Perfect Audition, Ironclad Re-Sign
The audition room buzzed with an electric excitement. Yoon Chang-ho, the master director who had launched countless "Men of Cannes" and "Women of Cannes," wore a completely different expression from earlier.
"·········What do you think, Director?"
The production company rep, spotting this, grinned ear to ear and spoke up.
"I told you you wouldn't regret opening the auditions for this role."
"Hm."
"Daeil Entertainment isn't pushing just anyone. Giving him a shot wouldn't hurt, right?"
The rep glanced around at the other judges seated behind the long table, seeking agreement. Nods all around.
And it wasn't because he was connected to Korea's top agency, Daeil Entertainment. It was because the acting they'd just witnessed was pretty damn good.
‘·········Ji Kyung-ho.’
Yoon Chang-ho felt the same. ‘Better than expected?’
The role had originally been earmarked for Lee Tae-gyu. He hadn't even considered competition. Even when the entertainment company under the massively influential Daeil Group—key investors and producers in this film—had "requested" it in various ways, he'd thought they were being presumptuous.
But.
"Ji Kyung-ho is number one in Korea for romance acting among his age group. I'm certain of it."
"Didn't he do a similar role before?"
"You mean the lifelong bachelor part? Yes."
"It's subtly······different from that."
"I see it too."
"Ji Kyung-ho nails the detailed emotional lines in romance and melodrama like no one else. Even with a similar role before, you'd expect him to repeat it."
"No sense of it being rote."
"Not just anyone could pull that off."
Ji Kyung-ho had convinced them all with his performance. Amid the judges' murmurs of admiration—"No wonder he's the Han Ji-cheon trio"—
"Hm."
Yoon Chang-ho stroked his chin.
Indeed. For expressing that fluttering, fresh love, Ji Kyung-ho would make a solid hand. His expressions, speech, gestures, hand movements, even his voice—all perfectly suited to convey the innocent yet burning excitement of the male lead, 'Dokgo Kwang-cheol.' He could already imagine the tingling chemistry with the female lead.
But.
"His emotional acting is solid. Really good······"
Yoon Chang-ho tilted his head.
"·········But the other details fall short?"
"Which ones?"
"The used car dealer side."
"Ah."
"Fundamentally, this film needs the drop from the protagonist's contrasting attitudes to shine. Amid that blatant greed for a quick score, there's hidden innocent emotion. For that to surge up, the everyday dealer emotions at the base have to be expressed well."
"Couldn't that be covered with situational direction? It's your specialty, Director······"
"Hm."
"To be honest, Director, this role is just too tough."
Everyone nodded at the production rep's words.
"It's acting that twists complex emotional lines and slowly raises the purity······ For veterans in their 40s or 50s, maybe, but from an experience standpoint, actors that age can't fully digest it."
It was a valid point. Even Yoon Chang-ho conceded it to some degree.
"With the romance acting Ji Kyung-ho just showed, won't audiences buy it? Looks provide plausibility in this area, haha."
It was a romance film. Ultimately, the key emotional line was love. Given the genre's focus on the two leads, they could ease up a bit on plausibility elsewhere.
"·········Let's see the rest first."
"You mean Actor Lee Tae-gyu? He does seem perfect for the used car dealer side."
"I agree, Director."
"But he has no romance career."
"That's a worry."
"Should be fine, though? His acting level is just that high."
"Still, his opponent's Ji Kyung-ho—"
"Hey, save it for later. We'll judge after seeing."
With opinions split, Yoon Chang-ho nodded to the staff, kicking things off.
Clunk.
Lee Tae-gyu appeared from beyond the open audition room door.
"Ah, hello."
Yoon Chang-ho's eyebrow shot up at the sight. ‘·········He's nervous?’
What? He hadn't gotten this vibe at the short film festival. Scanning Lee Tae-gyu from head to toe with a hawk's eye, Yoon spotted the tension: hands subtly trembling despite the casual sway, lips quivering under a bold facade, eyes giving off rookie vibes despite the provocative glare. Like a teen bluffing at a job interview.
