9 - The Second is Proficient
Se-ah walked alone into the restaurant surrounded by bright glass windows. Ye-won seemed to be eating separately.
“Are you Im Se-ah?”
“Yes.”
“This way, please.”
She had arrived a little earlier than the appointed time, but they must have been waiting for her. Her steps quickened as she followed the employee.
As the white curtain was drawn back, a table set by the glass window came into view. Director Park and Dan were sitting and talking.
“Oh! Se-ah. Sit here.”
“Hello. I’m Im Se-ah.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Director Park Jun-hyung.”
“I’m Dan.”
Dan looked exactly as he did on TV shows. A blank expression and a languid way of speaking. She shook hands briefly and sat down.
“I’m enjoying your songs.”
When she mentioned even the names of the songs he usually listened to and continued the conversation, Dan, who had been looking elsewhere, met her eyes. It was a strange gaze. Would it be too much to say that it was a look that seemed to be gauging something?
Se-ah maintained a smile, putting a little strength into the corners of her lips.
The food came out right away, as if it had been reserved. Salads and pasta were served, and side plates and serving tongs were set out so they could serve themselves.
“I saw the Snack Chips commercial and your other portfolios. Your acting is so realistic.”
Director Park served himself some salad and handed her the serving tongs, continuing his praise.
“Were you an office worker before you started acting?”
“No.”
“Wow. But you portrayed it so realistically?”
I was really impressed, Director Park said excitedly, asking Dan if he had seen the Snack Chips commercial.
“Yes. I had some free time yesterday and turned on the TV, and it was on.”
He looked listless as he spoke with his unique blank and eccentric expression. He seemed to be in bad condition, so she was worried. Noticing her, Director Park smiled and patted Dan on the shoulder.
“He’s been staying up all night often lately because he’s in the final stages of his album.”
“I finished the album work. I played games yesterday.”
“Hey, can’t you let me put a good spin on it?”
“I don’t need it, Uncle.”
Se-ah looked back and forth between them, surprised by the friendly tone and the title of uncle. They did seem a bit alike.
Director Park glared at Dan resentfully and patted his chest, saying, “I wanted to shoot a music video for my nephew because I like seeing him succeed, but he’s making me so frustrated.”
“Even When Unseen, that’s the title of my new song.”
Dan nonchalantly twirled his pasta, not caring about Director Park’s nagging. He seemed too sleepy to have an appetite.
Dan’s new song, “Even When Unseen,” was a humanitarian song that contained the message that even the helpless should have their human rights respected and be recognized as human beings capable of expressing their opinions.
The strength of singer-songwriter Dan was that he used beautiful and rounded words, but wrote lyrics that were metaphorical and concise enough to be understood within the context.
“I’d like Im Se-ah to play the role of someone who can’t see.”
Dan, who had been stirring his pasta and forced it into his mouth, stared at her. He looked sleepy, but his eyes were serious. He also seemed sensitive, perhaps because he was about to release his song to the world.
“It’s not that I think you can’t act…”
Director Park, worried that Dan was uneasy as he mumbled and swallowed his pasta, stopped him, telling him to be careful with his words.
“Originally, the setting was that they couldn’t hear either, but we’ll skip that since it won’t be evident in the music video. But please prepare well for the blindness. Make sure it doesn’t look awkward.”
It seemed that Dan wasn’t very fond of her.
Director Park, his uncle and a veteran in the industry, liked her, so he accepted it, but he was telling her to prepare so that she would also satisfy him.
“What’s with your tone, you rascal? She’s three years older than you.”
“So what? It’s a request from the composer to the actor.”
“Ugh, you blockhead. If you can’t see, at least speak well.”
Director Park shook his head, apologizing and saying that his tone was usually like that, so not to take offense.
“No, I’m not offended.”
She was really okay. Rather, she liked that she could feel that Dan was sincere about his song. She could tell that he was working on the music video seriously, so she was looking forward to it.
“I’ll do my best.”
She showed her enthusiasm while making eye contact with Dan, but he didn’t seem very convinced. He glanced away from Se-ah’s gaze and stirred his salad, muttering indifferently.
“I don’t have high expectations since you’re a rookie. Just don’t do it half-heartedly.”
“Hey! Chae Min-seok!”
Shouldn’t you just keep that to yourself? Her brow furrowed, feeling offended by his continued disregard.
She felt unpleasant, as if even her past efforts, where she had never done anything half-heartedly, no matter how small the role, were being belittled. Just because he wasn’t satisfied didn’t mean he could undervalue someone else’s efforts.
He makes decent songs, though. She was speechless at his contrasting, two-faced demeanor.
“You’re killing the motivation I had.”
Dan looked up at Se-ah’s cold tone. Their eyes met sharply in the air. Se-ah put down the fork she was holding and grabbed her bag.
“I have no intention of doing it half-heartedly.”
She didn’t avoid the eyes that were staring blankly at her as she stood up. It was an obvious provocation. Se-ah smiled and pulled up the corners of her lips. It seemed like he was emphasizing that she was a rookie and trying to provoke her pride so that she would come prepared.
“I’ll take my leave first today.”
If he was going to act like that throughout the meal, she felt like she would get indigestion before even eating. Director Park sighed deeply, looking embarrassed.
