CHAPTER 024: Buzz
CHAPTER 024: Buzz
The day after episode 2 aired.
The set was now overflowing with the liveliness and confidence unique to a team that had just boarded the fast track of success.
“Heeey, Actor Park who got reborn! No—should I call you Detective Han? Come on in!”
Director Chae Wongi, in high spirits, spread his arms toward Park Juwon, who had just arrived on set.
Park Juwon responded to the enthusiasm in a good mood.
“The pride of Korea’s video industry—born from the advertising world and raised by the drama world! Director Chae, good morning.”
“Kuhahaha! Juwon-ssi really greased his tongue properly too! Did you see the episode 2 ratings yesterday? It hit 15%. Fifteen! Hahaha! This is a truly all-time legendary drama start!”
“In all my years as an actor, I’ve never seen early momentum like this. At this level, even can’t handle it, can it?”
“It can’t. After episode 2 devoured everything like that, how could viewers watch episode 3 and then go watch some other drama?”
“I admit it. Episode 2’s impact was savage. Especially Sunho’s acting—ugh. How did it get even better than at the script reading.”
While the two were praising Ryu Sunho, the assistant director cut in.
“Director, but did you see Sunho-ssi’s Instagram post after episode 2 ended?”
“‘The gods should feel what burning is like,’ that? I saw it. He really played with people.”
“You knew about it?”
“I didn’t. Not even in my dreams. How could anyone predict that?”
“Exactly. I didn’t notice at all either, but later I looked at them together and got chills. Thanks to that, the drama’s popularity right now is no joke. Early on, Sunho-ssi is playing a huge role.”
Then, as if something occurred to him, Park Juwon spoke with a serious expression.
“Sunho… isn’t he really like you said, Director—living a second life?”
“Kuhaha, it’s the kind of thing that makes you say that! He acts well, he’s smart, his face is handsome. Total cheat character.”
Unlike Director Chae Wongi, Park Juwon stayed serious.
“No, Director. I’m saying I have a rational suspicion. Sunho even nailed the episode 1 rating.”
“Ah, right. True. We still have to pay Sunho-ssi the rating bet. How should I give it to him? Send it to his account? Huh, he’s lucky too.”
“Director, I don’t think that was luck. It felt like he said 10% because he knew exactly.”
“Come on, no way. Why are you so serious?”
“No, Director. I watched episode 1 with Sunho at my place.”
“Oh, yeah? You two sure are close.”
“But right when episode 1 ended, Sunho goes, ‘It’s 10%,’ like that. The ratings announcement hadn’t even come out yet. But then right then, Director, you posted in the group chat that it was 10.3%. I got chills.”
“What? Really?”
The smile vanished from Director Chae Wongi’s face.
Then he tilted his head and asked Park Juwon.
“But Juwon-ssi. Do you know what the first-broadcast rating was for , the drama that aired before ours?”
“No.”
“Then what about the first-broadcast rating for your first drama?”
“Was it 7%…? Or was it 8%?”
“Right. What kind of insane bastard goes around memorizing drama ratings like that.”
“……!”
“I’ve felt every time I see Sunho-ssi that there’s something not ordinary about him. Maybe this is…”
Park Juwon swallowed hard, waiting for the next words.
“It’s not about a second life or luck… maybe his eye is just insane.”
At the same time.
The day I had a meeting with Director Ji Seongwoo.
“Ah, he’s over there.”
Jo Sehun pointed at a man sitting in a corner of the cafe.
And I had no choice but to stop in my tracks.
“……!”
That was Director Ji Seongwoo?
A shaggy-haired man biting his nails with an extremely anxious expression.
It was far from the young image of the “innovative genius” I’d imagined.
If anything, he looked like he was carrying every worry in the world.
“Hello.”
When I greeted him, he flinched and hunched his shoulders.
“Ah, hello! Actor Ryu Sunho!”
Director Ji Seongwoo bowed politely to someone much younger than him.
Then he extended a hand that was trembling violently.
We managed a handshake.
“Sit here, Sunho. I’ll be right back. What do you want to drink?”
“Thank you. I’ll have misutgaru.”
“…You’re going to drink misutgaru at a cafe? Do they even sell that?”
Misutgaru was more filling than coffee.
And wasn’t misutgaru, nutty and sweet, tastier than bitter coffee?
After Jo Sehun returned with the drinks, the real conversation began.
“Th-th… you read the script, right…?”
“Yes. I read it and enjoyed it a lot.”
At that, Director Ji Seongwoo’s eyes sparkled.
“R-really? Usually people say the script is too difficult……”
“It’s true that it’s difficult.”
Director Ji Seongwoo pulled his neck in like a turtle again.
“But I actually think that’s what makes it attractive.”
The film was definitely special. No—so special it was peculiar.
It delivered a fresh shock by using genre deconstruction and an experimental structure.
The sudden genre shift would split people’s tastes, but there was no denying it was an excellent film.
That was why it received critical praise and was reevaluated later.
“Th-thank you. My confidence has been really low lately……”
“Did something happen?”
Jo Sehun asked with an easygoing smile.
“My, my production company is pressuring me a lot. They keep saying the film is too abstruse and has no commercial value… they keep asking for script revisions, but th-that’s the one thing I can’t concede.”
As if his throat was dry, he gulped down coffee.
