This Life is Splendid

Chapter 4

As soon as Da-eun was discharged from the hospital, she stared blankly at her new cell phone. Hye-young kept calling her.

The texts had the same content as in the past.

Da-eun just watched without responding and without showing a read mark.

“Phew.”

She sighed and calmed her throbbing heart.

Hye-young will be inside me.

It was the first time we had met face to face since we had gone back in time.

“I need to calm down… … .”

My stomach was hot. What must have been on Hye-young’s mind as she set up the burner in front of me while I was sleeping, hoping it would explode?

While Hye-young was being treated at the hospital, screaming, with her face and arms melting away due to the explosion, what kind of face did she have as she auditioned alone?

What were Hye-young’s true feelings as she cried while looking at me, my face broken after passing the audition?

‘I felt a little sorry because I had a conscience.’

‘I can’t say goodbye. I raised you as a substitute, but now you’re dead, so I’m in trouble.’

Da-eun’s jaw jerked as she bit her lips tightly.

“Let’s start with the audition.”

She let out a faint breath, turned off her phone, put it in her bag, and went into the building.

In front of the audition room, there was Hye-young, standing around with an anxious look on her face.

As Da-eun approached, Hye-young noticed her and stopped, holding her breath.

His wide-open eyes were fixed on Da-eun.

Your attempt failed. How do you feel?

As Da-eun watched quietly without saying anything, Hye-young approached her with brisk strides.

“Hey! Why can’t you contact me!”

Da-eun, who was staring blankly at Hye-young who was screaming, furrowed the corners of her eyes.

“Sorry. My phone is broken.”

“what?”

Hye-young frowned. Da-eun continued speaking while observing her intently.

“There was an accident in the fruit shop yesterday.”

Hye-young stopped at Da-eun’s words. She grabbed Da-eun’s shoulder and turned her around.

“Really? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. It’s okay.”

When Da-eun smiled brightly, Hye-young bit the inside of her cheek. Soon, she was seen forcibly raising the corners of her lips. Hye-young looked extremely embarrassed.

“Well, I hope you weren’t hurt. That’s fortunate. I was worried.”

Her voice was calm, but the corners of Hye-young’s mouth were trembling miserably.

“Ms. Kang Da-eun and Ms. Noh Hye-young, right?”

Knock, someone caught their attention with a sound. When the two turned around, the official motioned inside the room.

“Come in.”

“yes.”

Da-eun went inside with Hye-young.

There was no evidence that Hye-young caused the burner explosion.

In the past, fingerprint tests were used to find suspects, but the gas burner was used by so many students that it was covered in fingerprints and it was impossible to even identify the suspect.

In fact, in the past, Hye-young had to pester the police to conduct a fingerprint test. The police, who had no motivation, concluded that it was a simple accident when they couldn’t identify the suspect. It will be the same this time.

“Two people, please sit over here.”

I haven’t even gotten burned in this life, so I guess it’ll just be covered up.

Da-eun followed the instructions of the staff and sat down on a chair after attaching her name tag to her skirt. Across from her were Sa Mi-hyeon, the director of , and Ham Seok-jun, the writer who wrote the script.

“Nice to meet you, juniors.”

Director Sa greeted her with a smile. As soon as she saw the two, Samihyun felt a little regretful about why she hadn’t looked after her school juniors sooner.

I personally hated school ties, regional ties, and blood ties. However, since there was no actor with the image I wanted, it was not the time to be concerned about such things.

“hello.”

Director Samihyun, who was closely observing the two students who were bowing, looked at the juniors sitting in front of her in turn and then spoke.

“The two of you have similar images?”

“Oh, I hear that kind of story often.”

Hye-young answered with a bright smile. Director Sa, who had been staring blankly at Hye-young, lowered his gaze to the profile.

Before starting filming this movie, I asked a colleague who is a college professor to recommend actors.

The professor boasted that he had seen an article that the lead actress of was Lee Joo-ran, a top star in her 30s known for her innocent beauty, and that he would send two talented actresses with similar images to Lee Joo-ran.

And the two actors sent their profiles through their current agencies.

That’s a bold statement. Can I look forward to this?

Director Sa looked back at writer Ham Seok-jun with anticipation swelling up without him knowing it. His face also seemed filled with anticipation.

Filming had already begun, but filming was postponed because they could not find a child actor who fit the image of the lead actor. In this audition, they had to choose at least one person.

Director Sa looked over the evaluation form he had received from the professor. The audition was scheduled to proceed as a designated performance.

“Have you prepared well?”

was a film about the independence movement during the Japanese colonial period in the 1910s. The female protagonist, ‘Kim Yi-seon’, was an independence activist who was quick and nimble, delivering various confidential documents to independence fighters. The audition was to select a child actress for the teenage version of ‘Yi-seon’.

The female lead was cast as actress Lee Joo-ran, in her late 30s, renowned not only for her looks but also for her acting skills.

Kang Da-eun and Noh Hye-young had similar images to Lee Joo-ran. Their elegant facial lines and clear eyes gave them a strong look, but their clear skin and fresh aura that seemed less affected by the world really caught Director Sa Mi-hyeon’s eye.

“Okay, let’s see some acting.”

