慈禧太后的秘密

Chapter 838. Sequence 11

If there was lint on clothes, it was natural to use scissors to cut them off or burn them with a lighter so that it wasn’t vexing to the eyes. People were the same. If people like lint were lingering around, they had to be dealt with. With lint, it would disappear over time through wind or other things, but people, on the other hand, would take root on the spot like they were fungi.

Miyoon always cleaned up lint at a suitable time through suitable methods. Sometimes, they resisted vigorously, but they were all dealt with in the end. The only one that wasn’t swept away and hadn’t disappeared of her own accord was Han Gaeul. Whether she was using that pretty face of hers to act cocky, or she had something to rely on, she did not know, but whenever she met her, she would look back at her with bold eyes. They were eyes filled with fighting spirit. Some of the lint sometimes glared back at her with their eyes, but they would always lower their eyes and act cute once she dealt with them. However, that girl held on. It was rather fun when she bared her teeth and growled back at her, but she was no ape and seemed to have learned how to fight as she did it more discreetly, which vexed her a lot.

“Director, wait a bit. I’ll go talk to actress Han.”

The producer made way, saying okay. She liked the producer because of his attitude. He wasn’t blindly faithful nor did he rudely go against her. She stood in front of Gaeul, who had her eyes glued to the script. She still wasn’t raising her head. Miyoon looked down at her without saying anything on purpose. She could see a shadow looming over the script, but the girl did not budge. She even looked forward to how long she was going to ignore her. Being rude could be a marvel after a certain point, and this girl was just like that. She held her hands behind her back in front of Gaeul, who was flipping over the pages quietly. She could feel the eyes of the actors and the staff in the distance. The little girl in front of her eyes was calm, but the onlookers were all anxious.

“Senior, why are you standing like that?”

The girl only pretended to say hello after reading all the way till the end. Miyoon put on a gentle smile.

“How absorbed were you that it was to the point that you didn’t notice a person right in front of you?”

“I tend to not be aware of my surroundings when I’m focusing on something, especially when I’m reading my script. I would probably not notice even if someone kidnapped me.”

“Maybe I should try kidnapping you once to see if you notice or not.”

“It’s just a figure of speech. I would actually notice if someone carried me away. But why were you watching me? Usually, you just look at me like you would a bug and walk by after leaving behind childish words.”

“I was wondering what you were so focused on. And it turned out to be a script huh? How curious. You’re so terrible at acting, but you hold onto your script for half a day. I think that’s too much of a waste of time.”

“I’m not good at acting, so I should try to look at the script hard. Since you mentioned that, I think I should read my script again. You don’t seem to have anything to say to me either.”

Those rude eyes turned to the script again. Miyoon looked at Gaeul’s head and recalled the car keys in her pocket. Perhaps this girl would become a little more obedient if she drove the key right in the center of that swirling hair and twisted it around. It would be quite fun to see her stand up like a machine and greet her politely. She clasped her hands and tapped on the back of her hands. If she wished to, she could destroy her right now. After all, there was no one flawless in this world. If there wasn’t a flaw, then she could just make one. The reason she left her alone until now was that she was curious about how long her kindling fighting spirit would last.

There was someone who stubbornly resisted going down among people who would crouch at the slightest hint. She was a rather peculiar doll of sorts. Not one that would respond statically when pressed but a broken one that knew how to glare and how to kindle her fighting spirit. Honestly, it was rather fun playing with her. The satisfaction would just be that much greater when subduing a girl that resisted her.

However, seeing the girl ignoring her up front, she couldn’t hold back her impulse to destroy her. She wanted to tell her that it was a big mistake if she thought that she could act so boldly because she was a popular actress. It was extremely easy to bury an actress with a scandal, especially if that actress is young.

“My, my, Gaeul. You’ve dulled. You know that you can’t treat me like that. You were doing well until a while ago, weren’t you? Picking a fight while taking hints. But today, you’re too reckless. Your eyes are so clear that they’re cocky. I liked those frozen fish eyes from before. Don’t you remember? I’m talking about three years ago. The girl who would bare her fangs at me suddenly became docile all of a sudden. She was really quite a spectacle because her eyes looked so sunken after crying or something. After that, you always had those eyes, but you’re very lively today. Did something good happen? A man perhaps? Well, it’s about time I guess.”

Hearing the word ‘man,’ Gaeul’s eyes twitched. The fire of fighting spirit in her eyes started burning. She was just probing her out without thinking, but it seemed that she was right on point. A man, huh. Gaeul soon calmed down and smiled at her, but Miyoon had already seen what she was thinking on the inside, so it didn’t matter.

“That’s right, you should at least score well when it comes to marriage. Your face is pretty decent after all. So, which one is it? Business people? Or maybe you got lucky and scored yourself a chaebol? I’m sure there are many people giving you their numbers in order to try meeting you. Is it perhaps someone I know?”

“Perhaps you know him too, senior.”

She thought that Gaeul would retort, saying that she knew nothing, but she instead just admitted it outright. Miyoon squinted her left eye. Was this girl playing a prank right now? Or did she give up and just tell her the truth? After much thinking, Miyoon came to the conclusion that the girl did not have a man. It was quite fishy since she fell for the provocation so easily. It was quite laughable for the girl who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at most stuff to jump at the mention of a man. It was probably an act that she was panicking. Her skills were improving, what a bitch.

