Episode 42

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ma Seok-do, who’s taken on the role of Gwak Ji-cheol, a scaredy-cat with this physique.”

-Hahaha!-

The witty and cheerful greeting from Ma Seok-do brightened the atmosphere in the room, eliciting laughter and applause.

Next up was a 20-year-old rookie actor cast in a lead role in the prestigious Director Park Chan-hong’s film.

“Please take care of me. I’m Ryu Yeon-woo, playing the role of Pierre Choi, the problem solver who will help the fearful Senior Ma.”

As soon as he stood up, Yeon-woo bowed 90 degrees and left a message asking for their support. The crowd responded with smiles and applause.

Then, the voice of a middle-aged man resounded loudly in the room.

“Oh, just looking at your face makes the room brighter!”

The booming shout from the back row made everyone laugh. It was Kang In-chan, the chief cinematographer who remembered Yeon-woo from the first script reading of “Summer’s Promise”.

Kang In-chan was the eldest member of the team, with a keen sense of responsibility, who had raised his spoon high, declaring a reward vacation in Hawaii. He was also a veteran cinematographer.

Yeon-woo smiled warmly and politely bowed in greeting.

Next up was charismatic actor Jung Ha-kyun, who played the role of Park Kangwoo, also known as the boss of Kangwoo Construction, but in reality, the leader of the Kangwoo faction.

Following that, Han So-hyeon, who played the role of ‘Deer’ Jennifer, stood up to a cheerful welcome. Other supporting actors introduced themselves one by one.

With many well-known actors in the cast, Yeon-woo didn’t need to work hard to remember their names and faces. However, he automatically stored the information as he watched them introduce themselves.

Memorizing names and faces was one of Yeon-woo’s talents.

After all the introductions were completed, Director Park provided a concise explanation of the overall flow and narrative of the film, which extended beyond the scenario’s characters.

“All right, let’s begin.”

In response to Director Park Chan-hong’s words, the assistant director shouted.

“Let’s start. Scene number one.”

Shuffle.

Following the assistant director’s words, everyone in the conference room passed the script at once.

The supporting actor playing the role of the security company’s president began.

“Well, you see, you have to understand. There’s no other choice. I’ll take care of the heavy lifting. Who should carry a gun?”

“No, sir. I haven’t done anything wrong, and haven’t I been telling you that we need to improve in that area since last month?”

Gwak Ji-cheol, the head of the programming team at the cybersecurity company, primarily dealt with banks. Due to a DDoS attack, the bank’s computer network was paralyzed, and someone had to carry a gun now.

“I put a lot of effort into it. You won’t be disappointed. Take a break, and when things calm down, you can come back. Your skills, Kwak Team Leader, are better than anyone else’s, aren’t they? Right?”

We move on to scene number 2.

Gwak Ji-cheol takes out a box containing his office supplies from the trunk and impatiently slams the trunk door shut.

Thud!

“Ah, those annoying guys, really.”

Ma Seok-do interpreted the slamming of the trunk door as Ma Seok-do hitting the desk. He pounded the table gently, but the actors at the excitedly jittering table were surprised.

“Director Kim.”

At Director Park Chan-hong’s call for Kim In-hyun, the assistant director who took the role of an undetermined supporting character, Kim In-hyun, found his lines.

The supporting role not yet confirmed was decided to be played by Kim In-hyun, the assistant director, in advance.

“Who’s this? Is this a cocky thing?”

Due to the slamming of the car door, a nearby car owner got out of his car in the apartment parking lot.

“It’s a trunk. A trunk.”

The car owner, who had quietly gotten back into the car, asked what had happened upon seeing Gwak Ji-cheol, who had left work early in scene number 3, and his explanation about the events that had transpired.

The conversation scene between Ji-cheol and his wife, who suggested they take a break despite having received a large severance pay, was then presented. Ji-cheol had behaved well, even though he had been forced to leave his job by his family.

However, his family’s favoritism made Ma Seok-do, who treasured them more than anyone else, revolt, but he ended up getting beaten due to his physical stature. He reported the incident to the police, but the lower-ranking members of the organization received only minor punishments with a warning. The case was closed, and it couldn’t be prosecuted again under the principle of double jeopardy. The gang members from the Kangwoo faction, who threatened revenge for the report, gradually wore down Ji-cheol and his family.

“I can’t live like this. Money can be earned again as long as the problem is solved.”

Gwak Ji-cheol seeks the help of a legendary problem solver who is said to roam the dark depths of the internet, a place that ordinary people can hardly access. This was scene 17, and it was the scene in which Yeon-woo first appeared, the scene he had watched during the audition.

“Devo andare in bagno, scusate (I’ll go to the bathroom, excuse me).”

The scene begins with fluent Italian.

“Oh!”

Even for those who didn’t know, there was a sense of something different in Yeon-woo’s pronunciation.

Yeon-woo started acting out the telephone conversation scene from the audition. Since the purpose was to match the dialogue, he didn’t perform subtle facial expressions as he did during the audition, but in the minds of Director Park Chan-hong and President Han Yoon-soo, the detailed gradient facial expressions from that day naturally came to mind.

