A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Director Who Dominates OTT

Episode 15

* * *

The acting industry is smaller than you’d think, but that doesn’t mean you can build connections with everyone.

Unless you appear in the same work or belong to the same agency (or theater troupe), there are almost no opportunities to meet face-to-face.

In that sense, I had no connection with actor So Jeong-hun.

No, actually, I’d never even exchanged a single word with him.

We had appeared in the same work before, but we were actors who went back and forth between early morning supporting roles and speaking extras.

Contract actors who aren’t cast for the entire production can’t see each other’s faces if their filming days are different.

Even so, I had a kind of internal familiarity with actor So Jeong-hun.

Since we had similar ages and similar careers, we encountered each other quite frequently at audition venues.

But…

“Come to think of it, this is the first time we’re properly talking.”

Surprisingly, actor So Jeong-hun harbored the exact same feelings as me.

“Hyeon-wu. Do you remember Director Han Jong-cheol’s audition venue from before?”

“Ah, the North Korean spy role?”

“You remember? That came out right away.”

“Of course I remember. That was my first public audition like that in my life.”

“Same here.”

Even when they say ‘public audition,’ they don’t actually make the audition ‘public.’

It just means they accept applications on a large scale and select from those.

But Director Han Jong-cheol’s audition venue was conducted in an open auditorium like some survival program.

The official reason was to find someone with strong nerves for the field, but…

“Is there another reason? What is it?”

“Director Han Jong-cheol is apparently a survival audition program fanatic.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I heard it from D.P Manager, so it must be true.”

“Wow, I had no idea.”

“That’s why the work he’s preparing now is also about a terminally ill former cabaret singer going on a survival show.”

“Ah, I’ve heard of that. But I heard it probably won’t get produced? The production company rejected it…”

“The storyline is honestly a bit, um, let’s stop here.”

“Haha, are you being careful with your words now that you’ve joined an OTT company?”

“That influence isn’t entirely absent.”

I chatted non-stop with So Jeong-hun.

At first, I thought about softening his heart as he considered retirement, but later I genuinely enjoyed myself too.

Chae Seo-hui was like a borrowed barley sack, but whatever.

The atmosphere was good.

“Anyway, Hyeon-wu, you were right before my turn back then.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“You even shaved your head for the North Korean spy role and acted… Honestly, I thought you would get selected. You were so good.”

“Jeong-hun, you know what?”

“What?”

“Spies don’t shave their heads.”

“Ah…!”

So Jeong-hun burst into laughter at my trivial joke, barely calmed down, and continued speaking.

“There were many other times too. We never had conversations, but when we met at audition venues, I’d think that. Ah, this role has a high probability of going to that actor.”

“It’s embarrassing to be gilding each other when we both know the result was failure.”

“I’m just saying that’s how I felt.”

So Jeong-hun’s expression became a bit more serious.

“How does it feel to retire after doing such acting?”

It seemed casually thrown out during small talk, but considering So Jeong-hun’s reality, it was definitely not a light question.

So the answer I had to give was predetermined.

It’s very regrettable.

How good it would have been if there had been an opportunity, I regret it.

But now an opportunity has come to you.

Join hands with us and film Accomplice.

Through such words, I had a duty to complete the casting.

But…

“Strangely, I don’t feel regretful at all.”

I wanted to be honest.

“Really?”

“Someone told me this. You weren’t someone who loved acting, but someone who loved works. Of course, I loved acting too. But I always only imagined works shining. Not me shining.”

“…”

“That’s why the work I’m doing now as a CE is so enjoyable. I’m also happy that I luckily got full authority from the first project.”

So Jeong-hun who heard my words seemed like he would fall into deep thought.

But I didn’t let him do that.

Sometimes immediate answers can be sincere.

“How about you, Jeong-hun? Did you like acting? Did you like works?”

“I… think it was acting.”

“Then did you get tired of acting, or did being an unknown actor become difficult?”

“…”

“Driving for others is tiresome. Delivery work is tiresome too. But when you try to get a decent job, it’s not easy because of audition or filming schedules, right?”

What on earth is this about.

How is the current situation.

I vividly remember getting fired from a part-time job just to say two lines.

The scene we filmed like that disappeared entirely during the editing process.

“Others think life would be glamorous if you’re an actor, but the acting I did most was this. Pretending to be fine.”

Even though I hadn’t said anything particular, actor So Jeong-hun started shedding tears.

He had stormed out of his agency saying he would retire from acting, and was even packing his things at the theater troupe.

There must have been a lot of pressure I didn’t know about piled up.

Honestly, I was in the top 1% of comfortable cases among unknown actors.

A large agency where no one would notice if someone like me didn’t bring in profit.

A situation where the company’s president and team leader liked me.

Of course, there were many employees including Director Jang who disliked me, but President Yun was the president, and Go Team Leader was a team leader.

How much pressure could I have received?

Even if the financial struggles were the same, the weight of pressure was different.

So I was happy to be able to make such a proposal to actor So Jeong-hun.

“There’s a role called Jeong-hun in the work Accomplice that I’m working on. Maybe because the name is the same, actor So Jeong-hun came to mind from the first time I saw the script.”

It wasn’t a lie.

Among the casting shown by my supernatural ability, Jeong-hun was the only one where my thoughts overlapped.

