Honestly, Director Jo Bang-u couldn't believe the current situation.
Until just last year, he had been left out in the cold.
Even his position as the director of the originally planned film
A washed-up director.
That was what everyone called him.
The past where he was called the magician of box office success was now too long ago, and what people remembered of him was a 'specialist in boring movies' who only produced consecutive failures.
"The clichés you use are too outdated."
"There's no message in your work, just simple entertainment."
"You said it's a disaster film this time, right? And a chemical terror on top of that?"
"I read the script, and it's a bit childish. As expected from an old-generation director..."
He had to hear such words right to his face.
With great difficulty, he used his connections to cast a rookie actor, but even they ended up quitting.
In effect, he was at a dead end.
"I came after reading the director's script."
The situation changed when a girl appeared at the audition that no one had expected.
The girl who claimed the spot through the audition.
Seoyeon said thus to Director Jo Bang-u.
"Past ties. And to repay my debt to you, Director. Those are all true, but please don't think it's simply because of that."
Seoyeon said so in a serious tone.
Director Jo Bang-u thought Seoyeon came to his audition solely to help him.
He thought it was merely the kindness he had bestowed in the past returning to him.
However, Seoyeon hoped he wouldn't think that way.
It was definitely true to some extent, but naturally, that was only one of the reasons.
For Seoyeon, who knew the future, this
'A film that easily achieved 10 million viewers, a film that would rank within the top 10 highest-grossing Korean films of all time.'
That was
Just how amazing that work was, it had a staggering 2 million more viewers than the final audience count of
But
Because the titles were similar, Seoyeon was able to recall it quickly.
There was no movie this year that could fight against such a film.
This year was the year of
The main cast of
Best Screenplay, Best Director.
They all went to
'The release dates might overlap.'
It could change depending on the circumstances.
But ultimately, the final opponent would be
'So.'
Seoyeon looked at Director Jo Bang-u.
At him, who had become endlessly weaker compared to the past.
"I believe in your script, Director."
"I..."
"It's not simply because of our past ties. I think this script is fun. I believe in the director's insight who gave me, a child extra with nothing, a chance to audition for the lead role of a drama after seeing my acting."
After being confirmed as the female lead, Seoyeon conveyed those words to Director Jo Bang-u.
Director Jo Bang-u couldn't say anything to Seoyeon's words.
Because even though an actress believed in him this much, he couldn't believe in himself.
However, he was so grateful for those words that his eyes turned red.
After Seoyeon left, he sobbed loudly to himself.
That was merely a month ago.
And now.
Director Jo Bang-u grabbed his pounding heart and looked at the person in front of him.
"Then wouldn't it be better for you to step down instead?"
Heo Tae-gil, the head of the Newlike Film Business Division, said so and crossed his arms.
He had a rather displeased expression.
As if he didn't like the fact that he was called out to this place itself.
"You don't want sponsorships. So you're asking us to invest more? Is that what you're saying?"
"That..."
"So if you don't like it, wouldn't it be more comfortable to just step down? That's my suggestion. It's not particularly because I don't like you, Director."
Heo Tae-gil said so in a subtle tone.
Honestly, he wasn't very pleased with the directives coming down from the Newlike Group headquarters.
Suddenly ordering an investment in a movie by a washed-up director like Jo Bang-u.
Seeing them scrutinizing every detail of its promotion and marketing made it feel like they were making a AAA-grade movie.
Considering how hard he had worked to push out the existing investors and secure his position, from Heo Tae-gil's perspective, Director Jo Bang-u was highly displeasing.
'When that sponsorship and investment weren't even thanks to him in the first place.'
The reason Heo Tae-gil looked down on Director Jo Bang-u was nothing else.
In his eyes, Director Jo Bang-u was a man helped by heaven.
Who would have thought that Joo Seoyeon and Park Jung-woo would appear at his dead end and save him.
Actors who were recording an undefeated myth.
Joo Seoyeon had only been around for a year, but for just a year, her achievements were at a level that could rightfully be called a goddess born for success.
It wasn't for nothing that the industry was recently paying attention to Seoyeon's moves.
Because she made unimaginable things happen as if they were natural.
'With
According to interviews, the British princess came to know Seoyeon through the success of
She saved such a princess by chance and built a friendship... so they say.
Wasn't it truly at the level of miracles seeking her out?
'The Chairman wants to make actress Joo Seoyeon ours no matter what.'
Therefore, Heo Tae-gil wanted to make this
The actress the Chairman was keeping an eye on.
