Survive! Foolish Bottom!

 

Kim Sooyul was born as the eldest daughter in a loving family with one son and one daughter. Her father’s business always thrived, ensuring a life of abundance. Her parents had a strong and happy marriage, and she had an exceptional relationship with her one and only younger brother. Kim Sooyul’s life was filled with happiness—until her parents tragically passed away in an accident.

 

After their passing, Kim Sooyul became the head of the family, burdened with debt. She sacrificed many things to support her younger brother, and before she knew it, most of her twenties had slipped away. 

 

People around her constantly pressured her to get married, but she always dodged those conversations with excuses like, “It’s not the right time yet,” or “I need to focus on raising my brother a little longer.”

 

Despite everything, Kim Sooyul still held onto her dreams of love. She wanted to meet someone truly special and build a loving family, just like her parents had. 

 

Unlike her parents’ untimely passing, she dreamed of watching her children grow up, get married, and have their own families, all while staying happy to the end. Her ideal partner didn’t need to be a fairy-tale prince; he only needed to know how to love.

 

Kim Sooyul had set aside those dreams due to her harsh circumstances, but one day,

he

appeared. The man was her first love from her school days, Seo Jungho. 

 

Unlike Sooyul, who had become worn down by life, Seo Jungho was still as successful and confident as ever. Now a senior executive at one of Sooyul’s client companies, he seemed like someone completely out of her reach. She wished he wouldn’t remember her, but this man kept lingering around her, as if he were waiting for her to come to him.

 

When Sooyul, shaken and confused, finally asked why he kept disturbing her peace, Jungho confessed that he urgently needed someone to marry and proposed a contract marriage. 

 

Meanwhile, Yeonjun, a longtime friend who had always been by Sooyul’s side, began trying to approach her as a man rather than just a friend, especially after Jungho’s arrival in her life…

 

This was the synopsis of the new drama. 

 

The role Park Haeun had landed was that of Kim Su-yul’s one and only younger brother. His character deeply loved his sister and carried a strong sense of guilt for the sacrifices she had made for him after their parents’ death.

 

 The siblings shared an extraordinarily close bond, one that seemed almost absurdly strong, and he felt an immense sense of responsibility toward her. As a result, his character had a decent amount of screen time and significance in the story.

 

It was a role perfectly designed to invite criticism if he didn’t perform well—a golden opportunity for the internet to label him as yet another “idol with wooden acting.” 

 

For an idol like Park Haeun, who lacked widespread recognition, the backlash would be fierce and merciless: “Who even is this nobody?” “Whose connections did he use to get this role?” or “Great, just when the show was perfect, they ruined it by casting some no-name flop idol.” 

 

The thought of being torn apart like that made Haeun even more determined to give it his all. 

 

He poured all his effort into preparation, more intensely than he ever had in his entire life. 

 

Haeun studied the past works of his co-stars, focusing especially on Kim Gyowon, to understand their acting styles. He never missed a day of script practice. The days of rigorous study passed quickly, and soon enough, the first day of filming loomed on the horizon.

 

This was not just the first time he had gone alone to an audition, but also the first time he was arriving solo on set. During active promotion periods, he and his fellow members almost always stuck together. Somehow, he had grown so used to the presence of his in-game idol group members that waiting alone now felt strangely uncomfortable.

 

Soohyung’s character wouldn’t make a proper appearance until the very end of Episode 2. Until then, he was only referenced in phone conversations or through messages exchanged with his older sister, the female lead Sooyul. 

 

His official entrance happened in the final scene of the second episode, where he bumped into the male lead who had just escorted Sooyul home.

 

Because of this, he had to film a scene with Kim Gyowon right on the first day. Given that Kim Gyowon’s mere presence during the script reading had managed to tank Haeun’s favorability score, Haeun couldn’t help but worry that his score might plummet to –30 or worse by the end of the shoot.

 

Today’s filming schedule included the scene where tension ran high between Seo Jungho, the male lead, and Yeonjun, the second male lead. Haeun took a seat, observing as the other actors performed while waiting for his turn.

 

The actress playing Kim Sooyul, Ham Dabi, managed to get a couple of solo scenes cleared with just a few takes. 

 

Haeun had initially thought her acting to be inconsistent based on her previous works, but she seemed to be a perfect fit for this role. Her lines and facial expressions came across so naturally that he found himself genuinely impressed. 

 

Then came the moment everyone seemed to be anticipating: the clash between Kim Gyowon and Lee Jaewoon. 

 

Haeun could practically picture himself munching on popcorn, captivated by the scene unfolding before him. 

 

As soon as the cameras started rolling, Lee Jaewoon, who was playing Yeonjun, grabbed Kim Gyowon’s collar. His hands trembled with barely contained rage, and the words he spat out were so intense, it was almost hard to believe that this was the typically calm, reserved character. 

 

Watching it, Haeun couldn’t help but think.

 

‘This is the kind of scene that screams ‘Jeong Ilhyun vibes.’

 

Park Haeun couldn’t help but think of his script practice partner, and he shook his head slightly with a hint of regret. Meanwhile, Lee Jaewoon continued to hurl heated words at Kim Gyowon.

 

Yeonjun had known Sooyul for a long time, so he was well aware that her first love was Jungho. Back then, he had supported her in silence, but the dynamics had shifted, and now he couldn’t remain as passive.

