After carefully combing through and confirming the production company’s requirements, Yumi promptly sent the song to them the next day.
The client was ecstatic. The song sounded perfect, even to me. In fact, it was good enough to be the main track on the album of a real idol group.
She was pumping out songs like it was nothing, and I worried that her inspiration might run dry at this rate. Even amazing artists could lose their spark in the blink of an eye, after all.
Since she had a variety show shoot coming up soon anyway, I figured I would take her to record for a change of scenery. For inspiration. Inspiration needed to be filled up little by little before it all emptied out completely.
What would Yumi like? An amusement park? No, that was too childish.
Shopping? That didn’t feel right either.
I would have to think about it. Either that, or I could have a meeting with Yumi and the production team.
***
“I… love the song so much. It was a great idea to get it from Yumi.”
Mr. Oh, the head of ‘Your Pictures’ production company, listened to the song again and remembered filming the variety show with Yumi. He probably wouldn’t appear on screen much, but he didn’t care.
The reason he decided to collaborate on this variety show was to promote the movie for free. If the song became famous, it could also help the movie do well, after all.
“But, who should we have sing this song?”
This song was made by Yumi herself. In the story, the only important idol group member was played by Sung-ah Kim. Another member didn’t have a big role, and the other two were almost like extras.
“Mr. Oh, I think it might work in our favor if we blended a professional vocalist with our cast,” Director Min-woo Sung said firmly.
Mr. Oh let out a small, disbelieving laugh.
“Director Sung, you’re a strange one. Normally, I’m the one who should be pushing for the professional vocalist. And you, the director, should be insisting on using the characters from the story, no? Since the song is performed by an idol group in the story, shouldn’t the actor playing the role be the one to sing it?”
Director Sung shook his head and replied.
“That’s too old-fashioned. I’m the one who didn’t really flesh out the idol group in the story, so why would I insist on the actors singing the song? Especially when the song turned out this good.”
Mr. Oh chuckled and nodded enthusiastically.
“You’re absolutely right, I agree. The best approach would be to release the track with Sung-ah Kim, the other supporting actors, and the professional vocalist all together. For the film itself, we can just take out the parts sung by the professional vocalist. If we need the characters’ voices, we can just record those parts separately.”
“Agreed.”
Just as they came to a decision, the assistant director opened the door.
“We can start with the auditions now.”
At the assistant director’s words, their expressions change.
Director Min-woo Sung let out a rough sigh and rubbed his face. He was obviously troubled.
Mr. Oh understood Director Sung. After all, he felt the same way.
“The audition… right, shall we get started?” said Director Sung.
“Yes, let’s start.”
They were finally starting the audition for the supporting role of ‘Hyun-ah,’ which had been put off time and time again.
So many actors had come, and there were so many talented people to choose from, but they had to narrow it down to just one person.
They really couldn’t complain. Not when President Kang was the reason all these talented actors had shown up for audition.
It started with bringing in Sung-ah Kim (the driving force behind the film’s smooth progress) and extended to securing the funding, the choreography, and the music.
It was a messy dynamic.
Mr. Oh and Director Sung had only one wish. Please, let her acting be at least average!
Thus, the problem was this. If she showed truly terrible acting, how should they handle it?
“Haa…”
“Hoo…”
This was very reason the two of them were racking their brains.
“Well… Sung-ah said it, didn’t she? To drop anyone who can’t act. And that she’d still do this movie. She wouldn’t… go back on her word, would she? The dance videos are still being uploaded, aren’t they?” Director Sung said.
“…She wouldn’t. She signed the contract. Let’s not worry about it too much. Everything is going well so far. Everything.”
That made it all the more unfortunate. Everything was going well, but they still had to face this risk.
***
Including today, it would be the third time I had been here. I also visited once before investing, and once recently with Yumi for recording the variety show.
“Should I get you some coffee before we go to the waiting room? Or chocolate? Candy?”
“No, I’m fine.”
She smiled at me, as if to reassure me. Seeing her relaxed made me chuckle.
“Okay. Let’s head in, then.”
When we entered the audition waiting room, many eyes flew towards us and stared. Some sneered, others snickered, some shook their heads, and some snorted.
They were looking down on us.
I found it a relief that rumors hadn’t spread.
If there had been rumors that she was already chosen for the role, we wouldn’t have been seeing those silly reactions. They would have been more intense and pointed instead.
‘It’s true she wasn’t chosen ahead of time, though.’
Still, it was a situation that could be easily misunderstood.
“Be calm and do it like you practiced. Okay?”
Hee-yeon, who sitting in a chair, stared intently into my eyes as I squatted in front of her.
On her lap was a worn-out script. It was covered with scribbles, sticky notes, and bookmark stickers. The densely written notes in the script were enough to make anyone’s eyes go dizzy.
She hadn’t learned much about acting, but that was why she wrote down everything that came to mind.
“I think I can do well. I’m confident, President Kang.”
She looked confident. It wasn’t quite like her. I remembered how she used to tremble on stage even with her amazing singing ability.
It was all because she had practiced with Sung-ah every day, as if it were the real deal.
Sung-ah also enjoyed it quite a bit. When she met a frustrating partner, she would get annoyed, but when she met a good actor, she would feel refreshed.
