Audition.
Audition.
The script reading date was set, and I arrived at the location with Dad.
"Oh! Mr. Kim Ji-ho...?"
"Hello."
A staff member was fidgeting nervously, and Kim Ji-ho, noticing this, spoke up first.
"Are guardians not allowed inside, by any chance?"
"Ah! You’re here as Si-yoon’s guardian!"
When we reached the entrance, the woman escorting me and Dad spoke to another staff member inside.
"Si-yoon, playing Han Ga-in, has arrived!"
Dad was guided to what looked like a seat in the guest section and sat down. I went up and took the seat with my name on it, and everyone looked at me with adoring eyes.
"What?"
""Ahem...""
Director Yoo Dae-yeon watched the situation for a moment, then nodded and said,
"Now that Si-yoon is here, let's start from page C-3."
""Okay~""
We turned to page C-3, where the scene was laid out.
[Yoo Min-seong enters a dead-end alley, barricades the entrance, and catches his breath.]
Actor Kim Ha-neul, who was playing the role of Yoo Min-seong, began his performance.
"Huff... huff... ah... Kim Ji-seong, you son of a bitch..."
[He despairs at the situation around him, looks up at the sky, and meets the eyes of someone watching him.]
"...! Hey! Help me!"
[Han Ga-in smirks coldly at the young man pleading for help and disappears.]
On top of that, I locked eyes with Kim Ha-neul, flipped him off, and mouthed, 'Fuck off.'
"...!?"
""Pfft.""
In the middle of a serious situation, Director Yoo Dae-yeon's eyes lit up at the sight of me flipping off an adult without the slightest hesitation.
"Wow... that’s good. Let’s change it to that. Si-yoon, want to keep doing whatever feels natural?"
"Sure~"
The director watched us and jotted down notes, then the script reading resumed. A true professional, Kim Ha-neul slipped right back into character.
[After spotting Han Ga-in, Yoo Min-seong musters the last of his strength and climbs onto the rooftop.]
"Huff... hey... I know you’re in there."
"Just die. Don’t be a burden."
"...Please... save me..."
[The door remains firmly shut. Yoo Min-seong looks at his hands, torn up from forcing himself to climb the building, and despairs.]
"...Please."
[Han Ga-in watches through a crack in the door. She could put a crossbow bolt through Yoo Min-seong’s head, but she begins to hesitate.]
[As zombies begin climbing toward the rooftop, Yoo Min-seong gives up on everything.]
"Sigh... you’re right... I’m sorry. Judging by your voice, you must be a kid... I’m the adult here, but like you said, I ended up being nothing but a burden."
[Yoo Min-seong hangs his head. A zombie crawls onto the rooftop.]
"Keep your head down unless you want a hole through it, dumbass."
The script reading ended. The director nodded in satisfaction, but the actors around him looked worried.
"Si-yoon, do you think you can do the action scenes?"
The actress Kang Hui-seon, who was beside me, spoke up.
"Yeah, the action scenes look intense..."
I glanced at Song Il-seong, an actor with a ten-million-admission film to his name.
"What about the swimming scene...? They’re really going to make a child do that...?"
My role had a scene in a basement flooded after an elevator broke down. The adults recoiled from the dark water, too afraid to enter, until she cursed them for acting as though zombies could swim better than people and dove in alone.
"Um... I can swim a little."
"Child actors don't have stunt doubles, so..."
I nodded as if it were no big deal.
"Don't worry too much~"
The other actors and the director were talking with Dad.
"I was planning to treat everyone to beef today. Is everyone available for dinner?"
Dad smiled at Director Yoo Dae-yeon’s question and replied,
"As thanks for taking good care of Si-yoon, may I treat everyone here?"
Treating the entire crew to beef... Dad was operating on another level again today.
"You’re buying beef for forty people?!"
Dad nodded brightly. We went straight to a barbecue restaurant, where he sat beside me and grilled the meat. During the meal, several actors came over for his autograph. As if he had expected it, Dad pulled out paper and a pen and asked for their autographs in return—including those of the lesser-known actors.
After the meal, we took a group photo.
Dad casually burned through twelve million won on the spot at the barbecue restaurant.
"Anyone who wants to take some home, feel free."
""Wow...""
"I heard Mr. Ji-ho was incredibly rich... I guess it’s true..."
"Nah... it's just that I'm always home with Si-yoon, so I've got nowhere to spend the money."
Dad must have loved the meat, because he bought some raw beef to take home. Yoo Dae-yeon came over and said,
"At least let me pay for this."
"Ah... in that case, I'll gratefully accept!"
Dad cared only about the gesture, so he let Yoo Dae-yeon have the honor of paying for the meat.
Time passed, and finally, the day of filming arrived.
I arrived at the studio where we would be filming. They had invested heavily in the production, and the zombie makeup looked disturbingly real. If zombies actually appeared in this world, they would probably look exactly like that. In my previous life, one look at faces like those would have been enough for me to crack their skulls without a second thought.
