episode_0199

“Why did you give me the mirror?”

That was all Yang Harin said.

Beep beep─

However, sirens were already blaring in Soo-ah’s head. It was because Soo-ah couldn’t understand Harin’s words.

‘Mirror? I gave a mirror?’

Silence filled the space. It was only natural. Soo-ah hadn’t really reacted to Yang Harin’s words.

In the end, it was Yang Harin who broke the silence again.

“Didn’t you hear me? Or are you unwilling?”

“It’s not that…”

Cold sweat beaded on Soo-ah’s forehead.

In this situation, there’s only one thing to look for.

‘Help me! Soo-ah Association!’

─What’s wrong now?

─Hmm, I had a feeling this would happen.

Kim Yu-han and Wi Ji-hye, along with the little Soo-ahs inside, quickly gathered. They sensed that something unusual had happened. Kim Yu-han was the first to speak.

─We need to answer carefully. Harin-ssi seems to think the mirror has great significance. She even put off her suicide because she’s curious about it, it seems.

─Hmm, in that case, is it no exaggeration to say that Harin’s life hangs on this child’s answer?

─That’s right.

─Child, then tell us first, without saying it out loud. What was the original reason for giving the mirror?

Around this time, Soo-ah began to remember.

‘Ah. I remember. Awards ceremony?’

Yes, she remembered. It was the day of the Busan International Short Film Festival awards ceremony. Soo-ah gave Harin a mirror.

However…

‘It was to distract her from worrying about her underwear showing, right?’

There was no grand reason at all. Really, none.

─Ah…

─….

The entire Soo-ah Association, gathered together, sighed simultaneously.

─You killed that child.

─Ahem, Grandma. Watch your words. She’s not dead yet, is she? There’s still a chance.

Kim Yu-han cleared his throat and continued.

─We can definitely get through this.

‘…There’s a way to solve it?’

─That’s right. Meaning is up to us to give, isn’t it? Let’s create a plausible meaning from now on.

‘Uh, um, I can’t think of anything good right now.’

─There’s no need to think of anything right now. Until you tell her the reason, Harin-ssi will be alive, curious. Let’s buy some time and think of a good meaning.

‘Ah?’

─The idea is to stimulate her curiosity and induce her to participate in “Crescendo From Tomorrow,” and then we can think about the meaning.

“…”

Kim Yu-han’s words were clear enough for even Soo-ah to understand. It was also a textbook method. If she followed it, she could resolve the situation quite easily.

But, well…

Soo-ah had something slightly bothering her.

─Is it okay to convey a newly created meaning? It pricks my conscience a little. I don’t know if it’s okay…

─Harin-ssi isn’t an honest person in the first place.

However, Kim Yu-han immediately retorted.

─Harin-ssi has harmed many new actors, and Soo-ah sunbae would have been a sacrifice if she didn’t have acting skills. Frankly, the fact that we’re even having this conversation is absurd. Honestly, it’s okay to let her die.

‘Ah?’

─But what if Soo-ah sunbae finds a meaning that allows Harin-ssi to sincerely repent? Wouldn’t the rest of Harin-ssi’s life be quite valuable?

Kim Yu-han’s words were seamless.

─Soo-ah sunbae, even roadside flowers only get a name when they are discovered. So there’s no need to feel guilty about worrying about the meaning now. If you can give her a pretty name, it will be a happy thing for each other.

‘…’

─You don’t understand, do you? To put it simply, it means that since it’s a good thing, do it without hesitation.

She was hit right on the mark.

‘Ahem, ahem…’

In fact, Soo-ah didn’t fully understand Yu-han Soo-ah’s words, but she still knew roughly what it felt like. There’s no need to feel guilty! Soo-ah understand!

─If it’s really difficult, there’s also a way for me to take over Soo-ah sunbae’s body, but you don’t want that, do you?

“Yeah. I’ll try to do it myself.”

Soo-ah nodded.

If she lived her life giving her body to the character at every important moment, she would eventually lose her true self. So Soo-ah had to do it herself. Soo-ah fighting!

Sss-!

Instead, she just wore Kim Yu-han’s expression slightly.

“Wait here for a moment.”

Soo-ah left for a while, ending with those words.

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.

.

‘What is she doing?’

Yang Harin thought, waiting for Soo-ah.

What’s so difficult about telling me the meaning of this little mirror that she even leaves her seat?

At this point, she wondered if she had come for nothing.

It was then that Soo-ah reappeared.

“…”

Yang Harin couldn’t help but frown. It was because Soo-ah appeared with a script in her hand.

Is she going to look at the script because the time to talk to me is precious? Or is it to show off that she’s entered a production?

Yang Harin opened her mouth, laced with thorns.

“Why are you dragging it out like this? So there was no special meaning after all, right? I was expecting that.”

“…”

Then Soo-ah just stared at Yang Harin.

