SPLASH! THUD!
The sound of waves crashed loudly.
Only after confirming it was really Sua did the atmosphere relax a bit. Of course, that doesn’t mean Sua was fully out yet – she was still buried in the sand from the neck down.
“Hmph…”
Her friends sat cross-legged above Sua’s head, ready to have a calm conversation. The deer spoke up.
“Since you’re talking nonsense, it must really be Sua. What’s going on here?”
Why does my authenticity get proven by talking nonsense? And even then, what I just said wasn’t nonsense at all.
But Sua sighed deeply before speaking.
“I’ve decided to become an actress. I played Wi Ji-hye in ‘Sword.'”
– You should say you portrayed Wi Ji-hye. Being treated as the same person as her is… well, it doesn’t feel great.
Sua pushed down the Wi Ji-hye inside of her.
EEEEEK! There was a shriek that didn’t befit her dignity, but she ignored it.
Meanwhile, her friends were wide-eyed.
“Anyway, we did hear through Saeng-ji that you were acting.”
“…But even so, this is surprising. The Sua on screen looked completely different – like someone else.”
“It’s strange hearing it from you yourself. What’s going on?”
The deer spoke up again.
“How long have you been acting that you’re already in movies? And what’s with that insane skill? All of this doesn’t make any sense. Stop with the nonsense about special circumstances and explain something believable.”
“No, but the special circumstances are real…”
That’s when it happened.
– Senior, everything is ready.
– Finally, it’s my turn to take the stage.
“Huh?”
– Would you mind lending me your body for a moment?
Sua let that happen.
POOF!
Though she was upset that Yu-han hadn’t stepped in until now, she figured he must have had his reasons – after all, Yu-han had been the most competent thus far.
At least, until now.
And then.
“…”
Yu-han spoke through Sua’s body.
“Friends.”
“What?”
“To tell the truth, I was embarrassed about something and was vaguely explaining it away with this concept of ‘special circumstances.’ But the symptoms I’ve described are real. I have multiple personalities.”
Of course, the friends were shocked.
“What? Finally you’re saying something that sounds like you, Sua.”
“It’s good that it’s you, but I’m already annoyed.”
“Should I just smack you upside the head?”
Then Yu-han calmly continued.
“Understand. Such a reaction is expected. I only realized it myself recently – the day I discovered my talent for acting. I realized what all my previous symptoms were pointing to.”
“Symptoms? Are you some kind of patient now?”
Yu-han didn’t reply.
Just…
“…”
A somewhat affectionate smile.
At that moment, Saeng-ji’s eyes widened.
“Huh?”
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Kim Sun-a.
“I’ve heard of this before! Among people with brain injuries, a very small number can exhibit exceptionally high abilities in specific fields compared to average people. So, the correct term for this is…”
“…”
“…Savant Syndrome! Yes! That’s it!”
There was silence among the friends.
After a moment, the way they looked at Sua had changed – all traces of anger and astonishment had disappeared, and it seemed like they were beginning to understand.
Of course, Sua was dumbstruck.
‘Yu, Yu-han! Are you out of your mind? What are you doing?’
– I never agreed to this.
‘Huh?’
– They’re the ones misunderstanding things.
‘What? No! Why let them misunderstand? Why are you making me seem sick!’
– Exactly when did you
– start thinking Senior was normal?
‘Huh?’
Wait, really?
Am I that backward?
– Senior will become extremely intelligent soon but…
– Not yet. Accept it.
‘…’
Sua’s dignity…
Sua’s dejection…
Sua’s morale took a hit.
That’s when the deer spoke up again.
“Wait, really? Is Sua actually dealing with something like that?”
“It all fits. It seems correct.”
The black bear nodded.
“Sua, it’s not that you’re just not suited to anything. It’s that you’ve always hit your limits hard. But this exceptional talent for acting…”
“Then why didn’t you tell us sooner? If you had told us about what you were dealing with, we wouldn’t have teased you!”
Yu-han looked at the deer.
Of course, the expression remained affectionate. It was like someone with an expiration date whose last leaf was blowing away in the wind.
“I didn’t want to ruin the mood.”
“Huh?”
“If I had told you while we were having fun, you all would have switched to being overly cautious. I didn’t want that. I’d rather be seen as someone lacking and still be your friend.”
“…”
The deer’s sharp gaze softened.
“…Then, why did you go dark after starting acting? You could have vented when you were struggling with practice. Why did you endure it alone?”
“I know how I look to you.”
Sua – no, Yu-han – said.
“You’ve always supported me whenever I’ve tried something new. I remember all of that. But each time I came back with only failure, the guilt accumulated.”
