[Jeong Yun-woo: That dongsaeng you said you met during the commercial? I’m down! The more, the merrier. Guess I’ll have to pick up a few more bottles of booze.]
[Okay.]
“You’re not turning him down.”
“Yeah, I’m not.”
I should have said no.
It’s hard to refuse when a guy with such a good personality clings like this.
Not that this sort of thing happens often anyway.
– I really shouldn’t.
– ……
– ……
– Huh, are you uncomfortable or something? If that’s the case…
– No, no. Sigh… Fine, let’s drink. I’ll talk to my friend first.
By the time we arrived near the officetel where Lee Yeong-bin and I lived, Jeong Yun-woo was already waiting for us downstairs.
Like he hadn’t worried at all, as soon as the two met, they exchanged names and immediately hit it off.
‘Extroverts, huh…’
Before the regression, I didn’t remember the two ever meeting, so it was surprising how human relationships could change like this.
‘Well, I guess I wouldn’t have met Lee Yeong-bin in the first place either.’
Their personalities were similar, so it was easier to just leave them to chatter on their own.
With three actors crammed into a tiny one-room apartment, all the talk was about auditions and acting.
“I’ve got a script reading the week after next, so I’m taking a break from auditions for now.”
“I have a magazine photoshoot next week! As a model. Right after that shoot, I’ll start the script reading for a drama.”
“What kind of drama?”
“It’s about college students’ love stories in the 2000s. It sounded fun, so I applied. It’s a supporting role, but still!”
College students in the 2000s? Love stories?
“Is it by any chance ?”
“Oh? How do you know about that, hyung?”
“That’s great.”
“Does it look like it’ll do well?”
Lee Yeong-bin’s eyes sparkled. If I told him a rock was a dumpling, he’d probably believe it.
But since the drama really was going to do well, I had no reason to deny it on purpose.
“Seems like it. The title’s catchy.”
In reality, ended up being a huge hit with 20% viewership—quite the achievement.
But before my regression, Lee Yeong-bin hadn’t appeared in that drama.
‘If he had, he’d have become famous.’
All the lead and supporting actors from that show made it big.
“What’s your role?”
“I’m the protagonist’s friend. Not the main character, but I’m in it till the end. I’ll do my best. My pronunciation’s better now anyway. Hyung! Thank you so much!”
“If you couldn’t act in the first place, no advice would help you. You did well.”
“But you helped me because you’re nice, hyung.”
No.
I helped because if you messed up, the shoot would drag on and the commercial would tank.
Jeong Yun-woo, who had been quietly observing the way Lee Yeong-bin treated me, started to look at our relationship a little oddly.
“What, did you two become sworn brothers or something?”
“I’d be happy if we did!”
“Sworn brothers, my ass. We don’t even share a drop of blood.”
“That’s exactly why it’s sworn brotherhood!”
I tried my best to shrug it off, but Jeong Yun-woo had already decided to tease and started sidling up to Lee Yeong-bin.
“I’ve been curious for a while—why do you like Jeon Yeohu so much? All he’s got going for him is his face and his acting.”
“Hmm.”
“Why do you even ask? Face is enough.”
“Listen to him talk. So damn smug. The Yeohu I first met wasn’t like this.”
Jeong Yun-woo pretended to wipe away tears, acting like he was crying.
“You liked my face at first, too.”
“Hey. I liked your acting, you punk.”
At Jeong Yun-woo’s words, Lee Yeong-bin clenched his fists and jumped up from his seat.
“…?”
“Now that I’ve got the chance! I’ll tell you why I came to respect hyung!!”
Still holding an empty bottle with a spoon stuck in it, the guy began his speech.
Guess he wanted to say everything on his mind now that he was tipsy.
“And so, my pronunciation got completely fixed. Thanks to hyung, I didn’t have to give up acting! That makes him my savior and lifelong hyung!”
“Whoa.”
Jeong Yun-woo clapped enthusiastically.
