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“Hello!”
“Oh, Seo Hoyun!”
I entered with a bright smile. A large U-shaped table was set up, and Director Yu was sitting at the center where all the actors could be seen best. When he saw me, he quickly got up and offered a handshake.
“Seo Hoyun~! You made it.”
“Yes, thank you for having me, Director.”
My constant smile seemed to puzzle the director, but he quickly patted my back and brushed it off.
As I quietly took my seat where my name tag was placed, the other actors started coming in one by one.
“Uh, hello.”
Yu Jia, playing the protagonist, Yu Jeonghwa, warmly greeted Director Yu and then sat beside me.
“Yu Jia-sunbae, thank you for the last radio broadcast.”
“I held back quite patiently, didn’t I? I was itching to say something to you.”
Yu Jia responded with a sullen greeting.
“A lot of people are expecting great things from Seo Hoyun. Composer Lim Hyeonsu and PD Kim Heeyeon too….”
“I don’t know what to do with myself when you say that. I was just lucky.”
I sneakily threw bait. Yu Jia seemed to have a good impression of me because of Today’s incident.
“Oh.”
However, Yu Jia just tilted her head with a meaningful smile.
“Do you have a habit of showing off…?”
“…”
I closed my mouth.
Yu Jia was scary. I got goosebumps thinking Seong Jiwon would be like that with a few more years of experience.
“…Yes, it’s a habit. I’m sorry.”
“Well, it’s not like I have anything to say about that. And I’m not telling you to apologize.”
I mean, of course, Yu Jia would know. I gave her a big piece of my mind at the filming site. Yu Jia scratched her cheek and drove the point home.
“I wish I had more juniors like you, really.”
Instead of responding, I just awkwardly smiled. Then I turned my gaze, and right on cue, someone opened the door and entered.
“Hello….”
“Oh, hello!”
He’s here.
The bracelet jingling on my arm, the blood scattering like red flower petals, the ringing noise piercing my eardrums, and the vivid pain.
I still get dizzy whenever I recall the scene of the car accident.
“Min Jiheon, please sit here.”
“Did I come a bit late…? I’m sorry. My flight was delayed.”
“No, you came just on time.”
Min Jiheon took his prepared seat. Unfortunately, it was right in front of me. When I lifted my head, our gazes, and he gave me a kindly smile.
“Hello, Seo Hoyun.”
Thankfully, he didn’t call me a hyung in this place. That meant he was a cunning guy who appeared to be naïve.
I mean, if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to maintain his top-star status, regardless of his good acting skills.
But Min Jiheon messed with the wrong person.
I was Seo Hoyun….
“Hello?”
I was fully prepared to give him a taste of The Dawn’s official troublemaker.
Let’s try killing each other today.
***
The script reading proceeded sequentially. Since I had already memorized the entire script, all I had to do was match it accordingly.
My manager standing across from me stared at me with an expression of disbelief, as if saying, “He didn’t even take any acting lessons…,” but I ignored him.
“PD! PD Lee Jeonghun!”
Even during the script reading, Yu Jia was the type who acted just as passionately as on set as she vividly expressed each line.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?”
It was a scene where Yu Jeonghwa, played by Yu Jia, followed my character, PD Lee Jeonghun, out to talk.
I paused, turned my eyes slightly, and sighed thinly. Then, trying to hide my exhausted expression, I said,
“Yes, Yu Jeonghwa, what is it?”
“Last time, about the location shoot. I looked into it more, and I think the Gacheon area would be a better fit for the mission…!”
“No, that won’t work.”
“…Why?”
Yu Jia was taken aback by the firm response.
Understandable.
The location and budget had already been set.
“The location has already been decided and approved. The budget is all planned. Unless something goes wrong, there’s no need to look for another filming site.”
“But, still…”
“By the way, did you finish the task I asked you to do before?”
Yu Jeonghwa hesitated for a moment. I took the opportunity to smile slightly.
“…Yu Jeonghwa, just tell me honestly. It’s okay.”
“…”
“You haven’t finished it yet, right?”
“…Haha, yes.”
“Haha.”
I slowly repeated after her, then licked my lips.
