Seduce Them First, No Matter Who — Act Two
The second act of Flowers Fall was an incredibly crucial turning point. Was it important in terms of the story? ‘Yeah, it is.’
But the real reason it mattered was something else. It was the act where Sang-cheol had the most screen time.
Excellent. Absolutely excellent.
The rehearsal was in full swing. The next scene came after the hospital room sequence between Sang-cheol and Ha-rang. It was the moment where he handed Ha-rang’s letter over to Min-woo.
The only problem was that his scene partner was Kim Chan-uk.
‘Ugh, this is uncomfortable.’
I hadn’t been paying much attention to Kim Chan-uk. Apparently, the feeling wasn’t mutual.
“…”
Kim Chan-uk’s murderous glare.
He’s definitely staring daggers at me, right?!
It wasn’t just his eyes. He kept nitpicking my acting, throwing in unnecessary jabs that broke the flow of the scene.
Had something gone wrong between us since the audition? Or was this just how he normally was?
‘What the hell did I even do to him?’
I decided to ignore it. My plan had to proceed without a hitch first.
‘Operation: Save Lee Se-rin.’
The mission to prevent Lee Se-rin’s on-air accident. The first step was to completely take over this stage. And for that, this rehearsal was critical.
This scene began with Sang-cheol handing over the letter Ha-rang had written to Min-woo.
The letter—which would be used as a prop throughout the entire second act—was the key.
The prop letter we’d used during rehearsal was just a clean sheet of A4 paper. When I’d asked the directing team, they hadn’t given any specific instructions.
‘In the past, I would’ve just let it slide without thinking.’
But ever since I gained Director’s Vision, it wasn’t so easy to overlook details anymore.
Every tiny prop and scene element visible through Director’s Vision. There was no way Director Lee Tae-ryun had planned out every single one of them. Which meant Director’s Vision was automatically filling in the rest of the scenery to match Director Lee Tae-ryun’s direction.
‘If that’s the case, then this letter won’t do.’
After the rehearsal ended, I’d been shocked when I looked at the clean A4 paper in my hand. In Director’s Vision, it had looked far more painstakingly made—and crumpled.
I hadn’t opened it, so I couldn’t be sure, but it was probably written with Ha-rang’s trembling hand as her illness worsened, the ink blurred by tears.
‘In a regular play, it wouldn’t matter.’
But this was a live broadcast. The cameras from Masterpiece Theater would capture every single prop in detail.
I unfolded the paper I’d gotten from the prop team.
‘So how should I write it?’
I slowly copied down the content of Ha-rang’s letter from the script. I mimicked a feminine handwriting style, but made it look weak and shaky.
I smudged the ink on several words and traced over some letters multiple times.
‘Does this look like tear stains?’
I naturally picked up the letter I had prepared.
Not bad at all.
It was heartbreaking. Truly heartbreaking. If I had received a letter like this, I would’ve run straight to Ha-rang.
Visualizing Director Lee Tae-ryun’s image.
As soon as Director’s Vision activated, the stage transformed into the hospital room where Ha-rang lay sleeping. In front of me, Ha-rang was asleep.
‘No matter how many times I see it, it’s still amazing.’
Lee Se-rin was taking a short break after the earlier accident. In other words, this was an illusion created by Director’s Vision.
‘Wow, it really looks real.’
I briefly considered sticking a finger in her nostril but decided against it.
‘I kind of want to just to mess with Lee Se-rin’s attitude, but this is rehearsal. I’ll hold back.’
Even though I wanted to help her avoid an on-air disaster, her iron wall made it incredibly difficult.
Suddenly, I felt Director Lee Tae-ryun’s gaze.
‘It’s ice cold.’ It felt like a dagger had stabbed into my chest.
He must have sensed my emotions waver.
‘Get a grip.’
That wasn’t Lee Se-rin. It was Ha-rang. How sad. How heartbreaking. I needed to empathize with Ha-rang’s pain.
I forced my emotions back under control and picked up the letter from the corner of the hospital room. In the original story, Sang-cheol had handed it over without hesitation.
‘Why does it keep bothering me?’
My feet wouldn’t move. I felt like I didn’t want to give this letter to Min-woo.
‘Stop adding your own interpretation.’
Even though I told myself that, my steps still wouldn’t come.
‘I can’t waste any more time here.’
With that thought, I turned toward the studio where Min-woo would be.
In an instant, the scenery before me changed. Min-woo’s studio was even darker than last time.
‘The air feels heavy from the start.’
The canvas was covered in tangled black paint of unknown meaning, and broken brushes lay scattered across the floor. Sitting in the middle was Kim Chan-uk.
‘He feels a bit out of place.’
I handed the letter to Kim Chan-uk, who was playing Min-woo.
“Here. Ha-rang asked me to give this to you.”
Of course, Ha-rang had never said that. Sang-cheol had simply taken it upon himself to deliver the letter on behalf of the conflicted Ha-rang.
Kim Chan-uk, who took the letter, froze for a moment.
It was just an ordinary performance from a supporting actor handing over a letter. The actor in front of him had simply delivered the letter exactly as written in the script.
‘But why…!’
He couldn’t understand it. The supporting actor’s eyes held pity for Ha-rang and disappointment toward him. No—it was something else. A strange emotion Kim Chan-uk couldn’t identify.
It was only a rehearsal. Yet the tips of his fingers were slick with cold sweat.
