Chapter 110: Clumsy Kim Si-woo (4)
While Kim Min-ji and her friends were full of anticipation, Lee Na-hyun and the others safely completed their first shoot as well.
Unlike the excited Kim Min-ji and her friends, Lee Na-hyun and the middle-aged actors were more worried than hopeful.
They feared that if the views didn’t perform well, they might get dropped by Siwoo Film.
Of course, regardless of their worries, Kim Si-woo and the staff were too busy to even think about that.
“Why are there so many writer applicants?”
“Writer-nim is so famous—of course there’d be a lot. It’s a chance to become the disciple of Korea’s hottest writer right now.”
“Disciple…? I never thought of it that way.”
Kim Si-woo felt stressed looking at the unusually large pile of writer applications.
The interview day soon arrived, and each staff member, along with Kim Si-woo, met the applicants.
Everyone except Kim Si-woo started their interviews normally.
While the others were conducting interviews, Kim Si-woo first told his applicants one thing.
He wasn’t looking for disciples.
Upon hearing that he wasn’t recruiting disciples, more than half the applicants gave up on the interview.
If they weren’t disciples, they couldn’t take anything from Kim Si-woo.
As many applicants left, the staff assisting with Kim Si-woo’s interviews panicked, but Kim Si-woo was inwardly cheering.
‘Yes! Perfect. I wish even more would leave. Too bad.’
He was actually satisfied that the number had decreased and quickly began the interviews.
The interviews didn’t take long.
From the start, Kim Si-woo wanted writers who shared similar values with him.
Anyone with an “artistic temperament” was eliminated.
Anyone scheming to gain something from him was also eliminated.
Through various questions, Kim Si-woo rapidly weeded out applicants.
There were some who genuinely applied because they wanted to work at Siwoo Film.
But they were eliminated too for not even properly preparing a script.
“Sigh… I only asked for one web drama script, not even a movie—and they couldn’t even do that right…”
In the end, Kim Si-woo settled on the two whose personal statements seemed promising.
“Hmm… So these two after all?”
The interviews wrapped up smoothly, and the MT preparations were steadily progressing.
Finally, the long-awaited videos of the new actors were uploaded.
“How’s the response?”
“Well… exactly what we expected.”
“The high school kids are gonna be shocked.”
Kim Si-woo smiled thinking about how Kim Min-ji and her friends would react.
“For now, prepare lawsuits for any malicious comments that cross the line. Take good care of the kids so they don’t get hurt.”
“Yes, writer-nim.”
“Some constructive criticism will be a chance for them to grow. Of course, it depends on how they take it.”
Malicious comments were like a tag that always followed actors.
Realistically, it was impossible to block them all.
To continue as professional actors, the only way was to step over them and rise above.
“…”
“Min-ji… you okay?”
“Huh? Yeah…”
As Kim Si-woo predicted, the uploaded videos were flooded with malicious comments, especially targeting Kim Min-ji.
Most comments said her acting was bland or that she was worse than expected.
There were also comparisons to Lee Na-hyun, the lead in the other uploaded video.
Thanks to Siwoo Film’s reputation for lawsuits, there were almost no comments that crossed the line, but for Kim Min-ji—who was experiencing malicious comments for the first time—the impact was inevitably significant.
“They praised me so much during the audition… and now suddenly this?”
During the audition, public opinion about Kim Min-ji had definitely been positive.
Her decent looks, acting skills, and the confidence typical of a teenager had won people over.
But that was limited to the audition.
Web dramas were still firmly in the realm of professionals.
“Hey, kiddos! What are you doing? Not practicing? You should’ve all received the next scripts by now.”
“Ah… sorry.”
The actors Kim Si-woo sent approached them.
“This won’t do. We’ll each take one of you.”
“Huh?”
“Come outside.”
“Yes…”
Thinking they were about to get scolded, Kim Min-ji and her friends were soon left stunned.
Once outside, they each headed somewhere, arriving at dessert cafés near the office.
“You were shocked by the malicious comments, right? But for a first time, you did well. It’s okay.”
