It's Just Acting
Woo Dan-wol opened his eyes in the emergency room.
"Where… am I?"
"Oh, please don't worry. You're in a hospital."
He had secretly practiced his acting to train his ability, but it seemed he'd collapsed again. Still, there was a silver lining this time. He now had a rough sense of how far he could push himself before passing out.
Though he did wonder if it had really been necessary to end up in the emergency room. At least until he saw his younger sister's tear-streaked face beside him. Come to think of it, he had collapsed right at the climax of his performance. Only then did Woo Dan-wol fully grasp the situation.
"Rina, so what happened was—"
"Don't talk!!!"
Her sharp cry left him speechless. It echoed through the emergency room, yet no one dared say a word about it.
"You were pretending to be fine! Sob… smiling while worrying about me! Huh?! Hic, instead of taking care of yourself… you told me to look after my own body… Waaah…"
"No, that's not—"
It was practically a nuisance. Her voice rang out sharply, but it had the power to bring tears to the eyes of not only the patients but the nurses and doctors as well.
The sincerity mixed with her sobs left Woo Dan-wol at a complete loss for how to explain himself. All he could think was that he needed to comfort his little sister, who had buried her face in the blanket and was now sobbing uncontrollably.
After some time passed and she had calmed down, he was finally able to have a real conversation with her.
The doctor explained that he had simply collapsed from exhaustion, and thanks to her support, everything had been resolved smoothly.
"So… um…"
He had to choose his words carefully. She was staring at him in silence, but it felt as though she was saying exactly that.
He needed to explain properly why he had been behaving that way and clear up the misunderstanding.
"I actually passed an audition recently. It's because of that role…"
Of course, Rina didn't believe him. If that were true, then everything she had just done would be… too embarrassing to even imagine, so she refused to accept it.
"Look here… see?"
Woo Dan-wol picked up his smartphone and showed her a photo. Leaking the script was technically a breach of contract, but since she was family and he only showed her a few pages to explain, he went ahead with it.
He wasn't just carrying the script around—he had taken photos of every single page himself. It was so he could review them on the subway or while walking.
The photo he showed her happened to contain exactly the right content: a detailed description of Kang Min-hyeok's behavior. The script captured Woo Dan-wol's own actions and expressions perfectly.
"Ugh…"
It was a perfect misunderstanding. Of course, Woo Dan-wol wasn't entirely blameless for practicing without giving his sister any warning. But wasn't that exactly why he had done it secretly in the middle of the night?
Meanwhile, Woo Ri-na's expression kept changing by the second. Her face flushed bright red. Her eyes trembled. An array of emotions too complex to describe flickered across her features, all under the name of shame. It was so impressive that even Woo Dan-wol found himself inwardly admiring her acting talent.
—Thump.
Woo Ri-na buried her face deeper into the blanket. The moment she felt the damp fabric soaked with tears, snot, and saliva, her whole body began to tremble even harder.
"Ugh… ughhh…"
"It's okay. These things happen."
"Hic… hiiiic…"
Her clenched fists shook violently. So did her entire body. Even though she tried to hide her face, she couldn't conceal how red her ears had become.
Finding the sight rather adorable, Woo Dan-wol reached out and gently stroked her hair.
"Don't pat me…!!"
"Alright, I'm sorry."
Of course, with their sibling genes running so deep, she hated it to the point of having a full-blown fit. What a relief. What a relief indeed.
Kim Ji-yeon was smiling.
She had appeared in a black suit, bowed her head, and apologized, but it wasn't because of any real controversy. It was all a show. A kind of advertisement.
The heated discussions in online communities were more than enough to draw in viewers who hadn't been interested before. After all, when people heard that an incredibly handsome man was appearing in a drama, how could they not feel at least a little curious? Even if they didn't watch right away. Kim Ji-yeon kept her expression neutral, but she was nodding to herself as she checked the community reactions.
Complete and total agreement. And in another sense, her passion was beginning to burn once again.
That was exactly why Assistant Director Kim Ji-yeon had done the apology broadcast. It was viral marketing without trying to be viral. Those in the know were pretending not to know, while those who had been tricked immediately joined the tricksters to hunt for new prey. And through it all, the one laughing was Kim Ji-yeon.
