The next day, 7 o'clock.
Yeo Ri stared at the car window in a daze. Her mind kept flashing back to the previous day. It felt as if the events from yesterday was a dream. However, the slight redness on her wrist and the small wound on her neck clearly proved that it was real.
"Nervous?" Park Soo Yeon asked the younger girl with a slight smile.
The woman sat elegantly next to her, one hand holding her phone and the other holding her purse.
"—Huh? Ah," Yeo Ri dumbly let out a response. "Mm, guess so," she half-heartedly replied. In truth, she was so rattled after the sudden kidnapping attempt yesterday that she could barely concentrate on anything. She was in no mood for conversations either, so apart from the few short words she spared for the older woman, she left no more space for chattering.
Park Soo Yeon seemed to have misunderstood the young girl's silence as nervousness. "Don't worry; this is your first time, after all. It's normal to get butterflies," she comforted, "I'll be by your side the whole time, so don't worry and do your best."
Yeo Ri flashed a small smile at the older woman.
"Thank you, Aunt—" Finding that it was improper for her to refer to the older woman so familiarly during work hours, Yeo Ri changed her words at the last moment, "—President-nim."
"There's some time left before we reach the location. Why don't you get some rest first? It'll be really hectic once you're on set," the elder advised. She proceeded to talk about some things the younger girl should and shouldn't do. Park Soo Yeon had plenty of experience being on set, as she was a star-studded actress who had once dominated the big screen in her heyday. While thinking of Yeo Ri as a budding talent, she was not stingy with her knowledge and gave advice on as many things as she could think of.
Thanks to Park Soo Yeon, Yeo Ri ended up putting away the traumatic thoughts from the day before in the back of her mind, instead focusing on the older woman's words. She busily tried to memorise her tips with a serious look.
Seeing that the 'student' was raptly listening to her prattles, Park Soo Yeon had gotten carried away and continued speaking the whole duration of their journey. By the time they arrived, she had finally remembered that she had told the younger girl to rest while they were in the car.
Park Soo Yeon sheepishly flashed an apologetic smile at Yeo Ri as she ushered the girl out of the car.
"A hospital?" Yeo Ri muttered as she took in the sight in front of her. As expected of a hospital in central Seoul—the size was simply massive.
"Yes. This is the location for our filming today. Come, we have to get you changed and everything," the older woman said as she glanced at her watch. They were still early, but it was better to get to the designated area as quickly as possible as makeup and fitting might take a while.
Mrs. Choi brought Yeo Ri over to greet the staff members who were already out and about, busying themselves with setting up their equipments for the day's filming.
Regardless of whether they were simple odd-jobs part-timers or the director himself, Yeo Ri greeted them politely as Mrs. Choi had instructed.
"How's everything looking?" Mrs. Choi asked her husband as she greeted him with a half-hug and a peck to the cheek.
"There's going to be some noise because of the construction, but the crew is doing their best to physically filter them out as much as possible," Mr. Choi replied with a smile. He knew that there was construction work being done nearby, but because of the tight schedule, they had to make do. "Hopefully we don't need too much crowd control since it's still early," he added distractedly.
"Ah!" Mr. Choi exclaimed as he caught sight of Yeo Ri who was standing behind Park Soo Yeon. His face lit up excitedly. "Yeo Ri, right? It's been a while. Have you been well? I saw the commercial you were in. Da Na was really excited when it aired," he said, flashing an amiable smile to the girl.
"Yes," Yeo Ri politely bowed with a faint smile.
"You're the stand-in for today, right? Go ahead and get changed. The protagonist is on his way, so by the time you're done, he'd probably be here. I'll introduce you," Mr. Choi grinned. The actor for the protagonist of his movie was a handsome and famous A-list actor. He would not believe that a teenage girl like Yeo Ri was not excited to meet that actor, therefore, he specifically decided to do her this favour, especially since she was his daughter's friend.
"Yes, thank you. Please take care of me," Yeo Ri flashed another smile. Although she seemed composed, the way that she played with her fingers showed how anxious she truly was on the inside. Having met the director, Yeo Ri was suddenly met with reality. 'This is really happening!' She thought. Just a few months ago, she would not have thought that this was the way life was taking her. Things had changed so much since she signed the contract with Park Soo Yeon.
