It was a script that appropriately started in a campus classroom.
Scene 14: University Lecture Hall
A noisy lecture hall after class ends.
Senior: Hey, freshman, let’s grab a meal together.
Female Lead: (avoiding eye contact) Senior, I’m fine.
Senior: Ah, don’t worry. My treat.
Female Lead: I’m fine.
It was the role of a trashy senior on campus.
A hot-tempered character who harasses the female lead and then gets beaten up by the male lead—a disposable, simple villain role.
‘It still feels a little awkward to be acting in minor roles.’
Then, he noticed the writer’s name—Go Eun-jung.
‘Go Eun-jung? From Please Don’t Go?’
Although they had no direct connection, she was a well-known writer.
Even when he was active as actor Lee Jae-jun, he had never worked with her.
She was famous for youth romance dramas, consistently producing similar works since her debut.
Back then, Lee Jae-jun was already over thirty, so there weren’t any fitting roles for him in her projects.
“I always wanted to appear in one of her works.”
The thought lasted only for a moment.
‘That means this is probably a youth romance drama too.’
Compared to other genres, conflicts would be less intense.
The senior character was likely meant to be a punching bag for the audience’s frustration.
Ki Tae-hoon understood the intention of the audition.
He needed to act well enough to make the audience understand the character while also making them angry.
That was the key to a well-loved, three-dimensional villain.
‘I can’t just rely on the script alone.’
Tae-hoon clenched the script tightly in his hand.
The short lines were already memorized in his head.
‘How I deliver the emotions will be the key.’
Throughout the night, the sound of him practicing his lines echoed in his rooftop apartment.
And then morning arrived.
★★★
[Today is the audition day.]
“Alright, let’s go.”
At the audition venue, PD Choi Jung-seok sipped his coffee.
A theater major student had just finished performing and exited the room.
Watching the student leave, PD Choi clicked his tongue.
“There’s no one impressive. These theater students these days are terrible at acting.”
“I know, right? I didn’t expect it to be this bad either.”
Writer Go Eun-jung massaged her temples at PD Choi’s complaint.
Since this was her comeback project after taking time off for childbirth, its success was crucial.
She wanted a flawless cast, including even the supporting roles.
However, as people said, there was a lack of talent these days.
‘Well, it makes sense.’
Those who had potential had already secured good positions.
‘They wouldn’t even audition for minor roles like this.’
Not to mention, the pay was low. Most of the applicants were just people looking for a chance to be on TV.
Having actual theater majors show up at all was already fortunate.
“Who’s next?”
“…Actually, about that…”
The assistant director hesitated before speaking in a low voice.
“Director Jung specifically asked to take good care of this one…”
PD Choi and Writer Go exchanged glances.
With even theater students struggling, their expectations were low for someone brought in through a favor.
PD Choi sighed and turned his chair.
“Fine, let’s just see. It’s not a big deal.”
“Alright, Ms. Go?”
If necessary, they could just reject the person politely.
Sighing deeply, PD Choi spoke in an indifferent tone.
“Alright… Let them in.”
At the assistant director’s signal, the audition room door opened.
And the additional applicant walked in.
Despite looking a bit exhausted, his eyes carried a sharp intensity.
But that alone didn’t matter—if his acting was bad, it was pointless.
“Name?”
“Ki Tae-hoon. Nice to meet you.”
PD Choi took off his glasses and stared intently.
‘Whoa, his visuals are insane. And his eyes… He must’ve been on stage as an idol before.’
With 15 years of experience in the drama industry, he could tell a lot just by looking at someone’s eyes.
There was something about him. He was intrigued.
Unlike PD Choi, Writer Go hurriedly typed on her tablet and showed it to him.
– Known for terrible acting
Then, she whispered.
“PD-nim, he’s famous for his terrible acting.”
Go Eun-jung already knew about Ki Tae-hoon through YouTube. Even the meme about his infamous acting.
‘Oh, bad acting? Of course. If I could tell just by looking at his eyes, I should quit being a PD and become a fortune teller instead.’
Choi PD’s excitement quickly faded.
Ki Tae-hoon looked uncomfortable.
Without hesitation, the PD spoke.
“Shall we get started?”
Writer Go lowered her head.
Wasn’t he the idol who ambitiously tried to become an actor and failed miserably?
He was so famous for it that he was always included in the “Top 3 Failed Idol-Actors” video on YouTube.
There was even a joke that you couldn’t talk about bad acting without mentioning Ki Tae-hoon.
That video had more hate comments than all the ones he got during his idol days combined.
-I come back to watch this every year, and it’s still hilarious.
-This needs to be preserved as cultural heritage. No matter how many times I watch it, his bizarre actions that barely qualify as acting are a great pick-me-up when I’m feeling down. Thank you.
-I was feeling down today, but I laughed my ass off thanks to this.
-I suddenly thought of this video and checked it out again… Yep, still just as embarrassing.
-Damn, even the Joker would cry at this level of acting.
-This is my go-to video when I’m feeling depressed.
-Seriously, this is insane. Every rewatch is just too much.
-Ki-Joker, you crazy dude, this is ridiculously funny.
Choi PD let out a sigh before speaking.
“Instead of the script you prepared, I’ll give you a situational prompt. Try acting that out.”
‘The acting students in front of him were already thrown off by this. They had only prepared with the script, never considering improvisation.’
“Yes, understood.”
‘Oh? Confidence?’
This audition was taking a different turn.
Most applicants had relied solely on their memorized lines, which often ruined their posture and timing.
But Ki Tae-hoon showed no hesitation. It was as if he had already prepared for this.