“Ha-ha—”
And now, with all the anger toward Min Jiheon, I unleashed all sorts of improvised acting that went beyond the script. Usually, everyone’s eyes were glued to the script during the script reading, but this time, everyone was staring at me, mouths wide open.
Min Jiheon’s eyes sparkled, which only angered me more. After finishing my lines, I asked Yu Jeonghwa.
“—Did you understand?”
“…Yes.”
“If you understood, you shouldn’t just stand there. Go do your work quickly!”
“…Yes.”
Then, I pushed the script away. Yu Jia trembled. It was as if she was possessed by Yu Jeonghwa, and she was the one who received such thorough scolding.
The following scene was about Yu Jeonghwa badmouthing PD Lee Jeonghun while talking to herself.
“Oh, what’s up with Lee Jeonghun today? Did he get slapped and kicked or something?”
Yu Jeonghwa cursed Lee Jeonghun while trembling. Since my part was over, I let out a sigh and opened a water bottle. At that moment, I locked eyes with some of the other actors sitting across from me.
…Their eyes looked fed up.
Where can the jerk who harassed celebrities go?
Where else could the nickname “Devil PD” have come from? Of course, it came from me. They thought the idol who just got in because of Min Jiheon’s influence wouldn’t be any good at acting, so they were surprised.
Lee Jeonghun was just like me.
“I really can’t live properly because of Lee Jeonghun PD…”
And then, Min Jiheon’s character, Min Seungtae, came back. Although he was Yu Jeonghwa’s childhood friend, he was a cold and calculating character with a ridiculous setting of being a chaebol.
In short, he was a cunning and two-faced character.
As Yu Jeonghwa grumbled, Min Seungtae tilted his head.
“Why, what’s bothering you so much?”
“It’s just that he’s really crazy… He’s always picking on me… Lately, it seems like he’s just enjoying it.”
“Do you want me to do something about it?”
At his words, Yu Jeonghwa, still unaware that he was a chaebol, paused for a moment.
“…It’s a bit scary when you say that because it feels like you could actually do something.”
“Jeonghwa, is there anything I can’t do for you?”
His diction and voice were so perfect that they were bound to stick in your head whether you liked it or not. Moreover, every line felt different, even though his tone barely changed.
Min Jiheon looked at Yu Jia with affectionate, sparkling eyes as if nothing was more precious in the world.
Several cameras from different actors’ agencies and the drama team carefully filmed the script reading BTS without getting into each other’s shots.
The camera in charge of the drama team’s BTS focused mainly on Min Jiheon’s face.
If I were to edit that footage, I would have added a disgusting caption like “Min Jiheon’s loving gaze time♡” and lazily kept the close-up of his face for about 30 seconds. The comments would have exploded regardless.
“…Stop showing off, kid. And don’t use informal speech. I’m your noona.”
“Haha.”
“I came into this job because I love it… not for the money. It’s not about the money.”
As Yu Jia kept mumbling, trying to brainwash herself, Min Jiheon eventually burst into laughter. The corners of his eyes crinkled with amusement, and even Director Yu had a very pleased expression as he watched the pair.
Yeah, that must be nice. After all, Min Jiheon is like a guaranteed success at the box office.
I had to work hard to maintain my facial expression.
And soon, Min Jiheon’s solo script reading began. I intended to ignore whatever came out, but…
I couldn’t.
“So?”
His typically ferocious personality was nowhere to be found, and only his cold, constricting voice enveloped the scene. A supporting actor hastily grabbed Min Seungtae by the arm.
“Mi-Min Seungtae! Please. If it’s Min Seungtae… you can talk to the chairman, right? I’m really, really desperate. You know, I loved you so much when you were a kid.”
“Ha….”
“Please, just say that I didn’t do it… and that I respect the chairman.”
It was a scene where a director who had committed corruption within the company desperately pleaded with Min Seungtae for help.
Min Seungtae was a character who had no interest in anything in the world except for Yu Jeonghwa. Yet, for some reason, people clung to him whenever something happened, probably because he was the chairman’s favorite. They thought he would be easier to deal with than the chairman.
And they didn’t even know that he was the worse of the two.
Min Seungtae just laughed.
“Sometimes it’s fun.”
