🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 21
“You know the original concept was based on Andersen’s fairy tale Thumbelina, right? A tulip is found in the forest, and when it blooms, there’s a tiny girl inside. That was the direction we were going for, but the director said it felt too cliché.”
“I think he got the idea after seeing Miss Singa soaked with water at the audition. Instead of Thumbelina, he suggested Shim Cheong. After some internal discussions, the concept ended up changing quite a bit.”
“The core message is the transition from analog to digital. The image of an unknown being coming ashore from the sea was considered more convincing to the public than the original proposal.”
After listening to Yoon Ire and the staff’s lengthy explanations, Mom asked only one question.
“So… it’s an underwater shoot?”
“Yes.”
The staff member nodded and kindly asked me,
“Have you been practicing swimming a lot?”
“……”
I wanted to cry.
“Alright, here we go again. Back to your positions! Is the film rolling?”
“Yes! It’s rolling, Director. We’re ready.”
“Slate! Scene 10, Take 7!”
…
…
“…Cut! Let’s stop and reset.”
I climbed out of the water, gasping for breath.
Mom, who had been anxiously waiting nearby, hurried over with a towel and wrapped me up.
“Sweetie, are you okay? Oh no…”
“Yeah. I’m okay.”
No!
Honestly, I was not okay at all!
If Mrs. Bang Suk-young didn’t look like she was about to cry, I would have collapsed on the spot and burst into tears myself.
My lips trembled from the cold.
My first shoot in life is an underwater shoot?!
Wasn’t this a scam?!
Commercial shoots in this era usually began within ten days of the audition, but this commercial had given me an entire month of preparation time.
They had suddenly told me to learn swimming, so I had suspected something was unusual, but they didn’t inform us that the concept had actually changed until we arrived on set today.
If this were the 2020s, I’d be filing a complaint with the Child Rights Commission. Seriously…
As Mom squeezed the water out of my hair, I discreetly surveyed the set.
This was an era when indoor smoking was perfectly normal.
Even a commercial shoot involving child models was no exception.
Through the thick haze of cigarette smoke hanging beneath the ceiling, I could see the director rubbing his forehead and several staff members looking far from pleased.
Their hushed conversations drifted over to me.
“At this rate we’ll end up pulling an all-nighter.”
“You think the production company will let that slide if the shoot runs over?”
“Even veteran actors use doubles for underwater scenes. How’s a kid supposed to do it after just a few swimming lessons? A rookie child model, no less. This never made sense from the beginning. The whole thing started off wrong.”
“Sigh. That’s Ham Kyung-seok for you…”
“I heard he’s the one who insisted on changing the concept. Who else can you blame? He brought this on himself.”
“I thought this commercial might be his lucky break and revive his career. Guess not.”
Scene 10, Take 7.
That meant they had already shot this scene seven times.
The model was exhausted.
The staff were exhausted too.
Commercial shoots generally lasted one day, maybe two at most.
Especially when children were involved, people expected to start in the morning and finish before sunset, which was why the crew had arrived in such good spirits.
But who could have predicted things would go this badly?
“Scene 10, Take 9!”
“Cut!”
“…Director, we’re out of film. We’ll need to replace the reel.”
The cameraman announced it flatly.
The murmuring among the staff grew louder than before.
I even heard someone mutter a curse.
A filming set wasn’t a flower garden.
Nor was it a fantasy fairy tale where an ordinary child suddenly discovered a hidden talent and blossomed overnight.
A 1990s filming set was a battlefield of survival, thick with suffocating cigarette smoke, where nobody had the luxury of caring about someone else.
At a moment when the adults’ gazes were becoming sharp enough to sting my skin…
I felt it strongly.
The need to change the atmosphere.
And the need to protect myself.
“…Sniff. M-Mommy…!”
So I exercised the privilege of being an eight-year-old child.
I started crying.
“Ah! S-She’s crying!”
“Come on, everyone. She’s still just a kid.”
