Chapter 36: That’s typical of Sua

“So, this is confirmed as Harin’s project, right?”

Yang Ha-rin didn’t bother to answer, only giving a slight nod.

She still hadn’t cured her community addiction and had no intention of doing so. She was in the process of refreshing the Yang Ha-rin gallery 10 times.

A staff member beside her answered instead.

“Yes. It’s Director Jo Eui-shin’s project, and they’re proceeding with Harin as the lead. It seems like Director Jo really liked her.”

“Director Jo Eui-shin has a good eye, unlike some others. Tell him we’ll make sure to support the project on our end.”

“Yes, I’ll relay the message right away.”

“How are the filming equipment and other conditions?”

“They’re more than ideal. With our capital added in, it’s even better. Among short films, this one will have the most abundant resources.”

“Not bad. If they throw a lot of money at it, that would be even better.”

The CEO thought to himself. It didn’t matter how much money was spent.

Once they achieve success with the project, they would win the public relations battle, and by then, Yang Ha-rin’s position would be even more solidified. They would be able to make back many times what they spent.

The CEO was confident he would do whatever it took to ensure that outcome.

“Those kids filming ‘The Sword’ must have started shooting today, right?”

“Yes. Seo Yeon-ju and Kim Sun-il are together on set. As per your instructions, we haven’t released any news about their joining yet.”

“Mystic Entertainment jumped into our empty seat so quickly, huh? The more I think about it, the more irksome it becomes. What, are they trying to work with us at CT Entertainment?”

Tap, tap, tap.

He seemed irritated, tapping his nails on the desk.

“Some rookie punk is eyeing Harin’s spot, and now even those new entertainment companies are eyeing our place? That damn short film, by the way. Mystic’s funding it, right?”

“Yes. I believe CEO Kim Yi-seo is the one who backed it.”

“Tch.”

The CEO of CT Entertainment scoffed.

“Alright. If that’s how they want to play it, we’ll just have to escalate things. We’ll make an even bigger splash. The losing side won’t leave a trace.”

“What do you mean by escalating things…?”

“I mean, it’s not just about Harin stepping on some rookie’s neck. Let’s take Mystic down in the process too. Simple, right? It’s not like we’re the ones who are nervous or likely to lose.”

That’s when Yang Ha-rin spoke up for the first time.

“There’s only one way we might lose.”

She had been silently staring at her phone, but now she finally spoke, still looking at the screen.

“Lee Sua. If that person really acts better than me, and achieves higher results than I do. Then we lose.”

“That’s impossible, right? It’s essentially an impossible scenario.”

“Exactly. It’s practically impossible. So what I’m saying is—”

Yang Ha-rin finally looked up at the CEO.

“…Can we hurry up and handle things? What are you waiting for?”

“Alright, I got it. Hey! Release the joining news now!”

Immediately, the prepared articles began to pour out.

[Seo Yeon-ju & Kim Sun-il join Park Director’s project!]

[Is it too soon to step in with goodwill…?]

[‘Golden Filmography’. Is it finally a blemish?]

At the same time, a text arrived for the CEO of CT Entertainment.

A moment later, he grinned.

“…Is the sky on our side too?”

[Son Jia]

▷ Lee Sua’s acting is seriously lacking. 0 points.
Like a beginner aspiring actress. No, even worse.
▷ I’m baffled at how she got the lead role.

The text was as follows. He shouted excitedly.

“Damn ‘The Sword’! Harin pulling out of that was such a brilliant move! It’s going great! The whole universe is on our side!”

The atmosphere on the set of The Sword was quite impressive. It was a sight to see everyone moving quickly and efficiently.

And the one who made that possible, Sua…

It’s going much smoother than I expected.

She was just happy she wasn’t being looked down upon.

In the first place, Sua never had any meticulous plans to encourage anyone. She just fought back to avoid being seen as easy prey…

Now, once the main shooting starts, I’ll just do my best and finish. Fine. If I just do this, there won’t be any problems. Yep, yep.

