Chapter 12
Da-eun headed to the practice room within her agency.
The female leads in <We Must> are twins, so the facial features of the lead and supporting roles had to be similar.
They were going to do two roles, but there were too many overlapping scenes, so they split it into two.
The original female protagonists, Gongseol and Da-eun, had similar appearances, such as height, hair length, and big eyes, so they could have created the same feel with just a little bit of makeup.
Even though it was a guaranteed role for BM Company, related factors were taken into consideration.
“It feels like it’s been a while.”
She had been coming here regularly to practice, but it had only been three years for her.
Da-eun changed into the practice clothes in her locker and sat in front of the mirror. She started by stretching.
Good acting comes from having your body and facial muscles sufficiently relaxed.
She relaxed and thought about the content of the piece.
Na-ri and Woo-ri, who were abandoned as children, were adopted into different homes. One was from a poor family and the other was from a rich family.
And as time passes, the two meet by chance at the New York airport.
Although the two people grew up in such different environments, they were able to recognize each other at a glance because they had hoped to meet someday.
Nari, who was supposed to marry into a famous conglomerate family, was frantically searching for a body double with a similar appearance to her in order to give birth to a child she had accidentally conceived.
I needed someone to go to school for me while I was pregnant and giving birth. I couldn’t take a leave of absence because my adoptive parents didn’t know about it.
I think it’s perfect for twins who were separated when they were young. The more I think about it, the more regretful it becomes, but then Nari meets us.
The moment Nari sees us, she is delighted that she has found a substitute, and we, who need to earn money for our adoptive mother’s surgery, accept Nari’s offer.
So we went into Nari’s house in New York.
I gradually become greedy about Nari’s glamorous daily life, which is completely different from my situation as an exchange student who came to New York for only two weeks on a scholarship. I want to have Nari’s life.
At first glance, it may seem like we and Nari have similar screen time, but as the title suggests, we were clearly the main characters. This is because our emotions and circumstances were dealt with in much more depth.
The audition was a scene where we felt a lot of emotions as we toured Nari’s New York home, which we visited for the first time.
It was a difficult role to portray, as it had to be calm but emotionally dynamic.
While analyzing the character to figure out what kind of expression and voice would be best to express it with, the door to the practice room in my agency opened wide.
“… … .”
It was Noh Hye-young. The moment our eyes met through the mirror, silence flowed.
Hye-young, with her face wrinkled, sat down a long way away from Da-eun with nervous steps.
Da-eun took her eyes off Hye-young, who had started stretching, and fixed her gaze on the script. She focused on memorizing her lines and interpreting her character.
“hey.”
Suddenly, Hye-young started talking to me in a rude manner.
“You know it’s to my advantage this time, right?”
At the unexpected remark, Da-eun looked up from her script and looked at Hye-young. Hye-young, who was stretching her legs and stretching her body, continued speaking.
“You’ve never lost anything.”
Hye-young’s words, which were greatly mistaken, caused an empty laugh to erupt.
Hye-young, who also snorted, seemed to be annoyed by Da-eun’s laughter, and spoke rapidly.
“What would you know, having been rich and had everything since you were young? If you just auditioned, you’d get the lead role in every college play.”
In that sense, I think that someone who has been so lacking would know our station’s emotions better.
“Since you’re the one who got the <Secret Letter>, I should take on the lead role this time.”
Da-eun, who had been listening quietly, spoke.
“Have I ever experienced loss?”
In her past life, she lost both her healthy body and her brilliant youth in a gas explosion accident. She lost her dreams and her life.
And I lost faith in a betrayed friendship, and I lost a friend who I believed was everything to me.
I wonder, Noh Hye-young.
What will your ‘loss’ be like?
Da-eun got up with the script. As she faced Hye-young, she remembered the time when she acted as if she was going to take out her liver and gallbladder without even knowing that it was Hye-young who had scarred her face.
My emotions were so turbulent that it was difficult to concentrate.
Da-eun, who thought she should practice at home, turned her head and spoke to Hye-young before packing her bag and leaving the practice room.
“Yeah. I’ve won every audition so far.”
At that, Hye-young’s eyebrows furrowed. Da-eun smiled, thinking that it was a sight worth seeing.
“Do your best for this audition.”
I hope it lives up to your expectations.
No matter how much I prepare, I will win this time too.
* * *
“Mr. Yoon Joo-hyuk.”
Joo-hyuk, who was leaving the editing room, turned around when he heard Director Sa Mi-hyeon call him.
<Secret Letter> The first edit was complete and I was just finishing the final edit with Director Sa.
Now all that was left was the post-production work, which was Director Sa’s job.
Director Sa is also very skilled, so I’m sure he’ll finish it off well like he did in his last life.
But why did you call me?
Director Sa, who was rummaging through his desk, handed Joo-hyuk a business card.
“… … .”
It was the business card of Director Shin Jung-geun, who was in charge of directing <We Must>. Joo-hyuk looked at Director Sa with a strange gaze.