Dad, seemingly worried after seeing the zombie makeup, covered my eyes.
"I can't film with my eyes covered."
"....."
At my reply, Dad lowered his hand.
"And besides, it’s less gruesome than the reviews I watch."
"....."
The staff who spotted me came over and greeted me.
"Si-yoon, I’ll take you to the makeup room."
At the makeup room, I let the staff work. They pinned up my waist-length hair and fitted me with a bob-cut wig.
"Eek! So pretty."
They also dressed me in protective gear that looked as though it had been made from cut-up rash guards.
"Oh..."
When I examined it with interest, the costume designer beside me said,
"Even a real zombie couldn’t infect you through this. Cool, right?"
"Yeah."
The costume looked hastily assembled for survival, but it was highly practical.
Once my makeup was mostly finished, I looked around the set during a break. Dad followed with his phone held up.
"Si-yoon, let's take a picture!"
Then an actress playing a supporting role came over and spoke to me.
"Want to take one together?"
"Yeah."
Starting with the two of us, the actors gathered to film epilogue shots for the trailer and advertisements. Since there was more time than expected, the director suggested filming my cut before it got any later. He nodded in satisfaction after the short shoot. The others filmed several brief scenes as well, and once everything was finished, Director Yoo Dae-yeon spoke.
"Let’s start filming in earnest tomorrow!"
""Yes!""
One day, filming was in full swing.
While we were shooting in split teams, a coffee truck arrived.
No—it was a 'milk truck' bearing my name, sent by Ji-eun.
Kim Ha-neul, who was beside me, asked,
"Wow... Si-yoon, are you close with Ji-eun?"
"Yeah. Dad's closer."
By now, I spoke casually even to Kim Ha-neul. I still used polite speech with Song Il-seong, of course—he was older than all my lifetimes put together.
"I’m jealous. I’m a huge fan of hers..."
"Really? Want me to introduce you?"
"...Seriously?"
Kim Ha-neul stared at me with complete seriousness.
"I only offered to be nice. Don’t take it so seriously. It’s not attractive."
"...Okay."
"You’re seven years older than her. Stop acting like such a fanboy."
I drank the milk and ate the bread Ji-eun had sent.
After a short break, Director Yoo Dae-yeon announced,
"Now that everyone’s finished, let’s get started again!"
Director Yoo Dae-yeon treated every second as precious. This was my first action-scene shoot.
I briefly recalled the past and composed my expression.
The director gave the signal. As rehearsed, I brought a specially made prop knife down onto the back of the villain actor’s hand where it rested on the wooden desk. Before he could scream, I kicked off a chair, leaped up, drew the dagger at my waist, thrust it into his mouth, and drove it deeper with my knee.
"Gurk."
The bound Yoo Min-seong’s pupils trembled in genuine fear, not as part of the performance...
"Shh."
The director focused completely. Footsteps approached. Without making a sound, I climbed onto a shelf and removed my socks. When a man entered, I leaped onto his back, slashed his throat with the dagger, and stuffed the socks into his mouth to stop him from screaming.
"Guh... ngh."
I looked down at the collapsed man, then spoke to the bound Yoo Min-seong.
"Stay right there."
Leaving Yoo Min-seong behind, I closed the door and went outside.
"Cut! Whoa! Si-yoon, that was incredible!"
"Wow... she's really good."
Director Yoo Dae-yeon watched Si-yoon’s action scene and said,
"I’d started taking what Si-yoon was doing for granted, but when I think about the other child actors I’ve filmed... she’s truly remarkable."
Everyone flinched at Director Yoo Dae-yeon’s words. They seemed to have briefly forgotten that I was eight years old.
After we finished the rest of the day’s filming, Dad came to pick me up. As I got into his car, Director Yoo Dae-yeon approached and said,
"Mr. Ji-ho, this is a gift for Si-yoon."
"Ah! Hello. What is it?"
"It’s a film prop. I thought it would make a good keepsake."
In the scene we filmed that day, Han Ga-in kept a photo of her parents inside a necklace, then lost it while saving Min-seong. He gave me that necklace as a memento.
I smiled as I accepted the prop from Yoo Dae-yeon.
"We’re not allowed to photograph this, right?"
"...Right. There’s a lot of overseas investment, so they’re extremely strict about spoilers."
"Thank you for keeping the third condition I gave you."
There were five conditions I'd laid out for Yoo Dae-yeon.
1. Remember that I’m eight years old.
2. Once vacation ends, film only on weekends.
3. I don’t care if the signing fee is small; make this something I can remember.
4. If the atmosphere turns sour over something trivial, I’ll stop filming immediately.
5. If there’s anything I need to improve or anything you want from me, tell me directly instead of worrying about how I’ll react.
The list felt like a set of wishes written in my own hand, but Director Yoo Dae-yeon had honored it.
"Haha, of course."
I let Director Yoo Dae-yeon pat my head.
"We'll be going now~"
"You’re filming again in two days. I’ll tell your dad the time."
"Okay~"
After Dad said goodbye, we headed home.