Chapter 4 · 8 min
Chapter 4
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After Mom threatened me.
My danger-sensing ability kicked into overdrive, so I behaved myself.
“Mina! Come out for a second!”
Uncle Junyoung called me.
“Mom, are you coming too?”
“Of course.”
“Okay.”
When I left the waiting room with Mom, Uncle Junyoung led me to where a lot of people were gathered.
‘Ah, I guess all the staff are gathered here.’
It seemed like he was trying to introduce me.
“Alright, everyone! This is Mina. You see why I cast her, right?”
‘But there’s really no need to do this.’
“Yeah, I talked to her a little earlier and she’s sharp. You brought her well.”
“R-Really?”
Earlier, while wandering around, I had quickly greeted all the staff.
“Ah, is the person behind her Mina’s mother?”
“Yes...! I’m Mina’s mom.”
“Wow, I’m really jealous. Having such a cute and well-behaved daughter like Mina.”
“A well-behaved, haha...! Yes...! Of course!”
The moment he said well-behaved, I saw Mom’s eyes twitch.
‘Oh dear...’
It seemed Mom’s body was lacking magnesium.
‘I should tell her to eat some almonds when we get home.’
“I want a daughter like Mina too... Just imagine how happy life would be.”
“Exactly... I feel like I’d have nothing more to wish for if I just had one pretty and well-behaved daughter like Mina...”
“Haha... Hahaha...”
The reason Mom’s laughter sounded mechanical was probably because she felt shy and embarrassed from people she didn’t know praising me.
‘Mm, of course.’
There couldn’t possibly be any other reason.
“What? I gathered everyone for nothing. I was going to brag about Mina a little.”
“She’s not even your niece, just your friend’s daughter, so what are you bragging about?”
“No, if it’s Mina, then we just don’t share blood, but she’s basically my real niece, you know?!”
Uncle looked at me as if asking for agreement and smiled.
“Right, even though it’s been five years since we last saw each other, and even today we only met because of work, I’m still your niece.”
“Mina...?”
I looked at Uncle Junyoung and smiled back.
“Wahahahaha! I’m telling you, this kid is hilarious!”
When I instantly tossed Uncle around with my words.
Mr. Kim Juhwan, the director in charge of this commercial, absolutely loved it.
“Thank you. You’re funny too, Director!”
“Huh? What is? I didn’t do anything, but I’m funny?”
“Your face is funny.”
So I lightly jabbed the director too.
“Pfft!”
“Khup...!”
‘...Everyone likes this way too much?’
The reactions around me were much better than I expected.
“My face is funny...?”
“No, I mean you’re so handsome that looking at you is entertaining.”
“Huh...?”
“I’ve never seen anyone this handsome in my life!”
“R-Really...?”
“Seriously!”
‘Obviously, that’s a lie.’
But what does the truth matter anyway.
That’s just how social life works.
“Wahahahaha! Hey! Today, I’m going to make Mina’s footage the prettiest shot of my entire career!”
“Hahaha! Thank you!”
“I’m in a good mood! Here, go buy yourself something tasty with this!”
‘Oh? He’s even giving me allowance?’
I was a little flustered by the unexpected development.
But when I saw the yellow color of the bill that came out of Mr. Kim Juhwan’s wallet, my surprise turned into admiration.
“Wow! Just as expected! They say handsome people are generous too, so I guess it’s true!”
“Wahahahaha! Is that so!?”
‘Yes!’
I scored 50,000 won.
After having fun with the staff for a while longer, it was finally about time to start filming.
“Alright, everyone memorized your scripts, right?”
“Yes!”
“Then we’ll start with our Mina and Actress Kim Heeseon!”
“Yes!”
Apparently, for today’s commercial, they would film one team for each age group, then edit all the footage together afterward.
‘They said that meant I might have to wait a while.’
Maybe making a good impression on Mr. Juhwan earlier had something to do with it.
“Mina.”
When my name was called first.
Mom, who was even more nervous than I was, grabbed my shoulders and gave me some advice.
“Don’t be nervous. Try hard... no, maybe you shouldn’t do that. Act like you normally do... no, don’t do that either. Just do moderately well. Got it?”
‘...What does that even mean.’
Mom looked too serious to ignore, so I vaguely nodded and went off to film.
____________
‘Ryu Mina, huh...’
Juhwan watched Mina waiting for the cue and fell into thought.
‘Judging by looks alone, there really isn’t a greater talent than that...’
Other abilities could be made up for with effort, but appearance.
Appearance alone was a realm of pure talent that couldn’t be completely overcome through effort.
‘And her personality too.’
She wasn’t shy around strangers and treated everyone warmly, while also being quick-witted.
Even earlier, she had been leading the conversation in a way that was unusual for a child.
‘She really is someone who could become hugely successful as a celebrity.’
As for being an actress, though.
