The Curtain Rises
The day had finally come.
At Yongsan’s Theater A, where the VIP screening of Black Bride was being held, I looked over the reporters already filling the event theater and called Jeon Hyeong-u, the road manager.
"Hyeong-u, is Lee Ha-eun’s makeup done yet?"
"Ah, it’s almost finished, Team Leader!"
"Text me once she’s on the way."
"Yes, understood!"
After ending the call, I immediately turned back.
Passing the red carpet prepared for today’s VIP screening, I entered the guest waiting room and spotted Seo Tae-jun talking with a cluster of celebrities recognizable at a glance.
"Seo Tae-jun."
"Oh, Team Leader. When did you get here?"
Seo Tae-jun grinned when he noticed me.
The celebrities who seemed to be his acquaintances naturally turned their eyes my way, too.
"Is that his manager?"
"Wait, didn’t you say something about him before?"
"Oh, then this is the Kwon Sil-jjang-nim you were talking about?"
Was his name Nam Chang-seok?
He wasn’t a leading man, but he was a skilled actor known for his flavorful performances, the kind that kept him busy in supporting roles across films and dramas. He recognized me and spoke first.
I smiled faintly and dipped my head in greeting.
"I’m Kwon, Team Leader of Team 6 at Baekhak."
"Oh, you’re a Team Leader? I heard you were a chief manager."
Seo Tae-jun snorted with a laugh.
"Still a chief manager. Not a real Team Leader. He’s only acting as temporary Team Leader."
What was he doing, saying useless things?
I narrowed my eyes and glared at him, and Seo Tae-jun burst out laughing, waving his hand.
"Well, of course, he’s the one who’s going to be Team Leader soon."
"It’s already too late. We’ll see about that later."
While I was trading barbs with Seo Tae-jun, his acquaintance looked between us with an amused expression.
"This is the first time I’ve seen Tae-jun this close to his manager."
"Wait, Tae-jun, do you normally not get along with managers?"
Oh Chan-woo, the actor who was a fixed cast member on SBN’s hugely popular variety show Fighting Man and a massive hit throughout Southeast Asia, shrugged his shoulders.
"It’s not that he doesn’t get along with them. This guy’s just ridiculous, personality-wise."
"Oh, fair enough. Tae-jun’s personality isn’t exactly nice."
At my answer, Seo Tae-jun’s acquaintances burst out laughing. This time, Seo Tae-jun complained.
"Hey, who’d think I bully managers if they heard you talk?"
"Well, he doesn’t mistreat managers. He’s just annoyingly picky. Right, Team Leader Kwon?"
"That’s right. This guy’s incredibly picky."
Seo Tae-jun looked back and forth between me and Oh Chan-woo with a face full of disbelief.
I ignored it and spent a little time making small talk with Seo Tae-jun’s guests.
I wasn’t the type to make a scene around people I’d never met, but these were guests Seo Tae-jun had specially invited for today’s VIP screening.
A little public courtesy was only right on my end.
Fortunately, his guests didn’t react badly at all.
"Wow... Is this what sales work is like? Manager-nim, your conversation game is no joke."
"But is it really true Tae-jun shaved his head just to take the role in Black Bride?"
"Hey, hey! That story needs a drink first!"
I shrugged and replied, "Invite me to a drinking party sometime. I’ll show up with a Baekhak corporate card."
As I said that, I stole a glance at Seo Tae-jun.
He was trying to keep his expression under control, but the corners of his mouth had already lifted in satisfaction.
That felt like enough to save his dignity, so I gave him a slight nod.
"Then enjoy yourselves, and make sure you call me the next time you get together."
As I turned away, Seo Tae-jun looked like he was about to follow.
I waved him back. "Go entertain your guests."
"What do you mean, entertain them?"
"They came here because of you. It wouldn’t do for you to leave them hanging."
Seo Tae-jun looked at me with a fresh kind of surprise.
"Team Leader."
"Yes?"
"Do you know you have this strange way of stealing people’s hearts?"
I laughed under my breath.
"Quit saying weird things and tell me you got the cue sheet for the stage greeting."
"I’ve already memorized it."
"Good. See you at the stage greeting, then."
Leaving Seo Tae-jun behind, I went looking for Director Park.
He was greeting the guests who had found the VIP theater with a dazed expression, as though he still couldn’t quite settle himself.
I picked my moment and called out to him.
"Director Park."
"Ah, Team Leader Kwon!"
