Chapter 26: Look at Bora
“Wow, that’s fast. How did you know? That I made an account.”
-What? You started SNS?
“Yeah, didn’t I tell you that?”
-No, no. The BORNTORE account. The photo feed model that goes up there. Not exclusive like Enbin, but it’s paid per job, so it’ll be pretty lucrative too. I’ll take care of it as best I can, so contact Bora. Got it?
Someone called out to Junho from behind. The sun had set, but the company still seemed busy. Muyoung replied that he understood and hung up the phone.
Ding.
-Oppa, you’re so handsome ㅠㅠ
-I came from MeTube. Follow without asking!
-Upload photos quickly. I’m in a hurry!!
And the DM and comment notifications kept coming in. The photo with only the BigWinEnter logo on it kept getting likes endlessly. Bonggun asked, crunching on some snacks.
“You said you were looking for a tutor, right?”
“Yes. Is there a position available?”
“What? I’ve never done it myself. But instead of looking for a tutor, why not grow that account? Judging by the speed it’s catching on, if you do it right, it’ll be a huge success.”
“How can I make money from this?”
Is this a joke? Muyoung blinked and went into settings to turn off all notifications.
‘He was so smart when reading the script, but he’s clueless about other things.’
“You really don’t know? The ad rates?”
“How much is it?”
“It depends on the number of followers, but it’ll be somewhere in the tens to hundreds. No. But as an industry professional, you should know better than me, right?”
Muyoung, wondering how much money he could make from posting one photo, looked for a charger again. He was taken aback by the unexpectedly huge number.
“Look at that, his eyes are sparkling.”
That’s why the boss talked about recognition!
Muyoung, amazed, looked for Bora’s phone number. The call tone continued, but she still didn’t answer.
‘Should I ask the principal?’
“By the way, what were you reading?”
It wasn’t a formal published version, but a bound copy. Bonggun, who goes crazy over scripts, was naturally interested.
“I’m deciding on my next project.”
“BigWinEnter, you said? Oh, right. I have a friend who’s writing scripts these days. Do you accept works too?”
“The agency doesn’t accept them, but I think film production companies do. Send it by email.”
“Right? Who carries paper around these days? Ugh.”
Maybe he was ignoring his own calls because of Junho. Muyoung slumped dejectedly in his chair. Then.
-……Muyoung Ha.
“Hello!”
-Your eardrums will burst. What’s going on?
The voice sounded quite harsh. It seemed like she was sick or crying. Muyoung tilted his head.
“Is something wrong? Why does your voice sound like that?”
-Never mind. Just tell me what you want.
“Did you read the message Junho sent? We got an offer to be SNS models for BORNTORE, you and me. It looks like it’ll be busy because of the drama, but it’s a good opportunity, so let’s do it together…… Bora?”
There was no answer. He thought the call had been dropped, but the call time on the screen kept increasing. Muyoung remained silent for a moment, then asked again.
“Bora, where are you now?”
“Ready—! Action!”
It was a small café set. Two female part-time workers were cleaning the kitchen and chatting. The protagonist splashed water on the floor with a bucket.
“So you drank with the boss?”
“Well, I did.”
“And you kissed him too?”
“No. That’s……”
The reckless heroine, Daryeong, and her best friend, Bora. Bora smirked and poked her friend’s side.
“Look at this?”
“Shh! Ouch! Stop it!”
The bucket in Daryeong’s hand was full of water and sloshed dangerously. The two giggled and continued their prank when.
“Jin Seoyeon.”
“Kyaaaak!”
Whoosh—!
The male lead suddenly appeared from behind. Startled, Daryeong spilled the bucket of water all over Bora’s clothes. Silence for a moment. All three of them looked shocked.
“Umm. Cut—!”
The waiting staff approached Daryeong with towels. Her bangs were slightly wet from playing with water. Meanwhile, Bora, who was completely soaked, found a prop rag and wiped herself off.
“Uh, Daryeong.”
“Yes?”
Daryeong, who was getting her makeup touched up, only turned her eyes to look at the director. The director’s expression as he looked through the viewfinder was subtle.
“When you turn and spill the bucket, the arm angle looks a bit awkward.”
