Chapter 131
Chapter 131
Suyeon knocked on the door of the makeup room with a bottle of aloe juice .
“Who is it?”
A woman’s head poked out from the room, she was probably one of the actors that Junmin talked about .
“h.e.l.lo, I’m Kim Suyeon . ”
She smiled and handed the woman a drink for now . First gifts should always be small . Something that one could easily get rid of if they didn’t like it . An expensive first gift would only garner suspicion from others .
“Ah, yes . ”
The woman took the juice, confused . Success . Suyeon smiled, looking inside the dressing room through the open door . There was a sandwich inside, indicating the people inside must’ve been talking while eating .
“Oh, what nice timing . We can talk while you eat . ”
She stepped in very casually . Doors were amazing things . They managed to split one s.p.a.ce from the other both literally and figuratively . That’s why she always needed to pay attention when she was crossing doorways . If she just stepped in right away, they would be wary for sure . So instead, she’d step inside after a little bit of a positive greeting, thus they would welcome her . Her beautiful face helped with this, no doubt .
“Who are you?”
A man stood up from his seat to look at her .
“h.e.l.lo, I’m Kim Suyeon . ”
“Ah, yes . ”
It doesn’t matter even if he didn’t know her . What’s important was telling the person his name . If she was able to use something to instill a good impression to her name, it would also make their conversation much easier .
“I heard from Mr . Junmin that there were very amazing actors in the makeup room . I just dropped by to say h.e.l.lo . ”
Just mentioning Junmin’s name managed to change the expressions of the four people . This was why names were important .
“Are you talking about Director Lee Junmin?”
“Yes . Ah, I should introduce myself again . I’m Kim Suyeon, a hardworking actor . I’m working under Mr . Junmin . ”
One of the men exclaimed lightly in recognition .
“Oh, the one from the TV miniseries . . . ”
“Wow, you recognize me? Thank you! It’s my first time . ”
This would be good enough for greetings . She had to be careful to not downplay herself, she couldn’t afford to let herself get looked down on by others . She needed to be humble, but not overly so .
“I’ve been enjoying your drama very much . ”
When one person recognized her, the others started approaching her with a smile . This was why first impressions were so important . The gift she brought was very small, but it was also indicative that she prepared to meet the other party . Suyeon knew very well that this was very important in starting a good relations.h.i.+p .
“Thank you . Wow, I had no idea other actors were watching as well . It’s kind of embarra.s.sing . ”
People often feel charm not from a person’s good parts, but rather a person’s bad parts . The phrase “be humble” was honestly enough to describe everything about all human relations.h.i.+ps . As long as she compliments the other side somewhat and leaves some room for herself to be complimented as well…
“Embarra.s.sed? No way . You did very well . ”
Suyeon smiled shyly one more time . She was already pretty much inside the room, but she didn’t make any motion to get further inside .
“Please, sit here . ”
That was the cue she was waiting for . She didn’t think of sitting, of course . She knew very well that regardless of the situation, a surprise guest would only make people uncomfortable .
“No no, it’s fine, please keep talking . We can talk some other time when you’re not so busy . I’d definitely want some acting advice from seniors like you . ”
“Haha, we’re not that skilled ourselves . ”
“Even so . ”
Suyeon stepped backwards and bowed . These people were all in their mid-twenties and thirties . Despite that, she still bowed to all of them politely, even to the women . She actually needed to pay more attention to women, since they had a very good eye for judging each other . If she needed to put in 20% of her effort impressing the men, the other 80% of her effort would go to impressing the women .
“Ah, that bracelet looks great on you . ”
“This?”
She mentioned it on the way out, pretending as if she thought of it just now . The actress showed her bracelet with a shy smile, it was a bracelet made out of little dark stones . Honestly speaking, it didn’t fit the woman . Women with cat-like eyes, like her, were better accompanied with flashy accessories, such as gems . Of course, that was only something Suyeon thought to herself while making the compliment .
“Yeah, bracelets like that really don’t fit a person unless they have a thin wrist like you do . I tried it in the past, and oh dear, I could only sigh . ”
“Why? I think it would look good on you, Ms . Suyeon . ”
“No, not at all . I have a darker skin tone, so darker bracelets like that just don’t fit me . ”
Suyeon stared at the bracelet for a bit before stepping back in surprise .
