The First Movie Role

After receiving the soft copy of the script, Yeo Ri had immediately printed it out using the printer that they had in the house, courtesy of Gun's newly acquired habit of printing his study materials himself.

She spent an hour reading the script over and over again.

The excerpt she had received only covered the scene she was in, and Mrs. Choi had generously included a synopsis of the movie which Choi Hyungsik, Mrs. Choi's husband, was currently directing. It made her feel somewhat gratified and excited at the thought of knowing the story before it comes out into the public.

The movie centred around a con artist, who, by coincidence, ran into a pair of undercover police detectives during one of his latest jobs. In exchange of not getting arrested on the spot, the con artist made a deal with the cops, agreeing to help them take down an even bigger criminal and exposing the criminal's dirty business. As the three worked together, they began bonding and later, the detectives found out that the reason why the con artist became what he is was to get money for the treatments for his terminally ill sister.

The role Yeo Ri was supposed to play was exactly that sister. In the scene, the con artist comes to visit the sister at the hospital the day before the group was supposed to infiltrate the criminal's headquarters. Due to the risks, he did not know whether he would still be alive or dead afterwards, and because he had decided to go on the dangerous mission, his sister might also be compromised since she was his kin; his one and only weakness that the criminal could seek out and exploit.

"Hm..."

Yeo Ri thumbed the newly-printed pages thoughtfully.

It was certainly a sad scene, she had figured. The scene exuded the feeling of a last farewell.

It reminded her of the time she was in the hospital, so hopeless yet hopeful. She didn't want to die, but the pain was so unbearable that she hoped everything would end. Every night, she would wake up, hoping that everything had been a dream. She'd seen her brothers fall, and she wanted to fall too. Dark thoughts were constantly eating away at her conscience.

She felt like a total burden back then; Gun had a bright future, and Hyuk was independent enough to live well by himself. It felt as if her existence was holding them back. If not because of her, they wouldn't have to suffer so much.

But she was selfish and foolish. She didn't want to be left behind, so she kept clinging to them. Even when they were battered and bruised, she used them; she pushed them to the frontline so that they could be her shields. She made them stay, by hook or by crook.

The guilt pierced her heart day and night.

It was her fault that her brothers got hurt.

It was her fault that Hyuk ended up in jail, that he lost his freedom.

It was her fault that Gun couldn't go farther, strive higher.

At some point, she remembered thinking that it was fine now. She didn't want to be a burden anymore. It was fine if they leave her. She no longer wanted them to sacrifice themselves for her sake. It felt too heavy, the weight of their affection.

But neither of her brothers left. Instead, they were the ones begging her not to let go.

Even Gun, who hated Hyuk so much, kept convincing her to keep going, so that one day she could see Hyuk again.

Yeo Ri shook her head, closing her eyes for a long moment before opening them again.

"I need a change of pace," she muttered to herself.

Glancing at the script again, she decided that she should go consult a real terminally ill patient to prepare for her role. It was good to be ready, after all.

She texted Gun about her plans, and after receiving his OK and several reminders to be careful, Yeo Ri quickly prepared herself and left the apartment.

Just as she stopped at the closest bus stop, her phone rang. Yeo Ri did not recognise the number but in case it was someone reaching out to her for work, she still picked it up.

"Yes?"

"Miss Yeo Ri, where are you headed? Please allow me to bring you there. It is dangerous to walk around by yourself," the person said quickly, sounding somewhat rushed. It was a familiar male voice.

"...Secretary Kwon?" Yeo Ri's brows wrinkled. A hint of displeasure crossed her face. "Are you stalking me? How do you even have my num—forget it, that person must've given it to you," Yeo Ri scoffed, her voice lowered in annoyance.

This man had been intruding on her privacy lately, and it was getting annoying. Yeo Ri had the thought that they were unrelated to each other, so she simply could not comprehend why this man kept appearing in front of her.

Secretary Kwon did not give her an answer, but a familiar black car pulled up in front of her. He stopped the car and exited his seat, opening the door for her as he usually did.

"Please, miss," he gestured.

Yeo Ri glowered at him. He was being exceedingly conspicuous. The other people at the bus stop glanced at the two strangely, thinking of dramatic stories in their mind. Perhaps she was a runaway wealthy young miss, they supposed.

It was a good thing that Yeo Ri was wearing a face mask, lest she would feel even more embarrassed by the older man's actions. The man in question was still looking at her with a serious face, holding the door open for her untiringly. It seemed as if he was unaffected by the whispers of the outsiders.

No longer able to stand the prickly feeling of the strangers' gazes, Yeo Ri angrily stomped towards the car, glaring at the man with a huff as she ducked to enter the car.

Secretary Kwon's face remained stoic, but a hint of amusement could be seen within his eyes. He seemed entertained by the girl's reaction.

Once she was inside, he closed the door firmly and reentered the driver's seat.

"Where are you heading, miss?" He politely asked, knowing that he had just stepped on the tiger's tail.

"OO Hospital!" Yeo Ri replied with an unfriendly tone.

"I see," he nodded in understanding. Since he knew where it was, he rejoined the traffic and drove away.

"Mister, do you like me or something?" Yeo Ri grumbled, staring at the man's reflection on the rearview mirror with a hostile gaze. "Why do you keep following me around?"

The corner of Secretary Kwon's lips twitched slightly. Her question had caught him off-guard. "I'm just doing my job, miss," he replied half a beat later.

"Oh? I didn't know the job description of a secretary includes stalking a defenceless young girl. Your employer must be a pervert, then," Yeo Ri remarked sarcastically.

"Miss..." Secretary Kwon stifled a sigh. "Your father is only thinking of the best for you. Please understand him," he gently coaxed.

Secretary Kwon inwardly lamented his fate. He'd been reduced to a mere driver-cum-bodyguard for the little lady, and on top of that, she did not have a good impression on him. Putting aside the hours he had to put into looking out for her, he felt bad for his boss, Heo Woo Seung, who kept getting insulted—the job proved to be more taxing than he thought.

He could only stifle the bitterness in his heart; there was nothing he could do about it other than try to tame her hatred slowly.

"There's someone out there who is trying to hurt you; please do not push me away, miss. Not just your father, but many people will be sad if you get hurt," he couldn't help but say. There was a flash of frustration and rebuke in his eyes as he glanced at the girl through the rearview mirror. "Isn't that right, Miss Yeo Ri?" He added with a meaningful gaze.

"Hmph," Yeo Ri merely harrumphed in response before going silent. He might be annoying to her, but it did not change the fact that it was safer for her to be accompanied by him. She knew he was right, but she still felt discontented.

Once bitten, twice shy; in her mind, fathers did not exactly have a positive image. She had had enough with men pretending to be her father.

Yeo Ri was afraid that history might repeat itself. Heo Woo Seung's attention to her was making her want to shy away from him more than anything. He might have been kind to her, but she could not help but be wary of him. After all, Lee Do Joon had been kind to her as well, before the incident happened.

—She did not want to get hurt again.

"It would've been better if he just kept turning his eyes away like before," Yeo Ri mumbled to herself, lowering her gaze to her hands.

Though her voice was soft, Secretary Kwon captured her words crystal clear. His grip on the steering wheel tightened. 'Poor girl,' he thought morosely.