Kim Sun-il and Seo Yeon-joo’s expressions turned dumbfounded.
The scene before their eyes was more brutal than they could have imagined.
Currently, the pure white belly of the fox doll was stained red with cosmetics or lipsticks, and to Kim Sun-il, it looked as though the fox was spilling its insides.
The fox doll seemed to be screaming desperately.
“Save… me…”
“…What in the world are you doing?”
Kim Sun-il mumbled.
Sua’s hair was immaculately white, reminiscent of the fierce essence of an Arctic wolf, which only made the sight more gruesome. While Kim Sun-il was in shock, a sound struck his ears then.
“Ahhh…”
A shocking voice.
Though incomprehensible, the situation was undoubtedly severe.
Thus.
Tap tap tap—!
Kim Sun-il immediately entered the doll department store.
It was in the blink of an eye that he grabbed Sua by both shoulders. Arriving at such an incredible speed, Kim Sun-il shouted.
“Sua!”
“…”
At that moment, Sua absentmindedly raised her head.
Her smeared lipstick made her appear as if her face was entirely covered in blood, exactly like how a fox demon would look after devouring human life. Kim Sun-il’s skin crawled, but…
He mustered his courage once more.
Almost like Lee Kang-cheol bravely leaping into a burning warehouse.
“Sua!”
“…?”
After a moment, Sua looked as if she was going to be incredibly startled, but…
“…”
She soon turned into a statue without expression.
Her eyes lost their vitality simultaneously. Her brain had ceased to function from the shock.
One might call it Sua’s screen freeze.
“Hey, Sua. Can’t you hear me?”
Kim Sun-il shook Sua once more, and in the meantime, the rebooted Sua carefully examined the person in front of her.
Sua moved her lips a few times but couldn’t bring herself to speak.
It’s over.
“…”
Thus, silence reigned.
Sua’s expression, naturally grave, inevitably infected Kim Sun-il who was across from her.
Each second passed, tangling the situation like a ball of yarn.
“…”
Sua closed her eyes momentarily as if meditating.
After much deliberation, she finally asked.
“What did you see?”
“Everything.”
At this point, Sua realized she couldn’t escape.
Yes, how could one manage one’s image when dolls are involved? The moment had come to reveal the truth.
But right then.
Whish!
Kim Sun-il took his phone from his pocket and held its black screen in front of Sua, like a fading mirror.
“Break free.”
“Huh?”
“This is you, Sua. That’s you.”
Yeon-joo joined them about then.
“What’s going on?”
Unlike Kim Sun-il, Seo Yeon-joo remained exceedingly calm, and Kim Sun-il became even angrier because of this.
She seemed to have no idea of the gravity of the situation.
“Yeon-joo, don’t you know something? What’s wrong with you?”
“What?”
“Sua, she’s currently stuck in an emotional rut.”
“Hmm…”
Yeon-joo soon shrugged her shoulders.
“Well, I guess you could think of it that way.”
“Is that all you can say? This isn’t your problem and hence you don’t care? How funny. You were all over her pretending to be close and everything.”
Then Kim Sun-il offered the phone mirror to Sua once more.
“Sua. That’s you. You’re not Wi Ji-hye, and certainly not Kim Yu-han. Get close to your role but don’t give away your entire self. An actor must not lose their identity.”
But Sua could do nothing.
Recognizing anything rash at this point might lead to worse consequences.
Thus, both ‘Sualock’ and ‘Sua’s Denial’ were completely sealed. Her mind was spinning. What should she do now?
But right then.
“Hey, Sun-il. Knock it off, will ya?”
Surprisingly, Seo Yeon-joo interrupted the silence.
Kim Sun-il’s expression immediately clouded.
“…What?”
“Yeah. Knock it off.”
“You. To a fellow member of the same agency…?”
“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t mean to ignore the crisis of a Mystic member. Isn’t it basic to hear someone out until the end?”
“Then what?”
“Sua is just practicing her acting.”
“Acting? What kind?”
Then Seo Yeon-joo raised a finger and explained.
“Sua’s been cast as the lead in ‘Crescendo.'”
“‘Crescendo’? That would be Director Ko Tae-min, right?”
“Yeah. Among the leads, she’ll play a character with Savant Syndrome.”
“Ah, Savant Syndrome…”
At that, Kim Sun-il let out a cry of realization but Sua found it more distressing.
Why is he misunderstanding things on his own?
Why is he so easily convinced?
Kim Sun-il placed his hand on his forehead, with a look of relief.
“Participating in Director Ko Tae-min’s work—never would have thought.”
“That’s right. I heard this was the first time Director Ko Tae-min proposed a role. They mentioned many happenings in the studio, but I don’t know much. I just heard it from the manager.”
“Anyway, I get it now. A deliberate act of childhood regression for her role. There’s bound to be chaos on the set. I was fooled too, completely.”
“That’s only natural. When has Sua ever done anything half-heartedly?”
Sua felt a pang of injustice at that moment.
My old self…
Yeah, looking back, was… a bit dim-witted.
I’ll accept it. Was Sua stupid? Yes, Sua acknowledges.
Back then, she didn’t even realize she was dim-witted, but thanks to her recent experience as Kim Yu-han, she slowly came to understand. She saw that she has grown and evolved over time.
It’s like how unclothed primitives eventually learned to feel the shame of nudity.
Sua has come to realize the shame of ignorance.
