episode_0075

On set, things weren’t going well for Bae So-yoon lately.

In fact, it wasn’t just her.

It was because of Director Choi Da-woon.

“Cut! Why do you keep messing up your pronunciation? Are we going to display subtitles when the movie is shown? Let’s do it again.”

“Cut! Miss, have you attended an academy before this work? Your acting is so fresh. Anyone would think you’re a rookie.”

“Cut!”

“Cut!”

Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut……

The endless parade of cuts.

Choi Da-woon didn’t tolerate even the smallest mistakes or anything that deviated from the visual plan he had already set.

His directorial style was pushing many actors on set into a corner.

Bae So-yoon was no exception.

Since the start of filming a few days ago,

Bae So-yoon hadn’t received an OK call in one go.

In fact, if she managed to cut one scene within 5 reshoots, it could be considered a lucky day.

In Bae So-yoon’s eyes, Choi Da-woon was a genius but unlucky director.

Every time he ordered a reshoot, he would often say,

“I gave you more weight because of your talent. But when it comes down to it, you can’t keep up with the flow? Pull yourself together.”

Who asked for more weight?

Bae So-yoon just wanted to prove her acting skills beyond the prejudice of being an idol-turned-actor.

She knew very well that she wasn’t ready to be greedy for the weight of the work.

The weight of the work, not at all regrettable.

But……

As mentioned, the prejudice of being an idol-turned-actor was a kind of complex for Bae So-yoon.

Every time she made a mistake on set, that complex was painfully stimulated.

Bae So-yoon felt cornered psychologically.

And that’s why.

-Didn’t you say you envied Seo Eui-soo’s acting skills? Why not approach him first and talk about acting? He would really appreciate it.

Bae So-yoon was so shaken and nervous by Han Sun-yul’s words because of this background.

Bae So-yoon pondered.

‘Was it really a misunderstanding?’

Looking back, the distance between Seo Eui-soo and herself was quite significant at that time, and she might not have heard something wrong.

Surely she didn’t say that because she didn’t know what an idol was.

There might have been another reason that Bae So-yoon couldn’t imagine.

Such thoughts crossed her mind.

“……”

Bae So-yoon had a strong personality.

And if she was frustrated and curious about something, she couldn’t bear it.

When she felt blocked in relationships with people, she had a personality that broke through directly.

“Alright. Let’s confront it.”

Was it really a misunderstanding?

Is Seo Eui-soo really a kind person?

It’s still unknown.

But once she confronts it, she will find the answer no matter what.

Bae So-yoon boldly stood up and headed towards Seo Eui-soo.

Meanwhile, Seo Eui-soo missed her male friends.

She felt lonely a lot, and that’s why she liked both male and female friends.

But……

For some reason, it was strangely difficult to get close to male friends.

It had been quite a while since she came to Earth.

During that time, she had become friends with Oh Kyung-bae, Han Sun-yul, Lee Hyun-seong, Bae Dong-geun, and even built a friendship with Han Kyung-jin, the director of “Sea Diary.”

But still, she felt a subtle barrier with them.

Seo Eui-soo really didn’t understand why.

Just, you know.

If a male friend got too close, she strangely felt sorry and thought of Shin Ji-hoo.

Especially if that male friend tried to pat her head.

On the other hand, it seemed like she could get along well with female friends without much distance.

The closest and most beloved person among the girls was Gil Hye-yeon.

Another woman stroking her head didn’t seem to make Gil Hye-yeon feel sorry.

So Seo Yi-soo thought it would be nice to have more same-sex friends.

She wanted to be friends with a woman and try this and that, and there were many things she wanted to try.

That was the situation.

In that situation.

“Um… Seo Yi-soo.”

“Bae, Bae So-yoon. What’s up?”

Bae So-yoon approached.

At this point, Seo Yi-soo was still afraid of Bae So-yoon.

She was sensitive to emotions.

She was afraid of the malice towards her.

So when Bae So-yoon, who had shown dislike since their first meeting, approached, she couldn’t help but flinch.

But it was only for a moment.

“Um, um. Can you teach me acting?”

“….!”

Seo Yi-soo.

She was sensitive to emotions directed towards her.

For some reason, the dislike she felt from Bae So-yoon faded, and instead, she could feel curiosity and a faint kindness in its place.

Moreover.

Wasn’t she asking for acting lessons?

Seo Yi-soo still held memories.

That day, that time.

When the novice actor Oh Kyung-bae asked her to teach him acting.

She taught him with wide generosity and superior acting skills.

The memories of her faithful and youthful days.

Although later, Han Sun-yul, blinded by jealousy, had to coax her teachings…

That was inevitable.

That’s how it is on TV.

Geniuses are often resented.

One must understand that Han Sun-yul, her friend, must have understood her teachings with a broad generosity like the sea.

Isn’t a person unable to control their own feelings?

Seo Yi-soo smiled brightly, pretending not to be angry if Han Sun-yul heard.

