Chapter 22: A Charming Villain? (3)

Director Woo Hyun-sik.

He was known in the industry as one of the strictest directors around.

There was a particularly famous anecdote about him.

Rumor had it that, during the shoot for one project, he didn’t like a single scene and made them film it over a hundred times.

In the end, that movie swept Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and other awards, but every actor who’d ever worked under Director Woo Hyun-sik all said the same thing.

“The way he judges acting is more like a robot than a human.”

Acting, at its core, means becoming the character and performing as that character.

In other words, there are always parts where the actor surrenders to emotion or acts on impulse.

But Director Woo Hyun-sik would never allow such things.

Whenever there was any acting that wasn’t in the script or discussed in advance, he would always question it.

• Why did you say that line a beat slower?

If your answer wasn’t based on a precise calculation, he’d make sure you never acted that way again.

Yet, even he sometimes let things go without a single question—if the interpretation of the character was perfect, both in actions and tone.

Of course, such performances usually only came from actors with at least twenty years of experience.

So, the fact that Director Woo Hyun-sik was taking part in the audition meant this audition would be a graveyard for newcomers.

And it would take a long time, too.

“The first applicant is coming in.”

The door opened and the first applicant entered.

Since this was a closed audition, with actors recommended by directors or academies, the candidates were impressive.

But that was as far as it went.

There were plenty of actors with striking looks even among those Director Woo Hyun-sik already knew.

What he wanted wasn’t just an actor with a striking appearance.

He wanted someone whose looks were so handsome they felt unreal the moment you laid eyes on them.

Only then would the character of Jung Chan-yul, created by the writer and himself, have real plausibility.

If he couldn’t find such an actor, he might have to cut or modify Jung Chan-yul’s role.

The first applicant finished only the assigned performance and ended their audition.

The second, third…

None of them met his expectations.

At least the fifth.

Though still an unknown actor, this one had the best face among the applicants so far.

And his acting was superb.

The writer, who had joined him for the audition, seemed quite pleased and even circled the applicant’s name.

Woo Hyun-sik, however, drew a triangle instead.

He had potential, but wasn’t the best choice.

A backup, at best.

He’d have to settle if the right candidate never appeared…

‘Hasn’t the applicant Director Park Min-tae was supposed to bring come in yet?’

Jeon Yeo-hu.

He’d already checked the face in the profile photo and in a commercial.

With a face like that, there was no way he’d be lacking for the role of Jung Chan-yul.

No, in fact, he’d more than exceed expectations.

To be honest, in the last ten years, not a single male actor had debuted with looks like his.

According to the profile, his height was 180 cm.

A good, solid height that would look balanced on camera.

‘The problem is his acting. Did Park Min-tae really find a gem?’

There was no way to check his acting skills from a commercial, and even less so from a photograph.

No matter how important appearance was for this role, if he didn’t have the acting ability to match the lead actors, Woo Hyun-sik might not choose Jeon Yeo-hu after all.

Even as he thought this, Woo Hyun-sik kept remembering the young man he’d bumped into on the street.

That young man was also quite tall…

‘When’s he coming in?’

“Hello.”

Just then, the sixth applicant entered.

The moment Woo Hyun-sik saw him take off his mask, he recognized him at once.

He was dressed exactly the same as the striking young man he’d seen on the street moments ago.

A neat shirt under a black coat.

Not the kind of formal wear you usually saw at auditions,

But it must have been his interpretation of the role.

‘How can someone look like that?’

In this business, he’d met all the famously handsome actors from their twenties to forties at least once.

At first, he’d be amazed, but after a while, even pretty faces became boring. He’d stopped being impressed.

But now, he’d just unconsciously muttered, “Wow, he really is handsome…,” something he hadn’t done in ages.

‘I thought there’d be nothing to be amazed at, since I’d already seen his face in photos and commercials.’

The director naturally checked how Jeon Yeo-hu looked on camera.

As expected, not a single flaw.

A strange silence fell over the room.

“Applicant Jeon Yeo-hu?”

“Yes.”

Most applicants would have shown a flustered expression in this odd silence, but Jeon Yeo-hu instead wore a relaxed smile.

Almost as if he’d already been decided for the role.

“You’re very handsome.”

“Thank you.”

“You must hear that a lot.”

“Haha, yes…”

“…”

“…”

“All right, shall we take a look at the assigned scenes? Please interpret the script however you like and perform. If you can naturally connect the two scenes, that’s even better.”

“Understood.”

The two scenes he referred to were: the moment Jung Chan-yul first encounters a ghost, and the moment he hears the ghost’s tragic story with Lee Ha-ryeong and becomes enraged.

After work, Jung Chan-yul is heading home when a ghost follows him, but at first, he doesn’t realize she’s a ghost.

