Chapter: 57
A strangely chilling atmosphere enveloped the room.
It only meant that the performance Joo Seoyeon had just delivered was impressive.
Regardless of whether it was deemed good or bad, the synchronization was suspiciously accurate.
‘Has she practiced this with a few people?’
Director Bae Jin-hwan found himself wondering that and slapped his cheek with his palm.
What kind of thoughts were running through his mind as he looked at the kid?
Anyway, it seemed he wasn’t alone in feeling this way.
Looking at the actors’ eyes darting around, trying to make contact with one another, confirmed that.
“…Did I mess something up?”
Joo Seoyeon, feeling a bit down because of the overwhelming vibe, asked.
“No!”
“Absolutely not, right?”
“It’s just that Seoyeon did so well that everyone is surprised.”
“Yes, yes, exactly.”
With that, the male actors and Jeong Si-hyeon, playing Han Ye-hwa, hastily chimed in.
They might get confused by her styled looks and actions, but Seoyeon was still just a teenage girl.
In reality, there was nothing wrong with her acting.
It was simply that her performance was too disconcerting.
“Is that so?”
Of course, Seoyeon wasn’t genuinely sulking.
She merely acted a bit to gauge their reaction.
Still, it was true that she had been nervous.
With their responses, Seoyeon felt a wave of relief washing over her.
‘Was I too much?’
No, but this was the way to go.
Seoyeon looped these thoughts in her mind.
She could understand why they were reacting that way.
This role was pivotal.
At least this role might enter the category of the life-changing roles for Joo Seoyeon.
‘To be precise…’
Rather than the character Joo Seoyeon, it felt more like her past life.
A role that resembled the life she lived before.
“Um, let’s try a few more scenes.”
Bae Jin-hwan said that to lighten the atmosphere.
Furthermore, he wanted to figure out if the eeriness he felt from Seoyeon was a mere illusion.
It wasn’t just him.
The other actors felt the same way.
“Will it be okay if I go this time?”
Raising her hand was Jeong Si-hyeon, playing the victim Han Ye-hwa.
She swallowed hard as she looked at Seoyeon.
‘So she’s Joo Seoyeon.’
Jeong Si-hyeon felt a tinge of nervousness.
It was understandable.
Her agency had a victim that Joo Seoyeon played before.
“Seriously, isn’t this too much?”
A woman, now in her mid-thirties but with a smooth, wrinkle-free face, remarked while roughly stirring her salad with a fork.
Ha Ye-seo, one of Korea’s leading dramatic actresses, spoke with a frown.
“Why suddenly return after ten years to dish out a gruesome scene?”
“You could return and film too.”
“…Are you joking? How would an ‘aunt’ handle such a role? I’d be a dowager queen, not Princess Yeonhwa!”
An “aunt”?
Jeong Si-hyeon clicked her tongue inwardly.
Only someone who didn’t see themselves as an “aunt” would dare say such a thing.
She imagined if Ha Ye-seo would fly into a rage if teased about being an aunt.
“Anyway,”
taking a sip of her drink, she continued,
“so you’re acting alongside that kid?”
“Yes, I heard she was cast as the villain, Chae Seo-ah.”
“Hmmm, a villain, huh.”
Ha Ye-seo recalled the young Seoyeon she had seen years ago.
Her acting skills were unrefined, but she was no ordinary child actress.
How did watching Seoyeon back then make Ha Ye-seo feel?
“It was eerie.”
“Pardon?”
“Her emotional performances didn’t reflect a child’s feelings. Something felt off. So Jeong Eun-sun could only scold her mercilessly.”
“She probably wasn’t very congenial even ten years ago.”
“Forget congenial; she was just an oblivious old lady.”
Could she even say such things to a veteran actress?
Thoughts whirled in her mind, but when it was just the two of them, who could really keep their mouth shut?
“Anyway. Be careful.”
“Yes?”
“If you don’t want to end up mangled like me.”
Honestly, Ha Ye-seo was eager to act alongside Seoyeon.
She had an itch for a comeback.
Hmm, that would be spectacular. Retaliation from the past was a must.
Ha Ye-seo looked at her junior chewing on cherry tomatoes.
An actress with impeccable acting skills and stunning looks.
A future star, indeed.
‘She definitely has talent, but she’s only acted in a sheltered environment.’
Perhaps this movie would serve as a fantastic opportunity for her.
To break through the wall.
In the end, you’ve got to first see what the wall is.
The once-genius child actress made her return.
Ha Ye-seo quietly observed her first stage performance.
“Do well.”
So Ha Ye-seo told her junior that.
Jeong Si-hyeon, rare to receive such encouragement from a senior, shrugged it off.
No matter how well she did, she was just a teenage actress.
That’s how she had felt until she actually saw her act, and everything changed.
She could become a victim like the seniors if she wasn’t careful.
No, it would be far worse than being a mere victim.
At least the seniors hadn’t shared a scene together, but she would…
Playing Han Ye-hwa, who had the most scenes with Chae Seo-ah.
She was bound to be the victim in their mess.
“That’s good.”
The OK sign from Bae Jin-hwan came through.
It seemed like it might be good to get in sync with their acting.
“Let’s see… Scene 37, shall we?”
S# 37.
This time, it was an emotional part unlike when they played detectives.
‘Was that recent performance an accident?’
‘Or was it the real deal? I need to find out.’
The actors’ gazes collectively fell on Seoyeon.
Joo Seoyeon and Jeong Si-hyeon.
The two young actresses.
Instead of using the table, they stood up to face each other in the open space.
It was a passionate part that couldn’t be contained around a table.
In a spot where the lighting barely reached, Jeong Si-hyeon stared at Seoyeon.
With long black hair contrasting her pale skin.
