This is Me, Seo Eun-seong!
Late that night, a tense atmosphere hung over the living room of Seo Ha-rin's house.
"Seo Eun-seong... why hasn't he called or anything...!"
"Yeah? Ha-rin-ah? Maybe Bear Doll's at a dinner or something? He's not picking up his phone?"
"Ha-rin unnie... Eun-jin unnie... It's already past 11... Do you think something happened?"
Three women sat side by side on the sofa: Seo Ha-rin, Choi Eun-jin, and Lee Ah-hyun. The TV was on in the living room, but their eyes were all fixed on the front door. They looked just like three meerkats waiting for their owner.
"What if... the director didn't like him and kicked him out?"
Seo Ha-rin bit her nails anxiously. She knew better than anyone how ruthless the entertainment industry could be. She was mountainously worried that her rookie actor brother might have gotten hurt.
That was when it happened.
Beep beep.
The silence was broken by the sound of the door lock disengaging.
"He's here!"
The three women shot up like coiled springs, as if on cue.
As the front door opened, Seo Eun-seong walked in, looking exhausted.
"Huh? What's this? Why's everyone still up?"
"Oppa!"
"Bear Doll!"
"Eun-seong oppa!"
The three surrounded Seo Eun-seong.
Seo Ha-rin grabbed his arm and shook it.
"Why are you so late! How was the shoot? Did it go well? What did the director say?"
"Eun-seong oppa... why's your face like that? Did it... not go well?"
Lee Ah-hyun's voice trembled as she looked at his expressionless face.
"Hmm..."
Seo Eun-seong put on a deliberately serious face and paused for effect. The three parasites looking up at him with worried eyes were so cute that his playful side kicked in.
"Haa..."
As Seo Eun-seong let out a deep sigh, the living room froze in an instant.
"I knew it... it didn't go well?"
"It's okay, Bear Doll. That director must be blind. Want us to go yell at him?"
Following Seo Ha-rin, Choi Eun-jin rolled up her sleeves with a huff.
Seo Eun-seong stifled a snickering laugh and opened his bag.
"Here, take a look at this."
He pulled out the revised script from his bag and waved it in front of the parasites.
"Huh...? Isn't this the script?"
Seo Ha-rin snatched it and started reading. And one second later.
"Kyaaah!"
Seo Ha-rin's scream echoed through the living room.
"No way! Oppa! They added an action scene? Your parts got bigger?"
Seo Ha-rin couldn't hide her excitement.
"For real? Let me see!"
"I wanna see too!"
Choi Eun-jin and Lee Ah-hyun peered into the script to confirm.
"What?! It's true?! Wow? Bear Doll? What are you on about?"
"Kyaa! Eun-seong oppa! Congratulations!"
Choi Eun-jin and Lee Ah-hyun freaked out in surprise too.
It wasn't just a walk in the back alley anymore—this was an upgraded role where he saved the heroine and fought the enemies. A solid supporting role by any measure.
"See? This is what my big bro's got."
Seo Eun-seong shrugged arrogantly and plopped onto the sofa.
"Eun-jin noona, Ah-hyun-ah. You saw me as just the bear who cooks meals till now, right? I'm not the housekeeper anymore? I'm an actor now? Okay?"
"Oh ho! Funny guy, huh?"
"Ow! Why hit me? Noona?"
"'Cause it's hilarious? Seo Eun-seong? You've grown up, huh?"
Choi Eun-jin smacked his back playfully and laughed. But her eyes were full of pride and affection.
"Eun-seong oppa... you're so cool..."
Lee Ah-hyun stroked the script like a treasure chest, moved to tears. Her very own Eun-seong oppa debuting as an actor. In a movie, no less.
"Heh heh. This is me, Seo Eun-seong!"
Basking in the three women's congratulations, Seo Eun-seong smiled contentedly. It finally felt like he was getting some recognition.
"Huh...?"
Bzzz.
Suddenly, the phone in his pocket vibrated. Seo Eun-seong absentmindedly pulled it out and checked the screen.
It was an Instagram DM.
"....!"
It was from senior Kim Na-yeon.
"Ahem."
Seo Eun-seong flinched in surprise and instinctively flipped the phone over, shoving it under the sofa cushion.
A DM at this hour? And what were those hearts at the end?
"Oppa? What's up? Who is it?"