“They also handle casting however they want. They say that for box office, we absolutely have to use a famous actor, but I’m looking for someone who can express this film’s message in full.”
As if pent-up resentment had built up, he spilled words out rapidly.
“Ah, so that’s why you sent the script to Sunho.”
“Yes… I saw you on the set of Divine Investigation. The way you immersed yourself in the role and poured out the energy you have…”
Director Ji Seongwoo was on set too?
Where was he hiding?
“But, honestly, I sent it in a burst of anger, but the production company still doesn’t know.”
“Huh?”
Then—
Bzz— bzz—
Director Ji Seongwoo’s phone rang.
He checked the screen and made a terrified expression.
“It’s… it’s the production company…”
We watched quietly, and Director Ji Seongwoo stood up and took the call a short distance away.
But distancing himself did nothing—his voice only grew louder.
“N-no, sir. The script structure was like this from the start.”
“……”
“So… if you take out the metaphor, it j-just becomes a different film!”
“……”
“…What? Casting—I said I decide after I watch them. Then why!”
People nearby turned to look at the sudden volume.
Director Ji Seongwoo ended the call and came back with a dark expression.
“…I’m sorry, Sunho-ssi.”
“What happened?”
“The production company… th-they said they already found an actor for the role you’d take.”
Silence fell.
Jo Sehun spoke first.
“Who?”
Director Ji Seongwoo hesitated, then said,
“He’s called Choi Seungjun… do you know him?”
Choi Seungjun.
Of course I knew him.
The one blemish on this film.
A former idol-turned-actor, Choi Seungjun.
His acting wasn’t terrible, and his public recognition was substantial.
But the problem was that a few years later, he would become a criminal who completely fell from the entertainment industry due to a sexual assault case.
Because of that, even when this film was reevaluated, it couldn’t be rereleased.
Even for Director Ji Seongwoo’s sake, Choi Seungjun’s casting had to be stopped.
“I-I’m really sorry. I didn’t know either. The production company suddenly…”
“Which production company is it?”
“Nine Film……”
Director Ji Seongwoo clenched his fist tightly.
“I-I’ll talk to the production company again. Even if I have to assert my directing rights……!”
No.
If the production company and the director clashed now,
the powerless rookie director would simply get pushed out.
“No. Don’t do that.”
Director Ji Seongwoo looked flustered.
Maybe out of guilt, he fidgeted restlessly.
“N-no. I didn’t call you here for this…”
“Instead, may I ask you one thing?”
“Huh? Wh-what?”
“The production company values box office, and you value artistry, right? If you keep insisting on only your own positions like this, it’s going to become nothing but a fight.”
At my words, Director Ji Seongwoo’s gaze wavered.
“Th-that’s true.”
“So responding head-on right now doesn’t seem good for either me or you, Director.”
“Then you’re just going to give up?”
Jo Sehun tilted his head.
“No. We have to talk, not fight.”
“T-talk?”
“If it becomes a fight, the stronger side wins in the end. I’m still a rookie, so I don’t have power.”
Of course, neither do you.
I phrased it indirectly, since saying it bluntly would be offensive.
At some point, Director Ji Seongwoo calmed down and started listening closely to me.
“What if you propose an audition for a fair comparison? Choi Seungjun and me—have us audition so they can compare.”
“Ah…! An audition!”
“We’re saying let’s hold auditions to make a good film, so the production company doesn’t have a pretext to oppose it. And it’ll look like you’re also taking a step back, Director.”
The anxious, trembling look settled down quite a bit.
“G-good. I’ll do it!”
As if he’d made up his mind, Director Ji Seongwoo picked up his phone.
“…Yes, sir. I wanted to talk about the casting of Choi Seungjun.”
“……”
“…No, I have my opinion too… what if we do a fair audition? Choi Seungjun, the actor I recommend, and other candidates as well. Have everyone audition and compare…”
“……”
“Yes. Then I think we can accept the outcome based on transparent results.”
When the call ended, Director Ji Seongwoo’s face brightened.
“I-it worked! The production company head tried to refuse at first, but when I kept persuading him, he finally agreed! We decided to hold the audition a month from now!”
“Okay! Good, Sunho!”
“Then once you audition, Sunho-ssi will win the role with acting…”
“No. Even if I act better at the audition, I won’t be able to overturn the situation with that alone.”
The two of them looked completely thrown.
“Huh?”
“W-wait, then why would we even…?”
If the production company were going to pick an actor purely by acting ability, there’d be no need for it to be Choi Seungjun in the first place.
There were many actors who could act well.
So why insist on him specifically, an idol-turned-actor?
Didn’t the director keep saying it?
The production company wanted a famous face for box office.
In that sense, the reason the production company accepted Director Ji Seongwoo’s proposal just now wasn’t because they were committed to selecting fairly through auditions—
It was closer to a formal acceptance to persuade the director.
There was a high chance it would become a show audition in the end.
But.
The reason I proposed the audition.
“To buy time.”
The actor the production company wanted wasn’t “Choi Seungjun,” but “a commercially valuable actor.”
In other words, if a bigger-buzz actor said they’d do this film, the choice could change at any time.
Right now, comparing Choi Seungjun and me head-on, I couldn’t compete.
I was at my lowest point right now.
And just this week, the drama’s first broadcast aired.
So.
In this one month secured under the pretext of an audition, I would advertise myself.
As an actor with bigger buzz and commercial value than Choi Seungjun.