Yoon Chang-ho tilted his head and spoke.
"Hold on. You seem too tense."
"I-I can do it! I can!"
"Have some water first."
"I can just go like this···!"
"Tae-gyu. We're here to see your 100%. It's an audition, but there aren't many competitors for this role. We've got time—show us your absolute best."
That's when Lee Tae-gyu snapped back to focus.
"W-well, if you insist······ Ah, thank you."
Still flashing that teenage bravado, he gulped down the cold water from the staff. ‘Phew, close call.’
Even as he swallowed, Tae-gyu sensed the concentration of the churning dokkaebi fire. Slightly heavier on the high school boy side. Over the past week, having copied not just high school boys' emotions but also the used car dealer's dokkaebi fire, he was now checking the 'mix ratio' of the different flames.
‘·········Focus, focus.’
Grafting two distinct dokkaebi fires. The key was the ratio. Awkwardness and savvy, innocence and thick desire, curiosity and boredom—opposites that seemed at odds—────whoosh!
‘Got it.’
This time, perfectly blended dokkaebi fire. [4:6]. Exactly the ratio needed for the assigned script. He remixed it accordingly.
Thud.
Setting down the glass confidently, Lee Tae-gyu nodded.
"Ready."
"·········Good."
Noticing the shift in his aura, Yoon Chang-ho nodded to the other judges.
"Then, shall we start?"
And so began the audition for 'Dokgo Kwang-cheol.' With the cue for the required script scene.
Scene 32, action────!
Tae-gyu's acting commenced.
"─, ──!"
"─? ─? ─, ────!?"
"────! ──!"
How much time passed?
"············That's it."
Lee Tae-gyu finished the assigned script and bowed.
The judges stared, speechless.
"············"
"············"
"············"
Silence blanketed the room.
────Plop!
The only sound was the production rep dropping his pen, shattering the quiet.
‘What the hell.’
He couldn't believe it. Dokgo Kwang-cheol was a fictional character: steeped in society's sleaze, slyly crossing legal lines, yet harboring purer love than anyone in his vulgar heart.
‘It can be embodied like that?’
The rep had said the role was hard to nail. Even without Daeil ties, he figured actors that age lacked the life experience for 100% embodiment.
The other judges agreed. Twisting complex emotional lines and gradually shifting purity? No one that age could satisfy both noir and romance.
Lee Tae-gyu for noir. Ji Kyung-ho for romance. That's how the territories were divided—or so they'd thought.
‘·········This is territory invasion.’
Lee Tae-gyu had perfectly devoured Ji Kyung-ho's domain too.
"·········"
"·········"
"·········"
As the judges pondered who should speak first.
Swish.
Yoon Chang-ho quietly stood.
Passing the judges' table, he walked toward Lee Tae-gyu.
Step, step.
The old snobbery distinguishing drama from film actors was long gone. Awe now etched his face—an expression reserved for natural wonders, unseen even after Ji Kyung-ho.
"Lee Tae-gyu."
The director who had crowned "Men of Cannes" extended his hand.
"Let's make something great together."
A day later.
Step, step, step.
Brisk footsteps echoed through the first-floor lobby of DK Entertainment's headquarters.
"Hello, Team Leader!"
"Team Leader, what's got you smiling?"
"Hey, Team Leader, what's up?"
"First time seeing Jang Team Leader smile."
"Something good happened, right?"
Jang Team Leader's lips curved up to his ears, unlike his usual self. Staff from the planning team shot him curious looks as they passed, but.
"·········Curious? Come to the office."
Flashing a meaningful smile, he headed to the planning team room, trailed by a few staff.
Bang.
Entering the planning team's office, Jang Team Leader spoke right away.
"Good morning. I've got great news for everyone."
All eyes locked on him.
