picked up Snack Chips and poked the opening of the snack box with her thumb to open it.
A nonchalant and natural choice.
An attitude that she didn't need to look at anything other than Snack Chips.
Crunch, crunch.
Se-ah's face, which had been serious while looking at her phone, gradually brightened as she began to eat the snacks. When she had emptied half of the snacks, she was even tapping her feet.
“As expected.”
With a satisfactory remark, her gaze, which had been fixed on her phone, turned to Snack Chips.
Whistling, she emptied all the snacks, put her phone in her pocket, and got up from her seat with the Snack Chips box in her hand.
She made eye contact with the judges.
Smiling, Se-ah swept the snacks on the table to the floor at once with the arm holding the Snack Chips box.
“Of course, Snack Chips.”
She disappeared from view. On the large table, only the empty Snack Chips box caught the eye.
Director Ju Hyeon-ho's arm broke out in goosebumps as he watched Se-ah's performance.
Who is she?
Director Ju Hyeon-ho immediately lowered his gaze and examined this model's portfolio.
‘UZ Entertainment?’
She was from the same agency as the previous participant. UZ Entertainment's recent moves had been noticeable. They were producing actors with decent visuals and acting skills, and increasing their recognition through appropriate lobbying.
But why wasn't there any mention of Im Se-ah, even though they were from the same agency?
“Numbers 31 to 35, please come in.”
Before he knew it, the snacks were set up again on the table, and the next participants came in and sat down. Everyone had the same start and the same expression. Only the faces were different, and the acting was similar.
Director Ju Hyeon-ho, who was watching such participants without really paying attention, kept turning his eyes to Se-ah's portfolio.
Now he understood a little.
What was the difference between their acting and Im Se-ah's acting? Why did he keep feeling like something was missing?
“Snack Chips, I won’t miss you!”
He secretly sighed as he watched a participant making a pretty face and biting her lip.
They didn't seem to have any intention of making the product stand out.
This was Miso Confectionery's 'Snack Chips' commercial. Snack Chips were definitely the main character. But all the other participants were busy showing off their expressions and actions of how deliciously they were eating.
In the last scene, most of them held the snack next to their face and smiled brightly. It was extremely predictable. And the focus was on the actor's face rather than the product.
‘Of course, Snack Chips.’
The accurate pronunciation and the image of the Snack Chips box on the table were clearly imprinted in Director Ju Hyeon-ho's mind.
It seemed like he had to change the winner.
It was fortunate that she was affiliated with UZ Entertainment. If not, the situation would have been a bit complicated.
Director Ju Hyeon-ho marked Se-ah's portfolio with a star with the pen he was holding.
“Good job.”
Se-ah stared blankly at Yuri, who was telling her she had done a good job after coming out of the audition room.
“Why?”
“Nothing.”
Why did she trust Yuri, even with her glaring, raised eyes and her occasional blatant theft of her ideas and acting?
No, it was closer to trying to believe her. She had thought of Yuri, who had the same dream of acting and who had been by her side during difficult times, as a real friend.
10 years ago, she seemed to have been glossed over by Yuri's shameless attitude. She was embarrassed by the idea theft and ended up ruining the audition.
The reason she was glossing over it this time was because she didn't want to get involved in any arguments. If she raised her voice now, it seemed like she would be arguing about things that hadn't even happened yet, like how could she do that to her husband.
“Let’s go.”
The manager's car was parked in front. Yuri opened the door and got into the car.
“Aren’t you getting in?”
“No. I’ll get there on my own.”
“Why? You don’t have anything to do anyway.”
She didn't have any work. If she recalled correctly, her only fixed schedule during this period was the radio show she did at dawn. Yuri would drag her along to her schedule. Like a staff member.
“I need to rest.”
“You’ll end up resting for the rest of your life?”
Why didn't she know that she was pretending to worry and making fun of her back then?
She should have kept going to auditions and looking for work instead of following Yuri around. Just because her friend Yuri's father was the CEO of the agency didn't mean he would take care of her too, it wasn't her father.
She didn't know back then that devotion doesn't always lead to good results.
“Okay, then do as you please.”
When she didn't get in until the end, Yuri left without even saying goodbye.
“I was so young.”
Se-ah let out a sigh-like laugh and slowly moved her feet.
The weather was so cold that she had to repeatedly fasten her coat. First, she checked her bag, found her wallet, and looked for the bus stop.
“Where is it?”
She looked around, but it was unfamiliar. The streets of 10 years ago.
She couldn't help but laugh. Feeling like she could do anything, Se-ah's steps gained strength. She quickly found the bus stop and was able to take the bus to her old house.
What was the house she lived in 10 years ago like? When she recalled her memories, that house came to mind. It wasn't a large space, but it had two rooms and a small living room.
Her father was strongly opposed to her becoming an actress. So, despite being from a so-called chaebol family, she didn't receive much support.
However, he didn't like the idea of his child living in a studio apartment or a boarding house, so he got her a house, so her life wasn't that difficult.
That was the problem.
She loved acting, but she didn't desperately need the work.
“This time will be different.”
She muttered, looking at the scenery passing quickly in the bus.
She regretted 8 years. If this kind of married life was going to continue, she should have continued acting even if she had to live on the streets. Either way, her body and mind were being trampled on. She should have continued the acting that she loved. She didn't know how much she had regretted it.
She would live a different life this time.
She would definitely be happy.
After passing quite a distance, Se-ah repeatedly vowed.
