Chapter 35

Chapter 35

“Talent Jo Sangwoo?”

“But actor Jo Sangwoo is still not really known for movies··· He feels more like an entertainer than a movie actor.”

“That’s true, but I think it’s only because he hasn’t had the opportunity.
If he gets a chance to work in movies, I think he’ll do well.”

I knew that within a few years, Jo Sangwoo would build a reputation as a movie actor and even win an award at the Hwangryong Film Festival, so I strongly recommended him.

“Hmm··· Well, put him on the list for now.”

The assistant director still looked doubtful as he tilted his head, but eventually gave his approval.

Among the actors who made it onto the casting list, we finally selected five actors.

Normally, we would rank them from first to fifth and offer the role to them one by one.

But we had neither the time nor the situation to do that now.

There were less than three months left until filming, and the casting of the lead actor had to be completed.

So we decided to show all our cards and sent the script to all five actors at the same time.

Of course, if two or more of them accepted the role, that would create another headache.

But right now, we didn't have the luxury to worry about that.

All we could do was pray that at least one of them would accept···.

Another month passed helplessly.

The pre-production process continued without even having the protagonist confirmed, and the situation was extremely unsettling.

Still, we made all the necessary preparations so that if we found an actor at any moment, we could immediately begin filming according to the original start date.

But the result was miserable.

Not a single one of the five actors we approached accepted the casting offer.

<It's a little awkward to say this, but you know how small this industry is. Everyone already knows the rumors. Who would eagerly take a project that turned its back on Park Jeongho?>

<How about lowering the level of the actor you're looking for? If it's a rookie, they might jump in without knowing much about the situation···.>

<Oh, I'm sorry, but I can't. There are unwritten rules among actors too. If I do that, I'll be ostracized by the other actors. I'm sorry, Director. But I'll definitely put everything else aside and appear in your next project.>

<What unwritten rules are there in this industry? Actors like us are all too busy living on our own pride to even stick together properly. What do you mean you'll be ostracized? That's all just an excuse. I don't have any such problem. It's simply because of my schedule. So let's work together after I finish this drama. How about after September this year?>

The reasons and excuses for refusing were all different.

Even though it was late, the café in front of Hongdae was crowded with people.

“Is that really true? Lee Gyeonghun? Oh my goodness, what happened? They say you can tell a person's character from their face. Honestly, ever since he debuted, I had some kind of bad feeling about him. I can't really explain it, but··· I just did.”

“Give me a break, you brat. Until recently, you were a fan of Lee Gyeonghun. You even said you'd be happy just to be an extra if it meant appearing on the same screen as him.”

“Oh my goodness, when did I ever say that?”

Han Hyeju had met up with some friends who were still acting after a long time apart.

She was so busy telling them about what had happened with Lee Gyeonghun two days ago that she didn't even notice how quickly time was passing.

“But Hyeju, are you brave, or are you just thoughtless? Even if you didn't know that man well, he invited you to a place like that kind of bar, and you actually went?”

“Do I look like someone that easy to you? Do you think I would just go somewhere without even figuring out whether the person might be dangerous or not?”

Her friend gave an awkward smile at Han Hyeju's words.

“Well, you're not that kind of person. Hohoho.”

“Anyway, what are the chances? Of all things, you happened to get caught by the staff of the movie he was supposed to appear in, and even the nephew of the film company's president···.”

“Exactly. Hohoho.”

That was when a strong suspicion appeared on Han Hyeju's face.

“You know··· At first, I also thought it was just a coincidence···.”

“What? Then are you saying it wasn't a coincidence?”

Han Hyeju fell into thought as she remembered what had happened that day at the room salon.

<No matter what else happens, I will make sure you can never appear in this movie!>

In that brief moment, Han Hyeju could not forget the smile that had appeared around Gibek's lips.

Without a doubt, it had been a victorious smile.

‘What exactly did that smile mean···?’

It was enough to make her feel as though she had been dancing on a stage that Gibek had prepared.

Once her thoughts reached that point, she began to wonder if Gibek had deliberately lured her into the room salon in order to use her.

‘That's right. Maybe he already knew that Lee Gyeonghun was such a disgusting guy. That's why he remained calm throughout the whole situation··· He was trying to use me to bring Lee Gyeonghun down···.’

Han Hyeju quietly rested her chin on her hand as she became lost in thought.

Her friends looked at her with worried expressions.

“Hey, Hyeju. Are you okay?”

“You know··· If you think someone used you, you're supposed to feel bad, right···? But··· why is it that strangely, I don't feel bad about it···?”

“What are you suddenly talking about? Someone used you? Who? Are you talking about that person who invited you to that bar?”

Even after hearing her friend's question, Han Hyeju remained lost in her thoughts and only gave an incomprehensible smile.

A heavy silence hung over the production and directing teams gathered at a restaurant for a late lunch.

The bigger problem than all the actors rejecting their casting offers was that we had no idea how to proceed with the casting from this point on.

On top of that, the matter we had tried to resolve quietly within the production team had spread like wildfire and eventually reached the ears of the movie's main investor.

The main investor had made it clear that if the actor problem wasn't resolved quickly, they were even considering withdrawing their investment.

