Chapter 41: Script Reading
“Hello, writer. I’m Lee Soo-ji, the director of ‘Dreaming’.”
“Hello! I’m Jeong Da-hee!”
Jeong Da-hee greeted Lee Soo-ji, the director of ‘Dreaming’, before the script reading.
“Please feel comfortable, I’m no different from a rookie…”
Lee Soo-ji mainly directed short dramas, and ‘Dreaming’ was her first 16-episode drama.
“I feel a bit pressured.”
“Me too.”
‘Dreaming’ was promoted as JSTV’s anticipated work in no time. It was famous for its ‘virtual reality’ gate, and the cast was splendid.
“I was surprised that Jin Soo-ho said he would do it first.”
“It would be nice to debut with a bang. How is the script writing going? Don’t give it to me too late because of the pressure.”
“Of course.”
Jeong Da-hee nodded with enthusiasm at Lee Soo-ji’s playful words. It was the debut she had been looking forward to. She wouldn’t do a sloppy job because of the pressure from the top star casting.
“By the way, how is Yoo Yeon Seo? You’ve met him, right?”
“Yes.”
There was a witness report on the day Yoo Yeon Seo suggested JSTV. There was even a rumor that he was making a woman cry at a cafe, but when it turned out that the woman was Jeong Da-hee, the writer, the rumor disappeared quickly.
“Is he as nasty as the rumors say? What if he doesn’t let you direct properly?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. You can’t trust the rumors.”
“Really?”
Lee Soo-ji, who had heard a lot of bad reputation from many seniors, couldn’t believe Jeong Da-hee’s words.
“He pretends not to, but he takes good care of me.”
“Really?”
“That’s why ‘Dreaming’ was decided so quickly for production and scheduling.”
Jeong Da-hee had heard the rumor that Yoo Yeon Seo handed the script to Choi Yoo-jin. It was no wonder that the scheduling was done, since he sent it directly to the vice president.
“You can direct as you please, director.”
“Don’t joke with me.”
“Seriously.”
You think I’ll take it all with a dumb face? Jeong Da-hee held back her laughter.
“Yeon Seo! Seung-hyun!”
“Long time no see.”
As Jeong Da-hee approached Yoo Yeon Seo with a friendly smile, the extras who had worked with him and the people who knew the rumors lowered their heads. And they prepared for the loud noise that would soon come.
‘He’s smiling?’
‘What’s going on?’
But things were going differently than expected.
Yoo Yeon Seo was known for putting up a wall against everyone around him, regardless of gender or age.
Especially when someone he didn’t know well came close to him like Jeong Da-hee, he would get angry with irritation, but now he was smiling softly and accepting her.
‘Are they dating?’
That’s what some people thought.
The people who were shocked by the unexpected sight saw the actor walking behind Jeong Da-hee and jumped up.
“Did I come too late?”
“Teacher.”
Jin Soo-ho also got up and greeted her. She was Lee Seon-ja, a veteran actress who would play Jin Soo-ho’s mother in the drama.
“No, we came early.”
“Is that so? I thought I was late because he was already here.”
Lee Seon-ja smiled at Yoo Yeon Seo. Yoo Yeon Seo arrived at the scene just in time, but it was close to being late.
When the others got up, Yoo Yeon Seo followed suit and narrowed his eyes at Lee Seon-ja’s face. Even that looked unpleasant to the others.
‘I’ve seen her a lot.’
She was a veteran actress who had appeared in countless videos he had seen. And…
‘She was in a drama with Lee Hee-seo.’
She played Lee Hee-seo’s mother in ‘Under the Persimmon Tree’, a weekend drama that achieved 60% ratings after ‘Happy Farewell’.
“Hello, teacher.”
“…Yeah. Long time no see.”
Lee Seon-ja looked displeased as she looked at Yoo Yeon Seo and sat next to Jin Soo-ho. Lee Tae-gyeom came over and whispered to Yoo Yeon Seo.
“You met her when you did ‘Doll’. She played the role of a hat.”
