Capítulo 235: Phenomenal Rookie, Lee Yeo Ri
"Great!" Director Bang seemed to have pulled away from the phone for a moment as he said, "—See! I told you she'd agree—oh, stop! I know you sent someone already—" then his muffled voice became clear again, "I'll be waiting for you at Hope Entertainment. See you soon, Miss Lee."
"Yes! Thank you very much!"
Afterwards, the man hung up the call, though it wasn't his phone. Mrs. Choi, Park Soo Yeon, had immediately followed up with a text, "I sent Manager Kwon to pick you up. He should be on his way. He also has a script that Director Bang gave me, so take some time to look through it before you get here."
Yeo Ri sent a quick 'thank you' to the lady, then instantly picked out Secretary Kwon's number from her contacts list as she picked up her bag.
Secretary Kwon answered her call before the second ring could be heard. "Where are you?" She asked him impolitely. Her face looked impassive as she checked the time.
"I'm almost there. Please wait a moment—" Yeo Ri could hear the sound of the blinkers, "—I'm inside the neighbourhood now. Please stay indoors until I arrive."
"Alright. Did you bring the script?"
"Yes. Please do not hang up until I arrive, miss."
Yeo Ri fought the urge to roll her eyes. She flashed a polite smile at the elders, bidding them her farewells.
Seeing that she was about to leave, In Guk, Jin Goo, and Gun got up, intending to follow her to the door and send her off.
"—Miss, I've arrived," Secretary Kwon abruptly said.
'That was quick,' the young girl murmured in her heart. "I'll hang up, then."
In record time, the sound of the doorbell could be heard. Secretary Kwon was as efficient as always, she faintly mused.
"Ah, that's my ride. Thank you for the hospitality," she bowed, "I'll be going now."
"See you later, Yeo Ri-ah," In Guk said as he helped open the door for the girl.
The men displayed their overprotectiveness as they walked her over to the gate, where Secretary Kwon had already been waiting by the backseat's door. Seeing her arrive, he naturally held the car door open for her.
"Call me when you're done," Gun said, pulling her into a hug before kissing the crown of her head. Yeo Ri obediently nodded her head, smiling brightly at him and planting a kiss on his cheek before letting go.
"Bye, Yeo Ri-ah," the other two men said. In Guk looked like he wanted a hug and a kiss too, but tactfully kept his mouth shut.
Yeo Ri gave them a final farewell with a wave of her hand, and finally she got into the car. Secretary Kwon shut the door behind her, then moved quickly to the driver's seat.
The three men did not go back inside until the car disappeared from their sight, though the occupants of said car had not noticed it.
"Here is the script. Please be careful while reading in the car since you might get carsick later, miss."
"It's fine. It doesn't matter."
Yeo Ri snatched the script that he had held out to her. Giving her full attention towards the script, she began memorising it word-for-word.
There were only three pages on it, containing three separate scenes. Aside from some lines and a short description of the scenes, there was nothing much she could garner from the thin document.
"'I—My name is Ha Ye Na. Daughter of Captain Ha Seung Hun of the Special Forces. I am not a weakling.'" The girl recited the lines monotonously under her breath, repeating them over and over again in an attempt to etch it into her brain.
Yeo Ri scrutinised the script deeply as she tried to capture the nuance and emotions that she thought would make sense with the dialogue.
"'My name is Ha Ye Na—'"
"'Why is this happening to me—'"
"'Then, why did you save me? Why—'"
Meanwhile, on the front seat, Secretary Kwon glanced at the practicing girl through the rearview mirror. He could hear her soft murmurs, and it felt strange hearing the heartfelt lines being uttered by someone whose face was consistently stoic. Even though he could hear the fluctuation of emotions inside her voice, the sight was so very odd when paired with her emotionless, indifferent expression.
It had taken roughly half an hour to get to the company building from the Joos' house.
When the two arrived, a staff member was already waiting for them to guide them to the meeting room.
The room had a simple setup; a long table was placed on one side of the room, with multiple already-occupied chairs behind it. On the other side of the table, a lone chair was placed. Two cameras were positioned on the side, one directly in front of the singular chair, and another on its far right.
There were five people waiting inside the room; two of them she could recognise as fellow Hope Entertainment employees, one of them was President Park, Park Soo Yeon herself, and the other two, she supposed, was Director Bang and his colleague.
"Welcome, Yeo Ri-ah!" President Park greeted her with a large smile. Just like Yeo Ri, she was also excited of the prospect of getting Yeo Ri on board with such a big fish.
"Hello, President, everyone. Please take care of me," Yeo Ri greeted them perfunctorily, just as she had always did when arriving at set.
"Come and sit, Miss Lee."
"Yes," Yeo Ri timidly looked around, bowing her head with the script tightly held in her hands as she sat down on the seat prepared for her.
"We'll begin the closed audition. Yeo Ri-ah, why don't you introduce yourself?"
"Yes." Yeo Ri glanced at the frontal camera, wondering if it was recording, before swerving her eyes to look at Director Bang. With a soft and proper tone, she prefaced her audition with a simple introduction.
"My name is Lee Yeo Ri. I will be turning 16 years old this summer. I have been with Hope Entertainment for a little over four months. Please take care of me."
