A Lesson in Seniority
As soon as Lee Gu-jun said that, the room went quiet. Apparently he liked the silence, because a smug smile crept across his face.
“Even so, all Ma Soo-jung probably did was give you a few pointers, right?”
Ah. I’d heard that one before.
Why are they always belittling my hard work like that?
And what if Mom had taught me something in the first place?
Being taught something and being good at it are completely different things.
I knew it was a pointless nitpick, of course.
This is probably the kind of nonsense I’m going to have to keep dealing with from now on.
The road ahead was still a long one.
I’m glad Deok-su isn’t here.
Deok-su didn’t care who he had to pick a fight with when it came to me. If he’d been here, he might have thrown a punch at that guy already.
Well, I can’t exactly send him in and out of the police station.
I met Lee Gu-jun’s eyes. The balding man smirked back at me.
“Anyway, our movie doesn’t have anyone to really hold things down in the middle.”
Seriously?
“There’s no veteran actor. The film feels too young.”
His intentions were so transparent it was almost impressive.
I clenched my fists, then slowly loosened them. Honestly, people like him were everywhere.
The kind of people who make a show out of their age.
Come to think of it, there hadn’t been any veteran actors in The Basement.
There were, what, five middle-aged roles?
Except for one, they were all bit parts, and none of them had much screen time.
Because the leads were Jung Yu-jin and me.
So that was it. That was why this bastard had been laying all that groundwork.
Did he think that, as one of the supporting actors, he’d be the one to anchor everything?
A laugh almost slipped out of me.
Ah. So this is what a kkondae is.
Was Lee Gu-jun in his fifties or something? Wow. He really had arrived fast.
I’d wondered why he’d started in on me first. I’d assumed it was because I was young, but maybe it was simply because I was the lead.
Or maybe just because I was young and easy to push around.
Either way, there was no mistaking it—this guy was the real deal.
Lee Gu-jun looked at me and said, “You, uh, you’re Gongza, right?”
“Yeth! Hellooo!”
“Call me Teacher.”
Well, that was fair enough.
But still.
I really want to mess with him a little.
I flashed him a bright smile and said, “Teach-er?”
“Yeah. I’m telling you because I figured you might not know the proper way to address people.”
“Mmm…”
I beamed at him. “You look so young!”
No one disliked being called young. It had worked on the ladies, so there was no reason it wouldn’t work on this guy too.
Sure enough, the corners of his mouth twitched.
“Kh-heh. Really? Well, I guess I do look young.”
Mm. Not because he was balding, though.
“Ahem. This kid knows how to read people.”
As if.
“Can I call you big brother instead? You’re not my teacher!”
“Hey! Look at this brat! Even so, you should still call me Teacher!”
Man, he was incredibly fixated on that. Still, I supposed it was the standard way to address him.
“Um…”
“How dare you talk back when an adult is speaking! Ah, perfect. I’ll give you a proper life lesson. You’ve never been hit by Ma Soo-jung, have you?”
Don’t.
What do you and I even have to do with a life lesson?
He’d told me to call him Teacher, and now he was acting like he really was one.
The excuse was disgusting, too. What a bastard.
You want to boss around a little kid like me?
Have some shame. Just a little.
I thought he was only mildly annoying, but he’s the full, concentrated essence of it.
What an immature little jerk.
I blinked at him.
That was when Jung Yu-jin spoke in a low voice.
“What do you mean, Lee Gu-jun? And on what authority?”
I blinked again.
Jung Yu-jin’s voice rang through the rehearsal room walls like a bell.
“No, seriously, why are you trying to hit a child? I was going to let it go, but this is so ridiculous I can’t. Really.”
Lee Gu-jun immediately shouted back, “Jung Yu-jin! No, we literally just said we should get along!”
Jung Yu-jin shielded me and said, “When did I agree to that?”
“What?”
“Cut it out. I don’t want to hear it. There’s a limit to how much crap you can take.”
One of the other actors nearby tried to mediate. “Yu-jin, watch your tone.”