「Planning Team 1」 「Planning Team 2」 「Planning Team 3」
Though divided into sections, the huge open space taking half the floor had everyone staring.
"Should tell CEO Do first, but loyalty, right? Planning gets the scoop as a perk."
"Oh."
He fielded the obvious question immediately.
"Director Yoon Chang-ho's next lead—Lee Tae-gyu confirmed?"
"Yes."
"Ooh—"
"Hold up."
Jang Team Leader raised a finger to quiet the cheers. Fair enough. The planning team's full might had been poured into re-signing Lee Tae-gyu lately. Just the recent 'Yang Yong-chan director' booking had worn everyone out.
In that context, with Jang now exclusively handling Tae-gyu, the question was natural.
"Don't get that excited."
Shaking his head, Jang Team Leader grinned meaningfully.
"He's re-signing."
"?!?"
"Actor Lee Tae-gyu agreed to sign the re-contract before next month!"
"············!"
"Yes! We did it! DK snagged Lee Tae-gyu's re-sign!"
The silence shattered briefly.
Yeehaw────!
Cheers erupted. Confetti rained from the planning team's ceiling as people punched the air, celebrating their win.
"Awesome!"
"As expected!"
"Kuhahaha! Congrats!"
"Nice!"
"No way it worked?!"
"We did it!"
"Victory drinks!"
They all knew. How sky-high Lee Tae-gyu's star had risen. How many in the industry coveted him now. What demands he'd made of DK.
Especially.
"Everyone, great job!"
"Seriously······you all worked so hard!"
"Jang Team Leader! Amazing work!"
How much the team had suffered. Handling promo articles, fan cafes, scouring SNS and communities for sentiment reports. Nipping bad buzz in the bud, no holds barred.
And more. Battling gossip rags itching for scandals, ready to sue over malicious rumors.
Plus that recent Hollywood director—the days when everyone gave their all.
"Sincerity pays off."
"Sincerity plus solid strategy."
"Right."
"Honestly, I was skeptical at first."
"Me too. Yang Yong-chan? Thought one meeting wouldn't sway him······"
"CEO was right."
"He's incredible."
"Saw this far and played the gamble?"
"Exactly."
Unable to imagine Tae-gyu re-signing on his own, they reveled in their hard-won victory.
The heat didn't stop at planning.
I mean, in the CEO's office—where Jang reported and 'Lee Tae-gyu re-sign' topped the agenda—the elation continued.
"············As expected."
CEO Do Yoon-seop smiled in satisfaction.
"Remember, Jang Team Leader. Sincerity can't be half-assed. Especially with someone like Lee Tae-gyu who openly doubts the company's power—you gotta pour it on thick, overboard even."
"Got it."
"·········Anyway, good work."
Nodding proudly. ‘Indeed.’
To lock down a star that big, you need Hollywood-level bait, he thought.
"Jang Team Leader, you know the next steps?"
"Yes."
"Like you saw, the kid's a total softie. Act like re-signing means you've got him locked, and he'll sniff it out like a ghost."
"Right."
Do Yoon-seop knew exactly where to focus now. Hoshi-jeol and Model Detective 3 shoots mattered, but to prove his choice right to the re-signing Tae-gyu, he needed to show sincerity.
Perfect timing too. Hoshi-jeol spotlights Cheon Yoo-seong and Seol A-yoon, but for 'external activities,' he'd draw bigger attention to Tae-gyu.
"Hoshi-jeol press screening scheduled, right? Tell the press: more articles on our Tae-gyu than Cheon Yoo-seong or Seol A-yoon."
"Yes."
"Move now. Let's show 'em."
Pat pat.
CEO Do tapped Jang Team Leader's shoulder as he nodded.
And so, toward the ever-steady, LA-ribs-stocked Lee Tae-gyu—wrapped in their thick, unending misunderstanding.
"How we push······the catch we reeled in."
Hoshi-jeol press screening, full rollout────