Fuming on the Four-Lane Highway
SUV roaring down the four-lane highway. The middle-aged man gripping the wheel glances at the passenger seat, his face twisted in frustration as he speaks.
"...What? DK Entertainment? You went there all by yourself?"
"Yeah."
A plump, bear-like man with a bushy beard and a protruding belly. It was writer Kwak In-ho.
After getting chummy over drinks at the pub a few days back, he'd started speaking casually to Tae-gyu. Now, from the morning, he was driving Tae-gyu to the script reading site.
A guy like you needs to roll in with the writer so the actors don't look down on you— That was Kwak In-ho's excuse for picking him up. Whether it was out of responsibility for dragging Tae-gyu into this world, or because he wanted to brag to everyone that he was the one who'd discovered this raw gem, even he wasn't entirely sure.
Maybe, just maybe, he already saw Tae-gyu as part of his 'personal crew'.
That slight tinge of hurt in his scolding about Tae-gyu meeting DK Entertainment's CEO a few days ago suggested as much.
"You should've gone with me, you idiot!"
"He offered me a million won for cab fare—"
"I told you Do Yoon-seop's a snake! You can't get tangled up with him! What did I say when we were drinking?"
"You said if you use DK Entertainment right, it's like riding a tiger—you can do whatever the hell you want."
"If you don't get eaten alive."
"I was careful enough."
"Sigh... So, what'd he say? Did that Do guy go on about movies and art and life bullshit, trying to sound all buddy-buddy? That's just him circling around, building rapport with you. Acting all friendly."
Kwak the writer had no clue that Do Yoon-seop had barely said a word, and that Tae-gyu had taken the lead to land a 'trial run with DK Entertainment' kind of contract.
"You hole up practicing like a monk scrubbing floors, so you wouldn't know—this industry's filthy. If that guy brings up a contract later, bring it straight to me first. I'll check for poison clauses."
"...Thanks."
Watching him spit as he spoke, Tae-gyu didn't mention it.
The fact that he'd already signed a six-month contract with DK Entertainment a few days ago.
With Kwak already fired up, bringing up the contract now would make things exhausting until the reading started—no matter the details.
...Gotta tell him after the reading's done.
As Tae-gyu lowered his head, he caught sight of the dokkaebi fire that had sealed that trial contract so smoothly.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Next to the gambler's flame sat CEO Do's dokkaebi fire. A desire bordering on ambition.
This tangled emotion hadn't just secured a mere six-month deal—it had even gotten CEO Do's side to deliver a one-page special contract with zero poison clauses.
Did he... sense something in my emotions?
Looking back, the driving emotion behind it was odd enough, but Tae-gyu also found it strange how CEO Do—that guy who'd suddenly burst out laughing at the end and cheerfully promised an officetel—had acted.
He even helped with the move.
Just last night, moving from the goshiwon to the officetel, hadn't he sent someone named Manager Jang to haul the luggage?
But Kwak In-ho knew none of this.
"Oh, right—did you get the books? Any good?"
"Yeah."
He was referring to the acting manuals he'd quick-delivered to Tae-gyu's goshiwon the afternoon after their drinks, to lighten the mood.
"Lots to learn from them."
"Still got that beginner's mindset, huh? Impressive."
"Not that, but..."
"From what I've seen, at your level, real on-set experience would help more than basic textbooks."
"On-set experience?"
"You'll feel it today."
Kwak In-ho smiled meaningfully, thinking of the name of the man who'd clash fiercely with this acting master at today's reading.
...Han Joo-hyuk.
The lead actor in this season of Monster City.
First time working together, but Kwak knew that finicky guy's nickname all too well in the industry.
Actor Appraiser—not just his scandal-magnet personality, but because any so-so actor sharing a shot with him got slapped with the 'amateur acting' label.
His acting was solid. Even if Ji Cheol-geun PD had recommended him, the guy's image and skills were plenty for Monster City's lead, in Kwak's eyes.
But that damn ad-libbing—
If it weren't for the filler scheduling, his has-been writer rep, and the SBC drama division CP's meddling, Kwak would've fought tooth and nail against it.
Casting that Han Joo-hyuk, rumored to ignore the script mid-shoot just to test his co-stars with ad-libs, as the lead.
...Damn it.
Turning the wheel toward some building's entryway amid the skyscrapers, Kwak In-ho sighs and says to Tae-gyu,
"Did I ever tell you about 'personal crews' in this biz last time?"
"Yeah."
Writer's Crew
In the drama world, star writers with hit shows usually have their own '~ Crew' named after them.
As their influence grows, they meddle deep in casting, forming crews of actors who repeatedly star in their works.
"Didn't you have one too, Writer?"
"Almost did."
Kwak In-ho gave a wry smile at Tae-gyu's question.
The two lead actors he'd launched to stardom with Inferno of Distrust.
They'd promised to return for his dramas if they ever came back from movies—but after his next flop, contact dwindled. Now they didn't even pick up.
Even matched against him in another project now, not a peep from those bastards—
Compared to those sweet-talking promise-breakers, the blank-faced guy next to him felt more trustworthy.
"Gonna build a solid one from now on."
"Oh."
"Feeling it—this Monster City revival. With skilled, reliable guys, no way I'll fail. My crew's gonna be unbreakable."
"Fighting."
"..."
"What?"
"...Nah. A national treasure's gotta have this flavor."
Kwak In-ho glances at Lee Tae-gyu and chuckles.
