64: Chapter 64 Xu Laosan, Oh Xu Laosan

As the car drove across the Han River Bridge, Lee Tima leaned against the window, watching the reflection of the lights on the river surface. The light and shadows fractured and reassembled, like a flowing galaxy.

"Oppa," she suddenly said.

"Hm?"

"What if this drama fails?"

The taxi was dark, and they could only see each other's outlines. Jiang Zhiyu was silent for a long time, so long that Lee Tima thought he wouldn't answer.

"Then we'll write another one," he said. "And film another one. Until we succeed."

"What if we never succeed?"

"Then we'll keep writing and keep filming." Jiang Zhiyu's voice was calm, as if stating a fact. "Failure is not the end; giving up is."

Lee Tima didn't speak. She pressed her forehead against the cold car window and closed her eyes.

By the time they returned to the basement, it was almost eleven o'clock. The sound of leaking water continued, but the plastic basin wasn't full yet. The LED light was still on, illuminating the entire space as if it were broad daylight.

They piled the snacks on the table. The colorful packaging reflected the light, like some kind of celebration.

Lee Tima opened the box of Japanese chocolate, broke off a piece, and handed it to Jiang Zhiyu.

Jiang Zhiyu took it and put it in his mouth. The chocolate was rich, slightly bitter, with a faint nutty aftertaste.

"Is it good?" Lee Tima asked.

"Hm."

"How does it compare to the one from the Tianxuan Continent?"

Jiang Zhiyu thought for a moment: "The chocolate from the Tianxuan Continent is sweeter. The ones here... are more real."

Lee Tima ate a piece as well. She ate slowly, letting the chocolate melt on her tongue. Then she smiled—not the perfect smile she used for acting, but a genuine, slightly silly smile.

"I will act well," she said, her voice soft but firm. "Kim Hyo-soon, and Lim Ying-er. I will make everyone remember them."

Jiang Zhiyu looked at her. The LED light shone down from above her head, casting small shadows on her eyelashes. She hugged her knees, sitting amidst the pile of snacks like a little king on a mountain of treasure.

"I know," he said.

The phone vibrated again. This time it was the official contract from Lay's, with a very polite postscript: [Producer Jiang, looking forward to our collaboration. Also, could we ask Lee Tima xi to record a reaction video for our new product? The fee will be calculated separately.]

Jiang Zhiyu handed the phone to Lee Tima to read.

Lee Tima finished reading and nodded: "Accept it. But I need to taste the new product first."

"We'll discuss it tomorrow."

"Okay."

They didn't speak again. Jiang Zhiyu continued organizing the contract documents, while Lee Tima started categorizing the snacks—which were suitable for product placement in the main drama, which were suitable for the special episodes, which had flavors too strong that would affect line pronunciation, and which had packaging that was too noisy and would affect live audio recording.

Halfway through sorting, she suddenly stopped and dug out something from the pile of snacks.

It wasn't something she bought; it was a free gift from the supermarket, a small bag of gummy candies the cashier had tossed into the bag. The packaging was simple—a transparent plastic bag filled with colorful, star-shaped gummy candies.

She tore open the packaging and poured out two, giving one to Jiang Zhiyu and one to herself.

The gummy was very sweet, cloyingly so, with the taste of cheap artificial flavoring.

But she ate it happily.

"Oppa," she called out again.

"Hm?"

"When this drama is finished, let's move to a bigger place. No more basements. We need a real window, the kind where you can see the sky."

Jiang Zhiyu stopped what he was doing and looked up.

Under the light, his eyes were bright.

"Okay," he said. "One where we can see the sky."

The sound of leaking water continued. The water surface in the plastic basin rippled gently, reflecting the LED light like a small, shattered starry sky.

Outside the window, the night in Seoul was bottomless.

But inside the basement, it was bright—bright enough to see the outline of the future.