At his words, Bora stepped slightly behind the viewfinder. Daryeong did the same. After wiping her hands, she subtly pushed her shoulder away, as if telling her to move back.
“You said not to spill it upwards. What can I do? If the arm angle doesn’t come out right.”
Daryeong glanced at Bora and complained, annoyed. If the makeup and hair get messed up, it’s hard to fix the NG. So Bora was given an apron and dark clothes to wear, and the angle was being shot from below.
“Still, try to make it look more natural.”
“Are you asking me to defy my body structure?”
“Haha. I didn’t mean that.”
Daryeong looked Bora up and down and laughed. Despite her contemptuous gaze, her smile was refreshingly bright.
“Then let’s go for a bust shot.”
“Bust?”
“Yeah. We don’t have a spare apron to change into, so we can do it in one take. The arm angle will look good, and the scene will be more vivid. Right? The script originally said ‘completely soaked,’ too.”
She was already soaked to the skin, even her underwear. What couldn’t she do? Bora nodded at the director’s concerned look.
“Yes, I’ll do it that way.”
“Then, camera director, for a moment!”
Since the spot where the water was spilled changed, the angle that needed to be captured also had to be adjusted. Bora wrung out the water and swallowed a sigh.
‘It’s annoying.’
“Bora, come over here. Let’s check the movement.”
Daryeong called Bora over with a wave of her hand. She wasn’t a nice person to begin with, but she seemed to get more irritable as the number of shoots increased.
“Yes.”
There was something she suspected, but she had no choice but to endure it. There was nothing Bora could do here.
“Look. Kyaaak—! And then I’ll turn like this, okay?”
Daryeong swung an empty bucket menacingly. Her posture was perfectly natural, but Bora flinched at the very close gesture.
“Oh my. Don’t be scared.”
“……It’s too fast.”
“Then should I throw it slowly while surprised?”
More than the fear that it might hit her face.
“Whoa. Uh—”
“Shh. Don’t look.”
The reaction of the staff whispering and ignoring her was even more heartbreaking.
Bora wiped her apron with a rag and asked.
“Senior, please be careful not to hit my face.”
“What’s that? Don’t you trust me?”
“I do, but I meant to be more careful.”
Daryeong frowned at Bora’s firm tone. She felt like she was being challenged.
“Why? Are you worried that something might happen to your pretty face?”
“……Senior.”
Bora stood still and looked at her.
The words she couldn’t bring herself to say.
Given her personality, she’d just—
‘What the fuck. Who cares if I rejected the contract? Let’s just fight it out!’
She wanted to yell that out. Ugh. Damn it.
“Daryeong, we’re going to start shooting.”
“Yes, Director!”
She answered cheerfully and gestured to Bora. It meant to get ready.
“Sigh.”
The more harassment she faced on set, the more vivid Park Moonchul’s face became. A few days ago. He suddenly contacted her and offered her a contract.
-Sealing Actors?
How excited she was when she heard the word ‘Sealing.’ But when she actually met him and talked, it wasn’t good at all. The contract conditions were one thing,
-Are you friends with Ha Muyoung?
He mentioned a third person, Muyoung, and more than anything……
“Ready, action!”
-Your face is so pretty. Do you have a boyfriend you’re seeing?
-Do you have someone you’re seeing? No, I don’t.
-It must be hard to make a lover while living this kind of life.
-……Why?
-You said you were a child actor, didn’t you? You should know better then.
Snake-like eyes. Bora instinctively felt it.
He was a dangerous person. He was after something other than her value. It was the gaze of a man looking at a woman, not an actor.
“Jin Seoyeon.”
So she politely declined. His expression was something to behold. A mix of absurdity, displeasure, and contempt.
That day was the turning point.
That damn Daryeong became even more like a dog.
“Kyaaaak!”
Bam—!
“Cut! Cut!”
“Oh my! Are you okay?”
Daryeong swung the bucket wildly, exaggerating, and hit the other person’s nose hard. Bora held her nose and squatted down.
“Ouch……”
“What, what’s going on?”
Daryeong was just as surprised. She didn’t do it on purpose. She just wasn’t careful.
‘Whoa!’
“Look at your face, Bora.”
“Should we go to the hospital?”
“Is there blood? Oh no! There’s blood!”
