Jung-han eased the van into a parking spot. When he cut the engine, the car sank into silence.
Hee-yeon clutched her battered script and stared at me blankly, like she couldn’t figure out why we were still sitting there.
“Hee-yeon,” I said, “the acting world is a bit different from the music scene. It’s competitive. In music, you just bump into people and move on. In acting, you’re stuck together for months while sharing the spotlight. That’s why they might start sizing each other up, even at something like a script read.”
“Who?”
“The actors. But don’t let it get to you.”
She nodded.
“Okay. I won’t worry.”
She didn’t sound worried at all. She had never experienced it, never even heard of it, so she probably couldn’t imagine how cutthroat it could get.
I let out a quiet sigh.
“I’d love to step in and back you up, but that might be a bit difficult. It’ll only make things worse. Even if someone keeps poking at you, don’t feel intimidated. Don’t let them hurt you. Whatever happens before the reading doesn’t matter. Once it starts, just crush them with your acting.”
“I get it. I won’t shrink back. And I won’t get hurt.”
Her answer came easily, cool and steady. Like it wasn’t a big deal.
‘…Right. Better that than being scared for nothing.’
She wasn’t walking in blind. I told her everything I could.
I was still worried, of course, but she needed to be strong enough to handle this.
If someday the press or the public turned on her, she would need a backbone tough enough not to shatter.
Still, as long as I was here with both eyes wide open, I would never let that happen.
“Let’s go.”
Jung-han, Hee-yeon, and I got out of the car and headed for the elevator.
Just then, a minivan pulled in nearby. The door slid open, and out stepped a strikingly handsome man.
Sung-hyun Park.
He was one of our film’s two leads, alongside Sung-ah. A veteran A-lister famous for his craft.
He was pushing forty, but he looked like he just stepped out of his late twenties with a solid body.
We paused and waited as he walked over.
“Hello, sir. My name is Hee-yeon Lee,” she said.
His eyes crinkled. His voice rang out, clear and commanding.
“Nice to meet you.”
Without slowing his stride toward the elevator, he nodded at me too.
“Good to see you.”
We trailed after him.
The elevator doors closed.
Fourth floor… third… second… first… basement.
Someone pressed the button back up to four.
“I saw your video. You were good.”
He broke the silence with a compliment.
“Thank you.”
“I heard you only just started learning to act. Is it true?”
“Yes. I started after my last gig ended. I learned with Sung-ah Kim.”
“Wow. You’ll grow a lot while shooting this movie. I look forward to seeing you giving it your all.”
“Yes, sir. I will.”
The doors opened.
We followed him into the script reading room.
Sung-hyun suddenly boomed with laughter.
“Oh, sunbae! Haha, why are you here so early again? I knew you’d beat everyone here, so I rushed over too. Didn’t want you getting bored, after all. Hahaha!”
Just seconds ago he had been reserved, but now he was overflowing with charm.
“I come early because I like the feeling of starting the project early,” came the reply.
“Energy? It’s just stuffy. Anyway, no plans after the read, right? I booked us a spot at a place has killer braised mackerel.”
“Braised mackerel? Nearby?”
“Ha! No way, way better than the joints around here.”
Hee-yeon hurried over, bowing low.
“Hello, sir. My name is Hee-yeon Lee.”
I followed.
Chul-hwan Son.
He was a man in his early sixties, and he had over forty years of industry experience.
“Oh, right. Nice to meet you. I saw your audition tape. You were good.”
“Thank you.”
Another compliment on the audition clip.
Uploading that was definitely the right call.
“Don’t worry about being new. Work hard, and you’ll grow fast,” he said.
“Thank you.”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re an idol or just starting out. Good acting is all that counts. Got it? Hold onto your passion till the end. Don’t burn out.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
He gave her a soft smile, then went back to chatting with Sung-hyun.
Hee-yeon went around greeting everyone else politely, then sat down with her script.
Off to the side, Jung-han leaned in.
“Boss, I don’t see any power plays.”
“Why would they bother with her? The real problem’s the one who isn’t here yet.”
“Oh… but boss, can I ask you something?”
“You just got in here and you already have another question?”
“You’re an investor for this movie. You pulled in Yoon-jung, Yumi, and Sung-ah Kim too. With all that, I can’t see the other actors picking a fight with Hee-yeon.”
I snorted.
“Investor? My investment’s peanuts compared to the whole budget. And once the read starts, I can’t just boot someone from the cast. Besides, whatever strings the producers pull, actors don’t care. Their little turf wars run on their own logic. If credit stopped power struggles, this industry would’ve been peaceful ages ago.”
***
“Ugh… so freaking annoying.”
Mi-yeon Chu’s phone scrolled furiously under her thumb.
In the search bar was ‘Director Min-woo Sung.’
Tap. She erased it and typed again.
This time, it was, ‘Can I Borrow Some of Your Luck?’
The page refreshed, her face tightening with every flick of the screen.
“Oppa, why’s my name barely showing up? Why isn’t the company endorsing me?!”
“I’ll talk to the PR team, Mi-yeon,” her manager said.
She shot him a sharp glare.
“It’s one thing not to endorse me, but when I search the movie, all I see is Sung-hyun Park, Sung-ah Kim, and Hee-yeon Lee. Even Yoon-jung Hwang and Yumi Cho get mentioned more than me and they’re not even in the movie! Does that make sense? Huh? Why is my name missing?!”
