Ch.16If you’re not properly prepared, get out.

I’m stunned.

What was that? What just happened?

The sensation of momentarily living another life. My mind couldn’t comprehend it, but my body had fully absorbed the experience.

‘Did I momentarily become Lee J?’

Lee J, a boy obsessed with talent more than anyone else. I was completely immersed in his life and then pulled out.

‘What on earth is this?’

The strange thing was that despite having such an experience, there were no aftereffects. Usually with method acting, lingering emotions make it difficult, but I had extracted only the essence without any of that.

Flutter, flutter.

How far had I immersed myself? Checking the results, it was the section divided by clips.

About one episode worth.

‘The script goes up to episode 5.’

If that was the case, there was only one thing to do.

“Immerse.”

+++++

The day of the script reading.

The venue was bustling with activity around a rectangular table.

“Move faster! How can the setup be so slow with this many people?!”

“Yes, sir!”

Since it had been agreed not to film a making-of for the first script reading, the atmosphere was even more tense.

A setting not exposed to the outside becomes more intense and cruel. Perhaps it becomes more aggressive because there’s no need for pretense.

Thanks to this, the junior staff members were having a miserable time. Coming in from dawn without even eating, they couldn’t help but feel exhausted.

But in a way, this was understandable. Since this was the first script reading, there would be sharp psychological warfare among the cast, so thorough preparation was only natural.

High Dream in particular was bound to have more intense competition because multiple agencies were involved.

If it were just a gathering of actors, it would simply be a battle of acting skills. But with KBC, ST Entertainment, and Full Lady—these three groups coming together for the reading—there was a strange competitive dynamic.

Who would do the best?

However, in this competition, there was one group that received the least attention: KBC.

Even though the script reading was taking place at KBC, no one thought KBC would win in this dynamic.

That made sense because KBC had only one actor, and it had been revealed that even that person wasn’t an experienced actor.

“Is it true they only selected one out of three thousand?”

“They say three thousand, but in the paperwork, it was tens of thousands.”

“Breaking through odds of tens of thousands to one, and he’s only fourteen… that’s amazing.”

“I know, right? The higher-ups’ thinking is truly baffling.”

When they could barely manage with experienced actors, they suddenly picked a fourteen-year-old they’d just met.

There were rumors about how incredible he was, but everyone was skeptical. There are some things you can know without seeing.

The staff chatted discreetly while checking the time. About two hours remained until the script reading. If they prepared diligently, they could make it just in time.

Growl.

But I’m so hungry.

If only I had some kimbap to munch on while working. Just as I thought that…

“Huh?”

I caught the scent of sesame oil from afar. My extremely hungry stomach located the source of the food.

‘It’s getting closer.’

But who could be coming? As far as I remembered, no one was scheduled to arrive.

As the kimbap—no, the stranger—slowly approached, the moment I saw his face…

“Wow… what the?”

I couldn’t help but exclaim.

He wasn’t particularly tall.

At most, maybe 174 cm.

But his proportions and the face those proportions supported were unbelievable.

Like a perfectly crafted Christmas tree with a diamond star on top? A divinely sculpted appearance that God accidentally dropped to earth was approaching.

Having seen countless faces while working at the broadcasting station, I could say without a doubt he was number one. He looked like he’d just entered high school, but his potential was no joke.

At the same time, I found it absurd. How could someone so handsome be merely delivering kimbap?

‘Wait, shouldn’t they have cast him instead of that fourteen-year-old?’

Just as all the staff preparing for the script reading were thinking the same thing, the kimbap delivery boy bowed politely.

“Hello! I’m Kim Donghu, playing the role of Lee J in this script reading. Please take care of me!”

I heard you’ve been working hard since early morning, so I brought some kimbap and coffee. It’s not much, but please enjoy.

As soon as the kimbap staff—no, Kim Donghu—finished speaking, everyone’s eyes widened. And they all thought the same thing:

The higher-ups really do know how to pick people.

“Holy crap, this is tuna kimbap!”

Everyone was shocked at someone’s exclamation.

Bringing kimbap was surprising enough, but tuna kimbap?

Just as they heard this, Kim Donghu added:

“Oh, and I also have some without cucumber.”

+++++

My father, Kim Jeongryeol, always said:

The younger you are, the earlier you should arrive at work, and there’s nothing bad about that.

“Son, listen carefully. You exist thanks to the people working on set, so you must make a good impression on them no matter what.”

Making a good impression isn’t complicated—greet them properly, say thank you,

“If you can afford it, bring coffee and kimbap so they have something to munch on, okay?”

That way, you’ll make a good first impression, and no matter what you do, you won’t be disliked. So I, Kim Donghu, his son, followed his advice exactly.

“Donghu! Kim Donghu! Oh! My boy! You just do all the right things!”

PD Kim Youngmo’s mouth corners rose almost to his ears. As soon as he heard I had arrived, he rushed over and hugged me tightly.

“Never! I’ll never let you go again! Donghu! Let’s stay together forever!”

