Chapter 68: Genius Writer vs. Genius Actor (6)
“Yes. I heard your acting improved a lot, so I came to see it.”
While Hong Soo-yeon was flustered by Kim Si-woo’s words, the preparations for filming finished, and Lee Yoo-jin called out to her.
“Soo-yeon! Let’s get ready.”
“Yes!”
As she headed to the prepared filming location, Hong Soo-yeon burned with determination.
She promised herself she would show Kim Si-woo just how much she had improved.
But perhaps because she was too fired up, she began making mistakes—mistakes she had never made even once before.
“Soo-yeon, it’s okay. Let’s take a short break.”
Seeing Hong Soo-yeon make her first mistake, Lee Yoo-jin sensed something was off and halted the shoot, scanning the surroundings.
And then she found the cause.
Kim Si-woo.
He was the reason for the mistakes.
At the end of Hong Soo-yeon’s anxious gaze sat Kim Si-woo.
Unable to drag out the shoot any longer, Lee Yoo-jin approached him.
“Um… Writer-nim.”
“What is it?”
“I think she keeps making mistakes because of you… could you wait somewhere else for a bit?”
Although Kim Si-woo founded Si-woo Film, the current director of this web drama was Lee Yoo-jin.
No matter who had hired her, for the sake of smooth filming, she needed to ask him to step away from the set.
“If I leave, the situation will get even worse.”
But when Si-woo explained that if he left, Soo-yeon might think he was disappointed in her and would fall apart even more, Yoo-jin nodded—admitting that he had a point.
“Then what should we do?”
“I’ll go talk to her.”
“Huh?”
Leaving Yoo-jin behind, Kim Si-woo walked over to the corner where Hong Soo-yeon was re-reading her script.
“Soo-yeon.”
“Ah… ahjussi…”
When Kim Si-woo approached, Hong Soo-yeon avoided his gaze like someone who had done something wrong.
“Are you very nervous?”
“I’m sorry… this has never happened before…”
“It’s fine. It happens.”
Si-woo sat down beside her, talking to her about different things to loosen her tension.
Her first mistake was caused by too much enthusiasm, and that one stumble snowballed into heavy nervousness.
“Alright, let’s get back to filming.”
Seeing that Soo-yeon had calmed down, Lee Yoo-jin announced the resumption of shooting.
“Don’t be too nervous.”
“Yes, ahjussi!”
With her nerves settled, Hong Soo-yeon returned to her usual state, and the shoot progressed quickly.
Watching her act, Kim Si-woo nodded.
‘Yes… she’s definitely good.’
She now had much richer emotional expression—perfectly suitable to cast in the next movie.
“Cut! Great work, everyone.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Following Yoo-jin’s cut sign and her farewell, all staff members and actors bowed in response.
“Good work.”
“Thank you.”
After telling Yoo-jin she did well, Si-woo approached Hong Soo-yeon.
“You’ve improved a lot. At this point, you’re truly good enough to call a real actress.”
“Really?”
Hong Soo-yeon looked happier than ever at his praise.
“Then buy me something delicious today!”
Hearing her ask him to treat her to something delicious, Si-woo smiled.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Meat! Samgyeopsal.”
[TL Note: Samgyeopsal is a popular Korean dish featuring grilled pork belly.]
“Alright. Finish greeting everyone and come to my car.”
“Yes, ahjussi!”
When Si-woo agreed to treat her to samgyeopsal, a staff member cleaning up equipment behind them called out.
“Oh! Writer-nim! What about us?!”
“…”
“This is too much. Isn’t this discrimination? You’re only buying samgyeopsal for the pretty actress…”
Ever since the Lee Seung-hyuk incident, there hadn’t been a single proper team dinner, so the staff and actors looked at Si-woo with teary, pleading eyes.
“Good grief…”
In the end, Kim Si-woo took the company card out of his pocket.
“Yoo-jin. Take everyone out for a team dinner.”
“Yes, Writer-nim.”
“And make sure you take good care of the new staff too.”
“Yes! Don’t worry.”
