Chapter 51: Script Reading (1)
It was the 15th of January 2020—the day of the first script reading for Blue Sky, which was taking place at the SBC Main Building in Room 701.
The atmosphere in the building resembled a busy and bustling marketplace.
"It’s chaotic here, isn't it? Please follow me."
Choi Eun-Hee, who was waiting for us at the entrance to the drama department, led the way.
“Mr. Jung-Hoon, hurry up and deliver this to the editing department!”
“PD Choi, what were your viewership ratings for last week’s episode?”
“Ugh, don’t even ask. I think the stress is causing me to go bald.”
Amidst the bustling activity, I caught sight of PD Choi Seong-Lak and PD Park Hu-Don. I had been familiar with these famous PDs in my past life and to see them in their early days as junior PDs was quite a sight. While they weren't on the level of Kim Sung-Woon, building a connection with them seemed like a good idea. I contemplated introducing myself, but it turned out there was no need for me to make the first move as the PDs, having spotted Yoo-Jin, approached us first.
"Miss Yoo-Jin! What do you think about making a cameo in our drama before you start filming Blue Sky?"
"Miss Yoo-Jin, how about a guest appearance in our Living Only for Today? We'll make sure to give you more screen time and promote you!"
"Hey, PD Choi, your drama's viewership rating is only at 7.5%. Why are you bringing up a drama that's barely surviving?"
"That’s rude, sunbae! It’s only natural for the viewership rating to be low in the beginning! It's going to shoot up soon.”
"Tsk. Well, if that really happens, I'll carry you on my back everywhere you go. Do better, okay?"
All of the PDs at SBC's drama department were giving Yoo-Jin a warm welcome. Highly cognizant of viewership ratings, they all expressed high appreciation for how Yoo-Jin had driven up the latter half of the viewership ratings for The Morning Takes Off.
My back was aching from all the greetings and exchanging of business cards.
“I will check her schedule and get back to you later today.”
At that moment, Jung Sam-Ryong spotted us as he strolled down the hallway and waved at us.
“Hey, when did you get here?”
"Hello, Mr. Jung.”
"Just do as you usually do and everything will be great. Don't feel pressured.”
"Yes, sir!"
"Come with me. AD Choi, you handle things here."
"Yes, Mr. Jung," Choi Eun-Hee nodded and replied before disappearing from the scene.
We were then led by Jung Sam-Ryong to the script reading room.
***
Upon entering the script reading room, I noticed the main director's seat was empty. Kang Soo-Hoon hesitated to take his rightful place as he glanced around nervously.
Observing this, CP Jung clicked his tongue. "You want me to direct myself? You should be sitting here, PD Kang."
Jung Sam-Ryong then moved to the back row while telling Kang Soo-Hoon not to be so nervous.
Upon hearing Jun Sam-Ryong’s reassuring words, Kang Soo-Hoon scratched his head and took the main director’s seat. "Haha. Yes, Mr. Jung. I'll do my best,”
In the meantime, I guided Yoo-Jin to her assigned seat. "Yoo-Jin, you got this!"
Yoo-Jin turned to me and clenched her fists energetically.
"Of course! Don't worry."
‘Worry? What for? Just take it easy and don't overshadow your sunbaes.’
After guiding Yoo-Jin to her seat, I moved to the back row where the talent agents sat. I spotted Kang Myung-Gil—Ju Yung-In's talent agent—already seated and tapping the seat next to him, signaling for me to sit there. Though I preferred another spot, I had no choice but to sit there.
"Why are you so late? You should be more on the ball as a newbie. If the actor lacks discipline, you should at least be responsible."
He started with a complaint even before I sat down. I was exactly on time, but dealing with small conflicts like this was a part of a talent agent's job.
"I'm sorry," I replied.
"Whatever. How much has Yoo-Jin practiced?"
"She's practiced hard.”
"Well, it's her first significant role, so it might be tough. But she'll gain a lot from this experience."
‘What the heck? Does he really think Yoo-Jin wouldn't get noticed because of Ju Yung-In? How ridiculous. Yoo-Jin's role as Twilight is much better than the main lead’s!'
