Chapter 28

After finishing the stage at the music center and the filming of "Café Prince," Yoon Hyun's weekly work now only included "Infinite Challenge." Since his character in "Infinite Challenge" had already been well-defined as a cunning strategist who often shirks work and devises plots, he also played the role of a military advisor when the MCs and the production team engaged in intellectual battles. This made Yoon Hyun's filming go smoothly.

Seeing Yoon Hyun's leisure, Kim Soo-yeon, who couldn't stand it, naturally found him a bunch of new tasks.

These included TV dramas, commercial endorsements, and something new: a movie.

"What's this movie about?" Yoon Hyun immediately spotted this standout among a pile of commercial and basic TV drama scripts, like a firefly in the darkness.

"Oh, it's from... um, the day before yesterday. A young director sent it to the company. He said he saw your performance in 'Café Prince' and thought you would be suitable for a role in his movie. So he wants to invite you for an audition." Kim Soo-yeon wasn't very interested in this movie script.

Because she had already read the script and learned about this new director. It was a very dark story. She didn't approve of Yoon Hyun participating in this movie. But out of professionalism, she still brought it to Yoon Hyun.

Yoon Hyun picked up the movie script with great interest.

"What a perverted story." After reading the entire script, Yoon Hyun gave it this evaluation. "He wants me to play the serial killer, right?" Yoon Hyun asked Kim Soo-yeon.

"Yes. What? Are you interested?" Kim Soo-yeon was a bit surprised. "Yoon Hyun-ssi, I think with your current acting skills, you might not be able to handle such a role."

"Why not try? How will we know if we don't try?" Yoon Hyun suddenly smiled. "And this type of movie, either becomes a huge hit or is completely ignored. I want to take a gamble. Besides, I can accept both outcomes, can't I?" He lightly touched the title of the movie on the cover. "The Chaser."

"Think carefully. With 'Café Prince,' you have a chance to be nominated for several awards this year. If this movie ruins it..." Kim Soo-yeon, as his agent, tried to persuade Yoon Hyun one last time.

"It won't affect anything. I think this movie won't be released until next year, by which time all the award ceremonies will be over. With what you said, I might even get to attend the Blue Dragon and Baeksang next year." Yoon Hyun suddenly laughed.

But Kim Soo-yeon couldn't laugh at all.

"Is the audition the day after tomorrow? Alright, I'll go and try it out." Yoon Hyun set his schedule and pushed aside the TV drama scripts Kim Soo-yeon had brought.

"Yoon Hyun-ssi, I think you're getting too full of yourself." Kim Soo-yeon said angrily.

"It's not that I'm full of myself, Soo-yeon-ssi," Yoon Hyun smiled and stretched, a bit tired from reading the script. "It's just that I don't mind, because I'm not afraid of not getting the role, so I want to try it out."

"But I still have to make a living!" Kim Soo-yeon was very frustrated.

"Don't act pitiful with me. From what I know, just the royalties from a few songs have already been paid out. Tell me, how much did you get?" Yoon Hyun rolled his eyes at Kim Soo-yeon.

Kim Soo-yeon immediately became awkward and started to change the subject, then hurriedly fled with everything except the movie script.

Yoon Hyun watched the flustered Kim Soo-yeon and found her cute. As for the royalties? Yoon Hyun really didn't care about that much money...

But just as Yoon Hyun was about to relax, Kim Soo-yeon, who was about to leave, seemed to remember something and turned back. She pulled out a TV drama script and handed it to Yoon Hyun, saying, "Right, this drama. I'm not interested in the script, but the director... um... hopes you can write an OST for them. Take a look."

"OST?" Yoon Hyun frowned.

"Yes. Take a look. The offer is quite good."

"Alright, I'll take a look when I have time." Yoon Hyun said indifferently.

Kim Soo-yeon nodded. She knew Yoon Hyun's songwriting habits. When he had inspiration, he could write quickly, but without inspiration, he couldn't produce anything.

"Fast and the Furious Hong Gildong?" A period drama? Yoon Hyun was a bit hesitant.

But he still picked up the script and read it like a novel.

A period comedy? Yoon Hyun's lips curled slightly. The idea seemed interesting, even though the script was a bit rough.

But for some reason, as Yoon Hyun read the story, he felt a bit melancholic.

"I mean, I'm not a failure in this life, but why do I still feel so deeply affected by such stories?" Yoon Hyun shouted in frustration.

It seems that what is destined is destined. Yoon Hyun thought sadly.

To express this feeling, and for himself, he decided to write a song. He would write it himself. Yoon Hyun made up his mind.

If I leave step by step, I can't muster the courage to determine how I will feel. If you leave me, how will I see you off? Maybe I'm a fool, just staring at you, not understanding what you're thinking. So, the distance between us keeps growing, right? I'm really a fool, unable to even say I love you...

Yoon Hyun wrote these prose-like lines as if he were confessing.

Almost in one go.

The rest was composing the music.

Perhaps because the lyrics came so smoothly, Yoon Hyun couldn't think of any melody to match them.

So, a bit sad, Yoon Hyun decided to wait for inspiration.

Then he carefully stored his second independently written song. Compared to his first work, which was purely a test of his rapping skills, this emotional song was undoubtedly more precious.

Although he planned to temporarily put the song aside, by the time Yoon Hyun went to bed at night, the prose poem was still repeating in his mind.

"Ah, if I had watched more Korean dramas in my past life, I wouldn't have this problem," Yoon Hyun was almost driven to the brink of collapse.

But there are no such "ifs"...