Yang Harin almost flinched without realizing it. It was because Soo-ah’s gaze was always unreserved. As if she were going to see the soul contained in Yang Harin’s eyes.

How much confidence do you need to have to have that kind of attitude?

…Now Yang Harin can’t have that attitude.

Yang Harin urged.

“Why don’t you say something?”

“Well, honestly, I’m a little dumbfounded.”

“What?”

“Asking me to tell you the meaning of the mirror, doesn’t that mean you still haven’t found the answer?”

“…?”

Yang Harin narrowed her brow.

“You suddenly handed it to me. How would I know?”

“I thought you would know.”

“…”

Yang Harin clenched her fist tightly.

“…Stop joking around and tell me. I’m serious.”

“I’m not joking either.”

Soo-ah shook her head.

“Besides, I can’t tell you with my own mouth.”

“What? Why?”

“It only has meaning if you realize it yourself.”

“Ah, you, really…”

Yang Harin grabbed her throbbing head.

It’s like this.

Again, again, again, Lee Soo-ah is always like this.

She always acts like she knows everything.

She acts and speaks as if other people are in her grasp, as if she is omnipotent. It was also the reason why the people around her revered Soo-ah.

Yang Harin found it hypocritical. You’re just human after all. Just an actor who’s a little good at acting.

Just say it. Just say that there’s no special meaning to this mirror and it was just a mockery. Don’t pretend to be clean, please.

In the end, Yang Harin burst out in resentment.

“Do you think I came here to listen to this kind of nonsense!”

“Yang Harin, lower your voice.”

Soo-ah recited Yang Harin’s name without any time difference.

“Rather, I’ll ask you. What exactly did you want?”

“…!”

“You did garbage things to many people, and you did it to me too. What kind of confidence do you have to show this kind of attitude? Did you expect me to welcome you?”

“…”

“You did a kind thing at the fan meeting? That’s a joke. I never asked you to do that. I can move forward enough without you doing that for me.”

“That’s…”

“Just be grateful that I didn’t kick you out. A reason to answer you for sure? Where’s the reason for that?”

“…”

She couldn’t refute it.

In fact, she didn’t even have the confidence to look Soo-ah in the eye.

The reason was simple. Yang Harin knew the facts Soo-ah just said better than anyone else.

‘I know. The reason I’m doing this is…’

Yang Harin’s clenched fist trembled.

‘…It’s just because I need the courage to die.’

If she found out the meaning of this mirror that had been holding back her suicide, and if that meaning was the meaning of mockery as Yang Harin had thought… she would feel like dying.

Soo-ah would have noticed even that feeling.

‘Looking back, I’m just a fool.’

The reason why she started observing Soo-ah’s actions was also pathetic.

Yang Harin didn’t just work in the fan cafe for this question. She just couldn’t stop tracking Soo-ah’s actions. It was like she was addicted.

Reason for addiction?

‘Because I was envious when I saw you. I was really, really envious.’

It was because Soo-ah lived the life that Yang Harin wanted.

‘So I couldn’t stop observing.’

A life where she solidified her position with short films and Wednesday-Thursday dramas, was treated as a candidate for the rookie award without competition, and news that she was involved in big projects poured out every day. Even a life turning her eyes to overseas…

Soo-ah achieved the life Yang Harin dreamed of.

‘I… I wanted to be like that too…’

At first, she gritted her teeth and burst into anger.

But not anymore.

“…”

She doesn’t even have the will to fight Soo-ah. She doesn’t even have the confidence.

It seemed like there was an invisible wall between Soo-ah and Yang Harin, an insurmountable limit.

A genius actor is someone who wins every time. A paint that doesn’t shake in any situation or in any work, but rather colors the surroundings with herself.

Now she knows. Yang Harin is not that kind of being.

So maybe the real genius is Soo-ah.

‘…I’ve been living in delusion all this time.’

The delusion that she was a genius. In a very cruel delusion.

“…”

Yang Harin dropped her head, her fist loosened.

She was too pathetic.

Lee Soo-ah, a true genius, and Yang Harin, who thought she had taken the whole world with her small success.

Every time she sees Lee Soo-ah, Yang Harin’s world collapses. But Soo-ah lives the life she dreamed of so much, so she can’t help but look at it again. What a contradiction.

She is just a whiny little child who will suffer while observing Soo-ah’s life and die.

“…Sorry. I’m sorry.”

That was all Yang Harin said.

She became rather detached.

She realized how ugly it was to think of being provoked by Soo-ah on purpose and gaining the courage to commit suicide impulsively with that anger.

What kind of disgrace is this.

It’s like a child being stubborn with an adult.

Acknowledge everything. Let’s disappear like dust…

“The mirror I gave you, have you ever looked into it?”

Then Soo-ah suddenly said. When she unknowingly raised her head, Soo-ah’s eyes were sharp like a blade.

“If you’ve looked into it, what was inside?”

