𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨

@SEONSHINE JUST POSTED A PHOTO

it’s not a long walk to the entrance of the party from the outside, but daeun still walks carefully making sure she doesn’t topple over in the heels she’s wearing. one hand clutches part of her dress lifting it up so it doesn’t drag on the ground. her other hand clutches a small purse, inside is where she keeps her phone, wallet, a compact and lipstick for touchups, and a small notepad and pen if she feels the need to write notes about anyone.

presenting her invitation to the person manning the door, she’s welcomed to the party without much fanfare. part of daeun thought that she might have gotten turned away, the doorman knowing what she was really here for. nevertheless, she thanks him and proceeds to walk further into the area where the party is being held, grabbing a champagne flute from one of the waiters passing by.

her eyes glance around the room, watching for someone that might catch her eye. bringing the champagne flute up to her mouth, she sips slowly. if one were to look at her closely, they would see her grimace as she drinks. daeun’s never liked champagne, the taste too bitter for her.

“thank you,” seona tells the cafeteria worker as she grabs the tray of food off the counter. despite preferring her own homemade food, there are times when bringing lunch isn’t practical, especially if she doesn’t have time to pack it because of her busy schedule. legacy’s cafeteria food provided food isn’t the worst, at least it’s healthy. maybe a little on the bland side, but she can deal with that from time to time.

the weather’s been warming up, each day feeling nicer and nicer. seona wants to enjoy it before summer comes, making it impossible to stay outside for more than half an hour before sweating to death.

she walks over to the patio doors, pushing it open with her side and looking for a table to sit at. unfortunately, it seems like everyone at the company had the same idea as her, the tables full of staff or artists. seona looks around, trying to spot a familiar face that she could sit with. one of the other actors would be preferable, but some of her idol contacts surely wouldn’t mind letting her sit with them for lunch?

instead of spotting aeri, jino, or cherry, she spots someone else. jisoo. she stops in her tracks before passing by his table, debating whether or not she should approach. seona makes the decision that she’s been looking for a seat for too long, and she also doesn’t want him to think that she’s snubbed him if he sees her staring but instead of even greeting him, she just walks past.

“hi,” she says approaching him. there’s always an awkward air between the two of them when they’re in the same place at the same time. it’s a rare occasion, their schedules don’t really overlap and it’s not like the two hang out outside of work. seona still doesn’t know what exactly they are; friends, acquaintances, enemies? no, definitely not that last one. but still, jisoo confuses her and she doesn’t like that.

there wasn't much to prepare for this audition which strikes the actress as odd. a lot of things are odd when it comes to acting and auditions, so seona doesn't think much of it. she greets the casting committee with a bow and a broad smile before introducing herself.

"i'm baek seona, actress under legacy agency. the folder i've provided has a list of my past roles, accomplishments, and general information," she states, waiting patiently for what comes next.

"thank you seona," the director tells her. "we're going to have you improvise a scene, is that okay?" they ask, looking at her.

having to improvise doesn't surprise her, she expected it from the lack of other instructions given. she can't really prepare to improvise, but seona has done it enough times to feel comfortable. "of course." she gives the casting director and the rest of the panel a smile. while their words were phrased like a question, she knows she doesn't have a choice in the matter.

"great! well, show us what you'd do if you've discovered a clue. try to convince the others that it matters." the director leans back, crossing their arms. seona nods and closes her eyes for a moment, trying to get into character and think of how she'd like to go about this scene. she opens her eyes when she's ready, nodding again to signal she's about to start before she sits down in the chair provided.

"guys," she says furrowing her brows. her features twist as she tries to portray a character that's frustrated that no one is listening to her. "guys," she says, a bit louder this time and with a huff at the end of her sentence. "guys! shut up!" seona exclaims, rising to her feet, the chair falling down behind her. she slams her hands down on the table in exasperation, making sure to get everyone's attention this time.

"isn't anyone listening? i've got it figured out," she huffs, clearly angry at this point. seona walks around the table and points to something, pretending like there's a whiteboard or bulletin board with clues pinned across it. "do you see this here?" she asks, getting closer and 'touching' the piece of paper. "we've been looking at it all wrong. we were trying to find the meaning within the poem, or whatever this is supposed to be, but the real meaning is this." she grabs at the fake piece of paper, slamming her hand down on the table, mimicking as if she slammed the paper down.

"if you read the first letter of each sentence, it spells a word. look H O R S E S H O E. do you see? now we have to figure out what the significance of this word, horseshoe, is. it's obviously a code for something else, but," she sighs. "they wanted us to figure this out. it's all a game to them and we have to play. i think this is the first piece of the puzzle and we have to see what else we can find in the evidence. i'm sure it'll point us in the right direction as long as we look at it through a different lens." she looks back up in the direction of where the 'bulletin' board was, before bringing her attention back to the table. seona glances around at the other 'people' there, before standing straight and looking back over to the casting committee.

