The Basement Audition
How had he managed to hold it in?
The wound on his shoulder still hadn’t even clotted.
That was when it happened.
Ma Jeok suddenly started shaking all over his shoulders.
W-what,
He rubbed at his eyes. Only then did I realize it—tears were dripping, one by one, onto the floor.
No, why?
He was holding it together just fine, and now he’s crying.
Did I say something wrong?
Kids really are hard to understand.
Then he lunged and wrapped his arms around me. Thanks to that, I stumbled back a few steps.
“Waaaaaah!”
He cried like a dinosaur.
Why, why are you doing this!
I hadn’t even done anything!
While I blinked in flustered confusion, Mr. Deoksu sniffled.
W-wait, what the hell?
Was he crying too?
But things like this never went the way I wanted them to.
“Hic, nghk, hic.”
Tears streamed down Mr. Deoksu’s face as well. I quietly looked up at the ceiling.
The humidity’s unusually high in here today.
Why were there so many people crying around me?
There was one in the Middle East, too.
Was this fate? Well, no—what kind of fate was that supposed to be?
There was nothing for it. I patted Ma Jeok on his uninjured shoulder.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
Ah, damn it.
He’s crying even harder.
I let out a long sigh and asked Mr. Deoksu, “Teacher! Can I get some water?”
“Pft—are you thirsty?”
I shook my head. “Not me. Him. If he keeps this up, he’s gonna dehydrate.”
“Pft. Understood. Though it’d be exhaustion, not dehydration.”
Ah. Wrong word.
Mr. Deoksu got up to fetch some water, and as I kept rubbing Ma Jeok’s shoulder, Mom said, “As expected, Gongza really is an angel.”
Hey, Mom. Why am I suddenly an angel again?
“Aww, my son is so kind. But Jeok, stay and eat dinner.”
He sniffled into my T-shirt. “Mom’ll be mad at me.”
“Your mother told you not to eat until dinner, right? It’s fine. If she says anything, I’ll say I forced you to eat.”
“Okay……”
Wow, so she really made him go hungry too.
But if it’s Lee Yu-kyeong, isn’t that the one who left nasty comments about me online and then got a beating from Mom with a bat?
The second daughter-in-law of this family.
Then this kid is a wreck because his own mother beat him up.
Even so, this was cruel.
And she didn’t even treat his injuries.
Come to think of it, they say a huge percentage of domestic abuse is committed by relatives.
He’s still just a kid. That’s too much.
The boy was still sobbing, and he looked pitiful. I lowered my voice. “If they starve you, come here.”
“Huh, huh?”
“There’s lots of food here.”
Just open the refrigerator and it was packed with bread, fruit, and all kinds of things.
“Pft.”
I sighed and kept soothing him. It took a full ten minutes before Ma Jeok finally stopped crying.
* * *
Ma Jeok finished his meal and went back to the main house. I sat down beside Mom and asked, “Mama. Does Jeok’s mom hate Jeok?”
Humanly speaking, she really shouldn’t be hitting him like that.
Mom slowly shook her head. “No. She probably doesn’t hate him.”
“Then why does she hit him like that?”
“Probably because she’s taking her anger out on him. Things have been rough in that family lately.”
“But that has nothing to do with Jeok.”
Mom gave a bitter smile and stroked my hair. “You’re right.”
I let out a sigh.
In other words, she was beating a kid just because she was angry.
Really, people should live differently.
I thought Jeok was just some spoiled rich kid with no redeeming qualities.
To think he’d been living like that.
So that’s why the Sungjin Group got torn apart later.
I leaned against Mom’s shoulder and sighed.
“I hope Jeok doesn’t get in trouble just for coming here.”
“Right.”
“Will Jeok get hurt again?”
“Who knows? I can’t say. But Gongza, aren’t you upset?”
Hm, was she asking whether I was sad about not being able to film?
“Gongza is fine.”
Honestly, I wasn’t fine at all.
But Mom’s the one who’ll have a harder time than me.
The always-busy Mom had been pacing around the house with nothing to do.
“Really? What should we do? I don’t think I’ll be able to rest anymore.”
I blinked. “Huh? Why?”
“Because someone’s coming today.”
Wow. An adult.
I pinched my cheek. The sharp little sting told me this was real.
“Wh-what project is it?”
Mother, what director is coming?!
“It’s a role I really want Gongza to play. The moment I read the script, I knew it was Gongza’s part.”
Wow.
Is this a dream or am I awake?
Even with the Sungjin Group’s accounting scandal blowing up, someone was still coming to look for me?
If they’re trying to cast me at a time like this, it probably isn’t for investment purposes.
I covered my mouth with both hands and laughed.
This might actually be real.
They wanted the child actor Ma Gongza.
Then, from the end of the hallway, the people I’d been waiting for approached. I got up from the sofa at once.
“Oh, you’re here already. Hello, Director?”
“Goodness. It’s hard just getting in here.”
“We’ve had a bit going on.”
“Ah, so that’s why there are reporters camped outside.”
Mom let out a sigh. “There are?”
“Yes. I’m sure they’ve already snapped pictures of us.”
“Oh dear. There may be some strange rumors later.”
“Ah, that’s why I came in with a V-sign. It’s been my dream to end up in the society pages, and I think I might finally make it.”
Wow.
This person is incredible.
Reporters were camped outside because of the accounting scandal, and he’d still come driving in with his fingers up in a peace sign.
“Oh my, Director. You’re too funny!”
“I’m not joking. I’m a man who only speaks the truth.”
The director looked down at me, then slowly bent his knees.
“Hello there.”
“Hello.”
