5
Ch 5
You Have to Do as Well as You Did Earlier
Kim Sori asked,
“What scene should I do?”
“Any scene.”
“I want to make a proper impression, so you choose one, Writer. I’m completely ready.”
Kim Sori spoke with a determined expression.
If choosing a scene herself would make her feel more comfortable, then I should choose one for her.
What scene would allow me to judge her ability to embody the character and her acting skills at a glance?
“Hmm... Then let’s do this one. Scene 20.”
“Yes.”
Kim Sori took a deep breath and composed herself.
Please do well.
Otherwise, how would I persuade the CP?
Dramas involve all kinds of complicated issues, such as pre-production, scheduling, investment, sponsorships, and
distribution rights.
That was why Kim Sori’s image and controversy were issues that couldn’t simply be brushed aside.
Even if there was undeniable evidence, investors and broadcasting stations could still have different opinions.
And her acting ability was important, too.
So she had to act very, very well.
She had to be so good that the production company couldn’t think of anyone else.
So good that casting another actress instead of Kim Sori would leave them feeling disappointed and dissatisfied.
Just like I felt right now.
‘If she can do it just like in the vision, that’s enough.’
She sat back down at the dining table and briefly closed and opened her eyes.
I knew immediately.
The acting had begun.
The atmosphere had changed.
Although I had created her by looking at Kim Sori, the character, Kim Soli, had an atmosphere completely different from
her.
She smiled brightly as if she were playing around with her friends.
Then she turned her head and stared straight at me.
The smile gradually disappeared.
She immediately pushed herself up from her seat and walked toward me.
“That’s something you learn from a first-year textbook, isn’t it?”
She was sly and shameless, yet bold and provocative.
Her intelligence, youthful energy, anger, nerve, and confidence all came through at the same time.
She naturally delivered the difficult, academic lines before continuing.
“Stop talking about things you read in books. Don’t you have any thoughts of your own about this? None at all? You spent
that much money on tuition, and yet you act all high and mighty while looking down on my friend, only to parrot things
from a textbook as if they were your own opinions?”
She placed the cup in her hand down on the dining table and shot him a sharp, almost wild glare.
“If you can’t say anything at all, then shut your mouth and get lost quietly. Or go outside and fight me.”
The scene ended.
She slowly closed her eyes, then opened them again.
The confident genius gangster had disappeared without a trace.
Standing before me now was an actress anxiously waiting for my verdict.
She clasped her hands politely as though begging me to like her performance.
I gave a slight nod before speaking.
“This much...”
“This much...?”
“Convincing the CP should be totally doable.”
She wasn’t the woman I had seen before.
No.
She was exactly the woman I had seen.
What did that nonsense mean?
It meant that what Kim Sori had just done was far superior to the acting she had shown in the several works she had
filmed until now.
And it meant that her performance was incredibly similar to the version of her I had seen in my vision.
In other words, she was good.
Very.
Extremely.
Insanely.
Ridiculously good.
“Your acting is crazy.”
“Really?”
Her face immediately lit up.
She was really happy.
“When did you get this good at acting?”
“Hmm... Since I was born?”
She must have been in an incredibly good mood.
She was grinning and even joking around.
Then the phone in my hand rang.
The caller ID showed the CP whose number I had exchanged earlier.
“Oh? It’s the CP. I’ll take this call for a moment.”
“...! Yes, yes!”
The smile on her face stiffened with tension.
“Hello?”
“Writer, did you get home safely? I’m calling because I have some news for you.”
“Yes. What news?”
“We’ve decided on the PD.”
“What? We just signed the contract earlier. Already?”
“Well, somehow it worked out that way. Haha! If you have time this evening, I was thinking we could have a drink with
the PD and talk things over in more detail. Would that be okay?”
“Of course. I actually just finished writing Part 3. I’ll print it out and bring it too.”
“...Already?”
“Somehow it worked out that way.”
My ears were focused on the phone conversation, but all I could see was Kim Sori.
She was listening without making even the slightest sound.
It was pitiful.
And kind of funny, too.
‘Should I take her with me now?’
I desperately wanted to show her off.
I was going to show Kim Sori to them anyway, so it would probably be better to introduce her sooner rather than later.
The staff had probably spent plenty of time discussing things and had finally reached a conclusion.
If I showed up later with her, they might be annoyed.
They would be irritated.
And the possibility of them rejecting her would only increase.
‘Yeah. I’ll take her now.’
My hesitation was short.
My execution was fast.
“CP, would it be okay if I brought one more person?”
Kim Sori’s eyes trembled uncontrollably.
Her lips parted slightly, and she pointed at herself with a finger.
‘...Surely... me?’
‘Yes. You.’
Her face turned as white as a sheet of paper.
...
A little distance away from the meeting place, three people were sitting inside a van.