This alone didn’t change PD Choi’s doubts.
“Is he fearless, or just clueless?”
Ding!
[Final audition. Secure the role! Switching to spectator mode. Exciting!]
“Shut up, you’re ruining my focus. Don’t even watch.”
Since this was a role personally recommended by Director Jung, he had to succeed.
The situation presented by PD was simple.
A live-in girlfriend who had been cheating.
And it wasn’t just any girlfriend—it was one he had been with for five years.
“I’ll give you one minute.”
One minute, he said. But honestly, no one expected a perfect performance. Of course not.
If someone could improvise for a full minute flawlessly, they weren’t just an extra; they were at least supporting-actor level.
‘But those eyes…’
Even though this wasn’t a situation where one should expect much, there was something about him that made people anticipate.
A deep calmness, like sinking into the ocean.
Maybe it would’ve been too much for Ki Tae-hoon to act out this scene.
But inside his body was Lee Jae-jun.
For someone who acted as naturally as breathing or eating, an impromptu rage scene like this was…
Five seconds…
Ten seconds…
Time was passing, yet Ki Tae-hoon remained still, his expression unchanged.
‘What’s this? Why isn’t he saying anything?’
From Writer Ko to the judges’ panel, everyone started murmuring.
‘So, this really is the limit of a failed idol-turned-actor.’
Just as PD Choi was about to signal the assistant director to cut it short, Ki Tae-hoon spoke.
“Let’s stop.”
His chilling voice made Writer Ko flinch.
“Huh? Are you ending the audition just like that…?”
“Let’s finally end this shitty relationship.”
Writer Ko gasped and covered her mouth, momentarily thinking he was talking to her.
A brief silence fell over the room.
“Why did you cut me off just now? And now you’re just stopping mid-sentence? Are you saying you don’t even want to talk to me anymore?”
That’s when Writer Ko realized.
Ki Tae-hoon wasn’t speaking to her.
He was already deep in character.
“Oh… I didn’t realize you had started acting…”
“So, only you get to suffocate and suffer? You think I haven’t known all along? That you’ve been cheating on me?”
‘It’s still not over? This level of immersion…’
Rather than embarrassment, Writer Ko felt sheer astonishment.
The audition hall was dead silent.
“And you ask why I didn’t leave? Because I had nowhere else to go. You think I wasn’t suffocating too?”
Tae-hoon pounded his chest three times. Then, with a voice full of pent-up anger, he shouted.
Another three seconds of silence followed.
PD Choi stared, mouth slightly agape.
‘Is this really the same idol everyone called a terrible actor? What is this level of immersion…?’
“So let’s stop. I’m sick of this!!”
Ki Tae-hoon grabbed the doorknob, as if ready to leave at any moment.
PD Choi, who had been fully drawn into the scene, blurted out, “Wait! Just a second.”
Writer Ko also shot up from her seat, worried that Ki Tae-hoon might actually walk out.
A moment later, Tae-hoon finally spoke again.
“That’s all I’ve prepared.”
As if breaking free from a trance, he reverted to a confident young man.
‘The dark circles, the outfit… He looked exactly like a younger guy mooching off his older girlfriend.’
‘Did he choose to act in a way that suited his current appearance on purpose? Or was it a coincidence?’
Either way, his ability to deliver such a convincing performance without a script was incredible.
His casual outfit for the audition, his youthful yet handsome face, his low but trembling voice…
‘No matter how good he is, if he had this much talent, he wouldn’t be here…’
But this presence, this depth…
It felt like he was someone who desperately wanted to act, as if his very life depended on it.
Writer Ko imagined what it would be like if someone with such immersive talent acted out her script.
Without realizing it, she smiled.
PD Choi was equally astonished. For the first time in a long while, he had enjoyed a performance rather than just judging it.
As a professional, he was so used to analyzing actors that he often couldn’t fully appreciate their work.
But for a moment, Ki Tae-hoon had silenced the entire room with nothing but his acting.
“That was excellent. Let’s see one more scene,” PD Choi said urgently.
A system notification popped up.
[Oh! The God of Acting. Amazing. You have successfully completed the freestyle performance.]
‘What… Freestyle acting is just raw performance. But still, it’s been a while since I felt this good acting.’
Tae-hoon didn’t deny it.
[After seeing such raw acting, the production team’s expectations have skyrocketed.]
‘Skyrocketed? Be specific. Stop exaggerating.’
Ding!
[They are at the stage where they want to offer you a contract immediately.]
‘Obviously. I could tell just by looking at their faces.’
After all the audition participants had left, PD Choi stretched.
Writer Ko removed her glasses and massaged her temples before asking,
“PD, what did you think?”
“After Ki Tae-hoon, I couldn’t focus on anyone else.”
“Same here. I even felt bad for the ones who came after him.”
“Come on, Writer Ko, you have nothing to feel bad about. If anyone should feel bad, it’s Ki Tae-hoon.
He had no business auditioning for a minor role where mostly acting students gather.
Now I see why Director Jung wanted me to check him out. It’s like tossing a shark into a swimming pool.”
“Right? I was sure he was just a terrible idol-turned-actor… Can someone change this much in just a year?”
“Maybe it’s an insane amount of effort. One thing’s for sure—my promotion and your successful comeback hinge on this ‘shark.’”
Writer Ko nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. The existing actors are going to have a tough time competing with him.”
But neither of them knew yet.
There had been a script mix-up.
During the previous meeting, the wrong script had been given to the supporting male lead.
And now, the script meant for the supporting lead had mistakenly ended up with Ki Tae-hoon.