“You should meet someone good too.”

“I’m hopeless for marriage now. It’s more fun living by myself.”

“That’s good.”

“Why is it good?”

“Because you’re having fun. Or did you perhaps interpret it in another way?”

“No, I was just asking. There’s no way you’d say that you’d be pitying the man who would live with me.”

“Of course. There’s no way living with the person you love is unfortunate.”

Miyoon laughed and pinched Gaeul’s cheeks. Gaeul laughed back at her while facing her. She raised her fingernails upright and pinched to the point that it would remain marks before letting go. There was a dent under her cheekbones. She wanted to make another one but decided to hold back since she couldn’t destroy her now.

“Oh, I think you should get your makeup redone.”

“I will.”

“And do your best when acting. Giwoo is doing his best to raise the viewing rate, so I would be saddened if you poured cold water over it. Okay?”

“Oh, I see you haven’t seen people’s comments about me. Try going on the internet. I’m known to be quite good at acting. If you can’t use a smartphone, I’d love to teach you how to.”

“I’m a new generation, so I know that much.”

“New generation? I guess that’s still good. You didn’t call yourself a Gen X.”

“How cute, geez. I wonder who looked after you as you’re so cocky.”

“Well, a lot of it’s thanks to you.”

Miyoon tapped Gaeul on the cheeks before turning around. She wondered what got wind of that docile girl so that the girl was acting so precocious. But still, it was quite fun to see her having raised her claws after such a long time. She imagined how that sharp voice would change when she was being suppressed. She wished for her to not beg while crying. It would be more like Han Gaeul to get crumpled into oblivion. She would be very disappointed if the girl suddenly turned subservient and apologized. That wasn’t the kind of thing she expected after toying with her until now.

“Gaeul, a person should be more like bamboo than a reed, right?”

She did not wait for an answer.

* * *

Gaeul brushed up her hair while looking at Miyoon leaving. Just as she said, she overreacted. She should have just exchanged a couple words and looked away like she normally did, but she ended up reacting sensitively because she mentioned a man as though she saw right through her. The old deceitful fox’s eyes were scary after all. When she touched her cheek, she felt that her skin had thankfully returned again.

“Gaeul, are you okay?” The producer had asked her cautiously after approaching her.

Gaeul nodded instead of replying. The producer was someone who reacted sensitively to his surroundings like a poikilotherm. He would enter a state of hibernation around Miyoon, who brought winter with her, and would look out for people if the weather warmed up again. Some people insulted him for being duplicit or being an opportunist, but Gaeul thought that it was just a way of survival for him. She was thankful that he didn’t talk bad about that woman with her.

“I’m sorry. I should have distracted her away from you.”

“It’s fine. This is not the first time it happened.”

“I’ll definitely help you out next time.”

She heard the same thing last time. Gaeul placed her script on her chair and stood up. The shooting set that had been paralyzed by the appearance of Miyoon started moving again. The shoot would probably resume soon. She looked around looking for Mijoo. She could swear she saw her standing by the entrance until just now. Did she go back to the car?

As she looked around the set, she caught sight of Mijoo. She was just coming inside. From how there was coffee in her hands, it seemed that she had been to the café inside the TV station.

“Unni, here.”

“I just wanted something to drink. Thanks.”

“I’m not the one buying. Giwoo-oppa did. Yours as well as one for all the staff.”

“Really?”

She saw Giwoo enter the set with a straw in his mouth. There was coffee in both of his hands.

“Unni, just now, I….”

Mijoo, who was speaking while in a fluster, suddenly became quiet. She also twisted her body. It was her habit when she was about to say something that she might get scolded for. Gaeul smiled and asked,

“What is it this time? Did you forget my outfit just like last time?”

“I never did that.”

“Then what? You did something wrong from how you’re twisting up your body like that. Is it serious?”

“No. It’s been solved already.”

“That’s good then.”

Mijoo switched topics as though she also deemed that she no longer needed to mention it.

“What did that old woman Lee Miyoon say to you?”

“Just the usual. But today, I was in the wrong too. I should have held back, but she irked me.”

“You did nothing wrong. Considering what she did to you, you’d be considered innocent even if you slap her.”

“Hey, a slap is still going too far.”

“It’s not going too far. You’re too kind for your own good. A woman like that must have her ass whooped. I would have picked a fight with her on the spot if I had a backer.”

Gaeul snatched Mijoo’s hand, which was clenched into a fist.

“Don’t you dare do that. I told you last time that she would definitely do the deed if she thinks that there would be no consequences. She is especially merciless against staff, so just don’t get yourself involved with her. If you just greet her well, there will be no problems.”

Mijoo smiled awkwardly before turning her eyes away like a child who was caught playing with fire in the night. Just as Gaeul was about to talk to her again, the producer called her saying that they were about to begin the rehearsal.

“Unni, I’ll go back to the car for a bit.”

She was suspicious of Mijoo for going back to the car but decided not to pry. She also said that the matter had already been dealt with. She wasn’t the type to lie, so there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.

“Okay then, let’s do our best today too,” the producer said.