Even Better
Lee Eun-ju welcomed the unexpected guest with open arms.
In a way, it was just an ordinary conversation.
"I was just passing by and happened to see you, so I stopped in. Here, take this."
"Wow! You didn't have to bring something like this! Thank you. I'll enjoy it."
Yet the people sitting in the conference room felt a creeping unease from that simple exchange.
Everyone here knew.
They knew how Lee Hyun-woo met his end. And they knew the antisocial nature of the culprit, Lee Eun-ju.
Huh. Where did they even find a kid like that…
Lee Min-hyuk and the more seasoned actors were quietly impressed.
That radiant face. The rich expressions that filled every line of dialogue.
But look closer and it's completely hollow inside. Incredible.
The discomfort came from knowing exactly what kind of person Lee Eun-ju was.
Which meant the audience would never notice.
Even he would have brushed it off as nothing special if he hadn't had that information.
That actress, Gil Ara, was handling the mask as freely as if it were her own face.
A rookie? Don't make me laugh.
Details like that were something no newcomer could ever pull off.
Of course, Lee Min-hyuk wasn't denying that Gil Ara was a rookie.
This industry was small.
Someone with looks like Gil Ara staying quiet in the business was, in his opinion, completely impossible.
So it's one of two things. Either she's an actress who worked overseas, or she's a genuine monster of a genius…
Lee Min-hyuk was turning that over in his mind when another possibility suddenly struck him.
Or… the character of Lee Eun-ju is just that familiar to her…
He wiped the thought away and focused back on the script.
The reading continued, and before long they had reached the latter half of Part One.
At last, the culprit of the bizarre serial murders was revealed to the audience.
S#48. Abandoned Factory (Night)
A place where only the faintest moonlight manages to slip in. Lee Hyun-woo is tied to a chair, bleeding. In the dim moonlight, Lee Eun-ju's face is revealed as she speaks in a voice thick with ecstatic madness.
"E-Eun-ju? W-what on earth is going on…"
"Haa— Hyun-woo. Are you awake?"
A clear emotion, completely different from before, came through.
"You know, I see the human body like a musical instrument. You're my seventh instrument."
Lee Hyun-woo finally realized who the serial killer was.
"You! You were the culprit!! Lee Eun-ju!!!"
"I hope you last a long time. Shall we begin, then? Your Intro."
From that point on it was pure Ara's one-woman show.
Only Lee Hyun-woo's screams, Lee Eun-ju's laughter laced with madness, and her excited voice filled the conference room.
Gulp—
Nothing but the sound of people swallowing hard.
No one could insert themselves into that space.
"……"
A little more time passed, and the Part One reading came to an end.
Released.
Whew—
Sweat beaded on her face, and a wave of exhaustion rolled through her entire body.
With the tension finally gone, Ara stretched lightly.
……
Silence filled the conference room.
Yu Ha-yeong had not taken her eyes off Gil Ara from the moment she first saw her.
Even during the reading, while fully carrying out her own parts, her attention stayed locked on Ara.
At first there was no particular reason.
The girl was simply so beautiful that her gaze was drawn.
Then it was drawn by an acting ability so overwhelming it almost felt unpleasant.
And by the time they reached the latter half, it was because of some unnameable, chilling sense of wrongness.
Huh…?
She only realized it when the Part One reading ended.
When she saw Ara lightly loosening her body.
How can a person even do that?
Throughout the entire Part One reading, every part of her body except her face and hands had been perfectly still.
For a full two hours.
Come to think of it, even her expressions felt a little… off…
A shiver ran through Yu Ha-yeong. Goosebumps rose all over her skin.
Meanwhile, Ara—
Under the blatant stares pouring onto her, she was failing to keep her expression under control.
Aargh! This is so awkward!
"Whew! That was incredible! Really fantastic."
Director Ha Il-gwon spoke up.
"We've finished Part One, so let's take a short break, do some feedback, and then move on to Part Two."
