Superstar Who Eats Everything

Episode 14_

We need to catch him right now.

(Director, I’m so upset. If it was this kind of role, why didn’t you say something?)

“Haha, Mother. Didn’t we tell you enough back then?”

(But please give me one more recommendation. Our Chanye could have done well too.)

You turned it down. I already know you stamped your seal on another drama in the same time slot, using the excuse that you were worried about being bullied in class.

Park Min-hee, the casting director of [Mind], suppressed the emotions welling up inside her.

(I hope you don’t forget to give Chanye a chance next time if there’s a good role like this.)

“Haha. Sure.”

(But, how is that kid? He looks pretty, but I guess the director gave him a lot of direction?)

“I’m not there so I don’t know. Mom, I have something urgent to do so I think I have to hang up. Okay, see you next time.”

Park Min-hee was on site long enough to talk to Ko Seung-geon, but she lied naturally.

Actually, there was a lot to say about Yeo-Jun. But there was no need to spill the beans and provoke the other person.

“Minhee, are you Chanye’s mother?”

“Yes. Oh my, I’m either a casting director or a kindergarten teacher.”

Park Chan-ye was the first choice for the role of ‘Lee Se-in’. In the current situation where the child actor market is not that large, she is a child who has shown decent skills among those of the same age.

The only downside is that… there are polar parents as managers?

‘I feel sorry for Chanye, but if that kid was Isein, it wouldn’t have become such a hot topic.’

Even though Park Chan-ye is good as a child actor, Yeo Woo-jun is comparable to adult actors despite his young age.

Park Min-hee answered the phone that was ringing again.

“Hey, Dong-hyun. What’s going on?”

(It’s been a while. Your production company is producing ‘Mind’, right?)

Park Min-hee had a feeling. This is a reference check.

It wouldn’t be the already famous Min Seong-i or Bae Yeon-hee, but it would be because of the child actor who made the beginning of our drama so popular?

“Are you curious about Woojun?”

(Oh, that kid. How did you know? I’m getting a job as an assistant director for a short drama this time.)

“Ah. The short film season is already here. Is it an important role? You even checked the referee.”

(Because they are the main characters and the roles are a bit unique, our director has a hard time choosing them. Park Chan-ye, that kid’s image doesn’t fit. Kang A-ra, I’m worried that people will say she’s destroying the original work because her gender has changed.)

Oh, Park Chan-ye was a strong casting candidate there too? That’s good timing. Park Min-hee listed off Yeo Woo-joon’s good points that she couldn’t say to Park Chan-ye’s mother.

“Oh, man. You should definitely use Woojun. He really hit the jackpot.”

(Were you there too?)

“Yeah. It was my first time seeing this mask, so I went to take a look. You know, Minseong, sometimes you test your acting skills.”

(Oh, I know. How many actors were intimidated by that prank? Probably more than three.)

“Minseong was trying to set the mood by listening to what the director had to say, but guess what? That kid was fighting back against Minseong’s fighting spirit. He didn’t even cry.”

Park Min-hee’s breath of disbelief is heard on the other end of the receiver. She doesn’t believe me? It’s true.

(so?)

“He even acted while ad-libbing… … Gosh, just thinking about it still gives me goosebumps. Our director was even late in giving the cut signal?”

(Isn’t that an exaggeration?)

“No. Ask the other staff. They’ll all have the same impressions as me. You know a lot of them, right? The audio director was impressed by the part where the child’s voice changed.”

The other party listened to Park Min-hee’s passionate speech without saying a word.

(I saw on TV that his acting was killer. How is he normally? What’s his personality like?)

“Good. He was standing on set without any distractions and was doing a good job. His guardian was even the head of his agency. It was really smooth. Even though we only filmed for a short time, his nickname was ‘the machine that leaves work on time.’”

(Hoo… Really?)

“You have to catch him right now. From the looks of it, he’ll be up soon.”

.

.

.

Eunyoung Choi, drama director of KSB, muttered while looking at the profile of the children’s theater troupe.

“There are no people. There are no people.”

This is an annual event of the drama department and a short drama project in which the broadcasting station also invests a considerable amount of production costs every year.

Eunyoung Choi was in charge of one episode among them, but was having difficulty casting the lead actor.

“Should we just do Chanye, that kid?”

Park Chan-ye. He is the same age as Yeo Woo-jun, and is a child actor who often appears in the media with his handsome face and decent acting skills for children his age.

“He has such a friendly image.”

I came out too often and consumed a lot of images.

There have been some controversy surrounding some great directors casting actors whose acting skills are not that good, and in those cases, they often say in interviews, “It’s because their image fits our film.”

The actor’s overall mood and the characters he usually plays were also important factors.

“Any more new faces?”

Even if you’re not very good at acting, it means finding a mask that suits the piece.

And Choi Eun-young was one of those directors. Even though she was not good at acting, she was confident that she could bring out the best in directing.

“Director, have you seen this?”

“What is it?”

Assistant director Lee Dong-hyun, who had just spoken to Park Min-hee, held out his tablet. As the reaction of the ‘child actor who lost’ was unusual, the edited version of Yeo Woo-jun, uploaded separately by the production company of [Mind] to MyTube, was playing.

“This time, she appeared briefly in a drama by writer Lee Kyo-eun, and I thought she would be a perfect fit for our project.”

