— I heard you won the Gold Prize!
Hearing Seo Harin’s voice over the receiver, Seongtae gave a faint smile.
— I checked the website too, and it was so fun. This is my first time getting a Gold Prize!
“Right. I also did not know we would actually get the Gold.”
At Seo Harin’s words, Seongtae laughed and nodded.
When Kim Minseok first showed him the list of winners, Seongtae had been a little surprised too.
He had thought that at best they might get the Silver.
No matter how talented Kim Minseok was, the Free Short Film Festival took submissions from all over the country.
The scale was large and many kinds of talented people gathered.
There could easily be people more talented than Kim Minseok.
So he had thought that simply placing would already mean they had done well.
— But to be honest, there is something I do not quite understand. No matter how I look at it, our film seems better than the Grand Prize film. I do not know why we got Gold.
On that point, Seongtae also felt a little puzzled.
He had watched the winning videos posted on the website, and among them was the Grand Prize film.
“No matter how I look, ours was better.”
It was not that the Grand Prize film was bad, but he could not shake the thought that their own film was better.
[“The One with a Thousand Faces” murmurs that in their view, Haru was better too.]
[“The One Who Defined an Era” says the world sometimes brings about things that cannot be explained in words.]
[“The One with a Thousand Faces” asks what you think about submitting an inquiry.]
Reading the gods’ messages, Seongtae shook his head.
It was true the result was hard to understand, but that did not mean he intended to cling to it and make an issue.
“The judges would have had their reasons.”
They must have had their own scoring method, and it would be strange for Seongtae to raise a problem with it.
— Still, Gold is Gold. The important thing is that we won!
“Yes, that is right. Minseok is already plenty satisfied.”
Above all, since Kim Minseok was satisfied with the result, Seongtae felt there was no point in making anything of it.
“Oh, right. Ms. Harin, could you make a little time later?”
— Time?
“Yes. To celebrate the Gold, we wanted to have a meal together. Minseok keeps saying he is grateful to you. He says he absolutely has to buy you a meal.”
— If you would do that, I would be very grateful. I will try to make time.
“Please do not overextend yourself.”
Seongtae knew at least a little how difficult it was for an idol trainee to free up time.
They were people who practiced and worked more than ten hours a day to debut.
— Yes. Thank you for the consideration. It is fine though. I already talked it over with the team leader. I had something I wanted to say to you anyway. I can say it then.
“Something you want to say?”
— Yes, something I want to say.
Hearing her laugh as she spoke, Seongtae tilted his head.
He had no sense of what she intended to say.
Even so, one thing was clear. Her voice sounded brighter than when they first met.
KBN broadcasting station, the Baeknyeoncho drama conference room.
People sat there holding a meeting.
“Director, I am telling you we absolutely need to bring him in.”
Kim Mucheol’s voice filled the conference room.
With both hands on the table, Kim Mucheol shot to his feet, looking very assertive.
“Mr. Mucheol, I understand what you think. First, calm down and take a seat.”
Sitting across from him was Hwang Gyeol, the directing producer and overall PD of Baeknyeoncho.
At Hwang Gyeol’s calm continuation of the conversation, Kim Mucheol let out a light breath and sat back down.
Watching him quietly, Hwang Gyeol handed him a bottle of water and spoke.
“The actor you are talking about is that Actor Han Seongtae who came to the set last time, right?”
“Yes. The kid is quite good. He acts well and works hard at what he is given. If we bring him in, you will not regret it.”
“All right. If it is someone Mr. Mucheol recommends, of course he is a good actor.”
As if acknowledging him, Hwang Gyeol spoke, and Kim Mucheol nodded while twisting the cap off the water bottle.
“But Mr. Mucheol, you know casting is not something that goes strictly the way we want. First, there is the actor’s own position.”
“If it is Seongtae’s position you are worried about, do not. If I ask, he is a kid who will absolutely accept.”
“I see. Then let us say that part is resolved. The actor’s stance matters, but it also has to be an actor who can fully handle the role.”
“Mm…”
“No matter how good an actor is, it is hard to digest every genre of role. You know that well.”
At Hwang Gyeol’s words, Kim Mucheol paused, unable to answer.
There was not a single part of what Hwang Gyeol said that was wrong.
“Especially what we are shooting this time is a genre that differs in nature from crime and action. It is a romantic comedy with fantasy added.”
“Yes.”
“The role that has recently opened up is also the mountain spirit sapsal dog. It is not even playing a human, it is playing a dog. That is not easy.”
Listening to this, Kim Mucheol looked down at the script in front of him.
One of the existing actors had to drop out midway due to personal circumstances.
If it had been a role of middling importance, they could have used anyone.
“It is a supporting role, but a very significant one.”
From episode 6, it would be a role hovering by the heroine’s side.
A background as a mountain spirit and a sapsal dog, and becoming the heroine’s guardian spirit.
