“As you probably realized from reading it, the character named Haemuk was written with Iho as the model. He’s a character I care about very much because of that.”
From the moment Lee Jeonghye first received the proposal for a drama adaptation, she had carefully looked into a number of actors.
After all, Haemuk was a character she had created based on none other than Iho, so she had not wanted to hand the role over to just anyone.
“Of course, all the actors were quite handsome, but unfortunately, none of them matched the image I had in mind.”
That was why, despite receiving an opportunity that anyone would have wanted, she had been unable to accept it readily.
“I thought that putting just anyone in the role simply to fill out the cast would only damage the work. My health was actually the secondary issue.”
Rowoon glanced over at Iho.
In his true appearance, he was such an extraordinarily beautiful man that Rowoon could understand perfectly well why people spoke of being bewitched by foxes.
Well, it’s not as though there could be an actor who looks like that inhuman face…
…There was.
Come to think of it, one person did.
A familiar face came to mind, someone Rowoon had been practically attached to twenty-four hours a day until only about a month ago.
Granted, if he had to distinguish between their types, Kang Chaheon was closer to a ruggedly handsome man with stronger features than Iho was.
Still, the two of them did seem similar in one respect.
Neither of them looked entirely human.
Rowoon suddenly stopped at that thought.
Wait. Then what does that make me…?
This was not the time to be admiring anyone.
After all, the person who had to portray that inhuman-looking face was none other than Rowoon himself.
“I’m not talking about his appearance. Whenever Iho traveled around with me, he went around wearing all kinds of different appearances.”
That was a tremendous relief.
Lee Jeonghye continued her explanation.
“The most important point of this role is the atmosphere. And you, Rowoon, have exactly the feeling I had in mind. That’s why I was finally able to agree to the contract I’d been putting off all this time. It was after meeting you.”
“If you hadn’t met me…”
“I wouldn’t even have considered taking the contract out to look at it.”
There was absolute conviction in Lee Jeonghye’s voice as she emphasized the words.
“What are you hesitating for? It’s not like you don’t know how good Jeonghye’s eye for people is.”
He knew.
After all, even Iho, who had lived for a thousand years, had been impressed by Lee Jeonghye’s eye.
And now that very gaze was fixed on Rowoon with certainty.
“Iho and I received a favor from you that we could never fully repay. But please don’t think of this proposal as my way of thanking you. Truthfully, this is closer to my own selfish desire than an expression of gratitude.”
When one got down to it, Lee Jeonghye said, this was essentially the same as calling Rowoon over and asking him to do a job for her.
She was not exactly wrong.
Except that this particular job was an enormous opportunity for Rowoon or any other actor.
[What is there to think about? That child does not appear to be lying.]
Cheonghwa, who was beside him, casually added her opinion.
“Cheonghwa, didn’t you dislike it when I took on acting projects?”
There was barely enough time for requests as it was. Once filming began, it was common for several days at a time to become difficult to free up.
That was why Cheonghwa had always regarded such work with some displeasure.
And yet…
[Nooo. Now that I think about it, perhaps it isn’t so bad. Ahem.]
What was with this sudden change of attitude?
She must have been impressed by how much my Karma score dropped.
[Besides, did you not say you needed work for the next few weeks? Ahem. If you’re going to work anyway, you may as well help Ms. Jeonghye and clear away some Karma at the same time! Is that not killing two birds with one stone?]
Come to think of it, Cheonghwa had been beside him when he searched for Hwanse Biwonrok.
She had even read the book together with him.
So there was no way she could fail to understand just how famous and entertaining the work was.
It’s definitely an offer I want.
Of course it was.
Because Rowoon had read it himself, he was certain.
This work simply could not fail.
Even setting aside what a huge opportunity it was, the story itself was good.
If it had not been entertaining, there was no way it could have remained a bestseller for nearly ten years.
And it’s lucky for me too.
How many chances did a person get to play a character from a work they had genuinely enjoyed reading?
This truly was an enormous opportunity.
If anything, Rowoon might have been the one who ought to thank Lee Jeonghye for making him the offer.
If this had been repayment for the fox bead, he would have refused without question.
But had the two spirit beings not explicitly assured him?
They had said that was not the reason.
“Are you really sure you’re all right with me taking the role?”
At Rowoon’s cautious question, the gentle smile Lee Jeonghye had worn all this time finally blossomed into one of relief.
“Of course. Absolutely. If it weren’t for you, Rowoon, I wouldn’t have considered making the drama in the first place. Thinking about it that way, I suppose you’re this drama’s benefactor. You’re the reason I decided to sign the contract.”
Rowoon had no idea what exactly Lee Jeonghye had seen in him to make her believe he had that potential.
But if the alternative is letting the opportunity slip away and regretting it, being a little shameless would be better.
He did not know when acting had become this exciting and enjoyable.
It felt similar to standing onstage, yet somehow slightly different.
There had been one reason he missed the stage from his idol days.
It was proof that he was alive.
The stage had been the means through which he could prove that.
A stage he stood on under his own name, not as someone else’s substitute.
Now… I suppose I’m stepping onto a stage under another name.
Just as his presence completed a stage, his presence could complete a work.
That was why Rowoon could not help becoming absorbed in this world called acting, another kind of stage with another name.
There was another difference from the past.
Acting might resemble the past in the sense that he wore another person’s name.
But when you think about it, it’s actually the opposite.
By portraying someone else, the person recognized for the final result was not that someone else.
It was Rowoon.
That was the decisive difference.
The more perfectly Rowoon melted into a role,
the more completely he became another person,
the more firmly the name Rowoon would be engraved in everyone’s mind.
Of course, that’s not the only reason acting is fun.