It wasn’t that Juhwan was looking down on Mina.
He was simply considering competitiveness.
‘Even child actors start early education these days.’
No matter how outstanding her looks were or how good her personality was, an actor had to act well.
So compared to other children who had been professionally learning acting since around age five, it was an inevitable conclusion.
With that final thought, Juhwan cleared his mind and focused on work.
“Alright, ready. Action!”
The moment Juhwan gave the action signal.
Mina’s atmosphere changed.
‘What...?’
The child who had been smiling brightly until just moments ago and carrying the mood of the entire set suddenly looked deeply depressed.
“When is Mom coming home...”
‘Did she add something to the setup?’
In the script, Mina’s role was written only this simply.
‘A daughter who can’t stand waiting any longer for her mother to come home from work, so she makes a video call.’
So the filming started from the scene where Mina made a video call to Heeseon.
It seemed Mina had added her own interpretation to the scene.
‘And it’s not just that her expression looks sad, either.’
Her gaze was handled well, and her gestures weren’t awkward.
And all of that combined into that gloomy atmosphere.
The atmosphere was outstanding.
“Ah! Right!”
Mina, who had continued looking gloomy, suddenly seemed to remember something and began making a call with the smartphone.
Ring, ring
[Hello?]
A few seconds later.
The ringtone disappeared, and when Heeseon’s face appeared and her voice could be heard, the gloomy expression Mina had worn until just moments ago vanished completely.
She looked so happy that it seemed to brighten the surroundings.
“Mom!”
‘...Why is she actually good at this?’
Since it was a role with barely any lines, Mina had been cast purely based on her face without considering acting skill at all, but unexpectedly.
No, she was showing acting good enough that anyone would call it good, leaving Juhwan considerably flustered.
‘I’ve seen plenty of actors get scolded on set because they couldn’t do that...’
The rapid shifts in emotion, for one.
And the fact that those emotions were clearly conveyed to others.
‘More than anything, I can’t take my eyes off her.’
Even though Actress Kim Heeseon was playing opposite her.
Of course, right now Actress Kim Heeseon was voluntarily taking the role of supporting Mina.
Even accounting for the fact that she had someone supporting her, it had been a long time since Juhwan had felt such a distinct presence from the person acting.
“Mom! When are you coming home!?”
[I’m almost there~ Did you eat?]
“No! I’m going to eat with you when you get home!”
‘She’s really natural...’
The thing most child actors and people criticized for bad acting struggled with the most was naturalness.
There were cameras on set, and staff were constantly watching from all around.
So whether from pressure or unfamiliarity, people naturally became stiff and unnatural.
‘But she’s actually doing it...’
And this was a kid doing it for the very first time today.
“Yeah! See you later! Love you!”
[Mom loves my daughter too~]
Click
“Cut!”
When Juhwan’s cut signal rang out, Mina’s bright expression returned to how it had been when she was fooling around earlier.
‘Wow... She’s seriously something else.’
Of course, technically speaking, there were plenty of parts that were lacking or disappointing.
But all of those flaws were covered by the fact that this was her first time and she had never learned acting.
No, it wasn’t just enough to cover them. This was an absurd level.
‘But what if she properly learns acting starting now?’
He couldn’t even imagine what kind of result would come out.
Reflecting that his evaluation before filming had been far too hasty, Juhwan raised his assessment of Mina considerably.
Then he played the footage for Mina and Heeseon, who had come over.
“Mina.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be honest. You did really well.”
“Really?”
Juhwan saw Mina’s shoulders rise slightly at his praise.
‘Still...’
Though it pained him, he thought it was better to say what needed to be said, so he spoke firmly.
“But I don’t think the gloomy acting at the beginning fits our commercial.”
“Hmm... As expected.”
“Huh? You knew?”
“Yes. The commercial overall has a cheerful and harmonious feeling, but that would put in a gloomy atmosphere even if it’s only for one second. So I thought it might not fit what you had in mind, Director.”
Juhwan couldn’t hide his surprise when her reason was exactly the same as what he had thought.
“But if you thought that, why did you do it?”
“Because I still wanted to try it. It was a kind of ad-lib.”
“Huh!”
Earlier, before filming, she had jokingly asked whether ad-libs were allowed, so apparently she had actually kept it in mind.
‘I thought she was just joking.’
Juhwan’s fondness for Mina rose another level.
“But does that mean we have to film it again?”
“We could, but this much can be covered in editing, so we don’t have to.”
“Hmm...”
Seeing Mina thinking, Juhwan asked her a question.
“Do you want to film it again?”
“Yes.”
“Wahahahaha!”
He burst out laughing at the immediate answer without a hint of hesitation and patted Mina’s head.
“That’s right! That’s how an actor should be!”
“...But I’m not an actor.”
‘No, you’re going to become one.’
Juhwan had that feeling.