"'—But why?'" Yeo Ri said, reading her lines in a whiny, cutesy voice.
"'Because I said so!'" Her co-star responded. He adopted a serious expression that soon melted when Yeo Ri pouted, as her character usually did. "'But why~? No one's ever gotten mad at me before. You're so petty, boo-hoo!'"
"'T-that's because! They're all not your boyfriend!'"
The people inside the room cracked up as Yeo Ri faux-sobbed.
Both the writer and the producer held big smiles on their faces as they watched the cast interact with each other, following the script. It was clear that all of them had done their research and went through the source material. The creator was particularly excited about Yeo Ri's character, finding that except for her hairstyle, she had become the exact image of Chacha she had in mind.
"That's great! Chacha has pigtails, so later, make sure to grab your hair every time Chacha feels upset."
"Yes~"
The atmosphere during the table reading was far more relaxed and amicable than Yeo Ri had expected. Everyone did not put on airs and they were free to take breaks whenever needed. There were food and snacks prepared, and the light-hearted mood increased as they bantered and laughed.
After four hours, they finally finished reading through the whole script.
The writer seemed pleased, feeling like her work was getting the best adaptation she could ever hope for. The synergy between the cast was amazing, and she hoped she could see the finished work as soon as possible.
After the table reading ended, everyone dispersed with smiles on their faces, assured that the project was a good one.
Yeo Ri, however, was unable to relax as she still had other obligations to attend to.
After lunch, she would have to head over to a casting call for a movie, and only after that was she free.
While on her way to the next location, Yeo Ri received a call from Park Soo Yeon.
"Yeo Ri-ah! How was your first table reading?"
Hearing the cheerful, friendly voice of the older woman, Yeo Ri smiled as she replied, "It was fun. A little tiring, though. I can't wait to start filming." The character Yeo Ri was playing was such a bright and cheerful girl; she really liked 'Chacha' and thought about how nice it would be to become such a happy-go-lucky and simple person. Thus, she was quite excited. After all, it was impossible for 'Lee Yeo Ri' to be such a person in real life.
Hearing her response, Park Soo Yeon sighed. "Aren't you working a little too hard lately, Yeo Ri-ah?" Park Soo Yeon grimaced as she remembered the young girl's schedule which she had personally arranged. Even though there was no need to rush, Yeo Ri already had her schedule filled up for the next three months or so, and things just kept piling up to the point where it had become easier to count her off-days rather than her work days. Of course, as her agent, she was happy to see her talent thrive, but she didn't want the girl to be overwhelmed. Park Soo Yeon began harboring some regret for her over-excitement in promoting the girl.
"I suppose so," Yeo Ri shrugged. She had been working so much lately as if she was being chased by some demon. Although the high she felt while acting or being in front of a camera was addicting, she was more interested in the money. Film projects were not cheap, and a popular actress could earn hundreds of thousands just from the initial salary alone. After having her first taste of opulence, she wanted more and more money—at least enough to live comfortably in a home she had bought herself.
"But we should take advantage of the opportunity since my popularity won't last forever," Yeo Ri reasoned.
"I know, but still—" Park Soo Yeon sighed again. Yeo Ri was right. It would be much harder to push her way up if she left the spotlight for too long. After all, showbiz was a world where trends and popularity could change within a very short span of time. Even the viral clip of the commercial which made Yeo Ri popular was starting to lose its allure.
"Don't push yourself too hard," the older lady advised. "Be sure to take breaks in-between projects or you'll burn out quicker. Rest, even if it's just for a few days."
"Yes," Yeo Ri nodded. Whether she took Mrs. Choi's advice to heart or not was unknown.
"Alright. I know you're busy so I'll let you go. Goodbye, Yeo Ri-ah."
"Bye, Auntie!"
After she ended the call with Park Soo Yeon, Secretary Kwon spoke up, "Miss, I have something to tell you."
"What is it."
"..."
Secretary Kwon did not say anything and simply passed his phone to her.
Displayed on the screen was an article, titled: [Heo Woo Seung confirmed as candidate for upcoming mayoral elections].
Yeo Ri glanced through the article briefly before handing the smartphone back to its owner. "No wonder he's been quiet lately," she snorted. It turns out the old man was going to run for mayor—Seoul's mayor, considered to be one of the highest positions in the government.
"So? What do you want me to do about it?" She raised a brow as she tilted her head, staring at Secretary Kwon through the rearview mirror again.
'Don't cause trouble; keep a low profile,' was the message he was supposed to relate to her.
"..."
However, Secretary Kwon could not bring himself to say the words. It seemed useless to say them to her, as she had no intention of being involved in her biological father's matters. On the contrary, if he were to say those words to her, the girl might even get offended and proceed to do the opposite.
Receiving no reply from the man, Yeo Ri rolled her eyes and stuffed her earphones into her ears.
.
.
.
Yeo Ri arrived at the audition venue just in time before registrations closed.
