Chapter 15.1

Chapter 15.1

[What on earth is this…]

At first, André thought Miran had handed him the wrong script. This was because there were no English lines at all. Even after reading the script to the end, he couldn’t believe it and started reading it again from the beginning, glaring at the bathroom door.

[So, you’re asking me to be a co-star in an adult film.]

André put the script down on the table, swallowed a curse, and rubbed his forehead. Realizing that he had promised to be a practice partner before even understanding the content, he rubbed his face dryly.

He was André de Lafayette, a descendant of the prestigious Lafayette family, a noble with the current title of Count, and the heir to the Lafayette-Lowell Group, which encompasses hotels, real estate, and retail businesses.

To such a man, the woman had handed 30,000 won and hidden in the bathroom, asking him to play the role of a gangster in a film not much different from pornography.

Is that woman in her right mind? He shook his head in disbelief.

“Heh!”

He was so dumbfounded that a chuckle escaped. Trying to stifle his laughter by biting his lips, André eventually threw his head back and laughed heartily. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had laughed out loud like this.

—

Miran, who was looking into the half-steamed mirror, froze when she heard André’s laughter flowing into the bathroom. The husky, low-pitched laughter lightly vibrated her eardrums, causing a tickling sensation somewhere in her stomach. She tilted her head and murmured.

“What a peculiar person. What’s so funny about that script?”

She had been worried that he might get angry after reading the script and return the 30,000 won, saying he couldn’t do it. But seeing him laugh so loudly, whatever the reason, it was a positive sign.

Before entering the bathroom, Miran had confirmed that André was engrossed in the script. She took a dress from the hanger that had a similar feel to Chorong’s costume.

Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she grabbed some underwear from the drawer, wrapped it in the dress, and fled to the bathroom as if being chased. She was afraid of André’s reaction after he finished reading the script.

Hurriedly stripping off her clothes and quickly rinsing off her sweat with the shower, she swiftly changed into the dress. It was the dress she had worn when she went to the filming set of “The Gangster’s Innocence.”

The sleeveless dress with thin straps clung to her body like a second skin. She had impulsively bought it after Jieun had encouraged her, saying it made her look like Vivian, the heroine of the movie “Pretty Woman.”

Although it felt a bit awkward to look different from usual, she had already decided to go through with it. She intended to take it seriously, thinking of it as a dress rehearsal.

Miran looked in the mirror and roughly combed her tangled hair with her fingers. Her hair was slightly wet, and her makeup was a bit smudged, but it was still passable.

“Deciding on a one-night stand and finding such a practice partner for 30,000 won. Kang Miran, consider yourself lucky.”

She muttered to herself, trying to steady her wavering heart. Today’s goal was to get used to exposing herself in front of others through practice and to endure the touch of others on her body. It would be even better if she could become desensitized to it.

“Let’s do this, Kang Miran!”

With a determined look in her eyes, she pressed her lips tightly together. Then, she clenched her fists so hard that her nails dug into her palms.

The actor playing the male lead, Park Doosik, was a well-known veteran in his early forties, renowned for his acting skills. The thought of a man twenty years her senior groping her naked body as described in the script made her shudder.

But she was an actress. She needed to shake off such amateurish thoughts. It wasn’t Kang Miran being assaulted by Park Doosik; it was Chorong, the character in the film.

“I am not Kang Miran, I am Chorong. I am Chorong. Chorong.”

She repeated this several times while looking in the mirror. She had to leave a strong impression with this role to firmly establish herself in Chungmuro. It had to be worth the bold exposure she was undertaking.

Miran hesitated, holding the bathroom doorknob. She was scared to step out.

‘Unnie, what should I do?’

She habitually thought of Juran.

An aching back, swollen wrists. The affectionate voice calling her, “Makdung-ah.”

“Kang Miran. You have to do this.”

Miran urged herself once more, taking a deep breath as she turned the bathroom doorknob.