Chapter 11
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 011
Chapter Title: Script Reading (1)
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Two days later, inside the script reading room at SBC Broadcasting Station.
This was a tale of a mother's revenge after losing her son.
That mother had waited endlessly for the students who killed her son to step into society. All so she could exact her vengeance at the peak of their happiness.
In other words, the scenario was broadly divided into the past—her son's school days—and the present—her revenge.
Naturally, the reading room was filled with relatively young actors who would portray the characters during their school years,
and seasoned performers to handle the present timeline.
As it was a project helmed by SBC's golden touch, PD Kim Geun-tae, the lineup was dazzling.
Each one carried real weight.
Especially the lead actress playing the mother, Ham Yeon-jeong.
Her youthful face made it hard to believe she was in her forties, paired with the commanding charisma that came with her age.
She wasn't just someone who had left a massive mark on the drama world.
She was an actress whose skills made the title of "great performer" feel understated.
Fifteen minutes before the script reading was set to begin, Ham Yeon-jeong was pretending to review her script while eavesdropping on the other actors.
Maybe because the core trio—the PD, director, and writer—hadn't arrived yet.
"So, who's playing the son?"
"What? You haven't heard?"
The murmurs were louder than usual today.
"Some no-name rookie, I heard?"
"What? That's insane. What kind of connections does he have to snag that?"
"Several of our kids got turned down flat. How does that even make sense?"
Talk about the rookie was especially rampant.
"Argh, it pisses me off the more I think about it. They rejected me flat-out when I wanted it, and now they're sticking some total newbie in there?"
That guy... Park Mu-gang, right?
The voices of the early-twenty-something actors assigned to the high school flashbacks were the loudest.
"It's such a waste for Lee Ha-neul's role. Man."
"Right? It's killing me."
"Ugh, seriously. I could've done it way better."
Ham Yeon-jeong stroked her chin as she listened to the young actors.
Maybe because they were young. They sure weren't holding back their volume.
"But the staff said the rookie's got a good mask? Apparently, he's pretty handsome."
"What? That's even worse. He's banking on looks instead of acting."
Honestly, from Ham Yeon-jeong's perspective, judging people so hastily didn't sit well.
The atmosphere in the reading room was turning sour fast.
And right on cue, someone else was getting irritated by the chatter.
Shin Yi-han's older sister and the junior PD on Brilliant Sky,
Shin I-rim.
"......"
Shin I-rim stood in the corner of the reading room, her face twisted in a scowl.
"So, all those times PD Kim Geun-tae turned down candidates for Lee Ha-neul... he was saving it for that no-name?"
"What? The PD did that on purpose?"
"Nah, the kid must've pulled strings behind the scenes. No other explanation."
What nonsense is this?
"Yeah, a real parachute drop, huh."
"Ugh, I hate kids like that."
What? Hate? Then drop dead, Park Mu-gang.
Shin I-rim glared wide-eyed at the actors spouting off, memorizing their faces.
She diligently jotted their names in her notebook, not missing a beat.
"Huh? I-rim, whatcha doing?"
"Nothing much."
She was scribbling so furiously that her colleague PD tilted his head at the sight.
"Just something like a Death Note."
"...I-rim. Stop messing around and get to work."
Her colleague shook his head. I-rim was great in every way, but sometimes she went off the rails...
Unaware or uncaring of her colleague's thoughts, Shin I-rim kept glaring at the actors.
'Hurry up and get here, you little punk.'
The harsher the talk got, the more Shin I-rim wished her brother would just show up already.
'I know you're a total newbie just starting out.'
Even if it turned out he was some monstrous genius rookie out of nowhere. Fine by her.
'Just come and wipe the floor with them.'
Please.
The same moment.
The man at the center of all the talk was standing right outside the reading room door.
'Some serious backstabbing going on.'
Shin Yi-han smirked at the voices filtering through the door.
'Should've come in earlier.'
He'd planned to arrive sooner, but PD Kim Geun-tae had held him up.
Shin Yi-han shrugged and placed his hand on the door.
No hesitation.
If anything, he was itching to get inside.
This was his first script reading as an actor.
His very first.
He hadn't participated in the reading for Murder's Delusion since he'd been a last-minute fill-in,
and every scene—barring the child actor parts—was solo anyway.
So even acting alongside other performers was brand new.
He couldn't stop the tickle of excitement in his chest.
Bang! In the end, Shin Yi-han flung the door open.
The moment he stepped inside,
the buzzing atmosphere in the reading room fell silent in an instant.
All eyes turned to Shin Yi-han.
"......"
"......"
A long silence stretched out.
"Hello, I'm Shin Yi-han, playing Lee Ha-neul."
But Shin Yi-han shattered it effortlessly.
Exuding confidence, he flashed a bright smile and began greeting everyone nearby, one by one, as if it were nothing.
"Please take care of me!"
The rookie's unflappable demeanor left the room's actors flustered instead.
'He's... handsome, alright.'
'O-of course, our agency has visuals like that too...!'
'Why does he seem kinda likable?'
There were hints of admiration among them.
'That's him? For Lee Ha-neul?'
'He looks like he'd suck at acting.'
And some skewed stares.
Ham Yeon-jeong, meanwhile, found the situation intriguing.
'Not even a little fazed?'
Shin Yi-han seemed far too composed in her eyes.
'No... maybe excited is more like it.'
Ham Yeon-jeong smiled quietly at him.
Honestly, she didn't care about no-names or acting chops or whatever.
One thing was clear: an interesting guy had walked in.
She was looking forward to this script reading.
And it wasn't long before.
Her prediction hit the mark perfectly.
"Alright, let's get started."
PD Kim Geun-tae entered right on time.