And the Chairman's daughter.
He had to make Seoyeon, who was close to Seo-hee, a success for his own path to be smooth sailing.
To such a person, Director Jo Bang-u was literally an enemy blocking his path.
Great actors volunteered for the movie, so was there any reason to use a trash-tier director?
'It would be better to change the director at this opportunity. To a better director. To someone whose success is guaranteed. The script too... it would be better to change it. The two actors said it was fine, but there's a high probability they said that considering their friendship with the director. Well, I guess I should still talk to them and decide for that side.'
Even if they came out of friendship, they wouldn't dislike it if a better director was used.
The relationship between a director and an actor was business anyway.
'Well, if they really hate it, there's always the method of leaving Director Jo Bang-u in place and having another assistant director shoot it.'
Like a figurehead, so to speak.
Then wouldn't everyone be satisfied?
The sponsorship was just an excuse, in fact.
To put it bluntly, even if they didn't receive sponsorships, if Newlike invested, everything would be solved.
Director Jo Bang-u was probably hoping for that too.
It would be fine if they just took the sponsorship, but he was probably afraid it would compromise the artistic quality.
However,
If they didn't receive sponsorships, they had no choice but to beg the investors.
But he never expected the head of the Film Business Division, Heo Tae-gil, to speak like this.
"Please think about it. I'm sure you know why I'm saying this."
"..."
At those words, Director Jo Bang-u closed his mouth.
Because he felt all too vividly what he was talking about.
The failures that had followed him like a tag for years.
They kept holding him back.
***
Jo Seo-hee felt like she had been tossing and turning in her sleep lately.
She didn't remember exactly since when, but it felt like it had been since the moment she went to the sea with Seoyeon.
It felt like she was having some sort of dream, but she couldn't remember the content of it well.
Still, since she had the same dream a few times, some things came to mind, but somehow the other person's face didn't come to mind.
Not even whether it was a man or a woman.
"Is Seoyeon here?"
Seo-hee pedaled hard and arrived at Yeonhwa High School on her bicycle.
Somehow, even though she was a student from another school, no one stopped Seo-hee's actions anymore.
Rather, it seemed Song Da-yeon, the teacher in charge of the drama club, wanted Seo-hee to visit the club periodically.
'I heard they're trying to have regular exchanges with our school's drama club.'
It was probably roughly for that kind of pretext.
Myeongmin High School, which Seo-hee attended, had been paying attention to the nearby Yeonhwa High School in many ways recently.
The fact that it was a school specializing in arts and physical education among the academic tracks.
And the fact that they were both private high schools meant there were many overlapping aspects.
'Later, when Seoyeon comes, I should introduce her to our drama club too.'
Seo-hee had such thoughts as she looked at the girl standing in front of her, shivering.
Looking at her nametag, she was probably a first-year student.
She was the girl who was nearby when they watched
She didn't remember her name well, though.
"I, I am K-Kim Hye-ri!!"
"Huh? Okay."
At the sight of Seo-hee crossing her arms and looking at her with eyes that said 'So?', Kim Hye-ri hastily said she would go call Seoyeon and left. Honestly, she wanted to talk more, but Seo-hee tended to put up walls with most people unless it was a specific person.
It was inevitable given her position.
Besides, her appearance looked quite intimidating, so there weren't many people she could have long conversations with.
'I'm envious, so jealous!'
Of course, since Kim Hye-ri was a huge fan of Jo Seo-hee, she didn't mind that at all.
She was just envious of Joo Seoyeon, who could talk to Jo Seo-hee so naturally.
'But we live in different worlds.'
Ugh, Kim Hye-ri clutched her chest.
For reference, the first-year students of Yeonhwa High also went on a field trip to France together this time.
Of course, the first-years couldn't directly participate in the viola performance, but they could watch from afar.
Seoyeon stepping down from the palanquin, and Seoyeon standing face-to-face with the princess.
Honestly, at school, she was a senior with a somewhat scary impression.
A top actress who was not easy to dare speak to.
If that was the impression, Seoyeon back then was completely different.
Even Kim Hye-ri, a fan of Seo-hee, had watched Seoyeon back then in a daze.
That was why, after returning from the field trip, she had been glancing at Seoyeon with subtle eyes.
"Even if you become a fan now, I won't give you a chance."
"Shut up."
Min A-ra, a fellow female student in the drama club.
Blonde hair with a flashy appearance.
Honestly, when it came to looks, Kim Hye-ri couldn't help but acknowledge her.
