Troubles
One by one, the tangled threads began to unwind.
Black Bride, which had finally found its footing, and Seo Tae-jun.
To.Any, which had already caught the current, kept running without pause.
Because of that, my own life was picking up speed too.
If I let my attention slip for even a moment, I couldn’t have said where I was.
But not every knot had come undone.
This Sunday.
I had a dinner appointment with top-tier actress Lee Ha-eun.
There was no way a woman I’d slept with would just stop at dinner.
Whatever happened, something would happen.
I couldn’t predict what that would be, but...
one thing seemed certain.
The relationship between Lee Ha-eun and me was going to change over that meal.
"I just don't know whether that change will be for better or worse."
That worried me, but I wasn’t exactly afraid.
Things were very different from back when I’d been clinging to Lee Ha-eun.
Still...
I couldn’t hide the strange anticipation of eating with the woman I’d spent the night with.
Burning Friday.
I came into work in top condition for the first time in a while and headed into the meeting room.
After taking my seat, I opened the file Seok-du hyung had handed me on Choi Go-eun.
I folded my arms and muttered, "At least Choi Go-eun’s mine now, just like planned."
The results of the meeting a few days ago had come through.
The entertainers torn out of the blown-up Team 1 had been redistributed to the various departments.
And I, as planned, had managed to secure Choi Go-eun, the child actress who would go on to win the Rookie of the Year award at the Busan International Film Festival.
The problem was...
"Tch... no matter how I look at it, she’s too ordinary."
The child actress Choi Go-eun, whom I had given up a good prospect to obtain, felt far less striking than I’d expected.
Visuals, filmography. On paper, Choi Go-eun is too plain.
Without meaning to, I tilted my head.
"How did a girl like this win Rookie of the Year at the Busan International Film Festival?"
Was her acting really that good?
But to be honest...
child actors had no real depth.
They’re all about the same.
To put it bluntly, how well could kids even act?
Acting was like wine, and the longer it matured, the deeper its flavor became.
The performances of child actors, who hadn’t yet accumulated enough experience, couldn’t be exceptional.
I scratched my head and muttered, "I guess I should lower my expectations."
Maybe the information Future Text Messages had given me was so overwhelming that my expectations for Choi Go-eun had become too high without my noticing.
If I stop expecting so much, maybe I’ll see other good points.
With that thought, I waited for Choi Go-eun in a relaxed mood.
A moment later, I heard a knock.
"... I was told to come, so can I go in?"
Uncrossing my arms, I said, "Yes. Come in."
The door opened, and Choi Go-eun appeared.
At that moment, my eyes jolted.
... What, this is Choi Go-eun?
Her hair was a mess.
The T-shirt she was wearing was so worn out it practically sagged off her body.
She was only eighteen, but her skin was a wreck and heavy dark circles shadowed the area under her eyes.
If it hadn’t been for the chubby baby fat I’d seen in her profile photo...
I never would have guessed this was Choi Go-eun.
In the meantime, Choi Go-eun greeted me in a sullen voice.
"Hello."
Belatedly, I fixed my expression and answered, "Yes. Nice to meet you, Choi Go-eun."
I held out my hand to offer a handshake.
Choi Go-eun looked at my hand for a moment before answering, "You called me, so I came. Why did you call me?"
I naturally drew my hand back and replied, "I’ve been put in charge of you, so I figured I should at least see your face."
Choi Go-eun let out a small scoff.
"My manager changed? I didn’t even know."
That laugh was close to ridicule.
"But what’s going to change just because my manager changed? You were going to neglect me anyway, weren’t you?"
I lifted the corners of my mouth.
Oh?
She’s got some bite, doesn’t she?
My expectations for Choi Go-eun came back to life in a different sense.
"I neglected you until now, so I figured I’d start taking care of you at least from here on out."
"That’s an absurd thing to say, from my point of view."
"Is it? Then do you want to leave?"
"!"
"I called you because I wanted to get along with you, not because I wanted to fight."
Choi Go-eun’s eyes narrowed to slits.
She looked like a hurt kitten bristling up and showing its claws.
But I had no intention of going easy on her just because she was a kitten.
"If you don't want to talk to me, open the door and leave. I’m not going to stop you."
Strictly speaking, whether Choi Go-eun existed or not made little difference to me.
At that attitude of mine, her lips twitched and she lowered her eyes.
Watching her in silence, I tossed her the secret snack I’d been hiding.
"Choi Go-eun, I know your situation."
"!"
"You signed your contract a year ago, but all you’ve been given are bit parts in web dramas. I heard your previous manager neglected you so badly you couldn’t even go to auditions properly."
Choi Go-eun jerked her head up.
"Yeah. That’s right. My previous manager probably doesn’t even know I exist."
"It wasn’t my fault, but I’ll apologize in his place."
"..."
"But if you keep snapping at me, I can’t help you. And I’ve got no reason to help you while putting up with that."
Choi Go-eun’s eyes wavered.
