No More Hooky
After spending unexpected time with the Criminal Community cast and arriving at the set, it was already past 3 p.m.
The moment he stepped onto the set.
"Hyun-woo, no more playing hooky from now on."
He was hit with shocking wording straight from Chae Seo-hee's mouth.
"……Hooky?"
Hooky?
Hooky?
He'd gone to visit the lead actor's agency as the total CE, handling utterly official business!
But her follow-up words instantly erased any hurt feelings.
"Put that lip back in. The set doesn't run smoothly without you."
"The set? Why?"
"The OK man vanished."
"OK man?"
"From what I saw, the footage itself had no issues. Director Lim's got skills, right?"
"Yeah."
"The problem is, up until now, the director and actors only moved on with your OK."
"That's an exaggeration. I've never stepped on the director's toes."
"Who said anything about actions? It's the vibe."
"Hmm……."
"Directing too. It's always come through your mouth so far, so the actors found it awkward when the director did it himself."
This was a problem.
Director Lim had used him for efficiency's sake, but it might have made the director look incompetent.
"No issues with the footage?"
"Yeah. But it was slower. About 1.5 times slower clearing the call sheet than usual."
To be precise, today wasn't slow—it was that they'd been insanely fast before.
They'd cranked out a massive amount over the past three weeks.
"Long-term, I don't think it's an issue. Director Lim's not the type to peak on one drama and call it quits."
"Right."
"Still, no hooky for a while. Talk it over with the director and sort out the directing style."
"Sounds good, all of it. Just... that word 'hooky' rubs me wrong."
"You gonna live life only hearing stuff you like?"
"……."
Chae Seo-hee had changed a lot.
She definitely hadn't been like this on her first day when he'd bought her lunch.
Probably Joo Young-hoon's fault?
Most SSK problems traced back to him anyway.
As those thoughts crossed his mind, his smartphone buzzed.
It was Gong Seok-jun, headquarters manager.
"Yes, Manager Gong."
"Hyun-woo, you're at the set now, right?"
"Yes. Just got back after handling some external business. What's up?"
"Need to check something……."
Why the hesitation?
After a long pause, Gong Seok-jun finally spoke with difficulty.
"Think At Your Fingertips could launch in August?"
"August? This August?"
"I know it's a stretch, believe me. But things got complicated."
"Even so, August is…… Yeah, possible."
"Figured as mu—wait, really?"
"Possible. With a real push, mid-July might even work."
"……For real? No quality drop?"
"Yes."
He didn't know the details, but accelerating the launch was something he'd secretly hoped for.
Hadn't he just said it?
They'd shot a monstrous amount in the past three weeks.
"You know pushing the schedule means the staff suffers, right? Incentives, performance bonuses……."
"Oh, obviously. No worries there at all."
"I'll be watching."
"You little……."
"Huh? Something about September…… September?"
"Let's lock in August. Sorry."
"But are we really launching on Tvic? Wasn't it off the premiere list."
"Eh…… Not great for phone. Come to my office tomorrow after work—no, after you wrap. Can't mess with the set."
"Got it. I'll reach out."
When he hung up, Chae Seo-hee was staring at him with a strange look.
"What?"
"How do you talk to the manager like that?"
"Me?"
"Like he's the guy next door."
Was it like that?
Kinda felt like it?
It hadn't always been this way—started after she'd overheard the scout offer at the emergency exit.
Thinking about it, it was odd.
Yoon Dae-ri did it too, Sung Tae-hyung, Ko Sang-wook team leader, Moon reporter…….
A lot of his close contacts were way older.
Sung Tae-hyung was only seven years older—not way, but still a gap.
"You don't talk to the rep like that, right?"
"No way. She's the one signing my checks."
"Actor projects all gone. Welcome to capitalism's slave."
Chae Seo-hee cracked a lame joke and laughed to herself before asking.
"So we're premiering in August?"
"Yeah. Some situation came up—details later. Should be fine, right?"
"Shooting's no issue, but Director Lim's editing speed……."
Ah, no need to worry about that.
If anything was certain, it was this.
No one in Korea edited faster than Director Im Un-jae.
During practice shoots, he'd asked why so quick—apparently always been that way.
Blown away hearing he'd edited Leave the Window Open in six days.
Mise-en-scène and scene details made it impossible.
Might be how he climbed to the top of music video land with high-volume turnover.
Even with the accelerated schedule, the set sailed smoothly like a ship with the wind at its back.
Jeon So-ra played a huge role here.
No actor had longer experience or higher status.
So the set naturally synced to her pace—and she was incredibly diligent.
Never late, often early; no complaints even with delays.