——

When the practice room door was gently pushed open, the members of Girls Generation had just finished a round of vocal training and were sitting scattered on the wooden floor, drinking water and resting. Im Yoona walked in last, holding a script in a light purple folder, with a few words handwritten on the cover—destined kim hyo-soon · Special Episode Character Setting》.

"Oh? Did Yoona get a new script?" Kim Taeyeon, who was sitting in front of the mirror, noticed first. She tightened her water bottle cap, her tone filled with the gentle curiosity typical of an older sister.

Tiffany had already leaned in, her eyes sparkling: "What is it? A movie? A drama? Historical or modern?"

"It's a new project from Producer Jiang," Im Yoona sat down in the middle of the group and placed the folder on the floor. "It's a drama called destined kim hyo-soon, and I have... a role in the special episode."

"Jiang Zhiyu?" Kwon Yuri raised an eyebrow, a playful smile appearing on her face. "That devilish Producer who 'possessed' you to flip the Jajangmyeon? What kind of torturous idea has he come up with this time?"

Im Yoona smiled helplessly and opened the folder. The color-printed character setting page slid out, with cute fonts written on it:

*[Lim Ying-er, 18 years old (appearance), the eternal bottom-dweller of Angel School, magic always goes wrong, clumsy personality but so kind that no one can get angry at her. Sent to the human world for an internship, her mission is to help the girl Kim Hyo-soon find happiness—though she usually just makes things worse.]*

Below were a few lines of small annotations:

*"Note: This role requires the actor to show the contrasting charm of 'making a mess while being serious' and 'the harder you try, the worse it gets,' as well as the sincere warmth hidden beneath the clumsiness."*

The practice room was quiet for three seconds.

Then—

"Pfft!" Sunny was the first who couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing, almost spilling the drink she was halfway through. "Wait, wait, wait, 'Clumsy Angel'? Magic always goes wrong? This, this character description..."

She looked at Im Yoona, her shoulders shaking with laughter: "Yoona, was this character written based on you?"

"Yah! Unnie!" Im Yoona's face flushed slightly as she tried to defend herself. "How is it like me! I'm not that clumsy!"

"You're not?" Kim Hyoyeon sat cross-legged and started counting on her fingers. "Who was it last week on weekend special, in order to win the game, used a 'feint' tactic and ended up knocking over their team's sauce? Who was it last month at the fan meeting, wanting to give fans a surprise, but ended up almost slipping on the confetti they threw themselves? And last year..."

"Unnie! That was for variety show effect! The program required it!" Im Yoona's ears turned red.

"But it really fits," Tiffany had already picked up the script page, pointing at one of the scene descriptions and reading it aloud. "'Lim Ying-er tries to use magic to help Hyo-soon pass the physical education test, but chants the wrong spell, causing the school's fire alarm to go off'—Yoona, isn't this your usual style? Good intentions, hardworking, but the direction is always... um, very unique."

Choi Sooyoung laughed so hard she lay down on the floor: "It's over, it's over. Yoona's image in Producer Jiang's mind is completely set—'a pretty but not-so-smart troublemaker'."

"That's not it!" Im Yoona tried to defend her last bit of dignity. "Producer Jiang said this role is very challenging! You have to act out the warmth beneath the clumsiness, the self-reproach after messing up, and that kind of... light that wants to illuminate others even when you're a mess yourself!"

After she finished, the practice room went quiet again.

Kim Taeyeon gave a soft "Ah," her eyes softening. "Hearing it like that, it seems... it's not just a comedic role."

But the warm atmosphere only lasted for three seconds.

"So is Yoona going to win the Blue Dragon Award for Best Supporting Actress with this role?" Sunny wiped away tears from laughing and said in an exaggerated announcer voice, "'With her delicate and moving performance in Clumsy Angel, Im Yoona xi successfully portrayed a kind, clumsy, yet sparkling character, winning the Best Supporting Actress award in one fell swoop!'—I've even thought of the news headline!"

"Maybe it'll be Best Actress," Kwon Yuri joined in the teasing. "After all, with such a level of 'natural acting,' the judges will probably say, 'This isn't acting anymore, it's a documentary,' right?"

