The press conference for “Tomboy Donna” was the first opportunity for all the cast to meet before filming commenced. At the backstage, a young man approached Ivy for a handshake. He was a tall, well-built man with a charismatic presence, and Ivy guessed he was the one playing the role of Donna’s partner.
“Hi, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m George,” he said with a wide grin as he scrutinized her face, with one thought going through his mind. ‘She is quite attractive and slender with my preferred body shape.’
“Nice to meet you, George,” Ivy smiled as she shook his hand, but the way he was looking at her…
“Gosh, you are more beautiful in person.”
Ivy didn’t know how to reply to that, so she just smiled. He was still holding onto her hand, as it seemed he wasn’t ready to let go.
Ivy could see him licking his lower lips seductively as he stared at her.
‘Where the hell did director Tim find this perverted coquette’, she was so tempted to give him a profound look but refrained. It would be too rude on her first day of meeting the cast.
“I’m a fan; your past films were impressive. It’s an honor to act alongside you.”
“Yeah… me too.” The ‘acting alongside’ part made her imagine how it would be to act with the flirt. She could only hope he wouldn’t behave like this on set.
“We can be friends if you don’t mind me being your friend…” He chuckled in between those words, and Ivy didn’t like the way the conversation was going, but it wasn’t easy to pull her hands from his grip.
He kept his gaze on her face, still holding her hand, rolled his tongue, and bent slightly to meet her height. “I love your eyes and those lips…”
“Please let go,” she responded abruptly; her patience had its limit. He was the type of man she hated. George frowned, obviously displeased. Many actresses would do anything to get into his bed; he had good looks and a masculine body with a well-refined torso. So why was the woman in front of him not attracted to him? Was she pretending? There was still enough time to find out, after all, they would be spending the next few months together on set. Though he was a supporting actor, he would appear many times in the storyline, and both of them must share more than five scenes.
“I said let go,” Ivy said with a fake smile, but he turned a deaf ear. “Let go!” She raised her voice a little before he withdrew his hand smirking.
“Watch how you speak to him, lady.”
Ivy turned around to see who just spoke, whom had she offended in less than twenty minutes since she arrived.
The woman, to be precise, a girl with long obsidian hair, walked up to Ivy with a strut, taking her time with each step as she came closer.
‘Who the hell is this one?’ Ivy chuckled at her childish behavior; it seemed she was striking a pose as she walked with her high heels resounding all over the place.
“My ears are hurting!” She couldn’t wait for the press conference to start so she could get it over with and prepare herself to meet them again on set. ‘It’s going to be a long filming with these two deranged beings.’
“What did I do wrong?”
“Why were you so rude?” The haughty fellow said sharply, staring deeply into her face.
“Didn’t they teach you not to answer with a question?” Her behavior was like a typical arrogant teenager, but Ivy was sure she was in her early twenties.
“You are really arrogant as they say you are.” The girl crossed her arms, feeling she looked intimidating.
Ivy just shook her head. As she saw the director approaching, she had to ask, “Director Tim, please tell me who this is.”
“Your friend,” the crazy director Tim referred to them as the characters they were playing.
“In the film, you mean. They were definitely not acquaintances, not to mention friends.
The girl was about to speak before the producer signaled that the press conference was about to start.
The characters stepped onto the stage one by one, greeting the audience warmly. Immediately Ivy came on stage, the reporters and journalists’ enthusiasm increased. After all, she was their target… After the short speech ended, the reporters started by asking general questions concerning the film.
“Which of the cast is most like their character?” A female reporter asked.
“They are all perfect for the role, from the lead character to the supporting character. They all brought the character to life,” Director Tim answered, aware of the true intention of the reporter. They were looking for a particular answer, but the director’s answers involved all the actors without favoring one over the rest.
“Director Tim, what makes Ivy perfect for the role despite many top actresses from renowned agencies with great talent attending the audition?” The female reporter got straight to the point.
Director Tim was very excited by the particular question the female reporter asked him. Since it had only been a few days since Director Scott declared the newbie as the best actress among the two replicas, the reporter wanted to know how he felt about Ivy’s acting.
“Her perseverance depicts the personality of Donna. Although there are other qualities Donna, the protagonist, portrays that she does have. But her ability to fit into any role going against her personality to bring out the character makes her perfect for the role.” The reporter nodded, of course she wouldn’t forget to spread the director’s words of praise for Ivy’s acting to the netizens. “It doesn’t matter the role she’s playing; she will definitely bring the character to life. If others still feel she isn’t a good enough actress, it means they didn’t observe deeper.” ‘Not observing deeper’ was simply an understatement.
“In other words, they are blind,” Susan corrected the statement from wherever she was… How she wished Director Scott would hear the statement, but he was currently filming; anyways, it was bound to go viral… The director’s words were too counteroffensive to Director Scott.
“Is Director Tim trying to say that Ivy must have played the role of her last audition perfectly?”
“I believe she’s a good actress, and she excels in many roles. We’ve seen her talent in the past, that’s all I’m trying to say.”
Now Ivy realized what Susan told her on the day of the audition may be true. He sounded almost like a fan.
The reporter turned to George. “What do you like about the protagonist?” George smiled, since the woman he admires is playing the role of the protagonist, he would do well to say what’s on his mind.