"You’re dressed up nicely today."
At my words, Director Park looked a little embarrassed.
"Ugh... Do the dark circles show? I barely slept at all last night."
As he said that, Director Park’s eyes darted around. Seeing that, I could tell he really hadn’t slept a wink.
Maybe that was why.
The nearby staff around him also looked a little tense.
I clicked my tongue to myself.
So even a director with ten years on the road gets nervous on a day like this.
Still, this was the moment when a film he’d spent a year polishing was finally being shown to the public for the first time.
Given how much early word-of-mouth could hinge on this VIP screening, there was no way Director Park wouldn’t be on edge.
And just as that tension seemed to have gone a little too far, I was wondering how to ease his rigid mood when my smartphone buzzed in my pocket.
On reflex, I took it out and checked the text message that had just arrived.
Slowly, my mouth curved upward.
"Director Park."
"Yes?"
"Look over there."
At my words, Director Park tilted his head, then obediently turned in the direction I pointed.
The guest waiting room entrance.
The guests who had crowded in today, along with the bustling staff, were parting like the sea itself had opened a path.
Watching that sight, I murmured with a lazy smile, "Let’s trust her."
And through the cleared aisle in the crowd, this film’s leading star made her entrance.
Top actress Lee Ha-eun.
With her trademark confident expression, she cut through the waiting room crowd and appeared before us.
I glanced sideways and saw that Director Park’s face, which had been trembling with anxiety, was rapidly settling down.
I added, "Don’t trust the movie. Trust our lead actress for once. It’s Lee Ha-eun, after all."
***
Before the VIP screening began, I approached the actress waiting behind the stage.
"Lee Ha-eun."
The top actress slowly turned her head.
My eyes drifted upward to the top of her head.
A cute ribbon pin was showing off on her hair like it owned the place.
Was that why?
She didn’t look like the Lee Ha-eun I knew today.
The sky-blue knit sweater and pastel pink pleated skirt matched the pin and added to the effect.
As I watched her with renewed surprise, one thought flashed through my head.
This woman...
She’s kind of... cute today?
Damn it!
What the hell.
Kwon Chan, you’ve really lost it.
No matter how I looked at it, Lee Ha-eun was cute?
And yet my already ruined heart kept pounding in my chest anyway.
God, seriously.
This can’t be happening. Please stop!
Fortunately, Lee Ha-eun’s razor-sharp tone dragged my mind back from the brink of nonsense.
"Look who it is. Drunkard man?"
I jumped and asked urgently, "Did I really screw up that day?"
"Not telling you."
"...If you’re not telling me, why bring it up?"
Lee Ha-eun let out a string of muffled laughs.
"I just wanted to make you suffer a little."
My eyes narrowed.
So something had happened while I’d been too drunk to keep my head straight that day?
In the middle of my confusion, Lee Ha-eun muttered with laughter in her voice, "Quit drinking, Kwon Chan."
I let out a long sigh and said, "How is someone in sales supposed to quit drinking?"
"Fair enough. Then from now on, don’t drink when you’re at a place with women."
"...What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Because when you drink, you get way too cute."
"?"
"So don’t drink at drinking parties where there are women from now on. You get what I’m saying?"
My mouth fell open like an idiot.
"Lee Ha-eun, did you drink at lunch?"
"Why."
"No, it’s just that saying I’m cute doesn’t even make any sense..."
I couldn’t finish the sentence and shut my mouth.
...Damn it.
Who was I to say something like that?
Me, who just moments ago had been thinking Lee Ha-eun looked cute today?
My expression had become too complicated to describe in words.
But this woman, apparently pleased by something in it, let out another quiet burst of laughter as she looked at me.
Her outfit was already bright and refreshing today, and now her laugh was so clear and lively it sounded almost like a skylark. Without meaning to, I laughed along with her.
By the time the people around us had started looking at the two of us strangely, I finally gathered myself and asked, "Lee Ha-eun."
"Yeah?"
"Aren’t you nervous? The VIP screening’s about to start."
At my question, Lee Ha-eun snorted.
"Why would I be? It’s going to do well anyway."
My eyes widened at her answer.
"Aren’t you being a little too confident?"
"Sorry, Kwon Chan. I’m Lee Ha-eun."
Lee Ha-eun looked at me and lifted her chin with pride.
"Can you even picture a film I’m leading flopping?"
At her question, I fell silent.
Ah... I hated this.
