Script Reading! (1)

Thursday morning.

I stood alone in front of the house. Only a moment earlier, Ji Hyuna had been standing there with me.

She had wanted to come along, even if it meant showing up late to work, but after checking a phone that was ringing itself into a frenzy, she had set off for the office with a crestfallen look on her face.

Haaaah.

White breath puffed from my mouth. A February morning was bitterly cold. A cold-wave advisory had already gone out on my phone first thing, and even with fur-lined shoes and gloves on, I couldn't stop my fingers and toes from going numb.

"They're late..."

The time was 9:10.

I had been told they would arrive by nine. It was already well past the point when they should have been here, and there was still no sign of a car.

Just then—

Vroom...

I lifted my head at the sound of an engine in the distance, and a black van rolled to a stop in front of me.

Clunk.

The door slid open, and a familiar face appeared inside.

"Manager Kang Ho-yeon."

"Jiwoo. Sorry I'm late. There was a car accident just up the road."

"Were you hurt? A hospital? Are you sure you don't need to go?"

The words car accident made my heart lurch. Kang Ho-yeon looked perfectly fine. It was hard to believe she had been in a wreck at all. Still, I couldn't help worrying.

"We weren't the ones in the accident, so don't worry. Get in. We're already late. Even if we floor it from here, we might not make it on time."

At Kang Ho-yeon's urging, I climbed into the van at once.

"Um... who is this?"

I looked at the woman in the driver's seat, who hadn't said a word and was simply gripping the wheel.

"This is going to be the team's road manager starting today — yours included."

"A road manager..."

Someone who managed a celebrity's schedule and condition and went everywhere with them — essentially a secretary. The kind of person assigned to every celebrity at least once.

"Hello. I'm Choi Gayeong. A pleasure to work with you."

"Yes, a pleasure. I'm Lee Jiwoo."

"By the way... where are we going? I heard it was a script reading."

I still hadn't been told the destination, even on the day of. Kang Ho-yeon looked apologetic.

"About that... normally it wouldn't drag on this long. Sounds like there was some friction between the producer and an actor. They said the reading might get pushed until that got resolved..."

Kang Ho-yeon glanced at me as she went on.

"But PD Kang Wonseong said he had a promise to keep and insisted the reading had to happen today. The location got locked in last night in a rush."

"Ah..."

I couldn't help a small sound of admiration.

The reason it absolutely had to be today was probably the promise he had made with me. The promise that he wouldn't let this hurt my school life. You never know how things will go, and other schedules can crop up in the middle. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The fact that he had forced it through meant he had taken that promise seriously.

"Manager... please give me the script. I need to read it one more time."

"Didn't you say you'd already memorized every line?"

"I did, but... once we've decided to start, I intend to give it everything I've got. So I don't become a burden to anyone else."

Especially not to PD Kang Wonseong and Writer Kim Eun-joo.

I had already read the script so thoroughly I could recite it in my sleep. Taking it from her, I started from the beginning as if I were reading it for the first time.

Then a Status Window I had never seen before appeared before my eyes.

"....?!"

A trait that was exactly what I needed right now had appeared. But... why now?

This was not the first time I had read a script. I had read it at home while practicing, and even during break times at my part-time job.

I checked the bottom of the Status Window, the traits section, and confirmed the newly added entry sitting alongside the one I had obtained before, I'm a Natural Genius (C).

Anyway, more traits is never a bad thing.

I turned my gaze back to the script.

"Whoa..."

I was a little startled. I was clearly reading the exact same script, but it no longer looked like what I had been reading until now. It started coming through from a completely different angle.

Right... that's it. I'm not the lead of this drama. So I don't need to outshine the protagonist. If anything... I need to act in a way that complements them.

When I had practiced acting with the I'm a Natural Genius trait, the roles of the actors I had designated had always been the lead. But the part I had been given was a supporting role.

A supporting actor must never outshine the lead. A drama only succeeds when the lead and supporting cast work as a combination. If you claw and fight to stand out on your own against the lead... that drama is as good as dead.

Kang Ho-yeon, sitting beside me, asked in a worried voice.

"Jiwoo...? You okay? You've been zoning out... if you're not feeling well, should we go to the hospital first?"

"No. I'm fine. I was just reading the script and... I realized I could act in a completely different way."

"A different way? What do you mean?"

Kang Ho-yeon tilted her head. The last time she had seen me act, she had been so absorbed she had practically drooled, so her curiosity about my new approach was only natural.

There was no reason to hide it, so I showed her the acting I had been thinking of. Not acting that overpowered the lead, but acting that moved with them, drawing out synergy from each other. Of course, there wasn't even an opposite role here right now.

"From where I'm sitting, I think the way you acted before was better?"