“I’m sorry, I must’ve wasted a lot of your free time . ”
“Not at all . ”
The men sat down as they bid their farewells and the actress that Suyeon complimented even walked her to the door .
“I’ll see you next time . With some alcohol, between us girls . How about it?”
“Sounds great . ”
Suyeon said her goodbyes multiple times after hearing the actress’ name . They were of the same age, so they should be able to get along nicely if they meet next time .
“Then,”
Suyeon turned around and sighed . Junmin probably told her to meet them for a reason . After all, that man always had a good reason for making her do things . That was one thing she really liked about him, he was efficient . Of course, what she felt was merely admiration without an ounce of romance . After all, he was one of the few people she decided to take up as a mentor . After meeting the actors, she headed downstairs . On the way, she ran into the director of the entire stage . He seemed to have a man around her age next to him .
“Oh, you’re leaving, sir?”
“Of course . By the way, actress Kim . You’re only getting prettier by day, aren’t you?”
“Thank you . ”
“This is Mintae, my student . Treat him well if you ever end up working with him . ”
After shaking hands with the man introduced to her as Yoon Mintae, she walked over to find Junmin . Junmin was looking at his notebook with a very concerned face .
“Why don’t you buy a laptop at this point? The recent ones are pretty light and slim . ”
“If my thought wanders off before the laptop even loads, what am I supposed to do?”
“Isn’t it uncomfortable, just writing away like that?”
“Are you uncomfortable with breathing?”
“Gosh, I don’t know what to say if you’re coming at me like that . ”
Suyeon handed Junmin a new notebook as she spoke . It was an expensive brand, made by an artisan in Italy . It was expensive, but Junmin was very deserving of a gift like this . The man gave it a glance before taking it from her hands with a smile . He looked at it here and there before putting it in his pocket with a nod . He must like it .
“It’s good, isn’t it?”
“Why wouldn’t it be good? You gave it to me after all . ”
“Oh my, that’s a compliment, isn’t it?”
“Of course it is . Only that it was directed at the notebook, not you . ”
“Boo . ”
Suyeon sat on Junmin’s other side, being with this man brought her peace . She didn’t need to put on a mask . That is, she didn’t need to act fake or be needlessly nice in front of him .
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just thinking of the old times . Wondering why you took in someone like me, and whatnot . ”
“You should know that better than me . ”
“What?”
“You’re good at charming people . That’s an amazing skill . Charm is usually cultivated, but some people are born with it . I recognized that you were one such person, so I took you in . ”
“Don’t you regret it? I heard some people have bad opinions of you because of this . ”
“You’re talking about the men who feel like they lost because they got tricked by a woman? Why would I need to feel regret about that? If not by you, someone else would’ve come along and done the same thing anyways . ”
Junmin closed his notebook and took off his gla.s.ses . Those gla.s.ses dangling on his neck couldn’t look s.e.xier to Suyeon right now . Middle-aged men always had a certain charm to them .
“Just be careful not to break the law . There’s nothing wrong with a woman trying to take advantage of her gender . Whether you try to look like a s.l.u.t or simply a beautiful woman is all up to you . ”
“You’ve never thought of me as disgusting, teacher?”
“Did you ever think that way about yourself?”
“No, not at all . I’m just very good at manipulating people . ”
“That’s enough, then . If men are creatures who use their strength to take women, then women are the ones who actually control the men . Men are drawn to beauty, the same way that women are drawn to power . It’s a natural thing . We were born this way and we’ll die this way . ”
“Is that so?”
“Do what you want . But always make sure you can take care of it . If you cause too much trouble, I’ll cut you away immediately . Just like you have a talent for charm, I have a talent for severing relations.h.i.+ps . ”
“How cruel . If that’s the case, why do you grow so many dogs?”
“Because dogs love you back just as much as you love them . Humans, on the other hand, start rebelling against you if you show them love . If you treat them well, they treat you like an idiot . If you get mad at them, you’re a b.a.s.t.a.r.d . I’d rather be a b.a.s.t.a.r.d than an idiot . At least that way I can get some food on my table . ”
“You’re way too cynical for someone who deals with people for a living, do you know that?”