I hated that I couldn’t argue with a line that was so overflowing with confidence it had spilled straight into self-worth.
But... yeah. I have to admit what’s true.
Lee Ha-eun was right.
I couldn’t picture a movie she was leading flopping.
That was the Lee Ha-eun I knew, and that was also the position she occupied now as an actress.
I looked at the actress standing in front of me with fresh eyes.
She really is something else, isn’t she?
Then Lee Ha-eun muttered sharply, "And it’s the movie you picked, too."
"Huh?"
"It’s the film I’m starring in, the one you chose."
Lee Ha-eun gave me a sly, almost irritating smile.
"Wouldn’t it be weirder if a film like that flopped?"
Her words left my expression blank.
Lee Ha-eun seemed to like that look on my face, because the corners of her mouth lifted.
"Actors, please make your way to the stage!"
At the staff member’s call, Lee Ha-eun stepped toward me.
Yanked out of my thoughts by the sudden closeness, I looked at her with a complicated expression I couldn’t have described if I tried.
At that look, Lee Ha-eun lightly tapped my chest and said, "I’m going, Manager."
It was a trivial, casual line.
And yet my chest swelled with excitement.
She was a woman who always made my heart race.
And at the same time, she was the best actress I knew.
I didn’t bother hiding my surge of anticipation as I answered, "Have a good one, Lee Ha-eun."
The VIP screening of Black Bride was about to begin.
***
The VIP red carpet procession began.
The audience who had come to see Black Bride today widened their eyes in shock.
"Whoa, isn’t that actor Nam Chang-seok?"
"That actor’s the one rumored to be Tae-jun’s close friend, right?"
"Hey, look, there’s actor Oh Chan-woo too!"
"Wow... Isn’t that actor Kim Chan-woo?"
"Ahhh, Suzy unni! I’m such a huge fan!"
For something called a VIP red carpet for a screening, the lineup was anything but ordinary.
From actors currently at the peak of popularity to veteran performers who ruled the film industry, the appearance of such heavyweights drew awe from the fans on site, a roster that outclassed most film festivals.
And among them, Nam Chang-seok and Oh Chan-woo, both known to be close friends of Seo Tae-jun, lit up the atmosphere with generous fan service.
The reporters watching all this clicked their tongues in amazement.
"Wow, this feels like a festival before the movie even starts."
"If the movie’s good in this atmosphere, we’ll have plenty to write about today."
"Hey, it’s a film with Lee Ha-eun in it. Why are you worried about having enough to write?"
One reporter lifted the corner of his mouth and said, "Right now Lee Ha-eun is number one in social media retweets. If you just slap her name into the headline and start from there, the clicks will roll in on their own. What are you worried about story material for?"
He was right.
Real-time Trends
#LeeHaEun #BlackBride #VIPScreening #SeoTaeJoon, Lee Ha-eun-starring film...
Centered on Instagram and Twitter, the VIP screening of Black Bride was dominating the trending searches.
Amid that enormous attention, fans who had won tickets for the screening were posting live photos from the venue and spreading the atmosphere in real time.
-Ugh, for real T_T
-Why am I so cursed when it comes to ticketing, seriously...
-I even took the day off for this ticketing, this is messed up...
-So jealous of the people who got tickets...
-Please post a few more photos of Seo Tae-jun!!
The reporters were never going to miss that attention or those eyes.
They poured gasoline on the buzz already swelling around Black Bride.
-[Exclusive] At the VIP screening for Black Bride! (Photo attached)
-[Photo Zone] The VIP screening for Black Bride feels like a film festival...!
-[Live Shot!] A feast of stars! The Black Bride VIP screening heats up before it even begins!
One issue creating another, attention calling down even more attention.
And in the middle of it all, the theater entrance finally began.
"It’s supposed to be an occult film. What kind of vibe is it going to have?"
"Ugh, I can’t watch ghost stuff... I just hope it isn’t too scary."
"Come on, if it’s Lee Ha-eun, even if she’s in ghost makeup, she’ll still be pretty. Just look at her face."
"Hey! The actors are coming in!"
The audience’s eyes turned toward the platform.
Starting with Director Park Jun-seo, the actors from Black Bride began appearing one by one.
As the supporting cast came out, and then Seo Tae-jun, one of the leads, stepped forward, a small wave of admiration rose from the seats.
But that little burst of excitement vanished the moment the next actor appeared.
"It’s Lee Ha-eun!"
