A brief silence lingered.
Han Seongtae was doubting his own ears.
If he hadn’t misheard, Michael had just made a remark that looked down on Korea.
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ lets out a hollow laugh, saying this is the first time he’s seen someone this novel.]
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ shakes his head, saying there are all kinds of ways to pick a fight.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says that if someone spewed that kind of nonsense in front of him, he would’ve thrown a one-inch punch first.]
Even the gods were dumbfounded at Michael’s words.
Watching their reactions, Han Seongtae slowly repeated the motion of clenching and unclenching his fist.
How was he supposed to respond to this?
‘Does he actually mean it?’
He raised his head and examined Michael’s expression.
Michael’s innocent-looking face seemed as if he felt no problem at all with what he’d said.
Staring at that expression, Han Seongtae couldn’t even get a sense of what he should say.
It was so sudden that it made him even more flustered.
“I’ll work hard so I won’t become a nuisance to my seniors.”
In that situation, there wasn’t much Han Seongtae could say.
That he would work hard going forward.
With those words, he hid what he was really feeling.
“Well. We’ll have to see.”
“…”
“Just because you work hard doesn’t mean you can do well at everything.”
“…”
“If working hard meant you could do everything well, everyone would succeed.”
As he listened to Michael, Han Seongtae clenched his fist tightly.
He wanted to hit him, but he didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere of the very first script reading after coming overseas.
‘Hold it in.’
Han Seongtae answered with a smile instead.
“Um…”
“…”
The actors beside them were looking over with strange expressions.
They couldn’t easily jump into the conversation between Han Seongtae and Michael.
Michael’s remarks had left them flustered too.
Rogers’s face had gone stiff, and Britton Lee frowned.
The other actors were no different.
Every one of them was feeling uncomfortable at Michael’s words.
“I’ll work even harder. So you can be satisfied, sunbae.”
“Why am I ‘sunbae’?”
“…”
“I’m not your sunbae… right. I guess I’m your colleague. A colleague filming the same project.”
Ha.
Han Seongtae sighed inwardly in disbelief.
Michael was drawing a line between them openly.
His intent was so obvious now that it was almost embarrassing to even keep talking to him.
“Let’s do well. As colleagues, we should help each other.”
“Yes. That’s right. Since we’re colleagues.”
At the way Michael emphasized “colleagues” to the very end, Han Seongtae lifted one corner of his mouth.
He didn’t want to deal with him any further.
If the conversation continued, he’d be the one getting worn out.
Han Seongtae smiled as an answer, then shut his mouth.
There was nothing more he could say.
Michael didn’t bother to speak either.
A brief silence followed.
“The mood got too dark. Michael, it was good to see you today.”
“Me too. It’s an honor to be able to work with Director Britton Lee.”
To lighten the mood, Britton Lee spoke up.
At his words, Michael nodded with a gentle smile.
A smile that felt completely different from the one he’d shown Han Seongtae.
If the smile he’d shown Han Seongtae had been fake, the smile Michael wore now as he spoke to Britton Lee was sincere.
‘This doesn’t feel good.’
At Michael’s discrimination-soaked attitude, Han Seongtae clenched his fist.
Who would feel good after being openly looked down on?
At the very least, Han Seongtae didn’t have it in him to laugh cheerfully at someone who looked down on him.
[‘The Actor of Eternal Youth’ looks at you with concern.]
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ lets out a deep sigh, saying he can understand how you feel.]
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ says he’s been looked down on many times too, and pats your shoulder.]
Along with the feeling of someone patting his shoulder, the gods spoke to comfort him.
At that, a small smile formed at the corner of Han Seongtae’s mouth as well.
Right. It wasn’t like he’d never imagined a situation like this could happen.
Not everyone in the world could be kind.
Something like this could happen any time.
It had just been so sudden that it caught him off guard.
“Michael.”
“Yes, Rogers.”
“…No. It’s nothing. I just meant, please take care of us today.”
Rogers opened his mouth, then closed it again.
At the way he shook his head, Michael smiled and tilted his head.
“Han, I’m really looking forward to today. The director doesn’t praise people to this extent very often.”
“I’m always grateful that the director thinks so highly of me. I’ll work hard so I can live up to the expectations.”
Facing Rogers’s gentle smile, Han Seongtae also smiled and nodded.
It was at least a small comfort that one or two people were friendly toward him.
“What do you mean, you’ll work hard? If you just do what you normally do—like always—then that’s more than enough.”
“With the director saying all this, I’m really curious now. Just how good is his acting, really?”
“It’ll be beyond your expectations.”
At Britton Lee’s words, Han Seongtae felt even more embarrassed.
It was true that he’d gotten vastly better at acting after being with the gods of acting.
But that didn’t mean his acting was top-class.
There were still many people in the world who could act better than him.
If nothing else, the Rogers right in front of him had erased the idea that he’d become an actor only because of his looks, purely through acting.
