Chapter 135: 100 Questions
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 135: 100 Questions
“Today, you’ll stop by the company, then visit the salon, and after that, you’ll head to the shoot.”
My manager, who was behind the wheel, laid out the day’s schedule.
“Uh… but why are we going to the company?”
It was the day of the 100 Questions shoot.
I knew I didn’t have an acting class, so there seemed to be no reason to stop by the company.
“Ah, the team leader asked to see you. I don’t think it will take long.”
“Did I… do something wrong?”
Someone in his position wouldn’t summon me just because he was bored.
I asked, tensing up, but the manager just smiled and shook her head.
“No, not at all. He just said he wanted a quick chat, so it won’t be anything special. He’ll probably talk about the school violence controversy and your future plans.”
“I see…”
Resting my chin on my hand, I gazed out at the Han River, visible beyond the bridge.
This view has gotten pretty familiar, going to acting classes every day.
After getting out of the car, I followed the manager into the company building.
“Just a moment.”
The manager knocked and entered a seminar room, then gestured for me to come inside.
There he was, the casting team leader, dressed in a suit as always.
Swallowing hard, I bowed my head respectfully.
“Ah, Taemin-ssi, welcome. Please, have a seat.”
The team leader offered me a chair, took a sip of coffee from a paper cup, and then studied my face.
“How have your activities been lately?”
“Ah… they’ve been… fine, I guess.”
“You’ve seen the reactions to the web drama, right?”
“Yes, I have.”
Half were compliments about my face.
The other half were ridiculous, malicious accusations about school violence.
“The reason I called you in today, Taemin-ssi, is to discuss our response to the school violence issue.”
“Okay.”
“After you finish filming today, we will release an official statement on the same day the edited video is uploaded.”
In other words, they weren’t going to shut it down immediately.
Confused, I asked the team leader.
“Is there a reason you’re not doing it right away?”
“It won’t take long for the video to be edited and uploaded anyway. If you shoot today, it’ll be up within a week.”
He tapped the rim of his paper cup and smiled faintly.
“And it’s because we’ve determined that the answers you submitted to us beforehand will create a powerful synergy.”
“Synergy?”
The two issues seemed completely unrelated, so I tilted my head in confusion.
“These are the answers you submitted. I reviewed them myself.”
…How embarrassing.
I knew everyone would see them once they were broadcast, but the thought of someone who had actually read them sitting right in front of me made me feel awkward.
“Yes.”
“To be honest, there were some parts I considered revising.”
They were the answers I had written with Doah.
The more hardcore items, like ‘marrying Luka,’ had been removed, but there were still a ton of answers related to CLOSER.
“However, we decided it might be better to lean into this as your character concept. So, we’ve decided to respect your answers as much as possible.”
“So you’re saying it’s okay for me to say exactly what I wrote?”
“Yes. You can show your genuine interest and passion for that field without holding back.”
Even as we were writing them, Doah and I had wondered if this would be okay.
To be told so casually to do whatever I wanted was almost disarming.
“Okay…”
“By the time the video is uploaded, there won’t be much left of the three-month contract we signed.”
About fifty days had already passed.
Looking back now, I was struck by how short three months really was.
“If you were to join a new project from here, it would likely be your last one under this contract.”
The team leader clasped his hands and looked me straight in the eye.
“So. Have you given any thought to extending your contract?”
“Uh… not really…”
It was like being asked if a book was good after only reading the prologue.
I hadn’t been given time to gauge my aptitude for this work or to even register my own popularity.
When I first signed, three months had seemed like a long time.
In gaming terms, it felt like I hadn’t even finished the tutorial.
“Well, I’d like you to start thinking about it carefully from now on. We need to know whether to prepare future plans for you.”
Future plans.
If I continued this work, it seemed unlikely I’d be able to return to school.
“Of course, we’ll have to see the reaction to this interview first.”
His voice was filled with conviction.
“We rate your potential very highly.”
“…But I don’t think I’m very good at acting.”
I rolled my eyes, remembering how my teacher had torn into me.
“Hahaha. Well, you didn’t audition as an actor in the first place, so that’s understandable.”
The team leader stood up from his chair and placed a hand on my left shoulder.
