Chapter 14

Tap, tap-tap-tap─

"Chapter 6 is easier than I thought."

It was a bit too much until now. What's the deal with the Purple Girls' dance practice room?

I can finally finish writing without any interruptions for the first time in a while….

Click─

Just then, someone placed a hand on my shoulder and peered at my laptop.

"Already at Chapter 6? Wow, you're really fast."

I turned my head to see who it was. It was Jisungho.

"Mr. Jisungho, what brings you here?"

"Ah, Manager Jung was looking for you, so I came to check."

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Let me finish writing up to Chapter 6 in a bit…."

At that moment, the system suddenly activated.

Ding─

【An actor who fits the role 87% has been found.】

【Do you want to register this actor for the role of Seohyeongmin? (Y/N)】

Why now, of all times, when it didn't react before?

Initially, Jisungho was supposed to be the secondary male lead, so what's going on?

"Contact…. I see."

"Huh?"

Shh─

Hearing my words, Jisungho quickly removed his hand.

"Thanks to you, I learned something."

"Learned what?"

"Never mind."

It seems to have activated after about 5 seconds of contact.

If it had been a woman, the difficulty would have been five times greater.

I immediately thought of answering YES in the system.

【The actor has been registered for the role of Seohyeongmin.】

【At your current level, you cannot change the registered actor.】

Ignoring Jisungho, I checked the remaining time in the system. It was now 2 hours.

I tried to replay the drama from the beginning in my mind.

'…. What is this?'

The content of the drama was still the same, but one thing had changed.

The face of the secondary male lead now matched Jisungho's.

Oh my.

The more I see, the more amazed I am by the system's abilities.

"Mr. Jisungho, can you go up first?"

"Huh? You've almost finished, right? I can just wait…."

"No. I'm going to rewrite it from the beginning."

"Ah, ah…. Yes, sir."

I need to revise the scenes where Jisungho appears during the remaining time.

Looking at it now, not only his face but everything else has changed.

It used to be 87% match, but now it feels like 100%.

Jisungho's usual behavior and tone of voice perfectly match the secondary male lead.

"If you had told me about this feature earlier, it would have been great."

If I had known about it from the first chapter, the quality would have been much better.

What an unhelpful system.

Tap, tap-tap-tap─

It was almost two hours later.

When I stretched, Manager Jeongsae-rom was sitting in front of me.

"Ah, when did you come?"

"About 10 minutes ago. It's nice to see you so focused."

Her slight smile is as charming as any actress.

She's really the top among the professionals I know, both in terms of ability and appearance.

"I just came to talk for a bit. Is it okay?"

"I'm almost done. Just 10 more minutes."

"Take your time. I brought some work to do."

Rustle─

Jeongsae-rom shook a few A4 papers and smiled.

Why has she suddenly become so nice? What's her plan?

'Hmm…'

A few minutes later, exactly 15 minutes later, I spoke to her.

"Manager Jeong, I've finished Chapter 6. Should I send it to you?"

"Mr. Kim, you're really fast."

"Well, you know, with divine help."

"Really? Do you have a religion?"

"Yes. A cult religion."

"Ah, ah…."

It's a joke, but she believes it.

Is her trust in me strong or nonexistent?

"Not a cult, but a cyber religion. The System Religion…."

"….?"

"It's a one-person sect. I'm both the leader and the follower."

"Um…."

Her reaction is colder than I expected.

Maybe because there are many cults in reality.

Immediately, I logged into PC chat and sent a message to Sae-rom.

Ding─

"I've sent Chapter 6 via chat. Please take a look."

"Ah, yes. Just a moment."

It feels like I'm a child being checked by a teacher.

It's not unusual for a writer to be checked by a production company, but this time it might be a bit different after revising the role of Jisungho.

"Writer, something has changed."

"What changed?"

I laughed, expecting this reaction.

I pretended not to know and observed her reaction.

"Seohyeongmin's role…. It really suits our Jisungho!"

"Ah, does it?"

"Yes!!! Didn't you feel it while writing? This is completely…!"

Manager Jeong stopped talking and cleared her throat a couple of times.

"Um, anyway, it's really good now."

"Me too."

Then, I asked her about the reason for her visit.

"Ah, but why did Manager Jeong come here…."

"It's about the audition."

Here it comes.

I had already informed Jaejun about the audition via chat, but I couldn't bring myself to call him because of the guilt.

"Please continue."

"Last time, you said you wanted to cast a newcomer for the main male lead."

"Yes, that's right."

"But why did you suddenly change it to an audition?"

"…. "

"We need to know the direction of the audition to proceed properly."

At that moment, I felt Manager Jeong's gaze become sharp.

It feels like she's telling me to confess the truth.

"Actually, I had a specific actor in mind from the beginning."

"Then why the audition…."

"What do you think a newcomer would feel if they were suddenly cast as the lead in a drama?"

"…. "

"Even though he's a male actor, it's not much different."

Rumors of corruption, sponsorship, connections, and family background.

Various speculations and criticisms will be directed at Jaejun and the drama.

"Let's have a small-scale audition."

"Private audition…."

"Yes. Just a few well-known actors."

"Are you telling me to deceive people…!"

"No, absolutely not!"

"Really?"

"It seems like you misunderstood me…."

I'm confident that the result will be the same, whether it's a public or private audition.

Jaejun will be chosen anyway, so it's a waste for the production company to spend unnecessary money on the audition.

"Please evaluate fairly."

"Excuse me?"

"If there's a legitimate reason for him to be rejected, I'll accept it."

"…. "

"Choose the person who fits the role of the pure macho the best. That's enough."

They say a drama follows its title.