"Yah! Unnies!" Im Yoona grabbed the pillow next to her and threw it at them, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

Kim Hyoyeon caught the pillow and laughed even harder: "But seriously, Yoona, has Producer Jiang been observing you in private for a long time? This role is too 'Im Yoona'—looks like an angel, acts like a little devil, and always has an innocent face."

"He must have studied you thoroughly on weekend special," Choi Sooyoung sat up and stroked her chin in an analytical manner. "After all, every time you prank him, it's with that expression of 'I'm being super serious in helping you, oh'."

Tiffany suddenly leaned close to Im Yoona, lowering her voice, her eyes shining with gossip: "Yoona, could it be that... Producer Jiang wrote this role specifically based on your personality? How detailed must his observation be to write this～"

"Unnie!" Im Yoona's neck turned red this time. "He is a producer! Observing actors is his job!"

"Oh～ work～" the group said in unison, their tones playful.

"But seriously," after the laughter died down, Kim Taeyeon picked up the script and looked at it carefully. "Is this special episode linked to the main drama? What is the content of the main drama?"

Im Yoona finally found a chance to change the subject and quickly explained the main drama setting of destined kim hyo-soon—a poor girl's struggle, a family during an economic crisis, a growth story that is sad but carries warmth.

After listening, the atmosphere in the practice room became a bit different.

"So the main drama has a realistic, tragic undertone, while the special episode is a light comedy in a parallel world..." Kim Taeyeon mused. "This combination is very thoughtful. The audience will feel heavy-hearted after watching the main drama, and then relax and laugh while watching the special episode. The emotional pacing is well-balanced."

Sunny also put away her joking expression and said seriously: "And although Yoona's role is funny, the core is warm. If acted well, it will be very likable and can also showcase different sides of her acting."

"But the problem is—" Kwon Yuri drew out her voice and looked at Im Yoona. "Does our Yoona need to 'act'? She just needs to be herself, right?"

"Unnie!!!"

Laughter filled the practice room once again.

After they had enough fun, the members sat together and started to really help Im Yoona analyze the role.

[part:gemini-3.0-flash]

"Actually, the hardest part about this role," Seohyun, who had been quietly listening, suddenly spoke up, having picked up a pen at some point to take notes on the script, "is making the audience feel 'she's always messing up, but I still like her.' Being too clumsy is annoying, but not being clumsy enough lacks humor. That balance is hard to strike."

Im Yoona looked at the maknae in surprise: "Seohyun, you..."

"I've been taking acting classes lately," Seohyun pushed up her glasses. "The teacher said comedic roles are often harder to play than tragic ones. Tragedy relies on emotional outbursts, while comedy relies on rhythm and timing."

Tiffany nodded: "And Yoona has to act alongside the rookie playing 'Kim Hyo-soon,' right? That kid Lee Tima? I heard she's only nine? You have to guide her rhythm without overshadowing her..."

"Lee Tima..." Im Yoona thought of the sharp-tongued and clever little girl wearing a rabbit headgear on the 'weekend special,' and the later 'stand-in literature' incident in the SM Cafeteria, and couldn't help but laugh. "She doesn't need my guidance. That kid is quite something."

"Oh? You've worked together before?" Kim Hyoyeon asked curiously.

"In a way," Im Yoona's expression was subtle, "amidst the various 'disasters' created by Jiang Zhiyu xi."

Everyone laughed again.

Amidst the laughter, the practice room door opened again, and the Manager poked his head in: "Girls, have you rested enough? The dance teacher will be here soon."

"Yes—" everyone responded, standing up one after another.

As Im Yoona was tidying her script, Sunny leaned over and whispered: "Seriously, Yoona, it's good that you took this role. Even though Jiang Zhiyu puts people through the wringer, the quality of what he makes... is truly undeniable."

