Chapter 390 (2/2)

“Hello, sir.”

“Hello.”

He lightly nodded towards the journalists that greeted him. He also saw some familiar faces. Mr. Park opened the door to the room that said ‘Idea meeting room II’. He saw the other actors waiting inside a long room.

“Am I late?”

“Not at all, sir. There’s still time left.”

He shook hands with producer Han Changsung, who approached him and greeted him with a bright smile. The young challenging mindset of the producer who was nearing 40 in age, could be felt from his hand. Next to him, another good-looking producer greeted him. He introduced himself as Kim Jinhyuk.

“He’s the assistant director. He’s in charge of directing the B team so you should be able to see him quite often.”

“Hello, I’m Yoon Moonjoong.”

After shaking hands with Jinhyuk, he went inside. A man in his fifties, who sat at the head seat, smiled and approached him. Writer Bae Chulho. He was the writer for the drama. He knew the writer personally, and he was also the one who asked him to appear in this drama.

“You’re here, Hyung-nim.”

“So you’re here as well.”

“I should be. This is the first read-through after all. I’ll only be able to change the script if I know what it feels like if it’s actually said. Well then, please come this way.”

Moonjoong sat next to the producer. The young actors also introduced themselves to him. They all had clear eyes and were good-looking. He felt rather proud when he thought that these kinds of juniors would lead the industry in the future.

After talking for around ten minutes, all the empty seats were filled. When the people carrying cameras entered the room as well, the door closed.

“Hello. My name is Han Changsung, and I will be directing this drama. Although there were many ups and down, we’re finally at the starting point. I don’t think the elders will like it if I talk too much so I’ll just get to the point.”

Moonjoong smiled and listened to Changsung’s words.

“I only have one thing to ask you of. I hope you stay healthy until the end of the shoot. Well then, let’s begin the read-through. As for the procedure, we’ll take a break after reading each scene. Writer, please say a word or two.”

Changsung passed the baton to Chulho.

“My name is Bae Chulho. I will not tell you to follow the script to the tee. I hope we can respect each other and create a good piece of work.”

The actors all applauded.

“Then lastly, a word from our elder.”

Changsung pointed at Moonjoong politely with both of his hands. Moonjoong waved his hand saying that it was unnecessary, but the other actors in the room started applauding. In the end, Moonjoong had to stand up from his seat.

“I haven’t shot dramas in a long time. I don’t have as much stamina as I did before, but I will do my best so that I will not leave behind any regrets. I hope everyone here can do their best until the very last cut and create a piece of art. Though I only appear for a brief moment at the beginning, so I can’t be with you till the end.”

“But you definitely need to come to the party after the last shoot,” someone spoke.

The other actors who were older than the rest here also spoke out. Moonjoong said that he’ll go before sitting down.

“Let’s keep up this atmosphere and start right away. The drama, Apgu. Let’s do our best,” Changsung said as he opened the script.

* * *

“3rd of September?”

-Yeah. That’s the date of your shoot, so come to the 5th exit of Yoido station. It’s at 7 so don’t be late either. If you’re late, you’ll have to get there on your own, so you definitely must get there on time.

“Are you driving me there if I’m late?”

-Hey, you’ll kill me.

“I’m just joking. You must be busy, so hang up. I’ll save the time on my phone so I won’t be late.”

-Alright.

After finishing his call with his manager Byungchan, Maru saved ‘September 3rd, 7 a.m.’ on his phone. The movie that was supposed to be shot at the end of August was delayed to early September. It was probably because of the schedules of various actors.

“Looks like I’ll become busy.”

The drama was going to start soon as well. Although the company was managing his schedule, he had to take care of transportation by himself. If the shoot was in Seoul, he could get Byungchan to give him a ride provided that he had the time, but in the case of shoots in the countryside, he would have to take the coach rides provided by the TV station.

‘They’ll only give me the full treatment once I become full-fledged.’

Although he officially signed a contract with JA, full-time management would only start after he graduated high school. Although he would receive a personal car and a manager if he managed to score himself a good piece, Junmin was not kind enough to assign so many resources to a highschool student, who wasn’t even profitable.

There was barely any interference from Junmin’s part which was just as much as the part he had to take care of by himself, so it wasn’t that bad. Once he started his actor activities, he would have to digest all the events that the company required him to do, so he wouldn’t be as leisurely as he is now at that time.

Maru pushed his phone to the side and opened the script that Byungchan gave him yesterday. The script was bound properly with a smooth cover to boot. Although he had come across many drama scripts, this was the first time he entered one through an audition so this felt rather new to him. After staring holes into the characters ‘Apgu’ on the cover, he flipped the page. The act he was supposed to do should be there.

Handing out rice cakes to neighbors after moving in was a tradition in Korea. It is mostly discontinued in the present day.