Managing the Korean entertainment industry: I have superpowers, but I won't say.

Chapter 85 Park Ji-yeon's New Drama Opportunity

A few days after filming wrapped on "Goblin", Park Jiyeon came to the company with a script for an independent film.

She was wearing a black down jacket, her hair casually tied up, no makeup, and heavy dark circles under her eyes. When Su Yu saw her in the office, his first words were, "You weren't sleeping?"

"I'm going to sleep. I can't sleep." Park Jiyeon sat down on the sofa, took out the script from her bag, and placed it on the coffee table. "I've read the script three times. The more I read it, the more scared I get."

Su Yu picked it up and flipped through it. The script was titled "Quiet Melody," and it told the story of a blind pianist who, after losing his sight in an accident, tries to find his way back to life. The female lead had to act with her eyes closed throughout the entire film and play the piano realistically. The director came from an independent film background and had won several international film festival awards, but his films had always been lukewarm at the box office.

"What are you afraid of?" Su Yu put down the script.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to act it well." Park Jiyeon tapped her fingers lightly on her knee. "This character is too complex. She wasn't born blind; she lost her sight gradually. There's a scene in the script where she sees the light for the last time, and that feeling... I don't know how to act it."

Su Yu looked at her. "You were scared when you acted in 'Stranger.' What happened afterward?"

"He acted well later."

"The same goes for this time."

Park Jiyeon lowered her head. "This time is different. This time I'm carrying it all by myself. There are no co-stars to help me, no director to switch the camera angles. I have to keep my eyes closed the whole time, and I can't even look at the markings when I'm moving around."

Su Yu was silent for a few seconds. "Do you want to act?"

"I want to," Park Jiyeon said, looking up. "But I'm afraid I'm not capable enough."

"If you lack the ability, you can learn. It's the lack of willingness to learn that's hopeless."

Park Jiyeon stared at him for a few seconds, then laughed. "Representative Su, you still have such a nasty way of speaking."

"The truth is hard to hear."

Park Jiyeon stood up and put the script into her bag. "Okay. I'll take it. Can you find me a piano teacher? I want to learn from scratch."

"I've already found someone." Su Yu took a business card from the table and handed it over. "Piano professor at Seoul Arts University. Starting tomorrow, four hours a day."

Park Jiyeon took the business card, then paused for a moment. "When did you contact me?"

"When you last messaged me."

Park Jiyeon stared at the business card, her fingers gripping the edge until it turned white. "Representative Su."

"Um."

Why are you so good to me?

Su Yu looked at her. "You're an artist with the company. If you perform well, the company will make money."

Park Jiyeon stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled. "Yes, I'm an artist with the company." She put the business card away. "Then I'll be going. Go practice the piano."

"Wait a minute," Su Yu called out to her.

Park Jiyeon turned around.

Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You've already done a great job.

Park Jiyeon's eyes reddened slightly, but she held it back. "I understand." She turned and left quickly.

In the hallway, Kim Go-eun was just coming out of the practice room. The two almost bumped into each other.

"Ah, sorry." Park Jiyeon took a step back.

"It's alright." Kim Go-eun smiled when she saw it was her. "Ji-yeon, are you here to see the representative?"

"Hmm. Let me get a script." Park Jiyeon looked at Kim Go-eun, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Go-eun unnie, were you nervous when you acted in 'Goblin'?"

Kim Go-eun thought for a moment. "Nervous. Nervous in every single one."

"So how did you overcome it?"

"I couldn't overcome it," Kim Go-eun said. "I acted while nervous. Nervousness is part of the emotion."

Park Jiyeon nodded after listening. "Thank you, unnie."

"Keep it up." Kim Go-eun patted her on the shoulder.

Park Jiyeon left. Kim Go-eun watched her enter the elevator, then turned and went to Su Yu's office. The door was open, and she knocked on the doorframe.

"Sir, what's wrong with Jiyeon?"

"I took on an independent film project, and the pressure is immense."

"She can act well," Kim Go-eun said.

Su Yu glanced at her. "You do have a good eye for people."

Kim Go-eun smiled. "I learned it from you."

The next day, Park Jiyeon started her piano lessons.

The professor, surnamed Li, was in his sixties, with gray hair but still nimble fingers. He asked Park Ji-yeon to play a piece for him, but she said, "I can't." Professor Li frowned. "Not even a little?"

Not at all.

Professor Li was silent for a few seconds. "Then practice for six hours every day. After three months, you'll be able to play simple pieces."

"it is good."

Park Ji-yeon goes to the film set every morning to shoot reshoots for "Goblin" (some scenes need to be reshot), and then goes to Professor Lee's piano practice room in the afternoon. The piano classroom is near Seoul Arts University, a 40-minute drive from her company. She practices until 9 p.m. every day, getting blisters on her fingers, then putting on bandages and continuing to practice.

One day, Cai Xiubin went to the company but didn't see Su Yu. Instead, she ran into Park Jiyeon. She had just returned from the piano lesson, and her fingers were wrapped in several bandages, which looked rather alarming.

"Unnie, your hand..." Chae Soo-bin took her hand and looked at it. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"It hurts. But the professor said it's normal; after the blisters form, they'll scab over, and then it won't hurt anymore."

