Career Path (2)
Song Hayul, Chairman of Hanbit Arts High School, stood beside her car after wrapping up another grueling day.
She leaned against the vehicle and lit a cigarette, her eyes heavy with exhaustion as an added bonus.
"Tsk. The media these days have completely lost their minds."
She exhaled a long sigh, recalling the throng of reporters who had descended on Hanbit Arts High School yet again.
They had come for one reason only: to snag an interview with a student about to enter his second year — Park Hajun.
With Itaewon Revolution, Park Hajun had rocketed overnight into the ranks of popular actors. People were already certain he would take home this year's Best Actor award without contest.
Truthfully, Song Hayul had been watching his talent long before he ever appeared in Itaewon Revolution.
There was a pure quality that clung to Park Hajun's acting. The moment he stepped into a role, every stray thought vanished. He recalled his lines and sank naturally into the character's circumstances, losing himself deeper and deeper in the performance — so completely that, while he was acting, he seemed to forget he was Park Hajun at all.
She had been deeply impressed by him ever since his practical audition interview. With just a little more refinement, she had never doubted he would one day join the ranks of first-class actors.
What she had never anticipated was how quickly he would become this famous.
And the reason for that, of course, was Writer 927.
For reasons she still didn't fully understand, Writer 927 had chosen Park Hajun as the male lead of his third work. She couldn't say exactly why, but she figured the writer had spotted the same buried talent she had — the kind that lay just beneath the surface, waiting to be recognized.
Most people believed Writer 927's genius lay in crafting stories of a higher dimension. Song Hayul's view was slightly different. Beyond the storytelling, what truly made the writer terrifying was an exceptional eye for people.
That much had been settled the moment he cast a completely unknown Seol Soyoung as his female lead without a second thought.
Even Song Hayul herself hadn't expected much from Seol Soyoung's acting at first. Judging by what she'd heard from the people who had auditioned the girl before Welcome to Cafe Violet, the drama's success had been far from guaranteed.
And yet.
After watching every single episode of Welcome to Cafe Violet, Song Hayul realized just how complacent that thinking had been. From the first episode to the last, Seol Soyoung's performance was more than worthy of a first-class actor. The climax scene in episode fifteen had sent a genuine shiver through her. It was no exaggeration to say that, in that moment, even the title of "first-class actor" couldn't fully contain what she had done.
Yes. If Park Hajun lost himself in his own performance until he became the character, Seol Soyoung was the exact opposite. Her acting pulled the audience under. Face, dialogue, voice, that unique atmosphere of hers — watching her perform felt like having your soul drawn clean out of your body. You forgot to breathe.
To have reached that level at her age was pure, absurd cheating. If the protagonists of dramas walked this earth in the flesh, she would be one of them.
Which was why Song Hayul kept wishing Seol Soyoung would enroll at Hanbit Arts High School. She had been sending love calls steadily, but the other side didn't seem particularly interested. Considering the girl's family background, Yeonggwang High School was the more likely destination.
Still, Song Hayul had no intention of giving up easily.
Just think about it. If the two leads of Itaewon Revolution — Seol Soyoung and Park Hajun — stood together on a festival stage? The sheer interest, entertainment, and buzz that would generate would be enormous. It was a sight Song Hayul personally wanted to see.
There was also the problem of the reporters who kept showing up at the school. She had heard that at a press conference, Seol Soyoung had thoroughly buried a journalist who had come at her aggressively — and that, it seemed, had served as a rather effective early deterrent. Unfortunately, Park Hajun lacked that kind of steel, so it was a non-starter on his end. If only Seol Soyoung would come to Hanbit Arts High School, the problem might resolve itself on its own…
There were still two weeks left until the second round of admissions. Plenty of opportunity remained.
Bzzzzzt—
Her phone vibrated.
Someone was calling. She checked the number and found—
[Shameless Bitch]
—a call from someone she particularly did not want to hear from.
Yoo Yeonjung, Executive Director of Management at Studio NMIX — the production company that, thanks to Writer 927, had been hailed as the industry's finest since last year.
About two years, has it been…
An unexpected call from a college classmate whose personality had never quite meshed with hers. Song Hayul already felt tired.
"What do you want."
