“I’m home.”

“You’re late. How about dinner?”

“I ate already with a seonbae of mine.”

“What did you eat?”

“Strawberry milk.”

You should eat properly - seeing her mother worried about her, Yuna smiled and said that she was okay.

“I’m fine since I ate a lot for lunch. Where’s Bitna?”

“She should be sleeping right now. She said she was tired after we came back from the studio.”

Her mother pointed at the bedroom. Yuna quietly opened the door to the room. She could hear regular breathing. She tiptoed so she wouldn’t make any noise with her feet and approached Bitna who was sleeping on the bed.

“Bitna, your unni’s here.”

She whispered and waved her hand, and just then, Bitna opened her eyes. As Yuna didn’t have any intentions of waking her up, she quickly apologized.

“Unni, you’re here.”

“Sorry. Looks like I woke you up. Go back to sleep.”

Bitna, who sat up while rubbing her eyes, yawned before standing up.

“I’m going to watch TV.”

“Do you want me to carry you?”

After thinking for a while, Bitna nodded. Yuna quickly piggybacked Bitna and went to the living room. Some metal sounds could be heard from the kitchen. It seemed that her mother was putting some fruits in a bowl.

“Bitna, did you wake up?”

“I think I woke her up.”

After replying, she put Bitna down on the sofa. Bitna, who was still sleepy, looked at the powered off TV in a daze before looking for the remote.

“Bitna, what do you want to watch?”

“A drama.”

Yuna turned to a Sunday drama channel. Bitna got herself together and started watching TV.

“Have some fruits.”

Her mother put down a large bowl on the living room table. Yuna forked a chopped banana before giving it to Bitna. She subconsciously smiled when she looked at Bitna, who ate the banana with her small hands.

“You’re going to cry even more than I will  when Bitna gets married in the future, aren’t you?”

“Of course. Bitna, even if you get married, you must come and see your sister, okay?”

Bitna’s small head nodded.

“You should eat as well, mom.”

“You should eat first. Also, are you going to keep coming home around this time in the future?”

“We’re in our busiest period right now. The characters have been decided, and we’re also making the props. It won’t always end this late though. I find myself lacking no matter how much I practice, so I want to do about an hour more, but the seonbaes told me that it’s important to rest as well.”

“They’re right. Staying in your top condition is also important.”

Yuna looked at Bitna who was watching TV before turning around to look at her mother.

“What did Bitna shoot today?”

“An acquaintance of mine opened a studio. It was really well-decorated too. She said she needed a photo to display at the counter, so I had Bitna do that.”

“Are the photos good?”

“Of course they are. Who do you think the model is?”

“Did you take photos of them with your phone?”

“I thought you’d ask that, so I did.”

Her mother went to the room and came back out with her phone.

“Here. Don’t they look good?”

Bitna was standing in a beige-colored background. She was wearing a light blue one-piece dress and was sitting on a chair that was larger than herself. It was way too cute.

“She’s even prettier if you see the actual photos.”

“Bitna, these look so good,” Yuna said as she showed Bitna the photos.

Bitna smiled faintly before looking at the TV again.

“If this place does well, it’ll be all thanks to Bitna.”

Yuna looked at the photos in satisfaction before giving the phone back to her mother.

“What happened to the audition she took last time?”

“We didn’t hear anything back, so I don’t think she made it.”

“Where can you find a girl prettier than Bitna, huh? They just don’t know their stuff.”

“There are many girls who are just as pretty as Bitna.”

Her mother waved her hand and stood up. Yuna followed her to the kitchen.

“Did you decide on what to do about the acting school?”

Her mother sat down in the kitchen and crossed her arms. When she made a posture like that, the manager side of hers would surface. Yuna organized her thoughts before speaking,

“I want to focus on the acting club for the first year.”

“Is that because the acting club is fun for you? Or because it’s helpful to you.”

“It is both fun and helpful.”

“Yuna.”

“Yes, mom.”

“As you know, we live in an era where only those that have been preparing steadily since youth can grab the opportunity. Mom thinks that both you and Bitna are very pretty and talented, to the point that I can’t believe you two are my daughters. That’s also why I think you’re at a very important moment right now. Think about it carefully. There is a right time for learning. Hanging out with your friends at your age is very important, yes. It’s not like mom doesn’t understand that. Also Yuna, you must remember that the successful actors and actresses all gave up some things to reach their level. It’s not just actors. You can apply that logic to every other job. Achieving something is the same as giving up just as much. Yuna is smart, so you know what mom is saying, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And you still want to reduce the number of acting school lessons that you took during middle school and focus on the acting club?”

“Yes, I do.”

Her mother closed her eyes. Yuna waited patiently. Her mother was making her decision right now. If she said no, Yuna was planning to act stubborn, which she hadn’t done in a long time.

“Are you doing the acting club in order to play around?” she asked.

Yuna immediately shook her head.

“No. If the acting club really just played around, I wouldn’t have joined in the first place. Mom, I want to become an actress. I’m not lying about that. And, just as you said, I know that there are things I have to give up in order to become one. That’s why I want to take a break from acting school for a while. Actually, the acting I do at the club is much harder than what I do at the academy. At the academy, I do exactly what the instructor tells me to do, but in the acting club, I have to be more proactive. I liked that feeling. It’s unlike anything I have done until now.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes. Honestly speaking, acting with my friends is fun. I have friends at the acting school, but we don’t strive to put on a play with all of us. Mom, you said that actors need to have a variety of experiences, right? The acting club is a really new place for me. Oh, there’s also a special instructor who comes every week, so it’s not like the education level loses out to acting schools.”

Yuna then thought about one person.

“Also, I have a seonbae I admire at the acting club, and I could learn a lot of things while looking at her acting.”