What’s inside? Only Yang Harin was there.

But.

“I thought my rival would be there.”

It was then.

“Aren’t you?”

The moment she heard Soo-ah’s short question.

“…!”

Yang Harin widened her eyes.

It was because she realized something late.

“You… You…”

Her foolish mouth couldn’t even speak properly, but Yang Harin’s head was spinning faster than ever. When her thoughts reached a certain possibility, she shuddered.

Soo-ah said.

“You shouldn’t have come to me like this. You know.”

What did she do after losing to Soo-ah?

She spent days filled with inferiority, wasting time looking for a place to relieve her aimless anger. She was still stupid after that. She continued a lifeless and meaningless life.

But Soo-ah wasn’t like that.

Even at the moment she handed over the mirror, and even until now, when she met again at this fan meeting, she considered her a rival.

She didn’t know.

She was ashamed when she realized that. She was too pathetic.

Acting like a whiny child.

“Take it.”

Soo-ah handed a script to Yang Harin as if throwing it. Turning her body halfway was a sign of leaving.

“Someday, if you find my rival in the mirror, come back. If you can’t find it, let’s not see each other again. In the first place, neither you nor I welcome each other.”

Soo-ah left, ending with those words.

But Yang Harin was still standing frozen. It was because the words Soo-ah left behind held her back.

“…”

Yang Harin quietly organized the words she had just heard.

“…”

Strangely, her body was no longer lethargic.

Yang Harin quietly reached out.

Rustle─ Rustle─

She slowly began to read the script that Lee Soo-ah gave her.

“…”

A work called “Crescendo From Tomorrow,” with only the role of Kim Yun-kyung highlighted in fluorescent pen. Yang Harin gritted her teeth as she turned each page.

The meaning of the mirror Soo-ah gave her.

She understood.

“…Rival, my foot.”

Yang Harin read each word carefully.

She began to understand the role of Kim Yun-kyung.

“…I’ll beat you. I’ll win this time.”

If she can’t win, she will challenge again.

If that doesn’t work, she will challenge again.

…What’s certain is that she will not give up. She will not cowardly run away in the form of death.

Soo-ah instilled that thought in her.

“That’s my place. I’m going to live that kind of life too…”

Tears seemed to well up in her overwhelming emotions. Her eyes were hot and spicy, but she somehow held it back.

If she held back, she could hold it back. She can do it.

Rustle─ Rustle─ Rustle─

Yang Harin stayed in place for a long time.

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Parking lot.

“Whew…!”

Soo-ah let out a sigh of relief.

Belatedly, sweat poured down like rain. It was because the tension was relieved now. Engaging in a serious conversation directly without giving her body to the character was a trembling thing.

And it was too difficult.

Now her head was filled with question marks.

‘Didn’t I make a mistake? Didn’t my expression look funny? I don’t even remember what I said!’

Crack─! Crack─!

‘Ugh, my head!’

Her head hurt a lot due to the overload.

But the good news was that it didn’t hurt as much as before. Could it be because Soo-ah’s level is gradually rising? Is she getting used to it? Soo-ah hope?

While she was immersed in that thought.

─It wasn’t bad. No, rather, it was excellent.

Yu-han Soo-ah’s praise was heard.

─Ambition and competitiveness are excellent motivators, and humans who gain motivation do not die easily. Let’s believe and wait. Soo-ah sunbae did her best.

Yu-han Soo-ah’s words were not false now. Soo-ah really got advice from the Soo-ah Association in the middle of trembling, and spit out each word.

‘Yeah…’

Soo-ah nodded carefully.

It was true that there were moments when she hated Yang Harin, but it didn’t seem like she would feel good if Yang Harin died.

Rather, if Yang Harin sincerely repented, asked for forgiveness from the victims, and then lived a healthy life, it might feel a little good. She doesn’t even know the name of this emotion well.

‘That’s right. I don’t know a lot. But…’

…Anyway, I hope everyone is happy.

Soo-ah thought so and turned on the delivery app.

She used her brain too much, so she’s tired. She wants to empty her head and rest while eating ice cream for the time being.

In other words, Soo-ah rest!

Soo-ah ice cream!

“Hehehe.”

Soon, the Soo-ah Association was forcibly summoned for the reason of preparing emergency measures. It was because it was too difficult to choose only three ice cream flavors.

◈◈◈◈◈

At the same time.

Vroom─

Kim I-seo moved busily in her personal car, and soon parked the car in the parking lot of a high-end beef restaurant.

“Whew.”

She took a deep breath. She was trembling greatly, unusually.

It’s because she has an important job ahead of her.

Bang─

The car door opened, and a familiar face boarded the passenger seat. It’s Kim Seon-ah, who is in charge of the team leader position at Starcatch.

“You’ve arrived. Then from now on…”

It’s time to shake up Kang Hak-man and Lee Ju-hyun.