Three Scripts and a Power Struggle

This was a dining pocha near Cheongdam GCV, where the VIP press screening of Faster Than the Law had just wrapped — and tonight, the entire place had been rented out.

"Setup complete!"

"Check the mic batteries one more time—"

All of it was for First Car Live, JC ENM's in-house content.

The concept had been landing well. The sense of getting to tag along into a celebrity's private space seemed to strike subscribers as refreshingly novel.

"And it just so happens Yeo-reum landed the Creamy Soda modeling gig."

The timing was insane. The product placement slid naturally into content we'd been planning anyway. Inside the dining pocha, styled like the perfect spot for a blind date, stacks upon stacks of sweet, sky-blue Creamy Soda lined the shelves.

I wonder how well this one will do.

Ever since episode one of Strange Tales aired, the earlier ASMR video had seen another explosive surge in views. Han Yeo-reum was an actress who knew how to hold the public's attention with nothing but her voice.

If it does as well as I'm expecting…

Team Leader Seong, who had spotted Yeo-reum's potential all the way back during Pachehi, found her instincts sharpening further still. Creamy Soda, launched just over a month ago, was already boasting a fairly high sales rate among new products.

It might not be a flash-in-the-pan hit, but it's definitely popular — properly popular!

Team Leader Seong smiled as she took in the set. The shoot itself was about to begin.

"Hello there—"

Right after the screening ended, the actors filed in together with Director Gong. Camera setup, done. Lighting, done. Mics, on.

Everything moved fast, straight through to the shooting itself. And amid the warm, buzzing atmosphere, the Faster Than the Law company dinner began.

"And then that thing, you know. Me and Hyun-jo went to Jangchung-dong and got beaten black and blue every single day, then beaten again, and again…"

"Mr. Cheol-sik, anyone listening would think you literally went somewhere to get mugged. You're supposed to say you went there as an action actor!"

"Not wrong, though. I genuinely got beaten to a pulp."

The drinking table rolled along lightly. With Creamy Soda stacked on every table, the scene looked no different from any ordinary company dinner. The actors traded behind-the-scenes stories the way people do in private, off-camera corners.

"Our foal here will have to do action someday too. Kid's a seriously good runner, I'm telling you."

Gwak Cheol-sik tossed the conversation naturally Yeo-reum's way. As the youngest of Faster Than the Law, Yeo-reum took her fair share of teasing from the seniors even as she chatted right along with them.

"Alright! Everybody, one at a time — let's hear your favorite scene from the movie!"

One glass, two glasses in, the mood turned increasingly playful.

Gwak Cheol-sik raised his fist exactly as he had in the trailer. Yoon Hyun-jo recited legal trivia. Kae drawled slyly about following the letter of the law. And finally, it was Yeo-reum's turn.

"Can someone play that song for me? Everyone together, one, two, three — here comes Pretty Girl…!"

A can of Creamy Soda in one hand, Yeo-reum swept her hair back in time with the music. Her every movement was playing in slow motion.

"PWAHAHA—!"

"Are we allowed to advertise this blatantly?"

"That's what models are for, isn't it?"

Deliberately holding the can right up next to her face, Yeo-reum blinked her eyes pretty and clueless. Her movements were still in slow motion.

Miss Yeo-reum…

Thank you…

The Creamy Soda representatives at the table beamed at her with tears of gratitude. They had a premonition that this was going to become a viral image macro — that the reaction would be very, very good.

"Huh? What's this?"

Just as the drinking party reached its full bloom, a staff member appeared from the far end of the room carrying a cake, candles lit.

"Con-grat-u-la-tions on the re-leaaase—"

Everyone sang in one voice, and the famously empathetic Director Gong's eyes went misty. Covering his face with both hands, he burst into delicate, shuddering sobs.

"Hey, you're supposed to blow out the candle before you cry!"

"I hear the director was crying yesterday too."

Gwak Cheol-sik and Yoon Hyun-jo teased and nudged him, but he wept on, mournful and unrestrained.

"Hck… the box office numbers aren't even out yet, so is it — hnngh! — really okay for me to be congratulated…?"

Even so, between sobs, he kept diligently posing for photos.

"Come on, come on! Before the candles melt, everyone gather in front!"

The staff snapped photos of the Faster Than the Law team gathered around the cake. Click-click-click-click-click! It wasn't just a shutter sound — it was rapid-fire burst shooting, and the whole room cracked up all over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠again.

"Hurry, hurry! At this rate the restaurant's gonna catch fire!"