"Assistant Director Jo!!!"
"Yes…?"
"You know what I'm thinking, right?!"
"Why are you being so gross?"
On the surface, Assistant Director Jo responded calmly, but he couldn't hide the twitch at the corner of his mouth. All of this would translate into ratings. And the love—professional love, of course, not anything romantic—naturally flowed toward Assistant Director Jo, who had discovered Woo Dan-wol and set this whole situation in motion.
"Team dinner?!"
"Company card!"
And joy, when shared, only multiplied. A feast flowing with milk and honey. All thanks to the wings Woo Dan-wol had flapped.
A week passed after the incident.
Woo Dan-wol had grown more familiar with his ability, while Woo Ri-na had sworn never to fall for his "acting" again. Their daily lives continued like this.
Today, as usual, Woo Dan-wol was reading the script. Finally, he closed it with a satisfied smile.
The once-pristine script was now tattered. It was covered in fingerprints, and some pages were even starting to tear. Woo Dan-wol looked at it with deep satisfaction.
This was proof that he had worked hard. That he had gone over it again and again.
Just as he was thinking about eating and then practicing his acting as usual, his smartphone began to vibrate. When he checked the message, his expression hardened.
> Script Reading Schedule Announcement
The long-awaited date for the first script reading had finally been set. The news quickly spread through the media and appeared in online articles.
In truth, it was an unbeatable combination. Go A-rin was famous for her genre works, and the drama was based on a popular webtoon with a massive fanbase.
Viewers hoped the two would create great synergy. At the same time, there were inevitable concerns.
When adapting a webtoon into a drama, there were two paths: follow the original faithfully, or make changes to deliver a new message. With Go A-rin's direction still unclear, an uneasy atmosphere lingered on set.
Up until the middle of casting, everything had felt solid. Veteran actors and proven talents had joined the project. Fresh-faced rookies were also scheduled to appear in supporting roles to add energy.
But one supporting role remained unfilled when casting wrapped up. Many male actors had auditioned, yet none were chosen. It was understandable. In this industry, male actors with any name value who were confident in their skills usually expected direct casting offers and refused to audition. If the acting had been solid and the actor fit the role, Writer Go A-rin would have rolled up her sleeves and gone after them herself. However, after consulting with Director Seo Yeon-soo, they concluded that none of the current actors could properly handle the part.
They could have forced the budget to bring in a top star, but if it led to acting controversies or accusations of the role being a weak link, it would backfire.
With both the director and writer looking grim, how could the actors feel any different?
Since they had firmly declared there would be no romance, they had to captivate viewers with solid entertainment value, powerful acting, and artistic quality.
The actors who understood this were just as worried. The cast was filled exclusively with women playing violent crime detectives. There wasn't even a single male detective role. In other words, it didn't feel like a typical drama of the current era.
Before long, the day of the script reading arrived. The actors began gathering at the venue one by one.
When the protagonist and lead actress, Han Da-sol, appeared, everyone applauded. A ten-million-view actress! Over six years of filmography, she had steadily built a reputation for outstanding acting. Though she was only twenty-six, her presence gave everyone a sense of reassurance.
They tried to smile and clap, but the expressions of the actors and staff weren't particularly bright. The role that had ignored love calls from famous male actors—Kang Min-hyeok's part—remained vacant.
The veteran actors had taken their seats. The supporting actors playing criminals and the older supporting actors playing detectives were all seated as well. Then, an actor came rushing in at the last moment.
"Haa, haa… I'm so sorry! I got lost on the way here!"
"……."
Late on the very first day. A terrible first impression. It was Woo Dan-wol.
Sweat trickled down his cheeks. Most of the staff and supporting actors looked puzzled but seemed willing to let it slide. His handsome face was attractive enough to earn goodwill, even if it wasn't on a legendary level. However, there was one actress who stared at him with cold indifference.
"An idol?"
It was the lead actress, Han Da-sol. She was asking whether an idol had just walked onto a drama set. And not just any role, but possibly the most important one in the entire drama—'Kang Min-hyeok.'