Chapter 16: Truths Beneath the Surface

The reason Taeha thought it was a complete misunderstanding.

There was nothing particularly special about it.

In front of the meeting room hallway, Seon Min-gi passed by Taeha’s greeting without a reply.

It was the same situation as when they greeted each other before the reading.

But Taeha felt far more bewildered.

Because it wasn’t the simple ignoring from earlier.

Seon Min-gi’s actions were laced with inexplicable irritation and anger toward him.

“You’re… angry at me?”

He wanted to ask why on earth that was.

But Seon Min-gi had already vanished outside the building.

***

A deserted parking lot.

Standing in front of his van, Seon Min-gi could not hold back his anger and kicked the tire.

“Ha, damn it!”

The curse burst out, unable to be contained.

“Hy-hyungnim. Please get in for now.”

Worried someone might be around, Seon Min-gi’s Manager, Kim Nam-sun, hurriedly opened the car door while glancing around.

Even after getting into the van, Seon Min-gi’s emotions didn’t easily settle, and his breaths came out rough.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Kim Nam-sun looked at Seon Min-gi anxiously.

He’d worked as his Manager for quite a long time, but this was the first time seeing Seon Min-gi act so roughly.

His personality was always blunt, that was true, but he was never hot-tempered.

Perhaps because he’d suffered through a nameless period, he actually knew how to be considerate to people he worked with.

He’d never made unreasonable demands, and even in situations where anger would have been justified, he always exercised restraint.

It meant that he had never put Kim Nam-sun in a difficult spot with such impulsive behavior before.

“He has changed a bit recently though…”

Lately, Seon Min-gi had become more irritable and sensitive than usual.

It wasn’t obvious to others, but Kim Nam-sun, who was with him all day, could feel it.

“He tries not to show it, but he’s definitely getting more annoyed.”

The moment Seon Min-gi changed was obvious.

Ever since was released…

To be honest, Seon Min-gi had his picky points too.

He showed perfectionist tendencies in his Career.

From his works to even commercials, he always got involved himself and deliberated again and again.

This, too, was a result of the time he spent as a nobody.

It was a declaration of his will to never return to that period, to never accept even a single failure.

Not that it was a problem.

It was a professional attitude, and thanks to it, he’d made excellent choices and kept succeeding.

But then, the movie , which premiered half a year ago, left a stain on his Career.

It was his first time starring in a movie, but contrary to expectations, it didn’t even reach the break-even point—it just totally flopped.

Moreover, was a perfect one-top project.

A movie for Seon Min-gi, by Seon Min-gi, about Seon Min-gi.

When such a film failed at the box office, all the criticism and ridicule naturally fell on Seon Min-gi.

[So this is as far as Seon Min-gi goes, huh.]

[That’s what I’m saying, Seon Min-gi alone isn’t enough. He only did well before because he worked with big-name actresses or actors.]

[That’s why, without a fandom, you can’t really make it big. There’s no ticket power, none at all. He can’t go up alone.]

It was only one failure.

Like anyone, not every project an actor starred in could be a success.

But for Seon Min-gi, who always pursued perfection, it was a painful defeat, and his first ever.

And the public opinion that formed from it made Seon Min-gi anxious.

It even made him realize his own Career limitations.

Seon Min-gi had succeeded in putting a period on his nameless days by appearing in the national Drama, which everyone called a historical epic.

At that time, Seon Min-gi only appeared in two episodes in the latter half.

But it was more than enough to show off his honed acting skills, and with a powerful entrance and death, he completely captivated the viewers.

It was during this time that the phrase “Perfect Victory by Blood,” meaning that Seon Min-gi’s best acting comes out when he bleeds, was coined.

Thus, having made his name known, Seon Min-gi went on to succeed in various Dramas across genres.

All of them were with actors as big or bigger than Seon Min-gi.

So even if the Drama was a hit, Seon Min-gi never received the spotlight alone.

Maybe that’s why there was always talk that he couldn’t do it without the help of other actors, that he was lacking when standing alone.

To break out of such prejudice and preconceptions, he chose .

“But in the end, I just proved their bias…”

Kim Nam-sun could understand why Seon Min-gi was under constant stress.

The pressure for his next project would be significant, so it made sense that his sensitivity exploded during today’s reading.

But it was strange that Taeha, of all people, ended up being the trigger.

“Hyungnim, did Kang Taeha… do something to bother you?”

Seeing Seon Min-gi’s expression soften a little, Kim Nam-sun cautiously asked.

Seon Min-gi pulled his face away from the window and sat down with a sigh, muttering.

“There’s no justification left.”

“Huh?”

“For requesting script changes. He acts so well…”

“Ah. Well, whether he acts well or not, he’s a rookie and you’re Seon Min-gi, hyungnim. Everyone is watching this Drama for you. Why would you need a justification to ask for more lines and reduce the rookie’s? It’s only natural.”

Though Kim Nam-sun tried to comfort him, Seon Min-gi only gulped down the bottled water prepared in the car, clearly frustrated.

Seon Min-gi was planning to make up for his mistake of choosing with .

He didn’t know about his eye for movie scripts, but he was confident in his ability to judge Drama scripts.

So this time, he’d planned to prove that he could do just fine on his own, without the help or aura of other actors.

That’s why he even welcomed a rookie being cast as Lee Jae-hyun.

It would allow him to be more in the spotlight.

In fact, the opportunity to take away not only the focus but also some of the screentime that would have gone to the sub-male lead, Lee Jae-hyun, was a good thing.