“We’re having a hard time, but imagine how much harder it is for her. Look at her. She’s trying not to cry, and even her shoulders are shaking.”
“She probably feels pressured. Kids notice things too.”
Mom’s eyes reddened as she hurriedly picked me up.
The whispers among the staff gradually took on a sympathetic tone.
Seeing that the time was ripe, I unleashed my ultimate move.
“M-Mom… I feel kinda dizzy…”
“M-My daughter! My daughter! My precious treasure!!!”
“M-Miss Singa!”
“Oh no! Somebody call 119!”
Seo Singa’s Ultimate Skill:
Pretending to faint!
♧
“My treasure! My one and only daughter! I can’t live a single day without you!”
“M-Mrs. Seo, please calm down…!”
“My poor little princess!”
“What should we do? Should we call 119?”
Swaying limply in rhythm with Mom’s frantic shaking like one of those inflatable tube men outside a gas station, I completely relaxed my arms and legs.
This was just a commercial set in the 1990s.
There certainly weren’t any medical professionals waiting on standby.
Whew. Good thing, too!
When someone genuinely looked ready to call an ambulance, I quickly let out a faint groan and slowly opened my eyes.
“Sweetie! You’re awake?! Oh, my princess!”
“M-Mom? Where am I…?”
I blinked weakly.
“What happened…? Ah… I feel dizzy…”
Why pretend to faint?
Try spending a few months living alongside the venomous flower Jung Hyun-hye and the poisonous weed Choi Cham-byeol.
Skills like this come naturally.
Through repeated cycles of observation, imitation, and practice, I had learned that there were techniques to crying and methods to acting weak.
The world of martial arts was vast…
A novice cried loudly and dramatically.
A true master bit her lip gently like a flower petal soaked in rain and let only a few tears fall.
As for fainting, that was a technique I had developed while fighting Jung Hyun-hye on the school playground.
Blur your focus.
Let your head wobble from side to side.
Breathe rapidly.
Then suddenly exhale and collapse.
Perfect.
Who would have thought all those nights practicing in front of a mirror would pay off like this…?
“Don’t push yourself, sweetie! You fainted! Mommy thought her heart was going to stop!”
Whenever my parents saw me diligently practicing in front of the mirror at home, they would worry as if they were raising a crazy child.
Lately they had gotten used to it.
To the point where they even gave me scores.
Since Mrs. Bang Suk-young watched my fake fainting performances every day, she had naturally grasped the situation immediately.
Having also trained alongside me whenever I practiced crying, she had become remarkably skilled herself.
Pulling out a handkerchief, she sniffled mournfully.
“My poor daughter! Suffering like this at such a young age because her useless parents can’t provide for her! It already breaks my heart seeing her spend all day in the water… How can the world be so cruel to a mother and daughter like us?”
Ah… Mother, that’s a bit much, isn’t it?
Worried that she was getting carried away, I quickly coughed a few times to redirect attention.
The assistant director sighed.
His expression was half guilt, half awkwardness.
“Honestly, Singa has pushed herself pretty hard. The director says it’s almost lunchtime anyway, so we’ll take a break for now. After the break, I think he wants to talk to Singa privately.”
“With me?”
“Mm. Just get some rest.”
Don’t tell me he’s going to fire me?!
No… my twenty million won…!
Anxiously, I bit my lip.
All I had wanted was to steer the atmosphere slightly in my favor.
To remind these heartless adults that no matter how professional this world was, I was still a child.
Still the weaker party.
I only wanted to prevent the situation from becoming too harsh.
Did I overthink things after all?
I had no idea how a real eight-year-old would handle a situation like this.
Everyone else left the waiting room.
I forced a smile for Mom, who was looking at me with concern.
It wasn’t easy.
♧
After lunch break ended—
Director Ham Kyung-seok sat down in front of the little girl who was trying her best to look brave despite her anxiety.
Then he calmly announced:
“Seo Singa.”
“Yes?”
“I’m going to make you a star.”
“…Pardon?”