Excited for their first team dinner in a long time, everyone quickly packed up the equipment and cleaned the set.
Meanwhile, Kim Si-woo got in the car with Hong Soo-yeon.
The place they arrived at was not a samgyeopsal restaurant, but a high-end Korean beef (hanwoo) restaurant in Seoul.
“Ahjussi…? They don’t have samgyeopsal here…”
“Just eat beef.”
“…Okay.”
In truth, the idea of eating premium beef made Hong Soo-yeon’s heart flutter.
Soon after, a server came over with a generous amount of hanwoo and began grilling it beside them.
But since Hong Soo-yeon felt uncomfortable having someone grill her meat, she was visibly restless the entire time the staff member was at their table.
“Excuse me… I’ll grill it myself, so please bring us a plate of yukhoe.”
“Yes, sir.”
Once the server left, Si-woo began grilling the meat himself.
“It won’t taste as good as when the staff grills it, but at least you’ll feel less uncomfortable.”
“With beef, you just sear it lightly. It’s fine. Once it’s cooked, I’ll pick the good pieces.”
After that, Soo-yeon looked far more relaxed and happily ate the beef without hesitation.
Once she ate to her heart’s content and her pace slowed down, Si-woo brought up the real reason he had invited her.
“Soo-yeon, I’m planning a new movie. Do you want to act in it? It’s a supporting role, but it’s a solid debut.”
It was the casting offer for his next film.
“Yes! I’ll do it.”
“…Even though you don’t know what role it is?”
Recently, whenever he asked people if they wanted to join his movie, they always said yes without even asking about the role. It bothered Si-woo a bit.
“I should do anything. That way I can pay off my debt quickly and buy delicious food for my grandma and my little brother. And well… you wouldn’t offer it unless you thought it suited me, right?”
“…Fair enough. I’ll contact you soon.”
“Yes, ahjussi.”
After the meal, Si-woo walked out of the restaurant with bundles in both hands.
They were wrapped boxes of hanwoo.
Arriving at Hong Soo-yeon’s home, he handed her one of the bundles.
“Share it with your family. Don’t eat it all alone.”
“Yes… thank you.”
Normally, she would have joked, saying she wasn’t a kid and wouldn’t do something like that, but today she bowed deeply and thanked him before heading inside—leaving Si-woo with a faint ache in his chest.
***
A few days later, while Kim Si-woo was in the middle of writing, his smartphone rang.
“What now…?”
Checking the caller, he saw a name he hadn’t seen in a long time.
[Director Park Woong-deok]
Recognizing it was Park Woong-deok, Si-woo immediately picked up, and a deep, heavy voice came through the speaker.
—Long time no see, Writer Kim. How have you been?
“Director, hello. I’ve just been writing as usual.”
—Your new movie did well too, I heard?
“It’s just… the actors did a great job.”
—Is that so? So when are you starting your next project?
“Huh?”
—Your next project. When are you starting it?
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Si-woo answered uncertainly.
“Well… I’m preparing to start sometime soon.”
—Good. Then reserve the director’s seat for me. I’ll be directing it.
“…Sorry?”
—Why? You don’t want me to?
A world-renowned director—recognized not just in Korea but internationally—was offering to direct his movie.
Kim Si-woo had absolutely no reason to refuse.
“No, of course I’d be happy if you directed it… but please take a look at the script first. I feel like it’s quite different from the kinds of movies you’ve made so far.”
—Alright. Send the script to my email. You know my address, right?
“Yes, I know it.”
And then Park Woong-deok brought up something Si-woo had completely forgotten.
—Ah, and you know there’s an awards ceremony next week, right?
“…Huh? Wait… oh. I completely forgot. Thank you for telling me.”
Si-woo had forgotten that out of the three awards ceremonies, he had only attended two so far.
He still had the Taesan Arts Awards, held between late April and early May, remaining.
“Was I seriously the only one who didn’t know?”
After ending the call, Kim Si-woo called Jung Se-yeon, with whom he had a dinner appointment that evening.
“Se-yeon, did you know there’s an awards ceremony next week?”