The day to teach acting had finally come again.

“Acting, you say?”

“Yeah. Acting. Can you teach me a little?”

“Of course! Naturally! Come, sit here!”

Seo Yi-soo was excited like a cat with catnip in its mouth.

But she tried to remain as calm as possible.

Now she was a mature and experienced actress.

In the past, there were mistakes when she first taught acting to Oh Kyung-bae.

Humans cannot play recklessly.

But there must have been moments when she didn’t think about that and just shouted.

Later, when she recalled those memories, how regretful it was.

So Seo Yi-soo longed for the day when she could teach acting to someone again.

She constantly refined her language to express her playfulness in an acting way.

“Bae So-yoon.”

“Y-yes!”

Seo Yi-soo said with a serious expression.

Bae So-yoon unknowingly straightened her back and began to concentrate.

“Listen well. After thinking about it for a while, I realized that acting is ultimately about transforming into someone else.”

“Oh… that makes sense. But, um. Can you speak in a more ordinary tone?”

“Shh!”

“Oh, no! Keep talking!”

Seo Yi-soo made the clicking sound that Gil Hye-yeon and Shin Ji-hoo often made when teasing her, and it worked quite well.

Bae So-yoon began to focus on the teacher’s words with a desirable student attitude.

Seo Yi-soo said.

“Therefore, Bae So-yoon. To act well, you must forget yourself. Instead, you must bring the character to the forefront.”

“Oh….”

Bae So-yoon exclaimed.

The more she listened, the more convincing it sounded.

It was a feast of words that seemed quite substantial, even though she couldn’t fully understand them.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Bae So-yoon asked.

“So. How do I forget myself and bring the character to the forefront?”

“….Um?”

“Huh?”

“Well, that’s….”

And then, Seo Yi-soo started to stutter again, just like before.

Over the past few months, Seo Yisoo had been collecting and piecing together seemingly plausible words from various sources.

As a result, he was able to make quite convincing sounds when spoken.

But when unexpectedly criticized, he had no means to concoct a new language.

“Th-that… is….”

In the end, when pushed to the limit, people tend to speak in their own true language.

Seo Yisoo nervously fidgeted his fingers.

“T-that is… just. Um. I am what character! If I keep repeating it, will I become that character?”

“….”

“I-I am ‘Naju’…. I am ‘Naju’…. If I keep repeating this, will I eventually become Naju?”

“….”

Insignificant words followed.

“Oh, this is real.”

“Eek.”

And Baeso Yun began to think that he was being teased by Seo Yisoo.

At first, he came up with plausible words, but when asked for a more detailed explanation, he started uttering strange and bizarre words.

Baeso Yun, who didn’t know how strange Seo Yisoo was, was prone to misunderstand.

“This is not a joke!”

“Ugh! No, it’s not. I don’t know what a joke is!”

“So noisy. I regretted being curious for a moment. Ugh.”

Baeso Yun coldly walked away from Seo Yisoo.

“T-that….”

Seo Yisoo made a distressed expression.

This was not the outcome he had hoped for.

He didn’t prepare for Seo Yisoo’s Acting Class Part 2 to end in such a disaster.

But why?

He just longed for those faithful and rewarding moments he shared with Oh Kyungbae in the past.

Why did this disaster happen?

“Baeso Yun! That’s not it! Trust me! Please believe me!”

He desperately gestured towards Baeso Yun’s retreating back.

Please, understand his heart.

Please believe in his acting skills.

“Baeso Yooouuuun!!”

Seo Yisoo’s passionate cry echoed through the set.

“Hey, why is he yelling like that. I was just teasing him.”

For Baeso Yun, it was an absurd situation.

He briskly walked away.

“Oh, really. So annoying, Seo Yisoo.”

Baeso Yun was very angry.

It felt like his sincere feelings about acting were being mocked.

“You were born to be an actor, right? I’m from an idol background.”

So even Seo Yisoo’s voice calling out to him in distress sounded like a deception.

“Geez. This is too much.”

Because it was an acting set for outsiders, not the idol scene.

Being mocked for his sincerity there.

Baeso Yun couldn’t help but feel lonely.

And unknowingly, tears welled up in his eyes.

“Baeso Yun, please get ready for the scene!”

“Oh, okay!”

But there was no time to indulge in such emotions.

Under Choi Daun’s direction, every minute and second on set was tightly scheduled.

Baeso Yun felt a sense of despair.

“What should I do? This shoot.”

Due to repeated NG calls, Baeso Yun’s confidence was plummeting, and in that mental state, the quality of his acting was deteriorating even further.

Baeso Yun knew that the staff’s gaze towards him was growing colder.

In such a situation, being caught up in Seo Yisoo’s prank, he felt like even the time to prepare for this shoot was taken away from him.

Baeso Yun was not confident that he would be able to successfully finish this shoot.

Instead, the hell of endless reshoots was vividly depicted.

That was the situation.

-Therefore, Baeso Yun. To act well, you must forget yourself. Instead, you must present the character front and center.

