No Confidence?
"…."
The set had gone utterly still. It wasn't so much that everyone had run out of things to say as that the air itself had become the kind in which no one could voice whatever words they held. Time seemed to have stopped.
Winter had misread the season and arrived early.
That was the atmosphere the woman gave off—a presence like needles of frost. She wore the costume of a fusion historical drama, clothes that at a glance might have come from a martial-arts novel, and the effect made her look like a ghost. A sword-wraith.
Had an emotionless icicle taken human form? It was gloomy and cold, and yet it suited her, as if even this were merely one more way of carrying beauty.
The extras clustered nearby whispered to one another.
"Did an actual ghost just walk out of the woods?"
"…Was this a horror film?"
Acute. Sharp enough to cut. Frightening.
Only after a long moment did Sua speak, brief and flat.
"Do well today."
The extras went pale. In their ears it had landed like a warning. Today, you will do well. You don't have a choice.
Lee Sua.
A face gone cold, and packed full of bitter resentment. If this shoot went wrong, she looked ready to become a vengeful spirit—a ghost that would chase them for the rest of their lives.
The terrified extras ducked their heads at once.
"Y-yeah, we've got to work hard!"
"Of course we'll work hard!"
"We'll work as hard as we possibly can!"
They were extras who had fully intended to coast through the shoot, and Sua had reached a state where her appearance alone forced passion upon them. Park Joon, taking in the scene a beat too late, could only tilt his head.
"…This is different from this morning. The mood's gotten better, hasn't it?"
Sua only nodded, quiet.
"Everyone must be kind. So full of passion, too."
"No, it wasn't this kind of atmosphere at all a minute ago…?"
"It's probably because the actual shoot is getting close."
Sua let it pass as if it were nothing.
That proud, perfectly unbothered attitude! It came of Sua having figured herself out, in her own way. Through the rehearsal shoot, she had picked up a little objectivity about how her behavior looked to the people around her.
Empty her thoughts, and she must seem fairly threatening. Right. I am Lee Sua, the beast. You cute little rabbits can cower, and worship, and praise, and applaud….
And so came the finishing touch.
Sua Feigns Anger
Among people she was meeting for the first time, Sua had realized that carrying an angry attitude never worked to her disadvantage. Of all her techniques, the Fourth was also the easiest to use. All she had to do was imagine someone laying a careless hand on her rabbit plush.
To think I'd grow fond of my own face.
Not being looked down on was joy enough. Little by little, Sua was beginning to feel affection even for her sharp features, while the extras moved with their spirits wound tight—practically fresh recruits who had just reported for basic training.
Meanwhile, there was Park Joon, director of the short film Sword.
This morning the mood was completely hopeless. This has to be…. Who had turned the atmosphere around in a single stroke? His thoughts didn't take long. The answer was far too obvious.
It's Miss Sua's influence. I was getting a headache over how to revive that sagging mood, and she solved it just like that.
Why else had Park Joon made his entrance in that exaggerated voice? The conditions were poor, but he had still hoped the bit players might muster even a little energy, and he'd thought that if the director himself poured it out in heaps, some of it might spread. It had been a total failure. Sua, however, was different. She had managed it simply by showing up.
An uncommon devotion to Sword, a certainty she held in herself—Sua's face carried all of it, down to the last thread. She was even encouraging the people around her, and from where Park Joon stood he felt like dropping into a full bow. That was only how it seemed inside Park Joon's head, of course.
…Good. If I'm the director, I need to work even harder!
He too took on a far more vigorous air and began directing the crew.
"Check the blocking carefully! The actors can't get hurt in the woods!"
"Yes! It's all locked down!"
"Makeup! Put some real effort in so nothing looks out of place!"
"Actors, we'll go over the costumes once over here!"
The paths the actors would take through the forest had been laid out with care, and the filming equipment had been settled into a tight, compact arrangement. It might have been shabby beside other short films, but everything essential was there. Tracing it back, that too was thanks to the financial support from Mystic Entertainment that Sua had brought in.
Willpower boiling over, Park Joon shouted.
"We roll on the actual shoot in one hour! The weather's excellent today! Let's knock it out fast and get back to the hotel!"
That was when it happened.