In that sense, practicing with Hee-yeon must have been fun for her.
I met her eyes and smiled lightly. I stood up from my squatting position and sat next to her. As my gaze turned forward, Hee-yeon’s gaze also returned to the script.
Maybe it was because I was right next to her, but no one openly picked a fight with us. Instead, they would snort, click their tongues, or do similarly petty things as they passed by.
The good thing was that these cheap tricks didn’t seem to bother her focus. She stayed focused on the script.
“Actor Hee-yeon Lee.”
When it was our turn, Hee-yeon closed her script and quietly stood up. She walked into the audition room, pushing through the ugly stares of those who wanted us to fail.
Of course, I went with her. It would be really fun to watch this live.
“Hello, my name is Hee-yeon Lee.”
Hee-yeon bowed deeply. She seemed cold at first glance, but her upright and neat posture exuded a trustworthy feeling to those who saw her for the first time.
However, Director Sung and Mr. Oh didn’t look happy. She was too different from the character ‘Hyun-ah’ in the story.
“Yes, nice to meet you.”
They glanced at me and gave a mechanical smile.
It was probably for a few reasons. I was an investor, the very person who brought in big investments and attention to this movie, and I brought Sung-ah.
Inside, they might have been fuming, feeling as if I was being bossy or putting pressure on them. For now, anyway. Later, the way they look at me would change into the look of someone looking at their savior.
“We’ve really enjoyed listening to your song. Haha. Looking at your script, it seems you’ve studied quite a lot.”
These were formal questions. Hee-yeon nodded and calmly answered each one. It was more like a Q&A with short answers rather than a conversation.
The two caught themselves as they were about to sigh and held their breath. Then, they slowly let it fade away.
“Well, then. Can you show us Scene 31?”
“Scene 31…”
The audition officially began in ernest. Hee-yeon didn’t open her script and simply squeezed her eyes closed. She took a deep breath and fell into character.
Those who didn’t know about Hee-yeon’s skills seemed to dislike even this process of getting into character. They frowned, as if they thought she was putting on a show or being overly dramatic. To me, it looked like a hero transforming.
“I’m ready.”
At Hee-yeon’s signal that she was ready, the assistant director next to Director Sung looked at the script. It was to read the stage directions and play the other character.
“Scene 31. A dark night. Seon-yeong and Hyun-ah are drinking beer at a convenience store in front of a shantytown.”
Hee-yeon, who was now playing ‘Hyun-ah,’ felt a mix of emptiness, despair, silent anger, and a sense of injustice. Before speaking her lines, she curled her lips in a self-mocking way and let out a small, hollow laugh.
Even though she hadn’t said a single line yet, the faces of those watching Hee-yeon suddenly turned serious.
Didn’t I say she was transforming? It wasn’t some clumsy imitation she saw somewhere, people.
“I think I didn’t get it… probably.” She said weakly, then let out a big sigh.
“I thought I would make it this time. I was confident this morning. I feel so stupid. My life is so impossibly twisted. It wouldn’t all just go away for some miracle… Gosh. Why am I like this? How can I fall for this type of thing again and again? I actually had hope this time. I had hope for my life. I thought I would make it this time. I thought things could change from now on.”
It was a long speech. Every now and then, she shook her head and forced herself to swallow back tears, even laughing at herself.
“S-Scene 84!”
The sense of urgency was clear on Director Sung’s face. His eyes were wide open, and his breathing was rough and audible.
Mr. Oh’s eyes darted around, and his mouth twitched.
“Scene 84. Downtown during lunch rush.”
At the assistant director’s words, Hee-yeon’s face twisted strangely. She looked like someone who had heard something crazy. She looked up and down, her expression becoming doubtful.
“So, what you’re saying is… you can see other people’s luck and even take it away…? Like some superpower.”
After the assistant director’s line, Hee-yeon’s face twisted again. This time, it was a face filled with disappointment and betrayal. The strange thing was that even with that expression, you could still feel the doubt underneath it.
Looking at Director Sung’s face, I could feel it was pointless to continue with the audition.
“Are you in your right mind? You… took my luck? You crazy bitch. Does that even… Ha! Unbelievable.”
It was fun to watch their expressions and Hee-yeon’s acting.
For me especially, it felt even more meaningful. I had never seen Hee-yeon use those expressions and that way of speaking before. It felt new.
“Hey… How about you steal everyone’s luck in this room and give it to me?”
“What?”
“Do you have rocks for ears? I said, steal their luck and give it to me. Look, I’ll give you credit. You skipped your debut just to come to my interview. I’ll count that as a sign that there’s still some friendship left between us. But I can’t forgive you. You stole my luck last time. So now… it’s your turn to make it right. Go gather up every bit of luck you can and pass it my way. Come on, I want to finally hit the jackpot.”
Hee-yeon’s lines were laced a playful kind of madness. She chuckled and stretched her lips into a wide, wide grin.
“…”
“…”
After that wild performance, a cold-water silence settled over the room. It was as if she had grabbed the air itself and flung it around. The silence wasn’t the kind that weighed you down. It was the kind that made your heart race.
—