Chapter 109: Clumsy Kim Si-woo (3)
“Are you even human?”
Kim Si-woo’s face was flushed from the alcohol, and finally, a complaint burst out of Jung Se-yeon.
“My stomach’s starting to feel bad now…”
They had poured an excessive amount of drinks into him, but even after downing it all, he hadn’t opened his mouth about what they wanted to hear.
“This is exactly why it’s more suspicious. Did something really happen between you two?”
“No. Nothing happened. That much is definite.”
“Tch.”
Kim Si-woo couldn’t bring himself to say that he’d taken Lawyer Lee Hae-soo to the seaside because he felt sorry for her.
He didn’t want to tell others that he pitied her deep down, and he didn’t want to make her seem pitiable to anyone else.
“You’re really clueless. How can you just drink everything we give you like that?”
“Who do you think kept pouring it for me…?”
At Kim Si-woo’s words, Jung Se-yeon, Hong Soo-yeon, and Lee Yoo-jin all turned their heads away.
“Anyway… nothing really happened.”
“Fine. Got it.”
On the surface, the three women were scolding him, but inside, they were falling even harder for the fact that he knew how to keep his mouth shut.
“Writer-nim, you should rest a bit now.”
“Then at least some side dishes…”
“Here you go.”
Before he knew it, Hong Soo-yeon had wrapped some sashimi in lettuce and put it straight into his mouth.
“You’re getting so much special treatment. Anything else you want to eat?”
“Who do you think caused all this… Anyway, I feel like tempura right now.”
While grumbling, Kim Si-woo also mentioned what he wanted to eat.
“Here!”
Even before Hong Soo-yeon could stand up, Lee Yoo-jin brought over tempura and fed it to him.
“Thanks.”
“If you’re grateful, buy me drinks next time too.”
“Sure, why not.”
“It’s a promise?”
“Yeah.”
But Kim Si-woo was still human—when he drank, his guard loosened a little.
“What about me?”
“Fine, I’ll buy for you too, Soo-yeon.”
“And me! Writer-nim!”
He even agreed to promises he normally wouldn’t have accepted so easily.
It didn’t stop with the three women; one by one, the rest of the Siwoo Film crew started chiming in.
“Alright, I’ll buy for everyone. Now stop it, you’re all being too loud.”
“Yesss!”
Thanks to everyone having at least one drink, the mood heated up instantly at Kim Si-woo’s words.
Only the high schoolers who couldn’t drink suffered in silence.
The meal-and-drinking session that started at lunch stretched all the way into the evening with no end in sight.
People got drunk and debated acting, even performing scenes on the spot.
They also got to hear Jung Se-yeon sing.
Even tipsy, her voice was incredibly sweet and captivating.
As expected from the idol considered the best in Korea.
When her recent mega-hit song <Man of October> ended, one of the female actors listening up front raised her hand and asked a question.
“Sunbaenim Jung Se-yeon, is the protagonist of <Man of October> actually writer Kim Si-woo?”
“No comment, junior.”
Jung Se-yeon answered with an ambiguous smile, but no one took that as a denial.
“Kyaaaa!”
The women screamed and stomped their feet in excitement.
Except for two of them.
Namely Hong Soo-yeon and Lee Yoo-jin.
The two women looked at Jung Se-yeon and became visibly dejected.
No matter how much Hong Soo-yeon had risen lately, compared to Jung Se-yeon, she was still a complete rookie.
The only advantage she had over Jung Se-yeon was her youth.
But while Hong Soo-yeon was at least younger, Lee Yoo-jin didn’t even have that.
She had nothing she could confidently claim superiority in—neither popularity, money, looks, nor age—compared to Jung Se-yeon or even Hong Soo-yeon.
No matter how pretty Lee Yoo-jin was considered, she couldn’t compare to celebrities in terms of beauty.
“Sigh…”
The two women sighed in unison as they looked at Kim Si-woo, but whether because he was drunk or just naturally like that, he showed no interest.
Seeing him like that, they clung to a sliver of hope: if he was going to date Jung Se-yeon, wouldn’t he have done it long ago?
***
The next morning.
Kim Si-woo woke up clutching his pounding head.
“This damn hangover never ends.”
Struggling to get out of bed, he boiled some ramen and ate it while recalling yesterday’s events.
“I definitely… huh?”
He remembered the promises he’d made while drunk.
The one saving grace was that he hadn’t said anything about Lee Hae-soo.
“Damn it… more drinking. And giving the whole team a break…”
He had told everyone he wouldn’t come in tomorrow and that anyone who wanted to rest could do so.
“This is why alcohol is a problem.”
Scolding his past self while eating ramen, Kim Si-woo came up with a plan.
“Actually… yeah, that’ll work.”
After finishing the ramen, he hurried to his computer and started typing away.
Another day passed, and when Kim Si-woo arrived at the Siwoo Film office, he handed Lee Yoo-jin a few sheets of paper.
“Writer-nim? What’s this?”
“The Siwoo Film MT plan. The new actors are debuting this week, right?”
“Yes.”
“And we have staff interviews this weekend?”
“Yes.”
“Good. After the new staff joins and we sync up on two projects, let’s go on the MT.”
“Understood. I’ll book the accommodations then.”
As Kim Si-woo finished speaking and headed toward his office, Lee Yoo-jin stopped him.
“More importantly, have you decided how to handle the staff hiring? You told me to gather everyone two days ago…”
Because of Jung Se-yeon’s visit, he hadn’t been able to relay his decision on staff recruitment.
“Then let’s wrap it up quickly now. Everyone, gather around.”
