Chapter 16
“…Secretary Shim, have you been demoted?”
He shouldn’t be this idle. Originally, he had always been glued to Do-heon’s side, focused solely on work, so Cheong-yeon rarely ran into him. Yet lately, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were meeting unnecessarily often.
“I’m currently on official business running an errand for Director Moon.”
Secretary Shim answered Cheong-yeon’s question without showing any emotion. Just as Cheong-yeon was about to tell him that it was fine and he should leave, Secretary Shim carefully took Cheong-yeon’s backpack and placed it in the car. He clearly seemed genuinely intent on giving him a ride.
All his movements flowed so naturally that Cheong-yeon had no chance to refuse.
“In that case… could you take me just to Seoul Station?”
“Certainly.”
Secretary Shim gave a small smile. With no other choice, Cheong-yeon got into the car.
Fortunately, Do-heon wasn’t in the car. If he had been there, Cheong-yeon would have jumped right out. He thought it wouldn’t be so bad to take this opportunity to travel comfortably to the station.
“I sincerely apologize. Due to my poor judgment, we’ve missed your train time…”
Secretary Shim, at the wheel, apologized in a voice slightly more subdued than usual.
As he said, by the time they arrived at Seoul Station, the train Cheong-yeon had reserved had already departed.
See? I told you taking the subway would have been faster.
“It can’t be helped.”
Cheong-yeon swallowed his complaint and shook his head. But internally, his mental state had already collapsed.
If he checked the next train time, and then took a taxi from there to the filming location, maybe he wouldn’t be too late. Being on time was already out of the question…
“I’ll get out here. Thanks for the ride anyway.”
Just as Cheong-yeon was hurriedly gathering his bag and about to open the car door—
“Mr. Cheong-yeon, if I may ask, where exactly is the filming location?”
“What?”
“I’d rather drive you directly to the filming location myself.”
Surprised by the unexpected offer, Cheong-yeon froze for a few seconds in an awkward position, his hand on the door handle.
“It’s far from here.”
“Is it somewhere inaccessible by car?”
“No, that’s not it…”
“Then please tell me the address.”
Secretary Shim spoke with a rather determined voice. Cheong-yeon was conflicted about whether he should really tell him or buy a new train ticket while he still could.
After a moment, Cheong-yeon bit his lower lip and checked the time one last time.
Thankfully, they arrived at the filming location on time, thanks to Secretary Shim’s insane driving. As soon as they parked in a nearby parking area and got out of the car, both of them simultaneously bent over, retching.
“Urgh…!”
“…I apologize. This is the first time I’ve driven so fast… I didn’t consider the comfort of the ride…”
Secretary Shim explained, holding his forehead.
“It’s, it’s okay. Secretary Shim, you should rest here and then head back to Seoul.”
Despite the rather absurd situation, since he ultimately wasn’t late thanks to Secretary Shim, Cheong-yeon didn’t want to argue about the speeding. Above all, the secretary’s complexion was so pale that even Cheong-yeon, who was also carsick, felt sorry for him.
Right. An elite like Secretary Shim has probably only ever driven people like the high-and-mighty Moon Do-heon, who sits with his legs elegantly crossed and puts on airs. How often would he have driven at breakneck speed, racing against the clock to prevent an aspiring actor from being late?
“Hah… But the filming location is quite large.”
Cheong-yeon, barely managing to stand up, focused on the direction where filming was taking place.
There seemed to be quite a lot of staff for an independent film. Is this what they call the power of having an agency? When he had gone to auditions alone, he couldn’t even get cast for insignificant bit parts with just one line of dialogue.
Cheong-yeon’s heart began to race at the filming scale that was larger than expected. After looking around absentmindedly for a moment, he spotted a staff member passing by and ran over.
“Excuse me. Could you tell me where the director is?”
“The director? Um… that person wearing a field jacket and smoking a cigarette over there.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Cheong-yeon immediately went in the direction the staff member had pointed and greeted the director.
“Hello, Director. I’m Yoo Cheong-yeon, here on Manager Kim Kyung-seop’s recommendation.”
The director, who had been deeply engaged in a conversation with other staff about camera angles, tapped the ash from his cigarette onto the ground and turned his head.
“Kim Kyung-seop?”
“Yes. The CEO of Pin Entertainment.”
The director stroked his unkempt beard and looked Cheong-yeon up and down.