Looking into her hazel eyes felt like each hue was gradually becoming more vivid.
It made her all the more eerie.
Even without starting their performance, it felt like Chae Seo-ah was there right in front of her.
Holding the script in hand.
Taking a breath.
She shut her eyes tightly and then opened them.
Han Ye-hwa was in an alley.
Running through a narrow path, she could hear heavy footsteps pursuing her.
The footsteps heard from afar grew louder.
“Hah, wheeze. Hah.”
Panting heavily, Han Ye-hwa gasped.
She tried covering her mouth with both hands, but she couldn’t stifle her breath.
“Why…?”
With a voice barely above a whisper, Han Ye-hwa looked ahead.
The alley was blocked by a pile of garbage.
The footsteps behind her had ceased.
Could it be that they left me?
Han Ye-hwa, facing the wall, slowly turned her body.
Then, at the entrance of the alley stood a woman looking at her.
In her hand was a hammer.
A common tool,
but it had something on it that should never be there.
Red blood.
Blood from just having smashed her boyfriend’s head a moment ago was still on that hammer.
“Why – what are you doing!!”
Screaming out like a banshee, the moment Han Ye-hwa cried, that woman’s steps finally moved.
She was smiling.
As if she were delighted to have found the runaway Han Ye-hwa.
If that were the case,
‘I wouldn’t have felt this fear.’
“I just…”
The woman spoke with a smile.
Her lips painted a gruesome smile akin to awful make-up plastered onto a doll’s face.
“This place… hurts.”
A monotone voice.
“It’s just too hard to look at.”
The woman’s footsteps began to grow quicker.
When Han Ye-hwa tried to catch her breath and pull away, the woman was already standing too close.
That face came right up to Han Ye-hwa’s.
As if reading the emotions trapped in her eyes.
“It’d be so nice if it were this easy to understand.”
Fear.
Shock.
Those feelings could not have been any clearer.
“Like this.”
The girl’s expression shifted.
As if mimicking Han Ye-hwa’s terrified face.
It bore striking resemblance.
A human face imitating fear was sickeningly unpleasant.
“Like this?”
The face distorted in terror.
It was like viewing oneself in another’s face.
“I don’t know.”
The girl’s hand moved.
It seemed to aim for the hammer.
Han Ye-hwa pushed hard against her chest with all her might.
No, she needed to push her away.
And in the tussle, she had to shake her off.
She had to keep acting.
But Jeong Si-hyeon froze, gazing at Chae Seo-ah’s face looking down at her.
That presence crushed her completely.
Despite a desperate struggle, she fell victim to the swung hammer and was knocked out.
That was the scene that needed to unfold.
“That’s enough.”
The dark alley turned back into a room brightened by lights.
Bae Jin-hwan wiped the sweat off his forehead and nodded.
“You both did a fantastic job.”
His words were genuine compliments.
Until that last moment where Seoyeon had pressed down on Jeong Si-hyeon’s hands.
It was before Jeong Si-hyeon had frozen like a statue, staring at Seoyeon’s face up-close.
Normally, he would have provided feedback on any mistakes, but this time felt a bit ambiguous.
In fact, he realized how he had underestimated Jeong Si-hyeon.
‘But.’
The actors found themselves in deep thought, staring at Jeong Si-hyeon, who looked disappointed.
‘In that moment together, she was barely noticeable.’
When there was some distance, Jeong Si-hyeon could draw applause for her acting.
But from the moment Seoyeon overpowered Jeong Si-hyeon,
the character of Han Ye-hwa was nowhere to be found.
‘A play.’
Had the acting she demonstrated in the theater contributed to this?
It felt less like a script reading and more like viewing a performance.
Exaggerated as it was, the performance fit seamlessly with a villain role.
No, it was almost incredible how Joo Seoyeon’s presence overshadowed everything.
The character of Han Ye-hwa, the actress Jeong Si-hyeon, was completely lost in comparison.
‘It’s true that this was a scene emphasizing the villain, but not to this overwhelming degree.’
The other actors pondered how they would have fared in a scene like that with Jeong Si-hyeon.
It was no easy task.
Such pressure felt fitting for legendary actors who could individually dominate a scene.
‘I have to be cautious.’
Especially, Kim Dae-heon, who played the lead role of Im Seung-cheol, steeled himself.
He had never been told his acting skills were lacking.
‘But.’
Kim Dae-heon chuckled softly,
there was a glimmer of anticipation.
How wonderful the scene would look when he performed alongside that kid.
He was thoroughly excited to see what kind of performance he could bring to the table.
“…”
And.
Just then, Jeong Si-hyeon, who had just performed alongside Seoyeon, bit her lower lip.
Looking down at Seoyeon, she bowed her head.
She truly felt embarrassed.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yes?”
“Next time, I’ll do it without any mistakes.”
Jeong Si-hyeon apologized to Seoyeon, who was at least ten years younger than her.
That was also a moment of self-reflection.
If she hadn’t messed up, it would have been a wonderful scene.
She’d ruined it.
‘Next time.’
She vowed never to make the same mistake again.
She was determined not to tarnish the performance Seoyeon had just delivered.
‘…Hmm.’
Seoyeon watched Jeong Si-hyeon and was about to say something reassuring but soon sealed her lips.
She had no idea how to respond during such a moment.
Should she console her?
No, perhaps encouragement would be…
“Fi, fighting.”
“Yes?”
“Ah, no… never mind…”
Seoyeon felt cursed by her awkward communication skills.
Truly.
And then
a week later.
With the final performance of the play Close Your Eyes wrapping up,
a call came in from the cable network where she had asked Lee Ji-yeon to reach out.
It was a program airing for a decade on a gaming broadcast network.
In fact, it was from If the King Were On.
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