The image actor Jiminseong carried was that of a consistently gentle and soft-spoken demeanor from a distance.
And it was the result of the desire to find even the slightest reason to hate the bad actor Yoo chaemin more meaningfully.
That’s why, as I watched the situation unfold, I felt even more dumbfounded.
I left Jiminseong’s waiting room and wandered down the hallway.
Most of the passing staff noticed me and shot strange looks my way before whispering among themselves as they walked on.
‘Honestly, I thought his acting wasn’t as bad as people said, so that was unexpected… But I guess there’s a reason for all the bad rumors.’
‘He lands roles that others can only dream of just because of his looks. Does he think he’s untouchable?’
‘I heard he’s got sponsors or something. Is that how he gets his parts?’
Familiar lines like these brushed past my ears.
“Haha…”
It was a disgusting feeling.
They just didn’t want to admit their prejudice was wrong.
So they’d rather paint the other person as a bad guy to keep finding reasons to hate.
“I didn’t even hate Yoo chaemin that much to begin with.”
If there had been a truly plausible reason, I might have tried to endure this filthy feeling.
Sure, it could have felt bad that a bad actor was cast in the project I was involved in.
But if that were the case, their opinion of me should have changed a little after seeing my acting.
They just didn’t want to give up on this little source of entertainment.
With so many tough and frustrating things on set, they didn’t want to lose the freedom to freely curse someone without hesitation.
Because, after all, she’s a bad actor.
If an actor is bad at acting, they deserve to be cursed.
So now that I’ve seen it firsthand, her acting isn’t that bad, but her personality sucks? Of course, I expected that.
“…”
Even I thought it was only natural to some extent.
If an actor can’t act, they deserve to be criticized.
On set, their rank inevitably drops to the bottom.
After all, this world is all about recognition and acting skills.
‘But… isn’t this too much?’
Yet I had no way to protest.
From the director down, no one was on my side, so trying to reason was not a good idea.
Besides, I wasn’t being directly bullied.
‘If I spoke up about what Jiminseong was doing to me, the senior would at best not help and at worst twist it.’
It was obvious as seeing fire.
Recently, Director Lee Seunghun hadn’t said much about my acting, but that was mostly because Jiminseong was monopolizing his attention.
I’d never heard any praise about my acting from him, and sometimes he still looked at me with a face full of annoyance.
What I could do, in the end… ‘Don’t worry~ Just show it through your acting.’
Was that all there was? I returned to the waiting room shared with other minor actors and checked the shooting schedule again.
I calculated the expected end time for today’s shoot and the gap until the next day.
Despite my boiling frustration, my mind was calm and working quickly.
‘It’s a bit tight…’ Once the forced sleep penalty was over, I’d wake up right away, so it would be fine.
After waking, my body didn’t hurt much, so I’d be able to move immediately.
The decision was fast, and once made, I didn’t want to look back. ‘At the last scene today, I’ll use the skill.’
I deliberately ignored the warning coming from a corner of my mind.
***
“Damn it, this is so tough, so tough.”
Just before shooting started, Director Lee Seunghun finished preparations and, out of habit, thought to himself.
The weather was getting colder, but he had no idea where this damned shoot was headed.
If he judged only by the result, it wasn’t bad, but the problem was that many things were different from what he had expected.
Suppressing a sigh about to burst, he rolled a throat lozenge around in his mouth.
Chewing on the candy, which had shrunk somewhat, he heard the assistant director’s voice.
“Hey, director, did you hear? Actor Jiminseong is supposed to be getting some acting directing from the bad actor, but he’s completely ignoring him.”
“What?!”
Lee Seunghun furrowed his brows sharply and shouted.
“That’s really not right, is it? He’s still a senior, trying to teach him…”
The assistant director’s continuing words made Lee Seunghun clench his brows tightly and wave his hand dismissively.
“No, no. That’s not it. Who’s directing who? He should focus on his own acting instead of wasting time.”
Already irritated to the brim by Jiminseong’s acting, the words slipped out without refinement.
The assistant director was taken aback by Lee Seunghun’s completely unexpected reaction.
But on second thought, it was a reasonable response.
Lately, there had been subtle murmurs on set that Jiminseong’s acting fell short of expectations.
It wasn’t just because Lee Seunghun was dissatisfied.
Everyone has different impressions from the same acting, but there’s usually a similar context.
The general perception of his acting quality was no different.
‘Not as good as I thought.’
That was the overall opinion about Jiminseong’s acting.
Actually, it had even gotten a bit worse.
Though not as bad as Kim Eunhye, his acting, which should have grounded the scenes, was becoming lighter.
“Well… yeah, that’s true, I guess?”
The assistant director agreed with Lee Seunghun’s opinion but still felt surprised.
His expression clearly showed that surprise, making Lee Seunghun furrow his brows slightly.
‘What’s with that surprised look…?’
It didn’t take long to realize the reason.
Lee Seunghun splashed water on his dry face.
“Ah, damn…”
He had inadvertently sided with Yoo chaemin.