This weird guy. Doesn't even hint at Let me join your crew, Writer—
Rookie actors shower writers with gifts just for an extra line—his reaction was refreshingly unexpected.
Getting used to it.
In-ho knew now.
That emotionless face, worn from grueling solo training—worldly success meant nothing to this ascetic seeker of acting's essence.
He had a gut feeling.
If Monster City revived him, the new crew might revolve around this guy.
Lee Tae-gyu.
Over that impassive face staring out the window, Kwak In-ho overlays the countless characters from his stories.
Perfect fits, every one.
No innate vibe of his own, so he could play any role from any script.
A gambler burst from that expression...
Writer's curiosity quickens his pulse.
There had to be roles even better suited than gambler.
How far could this guy embody characters with bizarre backstories no ordinary actor could touch?
A glance.
Kwak In-ho eyes the rearview. Amid snack bags and bottles in the SUV's back seat sits a box stuffed with Monster City Part 1 scripts.
Gonna revise it.
The latter half, written during filming, would veer from the original plan.
Or rather—the foggy ending until last week had finally sharpened, thanks to that [jackpot] at the audition.
—Thud!
His pounding heart over the speed bump in the station's underground lot wouldn't settle until he parked in the corner.
Screech.
By the time they got out, an unstoppable smile played on his lips.
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
Kwak In-ho steps out with Tae-gyu. Heading to the elevator across the lot for the script reading floor, he glances at Tae-gyu.
"You... not nervous?"
"Dunno."
"Pfft."
He was convinced anew.
Today, plenty of cocky actors who skipped practice would take a brutal hit to their pride.
SBC Broadcasting Station, 7th Floor.
A notice for the upcoming Monster City shoot was posted on the conference room door reserved for the script reading.
[Staff Meeting & Script Reading]
[Script Reading Seating Chart]
The script reading marked the overture to the full shoot.
The stars were gathering.
Actors trickling in one by one, guided by staff into the room.
"They look straight-up vicious, for real."
An entertainment reporter smoking in the corridor-end lounge chuckles with a mid-tier agency manager.
These events drew press and insiders depending on scale.
The reporter exhales smoke, summing up the assembling cast in the reading room.
"Gangster den."
"Exactly."
"Shooting'll be even rougher?"
"In costumes with back tattoos... atmosphere's gonna be no joke."
True to its hard-boiled crime noir claim, even supporting and bit players were industry vets from familiar movie/drama roles.
Homicide detectives, sleazy gangsters, street punks, crooked prosecutors, money-mad conmen, hulking thugs A/B/C, loan sharks—
And not just them. Those instantly typecast faces weren't free even as elders.
Corrupt CEOs, retired killers, underworld bosses, police chiefs, prosecutor generals—truly a forest of blades.
With all these tough mugs piling up, any clueless NYPD spotting Korean actors here might draw guns thinking they'd hit an Asian gang hideout.
"Just add Kim Kwang-woo for the finishing touch."
"Leave the movie guy out."
Recalling DK Entertainment's heavyweight in this niche, their chat shifts via him.
"Right, Kim Kwang-woo's DK, yeah? Heard they're slipping in an idol this time."
"Kim Hwan?"
"Yeah, where's he at?"
"Didn't you hear he cracked? Nearly pissed himself facing some gambler at the audition."
"...What?"
The manager's scowl was natural.
Weird Monster City rumors were swirling in the industry.
One reason: Gag order from production on PD-writer fistfights or retirement bets post-drama.
But mouths wag.
Blocked rumors mutate.
In other words—via junior staff or secret audition judges, tales grew grotesque.
"So—"
The reporter about to share the twisted gossip clams up.
Beyond the lounge glass, a man walks the hall from the reading room, greeting other actors.
The filler-slot savior, thus as influential as PD Ji or Kwak on the shoot schedule: lead actor Han Joo-hyuk.
Masculine, chiseled features, piercing gaze.
Versatile across hero/villain, digesting action sans stunt doubles with his ripped build—a all-weather acting beast.
But the reporter and manager crushing their smokes first recalled the headlines around him.
His agency brushed it as 'misunderstanding from acting experiments,' but few bought it wholesale.
"He lost his fortune in Gangwon Land's VIP room, right?"
"With XO corp prez's wife, that's why no headlines..."
"Yo, incoming."
Jingle.
"Whoa, Joo-hyuk! Long time!"
"How do you get handsomer every time? Hitting the gym?"
They flip attitudes as he enters the lounge.
"Long time, Reporter Cho. Manager Kim."
"Ready for the reading?"
"..."
Han Joo-hyuk dips his head curtly, lights a smoke without reply.
Click.
Exhaling, he drops it.
"I never lost everything in Gangwon Land's VIP room, though."
"Uh, huh?"
"And fuck the XO prez's wife..."
They exchange panicked looks—that wasn't for eavesdropping—as he snickers.
"I learned lip-reading. For a movie role two years back. Figures you'd forget that."
Cold sweat at his lip-reading reveal.
Han Joo-hyuk glares, eyes blazing with manic pressure.
They squirm, unable to meet those sharp eyes, as the reporter stammers,
"N-no, that's not—"
"Hold up."
His gaze shifts past them.
Blessing in disguise.
Relief like escaping a beast—then he nods toward the glass.
"Reporter Cho. That him?"
Shut your yap and check that instead.
The reporter turns, spotting Kwak the writer opening the reading room door, followed by a stone-faced man.
So, to Han Joo-hyuk—
"...The parachute Kwak's shoving in."
Someone worse than backbiters had just entered the reading room.