4
# #4
The moment I remembered the title of that drama, everything fell into place like pieces of a puzzle.
The name “Studio Rain Film,” which had seemed strangely familiar, and an HBC 24-episode crime drama. If it was that drama, then I remembered something.
‘So this must be that role that became famous for being passed around like a hot potato.’
There was a teenage role in <Case File 0223>.
Since it was a crime thriller procedural, there was inevitably a villain, and unusually for this drama, they had cast a child actor as the villain.
‘And not just any villain. They cast a child actor as a psychopathic criminal. That’s why they contacted every teenage actor who was known to be reasonably good at acting…. The reason this offer reached even someone like me, who had spent my career taking nothing but obscure supporting roles, must be because things are still the same as they were in the past.’
Before I could say anything, my father asked in confusion.
“Who was the actor originally supposed to play the role?”
“It was Kim Sawol. The contract fell through right before it was finalized due to personal circumstances.”
“Ah. Kim Sawol… Kim Sawol?!”
My father was visibly startled and asked her again, and she awkwardly lowered her voice.
“That’s right.”
‘So it really was Kim Sawol. Of all people, it had to be Kim Sawol.’
The first person to take this role had started acting at a very young age and remained a top star even after becoming an adult. She was also someone I could never forget.
My head was starting to ache.
Kim Sawol.
If it was my father, he would accept the role without hesitation just from hearing that name.
I hurriedly leaned toward my father, who was already grinning broadly, and whispered into his ear.
“Dad, haha… don’t you think there might be a good reason why the other actors turned it down? We should be a little careful about accepting it so quickly….”
“Forget it. Where are you going to find another opportunity that falls into your lap this easily? No matter how difficult the role is, there’s nothing you can’t do if you practice, right?”
I stared at my father as he sweated nervously. He had already made up his mind, and before I could stop him, he accepted the offer.
“I’ll do it.”
“Then I’ll contact you again by phone today. Would around five in the afternoon work for you?”
“Of course. Here’s my number….”
After finishing my first filming in my life, I signed the contract without a hitch, and just two days later, I had a new drama shooting schedule.
“You struck gold. You really struck gold. Getting your next project after just one supporting role in a drama.”
My father laughed heartily without a care.
I clicked my tongue inwardly. Struck gold, my foot. The truth was that a role considered too risky by the young actors had simply fallen into my lap.
‘He should at least consider his son’s acting ability. How could he throw someone with such terrible acting into the role of the most notorious teenage villain of the era?’
There was only one month left until filming began, and all I had been given was the script through Episode 3.
In fact, the reason <Case File 0223> had failed commercially in the past was obvious. The villain was the problem.
A procedural drama could not succeed on the protagonist’s charm alone. No matter how appealing the protagonist was, if the villain opposing them was one-dimensional, the quality of the drama would immediately suffer.
The role that appeared in the early episodes, from Episode 1 to Episode 3, had also played a significant part in the drama’s failure. As a result, despite casting famous lead actors, <Case File 0223> had failed to become a hit just like .
‘Ugh. I’ve been practicing day and night, but I still can’t get the hang of it.’
Since I was the only actor who had changed compared to the past, the success or failure of this drama would essentially depend on me as well.
On Saturday morning, my father suddenly finished getting ready to go out and casually spoke to me.
“Isn’t today the day you meet your mother? I’ll drive you there, so get ready.”
“…Oh, yes.”
Nothing had changed about the fact that I met my mother once a week. My father dropped me off in front of the apartment where my mother lived, as though he were doing me a favor, then drove away, saying he had something to do.
I went upstairs to the home where I had originally lived, feeling extremely unfamiliar with everything.
In the past, I had lost not only my younger brother but my mother as well. Yet in this world where I did not exist, both of them were perfectly fine. Wasn’t that something straight out of a ghost story?
…I still wondered why I had completely disappeared as though I had never existed in the first place.
‘My mother and stepfather are both still healthy and well at this point in time… If I go upstairs, will they still welcome me?’
Ding-dong!
Hearing the doorbell, my mother came to the entrance and opened the door with a bright smile.
“Jaehyun, I haven’t even changed the password, so why did you ring the bell? Oh, it’s cold. Come inside quickly.”