"Hello, Miss Lee. Have you had the chance to look at the script yet?"
"Yes. I memorised it on the way."
"Good, good. You can pick whichever scenario you want to start with. Go ahead," Director Bang shuffling through a few pieces of paper in front of him, pulling out a ballpen as if he was ready to evaluate her performance.
The cameraman raised his hand, signalling that the cameras were rolling and that she could start acting whenever she wanted.
Yeo Ri nodded, glancing at her short script before raising her eyes to meet the camera.
There really was not much written inside the script; it was as if the person who prepared the script wanted to hide the story as much as possible, treating it like a top secret file.
Yeo Ri was able to memorise the scant few lines on it easily, and although she did not know what kind of performance the director was expecting out of her, she strived to do her best.
The first excerpt was a scene where the character was being chased and finally found a place to hide.
Yeo Ri's expression change instantly, morphing into one of terror and edginess. Her eyes became glassy and red, filled with unshed tears.
Immediately after she started her act, the observers were already awed by her quick change into the character.
Director Bang nodded, scribbling something on his notes.
Yeo Ri took a deep, sharp breath, then closed her eyes. She lowered her head, and when she raised it again, a single tear fell down her face. Shakily, she said, "'W-w-why...?'" Her breath hitched as she held back a sob.
She suddenly turned around, skittish, before sinking herself down into the seat as if to hide herself even more. After realising that there was no one chasing her, she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. She tilted her head down, covering her mouth as if to hold back her voice. "'Why... why is this happening to me...?'"
Park Soo Yeon unconsciously gripped her hands tightly, brows scrunching. She had become affected by Yeo Ri's emotional performance, and she was absorbed into the scene that was full of fear and consternation. She hadn't realised how much improvements Yeo Ri had made. Sending her to Madam Yang was a great idea, she thought.
There was a pause within the room. Yeo Ri's breathtaking performance held everyone's attention.
"'Tell me, why?! Why?! Why—'"
Yeo Ri sniffed, then slowly released her tight hold on herself. She wiped away her tears, then stared deeply into the camera, her eyes filled with hurt.
The performance was so good that no one had noticed the transition between scenes. It was only when they referred back to the script did they realise that the first scene was over and Yeo Ri had moved on to the next one without pause.
It was a confrontational scene between the character and several other people in her survivor's group. She was the weakest member, and due to her lack of contribution, some of the other members called her out.
"'Then, why did you save me?! If I'm so useless, why did you have to save me?!'" She paused, and as if she had heard the worst, most painful insult, she flinched and scoffed softly. Her heartbreaking expression caused several people to feel a sharp pain in their hearts.
"'Aah... because I'm pretty... it's because I'm pretty, that's it? That's all I'm worth?'"
She looked at the camera quietly, her expression showing a thousand silent words. She pursed her lips and blinked her tears away, as if telling herself that she should not cry.
Yeo Ri chuckled derisively to herself. "'Pretty... ha.'"
Then, Yeo Ri moved on to the next scene.
"'—I...! My name is Ha Ye Na,'" she said shakily, trying to control her heavy breathing.
Her reddened, frustrated, and heartbroken face caused people's heart to skip a beat, making them wish they could do something to keep her away from being sad.
"'I...! Am...! The daughter of Captain Ha Seung Hun of the Special Forces...! I, am not a weakling!'" She slowly said, her voice hushed. One could hear the distress in her voice; how she was trying to convince herself to stay strong. It made people want to hold her and keep her safe even more, increasing the feeling of protectiveness.
Yeo Ri breathed deeply with her eyebrows knitted tightly. And after she released her breath, all expressions faded from her face, leaving a calm look which matched incongruously with her flushed skin and teary eyes.
After her act had ended, a moment of silence was held before somebody broke into an applause, and soon others followed suit.
Director Bang nodded in satisfaction, looking as if he had found a diamond in the rough. He didn't even have a chance to direct Yeo Ri during the act, and even though some parts of her interpretation of his script wasn't in line with his', he still enjoyed it. Nevertheless, he was amazed at what she could do with just a short few lines. He couldn't imagine how good she would be with a full script, and it made him excited.
"That was really good, Miss Lee. Your control over your expressions is impeccable, and though the script was short, you managed to pull together a complete performance." A large smile hung on Director Bang's face. The girl didn't even need a moment to start tearing up. With her addition, the main cast ensemble was complete. Though he still wanted to revise the script a few more times, it was good enough to start filming soon.
"Miss Lee, I was very touched by your performance. I believe with my directing and your talent, we can create something amazing together. Will you be willing to join my next project?"
Yeo Ri's mouth opened in shock after hearing his words. Even though people had been singing her praises these past few months, it was hard getting used to it with her low self-esteem. Yeo Ri laced her fingers together in hopes of stopping her trembling.
With shining eyes, she looked over at Park Soo Yeon. The lady looked back at her, smiling proudly and nodding her head, as if saying, 'go for it'.
Encouraged by Park Soo Yeon's look, Yeo Ri stood up and bowed deeply. "I would be very honoured!"
—This moment was the moment when Yeo Ri realised, there was no turning back now.
Acting had somehow became her passion, though she had not intended for it.
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