At that moment, as Sua’s plan started to come together in her mind,

“Sua-ssi.”

Someone approached her. It was none other than Seo Yeon-ju.

In Sua’s eyes, Seo Yeon-ju looked incredibly innocent. For her to be the one to approach, Sua felt both nervous and pleased, though also a little uneasy.

“I heard from Director Park. You turned the atmosphere around immediately, right? Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much on set. I was worried the minor roles would keep making mistakes and we wouldn’t finish on time…”

Then Seo Yeon-ju shrugged her shoulders.

“It was all just unnecessary worry. As expected, Sua-ssi is different.”

What is this woman talking about? But Sua wasn’t worried. After all, she now had five ‘swords’ in her hands.

“That could be true.”

A one-second response. Acting like she understood.

She thought that was enough, but to her surprise, the other person didn’t back off.

“Sua-ssi, speaking of which, you’re not busy right now, right?”

When Sua nodded, Seo Yeon-ju smiled and continued.

“Great. Then, can you help me out for a moment?”

“…Help you?”

“Yes. Not just anyone, but you, Sua-ssi.”

Seo Yeon-ju raised her lips into a small grin.

“We have about 10 minutes before the main shooting starts, and I think it’d be good if we warmed up a bit as leads. It’d be even better if we got to know each other, right?”

An opportunity to get closer to Seo Yeon-ju?

Sua wanted to jump up with both hands in the air, but the problem was the risk. If she stayed still, rumors would spread, at least half of them.

…Yeah, let’s play it safe. Play it safe.

Reluctantly, Sua pulled out her four-second response. Sua’s anger.

Pretending to be angry.

But Seo Yeon-ju instead smiled brightly, as if pleased.

“Hey, what’s with that face? Let’s keep it relaxed. Just one minute of free acting. You act as Wi Ji-hye, and I’ll act as Haryeong. That’s it.”

She still showed no sign of backing off.

…This was bad.

“…?”

Wasn’t my response unbeatable?

Sua was confused, but in fact, Seo Yeon-ju wasn’t without her own crisis.

Why is she so scary? I almost froze in place.

When Seo Yeon-ju saw the serious expression on Sua’s face, she almost stumbled. She thought they had become pretty close over the past few days, but maybe it had all been a misunderstanding.

She’s really difficult.

…When she thought about it, why was she even trying to get close to a rookie like this? It didn’t feel like her. Her pride was hurt, and it was all so strange, but when she approached Sua, she didn’t feel that way at all.

It was probably because she was serious about acting. She was sure that working with Sua would help her improve her own skills.

Anyway.

Both of us have the skills, so one minute should be enough. We can just try to coordinate and work on a little improv.

In fact, even Seo Yeon-ju felt a bit burdened by anything longer than a minute. After all, Sua’s expression was incredibly fierce. This was just a warm-up before the main shoot, and she didn’t want to waste any energy before the real thing.

Meanwhile, Sua glanced around.

People had gathered around.

“Are you warming up?”
“What’s this? Oh, free acting between the leads?”
“Wow! I’ve been curious about that!”

While pretending not to care, everyone seemed to be listening to Seo Yeon-ju’s words, and other minor roles were quickly gathering around.

Among them was CT Entertainment’s spy, Son Jia. It was the perfect opportunity to check out Lee Sua’s acting ability. She was already preparing her phone, getting ready to type, and had secured a good spot with a nice view.

Now, from Sua’s point of view, it was hard to refuse. It was already too late to back out with any excuses.

But the biggest problem was something else.

The activity was free acting.

Free acting? That’s not allowed with perks, right?

From what she had heard, free acting was similar to a game of make-believe or TRPG. For one minute, Sua would act as Wi Ji-hye, and Seo Yeon-ju would act as her student, Haryeong.

Unlike ad-libbing, where you only have to tweak 1% of the material, this required a full 100% creativity. No perks could be used here.

What should I do? What now? What am I supposed to do?