“I know. That is exactly why I am recommending Seongtae. I am certain he can do it well.”
“Mm. If you say it to that extent. Then we should at least meet him once and decide. I wanted to see his face at least once anyway.”
“If you see him, you will not regret it. He is an actor who works harder than anyone.”
Seeing Kim Mucheol speak with conviction, Hwang Gyeol chuckled and nodded.
Hwang Gyeol grew curious what kind of person this Han Seongtae was, whom Kim Mucheol praised so highly.
From what he had seen during filming, Kim Mucheol was not someone who spoke nonsense.
“Han Seongtae, is it?”
Remembering the name, Hwang Gyeol continued the meeting.
After coming back from the Baeknyeoncho set, Seongtae spent his time looking through various scripts.
“I still have a lot of shortcomings.”
Though he had spent more than ten years as an actor, Seongtae knew he still had much to learn.
Greatly stimulated by watching Kim Mucheol’s acting, Seongtae went through scripts from many genres.
[“The One with a Thousand Faces” says your approach is very desirable.]
[“The One Who Defined an Era” says they can help you with matters related to romance.]
[“The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy” smiles and says they have a great many things to tell you about comedy.]
He had many excellent teachers by his side, and based on their guidance, Seongtae reviewed his own acting.
There was still much he lacked, but precisely because of that, he felt great joy now as he read scripts and practiced.
The fact that he could see his shortcomings told him that he could grow that much more.
Bzzz, bzzz.
As he was looking through a script, Seongtae turned his head at the ringtone sounding right beside him.
Seeing the familiar name on the screen, a faint smile formed at the corner of his mouth.
“Mucheol hyung.”
Over the receiver, along with noisy background sounds, Kim Mucheol’s voice came through.
— Hey. Seongtae, are you busy right now?
“No. I am not busy. I can take the call.”
At Kim Mucheol’s words, Seongtae immediately shook his head and answered.
— What were you doing?
“I was reading a script. You? Are you at the set now?”
— Yeah, I am taking a short break after finishing a cut. (Mucheol hyung, the director says let us start shooting again in five minutes.)
Alongside Kim Mucheol’s voice, Lee Seonwoo’s voice came through.
A voice saying they would start shooting shortly.
Seongtae also heard Kim Mucheol answer that he understood.
“Aren’t you busy right now? You can call when it is convenient for you.”
— Oh? No. I was not going to say much anyway. Make some time later.
“… Sorry?”
— Let us do a project together. The one I am shooting now. There is a spot that just opened.
Laughing as he spoke, Kim Mucheol made Seongtae freeze at those words.
Was he serious?
The Baeknyeoncho that Kim Mucheol was currently shooting was Season 2. Season 1 had ended, and they were now preparing for the shoot of Season 2.
It was not something he would be joining from the beginning, and Seongtae wondered if it was all right for him to insert himself in the middle.
— I will send you a script by email later. Take a look. Even better if you practice.
“… Yes. Senior, I will practice hard.”
— Good. I will call you again later.
The call ended.
Seongtae stared blankly at the screen gone black.
An opportunity had come from a place he had not thought of at all.
Tap, tap.
Ham Dongho’s fingers drummed on the sofa armrest.
In front of him, a man was looking into a tablet screen.
“Hmm…”
Staring at the video on the screen, the man crossed his arms and repeatedly narrowed and then relaxed his eyes.
He did that for some time.
“Whew…”
With a light breath, the man took out the earphones he had been wearing.
“How is it?”
Watching him, Ham Dongho immediately spoke.
At his question, the man unfolded the arms he had kept crossed while watching and opened his mouth.
“It is good.”
“Right? Namhyeon, so you also think it is good?”
“Yes, very good. The direction is clean and the story is fun. Where did you get something like this?”
At Park Namhyeon’s words, Ham Dongho let out a light laugh.
“You know that place where I went as a judge this time. The competition.”
“Ah. The Free Short Film Festival?”
“Yes. It won the Gold there.”
“This won the Gold. Not the Grand?”
At Park Namhyeon’s question, Ham Dongho nodded at once.
At that, Park Namhyeon let out a small sound of amazement, wearing an odd expression.
“Wow. How high was the level at this year’s competition. If this is Gold, then the Grand must be art itself.”
“That is not quite how it was.”
“What do you mean?”
“There are those cases. Anyway, what do you think? Do you like it?”
“More than like it. This could make a good run if we turn it into a series.”
At Park Namhyeon’s words, Ham Dongho folded his arms.
Sitting before him, Park Namhyeon was one of the directors currently working in the field.
One of the few whom Ham Dongho acknowledged.
“Then how about you take a crack at it. It would be a waste to leave it as is.”
At Ham Dongho’s words, Park Namhyeon hummed and showed a thinking look.
He did not decide on the spot, but Ham Dongho did not mind that much.
The very fact that Park Namhyeon did not refuse immediately and was considering it already meant a great deal.
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