“Ha….”
I should be thankful that he’s not grilling me like last time.
After a brief moment of thought, I nodded slightly.
“I know. But isn’t it just a matter of me doing well?”
At my answer, I saw Myeong Jeha’s eyebrows lift slightly, as if surprised that I had admitted it so willingly.
‘No use overthinking it—it’d only work to my disadvantage anyway.’
It’s my first lead role. I absolutely don’t want to lose it.
“You’re pretty confident. It’s not that good, though.”
“Does that mean all my stats are maxed out or what?” I clenched my fist again at Myeong Jeha, who only spoke the truth.
‘I want to punch him. Just once.’
Myeong Jeha stared at me for a moment as I glared at him, then lightly smoothed down my hair, which had gotten messy from running to catch up.
“Joo Junseo’s personality is unusual. Don’t get too close to him.”
Then, leaving the words behind as if casually, he disappeared.
Left alone, I let out a hollow laugh, “Huh…”
‘Anyone would probably be better than you…’
* * *
Han Taeyang looked out the window at the group holding cameras.
It looked like some kind of event was happening, with people bustling and gathering together.
A friend, noticing Taeyang’s gaze, immediately gave an answer.
“Hey, is that some drama being filmed at our school? I heard about it from the teachers’ office.”
“Ah… a drama.”
Taeyang nodded in a nonchalant tone, but didn’t take his eyes off the scene.
“Oh, I heard the title. It’s really unusual, so I can kind of remember it… but not quite.”
At Taeyang’s reaction, the friends gathered around him began sharing the rumors they had heard here and there.
“Wait here. I’ll ask the others.”
In the school, which was always a tedious cycle, the drama filming brought about a rapid spread of rumors.
Piecing together the fragmented stories, Taeyang’s friends eventually managed to get accurate information.
“<The Cherry on the Parfait Belongs to the Heroine>? It’s a web drama.”
One of the friends lingering near the window suddenly spoke up, as if a thought had just occurred to them.
“Now that I think about it, didn’t your sister say she was going into acting, Han Taeyang?”
At those words, Taeyang grinned. In contrast, his friends’ expressions stiffened—and then they all glared at the one who brought it up as if they were about to kill him.
“Yeah. She acts. And she’s really good at it.”
Taeyang lifted his gaze from the window and even made eye contact. Encouraged by his positive reaction, the oblivious friend asked the next question.
“How old is she? Which school does she go to?”
The friends giving glares silently crossed their hands into an X beside him. It meant, “That’s enough.”
“Twenty years old. She got into KNUA. You know KNUA, right? Korea National University of Arts. Yeah. You can’t not know it. What about her… actually, she wasn’t that good at studying, but she was insanely good at acting, so she got in. Do you know how long she trained? Just six months. So I naturally thought that idiot would have to try again. I mean, what kind of crazy person gets into KNUA in only half a year? Right, seriously?”
But it was already too late.
“But after just a month at the academy, she started to get the hang of it? She’s not usually that good at remembering things, but she memorized several pages of the script word for word. Sigh… she should try studying like that. She always forgets things at home too, but she didn’t forget a single line. It’s really amazing.”
The nonstop stories about Han Taeyang’s sister had begun.
“Ah, and by the way, she hasn’t given any autographs yet, so don’t ask her to give one in advance or anything like that, seriously. Got it? I could get one for you if you asked, but just don’t do that.”
The friend who first asked about my sister ended up being forced to listen to all of Han Yeoreum’s information until one of their ears went numb.
* * *
JC ENM headquarters. I hung a temporary ID around my neck and arrived at the designated location.
[The Cherry on the Parfait Belongs to the Heroine]
Finally, the day of the script reading arrived. I even had nightmares, just in case Myeong Jeha might replace the main character.
“But really… he’s not changing anything…”
Just in case I got fired that day, I didn’t let my guard down for a moment.
‘I came two hours early.’
I finally felt at ease once I saw the assigned seat with my name on the table.
“Whew…”
I took out the script book I had read over and over again.
‘Even though I’ve already memorized it all.’
Because it was a short drama of only eight episodes, I practiced my lines quietly once again.
“Friends? I don’t think there are any at this school right now.”
My voice echoed softly throughout the spacious reading room.
Since it’s a small web drama, there aren’t any reporters here like on a typical script reading day, so I actually feel more at ease…
Thud!!!
What is this? I’m suddenly feeling anxious.
‘What the heck is this?’
I stood up and looked around.
“I told you I didn’t want to do it!”
Ah, it’s not this room, but the next one. Maybe the soundproofing isn’t good, because the angry voice was buzzing loudly.
