Summer's Closet Script Reading (1)
A few days had already passed since he signed the appearance contract with LN Media.
"Hmm. Come to think of it…"
A question he had never once considered since deciding to live this new life.
What happened to my assets as Jeon Su-hwan in my previous life?
Actual deaths in the field were rare, but given the nature of operatives who entered life-threatening operational zones, the state used a government-managed non-profit foundation to designate heirs for severance pay and assets in advance, and to set up pledges covering claims and debts.
Yeon-woo had spent ten years in the overseas division before his death and rarely returned to the country, so he had no home in Korea. Most of the residences he used in operational areas had been safe houses provided by embassies.
The cash in my accounts must have been in the hundreds of millions of won at least. How did I designate it again?
After thinking hard, Yeon-woo clapped his hands.
"The House of Love and Hope."
The House of Love and Hope was a long-established children's welfare facility in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, run by a convent—the orphanage where Yeon-woo's previous self, Jeon Su-hwan, had grown up.
In his early thirties, when he was first assigned to the overseas division, Jeon Su-hwan had designated the House of Love and Hope as the heir to his estate.
Once that thought settled, he found himself wondering whether the donation had actually gone through properly.
After all, it was the money accumulated over a lifetime spent risking his life for the country.
Yeon-woo picked up his smartphone, hesitated for a long while, then dialed the number listed online.
Posthumous information on agents was treated as top secret among top secrets. It was randomized with encryption even the NIS could not access and processed automatically, so there was no real danger.
Beep. Beep. Beep—
"Yes. This is the House of Love and Hope."
A female staff member's voice he was hearing for the first time.
It had been over twenty years since the Yeon-woo of his previous life left the orphanage, so it was only natural.
"Ah, thank you for your hard work. I called to make an inquiry."
"Yes. Please go ahead."
"Would it be possible to check whether a donation came in last year—2017—under the name Jeon Su-hwan?"
"Yes, there was. Our donation records are disclosed transparently on the internet as well. How unusual. The same question today…"
Yeon-woo caught the last part of her sentence and asked again.
"The same question?"
"Yes. This morning a prosecutor also asked about Mr. Jeon Su-hwan's donation records."
My donation records…?
"Do you happen to remember that prosecutor's name?"
"No, I don't. I only remember he said he was from the Busan District Prosecutors' Office."
Yeon-woo tilted his head, then continued for the moment.
"I understand. Thank you for letting me know. Have a good day."
"Yes."
After hanging up, Yeon-woo sat still, lost in thought.
My donation records from the Busan District Prosecutors' Office…? Why?
In life he had had no connection to Busan whatsoever. Even if he had, after death his personal information was treated as top secret, so the fabricated details would have been managed as ordinarily as any civilian's.
There's no way to look into it right now.
Even if someone had doubts about Jeon Su-hwan's life or was investigating, he was already dead, and there was no family or friends who would suffer from it. Finding any link to the reincarnated Yeon-woo was impossible to begin with, so it did not really matter.
It was only curiosity that had stirred.
"I'll look into it discreetly later, when the chance comes."
Time passed, and before he knew it the day of the first script reading was right around the corner.
After explaining the situation to the school and submitting a leave form, his friends looked puzzled.
"I knew you were going to acting academy, of course, but you're skipping school for it?"
Yeon-woo answered Jun-su's question with a smile.
"Yeah. I got an official notice. Attendance credit will be hard, but it'll probably be treated as early leave."
"Is it some kind of performance? A friend of mine has an older brother who came out of the same academy as you and does small-theater shows."
"Hmm, it's not that… I'll tell you once things progress a bit more."
Filming had not even started yet. Yeon-woo did not want to seem like he was showing off or making a fuss, so he planned to tell his friends around the airing date.
Seong-sik in the front seat turned his head.
"By the way, you're in the top ranks of the whole school. If you miss attendance, won't your GPA take a hit?"
"I don't really know. I've never thought about that side of things."
In truth, for Yeon-woo—who had gone to university under the Fifth National Curriculum—the current educational system felt distant, and he had little interest in it.
"You're a really strange guy. If I had those grades, I'd stake my life on my GPA. Sigh. Suddenly I'm depressed."
"University… honestly, I don't care much, but if I have to go, I'll go through regular admissions or something."
Right now the acting work in front of him mattered; Yeon-woo had no interest in university or school life.
"Still, we're about to be third-years. My older brother told me that once you blink, you're in university and then in the military right away."
"…Ah?"
Yeon-woo was momentarily dumbfounded.
Incredibly, since reincarnating he had never once thought about military service.
"…I'm draft-eligible, huh?"
"What kind of nonsense is that? We're eighteen."
"I see… I guess I do have to go to university first. Or do I need graduate school too?"
Jun-su and Seong-sik tilted their heads at Yeon-woo, who was alternating between ridiculous remarks and perfectly obvious ones.
"Hello. I'm rookie actor Ryu Yeon-woo. Please take care of me."
On a different floor of the building where he had auditioned last time, Ryu Yeon-woo—who had been sitting alone in the middle of the large conference room—stood up abruptly and greeted the staff members coming in.
