Career Path (6)
Two days after Seo Eunwoo’s entrance exam had ended, Song Hayul sat alone in the chairman’s office, recalling the events of that day.
Unlike with the other examinees, Song Hayul had deliberately asked no questions whatsoever during Seo Eunwoo’s interview.
In truth, she had felt no need to at all.
An interview, after all, was a process in which the interviewer—already possessing the qualifications—stood above the applicant.
So wasn’t interviewing someone far superior to herself fundamentally wrong somehow?
Still, given their respective positions, Song Hayul had decided to watch his interview as intently as possible.
The Writer 927 she faced up close was utterly ordinary.
His demeanor during the interview was thoroughly ordinary, and his answers to questions were those of any ordinary student one might find anywhere.
Yes. Had she gone into that interview knowing nothing, she surely would not have been particularly impressed.
But having realized his true identity before the interview, everything about the student named Seo Eunwoo appeared in a new light.
His ordinariness was likely a kind of safety mechanism to conceal his identity. And so, to Song Hayul’s eyes, that very ordinariness began to feel increasingly terrifying.
……It was as if he were subtly declaring that, if he so wished, he could deceive the entire world itself.
He was good enough to be an actor rather than a writer, that one.
For that reason, she was sincerely grateful to that shameless human being, Yoo Yeonjung.
She had nearly been completely fooled by Writer 927’s performance herself.
Ah, and there was one more person to whom she owed thanks.
That was Teacher Lee Sangho.
In truth, his sudden outburst had been something of an unexpected situation.
He wasn’t normally that foolish a teacher, but it seemed he had gotten a bit excited because his favorite work, Fly High, had come up.
“Tsk. In any case, he dug his own grave.”
Song Hayul clicked her tongue.
Honestly, watching the situation unfold, she had felt a little anxious.
If she had continued to just stand by, the image of Hanbit Arts High in Seo Eunwoo’s mind would probably have kept deteriorating.
At that moment, Song Hayul had weighed in her heart whether to admit Writer 927 or fire Teacher Lee Sangho.
Well… even if it weren’t Song Hayul, anyone would choose the former if put on the scales.
A teacher of Lee Sangho’s caliber could be found easily anywhere. But a student of Seo Eunwoo’s caliber was highly unlikely to be found again this century.
Still, thanks to Teacher Lee Sangho’s impulsive actions, she seemed to have earned a certain amount of goodwill from him.
When she had immediately kicked Teacher Lee Sangho out of the interview room, his expression had been quite satisfied.
“But Teacher Han Donghun’s side was a bit unexpected….”
Song Hayul recalled Han Donghun, who had strongly insisted on Seo Eunwoo’s admission to her, and fell into some contemplation.
Did he act ordinarily in everyday life but take things seriously when it came to works…….
The more she dug, the more questions seemed to pile up.
Moreover, his final words still remained in her memory.
Song Hayul had asked.
How did Writer 927 himself think of Writer 927.
The reason she asked was pure curiosity.
The geniuses Song Hayul had met so far largely fell into two categories.
Geniuses who knew they were great, and geniuses who did not know they were great.
Both were geniuses all the same, but there was a big difference in their endings.
Usually, in the case of the latter, the ending was positive in the vast majority of cases. Because they always realized their own humility and shortcomings and kept striving to improve.
But conversely, in the case of the former, the ending was mostly negative.
First of all, they basically didn’t put in much effort. Why? Because they already knew they were far superior to others.
And arrogance and laziness toward oneself inevitably invited great disaster.
That was why Song Hayul was so curious about which category the genius before her eyes belonged to.
Everyone in the world was holding up Writer 927 as a genius, so there was no way he himself was unaware of that fact.
So then, how did Writer 927 himself think about that fact?
At Song Hayul’s question, Seo Eunwoo had stopped.
And after pondering for a moment, he approached her and answered in a small whisper.
Someone who was born into the right era, perhaps……
“A lucky person.”
Song Hayul recited his final answer as is and let out a snicker.
If someone who didn’t know his identity had heard that answer, they might have taken it as a light criticism from a student who disliked Writer 927.
However, knowing that he was saying it about himself, Song Hayul heard it with a completely different meaning.
Why had he deliberately added the words “born into the right era” before “a lucky person”?
If one thought about it a little, the answer came quickly.
Probably that every movie or drama of this era fell far short of his standards.
And in another sense, it also meant that if the movies or dramas of this era had been several levels higher, his own works would have been utterly ordinary pieces that never would have become popular at all.
In the end, because it wasn’t that kind of world, his works could succeed, and he defined himself as a lucky person.