I suppressed my irritation and responded with patience. "Yes. We'll learn a lot from this experience."
Without anything more to say, Kang Myung-Gil turned his attention to the script and turned his head.
More and more actors began to fill the empty seats.
Beside Yoo-Jin, Lee Sa-Rang took her seat. She had started as a child actress and was now almost 40 years into her acting career. Despite being 45 years old, she looked like she was in her late thirties. Lee Sa-Rang was a true talent who won the Best Actress award twice.
"I look forward to working with you, my daughter."
Yoo-Jin smiled brightly and reciprocated Lee Sa-Rang’s playful words. "Yes, Mom."
"Haha, that sounds nice. From now on, let's be mother and daughter until the drama ends, okay?"
"Once a mother and daughter, always so. Right?"
Lee Sa-Rang clasped her hands together with a pleased expression. “Haha. Well, aren't you a charming girl!”
Then, they started to exchange small talk.
'Good job, Yoo-Jin.'
Before coming here, I had specifically advised Yoo-Jin to pay attention to Lee Sa-Rang. After all, she would be Yoo-Jin's primary scene partner among all the sunbae actors in Blue Sky. Lee Sa-Rang’s role as Twilight’s mother in the drama would contribute significantly to the popularity of Twilight’s character in Blue Sky. According to the script, Lee Sa-Rang would play the role of a disciplinarian and strict mother, evoking empathy from the audience for Twilight, who would be seen as ‘the nation’s second child representative’.
'What a good start.'
Soon, the room was filled with actors and actresses.
Then, Kang Soo-Hoon announced the start of the script reading. "Alright, everyone's here so let's begin. I'm Kang Soo-Hoon, the director of Blue Sky. I hope everyone gives their best to make this drama successful."
Clap clap clap.
Applause from staff and actors filled the room. Then, the actors introduced themselves one by one.
"I'm Jung Beom-Gyu, playing the father of Sky. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to act alongside the respected sunbae-nim Lee Sa-Rang."
Then, it was Lee Sa-Rang's turn, who would be acting with Yoo-Jin the most. "I'm Lee Sa-Rang, playing Sky's mother. I'll make sure to keep her father in line in the drama."
“Haha, you are so funny, sunbae-nim,” Jung Beom-Gyu chuckled at Lee Sa-Rang’s playful remark as he scratched his head in a shy manner.
The playful comments by the two sunbae actors lightened the atmosphere, bringing laughter to the room as everyone continued to introduce themselves. The last person to introduce herself was the scriptwriter, Kim Soll-Ip.
"I'm Kim Soll-Ip, the writer who wrote this script. As you all know, I learned to write scripts under Ms. Lee Ji-Yeon’s guidance and this is my first drama. However, I don't plan to stay in her shadow. Thank you all in advance."
Her confident introduction caused a stir among everyone.
Then, Jung Sam-Ryong laughed heartily to set the mood. "Yes. A writer should be confident, just like Ms. Kim. Right, everyone?"
The actors nodded at Jung Sam-Ryong’s response to Kim Soll-Ip’s statement.
"Wow. Ms. Kim is quite sharp.”
“She is indeed Ms. Lee Ji-Yeon’s disciple. We might be scolded by Ms. Kim if we slack off, huh? Hahaha."
Everyone including the staff and the actors seemed excited.
Lee Ji-Yeon's drama The Morning Takes Off ended with a 25% viewership rating and Kim Soll-Ip’s statement on not wanting to remain in Lee Ji-Yeon’s shadow meant she was aiming for a viewership rating of over 25% for Blue Sky.
After everyone was done introducing themselves, Kang Soo-Hoon clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. "Now, shall we slowly begin?"
His cue was followed by the sound of script pages turning in unison.
Flip, flip.
The real war was about to begin now. As the actors start their performances, their skills would become fully known to all.
***
The story of Blue Sky was centered around two families—Sung Blue’s family, who owned ‘Blue Fish House,’ and Kim Sky’s family, who owned ‘Sky Pork Ribs’.
The script reading of Blue Sky began with the child actors.