Im Yoona nodded, looking at the inspired scene descriptions in the folder—an angel giving a steak a three-minute shelf life, summoning a Confucian scholar from five hundred years ago as a tutor, turning school uniform patches into a fashion trend...

She could imagine those scenes. Vivid, interesting, with that unique perspective of Jiang Zhiyu's—hiding tenderness within the absurd.

"I know," she said softly, her lips curving into a gentle arc, "I'll do a good job."

"After all—"

She hugged the script to her chest and looked at herself in the mirror, a glint of mischief flashing in her beautiful eyes:

"Since I'm playing to type, I can't lose to that little lead actress."

Kim Taeyeon walked by and, hearing this, laughed and ruffled her hair: "That's the Im Yoona I know."

The practice room lights brightened, the music started, and the girls returned to the mirror to rehearse.

And that light purple script was carefully placed in Im Yoona's backpack, lying quietly in the corner as her figure danced.

On the cover, the words 'Clumsy Angel' shimmered in the sunlight filtering through the gaps in the curtains.

As if foreshadowing something—

A performance belonging to Im Yoona, one that was both like herself and beyond herself.

Was about to begin.

The harsh white light of the basement reflected off the spread-out script outline. Lee Tima sat cross-legged on the old sofa, her cheeks bulging with honey butter chips bought with the 'special angel role funding,' her eyes wide as she stared at Jiang Zhiyu's hand writing furiously on the script.

"This... Oppa, isn't this a bit..." She swallowed the chips with difficulty, trying to find the words.

Jiang Zhiyu didn't look up, his pen scratching incessantly, his tone as flat as if he were stating what to eat for breakfast tomorrow: "Drama needs contrast. The collision of the sacred and the absurd is the golden rule of comedy."

Lee Tima leaned in to look at the scrawled handwriting on the latest page:

[Scene: Morning, a small but tidy bathroom.

Kim Hyo-soon (wearing faded pajamas) is brushing her teeth in front of the mirror, mouth full of foam.

Suddenly, the space above the old toilet begins to warp, bursting with a blinding yet soft sacred light, with faint hallucinations of harps and hymns.

In the radiance, a silhouette gradually becomes clear—Lim Ying-er (played by Im Yoona), dressed in a magnificent and complex pure white angel gown, wearing a small crown of light, with every feather on the wings on her back (props) shimmering with a pearly luster. She floats about thirty centimeters directly above the toilet, chin slightly raised, her eyes filled with pity and a hint of undetectable pride, her red lips slightly parted—]

"O foolish human~"

The voice is ethereal, with its own echo effect.

[Kim Hyo-soon's movements freeze, the toothbrush stops at her mouth, foam slowly drips, and her expression shifts from blankness to horror.

Lim Ying-er seems very satisfied with this intimidating effect and is about to continue reciting the prepared 'oracle,' but the sacred magic circle floating beneath her suddenly flickers a few times, making a comical 'pssh' sound like a gas leak.

"Eh?"

A crack appears in Lim Ying-er's perfect sacred expression. She looks down, only in time to see the magic circle's light rapidly dimming.

"Wait! The teleportation coordinates seem a bit off—"

Before she can finish.

"Plop!"

It wasn't the sound of splashing water, but a kind of... thud. The magnificent angel skirt and giant wings, at an extremely pathetic and tricky angle, were precisely wedged into the U-bend of the old-fashioned toilet. The wing frames and fluffy feathers filled the narrow space. Most of Lim Ying-er's body was stuck inside, leaving only her calves in delicate white boots and her desperately struggling hands flailing outside.

The sacred light hadn't completely dissipated, flickering like a faulty lightbulb where she was stuck, illuminating the yellowed water stains on the toilet bowl and the suspicious marks (possibly old limescale) rubbed off during the struggle.

Kim Hyo-soon's expression went through a four-stage transition of 'blankness—horror—absurdity—calm' in just two seconds.

She spat out the foam in her mouth, quickly rinsed, and wiped the corners of her mouth with a towel.

