Episode 144: Pre-Stage Assignment (1)
I stepped onto a set that felt extremely awkward yet somehow faintly familiar at the same time.
The awkwardness came from the fact that this was the very first drama filming set I had ever set foot on in my entire entertainment career.
The faint familiarity came from the many recognizable faces scattered everywhere.
‘I’m seeing Director Kim here. And that one… Director Jung? Is he on general chores duty now?’
Faces of staff members I had seen countless times on unavoidable music video shoots and a few CF sets appeared behind cameras, under lighting panels, among the crowd, and in every corner.
Some of them would only become famous after a few more years, but even at this point, several already carried quite high price tags.
‘With Choi Si-yeon cast, they can at least pull off this level of crew.’
Choi Si-yeon—an actress so senior that even calling her a “veteran” felt completely natural—was someone whose time in front of the camera far exceeded mine, even if you combined all my pre-regression years.
Moreover, when you bring in an actress who’s called the “queen” (with “next-generation” as a qualifier, of course) in the romance-comedy genre as the lead, even for a single-episode drama, a lineup this luxurious suddenly made perfect sense.
In that regard, today’s shoot was actually a very good opportunity for me.
The connections I had built with Haeyoung—who later became an actor as well—back in my previous life, I now had the chance to create anew with my own hands.
‘Well… even without that, I wasn’t planning to half-ass it anyway.’
There was already more than enough motivation standing right in front of me, but even without that, this was the kind of job I had to approach with full focus and sincerity.
“Han Yujin-ssi has arrived.”
“Ah, Yujin-ssi. Welcome.”
The person who greeted me while I was lost in those thoughts was a man who looked to be in his early thirties—someone I didn’t recognize.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Han Yujin.”
“I’m Seo Dan-woo, PD of 1 Hit Lover.”
He answered my bow by extending his hand and introducing himself.
“I heard you had an important schedule, so thank you so much for accepting the offer.”
He wrapped his other hand warmly over the one I shook, greeting me with a gentle, disarming smile that melted away any nonexistent tension.
“It’s family business. If I can help, I should.”
“That makes me even more grateful.”
At my reply, PD Seo Dan-woo’s gentle smile deepened even further.
Of course, there was probably a slight difference between the “family” he accepted and the “family” I meant—but there was no need to nitpick that far.
“Anyway, thank you for today. Don’t feel too pressured—just act naturally and it’ll be fine.”
No need to worry about that.
Even if it was barely passing, I had already received a passing grade from Lee Ah-jeong on the way here.
“When you do it alone, it’s honestly unwatchable. But when Zia acts as your counterpart, suddenly you look like a real person. Well… at this level, you probably won’t get trashed too badly.”
That’s what she said.
“It might actually be okay if you’re a little stiff. Your current image fits perfectly with Ho-yeol. Honestly, when you walked in, I thought Ho-yeol himself had shown up.”
While I was thinking that, PD Seo Dan-woo made a rectangular frame with his thumbs and index fingers, peering at me through it as he continued.
‘Of course it does.’
Ho-yeol was the name of the character I was playing today.
I had overflowing confidence in the role, but right now it was probably better to show a bit of humility.
‘This isn’t a stage I’m used to.’
On stage, Han Yujin never makes mistakes—and even if he did, he had the confidence to cover it up so no one would ever notice.
But this wasn’t a stage; this was a filming set.
Here, I was nothing more than a complete beginner just learning to walk—so in moments like this, humility was far more appropriate than confidence.
“Haha… you’re too kind.”
I answered modestly like that, and then—
“Hey, PD-nim. We haven’t even started yet and you’re already putting pressure on him like that?”
A familiar voice came from behind, scolding PD Seo Dan-woo.
When I turned around wondering why the voice sounded so familiar, there was yet another recognizable face.
“Aigoo. What pressure? I was just trying to help him relax.”
“No way. Of course it’s pressure. Just making him conscious of it is pressure.”
That familiar face naturally draped an arm over my shoulder and stood up to PD Seo Dan-woo.
“PD-nim, when people tell you ‘don’t feel pressured because it’s your debut work,’ doesn’t that actually make you feel pressured?”
“Ah… is that how it works?”
“Of course. Yujin-ssi just isn’t saying anything because it’s in front of you, PD-nim, but I bet he’s already feeling the pressure.”
Well… I could tell ‘he’ was stepping up for my sake.