 

“Why the hell did Sooyul come back into the picture? What’s your angle in shaking her up like this?” 

 

Even while being grabbed by the collar, Kim Gyowon didn’t appear at all diminished. He held his head high, looking down at Lee Jaewoon with an impassive expression in his eyes.

 

“Sooyul has just managed to find her footing again. I won’t stand by and watch you mess that up. Don’t even think about touching Kim Sooyul again.”

 

Despite Lee Jaewoon’s firm warning, Gyowon’s face remained unchanged, unaffected by the words. He smiled lightly, brushing Lee Jaewoon’s hand off his collar, and responded in a slow, deliberate manner.

 

“You’ve been watching Kim Sooyul for more than half your life, haven’t you…?” 

 

“……” 

 

Haeun felt the tension in the air as he observed the two. It was a confrontation steeped in layers of history, unspoken words, and the burden of past relationships. 

 

Kim Gyowon’s calm demeanor contrasted sharply with Lee Jaewoon’s fervor, making the scene all the more gripping. Haeun knew that there was so much more beneath the surface than what was being said. This was the kind of complex emotional interplay that could make or break a drama, and he was determined to absorb every moment of it.

 

“But you still don’t know much about her, huh?”

 

He sounded as if he knew everything about her, a tone of superiority lacing his words. Lee Jaewoon hardened his face as if his pride has been hurt.

 

“That’s why you can only ever be friends.” 

 

For Yeonjun, that must have been the most horrifying thing to hear. The grip Lee Jaewoon had on his collar relaxed as he processed the implication, the weight of the truth hanging in the air. Kim Gyowon glanced down at Jaewoon for a moment before expressionlessly stepping out of the frame.

 

Haeun felt a genuine admiration welling up inside him. Since watching Kim Gyowon’s videos in preparation, he had sensed that there was something fundamentally different about his acting. 

 

If there were a stat system for his acting ability, Kim Gyowon would have filled up a perfect score of ten long ago. With the introduction of a ranking system, it wouldn’t be surprising if he evolved into a higher tier of talent.

 

Pulling off such a cheesy dialogue and still making it believable was no easy feat, but Kim Gyowon managed it effortlessly. Unfortunately, there was a glaring issue with this scene.

 

“Um, let’s do it again.”

 

The director announced, possibly echoing Haeun’s thoughts. The two actors attempted the scene once more, but the expressions of those watching remained lukewarm.

 

The problem was simple: the difference in acting abilities between See Jungho and Lee Yeonjun was glaringly apparent. If it was obvious to a rookie actor like Haeun, how much more so would it be to a professional director?

 

The director remained silent, seemingly at a loss for how to direct the scene. 

 

“Jaewoon ssi, for this scene, try to show more expression… and…..

hah

.” 

 

He sighed heavily, and Haeun couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for both the director and the actors. There was an undeniable gap in performance that needed to be bridged, and time was running short to find a way to make this scene work.

 

He was trying hard to explain something but wore a look that said he didn’t know what to do about it. It wasn’t that Lee Jaewoon’s acting was bad; it was just that Kim Gyowon’s performance was so exceptional that the awkwardness arose from the disparity. 

 

In fact, Lee Jaewoon’s acting skills, when considered for someone who used to be an idol, were far from terrible. They were good enough to warrant headlines like “Successful Transformation Into an Actor!”

 

But the problem lay in the fact that his scene partner was none other than Kim Gyowon. From Haeun’s perspective, Kim Gyowon was the kind of person who, because his standards were so high, had difficulty empathizing with the shortcomings of others. Even now, he was making a face that seemed to say, ‘Is this what you call acting?’

 

“What do you think, Gyowon ssi?” 

 

The director, who had been deep in thought, turned to Kim Gyowon for his opinion. The actors’ faces stiffened as if they had predicted an unfortunate future. Was it even a good idea to ask

him

about this? Even Haeun found himself worrying. Kim Gyowon replied with a calm, composed expression.

 

“Should we just move on? I don’t think it’ll get any better even if we shoot it again.”

 

It was an incredibly insulting statement, far more so than pointing out specific flaws in detail. The entire set fell silent, frozen in shock, as no one had expected him to go that far.

 

The actors who had worked with him before had described him as generally gentle and considerate. Was that just something they said to be polite in interviews? Or did they mean that while he

was

usually gentle and considerate, but he was also ruthlessly thorough when it came to work? Maybe Kim Gyowon was a person composed of 1% gentleness and 99% perfectionism.

 

“If there’s something I need to fix, I’ll do it! Please tell me!” 

 

Lee Jaewoon exclaimed, raising his voice in a determined appeal. The fact that he could respond so courageously after being humiliated was impressive.

 

Oh. No wonder he looked familiar. It was that guy. 

 

That guy who has been ranked third on that celebrity chart show Seongjae used to watch, titled “Stars Most Likely to Have Great Social Skills.” Haeun had heard of the name “Gloomy” before but wasn’t familiar with the individual members. Now, after seeing this side of Jaewoon, he understood why he had made the list.

 

However, Kim Gyowon showed no sign of wanting to befriend him. It was clear that he had no further interest in that scene, so the filming wrapped up just like that. And finally, it was Haeun’s turn.

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