The Giant and the Little Judge
“Hic…!”
“Su-a…!”
Kwon Du-il let out a strange noise and scrunched up his face. Mom, who had been watching anxiously from the back of the reading room, called my name in a small voice.
If one of the lead actors in this one-act drama was so frozen that he couldn’t even make eye contact with his scene partner, the entire reading and the shoot afterward would become a nightmare.
I didn’t want to keep worrying Mom throughout filming, either.
Good thing I already know this guy well.
I walked right up to Kwon Du-il, who was still glued to the wall, and stared straight up at him. When he finally lowered his eyes just enough to look at me, I flashed him a wide grin.
“You’re such a huge uncle! I’m jealous. I’m smaller than all my friends. If I jump rope really hard, can I grow as big as you?”
At my words, Kwon Du-il’s shoulders twitched for a second before the corners of his mouth stretched into a massive grin. Yep, still looks terrifying even when he smiles.
“Of course…! But first, you gotta eat a ton of food…! At your age, eating a lot and moving a lot is the best thing you can do…!”
As expected, approaching a fitness fanatic like Kwon Du-il this way worked like a charm.
After chatting with Kwon Du-il about workouts for a while, Oh Na-yun and Director Chu Won-woo soon arrived.
“So you’re Su-a. Looking forward to working with you.”
Oh Na-yun, a second-generation idol, was far more active in variety shows than in singing or dramas. I remembered her acting style as one that depended heavily on the character.
She was smiling, but the manager who followed her in wore a sour expression. Maybe this wasn’t a schedule she’d wanted. I could feel her drawing a clear line with everyone here, but as long as she didn’t harm the project, it didn’t matter to me.
“Alright, everyone, now that the actors have greeted each other, let’s have a great reading today.”
Director Chu Won-woo had apparently called in several press photographers as well. The already cramped reading room now needed space for them, so all the actors’ personal staff had to step outside.
I waved and smiled at Mom, who looked back at me with worried eyes, then opened my script.
Oh Na-yun, sitting beside me, let out a small gasp when she saw the pencil notes that had slightly smudged across the pages.
“Oh my, you really studied hard? Everyone kept calling you a genius, so I thought you were just naturally good.”
I couldn’t tell if she was picking a fight or giving a compliment. Since the reporters were here, she probably felt she had to say something. It sounded like a half-hearted comment tossed out without much thought.
Assuming she was just tired, I responded lightly.
“Thank you! I practiced a lot so I could have fun filming with you, sunbae. I really like your songs.”
“You know my songs? How old are you?”
“I’m ten. I listen to Love Protector all the time.”
When I mentioned not her title track but a moderately popular B-side—one that gave her a lot of parts—life sparked back into Oh Na-yun’s eyes.
“Oh my! How do you know a song that came out before you were even born!”
“It pops up on Wetube all the time. Must be because it’s such a good song!”
I had done my homework the moment the contract was signed.
When I hummed a few bars, her smile stretched so wide it nearly reached her ears. She must have really loved her singing days.
We couldn’t talk much longer because the reading began soon after, but Oh Na-yun’s mood had clearly improved. Her condition rose with it, and she delivered quite solid acting.
Kwon Du-il also stood out more than usual because the character suited him so perfectly. And as for me… well.
“My mom sleeps like a princess—perfectly straight on her back, going ‘koo~.’ If the bed’s uncomfortable, she can’t fall into a deep sleep. Didn’t you know? So how uncomfortable would it be if someone as huge as you slept next to her? What if you toss and turn and accidentally squish her?”
“Mi-seon has some pretty bad sleeping habits…”
“How would you know that, mister!”
I slammed my palm on the table with a loud smack, chest puffed out in righteous fury. Laughter erupted from every corner of the room. Director Chu let out an impressed “Whoa!” and nodded, while the rather young-looking writer covered her mouth, giggling.
Only Kwon Du-il and Oh Na-yun turned bright red, as if they’d been completely immersed.
“Mom! You slept with that uncle?!”
“D-Da-hui, it’s not like that…”
“You promised the spot next to you would be mine forever! Liar!”
I glared at Oh Na-yun with a sulky face, then noticed tears welling in her eyes and quickly raised my hand.
“Director! Would it be better if ‘Da-hui’ held back her anger a little here? Considering the ending, I mean.”
“Hmm, the emotion right now is good too… What do you think, writer?”