I was grateful, but there was one thing I still couldn’t understand.
‘Choi Do-hoon… and I… were we close…?’
His name was Choi Do-hoon, the actor playing the male lead in 1 Hit Lover.
If you asked whether we were close, the answer was No.
Both now and before regression—same thing.
The only reason I even knew his name was because, about five years from now, Choi Do-hoon would become quite a famous actor. No other reason.
The natural question of “why is this guy acting like this?” was quickly answered by PD Seo Dan-woo’s surrender declaration.
“Who else but a fan of Yujin-ssi would jump in to cover for him like that? Well… now that you mention it, I’ve got nothing to say.”
Ah. So he was my fan?
Cases where the other person approaches with pre-formed internal familiarity were actually quite common for me.
Usually, those kinds of cases didn’t sit well with me.
‘Choi Do-hoon treated Zia really well too, didn’t he?’
Then he’s probably not a bad person.
Okay. Pass.
“Yujin-ssi. First time on a drama set, right? Want to grab a coffee to loosen up a bit?”
Choi Do-hoon’s suggestion came without any clue about my inner thoughts.
Only then did I notice that the hand resting on my shoulder was trembling slightly.
Well… seeing him nervous like that, he really doesn’t seem like a bad guy.
I glanced over at PD Seo Dan-woo, who gave a small shrug.
“Well… sure. We’ve still got some time before the shoot anyway. Go relax if you’re okay with it, Yujin-ssi.”
Hm. Honestly, I’d rather not.
If possible, I wanted to spend the time with Zia.
That was exactly why I’d used the word “family” with PD Seo Dan-woo earlier.
There wouldn’t be a separate waiting room for a single-episode drama shoot, so logically, waiting together with Zia—my scene partner and someone from the same (?) company—made the most sense.
But now it couldn’t be helped.
‘Rejecting here would look kind of bad, wouldn’t it.’
Looked like I’d have to give up on seeing Zia’s flustered face for now.
“Let’s go, Yujin-ssi. I actually bought really good coffee because I heard you were coming. Oh—do you like coffee?”
He asked so quickly it almost felt impatient, but looking at Choi Do-hoon’s sparkling eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to snap at him.
Not that I could even if I wanted to.
“Yeah. Sure.”
“Then let’s go.”
We walked together for a few steps, matching pace.
“Phew… Really lucky our writer couldn’t make it today.”
From behind me came PD Seo Dan-woo’s low, cryptic mutter, drifting into my ear.
***
Truthfully, understanding the character Ho-yeol wasn’t that difficult.
He was extremely popular.
Extremely popular.
And his pride was proportional to that popularity.
Yet he had almost no interest in the opposite sex.
I had watched someone who fit those exact conditions for a very, very long time.
‘It’s me.’
Exactly—me, Polaris’s Yujin.
When I first read the script, I even wondered for a moment whether the writer might be a regressor too.
‘But since it wasn’t written targeting me, but written with Zia in mind, probably not.’
As proof, there were slight differences in the finer details.
“Yes. Just leave it there and go.”
For example—his attitude toward others.
The way he drew lines with the opposite sex wasn’t much different from pre-regression me, but in the drama, Ho-yeol’s lines were drawn much more sharply.
Probably an intentional exaggeration to make the character’s personality clear in a short amount of time.
Still, it wasn’t something that got in the way of me understanding Ho-yeol.
Because above all else, that character had one thing in common with me.
Namely,
“Hey. What’s your name?”
The fact that he fell for Zia at first sight.
Of course he did.
There’s no way anyone in the world could be prettier than Zia.
Sure, I didn’t ask for her name in such a rude way, but regardless—I could fully understand the feeling of falling for her face in an instant.
“Me?”
“Who else would I be talking to besides you?”
Zia’s brow furrowed slightly, and my heart stung just a little in response—but even that felt good.
Still, the crease in her forehead smoothed out quickly.
Normally, the line “Why do you care?” would’ve come flying back,
“Wow. Looks like I was being nosy for nothing. Yujin-ssi, you’re actually good at acting, aren’t you? Right, sunbaenim?”
“Yeah, sure.”
But the interruption from the outfield instantly blew away both our focus.
If Zia hadn’t been my scene partner, that kind of praise would never have come out—but since I wouldn’t be doing this at all if it weren’t with Zia, it didn’t really matter.