“…?”
Then he hummed.
“…Yes, yes? What, what are you talking about?”
“In front of others, you guys call me ‘young master’… but behind my back, I’m a fucking bastard, the worst scum on earth, and now I’m ‘Min Seungtae’ again because you need something.”
“…”
“I have one name, but so many titles, right?”
Min Seungtae didn’t seem to care about the director, who he once called “uncle” when he was young. It was the director who betrayed Min Seungtae first, after all.
Under his cold gaze, contempt and a hint of disappointment could be seen.
So, the one who belonged here was just… Min Seungtae.
“Are you in that much of a hurry?”
“Yes, yes…!”
The supporting actor playing the director shook his head frantically. Min Seungtae looked at him, let out a short moan, and said,
“But I’m sorry, I don’t think it’s my place to say anything.”
“…!!”
“Good luck? I’ll let the chairman you respect so much know that his cute little dog has something to say.”
Then, Min Seungtae tapped his cheek with a long finger and smiled brightly.
“You got a beating from your grandson.”
…This drama was intense.
Min Jiheon’s sharp gaze and sarcastic words disappeared as soon as that scene ended, and he returned to his usual dull self. I couldn’t help but drool at the sight.
Wow… Jeong Dajun would love this.
There was a reason why Jeong Dajun was so excited about Min Jiheon. He was indeed an expert in this kind of shameless acting… or so I thought for a moment.
“Excuse me, the writer said that the next scene is being revised… so let’s try the scene after Min Jiheon’s!”
“…Yes.”
Min Jiheon then showcased a very, very heartfelt performance. I couldn’t help but take another look at the part where Min Jiheon started acting.
[Feeling Min Seungtae’s oddness, Yu Jeonghwa became confused and told him to step back for a moment…
Min Seungtae: (Tears dripping) Noona. (Quickly wiping his tears.) I’m scared. For me, you’re the scariest in this world. (Gently pulling on the hem of Jeonghwa’s clothes) Don’t dislike me.]
The line was simpler than I thought. But seeing this, I reevaluated Writer Kim Sukhui once again.
Pushing such a cheap character this passionately into romance?
Moreover, just moments ago, Min Jiheon was talking about a bastard dog with enough crassness to surprise people listening.
Was it possible to cry right away when there would still be lingering emotions and feelings?
No? Could it be that if you’re an actor, that level of skill came as a basic requirement?
Since it’s just a script reading… it doesn’t matter if they don’t cry.
However, disregarding my doubts, Jiheon seemed to control his emotions as soon as the staff finished giving directions. He took a deep breath and bit his lip.
His eyes, which had been blank after the previous scene’s reading, welled up and turned red instantly.
“…Noona, I…”
And along with the lines, he couldn’t hold back his tears. Drops of tears ran down his cheeks and fell to his chin.
“…!!”
I was astonished.
Min Jiheon… was amazing.
“Ah, shit…”
He hurriedly wiped his tears with his sleeves, but the tears continued to flow. He picked up the words as they came to him, fearing that if he didn’t say anything, it would really be over. His chin trembled from the overflowing emotions.
“…I’m scared.”
Jiheon—no, Min Seungtae shook with fear as he thought his relationship with Jeonghwa would be severed forever as she continued to push him away.
” For me, you’re the scariest in this world… Noona.”
After licking his lips several times, Min Seungtae finally hung his head. In the original scene, he was supposed to gently pull on Jeonghwa’s sleeve.
“…Don’t dislike me.”
… He’s crazy.
At that moment, all I could see was Min Seungtae.
As if he were an ardent viewer, the director teared up while looking at Jiheon and withdrew tissues from a box to wipe his tears.
What’s more, Jiheon seemed to have no problem with this level of emotional acting. In the following scenes, he became a cheeky, snarky guy again, then a passionate younger man who could only look at one person, and once again, a cocky, annoying third-generation chaebol…
Damn, he just flew.
He deserves the title “Young Boss of Daepaseong Entertainment,” this guy.
But my focus wasn’t on Min Jiheon’s acting right now. I had something else to check.
While listening to Jiheon’s lines, I tapped the table slightly and summoned a small system window.
“Hey, come out and see.”
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