“Hoyun, don’t be nervous! Don’t shake! Just be yourself, and they’ll like you! Oh, do you need some calming pills?”
As we headed towards the audition waiting room, I glanced at my manager, who kept expressing his worries. It seemed like he needed the calming pills more than I did.
When we entered the waiting room, I could feel the aspiring actors scanning me from head to toe. Sticky, mocking gazes followed. It was as if they were saying, “Oh my, an idol has arrived, huh?”
What will the drama be about today?
Feeling slightly excited, I turned to my manager.
“Manager, my throat is a bit dry. Could you please buy me some water?”
“Of course!!”
He quickly seated me in a corner and rushed out to buy water. The drink was just an excuse; I really just wanted to get rid of him.
Since entering the waiting room, I had been receiving prickling stares. Clearly, these people recognized my face. Some who didn’t know me took a quick glance and moved on, but those who realized I was an idol returned unpleasant glares.
Moreover, this audition was for the famous Writer Kim Sukhui’s work. As aspiring actors or rising stars, they wouldn’t want me to snatch their opportunity away.
For now, I decided to quietly open the script.
In the first and second episodes, my character, Lee Jeonghun, didn’t appear much. The most he did was clash with the protagonist a few times.
“Hmm.”
It didn’t really matter since I had already read the scenes.
As I casually flipped through the script…
“Hello?”
At the moment when I was lost in the script, I heard a voice seemingly directed at me.
“You’re Seo Hoyun, right?”
Wow, straight to the point.
I finally looked up and saw a man with a neat impression. He was smiling brightly, but his eyes revealed his irritation and contempt.
He looked familiar.
“My name is Lee Kangseok, an actor.”
“Ah, I’m Seo Hoyun.”
“I heard you’re doing well these days… So, you’re trying your hand at acting now?”
It seemed like nothing at first glance, but his words had a subtle sting to them, especially in this waiting room full of cutting gazes.
Ding!
[Why is the entertainment industry always like this?? Is it hard to go even a day without causing a fuss??]
Well, I was having fun.
Today, the system was annoyed on my behalf. I raised an eyebrow at him in response.
Lee Kangseok… I remembered his face from before coming here. We hadn’t worked together, but I’d heard rumors about him.
A brownnoser.
It had been a while since I last encountered this kind of attitude in the industry, so I faintly smiled.
“Should I show you how to act? It seems like you need some practice before the audition…”
“Oh~.”
“Ah, I don’t think I have time to help you with this audition. Maybe contact me sometime. I don’t think I can help you here…”
“Oh… Wow, that might be possible~.”
In truth, I didn’t need or even think about passing this audition, so I casually answered and let his following remarks go in one ear and out the other.
Or rather, I pretended to let them go.
Thanks to that, Lee Kangseok’s face boiled with anger.
Ding!
[Subtly serving revenge like a pro…]
“… Um, Lee Kangseok.”
I glanced at him. Since he made my boring time more enjoyable, I genuinely and encouragingly clenched my fist.
It was a “fighting” pose.
“Good luck with the audition. I hope you pass.”
= So I will fail in the first round.
“…??”
While Lee Kangseok was still stunned and had even forgotten to be sarcastic, a staff member opened the audition room door and came out. The actor who had gone in earlier appeared behind them.
“Seo Hoyun, please come in.”
“Yes.”
As I stood up, I gave a small smile to the still-stiff Lee Kangseok.
The staff unintentionally drew people’s attention to me. He looked around at the atmosphere before shaking their head and pushing me into the audition room.
A long table was inside, and five people were seated in a row. The director, the PD, the AD, the rest seemed to be studio staff, and one was the writer.
“Hello, Seo Hoyun.”
Kim Sukhui, the writer. The one who wrote the script for Please Take the Camera and created the character of Lee Jeonghun.
“Hello.”
I greeted her and walked to the center.
“My name is Seo Hoyun.”
***
He’s here…!!
Three of the production staff did not like Seo Hoyun from the beginning. The writer, who had been expressing positive feelings towards Hoyun from the start, and the staff member, who brought the idol to try to raise the ratings, didn’t seem to mind. However, Director Yu was disappointed.
So, an active idol finally enters my directing life…!!
Hoyun lowered his eyes and waited quietly. His face, cleaned of stage makeup, was much neater than expected, and his coldly raised eyes were tense. But the director decided not to be intimidated and to try and provoke him.
“Ah, you’re from The Dawn, right? I’ve enjoyed watching Shining Star.”
= Why did an idol like you come here?
“Really? Thank you.”
= Hi ㅋㅋ
A light quarrel ensued before the audition began. The studio staff led the proceedings, and Director Yu grumbled while flipping through the script.
“I don’t know if you’ve read the script. You must be busy.”
“Director.”
The AD quickly tried to stop him, but… the director had already made up his mind to be provocative. The atmosphere in the audition room became tense, but Seo Hoyun calmly answered without any reaction.
“Yes, I’ve read it.”
“Okay, let’s start then.”