I didn’t even have the energy to stop them.
Yeah… They’re young and passionate. That’s nice.
Instead of wasting words, I poured myself another shot of soju.
“Look at this. Our Yeohu’s been doing good deeds all over the place, huh? Acting all cold, but actually a softie?”
Jeong Yun-woo gave me another sly look.
‘Not like he’d believe me if I said I only did it because delays annoyed me.’
“Sigh. I’m tired.”
*****
After stuffing Lee Yeong-bin, dead drunk, into a taxi to go home, Jeong Yun-woo started getting ready to leave for his own place. Since he rented a room nearby, he had no reason to bother with a taxi.
“What is it?”
He was hanging around annoyingly in front of the door instead of leaving, so I spoke up first, thinking maybe he had something to say. That’s when Jeong Yun-woo finally spoke.
“I like that you’re acting too, you know. Heh, it just feels good. Finally, you and I look like real actors. Don’t you think?”
“With all the people you have around you, what’s got you so happy?”
“Hey, you wouldn’t get it. It’s the feeling of a regular guy watching someone with talent.”
Jeong Yun-woo chuckled.
Staggering as he jammed his feet into his shoes, Jeong Yun-woo raised his fist as he turned to go.
“Let’s both get in and brag again next time.”
The door closed and Jeong Yun-woo left.
Before and after the regression, that guy was always impressive. If it were me, I would’ve left someone like me alone.
But Jeong Yun-woo couldn’t ignore anyone who showed even a bit of effort or talent, not just me.
So, even when he was busy acting, he always took care of people around him and often went back to his old school to teach acting to the students.
After Jeong Yun-woo and Lee Yeong-bin left, I passed out right there.
Dealing with both of them at once was too much for my stamina.
*****
The day of the drama audition.
Director Woo Hyun-sik, who arrived early, noticed a man looking around near the audition building.
He was tall and broad-shouldered—enough that you’d think he was a model just from his back. Some people say you can tell someone’s age just by their back, and this young man looked to be in his twenties or early thirties.
For some reason, Woo Hyun-sik approached him first and struck up a conversation.
Today, he was dressed up more than usual, in a shirt he rarely wore, glasses, a mask, and a beret pulled low, so even if this guy was auditioning, he probably wouldn’t recognize the director.
“Hey, student.”
“…?”
“Are you lost or something?”
“Ah, um.”
Just like the director, the young man had his face covered with a hat and mask, and seemed deep in thought.
Woo Hyun-sik snuck a look at the phone the young man was holding—he had a notepad open with the location of the audition venue written on it.
“If you’re here for the audition, go left down that alley—you’ll find stairs to the basement.”
“Oh, you’re with the staff? Thank you.”
With the hat pulled low, glasses, and a mask, the young man didn’t recognize who he was talking to.
Woo Hyun-sik chuckled quietly.
‘If he’s an auditionee, he’ll be surprised when we meet again later.’
Park Min-tae and Woo Hyun-sik were close because both were very proud of their work and loved to play pranks.
With that, Woo Hyun-sik sipped his iced americano and hurried into the audition venue, looking forward to messing with the auditionee later.
*****
Pretending not to recognize him was probably the right call.
‘That was definitely Director Woo Hyun-sik I just bumped into.’
As I walked up the stairs to the audition hall, I recalled what happened earlier.
Since it was my first time at the place, I was wandering around lost when someone came up to me and said,
“Are you lost or something?”
I turned my head and saw an all-too-familiar face.
It was Director Woo Hyun-sik, clear as day.
And looking seriously suspicious, at that.
Director Woo Hyun-sik always had his signature look.
Jeans and a gray field jacket.
There were even actors who could identify him just from the jeans and field jacket.
But here he was, in a white shirt and black-rimmed glasses, hat pulled low, striking up a conversation with a proud look on his face—he obviously didn’t want to be recognized.
