Sim Cheong-seok, the reason I know him is, in a way, similar to Pyo Ji-woo.
An accident that was heavily reported on the news.
I had only seen his face in the small attached screen in the corner of the news, so I couldn't immediately recall it.
'The incident probably occurred roughly a year from now.'
It was an accident that happened during a drama shoot.
A fall accident.
They said he missed his step on set and rolled down into a valley.
At first, it was known as a simple accident, but later it was revealed to be an accident caused by a senior actor's power trip.
Like forcing a scene when the stuntman hadn't arrived yet.
'A senior actor's power trip.'
Actually, it's an issue with many aspects.
I was lucky, so I didn't particularly experience such power trips during my child actor days.
However, surprisingly, child actors are said to be in a position where they easily suffer power trips from other actors or staff.
'I was lucky.'
Anyway, unlike me, Sim Cheong-seok wasn't lucky.
I don't know if they didn't like him crossing over from the theater scene, or if they felt inferior to his talent that moved straight to a large OTT drama.
Thanks to that, for a while in the National Assembly, there was talk of bringing out a bill regarding actors' power trips, calling it the Sim Cheong-seok Law.
"……Why are you looking at me like that? No, right?"
"Yes?"
"It's like the eyes of someone looking at a person who's about to die, you know."
Sim Cheong-seok said with a very uncomfortable expression.
Oops, did I unconsciously look at him with such eyes?
'But why is his tone like that.'
Is it awkward for him to speak politely to the younger me?
It felt like if he kept speaking like that, it would cause a major disruption to the conversation.
"You can speak comfortably. It's okay."
"Ah, really?"
I clicked my tongue at Sim Cheong-seok's attitude of dropping his polite speech as sharply as a knife the moment I told him to speak comfortably.
I don't mind, but what should I say.
'He knows I'm the senior, right?'
He definitely wasn't the kind of junior that seniors would like.
Not that I have any intention of throwing my weight around as a senior, though.
……Seriously.
"More than that, the look I gave just now didn't have any special intention."
"Hmm."
He basically had a sharp impression, but his tone wasn't like that.
His speech was slow, and his movements weren't that quick.
He was definitely the perfect type to have a hard time if bullied.
"First, let's start if you're ready."
Perhaps his interest in me had cooled, Sim Cheong-seok said so and looked around.
Currently, the people appearing in this play were sitting around a table.
Script reading.
Whether it's a drama or a play, it's the foundation of all work involving a script.
It's not simply about spitting out lines and continuing the acting, but also a process of reviewing pronunciation and sentences to see if they suit oneself.
'We went over it lightly during the previous drama.'
Was it because I was a child actor?
While having such thoughts, I noticed that the style of the scripts everyone held in their hands was different.
Scripts edited to match each person's style.
For reference, mine was just the basic one.
I thought there was nothing to touch up, so I just held the one I received initially.
"Seo-yeon, this is your first play script reading, right?"
"Yes."
As I sat quietly examining the script, Lee Hye-jin, who played Song Min-seo, spoke carefully.
"Usually, the first reading takes quite a long time. It looks like it'll end a bit late, is that okay?"
"Yes, I already told home."
And even if it wasn't okay, it's something I had to do.
If I said I was just leaving because it was late here, my role would clearly leave with me.
"Then, as I mentioned, let's start with Seo-yeon and Cheong-seok first."
I wondered why the two of us, but thinking about it, it was obvious.
The actors in the other two parts were already actors who had worked together during the premiere.
Since the actors in the part we took over had all changed, in effect, the real 'first' reading was only us.
'But then, wouldn't it be right to start with Lee Hye-jin, who plays Song Min-seo?'
I had such doubts, but they must have something they wanted to check.
I roughly thought so and opened the script.
The introduction of Act 2, where Bae Sung-hak and Hong Jung-hee first meet.
***
"Then let's begin."
At Sim Cheong-seok's words, everyone's attention focused on the two.
Sim Cheong-seok and Ju Seo-yeon.