“Junseo-ya, at least calm down…”
“Calm down? Do I look like I’m about to calm down? Fine, I can’t be on stage this season. I signed the contract myself, okay? But why are you shoving me into some shitty drama that only a bunch of kids are gonna watch?”
Ah, I knew who it was.
The person in the next room was the male lead, Joo Junseo. His lung capacity is impressive—there’s no tremor in his lines.
“There’s a limit to how much you can mess someone up. You said it wasn’t happening, right? When I asked, you said it was canceled. So what? And now, this morning, you’re saying it’s going ahead?”
“Junseo-ya, I was trying to change things for the sake of your image… but you know the situation too…”
“You don’t know the situation? Does this even make any sense? F— I can’t believe this.”
The manager’s soft, cautioning voice was immediately drowned out.
Joo Junseo unleashed his anger without taking even a moment’s pause.
“What good is it if it doesn’t take much time? Filming this crappy drama will ruin all the career progress I’ve built up!!!”
I could hear the sound of the desk being shoved around. Myeong Jeha was right.
‘Joo Junseo really does have quite the temper.’
It seemed like he thought the project was canceled, but ended up being dragged here anyway.
‘No wonder… Junseo’s got a reputation after all…’
They said they’re filming a web drama with this kind of concept.
‘Judging by how things are going… it looks like the higher-ups forced him into this.’
After all, no one wants to be the first one to take the risk on a project this experimental.
They probably thought Joo Junseo was perfect—he might not have acting experience, but he’s quite popular with teenagers.
“I said I wanted to be a model, not a clown? I’m struggling to extend my life even by a year—does that make me look ridiculous to you?”
The noisy next room fell silent as Joo Junseo closed his mouth.
‘Is it over?’
I pressed my ear against the wall. I could hear Joo Jun-seo panting heavily.
‘If Joo Junseo runs away now, it’ll be a disaster.’
The drama investment could even fall through entirely.
‘The influence a male lead has on a production is beyond imagination…’
Most investors make their decisions based on the male lead.
‘No! Not that! My first leading role!!!’
I barely got away from Myeong Jeha, and now Joo Junseo is the problem.
‘Should I just open the door and beg him now…?’
While I was pondering the best way to plead, I heard the sound of Joo Junseo’s manager crying from the other side of the wall.
“Sob… Junseo…”
“Ah, f*ck. Why are you crying, hyung? Who’s the one that should be crying?”
“I tried to calm him down too… you know that. But the investment was already set in motion with you as the lead… you think they’d just let us change it that easily…?”
“That’s none of my business, so I’m not doing it.”
Then Joo Junseo’s voice changed. There was still irritation in it, but I could sense he was flustered.
‘Good job! Manager!’
Yes! Keep holding him like that! The manager, clearly not the only one noticing Joo Junseo’s change, sniffled even louder.
“Junseo-ya… if you quit and walk out right now, I’ll get fired….”
“Get fired from what? Someone with Hyung’s career can get hired by anyone, so don’t use me as an excuse.”
“I… the director said they’d send me to Bang Munhwan….”
Bang Munhwan.
At the sound of that name, I covered my mouth. He’s a notorious troublemaker.
‘So he must be from the same agency as Joo Junseo, huh?’
Because of all the power trips he pulled, his notorious reputation is well-known. Whenever there were curses at extras’ drinking parties, it was always tied to Bang Munhwan.
Of course, he disappears a few years later, but the problem is that for now, he’s still a pretty successful actor.
‘Since this is his peak, his abuse of power must be beyond imagination.’
Joo Junseo seemed to hesitate, as if he knew that.
“Junseo-ya… please save Hyung just once….”
“Ah, if they assign you with Bang Munhwan, you can just quit too, right? When I move to another agency, I can take you with me!”
“Heuk… You know how hard things get if you end up in a lawsuit with JC… How could you take responsibility for me too… It’d be better if I just moved to Bang Munhwan’s management team now so I won’t cause you any trouble—.”
The more pleading the manager’s voice became, the softer Junseo’s voice grew.
‘That b*stard… he didn’t seem like it, but he’s surprisingly soft-hearted.’
Joo Junseo was like a warm iced Americano.
Bang—!!!
Once again, the sound of a chair being kicked echoed loudly. Joo Junseo suppressed his anger and spoke.
“…Tell them to adjust my screen time. Damn it, shove more scenes onto that female lead or whatever. I’m not giving any more here.”
Damn, Joo Junseo… You’re really a good person. You’re letting the female lead take more of the scenes?
‘Thank you so much.’
If my screen time increases, that’s good for me.
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