I’m an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me - Chapter 112
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 112
* * *
“Can you really eat all of that, student?”
“Does Han Yeoreum starve? We need to get it packaged, packaged. This is why middle-aged men these days. They only think about themselves!”
“No! You can’t say that! Our team is family, family!”
Myeong Jeha, who had come out to the cafe directly across from the studio, quietly watched Dokgo Min beating up Jjang Director.
‘I really did well bringing her along.’
For such a thoughtful and altruistic type, a self-righteous type like Dokgo Min was the perfect match.
‘And since Dokgo Min has exceptional aesthetic sense, she’ll be helpful for overall scene composition too.’
Dokgo Min, who had piled up bagels like a mountain, snatched Jjang Director’s card and swiped it.
“Mmm! The cakes here are cute too!”
Even after swiping the card like that, Dokgo Min’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the cakes in the showcase.
Jjang Director, who had instantly become a selfish middle-aged man, approached Jeha’s side.
“Students these days are too scary, Jeha…”
“I’m sorry. For bringing her for no reason. I’ll cancel the card and pay with mine.”
“No, no. You brought her well. I was stuck thinking alone about something. It’s not like I don’t know those looks wondering what kind of amazing person that Jegal Rok brought…”
Under the bright cafe lighting, Jjang Director’s face looked even more gaunt. The word ‘haggard’ suited him perfectly.
“I’ve been thinking about various things. Ugh… Ah, no. What kind of disgraceful sight am I showing to Jeha, who’s so much younger. Haha.”
“Still, I like it, this scenario.”
“Right? Right? As soon as I saw the original work, this inspiration came to me immediately. It would be great if we could really see it before our eyes…”
He swallowed with a face mixed with tension and anticipation.
“Then it’ll definitely become a famous scene that remains in TVM history. Yeah.”
“Who are you thinking of for Yeomga? She’s as important a character as Seoryeong, and I think Yeomga will probably be the kick.”
“Right! That’s why, unlike the stable Plan A scenario I mentioned, Plan B doesn’t have a mask on in the final gut scene. I’ll properly pressure from episodes 1 to 15.”
Plan A. The ideal scenario that Han Yeoreum is currently memorizing puts a Hahoe mask on the face of the shaman Yeomga.
It’s a device representing her desire to smile at the moment her long-cherished wish comes true.
Because Yeomga lost her laughter from the moment she sacrificed even her own child.
“As Jeha probably felt too, if we put a mask on Yeomga in Plan B’s final scene, all the spotlight goes only to Seoryeong. It’s a contrast scene between the emotionless and thus more eerie Yeomga and Seoryeong pouring out emotions.”
He happened to know someone who would want to play Yeomga. Jeha said with a smile.
“Director, please give me a copy of the scenario too. Plan B.”
“There’s nothing I can’t give… but why?”
“I want to show it to someone who could play Yeomga. The scenario is so good that it would be a waste to go with the stable Plan A.”
“Hmm… this really makes me worry. I keep getting greedy.”
Jjang Director rubbed his rough face with one hand. His struggle between his own greed and his heart that cherished actors was clear.
“Mister! Let’s go now!”
“…Student? What’s all that behind you?”
“Let’s go see Han Yeoreum~.”
“Student? Student!”
Dokgo Min, who was now carrying packaged bread as tall as herself, left the cafe without looking back.
Ding-.
The cafe’s bell sounded unusually light and clear.
* * *
Jjang Director carried the heavy bread bags that Dokgo Min had been holding, dividing them between both hands. Perhaps the weight on his heart was heavier than the weight of the bread.
‘Really, what am I doing getting swept up like this… Why do I keep having expectations?’
Just memorizing all the lines in 30 minutes was already amazing. The final scene was a moment where Seoryeong stakes her life.
Love and hate for Yeomga, guilt toward Jeongan, love for Myeongdo, compassion for the world he tries to protect, anger at himself for developing attachment to life unlike the past when he had resolved to die, and sadness for those who died.
‘Putting these emotions into those difficult and long lines…’
It was acting that even veterans would find difficult.
‘Still, since she wants to do it, I should watch once out of courtesy and then suggest going with Plan A.’
The direction of sharing the explosive anger scene with Yeomga would definitely be less burdensome.
Jjang Director made this resolution as he opened the studio door.
“Yeoreum. Is the scenario manageable to read?”
“Yes.”
But something was strange. Yeoreum’s eyes were red. She looked at Jjang Director with an even more detached and calm attitude than before.
“You can just do it like reading while looking at the scenario. Shall we try it once?”
“No. It’s okay.”
Yeoreum closed the scenario she had been holding with a sharp sound.
Then she placed it on the table.
“I’ve memorized it all.”
It was a monologue that continued for several pages. It was amazing that she had memorized it all in just 30 minutes, but there was no hesitation in her eyes.
“Director, could you turn off the lights?”
“Oh. You want to do it with the lights off? Alright, I’ll turn them off.”
Following Yeoreum’s request, Jjang Director turned off the studio switch.
Click-.
As soon as the lights went off, the studio was filled with darkness. Only the intermittent breathing of the four people could be heard.
Cutting through the silence, Yeoreum’s voice rang out.
“You bastard Yeomga… the most shameless thing that will never exist again in this world…”
A gloomy energy was faintly felt.
Yeoreum was doing proper ‘acting.’ It wasn’t at the level of script reading.
“I will put on a face mask and question the sins you have committed until now.”
Voice projection shaking with anxiety and anger, yet accurate pronunciation, and an atmosphere like frost.
