photo next to Kunqiu, and cut her off in all group photos. Therefore, now Kunqiu could only vaguely remember some details of the girl’s face.
To be honest, the new housekeeper was not his type at all. She was too, how to say, feminine, or something. Kunqiu liked girls who were not similar, not representatives of their sex. He did not like loud fools and cry, as he was afraid of hysterics and a showdown in a raised voice. He liked strong and harsh women, women who were independent, who knew how to set goals and achieve their goals at any cost.
Yes, the girl was beautiful, but she was too, how to say, ordinary, traditional, or something. Knowing the biography of the girl, Kunqiu expected something unusual, because the girl studied in America, spoke four languages, including Korean, saw and knew a lot. However, at the meeting, an ordinary girl was standing in front of him. A girl who will not even notice if she is in the crowd of fans.
No, he did not want, of course, that the girl had a tattoo or a nose ring, God forbid, he only hoped that at least the girl’s clothes would have at least some hint of her life outside Korea, but his wishes were not justified. Again, in front of him was an ordinary girl, dressed in the same way as all modern girls in South Korea dress.
Three days later, the girl started to work. Before this happened, the manager checked whether the girl’s resume was true. Everything was confirmed. The manager, Mr. Kim, even met the girl’s grandparents. The old men turned out to be very welcoming and treated Mr. Kim to dinner.
Everything that the girl wrote was true, and the moment came when she came. Having met the girl, Kunqiu did everything so that she did not worry, but the girl was calm. This amazed Kunqiu.
The girl immediately got down to business, which she had to do in the house, which was almost not cleaned in the last
her time. After a month, Kunqiu got used to the girl and treated her like a piece of furniture, furniture that moves. He was quite happy with this situation, it was convenient. Whether this situation suited Ms. Li, he did not know. Kunqiu rarely spoke to the girl. It seemed to him that due to the fact that the girl turned out to be so insignificant and ordinary, his interest in her passed, he did not even ask the girl those questions, the answers to which he did not find in the resume.
Usually, by the time Kunqiu returned home, the girl left. They collided only on weekends, when the girl worked until lunchtime.
Filming ended early that day. Kunqiu had a headache, it was again that time of the month when he did not sleep, so he refused to go with the other actors and the crew to the restaurant. Returning home, he saw that the girl was still in the house, her shoes were at the threshold. When the sound of the vacuum cleaner ceased, the actor could not believe his ears, the girl sang, and she sang the song that he had recently learned and sang at a meeting with fans.
The blood rushed to the actor’s cheeks, he decided that the girl had lied, she was a fan of Kunqiu and deceived him. The girl’s voice was not set, but rather pleasant, she even sang a few notes not very accurately in pitch, but she immediately laughed and corrected herself.
Kunqiu was a kind person, but he did not tolerate lies. He pretended not to notice the girl and went up to the second floor. Locked in the bedroom, he didn’t know what to do. The girl was conflict-free, and Kunqiu would not mind if she worked for him further, but here’s the fact that she deceived him…
He wanted to call the manager to deal with the girl, but then changed his mind, it would not be like a man. Having calmed down, he went downstairs to clarify everything, but the girl had already left. On Sunday, when the girl changed her clothes to go home, Kunqiu asked her to stay a little longer. The girl smiled and replied that she urgently needs to leave now, but if there are any questions for her, she will answer them to the actor tomorrow, if he does not mind.
The girl left, and Kunqiu remained with his mouth open. Now he understood how this girl was different from the others, she was independent. He admitted that, most likely, other Korean girls would behave in the same way in this situation, but there would be only a handful of them.
The patriarchal upbringing in South Korea instilled in young men and women a certain pattern by which they lived. Obey your elders at home, obey your elders at work, obey your elders at university and school. Kunqiu was also an ordinary schoolboy, and then a student and passed all the stages of reverence for elders. Fortunately, there were no people on his path in life who humiliated or offended him when he was older, but he saw such situations and was very worried about his friends when they got into such situations.
Now Kunqiu was angry, then he wanted to immediately dismiss the girl without explanation, then a minute later he calmed down and persuaded himself that he had to wait, and the girl would explain everything.
And she did explain. It turns out that Ms. Li played the piano quite well, in the United States she studied at the Faculty of Arts, and when she heard Kunqiu rehearse at home, in the music room, and prepare for the upcoming meeting with fans, she wondered if she could find the accompaniment to that the song that the artist sang. The time of college students had long passed, and the girl’s fingers had not touched the piano keys for five years, so she doubted her abilities a little, and when she picked up the accompaniment, the song sat so deeply in her voice that she sang it even while cleaning.
That’s all. When Kunqiu confirmed that she was satisfied with the girl’s answer, she smiled sweetly and, not expressing an ounce of resentment from the fact that she had to make excuses, packed up and left.
Honestly, Kunqiu did not fully believe the girl, her answer was too fantastic. His first impulse was to turn to the manager again to check if the girl was lying about the fact that she studied at the Faculty of Arts, but he immediately dismissed this impulse.
DIRECT SPEECH OF THE ACTOR
Greetings!
I, Kunqiu, together with the author of the book, we agreed that I will appear on the pages of this book only occasionally, that is, I will speak in the first person. The rest will be told by the author. This book format was not chosen by chance, when I act in films and dramas, I live the life of my heroes, I feel comfortable working in this format, of course, when I play a role, I bring a little myself into it, without this the image would not be capacious and recognizable, but still seventy percent of the role is fiction, it is a figment of the scriptwriter’s imagination. Exactly the same ratio will be in this book, thirty percent is my direct speech, seventy percent is the story of the author. You must understand that there is me, and there are myths and fantasies about me! When I appear on the pages of the book, it will be true, when the author appears, this will also be true, but the truth that the author sees.
So, come with us, and let this path be easy and interesting!
Yes, wait! One more thing, for especially distrustful and picky readers, we decided to add a slogan that, all coincidences with real characters and places are just coincidences! Of course, you and I know that everything written in this book is true, but there are such readers… In short, start reading, and as you read, everything will become clear to you.
«When asked what strengths he can highlight as a partner, the actor said,» I don’t confess right away if I like someone. I’m the kind of person who would rather cherish this feeling than act based on it.»
From the author’s interview with the actor.
MRS. LEE
The penultimate chapter ended with the actor doubting the identity of the new housekeeper. Reassured, Kunqiu asked Mr. Kim to send him copies of the documents that were kept at the agency’s office – those were Ms. Li’s documents. Until now, he has only seen Ms. Li’s ID, and his education documents, insurance certificate and other documents were kept at the agency’s office. The manager was surprised, but did what the artist asked. And again, Kunqiu made sure that the girl did not lie to him, she really studied at the Faculty of Arts. After that, he breathed a sigh of relief, in fact, he did not want to change the housekeeper at all. And time flew forward again.