The Bold Replacement
Yoon Si-on settled into his business-class seat bound for the United States and checked his phone. Thirty missed calls and a flood of unread messages and texts stared back at him.
He immediately switched the device to airplane mode and pulled out his second phone.
“Hyung, was business class the only seat left?”
—Yah, you said you wanted to leave as soon as possible, so I booked the fastest flight.
“The lounge was packed too. I couldn’t even rest properly. I’m exhausted.”
—Just sleep on the plane.
“Anyway, I’m on board. I’ll call you when I land.”
—Did Director Mo reach out yet?
“He’s been blowing up my phone. Just wrap things up and come over. I’ll be waiting.”
—Got it. The agency rep will meet you at the airport, so stick with them.
“Thanks.”
Yoon Si-on ended the call with his agency’s CEO and immediately summoned a flight attendant.
“I’m going to sleep straight through, so could you recline the seat for me?”
“Of course. By the way… aren’t you Actor Yoon Si-on?”
“Ah, yes.”
“I’m such a huge fan! Could I possibly get your autograph?”
“Sure. Would you like a photo too? If anyone else wants one, just let me know.”
“Oh my, thank you so much!”
Even in the middle of everything, he never forgot to give each female fan his full attention.
Over the eleven-hour flight, Yoon Si-on lay back and read the script Marvel had sent him. Strict security protocols blacked out everything except the scenes featuring “Mouse Choi.”
Mouse Choi was the comic-relief character who gained superpowers from an experimental gene-altering injection originally meant for lab rats. Quick on his feet and sly by nature, he stirred up trouble within the team.
“Being sly really isn’t my style. Are they going to glue a fake mouse whisker on my nose or something?”
Despite his grumbling, the corner of his mouth twitched upward.
Still, it was Marvel. He had always known a moment like this would come someday in his acting career, but he never expected it to arrive so soon.
“Good thing I studied English so hard.”
Opportunity favors the prepared, after all. Yoon Si-on had thrown himself into intensive English training just to send in that audition tape. That was already six months ago.
From the first call from the American agency, to frantically filming the tape, to the Zoom audition—he had never worked this hard since becoming an actor. Maybe that was why he felt so anxious now.
In Korea he had always been the one choosing scripts, but he had no idea how Hollywood would evaluate him. On top of that, the project was top-secret, so he had no clue when or how they would contact him.
‘Tsk. That team had so many women on it. Filming would’ve been fun.’
That was why he had chosen that project. It had started as his Plan B, but the script was excellent and the crew was solid. He felt a pang of regret.
He had no hesitation about going to Marvel, but if it had been any other project, he wouldn’t have given it a second thought.
‘Director Mo is talented and the script is good. Once it comes out, it’ll easily clear four million.’
Given that Director Mo Yeon-hee’s previous film had been the first Korean romance to surpass four million admissions, expectations had been high. But…
‘Four million in Korea? Who cares about that?’
Marvel was a mega-IP that raked in billions of dollars worldwide. There was simply no comparison.
The only unfortunate part was that the production would now struggle without its lead actor.
“They can just pay the penalty fee.”
That was what contracts were for, right? If Hollywood had contacted him even a little sooner, none of this would have happened.
Yoon Si-on landed at Las Vegas Airport after eleven hours. Once he cleared immigration, a Korean-American woman was waiting with his name written on a sketchbook.
“Hello, Mr. Yoon Si-on!”
“Ah, hello. And you are…?”
While his manager went to collect the luggage, Yoon Si-on exchanged a brief greeting with the Marvel representative.
“Wow, Mr. Yoon. I didn’t expect you to come so quickly after we contacted you.”
“Nice to meet you. A professional grabs an opportunity the moment it appears.”
“Haha! Mr. Yoon, you’re quite the cool guy.”
His lack of the usual Eastern modesty immediately put everyone at ease. On the other side of the world, a warm and friendly meeting was unfolding thanks to Yoon Si-on.
***
Meanwhile, at Production Company M in Korea, everyone looked as though they had just swallowed something bitter because of Yoon Si-on.
“Haah…”
The youngest staff member let out an unconscious sigh. The team leader finally snapped out of his daze.
“Has Director Mo arrived yet?”
“She was on her way to set when she heard the news. She’s heading straight here.”
“What on earth is going on?”
“What’s going on is that nothing’s going on.”
“I never thought Yoon Si-on would pull something this big…”
Once the planning director finally voiced what everyone had been holding in, complaints poured out from every direction.
“He made us redo the entire uniform three times because he didn’t like the design, and now he just walks out?”
“It wasn’t just the uniform. He stayed quiet until the cameras rolled, then suddenly decided the hair and makeup weren’t good enough—dozens of times. Do you know how many delays that caused?”
“I heard he got a call from Hollywood.”
“The company says they’ll just pay the penalty fee, so what’s the problem?”
“Are they insane?!”
“Do they think money solves everything? Do they have any idea how much time and manpower we’ve already poured into this?”
“Investors are asking if there’s something wrong with the project. They’re threatening to pull out.”
“I’m losing my mind. I’m seriously losing my mind.”
The biggest concern was whether a film that had been dragged through the mud could ever get back on track. Even though no one particularly liked Yoon Si-on as a person, they couldn’t deny that the project had been sailing smoothly because of him.
“Ha… Is there really no way to change his mind?”
If it were possible, they would have gladly clung to Yoon Si-on’s pant leg.
“So everyone’s here.”
At that moment, the captain steering this voyage opened the conference-room door and stepped inside.
“I assume you’ve all been briefed on the situation?”
“…Yes.”