Bora’s nosebleed dripped onto the wet floor. The staff bustled around her, taking care of her, and glanced at Daryeong. There was an implicit sense of blame.
‘Be a little more careful.’
‘I knew this would cause an accident. Tsk tsk.’
‘From earlier, it seemed like she did it on purpose, didn’t it?’
Fuck. Daryeong felt a chill run down her spine and wrapped her wrist without thinking. It was a reflexive action. She knew how to protect herself.
“Ahh—!”
“Is Daryeong hurt too? Let me see.”
“My wrist, ouch……”
Chaos ensued.
The managers, stylists, and others. Daryeong’s staff bustled around, causing a commotion.
“Hospital, let’s go to the hospital!”
“Bring the car!”
The shoot was stopped. The staff were in a flurry. The people surrounding Bora dispersed, and soon only the youngest FD remained by her side.
“Wipe it with tissue first.”
“……Thank you.”
“Youngest, tidy up the cables over here!”
Bora’s gesture of receiving it clumsily with her head bowed was pitiful. The youngest FD watched her for a moment with a sad expression, then left as well.
“Yes! Got it!”
“Bora, you should go to the hospital too.”
“We’ll wrap up shooting for today, and, uh, we’ll scrap the 15th bust scene. We’ll use the previous one. Okay?”
“You worked hard. Oh dear. Your pretty face.”
“If there’s a problem with your nose, let me know right away. We can’t afford any delays in the shooting schedule. You know what I mean, right?”
The staff passed by, saying one thing or another. Bora, silently wiping away the blood in a corner of the set, was isolated.
No one, no one was by her side.
Ziiiing. Ziiiing.
‘Of all times.’
It was her mother.
Bora hesitated, then waited for the call to end. Her mother’s voice at a time like this would be cheating. As soon as she said hello, she’d definitely start crying.
Ziiiing. Ziiiing.
After it stopped ringing, her phone rang again in succession.
She thought it was her mother again, but the caller was different this time.
Bora hesitated for a moment before pressing the call button.
“……Muyoung Ha.”
“Kang—Bora—!”
“Bora-yah—!”
Bora, sitting under a parasol in front of a convenience store, turned her head. She had already downed a bottle of soju and two cans of beer, quite a lot. She laughed, her nose swollen and red.
“Why are you bringing her here?”
“Why are you like this—”
Junho sat opposite Bora, acting cute. Then, seeing her nose, he was startled and flipped out.
“What’s wrong with your nose?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why is your pretty nose so big?”
Junho, flustered and not knowing what to do, made Bora, who was happily drunk, laugh.
“I said I don’t know!”
Muyoung also sat down and asked worriedly. There must have been something difficult going on. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have shown herself like this.
“Are you okay?”
After laughing heartily, Bora just played with the can silently. Then she covered her face with her hands and sighed.
“I should be okay. It’s something I chose to do myself.”
“What happened?”
“……Do you know Sealing Actors? Park Moonchul, the manager there, mentioned your name.”
At the unexpected name, Muyoung’s eyes widened.
Why is that coming up here now?
Starting with that, Bora told him everything that had happened.
Half complaint, half lament.
“Wow, that’s really annoying. Bora, should I go and investigate everything?”
Junho rolled up his sleeves and got riled up, but Muyoung pulled his shirt to stop him. This was definitely it.
“I’m sorry, Bora.”
“Why you?”
“I turned down their offer too. It probably had some effect.”
The pride Muyoung had scratched once. Bora’s rejection on top of that must have been unbearable. Bora thought for a moment, then shook her head.
“In the end, it’s my problem.”
Then she drank the rest of the soju and stood up, shouting. Her voice was mixed with tears.
“Just wait and see—! Once I really make it big, everyone’s dead! That Daryeong or Sealing or whatever, just you wait!”
“That’s right. They’re all dead. Our Bora’s so strong! Bora, watch out!”
When Junho joined in, passersby glanced over. Muyoung calmed the two down and thought for a moment.
“Bora, then, besides Sealing, do you have another company in mind?”
Bora wiped her eyes and looked silently at Muyoung.
The dark night, his clear face illuminated by the convenience store lights. He then smiled slyly and made the best offer of his life.
“Or, would you like to come to our company?”