"Oh my, Hayul! It's been so long! How have you been?"
A bright, cheerful voice came through the receiver. To Song Hayul's ears, it sounded forced.
"I'm busy. Get to the point."
"It's quitting time and you know it. Busy, my ass. Anyway, nothing major — just keep a close eye on a student named Seo Eunwoo among this year's applicants. I'm sure he'll be right up your alley."
Song Hayul couldn't make sense of what she was hearing. As far as she could tell, Yoo Yeonjung was simply asking her to go easy on this Seo Eunwoo kid's interview. Yoo Yeonjung knew full well what kind of person Song Hayul was — and yet the great Yoo Yeonjung was talking like this?
What is this fox scheming now…
Song Hayul let out a deep sigh. Whatever the scheme was, it didn't matter. She had zero reason to listen to Yoo Yeonjung in the first place.
"So that's why you called out of nowhere. Sorry, but even if you say that, I—"
She was about to refuse outright when Yoo Yeonjung cut her off — and for a long moment, Song Hayul couldn't open her mouth.
More precisely, she couldn't bring herself to speak at all.
The moment she heard that a student named Seo Eunwoo was Writer 927, Song Hayul's thoughts simply stopped. Did Yoo Yeonjung even understand what she had just said? The genius writer currently setting the entire industry on fire was a middle schooler applying to Hanbit Arts High School?
In a different way, this was more shocking than the day she had first grasped the true caliber of Seol Soyoung's acting. Common sense said it was unbelievable — but coming from Yoo Yeonjung's mouth, the weight of the claim changed entirely. After all, Writer 927 had produced every single work with Studio NMIX. It was only natural that Yoo Yeonjung and the writer would have some degree of personal connection.
So then… why? Why was Yoo Yeonjung revealing the identity of a writer who had maintained such strict mystique — to her, of all people?
"Well… Hanbit Arts High School, with you as chairman, is trustworthy enough, and the access to Studio NMIX is convenient. That said, given that person's personality, they hate anything underhanded — so I'd appreciate it if you conducted the interview as fairly as possible."
"……."
Song Hayul knew exactly how shameless that statement was. The moment anyone learned that Seo Eunwoo was Writer 927, a truly fair interview became impossible. Yoo Yeonjung knew that perfectly well — which was precisely why she had said it.
And yet, somehow, Song Hayul found herself grinning.
When the call first came through, she had braced herself for something tiresome. Now that she'd heard it out, a strange thrill was rising in her chest. She almost wished the practical interviews a few days from now would arrive sooner.
"Oh, right — almost forgot. Besides that person, there might be one more applicant you'll absolutely love."
Song Hayul's eyes went wide. Another heavyweight besides Writer 927?
"Who."
"Not confirmed yet, so it's a secret."
Click—
With that, the other party hung up without ceremony.
"……Tsk. Maybe I should change the contact name from 'Shameless Bitch' to 'Ill-Mannered Bitch.'"
Song Hayul clicked her tongue as if this were entirely expected and crushed out her cigarette.
Hanbit Arts High School had four departments in total: Acting, Practical Music, Practical Dance, and Video Production.
For reference, when classes were assigned, students from all four departments were mixed together evenly — apparently a deliberate choice to ensure variety in the class-unit stage performances during the school festival.
…Though maybe thinking about class assignments was getting ahead of myself, considering I hadn't even been accepted yet.
In any case, Hanbit Arts High School drew so many applicants that admissions were split into a first and second round. The first round was over; the second was still underway. And today happened to be the day of the practical exams for first-round applicants.
With four departments, each got its own full day for practicals. Today was Video Production's turn.
I arrived at Hanbit Arts High School and headed straight for the classroom assigned as the exam site. True to the gravity of an entrance exam, the air inside was heavy. Everyone seemed wound tight ahead of one of the practical components — story composition.
The Video Production practical consisted of two parts: story composition and an oral interview, each worth fifty points. Bomb either one and you might as well consider yourself out.
Most applicants to Video Production found the real barrier in story composition rather than the oral interview. You were given a word, a sentence, or a photograph, and had to construct a story spanning one to two pages of A4 paper. If you weren't used to that kind of work, it could leave you completely stuck.
Well…
Yeah.
I probably didn't need to worry about that.