There were many people already waiting at the reception area, and after receiving her number, she picked up a copy of the audition scenes and sat in an open seat.
The whole project had been a mystery, and the script was kept a secret up until now. Even Park Soo Yeon who could be considered an insider in the industry had no idea what the film was about other than the fact that the person directing it was a well-known veteran director. Thus, when the famous director had extended an invitation to Yeo Ri to attend the casting call, Park Soo Yeon did not hesitate to accept it.
[Runaway Kids], the title said. Several names followed afterwards, and Yeo Ri could recognise them instantly. They were all industry giants who had multiple successful films and dramas!
No wonder Park Soo Yeon had insisted Yeo Ri to take up the audition—it was obviously a big one.
After going through the scenes once in her head, Yeo Ri finally raised her eyes to take a look at her competitors.
It was a co-ed audition, as the producers wanted to fill up all the spots in a single swoop, and she could see all kinds of people, both famous and unknown, loitering around the room.
"VitaQua girl!" Someone exclaimed. "You're the VitaQua girl, aren't you?"
Yeo Ri turned her head to look at the person who had called her out, feeling rather apprehensive. However, she still maintained decorum and greeted the person politely.
"You don't have any SNS accounts, do you? I looked for it everywhere!" The person said, smiling.
"I'm sorry, I don't," Yeo Ri said, forcing a smile. However, the person did not seem to notice the awkwardness in her gait.
—It was then Yeo Ri discovered, the person who had talked to her was a celebrity—a popular idol from a famous big-name boy group. He went by the stage name, 'Won'.
"Oh, don't apologise. I know companies can be strict about social medias and things like that," he said, waving his hand dismissively. His beautiful almost-feminine face lit up as he offered her a good-natured smile. He himself had used a secret account to stalk for Yeo Ri's account. Unfortunately, his 'research' had garnered no result aside from the few articles and threads of the girl. Also, a fan club of sorts. He was rather surprised to see someone who was still relatively unknown to have an unofficial fan club that had more than a few hundred members. That was more than what his group started with when they debuted!
Won made himself comfortable on the seat next to Yeo Ri's, and accounting any threats possibly made to his charge, Secretary Kwon immediately stepped closer to Yeo Ri, making sure to draw a line between the two.
Won backed away at the serious-looking bodyguard's action. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare anyone." Seeing how he could not read the man's expression, Won could only apologise for being too close.
"Sec—Manager Kwon, it's okay." Yeo Ri fought the urge to roll her eyes. Looking at the idol's pretty face paired with his thin, lithe figure, Yeo Ri was not so quick to pin him as dangerous. Besides, he was rather young, and younger men were less scarier to her than older ones.
Only after hearing her words did the man back off. The idol broke into a cold sweat as he felt the bodyguard-manager's eyes linger on him for a moment.
"He's your manager? He's so scary!"
Yeo Ri smiled apologetically at the idol. "Sorry, he can be a little... intense." And clingy, weirdly so.
"So, anyways, you're auditioning for the main female role, right?" He glanced around in a conspiratory manner before leaning in slightly to whisper, "Actually, the fact that I'm getting one of the lead male roles were already decided beforehand, so I'm just here as formality. I hope you can get the lead role too, so we can work together."
Yeo Ri smiled mutedly at him. He reminded her of In Guk in some ways—they both seem to have the tendency to speak their minds freely. Was a sensitive matter like that something he should be telling someone he just met?
Besides, Yeo Ri wasn't planning on taking the main female role. After reading the script, she felt like going for a lower risk side character role, especially since she was about to start filming another movie in which she was playing the main character.
The famous idol and the rookie's interaction did not escape the eyes of the surrounding people. Both of them were relatively high-profile even amongst the many famous people gathered in the area, thus they easily garnered the attention of other people.
As their conversation paused briefly, Yeo Ri could hear the whispers circulating around the room.
"Is that the VitaQua girl? She doesn't look like much."
"Can she even act? She looks like just another pretty face."
"Does she think she's all that? Just because she went viral once, she thinks she's a celebrity?"
"Why is Won talking to someone like her?"
Won frowned for a second before changing his expression to a smiling one. "Don't mind them; they're just jealous because you're really pretty," he said with a consoling and sincere tone. He truly felt for the girl, as he was once in the same position. Added with his initial interest in the girl, he couldn't help but want to protect her.
Yeo Ri's facial expression never faltered even after hearing the backhanded insults. She kept smiling her usual smile. Shaking her head, she thanked him for his words and pretended to ignore the awful rumours. However, what nobody realised was that something dark was continuously brewing within the girl, simply biding its time to rear its ugly head. Yeo Ri could feel her anger slowly being stoked by the words, and the urge to hurt someone was rising within her.
"Lee. Yeo. Ri."
A feminine voice called out slowly as she approached the two. A barely contained face full of resentment marred the pretty face of the newcomer.
"You're really something else. How'd you manage to climb so far with that fake smile of yours?"