Chapter 9: Parachute (1)
Chapter 9: Parachute (1)
The Moon That Hides the Sun.
It was a fictional historical drama prepared by KMB, one of South Korea’s three major broadcasting stations.
A fictional historical drama, simply put, was a genre that blended a fictional setting with general history. It was usually designed to capture both the younger and middle-aged demographics.
‘That’s why it has to be made well.’
Ha Tae-oh, the producer of The Moon That Hides the Sun, was a veteran in the industry with experience directing several historical dramas.
This was his second time handling a fictional one.
His first, Fox Dew, hadn't been a massive hit, but it had performed reasonably well.
‘If we make it half-heartedly, we’ll lose both the youth and the middle-aged audience.’
Because of this, they had put their all into the casting.
The budget was also double that of a typical fictional historical drama!
From KMB’s perspective, this was a project that absolutely could not be allowed to fail.
“Wow, the child actors are quite the heavy hitters. Truly impressive.”
Casting director Kim Ki-woong spoke to Ha Tae-oh in a tone of surprise.
“Agencies, academies, you name it. It looks like almost every kid with a bit of a reputation in the industry has applied.”
“They probably all know how much effort KMB is putting into this drama.”
Even if the child actors didn't excel, they wouldn't cause the show to flop.
Generally, child actors appeared in the very early stages of a drama.
Sometimes it was as short as one episode, and if it was long, it could go up to five.
Does that mean they aren't important?
Absolutely not.
Ultimately, they were crucial because they determined the drama’s first impression.
That was why many recent productions chose to skip the childhood years entirely. If a child actor with shaky skills made a mistake, the drama’s image would become awkward right along with them.
“The role of young Yoon Seo-il is basically already decided, isn't it?”
“Yes, he’s been famous since he was very little, after all.”
Ha Tae-oh nodded as he flipped through the profiles of the male child actors.
From the age of five when he first started acting, his talent had been recognized, and he was already in his fifth year.
Park Jung-woo, the son of the great actor Park Sun-woong.
Ten-year-old Park Jung-woo was a better fit than anyone else for the role of the young male lead, Yoon Seo-il, in The Moon That Hides the Sun.
“In that case, we can’t just pick anyone for the young Lee Hye-wol.”
“Park Jung-woo’s acting is so good that his partner might get completely overshadowed if we aren't careful.”
A child who had inherited the talent of the great Park Sun-woong.
Against such a child, they had no choice but to be meticulous in selecting the girl for the female lead role.
“Ah, this is…”
Just then, Kim Ki-woong let out a sigh.
In his hand was the profile of a girl he had just seen.
“This is her first drama appearance… and she’s only done two measly CFs, yet she’s included in this audition?”
“Ah, that girl?”
Ha Tae-oh glanced at the profile in Kim Ki-woong’s hand.
“I heard Director Jo Bang-woo recommended her. Apparently, she filmed a CF with his son.”
“Ugh. Did he push her in just because she was in a CF with his son? Maybe he thinks his son will get some attention if she does well.”
“Oh, surely not.”
They clicked their tongues briefly after seeing the name ‘Ju Seo-yeon’ on the profile.
Looking at the photo alone, her face was quite good.
She was six years old.
She was a bit young, but since the character of young Lee Hye-wol was eight, it wasn't an impossible age gap to act out.
‘Her look is definitely good.’
Which CF was it again? Right, it was a soy milk CF.
“Well, her performance in the soy milk CF wasn't too bad, but…”
“That kind of bubbly image is something a kid can do even without acting skills.”
Furthermore, acting in a CF was entirely different from a drama.
First and foremost, there was the question of whether she could even memorize her lines properly.
“There’s a limit to being a parachute…”
Ha Tae-oh muttered as he tossed Seo-yeon’s profile aside.
There was no way a child who had only filmed two CFs would pass this audition.
*
The audition hall for The Moon That Hides the Sun, also known as Taesumdal.
‘Whoa, what is this?’
Seo-yeon wanted to ask if this was actually an audition hall.
It looked more like a full-blown filming set.
Upon entering, after a brief identity check, a staff member gave a short explanation about the audition. Then, they pulled out a document.
“Please understand that the contents of this audition may be broadcast in various forms, such as making-of films or advertisements. If you agree to this, please sign here.”
“Ah, yes, of course.”
Sua signed with a calm but trembling hand.
Since Seo-yeon was still a minor, parental consent was mandatory for such things.
“This audition is definitely different…”
Sua muttered to herself as they walked further inside.
Seo-yeon agreed with her mother’s sentiment.
Just as she said, the area was filled with children who had brought along a whole entourage of managers and agency staff.
Since there were no other child actors accompanied only by a parent like before, Seo-yeon and Sua felt like they were drifting on an isolated island.
“Who is that?”
“Did they come to the wrong place?”
As a result, they were drawing twice as much attention.
Some kids were already wearing costumes for the audition or getting their makeup done.
“Seo-yeon, what should we do?”
“I don’t know.”
What was she asking a six-year-old who had only filmed two CFs?
Of course, Seo-yeon would have been in the same state if she were in Sua’s shoes.
“Seo-yeon’s mother, over here.”
Just as the stares were intensifying, a savior appeared.
“Director Jo!”
When Sua approached him with a look of relief while holding Seo-yeon’s hand, he gave a reassuring smile.
