Once I’d decided to become an actor, I realized there was a lot more to do than I’d expected.
Debuting at twenty-five with no career to speak of wasn’t exactly early, and I didn’t even have a proper profile photo yet.
“It’s lucky I did my military service before I got my memories back.”
If I’d regained my memories and then had to go, I would’ve been even more annoyed.
‘I need to think positively.’
I checked the drama schedule that had been shared with me by email.
Since I’d have to work without an agency this time, there were obviously going to be a lot of things to pay attention to.
I couldn’t afford to make a mistake at the script reading, which was scheduled for a month and a half from now.
The schedule seemed pretty tight—but I’d heard the role of Cha Haejun was the last to be cast, and all the filming dates were already set, so it made sense.
On top of that, full-scale filming wouldn’t begin until a month after the reading.
Honestly, even if you added up all the scenes for this role, it probably wouldn’t total even an hour in the entire drama.
‘I’ll make sure to prepare perfectly, but…’
Still, I thought it’d be a good idea to go to some other auditions too.
‘Something that would get my face out there around the same time, and that I could do with my current career level…’
As I pondered, one audition and one person came to mind at just the right moment.
[Jeon Yuhwu!]
“Hello, Director Park Min-tae. Is this a good time to talk?”
*****
[So you’re not sure whether you should look for an agency first or start auditioning, is that right?]
“Yes, that’s right.”
That much was just an excuse to get in touch with Park Min-tae.
After all, I wasn’t thinking about joining an agency just yet.
[Hmm, since you barely have any experience to speak of, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to build up at least a bit of a resume before you sign with anyone. You don’t need an agency to go to auditions, after all. Hmm… You seem worried about needing an agency because of an audition—have you picked out an audition already?]
“I have one in mind. But I think the competition will be tough.”
[What is it?]
“It’s a commercial. Looks like they’re looking for non-celebrity models.”
I sent the audition notice I’d saved in my gallery to Park Min-tae.
[Oh, a commercial! I didn’t expect that.]
“It’s an ad in the format of a web drama for a video platform, so I thought it might be a good fit.”
[Let me take a look. It might even be a project someone I know is running.]
If I accidentally got tangled up with a shady agency from the start, everything could go sideways—so in this situation, the person I trusted most was Director Park Min-tae.
Besides, even before my regression, Park Min-tae had been the most in-demand casting director, with connections all over the industry.
It was said that if you caught his eye, you could wrangle at least one good role, no matter what.
[Ah, it’s a TAM commercial audition?]
“Yes.”
What I’d shown him was the audition notice for a smartphone commercial from the major company TAM.
The audition was looking to cast three leads: two men in their early twenties and one woman.
There was also an audition for supporting roles, but I planned to try for one of the leads.
[If you land a TAM commercial, it’s a great opportunity. They’re always trying new things and want fresh faces, and their promotions are good, too. Even their drama-style ads sometimes get 600,000 views. And the theme is romance, I see?]
“Yes.”
[Romance… that’s perfect. For a young male actor’s first big break, there’s nothing better. If anyone reaches out to me about it, I’ll put in a good word for you.]
“Would that really be okay?”
It had to be.
I already knew that someone close to Park Min-tae was connected to that company, which was why I contacted him.
If I could use my memories from before my regression like this, I could lay my foundation as an actor even faster than last time.
Park Min-tae laughed heartily at my question.
[It’s fine if all I’m doing is giving you a recommendation. It’s not like my word is a guarantee or that you’ve bribed me, right?]
People who are good at their jobs are sharp like that.
I answered calmly, acting like it was nothing.
“Then, I’ll gladly accept the favor.”
*****
“Is this the place?”
Studio TamTamTam—where over ninety percent of TAM’s commercials were produced.
The audition was being held at TamTamTam’s three-story building.
Following Park Min-tae’s advice, I’d gotten new profile photos taken and created a separate Instagram account.
So far, it only had one follower and one following.
Right before the audition, I uploaded several of my profile photos.
I also added one hashtag, as advised.
ActorProfile #Actor
So that if anyone in the industry happened to see it, they could contact me.
Unlike the auditions I’d attended at agencies, TamTamTam’s was a large-scale event. That meant there were tons of people.