Director Sa, who was looking at the two people closely, raised the corners of his lips and said. Then, the staff member handed Da-eun and Hye-young a piece of paper each. It was a script.

“Of course, you’ve memorized all the lines, but if one person plays Lee Seon, another person will play the other person’s role.”

Since she probably didn’t memorize her partner’s lines, she was given a script. Hye-young, flustered, raised her hand and asked a question.

“Is acting as an opponent also evaluated?”

“no.”

At Hye-young’s noticeably relieved expression, writer Ham Seok-jun burst into laughter, stroking his rough beard.

“But I still need to do the basics to make the other person immersed. This is called the acting department.”

Hye-young’s expression hardened at the tone of voice that seemed to be a sharp remark.

It’s mischievous.

Samihyun looked at Hyeyoung, who was tense at Ham Seokjun’s words, and then turned her gaze to Da-eun.

Da-eun began to sort out her emotions as she looked at the number ‘1’ written on her name tag.

however.

“Shall we start from number 2?”

Director Sa said, smiling.

“Oh, yes!”

Hye-young creaked and got up in a situation that seemed to keep stabbing her in the back. Da-eun also got up holding her script. Writer Ham said.

“Number 2, put the script down.”

Hye-young, who was absentmindedly holding the script, trembled with her hands and put the script down on the chair.

“Let’s begin when you’re ready.”

Hye-young took a deep breath and closed her eyes at Director Sa’s words.

⁂

Kim Yi-seon, seventeen. Her parents ran a rice cake shop and saved money to fund the independence movement. Yi-seon did not understand such parents.

The audition scene was a conversation between Lee Sun and his mother, who was secretly eating rice cakes from a store because she was hungry.

“Oh, I’m hungry.”

Hye-young opened her eyes, glanced around, and took a step forward.

He pretended to lift a tray placed near the hut while observing the movements of his parents inside the store.

Director Sami Hyun and writer Seokjun Ham observed Hyeyoung with shining eyes.

Hye-young, who found the rice cake, smiled quietly and picked one up. The moment she put it in her mouth, her mouth watered.

“No, this damn supporter!”

Da-eun shouted as she hit Hye-young on the back. Hye-young shouted in annoyance as she reached out to touch her own back because it was so hot.

“Ahhh! Oh, Mom!”

Hye-young threw a tantrum with a little coquetry, in keeping with the script of being reckless and acting cute.

“My daughter is hungry, but why waste this food?”

Tears were welling up in the corners of his eyes, as if he was hurt.

Hye-young’s acting was exactly the same as Da-eun’s acting in before her regression.

It was a great performance. As soon as the movie was released, Hye-young received great acclaim for her role as the child Lee Joo-ran, and thanks to that, she was able to make her name known to the public.

Da-eun opened her mouth with a look on her face that said she had a lot to say, but wasn’t going to say anything.

“You’re so immature even though you’re seventeen.”

Then Hye-young, who was upset, raised her voice.

“How much do I eat when I eat! Shouldn’t eating come first? Why does Mom always put others first? Does Independence feed you?!”

The parents did not spare any effort in educating their only daughter. Although it had not been long since the country was sold, the young daughter did not know how the world worked.

“They say people live by their names, so they named them pretty names.”

This is beneficial, this is a line to choose. It was meant to be a life where you can choose beneficial things in the world. Da-eun, with a face full of resentment, struck Hye-young on the back once more.

“Even with a mouth full of holes, there’s nothing you can’t say, right? How old are you, yet you can’t tell what to say and what not to say!”

“Ah, it hurts!”

Hye-young jumped and twisted her body. Then, as she picked up another piece of rice cake and put it in her mouth, Da-eun tightly closed her eyes and opened them.

When Da-eun raised her hand again, Hye-young quickly dodged and acted.

“Hey, Mom, wait a minute. Cough! My daughter is sick. Huh?”

That sight was so fresh and lovely.

Director Sa Mi-hyeon and writer Ham Jun-seok’s expressions were bright because she fit the image and acting style the production team wanted.

⁂

“Enough. I enjoyed it.”

Hye-young bowed her head while looking at the faces of Director Sa and Writer Ham.

“This time, I’ll try acting number 1.”

At Writer Ham’s words, Hye-young snatched the script from Da-eun’s hands. Da-eun, who had been staring blankly at her empty hands, closed her eyes.

Rival.

The two were rivals.

Hye-young, you weren’t that bad at acting. We could have maintained a good relationship and developed into good competitors.

What are you so afraid of that you did that to me?

Da-eun, who had calmed her seething inside for a moment, opened her eyes to catch her breath. Her complexion, which had suddenly become sallow, added depth to her acting with her tired expression.

Da-eun opened her mouth, thinking about the parts she regretted while watching Hye-young’s acting in the movie before returning.

“Oh, I’m hungry.”

Her small but precise pronunciation and voice resonated through the audition hall. When writer Ham Seok-jun saw Da-eun’s first performance, he was struck by the strangeness in her eyes. Writer Ham looked at the script and Da-eun in turn.

Noh Hye-young’s acting was also very good, but when I compared them, I realized something.

What is lacking in Noh Hye-young’s acting!