The meeting for the script reading took place in the conference room of Phoenix Studio, the production company.
All the important actors of the drama had gathered here.
I could see familiar faces.
Nam Hyun-ho, who I had gotten to know quite well over a few days, and Lion, whom I’d met during the last drama, were present.
While Lion still seemed to avoid me somewhat, it was encouraging to know at least one more person here.
“Hello, Senior.”
“Hey. I thought we’d meet again soon, but this is sooner than expected.”
“Indeed. Please treat me well this time as well.”
“I should be the one asking for your help since I’m the lead actor in this drama.”
The most satisfying thing, however, is that Senior Kang Ji-woo will also be joining this drama.
Kang Ji-woo, the middle-aged actress who played my counterpart in the drama “Yoon Seo-eun,” is also appearing in the same drama as me this time.
Her role is “Hwaya,” a mediator for the Japanese spy and the ultimate boss of the Japan section.
Hwaya is also Wolhee’s mentor, the person who ordered Wolhee to assassinate Lee Myung, and someone who significantly contributed to Wolhee’s ultimate fate.
From Lee Myung’s perspective, Hwaya is both the first target for elimination and an enemy.
Since it’s a role that will interact with mine a lot, I was relieved to hear that Senior Kang Ji-woo was mentioned for the part.
“It’s a little disappointing that you won’t be my romance counterpart this time. The filming we did was really fun.”
“Haha, I found it fun as well.”
“Nonetheless, please take good care of this lead actor.”
Senior Kang Ji-woo, who gave a great performance as my counterpart in the previous drama, seemed to take a liking to me.
Granted, I was a newcomer, and I played a role where I had my face covered. However, Senior Kang Ji-woo wasn’t like that.
Even though she only appeared in a few scenes, they all left a strong impression, making quite an impact despite the short screen time.
A lot of people praised her ability to show a subtle yet mature romance through just her eyes and gestures, without any kissing or bed scenes.
For Kang Ji-woo, what started as a casual special appearance turned out to be rather profitable.
She probably remembers the last filming fondly, which is why she greets me so warmly.
“Yo. You idiot. When did you get so close with Senior Kang?”
“Ah, Senior Nam Hyun-ho.”
Nam Hyun-ho naturally gravitates towards me as soon as he arrives.
It’s almost automatic by now, isn’t it?
It seems like this guy feels some sort of inner intimacy with me.
Though I have no reason to stop it, I feel a bit awkward.
“Senior, aren’t you going to greet Senior Kang Ji-woo?”
“Senior Kang? That Senior avoids me like the plague. She says I make her look old. A glance from afar in situations like this is enough for an introduction.”
“…Is that so?”
I tried to skip over Senior Kang Ji-woo, but I felt something bothersome.
Nam Hyun-ho, with his smooth complexion that continues the lineage of the evergreen handsome men, seems to put a lot of pressure on the former beauty star who recently entered middle age.
Granted, his acts might be boorish, but his face is impeccable.
He was widely recognized as a handsome man in the Martial Forest to the point that “Jade Face” was attached to his name.
Of course, acting is one thing, but this guy’s biggest weapon remains his baby-faced appearance.
“Hey, Luna. You really are disgustingly pretty.”
“She is pretty, isn’t she.”
Suddenly, the door opened and a new person appeared.
It was none other than Luna, who gave me quite a bit of trouble—Moon Suyeon.
Nam Hyun-ho, while grumbling, started an unfiltered evaluation of Luna’s casting.
It seems Luna’s appearance left quite an impression on him too.
“Hey, I was really surprised. Suddenly Luna is making a comeback in acting. I thought she’d completely quit.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, Luna and I debuted as actors around the same time. I could instantly tell this girl had something special. But after that, she just kept singing. It was a bit disappointing.”
“I thought Luna Senior’s acting was pretty good as well.”
“Hey, she’s coming over.”
“That’s to be expected.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s because the seat you’re sitting in is Luna Senior’s.”
“Oh, really.”
“So, hurry up and go back to your seat.”
“Yoo~Yoo~”
The idiot Nam Hyun-ho, who was just chatting about how pretty Luna was, promptly moved when she approached.
He was just making compliments but doesn’t seem interested in exchanging greetings.
Is this some kind of power play? A rule where the first to greet loses.
Though Luna, who walked right towards us without even greeting the senior-most person here, Senior Kang Ji-woo, also doesn’t seem like a pushover.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Chun Yuah.”
“Yes, I’m Moon Suyeon.”
Upon seeing her briskly approach and extend her hand for a handshake, I realized it’s a bit awkward.