“If possible, I’d like to see a more complex feeling. She loves her mom but feels a little hurt. At the same time, she understands there’s nothing that can be done about it…”
The writer glanced at me as she spoke, so I gave her a bright smile. That much was easy.
While I, Director Chu, and the writer talked, Oh Na-yun quickly wiped her tears and collected herself. That level of emotion fit the ending scene better; it had been a bit too much for this one.
“Thanks. I suddenly teared up and got startled.”
Oh Na-yun whispered softly, clearly realizing I had deliberately cut in to help her.
After that, the reading proceeded smoothly. We adjusted Oh Na-yun and Kwon Du-il’s emotions a few times, and I received a mountain of praise.
Since it was a one-act drama, there was no making-film shoot, but the reporters took plenty of photos. The shutter went wild especially when Kwon Du-il, crouched as small as he could manage, held out his trembling hand to me.
When I took his fingers, Kwon Du-il looked almost moved to tears as he shouted to the reporters.
“Isn’t she really amazing? She’s the first kid who didn’t cry when she saw me!”
From his expression alone, it sounded like he was saying, How dare she not cry even after seeing me?! The reporters looked confused, so I smiled sweetly and chimed in.
“I watched a lot of sunbae’s boxing match videos. Your dramas were really fun too.”
“What?! You watched my match videos?! A little kid shouldn’t be watching something that violent!”
Everyone held back their laughter at the sight of Kwon Du-il turning deathly pale in genuine horror.
After finishing the two-shot with Oh Na-yun and the three-shot with the lead actors, we were finally able to leave the reading room.
The busiest of us, Oh Na-yun, waved at me and left first. Outside the reading room, I spotted Mom waiting with Kwon Du-il’s manager.
“Su-a, how did the reading go?”
“Of course it went well. I got tons of compliments.”
Mom stroked my hair, then whispered with a slightly troubled look.
“How was it with Senior Kwon Du-il? Were you okay?”
“Yeah. It was fun.”
“Then… would it be all right if we ride together? His manager offered to drive us home.”
His manager?
I glanced over and met eyes with the manager, who had been watching us from a short distance. He grinned and waved at me.
Still the same friendly guy.
Lee Won-seok was Kwon Du-il’s one and only manager and would later become his trustworthy business partner. Even though his speech was playful, he always took meticulous care of Kwon Du-il.
This offer was surely for Kwon Du-il’s sake. The best way for him to get used to my size was to spend as much time together as possible.
It was exactly what I had been hoping for.
“Sure. I was actually feeling a bit tired.”
Even though Lee Won-seok had suggested it on his own, Kwon Du-il happily folded his massive body when he heard I would ride with them.
He had tried to sit as far away as possible during the reading, so even though his heart had grown closer, his body still needed time.
“Wow, this is my first time riding in a celebrity’s car!”
I deliberately emphasized that I didn’t have an agency yet—loud enough for Kwon Du-il to hear—and climbed into the van.
Lee Won-seok must have heard it from talking with Mom, but Kwon Du-il apparently hadn’t. He looked shocked.
“First time? Doesn’t your agency give you a car?”
“We’re still looking for one.”
Mom sat close beside me and answered. She was smiling, but when I took her hand, it was cold and clammy.
At her words, Kwon Du-il’s facial muscles twitched subtly.
He had an honest personality and his emotions showed easily on his face, but he could still distinguish between feelings he should reveal and those he should hide. Because of his frightening appearance, though, those subtle emotions were hard for most people to read.
But having watched this uncle for a long time, I could see exactly what he was worried about.
He must think Mom isn’t supporting me properly.
For child actors who needed extensive care, the manager was usually a family guardian, and a manager’s influence on a young actor was enormous.
So a manager supporting a child actor without even an agency or a personal car would naturally look incompetent.
But that wasn’t because Mom wanted it this way.
I calmly played with Mom’s fingers and added casually.
“We’ve gotten a ton of exclusive offers, but I’m not sure which one is best yet. Still, the script for Father’s Judgment was so much fun. I was afraid we’d miss it if we waited until after signing with an agency, so I begged Mom to do this project first.”
Sharp as ever, Lee Won-seok smoothly changed the subject along with my lead.
“I see. Passion for acting is a virtue for any actor. You’re going to be a great one. What part of the script did you like?”
I pretended to think for a moment before answering.
“I was impressed by how the character listens to opinions she doesn’t even need to hear.”
I didn’t explain in detail, but both Kwon Du-il and Lee Won-seok seemed to understand what I meant.