Chapter 849. Sequence 12
“We can’t always tell you hopeful words. We’ll end up scarring the patient’s family if we give empty promises like ‘we’ll definitely save someone’. That’s why we always use the phrase ‘we’ll do our best’. Our best – you might think that it sounds irresponsible. You might think that we’re just asking you to not hold us responsible since we did our best and were just unlucky. But what I can tell you for sure is that we don’t say that we’ll do our best so easily. There are many doctors who have sacrificed what’s important to them for what they consider to be the best thing. That’s why they’re doctors, and that’s what makes them doctors.”
“Can I really trust him? Can I really trust that doctor?”
“You can.”
Gaeul hugged the tearful girl. She patted the girl who was wiping her eyes. She felt like crying herself, but she managed to hold herself back. Only if she showed a calm side would the child calm down after all.
“Cut. That was good.”
Along with the cut signal, Gaeul let go of the child she was tightly holding in her arms.
“Sorry about that. I hugged you too tightly, didn’t I?”
“Not at all, senior. I was out of it as well because I was so touched. Also, I think I stained your gown with my snot.”
“I can just wipe it off.”
This junior, who was just entering middle school, really looked like a doll as she was a former child model. She looked cute, and her peach fuzz was so soft that it made her want to pinch her cheek. The first time she saw the little girl was four days ago on the set, and she took a liking to her from the get-go. Not only was she very docile, she was skilled as well. When the camera was rolling, she was a pitiful and anxious girl who was about to lose her parents, but when it was turned off, she walked around with a bright smile on her face.
“Look at you two. You two are practically sisters who have been separated for years. I knew that Gaeul was good, but Nayoon, you’re pretty good too.”
“Not at all. It was just senior who led me so well.”
“Look at you, you speak so pretty too.”
When the director applauded, Nayoon smiled in embarra.s.sment. The producer was known to encourage the staff and the actors a lot, but when it came to Nayoon, he was practically doting. Though, when it came to her, other people would also start off by complimenting her with a big grin on their faces.
Gaeul, who was having her makeup fixed, told her stylist to wait a moment. She saw Nayoon staring at her. This happened a few times before as well. She looked as though she had something to say, but when she asked what was up, Nayoon would shake her head, saying that it was nothing. It didn’t seem all that serious, so she didn’t pry too much into it.
“You don’t have anything to say today either?” Gaeul asked.
Nayoon nodded with a shy smile on her face.
“I wonder who you take after to be so cute.”
She pinched her cheek slightly before letting go. She had round eyes and thick lips that looked like it would take ages to apply lip balm on. Just then, she got the feeling that she had seen her face quite a lot before. When she observed her in detail, Nayoon waited in expectation. Just as she was about to remember someone that resembled her, a pleasant voice greeted Nayoon.
“h.e.l.lo, Nayoon?”
It was Giwoo. Gaeul focused on the corner of her vision to have a look at Nayoon’s lips. It was two days ago that she found out about ‘this’. It occurred when these two people, who had their signature smiles, were greeting each other. Nayoon would slightly turn her face to the side and put on an uncomfortable smile. She wondered what it would be like now. The moment Giwoo walked past her after greeting her, Nayoon sighed slightly. It was the kind of sigh that people made when the tension left their body all at once.
Gaeul quickly looked away and pretended as if she didn’t see it. The reaction was so minute that she would not have noticed if she didn’t chance upon it two days ago. Was she doing that because she liked Giwoo so much? For that to be true though, her expression was too dark. Her face was stiff from tension without a hint of excitement in it.
“Uhm, Nayoon.”
“Yes?”
“No, it’s nothing. Let’s do our best with the next scene too.”
She wanted to ask what made her so uneasy, but she felt like that would put Nayoon in a tough spot. There was also the possibility that she was wrong. This little girl had a calm demeanor contrary to her young age, so she would send a signal for help if she needed it.
It became lunchtime. The director clapped and left the set. Food trucks and coffee trucks prepared by Kang Giwoo’s fan club were on standby. ‘Please take care of our Giwoo.’ , ‘Kang Giwoo, Doctor’s Office will be a big hit.’, ‘Viewing rate of Doctor’s office will hit 30%.’ and such signs could be seen on those trucks.
“How many times has it been now? We get to eat a lot thanks to our dear actor Kang. Thanks for the food, actor Kang.”
“Yes, senior. Please enjoy.”
“Senior Giwoo, thank you for the food.”
“Please eat to your heart’s content.”
Starting with the senior actor, everyone received a neatly packaged lunch box and a cup of coffee. Gaeul also got a box and a fruit juice before sitting on the bench in front of the set. The sun was quite warm today. It would be quite a waste to not eat outside on a day like this. Mijoo and Chanwoo left, saying that they were going to eat outside. She took a photo and sent it to Maru, saying that she was eating. She soon got a reply. He sent a photo of him wearing a suit alongside Hyungseok. It seemed like he was doing all the background actor part-time jobs at YBS. According to him, it was better than loitering around at home or something.
Around the time she finished about half the food, Nayoon walked over.
“Did you enjoy your lunch?”
“Yes, I did. How about you, senior?”
“Me too.”
She looked at Nayoon with a straw in her mouth. She still looked like she had something to say but was hesitating to say it. Did she want Gaeul to ask first?
“I just can’t hold it in anymore. I have to know today. You have something to say to me, don’t you?”
Nayoon spoke as she smiled shyly.
“Senior, you don’t know who I am, do you?”