At this moment, Jjang Director had the illusion that he had become part of a gut ritual.
As if a real shaman was receiving divine possession, Yeoreum began to sing. That tone with ambiguous pitch was utterly ominous.
“In the separate palace of the nine-fold palace, the spirit of a faithful woman who kept her chastity-
The spirit of one who drowned in the waters of Wisu Jungbun Baengnodan-.”
The smell of damp earth and blood mixed together, echoing in his skull.
“At the gates of a thousand and ten thousand houses, the spirit of a beggar who begged-
On the roads of distant lands, the spirit of a traveler who came and went-.”
It seemed like anxious drum sounds and shrill flute sounds could be faintly heard in his ears.
Something was felt beyond that darkness.
“Sangbaek Cheonjeon Eoncheonjeon Daeja Cheonjeon Daeseong Wigun Saengbu Wiman Yeongsa Geumja Jecheon…”
From some point, even the breathing sounds of the people in this place could not be heard.
“Dark hell, white tiger hell, charcoal hell, yellow spring hell, golden thread hell, earth thread hell…”
Having forgotten even to breathe. As if everything had been swallowed up in the darkness, the three people were frozen like that.
And what overwhelmed Jjang Director most of all was Yeoreum’s direction.
In eternal darkness, life ends at this moment
In eternal darkness, life ends at this moment
In eternal darkness, life ends at this moment…
One moment with a child’s voice, one moment with an old person’s voice, one moment with a man’s voice. Yeoreum cursed Yeomga like that.
It seemed like countless vengeful spirits existed beyond that darkness.
‘…What is this….’
Until Yeoreum’s monologue ended, Jjang Director remained frozen in place.
Thump- Thump- Thump-.
Jjang Director’s heart was pounding.
The back of his neck tingled sharply. The ambition he had barely managed to bury rose up like smoke.
Even if he felt like he was being crushed to death by the pressure, even if he couldn’t breathe, the desire to create the best scene made his head spin dizzyingly.
Was that really Yeoreum over there? He was almost starting to doubt it.
Click-.
Myeong Jeha put his hand on the switch. The space instantly brightened.
But still, no one opened their mouth. As if they had forgotten how to speak.
“Yeoreum….”
Only after a long while did Jjang Director stammer and call Yeoreum’s name.
“That, just now, I mean.”
There were so many things he wanted to say. How did she memorize the lines so quickly, where did she learn to curse like singing, how on earth did she manage such acting.
But Jjang Director set aside everything else and asked about the part that gave him the most chills.
“Just now, what was that voice just now?”
Yeoreum answered calmly. As if it was nothing special.
“Since the vengeful spirits who lost their lives because of the Yeom Family also came to the gut ritual. Even the people playing instruments are possessed together. As each one collapses and the remaining spirits take turns possessing Seoryeong’s body to curse the Yeom Family….”
As if this level of interpretation was natural.
“….”
Dokgo Min patted the shoulder of Jjang Director standing there and said.
“I told you not to doubt genius Dokgo Min’s eye for talent.”
“Right… the student was correct….”
“You’re not even a civil servant, why do you worry so much about stability? If you’re an artist, you should have the spirit not to compromise!”
* * *
“What’s this?”
Director Gong, the Chungmuro civil servant who was checking the rough edit footage of , rubbed the back of his neck with an inexplicable feeling.
“What’s wrong, Director?”
“I feel like someone just cursed me… Right. I definitely should have bowed properly at the ritual table back then. The problem was my knees hurt….”
“There you go again.”
The editor holding the mouse in front of Director Gong shook his head.
“We’ll easily surpass the break-even point, okay? Here, I’ll give you reasons one last time for real. No more after this.”
“Mm….”
The editor, who was used to sympathizing with the dejected Director Gong, recited the reasons why would succeed.
“JC set the release date perfectly for summer, right? Director Jegalrok is even coming to the rough cut screening, right? Manager Ma said she’s producing goods too, right? Yoon Hyeonjo and Gwak Cheolsik’s acting is amazing, right? And my editing is also amazing, right? There’s no way it can fail, right?”
It was dialogue he said four times a day after entering the editing room. Director Gong, as if that wasn’t enough, requested additional reasons.
“You keep saying the same things, it’s getting a bit stale….”
“Ha! Really!”
The hand holding the mouse tensed up, but the editor tried to take a deep breath.
“And look at this kid, if you put in auto-subtitles, the dialogue comes out exactly right. I’ve been watching her since she did web dramas, and her pronunciation is decent.”
Just then, Yeoreum appeared on the screen.
Only then did Director Gong stroke his bearded chin and smile.
“Right? It’ll do well, right? No problem making a sequel, right?”
“There won’t be any problems.”
The scenario for sequel came to mind for Director Gong. One where Influencer 1 would appear again. It wasn’t hard to imagine Han Yeoreum fitting in like a perfect supporting character.
* * *
A few days later, five volumes of scripts were placed on a stately walnut desk.
“Huh….”
They were scripts for episodes 1 through 4, and the final episode 16. The old man who had taken in every detail up to the final content took off his glasses and smiled.
“That rascal Jeha sent something interesting?”
A professor at Korean Arts Comprehensive School and Geum Bitkang’s longtime colleague. A smile formed on Noh Jeongyeon’s lips.
In the box Myeong Jeha sent, there was a short invitation along with the scenario.
[To Jeongan ]
And there was another copy of the same scenario prepared. The invitation included likewise read.
[To Yeomga ]
Professor No’s longtime friend and colleague, and a veteran considering retirement.
A throne for Geum Bitkang was prepared.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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