Rowoon gathered his thoughts and thanked Lee Jeonghye.
“Thank you, Author Lee. For giving me an opportunity like this.”
“Not at all. I’m the one who should be thanking you. You’re the reason I was able to make this decision.”
Lee Jeonghye smiled as she spoke.
“Now that you’ve agreed too, I can sign the contract without any reservations. I’ll contact you soon.”
She added it as though she truly had been waiting only for Rowoon’s permission.
And several days later,
Rowoon received some news.
It was exactly the contact Lee Jeonghye had promised.
These days, Manager Park Hyungwoo had been working himself to the bone, sending Rowoon’s profile to production companies every day and even personally visiting whenever he found a project that looked promising.
For the first time in a while, he found himself face-to-face with the company president.
And then he heard news that nearly made his eyes pop out.
“What?! Hwanbirok? Isn’t that an insanely famous bestseller? Rowoon got an offer for that?”
He had wondered why the president had suddenly called him in.
Apparently, enormous news had been waiting for him.
And there was more.
“Yeah. The author of the insanely famous Hwanse Biwonrok personally singled out Lee Rowoon and requested him. What the hell has that kid been doing lately?”
Rowoon had received the offer over countless prominent actors.
Hwanse Biwonrok.
Among people in the industry, it was considered an unscratched winning lottery ticket, practically a guaranteed commercial hit.
Rumors had already begun quietly circulating some time ago.
Because the IP was such a massive success, the author had received numerous offers, all of which she had rejected until now.
But rumors were spreading that she had finally changed her mind and was preparing to sign a contract.
And our Rowoon landed it!
Maybe everything had been going badly until now just so this could happen.
If he’d gotten stuck in some mediocre project, his schedule might’ve gotten tangled up and he could’ve missed this entirely.
Wasn’t this exactly what people meant by fortune arising from misfortune?
In fact, until that very morning, Manager Park Hyungwoo had been deeply troubled.
There was only one reason.
No matter how much he searched, there were no worthwhile roles.
Whenever something looks half-decent, you can tell they’re blatantly trying to recycle his image from Gwiro. Sigh. What good is it that his movie and variety show both blew up?
After a painfully long period of obscurity, Rowoon had finally begun to see the light.
The problem was that while his career was unfolding smoothly, like a sprout rapidly growing beneath the sun, both the number and quality of the scripts coming in were frankly terrible.
Our Rowoon works so hard. What’s wrong with everyone’s eyes? You should be able to tell the second you watch him act. These blind idiots!
As the saying went, even a hedgehog thinks its own baby is beautiful.
Manager Park Hyungwoo’s thoughts were very clearly those of a doting parent.
“What the hell has Lee Rowoon been doing for him to get an offer from Hwanse Biwonrok of all things? Hyungwoo, haven’t you heard anything from him?”
“No, President. You know I’ve been busy going around handing out his profile lately.”
The manager replied with a trace of resentment.
The president had always been indifferent toward Rowoon.
Back when Rowoon had been a delinquent, Park Hyungwoo could understand it.
But things were different now, weren’t they?
Shouldn’t the agency be willing to push someone like our Rowoon by now?
Sure, this industry was filled with one-hit wonders.
So maybe, to other people, Rowoon’s success looked like something he had stumbled into by pure luck.
And maybe that meant they did not want to take the risk of casting an actor who was still unproven.
But still!
Our kid is working so hard right now!
The manager felt deeply wronged on Rowoon’s behalf.
By any standard, he was a perfect example of the old saying that an arm always bends inward toward one’s own side.
“Why are you glaring like you’ve been wronged?”
“I’m not!”
“Honestly… You’re his manager, and you don’t even know what your own celebrity is doing. What are you going to do if he starts fooling around like he used to?”
“N-No! President! How can you say something so hurtful? Do you know how mild, well-behaved, diligent, and hardworking our Rowoon has been lately? Fooling around?”
The president clicked his tongue and gave the manager a thoroughly unimpressed look.
“Until last year, you were whining at me to transfer you to another position. When did you become like this? Whatever. Never mind. You really don’t know what he’s been doing?”
When the president said it would be easier to respond in advance if Rowoon had gotten himself mixed up in something strange, the manager nearly jumped out of his seat again.
“Rowoon’s been meeting with Re.D lately. What are you talking about?”
“Re.D? The producer? Why is that delinquent meeting Re.D? Is he quitting acting now?”
“I told you Rowoon isn’t a delinquent anymore, President. And our kid can take on other challenges too. You know how promising all-round entertainers, those well-rounded ‘hexagonal’ talents, are these days. He can broaden the variety of roles he takes too.”
“Anyone listening would think Lee Rowoon was your son. Fine. Get out of here.”
As though he no longer wanted to continue the conversation, the president waved him away.
Despite the president’s grumbling, the manager carefully gathered up the offer they had received.
It felt as though the rumors had only begun yesterday, yet the project was moving incredibly quickly.
They already have scripts for the opening episodes?
Apparently the PD directing the project had been working for a long time to secure the contract.
Considering the original author had only signed recently, the pace was astonishing.
In that brief period, they had already secured investors and finished selecting locations.
Casting was also proceeding rapidly and was apparently already nearing completion.
For scripts for the early episodes to be ready this quickly on top of all that was extremely unusual.
Good. Once he finishes this project, nobody will be able to say our kid only got famous because he was lucky ever again!
He had to hurry over and tell him.
Manager Park Hyungwoo suddenly became impatient.
T/N:
- 육각형 아이돌 (hexagonal idol) refers to an idol whose skill set forms a perfectly balanced hexagon on a radar chart like a character in a video game. It’s a coined term for a fully developed all-rounder who excels across all six core abilities expected of an idol
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