Aura of a Genius Actor

"Twenty-two point eight percent!!"

"This is insane! Isn't this a rating that'll go down in Documentary Department history?"

"PD Ban really pulled it off! He actually did it!"

A thunderous cheer erupted from one corner of the Documentary Department.

It was eight in the morning.

Not even official work hours yet.

Employees with bird's-nest hair who had either spent the entire night editing or collapsed somewhere after working through the night slowly crawled out of hiding.

Three people became five.

Five became ten.

Soon there were more than ten gathered together.

The news was that significant.

22.8%.

Even documentaries that topped annual ratings struggled to break into the mid-teens.

Those numbers would have been believable for a hit variety show or a successful drama.

Considering it had featured one of the hottest celebrities in the country, it was understandable.

But for a documentary to surpass twenty percent viewership was the kind of event that made headlines.

That day, Director Nam couldn't stop smiling.

"Oh my, has my little brother arrived?"

"Ah, Director Nam. What's with that? Since when was I your little brother?"

"...You looking for trouble?"

"Come on. Today you should be indulging me no matter what I say."

Inside the Documentary Director's office, blinds drawn shut, PD Ban practically collapsed onto the sofa.

"Ah, I'm so exhausted from editing that I can't even stand anymore."

"Sit. Sit comfortably. No, actually, just lie down. Want to take a nap there?"

"Heh. I heard the Executive Director called you in first thing this morning. Heard anything nice?"

"Ah, don't even start. Going on about how sophisticated the visuals were... saying it was exactly the kind of image he'd envisioned... thanking me for working so hard to package everything so beautifully..."

Director Nam chuckled.

"Should we call your whole team together for a company dinner? How about beef?"

"Beef accepted. Then second round, eel race. But honestly, we didn't package anything beautifully. If anything, I toned everything down."

Director Nam perked up.

"Toned it down? Why?"

"He's an absolutely ridiculous actor. The kind of person with extraordinary natural talent who somehow uses two hundred percent of it. Like he's staking his life on acting."

PD Ban shook his head.

"If I'd matched the documentary's tone to the level of admiration I actually felt, people would've accused us of making a celebrity promotional special."

"...That serious?"

"Yeah. That's why I lowered the overall tone far more than originally planned. Even during the interviews, I deliberately selected the calmest comments and cut out the overwhelming praise."

"Damn..."

Director Nam stared in disbelief before offering another compliment.

"But Ban Soon Ho hasn't lost his touch, has he? The composition, the editing, the narration—you squeezed every drop of talent you had into this thing."

"I only used about twelve percent of my talent."

"...Any interest in using the other eighty-eight?"

"What now? You're trying to make me do something else, aren't you?"

"It's a waste. The Executive Director casually mentioned a Part Two. We could follow the production process of the play. Even if that doesn't work, you've still got tons of unused footage, right? You said there were so many great scenes you cried while cutting them because you only had sixty minutes. This time I'll get you a one hundred and twenty minute slot."

PD Ban's expression instantly hardened.

"No."

"Why?"

"Even if they gave permission, I wouldn't do it."

"What are you talking about? The response is incredible. Wouldn't more exposure help him too?"

"Maybe if he were the kind of person whose goal was popularity and money. But he isn't."

PD Ban's voice became serious.

"When public curiosity reaches its peak, showing people that this actor is genuinely serious about acting? Doing that once is fine.

But if we repeat it a second and third time, people will start talking.

What's the real purpose?

Isn't it excessive to promote a rookie actor this much through documentaries?

At that point we'd be damaging Yu Myeong's future for our own benefit."

"Hmm... It's not exactly some terrible crime. Even if he takes a few hits, wouldn't the benefits outweigh the drawbacks? And all that footage..."

"You'll understand if you see him for yourself."

PD Ban smiled faintly.

"He's the kind of treasure that makes you unwilling to leave even the smallest scratch on him.

And besides, I already have a plan."

"What plan?"

"Give it about three years. He'll be a world-class actor by then. That's when we film Part Two."

"What?!"

Director Nam stared at him in utter disbelief.

"I already laid the groundwork. I asked him to let us film a sequel once he breaks into Hollywood and becomes a huge success. He laughed and said sure because it sounded so far away."

PD Ban grinned.

"But it won't take that long.

Oh, and when that happens, you'll have to send me on a Hollywood business trip, hyung. The Drama Department gets Saipan and Bali all the time while the Documentary Department keeps getting South America and Africa. Ban Soon Ho is going to put an end to that system."

Director Nam's fist slowly rose.

It trembled in the air.

Then slowly lowered again.

Today.

He would endure it today.

He silently recited the character for patience a hundred times in his mind.

What neither of them knew was that PD Ban's little piece of groundwork would prove to be a stroke of genius far sooner than anyone expected.