@SEONSHINE JUST POSTED A PHOTO

the party’s in full swing now due to the abundance of alcohol, many individuals letting their guards down. it’s good for daeun, it’s what she wants. she wants to see who gets sloppy, obtaining as much information from the guests as she can, especially what kind of behaviors they present.

it’s easy to spot who’s in love, especially when it’s forbidden. long, forlorn glances giving true intents away. it’s even easier to spot who’s in a bad mood, how their fingers clasp so tightly around their glasses their knuckles turn white.

someone in a tuxedo approaches her and she smiles politely even though she’s ready to turn them away, not looking to have a conversation as her current target in the red dress seems to be booking it to the other side of the room. there’s no conversation to be had, though, as the man discreetly slips her a note. daeun almost doesn’t registered what’s happened at first, but the feel of the folded piece paper in her hand makes her glance down in intrigue.

daeun continues to keep an eye on the woman in the red dress, carefully unfolding the note. she doesn’t want to attract too much attention to herself, her eyes glancing down lazily. she wonders what it is, and she soon discovers it’s not good news.

‘someone’s watching you.’

she frowns, body stiffening as she feels a rush of emotions flow through her. her eyes dart around trying to find the person who slipped her the note, but they’re long gone. daeun no longer focuses on the woman in the red dress, and instead she glances around the room, trying to slow her breathing as she feels anger rising.

who could be watching her? more importantly, why is someone watching her. her eyes narrow as they settle on someone on the opposite side of the room as her, the stranger has a devilish grin despite being found out. it seems as though they wanted daeun to figure out they were watching her, but why?

@SEONSHINE JUST POSTED A PHOTO

how do you feel about the reception of the drama?

”can i be honest here?” seona tilts her head as she asks the question. she knows honesty, especially her sort of honesty, is looked down upon in a lot of cases, but she feels like it’s necessary to state how she’s feeling at the moment. “overall, i’m a bit disappointed. the ratings were lower for the second season of martine corporation. i guess that makes sense, people aren’t going to switch on the television to watch the second season of a show they haven’t watched before, but still, the ratings weren’t great.” she sighs. “i’m pleased with my performance, though. i gave it my all and truthfully i don’t think the acting or the script was the issue. maybe it was just the wrong time to release a comedy?”

how was your experience working with the cast and staff?

“it was a good experience. i enjoyed being alongside my fellow actors from legacy agency. it’s easier when you already know the people you’re working with. a lot of the staff from the first season came back around too, so conversations overall were much easier to have. everyone was, well, actually, let me rephrase.” she pauses for a brief moment, laughing. “everyone on the surface at least, you’re never really sure what’s going on underneath, was pretty nice and easy-going. there weren’t any fights or tension, at least not that i was aware of.”

is there anything you want to improve on before your next project? ( only for actors )

“i’d like to think i’m constantly improving myself,” she says with a chuckle. “i think i’ve said already, maybe not in this meeting, but definitely in a past one, that creating ahn minyoung and being a part of the story’s production, even just if it’s in a small way, has challenged me as an actress.” in the past few years of her life, seona’s attitude towards her work has changed drastically. acting is no longer just a means to an end, a way to put her pretty face to work. she’s become more enthralled in the process, more willing to learn and better herself. she enjoys it. now more than ever.

“i want to improve on my creativity. i don’t like to overstep when it comes to productions, i don’t like to challenge the director or writer’s views, but i would like to become more confident in my abilities to suggest ideas that i think will do well. i think i’ve come far enough in my career now that my ideas will be,” she pauses for a moment, frowning. “should be,” she corrects herself. “taken seriously.”

“of course, there are obstacles to these things, and i’m not saying i want to be a director or writer myself, i think that’s a little far-fetched for a goal.” she chuckles. basically what i’m saying is that i want to improve on things that are beyond just reading a script and acting.”

what do you think made this production unique compared to your past projects ( if any )?

“i think overall, martine corporation is unique because of its genre. it was my first attempt at comedy, and i think i did well. it was also the first time i was able to co-create a character, which was very meaningful to me. even if she never returns, ahn minyoung will always hold a place in my heart. i think the ad-lib scenes are also something that were unique to this production. in comparison to my other works, overall martine corporation is just more fun. a lot of the other dramas i’ve been a part of, like bullet inquiry and black banquet, are darker and more mysterious. this was a light-hearted venture, and it really helps to break up the genres between projects. it also challenged me somewhat, but in a good way as i’ve grown a lot and feel more well-versed.”

what kinds of roles would you like to try next? ( only for actors )

“maybe a romance?” seona raises her brow, partly because she’s not sure of her answer and partly because she can’t believe what’s come out of her mouth. baek seona and romance don’t belong in a sentence, but still the sentences seem to be forming themselves. “it’s a genre i haven’t tried yet. comedy? check. detective? check. dark mystery? check.” she laughs. “truthfully, i don’t know if i’d enjoy it. there have been times where my character had a sub-romance role, but nothing major. like my first drama, in bullet inquiry, there was a sub-romance plot with my character. it felt, honestly a bit weird, but that was my first drama. everything was bound to feel a bit weird.”

@SEONSHINE JUST POSTED A PHOTO

acting, acting, acting. it’s her specialty, but even seona can get tired of the repetitiveness of the job. at least she’s not on set for hours upon hours, this new project taking less of her precious time.

she’s smiles at aeri across from her, fingernails tapping on the side of her cup in a rhythm only she knows. “friendship, huh,” she muses, nodding. “easy task for us i suppose, with how much time we’ve been spending together lately,” the actress says with a laugh.