There were moments like this sometimes when I turned back time.
Like fate.
Director Shin is probably preparing <We Must> with writer Kim Hee-sook right now. Da-eun will appear in that drama.
“This time, Director Shin, because his schedule was a bit messy, I recommended him to find a staff member who was quick and good at editing.”
“ah.”
It was the same in my past life. At that time, Joo-hyuk was so busy making his own work that he only heard it half-heartedly.
So I remember Da-eun having a hard time in her second life. I think she couldn’t sleep properly while filming all night with the script at the end.
“Is there anything else going on?”
Joo-hyuk was shaken out of his thoughts by Director Sa’s question. There was nothing else. The original plan was to join the staff of <We Must>. If he had recommended it, it would have been a good thing.
Joohyuk shook his head and said while putting his business card away.
“I will try to contact you.”
Director Sa’s eyebrows furrowed as if he was displeased. Juhyuk’s lips curled up as he anticipated her twisted feelings.
It seemed like he thought I wasn’t grateful no matter how well I treated him.
Director Sa was a rare person in this industry who pursued horizontal relationships. He was calm even in situations where other directors would have sworn at him.
“Thank you.”
When Joo-hyuk bowed his head slightly to say hello, Director Sa’s eyes widened as if he had not expected it.
It seemed that the evaluation of Joo-hyuk as someone who doesn’t know how to sleep continued in this life as well.
Joo-hyuk left the editing room, leaving Director Sa behind, and went through the crowded broadcasting station lobby and out of the building. This was because there was not enough parking space, so he had to park somewhere else.
As I stood at the crosswalk in the bright sunlight, I saw a familiar face on the electronic signboard attached to the outside wall of the building.
“It’s pretty.”
It was a vitamin drink commercial that Da-eun took.
Her vibrant face filled the large screen.
The person next to me took a deep breath and spoke excitedly to his friend next to me.
“Wow, who is that model? She looks so refreshing. I want to try the drink.”
“Yeah. It was already hot. Oh, there’s a convenience store over there. Let’s go!”
As soon as the signal turned green, people ran across the crosswalk. Joo-hyuk, with a smile on his face, slowly walked into the convenience store.
Da-eun’s face was printed on the vitamin drink placed on one side of the beverage section.
“It’s a calculation.”
He came out with one, opened the lid, and took a sip of the drink. The refreshing lemon scent and sour taste clung to his tongue.
“It tastes like Kang Da-eun.”
Addictive.
Joo-hyuk, who had finished the bottle with satisfaction, stared blankly at the printed image of Da-eun’s face, but couldn’t bring himself to throw it away and brought it to his car.
A rare smile spread across his face as he placed the tumbler on the stand, stared at it, and started it.
* * *
The day of the audition for <We Must> has arrived. Da-eun carefully checked her character interpretation and wore a costume that fit the role.
“We have arrived, actor.”
Manager Lee Ha-jeong, who was newly assigned to Director Moon, was a woman of Da-eun’s age with a delicate appearance and gentle eyes.
Director Moon said he was worried because the new employee had not received enough training, but it seemed much better than I had heard.
“Oh, and… … I saw the CF you filmed. It was so good!”
Hajung was embarrassed, but with sparkling eyes, she revealed that she had become Da-eun’s fan.
“thank you.”
I think we’ll become closer little by little. Da-eun got out of the car with a smile and headed to the audition location she had been guided to in advance.
The audition location was empty.
It was because the place where the original reading was scheduled was spacious and all the tables and chairs were cleared away to allow for the audition.
In the wide space, there was only a table for Director Shin and Writer Kim, and some staff members were setting it up.
“Hello, this is Kang Da-eun.”
When Da-eun greeted her, the staff member who was organizing the chairs nodded absentmindedly.
“Please wait a moment.”
“yes.”
Da-eun answered with a smile and went to stand in the corner. I thought I should help her clean up, but it was already over.
On one wall, chairs were piled up like a mountain, and on the other, long desks were folded up in a row.
The staff member who had roughly cleaned up the pieces of paper that had fallen on the floor tidied up the judges’ table.
“… … .”
Da-eun looked around the empty space and thought about how she could reflect this space in her acting.
“You came early, huh?”
After completing her preparations, writer Kim Hee-sook entered the audition room.
“Hello, author.”
“Okay. Wait outside. I’ll look into it individually.”
“all right.”
As I came out into the hallway, I ran into Hye-young, who was leaning against the window and reading her script. Hye-young glanced at Da-eun, then pretended not to notice and turned her eyes back to her script.
She also didn’t really want to say hello, so she pretended not to see me and sat a little further away.
Wait a minute, Director Shin Jeong-geun appeared at the end of the hallway.
The new director entered the audition room without even saying hello, and one of the staff members who came with him approached Da-eun and Hye-young.
“Noh Hye-young, please go in first.”
“yes?”
Hye-young, who was staring at the staff while asking a question, said with a smile.
“I want to do it later.”
