The Male Lead Knelt Before Me

The store owner kept on talking while arranging flowers in a bouquet.

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“I warned him that the flower language wouldn’t be appropriate for a gift, but he insisted on yellow roses.”

“He must have really liked the yellow rose.”

“I may do it since it’s my favourite flower, but as a florist, I still have dignity.
I can’t believe someone ordered yellow roses as gifts rather than for decoration.”

I smiled awkwardly and listened to the store owner after receiving the yellow rose as a gift.

“I had to keep stopping him.
‘Sir, unless the lady truly likes yellow roses, I don’t recommend this,’ I said.
I even mentioned the flower language to him.”

Of course, I could expect the man’s reaction.

Initially, the store owner claimed that a man purchased a bouquet of yellow roses while talking about the topic.

“Nevertheless, he insisted that it be this flower.”

I knew it.

“I asked why.
Then, after being silent for a while, he said that it resembles the colour of the eyes of the woman he was gifted and that it is as intense and beautiful as this flower.”

He must really like the lady if he said it like that.

Caleb came to mind for a brief minute, but I quickly dismissed it.

Caleb did give me a bunch of yellow roses, but I can’t say anything about it.

 

“I was constructing the bouquet without recognizing it while the man was saying that.
Guest-nim, you should have seen his face at the time.
His personality and demeanour suggested he would be tough to approach, but when he smiled, everything changed…”

The store owner came to a halt and gazed in the distance.

Her eyes, which had been clear the entire time, suddenly became dreamy.

That’s the expression my friend used to make with admiration after seeing a celebrity who was known to be handsome.

‘The man must be handsome.’

Her expression suggested that she wished to see the man again.

“Oh my, I’m so out of my mind! Sorry for the inconvenience.
I had a long, pointless conversation.”

The store owner was surprised and hurriedly gave me the bouquets.

With a little yellow roses bouquet that has just been wrapped.

* * * * *

My arms were full of bouquets of flowers and the script I needed to get home when I exited the store, making it impossible to see straight ahead.

‘Was it too much to have two?’

I rearranged the bouquets that were falling.

Even then, Rael will be dissatisfied if I only bring a bouquet for Veloca, so it’s best to carry it even if it’s difficult.

I got to the theatre just as my arm began to hurt.

 

‘Bill must be at the ticket booth today, too, right?’

However, the guy waiting at the ticket booth was not Bill, as I had expected, but a man I had never seen before.

After a brief pause at the sight of a random man, I quickly regained my composure.

‘It seems that they have hired a new person.’

Anyway, it had been almost three months since I originally took on the role of Lena, and it had been four months since I had left the theatre.

It’s been more than seven months since the last hire, so it’s time to make a change.

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I stood behind the people and took out the money from my pocket.

It’s better to start preparing now than to rush out the cash when it’s my turn.

“A ticket, please.”

“Yes, right away… huh?”

The man stared at my face, his eyes wide open.

Why did he have such a bizarre facial expression?

Did I do something wrong?

In an instant, a lot of things came to mind.

“Lena-nim? You’re Lena-nim, right?”

“Do you know who I am?”

“You are indeed Lena-nim! I couldn’t believe this!”

The man smiled and acted as if he knew who I was when I replied.

“How do you know me…”

“How can I not know Lena-nim when I am working in this theatre? And, Lena-nim, you don’t have to pay for the ticket.
There are some special treatments from the theatre owner.”

“The theatre owner?”

“Yes, you’re here to watch the play, right? Hurry up and go inside.
It’s going to start soon.”

The gentleman handed me the ticket and returned my money.

The man yelled ‘Next Person!’ and shoved me away before I could respond.

When I regained consciousness, I was already seated in the theatre audience.

I was stunned and confused for a moment, but as I searched for an audience seat, a smile appeared on my lips.

Because the theatre owner gave me special treatment.

‘Well, she told me to come to the theatre anytime, but…’ 

I was concerned that she had forgotten about me or had changed her mind as time passed.

The comfort of coming back was great.

I sat in the audience seat, waiting for the performance to begin.

And anyway, I didn’t even notice the title of today’s performance.
It’s not like it matters if I just watch it, right?

In any case, I’d be able to check the title after it was finished.

After a little delay, the curtain rose, revealing Rael.

He looked exactly the same as the last time I saw him.

Given that he appears from the beginning, he appears to be the male lead.

“Ah, Sarah.
Sarah is my name.”

Huh?

Why was the first line so familiar?

Is this the play I’m familiar with?

Rael said the next line while I’m tilting my head.

After hearing a few lines, the overall content naturally came to mind.

And the title of this performance.

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“Song about love…”

It must have been this performance.

The first performance I performed as Lena, and the play where Caleb met Vivian at  for the first time.

Only then did I recall the flyer on which the reenactment had been confirmed for the first time.

When I arrived, I had no idea that this would be the play I would see.

Caleb and Vivian immediately came to mind when recalling the original content.

‘Did they cross paths?’

My mind became complicated by the flooding of questions.

I tried to concentrate on the performance, but when I considered the two, I couldn’t.

I’m also curious as to whether they’re watching right now, too.

Or did they come and watch it at another time?

It was at this point that I resisted the want to get out of my seat and scan the audience.

“Because of your beauty, I have to kneel down again today.
Please say hello to me, my lady.”

“Please get up, Sir.”

With a clear voice that captivated my ears, I stopped thinking and looked at the stage.

Black hair, partly dyed blue, was reflected in the light.

I lowered my gaze a little and checked the lead actress’s face.

‘It’s not Veloca…?’

