episode_0087
by adminBusan.
Finally, the short film festival officially announced its grand opening.
It wasn’t a public holiday marked in red on the calendar, but in the film industry, it was considered just as important.
The proof was in the endless stream of news articles pouring out.
[‘Busan International Short Film Festival’ Finally Kicks Off]
[Is This How Far They Go for Invited Actors? ‘They Pulled Some Strings.’]
[‘Japanese Master’ Director Yusaku Visits Korea.]
And now.
“…This building is huge. Is it called the Cinema Center?”
Wonsoonging murmured blankly.
Unlike her nickname, she was a woman with plain looks.
Her hair was dyed orange, and she had freckles on her cheeks, but her harmonious features didn’t make them seem like flaws. Rather, they seemed like part of her style.
Anyway, Wonsoonging wasn’t the only one who set foot here.
There was Saengji and Black Bear too. In other words, all the members of the ‘Sooa Chatroom’ except for Deer and Sooa had arrived at the short film festival venue.
The current time is 9 a.m. Location: Busan Cinema Center.
Black Bear, revealing his shaved head, said.
“It’s been a long time since I watched a movie.”
His voice sounded rather taciturn to those around him. Due to his large build, the nickname Black Bear suited him particularly well.
Soon, Wonsoonging scratched her head.
“I’ve never been to Busan before.”
Perhaps it was because she was so immersed in community life, but even the voice Wonsoonging actually used sounded like her online chats.
“Me too. I think I can smell the sea all the way here.”
Saengji, who was watching the two of them, burst into laughter.
“So, what are we going to do after watching the movie?”
“Hmm, we have to go to Haeundae at least once. And eat some sashimi. And Deer said there’s some famous pizza, right?”
They spent time discussing what to do after watching the movie, and at some point, Wonsoonging abruptly changed the subject.
She looked as if something had suddenly occurred to her.
“When is Deer arriving?”
“She said she’ll come after work. Probably in the evening?”
“Lee Sooa said she’d come around that time too.”
“Sooa….”
That was the beginning.
Soon, the topic shifted drastically to Sooa.
“Is it really true that Sooa is preparing to become an actress?”
Saengji slowly nodded to Black Bear’s question.
“Well, that’s what she says, at least.”
“…An actress? I know she’s been doing this part-time job and that part-time job, but why suddenly an actress? Did someone put that idea in her head?”
The shock to Wonsoonging’s head seemed quite significant. Soon, her bewildered gaze turned to Saengji Kim Sun-ah.
“Saengji unnie, you used to be an entertainment reporter. What do you think?”
“What do I think?”
“Is it easy to become an actress?”
“Yeah. It’s easy.”
Unexpectedly, Saengji Kim Sun-ah nodded easily, but that wasn’t the end of it. There was more to come.
“Becoming an actress itself is nothing. But becoming an actress that even ordinary people like you recognize is difficult.”
“Ah?”
“There are tons of people who give up even after investing a ton of money and time. Only actors with the right skills, connections, and all sorts of other factors can survive.”
“Hmm… It seems more dangerous than I thought….”
At this point, Black Bear, who had been listening quietly, nodded his head.
“Come to think of it, yeah. Part-time jobs become nothing as soon as you quit, but an actor leaves traces of their efforts on camera. Someone might find it later.”
“Yeah. That’s why it’s a really cruel industry. The traces of my desperate efforts can become a blemish on my life. Imagine being ridiculed.”
“I wonder if Sooa can survive in that world?”
“….”
No one answered Black Bear’s words.
There was silence for a moment.
After a long time, Wonsoonging broke the silence.
“It would be terrible if she got scammed or something. It sometimes comes out in the news. They take them away saying they’ll make them celebrities and do terrible things.”
“I know. Sooa is worrying in many ways. She’s at the age where she should settle down in one field, but acting is….”
An infant left by the water.
To them, Sooa was a friend like that.
Regardless of how much they liked Sooa, they didn’t have the expectation that Sooa would accomplish anything in any field.
They could only worry about whether she might get into an accident….
Soon, everyone said at the same time with one mind.
“Sooa is really worrying. She’s a good kid, but….”
.
.
.
.
.
Meanwhile.
Sooa also arrived at the Busan Cinema Center.
The Antarctic girl of Korea, the Arctic fox has arrived!
Of course, she was wearing a hat, mask, and sunglasses to cover her appearance. The reason was to avoid being caught by her friends.
‘This is safe enough. In the first place, they won’t even know that I dyed my hair white.’
Afterward, she had some imaginations. Well, most of them were imaginations of her friends, who hadn’t seen Sooa in a long time, praising her for resembling an Arctic fox.
But that imagination didn’t last long.
“Huh?”
That was because a huge shock came first.
‘…Are there this many people?’
The current time is 9 a.m.
But despite it being early in the morning, a huge crowd came into view.
What was that idiom again? Impaired pregnancy?
─Ah, child. It’s insa inhae (人山人海) [A sea of people].
─What are you even….
Soon, Wijihae’s desperate voice was heard.
Ah, right. Insa inhae.
Still, I got all the consonants right, right?
Anyway, there are really a lot of people. It makes you think that young children could easily get lost.
Thump thump thump….
Thanks to that, Sooa’s heart began to beat.
‘Crazy. Are other places like this too?’
Of course, the short film festival isn’t all taking place at this ‘Cinema Center’. About four other locations were added and are being operated simultaneously.
‘Ugh, this isn’t the time to just be marveling at this.’
Sooa soon looked at the screening schedule.
Her ‘Sword’ screening starts at 9:30 a.m.
Yang Harin’s ‘Wind’ screening starts at 10 a.m.