“When the timing was right, I was going to suggest reducing Lee Jae-hyun’s screentime in the latter half and increasing Jinseong’s lines.”

It would be better for the work, too, for him to act rather than let a rookie with no presence hog the screentime.

If all went according to plan, Seon Min-gi’s request would have been a reasonable one.

“But…”

Just now, Taeha was anything but invisible—if he let his guard down, he’d be overwhelmed by his presence.

For a rookie, getting praised for drawing a single tree well was enough, but Taeha even had the ability to draw the entire big picture.

Under such circumstances, to demand a reduction in Taeha’s screentime was no different than blatantly trying to make the Drama all about himself.

Anyone could see it was greedy.

He still had enough reason left to know that much.

If only Taeha’s acting had been mediocre, it would have been easier.

He could have chalked it up to the luck of a rookie and been satisfied with the extra screentime he’d get for himself.

“Ha…”

Recalling the situation again, another sigh escaped Seon Min-gi’s lips.

Of course, he already knew the script was focused enough on himself, even without any changes.

But still, he felt stifled.

Ever since the failure of , he couldn’t stand it whenever things didn’t go exactly as he wished, even a little.

He remembered Taeha’s half-vacant expression from earlier, taken aback by his own irritation.

Even though he knew he’d taken out his annoyance on Taeha, who’d done nothing wrong, the irritation wouldn’t subside.

“Am I really this pathetic of a person?”

Various doubts crept in.

***

“Why is Seon Min-gi acting like that?”

Even while coming out of the restroom after washing his hands, Taeha tilted his head.

He didn’t know Seon Min-gi well, but according to people who had worked with him, he was said to be blunt but basically a good person.

Judging by how he’d treated their team, it didn’t seem to be a lie.

“But the way he treats me, he really seems to have no manners.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No way. Today’s the first time we met.”

Im Chan-hyung, apparently pondering the same thing beside him, answered right away.

“Right? Did his Manager say anything? The Manager was with him earlier, right?”

“The Manager seemed pretty friendly to me. When someone asked if I got in through connections, he even stepped up and explained that you were cast for your acting alone, from the audition.”

Since he was the one who welcomed Taeha’s casting, he’d have no reason to be resentful.

“Oh, but when I went to get some water, thinking I couldn’t hear, he said this to Ju Hyo-jin’s Manager.”

“What did he say?”

“He said, ‘Don’t worry too much, Lee Jae-hyun’s screentime will get reduced later anyway. Isn’t that why they cast a rookie?’”

“My screentime will be reduced?”

“Yeah. I guess he talked to the writer or something.”

Even if the screentime was reduced, a sub-role was still a sub-role.

For Taeha, a rookie, it was still a role to be grateful for.

“But that doesn’t make sense.”

Objectively, it didn’t add up.

“Sure, the script can always change from the original plan.”

As of now, with seven episodes out, even looking at the script’s flow, Lee Jae-hyun’s part had only gotten bigger, never smaller.

“But the Manager said that, huh.”

It wasn’t likely that Ju Hyo-jin’s Manager, who was nervous about the rookie casting, would just make something up.

After thinking of Seon Min-gi for a moment, Taeha soon chuckled.

Given Seon Min-gi’s track record and his eye for scripts, it wasn’t something he would normally do.

But if he thought about it as any other actor, it was a common move.

“…So he was planning to get the script changed to reduce my screentime.”

He couldn’t be sure why he’d been ignored in the first place.

But after the script reading, he was certain about why Seon Min-gi had looked at him with irritation.

“He must’ve decided he couldn’t easily have my lines cut after I showed acting that even the Professor acknowledged.”

“This… I should make him change his mind.”

If it were anyone else, Taeha wouldn’t care, but since his counterpart was Seon Min-gi, he couldn’t just let it go.

He was the actor Taeha would have to interact with most.

“It’ll be tough to act together if he keeps being uncomfortable with me.”

Of course, even if Seon Min-gi disliked Taeha, he was so good at acting that there’d be no real problem during filming.

Just like nothing went wrong during the reading.

But acting is ultimately something people do.

More than anything, it’s about expressing and conveying emotion.

No matter how well someone acts, the “real thing” can’t always be replicated.

There’s a reason why, after a Drama ends, there are often rumors that the main couple actually dated.

Whatever it is, the more genuine the emotion in a scene, the better it gets conveyed to the audience beyond the monitor.

In the Drama, Seon Min-gi and Taeha’s characters were like sworn brothers.

Jinseong had to cherish Taeha more sincerely than anyone else.

“If it’s Seon Min-gi, he could deliver an almost perfect performance…”

But Taeha wanted Seon Min-gi to show not “almost perfect acting,” but “perfect acting.”

was a project that depended on it.

For a moment, Taeha wiped the smile from his lips and muttered in a low voice, making Im Chan-hyung suddenly worried.

“You’re going to make someone change their mind? Who…?”

“Reporter.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to find Seon Min-gi sunbae.”

“Wow, and… and say what?”

Im Chan-hyung stuttered, and Taeha threw his arm over his shoulder, answering brazenly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll do all the talking.”

It didn’t sound like it would be anything good.

But before the pale Im Chan-hyung could stop him, Taeha was already striding confidently out of the building.

***

A little while later.

Taeha and Seon Min-gi faced each other outside the script reading site.

At the same time, a chilly tension, impossible to believe the early summer had just begun, rose up between them.