"Let's go," Park Soo Yeon tapped her arm, ushering her to the dressing room.
Along the way, Yeo Ri could feel the gazes of the people around her. Although she was used to being stared at, the gazes were still stinging her skin, causing goosebumps to rise. Yeo Ri rubbed her arms as if she felt a chill.
"Hm? Is this the stand-in? The sick sister?" A man holding a book stopped his conversation with the make-up artist as the two ladies entered the room.
"Yeah," Park Soo Yeon nodded.
"She's really pretty. President Park, you sure know how to get all the good fishes," the man sighed in admiration. Even though the young girl was just standing quietly behind the former top actress, her presence did not pale in comparison to the older woman.
"Haha, you flatter me, Woo-ssi," she laughed politely, her voice tinged with a hint of pride; it was true that she had a good eye!
"Hello," Yeo Ri took her chance to greet them politely as she saw an opening in their conversation. "Please take care of me," she said, smiling. She had already recited the line so many times that it was beginning to wear her mouth out. Though, in front of the strangers, she kept her true thoughts deeply hidden.
The people already in the dressing room reciprocated her greeting smilingly.
Mr. Woo, who was the costume coordinator, picked out a hospital pyjama from the clothes rack behind him. "Change into this," he instructed the girl. "We don't have much time since Hyun Bin is coming soon."
"Yes, sir," Yeo Ri obediently replied. She grasped the hospital pyjamas in her hands and moved to the changing room to get changed. Luckily, since she had gone with a simple look, there were not many articles of clothing she had to take off. She was done in minutes.
"I'm done," Yeo Ri informed them as she exited the changing room. "Where should I put my clothes?" She asked as she brushed her long hair to the side. In one arm, she held her neatly folded clothes.
"—Huh? Ah... just leave it in there," one of the staff members said. He had been staring at the girl in a daze as soon as he had noticed her exiting the changing room, thus causing his reaction to her question to be a little slow.
"Thank you," Yeo Ri bowed slightly towards the man. Quickly, she placed her clothes on the cabinet in the changing room and came back out.
"Hm," Mr. Woo hummed as he examined the girl. Even in a simple hospital pyjama, she still looked pretty. The somewhat baggy teal-coloured clothes hanging off her thin figure caused her to seem frail.
After a short while, he turned to the make-up artist, "Give her a pallid look. Not too pale, though. Make her seem ill, but still strong enough to not kick the bucket for another few months, maybe half a year?"
"...Okay," the makeup artist sighed. There he goes again, with his strange analogies! It was her bad luck to have to deal with him so early in the morning, she begrudgingly thought.
Mrs. Choi smiled as she took in the sight. It had been far too long since she personally went to a set and experienced all of this. Leaving the professionals to do their jobs, she sat down on a seat and observed Yeo Ri from the side.
Knowing that they were going to apply makeup on her, Yeo Ri sat down on the seat in front of the dresser and allowed the makeup artist to do as she was told.
She stared at her reflection as the makeup artist took out her tools and products.
It had been several months since she wore a hospital pyjama, she thought. It was a nostalgic sight; she had regularly worn hospital pyjamas during her previous stay at the hospital.
"Wow—I can't believe I'm saying this, but those clothes kind of suits you," the makeup artist said with a small chuckle. She tilted Yeo Ri's head slightly as if to examine her face. "Not that I'm saying you should go to the hospital or something," she quickly added, thinking that her earlier words might cause the girl to take offence.
Yeo Ri smiled in amusement. "I was thinking that too. Maybe it's because I've worn them for so long that it's embedded in my image," she chuckled.
"Oh? Were you sick before?" The makeup artist asked out of curiosity.
"There was an accident..." Yeo Ri smiled softly at their reflection on the mirror, her words trailing off. It was obvious that she did not want to delve into the topic.
"I see," the makeup artist nodded in understanding. She no longer spoke as she started working on Yeo Ri's makeup.
Twenty minutes later, she was finally ready.
Yeo Ri took off her shoes and put on the hospital slippers that had been prepared as part of her outfit. Nodding to Mrs. Choi, the two of them exited the dressing room.