“Seongtae, do you want to go up first? I will park and then come.”
At Jung Dusik’s words, Han Seongtae nodded and got out of the car.
As Jung Dusik drove down into the underground parking lot, Seongtae watched the car go, then turned his body toward the entrance of the building.
KBN Broadcasting Station.
From the entrance alone, there were plenty of statues and displays that made it obvious this was a broadcasting station.
Looking over those things, Han Seongtae slowly began to walk.
It really has been a long time since I was here.
In the past, he had come to KBN to film a drama.
He had not gotten the chance to visit again since then.
It would have been hard for someone who only ever did bit parts to find a reason to come back to a station.
Without talent, it was hard to stay involved with a broadcasting station.
Because he knew that painfully well, it surprised Han Seongtae that he was able to walk into a station again this quickly.
[The One With a Thousand Faces laughs and says if you are already this surprised, will you not end up so shocked later that you have a heart attack.]
[The One Who Defined an Era says they can fully understand how you feel.]
[The One Who Defined an Era reminisces, saying they were once like that too.]
“Seongtae, what are you doing here? Are you not going up?”
Just as he was about to move his feet again, a familiar voice came from behind him.
“Ah, Mucheol hyung.”
When had he arrived?
Kim Mucheol was standing behind him.
Wearing a denim jacket and jeans, he looked very stylish.
“I was just about to head up.”
“Yeah? Where is your manager?”
“He is parking right now. He told me to go up first.”
“I see. Then let’s go together. My manager is parking too. Honestly, we are not at the stage in our careers where we have to sit around waiting for that.”
At Kim Mucheol’s words, Han Seongtae let out an awkward laugh.
Maybe that was true for someone like Kim Mucheol, who had been acting for more than ten years, but Seongtae was still a rookie with little experience.
He had only just started appearing in a film and a drama, so there was no way he could act like Kim Mucheol.
“Let’s go up. The director is waiting for us right now.”
“Yes. Let’s go, hyung.”
Nodding, Han Seongtae walked along with him.
On the elevator ride up, Kim Mucheol slung an arm across Seongtae’s shoulders in a friendly gesture.
“Did you read the script?”
“Yes, I did. It was really fun.”
“Good. The story is really good. I decided to take it because I liked the story too. I was getting tired of shooting crime stuff all the time.”
Saying he could completely understand how Seongtae felt, Kim Mucheol gave his shoulder a reassuring pat.
At the touch on his shoulder and Mucheol’s words, Seongtae let out a small laugh.
“Hyung.”
“Hm?”
“Why are you so good to me?”
“…?”
At Seongtae’s question, Kim Mucheol tilted his head a little.
Seongtae’s expression as he looked at him was quite serious.
It was a question he had had for a while.
We have not known each other that long, but he treats me so well.
It had not even been a year since Kim Mucheol and Han Seongtae had first met.
Even so, Mucheol had approached him with ease and warmth.
And now he was handing him an opportunity like this, one that might never come again.
“Why, huh…”
Watching Mucheol murmur to himself, Seongtae swallowed dryly.
He did not believe for a second that Kim Mucheol was treating him kindly with no reason at all.
It was strange enough that someone as great as Kim Mucheol would approach someone as insignificant as him without hesitation.
“I just like you. You caught my eye.”
“…Sorry?”
When Seongtae tilted his head at that answer and was about to ask again, it happened.
Ding.
With a chime announcing they had reached the fifth floor, the elevator doors slid open.
“Let’s go.”
Seeing Mucheol smile as he spoke, Seongtae could not say anything more.
Kim Mucheol was already walking ahead of him.
The meeting room they arrived at like that had Hwang Gyeol from “Baeknyeoncho” sitting inside.
“Welcome. I am Hwang Gyeol.”
Grasping the hand Hwang Gyeol held out, Han Seongtae set aside his questions for now and focused on the situation in front of him.
“Baeknyeoncho” director, Hwang Gyeol.
When Kim Mucheol had recommended Han Seongtae to him, he had not expected all that much.
It was not that he did not trust Mucheol, but there simply was not much information about Seongtae for him to go on.
An actor who had appeared in “Race Start.”
And someone who was going to be in the soon-to-be-released “War of the Villains.”
That was all he knew.
In other words, he was an actor who had not yet been properly tested.
He looks decent, though.
His first impression of Han Seongtae was quite good.
He had a gentle, honest look to him, and it felt like his whole impression could shift drastically depending on how he was styled.
He might go well with a sapsal dog.
When people thought of a sapsal dog, the image that usually came to mind was something simple, friendly, and comforting.
Right now, that was exactly how Seongtae looked.
Like looking at a big dog.
“Hello. I have heard a lot about you from Mucheol. He praised you quite a bit.”
“I am just always grateful that he sees me in a good light.”
At Seongtae’s words, Hwang Gyeol laughed and nodded.
The more he talked with him, the more Hwang started to like him.
Someone who understood his own position and could respect others.
With Kim Mucheol chiming in beside him, he could somewhat understand why Mucheol had taken a liking to Seongtae.
“Seongtae, I heard you got the script in advance. Could you show me your acting right away?”
“Yes, I can.”
