episode_0008

“Ugh… Ugh… .”

I’m running down the alley, out of breath.

Someone is chasing me from behind.

He looks back and struggles to put some distance between himself and me.

At the end of the alley, a large playground appeared.

There are a few children playing near the swing, but they don’t seem interested.

I ran towards the stands that looked like stairs, but my leg got twisted and I fell down.

“Hey kid, are you hurt?”

Someone runs and picks me up.

It was soccer player Ahn Jung-hoon who was jogging nearby.

“But what is that guy doing in broad daylight!”

I guess he thought the person who followed me was a kidnapper.

He looks at the can rolling nearby and gauges the distance.

Could it be that…?

I was trying to tell him that he wasn’t a bad person, but the man’s feet were faster.

He kicked the can as if he was shooting at the goal.

The can flew along a picturesque trajectory and hit the head of the pursuer.

It was a spectacular shot.

“Kkaaah!”

The man grabbed his head and rolled around on the floor.

The man who had shot the can looked at me with a triumphant expression.

But I ran towards the man rolling on the floor with my eyes rolled.

“Hey kid!”

Ahn Jung-hoon, who didn’t understand the situation, looked at me running from behind with a dumbfounded expression.

He grabbed the man in distress and shouted.

“Uncle! Are you okay?”

Then, a scene of me and my uncle fighting at the entrance of the dental clinic overlaps.

“You said you’d buy me a toy! Uncle, you’re a liar!”

“Let’s ask the doctor to treat you so that you don’t get sick, okay? If you get treatment and come out, I’ll definitely buy you a toy.”

“I hate it!”

I shook off my uncle’s hand and started running towards the alley.

The scene changes again to a close-up of Ahn Jung-hoon’s face as he is taken away by the police.

The expression on his face is amazing.

Back in the middle, the scene of kicking the can is nicely split into a cutscene, and a streamlined camera is shown along with subtitles.

It was an advertisement for Osung Techwin’s camera.

The light faded and I returned to reality.

*****

“What a ridiculous face, huh? Like you said, he looks much better in real life. What kind of 6-year-old is that handsome?”

“You’re amazing for coming to check it out.”

“I was curious, so that’s why. It was good that I went to see it. The acting was also good.”

“Today’s one was short and there wasn’t much to see. You’ll be amazed when you see them singing along with the rhythm.”

“It’s been a while, and this commercial has a lot of emotional close-ups, so facial expressions need to be good. I don’t know about that.”

“See for yourself. They’re going to ask you to do that at the audition anyway, right?”

“That’s right. This time I’m going to see some improvisation.”

———————————

“Haam~”

After finishing filming and coming back and eating a snack, I started feeling sleepy.

I was lying down to take a nap when I remembered the commercial I saw earlier.

‘Is this an advertisement for auditions this time?’

Director Lee Joo-young later hit it big with a series of commercials that packaged B-movie sensibilities in a sophisticated way.

But this B-grade emotional DNA didn’t suddenly fall from the sky; it had been growing since I was at Tomorrow Planning.

The camera advertisement I saw in the light was very similar to the hit digital camera advertisement of the Mackerel Kidnapping Squad.

‘So this is how you correct memories again.’

Before the establishment of the Mackerel Kidnapping Squad, Director Lee Ju-young directed it.

Ahn Jung-hoon, who later gained fame through a Dica commercial, appeared.

An actor who would go on to make a name for himself as a top supporting actor took on the role of the uncle.

Finally, the face of the original child actor who appeared in the commercial came to mind.

He was a guy who had a bad relationship with me in my past life.

‘I guess I’ll see that face again at the audition.’

When I remembered being hit by that guy on set, I suddenly lost sleep.

When he heard something unpleasant from the PD or director, he would take it out on the supporting actors.

In scenes where there is a fight or a quarrel, he beats up his opponent without mercy.

He was a cowardly bastard who hid behind his agency, saying that he was obsessed with acting.

The powerless supporting actors or bit parts were acting like rascals to the point of trying to please him.

‘Kang Ji-hoon, this life won’t be that easy.’

Aside from appearing in director Han Jae-ryong’s film, I now have another goal.

For Eugene’s sake, that kid needs to be properly punished.

On the day of the audition, Tomorrow Planning Headquarters —

The underground auditorium next to the studio was busy preparing for auditions from morning.

“Hello, Director. I’ll be counting on you today.”

Sehee Joo, the public relations team leader of Oseong Techwin, greets us with a bright smile.

And then they get excited, saying that a lot of good-looking child actors will come.

“Yes, Team Leader, you’ve worked hard too.”

Director Lee Joo-young answered with a trembling expression.

Actually, I haven’t been feeling well for the past few days.

We selected and narrowed down the cast to 5 based on their child actor conditions, but that damn advertiser spread the word everywhere and the portfolios piled up at the last minute.

