Chapter 122
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: The Cruel Witch
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Oh Mi-yeon strongly evoked the image of a 'villainess'. The villainess in her mind was a 'cruel witch'.
She set the scene.
This was a castle where a witch resided. She was the master of this place. She had subdued the thieves who invaded her castle and locked them in the underground dungeon.
The witch scanned the imprisoned thieves with her arms crossed. The four thieves were trembling in fear. They begged for their lives.
"I'll let you live. I won't kill you. I'm not as cruel a murderer as you think."
The thieves' expressions brightened. They felt relieved to have spared their lives. It was truly a blessing.
"But you have to pay for your crimes, right? You have to pay dearly for daring to invade my sanctuary?"
The witch smiled. It was a sinister smile, and her gaze was enchantingly bewitching.
The thieves froze. A chill ran down their spines from the witch's icy aura, and goosebumps rose from her seductive eyes.
"An eye for an eye. From now on, I'll invade your homes. Just as you tried to steal my precious things, I'll steal your precious things too."
The witch administered truth serum to the thieves. She learned about the 'valuable items' in their homes.
"Blondie, what's your name? Hans? Right, Hans. What do you have at home? Grain and a daughter? Good. Today, I'll go to your house and steal the grain and your daughter. I'll give the grain to the homeless, and your daughter will be adopted far away. She'll spend her life resenting her dad for abandoning her."
"Big-nose, what's your name? Charles? You have a wife at home? Good. You won't see your wife ever again. She'll remarry another man and live happily. Of course, she'll forget you forever, bear another man's child, and live happily."
The witch stole the thieves' precious possessions from their homes.
But the witch wasn't satisfied with just 'an eye for an eye'.
She kidnapped the thieves, now sunk in despair after losing everything precious, and locked them back in the underground dungeon.
"I'll let you live. I won't kill you. But I'll show you what it means to suffer more in life than in death. You'll be my lab rats for life, living in pain and despair worse than death."
The thieves despaired. They knelt in terror. They begged and pleaded, saying they were wrong, please spare them, they'd live good lives.
In response, the witch flashed a dazzlingly radiant smile. Their despair was laughable, and their screams were utterly sweet.
"...That's as far as it goes."
Oh Mi-yeon bowed her head.
Incredibly, the frosty atmosphere softened like magic. Her cold eyes turned kind. She smiled brightly and smoothly.
"......"
"......"
Silence fell over the practice room.
"......?"
Mi-yeon was momentarily flustered.
Why was it so quiet?
Why no reaction?
Was her acting weird?
The moment she couldn't hide her bewilderment.
Clap clap clap clap.
Jin-seong clapped.
Clap clap clap clap.
Then Teacher San Ho-seon clapped. Team Leader Kim Ki-young and the managers clapped too.
Applause continued for a while.
"Good! That was amazing!"
Jin-seong praised her.
"Wow! It gave me chills!"
Teacher San Ho-seon praised her too.
"Whoa! That's huge!"
"You did so well, really."
"Whoa, I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere."
Everyone exclaimed in admiration and praised her.
Her face lit up.
Mi-yeon beamed widely.
"Thank you."
She bowed deeply.
She felt great receiving praise from everyone. She felt great having her acting acknowledged.
Jin-seong smiled contentedly.
'Kughhh!! Amazing!! I was blown away by her acting. Mi-yeon's a genius. A genius.'
He peeked into the staff's inner thoughts.
Team Leader Kim Ki-young's inner thoughts.
[Inner Thoughts: Mi-yeon is a genius. Looks, acting skills—she lacks nothing.]
Teacher San Ho-seon's inner thoughts.
[Inner Thoughts: Insane. A great actress. At least great actress material. If she picks the right projects—no, if she just gets her face out there to the public, she'll definitely become a great actress. Success is guaranteed.]
The managers' inner thoughts.
[Inner Thoughts: Whoa, that was scary. I was overwhelmed by the cold atmosphere, felt like a mouse facing a cat.]
[Inner Thoughts: She looks so kind... I thought she couldn't do villain roles... but she nailed the villain. Amazing.]
The agency actors' inner thoughts.
[Inner Thoughts: She's really amazing. So cool.]
[Inner Thoughts: Wow, impressive. So attractive I'd want to date her.]
Jin-seong's brow twitched momentarily at Kim Jung-tae's inner thoughts.
'Not to my liking.'
On the other hand, he understood. Mi-yeon was attractive enough to tempt any man.
"Ha-neul, want to give acting a try?"
"Yes? Yes. Sure."
"Act as the kind witch. Pity the thieves and help them with good intentions."
It was Jeong Ha-neul's turn.
"......"
She stood in the center of the practice room.
"Hoo..."
Her exhaled breath was filled with tension.
'Can I do well?'
Did she really have talent?
'Mi-yeon was really amazing...'
Could she do as well as Mi-yeon? Could she, who had failed her debut, pull it off?
'I don't know... But... I want to do well.'
She wanted to match Mi-yeon. No, honestly, she wanted to surpass her.
"Ha-neul."
Jin-seong's voice came.
She clenched her fist tightly.
"Fighting. You can do it."
"Yes. I'll do my best."
Jeong Ha-neul closed her eyes gently. She exhaled deeply. She tried to calm her mind.
Jin-seong's voice echoed in her head.
- Fighting. You can do it.
'Fighting. I can do it. I can.'
- Fighting. You can do it.
'I can do it! I can!'
She steeled her resolve.
She recalled Oh Mi-yeon's acting. She analyzed her atmosphere, expressions, actions, and words one by one.
She thought of the kind witch. What was kindness? What was pity? She pondered.
