210 The First Movie Role (1/2)

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.