“…….”
Wow. It was really difficult to keep my sanity in a situation like this.
“Hello, A… Uncle.”
“Hi, Jaehyun. I just made some gimbap. Want some?”
“No, thank you. I already ate….”
Having to call the man who had practically been my real father “Uncle,” and being called by my younger brother’s name, still felt incredibly strange.
My mother looked exactly as she had in my memories from my teenage years. Even though it felt awkward, my considerate stepfather, who had always understood both my mother and me, was still the same as well.
My mother smiled brightly and asked,
“When will the scenes you filmed the other day air?”
“…Oh, in two weeks.”
“Oh, that soon? I’ll definitely watch the final episode too.”
The scenes the real Jaehyun had filmed had already aired, of course.
In my mother’s home, it was as though only traces of my existence had been erased. It was a strange feeling.
As I hurriedly tried to leave, my mother stopped me.
“Come by often, okay?”
“…Yes.”
---
The day Episode 9 of aired.
‘Oh, it’s about to start.’
She realized that it was almost time for the drama she watched every week.
‘It’s not particularly interesting, but Kim Shin-il and Gu Ji-eun have such good chemistry. That’s probably why I keep watching it every week.’
When she changed the channel, the opening sequence announcing the start of the drama was playing. As a longtime fan of the male lead, Kim Shin-il, she thought,
‘But this time, all the actors except the leads were really bad at acting. Especially the female lead’s younger brother… Ugh, just thinking about it makes me cringe.’
His face was certainly handsome, so she had been excited when he first appeared. But that anticipation had shattered the moment the actor delivered a single line.
‘He’s even become a meme online these days. He was so unbelievably bad that it was actually funny.’
She was watching the drama absentmindedly when the screen, which had been progressing smoothly enough, suddenly changed.
In the middle of a luxurious house’s living room.
A boy was sitting squarely on a sofa.
‘…Oh, here comes the terrible acting.’
But for some reason, the actor seemed different today.
The boy, sprawled across the sofa, wiped his face with one hand while his back was turned toward the camera. His complicated posture subtly conveyed the emotions of someone young and inexperienced.
Finally, the boy turned around and slumped against the back of the sofa.
‘Gasp.’
The camera, which had been some distance away, moved close to the boy’s face, and the boy spoke with an expression filled with youthful worry.
“Why does nothing ever go the way I want it to?”
The boy she had seen until now had suddenly returned as an actor capable of attacking viewers with his face alone. She was left speechless, her mouth hanging open.
‘…Is that really the same person?’
---
[Popular Post: Did anyone see that terrible child actor today?]
Every time he appears, I have to mentally prepare myself because he’s so painful to watch, but today I was genuinely shocked.
I actually spit out my drink during that close-up shot…
It was such a minor scene, so why do I keep thinking about it?
Honestly, he’s insanely handsome… He looked like Myung Yoo-an when he was a child actor.
But then he went back to his usual terrible acting in the scene where he leaves to study abroad, so I laughed my ass off lol.
32 recommendations
: For real, he really does look like Myung Yoo-an.
: Did he suddenly become possessed by some acting genius just for that close-up?
[No, but how could that have been a coincidence?]
I was impressed the moment his face appeared.
It wasn’t just because he was handsome. His complicated expression suddenly made me understand exactly why that kid had been acting the way he did all this time…
When you think about that, it doesn’t feel like luck or coincidence.
0 recommendations
: As if. Then what was that weird AI-like speech in Episode 2? Is he selectively a genius actor?
: LMAO “selectively a genius actor” is killing me.
[Popular Post: Shocking Update on the Child Actor]
His visuals are insane…
(Photo) (Photo) (Photo)
His agency needs to let this actor go. Someone with a face this good has no business acting.
Become an idol immediately. If you can’t dance or sing, at least become an influencer. To the friend reading this, acting isn’t your calling. Escape while you can.
55 recommendations
: He doesn’t have an agency. He doesn’t even have a profile… I don’t think anyone knows his name.
:ㅠㅠ Why are you trying to hurt the kid’s feelings?
: 222 Praying for his escape.
I clicked through the internet posts one by one absentmindedly, then chuckled and put my phone away.
