慈禧太后的秘密

“You see.”

“You see?”

“It’s a bit, you know, a little off to pee sitting down.”

“Then should I do it standing up too? Like this? Or this?” Haneul said as she grabbed her pants.

Joonsoo quickly reached out and grabbed Haneul by the waist. The way they quarreled with each other made them look like real lovers.

Jungah kept watching Haneul’s act. Was this really her first run? Her attention to detail was surprisingly good.

“When did she practice so much?”

“You tell me.”

“And also, why is Joonsoo so good? He’s much better than when Jimin was around.”

Haneul and Joonsoo exited after their act and then Sinhye and Dongmin stepped in. Jungah was surprised once again. These two’s acting skills had improved quite a lot as well. The faint forced impression she felt was completely gone without a trace.

The others felt the same. Did the two days of working on the foundations with Haneul create such a big difference?

It became Jungah’s turn. She went to the center of the practice room alone, where they assumed it was the stage. The moment she received the gazes of her friends, she realized that it was different from before. She had a lot more leisure whether it was her mind or her body. Before, she was busy reciting the line from the script, looking at the reactions from the audience, and preparing for the next line, but now, she was even able to look at the expressions of her friends, what postures they were taking, and even what clothes they were wearing.

She stepped aside after saying her prepared lines. They practiced all the way to act 7 without stopping.

Despite the fact that it was her first time acting alongside them, Haneul did not make a single mistake. Whether it was her movement, lines, or expressions, she was proficient as though she had been practicing for a long time.

“Come on over.”

Haneul called everyone to the monitor. The video they just captured through the camera was on the screen.

“Before we watch, I’d like to say that you’re all doing well. You got used to the lines, and your actions look natural. Your expressivity has gotten a lot better than when I first watched you.”

Haneul clicked with the mouse. The two people who acted in act 1 came on the screen. The two people whose scene was playing were watching more eagerly than anyone else. When they finished acting, Haneul paused the video.

“There might be differences, but I’m sure all of you are feeling it right now. You must feel lighter, think that it is easier to say your lines, and have leisure in your thinking.”

Jungah nodded subconsciously. She was in that exact situation.

“What I told you continuously over the past two days was just one thing: put it down. This is something everyone has heard if they learned acting 101. However, they’re also words people easily forget.”

Haneul played another video. It contained them before they practiced with her.

“Even here, you aren’t bad in the technical aspects. But as I said before, it feels very stiff. This stage is just a well-made machine. If you roll one gear, the other gears will just align with it and turn together.”

Jungah watched the video of their previous rehearsal. She thought that it was a good stage that didn’t have any mistakes, but after listening to Haneul, she did feel that it was a little stifling.

“Reaching this level is important too. But, if you’re a pro, you should’ve taken a step further. You cannot call yourselves play actors just by not making mistakes. I’m sure Maru must have said a lot of good words to you before. But good words tend to easily get forgotten too.”

Haneul resumed the video that they just shot. The emotions of the actors became much more plentiful.

They did not make any mistakes this time either, but the energy they gave off was on a different level.

“You are all well-trained actors. Even the ones who quit acting are better than most actors. The proof that you tried hard is there. It might have felt stiff, but there was no instability.”

“We really tried hard at first. I mean it,” Sinhye said.

Haneul nodded in understanding. “I’m sure I don’t have to say anything for you to see the changes in this video. What I did isn’t anything special. I just loosened up some of those gears that were fitted too tightly. And also your bodies while at it.”

“You loosened us too much. I feel like a mollusk.”

“Even better.”

Haneul raised the volume of the video. From the screen were the voices of everyone filling the whole practice room.

“Look here. Joonsoo’s expression is good, right? He looks adorable.”

“I can be adorable at times,” Joonsoo said.

“See that? People become shameless when they have leisure. That shamelessness is the asset of actors. Sure, an actor can be introverted. There are numerous actors who freeze up and act all awkwardly once the camera turns off. However, they’re all shameless in front of the camera, or on top of a stage. They shamelessly become detectives, cooks, and doctors.”

Haneul put her hands in her pockets and smirked with a twitch in her eye. Maybe that would be the expression of arrogance and overinflated ego in the form of a body. Jungah smiled and waited for Haneul’s next words.

“There was one more thing I found rather pitiful as I watched. You all said that this would be your last stage and that your aim is to create memories, but everything looked too dry for that. It’s important to give laughter to the audience, but this is your stage. Don’t you think you forgot to enjoy yourselves because you were busy focusing on acting?”

Haneul played back the video again. It was act 6 of what they just did. It was a scene where someone laughed and that caused everyone to burst into laughter.

It wasn’t a mistake that was problematic. Even during a real run, they could smoothly go over to the next part.

“How is it? How do you look in this video?”

“Good. We look like we’re overjoyed to death,” Haejung said.

“I hope that you can enjoy yourselves to your heart’s content. I want you to run around happily. Rather than thinking that you have to be perfect because this is your last time, I want you to enjoy yourselves without regrets. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you should be acting awkwardly either.”

“Enjoy to our heart’s content while polishing up the acting, am I right?”

“Is that too difficult?”

“It is, but it’s nothing impossible.”

Haneul raised her thumb at Sinhye’s answer.

