The Audition Shift
The audition order was oddly arranged, running in reverse alphabetical sequence of names.
After the applicant with the surname Hwang left looking utterly drained, it was the turn of the Chae and Ha names in succession.
“I was lucky. I can prepare a bit more...”
“Or maybe not. If someone good comes first, we might never get to see the writer’s face or even go home.”
Deok-su had only appeared as a background actor, yet he had heard the rumors. He knew this world best of all how merciless it was to unknowns.
The other applicants were preparing for their auditions with all the tension they could hide.
This wasn’t even a proper audition hall with assigned names. Still, the heat in the room burned as fiercely as any lead audition hall.
Each time a finished applicant emerged with a gloomy expression, the remaining applicants’ faces grew a little more anxious.
Deok-su felt no different from them.
“My makeup is starting to come off a bit.”
Lee Hui-yeong gently touched Deok-su’s face.
The cool touch of the foundation on his cheek seemed to calm him instantly.
“Please don’t get too tense. Professor said that when thoughts get too many, even real skill can’t come out.”
“...I know that. But the heart is truly difficult.”
“I want to come in with you too... but I hate sending you alone...”
Lee Hui-yeong worked hard to ease Deok-su’s tension, applying more makeup and massaging his shoulders.
To Deok-su, Hui-yeong’s care was both touching and shocking.
Strictly speaking, they were only in a business relationship.
“I’m okay now. You can stop.”
Deok-su raised his hand toward the one massaging his shoulders.
“Feeling better?”
“Mm. Clean. Whew.”
Deok-su took a short, deep breath.
The heart-squeezing worry vanished, leaving only pleasant tension behind.
“Number 25 applicant, please come in.”
“I’ll be right back.”
The timing was perfect for Deok-su.
He entered the audition room after receiving Hui-yeong’s farewell.
“Thank you. You may go.”
Na Mi-yeong, the writer, smiled and dismissed the twenty-fourth applicant.
The moment the door closed, she buried her head in her hands and trembled.
“Everyone who came claiming to be a Hwarang looks like this. Even Cho Yu-ri’s eyes... still, what about PD Ha? All the applicants’ profiles are so different from reality.”
“...I’m sorry.”
The assistant director, Ha Seong-hoon, looked equally troubled.
In fact, he was irritated.
He could understand sticking to the audition for twelve episodes of the drama. That was acceptable even for an unknown supporting role.
This industry had to be kicked if you wanted to get kicked.
But offering them a cushion because their carefully crafted profiles didn’t match reality felt too much.
Especially since they hadn’t even been given time to properly read the profiles.
The assistant director glanced at Na Mi-yeong and hurried to ease the atmosphere.
“Writer-nim, how about taking a short break for ten minutes?”
“...That’s probably best. And I’ll smoke one for PD Ha.”
The writer took the cigarette from her desk and left.
Only then did Ha Seong-hoon let out a long sigh.
“Writer Cho... Ha... your writer-nim is really too picky, isn’t she?”
“You know our writer-nim is a perfectionist.”
“Just for seven Hwarang roles... we have to do an audition like this. Senior PD is saying she was pushed in editing and wants you in immediately. How long has it been since the broadcast started live?”
The assistant writer had to endure the director’s rambling for a while.
Once Ha Seong-hoon’s mood had slightly eased, he looked at the profiles and asked.
“Who’s left?”
“Only three now. Next up... oh! Kim Deok-su?”
The assistant writer’s eyes widened as she read the profile.
It was the visual member of Signature, the one rumored to be kicked out any day. Ha Seong-hoon especially jumped.
“I guess there was a mistake... I should have cut him first...”
“No mistake. I picked him.”
At the sudden voice, he turned and saw Na Mi-yeong, who had come back with nicotine in her system.
Ha Seong-hoon straightened his face.
“W-writer-nim. Kim Deok-su...”
“The image isn’t great, I know. But the visuals are usable... and for a minor character with no significant role in seven episodes, it’s not bad.”
“Still, our senior might...”
“PD Ha. That’s my responsibility. You don’t know yet if Kim Deok-su is usable? Let’s look at the footage first and talk. Let him in.”
