Chapter 17

After chatting with Son Ye-jin for a while, Lee Jung-hee hurried back after recharging his phone, and the break time was almost over.

However, when he arrived at the interview room, the atmosphere inside was not good. Yoon Seok-ho was actually smoking in the room, and Park Dong-jae had a gloomy face.

Lee Jung-hee's heart sank. The drama couldn't afford any more trouble, or he would really go crazy. He tried to relax himself, forcing a smile, and asked Park Dong-jae, "What's wrong, Director Park?"

"Ah, Jung-hee!" Park Dong-jae seemed to come back to his senses, looking at him in surprise, then sighed and shook his head helplessly, "Well, there's a bit of a problem. Deputy Director Ji recommended a female actor to me, saying we should see if there's a suitable role for her..."

At that, Yoon Seok-ho interjected angrily, "What suitable role? Today is the interview for the lead roles. Isn't the meaning clear? Besides, what female actor? She has no acting experience at all..."

This was bad. Lee Jung-hee didn't expect there to be a real issue. However, Deputy Director Ji was in charge of the content department, essentially their boss's boss, and couldn't be easily offended.

He frowned slightly, picked up the resume from Yoon Seok-ho's desk, and read it, then paused and smiled, a very happy smile.

"What are you laughing about?" At this moment, both Park Dong-jae and Yoon Seok-ho felt like strangling him, and the former scolded him irritably.

"It's simple!" Lee Jung-hee looked at the photo on the resume again, confirming he hadn't made a mistake, and shrugged. "Since Deputy Director Ji didn't specify anything, let's just have her audition first!"

Then, he turned to Park Dong-jae's assistant and said, "Have Miss Han Chae-young prepare, and let her be the first to audition." He then explained to the somewhat displeased Yoon Seok-ho and Park Dong-jae, "Don't get angry yet. Just watch and see. If I mess up, you can scold me later!"

Park Dong-jae trusted Lee Jung-hee immensely, and Yoon Seok-ho, after these days of interaction, knew that although Lee Jung-hee was young, he wasn't a reckless young man and was even more mature than most adults. So, they didn't say anything, just frowned and silently followed his instructions, sitting down.

Everything was ready, and soon, the tall Han Chae-young walked in. Although she had connections through her agency, she still looked a bit nervous. Lee Jung-hee smiled and waved her over. When she got closer, he suddenly asked a rather abrupt question, "You should have brought some basic makeup tools, like an eyebrow pencil, right?"

Han Chae-young, like the others, was surprised and glanced at Yoon Seok-ho and the others. Seeing that they didn't say anything, she nodded obediently and, following Lee Jung-hee's instructions, took out an eyebrow pencil and a mirror, and enhanced her eyes, making the eyeshadow deeper and the corners of her eyes more elongated...

"Alright," seeing the effect was good, Lee Jung-hee clapped his hands and said to Han Chae-young, "Now, imagine you see someone you disdain and have some issues with. How would you react?"

Han Chae-young nodded, lowered her head to think. She wasn't completely inexperienced; like Son Ye-jin, she had stage acting experience, making her much stronger than someone with no experience.

So, after a moment, she raised her head, her lips curled slightly, and she gave a cold, mocking smile, her eyes slightly narrowed and staring at Lee Jung-hee with a slight tilt...

Yoon Seok-ho's eyes lit up. From the moment Lee Jung-hee had Han Chae-young enhance her eyes, he had noticed that her eyes were particularly soft and seductive. Now, with the makeup, her performance, though not outstanding, deeply conveyed the woman's vicious and cruel nature.

He seemed to understand something and felt more relaxed. Seeing Lee Jung-hee turn around and wink at them, he almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

"How was it?" After Han Chae-young left, Lee Jung-hee asked Yoon Seok-ho and Park Dong-jae, who were still unsure. Yoon Seok-ho nodded and said, "Your idea is to have her play the adult 'Shin Ae.'"

Bingo! Lee Jung-hee snapped his fingers. Han Chae-young was indeed the original actress who played Shin Ae in the drama. He smiled and said, "It seems Director Yoon also thinks she's suitable. This way, I think Deputy Director Ji won't have anything to say!"

"Of course not!" Park Dong-jae, finally relieved, smiled broadly. Shin Ae was a significant supporting role, and looking at Lee Jung-hee, he felt even more impressed. He and Yoon Seok-ho were both older, and when they first heard the news, they had instinctively resisted and felt angry, rather than trying to find a solution like this young man.

It seemed he had chosen the right person. Park Dong-jae felt happy and relieved, and when he turned to look at Yoon Seok-ho, he saw that Yoon Seok-ho was talking to Lee Jung-hee, his face also full of smiles, clearly becoming even more satisfied with Lee Jung-hee. This made the future of the drama look even brighter.