Everyone was barely touching their food when Cha Seungjun, unable to endure the frustration any longer, finally spoke.

“If we can't find an actor like this, won't the whole movie eventually get canceled? Yesterday and today, the CEO and PD kept meeting with the investors, and the atmosphere looked really bad···.”

When Park Jeongho had initially backed out of the project, Cha Seungjun had comforted me, saying that there was nothing to worry about because we could simply find another actor.

But after only a month, he had become completely discouraged and was now worrying about his own situation, which felt as fragile as a candle in the wind.

The mere mention of the movie being canceled made the already gloomy atmosphere even heavier.

“Isn't this seriously driving me crazy? Where did all those actors disappear to? Why is it that every time we look for one, there isn't anyone available?”

Script supervisor Hwang Hyeonhee complained as though she genuinely couldn't accept the situation.

Baek Seonghan gave Hwang Hyeonhee a bitter smile.

“There are plenty of actors. The problem is that there isn't an actor who fits the conditions we're looking for. A male actor in his late thirties to early forties who can lead the entire story as the sole top-billed actor and also carry the box office.”

“Exactly. And even the actors we managed to find all rejected us, which is another problem.”

The assistant director let out a short sigh, clearly frustrated by the situation, and called out to the middle-aged woman serving customers near the counter.

“Auntie, one bottle of beer here. Just one glass, please!”

“Huh? Why are you drinking during working hours?”

“I'm frustrated. Really frustrated. And what's beer got to do with alcohol? It's a beverage.”

This time, Baek Seonghan spoke toward the woman at the counter.

“Auntie, please give us three bottles of beer and nine glasses as well.”

“That's right. What does life have anyway? If a drink during the day can make us forget our troubles, then why not? Hahaha.”

Production manager Choi Seonhwa laughed, even shaking her shoulders.

Just then, the woman serving the tables approached them and asked,

“What kind of beer would you like?”

The assistant director's eyes naturally moved toward the beer advertisement poster attached to the wall.

The faded poster showed actor Min Seongjae drinking a certain brand of beer refreshingly.

“Give us that one.”

The assistant director pointed at the poster with his finger and then spoke bitterly.

“There's still a place with Senior Seongjae's poster.”

“That's true··· But do you think Actor Min will have a hard time making a comeback?”

“I'm not sure··· Even if he does make a comeback, it's still too early··· He needs to spend enough time reflecting before the public will be ready to forgive him to some extent···.”

The assistant director's voice trailed off sadly before he suddenly seemed to remember something and quickly continued.

“Oh, come to think of it, Manager Baek, aren't you fairly close with Actor Min? You worked together in the past too.”

Instead of answering, Baek Seonghan simply nodded with a bitter expression and stared at Min Seongjae's poster.

Judging from his expression, it seemed that he had been quite close to Min Seongjae.

I searched through my memories and recalled the Min Seongjae incident.

After spending many years as an unknown actor, Min Seongjae had finally begun enjoying popularity after turning thirty.

He had not only solid acting skills, but was also known as a person with an excellent character, so much so that his nickname was the “Rumor of Good Deeds Maker.”

There were countless good stories about him wherever he went, and he was an actor loved by people of all ages.

But at the beginning of last year, a rumor began circulating in the financial industry that Min Seongjae had a secret child.

Eventually, Min Seongjae admitted that he had a daughter.

Fans were furious and disappointed by the shamelessness of Min Seongjae, who had a child yet continued pretending to be a single man.

Some even went to his house and caused trouble.

Because of that incident, his young daughter was exposed to the public.

In the end, Min Seongjae announced his retirement, saying that people could criticize him as much as they wanted, but they should not harass his young daughter.

“But Manager Baek, didn't you know that Actor Min had a hidden daughter?”

“I actually already knew··· That's why it's even more unfortunate and regrettable···.”

“Exactly. Actor Min is really unfortunate. He was such a good actor··· And he had such a great personality too···.”

“That's right. In terms of status, he was actually higher than Lee Gyeonghun.”

“But what good does that do? He fell into the abyss in an instant···.”

“But really, he didn't cause any trouble for society or anything. In a world where some people even abandon their own children, was it really such a terrible thing that he hid the fact that he was a single father?”

“If you really think about it, he didn't even lie. He simply didn't tell anyone.”

Everyone was defending Min Seongjae.

But the youngest member of the directing team, Go Jinju, was visibly displeased and suddenly spoke up.

“I don't think that's right. If you intentionally keep something from someone because you don't want them to know, that's still a lie. And the fans are angry because Min Seongjae himself lied to them.”

“Why are you getting so serious about it···? Don't tell me··· Did you go from being a fan to becoming an anti-fan?”

Cha Seungjun gave Go Jinju an awkward smile.

“Enough. What's the point of talking about someone we can't even cast anyway···?”

The assistant director spoke with regret.

But at that moment, I felt as if a lifeline had suddenly descended from the heavens.

Three years after Min Seongjae retired, in 2007, another major article about Min Seongjae would make headlines.

It was revealed that Min Seongjae's daughter was not actually his biological daughter.

He had adopted his niece as his daughter.