Kim Chan-uk, who had nearly taken an involuntary step backward, clenched his teeth.
‘…This is ridiculous.’
He was an idol actor who had climbed this far with that label attached to him. To be pushed back in acting by a no-name supporting actor?
‘It must be my imagination.’
Kim Chan-uk roughly snatched the letter from the supporting actor’s hand.
Kim Chan-uk tossed the letter carelessly into a corner of the floor as if it meant nothing.
“Tell her I’m busy.”
Wow, this guy Min-woo is a total bastard. Even though I knew it was in the script, seeing it in person made him seem ten times worse.
‘Just what did Ha-rang even see in this guy?’
But Kim Chan-uk. This punk’s angry acting was surprisingly realistic. Or was it just my imagination that he actually looked furious? Did he have some kind of problem with me?
That was when Director Lee Tae-ryun’s voice rang out.
“Okay. Cut!”
Appearance Fee: 500pt
Final Points: 800pt
Comments
The barrage of factual punches came flying in. I know. I’m reflecting on it.
‘But it can’t be helped.’
In that moment, I had unconsciously performed what I believed was the more correct acting. Maybe this was a side effect of performing inside Director’s Vision.
‘It makes you immerse yourself in the work.’
Besides, my appearance fee kept going up. Wasn’t that proof that my acting itself was steadily improving?
It was then. While I was being roasted for ignoring the script, Mari is a Princess appeared.
It seemed Princess-nim had intended to shield me again this time. Of course, just like before, she got thoroughly beaten down.
‘I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you, Princess-nim.’
I was paying my respects with tears, imagining Princess-nim furiously typing away, when it happened.
Dracula, who never held back on criticism, was unusually giving praise.
Unlike reality, method acting was apparently a minority opinion in the Actor Gallery.
The atmosphere was heating up into a full-blown keyboard battle when it cooled down with the appearance of Runna.
Dracula was forcibly silenced. So banning was possible.
Amazing, Par-ttak.
This bastard?
Just as I was trying to pull my nearly shattered heart back together—
Par-ttak’s kind comment hurt even more.
That was when Bang Jong-su approached from the corner and patted my shoulder.
“Wow! Actor Doyun-nim! That letter just now looked so real! Did you prepare it yourself? As expected of a lead actor, the attention to detail is on another level!”
I’m not the lead actor, though.
Still, compliments always felt good no matter when you heard them. But what mattered more was Lee Se-rin’s expression.
‘During the last rehearsal, she didn’t seem to like the letter at all.’
Lee Se-rin was a future ten-million actor. She was just as crazy about acting as anyone else. I would win her favor with high-quality acting and props!
Lee Se-rin had definitely been glancing at the letter I prepared throughout the rehearsal.
‘I can call this a moderate success.’
Good. Everything was progressing smoothly.
From the advice I received in the Actor Gallery and my own speculation, Lee Se-rin seemed to suffer from stage fright related to live broadcasts. To identify her weakness and help her overcome her stage phobia, I absolutely needed to commandeer this filming set. And then I would have to drag the arrogant great actress onto an empty stage.
In other words, this plan had two major prerequisites.
First. Convince Lee Se-rin. Second. Earn the favor of the staff—including the filming team, prop team, and so on.
I smiled.
‘Everything is going according to plan.’
Writer Yun Song-i whispered to Director Lee Tae-ryun.
“Did you see that? Look at how Actor Kim Doyun pays attention to even those tiny details.”
At Writer Yun Song-i’s words, the youngest member of the filming team, Baek Hyeon-jin, excitedly chimed in.
“Wow! So you noticed too, Writer-nim! There was that scene earlier where Sang-cheol hesitates while holding the letter, right? In the script, he was supposed to go straight to Min-woo, but Actor Kim Doyun added this moment of hesitation and internal conflict. It really looked like his feet wouldn’t move. That’s seriously difficult acting, you know? In that brief moment, Sang-cheol’s emotions just—!!”
Yun Song-i nodded with a smile as she watched Baek Hyeon-jin pour out his words without pause.
“He’s diligent, but his understanding of the work is truly exceptional. As a writer, I’m often amazed. They say that when you work with veteran actors, you sometimes discover things even the writer missed, right? That’s exactly how I feel.”
“Huh.”
Writer Yun Song-i continued, looking at Director Lee Tae-ryun.
“Actor Kim Doyun’s eye for detail feels like dozens of seasoned actors all working together.”
Director Lee Tae-ryun shook his head as if fed up.
“You said you liked Kim Chan-uk at first because he was handsome. At this rate, you’re going to start a Kim Doyun fan club.”
Writer Yun Song-i awkwardly changed the subject.
“Well, the ones directly benefiting aren’t me but the prop team. The prop team leader was absolutely delighted.”
Even the usually indifferent Director Lee Tae-ryun narrowed his eyes in surprise at the sudden mention of the prop team.
“That woman?”
Since Masterpiece Theater was based on theater, the level of detail in the props was on a completely different dimension from regular broadcasts. Moreover, the prop team for Masterpiece Theater was well-regarded even by other broadcasting stations.
Above all, as far as Lee Tae-ryun knew, the prop team leader was just as strict about her work as he was.
She had such strong pride in her props that even Lee Tae-ryun himself made a point of respecting her domain as much as possible.
That was why Lee Tae-ryun couldn’t understand what Writer Yun Song-i was saying.
That prop team leader? To Kim Doyun? Why?