Ah. My wish to be with Zia ended up being fulfilled in a slightly different way.
Choi Do-hoon dragged both Zia and Choi Si-yeon into the waiting room.
‘Even if Choi Do-hoon is older than Choi Si-yeon…’
I pushed aside the thought of whether it was really okay to act that way toward such a senior.
I knew Choi Si-yeon was similar in type to Bang Ho-kyung, and considering the acting ability Choi Do-hoon would show in the future, he was probably someone fully within her boundaries—so it should be fine.
Anyway, being able to be in the same space as Zia was enough, right?
Even if we were alone, we couldn’t exactly flirt with people possibly walking in at any moment—so just being able to face her and see her eyes tremble slightly every now and then was already a perfectly satisfying result.
“Ah, sunbaenim. There’s one scene I wanted to try matching with you.”
“Which scene?”
“This one.”
While that was happening, perhaps stimulated by our presence, a small ensemble started up in the outfield too.
‘As expected… professional actors really are on another level. Completely different from me.’
1 Hit Lover was a drama about a male lead who had once been a rising star but faded away as a one-hit wonder, and a female lead who entered the broadcasting industry out of pure fandom for that very singer.
The female lead, now a PD making her directorial debut, plans a program to re-spotlight forgotten singers.
Through various trials and tribulations, the male lead finds a chance at comeback through the program she directs.
In the end, it concludes by implying the beginning of their romance.
‘It really feels like it could’ve worked as a full series.’
In the romance-comedy genre, as long as the acting holds up, this is the kind of story that would go down really well.
This isn’t bias just because Zia is in it—I genuinely think it’s a work that could be quite enjoyable to watch.
Choi Si-yeon’s outstanding acting anchors a proactive and independent female lead who would appeal to both men and women, while the male lead—who starts off as a near-slacker bum and gradually becomes cooler and more refined—fits Choi Do-hoon perfectly.
In fact, Choi Do-hoon later became famous as an actor specializing in characters who seem frivolous at first but deliver major twists in the mid-to-late stages.
‘Why on earth did this not get a full-series order?’
The more I looked at the script, the less I understood—and watching these two’s impromptu duet only deepened the confusion.
‘With Choi Si-yeon’s ticket power, there’s no way investment wouldn’t come in. And if there’s investment, scheduling should’ve been no problem. So why was it pushed to a single episode?’
For some reason, the feeling that I was on the verge of remembering the reason felt stronger than before.
The fact that I still couldn’t grasp why it felt stronger only made me more irritated.
If I’d known I’d be this curious, I should’ve paid more attention during that talk show back then.
I know very well that memories like this usually don’t come back without some kind of trigger.
And that clinging to this question won’t help with anything I need to do moving forward.
If there’s one way to escape a situation like this right now, there’s really only one.
And the material was right in front of me.
A near-perfect subject: an ambiguous budding chemistry duet between an actress destined to become the queen of rom-coms in the near future and an actor who would later become known for his thousand faces, unbound by good or evil.
‘The chords… Dm7 – G7 – CM7 – Am7.’
I layered notes over the chords at a slightly faster tempo.
Since the chord progression itself was practically a cliché at this point, building the melody went by in an instant.
“How about something like this?”
“Sounds good. Let’s talk to the PD before we shoot.”
It was so fast that, almost as soon as the short duet ended, the melody for verse 1 was already complete.
At this rate, it might actually be harder to check whether it overlaps with some other song.
‘I’ll listen to it properly when I get home…’
If there are no problems… should I pass this to them as an OST?
Wait—do single-episode dramas even get OSTs?
‘Anyway… moments like this really remind me I’m just a born singer.’
The sudden, vivid sense of my own identity made me feel a little sheepish, so I scratched the back of my neck.
At that moment, the phone tucked against my chest vibrated briefly.
I didn’t even need to check who it was from.
I’d just seen Zia quietly slipping her phone back into her small handbag.
As expected.
[Zia♥ : You just whipped up a song, didn’t you]
[Zia♥ : Seriously, you’re hopeless]
Wait—who’s calling who hopeless here?
Isn’t the one who noticed that with just a glance the weirder one?
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TL Note:
This novel has been completed.
Want to read ahead?
Chapters 145–178 are available on My Patreon (Premium Tier) together with 5 other novels.
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
[This series is in the “Regressed Idol” collection]
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