After entering Sua (Lee Su-a)’s gallery,
Yang Ha-rin was momentarily dazed.
Primarily because of the overwhelming level of activity.
The moment she refreshed the page, her entire field of vision had changed.
The difference was especially striking when compared to her own gallery. Yang Ha-rin’s gallery would only see a moderate influx of posts after being left untouched all day.
[Title: Does Lee Su-a not use SNS?]
[Title: Are there more pictures of the gallery owner?]
[Title: Where is the gallery owner from?]
The gallery was ablaze with activity.
It was a scene Yang Ha-rin had once dreamed of seeing her own gallery achieve.
Not only was the level of activity impressively high, but it wasn’t driven by negativity. Wherever Yang Ha-rin’s gaze fell, she only saw people showing positive interest in Sua.
“…..”
Yang Ha-rin suddenly pressed her hand to her forehead.
Her head was pounding.
How had it come to this?
She had discovered this gallery in the past and even had a history of posting several times. Each time, people with animal usernames agreed with her opinions.
But now?
A few posts caught her attention.
[Title: I didn’t watch the short film, but can I ask something?]
[Title: Too busy to watch any movies. But did the newcomer Lee Su-a really beat Yang Ha-rin? Personally, I thought Yang Ha-rin should have won, this result is a bit surprising.]
– Just not comparable
– The film ‘Wind’ felt a bit off. Smelled like money.
– It was too obvious that they were trying to win with the production budget alone.
[Title: ‘Wind’ is exactly this]
(A meme of 100 different side dishes neatly arranged)
[Sure, I get that they tried to make it look abundant, but there’s nothing actually worth eating. And honestly, what’s the point if you don’t even know the theme? How can you tell when it’s presented like this?]
– Really, no matter how good the actors’ performance was, it doesn’t matter.
– It just made the efforts seem even stranger. I kept thinking, ‘Why are you putting so much effort into this?’
There was none of that here.
There were no more people belittling Sua.
At the very least, those who had entered this space were treating Sua like a powerful new star, perhaps even more enthusiastically than when Yang Ha-rin had first entered the industry.
“You guys don’t understand. You don’t know anything about…”
Yang Ha-rin gritted her teeth but couldn’t put her phone down.
Her feelings leaned more toward anxiety than anger.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away for even a moment, fearing she’d miss posts that undervalued her. It made her heart heavy and unbearable.
And perhaps, she was envious. Maybe even jealous.
“This attention should be mine. Originally, originally it was mine…”
The attention she felt she deserved was hers.
The comet newcomer, the promising prospect, the actress who swept the international short film festival, the sharp impression—these were all images she had wanted to cultivate.
But they had all been taken from her.
[Title: The gallery owner somewhat overlaps with Yang Ha-rin’s image]
[Title: The gallery owner seems like an upgraded version of Yang Ha-rin]
[Title: The gallery owner has a colder vibe]
[Title: Why does Yang Ha-rin look so tame next to the gallery owner?]
The fact that both actresses shared a sharp appearance worked against her.
With the characters overlapping, Sua had proven her superiority, and now the term “upgraded version” was circulating.
Yang Ha-rin felt like her insides were being ripped apart.
Tadadak!
Unable to hold back, Yang Ha-rin moved her fingers.
She had been part of this community for a long time and knew how to post without drawing too much attention to herself.
[Title: Pushing Lee Su-a too much]
[Title: Yang Ha-rin also won the best actress award, but this excessive talk about her surpassing is just excessive enthusiasm. Lee Su-a would need to explode with a major drama or film this year to surpass Yang Ha-rin.]
But moments later,
Yang Ha-rin could feel the change in temperature.
– She won the grand prize, so what can’t she do?
– She’s about to receive a lot of offers.
– Yang Ha-rin didn’t do anything big this year either.
– We’ll see how it goes with the MBQ drama Yang Ha-rin’s going to do.
It was then that she realized.
They weren’t ignoring Yang Ha-rin.
They genuinely regarded Sua as something extraordinary—perhaps even unbeatable among new actresses.
Now even Yang Ha-rin was being considered worthy of comparison.
[Title: How about having both Lee Su-a and Yang Ha-rin in one shot?]
[If both Yang Ha-rin and Lee Su-a appear together, the distinction will be clear, right? It would have the feeling of a duel; the competition would be clear.]
– Really lol
– We might see them together someday.
– I’m curious who will win the newcomer award.
[Title: I think Lee Su-a will win]
[Title: Yang Ha-rin isn’t someone to be underestimated]
[Title: It might vary depending on the characters they take on]
[Title: But I’m expecting more from Lee Su-a]
The brand-new actress who Yang Ha-rin had once considered beneath her was now seen as someone to be taken seriously, and even held in higher regard.
It was hard to believe.
That just one short film could earn this much trust.
That it could generate this much anticipation.
“…..”
Yang Ha-rin gave up.
Tch. Tch.
She could do nothing but read the posts, biting her nails.
She had no way to change the tide; all she could do was observe, which made her feel powerless.
