Chapter 56

56. High School Script Reading

"First, let's exchange greetings. I'm PD Jung Doo-il, directing this 'High School 2.' Seeing all of you gathered here fills me with great anticipation. I look forward to working with you."

As PD Jung Doo-il took his seat, screenwriter Han Yoo-kyung stood up.

"I'm Han Yoo-kyung, the screenwriter. Starting anew always makes me nervous. I look forward to working with you."

Introductions went around one by one until it was Jin-hyuk's turn.

As Jin-hyuk stood up, various gazes focused on him.

"I'm Woo Jin-hyuk, playing the role of Jin Se-jin. I have many shortcomings. I look forward to working with you."

After Jin-hyuk's introduction, a murmur of excitement rippled through the meeting room.

'Wow, his voice... What's this atmosphere? Is he already Jin Se-jin?'

Jung Haneul's eyes widened. Though she couldn't voice it, she met the gaze of Lee So-jin, who surely had the same thought.

As Jin-hyuk sat down, Jung Haneul shot him a killer smile, but Jin-hyuk turned his head with an indifferent look.

'Huh. He must be shy.'

Jung Haneul's misinterpretation. The idea that a man could be indifferent to her was not in her mind.

"Hello! I'm Yoon Se-rin, playing the role of Seo Da-eun. I look forward to working with you."

"I'm Min Seo-yeon, playing the role of Jung Do-a. I look forward to working with you."

This time, the male actors' eyes sparkled. An older actor looked closely at Seo-yeon.

"Wait, Min Seo-yeon, aren't you the child actor from 'Jang Soon-i Can't Be Tamed'?"

"Yes."

"Right!"

The older actor's face lit up.

"Phew. I couldn't recognize you. You've grown into a young lady. Seo-yeon, don't you remember me? I was the neighbor's aunt in 'Jang Soon-i.'"

"Oh, hello, teacher. I don't really remember that time... I'm sorry I couldn't recognize you right away."

Seo-yeon's memories of the set and the drama from her child actor days were vague. She had never watched the footage from that time.

"Sure, that's understandable. Anyway, it's great to work with you again."

The older actor looked at Seo-yeon with a sympathetic gaze.

'She was a child actor.'

The other cast members, who had thought she was just a simple newcomer, looked at Seo-yeon again.

"Alright, let's wrap up the introductions and start the script reading."

The formal reading finally began.

***

"Hey. How many times have we been in the same class since elementary school? Once, twice…."

"So what? You don't like it?"

"Hehe. I don't dislike it. I really, really like it."

"Your words don't sound like you like it?"

"Hehe. You're all bad, A-rin, especially your suspicious nature."

"What?!"

"Whatever."

Kang Hyuk (the protagonist, played by Yoon Eun-joon) teased as he walked ahead quickly, while Kim A-rin (the protagonist, played by An Ye-na) looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"Phew. Just that."

Indeed, the two idols, recognized not only for their looks but also for their solid acting skills, delivered even a simple exchange with great flavor.

"Hey, do you know who our homeroom teacher is?"

"Who?"

"I heard it's Mr. Kim Woo-sung."

"Ha. Isn't that just your wishful thinking?"

"No, it's a very credible rumor!"

(As the teacher entered) Instead of the young, handsome teacher they had hoped for, a middle-aged teacher with a friendly appearance stepped onto the podium.

"Ha! Ha! Hey, Mr. Kim Woo-sung?"

"Ah, man. I thought it was almost certain…."

The other supporting actors also did a good job with their characters, showing that they had practiced hard.

This was partly due to their determination for 'High School 2' and partly due to the concern that the acting controversy surrounding Jin-hyuk might affect them.

"Da-eun! You'll go with me to introduce the clubs to the new students, right?"

The female lead, An Ye-na, spoke to Seo Da-eun, played by Se-rin, in an energetic voice.

"Ah, can I be left out? I feel a bit uncomfortable standing in front."

Se-rin, who usually spoke in a cute and lively tone, delivered her lines calmly. Se-rin's character, Seo Da-eun, is the pure first love of everyone.

"What do you mean? Da-eun, if you don't go, it will greatly affect the success of our club. Will you go with me? Huh."

"Ah, no, that... Well, I'll just go with you. A-rin."

"Okay. That's enough."

Se-rin's character 'Seo Da-eun' is admired by almost all the male students, but she secretly has feelings for the male lead, who doesn't show interest in her. She envies and slightly resents the female lead, who is close to the male lead, but also likes her as a friend, a complex character.

Se-rin's pure acting made the male cast members look at her with genuine admiration, not just acting.

Doll-like appearance with such purity, for men... the rest is omitted.

"Lee Dong-jae, don't be cheeky. You'll die."

Min Seo-yeon delivered a rough line. Even without her skilled acting, this was almost perfect.

The rebellious and girl-crush character, Jung Do-a, was just like Seo-yeon's usual personality.

'Wow.'

But the cast was surprised. Today, Seo-yeon's styling was particularly feminine.

Contrasting charm.

If this was a strategy by the agency to highlight Seo-yeon's acting and presence in the making film, it was a success.

And. Woo Jin-hyuk.

In fact, Jin-hyuk didn't have much to do during the first episode.

He appears as a scene-stealer at the end of the first episode, but it's almost a wordless performance, relying on his eyes and presence.

His lines appear in the second episode.

An overly quiet dining table where only the sound of chopsticks clinking can be heard. The scene starts with Jin-hyuk not making eye contact with his mother as he speaks.

"Mom, I want to stop my Thursday English tutoring."

The mother's dry response, without making eye contact.

"Why? Do you not like the teacher? Then we can find another…."

"No, I want to reduce the number of classes."

"No."

"Of course…."

