The Ghostly Eye
To be honest, the content of my pressure on Ra-un didn't hold any special meaning.
I could walk faster, hurl the volleyball like trash, or spew curses nonstop.
However he chose to vent his anger, that was Kim Ra-un's call.
He's an actor worth granting that kind of freedom to.
Besides, unlike the Criminal Community writers who were masters of minute details, Writer Eom's script was pretty loose on emotional direction cues.
There were even parts left entirely to the actor.
So when I critiqued Kim Ra-un's acting, it wasn't because it was actually bad.
It was to pressure him.
Kim Ra-un's strength is aligning the role with himself.
He dives in obsessively and turns the character into pure Kim Ra-un.
That's undoubtedly a massive advantage.
Criminal Community was just unique.
But because that memory was so intense, Kim Ra-un kept trying to separate 'Park Hwa-hwa' from himself.
As if they were completely different people.
That's an impossible goal.
Unless it's a total newbie debuting to the world, it's natural for the actor to bleed into the role.
Eum Sung-hyun just had the perk of an unfamiliar face.
What I wanted wasn't some fictional persona called Park Hwa-hwa, but Kim Ra-un living Park Hwa-hwa's life.
It didn't matter if it looked like Kim Ra-un.
After all, my superpower bases casting on 'the actor who has lived the role's life.'
Just like So Jeong-hoon's habits matching Jeong-hoon's during possession.
That's why I pressured him—to convey this.
With countless extras watching, I shamelessly called cut and made him redo it over and over.
To make him feel embarrassed and furious.
Kim Ra-un held out way longer than I expected, which threw me off a bit.
No, but... he doesn't seem pissed?
Having watched him for so long, I knew his twisted face was just from embarrassment.
Anyway, the moment Kim Ra-un and Park Hwa-hwa's mental states synced, I got my point across.
"Now it doesn't matter if it's Park Hwa-hwa or Kim Ra-un. Let's go again."
The result was perfect.
Especially when he took off his shoes—I was genuinely impressed.
Park Hwa-hwa is a stubborn old-school boomer, but he also values effort and dedication as an old-school sportsman.
No more directing needed on character expression.
Ra-un's got the feel now.
The real issue is...
How do I fix my social image?
As that thought crossed my mind, I saw Kim Ra-un approaching me.
I tensed up a little.
He didn't seem mad, but what if I was wrong?
Thankfully, I wasn't.
"Hyung, thanks."
"You good? Did I go too hard?"
"No way. It helped a ton. You kept saying I didn't need to act like in Criminal Community, but I was still overthinking it like an idiot."
This guy—when did he get such a big heart?
Did he visit a temple or something?
"Ra-un-ah."
"Yeah?"
"Wanna laugh together?"
"Why?"
"For my social image?"
"Should I crack up big?"
"That'd make it look like I'm threatening you to laugh. Just a smile."
I smiled at Kim Ra-un, and he smiled back.
Watching him do it cracked me up for real, so I laughed harder.
Isn't this method acting?
To Oh Ha-eun, who was playing PR Team Leader Yoo Ah-yeon, Do Hyun-woo was someone she was grateful to.
When she asked her team leader how the casting happened, he said Do Hyun-woo liked her acting.
So she secretly wondered:
Did he fall for me?
It wasn't zero chance that someone could be drawn to her after seeing her work.
She'd even whipped up a few imaginary romance dramas set in the industry.
But...
H-He’s laughing?
Not now.
Do Hyun-woo, who had been stone-faced while pressuring Kim Ra-un, was now grinning right in front of him after the shoot.
Kim Ra-un sunbaenim could laugh.
After all, Director Do Hyun-woo was SSK's total overseer, 100% responsible for At Your Fingertips.
He held all the budget and rights, so he'd smile even if it was fake.
But Do Hyun-woo shouldn't smile.
After acting that scary, shouldn't he at least look sorry?
S-Scary...
That was the moment.
Do Hyun-woo, who had been smiling at Kim Ra-un, slowly turned and walked toward her.
Oh Ha-eun jumped in fright.
Thinking about it, her scene was next.
Was he going to do the same to her?
Spew hate comments like 'If you're gonna act like that, retire and open a tteokbokki joint'?
What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?