If the pure macho is missing from the pure macho protagonist, it won't work.

I finished speaking and stood up.

Creak─

At that moment, someone came to mind.

A woman smiling and serving customers just 10 meters away.

"Um, Manager Jeong."

"Yes."

"I'm talking about the café staff, Kim Hyunji."

"What? Suddenly?"

"She has acting talent. Try to develop her."

"That's so random…."

"If you don't want to, there's nothing I can do."

I gave a light nod to Manager Jeongsae-rom and left the café.

When I turned my head, her gaze was fixed on the café staff.

"Develop her well. She's for my next work."

* * *

As soon as I got home, I summarized the system's abilities.

1. When I see a specific actor, a work comes to mind.

2. An unregistered actor can be registered with 5 seconds of contact.

3. At my current level, I can't write two works simultaneously.

4. At my current level, I can't change the registered actor.

"In other words…."

If I level up, I can write two works simultaneously or change the actor.

I don't know if it will be the next level or the one after that.

Maybe I won't have to be limited to Jaejun or Seemi in the future.

"It's a scam."

It's hard to imagine my drama without them now.

But the system will likely show me a new drama that fits a different actor.

"The content of the drama changed today, didn't it?"

Even if I had registered a different actor, it would probably have been similar.

Doesn't this mean that I can replace even the main protagonist?

"I need to level up as soon as I make money."

I don't know what level I need to change the actor.

Sticking to newcomers is a huge constraint.

No, it's even more problematic with top actors.

Most top stars have tight schedules.

Casting a leading star from the film industry or a Hallyu actor would be much harder.

Maybe because I've been thinking about the system for a while.

Whenever I finish a chapter, the next writing location is revealed.

Ding─

But this time, the selection reason was hard to understand.

【Content: Heir of a Chaebol is a Pure Macho, Chapter 7】

【Genre: Romance, Chaebol】

【Location: Halla Mountain Baegroktan】

【Time Limit: 2 days】

【※ Bronze Level Up: 110-110101-1011 (Virtual Account, W Bank)】

【※ Deposit Amount: 0 won / 10,000,000 won】

Suddenly, a mountain atmosphere?

"Are you crazy?"

Without thinking, I asked the system a question.

It feels like it will say, "No, I'm not."

But why Halla Mountain in Jeju Island?

"Wait a minute."

Could this be related to Jisungho? I registered him today.

I immediately searched for Jisungho on Puleaf Wiki.

「Hobbies: Reading, Watching Movies, Hiking」

Damn. Who doesn't have hiking as a hobby?

It's like they copied the three major hobbies of Koreans and sent me to the mountains.

I thought I might get to Jeju Island someday.

But to suddenly be told to go to Jeju Island.

"I have to go."

How much are plane tickets these days?

* * *

Two weeks later,

"Manager, only one person applied for the audition through unofficial channels."

"Good job. Team Leader Gam."

Sae-rom immediately opened the report handed to her by the employee.

A neatly processed one-page resume.

"Jaejun…."

To apply for a private audition, one needs to know internal information.

It can't be a Tempest Entertainment employee, so it must be Writer Kim Jin-woo.

"Team Leader Gam, is this person that good at acting?"

"Yes. Not only his acting, but he fits this role perfectly. It's like the role was made for him."

"Is that so?"

How did Writer Kim discover their potential?

They're just aspiring actors who are embarrassed to even call themselves newcomers.

"Should I bring the video evaluation of Actor Jaejun?"

"No. I'll see him in person today anyway."

Today, the final audition will determine the main male lead.

Along with Director Sung Ki-hoon and the broadcasting station representative, she, the production company representative, will be there.

Writer Kim Jin-woo should be included, but he has been out of contact for two weeks.

Suddenly, one of the actors he recommended came to mind.

"Has Actor Kim Hyunji been contracted?"

"Yes. We offered her the best deal for a newcomer."

"Good job."

"Manager, how did you discover such talent?"

"Is she that…. impressive?"

In terms of casting, Team Leader Gam was more of an expert than Manager Jeongsae-rom.

He worked the hardest for this audition.

"Besides her acting skills, Actor Kim Hyunji has a unique aura."

"Ah, um…."

"That's something you can't learn through practice."

"Right. After today's audition, take a two-day vacation."

"Ah, no. I love this job."

Sae-rom smiled and saw Team Leader Gam off.

A core member who can't be missing from the Jeongsae-rom team.

All the talents led by Manager Jeongsae-rom were top-class in the industry.

"If I could make Writer Kim Jin-woo my own, there would be nothing more to wish for."

A talented person with great skills as a writer and casting director.

She was considering raising the conditions to offer an exclusive contract.

Buzz─

Right then, her smartphone vibrated.

It was a person registered as "President."

"Yes. President."

-It's Uncle today.

"Ah, yes. What's up, Uncle?"

-Brother wants to have a family dinner today.

Father relaying the dinner invitation through his daughter.

But Sae-rom showed an uncomfortable expression.

"You know how things are between me and Father."

-Things are tough at the company lately.

"…. President? Uncle?"

-President.

"…."

President Jeong Gi-tae of Tempest kept pestering Sae-rom.

-Please, Niece. No, Manager Jeong.

"Ha, I understand. I'll go after the audition."

-How much does this drama make you to work so hard?

"…. That's not for you to say, President."

-There's a recent script for a movie that needs to be killed….

"I'm hanging up."

Click.

Thinking about seeing her father's face made her mood sink.

Their relationship had rapidly cooled after her mother passed away.

"But…."

Sae-rom felt irrationally annoyed.

"What is Writer Kim Jin-woo thinking, disappearing for two weeks without contact!"