Chapter 60: Star Maker (6)
No matter how sociable Hong Soo-yeon was, three days wasn’t enough time to blend into a group that already knew each other well.
In the end, she sat with Kim Si-woo and Lee Yoo-jin.
While Yoo-jin ordered the samgyeopsal, Si-woo complimented Soo-yeon.
“You acted really well today.”
“Really?”
“You must’ve worked hard for the past three days.”
“Yes! I studied a lot so I wouldn’t trouble anyone.”
“Good. Keep working hard.”
“Yes! Ahjussi.”
As the two chatted, today’s male lead, actor Lee Seung-hyuk, approached.
“Writer-nim, Director-nim. May I sit here?”
“Sure, you’ll be grilling the meat, right?”
“Yes!”
Si-woo didn’t notice that Seung-hyuk had abandoned his usual group of friends to sit specifically at this table.
He was too happy about having someone else grill the meat.
But once the grilling started, Si-woo’s expression gradually soured.
“Here, eat a lot. Tell me if there’s anything you want.”
Seung-hyuk kept placing perfectly grilled pieces onto Soo-yeon’s plate.
‘Okay, fine, this can happen… but it’s kind of pissing me off.’
As Si-woo tried to ignore Seung-hyuk’s obvious behavior and eat, Yoo-jin placed meat onto his plate.
“Please eat.”
“Thanks. You eat a lot too. You work the hardest around here. If you want beef, just tell me.”
“Yes, writer-nim.”
About 30 minutes later, after some drinks, Seung-hyuk—who had been making passes at Soo-yeon—turned to Si-woo.
“Writer-nim, can we order beef then?”
Si-woo had originally offered beef to Yoo-jin because she did the most work at Si-woo Film.
So hearing him ask for beef made absolutely no sense.
“Why don’t you focus on eating samgyeopsal?”
“Oh c’mon~ Writer-nim, you’re rich~”
That nasal tone instantly irritated Si-woo, though he held it in once.
“I spent all my money buying samgyeopsal.”
“No way, don’t lie. C’mon, please buy it? It’s Soo-yeon’s debut today.”
“Uh… S-Seung-hyuk oppa, I’m fine.”
Soo-yeon quickly tried to stop him, sensing Si-woo’s slightly changed tone.
But drunk or not, Seung-hyuk had no intention of stopping.
“No no, wait. Writer-nim~ just for today, please buy beef. I’ll work even harder from now on.”
Si-woo’s mind went blank for a moment.
‘What the hell kind of logic is that? You’ll work harder if I buy beef? So if I don’t buy it, you won’t work hard?’
If he simply wanted beef, Si-woo could’ve accepted it as a joke.
But Seung-hyuk was clearly showing off in front of Soo-yeon.
And on top of that, he dared to add a nonsense condition about “working harder,” which only worsened Si-woo’s mood.
“Sigh… If you want to eat it, buy it with your own money.”
“Ah… I mean, seriously? You’ve got tons of money, why are you so stingy? Can’t even help an actor build confidence?”
Seung-hyuk pouted, then started grumbling while eating his samgyeopsal.
‘This little bastard…?’
Watching him complain pushed Si-woo over the edge.
Tak!
He slammed his chopsticks on the table.
“Haha… Writer-nim, Seung-hyuk is just drunk… Hey, Seung-hyuk, go sit somewhere else.”
Yoo-jin tried to diffuse the situation, but it was already too late.
“Sigh… I’m leaving. Yoo-jin, tell the others this is our last team dinner.”
“Yes, writer-nim.”
“Oh, and Seung-hyuk. I don’t care if you date coworkers, but trying to flirt using someone else’s money? Even a stray dog wouldn’t fall for that. …Actually, no. A dog might.”
“What did you just say?”
Seung-hyuk jumped up angrily, but Si-woo ignored him and walked out of the building.
Yoo-jin hurried to follow him.
Outside, Yoo-jin carefully spoke up.
“Writer-nim… I’m sorry. I should’ve paid closer attention…”
“Why? You’re a director, not his mother. Seung-hyuk’s an adult—he’s responsible for his own behavior.”
“…You’re right.”
“Anyway, stop giving them extra support too.”
“Huh? That as well?”
“Yeah. What’s the point of giving so much? Look at the result.”
“…Understood.”
The extra meal allowance, YouTube–view bonuses, clothing stipend, cosmetics stipend, book stipend, dermatology costs, hair salon costs, rent support—
Everything Kim Si-woo had been paying out of pocket to make life easier for everyone—
All ended that day.
“Alright, go back inside.”
“Yes… Writer-nim. Thank you for today.”
As Si-woo spoke, Yoo-jin returned inside to pay the bill.
Moments later, someone tugged at Si-woo’s sleeve.
“You still have something to say?”
Thinking it was Yoo-jin, Si-woo turned his head—but it wasn’t her.
It was Hong Soo-yeon.
“Ahjussi.”
“You? Why do you look like that?”
“I’m sorry. Because of me… If I had just said from the beginning that I was uncomfortable, none of this would’ve happened…”
“I don’t get why you and Yoo-jin act like someone else’s mistake is your own fault. Anyway, none of this is your fault, so stop worrying.”
“…Yes.”
Even after he reassured her, Soo-yeon still looked dispirited.
Si-woo couldn’t help letting out a sigh.
“So, are you heading home now? If you are, I’ll give you a ride.”
“Yes, thank you.”
And so, Si-woo and Soo-yeon left together.
