CHAPTER 021: Moderate Success Isn’t That Great
CHAPTER 021: Moderate Success Isn’t That Great
“…Nice! That was good!”
Director Chae Wongi’s booming voice burst out.
Only then, as if they had remembered how to breathe, Baek Junbong’s disciples who had been watching let out short breaths one after another—“Hoo-ah.”
All of them thought the same thing at once.
What the hell was that insane acting?
What was his name? I’ve never seen that face before. Why is he acting like that?
I even forgot to breathe while watching. I was completely immersed.
Director Baek Junbong’s disciples were in a trance.
A tacit silence, as though no one wanted to break the afterglow.
The one who broke it was Director Baek Junbong.
“Th-that… what kind of monster did that come from?”
His voice held pure awe that went beyond simple praise.
The kids who come out saying they act these days are too polished. They act like smooth pebbles without a single scar. They’re only trying to be good. But that friend… is different. He’s completely letting himself go. And yet he isn’t exaggerated or showy at all.
Baek Junbong stared hard at Ryu Sunho’s face.
Eyes that looked empty.
But inside them were sorrow, rage, madness, and a vicious purity.
That isn’t something stacked up through study. It’s purely an inborn sense. The ability to express every emotion in the world…
Baek Junbong reached a conclusion.
An out-of-spec genius.
There was no other way to describe that monster.
Baek Junbong looked over at the disciples around him.
He wondered whether seeing such outstanding acting was a stroke of luck or misfortune for them.
Because it would raise their standards too high.
Baek Junbong asked the shaggy-haired disciple who looked like he had taken the biggest shock.
“What do you think, Seongwoo. Do you feel like you understand what it means for an actor to come alive?”
“Th-that… I… I saw something too overwhelming…”
As the shaggy-haired disciple stammered,
Director Yoon Gyeonghwan, who had been behind them, turned toward Chae Wongi.
He spoke as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Director Chae… the actor you mentioned earlier… that’s him…?”
“Correct. You can tell at a glance, right?”
“No… Actor Park Juwon’s acting was razor-sharp today too, but he just devoured him. That’s a rookie?”
“He’s not just any rookie.”
“Then what?”
“He’s the rookie I brought in.”
“What does that even—”
“I found him on an advertising shoot set when he had no acting experience.”
“You’re bragging… With acting like that, anyone would covet him.”
“So you want him?”
“If you don’t, you’re not a director. How do you just let that go after seeing it?”
“Kahaha! Right. That’s normal. But listen. That’s not all.”
“Not all?”
“You know how our drama promotion blew up recently, right?”
“What, the Instagram thing? My youngest sent it in KakaoTalk so I think I saw it briefly…”
He hesitated for a moment.
Then he looked back at Ryu Sunho.
“Huh? Ah! That was him?”
“Yeah. What do you think—couldn’t tell at all, right?”
“Not at all. It’s not just the makeup—his acting right now is totally different from what I saw in the teaser!”
“Exactly. His acting is that insane, and he’s smart too. I mean, a twenty-one-year-old rookie advertises himself?”
“No way. That was his idea too?”
Director Chae Wongi nodded.
“I heard the company didn’t make him do it. He volunteered, even showed a proposal, and carried it through.”
“…Rookies are usually busy doing whatever they’re told with no ego, so I like the passion first of all.”
“Go say hello later.”
After filming ended, Ryu Sunho came over to greet them, having removed the special-effects makeup.
When Director Yoon Gyeonghwan saw him in person, his eyes widened once again.
“……!”
He was handsome.
Extremely pure and clean.
But he’d acted that brutally earlier with a face like this?
At that moment, a film script Director Yoon Gyeonghwan was currently working on flashed through his mind.
“Which agency did you say that kid was with? What’s his next schedule?”
After finishing shots from various angles, the call for the final cut finally came.
As if they had been waiting, the staff let out cheers.
“You seriously worked so hard!!”
“Wow, your acting was insane!! You were perfect all the way to the end!”
“A flawless finish!!”
Camera, audio, lighting.
Everyone, without exception, congratulated me sincerely.
Before I knew it, our staff joined in too.
“Thank you for all your hard work!”
“Sunho, Sunho—your face got red. Let’s just touch up your skin again!”
Director Chae Wongi came over to me too, saying I’d worked hard, and gave me a tight hug.
“It must’ve been tough with such deep emotional beats, but thank you for doing well to the end. Are you having trouble getting out of the character or anything?”
I smiled and shook my head.
“No.”
I rubbed the bracelet I’d kept in my pocket.
The bracelet Senior Park Dusim had given me.
Maybe because of the warm comfort and encouragement she had handed me after filming that day.
Strangely, touching the bracelet made my mind settle, and I could escape the trauma.
