Chapter 42. Master Plan - Script Reading

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ma Seok-do, who will be playing the role of Gwak Ji-cheol, a large and timid man who gets beaten up a lot."

Hahaha!

Clap clap clap.

The atmosphere in the room brightened with laughter at Ma Seok-do's witty and cheerful greeting.

Next, a 20-year-old newcomer actor, who was cast as the lead in the film directed by the renowned director Park Chan-hong, stood up.

"Please take care of me. I'm Ryu Yeon-woo, who will be playing the role of Pierre Choi, the fixer who will avenge the timid senior Ma."

As soon as he stood up, Yeon-woo bowed 90 degrees and said, "Please take care of me," which made everyone smile and clap.

"Really handsome!"

Hahaha.

A loud cheer from the back row made everyone burst into laughter.

Thinking of An Jun-ho from the first script reading of 'Summer's Closet,' Seok-do looked back and saw veteran cinematographer Kang In-chan smiling at Yeon-woo.

Kang In-chan, the senior and veteran cinematographer of the 'Summer's Closet' team, had raised his spoon high, saying that his love for the company had risen due to the decided reward vacation in Hawaii.

Yeon-woo, feeling happy, smiled broadly and nodded slightly in greeting.

Next, the charismatic actor Jeong Ha-kyun, who was cast as the boss of the organization, Park Kang-woo, stood up.

Following him, Han So-hyun, who was cast as 'Deer' Jennifer, stood up and received cheers with her cheerful greeting, and the other supporting actors also introduced themselves one by one.

Since many of the actors were well-known, there wasn't much need to memorize their names.

However, as it was a large-scale film, there were many supporting actors, and some names were unfamiliar. As they introduced themselves in turn, Yeon-woo automatically memorized them.

Memorizing names and faces was one of Yeon-woo's specialties.

After all the introductions were over, Director Park explained the overall flow of the film and the subplots of the characters beyond the script.

"Then, let's start."

At Director Park's words, the assistant director called out,

"Let's start. Scene number 1."

Rustle—

Following the assistant director's words, many people in the meeting room flipped their scripts at once.

A supporting actor playing the role of the security company's CEO started.

"Well, you understand. There's nothing I can do. I'll give you a good severance package. Someone has to take the fall, right?"

"No, sir. I didn't do anything wrong. I've been telling you since last month that we need to improve that area."

Gwak Ji-cheol, who works as the programming team leader at a cybersecurity company that mainly handles banks, is in a situation where the bank's network has been paralyzed by a DDoS attack, and someone has to take the fall.

"I really gave you a good severance package. You won't feel bad. You can come back when things calm down. I know Gwak Team Leader's skills better than anyone. Right?"

The scene moved to number 2.

Gwak Ji-cheol, nervously taking out his office items from the trunk and slamming it shut.

Bang!

"Damn bastards. Really."

Ma Seok-do, pretending to slam the trunk shut, hit the table instead.

Although Seok-do intended to hit it lightly, the actors were startled by the shaking table.

"Director Kim."

At Director Park's call, Assistant Director Kim In-hyun, who was assigned to play the role of the supporting actor whose role was not yet confirmed, found his lines.

"Who is it? Did you dent my car?"

The sound of a car door slamming made the owner of the car in the apartment parking lot get out.

"The trunk. The trunk."

The car owner, seeing the burly Gwak Ji-cheol, quietly got back into his car.

In scene number 3, Gwak Ji-cheol's wife, seeing him come home early, asked what happened, and Gwak Ji-cheol explained the situation. His wife, thinking it was for the best, suggested he take a break since he received a good severance package.

The script reading proceeded, and the scene where the subordinates of Park Kang-woo, played by Jeong Ha-kyun, approached the retired genius programmer Gwak Ji-cheol to request an illegal gambling program and, when refused, terrorized his family, was performed.

Ma Seok-do, who cherishes his family more than anything, tried to resist but was beaten up due to his poor fighting skills, which didn't match his large build. He reported it to the police, but only the low-level members of the gang were given light punishments, and the case was closed.

Since the case was closed, it could not be punished again due to the principle of non-retroactivity, and the gang members' threats of retaliation for reporting the incident made Gwak Ji-cheol and his family increasingly miserable.

"I can't live like this. I can earn money again, so if it can be resolved, I'll give everything. Damn it."

Gwak Ji-cheol, who approached a legendary fixer in the dark depths of the internet, which is difficult for ordinary people to access.

Scene 17 started, and it was the first scene where Yeon-woo appeared, the part he auditioned for.

"Devo andare in bagno, scusate (I need to go to the bathroom, excuse me)."

The scene began with fluent Italian.

Oh.

Even those who didn't know Italian could feel the difference in Yeon-woo's pronunciation, and a small gasp of admiration rippled through the room.

Yeon-woo, performing the phone call scene from the audition.

