Chapter 366 (1/2)
Maru replied as he looked at Junmin who was taking in the smell of the tea.
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“I’m watching all the recent ones that are airing.”
The only TV programs he watched were the news and long-running historical dramas.
“The one on YBS?”
“Yes.”
“That’s rather fortunate. Isn’t that right, sir?”
Moonjoong nodded. Maru wondered why Junmin was talking about this. Maru looked at Moonjoong who had a satisfied smile on his face. It seemed that he held the answer to this.
“A director I’ve known for a long time is starting a historical drama soon. It will be airing on RBS.”
“An RBS historical drama?”
YBS historical dramas were called the ‘traditional’ historical dramas. It was mainly targeted towards the older generation and recruited heavyweight actors to do it. Meanwhile, historical dramas on RBS were mainly targeted towards the younger generation. Rather than talking about the sharp conflict between political people, they mainly dealt with romance or heroism.
“Yes, a historical drama on RBS. I was planning to rest a little, but this fellow asked me to do it. When I received the script, I became interested since it was a character I’ve never done before. And that’s where you come in. Maru, do you want to try doing a child character in a historical drama?” Moonjoong asked as he leaned back in his chair.
“A historical drama?”
“Yes.”
“Well, for me, I’d love to if I have the chance, but wouldn’t I have to go through an audition?”
“You won’t have to do an audition. I already said that I guarantee your acting skills. Also, it’s not that big of a role.”
“Can I ask what kind of role I’ll be doing?”
Moonjoong smiled before replying,
“A beggar.”
* * *
“You can go back now.”
“I’ll drive you home.”
Junmin said that, but Moonjoong waved his hand in refusal.
“It’s fine. I’m not so weak that I have to have the support of others. Then Junmin, see you next time. And Maru, see you in a while.”
Moonjoong left after saying that he’d go home after looking around for a bit. After watching Moonjoong walk away from the building for a while, Junmin spoke.
“I have some more to talk about. Let’s go in.”
“Yes.”
He followed Junmin to the coffee shop on the first floor. He could see company employees eagerly waiting next to the counter. It seemed that they were new recruits at their respective companies.
They sat at a table in the corner. Junmin took off his flat cap and spoke.
“I heard that Suyeon asked you a favor.”
“She told me to play a minor role so I went.”
“And it was doable?”
“It was just a couple of lines while chopping with a knife, so it wasn’t that hard.”
“I kept doing it and I guess I’m learning my way around.”
“How is it compared to shooting movies?”
“I can’t say for sure since I only shot one movie, but from what I felt, shooting a movie was a lot harder.”
“It must have been harder since it was your first time. Then how about in the perspective of interest?” Junmin asked as he took out a notepad from his pocket.
Maru thought about it a little before replying.
“It was hard, but I felt more fun and there was a bigger sense of achievement when I shot the movie.”
“Why is there such a difference even though you were a minor actor in both?”
“I think it’s a matter of concentration.”
“So you focus less on dramas?”
“It’s not about focusing less. I just didn’t need to focus as much because not many expectations were placed on me. During the movie shoot, I felt that each and every frame was mine. There was a lot of pressure as well. However, the drama shoots weren’t like that. I could’ve done better, yet the producers that shot the drama just shout cut and go to the next scene, so it’s actually not fun at all. It’s not like I can ask the producers to shoot again when I’m just a minor actor.”
What he found out through playing minor roles in dramas was that shooting dramas was a war against time. There were almost no dramas in South Korea where they started shooting with a finished script and shot everything before the first episode. First, the main and secondary writers will write their scripts after every episode, then the shooting team will have to get ready in a busy fashion, and the actors will have to prepare, no, do their acts in a short time, as though it was fast food. No producers would want detailed acting from a minor role. They had it busy enough already. Minor roles were fine as long as they were decent in the background.
“Like that, my part goes by in a flash so I got used to that flow. I focused on not making mistakes as much as possible, so it does feel a little mind-numbing. When I went through that a couple of times, I realized that what I’m doing now is just work.”
“That’s a good realization you have there. Many actors expect too much from what they’re doing, not realizing that it was just work. Those actors will fall and not be able to climb up again.”
“Is it a good thing?”
“It is a good thing. You’re not going to live as an actor for plays.”
“I do want to do plays, but as I expected….”
“You want something that can earn you money?”
“That’s how it is.”
“Then you’ll have to get used to the TV media that much more. When you’re a minor actor, you at least have the time to think that your work is boring, but once you climb up to the ranks of supporting actors and lead actors, you won’t even have time to think about that. There will be scripts upon scripts upon scripts. At worst, you’ll receive the script just as you’re starting to shoot, so there’s no time to be bored. Mini-series and planned dramas are a bit better, but in the case of morning dramas and daily dramas, there are plenty of occasions where the scenes change due to advertising issues. That’s why actors that don’t adapt to the speed of daily dramas become thinner every day.”
“My mother used to talk about that as well. About how some actors looked very tired.”
“It is a tiresome matter. Everything is like that. There’s a line. Once you cross that line, you’re treated differently. When planning a shooting schedule, unless they’re borrowing a location for a specific period of time, everything is adjusted to fit the main actors. The actors that can’t climb up sometimes have several shoots away from the city. If they rest just a little because they’re tired, then cheaper, and better actors climb their way up. There’s no worse red ocean than this.”
“Aren’t you a little cruel towards a youth that’s just about to step into that industry?”
“I’m saying it because you’re serious about this. There’s no need to show fantasies to someone who’s serious.”
“Well, I guess that’s true as well.”
Just when they were in the middle of their conversation, a lady that seemed to work here approached them carefully.
“Excuse me, customers. I’m really sorry to tell you this, but you can’t be sitting in our store if you do not order any drinks due to the changes in the store regulations.”
The lady seemed very worried as she said that. It seemed that she was worried that a fight would break out. Maru smiled back awkwardly at her.
“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t know. I’ll order green tea then. Maru, what would you like to drink?”
“I’ll have a latte, please.”
The lady apologized again before confirming their order.
“Uhm, may I bring you a cup of green tea latte instead? There’s no green tea on our menu.”
“I’m okay with that.”
“Yes.”
The lady turned around with a smile.
“You don’t say stuff like ‘I own this building!’ like in the dramas.”