The Casting at the School Gate
After entering elementary school, I carried a single sheet of paper tucked inside my chest. I want to drop out.
If kindergarten had been a battlefield from hell, then elementary school was an outright demon's arena. Uncontrolled malice ruled the classroom, and my patience was tested at every turn. If education weren't mandatory, I'd have dropped out on the spot and taken the qualification exam instead…
"Alright, everyone brought their reading logs, right?"
Ah, crap. I'd stayed up late reading comics and completely forgotten.
"Seo-ah, why do you look like that?"
When the teacher approached my desk, I put on the most innocent expression I could manage. My ultimate technique.
"Teacher… you might not believe me, but I really did write it. I just forgot to bring it."
Whenever I looked at her with these eyes and this face, the teacher would usually shake her head and let it slide. But humans are creatures of adaptation, apparently. My homeroom teacher, already used to me despite how little time had passed since the semester started, raised an eyebrow like she was calling my bluff.
Teachers had always had that sharp, dangerous glint in their eyes, even back in kindergarten.
"Really? What book did you read?"
"A Boy Is Coming by Doo-gang…?"
"…"
Her reaction was off. Come to think of it, that book wouldn't even be out yet.
"I must've been mistaken. It was actually Cosmos by Carl Sagan. That magnificent work that reminds us how wondrous and fragile our lives are within the vast universe…"
"…Yoon Seo-ah, go stand at the back with your hands up."
"…Eh?"
Damn it. Yoon Ji-ah could get away with that line every time. Why couldn't I? Not that I could lie and say I'd read something like Who Pooped on My Head? My pride wouldn't allow it.
In the end, I stood at the back of the classroom serving my punishment. The greatest humiliation of my eight-year-old life. It felt like the backs of every kid in class were laughing at me.
"Pfft!"
"Kikiki!"
So it was real. Getting mocked by elementary schoolers at my age. Why was life so cruel?
Leaning against the lockers, I stared out the window with forced nonchalance. Other classes were having PE, kids running around happily on the field. You only realize the value of freedom once you've lost it. Right now, I was a prisoner named "student" locked inside the prison called school…
"I didn't tell you to go to the back so you could space out, Seo-ah."
"…Sorry."
The teacher interrupted my thoughts and continued the lesson. The classroom filled with talk about books like Who Stole My Cheese? and Who Moved My Poop? The titles seemed a bit too primal for kids to read, but maybe that was exactly why they did.
Meanwhile, Yoon Ji-ah announced she'd read something called National Geographic Kids—a book I'd never even heard of—and earned an approving smile from the teacher.
That scheming little… She called National Geographic childish but still lied about reading the kids' version. This wasn't the first time, either. That perfect hypocrisy, that calculated innocence, that impressive acting. The moment we started school, Ji-ah became the model elementary student the teacher wanted. And as the flip side of that coin, I became the problem child.
Sometimes when I got called to the teachers' office, I'd overhear people asking how two identical twins could be so different. This discrimination, this persecution and contempt… surviving in the middle of it all, I was like a single weed. Like Yi Yuk-sa…
"Yoon Seo-ah, didn't I tell you to stop spacing out?"
"…Sorry."
Presentations continued, followed by the teacher's feedback. Before long, the bell rang and I practically vibrated with relief. The hellish punishment time was over. Now if only school itself would end already. Ah… I really want to drop out.
Recess. Time that was literally meant for resting. But these little demons wouldn't leave me alone.
"Seo-ah! Let's play with tops!"
"Spin tops? These brats already know that word…"
"…What's that? Spin tops?"
They were holding Beyblades in their hands.
"Ah, sorry. Tops, right."
Beyblades. The latest trendy toy.
"…Is it fun?"
"Of course!"
"Hmm…"
While I was debating whether to join, I felt a strange gaze and turned to find Yoon Ji-ah staring at me. A sneer hung at the corner of her mouth. Even her expression seemed to laugh at me.
"I'm not playing! I'm not gonna play! I said no!"
"Why are you mad? Is it because you're pretty?"
"Yeah! It is!"
Being pretty really was everything. These kids were still too young to understand that.
Maybe because of the loud voices, or maybe because I was standing there, the teacher noticed.
"Yoon Seo-ah! Don't bully your friends!"
"…I'm the one being bullied here, though?"
"Are you going to keep lying?"
"…Eh?"
Playing with mentally immature kids. Arguing with a narrow-minded teacher. An eternity seemed to pass before dismissal finally arrived. I grabbed my bag as fast as I could to run out, only for Yoon Ji-ah to appear behind me like a ghost.
"Unnie, let's go together."
She wore the same face as the model student she'd been playing all day. Probably because the other kids and teacher were still in the classroom. What an actress.
"What's for dinner tonight? I want pork cutlet. What about you, Unnie?"
"Whatever. Can't you drop the act already?"
"Tch, what act?"
