The Chaebol Family’s Youngest Daughter Doesn’t Hide Her Acting Skills - Chapter 3

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 3

Inside the study at Jaedamjae, a place where no one could enter without Chairman Joo’s permission.

“…That child came and went?”

Chairman Ju Taeback, setting down his teacup, asked his youngest daughter who had come to see him in a bewildered tone.

He had thought that after losing her mother, she would cut ties with her maternal family, but that child had come on her own.

And she had almost been turned away at the door.

“That fool Sudeok was probably distracted by his partying. We can just call him in and scold him.”

“Father, you’d go that far? Brother will be absolutely furious.”

Hearing this, his youngest daughter’s words made sense. Chairman Joo nodded slightly.

“If I scold him carelessly, an innocent child will be humiliated. Then let’s wait and see for now.”

“You should.”

“Jeong-hui, you go check what that child’s intentions are.”

“Me? Sae-i, that girl?”

“Yes. What she found at the Dongwoo Museum, how she ended up setting foot here again. I’m curious about such things.”

Making a hmm sound, Joo Jeong-hui nodded her head.

‘Well, it’s not particularly awkward to meet her.’

She picked up her cell phone and contacted her secretary.

[Give me my sister’s daughter’s number. It’s Father’s order, so make sure it doesn’t leak anywhere.]

A reply came immediately. She showed Chairman Joo the screen with Ju Sae-i’s number written on it.

“While you’re at it, treat her well. She’s at an age when she’d be starved for affection.”

“Since when have you cared about such things, Father?”

Joo Jeong-hui replied curtly and added as she left the study.

“I can give her some spending money, right? Lightly. Just enough so it won’t be burdensome.”

Of course, the answer was predetermined.

***

There was a problem.

I had obtained the script, and I could read all the writing in it.

But…

‘How do I get to the dinner party?’

After Mother passed away, Father and I, who had become independent from the Ju family, had no reason to go there.

For the first two years or so, invitations came, but after ignoring them, we hadn’t even heard news about them.

Should I ask for one now? From whom? Uncle would desperately try to stop me… Is there any lifeline I can grab onto…?

While I was pondering and holding my head in worry.

Ding!

The KakaoTalk notification sound rang once.

[This is Aunt Jeong-hui. I’d like to meet and chat.]

Found it! The lifeline I can grab onto!

I wanted to ask if going from Aunt Joo Jeong-hui to Aunt Jeong-hui wasn’t getting too familiar, but now wasn’t the time to be picky about that.

[I’m free from now on! I’ll come see you whenever it’s convenient for you :>]

A person who wouldn’t be swayed by Uncle. In other words, through Aunt, I could get to Grandfather’s dinner party…

[Tomorrow at 3 PM. Haewoo Atrium VIP Lounge.]

I had to persuade her.

At the Haewoo Atrium, which was practically Aunt’s home base.

***

The next day, Sae-i, who had prepared for her meeting with her aunt as soon as she woke up, arrived at the Haewoo Atrium 30 minutes earlier than scheduled.

Although she was part of the Dongwoo Group, she didn’t have a single driver, so to move around without Father knowing, she had to take the bus. So this was all because of Gyeonggi Province residents’ time calculation method…

Anyway.

Sae-i was able to easily enter the lounge by mentioning her aunt’s name, who was the owner of the atrium.

‘Should I contact her saying I arrived early?’

While pondering this and looking around, Sae-i spotted her aunt and another person in her field of vision.

‘I can’t just go over and greet them rashly…’

When she sent a light message saying she had arrived, her aunt, who checked the contact, turned her head this way and that. She seemed to be looking for Sae-i.

And.

“Come sit here.”

Sae-i was instantly led by her aunt to join the table. Across from her sat a woman who looked slightly younger than her aunt.

“Oh?”

Their eyes met, and the other person smiled lightly at Sae-i.

As soon as Sae-i met those eyes, she immediately recognized who this person was.

“Actress Seong Hye-sim?”

Seong Hye-sim, South Korea’s method actress.

Someone who would later even take on the role of theater company director, and in her previous life had selected Ju Sae-i as a company member along with praise of being a genius.

That person was right in front of her. Looking younger than when she had met her in her previous life.

“You recognized me right away? You must watch a lot of TV.”

“You’re so famous… I didn’t know you two would be together.”

That ‘Seong Hye-sim’ was acquainted with her aunt. While Sae-i was surprised and bewildered, her aunt introduced Sae-i to Seong Hye-sim.

Seong Hye-sim extended her hand to Sae-i.

For no reason, the moment when she had been recognized by her came to mind, and tears welled up. Sae-i bowed her head deeply and responded to the handshake.