"Oh my, looking at that face you look like an actor, so why are you here so early? We're just starting to set up."
The staff scattered and busily prepared to film the full script-reading day.
These days, uploading making-of videos like this before airing to draw viewers' interest was essential.
"Oh my, you're so handsome, Actor."
"Thank you! Hello!"
Yeon-woo went around every corner of the conference hall, from the filming team to the makeup team, greeting them all.
"That kid—isn't he really attentive?"
"Right? Kids these days usually show up right on time and act awkward. How long has it been since someone came to us first to say hello?"
Crossing his arms, cinematographer Kang In-chan continued.
"Not that actors these days are bad—they're just shy. My own son does the same when I take him somewhere."
Veteran cinematographer of twenty years Kang In-chan naturally compared Yeon-woo—who was tall, handsome, and attentive—to his own son.
Meanwhile, in the makeup room, Joo-hee, who had come for outsourced makeup work, clasped her hands to her chest.
"…Ryu Yeon-woo, the actor, right?"
"Yeah. I'm joining his fan club starting today."
At Joo-hee's mention of a fan club, her colleague smiled slightly.
"He's a rookie actor. There probably isn't a fan club yet."
"Then I'll make one."
The makeup team was on standby for simple makeup because the lead actors would do making-of interviews after the reading. Seeing Yeon-woo suddenly come into the waiting room to greet them, Joo-hee was instantly smitten.
"But that actor—he was still bare-faced, right? Ha, honey skin. I hope I get to do his makeup today."
"Come on, he's a rookie. Will there even be a separate interview? He probably won't get makeup today. Maybe a supporting or minor role?"
"Is that sooo."
About an hour later, with roughly thirty minutes left until the reading began, actors and related personnel entered the conference hall.
People who had worked together on previous projects or had personal connections gathered among themselves, asking after each other and chatting.
"That handsome actor who came to greet us earlier—what role is he? I don't think I've seen him before."
Actor Son Jin-uk, who was playing the male lead Kang Seo-jun in this drama, asked the actors nearby.
"Well. He said Ryu Yeon-woo, right? Let's see."
Lee Jae-seong looked around the nameplates in front of the actors' seats, checking from the back, and found Ryu Yeon-woo's name at the very front seat.
"Jin-uk hyung. He's across from your seat?"
"Hmm? Was he cast as a lead? I heard the lead casting was finished. If supporting, is it Hwang Jae-il?"
"Hyung. I got Hwang Jae-il. We talked briefly at the audition. I wonder what role he is."
An Jun-ho, who was playing Jae-il, lightly raised his hand right next to him.
"Actors, staff—we'll be starting soon, so please take your seats."
Just then the assistant director's announcement came, and everyone began finding their seats.
"We greeted earlier, right? Nice to meet you. What role did you get?"
Son Jin-uk, who had gone to the bathroom and come back, sat across from Yeon-woo and sent him a smiling-eyed greeting.
"Ah, sunbae-nim. I was cast as Cha Woo-joo this time."
Yeon-woo replied with a bright smile.
"Ahh, I see. I heard Jeong Min-hwan was cast for that."
"I heard he dropped out due to circumstances. Please take good care of me, sunbae-nim!"
Looking at Yeon-woo greeting so attentively, Jin-uk smiled contentedly.
"This is a campus drama, so I was already not confident, and now they pick a handsome kid like this—what am I supposed to do? I'm thirty now."
Son Jin-uk fretted while praising Yeon-woo's handsome face.
Han So-hyun, the actress playing Jeong Yeo-reum in the next seat, patted fretting Jin-uk's shoulder and playfully soothed him.
"Come on, you played a university student in the last movie too. The great Son Jin-uk complaining. I'm twenty-eight myself. Yeo-reum is twenty. Sigh."
Looking at that Han So-hyun, Ryu Yeon-woo bowed his head.
"Hello, sunbae-nim. I'm rookie actor Ryu Yeon-woo."
"Nice to meet you. You look exactly like the Woo-joo I imagined in the drama. So you feel familiar somehow."
"My little sister's name is also So-hyun, so I feel familiar too, sunbae-nim."
At Yeon-woo's soft voice answering with smiling eyes, So-hyun's cheeks turned a little pink.
"Ah, I see. But what's with the sunbae-nim. Just speak comfortably. How old are you…?"
"Eighteen."
"Eeeek? A minor?"
Her eyes went round with surprise.
The supporting actors and on-site staff who had been listening to the conversation of the lead actors who would carry this drama were just as startled.
Strictly speaking, since the role in the drama was twenty, Yeon-woo—who was only two years younger—was actually the closest in age. But even though he looked a bit young, they had not expected him to be a minor.
"By the time the drama ends, I'll be a high-school senior, I think."
"What, what. There's a ten-year gap with me. What do I do."
"This is—I'm going to end up competing with a high-schooler over Yeo-reum. Oh no."
When Son Jin-uk and Han So-hyun fretted, laughter bloomed across the set.
Just then Director Kim Han-su and Writer Choi Mi-hyeon entered the conference room, and all the actors and staff turned their attention to them.