“Team Leader, what did the investors say?”
“Four of them are on hold for now. We expected Sangyeon C&C to pull out since they came in through Yoon Si-on’s agency.”
“Director, wouldn’t it be better to try and get Yoon Si-on back?”
“That’s impossible. He’s already on the plane.”
“Already? It’s only been a day since he skipped filming.”
“For now, let’s remove Yoon Si-on from our plans.”
During the car ride over, Director Mo Yeon-hee had made her decision. She knew that if she couldn’t take firm control, the entire project would collapse.
“We’ll have to recast the lead… Is there anyone who can replace Yoon Si-on?”
“…”
No one answered. Everyone knew there was no one in the industry who could truly fill Yoon Si-on’s shoes. Plenty of handsome actors existed, but none possessed his unique edge and presence.
“We checked with the casting team. None of the top-tier actors have availability. They’re either filming or serving in the military.”
“We’ll have to drop down to A-list actors.”
“If we do that, the remaining investors will definitely back out.”
“…”
Exactly the answers Mo Yeon-hee had expected. Finding an actor of Yoon Si-on’s caliber while already in the middle of filming was unrealistic. They would have to settle for the next tier, and convincing investors afterward would be an uphill battle.
‘Still, the one with the highest chance is…’
No matter how many times she turned it over in her head, only one answer kept coming back. Her instincts were screaming that only one person could save this situation.
“Let’s do this.”
Mo Yeon-hee, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke.
“The actor replacing Yoon Si-on will be this person.”
When she said the name, the conference room fell into stunned silence. Everyone wondered if they had misheard.
“As the creator of that work, the only person I can picture playing the male lead, Won Do-jin, is this actor.”
***
Oh Kwang-soo, a fourteen-year veteran manager at Lime Entertainment, had just received wonderful news and was now rushing toward his actor.
“Seung-il!”
Just as Jung Seung-il finished filming a beer commercial, his manager came sprinting toward him.
“Hyung, you’re going to trip. What’s going on?”
“Come over here for a second. This is confidential.”
“Why? What is it? Why are you making such a fuss?”
“Listen carefully. Director Mo Yeon-hee called.”
“Director Mo? Why all of a sudden?”
“She wants to talk to you again.”
“Isn’t that project already filming?”
“I’m not sure about the details, but there’s a rumor that Yoon Si-on, who was cast as the lead, ran off.”
“What are you talking about? Why would Yoon Si-on bail on that?”
“I don’t know the full story, but apparently he got an offer from Hollywood.”
“Huh? What? What’s going on here?”
“So, uh…”
Oh Kwang-soo swallowed nervously.
“It looks like they’re planning to offer you the lead role.”
“The male lead?”
“You were already on their shortlist. No one else can pull off that character the way you can.”
“Hmm…”
“I know the situation feels a bit awkward, but honestly, Seung-il, an opportunity like this doesn’t come around often. Remember how much I worried when you said you’d rather take a supporting role than the lead after we first read the script?”
Oh Kwang-soo was convinced the film would succeed. Even to his untrained eye, the script was simply fun. The CEO of Lime Entertainment had once said that a script even people who didn’t understand scripts could enjoy was the kind that could reach ten million admissions.
“How about meeting Director Mo first?”
“All right.”
“Really?! Okay, I’ll set up the meeting right away.”
“Thanks.”
Jung Seung-il didn’t feel particularly offended. If he had harbored any inferiority complex, the situation might have stung, but what mattered more was that Director Mo Yeon-hee had specifically sought him out.
He knew better than anyone that his acting skills were slightly behind Yoon Si-on’s. As an idol-turned-actor, he had worked harder than anyone to reach this point, yet he had learned firsthand that becoming a top-tier actor required more than just effort.
If that was the case, then all he could do was make the most of the opportunity given to him.
“Seung-il! Your schedule is clear tonight. Should I book it right away?”
After finishing the call with Director Mo’s side, his manager asked with an excited expression.
“Let’s do it.”
A few hours later, at a wine bar in Apgujeong.
Mo Yeon-hee and Jung Seung-il sat across from each other at a table set with several small dishes and a bottle of French Bordeaux.
“So, the role you’re offering me is…”
Jung Seung-il took a sip of wine, swallowed, and found himself at a loss for words. The situation was completely different from what he had expected.
“Yes. That’s right. The role of Gong Geon-ah that you auditioned for.”
“But wasn’t that role already given to Actor Kang Tae-san?”
“I’m planning to offer Tae-san the lead role.”
“!”
Jung Seung-il couldn’t hide his shock at Director Mo Yeon-hee’s bold declaration.
“I just… I don’t understand. I thought you might offer me a role, but I assumed it would be the lead. Not because I’m arrogant, but because that’s how these things usually go.”
“I completely understand how you feel, Seung-il. I worried a lot about whether this offer might come across as disrespectful. But I simply couldn’t think of anyone else who could play Gong Geon-ah.”
“…”
Jung Seung-il didn’t believe she was just saying that to smooth things over. She was sincere. She was genuinely pleading with him.
“I think the reason you came in for the Gong Geon-ah audition in the first place was because you wanted that role more.”
“But you chose Kang Tae-san instead of me.”
“…”
“And now it’s Kang Tae-san again.”
“…”
“You’re certain that Kang Tae-san is the better choice than me, aren’t you?”
“It’s not because I think Jung Seung-il is worse or lacking that I’m making this offer.”
Mo Yeon-hee took out her phone and played something.
“This is a video Kang Tae-san sent over.”
In the video, Kang Tae-san sat at his dining table, acting as the protagonist Won Do-jin from the script.