What could that mean? Gaeul tilted her head.
“You’re Kim Nayoon.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Have we met before? If that’s the case, I’m so sorry. I really have a terrible memory, and I have a hard time remembering people.”
“It’s not like that. It’s natural for you to not recognize me. I asked just in case.”
Nayoon scratched her head.
“My real name is Kim Bitna, does that remind you of anything?”
“Kim Bitna?”
The moment she heard that name, Yuna’s face overlapped on top of Nayoon’s. She did think that she had seen her somewhere and it turned out to be like this.
“Are you Yuna’s sister?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my G.o.d, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was just a little embarra.s.sed. I heard about you from my sister. Of course, I like you quite a lot too.”
“I only saw photos of you when you were young from Yuna. Moreover, the name Bitna left such a deep impression in my mind that I never realized you could be Yuna’s sister. So that’s why Yuna told me to look forward to it whenever she talked about you. Yuna talked about you a lot too, about how you’re still quite active these days.”
Gaeul grabbed Nayoon’s hand and had her sit next to her.
“Now that I know, I feel like you two resemble each other even more. So Nayoon is just a stage name?”
“Yes. I was going to use my real name, but mom said it sounded too old-fas.h.i.+oned.”
“What’s wrong with it? It’s a pretty name.”
“I also thought that it wasn’t a big problem, but the president of the agency also said that there were a few actresses with that name and didn’t do well, so we changed it.”
“I guess there is that jinx. Then what should I call you?”
“Whatever you find comfortable, senior.”
“Then can I call you Bitna? I always called you Bitna while talking to Yuna, so I’m kinda used to saying that.”
“That’s good for me too. Everyone close to me calls me Bitna.”
“Alright, then call me unni. Senior sounds way too distant. Oh, right. You said you were going to come over with Yuna before but didn’t come, didn’t you? Do you know how dejected I was back then?”
“Sorry about that. I was too embarra.s.sed when I thought I would meet you, senior. I also had work too.”
“Unni.”
When she emphasized that, Bitna nodded and replied, “unni,” in a small voice. She really looked like a doll from how she hesitated a little before finally speaking. When she came to, Gaeul found herself hugging the girl.
“I saw you now, so definitely come over with Yuna, okay?”
“Yes.”
“Is there anything you find difficult while shooting? I don’t have a great influence or anything, but I’ll help you with what I can.”
“It’s fine since everyone treats me nicely. I’m really happy to be working with good people.”
“Who do you take after to say such pretty words and act so mature? Bitna, do you want to be my sister? Or a daughter is fine too.”
Gaeul poked her on the cheek. Yuna often brought her up during their conversation. She mentioned that Bitna kept working and was preparing a drama as well, but she didn’t know that they would meet like this.
“Bitna, I’m sure you must become famous in no time. You’re good at acting and you’re pretty.”
“Not at all. There are many people better than me, especially at the acting school.”
“That might be the case, but you’re the best among the child actors I’ve seen. I almost ended up crying while acting with you just now. I could feel your emotions and… you see that my eyes are still red?”
“You’re much better than me, though. Thanks to you, I was able to act quite comfortably. I wouldn’t have been able to do that with other people.”
Bitna was so humble. She seemed much better than most adults. Bitna, who was speaking with a smile, suddenly turned her head around slightly. It was a change that she could catch because she was right in front of her.
“What is it?” Gaeul asked, maintaining a smile on her face so that Bitna didn’t panic.
Bitna blinked once before speaking,
“Uhm.”
“Tell me. I have tight lips. I will never tell anyone else about it if it"s a secret.”
After a moment of hesitation, Bitna started speaking,
“The thing is, for some reason, I have a hard time talking to senior Kang Giwoo.”
“You find Giwoo difficult?”
“Yes.”
“Can I ask why?”
Bitna hesitated again. Was it hard for her to say? Gaeul looked around and made eye contact with Giwoo, who was talking to a staff member. Maybe Bitna was finding it hard to speak because they were in a place where Giwoo could see. She grabbed Bitna’s hand and walked to the back of the set.
“Unni, you’re close to senior Kang Giwoo, aren’t you?”
That seemed to be the reason for her hesitation. Gaeul believed that she had to be honest here.
“Honestly, I don’t really know nowadays, whether I’m close to him or not. So can you tell me?”
“The way senior Kang Giwoo smiles is scary. I don’t know why. This is the first time it has happened. I know that he’s a good person, but for some reason, I want to stay away from him.”
“You’re scared but you don’t know the reason, huh.”
Gaeul knelt down slightly to look at Bitna at eye-level. It had only been four days since she first saw her, but she had heard a lot about her from Yuna until now, especially about her personality. If Yuna was right about her sister, Bitna was definitely not someone who would hate other people without a reason, much less talk about it to other people.
“It’s natural for you not to believe me yet, Bitna. I feel like there’s something more to it than that, but I won’t urge you to tell me that right now. But once you judge that you can trust me, tell me at that time. Even if it’s not me, you should ask for help from someone you can trust.”
She might be wrong about this, but she said those words anyway. That put her at ease after all. She even wished for Bitna to say that she didn’t have a reason at all.
“Sorry, unni.”
She accepted. This meant that she knew something. Gaeul grabbed Bitna’s shoulders.
“Yes, it’s good to be cautious. I won’t tell anyone about what happened here, so don’t worry.”
Gaeul reached out to Bitna. Bitna grabbed her tighter than before.