Without a hint of hesitation, Seongtae answered immediately.
Watching that, Hwang nodded in satisfaction.
He is well prepared.
Not all actors prepared in advance just because they were actors.
There were plenty who waited until the day of and relied on improvisation.
In that sense, Seongtae had already passed one test.
The fact that he could say it that confidently meant he had practiced that much.
“Good. Then let’s see it right away.”
“Yes!”
Answering crisply, Han Seongtae opened the script.
The scene he had to play was one where, as a guardian spirit, he watched the female lead.
Because of the gumiho beside her, he could not easily approach her and instead had to show how he longed for her from afar.
Honestly, I am not expecting much.
Up until now, the genres Seongtae had acted in were action genres.
Crime, action.
Those two genres carried a very dark tone, and for a rookie actor who had only trained in that direction, it was only natural that it would be hard to act with a soft, loving mood.
He was still a rookie because he lacked experience, and for that reason, it was hard to expect a wide range of acting from him.
“Hm.”
Hwang saw Seongtae clear his throat and take a deep breath.
As he watched the way the young man repeated his inhales and exhales, Hwang’s eyes widened slightly.
His whole atmosphere changed in an instant.
With each breath out, the air surrounding Han Seongtae shifted.
Seeing that, even Hwang, who had not been expecting much, could not help feeling a little surprised.
“I guess… I really do have to keep watching over you from afar.”
“…!”
The moment Seongtae spoke the first line, Hwang felt a powerful shock that he could not put into words.
A voice filled with longing and sadness.
It was not something you could imagine coming from the same person who had just been smiling so brightly.
“I was the one who stayed by your side. I was always the one watching over you.”
Ji Yeonwoo, the sapsal dog and mountain spirit, had watched over Yoo Yena, who bore the “Baeknyeoncho,” for a very long time.
He had left his own domain to stay by her side, and whenever monsters approached, he immediately chased them away.
He existed only as a guardian spirit for that one woman.
He had spent more than twenty years at her side.
“And yet, how could you choose a filthy thing like that?”
Because of all the time he had spent, Ji Yeonwoo could only sigh and grieve as he looked at the sight before him.
Yoo Yena had not chosen the one who had protected her all her life, but some man who had nothing to do with those years at all.
“Of all things, a filthy thing like that…”
On top of that, she had not chosen some ordinary man, but a gumiho.
No wonder Ji Yeonwoo’s insides were about to burst.
Gumiho were infamous as monsters that bewitched humans and stole their livers.
He could not accept that the woman he had protected all his life had fallen for such a creature.
“Baek Yeon, I cannot stand you. Not back then, not now, and not ever in the future.”
Biting down on his lip, Ji Yeonwoo turned away.
In response, Baek Yeon stuck out his tongue and teased him.
“Hoo…”
As he watched Seongtae finish his performance, Hwang could not say anything at all.
“Seongtae.”
“Yes, Director.”
“Did you not say you have only done a few projects and you have never done romance, right?”
“No.”
Awkwardly laughing as he nodded, Seongtae left Hwang utterly speechless.
This was not the kind of acting you could call rookie-level.
“Where should I send the contract?”
Hwang decided there was no reason left to hesitate.
Where would he ever find another actor like this?
Even if he started searching for someone new now, it would be hard to find someone who could make such a strong impression.
“Seongtae, let’s see each other next time on set.”
After Han Seongtae left the meeting room, only Hwang and Kim Mucheol were left.
Hwang let out a low sigh.
“So, what did you think?”
“He is incredible. Where in the world did you find an actor like that?”
“I was lucky.”
“Now I understand why you spoke about him the way you did. With someone like that, how could I even think of another actor?”
At Hwang’s words, Kim Mucheol smiled as if to say he understood.
Watching him, Hwang raised both hands and ran them down his face as he muttered.
“I will have to buy you a drink sometime later.”
“I do not drink cheap stuff, you know.”
Smiling, Kim Mucheol answered him like that.
The casting contract for the “Baeknyeoncho” drama went extremely smoothly.
From the company’s point of view, having one of their actors join a project that had already proven itself was something they were more than happy to accept.
And Hwang Gyeol had no hesitation at all when it came to signing him.
A contract that was completed in a flash.
Seongtae: “Hyung, I think in about a month? After that, I will be going into filming too, right? I will get ready in advance.”
Kim Mucheol: “Yeah. Oh, and we are going to map out the action choreography in two weeks. Keep that time open.”
Seongtae: “Yes, I will definitely keep it open.”
After signing, he spent very busy days preparing for the shoot.
Since filming had already begun, Seongtae had to prepare even more diligently than usual.
The time he had to get ready was very short.
But it was fun.
For Seongtae, the simple fact that he was able to act made every moment enjoyable.
[The One With a Thousand Faces says it is not good to let your emotions show too much.]
[The One Who Defined an Era says when you are looking at someone you have unrequited feelings for, the key is to look just a bit more pitiful.]
[The Actor of Eternal Youth advises that simply lifting the corners of your mouth a little can help bring the mood to life.]
He had no worries at all about preparing his performance.
Because at his side, he had the greatest teachers of acting he could ever ask for.
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