Kim Sori and I were sitting side by side, while a middle-aged man sat across from us.
Kim Jungman.
Kim Sori’s agency CEO.
He repeatedly adjusted his slipping glasses while reading the script.
When he finally closed it, he looked at me and let out several short, excited breaths.
Seeing a middle-aged man behave like that was somehow irritating.
I looked at Kim Sori to calm myself down.
“How... How can I ever thank you for this...?”
He bent forward so deeply that his forehead nearly touched his knees before continuing.
“I should have come to you much sooner to thank you for what you did, but I was too late. I’m sorry. Thank you.”
He was talking about the recording.
It was fine.
I didn’t particularly want to receive his thanks in person.
As long as my bank account became nice and fat, that was enough.
He was making his gratitude quite clear already.
I put strength into my eyes and spoke solemnly.
“No. I simply couldn’t turn a blind eye to something that needed help as a true and courageous citizen.”
Neither Kim Sori nor the CEO responded.
The CEO changed the subject.
“And on top of that, you want to cast our Sori as the lead in such an excellent script...”
“Yes. I watched her act, and she was really good.”
The CEO glanced at Kim Sori.
He probably didn’t know.
He probably had no idea just how incredibly well she could bring this role to life.
“You gave the script to the production company yesterday, signed the contract today, and now the PD has already been
decided and you’re having a meeting?”
“Yes. We have thirty minutes until the scheduled meeting.”
“...And you’re taking Sori there to convince the CP and PD with her acting?”
“Yes.”
The CEO pressed his lips together.
I could practically hear the gears turning in his head.
He wanted to seize this opportunity, but he seemed to think Kim Sori’s acting wouldn’t be enough to convince them.
There was no need to worry about that.
Determination appeared in the CEO’s eyes.
“I’ll do my best. I absolutely won’t let this precious opportunity you’ve given us go to waste, Writer.”
In hindsight, maybe I should have said I was bringing two people instead of one.
‘Well, it should be fine.’
The situation was simple.
Kim Sori had contacted the CEO, and he had immediately rushed over.
Either way, the CEO and the production company needed to discuss how to handle her clarification and everything else
together.
It was better for him to come along.
Why have two or three separate meetings when everything could be settled in one?
Besides, I was a complete beginner in this industry, while the CEO was a veteran.
Having him there made me feel reassured.
...
Meanwhile, at that same time, in a high-end Japanese restaurant, Kang Seongho CP and Oh Sangsu PD were talking while
waiting to meet Kim Seolrok.
“Hyung, what do you think?”
“About what?”
“The writer said he was bringing one more person. Who could it be? He’s an adult, so it wouldn’t be a guardian. And
since he’s a new writer, it wouldn’t be an actor either... Ah! Maybe...!”
“Maybe?”
“He’s bringing an established writer, isn’t he? That must be it! Think about it! There’s no way a newcomer could write a
script like that entirely on his own. Someone close to him must be a writer. They probably helped him from the side!”
Kang Seongho CP let out an exclamation and nodded.
Now the mystery was finally solved.
How many scripts had he seen until now?
Countless.
Yet even within that enormous amount of data, he had never encountered a case like this.
A newcomer writing well could be explained by saying he was simply a genius.
But what about that insane level of detail?
It was as if he had actually watched the scenes happen with his own eyes and written them down.
Even a genius couldn’t realistically write like that.
Established writers had trouble achieving this level of detail, too.
“That makes sense. It really is hard to believe a newcomer could write a script like this alone.”
Kang Seongho CP looked at Oh Sangsu PD.
Oh Sangsu PD had been recruited from a terrestrial broadcasting station to Video Dragon.
Who was he?
He was notorious for being one of the most demanding PDs in the industry.
But that very pickiness was the secret behind the three hit dramas he had produced at the terrestrial station.
He had made writers rewrite their scripts over and over until they became hit dramas.
Everyone knew that his abilities were proportional to his strictness, which was why no one at the company pressured him
even when he wasn’t producing anything.
But after seeing this script, he had gone completely wild.
‘It’s perfect! It’s absolutely perfect!’
He had even threatened to quit if the script was handed over to another PD.
“Who is it? Which established writer could it be? He said he was bringing Part 3 too, right? Can’t we start by looking
at that? I want to see it quickly.”
“Stop getting so excited and calm down, please. Don’t embarrass me.”
“How am I supposed not to get excited? You know how difficult it is for a PD to encounter a script like this. A script
that most people wouldn’t encounter even once in their entire lives has come to me!”
One moment, he was acting like an excited child.
The next, he would let out a creepy little laugh.
“Heh-heh.”
He even started listing names, trying to guess which established writer was hiding behind the new writer.
And then, ten minutes before the appointed time...
The door slid open.
The group entered.
...
The atmosphere at the beginning could not even be described as good as a polite lie.