“Of course I do . That’s why I have you around, because you’re useful . ”
“Really? Just because I’m useful? Nothing else?”
“If I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t be telling you this to begin with . As long as you’re with me, I’m going to be kind to you . ”
“Ew, sounds so cheesy . ”
Suyeon laughed to herself loudly . This was why she couldn’t leave Junmin . This person gave her confidence, confidence that she would be able to thrive even if she were to throw her mask away .
“I’m going to ask you this one more time . Do you want to have dinner with me tonight? I know a great hotel . ”
“I don’t eat anything too expensive . Go find someone else . ”
“Wow, aren’t you picky . ”
Suyeon stood up with a wink .
“Ah, by the way, the boy that’s under Ganghwan . Is that someone under you, too, Teacher?”
“Han Maru?”
Junmin smiled even brighter than when he got the notebook when he said the name .
“Wow, he must be something else if you’re smiling that widely . ”
“He definitely is, I still don’t know what he is . I’m even more excited by the fact that I can’t tell just how far he can go . ”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“Are you thinking of playing around with him?”
“If you allow it . ”
“It probably won’t work that easily . ”
“Why?”
“He’s… a bit of a strange one . ”
Junmin put on a mysterious look as he spoke .
“Mm, now you’re scaring me a little . I’m gonna give up . ”
“You should meet him, though . It’ll be pretty fun . ”
Junmin looked down at his notebook, indicating that the conversation was over . Suyeon bowed . She watched Junmin wave back before leaving the theater .
“Ah, Ms . Suyeon . ”
It was the actress from before . Suyeon put on her mask again, approaching the actress with a smile on her face .
“It’s over?”
“Yes . ”
“What a coincidence . Would you like to go for a drink? Ah, do you drink?”
“A little bit . ”
“What happened to the men from before?”
“We were all a bit busy, so we split up . ”
“Ah, are you busy?”
“No, I’m free . ”
“Good to hear . Let’s go!”
Suyeon locked her arms with the woman’s . She needed to be good at skins.h.i.+ps if she wanted to be social . Judging from the actress’ reaction, the woman didn’t seem to hate it . In fact, she seemed to be welcoming of Suyeon’s friendliness .
“We’re the same age, aren’t we?”
“Yes . ”
“Should we drop formalities, then?”
“Sure . ”
And with this, a new connection was formed . Suyeon thought carefully about what she could get through this relations.h.i.+p as they walked down the street .
* * *
“Take care . ”
“Yes . You too . ”
“Of course . ”
Maru started moving after seeing the car take off . Thanks to Ganghwan, he managed to get home with ease . The man told Maru that he was going to teach Maru a lot of things, but they ended up talking about girls instead because of Suyeon . Since men were always into pretty women, Maru just went along with the conversation all the way till now .
“Oh, you came back early today . ”
His sister greeted him when he entered, she’s been treating him nicer recently . Did she get mature, or did she just give in after all the money he gave her?
“Ah, I gave Dowook that ginseng drink . ”
“Really?”
“Yeah . ”
“Of course . ”
“Heck yeah, he deserved it . ”
“Hey, what’s with your language? I thought it was a gift . ”
“But he didn’t take it . He must’ve drank it without even wanting to, so he totally deserves it . ”
“You should try to be nicer . ”
“I’m nice enough already . ”
Bada grinned happily . How did such a bright girl get divorced? Maru realized once again how uncaring he was towards his family . He smiled bitterly, once again realizing that his parents weren’t all there was to it .
“Dinner?”
“I ate already . ”
“What the . ”
“Why?”
“I bought that already since I thought you haven’t eaten yet . ”
His sister was pointing at a cup noodle on the table . Maru could only smile .
“I’ll eat it . ”
He’d probably get scolded by her if he didn’t actually eat it . Plus, he did still feel a little bit hungry after the burger . As he stood around in the kitchen waiting for the water to boil, he got a message . It was from her .
[You didn’t feel lonely or anything without me, did you?]
Oh?
Maru thought about sending a teasing message before changing his mind .
[Really lonely . ]
No response . But just thinking of her being happy at his message made him feel happy as well .
“Bro! The water’s boiling!”
“Yeah . ”
But before anything, he should eat before his sister becomes cranky .