The snack I’d thrown her must have been good.
"So you decide. Do you want to talk with me, or are you going to open the door and leave?"
Having said my piece, I folded my arms again and waited.
A moment later, Choi Go-eun spoke.
"... Can I really act?"
"Of course."
"... If I get neglected again, I think I’ll seriously lose it."
"I’m not going to do that. Don’t worry."
At that, some of her guard came down.
"Sorry. For snapping."
I couldn’t help but laugh softly.
She’s got an attitude, but...
looking at her like this, she was still just a kid.
Well, at eighteen, she really was a student.
I leaned forward.
"I’m going to ask you a few things. That okay?"
"Yes."
"What kind of acting are you confident in?"
"I’m not really sure."
"Don’t get snippy."
"... I do practice different things by myself, but I don’t know because there’s nobody to watch me."
I stroked my chin.
So her acting experience is thin too.
Tsk.
Her personality and the way she talked were definitely a bit unusual, but...
if that was the case, wasn’t everything else going to be pretty disappointing?
Feeling my expectations for Choi Go-eun cool again, I leafed through the script I’d brought with me.
Coincidence or fate, it was the script for Black Bride.
I handed it to Choi Go-eun and said, "Want to do a light reading? It’s not an audition or anything, so don’t get nervous."
Taking the script, Choi Go-eun asked, " ... I just read the first page?"
"Is the character name Seorinbi?"
"Yes. It says Seorinbi."
I nodded.
"Right. Read Seorinbi’s lines. Put some feeling into it."
Choi Go-eun lowered her head and stared at the script as if trying to bore through it.
How much time passed like that?
Choi Go-eun’s low voice rang through the meeting room.
"I was born with a rotten temper."
My gaze was pulled straight to Choi Go-eun.
***
The reading ended.
Suddenly parched, I grabbed the cold water beside me and gulped it down.
Even so, the dry ache in my throat wouldn’t go away.
Forcing my roughened breathing back into order, I muttered, What the hell is she?
I got chills.
From seeing Choi Go-eun act as Seorinbi.
Why is she this good?
No...
Was this even the level where I should say she was good?
It felt as if Seorinbi had possessed Choi Go-eun.
I’d seen all kinds of acting styles while working in this business, but this was the first time I’d seen method acting like this.
Of course, it isn’t perfect.
Her projection, the details in her facial expressions, even the way she handled her gaze were awkward in an amateur way.
And yet...
the immersive pull of her performance and the aura around it covered every one of those flaws.
In that instant, I knew for certain.
This is her.
The rising star who would win the Rookie of the Year award at the Busan International Film Festival.
The acting genius standing right in front of me was the real thing.
At that moment, my disappointment in Choi Go-eun began to change into anticipation.
"... Choi Go-eun."
"Yes."
"Did you teach yourself acting?"
Choi Go-eun nodded.
"Yes. I taught myself."
I let out a disbelieving laugh.
This performance from a moment ago had been self-taught?
I couldn’t believe it, but it looked true.
If she’d been neglected all this time, she probably never had the chance to practice with a proper acting coach.
Is she really a genius?
Feeling chills wash over me again, I asked, "You’re incredibly good. Do you... feel that way yourself?"
At my question, Choi Go-eun twisted the frizzy mess of her hair as she thought it over.
How much time passed?
The corner of Choi Go-eun’s mouth crooked.
"I don’t know. I don’t think I’m good. But..."
As her words trailed off, I could see a faint glimmer of madness in her eyes.
"I’ve never watched another actor and felt amazed or surprised."
"Why not?"
"Because they were boring."
"!"
"How should I put it... it felt like they were pretending to act for real? Not like a person acting as another person, but more like watching a puppet show."
Choi Go-eun’s lips curved into a small, crescent smile.
"Still, well. I like Actress Lee Ha-eun’s acting. It feels alive. Lee Ha-eun’s acting does."
A smile strangely familiar.
A shiver ran from my toes upward.
... She’s similar.
That excessive confidence.
Her somewhat loose, off-kilter personality.
The insane method acting.
Choi Go-eun was... startlingly similar to Lee Ha-eun in her younger days!
At that moment, I remembered a Future Text Message I had all but forgotten.
The actress who would take home Best Actress from the Hollywood Academy ten years later.
If that absurd thing were to become reality, I had assumed the woman standing on top of that award would be Lee Ha-eun.
Because Lee Ha-eun is Korea’s greatest actress.
But that thought changed now.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
Another rival had appeared.
A young star who felt like a glimpse of Lee Ha-eun in her child-acting days.
A child actress named Choi Go-eun.
***
A new hole opened up in the puzzle, which had been left with only one piece missing.
A new hole named Choi Go-eun.
And yet it was a pleasant hole.
What should I do with this?
My mouth went dry and dopamine surged through me.
After a moment of thought, I decided to focus on Choi Go-eun first.
"Choi Go-eun."
"Yes."