Seo Ha-rin eyed him suspiciously. Women's intuition was sharp, as expected.
"Huh? Oh, no. Spam text? Why are there so many loan ads these days?"
Seo Eun-seong played it cool. Luckily, Seo Ha-rin was too absorbed in the script to press further.
'Phew... close call.'
Seo Eun-seong sighed in relief. If the parasites found out about the DM, he'd be grilled all night.
'Anyway, action school starts tomorrow...'
He fiddled with the phone under the cushion, lost in thought. What would tomorrow bring? Excitement and tension wrapped around him at once.
The next morning at the action school near Paju, Gyeonggi-do. Inside the warehouse-like building, grunts and impact sounds echoed.
I changed into training clothes and entered the office.
"Hello! I'm Seo Eun-seong, here to start training today!"
I didn't use the "rookie actor" title yet. Felt a bit awkward.
"Hmm?"
A man with his feet up on the desk glanced at me. Short-cropped hair, tough-looking face. He was Park Jang-su, the veteran action director from Chungmuro and the head here.
"Ah, you're that idol Seo Ha-rin's brother?"
Park chewed his gum loudly, scanning me up and down. His eyes dripped with blatant disdain.
"Choi the director praised you till his mouth went dry, so I wondered. Just a guy with a decent frame."
"....."
What? This guy? Throwing his weight around?
I was honestly taken aback.
"Hey, rookie. Honestly, I don't like you. Action's no joke. Learn in three days and shoot? Use a stunt double, but nooo, Choi's stubborn. Sheesh."
Park grumbled as he stood, then poked my chest.
"Don't think pretty face gets you actor treatment. Here, can't move? You're dead weight. Got it?"
"Yes. I'll keep that in mind."
I answered calmly. Park smirked, seeming okay with my attitude.
"Good. Let's check your specs first. Basic stamina okay?"
"Climbed some mountains."
"Mountains? Hiking ain't action. Follow me."
Park led me to the training ground, then threw an insane workload to assert dominance.
"Twenty laps on the track first. Then 100 burpees. Tire drag for ten minutes. Go."
The stuntmen around clicked their tongues. Even pros struggled with that.
Obvious intent to crush the newbie.
But.
"Got it. On it!"
I headed to the track without a word and started running.
Thirty minutes later.
"That kid... what the hell?"
Park's cigarette dropped from his mouth.
"Stamina like that? Not even winded?"
He gawked as I sprinted twenty full laps at full speed, then jumped straight into burpees without rest.
"Huff... huff..."
Whatever. I sweated buckets but kept the pace. Compared to hauling 30kg rocks up and down 4,000m in Nepal, flat-ground bodyweight was a stroll.
"Tire drag done. What's next?"
I wiped sweat and approached; Park cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Ahem. Stamina's decent. But action ain't brute force. It's technique."
Park gloved up and climbed into the ring.
"Get up. Let's spar. Hit me."
"For real?"
"Yeah. Don't hold back, hit hard. You won't land anyway..."
Thwack!
Before he finished, my fist slammed into the mitt. A heavy thud rang through the gym.
"Ugh!"
Park staggered back, clutching his numb arm, eyes wide.
"Hey... you box?"
"No. Just... carrying rocks built some power."
"Rocks? What rocks?"
"Building houses on volunteer work in Nepal."
"Nepal? That Nepal?"
"Yes. Like I said, climbed mountains there."
"Ha...?"
Park looked dumbfounded. It wasn't just strength. He instinctively knew hip torque, weight shifting.
"Show me your torso."
"Pardon? Okay."
I stripped off my t-shirt without hesitation. Half the stuntmen around were shirtless anyway.
"Whoa? Check this out? Body's solid?"
Park was shocked again. Not gym-rat supplement-pumped balloon muscles. These were survival-forged, wiry, compressed battle muscle.
"Damn... Choi wasn't bullshitting."
Park's eyes did a 180. Disdain gone, replaced by greedy curiosity.
"Hey, come here. Try this."
Park excitedly started teaching high-level moves.
"Like this?"
"Exactly! Hey? You got it?"
I absorbed techniques like a sponge.
"This guy's the real deal?"
Park muttered.
"Oh yeah, your sister's an idol, right?"
"Yes."
"Genetics? You're a natural, kid."
Choi's "three days is plenty" wasn't wrong. Honestly, one day might do it.