Chapter : 96
“Director, I don’t think we can continue shooting right now. Let the actor be alone until she calms down, and we can film the rest later.”
The cinematographer nodded with an understanding expression. They had captured enough footage of Han So-i crying, and any further filming would just be redundant in editing, so there was no need to continue.
“So-i, would you like to come back in once you’ve calmed down?”
“Sniff… yes. I’ll be alone for a while…”
Seeing Han So-i’s tears flow relentlessly until her eyes were red, Hae-in even started to doubt whether what she had witnessed earlier that day had actually happened.
When she saw the writer head into the waiting room, So-i quickly began walking toward the emergency stairs.
She seemed so flustered that she didn’t even notice Hae-in following behind her.
“Why did you suddenly call me out?”
A familiar voice came from the emergency stairs. Even though it was a small voice, Hae-in recognized it immediately—it was Baek Ah-yeon.
“Unnie, you said you were meeting PD Kang today. I thought you might be around here, so I wanted to contact you…”
“So, what do you want?”
Ah-yeon looked at So-i with a frustrated expression. Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying, making it seem like something serious had happened. Hae-in silently hoped it wasn’t something related to her.
“Unnie, I changed roles during the last mission.”
“Ha! Hey, speak clearly. I don’t care about your missions or whatever!”
Ah-yeon’s voice was full of irritation. She couldn’t understand why So-i was bothering her over such a trivial audition matter.
“No, so… you said you’d make sure I’d be among the top 30. But I got a really weird role, and I thought I might not make it to the next round.”
“And…?”
Ah-yeon’s expression shifted from irritation to disdain. For someone holding up her time like this, So-i’s rambling made no sense at all.
“What did you do?”
“I took the role that Yoon-sol was supposed to have. And Yoon-sol raised a problem about it. If this causes an issue, I might have a hard time advancing to the next round… and if that happens, the task you asked Yoon Hae-in to do…”
…What?
Hae-in quickly covered her mouth, holding her breath. Hearing her own name mentioned at an unexpected moment nearly made her voice slip out.
She lowered her breathing and focused on the sounds coming from above. Her name wasn’t mentioned again, but the conversation continued.
“Ugh. So what’s the situation now?”
“I took the lead female role that Yoon-sol was supposed to have and told her she’d get another good opportunity instead.”
“That’s ridiculous. Hey, were you using what I told you somewhere else? You, of all people? Benchmarking me?”
Ignoring Ah-yeon’s words, So-i continued explaining.
“When Yoon-sol faced elimination, she made a fuss about it. Unnie, could you talk to PD Kang and sort this out? And at the beginning, I suggested we divide roles by rock-paper-scissors, but could you edit that part too… maybe just tell him?”
Ah-yeon looked down at So-i with an expression of utter disdain.
Watching her struggle over such a small matter was amusing. Yet, seeing how she couldn’t even handle a simple task, Ah-yeon knew she wouldn’t be able to leave her side anytime soon.
Ah-yeon, one step above So-i, brushed her fingertip across So-i’s face. Her terrified expression was almost comical.
For a big task, she could endure this little annoyance.
Ah-yeon slowly spoke.
“So-i, I’ll meet PD Kang and roughly manage this issue. You’ll still be among the top 30 as planned, and then remember what I said?”
“…Yes, unnie. I remember.”
“We’ll move in groups. You’ll end up in the same group as Yoon Hae-in, and by accident… just for a moment, you’ll accidentally hurt Hae-in’s face. People who’ve never held a sword before practicing a group dance—do you think there won’t be any accidents?”
Haa.
Hae-in gasped quietly.
“…A lead actress with a scar from a knife wound can’t become the crown princess, right?”
Thump. Thump.
Her heart raced so fast it was hard to breathe, as if it were trying to kill its owner.
Hae-in quietly left the room, making sure to step lightly and slowly close the door so that no sound would be heard, and headed back to the waiting room. Her entire body trembled, and cold sweat dripped down her face.
“All right, actors! We’ll resume shooting! Please start clearing your makeup!”
Even with the staff’s words, Hae-in’s racing heart did not calm down.
“Hae-in, is something wrong?”
Gayoung, helping tidy up her makeup, looked at her with concern.
Since coming out of the waiting room, Hae-in’s expression had darkened noticeably. A bit of cold sweat ran down her forehead, making her appear unwell.
Hae-in forced a reassuring smile toward Gayoung, who was looking at her.
How could she explain this?
After a moment’s thought, Hae-in shook her head. If she explained the conversation between Baek Ah-yeon and Han So-i now, Gayoung’s temper would probably make her strike So-i’s cheek.
She didn’t want to put Gayoung in a difficult position over her own issues. Moreover…
“Gayoung, can I have my phone?”
Gayoung didn’t answer immediately, clearly hiding something.
Hae-in shot a glare, and Gayoung handed her phone over. She opened her messages quickly and let out a faint sigh.
[Not sure what’s going on, but got it. You and So-i won’t end up in the same group.]
She had asked Lee-hyuk urgently as soon as she returned to the waiting room.
She didn’t know how the thirty-person groups would be divided, but for now, the most important thing was to avoid ending up in the same group as So-i. Having discovered the trap, caution was crucial.
She had come this far; she couldn’t afford injury or collapse.
Despite the urgent message, Lee-hyuk didn’t ask any questions. Perhaps he understood the subtle tension between Hae-in and So-i from the first script exchange. Or maybe it was just his reserved nature.
“But So-i is hilarious. She’s putting blush on her eyelids to make it look like she’s been crying. She’ll have to keep acting like that until she dies.”
Hae-in glanced back and saw So-i’s staff applying blush excessively around her eyes, nose, and cheeks. Thinking about the malice hidden behind that angelic face made her breath quicken again.
“Agency staff, please step back!”
With the staff’s final warning, Gayoung tidied Hae-in’s hair one last time with a reluctant expression. As Gayoung disappeared from the stage, the judges began to take their seats.
Hae-in’s gaze landed on Lee-hyuk. He raised his right hand, giving her a sign only she could recognize. Gratitude welled up in her chest.
“Let’s begin shooting! Please turn off your phones!”
“Roll camera! Group 7 actors, step forward again!”
A staff member wearing glasses came up and clapped the slate, and the cameras began rolling. Each actor came into the frame, and at PD Kang’s signal, So Ji-young spoke into the microphone.
“Apologies for the slightly extended meeting. You must be tired of waiting, actors. Ah, not talking to actor 52 here, haha. No need to be nervous.”
Despite So Ji-young’s words, So-i’s eyes were already brimming with tears. Her eyes looked sadder than anyone else’s, yet a faint, strange smile lingered on her lips.