The two actresses shook hands, each introducing themselves.
Their charismatic energy left me stunned, even forgetting to greet Luna myself.
After all, my seat ended up being in a position where any action would’ve been awkward.
On one side, Yuah, on the other, Suyeon: it is, indeed, between the two actresses.
Someone might think this is a sweet spot, but for me, it’s an uncomfortable position.
As they only exchanged a handshake and promptly took their seats, I was stuck in the middle, unsure what to do.
“Even Chun Yuah is an actress.”
Even though I didn’t do anything, the atmosphere felt like an icy wind, making the whole situation rather uncomfortable.
“Well, everyone’s here. Let’s briefly introduce our roles and start the reading.”
The person who relieved my discomfort was the director of this project, Director Bang, who arrived exactly on time.
He didn’t even consider the atmosphere here and directly moved to start the script reading.
It must be from his experience of knowing that this is how most first script readings go for films or dramas.
Yang Yuli, who started her work earlier and met the director, was also supervising the script reading with hawk-like eyes from behind Director Bang.
I think her work-oriented mindset is quite commendable.
“Nice to meet everyone, I’m a new actor, Baek Si-woo. I’m honored to play the role of Lee Myung. Please take care of me.”
My turn came second to last.
I greeted the other actors briefly and sat back down.
This filming experience feels especially fortunate.
Though this is my first time as a lead actor, most of the actors who play the core roles are people I’ve met before, so there’s not much to worry about.
Even someone like Nam Hyun-ho, who might be the most dissatisfied with the situation, seems to recognize me, so there should be no backtalk.
“Then, let’s move forward. We’ll go from 1-1-1 in order.”
Once the introductions were over, the script reading started.
Today’s agenda is to get a taste of the scripts for Episodes 1 and 2.
Just like any drama pre-production phase, the script reading is the final step to confirm that the characters you’ve analyzed align with the director’s and writer’s intentions and are coherent with other actors’ portrayals.
It’s not a full performance, so you don’t need to push yourself too hard, but it’s not something to be done sloppily either.
However, the actors in this drama seem quite dedicated to even the script reading.
– Huh, don’t even know where you are hiding, some small country with a gold mine or what? Keep assigning such tasks to me, and I’ll get upset. I’m Violet! The best female private detective at Pinkertons!
Starting with Chun Yuah, every line is delivered with great intensity.
– Shall the maiden pluck a melody? I am Wolhee of Movierue.
Even Moon Suyeon’s brief lines have a unique allure.
– W-why has such a high-ranking person come all this way? The butcher Nam Seok-ho died a long time ago.
Nam Hyun-ho, switching from the neighborhood fool role to a top-notch actor, exudes immense presence.
– Damn it. What sort of uncivilized place is this? Bloody bl!(блять)[씨발]. Are steam engines supposed to not work, huh?
Even Lion, the idol, shows he’s thoroughly researched his character, despite being an idol.
“Huh, this is better than expected.”
At first, I thought this was an odd group, but the atmosphere is better than expected.
The situation where a few key members are gathered from Martial Forest remains uncertain,
but at least it doesn’t seem like there’ll be acting issues.
The subtle power play between Chun Yuah, Luna, and Moon Suyeon will likely fade once we start filming on set.
A quick observation reveals there’s no specific reason; more like an instinct-driven territorial dispute, so it won’t likely drag on long.
Chun Yuah doesn’t seem like someone to fuss on set, and Senior Kang Ji-woo, an established actress, will keep everything in check.
And if Luna’s character matches my impression, she isn’t someone to waste energy on trivial matters.
“So if I just give my best performance, everything should be fine. Not bad.”
Until this point, I thought everything was going better than expected.
“Ah, can you adjust the filming schedule?”
“Yes, there are some issues with Luna’s schedule. We kindly ask for your understanding since she’s graciously chosen to partake despite the difficulty.”
“Huh, but with this schedule…”
“Haha, if this doesn’t work, her participation will be difficult. This is already our best offer…”
Until the Moon Entertainment representative approached after the script reading, requesting schedule coordination for Luna.
Of course, popular stars or idols often ask for such schedule adjustments.
Luna is also a top star worthy of that.
But upon seeing the schedule, it seemed we were asking too much.
This request was awkward, even assuming Luna was the top star of our drama.
Especially since the set also includes someone like Chun Yuah, who, if we consider actors only, is much more famous than Luna.
“Difficult situation, Director.”
And the filming schedule is like a matter of pride for actors.
It’s almost at the level of a nuclear bomb, similar to the guarantee.
Something uncomfortable seems bound to happen from the start.