As soon as the studio staff finished speaking, Seo Hoyun placed the script on the floor. The staff member picked up the microphone again.
“Aren’t you going to read the script?”
“I memorized it.”
Ugh, he must have been watching a drama somewhere.
The director didn’t usually have a negative view of people who tried to appeal to themselves like this. At least they were diligent enough not to mess up the shooting.
But if that person was an “idol,” it was a different story.
He just didn’t like everything about him from head to toe.
He couldn’t let an idol ruin the perfect script and the perfect cast (including Min Jiheon and Yu Jia).
Honestly, at first, Director Yu wasn’t very happy about Yu Jia either. She was not a bad choice, but she was also a singer.
But the reason why he changed his mind 180 degrees about Jia was because of an indie film she appeared in a few years ago as a supporting actress. Because of its low budget and newbie director, the film couldn’t be released for various reasons and was only screened in a few small theatres last year. Yet, it received rave reviews and was even invited to prestigious international film festivals. Film critics, especially, unanimously praised Jia.
The image of Jia, the cute and lovable queen of romantic comedies, was still vivid as she stared at the dawn with her clear eyes on the stairs of a semi-basement.
That was really… wow, amazing.
Director Yu’s ability was acknowledged by everyone. But he was also very stubborn, had strong preconceptions and prejudices, and had a firm philosophy about acting. He couldn’t accept someone he didn’t acknowledge, even if they were just a supporting actor.
Sigh… ratings are the real enemy, the enemy.
The director clicked his tongue.
Initially, the character of Lee Jeonghun, who Hoyun was auditioning for, was set as a 33-year-old genius, a famous producer who had earned all sorts of “genius” titles.
But here they were, putting a 23-year-old idol who debuted just over a year ago, or rather, a few months ago as Seo Hoyun, into the candidate pool for that character.
The calm acting without depth, which didn’t match his experience and was unrefined, could easily seem ridiculous.
No matter if Min Jiheon is coming, do we look that ridiculous to them?? Damn it!
“Let’s start from here.”
“Yes, thank you.”
The scene of Lee Jeonghun’s appearance at the broadcasting station was when the protagonist, Yu Jeonghwa, greeted him enthusiastically. But Lee Jeonghun responded indifferently and talked to other staff members instead.
It was a part where Lee Jeonghun’s impudent personality was strongly revealed.
Next to them, the AD slowly read Yu Jeonghwa’s lines.
“Hello, Senior Lee Jeonghun!”
Seo Hoyun slowly turned his head. Until then, Director Yu had been looking closely at the script. The AD read the lines like reading a Korean textbook.
“I saw you earlier on the rooftop! I’m Yu Jeonghwa, who joined as a new recruit! I’ve been watching the one you directed as an AD, Please Be a Cook, very attentively.”
“Ah, yes. The one who is good at social life.”
“Ah, ahahaha….”
Voice.
The director suddenly looked up.
The AD, who had been tilting his head slightly, also took over the lines of the minor role.
“Have we decided on the location?”
“Ah, no. We haven’t decided yet.”
“…You still haven’t chosen one?”
What the…, the diction… is good.
It was neither too heavy nor light. It was the exact voice you would hear all the time in a broadcasting station, dry but exuding the fatigue unique to the place.
Seo Hoyun’s eyes lingered in the air as if looking at an invisible person in front of him before dropping.
“What have you been doing all this time, then?”
“Well, the thing is, the budget for the last location didn’t match our expectations… so we might need to look for more options.”
“Wow.”
Seo Hoyun laughed brightly.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone embezzling their salary like this.”
“…!!”
“Why are you telling me this now when we’re already short on time and still haven’t chosen the location, not to mention the insufficient budget?”
For a moment, the writer saw the Lee Jeonghun she had imagined pass by. Seo Hoyun perfectly reproduced the impudence of Lee Jeonghun in the script as he twisted his neck with a click.
“Uh, uh, that….”
Thanks to that, even the AD in front of him was genuinely terrified.
“I’m sorry!”
“It’s… ‘not my fault’… no, it is! Yes! That’s your fault, too!”
“Uh, ugh…!! Please, stop…!”
He continued saying the same words.
Amazing…!
For the writer, it was indeed an overwhelming moment. Her created character was alive and breathing right in front of her…!!
In the end, the lines of the minor role, who burst into tears and ran away, flowed out of the AD’s mouth with great vitality.
Seo Hoyun finished his tirade, swore under his breath, and sighed deeply. He looked tired.
“That’s Yu Jeonghwa, right…?”
“Yes, yes!!”
“It’s not easy to be selected as a new recruit. You must be talented. So…”
“Well, I may lack experience, but I’m confident I can work hard if you trust me.”
“…Yes?”
As Seo Hoyun continued indifferently, he suddenly looked up. Yu Jeonghwa’s lines continued innocently without any hint.
“I, starting from today, will be working under you, director!!”
“…Yeees??”
Seo Hoyun, looking alternately at the AD and the empty space (presumably Yu Jeonghwa), closed his mouth tightly after opening it a few times in disbelief.