Drowning in fear, unable to decide her expression, Do Hyun-woo arrived.
"Oh Ha-eun-ssi?"
"Yes! Oh Ha-eun here!"
"...?"
"O-Oh Ha-eun playing Yoo Ah-yeon."
"Yeah. I know."
Was that 'Don't spout nonsense'?
Or pressure like 'Wasting time with chit-chat? Quit acting and open a maratang shop'?
"How's it going?"
"Very good."
"Yeah? Nothing tough?"
Even if there was, she got the hint loud and clear and shook her head.
Nodding here might mean learning to make deli manju.
"None!"
"Good. Looking forward to it."
"I'll meet expectations!"
"Yeah. Speak up if anything's hard. I'll be watching."
His threat to monitor her acting made Oh Ha-eun's mind go blank, but in the short time left, she pored over the script.
Even though she'd worn it out already, something felt missing.
They rolled into the shoot.
"Cut! Okay! That was too good!"
She delivered the performance of her life.
Even shocking herself.
"...?"
Am I... a genius?
The shoot that started at dawn had somehow reached the pitch-black night.
As the actors, who'd spent the day in standby and shooting loops, dozed off in the vans.
The managers gathered in twos and threes.
They'd be stuck together for months, so better to get friendly early.
Of course, some already knew each other.
Han, the section chief from Surfer Ent handling Min Jae-yul and Oh Ha-eun.
Baek, the section chief from D.P. Ent handling Kim Ra-un and four fixed supporting roles.
The two were close enough to grab drinks off-hours.
"Paju's got some stars visible, huh?"
"Satellites?"
After some pointless banter, Han spoke up.
"But this drama's call sheet is solid, right?"
"Yeah, feels balanced."
Most drama sets cram key scenes early when stamina's high.
Key scenes take effort, effort costs money.
Every NG is cash down the drain, and you need energy for focus.
So endings get shot first sometimes.
For actors, post-wedding party and script read, then boom—full 16-episode emotional arc.
Veteran pros handle it fine, but not everyone's a pro.
Green actors pray for easy call sheets.
In that sense, At Your Fingertips' call sheet struck a perfect balance between immersion and cost-saving.
Key scenes prioritized, but with buffer shots to keep emotional arcs steady.
If just one or two, coincidence. All of them? Intentional.
"Do Hyun-woo's doing?"
"Probably. Actor background—he gets what they want."
"But hasn't he done big commercial stuff?"
"Tons of bit parts. His filmography's lined with 10-million hits."
"Bit parts—what's a shoot day contract gonna show?"
"Beyond bits, he did stuff he hated 'cause the agency pushed. Indies up to second lead... protagonist too?"
As D.P.'s Baek pondered, Surfer's Han tilted his head.
"Hated shooting?"
"Eh, nothing big. If he said it'd flop and refused a supporting role, rep shoved him in to build fame."
"Results?"
"What results? Ghosted flops every time. Lotsa management folks hated him for it. All 'cause his eye for scripts is ghostly accurate."
"Explain."
"He'd meddle in actors' projects sometimes. 'Skip this,' 'Do that.' But it clashed with management's take, y'know?"
"Yeah."
"And damn if he wasn't right every time. Actors glare at managers like 'Shoulda listened to Hyun-woo.' Managers embarrassed. Teams split over it."
Han was impressed.
"That spot-on?"
"Yup. We're not shocked he succeeded as director. Didn't know he read his own stuff that well, though."
"Why not buddy up?"
"Ah, my mentor hated his guts. Kept distance. Mentor was Kim Ra-un's old manager."
"Jang section chief?"
"Yeah. Fell out with Ra-un, so I'm on set now."
After Baek's words, Han thought a bit and asked.
"His eye for actors?"
"What?"
"Scripts proven. Actors?"
"Criminal Community suggests yes... but honestly, iffy."
"Why?"
"Actors he hyped split extreme. Kim Ra-un, Seo Jae-yeon, Choi Jae-hyuk—straight to S-grade. Or back to theater, retire—trash tier."
"No middle?"
"Some, but rare. Maybe Yeon-woo, Seo-yul tops."
Han asked.
"Kang Min-sik this time? Hyun-woo's theater senior."
"Dunno... same deal?"
Baek said.
"S-grade or trash."