The CEO received an openly annoyed reaction, while Kim Sori was met with undisguised coldness.
As for me, they showed slight displeasure and even a hint of resentment.
It was understandable.
A new writer had brought an actor to his first meeting after signing the contract without discussing it with them
beforehand.
And of all people, he had brought Kim Sori.
They certainly wouldn’t be happy about that.
I understood.
I had expected an atmosphere like this.
I wanted to show them Kim Sori’s acting immediately.
But for now, I should wait and see.
There was a reason the man was a CEO, after all.
“Let’s listen to this first.”
The CEO played the recording.
The atmosphere improved slightly.
But they still seemed displeased with Kim Sori.
They talked around the subject, but their point was simple.
‘There’s no reason to take a risk on this project when even an average performance could make it a huge hit.’
Kang Seongho CP, Oh Sangsu PD, Kim Jungman, Kim Sori, and me.
Out of the five of us, only Kim Sori and I remained silent.
Kim Sori had both hands neatly placed on her lap.
Even when she heard unpleasant things, her expression didn’t move an inch.
‘This is frustrating.’
The CEO wasn’t good at talking.
He was struggling.
He was sweating profusely and spouting nothing but weak arguments that lacked persuasiveness.
It was frustrating to sit there and watch.
They simply didn’t know how powerful the weapon we had was.
Unable to bear the frustration any longer, I opened my mouth.
“I...”
Everyone’s eyes turned toward me.
At that moment, Oh Sangsu PD launched into an impassioned speech.
“Writer, creators usually aren’t able to properly recognize the value of their own creations. That goes without saying
for newcomers.”
Judging by his tone, what he meant was this.
‘A script this good can use other excellent actors!’
Our respective judgments were colliding.
They valued my script highly.
I valued Kim Sori’s acting highly.
The problem was that everyone here knew the script was good, but I was the only one who had seen Kim Sori’s acting.
“Writer, let me make this clear. The value of the script you wrote is even greater than you think! I’m going crazy just
wanting to see Part 3 sitting right in front of you.”
“Then would you like to see it?”
“Is that really okay?”
Before showing them her acting, it seemed necessary to calm the atmosphere a little.
Everyone was too excited.
Kim Sori had also come dressed exactly as she had styled herself earlier.
The resemblance was remarkable.
After seeing Kim Sori like this, they would naturally think of her while reading the script.
Perhaps they could watch her acting with a slightly more positive and open mind.
If that still didn’t work, I intended to give up cleanly.
If even after seeing the clarification and her acting I couldn’t convince them, then it meant the public would probably
feel the same way.
I wanted to become a popular writer.
I wanted to be praised by people and create a drama that would be remembered as a masterpiece for a long time.
Ideally, I wanted to walk that road together with her.
But even if it couldn’t happen now, there would surely be another opportunity later.
After she cleared her name and slowly resumed her activities, once the public’s anger had died down, perhaps my ability
would show me another side of her.
‘But... this ability doesn’t only activate with Kim Sori, does it?’
The ominous thought suddenly occurred to me, and I deeply furrowed my brow.
The room was silent.
Sashimi and sake sat untouched.
There wasn’t even a trace of moisture in the glasses because none of us had taken a single drink yet.
Rustle, rustle.
The only sound was the turning of script pages.
Once the PD started reading, the CP began reading too.
The two of them concentrated on the scripts in their hands.
Their brows were furrowed just like mine.
“This kind of script! Haah... This is driving me crazy.”
“Tsk!”
After they finished reading the script, their eyes were filled with certainty.
At least, it probably wasn’t certainty in Kim Sori’s favor.
They simply didn’t know what Kim Sori was truly capable of.
If I had known the CEO would be this useless, I would have stepped in sooner.
Then again, if he had been competent, would Kim Sori have ended up in this situation?
I was wrong to trust him.
Before it was too late, I spoke to Kim Sori.
As though the two of us were the only people in the room.
As though no one else could hear our conversation.
In a completely relaxed tone, I said,
“Ms. Sori, you need to show them what you can do, right? You have to do as well as you did earlier. If you get nervous
and mess it up, seriously, be prepared. I’ll tear apart the warehouse and all your modern art pieces.”
She glanced around cautiously before speaking in a tiny voice.
“...I already cleaned everything.”
“...Liar.”
“I really did.”
She let out a small laugh.
Then she stood up.
She seemed completely prepared now.
Her face looked much more relaxed.
I said,
“Shall we start with Scene 20?”
“Yes.”
The magic that had unfolded at her house began to unfold here as well.
Earlier, I had been the only audience member.
Now, the audience had increased to four.
Later, there would be tens of thousands.
Hundreds of thousands.
Millions.
Judging by the expressions on the PD and CP’s faces, I had a feeling that was exactly what was going to happen.