In such a situation, Seo Yisoo’s prank-like teachings came to mind.

Perhaps it was a cruel fate.

“No, why is this disturbing thought coming to mind?”

It was absurd, but Seo Yisoo’s trivial words lingered in her mind.

Perhaps it was because So Yoon had only received this one piece of acting advice recently.

“That, that’s… just. Um. I am what character! If you keep repeating it, won’t you become it?”

“……”

So Yoon still thought she was being teased.

She didn’t believe in Seo Yisoo’s teachings.

But she couldn’t think of any other words to bring to mind immediately for the next shoot.

“Ah, I don’t know, really.”

Literally grasping at straws.

With that mindset, So Yoon decided to try as Seo Yisoo had advised.

Not because she believed in Seo Yisoo, but because she was too overwhelmed to try anything else.

Muttering to herself, So Yoon repeated, “I am a police officer. I am a police officer. I am a police officer. I am a police officer. I am a police officer. I am a police officer. I am a police officer……” as she prepared for the camera.

How long had she been doing this?

So Yoon, who was already mentally pushed to her limit, felt her mind go blank for a moment.

Wasn’t there a point where you start to feel drowsy from hearing the same thing over and over?

And when she reached that state.

“Huh?”

Unexpectedly, a strange sensation enveloped So Yoon.

It was a sensation of being engulfed in a trance-like state, as if she had forgotten herself.

“Action!”

With that, the filming began.

So Yoon, for the first time since the start of “Business Partners,” was able to act with deep concentration.

“Cut!”

Director Choi Da-woon’s sign for the cut.

“Okay. Good. I felt your focus on the role, So Yoon. Keep it up like this in the future.”

“Ah, yes!”

Unexpectedly, Director Choi Da-woon’s praise followed.

“What… is this?”

For So Yoon, it was an inexplicable occurrence.

In a state of confusion, she had followed Seo Yisoo’s teachings as a last resort.

And yet, such a good result?

In fact, it wasn’t solely due to Seo Yisoo’s teachings that such a result was achieved.

So Yoon, though not as skilled as Seo Yisoo, was a budding talented actress in her own right.

Moreover, she had put in enough effort into character interpretation through her agency’s acting coach.

The groundwork for good acting had already been laid.

It was just that she had been mentally shaken by the harsh and hostile atmosphere on set.

To So Yoon, repeating the same word over and over to clear her mind acted as a kind of psychological inducement for concentration.

It was just that.

So So Yoon didn’t know all these details.

And that’s how she arrived at this conclusion.

“……Could it be that Seo Yisoo’s words were all true?”

Seo Yisoo had indeed taught her how to act.

Had she arrogantly dismissed and gotten angry at that teaching without knowing better?

“Ah……”

So Yoon hurriedly left the set.

“……”

In a corner.

Where no one’s gaze could reach.

*Sob.*

Seo Yisoo, squatting with her knees, appeared.

Her lips were pursed, and her face looked so pitifully desolate.

So Yoon looked at Seo Yisoo in astonishment.

And then, their eyes met.

“……So Yoon.”

Without saying a word, Seo Yisoo looked at So Yoon, who had received an OK call with just her teachings.

Toward So Yoon, who had focused on her role as per Seo Yisoo’s teachings.

Seo Yisoo, as if to say, look at that.

With a sad look in her eyes, she glanced at So Yoon and then buried her face in her knees again.

She looked infinitely desolate.

She couldn’t look more pitiful.

Seeing her like that made it even more clear.

Seo Yisoo had really tried to teach her how to act.

But she had gotten angry at that teaching instead……

“Ah……”

And so, a new misunderstanding arose.

That Seo Yisoo’s acting lessons had indeed been effective.

Such a misunderstanding.

Once again, it was true that Seo Yisoo’s acting lessons were mediocre.

But what was important was that both Seo Yisoo and Bae Soyun believed this misunderstanding to be the truth.

A misunderstanding that everyone believed to be true, did it not function just like the truth in the end?

Bae Soyun once again observed Seo Yisoo’s demeanor.

“Sigh….”

It was still the same.

Pursing her lips.

Sniffling pitifully.

“What should I do?”

Bae Soyun ruffled her hair in distress.

She was someone who had to repay one favor with two.

Whether it was done with good intentions or ill intentions.

So how should she repay Seo Yisoo’s goodwill?

How should she compensate for her own ill intentions that had harmed Seo Yisoo’s goodwill?

The thought made her head ache.

“Argh…. seriously. What am I supposed to do with this.”

“…Sniff.”

One side was in chaos, ruffling their hair and making a fuss.

The other sat in a corner, huddled up and sniffling.

Amidst all this chaos, Seo Yisoo’s acting lesson number 2 ended up producing such a disastrous, mediocre, and desolate result that it was discontinued.

The question now was whether Seo Yisoo could recover from his shattered mental state and successfully launch the acting lesson number 3 that should never have existed in the first place.