“Yes…”
“Writer-nim told us to take care of you today. Pick whatever you want—it’s on him.”
While eating desserts, Kim Min-ji and her friends listened to all sorts of advice and encouragement from their senior actors.
Some shed tears, while others mulled over the malicious comments and strengthened their resolve.
“Alright, let’s head back in. Looking at your eyes, I don’t think you need any more comforting. And if anything happens, tell us. We’re family now.”
“Yes, sunbaenim.”
“Sunbaenim? Just call me unnie.”
“Yes, unnie.”
While the senior actors were consoling Kim Min-ji and her friends, senior actors also paired up with Lee Na-hyun and the middle-aged actors.
But this side wasn’t about comforting—it was private tutoring.
“In this part, you need to pronounce it a bit stronger.”
“Yes.”
They had to fix Lee Na-hyun’s shortcomings and the middle-aged actors’ bad habits and old-fashioned feel.
“Quick, put a ballpoint pen in your mouth. Acting is all about diction.”
“Yesh.”
One middle-aged actor answered with a pen in his mouth at the senior’s advice.
“From now on, practice with a pen in your mouth whenever you come to the rehearsal room.”
Their unique characters and humor earned them more positive comments than malicious ones, but they couldn’t erase the lack of acting skill and the stereotypical middle-aged vibe.
Kim Si-woo, Lee Yoo-jin, and the fellow actors—who knew this better than anyone—were concerned that they might get complacent from the comments.
“They might be leaving comments saying it’s fun now, but that can only continue if your acting backs it up. You’re not amateurs anymore, right? As pros, you have to prove it with skill. Got it?”
“Yes!”
“There’s a company dinner after we wrap today. Let’s do our best.”
Of course, encouragement was included too.
At that moment, Kim Si-woo was glaring at the newly hired writers.
“This is Min-hee-ssi, and this is Hyun-soo-ssi?”
“Yes! That’s right.”
“Yes…”
Kim Min-hee and Kim Hyun-soo.
The two writers Kim Si-woo had newly selected were both unusual.
Kim Min-hee had just turned 20 and had zero experience.
Kim Hyun-soo was 35 and had high specs, having worked on dramas at a broadcasting station.
“Um… Hyun-soo-ssi.”
“Yes!”
“Just to be clear, no power-tripping here. Only I get to do that.”
“Yes.”
“We maintain an atmosphere of mutual respect. Understood? And the same goes for you, Min-hee-ssi.”
“Understood.”
“But don’t let the actors or others push you around either. Hold firm to your convictions as writers. If anyone bothers you, tell me.”
To the 35-year-old Kim Hyun-soo, the much younger Kim Si-woo seemed incredibly reliable.
“You can work from home or at the office—whatever you prefer. But try to do meetings in person as much as possible. If you explain to the actors what you were thinking while writing the script, they’ll make your work even better.”
After Kim Si-woo finished speaking, the two writers—who would now lead Siwoo Film’s writing—bowed in greeting and left.
“Now that the writers are settled, should I go check on the staff?”
Kim Si-woo stood up and headed to the office to observe the staff, but the place was like a bustling marketplace.
“No, it’s like this! Did you really graduate from an arts high school?”
“S-sorry…”
“Sigh… Let me explain one more time what happens on set…”
Kim Si-woo shook his head watching the staff teaching their assistants.
“They’re too eager. If they push that hard, the new ones might break…”
It was the attitude of people who had only ever learned from others and never taught before.
Especially since they were overflowing with enthusiasm.
Thinking it was time to rein them in, Kim Si-woo opened his mouth.
“Hold on, stop for a second.”
Even at his command to stop, no one did—they kept chattering noisily.
Except for Lee Yoo-jin.
“Everyone shut up!”
At Lee Yoo-jin’s charismatic shout, the marketplace-like noisy office fell silent in an instant.
‘Oho?’
Hearing Lee Yoo-jin swear for the first time, Kim Si-woo looked at her with interest. In response, she immediately switched back to her usual innocent expression in front of him.