Ha Seong-hoon and the assistant writer exchanged glances.
They both thought the same thing.
Kim Deok-su absolutely could not be accepted.
The door opened and the problem applicant stepped in.
“Hello. Kim Deok-su.”
Na Mi-yeong’s eyes curved slightly.
The costume pleased her.
“My Hwarang”’s Hwarang uniforms. The top included armor.
It was a completely different image from the hanbok in the profile.
“Your posture is good. Shoulders are decent... Do you exercise?”
“Yes. I’m working on building my body.”
“Hmm, good. Let’s stand.”
A red light on the camera turned on and the real test began.
Following Ha Seong-hoon’s directions, Deok-su took various poses in the center of the frame.
“45 degrees, 90 degrees. Smile naturally.”
Na Mi-yeong furrowed her brow while looking between the profile and the monitor.
“Wait, wait. One more at 90 degrees. This time a solemn expression. Good.”
Deok-su focused his eyes and glared at Ha Seong-hoon beyond the camera.
The camera test continued for quite some time.
“Hmmm... How does it look to PD Ha?”
“It really is odd.”
“Odd? What?”
Ha Seong-hoon looked at Na Mi-yeong, who was tilting her head.
“Idol trainees have unconscious habits of looking at the camera. Some are even told to match eyes with the camera to figure out how.”
“But...”
“But?”
“Too natural. Eye contact, expression, gestures...”
Na Mi-yeong crossed her arms.
She had thought just filling the visuals would be enough...
But her thoughts were getting complicated when the assistant writer’s vacant eyes caught her attention.
“Hey.”
“Ouch!”
The main writer poked her side and the assistant writer shouted with great force.
“Tsk tsk. No need to look at the visuals. Our maknae is even more restless than expected.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Kim Deok-su, did you prepare anything else?”
Hearing the director’s words, Deok-su understood.
The atmosphere was positive.
Now was the time to drive the wedge in deeper.
“Yes. In ‘My Hwarang’...”
“Do we really need to see the acting?”
Na Mi-yeong suddenly interrupted.
She snapped her fingers and continued.
“Kim Deok-su.”
“But the other applicants are still here...”
“PD Ha. Honestly, is there a guarantee that no one outside will be better than Kim Deok-su? There isn’t~”
The short argument ended quickly.
Na Mi-yeong lightly patted Ha Seong-hoon’s shoulder and turned to Deok-su.
“You heard, Kim Deok-su?”
“Thank you. I will work hard.”
Additional schedules would be notified soon.
After finishing the short audition, Deok-su stepped outside and saw Hui-yeong rushing over.
“You passed!”
“Thank you so much... Y-you passed?!”
Hui-yeong pulled Deok-su into an embrace without realizing it.
Deok-su awkwardly patted the back of the happier Hui-yeong.
“As expected, you passed.”
“Thanks to Professor’s help.”
“It’ll make you an octopus with hands and feet. Don’t say such things.”
Kim Hyeok-jung chuckled and patted Deok-su’s back.
But his face was full of smiles too.
“I’ll be back soon. I need to go to the office for a bit.”
Lee Hui-yeong, who had been with him in the training room, left.
Kim Hyeok-jung looked at the door she closed and sighed shortly.
“Be good to this manager. She must have had a tough time.”
“I feel sorry for Hui-yeong. I haven’t done anything well...”
“So make it up by becoming successful. That’s what matters now.”
“I will do better for Professor too.”
“Nonsense.”
With a terse expression, Kim Hyeok-jung hid his embarrassment.
Manager Director Lee Gwang-yong personally made coffee for Hui-yeong.
It was an honor for a new manager.
But her expression was not bright.
It was because of the uncomfortable proposal she had received last time.
As expected.
“That proposal is still valid.”
“...I’ll accept it with gratitude only.”
“May I ask why?”
Hui-yeong set down her coffee cup and answered calmly.
“People say Deok-su oppa will fail completely. His flashy past and personality scandals... That alone is enough for anyone to think so. But the Deok-su oppa I met was different from what people said.”
“People’s words have reasons, don’t they?”
