Casting for 'The Dead Actor's Last NG' (1)

Lying in bed, I stared at the blue window floating before my eyes. When I got home after the live broadcast ended, it seemed the point settlement and internet reaction tally had already finished.

Oji 1 Night was a variety show, not acting, so I wondered if I could even earn points from it.

“Even if I didn’t get any, I’m still curious about people’s reactions.”

Appearing as a guest on a famous program like Oji 1 Night made my heart race no matter what.

“As long as I don’t get roasted, it’s a success.”

With that nervous excitement, I pressed the confirmation button on the blue window.

Three thousand points for the appearance fee. Considering that points were based on acting, it wasn’t a low amount.

But points deducted? Once the cameras turned off, the Persona ability’s point consumption had been applied all at once.

The deducted points matched the amount consumed by the acting assistance.

“Well, there’s no way an ability like this would have no risk.”

Good thing I’d only used it twice during the Oji 1 Night shoot and kept each use under five minutes, just in case.

Thinking that, I swiped through the blue window.

“Alright. This is what really matters.”

What a convenient feature. For an actor, it meant I could immediately absorb the information and feedback I needed.

“And most importantly, it feels good.”

That was the biggest reason.

“Maybe it’s because I’ve never really gotten hate comments before.”

Whatever the reaction to this episode of Oji 1 Night turned out to be, I was going to see it. With that thought, I pressed confirm.

My heart sank. I thought I hadn’t held back at all, but maybe it didn’t look that way to the Oji variety viewers.

“I don’t want to see any more.”

But I couldn’t grow if I avoided it. Some things you only learn by receiving feedback.

“I have to watch.”

With that thought, I turned my eyes to the comments below.

So this person hadn’t even watched it.

“Hah…”

Looking at the endless stream of internet reactions, an involuntary sigh of relief escaped me.

I clenched my fists.

I had approached Oji 1 Night with the mindset of playing an actor who didn’t care about his image.

And this was the result.

“I did it.”

A thrilling sense of accomplishment surged through my entire body.

On top of that—

I made the news. Actor Kim Doyun did. The news…!

“It’s variety, but still.”

The strange feeling was unavoidable, so I read it over and over. On the screen clearly marked with the Oji 1 Night logo were photos of me crawling through the mudflat.

It wasn’t an article pushed by a PR agency. It was pure buzz that got me entertainment coverage.

I should clip this and stick it on the wall. I was so happy I wanted to print it out and give copies to Mom, Han So-yeon, and even Baek Hyeon-jin as gifts.

With that thought, I scrolled through the blue window.

YouTube was getting good responses too.

“I guess the reactions are pretty much wrapped up at this level.”

Just as I thought that, when the scroll reached the bottom, new text I’d never seen before appeared on the blue screen.

What was this? Another new function.

With that thought, I pressed confirm, and a large screen popped up.

It was Kang Jae-dong hyung’s SNS.

A post uploaded to NOVELSTAR, the SNS many celebrities used.

Come to think of it, a few days ago Han So-yeon had seen something online and made me create an account, saying every actor needed one.

“I completely forgot about it.”

It was an account with zero followers anyway…

With that thought, I looked down.

The post included a group photo from the Buan episode of Oji 1 Night and a picture of the Kang Jae-dong head sculpture I’d made.

One account that looked exactly like Baek Hyeon-jin—was that just my imagination?

“Let’s just say it’s my imagination.”

While I was smiling at how Kang Jae-dong hyung kept looking out for me to the very end, one comment stood out with unusually many replies.

“Haha…”

I hadn’t contacted Lee Se-rin since Flowers Fall. So she’d been watching.

More than that, what kind of reaction was “Ugh”! “Ugh” of all things!

Just then, another alert popped up.

“What now?”

What appeared before my eyes was a fresh post uploaded less than a minute ago.

Luina Bell had posted a photo of me lying down on her account.

“When the hell did she take that?”

Luina Bell. She really was a crazy crab girl.

In front of the vending machine outside the KBC Drama Department meeting room, Director Lee Tae-ryun pressed his fingers to his temples as if he had a headache.

“So what do you want me to do? Just grab anyone and use them.”

“That’s exactly why it’s not working! I tried casting and everyone turned it down. Just introduce one person from your line!”

“Tsk tsk. A director with no connections.”

Director Choi was the only person in the KBC Drama Department who didn’t discriminate against Lee Tae-ryun for being a non-major and treated him without reservation.

Standing beside Director Lee Tae-ryun as he drank his coffee, Director Choi let out a groan.

“Director Lee, you haven’t forgotten you owe me one, right? I covered for you when you arbitrarily cut that PPL sponsorship segment last time!”

“……”

Hit with the direct blow, Lee Tae-ryun pressed his lips together. Director Choi continued desperately.

“Just help me once! You know how it is. It’s a short drama so the appearance fee is ambiguous, and it’s a summer horror special so it won’t help anyone’s filmography. Everyone’s backing out. But it’s still the lead role…!”

The title of the script Director Choi held out was The Dead Actor’s Last NG.

It was KBC’s three-part summer horror special short drama.

“Someone with good acting skills, decent looks, doesn’t care about genre! And from the script, it’d be nice if they knew a bit about directing too. With your eye for talent, you should be able to introduce at least one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠person!”

At Director Choi’s desperate cry, Director Lee Tae-ryun let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded.

“Someone who doesn’t care about image, whose acting is overwhelming, and who even has a deep understanding of directing—you want me to introduce that person right now? Does that make sense to you?”

“Please, just help me!”

Director Lee Tae-ryun sighed and tapped the script, then suddenly flipped through the first page of the scenario.

“It’s not a simple horror story.”

“Right! Everyone hears ‘summer horror special’ and assumes it’s B-grade horror. You know our youngest writer? I’m trying to push her, but she’s like this! The writer really put her heart into this. If I can just find the right actor……”

Director Choi’s face quickly brightened as he explained.

“She said she was the same year as Writer Yoon.”

Director Choi probably hadn’t failed to find anyone at all—he just hadn’t found an actor who suited his taste.

A certain madman who pretended to be the most normal person while showing spine-chilling eyes flashed through Director Lee Tae-ryun’s mind.

“Mystery horror, huh.”

Director Lee Tae-ryun muttered quietly while silently scanning the script.

“This wouldn’t be bad as a first drama.”

It wouldn’t hurt to gain experience before Writer Yoon’s debut work casting.

Thinking that, Director Lee Tae-ryun tore out a page from his notebook where he’d written a number and tossed it to Director Choi.

“Try calling.”

“Huh? Who is it?!”

“You asked for an actor introduction, didn’t you?”

“If Director Lee introduces them, they must be solid! Their acting must be excellent!”

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

“I said I don’t know either.”

“What do you mean…”

“Handle it well. I’m leaving.”

Director Lee Tae-ryun raised one hand and walked away. Director Choi stared at the torn piece of paper in his hand. Written on it were a phone number and three characters.