Around ten o'clock, we arrived at the production company building I had visited once before. The other actors must have already gotten there; the parking lot was lined with expensive-looking cars.

"We're not late, are we?"

"Hmm... looking at the time, we're not technically late. It's pretty close, though. They might give a rookie a hard time for cutting it this fine... I'll talk to them."

If that accident hadn't happened, we could have arrived at least thirty minutes earlier. Kang Ho-yeon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠let out a sigh.

Whatever the circumstances, the fact was we had arrived by the skin of our teeth. We went up to the seventh floor of the building where the script reading was being held.

The moment we stepped off the elevator, the entrance was packed with people.

"How's it looking today?"

"What do you mean... Kim Eun-joo and Kang Wonseong teamed up. Of course it's going to be a hit."

"I don't know about that. You know, that story about them casting a rookie without any prior notice."

"Oh, right. That's why the PD and an actor got into a fight, yeah? And... looks like that rookie still isn't here? Shouldn't they have been the first one here, getting ready? Slacking off."

As I passed by, the word rookie made my chest twinge. They were clearly talking about me.

"Jiwoo. You can hold your head high."

"I'm fine. It doesn't bother me. What they're saying isn't even wrong, is it?"

"That's..."

I was already used to being talked about behind my back. If I let every ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠comment like that get to me, my mind wouldn't hold. Things like that, you let in one ear and out the other.

I went into the script reading room with Kang Ho-yeon. The interior looked much smaller than the last time I had been here. Along the walls stood countless cameras and people, and in the center was a massive table with nameplates for each role set on top.

"Jiwoo. Those people are probably the making-of team."

"The making-of team?"

"Yeah. They film the behind-the-scenes of the production, then drip it out as extras once the drama wraps."

I had seen that before. The little clips that come out after a drama ends, like cookie videos. Behind-the-scenes footage and such.

"So I need to make a good impression on them?"

"That's not wrong, but... you'll probably be fine. You're a rookie, and nobody knows you. Until they come to you first, you don't need to approach them."

"But if... something weird ends up in the footage..."

"You don't need to worry about that. It's still part of the footage, right? The PD ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠will handle anything that looks bad."

I nodded and looked for the nameplate that said Kang Sora. I wanted to sit down right away, but everyone looked busy. It felt awkward to sit alone in a situation like this, so I stayed on my feet and eavesdropped a little on the conversations around me.

Eavesdropping is basically a core skill of any lifelong salaryman.

"So who's playing Kang Sora?"

"Kang Sora...? Oh, didn't they say Han Mi-young was doing it?"

"Yeah, well... she got rejected and apparently fought with the PD."

I had heard that a PD and an actor had fought. I never would have dreamed it was Director Kang Wonseong and an actor. Not in a million years.

"Anyway, the person who got Kang Sora is a rookie, so Han Mi-young was even more pissed."

"Ah... that thing where they pre-cast someone and then held an audition as a cover? Didn't they announce that was false?"

"It's not false, that's why they kept quiet until today. Plus that actor... there's a rumor they're especially close with the PD."

The rumors were drifting in a weirder and weirder direction when—

"There's a rumor like that? I'm curious too, tell me."

"Well... huh? K-Kang Wonseong... why is the PD here?"

PD Kang Wonseong appeared, a script tucked under one arm, his expression fierce. Beside him was Writer Kim Eun-joo, dark circles under her eyes.

Thanks to that, the dozens of people who had been gossiping just a moment ago scattered to their seats in a hurry.

"Hah...."

PD Kang Wonseong let out a small sigh. At that, every actor looked at him with tense faces. Among them was someone who tossed out a joke to lighten the PD's mood.

"PD, come on, tell us already. Who on earth is sitting in Kang Sora's seat after they dumped Han Mi-young?"

The one who had made the joke was a tall, well-groomed man — Choi Chun-sung, the actor playing the male lead of Ghost Singer.

PD Kang Wonseong checked Choi Chun-sung's face once, then opened his mouth.

"She's right over there."

"...She's here? But no matter where I look..."

PD Kang Wonseong met my eyes once and slowly nodded. That meant I should introduce myself. I looked at Writer Kim Eun-joo sitting beside him, and she nodded with the same expression.

"Hello. I'm Lee Jiwoo, the new actress playing Kang Sora this time. I'll work hard."

I bowed my head in greeting. But not a sound came from anyone around me.

"Alright, alright. Don't just stare. And whoever was spreading rumors that Jiwoo and I have some weird relationship... cut the crap. Han Mi-young got cut purely because she can't act."

"And I'm the one who pushed hard for Jiwoo, so if you're going to talk about a weird relationship, it would be with me. So please... don't go spreading nonsense."

Under the two masters' warning, nothing but a hushed silence spread through the script reading room.