After the unexpected interruption with Han Chae-young, they returned to the main topic, and the next auditions were for the male lead.

Since actors like Yoo Seung-ho, Jang Dong-gun, Ahn Jae-wook, Han Jae-suk, Bae Yong-joon, and Kim Seung-woo were all unavailable, the competition was now among the current young stars—Song Seung-hyun, So Ji-sub, Cho Seung-woo, and Jang Hyuk.

The competition wasn't as intense as in the morning. While everyone had their own strengths in acting, some were even better than Song Seung-hyun, like Joo Jin-mo. However, Yoon Seok-ho's evaluation was, "His acting is fine, but his face is too rugged and manly. Even if he can express sadness well, his sadness is too rigid, not the kind of melancholic and gentle sadness we need..."

As for Cho Seung-woo and Park Yong-ha, according to Yoon Seok-ho, they weren't the type of men who shine because of their looks but because of their acting. To put it bluntly, they weren't the typical pretty boys.

Thus, Song Seung-hyun, with his slightly melancholic and handsome appearance and solid acting, won Yoon Seok-ho's approval. Lee Jung-hee was naturally pleased with this. Or rather, he was more concerned about the next female lead.

At 7 PM, they were back at the same place, but with more people—makeup artists and stylists who were preparing Heo Ji-won, Song Hye-kyo, and Son Ye-jin for their auditions.

The female lead was very lively as a child, but after growing up and experiencing the hardships of life, and with her illness, she became very gentle and weak, speaking and walking quietly.

Of course, this was abstract, and the specific makeup was up to the makeup artists. However, Lee Jung-hee, knowing the original drama, gave advice to the makeup artist working on Song Hye-kyo, "No, no, not so bright, a bit lighter, like a patient in the hospital, but not too pale..."

He was so enthusiastic and obvious, and they were all in the same room. Although he was the screenwriter and could give guidance, it was clear he was focusing on one person.

Heo Ji-won pouted half-jokingly, "Hey, genius writer, you're being too biased!" And Son Ye-jin, who had overcome her shyness from the morning after chatting with this somewhat clumsy and cute guy, asked softly, "You're not falling for her, are you?"

The comment was light, but everyone in the room heard it and laughed, even Song Hye-kyo felt a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, Miss Son Ye-jin, are you jealous?" Lee Jung-hee, not one to back down, laughed and countered, but was pinched hard by Son Ye-jin, forcing him to grimace and say, "Alright, just joking. I'm really working hard, but I can't take care of all three at once!"

"Hey, you want to take care of all three at once!" Park Dong-jae teased, making everyone laugh again, but it also eased the awkwardness.

Yoon Seok-ho, who had been observing, now understood something. After Lee Jung-hee's guidance, it was clear that Song Hye-kyo's makeup was the most suitable for the female lead.

He couldn't help but admire, "This genius kid really has some skills!" but said to the other two makeup artists, "Well, follow what Writer Lee suggested and do the makeup for Heo Ji-won and Miss Son Ye-jin as well."

Everyone took it seriously, and when the makeup was done, it was clear that Lee Jung-hee's idea was the best. At this point, both Yoon Seok-ho and Park Dong-jae thought Lee Jung-hee had a thing for Song Hye-kyo, and Song Hye-kyo's gaze towards Lee Jung-hee was a bit hesitant.

Lee Jung-hee couldn't complain, and even if he did, it wouldn't help the final result.

After about an hour, the final auditions were over, and the three of them left the interview room and returned to Park Dong-jae's office. On the way, no one said much.

Until Park Dong-jae's assistant brought coffee, and everyone took a sip, then Park Dong-jae spoke first, "Miss Heo Ji-won's acting is really excellent, but as Director Yoon said, even with makeup, she still stands out too much and is too dazzling..."

The meaning was clear—Heo Ji-won was out. Next, Park Dong-jae looked at Yoon Seok-ho, clearly leaving the final decision to him. By giving up his favorite choice, Heo Ji-won, Park Dong-jae was showing his full support.

Yoon Seok-ho was grateful and felt the work was going well. Because of this, he didn't say anything directly but smiled at Lee Jung-hee, "Little genius, what do you think?"

Lee Jung-hee smiled and shook his head, "Isn't the answer already clear?" Everyone laughed, a happy laugh, clearly all thinking the same thing.

Finally, Yoon Seok-ho, in a rare moment, joked, "Seriously, do you have a thing for Miss Song Hye-kyo?" PS: Please recommend and favorite if you like it!

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