At my last audition, there had barely been ten people, but here, just the applicants in the hallway numbered in the dozens.
If you counted everyone auditioning on different days, there must have been hundreds.
“Here’s the script for today’s audition. Please wait inside, and after the appointed time, you’ll be called one by one. When your name is called, head to the room marked ‘Audition Room.’”
“Yes, thank you.”
As I opened the door to the room at the far right end of the hall, the eyes of all the waiting actors snapped toward me at once.
‘They’re all good-looking.’
They definitely had the kind of looks to dream of making it in showbiz.
‘But I’m the best looking here, aren’t I?’
As the handsomest guy in the room, the moment I took my seat, all those gazes swarmed in like a mass of cockroaches, then scattered again the instant I so much as looked up.
The tension in the waiting room was so thick you couldn’t ignore it, even if you tried.
Plus, as soon as I sat, I could hear the whispering.
‘Damn… Is that face natural?’
‘Please, at least let him be bad at acting. Please, please, please.’
‘Maybe I should switch to auditioning for a supporting role…’
I heard everything.
What kind of drama was this?
Did they think I couldn’t hear their whispers in this cramped room?
‘Well, whatever.’
I was used to compliments on my looks, so I could just pretend I hadn’t heard.
The script handed out on site was the same side-script I’d already received by email after passing the first screening, which I’d memorized perfectly.
It featured two scenes: one where the male and female leads meet by chance and chat at a university entrance seminar, and another where they talk on the way home after a night out drinking.
The goal of the ad seemed to be to make viewers feel the flutter of first love, while showing that TAM’s latest phone could capture those emotions with its camera.
But not everyone would be performing both scenes for the audition.
‘They said we’d only do one of the two scenes. Which one I get will be random.’
Other than what I already knew, there were no detailed descriptions of the main characters’ backgrounds or emotions—maybe because this was an ad.
All it said was, two freshmen fall in love.
That was the extent of the role description.
Adding flesh to the character for the performance was entirely up to the actor.
“Excuse me.”
Just as I closed the script, as if he’d been waiting for that moment, the guy next to me tapped my shoulder.
He looked to be in his early twenties.
“I think your phone’s ringing…”
He whispered softly and gestured to my phone in my pants pocket.
“It might be best to turn it off.”
Now that he said it, I could faintly hear a notification.
‘Is it Director Park?’
I quickly thanked him and checked my phone. It wasn’t a call—just notifications from the SNS account I’d posted on earlier.
But, do you normally get this many notifications?
‘This is my first time making an account myself, so I have no idea what’s what.’
Before my regression, I hadn’t managed my own SNS.
Now, after my regression, I hadn’t debuted yet, so I had no fans, and there was no reason my SNS should be blowing up.
‘Is it a glitch?’
Either way, it’d be best to turn off notifications, as advised.
No sooner had I changed the settings than they started calling names for the audition.
It was about to begin.
*****
“How many are left?”
“Twelve to go. I’m dying here. It’s even tougher because all the faces are just average.”
“But the next applicant coming in is really handsome. Honestly, if his acting’s even halfway decent, I’d pick him right away.”
“Seriously. His face is unreal. How does a guy even look like that?”
Among the three judges discussing Jeon Yuhwu, the team leader added,
“Well, let’s see what his acting’s like.”
As soon as the team leader finished, as if on cue, the door opened and Jeon Yuhwu stepped inside.
Then the woman whose name had been called next also entered the audition room.
“Applicant Jeon Yuhwu. Thank you for the opportunity.”
“Applicant … Thank you for the opportunity.”
“Do either of you have an agency… Ah, the woman does. The man… no?”
“No, not yet.”
The director sitting on the far left took one look at Jeon Yuhwu’s face and started writing ‘PASS’ in big letters five times in a row.
He looks even better than his pictures.
‘His only acting experience seems to be a minor role in a school play, so he probably can’t act. Is that why he has no agency? With that face, though, he’d go viral in a heartbeat.’
As long as he’s not terrible at acting, that’s good enough.
‘If he’s really awful, that’s a problem, too.’
After a brief discussion, the judges chose the first scene.