"…Forget it. I'm not even going to bother."
Even the way she pouted her lips was the perfect elementary school girl. Not just because we were identical twins—honestly, she was cute. No wonder adults melted around her.
…But why me?
When I pouted, everyone tried to rip my lips off. This was definitely discrimination.
Shaking my head, I left the classroom. We walked on our short legs until we reached the school gate, where I heard kids murmuring. At the center of their attention was a sleek black van parked out front—the kind people called a "celebrity car."
"Whoa, is that Su-jin unnie's car?"
"Who's that?"
"Are you stupid? There's a celebrity noona in sixth grade."
"That's so cool."
"I'm jealous!"
"Should I become a celebrity too…?"
Kim Su-jin. The best output our school had produced—an actual child actress. I'd seen her in a few dramas, but since she was in sixth grade, we had no overlap. Even if we did, I wouldn't have cared.
Probably waiting for her schedule…? Working that hard at such a young age.
What an idiot… No, what an impressive kid. She lived in a completely different world from me. Different wavelength entirely.
As I walked, thinking that this financial monster trailing behind me might actually get along with her, someone suddenly shouted.
"W-wait a second!"
The man leaning against the car, waiting for Kim Su-jin, jumped like he'd been smacked in the back of the head. I jumped too. A grown man acting like that in front of kids was embarrassing.
"Hey, kids! Hello?"
The man stood in front of us and smiled gently.
"I'm not a bad person, okay? Do you have a minute?"
In all my past and present life experience, anyone who called themselves "oppa" while saying "I'm not a bad person" and asking "Got a minute?" on first meeting was definitely trouble. And this guy had done all three at once. One hundred percent guaranteed problem.
Before I could answer, Yoon Ji-ah slipped behind me. The textbook reaction of an innocent child wary of strangers.
…She's still acting. Impressive, really.
The moment the man looked at us, Ji-ah had probably figured out his business. Waiting to pick up a celebrity. Entertainment company employee, probably a manager. This was obviously a street casting. We'd been through this a few times since we were babies, so I could tell just from the look in his eyes. The fact that she was still putting on this show meant… she wanted me to handle it.
Getting street castings always felt like this, so I wasn't even surprised anymore.
"What is it?"
"You two… have you ever thought about becoming celebrities?"
"…"
When we just blinked without reacting, he added, thinking we didn't understand.
"Uh… I mean, those pretty noonas and oppas you see on TV?"
"I know what celebrities are, but isn't this usually something a road manager does?"
Usually, casting was handled by casting managers from the talent development team or higher-ranking staff. I'd figured that out after receiving a few business cards. It wasn't strange for a road manager to invite someone to the company, but they were usually too busy taking care of their own celebrities and didn't have that much passion for scouting. They had enough on their plate without suddenly casting people on company time.
It was a perfectly reasonable question, but a flustered look crossed the man's face.
"Haha, smart kid. You're right, usually an oppa like me would just do his own job, but the feeling was so strong I couldn't ignore it. If I didn't talk to you now, I'd regret it for the rest of my life."
Ugh… The sleazy pickup lines you'd hear at Gangnam Station or Hongdae kept coming. Just as I was about to refuse, Yoon Ji-ah, who'd been hiding behind me, tugged my sleeve and stepped forward. Why was the kid who'd been pretending to be wary suddenly doing this?
"We have hundreds of papers like that at home…"
"H-haha, right? The entertainment industry wouldn't leave gems like you alone. I'll report this to my superiors and get you better terms than other companies, so talk to your parents and contact me if you're interested, okay?"
"Yes, we will."
So that was his game—trying to drive up our value. Watching her negotiate even in a moment like this, I thought Yoon Ji-ah was someone you should never associate with.
At this rate, she's really going to sell me off someday.
I wasn't saying I'd live like a complete bum and never work. Couldn't I at least wait until I was an adult…? Everyone thinks that if they reincarnate or regress, they'd work hard from the time they were a baby, but people are creatures who put off today's work until tomorrow. Except for this financial monster.
While I was glaring at Ji-ah, noise erupted from behind us. Child actress Kim Su-jin was walking out, and the man who was probably her manager started to panic.
"You have to! You have to tell your parents and contact me again, okay? Oppa is being completely serious!"
Desperation crept into his voice. I really hated that clingy tone.
"Let's go."
Even if I'd been considering joining an agency, that thought had vanished. Ji-ah and I bowed our heads and hurried away.
"Whoa… were they just getting casted?"
"They're really pretty, though."
"No way! Our school has three celebrities now?"
"…I'm jealous. Why don't I ever get casted?"
"Those are the twins, right? The ones who caused a scene when they enrolled."
"But they're really pretty… wow…"
Haha, what was the big deal that everyone was making such a fuss? Leave it, leave it. It was nothing.
"Put your lips down. You look like an idiot."
"…What did you say, punk?"