At his words, the working staff stood up and assembled around the large table.
“Everyone here?”
“Yes, writer-nim.”
“As you’ve heard, we’re hiring new staff this weekend. Honestly, experienced people would be better for producing high-quality work, but that would make things hard for you all. So let’s go with hiring people you can train yourselves. It’s better for the ones who’ll work with and teach them to choose, right?”
“Understood.”
“But don’t complain later if we pick the wrong ones.”
“Yes!”
Everyone agreed with Kim Si-woo’s words.
Deep down, the Siwoo Film team members were inwardly cheering at the thought of finally having underlings to boss around.
“You all heard about the MT too, right?”
“Yes.”
“Of course you did—your ears were practically glued to Yoo-jin and me. Where do you want to go? No, just collect opinions and tell Yoo-jin. I’m done here.”
With that, Kim Si-woo disappeared into his office, leaving the remaining team members busy choosing the MT location.
“How about Gangneung? Honestly, MT means the beach.”
“Gangwon-do is too far. Let’s go to Incheon.”
“Can’t we go to a campground?”
“Guys? Finish editing first if you want to go on the MT…”
At Lee Yoo-jin’s icy tone, the excited group quickly scattered back to their seats.
“Hmm… Suddenly an MT… Is it because of what happened the day before yesterday?”
Lee Yoo-jin figured the MT plan stemmed from Kim Si-woo’s drunken promise to buy everyone drinks, and she was exactly right.
***
Meanwhile, inside his office, Kim Si-woo was reviewing the series the newly selected actors would film.
Kim Min-ji and her friends had prepared a story titled <High School Girl’s Daily Life>, literally about the everyday life of female high school students.
Lee Na-hyun, Baek Jong-su, and the other middle-aged actors had prepared a family sitcom series called <Our Family Story>.
With the actor teams growing, they’d need more writers too.
If Kim Si-woo were to recruit disciples right now, the office could have been filled with people willing to work like slaves for no pay, but of course, he didn’t do that.
He had no desire to become a topic of controversy or gossip.
Just as the staff were selecting their own assistants, Kim Si-woo needed to hire writers as well.
“Hmm… let’s see.”
He looked through the applications for assistant writers and scouted candidates.
“The high school girl team would probably do well with a female writer, and the family team with a male writer.”
The family team focused on humor, while the high school girl team emphasized relatability.
“I’ll have to talk to them during interviews first.”
Meanwhile, while Kim Si-woo was pondering, intense acting practice was underway in the rehearsal room.
The original Siwoo Film actors, the high school girl team centered around Kim Min-ji.
And the family sitcom team gathered around Lee Na-hyun.
With filming approaching soon, everyone was busy syncing their chemistry.
Especially the newly joined actors—who were filming for the first time—were working even harder.
And so the day of their first shoot arrived.
“Wow… is this really my face?”
Kim Min-ji and her friends, currently getting makeup done at a studio, were admiring their own reflections.
“For real. I’m so glad we applied for the audition.”
In fact, once word spread at school that they’d been accepted into Siwoo Film, they became more popular than the other idols and actors attending their school.
On top of that, they could feel their skills improving little by little with every practice session at the company, and since they even received a signing bonus, to these minors, Siwoo Film was the perfect company with nothing lacking.
After arriving at the filming set, Director Lee Yoo-jin quickly gave instructions and coordinated the staff.
“Let’s move fast. We don’t have much time if we want to wrap shooting today.”
“Yes!”
The staff moved as one in response to Lee Yoo-jin’s directions.
Kim Min-ji and the other actors watching from behind couldn’t hide their amazement.
They felt overwhelmed by the completely different atmosphere compared to the audition.
“This is what a real set is like… Guys, let’s not mess up.”
“Of course.”
Kim Min-ji and her friends clasped hands, strengthening their resolve.
“Actors, get ready.”
“Yes! Everyone gather for a quick fighting cheer before we go.”
“Good idea.”
“One, two, three! Fighting!”
“Fighting!”
The actors grouped together, stacked their hands, shouted the cheer, and then stepped in front of the camera.
“They’re definitely full of energy because they’re young.”
“Yeah. I wish I could be young again…”
When the actors signaled they were ready, Lee Yoo-jin’s cue rang out.
“Ready… Cue!”
With the cue sign, the acting of Siwoo Film’s rookie actors began.
Their performances were exactly what you’d call “decent.”
Perhaps because Siwoo Film’s standards had risen so high.
Acting that would be considered good at a high school level wasn’t yet enough to capture the hearts of Lee Yoo-jin and the staff.
“Cut!”
After the cut sign, Lee Yoo-jin and the staff all shared the same thought.
They were good, but safe.
There was no individuality in their acting.
It was almost mechanical.
This was both the strength and weakness of Korea’s entrance exam system.
“It feels just like watching Siwoo Film’s very first shoot.”
“Exactly.”
But conversely, it meant that if they learned new things at this young age, they could become far better actors than they were now.
“Let’s keep filming for now. The actors seem a bit tense, so help them relax a little.”
“Yes, director.”
The staff quickly approached the actors, praising them and easing the mood, and the second take showed slightly better acting than the first.
Kim Min-ji and her friends safely completed their first shoot, all satisfied and eagerly awaiting the video upload.
Their first step as professional actors.
Their expectations soared through the roof.
Deep down, each of them was filled with hopeful thoughts like, ‘What if we get too much attention and end up cast in movies or dramas?’
That is, until the video was actually uploaded.
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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 chapters are available on my Patreon Premium tier.
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