With a shout from someone in the audience, the top actress climbed up onto the platform.
Soft brown hair pinned with a small ribbon.
A pale pink tint to match.
Was this a spring-themed outfit and makeup look?
It felt different from the usual Lee Ha-eun.
But the unusual makeup and styling suited her so well that the audience found themselves staring with their mouths open.
So the phrase “the celebrity among celebrities” was real after all.
The star of stars.
That was the description that always followed Lee Ha-eun’s name.
The audience could feel for themselves that the nickname wasn’t exaggerated at all.
Then Director Park Jun-seo took the microphone.
"I’m Park Jun-seo, the director of Black Bride."
The audience came to their senses and applauded him.
After waiting for the applause to die down, Director Park continued.
"Thank you for taking time out of your precious weekend to come see our film. Before the movie starts, let me briefly explain what kind of film Black Bride is..."
A grin appeared at the corner of Director Park’s mouth.
"It’s a terrifyingly fun movie."
At his line, the audience thought to themselves: terrifyingly fun. What on earth was that supposed to mean?
"Since it’s an occult film, some of you may feel chills from the actors’ performances, and some may get goosebumps from the film’s twists. But there’s one thing everyone will have in common..."
Director Park stated it flatly.
"The film itself is thrillingly fun. I can say that with confidence, staking my 15 years as a director on it."
With that, Director Park and the actors took a step back.
"Then we’ll see you again after the film ends."
The lights went out, and the blackout curtains settled down.
The audience’s eyes shifted from the stage to the screen.
"Please enjoy the show."
Black Bride, the most anticipated release of the first quarter.
After a long year of waiting, Black Bride was finally opening.
***
As soon as the film began, a chill from the air conditioner drifted through the theater.
It was still late April, but the summer heat had already arrived, forcing the AC to run.
Some of the audience members rubbed their arms without realizing it.
One minute into the film.
What had appeared on screen so far was a cemetery drenched in a grim, ominous atmosphere.
Maybe that was the nature of an occult thriller.
Or maybe it was the eerie directing that sent a chill down the back of the neck.
The audience stared at the screen, their hearts tightening before they even noticed it.
Then the rustle of footsteps through grass filled the theater.
At the same time, the frozen image moved, quickly revealing someone.
One audience member murmured in a low voice, "It’s Lee Ha-eun."
Black nun’s habit, hair tied in a ponytail.
The Lee Ha-eun on screen, utterly unlike the fresh styling and outfit she had worn today, was moving quickly through the frame.
["Hah... hah... hah!"]
Lee Ha-eun ran.
No, she was fleeing.
The roughness in her breathing as she played Seo Rin-bi tightened the audience’s focus even further.
Why was she running?
It was an occult film, so had a ghost or evil spirit appeared?
No idea.
Without dialogue or narration, it was impossible to tell what was happening.
But one thing was clear.
Lee Ha-eun’s twisted expression, the fear in her eyes, the ragged breathing.
All of it, without a single line of dialogue, made it obvious that this was a desperate situation.
Just as the audience couldn’t tear their eyes from the screen, Seo Rin-bi tripped over a pile of stones.
Rolling across the ground, she ended up smeared all over with sticky mud.
As a few fans clapped their hands over their mouths in shock, an unfamiliar red insect crawling up between the gravestones filled the screen with vivid, grotesque detail.
-Gulp.
In the silence that had fallen over the theater, the sound of someone swallowing dryly rang out with sharp clarity.
In the meantime, Seo Rin-bi, barely forcing herself upright, touched her twisted ankle and muttered, ["In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit..."]
Shuddering.
Her lips trembled violently, drained to a bluish white.
["In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit..."]
["In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit..."]
["In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy..."]
Her prayer broke off.
At the same time, a sudden silence came down.
With the audience’s eyes widening, Seo Rin-bi slowly raised her head.
["..."]
Gang Ji-hu.
The excommunicated priest played by Seo Tae-jun stood there holding a blood-stained sickle.
As Seo Rin-bi watched him, she let out a scream.
["Aaaah!"]
At that raw shriek, the audience flinched, and in the next instant, the sickle in Gang Ji-hu’s hand moved.
-Slice.
Seo Rin-bi’s head came off.
Thump. Thump.
The face that rolled across the floor met the audience’s eyes.
As the shocked viewers sat there with their mouths open at that brutal opening, the title appeared.
["Black Bride"]
Five minutes into the film.
The protagonist had been decapitated and killed.
***