“How am I supposed to watch it? He’s the one talking out of line. Besides, he started flinging banmal around first. Why are you acting like a kkondae everywhere you go?”
“Hey! What’s with you? You land the lead and suddenly you don’t know your place anymore?”
People started murmuring. Jung Yu-jin gave a small laugh and said, “I don’t know my place? Why?”
Wow.
She really was incredible.
Jung Yu-jin stood up as she said it.
“Listen, sir. Since we’re already on the subject, let’s get the hierarchy straight. I may be younger than you, but if you count my years as a child actress, I’m probably your senior.”
Ah, that was true.
Jung Yu-jin started young.
Just like me.
She crossed her arms and let out a sigh. “Fine. Let’s go over it again. Who do you think you are? I know this business too. If someone’s doing well, people let certain things slide. But you’re not even doing well.”
It was brutally, almost unbearably direct.
But it was true.
Then someone else chimed in from the side. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“All he does is pick on the kid.”
Once the floodgates opened, gossip became open criticism. I watched as little streams of complaint turned into a full waterfall from every direction.
Jung Yu-jin, now fully in control of the momentum, didn’t let up.
“What? No veteran actor to hold things together? Hey, I’m the lead here!”
Ah, that was true too.
If there’s no veteran actor, then the lead is the center of gravity.
In fact, the very idea of saying that meant he was looking down on Jung Yu-jin in the first place.
The actor beside her tried again. “Yu-jin, enough.”
“Oh, so this is when you want to stop me? If you’re going to stop anyone, stop that old man.”
Jung Yu-jin swept her hair back and said, “I’ve been trying to be polite, and even this old man thinks he can look down on me. Honestly, I can put up with being lectured by someone older, but trying to hit a kid? That’s just not acceptable.”
Wow. I couldn’t help admiring her.
So she really was that righteous.
No wonder her nickname was “Rose Knife.”
A memory surfaced in my mind.
Hanjo, you know Actress Jung Yu-jin, right? She’s amazing. She smiles and smiles, but the second something feels off, she’ll flip the table. Not at all like her innocent image. She’s a general. A real general.
I didn’t know if I’d get to see that general’s true spirit in action today, but still.
Well, the other side doesn’t exactly seem to have a great reputation either.
I barely managed to hold back my laughter.
What I’m supposed to do right now is simple.
I buried my face against Jung Yu-jin’s shoulder.
Act scared.
That would give her side of the argument more weight.
I stayed perfectly still. Jung Yu-jin patted my back and said, “See? The kid’s scared!”
“No, I said I was teaching him! Kids only listen when you smack some sense into them!”
“Smack him? A kid? Wow, sir, you really are something else. You actually trying to hit a child?”
Nice one, Jung Yu-jin!
“What’s the big deal if I do hit him a little!”
Wow.
Now he’s crossed a line.
Perhaps because that was a bit much, the other cast members finally stepped in.
“Why would you hit a child?”
“No, I mean I’m not actually saying I’m going to hit him. I’m saying I could. I’m Lee Gu-jun. I’ve got the right to say that.”
The right? What a joke.
Look at this bastard.
Why was some guy I didn’t even know trying to hit me?
This is insane.
So what was I supposed to do about him?
Kick him out?
I’d seen The Basement, so I knew exactly what role he was playing.
He was the father.
The father who was unhappy with the daughter returning home after being kidnapped.
His filmography really didn’t suit The Basement at all.
That production was too good for him.
I’d even seen comments later on saying, “I can’t watch it because of Lee Gu-jun.”
Still, casting was the director’s territory.
It wasn’t like I could throw a tantrum and demand they replace him.
Still, I can’t back down here.
I smiled from within Jung Yu-jin’s arms.
I just need to give him three little bites of trouble.
I didn’t know if they’d be strikes or home runs, but still.
That was when I heard the door open. I turned my head quietly.
Director Rhy-lac walked in, smiling.
“The atmosphere is good, I see?”