“okay?”

“No, you’re a drama director, but you don’t even know what a ‘bad child actor’ is?”

“I’m weak when it comes to issues.”

Even people in the industry don’t see all the works.

By the way, ‘Child Actor of the Losers’… … He even got a nickname for just a minor role? It probably won’t create much buzz.

“Wow… … What kind of kid looks like this? He’ll be no joke when he grows up.”

Director Choi Eun-young exclaimed in admiration when she saw Yeo-jun Yeo’s face on the screen.

We needed a certain charm that was not human, whether in appearance or acting, and once we got it, it fit our drama.

The acting that unfolded was enough to give me goosebumps even without looking at the context.

“Ugh… … .”

“Isn’t it great?”

“Who is it? How could I not know this person?”

“She’s a rookie. She has no experience in advertisements or pictorials, and this is her first drama.”

A rookie? But you can act like this? I want to. The assistant director, who read the director’s thoughts, snickered.

“Should I contact my agency?”

“Do you have an agency?”

“Yes. I belong to One Actors.”

One Actors… … is now acquired by Legacy, but it is a company famous for having a good pool of actors and nurturing them well, although it went bankrupt due to the former CEO’s excessive business expansion.

Director Choi Eun-young couldn’t take her eyes off the screen. She fell in love with him at first sight. The lead actress of our drama that we had been looking for was here.

“They seem to be good at raising child actors. I really want to do this role, so please try to accommodate me as much as possible.”

“yes.”

The assistant director sighed in relief as if he had put out an urgent fire. The more the casting is not right, the more the director becomes frustrated.

.

.

.

Fox Jun returned to the One Actors office, unaware that he had brought about a huge change in Haruno Ryosuke’s life.

“Did you enjoy your vocal lessons?”

“Yes. But it was nothing special. They just asked for a few songs and that was it?”

“okay?”

Is it okay to take vocal lessons like that? I’ll have to talk to Hannah about it later.

Ko Seung-geon smirked as he looked at Yeo Woo-jun, who had been unable to take his eyes off the paper he was holding.

“Okay, here’s a brief synopsis and character introductions. You’re the lead.”

“wow.”

Even though it’s a short story, she’s already the main character? It seems that the care put into creating ‘Lee Se-in’ has brought about this butterfly effect.

“Every year, KSB plans a one-act special, and this time it’s a project to dramatize a collection of short stories from famous science fiction novels.”

In this world, Kesa also makes short dramas periodically.

Yeo-Jun glanced at the role introduction. It was SF, but the role was unusual.

“Are KSB short dramas famous?”

“The status is really great. Even though it’s a short story, it gets good ratings, and people in the industry are interested in it, so it’s a gateway for new actors, and if you stand out, you get promoted so much that you’re called a KSB civil servant.”

It seemed like the interest level was higher in this world. In addition, the fact that if you get your eye on it, you can get a chance at the next work is amazing.

Even though OTT is on the rise, the power of terrestrial broadcasting is still great.

“I guess they were impressed by your acting in ‘Mind.’ They even left a comment saying they would really like to work together.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I think it’s a good opportunity… … Oh, the script came. Do you want to see it now?”

“I’ll see you now.”

Yeo-Jun Yeo buried his head in the tablet pad he had handed over and focused on the script.

Ko Seung-geon noticed Yeo Woo-jun flipping through the pages. He was reading fast. It didn’t seem like he was reading roughly… … Yeo Woo-jun had a great vocabulary, so he wondered if he already knew how to read quickly.

‘Hmm? What is it?’

However, the expression on Yeo-Jun Yeo’s face, who had been concentrating on the script until the end, became increasingly distorted. Ko Seung-Geon opened his mouth without thinking.

“Will it be difficult? If you don’t really want to do it, feel free to tell me.”

He also read the character synopsis. This is his second time on set, and it can be difficult to act as something that isn’t human. He’s also the lead, so it’s understandable that he’d feel pressured.

‘This role won’t be easy to express.’

In fact, Yeo-Jun Yoo’s heart was pounding as he read the script. But he quickly came up with an answer.

“No. I will do it.”

It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible. He wasn’t stupid enough to miss this opportunity. He had to do it somehow.

* * *

Yeo Jun-woo has accepted the offer to appear in the one-act special [AI-8415]. While filming for [AI-8415] was being prepared, he worked on his advertising schedule.

Even though it was just a simple advertisement appearance, the points given were quite generous. Probably because of the increased probability of being under 10 years old.

And the advertising appearance points were calculated differently depending on the value of the company in charge of the advertisement and the appearance weight, whether it was a simple print advertisement or a TV commercial.

In both works, he played the child roles of the lead actors and completed filming without a single NG, but these two works did not count for additional credits like [Mind].

‘That’s too bad.’

Perhaps, if it had left a strong impression on viewers like [Mind] and created a buzz, or if the child actor’s story had been better portrayed in the play, it would have been credited with additional achievements.

‘Should I prepare like this for now?’

When Yeo-Jun Yoo didn’t have any supporting roles or commercials scheduled, she took basic lessons in vocals, dance, and language, and prepared for her role in [AI-8415] in between.

“Woojun, let’s go.”

“yes!”

“Come to think of it, is this your first time reading? I got into ‘Mind’ in a hurry.”

“yes.”

And today was the first reading day.