Looking at the bandages, Cai Xiubin felt a pang of sadness. "Unnie, you're working too hard."

"We have no choice but to give it our all." Park Jiyeon pulled her hand back. "Representative Su hired the best professor for me; I can't let him down."

Cai Xiubin paused for a moment. "He doesn't think you'll embarrass him. He thinks you can act well."

Park Jiyeon looked at her and smiled. "Soobin, you really understand him."

Cai Xiubin laughed too. "He's so quiet, it's impossible not to understand him."

The two sat down in the break room, drinking coffee. Outside the window was the Han River, the winter sun shining brightly on its surface. Park Jiyeon gazed out the window, lost in thought for a while.

"Soobin."

"Um."

"Don't you think Representative Su treats everyone differently?"

Cai Xiubin thought for a moment. "He treats me differently. But he treats you, Go Eun unnie, and Sulli unnie differently too. He puts everyone in a different position."

Park Jiyeon nodded. "He knows what we're suited for. He knows I'm suited for this role, so he let me play it. He knows Go Eun unnie is suited for ghosts, so he let her play that role. He knows Sulli is suited for singing, so he sent her to Japan." She paused. "He knows everything."

Cai Xiubin looked at her. "Unnie, are you...?"

"No," Park Jiyeon interrupted her, "That's not what I meant. I just think he's a really amazing person."

Cai Xiubin didn't ask any more questions. She took a sip of her coffee and stood up.

"Unnie, come over for dinner tonight. Su Yu bought some beef, and I'm planning to make barbecue."

Park Jiyeon paused for a moment. "Is it convenient?"

"Convenient. It's lively with lots of people."

That evening, Park Jiyeon went to Su Yu and Cai Xiubin's house. She brought a bottle of red wine and changed her shoes when she entered. She saw two pairs of slippers in the entryway—one large and one small.

"Your house is so beautiful," Park Jiyeon said, standing in the living room and looking out at the Han River. "How much did it cost?"

"Three and a half billion." Cai Xiubin poked her head out from the kitchen.

Park Jiyeon gasped. "CEO Su is really rich."

Su Yu came out of the study, saw Park Jiyeon, and nodded. "You're here?"

"Hmm. I brought a bottle of red wine, I wonder if it's any good."

Su Yu took it, glanced at it, and placed it on the table. "It's alright."

Park Jiyeon laughed. "Would it kill you to give me a compliment?"

Cai Xiubin laughed in the kitchen. Su Yu glanced at her but didn't say anything.

The barbecue was delicious. Park Jiyeon ate a lot, and Chae Soo-bin kept putting food on her plate. Su Yu didn't eat much, only occasionally taking a sip of wine. The three of them sat at the dining table, the Han River night view outside the window quietly illuminated.

"Unnie, when does your movie start filming?" Cai Xiubin asked.

"Next month. We'll first go abroad to film the outdoor scenes."

"Where to?"

"Austria. Vienna."

Cai Xiubin's eyes lit up. "How romantic!"

"Romantic? I'm just filming." Park Jiyeon laughed. "But I heard it's beautiful there, so I plan to stay a couple more days after filming to enjoy the scenery."

Su Yu put down her wine glass. "Don't stay out too long; you still need to practice the piano when you get back."

Park Jiyeon pouted. "Okay, Boss Su."

Cai Xiubin chuckled and patted Su Yu's hand. "Don't mind her, let her play."

Park Jiyeon felt a little sore watching their interaction, but it quickly passed. She had learned not to let herself feel too bad.

After dinner, Park Jiyeon helped Chae Soobin wash the dishes. The two stood in the kitchen, the water running.

"Soobin."

"Um."

"You and Representative Su will get married in the future, right?"

Cai Xiubin paused for a moment, then continued washing. "I don't know. Let's see what he does."

He will definitely marry you.

Cai Xiubin turned to look at her. "How did you know, unnie?"

"Because the way he looks at you is different from how he looks at others."

Cai Xiubin smiled and lowered her head to rinse the bowl.

Park Jiyeon looked at her profile and remained silent for a moment. "Soobin."

"Um."

"Thank you for treating me to dinner today. It's been a long time since it's been this lively."

Cai Xiubin dried his hands, turned around and hugged her. "Unnie, come often."

Park Jiyeon paused for a moment, then smiled. "Okay."

When Park Jiyeon left, Su Yu escorted her to the elevator. The elevator doors opened, she stepped inside, and pressed the button for the first floor.

"Representative Su."

"Um."

"Good night."

"Good night."

The elevator doors closed. Park Jiyeon leaned against the elevator wall and closed her eyes. The elevator slowly descended, and she heard the soft creak of the steel cable. She remembered Cai Xiubin's hug from earlier, and Su Yu's profile as she stood at the door. She knew none of this belonged to her, but she was no longer sad.

The night wind was cold outside, so she wrapped her coat tighter around herself and headed for the parking lot. Before getting into her car, she glanced back at Su Yu's window; the light was still on. She stood there for a few seconds, then got in and started the engine.

My phone vibrated. It was a message from Su Yu.

Send me a message when you get home.

Park Jiyeon looked at the message, smiled, and typed, "Understood."