In case it helped, Sua placed her hand on her head or chest, but no special ability for free acting activated. What now?

“Sua-ssi, let’s begin right away.”

Seo Yeon-ju was seriously fiddling with the prop sword. Sua’s entire body was covered in cold sweat.

She could feel the beads of sweat running down her back, and the area under her chest and between her thighs had already become damp. It was inevitable. She was about to be humiliated in front of everyone.

Somehow, Sua managed to hold onto her sanity.

For her, this took almost superhuman willpower.

One minute, just one minute. If I can somehow make it through one minute…

Sua hesitantly picked up the prop sword.

Seo Yeon-ju spoke first.

“If you’re truly going, then take me with you.”

“Uh? No, no, never mind… I won’t go.”

As soon as Sua responded like that…

“Hmm?”

“Eh?”

“01?”

Everyone watching the free acting had their eyes wide open.

The reason was obvious.

“Then I’ll just leave… I’m busy…”

Lee Sua’s acting was completely hopeless.

…It was just absurd trash.

But the most shocked person, of course, was Seo Yeon-ju. Her eyes shook as if there had been an earthquake.

What can I say? She was just endlessly embarrassed.

What is this…? What’s her game…?

This was completely unexpected.

She had sent the role of Wi Ji-hye, so why was an idiot arriving?

Seo Yeon-ju moved again, trying to read Sua’s intentions. She blocked Sua’s path, who was trying to leave, with a sudden motion.

“Where are you going? Do you really hate me that much?”

“Ah, no…”

“Seriously! Do I have to wield a sword for you to answer?”

Ugh!

Sua flinched, trembling, and dropped the sword.

She wasn’t even hit. She was just scared.

Seo Yeon-ju quietly blinked her eyes. She had nothing to say.

It wasn’t just Seo Yeon-ju.

The one shocked was also Son Jia, the spy from CT Entertainment. She felt as if someone had hit her on the back of the head with a hammer.

What’s with her?

She managed to become the lead with that kind of acting?

Did anyone actually get charmed by her acting? Was there an investor who funded the project? Did they push Yang Ha-rin out just to make this idiot the lead?

Is the world deceiving me? Or is this genre not a short film but a variety show? Maybe a hidden camera or something?

No. Before seeing Seo Yeon-ju’s reaction, she couldn’t jump to conclusions. Son Jia waited for Seo Yeon-ju to say something.

Seo Yeon-ju stood there silently for a moment before speaking.

“…That’s very much like you, Sua. You’ve worked hard.”

She said, and raised her fist like Haryeong. The people around them interpreted it in various ways.

Son Jia’s mind began to spin rapidly.

“Like Sua?” That’s just her way of saying that she’s always been like that, right?

It was clear. No matter how many times she thought about it, there was no other meaning.

Having concluded that, Son Jia furiously typed on her phone.

[Recipient: CT Entertainment CEO]

Lee Sua’s acting ability is serious. 0 points.

Her acting is at the level of an aspiring actor. No, even worse.

How did she manage to become the lead?

Later.

After Seo Yeon-ju returned near Kim Sun-il.

It felt like time had stopped as neither Seo Yeon-ju nor Kim Sun-il exchanged a word, nor did they seem to have any intention of moving.

However, they both had a look in their eyes as if they had realized something.

An eerie silence that seemed like it would never break.

Soon, Kim Sun-il moved his lips first.

“About Lee Sua’s acting just now…”

“Yeah. I noticed it too. I think Sua is…”

The two of them raised their lips at the same time.

“She’s not going to reveal her cards until the very end.”

“She’s not going to reveal her cards until the very end.”

It was an epiphany that felt terribly wrong, but Seo Yeon-ju and Kim Sun-il were more serious than ever.

“Seo Yeon-ju, don’t think about taking it easy.”

Kim Sun-il said, rubbing his chin.

“Lee Sua, today, I’m definitely not going to fall behind you.”

Seo Yeon-ju nodded silently.

There were only two minutes left before the main shoot began.