Chapter 161
Chapter 161
I’ll See You at the Shoot
“Um... Manager Park.”
“Hm?”
Manager Park, who had just returned to the agency after a meeting, was already organizing materials for the next one. Lee Tae-gyeom hesitated for a moment before standing beside him.
“Do they use online forums for drama announcements?”
“A forum? That’s an old-school method. Nowadays, everyone uses apps, like Band.”
“Right? I’ve never seen it done this way.”
“Why? Is ‘Snake’ using a forum?”
Lee Tae-gyeom nodded. Manager Park took his hands off the keyboard and rested his chin on them.
“Ah... The assistant director is Eom Dong-pil, right? He is a bit old-fashioned.”
During a drama’s production, online communities are often used for staff communication. Since group chats are hard to keep organized, they use community bulletin boards, where they post announcements about filming locations or even last-minute script pages.
The managers had joined as well. It was more efficient to post a single notice on the board than to contact everyone individually.
“How do you know? Is he an acquaintance of yours, Manager Park?”
“There were rumors that Director Eom was making a comeback. I thought I’d heard the name somewhere...”
A director? Lee Tae-gyeom turned on his phone and searched for Eom Dong-pil. He had quite a few works to his name. A man like this was working as an assistant director for a rookie?
“His filmography is quite extensive, isn’t it?”
“Even so, he’s not much now... You could say he had a brief moment of fame in his youth, then completely fell from grace due to various incidents.”
“I see... But why would he take an assistant director role instead of directing?”
“Well, people like him sometimes take on assistant director roles. They know the cinematography and the set well.”
In other words, he wasn’t good enough to direct anymore, so the washed-up director with some experience was using his past career to make ends meet.
“But what were those ‘various incidents’?”
“You know, the type who gets arrogant after a little fame. His reputation wasn’t great. After that, every project he touched bombed.”
“Ah... I hope there won’t be any trouble, right?”
“With Yu Yeon-seo? If anything, Yeon-seo would be the one schooling him, not the other way around. The kid’s sharp as a tack.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
Only then did Manager Park nod, finally understanding. “Ah...” Right. Given Eom Dong-pil’s personality, he wouldn’t act like a jerk to Yu Yeon-seo. Instead, he’d see his background and try to suck up to him, which would be annoying. And would Yu Yeon-seo just stand for that? After a moment’s thought, he shrugged.
“Well, he’s not the same as he used to be.”
“I’ve been seeing some signs lately.”
“R-Really? Still, he’ll know where to draw the line. I’m more worried about the rookie director... Will the set even run properly?”
Lee Tae-gyeom lightly bit his lower lip. An assistant director with a bad reputation and a rookie director who, despite some experience, was new to dramas. It wasn’t a good combination. Whatever happens, I just hope it doesn’t affect us.
“Yeon-seo will handle it just fine, I’m sure.”
“I suppose so.”
“Wow... I just got goosebumps.”
To think he was so casually saying that Yu Yeon-seo would do well on set. Manager Park rubbed his arms with both hands. Lee Tae-gyeom laughed soullessly.
“You shouldn’t overwork yourself either, Manager Park.”
“I wish I didn’t have to... but I need to organize these meeting minutes before I leave. Speaking of which, you’ve gotten some experience under your belt, haven’t you? You could become a manager soon.”
“Me? I’m not experienced enough yet. Besides, who would be his road manager then?”
“Ah, that’s true.”
Returning to his desk, Lee Tae-gyeom stared at the ‘Snake’ staff community page on his monitor.
Why isn’t this set to private?
What if some weirdo joins?
Whenever he had free time, Yu Yeon-seo would meet with Jeong Hyeon-sik, trying to become the character even in his daily life.
In the drama, Han Yu-jun uses his special forces background and doesn’t spare his body. With a seemingly complicated family history added to the mix, some fans who read the character synopsis even commented, asking if they could expect “blood, sweat, and tears.”