—Huh? I was actually planning to tell you about it when we meet today.
“Ah… so I really was the only one who didn’t know…”
—You should pay more attention. Or you could at least hire a manager.
“I’m not busy enough to need a manager. Anyway, today at 6 PM, right?”
—Yes. Don’t be late.
After sending the completed script to Park Woong-deok’s email, Kim Si-woo finished getting ready for the meeting.
Later that afternoon, he arrived in front of a department store in Seoul, their meeting spot. There he spotted Jung Se-yeon, wearing a black hat pulled low.
“You’re early?”
“Oh! You’re here? Let’s go.”
As soon as she saw him, Jung Se-yeon grabbed his arm and pulled him into the department store.
At a luxury brand counter inside, she immediately picked up a suit she had apparently ordered in advance, then headed toward a restaurant.
On their way there, Si-woo glanced at the shopping bag in his hand and asked:
“What is this?”
“A suit that matches mine for the awards ceremony.”
“Huh?”
“You got one matched with Actress Kim Ji-hyun last time, and before that with Ji-young unnie. Isn’t it my turn now?”
“Ah… right.”
Realizing he wouldn’t need to worry about what to wear to the ceremony, Si-woo felt relieved.
When they arrived at the reserved restaurant, Shim Ji-young was already waiting.
“You’re here?”
“Unnie! How have you been?”
Looking genuinely happy, Jung Se-yeon hugged Shim Ji-young, who she hadn’t seen in a while.
After that, they greeted Si-woo and all took their seats, ordering food.
Before long, the dishes arrived, and as they ate, Shim Ji-young began asking questions she had been curious about.
“Si-woo.”
“Yes?”
“You’re not planning anything… right?”
“Planning? Like what?”
“You know… revenge on Choi Do-hyun or something.”
“I’m already doing that. And I’m planning to continue at the upcoming awards ceremony.”
Hearing him say he was going to stir things up at the ceremony, Shim Ji-young pressed her fingers against her temples as if she expected this.
“Haah… I knew it. People told that bastard Choi Do-hyun so many times not to go too far because something like this would happen. And the person who aired that unedited segment—what on earth were they thinking?”
It never benefited any actor to be on bad terms with a writer or staff.
Especially not with an ordinary writer, but currently the most successful writer in Korea.
Why would someone do something so stupid and troublesome?
At first, Shim Ji-young assumed Choi Do-hyun provoked Kim Si-woo and Ha Seung-woo simply because new actors sometimes try to stir things up to get noticed.
And indeed, because of that provocation, Choi Do-hyun got even more attention.
But instead of stopping there, Choi Do-hyun kept pushing boundaries.
He didn’t just go after Kim Si-woo—he ignored and disrespected actors around him, and there was constant conflict on set.
“At first I thought he was like Kim Min-ho… but he’s even crazier. Kim Min-ho at least only messed with rookie staff or inexperienced actors. He avoided directors or recognized writers and actors. But this guy—he picks fights with anyone he doesn’t like.”
Shim Ji-young described a few incidents that happened while filming with Choi Do-hyun.
Arguing with the director that his own shot composition was better.
Refusing to film until the writer allowed him to change lines.
Hurling insults and abusing any staff member who annoyed him in the slightest…
“He’s doomed soon, then.”
Hearing the stories, Jung Se-yeon concluded that he would inevitably fall apart. But Shim Ji-young shook her head.
“I thought that too… but nope.”
Despite everything, Choi Do-hyun’s incredible acting skill and good looks kept him near the top of brand reputation rankings, and his fan club continued growing.
“So what? He won’t get any more roles anyway.”
“Won’t get roles? Directors who only care about money will definitely hire him. He really can act.”
Choi Do-hyun was talented enough for even Shim Ji-young to acknowledge him, and he was popular.
From an investor’s standpoint, unless he committed a crime, he was—like Kim Si-woo—basically a goose that laid golden eggs.
But there was one thing Shim Ji-young forgot:
The person sitting right in front of her—Kim Si-woo—was every bit as crazy as Choi Do-hyun.