She imagined.
'If I were the kind witch?'
Thieves invaded the witch's castle.
"Why? You invaded my castle?"
The witch subdued the thieves and locked them in the underground dungeon.
The thieves looked up at the witch, trembling in fear.
"Reason for invading my castle. Blondie, you first."
"Your daughter is sick, so you invaded for medical bills?"
She listened to their stories and understood each thief had their own circumstances.
Blondie wanted to cure his daughter's illness. Big-nose wanted to feed his malnourished wife proper meals.
"Blondie. I'll give you medicine. Big-nose. I'll share food with you."
The kind witch showed mercy.
"But pay for your crimes. Your actions were wrong. You deserve punishment."
The kind witch gave the thieves appropriate punishments.
She sentenced Blondie to one month of orphanage volunteering. Big-nose to one month of free meal service.
The acting ended.
"...Thank you."
She bowed deeply in greeting.
Clap clap clap.
Clap clap clap clap.
Clap clap clap clap.
A wave of applause poured in.
"Whoa! You're amazing!"
"Wow! Are you really a beginner?!"
"You did incredibly well!"
Jin-seong thought to himself, 'As expected of SS-grade acting talent'.
Despite being an acting newbie, Jeong Ha-neul showed tremendous talent.
'Compared to Mi-yeon, she's lacking a lot... but considering she's a beginner... she's a genius. Incredible potential.'
He scanned the staff's inner thoughts.
[Inner Thoughts: Beginner? Never acted before? Lie. Impossible. Insane.]
[Inner Thoughts: Amazing. Acting was a bit awkward... but the atmosphere... the eyes... not inferior to Mi-yeon...]
Everyone was unable to hide their amazement.
"President, Teacher, Team Leader."
Jin-seong snapped out of his thoughts.
"Do I really have talent? Can I succeed as an actress?"
At her question.
Nod nod.
Jin-seong, Teacher San Ho-seon, and Team Leader Kim Ki-young nodded vigorously in unison.
No hesitation whatsoever. Not a shred of doubt.
Jin-seong answered with full conviction.
Talent?
"You have talent."
Success?
"You'll definitely succeed."
He believed without doubt.
Then Teacher San Ho-seon answered.
"More than enough. Plenty of potential."
Team Leader Kim Ki-young nodded.
"You can succeed."
At their answers.
Her face brightened.
[Inner Thoughts: Thank goodness.]
Finally, it was Kim Jung-tae's turn.
Kim Jung-tae was handsome. He exuded wild charm and masculinity. Tall, great build, perfect proportions.
'He's good.'
Kim Jung-tae's acting talent was S+.
Not quite on Ha-neul's level, but he displayed impressive skill and potential.
After confirming their skills.
The proper acting lessons began.
Teacher San Ho-seon taught diligently.
The actors learned with utmost effort.
"President, I'll find roles that suit these three."
"Yes. Please do. Request anything you're short on—manpower, budget, I'll support it."
Oppa, huge!! Uni Pharma doubled!! >_
Oppa really seems like the god of stocks.
Heh heh. Super excited for housewarming tomorrow~
Mom's making bulgogi!!
Lol Uni Pharma might triple, so don't sell yet.
^___^ Looking forward. I'll come for housewarming on time tomorrow.
Housewarming was scheduled for tomorrow.
Piggy~ I hit 500k subscribers lol
People keep complimenting how pretty I am, feels so good.
At work now! So many customers, super happy. Over 20% are my fans, so proud~
Congrats on 500k subs!!
Let's go straight to 1M!
See you at the gym later.
Ha-yeon had become much brighter lately.
Seeing Ha-yeon brimming with self-esteem was very pleasing.
- Jin-seong, off to Pilates. Made breakfast. Enjoy~ ^___^
A note was stuck on the door.
Jin-seong ate the beef mushroom soup and veggie egg roll he assumed Mi-yeon made, thinking about her.
'Mi-yeon's changed positively lately. Much brighter.'
Mi-yeon's self-esteem had risen to match Ha-yeon's.
'Never dreamed she'd act villain so well.'
'Seems like she's living harder than me. Getting prettier.'
Mi-yeon's beauty had blossomed.
Mainly Pilates, with yoga and swimming as supplements. Her figure improved daily.
She went to expensive skin clinics, got pro hair and makeup often. Twice as pretty as before.
'Last night...'
It had been ecstatic. He'd had sex with Mi-yeon in a swimsuit. Spanked her breasts and crotch a lot.
'Time to head to work.'
He left the apartment.
He arrived at YSP Building.
"President, good morning."
"Hello? Good morning."
He ran into Jeong Yong-hee, who was polishing the front entrance gate spotless.
Jeong Yong-hee handled building maintenance and cleaning. Hired as full-time. Paid 2.4 million won after tax monthly.
"Had breakfast?"
"Yes. Ate at the company cafeteria."
For staff welfare, he set up a company cafeteria on B1. Provided three meals free.
"How's the cafeteria food?"
"Haha, excellent. Really top-notch. Chef's skills and character are outstanding."
Jeong Yong-hee's gaze toward Jin-seong.
Half favorability, half goodwill.
Grateful for full-time hire.
Grateful for cafeteria.
Grateful for decent pay.
Especially grateful for employing him when he worried about livelihood post-retirement.
'Heh.'
Jin-seong smiled after peeking at Jeong Yong-hee's inner thoughts. Good to hire someone grateful for small things.
He glanced at YSP Building's front gate. Thanks to Jeong Yong-hee's hard work, inside and out were impeccably clean.
"Good work."
"Yes. Have a great day, President."