Flashback: Seo Euna, Han Ga-eun (7)
"You're here?"
"Ajusshi's here."
As promised to Euna yesterday, we were set to head up Cheonsung Mountain around 6 PM. At the entrance, there she was, loosening up with bare-hand exercises. She was dressed in the same red Adidas gym clothes as yesterday, her hair tied back in a ponytail.
"Hey, ajusshi. Same outfit, huh?"
"Says the one wearing the same thing."
"Yeah. I'm in the same clothes, you're in the same clothes. We match perfectly."
Was she flirting?
"Hey now, watch your mouth. Talk like that and you'll end up with a 'Seo Euna/Controversy and Incidents' Wikipedia page someday."
She gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. Her wide eyes told me I'd hit the nail on the head...
"Whoa, no way! Ajusshi knows about that stuff too?"
...Nope, wrong guess. She was just messing with me again.
"Who doesn't know about that these days..."
"Figured an ajusshi like you wouldn't."
Ha... What was I supposed to do with this little brat? Couldn't exactly smack her.
"Finding someone who doesn't know would be harder."
"Pfft, kidding. Come do bare-hand exercises with me. One, two. One, two."
She spread her feet shoulder-width apart, laced her fingers together, stretched her arms out long like a big yawn, then bent at the waist. Her flexibility was insane—practically folding in half.
"One, two, one, two."
I gave it a try, wondering if it was even possible. Conclusion: it was. Super easy.
This works.
Back in high school, my fingertips barely grazed the ground. Now? I was folding like a flip phone.
"Whoa, ajusshi's got stamina and flexibility for days. Impressive!"
She flashed double thumbs-up. Probably her way of making up for teasing me earlier. It was so cute I couldn't help but chuckle.
"All done? Let's head up."
"Sure."
Euna and I started climbing the mountain together.
"Did you get home okay yesterday?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Practiced my acting at home. Like this."
She handed me her phone. It was packed with videos.
Hold up. Practicing alone?
To my ears, it sounded a bit different. Like, I didn't go to any academies, taught myself~
Obviously, it should mean she went to an academy separately and practiced at home, but it came off that way.
"No acting academy?"
"Nah, just YouTube and self-study."
?
"Anyway, this one's a cold-hearted heroine, this is a pathetic girl role, this is..."
She explained each one, pointing with her finger. Tapping a random video started playback. The sound was low, but audible.
Euna nailing a clichéd delinquent girl role—the kind worn out from overuse in media. I'd seen a few YouTube movies like that. Some were decent, but most were trash even to an amateur like me.
But Euna? It felt real. Like this tough high school delinquent actually existed. Every line, every mannerism, packed with detail.
"S-sorry... I messed up."
Next video. Messy hair, crude bruises from makeup, groveling desperately. Eyes brimming with tears, hands clasped in front—pure desperation.
Next one.
"Dad! Daaad...!!!"
Not hugging her dad, but clutching a pillow and sobbing. Could've been comical, but Euna's aura made it impossible to laugh.
Next.
No intense crying or cursing here. Just a plain scene: eating kimbap and ramen at a convenience store outdoor table, chatting casually.
"Ajusshi, know the movie Fate?"
"Fate? Uh... not sure?"
"The heroine there eats ramen at a convenience store table and vents to the male lead about her troubles. All calm, no tears. Tried imitating that."
"Got it."
"I had a minor role in it. Passing middle school girl. Hehe."
I searched YouTube for Fate, and there was the scene. A disheveled woman at the convenience store table, slurping ramen and sharing her backstory. Oh, I know this actress. Chae Sua, child star turned prodigy. Swept awards with her acting—even I knew her without watching much.
Watched Sua's scene, then Euna's again. No clear winner. Pro actress with full crew versus phone cam solo act—neck and neck.
Hugging a pillow and crying. A pillow's funny, but if it were a real collapsed person? No filters, just raw phone video matching a top actress. On the big screen?
I already knew the answer.
She's a genius.
This wasn't teachable. Only a rare breed obsessed with acting could pull it off. Even I, clueless about acting, could say that much. A girl under 20, self-taught to this level? Pure mad genius.
"Good stuff."
"What'd you think?"
"Auditions are in the bag for you."
"Nah, tons of people better than me."
She smiled bitterly. Movies since childhood fueled her dream of stardom. But reality's wall was high.
She was talented. Beautiful. Yet no decent agency. No backers.
"No agency's scouting you?"
"Nope..."
She nodded glumly. Hard to grasp. At her level, anyone would jump to promote her. If I ran an agency, I'd push her hard. No scandals, pretty, great actor. Perfect ingredients—why pass?
Something smells off.
I'd done all sorts of jobs since kid days—loading docks, convenience stores, logistics, delivery. Overheard plenty, including film industry talk.
To make it in this biz, you can't be too clean. Especially women...}
A washed-up actor's drunken mutter echoed.
"Euna."
"Yeah?"
"Any... offers come your way?"
"Offers? Hmm... nothing specific."
Good. If it was something shady like sponsorship, it'd scar her deep. Or confuse her under that bright exterior. Worst if she accepted for success.
Prevent it now.
"Alright."
I pulled out the hypnosis app on her.
"Ah...?"
Her eyes glazed like Heena's. Perfect hypnosis.
"Euna. You'll resist any temptations, push through hardships stubbornly toward your dream. Practice acting hard, hone yourself. And... you'll achieve your actress dream, mend things with your mom."
Good enough. No falling to dirty lures now.
"Snap my fingers, and you wake."
Snap!
"Euna, call it here for today?"
"Huh?"
"Audition tomorrow, right? Practice time."
"Oh, yeah. We're at the summit—head down? But first."
She thrust her phone at me.
"Your number."
"Uh...?"
I hadn't boosted favor with hypnosis... but a number's fine.
"Sure."
I entered it. We bantered as she teased, then parted after descending Cheonsung Mountain.
1 PM? Awkward timing. Euna's audition at 3...
Push to dinner.
KakaoTalk exploding out of nowhere.
What's with her?
Suddenly terrifying. Mid-November, winter chill, but cold sweat trickled down my back. Gulped dryly.
This wasn't my Dahyeon. Fuck. What to say?
Interview? Nah. She'd call bullshit: You'd say it's an interview. Lying? Why lie? She already said I'd mention a job outright.
Sick? She'd bring meds, same probing.
Dahyeon's been my friend since kids. Genius too. Lame excuses won't fly.
No choice. Play it off as a joke, skip Euna's audition.
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