“Ah, this is… I’m so sorry. I apologize, Se-ah.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll see you on the day of filming, Director.”
“Okay. Go carefully, and I’ll contact you.”
Se-ah smiled coolly, saying she didn’t mind, and left the table. After she left, Director Park’s angry roar echoed through the restaurant.
It was true that acting as someone who couldn’t see was difficult.
It wasn’t easy to not react to stimuli while keeping her eyes open, and even if she closed her eyes, the immersion would be broken if the movement of her eyes could be seen through her eyelids.
‘What’s the best way to do it?’
As Se-ah pondered, she took out the eye mask she sometimes used when she slept. With her eyes covered, she felt like she knew a little about the inconvenience of not being able to see.
She took a step with the eye mask on. Because she couldn’t see, she reached out to check her surroundings and dragged her feet to see if there was anything in the way. And without realizing it, she kept peeking through the gap at the bottom of the eye mask.
“I shouldn’t be doing this…”
She had to get used to the fear of not being able to see. It would be a natural part of their daily lives. Only then would she be able to act in a way that was empathetic enough. After thinking about it, Se-ah took off the eye mask and opened the bottom drawer of the living room cabinet to find the first aid kit.
“Found it.”
She found the gauze bandage she was looking for at the very back and wrapped it tightly around her eyes. When she put the eye mask she was holding over it, even the small gap disappeared.
“……”
It was different from before. After covering her eyes thoroughly with the bandage, no light leaked in.
Unlike before, when she had just moved without thinking, she couldn’t even get up easily. Is this what it feels like to lose your sight for the first time? She recalled the structure of the living room and slowly got up.
Was the direction this way? She stood awkwardly for a moment and then turned toward the sofa.
“Ah!”
She kicked the first aid kit that she had carelessly left open. She felt the coldness of the scissors she had used to cut the gauze bandage under her feet. She took a step back and waved her hand to try to move it.
“Gasp!”
She was cut by something sharp. It seemed like she had been cut by something other than the scissors under her feet. What could have cut her? What on earth was it? It was difficult to move because of the chilling fear.
She quickly took off the eye mask and unwrapped the bandage. Her forehead was damp with cold sweat in a short amount of time.
As soon as she adjusted to the brightened vision, she checked where she had been cut. She had been cut by the corner of the plastic first aid kit, which had not been properly finished.
A drop of blood formed on her index finger, which had been cut deeper than she thought. Se-ah sighed, wiped the blood with an alcohol swab from the first aid kit, and applied medicine. After putting on a bandage, she carefully closed the first aid kit this time and put it in the drawer.
“Hmm.”
She would just have to close her eyes and move around. It was a far cry from her resolution to never open her eyes. This time, she bumped her shin on the low living room table and opened her eyes wide.
“Ouch… That hurts.”
She barely endured the pain and checked her shin, which was starting to bruise darkly.
“This isn’t easy, really.”
She bit her lip and picked up the bandage and eye mask again. This time, she carefully covered her eyes only after clearing away anything that seemed dangerous.
She planned to live like this at home for the time being, until the music video shoot.
The day of the web drama Elite High School Romance Records audition.
The chilly wind sneaked into her body as if mocking her thick coat.
“Ugh. It’s too cold.”
Se-ah nodded at Ye-won’s cheerful words. They had arrived at the audition site and were drinking warm beverages nearby.
“Ah…”
Se-ah lifted her glass, then readjusted her grip as if her wrist hurt. The drink was quite heavy. Still, it wasn’t so heavy that she couldn’t lift it, so Ye-won looked at her with a meaningful gaze. She was worried that she might be sick.
“What’s wrong with your wrist?”
“It’s nothing. I’ve been practicing a bit.”
At her puzzled expression, Se-ah slightly lifted her long skirt. Her shins and knees were covered in bruises.
“Eek! What’s all this?”
She nodded, embarrassed, at the gesture that seemed to ask if she had them on her arms as well. Her arms were worse. She had burned herself on the stove and cut herself with a knife while cooking with her eyes covered. She was being careful, but it still happened.
“It’s because of the music video, right?”
Someone might say, “Why go so far for just a music video?” but Ye-won didn’t.
“You’re working hard. There will be a time when you can use it again someday.”
“Thank you, Unnie.”
“At least you don’t have any bruises on your face. Good job, good job,” Ye-won joked, making her laugh. She didn’t know how hard she had tried to avoid hurting her face or neck.
In a drama she had watched with interest before returning to the past, there was a role of someone who couldn’t see.
The actor who played the role was good at acting, but there were some shortcomings. Throughout the drama, she had wondered how she would have acted if she had played the role and regretted it a lot.
She knew the work, the director, and the filming schedule, so she wanted to build up her filmography step by step and play that role this time.
“It’s time. Let’s go up.”
It was when they returned the empty cups and left the cafe. Yu-ri, who had just gotten out of a large van, made eye contact with her.
They moved as if they hadn’t seen each other, though they could have at least exchanged a perfunctory greeting. The managers didn’t bother to start a conversation in the chilly atmosphere. As they stood in front of the elevator, Yu-ri suddenly opened her mouth.
“Thank you?”