“…”
“It was extremely enjoyable to act, so I decided I had to keep it hidden.”
“…You.”
“I wasn’t confident enough to receive your support first. This was the first passion I’ve found in my life, and I wasn’t sure about it yet. I was afraid that if even this didn’t work out properly, then… So…”
“…Stop. That’s enough.”
The deer couldn’t look Sua in the eye anymore.
Meanwhile, the other friends had already sprung into action. They frantically started digging Sua out of the sand.
In no time, Sua was fully uncovered.
And the next moment.
Go Eun-bi, the deer, suddenly hugged Sua tightly.
Which startled the inner Sua. She thought someone was about to use a wrestling move…
“You idiot!”
The deer shouted.
“You should have said something from the start! We would have understood!”
“We didn’t know!”
“Isoo-a, what kind of struggles have you been through until now…!”
While saying this, the other friends also began to embrace Sua, who was covered in sand. At that moment, Sua understood Yu-han’s intentions – after all, they shared the same body.
‘Humans seek truths they can accept.’
It doesn’t matter how many times you explain the concept of “specials”; if friends can’t accept it, that’s the end. It would just leave both the explainer and the listener frustrated and unpleasant.
So the answer Yu-han provided was a kind of bridge.
A plausible bridge that fit between the behaviors Sua had shown and the sudden results she presented. It was content that could satisfy both sides, and it wasn’t entirely bad.
Well, it wasn’t entirely bad, but…
The problem is…
‘In the end, it’s still a lie. This is weighing on my conscience.’
She felt uneasy about deceiving her friends.
But then.
“Hey, Sua! Sorry!”
The deer shouted.
“…I’m actually a virtual YouTuber! Whenever I had to act dumb on my stream, I would follow your example because I thought you were the dumbest person on Earth. I’m sorry for thinking that about you!”
‘Huh?’
Next was Monkeying.
“Sua, sorry. The time when our inventory was emptied while gaming – it wasn’t due to hacking, I did it. I thought you wouldn’t use those items anyway… Really sorry…”
‘What?’
Finally, Kim Sun-a.
“Sua, sorry. I liked you a lot, but I sometimes felt you were too reckless. Now I realize you were struggling hard in your way…”
‘Huh?’
Lastly, the black bear.
“I’ll repay the money I borrowed from you by this week… Sorry…”
‘Oh?’
That’s right. You borrowed money from me several times.
‘What? These guys…?’
What are these feelings of affection mingled with irritation?
…Is this what having friends feels like?
Anyway, Sua felt a burden lift off her conscience. Now that she thought about it, there wasn’t a single person who hadn’t tricked her to some degree before.
Sua still hadn’t told a lie! Now it’s my turn!
POOF!
That was when she regained control of her body from Yu-han.
She shook off all her guilt and patted their backs.
“Alright, I’ll work even harder. Support me.”
“Of course! We’ll support you! Until the end of the Earth!”
“Don’t forget to tell us when people start calling you the Arctic Fox!”
“Huh? Who’s the Arctic Fox?”
What’s with this reaction? Sua was slightly flustered when.
Suddenly, Monkeying spoke up.
“Sua, I’m worried about you.”
“Worried?”
“Yes. What if people in the industry mistreat you?”
At that, the others quickly became concerned as well.
“Right! What if they give you a hard time?”
“Or if you get taken advantage of because you’re so naive?”
Sua shook her head.
“No, I’ve made some good friends and they’ve been very kind to me. It’s comfortable.”
Then the deer tilted her head.
“Good friends? Who are they?”
“Seo Yeon-ju and Kim Sun-il… I feel closest to them. Both have been extremely kind to me. No discomfort at all.”
“Do you have their phone numbers?”
“Well, of course. I’m sure if I call they’d pick up right away?”
The last line was unintentionally boastful. How could she resist showing off in front of her friends?
“…!”
But the friends’ reaction was extreme. Perhaps because most of them were female except for the black bear, there were more requests for her to call Kim Sun-il rather than Seo Yeon-ju.
‘Shit, now I can’t back down from this…’
Shaking slightly, Sua called Kim Sun-il.
A moment later.
“…Hello?”
Kim Sun-il’s face appeared on the video call.
“…!”
“Unbelievable!”
“Whoooaahhh!”
Friends covered their mouths and bounced up and down in excitement.
Kim Sun-il seemed a bit startled but wasn’t displeased.
He only exchanged thoughtful conversations with each of Sua’s friends in turn.
And he did so for quite a while. Enough to significantly boost Sua’s standing among them.
For Sua, it was simply heartwarming.
◈◈◈◈◈
Time flew in the blink of an eye.
Before long, it was the day to decide on the short film that would receive an award.