‘…What a strange coincidence.’
Looking back, Yang Harin was almost the only person she had a bad relationship with since entering this industry. I wonder how she’s doing.
Of course, she was curious about ‘Sword,’ which she appeared in, and she was also curious about the other works that would compete with ‘Sword’. It was something that would end as soon as she saw it with her own eyes, so Sooa immediately bought a ticket.
‘Let’s see… The screening room is at the very back….’
And she entered the screening room.
Sooa’s eyes widened.
‘It’s huge!’
The theater was the same structure as the movie theaters Sooa knew well, but the scale was on a different level. But there was still more to be surprised about.
‘And there are so many!’
The seats were already almost full.
All sorts of human beings were mixed in, and they were looking at their cell phones or chatting without paying any attention to Sooa.
Thump─ Thump─ Thump─
But Sooa was concerned about them. Her heart was also pounding. At the thought that they would soon be watching her short film.
Thump─ Thump─ Thump─
Also, at the thought that she could watch their reactions.
In real time.
‘There are so many people, and my face is going to appear on this huge screen? That’s amazing. I can’t believe it. No, more than that, I’m nervous. Nervous, nervous, nervous…. I’m nervous….’
I hope the reaction is good.
But.
That’s when it happened.
“I told you ten times that I needed to change to onion-flavored popcorn, not just once, but I emphasized it ten times. Seriously….”
“Just eat it.”
“Kids, be quiet, be quiet…. Don’t be a nuisance….”
Unusually clear voices tickled her ears.
“…?”
But Sooa tilted her head slightly.
It wasn’t that their voices were loud and could be heard well. It was closer to the fact that Sooa’s ears instinctively picked up on them because they were such familiar voices.
She immediately realized the reason.
‘Huh?’
They were familiar people.
In order, Wonsoonging, Black Bear, Saengji.
Coincidentally, they were in the row right in front of Sooa.
The row in front where Sooa could tap them with her feet. The row in front where she could hear the sounds of them talking. And the row in front where she could see Black Bear’s shaved head, who had to go to the military, so clearly….
Wonsoonging grumbled.
“Ah, the basic popcorn is really tasteless. If it was at least caramel….”
“…Then just don’t eat it.”
“Ah, why? Give it to me.”
Indeed, they were the people Sooa knew. It was like hearing the conversations that always happened in the group chat in voice.
Then, at some point, their conversation suddenly turned to her.
“What’s the status of the actors who appear in the short film festival?”
“There are mostly newcomers, but there’s a high chance they’ll rise to stardom after the film festival. It’s like making an impression on so many people at once.”
Saengji explaining in detail and kindly.
“…Ah, after hearing that, I can’t imagine it even more.”
“What?”
“I can’t even imagine Sooa being on a screen like this someday. Should I call her right now? Tell her to just look into something else.”
“…Leave her alone. Still, Sooa said she wants to do it.”
“No, I’m really saying this because I’m worried.”
At that time, when they were talking with the person in question behind them.
Pat─ Pat─ Pat─
The lights in the wide space began to turn off one by one, and people immediately stopped talking and turned off their cell phones. Finally, the time had come to see the shortlisted works of the short film festival.
Afterward.
A sharp font appeared on the wide screen.
─‘Sword’
‘Sword’ began with the title introduction.
─Saaaaaa.
A scene of the forest being shaken by a bleak wind filled the entire forest, and Sooa, the friends from the chat room, and the audience all held their breath and focused.
─Saaaaaa.
They couldn’t help but do so.
The extremely eerie sound was dangerous in itself, and soon felt like a tightly pulled string, as if something was about to happen.
And.
Soon, a person was captured on screen for the first time.
Wijihae slowly raised her eyelids.
『How mischievous.』
The eyes that finally appeared were like jade, and the timbre was as clear as ice. While the entire forest was filled with tension, Wijihae calmly maintained the center of gravity of the surrounding area. Single-handedly.
She slowly got up from her seat and.
『The forest is a sensitive child. It truly is.』
Drew her sword.
The moment the blade drew a smooth trajectory.
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
Saengji, Wonsoonging, and Black Bear were all shocked.
Wonsoonging could no longer bring the popcorn to her mouth, and Saengji covered her mouth with both hands. Black Bear’s pupils shook madly as if he had seen a ghost he shouldn’t have encountered.
There was only one reason.
Lee Sooa.
Of course, Lee Sooa.
“…?”
Lee Sooa, holding the name Wijihae and even the position of the best in the world, was drawing her sword.
“…?”
“?????”
“?!?!?!”
The three of them went blank. All that was being newly written in the space that had turned into a drawing paper was questions.
What is it? What is it?
That’s Lee Sooa no matter how you look at it? Why is she there?
Thwack!
Wonsoonging urgently grabbing Saengji’s wrist was the beginning. Saengji wasn’t much different either. Black Bear and Wonsoonging reached out to each other, and their hands bumped into each other once. Like idiots.
They belatedly exchanged glances.
At this moment, each other’s appearance became a mirror. The friend who came into view was wearing the most foolish expression in the world, and perhaps she was the same.
It felt like being hit in the head with a hammer.
“….”
Afterward.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Six pairs of eyes turning back to the screen.
『I ask.』
Just in time, Wijihae raised the corners of her mouth.
『Do you know me?』
Wijihae was indeed the best in the world.
Because with just one word, three people fell into Qi deviation.
‘Lee Sooa! It’s Lee Sooa! What the hell!’
‘…Deepfake crime? Is that what it is?’
‘Lee Sooa? What is it? What are you doing right now?’
It was the moment when Sooa officially debuted.
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