"Oh, Writer Son. A drama? He's still in the middle of the production right now... Well, our policy is to let the actor choose the projects he wants... Yes, yes..."

Calls poured into Good Enter from every direction.

So many that they had to screen callers before answering.

The company fax machine continuously spat out scripts.

They piled them beside the mountain that had already accumulated.

These weren't scripts sent to Good Enter.

They were confidential scripts specifically requesting Yu Myeong.

Amazing. Truly.

Yu Seok clicked his tongue.

He had run an agency for nearly ten years, but he had never seen an actor rise to stardom so quickly.

It filled him with pride.

At the same time, thinking about how little of that success could actually be attributed to him left him feeling oddly depressed.

He had first met Yu Myeong in August 2004.

His actual debut could be considered December 2004.

Entertainment Studies and Phantom had been released simultaneously then.

And now, barely a year and a half later, his position among actors in their twenties had become virtually unmatched.

Some people claimed it was just a bubble created by Late Goryeo, Early Joseon reaching ten million viewers.

That nobody knew what would happen next.

Yu Seok disagreed.

It had been the same with Entertainment Studies.

The same with the documentary.

The people and opportunities gathering around Yu Myeong appeared almost perfectly timed, as though everything had been scripted in advance.

It was the fortune he had been born with.

Or perhaps it wasn't fortune at all.

Perhaps it was his ability to turn every opportunity he touched into a phenomenon.

[Documentary Actor Becomes a Sensation After Record Breaking Ratings]

[Public Interest Focused on Opening Day of Peter Pan Starring Yu Myeong and Seoryu God]

[What Kind of Play Is the Experimental Production Peter Pan? Experts Offer Predictions]

Yu Seok looked at the newspapers and magazines stacked before him.

Today was the day.

He pulled a ticket for the premiere performance of Peter Pan from the inner pocket of his jacket.

Whenever one of Yu Myeong's performances approached, he stopped thinking like an executive and became a fan waiting to watch a work of art.

That had always been the ultimate goal he envisioned when creating Bad Enter as a hobby.

At this rate, the name Bad Enter doesn't make any sense anymore. It's nothing but good conditions for me. Maybe I should rename it Too Good Enter...

Chuckling to himself, he rejected another incoming call.

It was time to head to the theater.

No—from the previous night.

A long line stretched in front of the box office for people hoping to buy same-day tickets.

Many arrived, saw the length of the queue, immediately realized they had no chance, and turned around.

"Hey, isn't that Seoryu God's van?"

"It's Seoryu God!!"

"Ryu Shin oppaaaa!! Aaaahhh!!"

The van stopped in front of the theater and disgorged Ryu Shin.

While his manager shielded him from the crowd, he repeatedly bowed toward the cheering fans before disappearing inside.

"You've had a rough morning, hyung."

"I think yours was probably worse. You okay?"

"I came in through the back entrance."

"There was a back entrance? You should've told me."

After spending months rehearsing together, the distance between them had grown much smaller than before.

Even so, Ryu Shin never dropped formal speech.

Yu Myeong likewise stopped urging him to do so.

Apparently it held some special meaning for him, and if that sharpened his acting, Yu Myeong had no intention of interfering.

"Let's make this a performance we'll never regret."

"Let's have fun."

Yu Myeong clasped the hand Ryu Shin offered.

At that moment, Seol Su Yeon burst through the front entrance looking completely disheveled.

"Aaah! I nearly died."

"Haha. What possessed you to try getting through that crowd?"

"I thought I'd be fine because I'm not famous. Then people recognized me on the subway and started asking for autographs..."

She shuddered.

"Looks like we'll need to pick you up too from now on. You're already famous. Didn't you see the article? 'Fairy-Like Actress from Documentary Actor Draws Intense Public Attention.'"

"Aaaah, stop! What is that?!"

Her face turned bright red.

Yu Myeong and Ryu Shin laughed as they watched.

Ever since opening up emotionally, an unexpectedly playful and lively side of Seol Su Yeon had begun to emerge.

Perhaps it had always been her true personality.

"Looks like everyone's here early."

"Unni, welcome."

"Did they bother you out front too?"

"Back entrance."

"Ugh... veteran July privilege."

Chu Se Mi strolled in coolly and unlocked the theater doors with her key.

The stage lay directly ahead.

The stage where they would live for the next three weeks.

"Whew... This feels strange."

"Yeah. I've stood on the July stage plenty of times, but I've never been this excited."

"Do... do you think I'll do well?"

"Of course you will. You practiced until you nearly threw up. Trust the work you've put in."

They each patted one another on the back before climbing onto the stage to begin rehearsal.

Even though it was opening day, none of them skipped their usual routine.

They completed every part of their standard training set.

2:00 PM. Full rehearsal.

5:00 PM. Makeup and costume standby.

6:00 PM. Technical rehearsal.

And then—

At 7:10 PM, the audience began entering the theater.