Thus, Sua didn’t want to appear foolish anymore!
I’m different now! I’ll change!
I hate being called low-intelligence! I want to be high-intelligence!
Consequently, it felt quite unfair. Rather than being discovered to like dolls, she hated being looked down upon as intellectually inferior.
So, Sua opened her mouth.
“I actually like dolls.”
Seo Yeon-joo nodded immediately but continued to look at Kim Sun-il rather than at Sua.
“Yeah. I heard that, right? Kim So-hi’s character is especially fixated on dolls, quite childlike, and has a delicate emotional line.”
“Goodness, what a revelation again. Moving to the next role right after the ‘Special Mobile Unit 808’ filming ended is a level of effort I can’t achieve. A Savant Syndrome role, indeed.”
“…”
At that moment, Sua chimed in again.
“Also, Kim So-hi is a piano virtuoso.”
Sua put tremendous emphasis on the word ‘virtuoso,’ hoping they would focus on her high-intellectual side.
“But,”
“Virtuosos often have eccentric tendencies. That detail is impressive.”
Kim Sun-il focused only on the eccentricity.
“…”
Sua felt dizzy realizing that this was how her true self was perceived.
“Anyway, Sua, it was impressive. A wonderful performance as always.”
“No, that’s not true. My acting was insufficient.”
“Insufficient? Anyone can see that she’s Kim So-hi incarnate.”
“…”
“I deny that.”
Sua rejection technique. Sua denial.
Regardless, Seo Yeon-joo and Kim Sun-il kept expressing admiration and soon started examining the dolls within the shop.
Sua’s eyes brimmed with tears.
“It’s too much.”
Sua sniffs.
◈◈◈◈◈
The next day.
Special Mobile Unit 808 wrap-up dinner.
Sua felt anew how quickly time passes. The production initiation dinner felt like yesterday, yet somehow, she’s now in this situation.
Still, she could not pick up the meat, as usual.
Because today, like always, was Sua’s story all over again.
“Come to think of it, Sua mentioned something like this: Not to make anyone else stand out more than her. Somehow, we survived, ha-ha! Let’s celebrate! Cheers!”
Starting from the witty jokesters until—
“Wasn’t there a story about how the short film Sua participated in made it to the main screening? There’s that Park Jun director’s work.”
“Busan International Short Film Festival, right? I heard they’ve put in a tremendous effort this year. Overseas directors are coming and all, and if Sua wins an award, it will be great.”
Among those who showed interest in Sua’s activities. Listening to these things made time quickly pass. Sua enjoyed their attention without touching any drink or meat.
Image management, image management…
Still.
It was indeed a novel experience. So very new.
“Quite different from the production start dinner back then.”
At that time, it was filled with excitement and nervousness for the fresh beginning, whereas now it feels like standing at the final station, making one last farewell.
“When we part, we will each head our separate ways.”
Sua herself was surprised at how deeply attached she felt. Perhaps it was because she lived so long alone. She wasn’t used to farewells.
“Is this when people drink soju? It usually happens, right?”
The moment Sua picked up the soju glass.
“Sua.”
Kim I-seo approached and sat beside Sua. The small representative seemed like a little sister to her, though Sua was older.
“I heard from Yeon-joo and Sun-il. You’ve been thinking only about the Kim So-hi role even outside work. It’s both pleasant and surprising. There aren’t many actors as passionate as Sua.”
“…”
“I’m not suited for Kim So-hi.”
Kim I-seo pretended not to hear this incomprehensible statement.
“Anyway, let me know if you need practice space. We can get dolls and such for you. There’s no need to do it outside; you deserve all of Mystic’s support.”
“…”
But Sua didn’t intend to ask Mystic for such help forever. I will never let anyone see me play with dolls. Never…
I will definitely shed this image of low intelligence.
But just then.
—Senior, you shouldn’t do that.
“…”
Suddenly, Sua, disguised as Kim Yu-han, a.k.a. ‘Yuhan Sua,’ spoke from within her mind. Sua blinked.
‘Why suddenly?’
—We’ll practice at home and just ask for dolls. That way, it’s like getting dolls for free.
“…”
‘But lying is still…’,
—No. This is necessary for the future.
‘Future?’
—Given your character, you might be caught playing with dolls again sometime. Then, you can say this was a memory of practicing for the Kim So-hi role, right? Who knows, you might one day be able to confidently play with dolls in front of everyone.
‘…!’
Sua immediately grabbed Kim I-seo’s hand.
“…True, too many people get uncomfortable. It could be a bother, so please just get a lot of rabbit or fox dolls.”
Kim I-seo, unaware of everything, readily agreed.
“Alright. Then let’s settle that…”
After taking a sip of water, she calmly continued.
“With the end of Special Mobile Unit 808 and ‘Sword,’ we have about a week off in Sua’s schedule.”
“Ah?”
“I thought about what to fill it with, but let’s just rest. Sua’s going to get busy soon, right? Enjoying rest now is always better. Later, there might not even be time to blink.”
Sua’s mind started calculating.
Busan International Short Film Festival opening is exactly 4 days away.
She hadn’t scheduled anything for that day, naturally assuming she’d be extremely busy!
But a week vacation?
Somehow, she ended up with an immense amount of free time.
‘…Huh? If so, then…’
A wave of excitement passed through Sua’s mind.
The group chat regular meeting.
‘I could attend after all?’