Following that, Yeon-woo began to act the scene where Pierre Choi swindles the mafia and smoothly escapes.

“Search for them a hundred times on this island. Anyway, these guys are… Non è divertente (not fun).”

Pierre Choi’s last line in this scene, as he leaves Sicily on a motorboat and heads to a waiting boat.

Then, in the next scene, Pierre Choi arrives at Incheon Airport.

Upon taking off his sunglasses, Yeon-woo looks around Incheon Airport.

“Anyway, this darn airport is needlessly enormous. Ah, I must have some airport kimchi stew. How much is it? Ah, hallelujah.”

Yeon-woo analyzed Pierre Choi’s character, and while delivering the lines, he created a unique and charming way of speaking that simultaneously conveyed the swindler’s vulgarity and the giant’s charisma. He even added ad-libs, not in the script, making the lines seem like they came straight from the mind of Director Park Chan-hong, perfectly embodying Pierre Choi himself.

Yeon-woo’s unique accent, both charming and unusual, caught So-hyeon’s attention, who was sitting next to him. Other actors also gave Yeon-woo side glances, impressed by his performance.

“Should I do this part as well?”

The next scene simply states, “Pierre Choi enjoys delicious kimchi stew,” but since there was no kimchi stew and only lines to perform, Yeon-woo asked for clarification. The assistant director, after checking the script, shook his head.

“Oh, let’s skip this scene. Scene number 24.”

With the assistant director’s decision, the script reading continued from the next scene. The reading progressed smoothly, covering several scenes, including the one where Pierre Choi and Gwak Ji-cheol meet. Ji-cheol sent his wife and daughter to her parents’ house, and due to Kangwoo faction’s gangsters, he couldn’t even enter his home, living in a shabby lodging. Ji-cheol bought soju from a convenience store, entered his shabby room, and found Pierre Choi there, lying casually on the bed with his legs crossed, eating the remaining snacks from yesterday.

“Is that you? The one who asked me, Gwak Ji?”

As he entered, Pierre Choi, with his legs comfortably crossed, picked up the snacks that Ji-cheol had left, lying on the bed. Seok-do’s acting made the room slightly burst into laughter.

“You’re all about muscles, but what about being a mother? Am I your mother?”

At the perfect timing, Yeon-woo’s line that immediately followed made the set finally burst into laughter.

Yeon-woo continued with his lines without any hesitation.

“And where’s the baby you’re carrying? That’s not muscle… you’re pregnant, right?”

In his natural manner, Yeon-woo delivered the lines one after another, keeping the laughter going.

Finally, after about five seconds of waiting for the laughter to subside, Seok-do delivered his lines again.

“Are you Pierre Choi?”

“Yeah, come and sit. Oh, there’s no chair in this cheap lodging? Lie down here.”

With a gentle movement, Pierre Choi, who was lying down on his side, tapped his side to indicate Yeon-woo to sit. Ji-cheol ended up sitting somewhat forlornly at the edge of the small bed.

Actors and staff who read the script imagined the scene, but seeing Ma Seok-do, who had a massive physique, sit on the small bed edge in an awkward manner made everyone’s face break into small smiles.

Pierre Choi, lying down somewhat gracefully, and Ma Seok-do, sitting on the edge of the bed with a hunched back, engaged in a conversation.

“But, why are you, a muscle man, getting beaten by these kids and even asking for my help? Of course, I’ve read all the detailed circumstances.”

“Well, I…”

“Speak. Speak freely.”

“When I was young, I took the wrong medicine, so I turned out like this. I didn’t really do any exercise, you know?”

Pierre Choi, who was lying on the bed, raised his upper body.

“Ma è una burla! (Hey, is this a joke?), really? Wow, is this an Eastern mysticism?”

“Hey, Mr. Solver. Instead of that, could you tell us what we should do from now on?”

Pierre Choi naturally took the convenience store bag from Gwak Ji-cheol, took out some snacks, and began to talk.

“Let’s wait a bit while eating snacks. I’ve called these underground gamblers. Will the deer come first?”

“The deer?”

With Ma Seok-do’s final line, scene 28 came to an end, and the assistant director received Park Chan-hong’s signature and announced.

“Scene number 28 is done. We’ll take a short 30-minute break and then continue.”

Upon the assistant director’s announcement of the break, everyone stretched and got up from their seats. Ma Seok-do, who had been in front of Yeon-woo, also got up and approached Yeon-woo.

“Yeon-woo, just call me comfortably.”

“Yes, senior.”

“Oh, don’t call me senior. Call me ‘hyung’ instead. It’s a bit shameless, but…”

Though they were practically the same age, Seok-do looked at Yeon-woo and smiled mischievously.

“Okay, Seok-do hyung. Got it.”

“That’s more like it. By the way, you’re really good at acting, aren’t you? Junior.”

Impressed by Yeon-woo’s acting, Seok-do sincerely complimented him. Yeon-woo smiled and replied.

“Thank you. I enjoyed it a lot too, acting alongside you, hyung.”

In response to Yeon-woo’s words, Seok-do patted his shoulder with a smile and left the meeting room to go to the restroom. As Seok-do left, Han So-hyeon approached Yeon-woo.