Wait, if...

If I leave... If I see you off... If...

Damn, do I have to be such a tragic backup? Do I have to be such a good guy card!

Yoon Hyun was a bit frustrated.

But even in his frustration, these two words made the sad melody in his heart start to play.

So, Yoon Hyun, who was already in bed, jumped up and wrote down the melody in his mind...

An hour later, after several revisions and adjusting the lyrics to a more suitable form for singing.

"This is just a deep, unrequited love!" Yoon Hyun hummed the song and defined it in his mind. What should the song be called? A Single Man's Cry? A Song of Unrequited Love? Yoon Hyun playfully mocked his own work and then formally wrote "If" as the title.

Finally, with the burden lifted, Yoon Hyun went to bed...

Soon, it was time for Yoon Hyun's movie audition.

After running and exercising with Lee Ji-eun in the morning, he taught her some vocal training, then got into the car to go to the beauty salon for makeup.

These two days, besides writing "If," Yoon Hyun had been seriously studying the script, imagining what kind of external appearance and inner state Chi Young-min should have.

Perhaps because it was related to his major, Yoon Hyun began to habitually analyze the various aspects of this character.

This philosophical way of thinking might seem strange, but it helped Yoon Hyun understand the character's mindset and thus his actions as quickly and deeply as possible.

Even the best actors probably wouldn't deconstruct a character like he did...

So, wearing a white shirt and a black-rimmed glasses without lenses, Yoon Hyun appeared before the director and screenwriter, almost immediately capturing their attention.

"This is the image of Chi Young-min I had in mind!" The director whispered to the producer.

The producer nodded, saying nothing.

Yoon Hyun began his performance, the part where Chi Young-min describes his murders to the police. A calm smile on his lips, he spoke terrifying words, making eye contact with the non-existent police, his eyes showing a mix of comfort and calm...

The director felt a chill run down his spine.

"Show us how you imagine Chi Young-min in a violent state," the producer, unable to bear the atmosphere, interrupted Yoon Hyun's performance.

"Please give me a minute," Yoon Hyun said calmly, unaffected by the interruption.

The director and producer both shuddered.

A minute later, Yoon Hyun still smiled, but the smile was wider. If there was a difference, it was his eyes... they seemed to turn red...

"Perfect!" The director stood up and clapped for Yoon Hyun.

Yoon Hyun immediately stopped performing, closed his eyes, and after 10 seconds, returned to his normal state.

"How about it, Director-nim, Producer-nim, is this good enough?" Yoon Hyun asked half-jokingly.

The director and producer looked at each other, both seeing surprise in the other's eyes. "I thought you were always so indifferent."

"I'm not that kind of person." Yoon Hyun laughed.

"Then I admire your acting even more." The director nodded happily.

"Thank you. Can I go now?" Yoon Hyun saw that he had basically succeeded.

"Sure, I'll notify your agent about the specific time the crew will gather." The director extended his hand, "Let's have a good collaboration!"

"Let's have a good collaboration!" Yoon Hyun also extended his hand.

Their hands shook.

After returning from the audition, Yoon Hyun went straight to his recording studio, used the computer to synthesize the sound effects of the song "If" he had written, and tried singing it.

"Why does it sound more and more sad? This guy should just die!" Yoon Hyun's self-criticism was multi-layered. This criticism was especially evident in this song, as it had a shadow of his previous life.

Forget it, I'll record the accompaniment and let the crew find someone else to sing it. Yoon Hyun thought irresponsibly.

Then he directly called Kim Soo-yeon, who was wandering around the company, and had her take the recorded accompaniment and lyrics to the director of the crew.

Kim Soo-yeon looked at Yoon Hyun in surprise. She really didn't expect that something she had casually agreed to, Yoon Hyun would actually write.

Yoon Hyun wouldn't tell Kim Soo-yeon that this was his first truly meaningful song.

After sending Kim Soo-yeon away, Yoon Hyun went home and went online.

Speaking of his online activities, it's worth mentioning his fan café, which now had an impressive... 15,000 members.

It might not sound like a lot, but for Yoon Hyun's fan café, which was a special existence, this was already quite remarkable.

Unlike many other fan cafés, Yoon Hyun had a lot of control and management over his fan café. This was because he had been involved with cafés early on and, due to his otaku nature, had a unique understanding of forums, making his authority in the forum absolute. Even the café's founder and organizer, Park Jung-won, couldn't compare to Yoon Hyun in terms of credibility.

The best example was the "Kimchi Rules" that everyone had to read one by one when joining Yoon Hyun's fan café. The first rule: No private fans, no stalking or photographing Yoon Hyun's private life. This rule, which would be almost impossible to accept in almost any other fan group, was a golden rule for the kimchi fans.

Of course, as a compensation for not accepting private fans, whenever Yoon Hyun met fans outside, as long as they could prove they were kimchi fans, they would get a chance to take a photo with him...

The "Kimchi Rules" had only three rules. Yoon Hyun used the example of the Three Rules of the Chinese to explain to the fans why he had to adhere to certain principles.

1. No private fans, no stalking or photographing Yoon Hyun's private life.

2. If you have a girlfriend, please automatically leave.

3. Do not anti any other celebrities because of Yoon Hyun.

It wasn't hard to follow these rules. But because of this, Yoon Hyun's fans never reached 20,000. On the contrary, many people thought Yoon Hyun was pretentious, and his anti-fan club already had nearly 50,000 members...

But Yoon Hyun himself didn't care.

After all, he had the confidence to not rely on the entertainment industry for money...