“N-no, that can’t be. It’s not that bad. Really.”
Her eyes blazed hotter.
The manager shrank back.
If he had known he would get grilled like this, he would have begged his boss for another assignment. However, they were stuck in the car, and there was no escape.
Worst of all, she wasn’t wrong. Her name wasn’t coming up, not even as much as people who weren’t in the film.
“Damn it! What’s so special about that audition clip? She can’t act, but one flashy line and suddenly everyone thinks she’s brilliant. Makes me sick! People are so blind. They don’t even know real acting when they see it.”
“…It’s just because she’s an idol. Expectations are low for her. Toss in a spicy line, and people get fooled into thinking she’s good. When the movie drops, she’ll probably be toast. I bet that video took dozens of takes. Her boss is a backer for this movie. Of course they polished it till it shined.”
Mi-yeon’s fire dimmed slightly.
“Right? Sung-ah Kim practically spoon fed her that scene.”
“Exactly!”
Her shoulders eased. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“That arrogant brat.”
The manager cleared his throat carefully and said a word of caution.
“Mi-yeon… listen. I’m only saying this because I don’t want you distracted today. Let’s just get through the reading, okay?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean… save your showdown with Hee-yeon for later. Just the two of you. She’s sly. She might try to twist things if you go at her here.”
Mi-yeon’s face twisted in disgust.
He swallowed hard, but pressed on.
“And you know you don’t need to kiss up to Sung-ah Kim, right? No point—”
“I know that! Who doesn’t know about her personality?”
“H-Haha, yeah. Exactly. Oh, and, just in case, Hee-yeon might be close with Sung-ah Kim, so—”
“So I shouldn’t mess with Hee-yeon in front of Sung-ah? Because she might defend her?”
Mi-yeon barked a laugh.
“Are you serious? You think that psycho would defend anyone? You really think that makes any sense?”
He realized he’d said too much.
“…Right. She would never do that. But still, let’s just let it slide today, okay? Please.”
***
Sung-hyun Park and Chul-hwan Son could have stepped in and stopped things. They could have smoothed over the power plays.
However, they had no thoughts of doing so.
Some actors hated bad vibes, but most had learned the same lesson after decades on set.
Power struggles didn’t end because someone told them to. At best, they paused for a moment.
‘It’s better to let the hierarchy settle early. It makes the whole shoot run smoother.’
It sucked for whoever got stuck at the bottom, though.
That was when Mi-yeon Chu swept into the reading room.
“Hi, everyone! I look forward to working with you all today.”
Her voice was sugary sweet, and her smile pure plastic.
It depended on how you chose to see it, but fake politeness was still a hundred times better than showing her real teeth.
Every head turned her way.
Was it because she was pretty? No. If it was just beauty, no one would have been able to look away from Hee-yeon in the first place.
No, the attention was on her because everyone had heard at least one story about Mi-yeon’s temper.
As expected, she made a beeline straight for Hee-yeon, the rookie stealing her spotlight.
When Hee-yeon greeted her the moment she walked in, Mi-yeon ignored it. Now, she spoke like the introduction had never happened.
“Oh? Hello. I’m Mi-yeon Chu,” she sang. Her voice dripped with exaggeration.
It was like she was really saying, Why aren’t you greeting me?
The air grew taut.
In the hushed room, every ear was tuned in.
“Hello, ma’am. My name is Hee-yeon Lee.”
She forced Hee-yeon to greet her a second time.
“Must’ve been so buried in the script you didn’t notice me walk in?”
“No.”
“Really? So you did see me?”
“Yes.”
“…Are your answers always that short? While looking someone in the eyes like that?”
(T/N: In Korean culture, it’s more polite to look away while speaking. It may be considered rude to make continuous eye contact while speaking with another person.)
“Yes. Mostly.”
“Ha! Bold little thing, aren’t you? Talking back to your senior?”
“No.”
Her eyes held a steady and cool look. No flinch, no slump, no apology. Just calm.
Normally, a back-and-forth like this would crank the tension until it could split the ceiling. With Hee-yeon, the pressure just wasn’t there.
A quiet snort escaped Sung-hyun Park.
Mi-yeon’s head snapped around, but when she saw it was him, she looked away and found her seat.
It felt more like shadowboxing more than someone fighting for dominance. Like someone throwing punches at thin air.
Around the room, people bit back laughter as they eyed Hee-yeon with curious eyes.
It was strange.
Hee-yeon’s clipped answers should have sounded rude, but somehow they didn’t.
She was just serene. Like nothing touched her.
Someone even wondered if she was Buddha.
Everyone thought along those lines. Of course, everyone but one person.
“…How can you be so rude?”
Mi-yeon’s face burned red.
With all eyes on her, there was no way she could back down now.
If she stopped now, it would look like she chickened out.
“…”
“Now you won’t even answer?”
“I wasn’t sure.”
“About what?”
“Whether I was rude. I was thinking about it.”
“You little!”
The spat was turning from a power struggle into a straight-up shouting match.
Although, it was more like she was swinging furiously at empty air.
Just as Mi-yeon’s face looked about ready to explode, the door opened.
In walked Team Lead Kwak from HS Entertainment’s Management Team 3. Along with him, Sung-ah Kim.
Her gaze went straight to Hyuk Kang.
“Hmm? Oppa, what’s with that face? Did something good happen?”
—