After I removed the special-effects makeup and came back, the set was being cleared out.
Then, a stranger approached.
“Hello. Sunho, I’m Director Yoon Gyeonghwan. Are you interested in film?”
“Today is our drama’s villain… no, for our production crew he’s a hero! Our hero, Sunho’s last shoot—of course we all have to go out to eat together!”
“Sure!”
That was how I ended up joining the get-together.
A barbecue place near Mapo-gu, Seoul.
“Alright, everyone, cheers! To the success of !”
At Director Chae Wongi’s voice, everyone’s glasses rose into the air.
A clear clink of glass echoed.
I grilled meat and took in protein, while the director of photography and the assistant director at the same table chatted nonstop.
“Seriously, Sunho. Your acting is incredible, but how did you never mess up your lines even once? Even top actors stumble on lines sometimes. Were you born with a good memory?”
“Haha, no. I just memorized them whenever I had time.”
“Man. Watching you, I really feel like the people who are good work even harder.”
That was overpraise.
This was closer to a kind of compulsion.
A disease I picked up while working at an advertising company.
A team would suffer for months making an ad to show a client, and I kept thinking it could all be ruined by a single mistake during a presentation, so I always memorized the presentation script without missing a single syllable.
I practiced so much I did it in my dreams, so that said it all.
“Ah, there’s something I’m curious about. So is Instagram over now? You reveal you’re Kang Seoho and that’s it?”
“No.”
Of course it wasn’t ending here.
There was still an easter egg I’d hidden.
I would reveal it after the drama started airing, and when that time came, it would go viral all over again.
“Then what is it? Tell us. I can’t stand it, I’m too curious.”
“Haha, if I say it in advance, it’s not fun. I’ll tell you later.”
“I’ve been rolling around in this entertainment world for over ten years, and I’ve never seen someone like you, Sunho. I’ve seen polite people, people who can act, handsome people, all that—but someone who can do their own PR? Promotion? I’m telling you, you’re the first. And at that young age too.”
“I heard from Director Chae earlier that Sunho suggested our drama’s English title too.”
“Yes… that’s right. Sunho suggested an amazing title.”
For some reason, Raina Park from Wiplex also joined the get-together.
Something about how this was still an extension of work.
“Honestly, I was really shocked. At first I didn’t expect anything at all. Never… But it was perfect. The hooking was on point.”
With narrowed eyes, she looked at me and asked.
“Do you want to try working with our company? We can take good care of you.”
“Come on, Sunho should be an actor. His acting is talent that’s too good to waste. If he becomes an actor, he can use both, right? Knowing how to do your own PR is a really important skill too.”
“Right. Now all Sunho has left to do is take off.”
“What do you think, Yoonha? He’s your junior at the same agency now.”
Seo Yoonha startled.
“Huh? Ah, yes. Right. Now he has to take off. His future is bright—if no one gets in his way.”
Why did she keep glancing at me like that.
Ah, this was uncomfortable.
It felt like she was mad at me about something, but she wasn’t saying it.
I couldn’t stand this avoidant personality type.
What did I do wrong?
Was it because I only replied with emoticons on KakaoTalk?
Because I kept pestering her to practice the script together, but we never practiced together even once?
Because when we ate tangsuyuk, I accidentally poured the sauce?
Tsk.
Maybe it was my fault.
Whatever it was.
We were going to keep running into each other in this industry, and it was uncomfortable to leave it vague like this.
Better to resolve it here.
I leaned closer and whispered.
“Are you mad at me about something?”
Seo Yoonha flinched and waved her hands.
“Mad? No, no.”
“No, it just felt like you’ve been avoiding me lately. I thought maybe I made a mistake. If I know what it is, I won’t do it again.”
Seo Yoonha hesitated, then answered.
“It’s not that… I just feel sorry.”
“Sorry? For what?”
“Because of me, Sunho got cursed at. After the casting article came out, people who say they’re my fans started leaving a ton of hate comments at you…”
Ah.
That?
“Like, a rookie is riding on someone else’s coattails, throwing crap on the drama, that kind of thing.”
I didn’t think anyone said the “throwing crap” part, but.
“I know it’ll die down once the drama airs later… but you got cursed at when you didn’t even have to, because of me.”
“It’s fine.”
“Huh?”
“People like that would’ve cursed at me no matter what. If I did a one-man show, they’d still curse at me. Saying I’m taking advantage of a sucker. They just borrowed an excuse, that’s all.”
“You really don’t care at all?”
“So what. They’ll disappear once I prove myself. If I chose this job, I have to endure that.”
“You’re really… a healthy person…”
“So I don’t think you need to worry about that.”
And I swallowed the rest—
So send KakaoTalk in moderation.
Seo Yoonha’s expression brightened.