Jin-hyuk's trembling breath. It seemed to pause for a moment, then his suppressed line continued.

"You don't even ask why I want to reduce the classes."

"……"

Thud. Jin-hyuk put down his chopsticks and lightly hit the table.

"I've finished eating."

"Wait. You haven't finished yet. Sit down."

"Mom…."

"Sit down. Eat more."

The scene continued, making it feel as if the air was being squeezed out.

Everyone in the meeting room was drawn into the tension created by the two actors.

'Wow. What is this?'

They weren't watching a scene but just listening to the lines.

However, to the people in the room, it felt as if a vivid scene was playing on a TV screen right in front of them.

The performance conveyed the entire tension of the scene through the lines alone.

Breathing, diction, and the perfect timing of catching the emotional rhythm, even the sound of breathing in and the slight tremor in the voice.

If this was bad acting, then the dust-like bad acting of veteran actors would be everywhere.

Even in this meeting room, such dust was floating around.

"……"

The male lead, Yoon Eun-joon, who had been watching the other actors' performances with a relaxed smile, lost his smile.

In contrast, the middle-aged actor playing the mother had an uncontrollable smile on her face.

'Look at this kid.'

The middle-aged actor looked at Jin-hyuk's face again.

An incredibly handsome appearance. The atmosphere that seemed to jump out of the script, just like the character Jin Se-jin.

But that wasn't all. The 18-year-old actor had pulled the 30-year veteran's breath away.

He had heard from younger actors in the same agency that there was some casting controversy online.

Although he was an actor who didn't pay much attention to the public's chatter online, he was curious to see how people would react to Woo Jin-hyuk.

Se-rin, Seo-yeon, and Jin-hyuk's performances. The performances of these three newcomers made all the actors of the same age tense, while the older actors watched with interest.

PD Jung Doo-il and screenwriter Han Yoo-kyung had meaningful smiles on their faces.

***

– Isn't this pretty good? It doesn't seem like bad acting.

– A few seconds have passed, how do you know? And of course, the best parts were edited.

– Still, his looks are real, right? Even a brief appearance was impressive. His profile is a scam. He's terribly unphotogenic.

– Actors need to act well!

– But he seems to act well too.

– What? To me, it seemed very awkward.

The script reading making video was uploaded to the internet, and the controversy over Jin-hyuk did not subside but rather intensified.

The fans' comments on Jin-hyuk's acting, which would make the actors on set gasp, had a problem.

The amount of Jin-hyuk's acting in the video was too short to evaluate.

However, even in that short amount, Jin-hyuk's striking appearance captivated the viewers. His looks alone made it impossible for his supporters to not appear.

The previous 'High School' fans' opinions were mostly complaints and doubts about Woo Jin-hyuk's casting, with a few being indifferent.

So, there wasn't much to clash over.

After the script reading video clip, supporters of Jin-hyuk's casting appeared in large numbers, leading to a heated debate with the opponents.

The video, instead of calming the issue, only fanned the flames.

"People are really going crazy. Thanks to this, the already highly anticipated drama is burning even before it airs."

"……"

"How was it, Ye-na? What did you think when you saw it in person?"

A member of the female idol group, while checking the comments related to 'High School 2' on her smartphone, asked An Ye-na, who was also a member of the same group and the female lead of 'High School 2'.

An Ye-na, with an indifferent expression, said casually.

"He's handsome."

"What?"

The member's eyes widened.

"Ye-na, what did you just say?"

"……"

"You definitely said he was handsome, right?"

An Ye-na, without answering, fiddled with her phone.

"Wow. The sun must be rising in the west. To hear An Ye-na say a man is handsome."

An Ye-na, who usually looked at even the most handsome male idols like they were cows, saying a man was handsome was, well, news. At least among the members who knew her.

"He must really be handsome. The video was impressive, but is the real person even more handsome?"

"Uh-huh."

An Ye-na's answer made the member jump again. The sun must be rising in the west for the second time. Then, with an excited voice, she asked.

"Acting? How was his acting? The video was too short, and people are going crazy about it."

An Ye-na, who was looking at her phone, suddenly looked up at the member.

"He's good. Really good."

The word 'really' coming from An Ye-na's mouth. The sun must be rising in the west for the third time.

At the same time.

The male lead, Yoon Eun-joon, was frowning as he watched the script reading video and the heated comments.

The script reading was just that, a script reading, so the controversy over Woo Jin-hyuk's acting would only be resolved when the drama actually aired.

But the skills of Woo Jin-hyuk, confirmed by everyone that day, could have been less controversial if his part in the script reading video had been longer.

The production team, who couldn't have been unaware of the casting controversy, deliberately kept Jin-hyuk's part short.

'It must be marketing.'

From a promotional standpoint, the current controversy was not a bad thing.

They had the perfect hidden card to completely reverse the controversy.

The more the controversy grew, the more the drama would become an issue, and after the drama aired, it could create another dramatic issue. A win-win situation.

The production team couldn't have made the video without considering such a promotional opportunity.

For the drama's lead, it was good if the drama became an issue and was well-promoted.

But the problem was that the center of the issue was not the lead, himself, but Woo Jin-hyuk.

Looks. Skills. And the concentrated attention of the public. No matter how he thought about it, Jin-hyuk had all the conditions to be the true lead of the drama.

'But I can't just step aside.'

Yoon Eun-joon was a relentless hard worker. Despite his gentle appearance, he was known among the members as a 'tough guy.'

He believed in the fruits of hard work.

How he had secured the lead role in 'High School 2.' He had to stand out as the lead.

There was no other way. He had to show his skills in the drama.

To shake off his anxiety, Yoon Eun-joon, as always, picked up the script and headed to the practice room.