“Taemin-ssi, being a good singer or a good actor is important, of course.”
“But in this industry, the talent we ultimately seek is someone who has popularity. Someone with the ability to captivate people.”
“And I can sense that you have that quality in spades.”
I had no idea what criteria he was using to make such a statement, but I nodded for now.
“Ah… yes… thank you.”
“In any case, we’ll need your decision on the extension by sometime next month.”
“Okay.”
“You have a shoot today, so I hope you have fun with that. I have another meeting, so I’ll be going now.”
“Thank you.”
I stood up and bowed my head again. The manager then led me back to the car.
“It was nothing serious, right?”
“Yeah. He just told me to do a good job on the shoot.”
“See? I told you it would be fine~”
This was my fourth time getting styled at the same salon.
The stylist who always worked on me smiled brightly when she saw me.
“Oh my, Eojin-ssi, you’re here?”
“Eojin-ssi…”
I hate that name.
I’m not a punk like him.
“Wow, I really enjoyed the drama~”
That drama? That super boring, plot-hole-ridden, shitty drama?
I knew it was just an empty compliment, but an urge to call her out on it bubbled up inside me.
“What kind of look are we going for today?”
Since I knew nothing about this sort of thing, my manager relayed the request to the stylist.
Unlike for the drama, the makeup was incredibly simple.
It took almost no time at all, and honestly, the only difference I could see was the color of my lips.
“Today… it’s kind of…”
I said, staring blankly at my reflection.
“Underwhelming.”
“Ah, your manager asked for a simple, natural look today.”
“I see.”
“Yes, yes. But you have such a great natural look, Taemin-ssi, that even this will look fantastic on camera.”
After the makeup was done, the manager handed me a paper bag.
“What’s this?”
“Today’s outfit.”
“Should I change into this here?”
“Yes, please. There’s no place to change over there.”
I went into the fitting room, checked the contents, and called out to my manager.
“Is this the right outfit?”
“Yes, yes. That’s it.”
You really want me to wear this?
Inside was a plain gray hoodie and a pair of black sweatpants.
Seriously, if they were going to prepare this, they should have just told me to wear something like it from home.
I have a ton of these.
Anyway, I changed as I was told. When I came out, the manager nodded and handed me a glasses case.
“Wear these, too.”
“…I don’t wear glasses.”
“They’re non-prescription, so just put them on.”
Standing in front of the full-length mirror, I was seized by the feeling that this couldn’t possibly be right.
I mean, come on… this is just…
The classic cram school student look!
“…How is it?”
I did a little spin for the manager, and he gave me a thumbs-up.
“Perfect.”
This crap… is perfect?
Giving up on trying to understand, I just nodded and got into the car headed for the studio.
Unlike the drama set, this one was just for me.
Since it was just a sit-down interview, the space wasn’t very large.
“Hello.”
As we opened the door and stepped inside, about four people who looked like staff members rushed toward us.
“Hello! Taemin-ssi! I’m Kang Taeho, the channel’s PD.”
“Ah, yes. Hello.”
“It’s a pleasure to have you. It’ll be just like what you’ve seen on our channel. We’ll ask questions, and you can just answer them comfortably.”
A truly concise and simple explanation.
I walked over to the white chair in the center of the room, sat down, and faced the camera in front of me.
A staff member behind the PD began to show me the questions one by one.
[What’s your name?]
“My name is Han Taemin.”
[How old are you?]
“I’m twenty-four this year.”
I felt a little stiff at first, but as the questions continued, I could feel myself relaxing and speaking more comfortably.
[What are you most interested in these days?]
“I… I like Luka-tan!”
Ah. Wait.
I hadn’t meant to add the “-tan.”
I had instinctively called her by her full fan nickname, and I panicked, my eyes widening.
I wanted to get this done smoothly in one take.
Noticing my distress, the PD gave me a thumbs-up as if to say it was okay.
Really…? Is this really okay?
[What song do you listen to often these days?]
“CLOSER’s… ‘Boundary’… I listen to it a lot…”
Ah, whatever.
Let’s just do it.
Even now, I still couldn’t understand why people got so excited about these kinds of videos.