Then, as she tries to follow him to his car, he reaches out to say something.

In that moment, his hand flails in empty air.

Shocked, Jung Chan-yul stares at her face and, seeing it covered in blood, collapses right there.

Afterward, the conversation with Lee Ha-ryeong and learning about the Exorcism Department is skipped in the script.

Entangled with the Exorcism Department, Jung Chan-yul, Lee Ha-ryeong, and the male lead Choi Taek listen to the ghost’s story and, enraged, Jung Chan-yul causes a scene at the company.

Though short, these two scenes were condensed moments that could show what kind of person Jung Chan-yul was early on.

Even as he read the script, and even now, Jeon Yeo-hu thought,

Jung Chan-yul may be a pathetic guy, but he wasn’t uncool. His character was plenty charming, and if he could bring that to life, this performance

would be extremely fun.

“Then, I’ll begin.”

*****

[Thank you for your hard work. No, that’s your job, so you take care of it yourself. Isn’t that right, Manager Kim?]

After saying something an ordinary assistant manager would never dare utter, Jung Chan-yul hummed as he left work.

In truth, he wasn’t in the mood to hum.

‘How dare she… dump me?’

• I told you I like Lee Ha-ryeong. So why?
• Do I have to like you just because you like me?
• Come on, I’m rich. I’m good-looking. I do my job well. What’s missing?
• I hate you because you’re so pathetic right now.

[Pathetic? You’re saying I’m pathetic? Ha! Please! Sometimes you just step in crap, that’s life. Fine.]

He already had a date planned with a new woman this weekend, so he’d soon forget all about Lee Ha-ryeong.

Lee Ha-ryeong, you just kicked away a stroke of luck.

It’s not like rich, handsome men like me are all over the streets.

[Uh… Assistant Manager…]

[If it’s about work, I’ll listen tomorrow. I’m off now.]

Once the rumor that he was the chairman’s only grandson spread through the company, people started approaching him like this more often.

Lee Ha-ryeong was appealing precisely because she wasn’t one of them.

He glanced sideways to check out the outfit of the woman following him.

Black slacks, white shirt. Long hair.

The shine at the tips of her hair showed she took care of herself.

[Assistant Manager… You’re so handsome.]

[Haha, that’s a fact everyone knows, but thank you.]

[So… I just really wanted to… have a conversation with you.]

[Is that so? Well, too bad. I only have personal conversations with beauties.]

The woman’s pace slowed, as if flustered by his response.

If she was going to back down that easily, she couldn’t stand by his side anyway.

Lee Ha-ryeong would never have given up this quickly.

[Damn, what’s so special about Lee Ha-ryeong, anyway. Tsk.]

Forget it, Jung Chan-yul.

You’re the best-looking heir to a chaebol family in the world.

There’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Besides, this woman who’s been following him

Her whispery, unnaturally high-pitched voice was starting to bother him.

It’s not like she’s a ghost or anything.

If she works at a big company like this, she should at least walk tall and speak confidently.

Jung Chan-yul tried hard to ignore the woman sticking so close behind him and took out his car keys.

He’d ignored her enough—she should stop following him by now, but the stare fixed on him never wavered.

[Assista… aaant… Manager…]

[Sigh. I know I’m handsome and great, but I’d really like it if you stopped following m—]

Jung Chan-yul turned his head for the first time to face the woman.

His hand, reaching out, grasped at empty air.

…Empty air?

Jung Chan-yul’s gaze slowly drifted to the woman’s face.

The woman who’d followed him—her face had no eyes, no nose, no mouth.

Just old, blood-blackened stains covering her entire face.

3,

2,

1.

[U-uaaaagh!!!]

Jung Chan-yul fell backwards, crashing to the ground.

Thud.

According to the script, Jung Chan-yul falls to the parking lot floor.

Jeon Yeo-hu followed suit, toppling over in his chair as per the script.

Startled by the loud noise, the writer began to rise to check if he was all right, but Woo Hyun-sik quietly shushed her.

He gestured with his chin at the fallen Jung Chan-yul.

‘Let him keep going.’

You can’t stop a performance like this here.

Woo Hyun-sik’s lips curled ever higher. He quickly covered his mouth, thinking,

‘This guy’s the real deal.’

*****

As Woo Hyun-sik had hoped, Jeon Yeo-hu continued acting even after falling.

He staggered to his feet from the floor.

Just like someone who’d really seen a ghost, clutching one side of his hair, he slumped down on the spot.

Then, just like a man climbing into his car and grabbing the wheel, he blankly mimed gripping something, pretending to drive off somewhere.

[Sht. Sht. What is this? What’s going on, seriously? A ghost? Is it really a ghost? No way, sh*t. Even if I’m crazy about women, would I really see ghosts? No way. No way… Ha, ha-ha!]