At first, he thought it was comeback enthusiasm, but Director Jo Tae-seok shared an interesting tidbit.
"Jeon So-ra's famous for her extremes."
"Extremes?"
"Yeah. Model student if she likes the shoot; total nightmare otherwise."
"Really?"
"Means she loves our project. Her acting's killer."
And she wasn't the only one setting the tone.
Kim Ra-un was so immersed he was hard to approach; Min Jae-yul, stimulated by him, delivered career-best performances daily.
Kang Min-sik had some ups and downs but came alive like a ghost on key scenes.
As shooting progressed, his fluctuations evened out.
At this point, he wondered if the superpower's casting recs included personality checks.
Otherwise, the set couldn't be this flawless.
"Knew it, Hyun-woo. Good call working with you."
Thanks to that, sound director Oh Jun-jae grinned daily.
Made sense—sound team suffered most from bad set vibes.
Usable on-set audio determined ADR volume; more ADR meant hell for them.
But even in this smooth run, there were hiccups.
"Cut, OK."
"Ruan, good take. Solid acting, but this part……."
Ruan, specifically.
Pido-seon, his character, had minimal early role but exploded mid-drama as Sa-mo-yeon's schemes ramped up.
His solo cuts had increased on the call sheet days ago, and Director Im Un-jae was getting dissatisfied.
"Let's go again!"
Personally, he saw no major issues with Ruan's acting.
Pre-casting talent check cleared; solid for a rookie.
Still, Director Im's gripes stemmed from the set's elevated baseline.
Kim Ra-un, Min Jae-yul, Kang Min-sik, Jeon So-ra.
No weak links.
Watching them dazed him—how had he assembled this lineup?
Oh Ha-eun could join it too.
"Ha-eun, prepped well?"
"Y-yes! Worked hard!"
"This scene looks right up your alley. You got it, yeah?"
"……Of course!"
She thrived on steady attention and cheers, so he kept watch.
After them, Ruan stuck out.
And it was partly his fault.
Pre-casting, he'd thought to crack Ruan's shell once.
Like pushing Eum Sung-hyun to the edge.
Ruan needed a trigger too.
But busyness and no glaring issues meant he'd delayed…….
"Director. Taking Ruan to Seoul tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Something to try."
Time to stop ignoring it.
Pacing the studio entrance, doubting if this was late March weather, a large Starex glided in.
The driver was a familiar face: a woman.
Shim Seon-hee.
B-team director for their drama.
How they met?…….
"Looking back, that was the most pointless moment of my life. Don't contact me."
The director he'd messaged before Im Un-jae—and got blocked.
He hadn't reached out again; two weeks later, she'd called hammered.
Sobbing about throwing stones at her peaceful heart unprovoked.
Didn't seem all that peaceful…….
Anyway, that sparked their connection; after tests, she got B-team.
Not a tough call.
Tone and manner were Im Un-jae's domain; she just needed to follow.
Honestly, no budget for veteran directors.
But in hindsight, Shim Seon-hee was perfect.
B-team handled inserts, supporting arcs, crowds—and she had innate scene-length sense.
Often trimmed scripts just right; kept him happy.
A-team could go detailed without runtime imbalance.
As he pondered, Shim Seon-hee approached and spoke.
"Where's Ruan?"
"Inside the studio. Sent him ahead to get in the zone."
At Do Hyun-woo's casual reply, Shim Seon-hee glanced around before speaking.
"Isn't this overkill? I didn't spot any issues in his acting."
She meant it.
Impressive for zero acting experience.
Miraculous how he'd pinpointed Ruan from idol hordes.
Of course, staff chatter explained Do Hyun-woo's push.
Compared to the leads' masterclass, Ruan looked lacking.
But that was relative, not absolute.
Many actors crumbled from hasty fixes.
Yet Do Hyun-woo stayed calm.
"Gonna push till it works. If not, oh well."
"Honestly skeptical. Never seen acting level up overnight."
"I've seen it."
"When?"
"Every Criminal Community actor."
"They had theater backing. Eum Sung-hyun's a genius."
Do Hyun-woo smiled at her words.
"What's Ruan got that they don't?"
What to make of this?
Unshakable faith in actors, or stubborn push to his standards?
Hard to say.
Without his track record, it'd be the latter—but this was Criminal Community's Do Hyun-woo.
He seemed oblivious, but his and the drama's indie clout was absolute.
Plus…….
'He picked me as director too.'
Shim Seon-hee nodded.
"Well, director says go, we go."
"Film with love."
"Already overflowing?"
They entered the studio, where Ruan waited with anxious eyes.