On top of that, one of the directors from Cheonha Action School was serving as the action director for ‘Snake.’ Whenever his mind was cluttered, he would visit the action school, pretend he knew nothing about the drama’s moves, and ask for advice.
Time passed, and the day of the public script reading for ‘Snake’ finally arrived. Invited reporters gathered at the venue, cameras in hand.
“They said they were staking everything on this, and they sure invited a ton of reporters.”
“Think it’ll do well?”
“Who knows. Wasn’t this just a last-minute replacement because of the strike’s aftermath?”
“It can’t be a replacement if Yu Yeon-seo chose it.”
“Come on, no one can be successful forever.”
“Huh? That person... You go on inside first.”
Recognizing someone, the senior reporter sent his junior inside ahead of him. He looked around as if he had just arrived, then approached a man.
“Excuse me, aren’t you Director Eom Dong-pil?”
“Ah... Reporter Kim? It’s been a while. How have you been?”
“I’ve been well. By the way, are you directing ‘Snake’? No, that can’t be right... I saw the name, and it was a woman.”
There was a hint of a laugh in Reporter Kim’s voice, which sounded faintly mocking. Eom Dong-pil, sensing the provocation, felt a muscle in his cheek twitch.
“I’m joining as the assistant director. You know how it is... when the director is a rookie, a veteran steps in to help.”
“Ah, so that’s why you’re here. It must be tough, teaching a rookie.”
“It is. Excuse me, I need to use the restroom.”
“Of course.”
Reporter Kim sneered at Eom Dong-pil’s back as he hurried away as if fleeing.
After all that boasting, he’s just cleaning up after a rookie? Eom Dong-pil is completely washed up.
He had suffered so much under Director Eom Dong-pil during his rookie days that he had deliberately come over to get a dig in.
That bastard is looking down on me.
Eom Dong-pil, too, ground his teeth. He had actually wanted to direct ‘Snake’ but had been pushed aside for a rookie, which had deeply wounded his pride. And of all places, he had to run into an acquaintance here.
This won’t do. After this project, I have to direct something myself.
And the lead actor was Yu Yeon-seo. The man who would become the owner of a major content company. If he made a good impression during filming, Yeon-seo might be able to get him a position at his company.
Public broadcast networks are a thing of the past. OTT is the trend now.
Already imagining Yu Yeon-seo getting him a job at JS Entertainment, he swelled with the dream of soaring once more to become a star director.
Eom Dong-pil, who had only pretended to go to the restroom, scowled deeply as he saw Director Lee Seul-gi getting out of the elevator.
“Director, what took you so long?”
“...I’m sorry.”
In reality, she had arrived quite early, but Director Lee Seul-gi didn’t say anything. If she retorted, he would surely accuse her of talking back, calling her an ill-mannered child.
Writer Kim Dae-seong, who was following right behind her, feigned ignorance and asked.
“Pardon? Aren’t we early?”
“...Let’s just go inside.”
Eom Dong-pil couldn’t say anything to Kim Dae-seong. Lee Seul-gi was an easy target, but he knew Kim Dae-seong was acquainted with Yu Yeon-seo.
Watching his back as he led the way inside, the writer and director scowled as much as they could.
“Should I come to the set more often?”
“No, it’s alright. You need to focus on the script, Writer Kim.”
Lee Seul-gi answered calmly. She might be a rookie in the drama world, but her previous career was impressive. She had encountered countless people like him during her time in the corporate world. Still, she was grateful for his concern and offered a quiet word of thanks.
“What was that?”
“What was what?”
“It’s nothing.”
And someone had been watching the situation from afar. He was quite a distance away, but he could hear if he focused. Lee Tae-gyeom, who was handing him a tumbler, jumped in surprise, but Yeon-seo simply ignored it and walked into the script reading room.