The moment break time arrived, Ara bolted for the bathroom.
After Ara left for the bathroom—
"Whew! She's really something else!"
Lee Min-hyuk opened his mouth.
"You three really pulled off something huge. How on earth did you manage to bring in an actress of that caliber?"
"Hahahaha."
"Hohohoho."
"Hehehehehe."
In truth, the ones who had taken the biggest shock in the conference room were the three who had sat as audition judges.
What they were thinking right now was—
This good?
Holy shit, this is a jackpot.
They had roughly gauged her skill through the audition, but even they had never imagined she would stand out this much from a simple script reading before principal photography even began.
Crazy ideas are pouring out of me. Gil Ara is a real monster. What do I do? Should I revise the script right now?
Separately from that, Kim Eun-bi was currently drowning in creative hunger.
Having witnessed the performance of a true psychopath, she was on the verge of being swept away by a tidal wave of inspiration.
"By the way, we've got a problem."
"Why?"
"Director, think about it. Lee Eun-ju was originally meant to be a twist element, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"She was supposed to appear just enough to be noticeable without standing out, then explode at the end—bang!!"
Lee Min-hyuk pictured her face.
"Is that face of hers going to allow that?"
"Hmm. You've got a point."
"Honestly, she's ridiculously pretty. People are definitely going to go crazy over this."
"Ah!!"
Kim Eun-bi, who had been listening to their conversation, suddenly shouted.
"Huh? Where are you going, Writer Kim!"
"I—just a moment! Because of the script revisions!!! I need to grab some ideas!! I'll be right back!"
Kim Eun-bi vanished from the conference room in a flash.
"Looks like she got some inspiration. Anyway, that was truly amazing. I honestly thought Lee Eun-ju herself had walked in."
"Hahahaha. What kind of nonsense is that, Min-hyuk! Hahaha."
"But she really felt like a psychopath, you know? Hahaha."
"That's just how good the acting was. Still, be careful saying that in front of her. She's an actress who just became an adult."
"Of course. But she looks so mature it's hard to believe she just graduated high school."
Lee Seo-jun, who had been cast as Lee Hyun-woo, was busy wiping his soaked palms on his pants.
It had been a long time since he last felt this way.
And he had never once imagined he would feel it because of a girl his own age.
Even Lee Seo-jun, who had been like a wooden block when he first saw Gil Ara, had been startled.
On top of her looks, those eyes glowing yellow had given off a mysterious air.
But now it was different.
Those eyes that had glowed yellow and lured him in now looked exactly like a viper's.
The moment those fangs sank into the back of his neck, every nerve would go numb and he would die without the slightest resistance—that would be the best struggle he could manage.
After delivering that overwhelming performance, she had left her seat the second break time began.
She must figure she doesn't need any feedback. Because her acting was perfect.
It was pure arrogance.
Only now did he understand how she could walk into the conference room last and still look so confident.
Overwhelming confidence in her own skill.
And the proof to back it up.
That was what turned arrogance into confidence.
Maybe I was the arrogant one.
He had been acting for quite a while and had received plenty of praise.
Because of that, he had naturally grown complacent.
I was a frog in a well too.
The world was wide, and absurd talent could pop up anywhere, anytime. He had just realized that.
I lost this round. But on set it'll be different. I'll show her the power of experience. Of course, I'll work even harder myself.
And so Lee Seo-jun privately promised himself a revenge match.
Meanwhile, Yu Ha-yeong followed Ara to the break room.
"Um…"
"Yes?"
Ara was flustered by the sudden approach.
Yu Ha-yeong? Why is this person suddenly talking to me?
What do I do… I followed her without thinking, but what am I supposed to say? Asking a stranger if she's a psychopath on first meeting would be way too rude.
The reason Yu Ha-yeong had chased after Ara.
But I want to make a friend too, you know?
The reason she was this obsessed with psychopaths.