The effect was better than expected. Honestly, I hadn’t anticipated such a positive reaction.

“I haven’t done anything yet. If you react like this already, I’ll die from the pressure.”

“What is there to do! You’ve done such a thoughtful thing!”

At PD Kim Youngmo’s words, everyone else nodded in agreement.

‘I didn’t do this to get this much attention.’

Of course, I did it to score points, but I never dreamed it would be so highly valued. Thanks to that, I was able to spend the remaining two hours very comfortably.

‘I’ll be meeting her after a long time.’

I kept glancing at the entrance while waiting for the script reading to begin because it was the day I would meet Kim Sujin after a long time.

‘But she’s also fourteen, how did she manage to get into High Dream?’

Just as I was thinking that, a KakaoTalk message arrived.

>Really? That’s good. I got rejected too.

>How is that possible? I even heard you got in, but I was overtaken at the last minute. By a senior…

>I’m so upset.

What? It’s not Kim Sujin?

‘Ah, right.’

Only then did I remember the cast of High Dream from my previous life. Kim Sujin definitely wasn’t there.

‘Who was from ST Entertainment again?’

Ah.

But I remembered one person.

“Donghu, it’s been a while.”

Kim Sujin’s mother and once the queen of the small screen, Kim Yuryeon.

She was smiling brightly at me.

+++++

About 30 minutes before the script reading began, the protagonists of the reading gradually gathered.

Actors, directors, PDs, and writers—when all the key figures assembled, they greeted each other warmly to ease the tension of the script reading.

Or at least, they should have.

“Donghu really is excessively handsome.”

“No, not at all. You’re just seeing me in a good light.”

“And humble too. I’m so glad to meet you like this.”

The great actress Kim Yuryeon.

When a senior industry figure openly conversed with an unknown rookie, attention naturally shifted in that direction.

‘Who is he?’

‘So he’s the one who broke through KBC’s audition competition. He is incredibly handsome.’

‘He knows Senior Kim Yuryeon? Then he’s not a complete rookie?’

Everyone was curious, but no one resolved those curiosities.

“Now we’ll begin the script reading. I’ll do the narration, and we’ll cover three episodes, up to where all characters appear.”

There was something more pressing than curiosity. Everyone nodded at PD Kim Youngmo’s words.

Everyone sat in their designated seats and began memorizing their lines, and this is where the difference in skill became apparent.

The leads of High Dream, the actors playing students, were relatively new, so their reading was awkward.

It felt like they were simply spitting out lines rather than acting through the script. The job of the seniors was to package this well and guide them.

From the chairman’s role to the principal, vice principal, homeroom teacher, and so on. Actors who were life seniors both in and out of the drama perfectly covered the inexperience.

And there was someone who was very dissatisfied with this situation.

‘What’s wrong with kids these days, being so unprepared?’

Especially Jang Geonho, who was playing the principal of High Dream. Having started acting from his theater days and taking pride in his craft, he was displeased with the rookies who were underprepared despite this being the first script reading.

‘We’re reading with ST Entertainment, and if we can’t show a difference in actor management, what’s the point?’

Even setting an example would be insufficient, let alone being on par. Jang Geonho frowned as he looked down at the script.

It was almost his turn. A script full of traces of countless studies.

In contrast, the rookie’s script who would receive his lines?

Glance.

‘Too clean.’

Seeing a script without any notes, Jang Geonho’s expression soured even more.

‘Kim Donghu, was it?’

He didn’t know how the boy had passed the audition, but he wanted to show him how much effort it took to reach this place. From what he could see, it seemed like the boy was selected solely for his looks.

‘Acting isn’t completed with just that.’

Jang Geonho wanted to enlighten this fledgling who had just stepped onto the path of acting.

“Scene 55, Principal Wang Ho calls for special student Lee J.”

I’ll show you what path you need to walk from now on.

“Lee J, you know why I called you, right?”

He doesn’t look at the script. His gaze is fixed on his counterpart, silently demanding eye contact in return.

It’s an action that comes from having perfectly memorized the script, and it’s an unspoken pressure to act head-on rather than just read.

Usually, rookies get intimidated here and lose the flow. Jang Geonho naturally expected this boy to do the same.

But.

“I know. You called me to clean up the trash at the bottom, didn’t you?”

The rookie responded to Jang Geonho’s line. And at that moment, the atmosphere changed.

The space that had started lightly, meant for first-time coordination, no longer existed.

Kim Donghu the boy was erased. What stood there was talent blooming in hatred—Lee J.

Hatred for inferior students. The intermittently bitten lips were a device that mercilessly revealed unpleasant emotions.

“Gathering useless things desperately, what are you trying to do? I honestly didn’t like it either.”

Lee J says it. That inferior things should disappear.

To the actors at the script reading venue, those lines sounded different.

Leave if you’re poorly prepared, bow your head if you can’t even manage this much.

In that overwhelming atmosphere, Jang Geonho’s eyes widened.

‘This kid.’

He’s a monster.