Somewhere along the way the candles had burned down to stubs. The Faster Than the Law team crowded in together. On the count of three — whoosh — they blew them out.

"Final toast, final toast! Alright, everybody, cheers!"

Glasses clinked once more above the cake. And with a plea for everyone to please go see Faster Than the Law, the shoot finally came to an end.

The moment the filming wrapped, that familiar post-shoot bustle settled over the room.

But the crew only broke down the equipment; the people at the tables didn't move an inch. After all, Director Ja and Myeong Je-ha had just gotten word and were on their way over to join us.

The moment I thought again of the name Yeon Hee-jae — the role Director Ja had mentioned earlier — the alcohol hit me all at once, and my heart kept pounding and pounding.

My current project isn't even finished yet, and already I might have a next one…

My heartbeat surged beyond my control. That was when it happened.

"Everyone, take one of these."

Director Gong handed something around. In a daze, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I accepted one too.

"Um… Director…?"

It was the scenario for the Faster Than the Law sequel.

"Let's go with this exact same cast, box office be damned! The next installment is officially confirmed for production, no matter what the numbers say!"

The scenario in my hands was so light. And yet I couldn't hold it steady — so heavy, somehow, that my hands were trembling.

"Foal! You crying!"

Gwak Cheol-sik bellowed at me. Was I? I was… tears were dripping, one by one, onto the words Faster Than the Law.

"The napkins here are soft — great for wiping tears."

Yoon Hyun-jo handed me a tissue. I pressed it hard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠against my eyes, but the tears kept coming.

"Yeo-reum, why are you crying, why! You must have heard the rumor about the next installment being greenlit, right?"

Director Gong was flustered. Yes. I know they're making a sequel.

I even know roughly what it's about. Because I've seen it. There was no way I wouldn't know a 10-million-viewer film.

But that was exactly why I'd put my hopes away. I already knew that Influencer 1 doesn't appear in Faster Than the Law 2, so ever since Myeong Je-ha first told me, I'd only believed it halfway.

And deep down, I hadn't let myself hope at all. Because when hope collapses, that hurts far more — and no one knew that better than I did.

"Director, you. Never told me. You were doing. A next one. So naturally. I assumed. I was out—"

I couldn't catch my breath. If Professor Geum Bit-gang saw me right now, a lecture would come flying at my head. I couldn't manage a single complete sentence.

"Aigoo, our poor villain — how could she not feel wronged?"

The actor playing Kae, seated beside me, joked with a grin.

"S-sorry, really. I know how wounded you must feel, I do. But the villain has to change every installment, you see…"

"Director, it's a joke — why are you empathizing HERE too?"

Watching Kae and Director Gong banter, I laughed and cried at the same time. I had three scenarios to my name now.

Strange Tales, the one I was working on now. Faster Than the Law, the one I was about to work on. And The Great M1 Garand, the one I felt like I could actually pull off.

I was no longer Han Yeo-reum of the zero lines of dialogue. I had roles of my own.

"What's this? Making people cry for no reason? This set is a lost cause."

The entrance erupted in commotion. Director Ja and Myeong Je-ha had arrived after taking a call.

"Somebody throw those people out. What kind of person waltzes into someone else's wrap party and starts pitching their own project?"

"Now, now. So — about The Great M1 Garand. The thing is, here's the premise—"

"Would you let a person finish a sentence…"

Director Gong whined in protest, but Director Ja, who had walked straight up to me upon arrival, launched into his agenda whether I cried or not.

I wiped away the tears that kept welling up and turned my ear to Director Ja. Touched was touched — but first, I had to grab this opportunity for a next blockbuster.

"There's just one problem."

"What kind of problem…?"

"We need to pull in a lot of money. It's a period drama, you see."

"Yes…?"

Uncharacteristically, Director Ja hesitated, then brushed past it with a dismissive flick.

"All this time, I was the jang! But this time, it's the jjyeon that's the problem, you see!"

And then he delivered his conclusion.

"Right now, the investors are jang!"

…So? Just as Director Ja's incomprehensible conversation veered toward the utterly unfathomable, Myeong Je-ha beside him calmly untangled it.

"He means the investors want to push Ki Joo-ye."

Ah. So basically—

"The investors and the director are locked in a power struggle, and if it doesn't resolve, the word is that you, Yeo-reum, will have to fight Ki Joo-ye head-to-head in an audition."

He was telling me to face off against Ki Joo-ye. One-on-one. No holds barred.