“Oh, really?”
Lee Seon-ja was famous for taking good care of herself, as she played the mother role for both Lee Hee-seo and Yoo Yeon Seo.
Lim Seung-hyun looked at Lee Tae-gyeom with a strange look.
Everyone who would participate in the reading arrived, and the assistant director grabbed the microphone.
“This is Lee Soo-ji, the director of ‘Dreaming’.”
“Hello, I’m looking forward to working with you. This is my first challenge for a long drama, and I’ll do my best.”
“And this is Jeong Da-hee, the writer.”
“Hello! I’m honored to debut with such a great opportunity and work with senior writers and actors.”
Jeong Da-hee got up cheerfully and explained her feelings and background when she wrote the script. The atmosphere was good. For one thing, Yoo Yeon Seo, who didn’t respond well, was responding dryly.
“Lee Yoon-hwa will be played by Lee Seon-ja.”
The filming site was surprisingly horizontal between the director, writer, and top actors. But there was one exception. It was the older top actor.
“Hello. I’m not even surprised to play a grandmother role now, but thank you for casting me as a mother role. Don’t be too harsh on me for being old.”
So the actor introduction was done first by Lee Seon-ja, not the lead. Lee Seon-ja made a joke while sitting down. The people laughed and clapped and cheered.
“Next, Jin Soo-ho will play Park Si-hwan.”
“Hello.”
Jin Soo-ho got up and made eye contact with each one.
Yoo Yeon Seo raised one eyebrow. Jin Soo-ho made eye contact with even the extras, but he skipped one person. It was Yoo Yeon Seo.
The assistant director hesitated for a moment and opened his mouth.
“Yoo Yeon Seo will play Chun-baek.”
“Hello. I’ll do my best.”
It was plain, but there was power in it. Lee Seon-ja looked at Yoo Yeon Seo as if she was surprised.
The script reading was to grasp the flow of the drama. The script changed a little depending on the actor’s character interpretation or habits, and sometimes the actor changed after the reading if the character interpretation was wrong.
And Yoo Yeon Seo, who was famous for changing the script, and Jin Soo-ho, who was famous for not touching the script, met.
The people looked at Yoo Yeon Seo with tense faces.
There was a commotion at the filming site or during the preparation process, and Yoo Yeon Seo was there? Yoo Yeon Seo was the cause 100%.
“You have to solve it.”
“Me?”
But Yoo Yeon Seo was calmly turning the script.
And he, who was sitting slumped in his chair, suddenly straightened his back and looked at Jin Soo-ho across from him.
“Hello, master.”
He changed his expression in an instant. He had a faint smile on his lips, but his eyes were not smiling. His body movements were strangely stiff, and his handsome face, which made Yoo Yeon Seo curse, looked unreal.
Some people were startled by the sudden change of atmosphere and looked at Yoo Yeon Seo. But Jin Su-ho did not break his immersion and stared into Yoo Yeon Seo’s eyes with a serious expression.
“What’s your name?”
“I don’t have one.”
Yoo Yeon Seo tilted her head slightly and blinked a few times. It was a motion that looked like something from a 3D game character customization screen.
“Then should I make one up for you?”
“That would be nice.”
“Alright… How about Chun-baek?”
“Chun-baek, is it?”
“Yeah, the more old-fashioned the name, the longer you live, right?”
A crack appeared on her robotic face. It was the moment when the android showed a human emotion on her face.
When the reading was almost over, Yoo Yeon Seo, who had been quiet, raised her hand.
“I have a suggestion.”
Of course she did. It wouldn’t be Yoo Yeon Seo if she didn’t interfere. But instead of saying ‘let’s change the script’, she said she had a suggestion. The people who were tired from the long reading time lifted their heads.
“In the play, Chun-baek is like a robot close to a human, right? But the script doesn’t give any robotic vibe at all.”
“That’s true.”