Being praised for his acting in front of these incredible actors made him a little worried.
‘But I’ll do it.’
Worrying only lasted a moment… Han Seongtae had confidence.
Because the gods of acting were at his side.
With them, he had always produced results beyond expectations.
As Han Seongtae was making up his mind to work hard, Michael reached out and patted his shoulder.
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“…Yes.”
Han Seongtae could see the corner of Michael’s mouth lift slightly.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ says he’s someone you simply can’t bring yourself to look at kindly.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says it’s unacceptable to lose to someone like that, and strongly tells you that you have to win.]
[‘The Actor of Eternal Youth’ shakes his head, saying it’s almost impressive how unlikeable he is.]
With the gods’ messages, Han Seongtae started walking.
The path toward the script reading.
Jung Dusik approached and spoke to him.
“What were you guys talking about? The mood looked good.”
“Nothing much. He just said we should work hard.”
Han Seongtae didn’t tell him what had just happened.
He didn’t want to sour Jung Dusik’s mood too.
‘It’s a good thing Dusik-hyung doesn’t understand English.’
Han Seongtae let out a small laugh and headed toward the seat with his name on it.
Behind him, he could hear Jung Dusik cheering him on.
In the script-reading room, the seating was laid out in a long arrangement centered on Britton Lee, who sat at the head.
The two lead actors sat in the seats closest to him, and from there, seats were assigned in order of importance.
Han Seongtae’s seat was next to Ivy, a lead and the actress playing Layla.
Across from Ivy sat Rogers, and beside him Michael, creating a seating arrangement where Michael faced Han Seongtae.
“Please take care of me.”
“Please take care of me as well.”
At Ivy’s voice from beside him, Han Seongtae smiled and replied.
Tap, tap.
—Ahem. We’ll do a mic test.
Britton Lee’s voice came through.
At the sound, the actors seated there fixed their eyes on him.
—Thank you all for gathering here. I’m Britton Lee, the director for Rampage. Please feel free to call me Lee.
Britton Lee’s self-introduction was smooth.
He said exactly what needed to be said, and with a witty touch, he drew laughter from the room.
—I’m truly grateful to be able to work with all of you. I look forward to it.
Clap, clap, clap.
As Britton Lee bowed his head, the actors immediately applauded.
Han Seongtae also clapped along with them, smiling.
Beep.
—I’m Rogers, and I play Daniel. I can’t tell you how nervous I am to be responsible for a serious spot like this. See? Can you see my hands shaking?
Rogers was a humorous person.
At the sight of him raising his hand and trembling it, people burst into laughter.
—Since this is a serious role, I’ll do my absolute best in the acting!
Clap, clap, clap.
When Rogers finished his self-introduction, Ivy stood up.
Her self-introduction was short and strong.
She said only what she needed and sat back down, and she too received applause.
Then it was Han Seongtae’s turn.
“Hoo…”
Han Seongtae stood and turned on the microphone.
He swept his gaze around, and his eyes met Michael’s.
At the sight of Michael wearing a strange smile, Han Seongtae tapped his thigh lightly with his fingertips and began speaking.
—“I’m Han Seongtae, and I’ll be playing ‘Yu.’ Please feel free to call me Han. I never even imagined I’d be able to be here. I’m lacking in many ways. But I was able to meet Director Lee, and I’ve been given this chance to work with such great seniors.”
At Han Seongtae’s words, a faint smile formed on Britton Lee’s lips.
—I’m lacking in many ways. I don’t think I can deliver acting that satisfies everyone. Still, I’ll work hard. If only so I won’t become a nuisance to Director Lee, who brought me here. Please guide me a lot.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ says your strength is in humbling yourself.]
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ nods, saying that with your passion, anyone can acknowledge you.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ is satisfied, saying they are sincere words.]
—Please take care of me!
Han Seongtae bowed his head deeply.
A brief silence.
Clap, clap, clap.
He could hear Britton Lee applauding.
Rogers clapped, and Ivy clapped.
As responses came from all around, Michael raised a hand with a slight frown.
Clap.
Watching him applaud slowly, Han Seongtae sat back down.
He could see Michael stand up and introduce himself.
—Alright. Now, let’s lightly match lines once.
At Britton Lee’s words, the actors turned their scripts.
Han Seongtae also turned his script like them, scanning it.
—Scene 1.
With Britton Lee’s words, the actors began acting.
Centered on Rogers and Ivy, the voices of the supporting actors filled the script-reading room.
‘They really are good.’
Han Seongtae’s eyes sparkled as he watched them.
It made him happy to realize he could work with people who acted so well it made you admire them.
How happy would it be to act with them on set?
A smile formed on Han Seongtae’s lips.
And soon, it was his turn.
Beep.
He pressed the mic button and slowly opened his mouth.
—I…
With his acting, the atmosphere of the script-reading room sank heavily.
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