Though the part where he drove home wasn’t in the script, Jeon Yeo-hu’s acting was so natural the writer had to double-check to see if she’d written that scene.

[Right! No way. I must have imagined it. There’s no way. Ha, even a handsome guy like me isn’t perfect all the time.]

He said this, then chewed his nails a few times, took a deep breath, and flipped the script to signal the scene was changing.

*****

[So, this ghost… was disgraced and driven out of our company? Because she was accused of leaking our project to a rival? But in the end, only strange rumors spread?]

Jung Chan-yul bit a cigarette and slammed his desk.

[Our company ranks number one for integrity among the big corporations. Something like this could never happen here.]

[Yes, well. It might not be true, but luckily, the ghost had some hidden CCTV footage and files.]

Jung Chan-yul checks the CCTV handed to him by Lee Ha-ryeong and Choi Taek.

He keeps fidgeting with the cigarette, never relaxing his expression.

On the CCTV, Manager Kim is shown secretly copying files to a USB, and a female employee catches him in the act.

After a heated argument, the two disappear from the frame.

After reviewing all the footage, Jung Chan-yul mutters softly.

[Sh*t… That bastard Manager Kim…]

Jung Chan-yul rises from his seat in the meeting room and heads straight for the planning team where Manager Kim sits.

[Who’s Manager Kim here? No, no, Kim ○○!]

Smoking inside a no-smoking office, Jung Chan-yul scans the room.

Even in the blurry CCTV footage, that bald head shone brightly from somewhere.

[Uh, over there…]

[Never mind. I don’t need you to tell me. Your head is just so shiny it stands out. Such presence, I love it. Hey, Manager Kim~!!]

No one in the company could stop the already infamous oddball, Jung Chan-yul. He marched right over to where Manager Kim sat in a corner of the planning team.

[You’re from HR, aren’t you…?]

[Hello, Manager. We’ve met before, right? Was it because of my grandfather?]

Jung Chan-yul grinned broadly and snuffed out his cigarette on his own suit.

It was an expensive suit, but it didn’t matter.

He could always get another made.

Manager Kim trembled in fear, looking up at Jung Chan-yul, who exhaled a puff of smoke and spoke.

[I didn’t have a reason to greet you before, Manager Kim, but now I do. Because of what happened three years ago, I’ve been really troubled these past few days.]

[Th-three years ago? If you mean three years ago…]

[You know what I’m talking about, right? Our company’s stock hit rock bottom. Another company snatched our project, and an employee jumped from a building. Huh, why? Could it be our Manager Kim was involved? Hm? Tell me. Say something.]

Jung Chan-yul kicked Manager Kim in the shin.

Even if he was the chairman’s grandson, such outrageous behavior would be unthinkable for a normal person.

Is this the so-called “cider” moment from novels?

No way.

No normal company would allow this.

It just meant Jung Chan-yul was a crazy bastard.

Choi Taek and Lee Ha-ryeong hurried over to stop Jung Chan-yul.

[Assistant Manager, that’s enough!]

[Hey, you guys are the ones who showed me—!]

[Assistant Manager, Assistant Manager!]

Lee Ha-ryeong smoothly guided Manager Kim into the conference room where the ghost’s evidence was playing.

[Manager Kim, please evacuate to the inner conference room for now!!]

[Yes, th-thank you!!]

In that moment, Lee Ha-ryeong tripped Manager Kim, sending him crashing to the floor.

Unaware of this, Manager Kim quickly fled into the meeting room.

Choi Taek and Jung Chan-yul exchanged sly smiles.

And with that smile, Jung Chan-yul became Jeon Yeo-hu once more.

*****

An audition is a game of probabilities, not a test with only one right answer.

That’s why, among the countless applicants, there are times when no one fits the role exactly.

Yet, sometimes, as if by miracle,

An actor who fits the character you imagined shows up on their own.

And you can always tell from the moment they read the character’s first line.

This role must go to this actor.

Woo Hyun-sik was one of those who hoped for such miracles, but in all his years, he’d rarely found anyone who fit so perfectly.

The more famous he became, the more he could cast whoever he wanted in whatever role he wished.

But he always felt a longing.

The experience of being captivated by a brand new actor who walked into the audition room, whom even he had never seen before.

Not writing a script with a certain actor in mind and putting them in the role,

But finding a new actor who perfectly embodied a newly created character—that kind of experience.

But that kind of thing was a once-in-a-lifetime miracle, if it happened at all.

Surely, this was a miracle.

‘Is a miracle happening before my eyes right now…?’

After watching Jeon Yeo-hu’s performance for a long time, Woo Hyun-sik finally opened his mouth.

“Jeon Yeo-hu, instead of a free acting performance, let me just ask you one question.”