“Go ahead, writer-nim.”
“Ahem. Thanks, Director Lee. Anyway, it’s good that everyone’s enthusiastic, but it seems a bit rushed. None of us were perfect from the start, right?”
“That’s not true. I was perfect from the beginning.”
“Director Lee, drag that one out. Make them grill the meat at the company dinner tonight.”
“Yes, writer-nim.”
Sure, some people had been good from the start, but that wasn’t the point.
“Anyway, let’s not rush it. We need to give the new guys time to adjust.”
“Yes, writer-nim. Then how long should the adjustment period be?”
“Huh?”
Kim Si-woo hadn’t thought that far.
“Roughly… a month?”
“A month… Understood.”
He had definitely answered, but for some reason, the staff’s replies carried an inexplicable chilling tone.
“And there’s a company dinner tonight, so wrap up appropriately and come to the restaurant.”
“Yes!”
The Siwoo Film people were always great at responding to company dinner announcements.
As evening came, Siwoo Film employees began gathering one by one at a samgyeopsal restaurant.
“Auntie, is the meat fresh?”
“Of course! Don’t worry. I went to the wholesale market myself this morning and picked the freshest cuts.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you? We’re the ones who are grateful—you always hold your company dinners here.”
Kim Si-woo received special treatment and was guided to the seat closest to the kitchen.
“We’ll grill it in the kitchen especially for our writer-nim, so just sit comfortably.”
“Ah… thank you.”
Since company dinners here easily exceeded a million won each time, Kim Si-woo was the restaurant’s VVIP.
After some time, the place was packed with Siwoo Film employees.
“Looks like everyone’s here.”
Confirming that everyone had arrived, Kim Si-woo stood up.
“Everyone, attention.”
This time, people’s gazes focused on him.
“You’ve all worked hard. While I was away, you kept Siwoo Film running smoothly. The staff who went through interviews, our rookie actors who didn’t shake during their first shoot, and the senior actors who supported them from behind—this gathering is to encourage all of you. It’s also to welcome our new writers and new staff, so eat and drink as much as you want today. Oh, and we’re preparing an MT soon, so don’t cause any trouble. That’s all.”
At Kim Si-woo’s “that’s all,” people cheered loudly and began ordering meat like they were going into battle.
“Auntie! Ten portions of samgyeopsal here!”
“Seven portions of neck here!”
“Three bottles of soju!”
“Hey, we’ll just do it ourselves.”
The Siwoo Film crew, who had been ordering aggressively, soon started carrying the meat and drinks themselves, as usual.
The restaurant staff only had to frantically press the POS machine.
One hour later.
Once the Siwoo Film team had filled their stomachs to a certain extent, they began chatting in earnest.
First, the original team members bragged about things that would make the newcomers envious—starting with stories of getting acting lessons from famous actors.
“Have you guys seen Director Park Woong-deok?”
“No way—the Park Woong-deok?”
“Yeah, that Park Woong-deok. If you stick around Siwoo Film, you’ll probably meet every famous person in this industry at least once. Who knows? You might catch his eye and get cast as the lead in a movie.”
“Woooow.”
Of course, Kim Si-woo silently scoffed while eating his meat.
Unless they were a genius like Shim Ji-young, it was nearly impossible to win Park Woong-deok’s approval.
His standards were more than twice as strict as Kim Si-woo’s.
In fact, it felt like Park Woong-deok had lowered his own standards because finding actors who met them was so hard.
‘No, more than that—it’d be torture.’
And unless they were a female actor… drinking with him was unavoidable.
Just remembering drinking with Park Woong-deok made Kim Si-woo’s stomach turn. He silently ate his meat, and Lee Yoo-jin, sitting beside him, spoke up.
“Writer-nim? Is something worrying you?”
“No, nothing. By the way, how’s the MT prep going?”
“Of course. We’re preparing it to be absolutely wild.”
“Good to hear.”
At that moment, he had no idea.
That it would truly become a wild MT…