The android role of Chun-baek that Yoo Yeon Seo would play gradually becomes more human as she solves the case with Park Si-hwan, played by Jin Su-ho. But sometimes she shows immoral behavior, and the people who watched the play from the middle would be confused and wonder ‘why is she like that?’
“So I think we need to change some external factors, what do you think?”
“Actually, I thought about that too…”
Jung Da-hee shook the pen she had on her finger.
“Should we put a dot on her face or something?”
“A dot is too weak. How about dyeing her hair?”
As Yoo Yeon Seo and Lee Su-ji talked, Jung Da-hee suddenly spaced out and scribbled on the script.
“Let’s dye it. Primary colors would be good. Except for blue, red or green, or even white…”
“Red or green might be too flashy on the screen… Silver would be nice. Her name is Chun-‘baek’ after all.”
“That would look mysterious and cool.”
“What do you think, Yeon Seo?”
What can I do when the writer and the director want it.
“Sure, whatever.”
***
I shouldn’t have agreed.
“Does it hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
Yoo Yeon Seo tried to relax his face.
He didn’t know how many times he had bleached his hair to make it silver. What if his hair falls out?
“It’s done.”
After a long bleaching, he got the hair color she wanted.
Yoo Yeon Seo jumped out of his seat and stretched.
“Wow, your hair must be damaged.”
“It still hurts.”
Yoo Yeon Seo frowned.
He was already feeling unwell because of the aftereffects of memory synchronization, but he had to sit for hours to bleach his hair.
“Let’s go to the set right away.”
“We still have time, don’t we? Fine.”
Yoo Yeon Seo lay down on the chair and closed his eyes.
The memory synchronization she did in the morning was fruitless.
He only remembered staring blankly at the air in the classroom in his freshman year, and Yoo Geon-min crying and hugging his.
I felt bad…
The synchronization had gone too far, and I could vaguely feel Yoo Yeon Seo’s emotions at that time.
I felt like I was being consumed by sadness.
After taking a short nap, I arrived at the set of ‘Dreaming’ and greeted the staff who passed by.
“Hello.”
“Hello. You came early, Yeon Seo.”
Me too?
As I entered the set, Jin Su-ho and Lee Seon-ja were already sitting on chairs and looking around.
Jin Su-ho was the lead actor, so I understood, but Lee Seon-ja had more scenes in the latter half of the play. She was really experienced.
“Hello.”
“Yeon Seo, hello. Your hair suits you well.”
“But, you came early?”
“I wanted to get a feel of the shooting atmosphere and flow. How about you?”
I nodded vaguely.
Jin Su-ho and Lee Seon-ja looked at me with surprise.
They had been talking about Yoo Yeon Seo’s bad attitude in ‘Doll’ just a while ago.
“You’ve changed?”
"My hair? Or my personality?
“Both.”
“…That’s good, right, teacher?”
“Yeah.”
Lee Seon-ja had become more hostile since the script reading.
I sighed softly and crossed my arms next to Jin Su-ho.
“So, what are you shooting now?”
“They’re shooting the insert for the memory room.”
‘Dreaming’ was a 16-episode drama, and the early part was an omnibus format that showed how Park Si-hwan, a virtual reality solver, pulled people out of reality.
And in the play, the ‘memory room’ was a device that showed people’s past memories, and it was a place where they collected information about the cases beforehand.
“…Huh?”
I furrowed my brows.
It was probably a scene that showed a case’s trauma.
The staff brought a mannequin with clothes on and tied it in the air.
Around the neck, as if it was hanged.
My heart pounded.
I covered my mouth with my right hand.
“Wait…”
“What’s wrong?”
Jin Su-ho looked at Lee Seon-ja in confusion.
Lee Seon-ja also got up awkwardly and examined my face.
I felt nauseous from the aftereffects of memory synchronization.
I lowered my head.
It was hard to breathe, as if someone had twisted my neck.
“Do you have to shoot that now?!”
Finally, the staff stopped their work and looked at me when I shouted.
The noisy set became quiet in an instant.
“…Fuck.”
I swore and ran out of the set.
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