Probably the ones who would take up the most attention in this script reading.
'The rising star of the theater troupe, and the genius child actor.'
Both were people with distinct characters.
Kim Cheong-un glanced at Sim Cheong-seok.
Honestly, when Jo Do-yul recommended him, I wondered if he was in his right mind.
He clearly had ability, but he was literally like a wild horse.
An actor with strong inherent color and stubbornness.
He was quite an overwhelming figure for Seo-yeon, who was doing a play for the first time.
Especially in a script reading like this, if Seo-yeon couldn't keep up the pace properly, the one who would point it out over and over was precisely Sim Cheong-seok.
Actually, among the actors, there were even some who avoided him because of that personality of his.
「Ah! You're Hong Jung-hee, right? Nice to meet you. You come to every performance, right? You look familiar.」
The seat of idol Bae Sung-hak's fan meeting.
That conversation is the first conversation between Bae Sung-hak and Hong Jung-hee in the play.
The sharp impression disappeared, and only a fresh handsome man remained at once.
Vocalization that conveyed a distinct color even without particularly doing facial acting.
「A, hello. I, I-I-I'm Hong Jung-hee.」
Seo-yeon, who received that, was also not to be trifled with.
As if showing how she beat Pyo Ji-woo at the audition, even though it was only voice acting, distinct emotions were felt.
Her vocalization was also excellent.
Short exclamations of admiration flowed from the mouths of everyone who saw that.
"Hmm."
However, Sim Cheong-seok frowned with a displeased face.
"Aren't you stuttering too much?"
Words that could easily sound like he was snapping at her.
A cold voice enough to intimidate an ordinary actor.
Of course, there was no such intention.
It was just his tone, a pure question.
"If she were someone who spoke well, she wouldn't have rambled like that to Song Min-seo."
"That and this are different."
"No, this is right. The script says 'speaks while making eye contact,' but for this part too, I think it would be better to not make eye contact as much as possible and have a feeling of shivering."
But Seo-yeon didn't yield a single word.
She had her own strong stubbornness in this kind of thing.
To the extent that she arbitrarily changed the script during her child actor days, Seo-yeon was serious about character interpretation.
Although…… the reason might have been very trivial.
Anyway, at Sim Cheong-seok's criticism, Seo-yeon decided to do the same to him.
"Your acting is too fresh."
"……."
"It doesn't match the character well."
At Seo-yeon's words, Sim Cheong-seok's eyebrows twitched.
It seemed he didn't expect his acting to be criticized.
"You have to do it with this level of tone for it to be conveyed well to the audience. You with little experience might not know well, but."
Hooh, experience.
Seo-yeon, with an expressionless face, only twisted her lips slightly.
"Experience, when is actor Sim Cheong-seok's debut date?"
"……Debut date?"
"For your reference, mine is 10 years ago."
"……."
"Who lacks experience?"
Having rested during that time.
Or it being your first play.
She didn't listen to such meaningful rebuttals.
'My acting career is 10 years.'
Seo-yeon puffed her chest triumphantly.
"Let's continue."
"……Alright."
His eyes narrowed and looked at Seo-yeon for a moment.
A face saying let's do this properly.
And that was what Seo-yeon wanted as well.
After that, the script reading was quite fierce.
It wasn't a half-joking battle of nerves like just now.
They talked over each and every scene, revising the script and continuing.
Generally, the script reading time is two to three times the length of the play.
That is, three to five hours is the standard.
However, the time the script reading ended was midnight.
A full eight hours had passed.
"……I'm sorry for getting too heated."
"No, no. You don't need to worry about it, Seo-yeon."
Naturally, the script reading wasn't done only by Seo-yeon and Sim Cheong-seok.
There were also parts for the other actors, so that's why it took this long.
Of course, Seo-yeon and Sim Cheong-seok took up the most time.
'This kid is the real deal.'
Watching Seo-yeon who was stealing glances, Kim Cheong-un inwardly admired.
Even though it was her first script reading, she looked very familiar with it.