‘Is this good or bad? What kind of frustrating reaction is this? Everyone wants Jaehyun to quit acting.’
At least I could tell that I had become quite a topic of discussion among the drama’s fans.
“…Did you see that yesterday?”
“Of course. Must feel good.”
I staggered up from my desk. The amount of attention and whispering that had suddenly descended upon me was on an entirely different level.
‘Hmm… Yesterday’s episode definitely turned out better than I expected. Though even the final scene was one that the real Jaehyun had filmed, so there was no difference from the original.’
My impression of attending school in Jaehyun’s body was complicated. At the arts middle school’s acting department, half the students were aspiring actors, while most of the others wanted to pursue this path all the way through university.
Quite a few of them were already working as child actors like Jaehyun.
‘Well, naturally, there are also plenty of kids who are good at acting. It seems that Jaehyun had been treated like an invisible person because of that.’
Because of filming, he often missed school even on weekdays. There were plenty of talented child actors, along with skilled students aiming to major in acting. That made Jaehyun’s position extremely ambiguous.
Whenever there was an acting class, practical exam, or practice session, his grades were always at the bottom, yet somehow he occasionally managed to land fairly decent roles.
“He’s handsome. What can’t he do?”
“I’m just curious when he’ll switch to something else. Apparently he hasn’t even thought about it himself.”
People were saying things like that even within earshot in our classroom. I frowned and took out the textbook for the next class.
Thump.
“…Hmm.”
Even in a situation like this, there was no telling what kind of rumors might be circulating around school.
‘It’ll be fortunate if the kids aren’t gossiping about it on social media. It hasn’t turned into bullying yet, but I have no idea how it might develop once they enter high school.’
I sighed and buried my face again.
---
After school, I returned home after seeing a news article pop up.
[Han Do-hyun and Lee Dam-seol to star together in a crime investigation drama <Case File 0223>]
Han Do-hyun, who plays Shin Ra-gi’s Eui-seol, and Lee Dam-seol, a former member of the disbanded idol group Nairis, have been cast as the leads.
The drama <Case File 0223> is a thrilling crime thriller about detectives Kim Dong-yeon, played by Han Do-hyun, and Baek Seol-hyun, played by Lee Dam-seol, as they pursue a large-scale disappearance and death case…
The news was about the official announcement that <Case File 0223> had begun production.
‘It’s a drama that starts filming in the first week of February… so I guess it was about time the news came out. The casting is no different from what I remember.’
The second drama I had ended up taking on by accident began production with great fanfare.
Han Do-hyun and Lee Dam-seol were both charismatic lead actors with good chemistry and strong visuals. The writer was already known as a star writer, and the director was highly skilled as well. There seemed to be nothing wrong with the combination.
‘And yet I’m still the problem. I’m the problem.’
The previous day’s broadcast of had generated quite a bit of buzz. My phone had been ringing like crazy for some time now, proving it.
Bzz… Bzz… Bzzzz….
I stared blankly at my phone in the empty house before turning it off.
“This isn’t the time to answer all of these one by one… The script reading is only two weeks away.”
A script reading was exactly what it sounded like: gathering the actors and drama staff together to read through the script before filming began.
Extras usually didn’t attend, but this role had enough screen time to be closer to a supporting role than an extra, so I would be participating in the full script reading.
“Haah… I have no idea where to even start.”
I didn’t receive the script until the following week after my casting had been confirmed. I had been continuously practicing vocal projection and basic physical stretches since the day I filmed , but—
There were far more lines and scenes than before, and just looking at them made my mind go blank.
Memorizing the lines? That part was easy.
The truly difficult part was interpreting the character and actually expressing the emotions through acting.
I spread out the piles of papers I had printed myself and fell into despair. I had spent an entire week practicing how to capture the character’s emotions, but I simply couldn’t find my footing.
‘Where’s the pen?’
Rummaging through every drawer in the desk, I found several bags of chocolate and jelly in one of them and tilted my head in confusion.
‘…A child’s appetite, huh.’
I calmly closed the drawer again and took out the stationery stored in the top compartment.
Just as I picked up a highlighter, thinking that I should at least mark the different lines—
Rustle… Sliiide!
The words on the script before my eyes began to glow.