The story was that a director on bad terms with Lee Jeonghun intentionally assigned the least competent new employee as a personnel supplement, claiming it was a personnel reinforcement.
Unknowingly, Director Yu had become absorbed in Seo Hoyun’s more natural portrayal of Lee Jeonghun.
The script was up to this point…
Originally, it should have ended there.
“I’m going crazy. For real….”
However, Seo Hoyun did not finish with just that but went further. As if he couldn’t stop, as if he was really immersed in the role.
It wasn’t the truth.
It was just that the memory of being annoyed had slowly resurfaced.
“This is how you get screwed over.”
“Huh??”
Seo Hoyun bit his tongue. He frantically searched his jacket’s inner pocket before stopping and pulling his hand out.
Seo Hoyun sighed, seemingly annoyed, and swept his hair back, then smiled brightly.
Everyone forgot that Lee Jeonghun was a jerk of a PD, and they became engrossed as they looked at him.
“Jeonghwa, newbie.”
“Yes, yep?!”
“Shall I buy you a coffee downstairs? What do you like?”
“Coffee?”
“Yes. Have something expensive. It’s not an opportunity you get often.”
Coffee?
“…Ah, yes! Seo Hoyun, let’s stop here!”
Seo Hoyun, holding back swearing, turned his body to face the end of the AD’s command and bowed his head. At that moment, Writer Kim Sukhui raised her hand.
“Lee Jeong… No, Seo Hoyun.”
“Yes.”
Undoubtedly, the figure standing before him after bowing was the “idol” Seo Hoyun. But why did he look like he was wearing a more fitting shell as Lee Jeonghun?
Director Yu released the breath he had been holding because of the sense of incongruity. On the other hand, the writer asked a question with a bright smile.
“What were you looking for in your jacket just now?”
It wasn’t in the script. Writer Kim Sukhui was very curious as to why Seo Hoyun had made such a move.
To that question, Seo Hoyun answered very calmly and naturally.
“Cigarettes.”
“…Excuse me?”
Everyone was momentarily dumbfounded by the unexpected word from the idol. The writer, who regained her senses, followed up.
“Why were you looking for a cigarette just now?”
Seo Hoyun stared at the writer, then rolled his eyes as if slightly troubled. And eventually, he answered bluntly.
“…I was frustrated.”
“Why?”
“There’s so much work piling up, but the new person wasn’t someone who could be immediately put to work….”
“…”
“On top of that, we’re already short-staffed… I wondered if the HR team was crazy for really sending someone like this just because a director ordered it… I think it would be better for Yu Jeonghwa to be in a relatively peaceful weekday morning entertainment team rather than this crazy survival variety…. That’s why I felt like looking for a cigarette.”
Was this a response that could come from a 23-year-old idol…?
“But why did you put it away?”
“I thought about it and held back because it’s a broadcasting station…. If that director was really in front of me, I might have smoked it. Just to show him.”
Is he crazy?
The director looked surprised at the perfect response, as if it was scripted.
No, what’s with this seriously annoyed look…?
Feeling puzzled, the director asked once more.
“Then why did you offer to buy coffee?”
“Huh? Oh….”
Seo Hoyun rubbed the back of his neck.
“I can’t win anymore, so I was trying to be a little nicer, so he won’t run away….”
“…”
“Newbies tend to run away if they are treated like this….”
To put shackles on a newbie (to be a slave), you needed to buy them lots of delicious food and be nice to them for the first month, then once they became somewhat used to the job, you casually scold them with a smile and gentle words. They’d then calmly and quietly get used to the facts. Getting loud makes them feel inferior.
Unbelievable.
The writer held back her laughter and directed the following scene.
“Episode 1, Scene 26, meeting with the main character Min Seungtae.”
“Yes.”
Afterward, Seo Hoyun did another excellent job.
His precise diction came out naturally yet accurately, and it had a charm that captivated the audience.
Most of all, that expression.
The face that seemed to say “I want to go home quickly, but since no one else is doing it, I have to finish this and go” looked like a real veteran with a level 99 office worker vibe.
Wow.
The director silently admired him. For someone who hadn’t experienced working in an office to have that kind of expression, it meant they had extraordinary observational skills.
It was truly a great misunderstanding.
The director watched Seo Hoyun’s acting intently. And just as the AD was about to call the scene, the previous audition participants had been ordered to do…
“Episode 2, Scene 7, the full-fledged quarrel between Yu Jeonghwa and Lee Jeonghun….”
“Wait.”
“…Yes?”
The director stopped him. Seo Hoyun, who had been standing still, slightly furrowed his eyebrows.
“Let’s do some improv acting instead of using the script.”
That was… equivalent to the director’s rebellion.
The director laughed bitterly to himself, grinding his teeth.
No matter how hard Seo Hoyun had prepared, he couldn’t possibly perfectly mimic PD Lee Jeonghun’s garbage-like behavior (drinking, smoking, swearing, threatening) without a script.
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