No, she must have done it when filming a drama, so maybe I should limit it to 'play'.
'This is definitely something the production team will care about.'
Actually, even if Seo-yeon's acting was a bit worse than Pyo Ji-woo's, it would have been Seo-yeon who got cast.
The child actor of The Moon that Hides the Sun.
If her return after 10 years is a play, there's nothing better for promotion.
'Comeback work' is a premium title that only exists once.
Since it's a play, its impact won't be like the public broadcast networks, but compared to other plays, it's like adding wings to a tiger.
'And she didn't fall behind that Sim Cheong-seok at all.'
The full-fledged acting was already highly anticipated.
Because Sim Cheong-seok was also an actor with tremendous talent.
***
There is a variety show called
A variety show that re-enacts variety shows or dramas that were popular in the past.
Its target is usually teenagers who don't know that 'past'.
There were cases where they visited each school and imitated famous scenes from old dramas.
There were also times when students directly demonstrated a variety show that once enjoyed great popularity.
"It was the variety show part last time, so this time it's a drama. Or should we just do both?"
"……."
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
Jung Min-jae, the chief PD of the entertainment department, said to his junior PD, Park Gun.
"W-well, I was wondering how much time we have left until the show ends."
"……Um."
The previous viewership rating was roughly 6 percent.
A life hanging by a thread.
It's a situation where it's barely breathing, so if it drops just a little more here, it will immediately end.
At best, this season will be the last.
"They clearly said viewer-participation variety shows are popular..."
"It seems to be because the target is students."
"Ugh."
PD Min-jae let out a sigh.
Originally, re-enacting a variety show or drama that was popular in the past.
He thought it would be fun to show that through the witty appearances of the students.
Actually, when they did it as a pilot program, the response was good.
But the reality?
A viewership rating of only 6 percent.
'Well, properly re-enacting it would be difficult.'
It's okay if it's a high school that at least has a drama club.
If even that isn't there, literally a feast of atrocious acting continues for a whopping 20 minutes.
Still, that in itself was funny, so it was a situation where they maintained at least 6 percent.
"Let's use one guest."
"A guest?"
"Still, if an actor is involved when they act, the kids will be more motivated, right? And the acting might be a bit more watchable?"
For something said in the heat of the moment, it wasn't a bad idea.
Then it would be perfect to use someone who appeared in the drama they're re-enacting as a guest.
PD Min-jae's thinking was fast.
"We shouldn't decide on the drama first, but decide on the actor first. Do you happen to know any good actors who would appear on our variety show?"
"I know someone."
At that time, a staff member raised his hand.
He was the staff member who always ordered gukbap alone when everyone else ordered spicy pork for lunch.
"Um, if you know, who..."
"Actor Park Jung-woo."
"Excuse me?"
At the words coming from the gukbap staff, PD Min-jae momentarily wondered if he had heard correctly.
Who?
"The son of a friend of my father's in-law's 8th-degree relative once filmed with actor Park Jung-woo. So I got to know him."
"Is that an acquaintance you can contact? Isn't it just a stranger?"
"Of course. I even did a KakaoTalk with him just a while ago."
He said so and actually showed the KakaoTalk conversation he had with Park Jung-woo.
'Good grief. This is possible?'
If it's Park Jung-woo, he's the hottest actor recently.
Age twenty.
An actor who stepped out of his father's shadow and proudly became independent.
That handsome face supposedly produced countless older sister fans.
"Park Jung-woo, Park Jung-woo... If that happens, the drama is decided too."
"The biggest hit among the old dramas Park Jung-woo appeared in is 'The Moon that Hides the Sun', right?"
The picture is good too.
If it works out, it might be a chance to save the program.
"Is there a drama club in the high school we're visiting this time?"
"Ah, there is. And it's quite famous too."
"Great."
Min-jae smiled broadly and searched for the high school they were going to visit this time on his smartphone.
Yeonhwa High School.
It was the high school where Seo-yeon and Ji-yeon were currently enrolled.