Step— step—
Someone emerged from the temporary tent the makeup team had put up, dressed in martial robes, and the extra who had glanced over without a thought froze where he stood. It was the sort of reaction that only came from being thoroughly shocked.
"Uh, uh? Uhhh?"
Before the thought could even finish forming, a name burst out of his mouth.
"S-Seo Yeon-ju? Isn't that Seo Yeon-ju?"
Seo Yeon-ju—the image of neat hair with a hairband set atop it had hardened into an icon. Today's hair was different, of course. She was laden with ornaments fit for a fusion historical drama, and still there wasn't a soul who failed to guess who she was. The face itself was a calling card. It was a face that drew gasps.
The other bit players swarmed in an instant.
"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!"
"It's Seo Yeon-ju…. Seo Yeon-ju…."
"I-it's not just Seo Yeon-ju? Look, look over there!"
And then Kim Seonil appeared as well, fully costumed.
Everyone froze with their mouths hanging open, and Director Park Joon, more satisfied than anyone by the sight, spoke.
"Critical articles are pouring in and the situation is bad all around, but these two actors decided to join without a second thought. Thank you, both of you!"
The two offered light greetings in return. Kim Seonil gave nothing more than a slight nod of the head; Seo Yeon-ju smiled brightly and waved.
For the bit players, it was the shock of being struck across the back of the head. Seo Yeon-ju wasn't enough—Kim Seonil had come too? Then this short film was actually worth doing, wasn't it? They couldn't half-ass it. One way or another, their will couldn't help but catch fire.
And in the middle of it all, someone was busy on her phone.
It was Son Jia, the spy planted by CT Entertainment. She was still meticulously reporting every corner of the set. For reference, a seven on Son Jia's scale was an extremely high score.
Seo Yeon-ju quietly studied Lee Sua.
She looks unusually resolute today. Some kind of responsibility? Landing the lead wasn't enough—she even secured the production budget with her own hands. That will to see it through to the end, no matter what….
Kim Seonil came away with much the same impression.
Lee Sua. You really are the real thing.
In the end, Seo Yeon-ju brushed the hair at the nape of her neck aside with the back of her hand and spoke.
"Well, I only joined because of you, Sua."
She was sounding her out, in her own way, and Sua's response was plain.
"Acknowledged."
Sua Acknowledges
That truly was the end of it. Nothing more than that.
The bit players, who of course had no way of knowing what was running through Sua's head, had every reason to jump. Seo Yeon-ju setting foot in this rough patch of nowhere because of some rookie was shocking enough on its own—and then the rookie's reaction was that?
…What is this? Why is she reacting like it doesn't matter at all?
Not even a thank-you? For real? Actually for real?
Seo Yeon-ju joining because of her is just a given?
Is she really a rookie with no credits? Where does that kind of confidence come from?
Everyone's confusion tangled wildly in the empty air.
"Sua."
Seo Yeon-ju spoke again.
"Remember what I told you before? If you don't want to get eaten alive by me, you'd better steel yourself. Well? Are you ready?"
Sua thought it over. How am I supposed to beat her? A pretty face, a good personality, and she could act. No matter how Sua turned it over, the only thing she had more confidence in than Seo Yeon-ju was her hips. But she couldn't answer her in that scary, blunt way either. She needed to look at least a little good in front of her.
What she countered with was this.
Sua's Humility
"I don't know. I'm not confident at all."
She offered a small smile along with that short reply.
"…."
A brief silence. Then Seo Yeon-ju, who had been turning the words over in her mouth, smiled.
"…Not the slightest confidence that you'll lose. Interesting."
Lightning came down over the extras' heads.
Not confident she'll lose? Against Seo Yeon-ju?
What kind of tone is that? Is she planning to cut Seo Yeon-ju's throat today?
Does she have five livers and five hearts…?
For them, that was the end of it.
Lee Sua no longer looked like a rookie.
Meanwhile, at CT Entertainment.
Antique furniture sat in old-fashioned elegance throughout the CEO's office, where he had lined his staff up in a row and taken his seat. Yang Ha-rin was there as well, of course. She had given herself over to a sofa in one corner and sunk deep into it—so plush that the sofa seemed to be embracing her from behind.
"Ha-rin's project—we're confirming it as this one, right?"