"Wow, I cried so much!"
"That was amazing!"
"Gosh, I still can't forget that scene..."
Whispers of adulation could be heard amongst the crowd.
A staff came to Yeo Ri's side and assisted her off the bed, tissues in hand.
Yeo Ri accepted the tissues with a grateful smile, dabbing her leftover tears away.
"Wow, is this really your first time acting?" Yoo Hyun Bin praised her as soon as she exited the room. His eyes were also red from crying. To his surprise, he didn't have to fake the tears during the scene at all; the emotional tension had been enough to induce the sorrow. He didn't even need to think of his grandmother's passing, which he had always used as his go-to memory to cry on cue.
"Thank you. It's all thanks to everyone's guidance," she humbly replied. After acting out the scene, Yeo Ri somehow felt refreshed; it felt as if she had thrown off the heaviness on her shoulders. it reminded her of the first time she got into modelling. That good feeling was really addictive.
"Yeo Ri-ah, good work," Park Soo Yeon came to her side, wiping her tears away with the back of her index finger. The scene had achieved a level of intensity that could only be done by true professionals; even though she knew it was only acting, it had still affected her. Truly, Yeo Ri was a rare talent. Deep inside, Park Soo Yeon burned with the desire to get Yeo Ri to sign with her company for the long term.
"Yeo Ri-ah, have you considered a career in acting? I would definitely love to work with you again in the future," Director Choi said, heaping more compliments on the girl.
"Ah? Ah... thank you," Yeo Ri dazedly replied. Was it really that good? Yeo Ri tried to recall what she had done earlier, but she did not notice anything special. Aside from losing focus a few times, she mainly kept to the script. Although it was not easy—what with the cameras pointing her way—it was not quite hard either.
"Your interpretation of the script was really good. I think you even ad-libbed a little? In any case, it was wonderful," Mr. Choi remarked. "It's amazing how such a young girl knows such a wide range of emotions. Your talent is exceptional, Yeo Ri-ah."
"T-thank you!" Yeo Ri blushed. If it was anyone else, she wouldn't have believed their words of praise, but this man in front of her was a real professional—a highly-acclaimed and famous director with decades of experience!
After getting praised by Director Choi, Yoo Hyun Bin approached her.
"Yeo Ri-ah—can I call you that?" Yoo Hyun Bin asked. Receiving her permission to refer to her casually, he grinned, "Shall we take a picture? To commemorate our first time working together," he said, reminding her that they had made a promise earlier to take a picture together.
"Ah, yes!"
The two moved to an area with better lighting.
Hyun Bin took out his phone and huddled close to her, snapping several photos of them together. Yeo Ri offered her best smile to the camera, trying to throw away her discomfort over their closeness. 'Don't be rude to Hyun Bin-ssi,' she constantly reminded herself in her mind.
He then chose the best one out of the photos he had taken, instantly uploading it to his social media account. He thought for a moment before grinning widely and wrote down a suitable caption for his post.
[@yhb9x: Cried a lot during today's filming. #NoSpoilers #VitaQuaGirl #NewProject #DoOrDieMovie]
The picture he had chosen was a wefie of the two, eyes red-rimmed. He had chosen a filter that highlighted their reddened eyes.
"Yeo Ri-ah, do you have an account? I'll tag you."
"No, it's fine. I don't have one," Yeo Ri answered politely, shaking her head. She had half-a-mind to tell him to delete it, but considering the fact that there was nothing incriminating about the photo and that the other party was a famous and influential celebrity, she could only keep her words to herself so she would not appear rude.
"Oh, that's a pity. You'd definitely be more popular if you have one. Does your company not allow it?"
"No, well, not exactly. I don't really need to be popular since I don't have any plans on becoming a celebrity."
"What? You aren't? I thought you were a new rookie actress. You're not pulling my leg, are you? That's such a shame! You really should become an actress—if that was how you performed on your first time, imagine how high you can climb in the future... maybe you'd even dominate the whole industry in a few more years!" Yoo Hyun Bin spoke passionately, as if he was trying to swindle the girl into joining his shady business scheme.
He liked talented people, and for someone so talented like Yeo Ri to give up her talent and not sharpen her skills was just...
He sighed, "Well, you should think about it a little more before you make your decision. You're still young, after all. If your company isn't treating you well, you can contact me and I'll introduce you to my agent. How about it?" He flashed a smile at her.
"..." Yeo Ri's lips twitched. Why does that smile seem so familiar? It was the same kind of smile that Park Soo Yeon had donned back when she tried soliciting Yeo Ri time and time again...
"Shall we exchange numbers?" Yoo Hyun Bin asked. Realising that he sounded like a paedophilic creep, he hurriedly assured the girl, "Don't worry, I swear I'm not a pervert. I won't call you or send you strange messages all of a sudden."
Yeo Ri made a complicated face, "I'm sorry, but my brother told me I shouldn't give my number out to other people easily," she declined his request with a serious look.
"Oh, alright, then." Well, it was not like he could force her to give it to him. He could only give up for now. Yeo Ri was really a breath of fresh air; most people would have already clawed at the chance to network with him, but the girl unhesitatingly refused him. Rather than thinking that she was being rude, he thought that she was really a good girl to be adhering to her brother's advice so strictly even though the other party was a famous person like him.
"What is this? You're scouting my talent right in front of me? Hoobaenim, you have guts," Park Soo Yeon interfered once she saw a chance. She had been standing nearby for some time, waiting for the two two finish conversing.
"Haha, what are you taking about, President Park? You must've heard me wrong," Yoo Hyun Bin laughed nervously as soon as he noticed the wicked grin on the older lady's face. Someone like Park Soo Yeon had a lot of power and influence in the industry. If he had somehow offended her, it might damage his livelihood. Though, that being said, Park Soo Yeon was not such a petty person who would ruin someone's career just because she was offended by them.
"Well, if you two are done talking, Yeo Ri-ah, you should get changed. I'll take you home."
"Okay."
"Let's work together again if—no—when the opportunity arises, okay, Yeo Ri-ah?" He held out his hand, reaching for a handshake.
"We'll see," Yeo Ri smiled, hiding her slight annoyance and discomfort, placing her hand in his for a split second before pulling away; she brushed his palm with the tip of her fingers instead of giving a proper handshake. With a slight bow of her head, she returned to the dressing room to change out of her costume.
Yoo Hyun Bin raised an eyebrow quizzically at her actions, but did not comment on it. Staring at his hand which he had used to 'shake' her hand, he thought, 'Perhaps she was in a hurry to get changed.'
Just like that, Yeo Ri's first acting job ended.