Huh? Where?
“Have you all already finished introducing yourselves?”
No.
“So warm and friendly. Sorry I’m late.”
Excuse me, Director?
How exactly was this warm and friendly?
Because I was so close by, I could hear Jung Yu-jin muttering under her breath.
“Ah, right. Director Rhy-lac really does lack a little awareness.”
Oh. Well, then.
I smiled brightly. If that was how it was, I had no choice.
I’ll have to feed him those three bites properly.
The director came in laughing and took his seat.
“Ah, go ahead and introduce yourselves. I kept the casting a little secret, so this is somewhat unexpected, right?”
The actors all gave awkward smiles.
“I’ll start. Hello, I’m Rhy-lac. My second-to-last film was a hit, and my last one bombed. For this project, my wife invested in it, so if it flops, I’m getting kicked out.”
Rhy-lac lowered his head and let out a sigh.
“I’ve put my back against the wall.”
Oh dear.
“I have to make this work. Please help me.”
If we didn’t help him, we wouldn’t be human. I sat at the table and watched Director Rhy-lac wipe his face with both hands.
He let out a long breath and looked around the room.
“All right. Let’s begin.”
I quietly opened my script, then realized my mistake. I was sitting on top of the table.
Guess I should get down first.
Just as I was about to climb into a chair, the director stared at me.
“Gongza.”
“Yeth!”
“Do you want to stay up there?”
On the table? Why?
I tilted my head, and the director explained, “I need to see your expressions during the script reading. If you sit in a chair, I’m worried your face won’t be visible because you’re so small.”
Ah, so that was it.
“We’re going to record the script reading from the beginning, too.”
So this is for acting analysis.
Come on. If they were going to do that, they should’ve hidden a camera from the very start as a surprise.
Then Lee Gu-jun’s whole speech would’ve been captured on video for the ages.
A staff member switched on the camera. I looked back at Director Rhy-lac.
“Gongza is fine.”
What would it matter? As long as the reading went well, that was what counted.
“Good. Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Yeth!”
There was one thing I had to do before sitting properly on the table.
I stretched my neck and looked down. I was still wearing my shoes.
Mm. If I’m going to sit on the table, I should take my shoes off first.
I couldn’t climb up there with dirty soles.
I fidgeted around and took them off. I was busy with something so ordinary that I didn’t even realize I’d drawn attention until I felt eyes on me.
What?
When I looked up, I met Jung Yu-jin’s gaze. She covered her mouth and whispered, “C-cute.”
Me? What about me was cute? Taking off my shoes?
People really do like the strangest things.
I was about to set my shoes on the floor, but Jung Yu-jin happily took care of that for me.
Ah. As expected of a general.
“Thank you!”
“It’s nothing.”
I sat comfortably on the table and gave the camera lens a small smile.
This should look good in the making-of footage.
By the time the YouTube age rolls around, this’ll all be part of the record.
I opened my script. Director Rhy-lac glanced at it and said, “Our Gongza’s script is all worn out, huh?”
“I’ve read it a lot!”
I held up the battered script with a grin. The director covered his mouth, apparently moved.
“Hrk. That tiny, adorable kid is working this hard?”
It wasn’t just hard work.
I’ll show you what I can do.
I glanced over at Lee Gu-jun. He was also opening his script, fumbling a little as he did.
Huh.
A laugh rose in me before I could stop it.
That script got revised two weeks ago.
But the one in his hands was the old version.
Wasn’t the new script delivered?
No, that didn’t make sense. There was no way Director Rhy-lac would let that happen.
I didn’t know why. But one thing was certain.
This guy doesn’t even realize he’s holding the old script.
Either he didn’t know a revised version existed, or he hadn’t bothered to open it at all.
The actual lines didn’t change all that much.
But the emotional beats had shifted a little.
Probably because my role was switched to the son, and Jung Yu-jin became the mother…
A smile tugged at my lips. My first little serving of trouble had just rolled right into my lap on its own.