Wasn’t it truly contradictory?
While looking down on the movies and dramas of this world as much as he could, at the same time he firmly believed without a doubt.
That in a place where the level of movies or dramas was higher, he would absolutely not survive as a writer…….
That was why Song Hayul had called Seo Eunwoo an arrogant yet humble genius.
“Interesting… interesting.”
And so Song Hayul developed tremendous interest in the appearance of a genius of a new type.
In a way, an alien genius who could be included in both of the two types mentioned earlier, or not included in either.
She was far too curious about what kind of ending such a genius would meet.
“……Next year’s first-years will become legends in many senses.”
From Song Hayul’s perspective, of course Seo Eunwoo’s exploits were what she looked forward to most, but she was also looking forward to the exploits of the other new students as well.
In particular, that ‘idol’ who had come to take the practical exam for the Practical Dance Department today kept remaining in her memory. She was the most impressive student after Writer 927.
Well… a student who knew how to shine that much on her own was hard to come by. So she must be active in the hottest idol group these days.
Bzzzzz—
At that moment.
Song Hayul’s phone, which had been lying on the desk, began to vibrate.
The moment she checked the phone screen, her expression automatically twisted into a frown.
“……Tsk.”
This woman again.
Even so, Song Hayul was thinking quite positively of the call from Yoo Yeonjung this time.
She could take the chance to express her sincere thanks for telling her about Seo Eunwoo’s identity, after all.
“Oh my, Hayul! Was the interview with Writer 927 fun?”
The lively voice came over the receiver once more. This time as well, it seemed like a forced tone just like last time.
“Thanks to you, I was able to realize Seo Eunwoo student’s true worth. I express my gratitude.”
“Aigoo, what thanks between us. Anyway, that means he passed, right?”
“Yes. More than that, what is it. You’re not the type to call over something like this.”
“Hmm, too sharp, no fun~”
Yoo Yeonjung’s characteristic sly voice came through. At that, Song Hayul made an annoyed expression.
“Just, a certain student applied to this Hanbit Arts High second recruitment.”
“The student you said before that I would like a lot?”
“Bingo~ She applied to the Entertainment Department.”
“Hmm, I clearly heard back then that it wasn’t confirmed yet.”
“The talk ended well somehow. She’ll probably pass for sure, so if she passes, keep that fact secret until the entrance ceremony if possible. Ah, anyway, do your best next year.”
……Suddenly do my best?
Click—
She tried to ask what that meant, but Yoo Yeonjung hung up right then.
Song Hayul let out a sigh as if used to it.
Anyway, if the great Yoo Yeonjung was speaking to that extent, then just like with Writer 927, it was clearly no ordinary person.
Just in case, should I take a look at the list of students who applied to the Entertainment Department this time…….
“C-Chairman! It’s a big problem!”
While Song Hayul was thinking that, a man suddenly burst into the chairman’s office in a hurry.
He was clearly the head of the administration office at Hanbit Arts High, Teacher Song Taesik.
“Teacher Song Taesik. Don’t tell me you barged into the chairman’s office without even knocking once?”
“I-I’m sorry! But I have urgent news to tell you, so I had no choice…….”
“Hah… Let’s hear just how great this news is.”
Song Taesik, in an awkward posture, explained the reason he had urgently visited the chairman’s office.
……It was because of a certain female student who had applied to the Entertainment Department this time.
And the moment Song Hayul heard that female student’s name, her eyes suddenly widened, and for some reason she laughed heartily.
“Hahaha! So the student that woman Yoo Yeonjung mentioned was ‘her’……. Really, lately she’s only been doing things that please me.”
After that news was delivered to Song Hayul, time passed quickly, and before long the date of the practical exams for the second-recruitment students of the Entertainment Department arrived.
The practical exam for the Entertainment Department consisted of free acting within two minutes and a three-minute interview conducted simultaneously.
Creeeak—
And a certain female student opened the door and slowly entered the room to take the Entertainment Department’s practical exam.
Click- click-
The sound of the female student’s footsteps echoed quietly through the room.
With every step she took, the teachers conducting the interview kept staring blankly at her. As if they were automatically enchanted by her beauty…….
When they came to their senses, the female student was already standing before them.
Song Hayul, seated in the center of the teachers, looked at the female student standing in front of her and formed a faint smile.
……According to Seo Eunwoo’s thoughts, she had clearly been scheduled to enter Yeonggwang High School: Seol Soyoung.
“Welcome. Soyoung student.”
“I look forward to working with you.”
For some reason, she was standing proudly at the practical exam site of Hanbit Arts High’s Entertainment Department.