"From now on, I’m going to be taking care of you, so can you follow what I say?"
Choi Go-eun looked at me silently.
"What happens if I don’t?"
"Then I’ll neglect you."
"... I’ll listen properly."
At that obedient answer, I moved on to the next step.
"These are coupons for skin cleaning and a hair salon, sponsored by Baekhak."
Choi Go-eun tilted her head.
"Why are you giving me this?"
"Because of course I should. You’re supposed to become an actress, and you look like a wreck."
"!"
"It’s a one-month coupon, so make sure you take care of yourself. You understand what I mean, right?"
Choi Go-eun blinked in surprise, then slowly nodded.
"... Yes."
"Good. We’re done for today. See you next time."
Choi Go-eun got to her feet, checking my expression as she did.
"Goodbye."
She hurried out of the meeting room.
Watching her retreating back, I let out a belated sigh.
"... So this is how it goes?"
Right.
I’d already thought it was strange that an article about the Academy Award for Best Actress had come through.
Up until now, the Future Text Messages had only shown me immediate possibilities.
So... Choi Go-eun was that possibility.
What would Choi Go-eun be like ten years from now?
If she got both this level of acting and proper management for her looks from here on out...
she would absolutely become a top actress.
It would be stranger if she didn’t.
I couldn’t even guess how high she could climb.
With acting like that...
she might really be able to reach the summit known as the Hollywood Academy Awards.
But that’s ten years from now.
Thinking about ten years ahead when I didn’t even know what tomorrow would bring was going too far.
So I thought about the present instead...
and that was a problem too.
"If that’s the case..."
Could I close my eyes and, half-crazy, recommend Choi Go-eun for the role of Seorinbi?
It sounded absurd, but the picture it painted was convincing.
Director Park Jun-seo had said that the role of Seorinbi had originally been created with Lee Ha-eun as the model.
And Choi Go-eun’s personality and acting ability, which I’d just witnessed, were almost identical to Lee Ha-eun’s younger days.
There’d be nothing strange about dropping someone like Choi Go-eun, who resembles Lee Ha-eun, straight into the role of Seorinbi.
A hollow laugh escaped my mouth.
"Wow... how am I supposed to handle this?"
It was a happy problem...
which made it a complicated one.
Seriously, what was I supposed to do?
Then my smartphone rang.
"... That timing is unreal."
Letting out a long sigh, I tipped my head back and muttered, "What does Lee Ha-eun like again..."
This was a problem in its own right.
As I stroked my chin and dug through my memory, my eyes widened.
"Korean soup?"
It turned out the greatest top-star actress in Korea liked Korean soup.
***
Jeon Hyeong-u, who was behind the wheel, darted a glance to the side.
A woman like a painting was looking out the window with a languid expression.
Lee Ha-eun, whom the public called a top actress.
Or, more bluntly, a national-level actress.
Damn, why is her atmosphere like that?
It had been two months since he became Lee Ha-eun’s dedicated road manager.
By now he should have been used to that face...
and yet his heart still pounded every time he looked at Lee Ha-eun.
No, but Lee Ha-eun... she’s really different from the rumors.
The old Baekhak Entertainment ghost stories about Lee Ha-eun!
She beat up managers, cursed at them, and swapped them out whenever she was in a bad mood...
The woman Jeon Hyeong-u had known from those rumors was someone whose behavior was as uncontrollable as her title of crazy bitch implied.
But the Lee Ha-eun he dealt with in person was much quieter than expected.
No, maybe it would be more accurate to say she simply wasn’t interested in him?
With the exception of the occasional question about Kwon Chan, Lee Ha-eun was, astonishingly, an easy celebrity to manage.
... Is she holding her temper in? Or do I actually have a talent for managing actresses?
As Jeon Hyeong-u’s head tilted in confusion, Lee Ha-eun broke the silence.
"Jeon Hyeong-u."
"Yes?"
"What do you think of a man who suggests Korean soup on a date?"
"?"
Jeon Hyeong-u blinked.
"... A man who suggests Korean soup on a date?"
"Yeah."
"Uh... isn’t that the worst?"
"Is it?"
"Yes. In this day and age, does a man like that even exist? At the very least, he should take you to a pasta place."
The corners of Lee Ha-eun’s mouth lifted.
"Why, I like Korean soup."
"... Even if you like it, it’s kind of weird to eat it on a date, isn’t it?"
"Is it?"
Jeon Hyeong-u, having said his piece, looked back out the window.
The expression on his face, while he was driving, turned dubious.
Why is she starting the conversation for once?
Was she finally warming up to him?
Jeon Hyeong-u, fooled by that thought, decided to keep the conversation going and spoke first this time.
"So... what should we do today?"
"What do you mean?"
"Should we wait until Team Leader Kwon’s appointment is over?"
The corners of Lee Ha-eun’s mouth rose.
"No, don’t wait."
That smile soon curved into a deep arc.
"I think Team Leader Kwon and I are going to be together for a while, so just head home."