The moment he appeared, the reporters scrambled to take pictures. Yu Yeon-seo gave a brief greeting to the actor sitting next to him and then stared intently at Jeong Hyeon-sik across the table. Jeong Hyeon-sik didn’t avoid his gaze. Since they had met often to discuss the project, they were trying to get into character just by looking at each other.
[Photo] ‘Snake’ Script Reading... The Two Leads’ War of Nerves from the Start
‘Snake’ Script Reading... Yu Yeon-seo’s Intense Gaze
And that moment was captured in a photograph.
“Alright, we will now begin the script reading for ‘Snake.’ I am Eom Dong-pil, the assistant director. First, let’s hear from our director, Lee Seul-gi.”
“Hello, I’m Lee Seul-gi.”
Considering the friction at the entrance, he introduced the production team rather calmly. Is it a relief that he can at least separate his personal and professional life? After Writer Kim Dae-seong’s introduction, it was the actors’ turn.
“Next, we have the actor who will be playing the role of Han Yu-jun, our very own Yu Yeon-seo.”
Our? Yu Yeon-seo suppressed a laugh, stood up, and picked up the microphone.
“Let’s begin the reading.”
After the short introductions, the participants turned the pages of their scripts. The assistant director, Eom Dong-pil, read the narration, and the actors delivered their lines. Son Jin-ho’s first appearance, followed by his meeting with Han Yu-jun.
“You, can you hear something?”
It was a line they had practiced while getting into character during their meetings. Son Jin-ho screams in his mind, and Han Yu-jun, following the script’s directions, tries to pretend nothing is wrong before finally collapsing.
Yu Yeon-seo covers his ears with his hands and frowns. His actions made it seem like he was genuinely hearing a loud noise. Even without looking at the script, one could guess what was happening.
“...You passed the interview. Report to our team starting tomorrow.”
Son Jin-ho was overwhelming Han Yu-jun with his gaze alone, and while Han Yu-jun appeared stiff and rigid, he didn’t back down.
“You possess that ability, yet you have no idea how to use it.”
“Urk...!”
Starting the next day, Han Yu-jun, now part of Son Jin-ho’s team, undergoes special training on how to use his ability.
“Straighten up. Focus.”
“Is this really going to work?”
Unable to bear it any longer, Han Yu-jun shouts. Unaware that Son Jin-ho also possessed an ability, Han Yu-jun resented him for trying to suppress him without knowing anything. It was like a son rebelling against his father.
“We won’t catch the culprit this way.”
Actors each come with their own interpretation of their characters. The script reading was the process of merging those interpretations into one. Occasionally, when a delivery seemed off, the writer or director would step in and suggest trying it differently. But with Yu Yeon-seo and Jeong Hyeon-sik, there was nothing to correct.
“Alright, next scene...”
As the two leads gave passionate performances even during the reading, the other actors also grew more fired up, delivering their lines with enthusiasm. Some of their voices even grew hoarse, as if they hadn’t had time to drink water.
“This concludes the script reading for ‘Snake.’”
“Good work, everyone!”
And so, the script reading ended much faster than expected.
“What do you think?”
“It’s still the early part, so it’s hard to say, but the acting is already incredible.”
“Right?”
The reporters began to file out of the room. After a brief exchange with the other actors, Yu Yeon-seo approached the writer and director.
“Writer Kim, what did you think?”
“It was perfect.”
“And you, Director?”
Kim Dae-seong wanted to add all sorts of flowery compliments but simply gave a thumbs-up. However, before Lee Seul-gi could speak, Eom Dong-pil cut in.
“Wow... It was really good. I have nothing more to say.”
“I was asking the director.”
Are you the director? As Yeon-seo stared at Eom Dong-pil without blinking, the man flinched. Director Lee Seul-gi, feeling a sense of vindication at the sight, gave a small cough to hide her smile.
“Yes, I thought your character interpretation was excellent as well.”
“Then that’s settled. I’ll see you at the shoot.”