Chapter 106: Survival Audition (2)
The 20 minutes passed quickly.
“We’ll begin now.”
Even after Kim Si-woo announced the start, most people hesitated to step forward.
Since it was the first round, they could gauge others’ levels, and the later you went, the more time you had to memorize the script.
With a limited number of Siwoo Film actors available, it was impossible to judge all 250 at once, so they had to go one by one.
Then, from among the hesitant crowd, a girl stepped forward.
It was Kim Min-ji, the one who had led Group 1.
Kim Min-ji exchanged greetings with the Siwoo Film actor assigned to the Don’t Forget scene and immediately began the performance.
“Is it you? The bitch who killed my daughter?”
“What? Ajumma, do you know me? How dare you call me a bitch!”
“You know Hee-jin, right? I’m her mother.”
The “mother” character was somewhat distant from Kim Min-ji’s appearance, but she compensated for it with her acting skill.
“Ah… so you’re that girl’s mother? And?”
“Yes, I was wrong to expect an apology from people like you…”
“Apology?”
“That’s right… We’ll meet again soon. When we do, you’d better do your best—if you want to live.”
Kim Si-woo, watching their performance, muttered to himself.
“She’s a high school senior, right? She’s definitely good…”
It wasn’t as big a shock as when he first saw Hong Soo-yeon, but she was by far the most standout participant in the audition so far.
She lacked nothing in skill, confidence, or looks.
‘As for personality… I’ll need to observe a bit more, but… she seems diligent, at least.’
To display that level of acting, talent alone wasn’t enough.
It required the backing of hard work.
When their scene ended, the Siwoo Film actor announced “Pass,” the audience applauded, and Kim Min-ji bowed before stepping down from the stage.
After Kim Min-ji made a brilliant opening, the other participants quickly followed, unwilling to be outdone, but the results were far more brutal than expected.
A string of failures.
Over 100 people had been judged, yet only 30 had passed.
“They’re being pretty strict, huh?”
“They’re going to have to act alongside these people in the future, so they’re probably being extra picky.”
“Hmm… I just hope they’re not judging purely on current skill…”
There were certainly some among the eliminated who had potential.
‘Well… that’s also a matter of luck…’
After three full hours, the judging of all 250 participants finally concluded.
50 passed.
200 failed.
“Congratulations to those who passed. You may rest fully until the next instructions.”
At the words “rest fully,” the successful participants cheered loudly, while the eliminated ones boarded the buses outside with gloomy faces.
“Only 50 left… fewer than I thought. At this rate, it’ll all be over tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Still, it doesn’t seem like they judged purely on acting skill.”
At Lee Yoo-jin’s comment, Kim Si-woo glanced at the group of passers and saw that many of them indeed had higher potential than current skill.
A little while later, after lunch ended, Kim Si-woo and the staff gathered together.
“Only 50 remain, so we can probably move straight to the final round. You all know what the final evaluation is, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then call everyone to the auditorium this evening.”
“Yes, writer-nim.”
That evening, after dinner, once everyone had gathered in the auditorium, Kim Si-woo took the microphone and explained the final round.
“This is your final evaluation, everyone. For this round, you will shoot the next web drama together with our Siwoo Film team. The final pass/fail decision will be made by vote from me, the Siwoo Film staff, and the actors. Director Lee Yoo-jin, please distribute the scripts.”
“Yes, writer-nim.”
Lee Yoo-jin personally handed out the script that Siwoo Film had planned to film next.
“This script is for a web drama that will be uploaded to YouTube. Filming begins in one week. Women, please prepare for the female lead role; men, for the male lead role.”
At Lee Yoo-jin’s explanation, everyone hurriedly began looking over the script.
A short 10-minute web drama.
50 people.
However, there were 30 female participants who passed—more than the males—which made it impossible to pair them perfectly with one female lead and one male lead per group.
“Hmm… Is there any female participant here who would like to try the male lead role?”
At Kim Si-woo’s question, everyone hesitated, and no one stepped forward.
“No one? Hmm… If not, we’ll have to do a lot more shoots…”
“I’ll do it!”
Just when no one else volunteered, one female participant raised her hand.
“Participant Lee Na-hyun, correct?”
“Yes!”
“Then, aside from Lee Na-hyun, is there anyone else?”
“I’ll do it too.”
Once Lee Na-hyun volunteered for the male lead role, Kim Min-ji followed by raising her hand.
“Good. No one else? Then we’ll randomly select the remaining three fairly.”
That way, three more participants—excluding Lee Na-hyun and Kim Min-ji—were assigned male lead roles.
“You have one week left. Please practice diligently during that time and come prepared for filming. Of course, if you finish preparing earlier, feel free to let us know and shoot right away. Ah! And you can choose your partners by mutual agreement.”
Over the course of that week, the participants selected their partners and prepared their performances.
As expected, conflicts were unavoidable in the process.
“No! You need to put a bit more strength into it here!”
“Actually, you should relax more. Have you never been in a relationship?”
“Why are you bringing up relationships now?!”
It was common for them to argue while critiquing each other’s acting.
And there was one actor who received particularly frequent nagging: Lee Na-hyun.
“Unnie, could you be a little more forceful, please?”
“Uh? Oh… got it.”
Lee Na-hyun.
She was a participant unusual enough that Kim Si-woo remembered her name.
In terms of pure acting skill, she was in the lower ranks among the audition participants.
Her distinctive quality, however, was her unique aura.
If he had to choose just one person from this group, Kim Si-woo would have picked her.
Watching her naturally brought to mind the bright, cheerful female leads often seen in dramas or movies.
She loved acting and never slacked on effort.
She took good care of those around her and even shared snacks with the cameramen.
