Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Normally, I don't go out of my way to check the leaflet when I come to see a play.
But this time, I pulled one out and checked it.
[Dreams Come True]
Along with the trite title of the play, there was a brief introduction and some bragging about it.
It also included short bios of the actors.
"Hmm."
No matter where I looked, the name 'Lee Da-young' wasn't there.
Unless I was already suffering from presbyopia and misread it, it was definitely the name Lee Da-young.
And there was only one play scheduled at this time.
'Or is she a part-timer or something?'
Thinking that just in case, I saw someone enter the staff-only waiting room.
I quickly caught them and asked, and they told me that part-timers go to the staff waiting room, and performers go to the performer waiting room.
So, Lee Da-young was indeed a performer.
"The play starts in 10 minutes."
A voice announcing the time for the play rang out, leaving me confused.
"Let's go in."
"......Do we really have to watch the play?"
"Huh? Yeah."
"Yes, Team Leader Manager-nim."
Maybe it's because she didn't get enough sleep.
Eun Hee-ju's complexion didn't look very good.
"If it's too hard, you can sleep during the play. If worse comes to worst, we can just come again next time."
"Next time......."
At that, Hee-ju's expression became complicated.
A face like a child's, hard to tell if she was happy or sad.
"The chairs are pretty comfy, too. Hehe, I'll even lend you my shoulder if I have to."
"......!"
As I spoke playfully and tried to find our seats, something bumped into my shoulder with a thud.
Wondering what it was, I looked to the side and saw Eun Hee-ju continuously bumping her head against my shoulder, kung, kung.
"If you're trying to break my shoulder."
"Ah. Sorry."
"E6, E7. Here it is."
Even so, as soon as she sat down, Eun Hee-ju leaned her head on my shoulder like a magnet again.
What is this.
Did I smear honey on my shoulder or something?
"Sorry. Team Leader Manager-nim. I woke up, but I'm not fully awake yet, so my head is just a bit heavy."
Woke up, but not fully awake?
What kind of wordplay is that?
"No, wait. The important thing right now is."
I shook my head and checked the leaflet again.
Looking closely at the back, there was a group photo.
It wasn't exactly finding a needle in a haystack, but after squinting and looking as closely as I could, I could see a woman in the corner who was presumed to be Lee Da-young.
"Is she an extra?"
Kung, kung-.
"You really want to break my shoulder, don't you?"
"Ah. I thought this might wake me up."
Dammit.
I grabbed Eun Hee-ju's shoulder, which was hitting me like a hammer, and pulled her toward me to fix her position.
"Stay still like this. It looks weird to others. Don't forget you're an idol trainee. You're even my No. 1 treasure whose debut is practically confirmed. Got it?"
"Ah. Yes."
Only then did Eun Hee-ju become quiet.
What on earth did she want to do?
I really want to open up the head of this 4D, crazy idol just once.
[I'd also like to open that girl's head up and show you, Master.]
Why do you say such brutal things?
Whatever.
Eun Hee-ju is just a pitiful, naive kid who doesn't know anything.
It's not for nothing that I don't just take her.
A little while later, the play began.
The number of audience members filling the seats was roughly one-third.
'Not as many people as I thought.'
Because dramas always show people in theater as poor or on the verge of bankruptcy, many people misunderstand that theater isn't popular.
But Daehak-ro plays were actually quite popular.
In the first place, out of the few places in South Korea where you can watch plays, this was the largest and had the most consistent schedule.
'Really popular plays don't have seats if you don't book them early.'
The moment you watch a play of that caliber, you understand why it's popular.
Conversely, it was the same for unpopular plays.
"We can't give up here."
"Yeah! Dreams come true someday!"
The acting is so damn.......
No, wait.
Still, they're trying hard, so it's not right to curse them.
Let's just see when Lee Da-young comes out.
And I didn't even know if it was worth watching for someone seeing a play for the first time.
"Is it fun?"
"Yes. It's fun."
That was when it happened.
I'm not lying, Lee Da-young, who appeared as an extra for maybe 5 percent of the entire runtime, appeared.
At the same time, Eun Hee-ju said.
"Now it's not fun anymore."
I'm sorry, but rather than answering Hee-ju, I checked Lee Da-young again.
[Lee Da-young, S+]
I definitely didn't see it wrong.
Lee Da-young wasn't quite at the SS-grade level of Eun Hee-ju, but she was a woman with much higher talent than the idol trainees who were already flying high.
But why on earth.
"What is this."
Wearing such a ridiculous wig.
"Dreams don't just come true."
Why is she taking on such a B-grade role and showing B-grade acting?
The acting itself, honestly, isn't super outstanding, but it's passable.
But it shouldn't be just passable.
We came here paying money to buy emotion.
If you're an actor.
Especially in a play that delivers emotions or is performed right in front of the audience, you shouldn't be like that.
It's not like a drama shoot where you can edit things out.
[Jeong Jae-ik, C+]
[Im Byeong-jin, B]
[Lee Da-young, S+]
Is it my misunderstanding that her level looks the same as the other people performing in the play?
"Hee-ju-ya. What do you think of that person over there?"
"You mean that unni in the corner with the slit eyes?"
"Huh?"
That's a bit harsh, isn't it?
"In my opinion, she's not very good. She looks like Jo Yu-na."
"......."
Oh my god.
Saying she looks like Jo Yu-na.
That was the worst description Eun Hee-ju could give.
Does that mean she's that bad?
"If you brought me here to show me something like that, Team Leader Manager-nim, I think I could do better just by watching MeTube alone."