“I’m not such a great person, but I think I’m at least not someone who would mistreat works and actors. So…”

So Jeong-hun looked at me with tear-filled eyes.

“Would you consider it positively?”

* * *

Actor So Jeong-hun, who had wiped away his tears, read the Accomplice proposal right there.

Then he realized that the role of ‘Jeong-hun’ was the second lead in the script, was shocked, and looked at me like I was crazy.

But my decision didn’t change, and we were able to enjoy actor So Jeong-hun’s impromptu acting and light script reading.

What was interesting was that his reading of the script he saw for the first time today was more perfect than the audition impromptu acting he must have done countless times.

“Ah…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Wait, wait a moment. Something feels strange as I’m reading these lines.”

After that, actor So Jeong-hun forgot we were even there and became completely absorbed in the script, showing us several scenes of his acting.

It was tremendous presence, and tremendous synchronization.

At the same time, I felt tremendous anticipation.

Eum Seong-hyeon and So Jeong-hun.

No, I was incredibly excited to see what kind of scenes Hyeon-tae and Jeong-hun would create in front of the camera.

I wasn’t the only one feeling this way – a cafe employee who had been watching us brought over complimentary cake slices and asked about the actor and the title of the work.

Moreover, I was able to confirm through actor So Jeong-hun what I had been uncertain about with Eum Seong-hyeon.

So Jeong-hun has a habit of scratching his thumb nail with his index finger nail when he’s nervous or anxious.

But this habit matches exactly with the Jeong-hun I saw in the script.

In other words, the ‘Jeong-hun’ I saw is not a fictional character.

It’s how the real person So Jeong-hun would look if he lived the life of Jeong-hun in the script exactly as written.

My supernatural ability showed me that.

Eum Seong-hyeon had shown similar signs, but since I had experienced first-person possession as Hyeon-tae, I couldn’t be certain.

So then…

“Let’s sign the contract.”

Originally, I had planned to conduct a formal audition and camera test, but I changed my mind.

I already know So Jeong-hun’s acting ability, and I know this actor won’t easily crumble on set.

And he shows exactly the same appearance as the ‘Jeong-hun’ I wanted – is there any need to hesitate?

“…Just like that? For the second lead role in a Tivic Original?”

“Easy? Would today have been possible without the past 10 years?”

“…No, it wouldn’t have.”

“Even though you were rejected, if you hadn’t been busily going around to auditions, would I have been able to know actor So Jeong-hun?”

“No, you wouldn’t have…”

“All those times created today. So please, take good care of our project.”

So Jeong-hun burst into tears again, then said he needed to make a quick phone call and rushed out of the cafe.

Whether it was his parents, lover, or friend, there must be someone he wanted to share this news with first.

So Jeong-hun returned in less than 5 minutes with a composed face, as if he had washed his face in the restroom.

Instead, his now-composed face was plastered with sticky worry.

“Now that reality is setting in, won’t the lead actor dislike me?”

“Why?”

“If the second lead is too unknown, the lead might think they’re being disrespected… The first and second leads should be somewhat matched in status…”

Chae Seo-hui, who had been carefully wiping away tears since the moment So Jeong-hun rushed out of the cafe, burst into laughter.

At this sudden laughter, So Jeong-hun tilted his head in confusion.

* * *

After So Jeong-hun left and only the two of us remained in the cafe, Chae Seo-hui spoke up.

“Hyeon-woo, you’re a god of casting.”

“Me?”

“Actors, regardless of whether they’ve succeeded or not, are people with incredibly strong stubbornness. Do you think it’s easy to change such a person’s mind in just a few minutes?”

Well.

Actor So Jeong-hun was someone desperate for an opportunity, and I just stimulated that desperation.

His thoughts of retirement weren’t because he’d grown to hate acting, but because reality had become too difficult.

I didn’t really do much, did I?

“If you put it that way, what does that make me, who couldn’t even stop someone from leaving the theater troupe?”

“Hmm, a reliable second CE who will bring us an art department?”

“Are you scolding me now for following along with casting instead of recruiting the art team?”

“Of course not.”

“I was already contacting the art director on my phone while you two were talking. I’ll meet with them tomorrow and let you know.”

I thought only Sung Tae-chang was useful, but Seo-tae-chang isn’t bad either.

Today gets a +10 for swift work processing.

“But is that really true?”

“What?”

“That you prefer being a CE over an actor.”

“Yes. It’s really true. Why?”

“Just because. I really hope our project does incredibly well. And the next project too, and the one after that.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

It seems there’s someone else here who was moved no less than actor So Jeong-hun.

“I’m thinking of going straight to casting tomorrow morning.”

“Go by yourself. I’ll focus on pre-production so our project can shine.”

“It’s going to be busy for a while.”

“It always is. Once full-scale casting begins, time flies by in an instant until the blessing ceremony.”

* * *

Chae Seo-hui’s words were true.

By the time we completed casting for seven main and supporting actors, the year had already changed.

Then another month passed, and it was early February.

Finally, Chae Seo-hui and I were able to finish all the preparations needed for filming.

With Director Jeong Hee-su’s directing segment completed last due to his delayed return from a French film festival, the pre-production process had ended.

What declares the end of pre-production isn’t a company dinner or a report.

It was the script reading.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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