I hesitated, unsure what reaction to show, but Woo Hyun-sik noticed my phone screen and guessed things, then told me how to get to the audition room.
“If you’re here for the audition, go left down that alley—you’ll find stairs to the basement.”
I kept up the act and gave a half-hearted answer.
He genuinely seemed to want to go unnoticed.
Grateful that I avoided a troublesome situation, I made it safely inside the audition building and headed for the waiting room, following the signs.
Inside, there were other actors already waiting.
‘Where is that guy?’
The actor who was supposed to be cast for the role in today’s audition.
He’d end up getting cast as Jung Chan-yul after a few auditions.
The drama’s success made him a star, so if I knew only up to that point, I might feel a bit guilty…
Fortunately, as soon as he became known, he got exposed for being involved in fraud and was promptly expelled from the industry.
I remember the amount was huge. Was it in the ten billion won range?
‘Remembering pointless scandals like this just makes me more annoyed.’
It’s not like I knew every celebrity controversy, but wasn’t just any drama, so it stuck in my mind.
I’d been in the waiting room with the other actors for thirty minutes when finally, the actor who was originally supposed to be cast as Jung Chan-yul came in.
Now, the small waiting room, barely fifteen pyeong, was packed.
Since the audition would go on for three days, there were probably three times as many candidates as those here today.
“We’ll begin soon. You’ll be called one by one, so please wait in the room until your name is called.”
I’d already seen interviews with actors from before my regression, so I had an idea of how the audition would go.
Inside, there would be a camera—one of the major brands used for filming—and the first thing they’d do is check how your face looked on screen.
If that brand’s camera was even brought in for auditions, it meant the production was putting serious money into this drama.
If Woo Hyun-sik didn’t like how you looked on screen, he’d wrap things up quickly after just one reading. But if you suited the part, he’d bombard you with questions about your performance.
You might wonder why he put so much effort into casting for a supporting role, not even a lead, but Jung Chan-yul’s importance grew as the series went on, and this kind of audition was just Woo Hyun-sik’s style.
No role escaped his scrutiny—even the first round of resumes for bit parts had to pass through his hands.
To catch Woo Hyun-sik’s eye, what mattered was understanding the character.
Every possible attitude and habit that Jung Chan-yul might show in a scene.
The little quirks and postures, the arrogance born of his privileged background.
Only an actor who could embody all that would stand a chance with Director Woo Hyun-sik.
‘This should be fun.’
As I sat, someone came and took a seat next to me.
This wasn’t a real person.
It was a hallucination.
-Are you nervous?
The hallucination of Jung Chan-yul—the role I’d be auditioning for.
Even before the regression, I’d sometimes seen hallucinations like this. When was it? Back when I was desperate, preparing for a role—I lost consciousness, and when I woke up, there was a vision before my eyes. The face was blank, a black static screen where the face should be, but I could tell. This was exactly the character I’d envisioned from the script.
They appeared when my acting was stuck, or when things were going well.
Some people might have run to the hospital after seeing something like this, but I didn’t mind. If it helped my acting, I could handle as many hallucinations as needed.
After my memories returned post-regression, it even felt almost welcome to see one again.
Jung Chan-yul, legs crossed and sitting with an arrogant air, tapped the script in my hand with the tip of his foot.
-Tsk, thinking someone like you’s going to play me hurts, it really does. You just don’t have that innate nobility, that inborn class. You memorized all your lines, right? If you mess up, you’re scratching my reputation, you hear? Scratching it! Got it?
‘For someone who shakes at the sight of a ghost, you sure talk a lot.’
-You just don’t get it. Ghosts are scary in a scientific way, you know? Don’t you get scared of aliens? Huh? Wouldn’t you run if you met a UFO? Hey, answer me.
“Applicant Jeon Yeohu, please come inside.”
-Hey! Hey! At least answer me before you go!
Even the hallucination is noisy…
I hurried away from him and headed into the audition room.