TIED! Idol Dream

i.

i. A Fair Old Maiden
3k words

　The bewitchment of lavender scented perfume completed the sophisticated rich woman aura that the woman in front of the mirror held.

The woman in question noticed a stray lock of her chestnut dyed hair and immediately fixed it, tucking it behind her ear, for her bun was already neatly arranged. She gave her reflection a satisfied ear to ear smile that caused a wrinkle below each eye to appear. These wrinkles, however, did not make her look any older than how she already did. The woman was already at quite an age, and one could say she actually looked young for it. She even dressed quite young and had the manners of a young socialite, as seen by her white cotton turtle neck that was hid behind her brown wool coat. The minimalistic getup was already warm enough to keep her going outside where it was fairly cold.

Her dark brown eyes soon shifted off from the reflection in the mirror to the drawer at the side where on top of it stood a white vase that contained a boquet lavender. Next to it was a pair of shades, used to either protect her eyes, or her identity.

But of course, as a failed actress... The latter was never a reason for Lee Soh-ra to wear such accessory.

Despite the cold atmosphere, it was fairly sunny outside, so Soh-ra grabbed the shades and quickly tucked it in her leather shoulder bag for later use.

The woman was all set and turned to walk off from the mirror and proceed with her usual day for the last time. For after this day, she wouldn't have to get up early and report to the building of the company she works in.

　"Good morning, miss," greeted the front gate guard when Lee Soh-ra walked into the site while fixing her waves that had kept being blown back by the wind as she walked. "Good mornin'," Soh-ra warmly greeted back with a charming smile before the guard closed the gate after her entrace.

The actress made her way into the building and greeted people she passed by, who all kindly returned the gesture. So it wasn't hard to say that Soh-ra was a sociable person who got along with all her co-workers, and even those she do not know— even in the elevator, when she rode in with a delivery guy that carried a package, she greeted him warmly which made his crummy morning lighten up.

And perhaps that was the reason why she would be so nice to anyone and everyone; perhaps she knew that somehow, at least one out of five people she'd randomly smile at could use that kind gesture to help them get through the day. After all, kindness is free.

Lee Soh-ra was, no doubt, an admirable person. Unfortunately, she wasn't an admirable actress.

It wasn't that she was terrible, she was just unknow. She had only ever starred in one film and that was after already a long period of training. When the only film she starred in received disappointing rating results.

As much as she would have loved to try again and bring home a better result compared to her 2018 drama film, Page Turner, she was at a rather old age already. She was currently 43 years old, and her company's CEO sought it best for her to end her entertainment career.

It was sad though... She spent practically 18 years of training as an actress and only got casted into one drama that wasn't recognized despite its impressive quality, and she was advised to retire after that. The only reason she even listened to the CEO's advice was that she herself had become hopeless and perhaps thought that her long dreamt of dream to be an entertainer was never meant to be.

And she were to accept that... If that was what fate wanted, then she will succumb to it and find her rightful path.

　"You know," uttered the female across the desk that Lee Soh-ra had sat in front of as soon as she reached the top floor and entered the almighty office. "Such a shame really, that you'd have to leave right when JYP is about to acquire us entirely," she sighed.