He swore he didn’t mean to, but the situation was just unfortunate.
“Ahem.”
So both of them are problematic.
Lee Seunghun tried to brush the situation off with a cough.
“Actually, Yoo chaemin isn’t really the problem…”
That thought circling in his mind stopped his tongue.
He still didn’t want to acknowledge Yoo chaemin, but he didn’t want to drag her down just like Jiminseong either. “She’s the first among actors to arrive early, rarely forgets or mumbles her lines to cause NGs, and prepares just the right amount of acting details without overdoing it…”
Suddenly, he recalled the first time Yoo chaemin’s line was slightly mumbled, and he had called for an NG.
Though Yoo chaemin wasn’t there now, Lee Seunghun felt somewhat awkward and waved his hand.
“Well, the seniors looking out for her seems to have helped a bit.”
It was a feeble excuse, but Lee Seunghun tried to justify himself.
Not only Kim Eunhye but also other actors showed positive interest in Yoo chaemin when group scenes started.
At the same time, they quietly questioned the atmosphere surrounding Yoo chaemin on set.
Some slyly asked Lee Seunghun why he was so harsh on Yoo chaemin, while others openly raised the issue about the set’s atmosphere.
Anyway, nothing was flowing smoothly.
“Enough. Let’s prepare for the shoot.”
“Yes…!”
The shoot that started today again failed to satisfy Director Lee Seunghun.
Maybe it would have been better if there were multiple problems.
But there was only one: Jiminseong’s acting, which kept being overshadowed, and because of it, the character Kim Cheolsu was slowly dying on screen.
If other elements were bad too, maybe it would have been different.
But from the props to the actors’ performances, nothing was really lacking.
Of course, Lee Seunghun had meticulously selected everything over and over.
Even Yoo chaemin, who he hadn’t wanted to pick but had no choice… ‘Wait, who was it again that supposedly gave acting direction?’
He tried to forget, but the assistant director’s words kept circling in his mind.
The frustration rising from time to time made shooting twice as difficult to manage. ‘So exhausting…’ With hollow eyes, Director Lee Seunghun stared into space and gulped down the last of his coffee.
Four cold shots of Americano tasted bitterer than usual.
Now, only the last scene remained.
He closed and opened his tired, slightly unfocused eyes and signaled the assistant director.
***
A work by Ed Swan, a representative American pop artist.
This piece had caused a huge stir in Korea a few years ago because of its connection to a large corporation’s slush fund scandal.
It was said to be housed in an art museum run by that conglomerate, but the painting itself was never shown.
That was because it wasn’t truly part of the museum’s collection but was purchased by the family of the corporation for the purpose of hiding slush funds. However, the controversy eventually faded without being clearly resolved due to larger social issues.
Thus, disappeared and was forgotten. But now, the painting was in Jeong Bongsik’s hands. More precisely, it was in the truck he was driving. Jeong Bongsik’s hand on the steering wheel trembled uncontrollably.
Yeo Eunsoo, sitting in the passenger seat, frowned as she watched him.
“Why are your hands shaking like that?”
“Ah!”
The moment she lightly tapped his shoulder, a scream escaped Jeong Bongsik’s lips.
At the same time, a piercing horn blared.
Startled, Jeong Bongsik lost control of the wheel and instinctively hit the horn button.
“Hey! Are you crazy?! I told you not to attract attention…!”
They were currently disguised as truck drivers, infiltrating Teddy Jang’s villa.
Their target was .
The painting, which had been controversial years ago, was temporarily kept by Teddy Jang for a large corporation.
Since it was purchased to hide slush funds, there was no need to smuggle out the actual piece.
But because the corporation was embroiled in a messy succession battle, they decided to secretly move the painting in case it caused trouble.
Teddy Jang often played the role of warehouse keeper like this, but this time he picked the most significant rival to deal with.
“S-Sorry… Huff, ha…”
Jeong Bongsik’s breathing grew heavy, beads of sweat formed on his face beneath his cap.
Overly tense, when external stimuli struck, he experienced a temporary panic attack. “Hey, are you okay? Damn it…” Yeo Eunsoo bit her lower lip hard and cupped her ear.
What flashed across her eyes was deep regret.
“Kim Cheolsu! Are you done talking yet?”
Just then, she contacted Kim Cheolsu, who was likely talking with Teddy Jang’s right-hand man.
Knock knock—someone tapped on the driver’s side window.
“…!”
“Ha… uh…”
Jeong Bongsik immediately covered his mouth with both hands.
Yeo Eunsoo, glancing between the window and him, whispered softly.
“Open the window just a little and crouch down completely. Pretend to be in pain.”
Jeong Bongsik’s eyes widened as he tried to calm himself.
Though Yeo Eunsoo’s appearance had been altered with Ibona’s elaborate makeup skills, making her look different, it would still be noticeable upon close inspection.
Teddy Jang was still highly wary of Yeo Eunsoo, whom he had betrayed, so the guards he hired probably knew her face.
That was also why Jeong Bongsik insisted on driving…