I sighed as I looked at the portfolios piled on one side of the desk.

‘Is it possible for me to see more than 20 people a day when I’m not even an adult actor?’

While doing so, he subtly pressures her by asking her about Kang Ji-hoon, a child actor who is popular these days.

I wasn’t offered an audition because it didn’t fit the tone of the advertisement, but the advertiser sent me a portfolio.

‘There must have been something going on with the agency there.’

It’s frustrating that I can’t even get my hands on one of the company’s flagship advertisements.

He looked through the documents, vowing that he would never look at advertisers like this again once he became independent.

———————————

As soon as I opened the waiting room door, everyone’s eyes were fixed on me.

After appearing on TV, I got so many looks like this that I became indifferent.

“Mom, isn’t it time to stop shaking?”

“But… You’re an adult, so it seems like you’re glaring at everyone. Are you okay, Hajin?”

“Of course it’s okay. I came here to audition, not to see people.”

When I spoke loudly on purpose, his expression changed to that of someone looking at a strange creature.

I have no intention of being pushed around in a fight or something.

The atmosphere was definitely colder than the KBC waiting room, as they considered each other as competitors.

There was an empty space against the wall, so I told my mom to stay behind it and walked over there.

As I sat down, I heard the voices of the managers leaning against the wall and talking about something.

“Ji-hoon is coming?”

“What’s going on? He doesn’t do commercials often.”

“If it’s director Lee Joo-young, it’s worth filming. Last time, Eugene’s ice cream commercial was a huge hit.”

“Well, it was really nicely taken.”

“Eugene said she was so annoyed by the commercial. She wanted to take pictures like that too.”

“You little punk, you’re already revealing it.”

“You’re just paying for your face, huh?”

I’ve done a lot of dirty work to make myself look good.

Kang Ji-hoon, who had success as a child actor, debuted in a boy group called Black TNT while he was in high school.

The group was just okay, but the leader Kang Ji-hoon’s looks were so popular that they became a daily topic of conversation.

After becoming an adult, he properly earned his reputation by constantly breaking out dating rumors.

When I see a girl group member or actress that I think is attractive, I start by poking them.

Eugene suffered greatly from the dating rumors that broke out when Clover Day’s popularity was skyrocketing.

Because I even received death threats from BlackTNT’s malicious fandom.

The controversy did not die down for a while as he showed an ambiguous attitude as to whether he had feelings for Eugene.

Even after the group disbanded and he turned to acting, that habit never went away.

This is the guy whose dating rumors were reported right before I returned.

‘Hey, let’s stop thinking about it. What are you doing here at an audition?’

As I was thinking this, someone came and sat down next to me.

For a moment, the surroundings became quiet.

When I turned my head, Kang Ji-hoon was smiling at me.

An unlucky face came to me on its own.

“You’re really handsome. What’s your name?”

“Not changed.”

“It’s Hajin. Do you know who I am?”

“I don’t know.”

The smiling face suddenly crumpled.

Yeah, that face suits you.

I’m talking about that face that used to kick my ribs while laughing on set.

“Don’t you watch dramas? Five families under one roof.”

“Don’t look.”

“Then, what about the movie? It was in The Wizard Family.”

“I haven’t seen it.”

“Then ding dong daeng little… .”

“Is this your first time seeing me?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m on the show Waggle Waggle Kindergarten. But you don’t know me. That’s because you haven’t seen the show. I don’t know either because I haven’t seen the show you’re on. So don’t keep asking.”

Kang Ji-hoon is two years older than me.

Even if you’re an elementary school student, you won’t see many programs featuring kindergarten students.

So you can’t know me.

“How old are you?”

He suddenly changes direction, perhaps at a loss for words.

“6 years old.”

“What the heck… I’m 8 years old. This guy has been acting cocky towards his brother since a while ago.”

Then he tries to grab my arm.

But I was faster.

Even though I’ve become older, the strength I gained from playing baseball hasn’t gone away.

“Ahh… You, won’t… let go of this?”

I tried to free my wrist from the grip, but my hand wouldn’t budge.

“Don’t touch my body without permission. Do it again and I’ll break it.”

When I put strength into my hand while writing an impression, my expression changes to one of fear.

The manager walks over from the other side, perhaps sensing a strange atmosphere.

He put his hand away and looked ahead as if nothing had happened.

He observed me and then moved to a far away place.

He’s a guy who’s been used to being strong and weak and weak and strong since he was young.

A person who appeared to be an employee came in and started checking the list of audition participants.

He looks at my face, flinches in surprise, and confirms my name.

“You’re Hajin. Wow, what a pretty face.”

He was impressed and gave me a printout full of drawings.

When I looked into it, I found out that it was a kind of storyboard that showed the advertisement content in pictures.

There were fake stories inserted here and there to hide the twist.

‘I guess they’re going to make us improvise for a few scenes.’

After returning like this, the first audition I applied for began.