Chapter 72: Genius Writer vs. Genius Actor (10)
Lee Yong-jun, the man Choi Do-hyun considered family, lived a hectic life after joining his agency.
Though he was older, he was practically a newcomer in the major industry, so he had to endure hazing and harsh treatment while doing his best.
But perhaps that perseverance was the problem…
Exactly one year later, Lee Yong-jun collapsed from overwork at home and passed away.
When Choi Do-hyun heard the news, it felt as if his entire world had collapsed.
The entertainment company Lee Yong-jun joined turned out to be a notoriously abusive large agency—one that treated entertainers like tools and routinely overworked lesser-known actors to squeeze money out of them.
After learning that his gentle, kind mentor had died because of an impossible workload forced onto him, Do-hyun developed a deep hatred for large agencies.
Upon hearing this story, Baek Seung-heon spoke earnestly.
“Then… why not change things yourself? With your talent… you might really be able to.”
That was how highly Baek valued Do-hyun’s skills.
Maybe not change everything—
But perhaps he could change part of the film industry.
Or so Baek believed.
But in reality, Do-hyun’s passion for acting had already burned away into ashes.
“Me? Someone who doesn’t even like acting?”
“What? Then why do you even act…?”
After Lee Yong-jun’s funeral, Do-hyun began to hate acting.
No—he hated anything related to acting.
Just seeing a script made his stomach churn, and he spent days in a daze, like an empty shell.
“… It’s the only thing he left me.”
Acting he learned from his mentor.
Acting that killed his mentor.
Acting filled with memories of him.
Acting he hated—yet acting was the only time he could forget reality, so he forced himself to continue.
For Choi Do-hyun, acting was pure love and hatred intertwined.
As time passed, the small theater where he worked began losing people, and the venue itself was on the brink of closure.
The building owner Intended to remodel the theater into a café—
Until one day, Choi Do-hyun stood before him.
He performed in front of the owner, persuading him directly.
In the end, the owner granted them six months.
Unable to watch the theater—filled with memories of Lee Yong-jun—disappear, Do-hyun began standing outside, inviting passersby to watch the plays.
With his looks, he didn’t need flyers—his face alone was advertisement.
More and more female fans began coming just to see him, and within a month, ticket sales were enough to cover the theater’s monthly rent.
But as the months passed, Do-hyun also grew increasingly exhausted.
“… Alright. I understand.”
With determination on his face, Baek Seung-heon left.
Seeing his departure, Do-hyun assumed Baek, like everyone else, had finally given up.
But the next day, Baek showed up at the theater—mopping the floors.
“Let’s start by saving this place first.”
“…”
“I took a leave of absence from my company. So I’ve got plenty of time now.”
And so, with Baek Seung-heon supporting him for a full year, Choi Do-hyun became famous in the theater world for his incredible looks and undeniable talent.
Time passed, and after two years of unwavering support, Do-hyun began trusting Baek—enough to call him “hyung.”
“Hyung. Let’s stop now.”
“What?”
For a moment, Baek panicked—thinking his three years of effort were about to go to waste—and he hurried to persuade him.
“You can’t give up now! Your talent—”
“No. I mean let’s stop theater. Let’s go make movies.”
“…Huh?”
“You remember what you said that day? To change things myself. I’ll show you. I’ll become the greatest actor and create an environment where everyone can act without suffering.”
At twenty-four years old, Choi Do-hyun stepped into the film industry.
***
The auditions ended successfully with overwhelming participation.
Now, all that remained was selecting the actors.
Inside the Si-woo Film office, Kim Si-woo, Park Woong-deok, and Jung Se-yeon sat together.
“If possible… I want to go big and flashy.”
“Honestly, these actors are all great, but we also need to consider the budget. Writer Kim.”
“Hmm… maybe the roles feel too limited. Should I rewrite the script a bit?”
“What? And what about the actors’ fees?”
“Let’s set the fees a bit higher. Well… as long as a lot of people watch it, that solves everything, doesn’t it?”
At Kim Si-woo’s words, Park Woong-deok scratched his head.
Coming from a writer whose last three works all surpassed 10 million viewers, his words had serious weight.
If the film hit 10 million, actor fees were never a problem.
“When are you planning to revise the script?”
“About… two days, roughly. More importantly, did you find an investor?”
“Of course. CW ENM said they’ll take care of both investment and distribution. And I’ve also heard from a few private investors.”
“Then the distribution and budget issues are resolved.”
With major distributor/investor CW ENM’s involvement, preparing the budget became far easier.
“If necessary, I’ll just lower my profit share. Let’s make the lineup as luxurious as possible.”
“You’re going that far? Sounds like Writer Kim is seriously pissed.”
Park Woong-deok already knew full well that Si-woo was doing all this because of Choi Do-hyun.
“Well… I don’t mind. The better the actors are, the easier it is for the staff.”
“What do you think, Se-yeon?”
“I’ll follow you two. Whatever the writer and director decide.”
“Then how about this?”
Si-woo selected the list of successful auditionees. After looking through it, Park removed several sheets.
“Hmm… these two are skilled, but they cause a lot of trouble on set.”
“Then they’re out.”
“If you take them out and put these ones in, I think it’ll work.”
“Sounds good.”
Kim Si-woo and Park Woong-deok were in perfect sync.
Si-woo chose; Park reviewed and advised.
After several discussions, they finalized not only the roles the auditionees applied for, but also roles for other actors who seemed to fit well.
“I’ll send the revised script in two days.”
“Alright, Writer Kim. See you again.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Si-woo revised the script to match the final lineup, then sent it to Park Woong-deok and Jung Se-yeon.