However, being of mixed race, there could inevitably be various problems for her as an actress.
It seemed that was a concern for her as well.
Anyway, Kim Hye-ri went to find Seoyeon in the drama club.
They said it was hard to even see her once in the past, but this year, Seoyeon came out to the drama club quite often.
Usually with her friend, Lee Ji-yeon.
"What's up?"
"Ah, Jo Seo-hee... the actress came to see you."
"Really?"
Honestly, she had previously made up her mind to surpass Joo Seoyeon's recognition at once with a Netflix drama, but now she knew it was impossible.
'No, being friends with a British princess is cheating.'
Was it only the British princess?
There were even people who recently witnessed her talking on the phone with Stella, the fairy of the century.
Even though Seoyeon had only been active in Korea, she was entangled with famous overseas figures to this extent.
If she were to miraculously appear in a hit drama on Netflix, could she be like Seoyeon?
'Moreover, this one is already the very person who made a hit.'
Kim Hye-ri now knew that wall.
TGloWlBtWUkwZWhUWHNtSC9RL1BOdXJ6Ylo0M2R4Q3pnRmxWR2JUbExjb093RE5XazNRR2NXbTA4YXhtajJsag
She couldn't help but wonder if an ordinary person like her could continue acting.
Seoyeon stared intently at Kim Hye-ri's face, who was lost in such thoughts.
'How long do I have to wait?'
She was waiting for her to guide her, but somehow she didn't feel like moving at all.
Was she planning to go on her own?
Fortunately, about 5 minutes passed.
Coming to her senses, Kim Hye-ri was startled and guided Seoyeon to where Jo Seo-hee was.
The location was a break room near the drama club room.
Seo-hee, who was sipping vending machine coffee, lightly greeted Seoyeon.
"What's up?"
"I saw what happened in France too..., and there's an ad inquiry that came to me."
Since Seoyeon rarely received calls related to ads, it seemed the contact came to Seo-hee.
"An ad? But I..."
"I know you don't intend to take it, but this is an ad you've heard of before too."
Heard of it before?
When she looked at her with a questioning gaze,
"Do you remember Magical Girl Harara?"
"..."
She hadn't expected Harara to be mentioned here.
Recalling the play she had filmed before, Seoyeon felt her face flushing for no reason.
"For your information, you're the bonus here."
"Bonus? Then..."
"It seems they're interested in Soo-yeon."
Soo-yeon.
To put it simply, she was Seoyeon's scatterbrained younger sister.
A younger sister with overflowing stamina and, unlike Seoyeon, amazing social skills.
Of course, Soo-yeon didn't seem particularly interested in TV or broadcasting like Seoyeon.
Judging from what she saw at the school arts festival before, her acting was exactly at the level of kids her age.
"If possible, it would be nice if Seoyeon came out together too... or even your mom."
"...I feel like I've heard that before."
Didn't they reject that?
"So it seems they contacted us again because they were disappointed."
"Because of what happened in France?"
"Yeah. But they aren't necessarily looking for that kind of image, and for Seoyeon, the role of Zeroro."
Zeroro!
At those words, Seoyeon's eyes lit up.
For reference, Zeroro was Soo-yeon's favorite character in Harara.
Harara, which was broadly popular even among elementary school students, had a tendency for villain goods to sell well secretly, and Zeroro was the character at the forefront of that.
For reference, Zeroro was also a character popular among adults.
It was a character that even Seoyeon secretly thought had a pretty good design...
"Hmm, I'll think about it."
"Huh, you're not rejecting it right away?"
"It's not like I wasn't interested before."
I just got busy in the middle and rejected it.
But back then, it seemed like Mom wanted to come out with me too.
She thought she should ask about this part in detail later.
"But there's something on my mind lately, so I'm not sure when it will be."
"If it's something on your mind... because of that movie?"
"Yeah."
After hearing about
What if they revise the script because of sponsorships?
As she was thinking that, Jo Seo-hee stared blankly at Seoyeon and said.
"Ah, I heard about that recently, and there was talk about changing the director. Since you and Jung-woo sunbae are in it too. The Film Business Division is discussing whether it would be better to change to a director who can guarantee more box office success..."
"..."
"W-why are you glaring at me? I-I didn't decide that!"
"Could you tell me more about that in detail?"
"W-why are you suddenly speaking formally? No, I just heard it too, you know? It's really unfair!"
At Seoyeon's suddenly cold demeanor, Jo Seo-hee felt it was deeply unfair.