***
Meanwhile, after Si-woo’s table got loud and Si-woo, Yoo-jin, and Soo-yeon left, team members surrounded Lee Seung-hyuk to ask what happened.
“What happened?”
“I just asked that bastard Kim Si-woo to buy us beef, and he got mad and walked out. Is it that hard to buy beef? He makes tons of money…”
“Are you insane? How much would you have to drink to think like that?”
“What? Am I wrong?”
“Sigh… There’s no saving you.”
Even as team members criticized him, Seung-hyuk stubbornly acted like he’d done nothing wrong.
Then Yoo-jin returned and dropped the worst possible news.
“Guys. Starting today, no more company dinners.”
“Huh?”
“And all the personal support Writer-nim has been giving us? It’s all over. Thanks to someone.”
As she spoke, she stared coldly at Seung-hyuk.
He still looked unapologetic.
“Um… that support… what exactly do you mean…?”
“Anything not written in your contracts.”
“…Ah.”
With that sigh from one of the team members, the beginning of Lee Seung-hyuk’s downfall was clear.
***
The next morning, Si-woo went to work early.
Maybe because of Seung-hyuk, he suddenly wanted to see how the actors were actually using the practice rooms.
The empty practice space was filled with traces of effort—post-its on the wall, worn-out scripts, pens with no ink.
But one room still had its lights on.
In that space, the walls were plastered with an enormous number of post-its and photos.
A thick notebook lay open—filled cover to cover with handwritten acting notes.
As Si-woo stood there, wondering whose spot this was, a familiar voice spoke behind him.
“Oh? Ahjussi?”
“You’re early. Wait… did you write all this?”
“Yes…”
Soo-yeon had come without makeup, and her face looked completely exhausted.
“How many hours did you sleep?”
“Counting naps… around two hours a day…”
“Yesterday too?”
“Yes.”
“No wonder I didn’t see you at all.”
Now Si-woo understood why she’d barely appeared the past three days.
The thought of her surviving on two hours of sleep made him sigh.
“From now on, you must sleep at least six hours a day. Got it?”
“Huh? Ah… okay. I’ll try.”
“By the way, do you use SNS? Like FaceBook or Outstagram?”
“No… I didn’t have time or data for that…”
“Then get one made—ask Yoo-jin for help. And get yourself a smartphone too. With unlimited data.”
“Yes…”
“If you’re not sure about something, ask Yoo-jin. By the way, mind if I look around the practice room?”
Hearing that, Soo-yeon shyly nodded.
“Ah… yes. There’s nothing special, though…”
But as Si-woo looked through the notebook, the photos taped to the wall, and the countless post-its, he couldn’t hide his shock.
The reason she could act like a machine—
Was because of her frame-by-frame, second-by-second acting breakdowns.
Steps, blinks, breathing rhythm, eye direction…
For a single line of dialogue, there were more than ten post-its detailing micro-actions.
“What did you reference to write all this?”
“I just watched actors on YouTube…”
“I see… That’s… how you did that. Alright, take it easy today and go home early. Get some sleep too.”
“Yes, ahjussi.”
Still unable to understand this bizarre situation, Si-woo walked out and immediately called Shim Ji-young.
“Hello? Noona, are you busy?”
—What? It’s morning, what is it?
“When you act, do you think like… on a one-second-by-one-second basis? Like planning every micro movement?”
—What? No. Doing that would just confuse most people. Acting has to be natural.
“I mean… I think I brought in someone weird.”
Si-woo explained what he saw and talked about Hong Soo-yeon. Shim Ji-young sounded intrigued.
—There’s someone like that?
“Yes. Somehow…”
—Alright, I’ll visit soon. We can talk properly then. It’d be good to see that girl, too.
“Okay, noona. Take care.”
—Mhmm.
After ending the call, Si-woo headed back to the office, still struggling to recover from the shock.
“You’re here?”
“Yeah.”
As Si-woo brushed off the staff’s greetings and went into his office, the team mistook his mood—thinking he was still upset because of Lee Seung-hyuk.
In reality, Si-woo was simply shaken by Hong Soo-yeon’s abilities.
‘There’s no way she memorized all of that… right?’
***
A week passed, and once the new web drama was uploaded, it happened exactly as expected—
Because she resembled Jung Se-yeon, Hong Soo-yeon went viral, and her SNS follower count exploded.
Meanwhile, things for Lee Seung-hyuk only got worse.
Even inside Si-woo Film, people started avoiding him,
And comments about how terrible his acting was began flooding YouTube and social media.
A normal person might reflect on their behavior,
But Seung-hyuk was too busy blaming others:
That Si-woo had ordered the staff to ostracize him.
That people were leaving hate comments out of jealousy.
But when negative articles about him started pouring out online, his mental state finally cracked.
[One-night stand at club? Si-woo Film male lead exposed?]
[Si-woo Film’s male lead caught dating two women at once?]
“What… what the hell is this? These crazy bitches!”
He tried calling the women he suspected, but not a single person answered.
“What’s going on, Seung-hyuk? What’s all this?”
“Hey. You seriously—”
Even the Si-woo Film team members looked at him with disgust after seeing the news.
Unable to withstand their stares, Seung-hyuk ran out of the building.
Watching from the window, Si-woo scratched his head, mildly annoyed.
“Shame, but we’ll have to delete the web drama. Guess I’ll just settle for confirming Soo-yeon’s acting talent. But now that I think about it—this pisses me off. Everyone else was working, and that bastard was out chasing women? And cheating, on top of that?”