Psychos are tsunderes, right? That's what the light novels said.
Yu Ha-yeong was an otaku, and because of that she had some thoroughly warped common sense.
In any case, Yu Ha-yeong currently seemed to be under the genuine impression that Gil Ara was a real psychopath.
What do I do? Should I just go for it? No, they never liked that kind of thing.
The fretting continued, and—
What's with her? She called me over and now she's not saying anything?
Ara, waiting for whatever she had to say, could only stand there awkwardly.
"Um, did you have something you wanted to say?"
"Ah. Sorry. I was just thinking for a second. Um, so…"
Uwaaaa. What do I even ask? Ah!
"I really enjoyed your acting. You were seriously good!"
"Thank you, sunbae-nim."
What, she was this slow just to compliment me?
"So, um, do you have an agency? Or somewhere you've already decided on?"
Ah. So that's what this was about? But do I even need an agency?
This was Ara's first real professional activity, so she was a complete outsider when it came to that side of things.
"Not really."
"Then how about joining our agency? It feels a little weird saying it myself, but YW Entertainment specializes in actors. We're small, but our name recognition is solid. I thought someone like you, Ara-ssi, would fit really well with us, so I wanted to mention it."
"But is management really necessary?"
"Ah? Well…"
"?"
Yu Ha-yeong was impressed.
As expected of a psycho tsundere… She must be confident she can handle everything herself perfectly. But I should still try to persuade her a little.
It wasn't just personal greed. Gil Ara clearly had commercial value.
Leaving merchandise this good sitting empty would be a waste.
"It is necessary! ……"
From there, Yu Ha-yeong launched into an explanation of why management was needed.
……
"Ah. So basically."
Ara's interpretation of a manager's role.
They handle all the annoying chores for you.
"That sounds nice."
"Right? Then, our agency?"
"Can I just join because I want to? Isn't there a process?"
"You know I've been with the company since I was a child actor, right?"
She had not known that.
"Um. Yes."
But she answered out of politeness for the other person's sake.
That was just how social life worked.
"I've got some pull at the company! I'll put in a good word with the CEO. And I bet the CEO will like you too."
"I see."
No wonder she looked so young but acted so well. I thought she was weird for calling me over and then saying nothing…
Yu Ha-yeong suddenly looked different to her.
"I'll think about it positively, sunbae-nim."
"Yes! Great! I'll definitely tell the CEO! Ah! Should we exchange numbers?"
And just like that, for the first time, someone other than the production staff was saved in Ara's phone.
Oh… My first contact is a celebrity!
"Ah! And talk comfortably. We're going to be seeing each other a lot because of the drama anyway, and 'sunbae-nim' is too stiff, right? You can drop the honorifics!"
She really was a sociable kid.
"Okay. Thanks, then, Ha-yeong…"
Flash—
Something skimmed across Ara's frontal lobe.
She remembered a Korean specialty.
She looks like a ridiculously pretty high schooler, but you can't trust appearances.
"Um, how old are you, by the way?"
"Huh? I'm twenty-two!"
!
She had half expected it, but the other girl really was older.
Even though she had been reincarnated, this life she was still only twenty.
As a citizen of the land of Eastern etiquette, this was an unforgivable act.
"Th-then please speak comfortably…"
But the words just wouldn't come out easily. Maybe because the other girl felt so much like a little sister.
Still, there was no choice.
"Huh?"
"I'm twenty…"
"Eh?"
A little sister?
Both of them felt oddly wounded for no good reason.
……
A brief silence stretched between them.
Wait, hang on…
Yu Ha-yeong suddenly remembered a light novel she had read in the past.
A psychopath who looks mature but is actually young… And thinking about the agency thing, she still doesn't seem to know much about how the world works. If I treat her well here…?
Gasp!!!
"?"
Wait, couldn't this evolve into a yandere?!
A character that was pure cliché soup from top to bottom.
Crazy. Even better.