The purpose was to read the lines, so he didn't do the subtle facial expressions as he did during the audition, but the detailed and shocking gradient expressions from that day naturally came to mind for Director Park Chan-hong and Han Yun-soo, the representative.

Next, Yeon-woo acted out the scene where Pierre Choi scams the Italian mafia and escapes smoothly.

"You can search the island for a hundred days. These guys are just... Non è divertente (not fun)."

The last line of this scene, where Pierre Choi, on a motorboat heading to the prepared ship, leaves Sicily.

Next, the scene where Pierre Choi arrives at Incheon Airport.

Taking off his sunglasses, he looks around Incheon Airport.

"Damn, this country makes its airports unnecessarily huge. Ah, I need to go eat some airport kimchi stew. It's been so long. Eherradia."

Yeon-woo, while analyzing the character of Pierre Choi, created a unique and charming tone that conveyed both the slickness of a con man and the charisma of a big shot.

He even added ad-libs to the lines, making them sound as if they had come directly from Director Park Chan-hong's mind, perfectly embodying Pierre Choi.

The perfect fit of Yeon-woo's tone with the role of Pierre Choi, and the unique accent he used for the first time, made So-hyun, who was sitting next to him, look at him in surprise.

The other actors also glanced at Yeon-woo, captivated by this charming and unique accent.

"Should we do this part too?"

The next scene was only described as "Pierre Choi enjoys eating kimchi stew," so Yeon-woo, unsure how to act it out without actual kimchi stew, asked.

"Ah, let's skip this scene. Scene number 24."

At the assistant director's words, the script reading resumed from the next scene and proceeded smoothly, skipping a few scenes to the one where Pierre Choi and Gwak Ji-cheol meet.

Gwak Ji-cheol, who sent his wife and daughter to his in-laws, couldn't even enter his house due to the gangsters from the Kang Woo faction and was living in a cheap motel.

Buying soju from a convenience store, Gwak Ji-cheol, whose life had suddenly become a mess, entered the shabby motel room where he was staying.

"Are you the one who put in the request, Gwak Ji-cheol?"

Inside, Pierre Choi, lying on the bed with his legs crossed, was eating the leftover snacks from yesterday.

"Mom! You scared me. I almost had a heart attack."

The room burst into laughter at Ma Seok-do's comedic performance.

"Who are you calling mom? Am I your mom?"

Yeon-woo's perfectly timed response made the room erupt in laughter.

Yeon-woo continued his lines without missing a beat.

"And, what child are you going to drop? That's not a muscle... it's a pregnancy."

The laughter continued as Yeon-woo delivered his lines naturally.

After waiting for about five seconds for the laughter to subside, Ma Seok-do continued.

"Are you Pierre Choi?"

"Yeah, come sit. Ah, this motel is cheap, so there's no chair. Lie down here."

Pierre Choi, tapping the space next to him, adjusted his position to lie down.

Gwak Ji-cheol, looking pitiful, sat at the corner of the bed.

The actors and staff, imagining the scene, couldn't help but smile at the image of the large Ma Seok-do sitting awkwardly at the corner of a small bed.

Pierre Choi, lying sideways in a somewhat seductive pose, and Ma Seok-do, sitting with his large back hunched at the corner of the bed, continued their conversation.

"But, why did a big, muscular guy like you get beaten up by those punks and end up coming to me? I read all the details, of course."

"I... I..."

"Speak. Speak freely."

"I took the wrong medicine when I was young, so I ended up like this. I don't exercise at all, actually."

Pierre Choi, who was lying down, sat up.

"Ma è una burla! (Is this a joke!), really? Wow. It's like an Eastern mystery?"

"Mr. Fixer, rather than that, can you tell me what we're going to do from now on...?"

Pierre Choi, naturally taking the convenience store bag from Gwak Ji-cheol and taking out snacks, continued.

"Let's eat some snacks and wait. I called some experts in this field. Will the deer come first?"

"The deer?"

Ma Seok-do's last line ended scene 28, and the assistant director, getting the sign from Director Park Chan-hong, called out,

"Scene number 28 is over. We'll take a 30-minute break and continue."

At the assistant director's announcement, everyone stood up to stretch.

Ma Seok-do, who was in front of Yeon-woo, also stood up and approached him.

"Yeon-woo, just call me Yeon-woo."

"Sure, senior."

"Ah, what senior? Call me hyung. I know I'm a bit older, but..."

Although they were two rounds apart in age, Seok-do insisted on being called hyung.

"Ah, Hyung Seok-do. Got it."

"Good, good. By the way, you act really well, hyung."

Seok-do, genuinely impressed by Yeon-woo's acting, said.

"Thank you. I also really enjoyed the chemistry with hyung while reading the lines."

Yeon-woo, smiling, replied.

Seok-do, smiling and patting Yeon-woo's shoulder, left the meeting room to go to the bathroom.

As soon as Seok-do left, Han So-hyun approached.