‘She’s the complete opposite of Kim Min-ji…’
In contrast to Lee Na-hyun, Kim Min-ji was textbook-perfect—honest and precise in her acting.
But perhaps because of that, she came across as rather ordinary.
There were countless actors in this industry who performed at Kim Min-ji’s level.
‘If the two of them combined, it would be perfect. Well… things will probably change a bit in two weeks.’
And so the final evaluation, spanning a total of two weeks, came to an end.
Those who finished filming went home and waited for the results announcement.
The staff, on the other hand, became even busier with editing.
A week later, the videos of the successful candidates were uploaded to YouTube, and that served as the announcement of who had passed.
The final successful candidates were Kim Min-ji and her three friends, Lee Na-hyun, Baek Jong-su (in his 40s), and four others—a total of 10 people.
“You really can’t ignore real-life friend chemistry. And you can’t ignore experience either.”
Kim Min-ji and her friends showcased their unique chemistry through seamless rapport, while the middle-aged actors in their 40s and 50s demonstrated the depth that only years of experience could bring.
After the audition ended, the successful candidates gathered at the Siwoo Film office to sign their contracts.
Kim Min-ji and her friends displayed the characteristic liveliness of teenagers, eager to start filming right away.
The three actors in their 40s and 50s, including Baek Jong-su, repeatedly expressed tearful gratitude for being given this opportunity.
Lee Na-hyun and the remaining two signed their contracts with expressions that still showed disbelief.
“Na-hyun-ssi?”
“Ah! Yes…”
“You’ll have to work diligently from now on. You know the reason without me saying it, right?”
“Yes! I’ll… I’ll really work hard.”
Lee Na-hyun was the type who only started acting after entering university, so purely in terms of skill, she currently had the lowest acting ability among everyone at Siwoo Film.
Yet, personally, she was the actor Kim Si-woo was most looking forward to.
“Still, you were my number one pick, after all. Please prove that my eye for talent wasn’t wrong.”
“Yes, writer-nim.”
“If you have any questions, feel free to ask Director Lee Yoo-jin over there or the staff.”
“Yes, thank you. Thank you so much.”
Once Lee Na-hyun left the office, Kim Si-woo made a phone call.
“Hello? Are you busy right now?”
—No, writer-nim. Do you have something to ask? Or is there an issue with the contract…?
The person Kim Si-woo had called was none other than Lee Hae-soo, the lawyer from Blue Law Firm.
“It’s nothing else—I was wondering if you’d like to go to Japan with me this winter.”
—Huh? Japan?
“Yes. You’re the only one who knows I released a work in Japan. And last time, you mentioned you’ve never been on a trip before… If you’re too busy, I’ll just go alone.”
—Let me know once the exact dates are set. I’ll give the firm a heads-up for now. I should be able to take annual leave without much issue. I haven’t taken a single day off since joining.
“Oh… How have things been lately?”
—Just always tired, as usual. But what can I do? I have to work hard so my family can live comfortably.
No matter how many times he heard it, Lee Hae-soo’s love for her family was extraordinary.
Yet Kim Si-woo couldn’t help wondering whether her family truly understood her sacrifices.
It was hard to imagine her ever being the one taken care of.
That was probably why he always felt like he should look after her, at least.
“Then I’ll let you know once the dates are confirmed. And let’s have a meal together soon. I’ve only ever asked favors of you, so this time it’ll be my treat.”
—Sure! How about this weekend?
“Sounds good. Let’s meet for lunch this weekend. I’ll come pick you up at your place.”
—No! Let’s just meet at the restaurant.
“Ah… okay. Got it.”
For some reason, when he offered to pick her up at home, Lee Hae-soo firmly refused. Kim Si-woo scratched his head at her resolute tone.
After ending the call, Kim Si-woo reserved a restaurant and sent Lee Hae-soo a text with the location and appointment time.
Meanwhile, upon receiving the message, Lee Hae-soo hurriedly booked a hair salon appointment.
That was precisely why she had refused his offer to pick her up.
And truthfully, Lee Hae-soo had already bought new clothes and shoes in anticipation of seeing Kim Si-woo again…
‘This time, I’ll definitely make it feel like a natural date.’
The weekend lunch date they had promised.
At the appointed place, Lee Hae-soo appeared in a completely different look from usual.
Neat flats and a flowing dress.
Her hair had been permed into a style that perfectly suited her cute face.
“Lawyer-nim, over here!”
“Ah!”
Spotting Kim Si-woo waving his hand, Lee Hae-soo ran toward him.
“W-writer-nim. Hello—eek…!”
As she ran, Lee Hae-soo tripped over her own feet right in front of him.
“Are you okay?”
But just when she thought she was about to fall, her body stopped midway. With her eyes squeezed shut, only Kim Si-woo’s voice reached Lee Hae-soo’s ears.
“S-sorry…”
“That’s why I told you to do some leg exercises. It’s been a while since you ran, so your legs got tangled.”
“I have nothing to say…”
“Or just walk next time. I won’t run away even if you walk.”
“Yes…”
Embarrassed, Lee Hae-soo kept her head deeply bowed as she replied.
‘I-it’s ruined. I showed an embarrassing side right from the start.’
Her determination shattered into pieces within 10 seconds of meeting him.
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TL Note:
This novel is now translated and finished at Chapter 176.
If you’d like to continue right away, the remaining 70 chapters (107–176) are available on my Patreon Premium tier, along with extra chapters from my other 5 ongoing translated novels.
There’s also a Plus tier with 40 advance chapters, updated at 7 chapters per week.
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls?utm_source=search
For this novel specifically, check the collection under “Genius Writer”
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