Then, expressionless and with dead eyes, she walked step by step toward the toilet that was still flickering with faint sacred light and making muffled 'mmph' grunts and wing-flapping sounds.

She reached out, not to pull those flailing white boots, but—

Her index finger firmly and heavily pressed the flush button on the toilet.

"Whoosh—!!!"

The sound of rushing water, the even more violent flapping of wings, and the muffled, distorted cries suppressed by the water flow and the toilet structure all mixed together.

Kim Hyo-soon pressed it three times in a row.

She only stopped when the tank needed time to refill.

A brief silence returned to the bathroom, save for the faint hum of the pipes.

The sacred light was completely extinguished.

A weak, wet, tearful, and disbelieving voice came from the toilet:

"...Wh-why... flush me...?"

Kim Hyo-soon picked up her toothbrush and continued brushing, muttering indistinctly but clearly to herself in the mirror:

"Mom said, when you see a cockroach, flush it immediately."

Pausing for a second, she added:

"...Even the glowing ones." ]

After Lee Tima finished reading, the chip bag slipped from her hand with a slight "rustle." Her mouth hung open, and it took a while to find her voice: "Oppa... are you... are you really going to show this to Yoona Unnie? And make her act it?"

Jiang Zhiyu closed the script and pushed up his non-existent glasses (a habit when he was thinking), his tone still calm: "Why not? This segment perfectly captures the essence of the 'Clumsy Angel's' magic going wrong, as well as Kim Hyo-soon's pragmatic-to-the-point-of-coldness cute personality in an extremely absurd situation. The comedic effect is maximized."

"But... the toilet... the flushing... Yoona Unnie's image..." Lee Tima could already see the cracks appearing on that sweet face when Im Yoona saw this part.

"Image?" Jiang Zhiyu raised an eyebrow slightly. "This is precisely the perfect opportunity to break through her image and show her professional quality and comedic talent. I believe Senior Yoona can understand."

He organized the script outline and put it into a folder. Tomorrow, he would take this complete script for the first six episodes of the special, including the 'Toilet Angel's Descent' plot, to have a second 'in-depth discussion' with Im Yoona.

Lee Tima silently picked up the chip bag, held it in her arms, and whispered: "I think... Oppa, you might need to bring a helmet tomorrow. No, bring a riot shield. Or... write a will first?"

Jiang Zhiyu ignored her, just looking at the folder with a faint, almost mischievous glint in his eyes, as if a prank had succeeded.

He could almost imagine how, in that spacious and bright meeting room at SM, when Im Yoona flipped to this page, those clear deer-like eyes would instantly widen, the corners of that mouth that always wore a perfect smile would start twitching uncontrollably, and that beautiful face would be filled with a complex expression of shock, absurdity, murderous intent, and a hint of respect that 'this lunatic actually dared to write this.'

"...Mworago (What did you say)?"

She might ask like that, her voice gentle, but every word sounding like ice shards squeezed through her teeth.

And he would use the most professional and sincere tone to explain to her the 'indispensability' of this plot in character development, comedic rhythm, and symbolic meaning.

This, perhaps, was one of the joys of creation—constructing the most 'dangerous' encounters on safe pieces of paper.

As for the consequences?

Jiang Zhiyu rubbed his chin.

At least, during the next 'SM weekend special' planning meeting, he would have to sit a bit further away from Im Yoona's seat.

No, it would be best to stay away from all liquids, powders, and everyday items that could be converted into 'lethal weapons.'

Outside the window of the TG Entertainment basement, the night grew darker.

A war between 'angelic dignity' and 'screenwriter's imagination' was about to begin tomorrow.

And at this moment, the only audience member, Lee Tima, had already decided to 'call in sick' tomorrow and definitely not show up at the negotiation site. She held the chip bag and silently lit a row of candles for her Oppa.

"Oppa," she made one last effort to remind him, "remember to buy insurance. Personal accident insurance, with a high payout."

Jiang Zhiyu: "..."