“Yes. It’s nothing impossible. I’m sure you’ll all do well.”

“Of course. I mean, we did the performance twice already, so what can’t we do? Since we have you on board and have additional benefits, I guess the only thing left is to enjoy ourselves.”

“Sinhye is really good with words.”

Jungah looked at her friends laughing pleasantly. The performance they’ll put on tomorrow would be much better than the ones they had done until now. Though, it was still a pity that Jimin wasn’t here with them.

“But it’d be a pity if we didn’t sell many tickets and less than half the audience is full.”

“I’m suddenly worried about that too. Senior Haneul helped us out, so it’d be a pity if we have to cancel the play because we don’t have people.”

“I hope we get at least half the seats. I don’t even expect a full audience anymore.”

Everyone said similar things. This was also what Jungah was inwardly worried about. The news kept talking about cold waves. This was a play done by a bunch of college students with nothing to show and even the weather wasn’t helping them out.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m sure things will work out,” Haneul said, her expression rather dubious.

“Senior, did you prepare something?”

“I found a friend who could sell the tickets for us. It’ll be an on-site seller, but I’m sure they’ll sell out.”

“Who is it?”

“Who else?”

Hearing Haneul’s words, Jungah quickly looked at Maru who stood at the entrance. No way, really?

“That’s how it is,” Maru said.

“Are you really selling the tickets for us?”

“I won’t be promoting in front of Hyehwa station. I’ll just be going around this area selling quietly.”

“Will ‘quietly’ even work out? Everyone will recognize you,” Jungah said in excitement.

If Maru stepped in as their marketer, then full seats would no longer be a dream.

No, there may be people who would have to leave because there were not enough seats.

“Oh, right. There are two people who’ll be coming to watch us as a form of encouragement tomorrow,” Haneul said.

Encouragement? Jungah asked who they were in curiosity.

“They’re…”

The moment she heard the names from Haneul’s mouth, Jungah was put in a daze.

* * *

“Geunsoo, sorry about this every time.”

“You don’t have to be. I kinda expected this when the president called me in the middle of the night for a drink. Also, I like playing with them, so don’t worry about it.”

His wife turned the stove on and told Geunsoo to eat it when it boiled.

“He’s way past thirty. He’ll feed himself even if you don’t,” Junmin said to his wife, who caused a ruckus.

His wife glared at him and walked over.

“Consider yourself blessed, hun. Only kind people like Geunsoo accept your terrible personality.”

“What’s so bad about my personality?”

“You’re picky and twisted. Anyway, treat them well.”

“There’s no one who treats them better than me. Geunsoo, isn’t that right?”

Geunsoo gave him a glance before going to the kitchen without answering.

“That guy, what a…”

“Don’t bully an innocent guy and let’s go. Geunsoo, we’ll be out,” said his wife as she pushed him.

Geunsoo, who poked his head out of the kitchen, bowed to his wife and told them to have a great time.

Junmin spoke as he left the house, “If I think about it, I think everyone follows you more than they do me.”

“Isn’t that just the result of my nature?”

Junmin looked at his wife and spoke in defeat, “I guess Mrs. Jung Haejoo’s nature is really good.”

His wife smiled brightly. He thought to himself as he looked at his wife’s smile that he may never be able to win against this woman in his life.

“But what made you go to Daehak-ro? I thought you didn’t have any business there anymore.”

“I just got one. That’s why I’m going there; It is also to go on a date with you.”

“So it’s a date?”

“Yes. It’s a date.”

“Daehak-ro, huh? We went there a lot when we were young, didn’t we?”

“That we did. Your youth is still there, isn’t it?”

“It’s not just me. Your youth is there too.”

Junmin grabbed his wife’s hand for a while and started the car. On his way there, he got a call from Na Baekhoon.

-President, have you departed?

“I’m on my way there.”

-I just set out as well. How about a meal together after the play? Since you’re so busy, I thought I had to talk to you about it beforehand.

“I appreciate your invitation, but I’m going with my wife.”

-I see. Then I’ll postpone our meal.

“Let’s do that.”

He hung up. Next to him, his wife asked who he was talking to.

“Someone with good business senses. I keep in touch with him because I feel like we might be working together this time.”

“You aren’t expanding your business again, are you?”

“It’s something I always do.”

“Please reduce your workload. At your age, you need to learn to step to the back lines and watch.”

“You know you’re the only one who says that to me, right?”

“I have to do it at least because everyone else probably can’t say that when they work under you.”

Junmin laughed as he drove. He parked the car in the parking lot in front of Hyehwa station and got out.

The ground was quite slippery. He walked around to the passenger seat and grabbed his wife’s hand.

“This place has changed a lot.”

“Time has passed after all.”

“Where are we watching the play?”

“Let’s see, I was told that I would be able to see it if I go in the direction of Marronnier Park.”

Not long after they started walking, Junmin saw a crowd of people. There was no way there was a street performance in this cold weather, so he wondered why people were flocked over there.

“Let’s go over,” said his wife.

She seemed pleased as it had been a long time since they went out together. He followed his wife to the crowd of people. There, he saw someone he knew.

“I was wondering what he was up to while he was on a break,” Junmin muttered.

In front of him was Maru, standing in front of a crowd of people with yellow balloons around his waist.