“A seonbae you admire?”

“The one I talked about last time.”

“Oh, the one that appeared in the sitcom?”

“Yes. The one who bought me strawberry milk today was also her.”

“You admire her?”

“Yes!”

Hearing that answer, her mother’s lips softened. There was a smile on her face, and the tightly locked arms loosened up as well.

“If there’s a seonbae like her, I guess there’s no need to go to an acting school.”

“Are you really giving me permission?”

“Have I ever not give you permission after I talked to you seriously about it? Yuna, if you are really sure that what you feel is right, I am going to try to understand you and allow you to do what you want. You’re my daughter after all.”

“Thank you, mom.”

“Here. Give mommy a hug.”

Her mother opened her arms wide. Yuna smiled and gave her a hug. Just then, Bitna, who was watching TV in the living room, came up to them and got in between the two. Yuna gave her sister a big hug.

“Mom, I want to sleep.”

“Bitna must be tired. You must brush your teeth first, right?”

Her mother patted Bitna’s buttocks. After brushing her teeth, Bitna went to the bedroom.

“If you ever change your mind later, tell me. I’ll try to contact someone who can get you into Film.”

“Isn’t that place expensive?”

“It is, but when I think about your future, it’s absolutely worth it. Mom will do everything I can for your sake. So, if you ever want something, then tell mom about it.”

“Okay, mom.”

Her mother picked up the vase placed on the dining table. As Yuna was watching the water level rise in her mug, she heard her mother’s voice.

“Also Yuna, who is Maru-oppa?”

“Wh-what?”

“Bitna said in the studio today. That you seem to want to meet Maru-oppa.”

“Bitna said that?”

Her mother did not reply and just stared at her. Yuna did not know where to look, so she stared at the mug.

“If it’s something you need to keep secret from mom, then you don’t have to tell me. But if it’s about dating someone, you must be very careful. Liking and loving someone is a natural thing, but sometimes, that natural thing can put people in pain. You must understand that. Of course, mom believes that my daughter knows about such things already.”

Yuna hesitated before speaking,

“Mom, you know the drama called The Witness, right?”

“I do. I liked it to the point that I kept up to date with all the episodes.”

“Then do you remember one of the extras who was a murderer? The one that appeared in the interrogation room.”

“Do you mean the scene where Ahn Joohyun was shouting?”

“Yes.”

“I remember that scene. I was really nervous when I watched that scene. It was quite scary after all. Why do you ask?”

“The one that played the role of the murderer in that scene is Han Maru-oppa. Right now, he’s in New Semester.”

“Oh really? He’s an actor?”

Her mother smiled as though she was interested and leaned forward. Yuna slightly leaned backwards after seeing her mother so close to her.

“Do you know him?”

“No, I’ve never met him. But Bitna seems quite close to him. They both used to be beggars in Apgu.”

“Apgu? Oh! I remember. There was this mature boy who was always taking care of Bitna when I went there to pick her up and… right. His name was Han Maru. Your mom’s memory is still good.”

Her mother clapped and rejoiced. Yuna smiled awkwardly.

“Actually, I was really surprised when I saw him acting in The Witness. How can he do such a thing…. Then, I found out that Bitna knew Maru-oppa so I asked her. Because I wanted to meet him once….”

She said that last part in a really small voice.

She had a lot of actors she admired. However, most of those actors were much older than her.

The only one that managed to show impressive acting and was around her age was Maru, so Yuna became curious about him. Just like her friends who liked idols, she investigated the actor named Han Maru, but she couldn’t find anything worth noting. Then, she found a short interview with Maru on a magazine website known as Sharon. While reading that interview, Yuna nodded several times. There were many things she could sympathize with.

Through that interview, Yuna found out that Maru appeared in a movie called Twilight Struggles and managed to find a short clip of when Maru appeared on a video website. In that clip, Maru left a short, but deep impression. He gave her a sense of chill that was different from the violent struggle he showed in The Witness. Yuna replayed that clip several times. The moment she realized he enraptured her with just one line, Yuna wanted to know more about that actor.

“Wait a sec.”

Her mom picked up her phone and stood up while talking. It seemed to be a work-related call. Yuna saw her mother go to the veranda before sighing.

“So Bitna knew about it.”

She was so embarrassed because she wanted to meet a man who she never met before, so she very indirectly asked Bitna if she wanted to meet Maru, but it seemed that her quick-witted sister had seen through everything.

The reason she wasn’t able to tell her seonbae that it was her who wanted to meet Maru was also because she felt very embarrassed about meeting him one on one. It was also because she felt that Maru-seonbae might be weirded out since someone he didn’t know wanted to meet him. That was why she tried so hard to come up with that lie, and yet….

‘If Bitna knows about it, seonbae must have noticed as well. She must have pretended not to know about it because she was being considerate, right?’

She really thanked her seonbae now. Yuna slapped her cheeks lightly. She decided that she shouldn’t have lied no matter how embarrassed she was. She resolved that she should definitely apologize to her seonbae later.

“But at least I get to meet him now.”

Yuna calmed down her breathing as she thought about Maru’s face. She looked forward to meeting him as an actor. Just what kind of thoughts did he have? What kind of practice did he do that allowed him to act like that? She had a mountain of questions. She decided that she would ask everything when they meet the day after tomorrow.

‘I can do it, right?’

She could picture herself not being able to ask anything in embarrassment, but it should be fine since Bitna would be next to her. Yuna nodded her head.

‘It’s fine, I can do it!’

* * *

“Did something good happen to Yuna? She seemed really happy about something.”

She, who was taking a shower, thought back to the smile her junior had before focusing on washing her hair.

‘Well, something good probably happened to her.’

“Ah, the warm water is so good.”

A pleasant sense of relaxation filled her body