Then Director Chae Wongi stood up and drew everyone’s attention.
“Alright! The first broadcast is the day after tomorrow. We’ve got something to do, right?”
“First broadcast ratings bet!”
“Yeah. Everyone put in ten thousand won each. And place your predictions!”
“Alright! I’m going with 5%!”
“Hey, that’s too timid.”
“In times like these, 5% for a first broadcast is huge!”
“I’ll go with 8%. Big!”
“Okay. One person’s already out.”
“We made this drama together—aren’t you being too harsh?”
“Capitalism is cold by nature, my friend.”
People bickered in a cheerful mood.
Then their gazes turned to me.
“Are you collecting money from Sunho too?”
“Sunho probably makes more money than us.”
“Yeah, that’s possible.”
“Then Sunho, what percent?”
“I…”
There was nothing to think about.
“I’ll bet 10%.”
“Huhhhhhh!”
I had to go over 10% to get the reward.
If I was going to win, I might as well win big all at once.
The day the first broadcast was scheduled.
I went to the agency office early in the morning.
Jo Sehun, Team Leader of the Management Team, said he had something to tell me.
While I waited in the conference room because he seemed busy, I checked the status window.
【Influence】
【Recognition Level: 18/100】
【Interpersonal Index: *Unable to Measure】
*Must have Recognition Level of 30 or higher to view
【Ripple Effect: *Unable to Measure】
*Must have Interpersonal Index of 30 or higher to view
I hadn’t even appeared in the media more, but my Recognition Level had risen quite a bit in the meantime.
Looks like the drama going viral in communities was a big factor.
If the drama aired and did well, I could reach Recognition Level 30, unlock it, and qualify for Acting Rank A.
Then Jo Sehun came into the conference room.
“Ah, sorry, sorry. Something urgent came up that I had to handle.”
“No, it’s fine. I didn’t wait long.”
“But Sunho, aren’t you nervous?”
“About what?”
“Tonight at 10 p.m., it’s the first broadcast. It’s your real debut as an actor.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Man. The more I see you, the less you feel like a rookie. I like that.”
With a satisfied expression, he got to the point.
“Two film scripts came in.”
“Already?”
“For a rookie, that’s extremely rare. Two coming in is the first time I’ve seen it. And one of them is Director Yoon Gyeonghwan’s project.”
Ah, that director I saw on set.
He moved fast.
He sent the script immediately.
“Read them first. The decision is yours, Sunho.”
“Yes. I’ll read them for a bit.”
The title written on the cover.
It felt like a title I’d heard in passing.
Like something I’d glimpsed in my previous life.
But I didn’t remember it in detail.
Meaning it wasn’t a huge hit.
The content was also ordinary.
A run-of-the-mill film about youth friendship and growth.
A story that would probably land moderately well with younger audiences.
“Director Yoon Gyeonghwan is a director who’s pretty hot in the film scene these days. You know ‘Beautiful Mint,’ right? The movie that passed six million admissions last year. It’s that director. And he even gave you a lead role. For a rookie, this is the best opportunity you could ask for.”
Oh.
If it was a lead role, that changed things.
It was a role that fit my age group, so it felt like I could pull it off well.
So I’d keep it for now.
And I picked up the second script.
“This one is a debut film by a director who hasn’t debuted yet. The name is… what was it? Let me look it up.”
The title was a title I’d never heard before.
Did this movie never even get released…?
In the film world, there were countless works that existed only as scripts, got canceled in production, and were left to rot in storage.
There were even movies that finished filming but never got released and ended up discarded.
But as I read the script quickly, I stopped.
It was a strangely familiar story.
It wasn’t that it was a cliché story.
It was just that, the more it progressed, the stronger the déjà vu became.
Wait. No way this film…
The more I read, the more certain I became.
This is Ji Seongwoo’s work.
The genius director who would later be called an innovative pioneer in the film industry and sweep Cannes.
But this film, his debut work, had been a box-office disaster at the time of release despite critical praise.
It was only reevaluated later.
The reason it failed.
It was because of absurd marketing.
A black comedy film with satirical elements got packaged and promoted by the distributor as a family comedy.
As a result, word of mouth spread in a bad way when audiences got something completely different from what they expected, and it flopped.
Jo Sehun asked as he watched me.
“So what do you think? Honestly, I recommend ‘Cheongchun Parang’ a lot more. Bigger production scale, and it’s a known director’s work. For a first film, it’ll be a stable choice.”
He was right.
It was an obviously stable choice.
You could predict a certain level of guaranteed success.
But.
I seemed to be someone who couldn’t be satisfied with moderate success.
“I… want to do this.”
“You mean ‘Cheongchun Parang’—huh? You’re going to do ‘Vacuum State’?”
Film promotion?
I just had to do it properly.