235 Phenomenal Rookie, Lee Yeo Ri (1/2)

”Great!” Director Bang seemed to have pulled away from the phone for a moment as he said, ”—See! I told you she'd agree—oh, stop! I know you sent someone already—” then his muffled voice became clear again, ”I'll be waiting for you at Hope Entertainment. See you soon, Miss Lee.”

”Yes! Thank you very much!”

Afterwards, the man hung up the call, though it wasn't his phone. Mrs. Choi, Park Soo Yeon, had immediately followed up with a text, ”I sent Manager Kwon to pick you up. He should be on his way. He also has a script that Director Bang gave me, so take some time to look through it before you get here.”

Yeo Ri sent a quick 'thank you' to the lady, then instantly picked out Secretary Kwon's number from her contacts list as she picked up her bag.

Secretary Kwon answered her call before the second ring could be heard. ”Where are you?” She asked him impolitely. Her face looked impassive as she checked the time.

”I'm almost there. Please wait a moment—” Yeo Ri could hear the sound of the blinkers, ”—I'm inside the neighbourhood now. Please stay indoors until I arrive.”

”Alright. Did you bring the script?”

”Yes. Please do not hang up until I arrive, miss.”

Yeo Ri fought the urge to roll her eyes. She flashed a polite smile at the elders, bidding them her farewells.

Seeing that she was about to leave, In Guk, Jin Goo, and Gun got up, intending to follow her to the door and send her off.

”—Miss, I've arrived,” Secretary Kwon abruptly said.

'That was quick,' the young girl murmured in her heart. ”I'll hang up, then.”

In record time, the sound of the doorbell could be heard. Secretary Kwon was as efficient as always, she faintly mused.

”Ah, that's my ride. Thank you for the hospitality,” she bowed, ”I'll be going now.”

”See you later, Yeo Ri-ah,” In Guk said as he helped open the door for the girl.

The men displayed their overprotectiveness as they walked her over to the gate, where Secretary Kwon had already been waiting by the backseat's door. Seeing her arrive, he naturally held the car door open for her.

”Call me when you're done,” Gun said, pulling her into a hug before kissing the crown of her head. Yeo Ri obediently nodded her head, smiling brightly at him and planting a kiss on his cheek before letting go.

”Bye, Yeo Ri-ah,” the other two men said. In Guk looked like he wanted a hug and a kiss too, but tactfully kept his mouth shut.

Yeo Ri gave them a final farewell with a wave of her hand, and finally she got into the car. Secretary Kwon shut the door behind her, then moved quickly to the driver's seat.

The three men did not go back inside until the car disappeared from their sight, though the occupants of said car had not noticed it.

”Here is the script. Please be careful while reading in the car since you might get carsick later, miss.”

”It's fine. It doesn't matter.”

Yeo Ri snatched the script that he had held out to her. Giving her full attention towards the script, she began memorising it word-for-word.

There were only three pages on it, containing three separate scenes. Aside from some lines and a short description of the scenes, there was nothing much she could garner from the thin document.

”'I—My name is Ha Ye Na. Daughter of Captain Ha Seung Hun of the Special Forces. I am not a weakling.'” The girl recited the lines monotonously under her breath, repeating them over and over again in an attempt to etch it into her brain.

Yeo Ri scrutinised the script deeply as she tried to capture the nuance and emotions that she thought would make sense with the dialogue.

”'My name is Ha Ye Na—'”

”'Why is this happening to me—'”

”'Then, why did you save me? Why—'”

Meanwhile, on the front seat, Secretary Kwon glanced at the practicing girl through the rearview mirror. He could hear her soft murmurs, and it felt strange hearing the heartfelt lines being uttered by someone whose face was consistently stoic. Even though he could hear the fluctuation of emotions inside her voice, the sight was so very odd when paired with her emotionless, indifferent expression.

It had taken roughly half an hour to get to the company building from the Joos' house.

When the two arrived, a staff member was already waiting for them to guide them to the meeting room.

The room had a simple setup; a long table was placed on one side of the room, with multiple already-occupied chairs behind it. On the other side of the table, a lone chair was placed. Two cameras were positioned on the side, one directly in front of the singular chair, and another on its far right.

There were five people waiting inside the room; two of them she could recognise as fellow Hope Entertainment employees, one of them was President Park, Park Soo Yeon herself, and the other two, she supposed, was Director Bang and his colleague.

”Welcome, Yeo Ri-ah!” President Park greeted her with a large smile. Just like Yeo Ri, she was also excited of the prospect of getting Yeo Ri on board with such a big fish.

”Hello, President, everyone. Please take care of me,” Yeo Ri greeted them perfunctorily, just as she had always did when arriving at set.

”Come and sit, Miss Lee.”

”Yes,” Yeo Ri timidly looked around, bowing her head with the script tightly held in her hands as she sat down on the seat prepared for her.

”We'll begin the closed audition. Yeo Ri-ah, why don't you introduce yourself?”