“I thought so at first too. But after spending time with Deok-su oppa... I feel my thoughts are right this time. I will only accept the thought of you helping me.”
Hui-yeong stood up, bowed, and left.
Lee Gwang-yong smiled faintly.
He felt he had been hit hard, but he wasn’t unhappy at all.
“A new manager in front of the manager... Interesting. A fresh face appeared. But Kim Deok-su...”
The person who was happiest about Deok-su’s audition success was Jeong Mi.
Yet she didn’t show her emotions too much.
She simply gave him a light hug.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. If people say strange things, just ignore it.”
“Yes.”
Deok-su felt the mother’s love from Jeong Mi more and more each day.
He knew exactly what she worried about the most.
He promised many times he would never let himself be dragged up by weird gossip again.
Time flew by quickly.
That evening before filming, Deok-su lay in bed early and opened his phone.
“Nothing in particular comes up.”
He searched for Luby and Kim Deok-su, but nothing appeared.
It seemed no one at JMT’s PR team or NT Media had done anything.
Deok-su put down his phone and closed his eyes, but every kind of random thought floated through his mind.
He thought he had done well, then what if he was fired tomorrow... all sorts of worries.
Of course, it wasn’t only worry.
“Acting is... better than I thought.”
He even remembered that awful father.
When he thought of that person, acting could make him disgusted even after feeling good.
But with Professor Kim Hyeok-jung’s guidance and his unique voice, the bad thoughts vanished quickly.
“...Since I’m doing this, I’ll do it properly.”
The next morning, early, Deok-su woke up and headed to the set in Mungyeong by taking Hui-yeong’s small car.
Filming started at nine, so they had to arrive early and prepare.
“There it is.”
Hui-yeong took Deok-su to the crowded area.
In the place where the smell of old clothes hung thick, the makeup team was applying makeup to extras while arguing with them.
“Hwarang 7 role?”
“Yes.”
“Here, put this on first.”
The makeup team gave him clothes and did a quick touch-up, then immediately left for the lead actors.
No matter how famous Signature was, the treatment for nameless extras would be poor.
“Op-pa, if you’re tired, even in the car...”
“I’m fine, Hui-yeong. I’m used to waiting.”
“Okay. I’ll go too. Wait here a second.”
She gave him the keys, took her business card and a drink, and stepped away for a moment.
To greet the staff and look for any trouble for Deok-su.
During the wait, Deok-su repeated the single line of dialogue thousands of times.
“A chance to deliver a long line to a rookie doesn’t come often.”
Recalling Professor Kim Hyeok-jung’s words, Deok-su read the script again and again.
“I’ll go eat lunch and come back!”
Even after lunch, the waiting continued.
Stories of the lead actors being late or clouds coming kept coming in.
Even the extras who were used to waiting grumbled quietly.
But Deok-su waited in silence.
“I had that too.”
The extras who grumbled and got scolded by the leader appeared in his mind.
Looking at them, he felt strange.
It had only been a few weeks since he was there...
As the sun slowly dipped, Ha Seong-hoon’s voice rang out.
“Hwarang 6 and 7, get ready!”
It was finally Deok-su’s turn.
Since it was a daytime scene, filming couldn’t be delayed further, so he was shot quickly after getting the leads’ permission.
Deok-su stood in front of the camera after receiving Hui-yeong’s encouragement.
Deok-su had only one scene to film.
The scene where he rushed in against the protagonist’s opinion and got buried among enemies.
The filming started with the line of the minor actor playing Hwarang 6, Yoo Min-ho.
“Uha-rang! This is the perfect chance! Let’s charge right now!”
“What sudden words? Charge? Are you pushing us into a dead end?”
Next came Deok-su after lead actor Han Gyu-yeong.
Deok-su delivered a single line with a solemn gaze.
“Uha-rang! Now is the time! How long are you going to cower like a coward! All troops, charge...”
“W-what?!”
A loud, energetic young man’s voice burst from Deok-su’s mouth.
“C-cut!”
PD Jo Hyeong-deok, staring fixedly at the monitor, threw off his headset and shot up from his seat.