His gaze landed on Shin Yi-han.
The protagonist's son's death.
That was the drama's opening.
And it meant Shin Yi-han would kick off the script reading.
"Shin Yi-han, I'll handle the stage directions. The start's narration, so no pressure—just read it like Lee Ha-neul would."
All eyes focused even more sharply on Shin Yi-han at the PD's instructions.
"Got it."
Shin Yi-han replied, flipping to the first page.
He glanced up briefly.
The writer Yoon Si-a, PD Kim Geun-tae, and director Pyo Nam-un, whom he already knew, were brimming with anticipation.
His sister in the corner wore an expression pleading for him to show them something.
Park Mu-gang across from him and most of the others scowled with dissatisfaction.
Shin Yi-han lifted the corner of his mouth.
Not because of their piercing stares, of course.
He was just eager for his first line.
"Scene 1. Through protagonist Heo So-ra's eyes, her son Lee Ha-neul's face appears, dead with eyes not fully closed."
PD Kim Geun-tae began reading the setup.
"In front of her, the words Lee Ha-neul could never say to his mom flow as narration."
With that, Shin Yi-han shed himself completely and voiced the narration from the script.
Solely as the son, Lee Ha-neul.
The moment the reading room's atmosphere flipped entirely.
The boy was dead.
Half-smashed on the cold concrete floor.
His eyes not even properly closed.
That boy reflected straight into his mother's eyes.
"Mom, I'm sorry."
Drop.
The boy uttered a voice his mother would never hear. Words he couldn't convey until the very end.
And with that one line.
The reading room went so deathly quiet not even a breath could be heard.
"I guess I was too greedy."
- I guess I was too greedy.
The boy's hidden confession began.
Chills crept up their backs.
In the gaze fixed on the script, Shin Yi-han's expression, his casual delivery.
It felt like they were facing the dead Lee Ha-neul himself.
It made no sense for a mere script reading, but it felt... real.
And that single immersion conjured the entire scene in their minds.
A certain apartment. Police sirens, the murmurs of onlookers.
- Even if I had to choke down school lunch from a tray caked in trash.
Amid the noise, it was as if Lee Ha-neul's calm voice echoed forth.
- Even if I couldn't go home looking like that and wandered the park all night.
- Even if my body was covered in cigarette burns...
But the steady voice was starting to waver.
- When those bastards found out about the diner where Mom works.
- Even if I had to cling to their pant legs, begging on my shattered knees...
Like he didn't want his dead heart's outburst discovered even in death.
- I tried to handle it alone somehow.
Lee Ha-neul fought not to let out even a tiny sob.
- But it didn't work out.
His face had long since twisted.
And that... it was maddening.
Chests tightened gradually. Every moment Lee Ha-neul's voice reached them felt agonizing.
Breath caught in their throats.
- I've been so busy lately.
Yet Lee Ha-neul pressed on. Forcing a smile, grinding his teeth to continue.
- Busy being ignored. Busy cowering. Busy running away.
- Busy acting like an idiot.
And at the end, his one desperate wish.
- So I hope Mom never finds out.
The boy still didn't want a single thing revealed.
- What happened.
- It's too ugly, too filthy. Horrific.
His life, already over.
- That's my life, Mom.
"That's my life, Mom."
As Lee Ha-neul's narration curtain fell.
A silence entirely different from when Shin Yi-han first entered flowed through the room.
Everyone still couldn't tear their eyes from Lee Ha-neul... no, from Shin Yi-han.
Even the actors who'd badmouthed him.
Including Park Mu-gang, who'd viewed him most negatively.
His mind blanked for a moment.
"What... the hell."
The words slipped out unbidden. He couldn't comprehend it himself.
Just a few lines from the script.
Why did Lee Ha-neul feel so heartbreaking?
What was this frustration?
He didn't know. For real.
And everyone else felt the same.
'How is that a script reading...'
'What the...'
'He's a no-name? Lies...'
Only Shin Yi-han, the man himself, remained unfazed.
He snapped out of the role in a breath, lifting his head as if that Lee Ha-neul had never existed.
"Uh... PD, next direction...?"
With no follow-up direction, halting the lines, Shin Yi-han quietly called out to PD Kim Geun-tae.
At that, Park Mu-gang clutched the back of his neck.
'Crazy. Is that what matters right now?'
Plenty of people hadn't snapped out of that performance yet. Why interrupt?!
"PD?"
Park Mu-gang shot to his feet without thinking as Shin Yi-han called again, oblivious.
"Quiet down! Lee Ha-neul!"
He'd panicked and used the character's name.
"Ah, no. Shin Yi-han! Actor Shin Yi-han! How can you cut it off mid-scene...?!"
That shattered everyone's immersion.
The heavy silence enveloping the room shattered instantly.
Puhaha!
What? So immersed he called him Lee Ha-neul?
Laughter erupted at Park Mu-gang's outburst, his face flushing beet red.
Even the lead of Brilliant Sky, actress Ham Yeon-jeong, was chuckling. It was funny.
Naturally, her gaze drifted to Shin Yi-han.
What was it?
That exact feeling hit her.
'Finally, a real actor.'
She had no idea how someone that young pulled off acting like that.
Maybe like someone who'd devoted decades to honing their craft.
But she already liked Shin Yi-han.
She was excited for what he'd bring to the next scene.
However...
"Okay, everyone, quit laughing! Let's resume the reading."
Soon after PD Kim Geun-tae took control.
How long had the reading gone on after restarting?
Ham Yeon-jeong couldn't help but be more than a little thrown.
She'd definitely been excited just moments ago.
Eh...
Hold on.
This much... already?
It seemed Shin Yi-han's real acting was only just beginning.