“Oh, wow.”
The director studied my face from every angle.
“My. Just putting a camera on him would be spectacular.”
“It really would. He’s even prettier than I expected.”
“There’s a reason Inyeon swept through the Hallyu wave. I told you it was because of Gongza’s face.”
“Oh, please. You say that every time.”
“Wow. Ms. Ma Soo-jung.”
“Yes.”
The director took my hand and said, “This must be worrying for you. It can’t be easy, leaving behind a child like this.”
Mom covered her mouth and laughed. “Ahahaha! You noticed.”
“Well, would you be able to sleep if you were worried? Gongza is six, you said? He’s bigger than I expected.”
“Gongza grows like a weed. He looks about eight, doesn’t he?”
“Yes. That’s a relief. He isn’t too small.”
The director shook my hand.
Hm, so this was a handshake.
It was my first time shaking hands with a director.
“Hello. I’m called Rhy-lac.”
Excuse me?
I didn’t mishear that, did I?
Rhy-lac?
You were that person?
When you wandered through the film world, you heard a lot of stories about geniuses.
Wasn’t he the director who burst onto the scene like a comet and went on to release one ten-million-viewer hit after another?
I knew who he was.
The tragic genius, Rhy-lac.
But I had never worked on a project with him.
Director Rhy-lac died young.
I’d heard he passed away from a heart attack on set.
Wait, what’s Rhy-lac filming around this time?
At once, one title flashed through my mind.
The Basement
I blinked. Cold sweat trickled down my back.
It hit ten million admissions, and it even won a bunch of awards at international film festivals.
And it was this work that made the child prodigy Han Su-yoon famous.
Director Rhy-lac let go of my hand and looked at me.
“Those eyelashes are art. If he’s this pretty, maybe we should revise the script a little, hmm?”
“Yes. The later part, where the future parents dislike the child, feels a bit implausible.”
“How could anyone dislike a kid who looks like this?”
I smiled to myself.
So it really is The Basement.
The lead character in that film was named Imirae.
A woman who was kidnapped and ended up giving birth to a child she never wanted.
My heart started pounding. I took a quiet breath.
It was a dark film, but its message was hopeful.
But who was going to play the mother?
Wasn’t it Kim Eun-ju before?
Director Rhy-lac was discussing it with the assistant director.
“At this point, it’s Jung Yu-jin rather than Kim Eun-ju.”
“I think Jung Yu-jin would create much better chemistry.”
I clenched my fists.
Right. I did hear Jung Yu-jin was being considered.
So the rumor that the child role had been set to Han Su-yoon and the lead to Kim Eun-ju had been true, then.
But this time it’s me, so that’s why it becomes Jung Yu-jin.
I’d worked with Jung Yu-jin a few times on set.
She was a polite, approachable actress.
She was also incredibly passionate about acting.
That’s why people said she was ruthless, but there aren’t many in this industry who aren’t.
I drew a deep breath. My heart was still thudding. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it.
Me, joining this masterpiece!
And at a time like this, too.
I’ll bet my life on it.
Just as I clenched my fist again, the director said to me, “Hmm. My blood and the cells inside it say the son role in The Basement belongs to Gongza, but still, Jiseung, we’ll need a test, won’t we?”
“Yes, of course. It’s been promised, but it isn’t the same as the role in Inyeon.”
“Exactly. But Gongza’s still too young to really understand the son role. Hm, I’ll need to explain it well.”
No. I’m on my second life.
I understand exactly what kind of role that is, Director Rhy-lac.
But I couldn’t look like I knew. I blinked with the innocent face of someone who understood nothing.
The director smiled. “Gongza. You know airplane play, right? Want to try jumping off the sofa with your arms out like a plane?”
I tilted my head. “It’ll make the downstairs neighbors mad!”
“Ah, right. There would be some noise between floors.”
“It’s insane. You only know once you’ve suffered through it. It drives people nuts.”
“No wonder people end up killing each other over it. I’m going crazy too when the kid upstairs runs around…… Wait, no, that’s not it. Anyway, Gongza?”
The director adjusted his glasses and slowly explained again.
“The place Gongza is in right now is a perfectly fine place to jump.”
Well, in the movie, it was a basement.
There definitely won’t be anyone coming up from below.
I nodded.
“Okay, Gongza, go ahead. We’ll film you, all right?”
The assistant director raised the camera. I nodded and smiled brightly.
“I’ll try!”
I understood why they wanted this performance.
It’s a pretty important scene.
Mother and son live in a basement. The mother hasn’t seen the sky in seven years, and the son has never seen anything but fluorescent lights.
The only thing connecting them to the world is a single television.
What kind of airplane game would a child like that play?
I climbed onto the sofa, raised both arms, and sprang down.
Thud. The floor shook.
I ran right back again.
“Whoooosh— whoooosh—”
I moved my arms like an airplane and spun around the people.
“I’m going down!”
I hopped back onto the sofa.
“I’m going up!”
My foot sank into the cushion. I didn’t care and bounced higher.
“High!”
For a moment, the director’s pupils trembled.
How is it?
This is the scene you wanted, right?
It’s our living room sofa right now, but just change the background in your head.
It’s a boy jumping on a basement sofa, shouting that he’s high up.
There’s even a touch of irony to it. Pretty good, right?
He’s still underground, no matter how much he jumps.
I kept bouncing on the sofa. Even when my ankles sank into the cushions, I kept springing back up.
“Kyahahahahaha!”
I flailed my arms and legs and kept on jumping.
“Cut! Gongza, you can stop now.”
I stopped jumping and turned around. The director’s face was as red as if he’d been drinking.
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