『Ugh...』
『What’s wrong, Sky? Don’t you want a barbecue?』
『Dad, I just can't eat meat. No matter how much I try, I just can’t. I hate it. It's greasy. I feel like I'm going to throw up.』
Kim Sky's child actress puffed her cheeks with her arms crossed, looking dissatisfied. Jung Beom-Gyu, a veteran actor with 30 years of experience playing Sky's father, leaned in to match the child actor's height.
『Is that so? Then shall we go to Blue’s restaurant for sashimi?』
『Yes! And...can we invite Blue oppa and eat with him?』
『Hey! You little one. Did you refuse to eat barbecue because you wanted to see Blue? Sigh. You used to say your dad was all you need. 』
『Hehe.』
Kim Ye-Jin, who was playing the role of Young Kim Sky, giggled and playfully stuck out her tongue in response to Jung Beom-Gyu's teasing. Her charming performance would significantly contribute to the high viewership ratings of the first episode. The chemistry between the two actors brought laughter to the entire room.
Flip, flip.
The script pages began to flip at an incredible speed and it only took less than ten minutes to finish reading the first episode. This marked the transition from child to adult actors.
The moment Ju Yung-In started her lines, the atmosphere immediately shifted. She began her performance without looking at the script.
‘As expected. She hasn’t changed a bit.’
Ju Yung-In calmly looked at the other actors and read the script as if she were in an actual filming session. She seemed to be doing this simply to declare herself as the true protagonist of the drama.
This display of dominance made the other actors, who were comfortably reading their scripts just a moment ago, extremely tense.
Then, Ju Seong-Jin—who was playing the role of the main male lead, Sung Blue—stumbled over his lines several times and made a mistake. He was an actor from Ace Entertainment with five years of experience and was known for his great acting skills. Unfortunately, he was caught up in Ju Yung-In's rhythm and acting, causing him to lose focus in an attempt to match her acting by not looking at the script.
“Mr. Ju, shall we take a short break?”
“N-no, Mr. Kang. I can do this.”
“Take a deep breath. It’s fine if you need to look at your script. It seems like you haven’t fully memorized the script yet, so don’t push yourself too hard because we still have some time left until we start shooting.”
Ju Seong-Jin’s face turned red out of embarrassment at Kang Soo-Hoon’s advice. Despite Ju Seong-Jin's insistence on continuing in his attempt to make up for his mistake, his confidence was visibly shaken.
‘Getting it together right after you lose your tempo isn’t easy.’
When Ju Seong-Jin made two more mistakes, Kang Soo-Hoon decided to skip Ju Seong-Jin’s lines.
“Okay, maybe today is not the day. Let’s just move on to Scene 52.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Kang.”
If they were filming on set, the director would simply give an NG cut and suggest that the actor take a short break before resuming. However, this was a script reading where directors would often skip their lines and move on to the next scenes if the actors made a mistake.
Thanks to the reporters being in the room, Ju Seong-Jin’s confidence and ego were greatly hurt.
The chain of errors continued among the other actors, but Ju Yung-In maintained her stellar performance. It wasn't until Jung Beom-Gyu and Lee Sa-Rang, who played the role of Sky's parents, joined in that the acting rhythm began to stabilize. Their natural interaction with Ju Yung-In—laughing, crying, and scolding—made them seem like a real family.
Writer Kim Soll-Ip was visibly delighted as she watched the actors bringing her characters to life through their performances and acting as if they were actually shooting an actual scene.
Now, it was Yoo-Jin's turn to act.
The tension in the room was palpable, especially after witnessing the brilliant performances by the veteran actors. My palms started to get sweaty without realizing it.
Flip.
When Yoo-Jin, who was seated opposite Ju Yung-In, closed her script, all eyes in the room were drawn to her.
“No way. Has she also memorized the entire script?"
"We can't be complacent. These hoobaes might actually outshine us."
Yoo-Jin took a deep breath as she waited for her turn and briefly closed her eyes before opening them again.
At that moment, the atmosphere around Yoo-Jin transformed. Her gaze, posture, and expression shifted, embodying the character of Kim Twilight so completely that it felt as if the character had come to life.
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