“I’m the one who recommended her, so of course I should help.”
“Ah, thank you so much.”
“And please, just call me Jo Min-tae here.”
To Seo-yeon, who gave a polite belly-button bow, the director said with a smile:
“I had a bit of personal greed, too. I wanted to see what it would be like to have Seo-yeon act in a drama.”
He said it like that, but Seo-yeon knew how special this situation was.
As a CF director, he had no reason to go this far for someone like her.
Just securing her a spot in an audition like this was enough to make other child actors gasp in shock.
Seo-yeon glanced around at the stinging gazes.
‘I really am a parachute, aren't I?’
With Jo Min-tae’s appearance, some people were starting to scowl at them.
They likely assumed she was a child brought in by an internal connection.
“By the way, are drama auditions usually like this?”
Seo-yeon asked Jo Min-tae in a small voice.
Jo Min-tae shook his head.
“Sometimes there are auditions, and sometimes actors are selected through directors or casting directors. It’s rare to have a large-scale audition like this. It’s probably for a promotional making-of film.”
“Aha.”
A making-of film.
Seo-yeon suddenly recalled the past.
Come to think of it, The Moon That Hides the Sun had drawn a lot of attention even before it aired by releasing various videos.
The child actor auditions had definitely been part of that.
“Alright, it looks like everyone is here, so we’ll begin shortly.”
Just then, a man with a bushy beard spoke up in the audition hall.
“I am Ha Tae-oh, the planning producer. First, I’ll briefly explain the audition process…”
The producer of this audition, as Jo Min-tae had mentioned, stepped forward.
A planning producer was, literally, the person in charge of the overall planning of the drama.
They were the ones who steered the direction of the work, matched directors, and led the casting of actors.
Furthermore, they worked with the writer to ensure the story moved in the right direction.
In other words, he was the person with the most power over the casting for this drama.
“The audition will be in pairs. A male child actor and a female child actor will perform together. We will distribute the scripts now… and we plan to give you about two hours for the reading.”
Two hours was neither long nor short.
However, since the scripts hadn't been provided in advance, it felt quite overwhelming for the child actors.
“Not alone? What kind of…”
“If it’s in pairs, the result depends on your partner. This doesn't seem fair.”
People around them began to whisper in low voices.
‘I guess auditions aren't usually done this way.’
Perhaps the reason The Moon That Hides the Sun became a hot topic starting from its making-of film was because of things like this.
‘Acting in pairs.’
It would definitely be different from a CF.
Moreover, the script itself was different.
Compared to a CF script, which had a stronger visual feel, a drama script was like a novel.
“In this kind of acting, as others have said, your partner is important.”
“I-if the partner is bad at acting, does it become a problem?”
Sua asked in a trembling voice at Jo Min-tae’s words.
“Mmm. Yes. To be precise, it’s a problem whether the partner is much worse than you or much better.”
“Isn't it good if they’re good?”
“This is a drama, not a CF. If your acting is lacking… your presence will be swallowed by your partner.”
That was something an actor had to avoid at all costs.
Especially if they were the ‘lead.’
If your presence vanished because you were overpowered by your partner’s acting, you weren't qualified to be a lead.
“First, Seo-yeon. Let’s get you changed. The reading time is two hours, so we need to hurry. You can change in the dressing room over there.”
“Ah! Yes, okay!”
Sua took Seo-yeon’s hand and hurried toward the prepared dressing room.
“Huh? What?”
When they reached the dressing room, a child who had just finished changing was coming out.
A beautiful child with sharp, cat-like eyes.
Unlike the other children, her posture and aura were different.
‘Ah, it’s her.’
Seo-yeon recognized her the moment she saw her.
‘The child actor for the female lead, Lee Hye-wol.’
She remembered seeing her in the drama in her past life.
Despite her young age, she had shown remarkably impressive acting skills.
Her name was probably ‘Jo Seo-hee.’
‘Though she wasn't quite on the level of the boy playing Yoon Seo-il.’
Her acting was worthy of applause when she was alone, but her presence was strangely diminished when she was with the boy playing Yoon Seo-il.
Because of that, she remembered the child actor portion only lasting for two episodes.
‘Well, even that was enough to make her presence known.’
Did she continue to be quite successful after that…?
Seo-yeon couldn't remember that part very well.
“Ah, is it her?”
Just then, Jo Seo-hee smirked, as if she had heard something from her female manager.
“The parachute?”
The way she smiled as she said that made her look exactly like a drama villainess.
Seo-yeon was impressed by the sight.
‘The kid has a high level of vocabulary.’
Is this why she’s an actor?
She didn't look more than a year or two older than herself, yet she already knew words like ‘parachute.’
“Well, good luck?”
The girl said that and walked out confidently.
In a way, she was like an upgraded version of Lee Ji-yeon.
Mostly in a bad way.
“Ugh. Seo-yeon. You absolutely cannot lose to her, okay?”
Of course, Sua didn't realize that the spiteful child who just passed by was the talented girl originally destined to be the lead of Taesumdal.
In her eyes, she was just a brat who had mocked her precious daughter.
“…I’ll try.”
To be told to beat the female lead of Taesumdal, who had defeated countless other child actors.
It was a mountain far too high for a novice child actor who had only filmed two CFs.