Then, a particular title caught her eye.
[Title: The hand mirror, isn’t this the meaning?]
[Title: The mirror wasn’t borrowed, it was returned. A kind of ‘look at yourself’ message.]
[Title: What if the hand mirror’s meaning is this]
[They both have sharp impressions, so their relationship doesn’t seem close. It feels like they’ve drawn a line. Maybe it means ‘reflect on yourself’.]
Yang Ha-rin herself had been wondering too.
Why had Sua handed her the hand mirror at that moment?
She couldn’t let it go yet. She needed to understand the meaning before deciding whether to shatter or preserve it. Yang Ha-rin wasn’t stupid; she realized it would be better to fully understand her opponent’s intentions before reacting.
She searched ‘hand mirror’ in the search bar.
She browsed through each post that popped up, hoping to find a plausible speculation.
However,
[Title: I’ve understood the meaning of the hand mirror]
[If Yang Ha-rin had stumbled in so recklessly, then good one. 😂]
Most were clickbait.
And some had already received around 20 upvotes.
“Insolent…”
Report. Report. Report.
Yang Ha-rin reported every post she didn’t like.
“Ah!”
[Ban – 30 days]
[Administrator: Monkeying]
[Reason: Cut the drama]
Until Yang Ha-rin was ultimately banned from Sua’s gallery.
◈◈◈◈◈
As an internet storm raged,
Its effects hit hard on those close to Sua, particularly the production team of “Special Mobile Unit 808.”
The first to hear the news was writer Lee Geum-sook.
“Goodness, Sua won the grand prize?”
She pushed up her reading glasses as she typed on her laptop. Naturally, PD Choi Hee-won, who had been resting nearby, also became interested.
“Grand prize? You mean the acting award?”
“Yes. Yeo-joo won the Audience award, ‘Sword’ won Best Film, Park Director took the directing award, and Sua won the acting award…”
“It essentially means that ‘Sword’ dominated the Busan International Short Film Festival. I didn’t expect this level.”
But the shock for the two of them was only just beginning.
Soon, they learned about Sua’s Japanese language skills.
PD Choi Hee-won narrowed his eyes.
“Why does the interpreter seem awkward?”
“I guess Sua also knows Japanese. This is insane.”
“So far, we’ve confirmed Korean, Japanese, and English. Already three languages. Just mastering these three can give an actor an unbelievably wide range of opportunities.”
“Actually, I’m not really surprised by Sua pulling out her special skills anymore. But what fascinates me right now is…”
Writer Lee Geum-sook turned abruptly to look at PD Choi Hee-won.
“Sua’s discernment!”
“Discernment?”
“Yes. We already knew Sua had great judgment in picking scripts, but predicting just how successful they’d be was always speculative—because it’s unpredictable.”
“That’s true. But isn’t it now quite evident? Seems like any project Sua chooses has a high chance of success. At this point, we might even hope for ‘Special Mobile Unit 808’ to be a hit, right?”
“Indeed, it’s not as if we’re fortune-tellers or anything…”
Yet, be it in people, scripts, or projects,
Those chosen by Sua always experienced good fortune. Not just once or twice, but every time. Thus, the two began to fervently anticipate the success of “Special Mobile Unit 808.”
“The success of my work. It’s a thrilling thought.”
PD Choi Hee-won rubbed his chin with a contented expression.
“Miss Sua is going to be extremely busy from now on. Soon, we might not even be able to ask her to join us. Or rather, we’d have to use the proper term—be honored to have her.”
“So we need to keep her tightly secured. I have so many inspirations in mind. I want to work with Sua on my next project. No matter what happens, I must work with her.”
PD Choi Hee-won realized Writer Lee’s words weren’t a joke.
Indeed, this writer had been furiously working on a new script recently, aiming to fit Sua.
In a completely different genre from “Special Mobile Unit 808.”
“I understand. We should first leak the information to journalists that the protagonist of the award-winning short film is Lee Su-an.”
“Hmm?”
“Won’t this be an amazing PR move?”
But at that moment,
Writer Lee Geum-sook abruptly grabbed PD Choi Hee-won.
“That’s not a good idea.”
“Hmm?”
“I’ve thought about this many times, but it’s better to spin Lee Su-an and Sua as two separate people.”
“Is there a reason?”
“Isn’t the publicity for ‘Special Mobile Unit 808’ already sufficient? In fact, it’s drawing tremendous attention due to my involvement and Yeo-joo and Kim Sun-il’s star power.”
“I get that, but if there’s a reason we must separate them, I’d like to hear it. Do you have a specific plan?”
“It’s less of a plan and more of a clear vision.”
“A vision…”
“The image of this year’s newcomer award contenders being both Lee Su-an and Lee Su-a, creating a rivalry.”
It was a statement PD Choi Hee-won hadn’t considered.
“Isn’t that exciting?”
“Huh?”
Writer Lee Geum-sook smiled knowingly.
“Didn’t I say before? We’re going to fool the entire nation.”