The colour of the hair could be different because the actress wore a wig for the role, but there’s no way she could change her face or the colour of her eyes.

And it was my first time seeing the actress on stage.

I felt quite strange.

Of course, I thought Veloca would get the lead role.

“No matter how tremendous my beauty is, it’s not worth you kneeling, Sir.”

While I watched the stage blankly at the unexpected fact, the actress continued her line.

I’m not excellent at judging things, but the actress’s smooth and clear pronunciation has lingered in my head.

I believe I’ve been focusing on seeing her for a long time since then.

Her perception of the character, manner of expression, hand movements, gaze processing, and so on.

I was able to compare the differences between us as she played the role I used to play.

And by the time I regained consciousness, the performance had already ended.

The stage was completely covered by a curtain that came down like a tent.

I clapped my hands in vain and carried a bouquet of flowers to the actors’ waiting room.

‘I paid close attention to it.’

My cheeks were flushed with delight at the performance I had just witnessed.

Above all, the sensation felt fresh.

I was able to reflect on how I acted in the past while watching the stage, which reminded me of things I had forgotten about.

It was like rummaging through a dusty box of memories.

A few people tried to stop me on my way to the waiting room, but they recognized my face and moved away.

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I barely knocked on the door as I approached the waiting room, trying not to crush the bouquets.

“Who… Huh?”

Over the open door, I noticed a woman with messed-up blonde hair, as if she had just removed her wig.

I came to a halt when I noticed a familiar face, and it was immediately clear that she was the actress who played the female lead, ‘Sarah.’

Because of her changing hair colour, I didn’t recognize her right away.

“Hello.”

I greeted the woman, who had a shocked expression on her face.

Anyway, it could have been because it was our first meeting.

“Eh, Lena-nim?”

The woman addressed me by my stage name, which was unexpected.

‘What? Does this person know me, too?’

“How can… Did you come because you knew who I was?”

Huh?

The woman stared at me with a touching expression on her face.

Her blue eyes appeared to be glittering at one moment.

Like a puppy welcomed its owner.

While I was puzzled because I couldn’t understand the woman’s reaction, Veloca’s voice came from behind her.

“Rina? What’s wrong?”

“Oh! Someone I’m glad to see came.
Please don’t stand here and come in!”

I was instantly dragged into the waiting room by the woman.

“Who is it that you’re so delighted of? Huh?”

“Hello, Veloca.”

“Oh my god! Lena!”

Veloca leapt up from her seat after turning her head and looking at me while brushing her hair in front of the dressing table.

Oh, it’s fine if she tidies up her hair first.

“How come you didn’t call me when you got here?”

“I’ve come to see the play.
In addition, I congratulated you.”

Veloca received a bouquet of Dahlia flowers from me.

Veloca, as expected, smiled brightly and accepted it.

“It’s Dahlia flowers.
How did you know I like this? Thank you.”

“How long have we been together? Of course, I should know this much.”

And where is Rael?

I swallowed the last words.

This was because the blonde woman next to me was looking at the bouquet of flowers for Rael alternately with a burdensome look.

Come to think of it, this woman thought I came to see her, right?

I actually don’t know her… What am I supposed to do?

Veloca saved me from being perplexed and unable to think of anything to say.

“Oh, Lena.
I’m sorry.
You haven’t seen her before, have you? This is Rina, a newbie who came in while you were away.”

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Veloca drew the woman aside and introduced her to me.

“Remember when you had to take Isabelle’s place on stage instead of her?”

“Oh, the person who you say had a cold and collapsed…?”

“Do you remember? That’s right.
And she has taken the lead in this play.”

“That I am aware of.
Isn’t your name Rina? Today’s performance was excellent.”

“Tha-thank you.”

I mean, the woman named Rina looked at me with a flustered expression on her face.

For some reason, it feels like stars are falling from the woman’s eyes and landing on my face….
It’s just an illusion, right?

“I still have a long way to go to follow you, but I will do my best, Sunbae-nim!”
(T/N: 선배 Sunbae means senior)

Sunbae? Is she saying that I’m her senior?

My ears pricked up at the unfamiliar phrase.

Come to think of it, Veloca said that she came in after me, so I’m her senior.

Oh, I’m shy.

I can’t believe I’m a senior!

My heart fluttered at the very first phrase I’ve ever heard in my past life and this life.

I died before I made any career in my previous life, and in the plays, I went to play in college, I was always a junior, so I never heard someone call me a senior before.

“Please understand this girl.
Her goal was to be like you even before she came in.
You don’t know how much she bragged about talking to you at the Solenia Festival, right?”

“Ve-Veloca! eonni! How could you say that!”

“I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?”

“Th-that’s true, but still, I’m shy.”

Rina blushed at Veloca’s words.

And she kept glancing at me, unable to hide her red cheeks.

And that’s cute, too.

Rather, she talked to me at the Solenia Festival?

I stumbled over my memory while looking at Rina, but I didn’t remember seeing her.

That’s strange.

I didn’t remember ever seeing her before, let alone talking to her.

If Rina had an ordinary appearance, I would have doubted my memory, but Rina had a quite noticeable impression.

Her bright blonde and her blue eyes reminiscent of the clear sky are typical blonde beauties.

She’s that kind of impression, how can I not remember?

“By the way, I heard you’ve become the Kitara this time.
Congratulations.”

“How did you know?”

“I told you earlier, right? Rina bragged about seeing you.”

“But how does that have a connection with…”

As soon as I spoke out, I remembered the figure of the person.

The appearance of a woman who wore a mask and asked me if I was ‘Lena’ and said she was my fan with a number tag that meant she was a candidate for Kitara.