With a word to wait a moment, her aunt continued her conversation with Seong Hye-sim.

“I thought Sister Jeong-hui’s eye for talent might help me choose well…”

“How many scripts are there?”

“One that I like. The rest, well, I don’t get a feel for them.”

From what she could hear, they seemed to be discussing her next project.

Sae-i sat quietly and mulled over their conversation. What work had Seong Hye-sim filmed during this period?

‘There wasn’t any, was there?’

Even though Seong Hye-sim was famous for being prolific, there were no works she had filmed around this time. It was what people commonly called a hiatus period.

‘Many scripts came in but she didn’t film any works…’

She didn’t want to film anything enough to endure the gap. To define it in one word: a slump.

‘So it was during this time.’

Sae-i knew the reason for Seong Hye-sim’s slump. She had read the interview she gave when she returned with a ten-million-viewer movie after overcoming her slump.

‘She said she had lost interest.’

Seong Hye-sim, who had been about to quit acting, later discovered a genius named Seo Ha-jun and regained her passion while working on projects with him.

‘If I… step in here?’

This was an opportunity to prevent actress Seong Hye-sim’s slump and also make a good impression on her aunt who happened to be right there.

Sae-i, who had only been listening to their conversation, cleared her throat and spoke up.

“Um, could I read the script a bit?”

“You?”

Her aunt immediately asked back. Seong Hye-sim also looked at Sae-i with puzzled eyes.

“I only brought one today… Are you interested, Miss Sae-i?”

“Yes. I’d like to try reading it with you, ma’am.”

“You mean you want to act in front of me?”

Seong Hye-sim’s eyes widened.

With the most direct gaze, Sae-i looked at her. And nodded her head.

As if enchanted, she took out the script and flipped through it, and Sae-i quickly opened the script.

With a face full of curiosity, Joo Jeong-hui called Sae-i several times, but there was no answer as she seemed absorbed.

Meanwhile…

‘It’s a script I know.’

Broadcasting station KDS’s blockbuster hit, 【Your Blue Name】.

It was the script for episode 1 of ‘Your Blue Name’ for short. A work that had drawn in many viewers as famous scenes and lines from episode 1 spread through SNS.

The role that came to Seong Hye-sim was the protagonist’s mother.

A role who neglects her one remaining daughter while mourning her dead son, and belatedly realizes her mistake. In her previous life, a national mother actress as famous as Seong Hye-sim had played this role.

‘I’ve read it all.’

After skimming through once, the lines came back to her vividly. Even in her previous life, she had memorized scripts as soon as she read them, so she was confident in her memorization skills.

Seong Hye-sim observed Sae-i constantly.

It was an actor’s intuition. She had a gut feeling that this child was like a rough diamond.

All this time, Seong Hye-sim had been contemplating retirement. Because acting had become completely uninteresting. What had started as something enjoyable had become nothing more than a tedious chore.

Perhaps this child could awaken me from my boredom. It might be a futile delusion, but Seong Hye-sim harbored light expectations.

Before long, Sae-i closed the script.

“Um, I’m ready.”

“You’ve already read it all? Which part would you like to do?”

“I don’t have a preference. I’ll match whatever you choose.”

“Any part?”

Sae-i answered with a smile.

Seong Hye-sim tilted her head as if finding it strange. The child before her hadn’t spent much time examining the script.

Only forty minutes.

Yet she said she’d match whatever was chosen. Did she memorize the entire script in forty minutes?

“Sae-i, I’m asking just in case…”

“Please go ahead.”

“Do you want me to go easy on you like playing with a niece? I thought you meant to treat you as an actor, but…”

“Please treat me as an actor.”

What is she trusting to act like this? What is she trying to show me? Seong Hye-sim’s face, which had been gentle, began to change with anticipation.

“You said you’d match whatever I choose.”

And then.

“Mom… what should Mom do. What should Mom do…”

Suddenly Seong Hye-sim’s voice changed. From a soft tone to a rough tone. It was the beginning of her acting.

It was a line from the mother role she was playing. However, there was one trap and test.

“Mom did everything wrong… Please open the door, okay? Son…”

The counterpart in this scene wasn’t the protagonist daughter, but the son who would appear in a special role.

How would she respond? Had she even memorized this scene where the protagonist doesn’t appear? Could a young girl express a male student who had decided to die?

Seong Hye-sim swallowed nervously and looked at Ju Sae-i before her next line. Soon her eyes widened.

There was a son before her eyes.

Ju Sae-i had become the son who had resolved to die, looking at her with a forlorn expression.

“Huh, uh…”

Seong Hye-sim let out a breath.

It was the first time her acting had broken before they even exchanged lines.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————