It was the one that started with the male and female leads sitting next to each other by chance on the day of the entrance seminar.
“All right, please begin your performance right away.”
*****
The day of the entrance seminar.
In a long row of desks in a lecture hall, the male lead sits alone at one spot.
Looking for an empty seat, the female lead approaches and starts talking to him.
[Is this seat taken?]
[No, no. It’s not. You can… sit here.]
Flustered, the guy’s face turns red as he quickly moves his bag aside and welcomes her.
[Thank you.]
Her wide, bright smile instantly captivates the guy, who can’t concentrate on the seminar at all after that.
He just fiddles absentmindedly with the memo app on his phone.
Watching him, the girl writes ‘What’s your name?’ in her own memo app and shows it to him.
Caught off guard, he types his name on his phone and shows her.
His memo includes a picture of a puppy from his gallery.
[My name is …]
When the girl laughs at his message, he loses himself in her smile all over again.
There aren’t many lines in this scene—it’s all about expressing the start of first love through glances.
Without realizing it, the guy can’t take his eyes off the girl.
Even though he’s not trying to smile, the corners of his mouth turn up, and a small laugh escapes along with a slight snort.
The girl laughs softly too.
Her hair sways in the breeze, and he catches a glimpse of her bright features through it.
But then, embarrassed, the guy pulls his phone back and stares hard at the memo he just showed her.
The way his neck turns red shows how nervous he is.
He covers his flushed neck with one hand, as if worried it’ll show.
On the screen, a V.O. announces the seminar is over, and students start standing for the campus tour.
The guy stands up slowly, gathers his bag, and, as the girl is about to leave, gently taps the back of her hand.
Cautiously.
Tap tap.
He lifts his gaze from below to meet hers.
His voice isn’t cool or confident, but shaky and unsure.
[Um, if you want, would you… like to look around with me? The campus.]
[I—I don’t know my way around either.]
[I just thought it’d be nice… if we went together.]
[If you don’t want to, I’m so—]
The girl smiles brightly and answers.
[I’d like that.]
[Huh?]
[I said I’d like that.]
*****
“Thank you for your time. This way out, please.”
“Thank you.”
The female applicant who auditioned with me left the room with a crestfallen look.
Understandably so—after her performance, they’d only asked her one question.
Whether she passed or failed, she was bound to feel bad.
‘Her acting was… a bit disappointing, by my standards.’
But even that was something she’d have to deal with on her own.
‘She’s actually pretty good for a rookie, and her tone isn’t bad, but when she goes higher, her voice trembles too much and ruins the acting. She’ll have to start from vocal training again. Don’t they teach even the basics?’
After saying goodbye and stepping outside, I turned my phone back on—and the notifications started blowing up.
‘Did I really get hacked?’
Hacked, right after making my account?
But my account opened fine, and there was no sign of anyone else accessing it.
Instead… my followers, which had been 1, suddenly shot up to 1,200.
1,200?
Why?
Why would 1,200 people follow me?
‘Because… I’m handsome?’
It wasn’t an unreasonable thought.
But even so, my photo shouldn’t have appeared in front of that many users in such a short time.
To check what was going on, I grabbed a seat at a nearby cafe and started reading through the comments on my account. With so many notifications, I had to read them from the latest one down.
- Seriously, if you looked like this, what are the rest of us supposed to do? How am I supposed not to click?
- Friend, meet my husband └ Your husband’s got terrible taste └ Are you nuts?
- Sooooooo handsome (clap) (clap) (clap)
- A face that really boosts academic performance
- A face that really helps with cooking skills
- No seriously, no seriously, no seriously
└ All right, just say it
If you look in the mirror, pay twenty times the tax
All of them were people who’d found my profile and couldn’t help themselves. But how did they find it so fast…?
Then, buried among all the notifications, I saw a comment from Jung Yunwoo.
Welcome (hi)
Jung Yunwoo had 25,000 followers on Instagram.
Once he liked and commented, and uploaded a photo of us together on his account, my account blew up.
Sometimes, Jung Yunwoo could be pretty useful.
At the time, though, I had no idea.
I never imagined the impact of Jung Yunwoo’s little promotion would grow this huge.
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