Why Is She Here?
Why was that man here?
"It's been a while."
The man holding out his hand in front of me was Shin Yeomyeong—the film director I'd be shooting Magnificent Bride with starting today.
"I'll be in your care as well. But… where is everyone else? I got here a little late."
Calling it a shoot was generous; today was nothing but a table read. Still, cameras posted at every corner, each with a nameplate in front of it, were already rolling on our reading.
"Ah… well, the thing is, since you're the lead, Jiwoo, I told you a slightly later time. But you got here even earlier than I expected…"
Director Shin Yeomyeong smiled in that awkward, put-on way people do when they're stuck.
"Is there… a problem?"
"No. No problem at all. It's just that there's an unspoken rule on a reading set—the lead is supposed to be the last one to walk in."
Ah.
I knew what he meant. I'd heard that some actors started their pissing contests as early as the table read, in both dramas and films. This was just an extension of that.
Not that it mattered to me. I didn't have anyone I needed to size up.
Still, being careful never hurt.
"Should I come back a little later, then?"
"You'd be okay with that? You came early on purpose."
"It's fine. Or I'll just duck into the restroom. Oh—and is it all right if I stream?"
"Stream… as in?"
Judging by his face, he already knew I broadcast. What that look was really asking was whether I'd be streaming as Lee Jiwoo or as Kuro.
"Lee Jiwoo, of course. I don't know anything about any other stream."
"Ah… so that's the bit. All right. I'll allow a stream. But the content can spoil, so during the actual read, your voice… you know?"
Obviously I knew.
I nodded, grabbed the bag I'd brought, and headed for the restroom.
The reading started at two in the afternoon. I had arrived at noon.
Out in the hallway, the only people I saw were crew hustling around to set cameras even in the bathrooms. Not a single actor in sight.
Click.
I slipped into a stall, put the lid down, and perched on it.
"All right. Let's go."
And just like that, the SNS stream was live.
I hadn't expected many people to be able to drop in on a weekday afternoon. Against that expectation, the viewer count climbed fast.
201 viewers
"Shouldn't you all be at work? How are there already two hundred of you?"
"Ahem. Dropping another streamer's name in here is a violation. That's a warning—don't do it again."
"There are people who don't know, so everyone knock it off. Anyway, the reason I turned the stream on today is…"
That was when the restroom door opened and people came in. From the footsteps, it wasn't one person—at least two.
"Hah… is this even right?"
"What's wrong?"
"Think about it. Even if she's doing well lately, she's still a rookie. Showed up this year. And they just hand her the lead? Who's supposed to sit with that?"
"Well… yeah. But word is she's a good actress, right? That's what people are saying."
"Anyone can act at that level. And the drama—if Kang Wonseong is the PD, everything comes out looking good. Plus the other one's Writer Park Ja-wook, isn't it? With heavyweights like that standing next to you, who couldn't act? You'd do fine too."
"I'd still do it better. I've been grinding this industry for over ten years… and I heard she isn't even from the theater."
"Hah… is she actually insane? You think a movie with a kid like that is going to succeed? If they just handed me the lead right now, I'd shoot it so much better."
I sat there listening. At first I wondered who they were talking about. Then it got clearer by the second.
The smoking gun: a rookie who shot a drama with Director Kang Wonseong and Writer Park Ja-wook and blew up this year.
That was just me, wasn't it?
I'd heard the rumor that Director Kang Wonseong had bailed on the network and started his own distribution company, but I hadn't heard anything about him actually shooting a drama or a film yet.
"Shh. Everyone stay quiet. Sounds like those two have a problem with my acting… I'll just pin them to the floor at today's reading."
Confident, huh…
"Overflowing with it. There's still plenty of time, so I'll sneak out of here and come back later."
I'd planned to kill two hours in the restroom, but the closer it got to reading time, the more traffic came through. I killed time nearby, skimming the script.
"Everyone cut the nonsense. Time's about up, so I'm heading back."
"Read the room? No, that's not it."
I glanced around the café. Those looks that had been flicking my way for a while now.
"Yes, it's me. Want a picture?"
"Ah… yes! Um…"
"I'll do autographs too."
"Th-thank you!"
From the café part-timers to the customers, I ran a light little fan meet on the spot.
"A fan meeting, huh… I'll mention it to the company."
At that, chat started screaming they'd gone to heaven.
"Hello~ I'm Lee Jiwoo, a rookie actress, playing Teresa in Magnificent Bride! I'll be in your care!!"
I bowed at the waist and said it loud enough for every actor in the room to hear.
"Aigoo~ even if you're a rookie, you're the lead. Don't be so stiff. Relax."
"Even if I'm the lead, I'm still a rookie. A greeting like this is only natural."
Director Shin Yeomyeong tried to wave me down and tell me to take it easy. I had no intention of doing so.
I ran a quick scan of the actors. I couldn't get the exact split, but there were more men than women.
That tracked, didn't it?
Magnificent Bride was a crime thriller. Depending on how you called it, it was brutal enough to pull an 18+ rating. In my previous life it had been rated 18+, but whether because of me or not, a lot of the depiction had been cut back compared to that version.
Even so, a crime picture always had detectives. There would be women among them, but given the weight of the material, male detectives fit better—hence the higher share of male actors.
"I'm up next. Kim Haseong, playing the male lead, Detective Kang Tae-oh."
The man sitting beside me was the one I'd be colliding with for the entire film. If you went by his face alone, you'd think violent crime before you'd think cop—but everyone in that room would concede Kim Haseong's crime acting.
"This time I'm the detective instead of the criminal… I'll do my best to settle into it. I'd appreciate a lot of help."
Kim Haseong lowered himself. A man who was already a veteran in crime pictures, still hungry to learn.
I wasn't about to lose to that. I clenched a fist where no one could see it, dropped my posture just as low as his—as a promise to study harder—and put steel in my eyes so he wouldn't dare take me lightly.
The introductions went around, one actor after another. Then a voice I'd heard in the restroom landed in my ear.
"Hello! I'm Lee Seha, playing Bride A this time! I've held my ground in the theater for ten years. I'll give it everything I have."
"I'm Bride B. We were in the theater together. I'll work hard!"
Hah.
I was actually speechless.
Not a lead. Not even a supporting role. One extra among a crowd of them.
Not that I looked down on extras. If you'd been grinding theater for ten years and still hadn't landed anywhere, either the acting was the problem, or the personality was.
From where I sat it looked like both… but we'd find out once we started shooting.
Talking behind my back didn't matter. I could ignore that. But if they got in the way during a shoot… I would not forgive it.
Consider yourselves warned.
And then—
Scrape.
A woman shoved her chair back and stood.
"Uh… uhh?"
"Hello. I'm Han Mi-young. I'll be in your care."
Why was she here?