After that, he sent acceptance messages to the successful actors, followed by the script and their assigned roles.
Some rejected their roles because they didn’t like the character, so Si-woo replaced them and finally—
The complete final lineup was finished.
The result was stunning—
From former superstars to current top stars, even high school students majoring in acting.
A wide range of actors joined the project.
And the title of the film these diverse actors would make was—
“Idol.”
A script based on Jung Se-yeon’s real experiences, mixed with fiction.
It was a film entirely for Jung Se-yeon.
Time passed, and the first script reading day finally arrived.
Since Si-woo Film’s office was too small for so many actors, they used a location provided by CW ENM.
Actors entered the CW ENM conference room one by one, greeting the staff.
“Hello. Are you Writer Kim Si-woo?”
“Oh! Yes. Hello, Ms. Lee Ok-ja.”
Lee Ok-ja, who would play the grandmother of the film’s protagonist—
In other words, Jung Se-yeon’s grandmother, Park Mal-soon—
Approached Si-woo and greeted him.
“I heard a lot about you from Seung-hwan oppa. He told me to make sure to work with you if I had the chance, so I’ve been looking forward to this.”
“Hahaha… I’ll do my best to live up to that expectation.”
Si-woo was extremely popular among actors.
Besides Lee Ok-ja, many others greeted him warmly, saying they’d heard a lot about him.
Si-woo couldn’t help but wonder what kind of stories were being told.
‘No way… did rumors spread that I’m an easy pushover?’
As more actors entered the room, familiar ones chatted with each other, while complete rookies nervously glanced around.
With everyone arriving ten minutes before the scheduled reading, Si-woo grabbed the microphone.
“Ah, ah… Since all the actors are here, should we begin the script reading?”
“Yes, let’s start. I want to finish quickly and go rest. Am I getting old? These days, I get sleepy as soon as it hits six.”
Lee Han-jae—once a superstar—said, only for Lee Ok-ja to smack his back.
Smack.
“Gahhh! You still hit hard.”
“This oppa still thinks he’s a superstar. You’re an old man now. Stay quiet and don’t embarrass yourself.”
Starting with those fiery senior actors, the entire conference room erupted into laughter.
“Writer, let’s get started.”
“Yes, then I’ll begin.”
As always, the script reading began with a simple overview of the project, followed by introductions.
Starting with Director Park Woong-deok, then Kim Si-woo, and moving down through the lead and supporting actors, everyone finished their introductions, and the real script reading began.
And the actor who opened the very first scene of the reading was none other than Hong Soo-yeon.
She would be playing Jung Se-yeon’s student years.
Her appearance resembled Jung Se-yeon’s, but her younger-looking face and smaller frame made her perfect for the role of Se-yeon’s younger self.
‘I hope she doesn’t get nervous…’
With Si-woo’s quiet concern, the reading began.
But Hong Soo-yeon delivered her lines cleanly—almost impeccably.
“Grandma!”
She shouted “grandma” in a voice that sounded younger than usual.
‘Good… looks like she’s not nervous.’
The script reading progressed brilliantly.
The passionate performances of the younger actors ignited the middle-aged and senior actors, who responded with full power.
After a 3-hour script reading session, it finally came to an end.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
Voices announcing the end echoed in the meeting room—
Followed by groans.
“Ugh… I guess I’m getting old. Who knew one script reading would drain me this much…”
Lee Han-jae groaned as he leaned back.
“Are we having a team dinner today?”
When Lee Han-jae brought it up and looked at Si-woo, Lee Ok-ja immediately scolded him.
“This oppa, seriously! People don’t like team dinners these days! Watch the news!”
“Oh really? Tch… shame.”
At that moment, Kim Si-woo thought of the Si-woo Film staff.
‘Huh? That’s completely untrue though…’
In fact, Si-woo had already reserved a premium Korean beef restaurant for the after-party.
“Then attendance is optional. Please come to the restaurant I reserved. I prepared Hanwoo especially.”
“As expected of Writer Kim! Just like I heard—sharp and capable. I like you.”
“Thank you. Alright! Let’s go.”
Lee Han-jae stood up happily, and surprisingly, not a single person skipped the after-party.
“Here, have a drink.”
Sitting next to Lee Han-jae, Si-woo poured him soju.
“Thanks. You take one too.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“You’ll have to understand him. This guy’s personality has always been like that.”
“What! What’s wrong with my personality?”
Even at the dinner table, Lee Han-jae and Lee Ok-ja bickered like real siblings.
Surrounded by senior actors, Si-woo drank diligently while checking on Hong Soo-yeon.
Fortunately, Jung Se-yeon had placed Soo-yeon in a quiet corner and even winked at Si-woo.
‘Good. No need to worry about Soo-yeon… but where’s that guy?’
“That guy” at drinking parties always referred to one person—
Park Woong-deok.
Depending on where he sat, someone was guaranteed to get absolutely wrecked, which made tracking him extremely important.
‘Mr…. Jun-ho?’
Hong Soo-yeon had successfully escaped Park Woong-deok,
But Park Jun-ho was not so lucky—his expression looked utterly defeated.
‘Goodbye… Jun-ho. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.’
Offering a silent condolence to Park Jun-ho, Si-woo turned his attention to the meat.
‘Oh! As long as it’s not me, everything’s fine!’
Two hours into the dinner, alcohol had warmed everyone up and people began wandering around, switching seats.
At that moment, Jung Se-yeon and Hong Soo-yeon were seated on either side of Kim Si-woo.
“Ajusshi!”
“Writer.”
Both called him at the same time.
Realizing it, they looked at each other in surprise—
Then turned their eyes back to Si-woo.
As if waiting for him to choose one of them.