[So she's saying that woman is definitely not the one.]
[It seems like she's saying that woman is absolutely not worth Master taking with him, right?]
"Uh. Hmm."
Is that so?
Did I really see it wrong?
But then again.
[I'm sorry, but there are no lies in the information I show you. If it's displayed with that grade, it means she definitely possesses that much talent.]
Novel was strongly appealing, as if to keep Eun Hee-ju in check.
She was right.
It's not that I'm ignoring Eun Hee-ju's words.
But the voice I should listen to more was Novel's.
"I should meet her when the play ends."
As I muttered that, Eun Hee-ju looked at me blankly and asked.
"Team Leader Manager-nim."
"Yeah?"
"What is Team Leader Manager-nim's goal?"
"For the idol I raised to become the best in the world, and for me to become the world's best team leader...... hmm, maybe a CEO? You're one of them, too."
"Can't it be just one person?"
I looked to the side, wondering what she was talking about.
"Just. I was curious."
"It's not impossible for it to be just one person. If that one person sings really well, acts well, is active in variety shows, and is also incredibly popular. There are definitely people who debuted as soloists and are doing well. Like, if their first-week album sales exceed 2 million copies and their advertising revenue alone reaches 50 billion won a year. But no one has achieved that alone yet."
"I see."
Eun Hee-ju muttered as if she had realized one fact in a meaningful voice.
"So if I achieve that, I can have you all to myself."
"Huh? What?"
I couldn't hear what Eun Hee-ju was saying because the play was noisy.
Ugh, those guys can't act, but they sure are loud.
It's nothing but noise.
"The level of the play is a bit low."
"Maybe it's because there's a woman who looks like Jo Yu-na."
"You, have you ever been bullied by that person named Lee Da-young over there?"
"No."
Eun Hee-ju shook her head.
"It's the opposite. I think I'd be the one bullying her."
"Aha."
Because she looks like Jo Yu-na, she feels like she'd take revenge on that woman too.
Is that the kind of feeling?
What a cute kid.
"Don't worry too much. It's just because you saw her from afar. She doesn't look that much like Jo Yu-na. And how much could you bully her anyway? Hehe."
Even if Eun Hee-ju tried to bully her, all she'd do is stare intently with those innocent eyes.
[Indeed.......]
Clap, clap, clap-.
Oh, man.
The play must have been so boring that it ended after I only exchanged a few words with Hee-ju.
Honestly, Lee Da-young's presence wasn't even visible.
If I hadn't been keeping an eye on her, it would have been hard to even know if she was in this play.
"Hee-ju-ya. Go sit over there and rest for a bit."
"......Yes."
I left Eun Hee-ju in the theater lounge and quickly headed to the performer waiting room.
[No Entry for Unauthorized Personnel]
It was written proudly, but.
I ignored it and walked in confidently.
"Good work, everyone."
"Good work!"
As I entered, several actors were greeting people who looked like their seniors.
Meanwhile, Lee Da-young was in the corner, bluntly cleaning up props without even making eye contact, let alone greeting anyone.
But her expression was amazing.
She looked much more alive and vibrant than when she was acting in the play.
What was even more amazing was.
"Maybe practice more. Or change the lines. Shouldn't you change it a bit more? It looks like a total shit-show right now."
Oh my god.
In an era like this where people are so sensitive that they don't even make lovers, and almost no one gets married, to think there's someone who can throw such a straight jab.
I almost clapped involuntarily.
"......."
The surroundings were so quiet, bordering on cold, that I couldn't even do that.
"Is it Lee Da-young again?"
"Stop it."
"Everyone knows this is the best we can do. How much more do you want us to do? If you don't like it, go leave the troupe and do a one-person show on the street. You can't even do that, so why do you keep grumbling alone here and ruining the atmosphere that was at least decent?"
"We know we're not good either. But this is what we did our best on, so what do you want us to do? Are we an S-grade troupe? Is this an S-grade play? And, do you think your acting is any good?"
An era as sensitive as today meant.
It meant that everyone would easily explode even if someone just poked them with a needle.
It didn't seem like it was the first or second time this had happened.
"Da-young-ah, apologize quickly. You like theater, don't you? Are you going to quit here?"
Wow.
I honestly think that's even crueler.
She's already taken all the abuse she could get.
And one girl, who is embarrassing to even call a friend, is inducing her to apologize.
'She's a fox, a fox.'
That's why, fucking hell, women are all just.......
[Generalization is prohibited.]
Ahem!
But, the big surprise after the big surprise wasn't that.
"You fucking asshole idiots. You have no talent, just masturbating your own egos, and you can't even see your objective skill level, so I can't work with you anymore. Keep jerking off to the idea that you're good while you have no fucking talent, then when you get old, go work in a factory."
No, who put two bottles of cider in the makgeolli?
It's rustic, yet the carbonation is popping.
"Has this bitch really lost her mind, fuck!"
A man who looked hot-tempered seemed to have been stabbed in the chest by the rustic insults, or maybe even had a hole punched through it, because he suddenly exploded and raised his hand.
"Fuck. Hit me then!"
Lee Da-young saw that and actually stuck her face out confidently.
That's also crazy.
Still, for an actor, their face is their most precious asset itself.
I quickly stepped forward and grabbed the man's wrist.
"......?"
"Who is this guy? Don't you know this is no entry for unauthorized personnel?"
I answered.
"I'm with the production."
And while pointing at Lee Da-young, I said.
"The Team Leader who will be her manager."