“Ah, I know CEO Kim Kyung-seop. He said he’d send an actor today…”
“That would be me.”
“Your face is better than I expected. Have you filmed anything before?”
The director sucked on his cigarette filter with a somewhat annoyed expression. The acrid smoke soon wafted right in front of Cheong-yeon’s nose.
“Um… I don’t have any acting credits, but I used to be a singer.”
“Director, I think you need to move now.”
“Oh, already? Is everything on standby?”
“Yes.”
At the staff member’s words, the director quickly began crossing the set. Cheong-yeon took out his profile documents from his bag and walked alongside the director.
“A singer? Why is a singer suddenly interested in acting?”
“I’m also currently attending High Academy, and I’m scheduled to appear in a short film they’re producing. Oh, and when I was active as a singer, I shot several video pictorials. I have a lot of experience with photoshoots.”
“Hmm.”
“Here’s my profile.”
The director, taking long strides, accepted the documents containing Cheong-yeon’s profile.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-six.”
“You look young for your age.”
Without properly looking at the contents, the director passed the documents to the assistant director beside him. Cheong-yeon, following him with quick steps, anxiously watched for his reaction.
“Hoseung, you check this and decide. It’s not a major role anyway.”
“Is this for the super grandma’s grandson role, right?”
“Yeah.”
“But we already have an actor for the grandson role…”
At the assistant director’s words, Cheong-yeon, who had been standing quietly like a shadow, flinched. While he hadn’t expected to be given a role without questions just because Kim Kyung-seop had put in a word, things would be more complicated if there was already an actor assigned to this role.
“Damn it. That’s not even a proper actor, just someone we picked from the extras.”
The director tapped the assistant director’s shoulder as he threw his shortened cigarette on the ground.
“Yes, that’s true. Then I’ll test him and if he’s better, I’ll replace the other one.”
“Good. You decide appropriately, and I need to get to the next scene before it rains, so keep things running smoothly on set.”
“Yes, Director.”
After delegating the casting to the assistant director with a voice that clearly showed his disinterest, the director quickly walked away.
Cheong-yeon approached the assistant director who was holding his profile documents.
“What should I do first?”
“Ah, well. You’re Yoo Cheong-yeon, right? There’s not much dialogue, so you can just read from the script. It’s hardly an audition, but we still need to check your voice and acting. Follow me this way.”
“Yes.”
The assistant director headed toward the waiting room with steps as hurried as the director’s.
Being an independent film with limited manpower, staff members were frantically moving about in all directions. Assessing the chaotic atmosphere, Cheong-yeon diligently followed behind the assistant director, careful not to lose sight of him.
Fortunately, after a hasty audition, Cheong-yeon was given the role. Although the character had only a few lines, it would probably get at least a minute of screen time since he’d have to hover around the lead actor while they delivered their lines.
The person who was supposed to play the grandson role before Cheong-yeon arrived gave it up surprisingly without reluctance. As the director had mentioned in passing, he wasn’t a professional actor but rather a local resident who had been hastily recruited as an extra for another scene due to staff shortages.
Told to change his clothes and wait for his turn to film, Cheong-yeon left the tent with lighter steps than when he had entered. After receiving the script and costume, it finally sank in that his casting was confirmed.
However, there was still no word from the staff person who was supposed to come for him. From the beginning, he hadn’t expected someone to come all this way and diligently help an unknown actor like himself who didn’t have a single proper credit to his name. They might have been suddenly reassigned to work with a more famous celebrity.
In any case, it was too common for unknown actors to be stood up on the day of filming to even bother complaining about it.
Cheong-yeon looked around to find a place to change his clothes. The lead actors were waiting in vans, and the tents and trucks used by the staff were too crowded.
“Should I go to the bathroom…”
While actively turning his head to find a bathroom sign, Cheong-yeon spotted a figure in the distance and was momentarily shocked.
“What? Secretary Shim?”
Secretary Shim, whom he thought had left for Seoul long ago, was walking toward him. Cheong-yeon, frozen for a few seconds, hurriedly approached him.
“Secretary Shim, what are you doing here?”
“Did your audition go well?”
Secretary Shim replied with an irrelevant answer to Cheong-yeon’s question.
“Don’t tell me you stayed because you were curious about my audition result? The roads will be jammed soon, you should leave quickly.”
