Free Web Novel“The first hurdle for a man who wants to become an actor is surviving more than three hours in a hair salon. Brother, fighting!”
Four days after the reading and three days before filming began, Yoomyeong was at a ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) hair salon in Cheongdam-dong.
Eun-soo cheered him on, hoping he would endure today’s major ordeal.
After meeting with the costume team on the day of the reading, Eun-soo had told him he would need to dye and perm his hair, and even get extensions.
It was essential for Bohyung’s character, who exuded elegance even in clothes picked out from donation bins. Sophisticated styling was a necessity.
“You’ll have to come back every week to redo the color and styling so your roots don’t show.”
Yoomyeong smiled at her words. To him, this level of inconvenience was still more than bearable, and likely would be for quite some time.
There was endless washing, dyeing, and styling.
After four hours of work, his hair was finally finished.
“Wow, the stylist really is amazing. It’s exactly how I imagined it!”
Eun-soo bounced around excitedly.
His soft chestnut hair curled naturally down to his ears. Looking at his face with his eyebrows dyed to match, Yoomyeong awkwardly lifted the corners of his mouth.
Then the makeup artist took over.
“Faces like yours, with clean and balanced features but nothing overly striking, change dramatically with makeup. It’s a blessing for an actor.”
After leaving that remark, the makeup artist, who had ten years of experience, began working on his face with a brush.
Something moisturizing spread across his skin and seeped in with gentle pats.
Then a large, ticklish brush swept across his face, while a smaller, sharper brush delicately traced lines as though painting.
After thousands of such touches refined his features,
“Wow... this is incredible. Brother, open your eyes.”
Yoomyeong slowly opened his eyes and was momentarily blinded by the light.
As his vision gradually cleared...
he saw Bohyung in the mirror.
“That style suits you well.”
It was his first time seeing Yu-seok since the day he had been assigned to a team. After offering a brief comment, Yu-seok asked how things had been going.
“Are you getting along well with Ho-chul and Eun-soo?”
“Yes. They’re kind and good at their jobs. Thank you.”
“I heard you made quite an impression during the reading.”
Yoomyeong chuckled at the comment, wondering if the source had been Baek Seunghyo.
“I just worked hard, that’s all.”
“I was wondering...”
“Yes?” freewebnøvel.com
“What do you think of Bohyung’s character?”
Yoomyeong knew Director Moon was also paying close attention to the role. That was why he had attended the audition. In his previous life, the actor who played Bohyung had always given Yoomyeong sidelong looks whenever they crossed paths at the company.
“I think it’s a rare and interesting role.”
“That’s right. If it’s played well, it could even outshine the leads in terms of impact.”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I intend to do.”
That was the very reason Yoomyeong had auditioned for Bohyung. Bohyung wasn’t a character designed to become popular, but if portrayed properly, popularity was inevitable. Knowing the role had fallen flat in the past because of the wrong actor made him feel even more ambitious.
Yu-seok looked impressed by Yoomyeong’s confident answer.
“You seem cautious normally, but you become a completely different person when it comes to acting.”
Yoomyeong pretended not to hear what sounded like a muttered observation.
“Now that things are getting interesting, how about making a bet?”
“What kind of bet?”
“Well, ratings aren’t determined by acting skill alone, so that makes things difficult. How about we bet on whether the phrase ‘Yoon Bohyung Fever’ starts appearing in articles?”
Although he said it jokingly, the idea of a supporting actor becoming influential enough to spark a “fever” was nearly impossible.
Still, driven by his competitive spirit, Yoomyeong answered without hesitation.
“What are we betting?”
“Hmm. If you win... I heard you got your license recently, so how about a car?”
When discussing the casting with Director Lee Min-jung, Yoomyeong had realized he needed a driver’s license. Even though he now had a road manager after signing with Moon Yu-seok, the need still remained, especially if driving scenes ever came up.
So he had gone through an accelerated course and gotten his brand-new license just yesterday.
‘A car? That’s a pretty big stake, but considering how difficult the bet is, maybe it’s fair.’
Yoomyeong nodded confidently.
“Alright. What do I put up if I lose?”
“Come with me.”
Once Yoomyeong agreed, Yu-seok left the office, with a puzzled Yoomyeong following behind.
They arrived at the underground parking garage.
Beep—
What appeared along with the cheerful sound was a dazzling silver Ferrari.
“Drive this around.”
“...What?”
Yoomyeong blurted out in disbelief, completely stunned.
“I barely use this car anymore, so don’t feel pressured. I have plenty of cars.”
“...Even so, this is too much...”
He had been imagining something more like a compact car. Even that had felt somewhat excessive, though still acceptable given the bet.
But this... the stakes suddenly felt overwhelmingly higher. ƒrēewebnovel.com
Seeing Yoomyeong’s dumbfounded expression, Yu-seok laughed.
“A car like this will seem trivial to you soon enough. Of course, I’m not saying I’ll hand it over immediately. Drive it around for now, and if you win the bet, I’ll transfer ownership to you.”
At those words, Yoomyeong remembered this was supposed to be a bet.
“And if I lose?”
“I take it back.”
“That’s all? It feels like I barely have anything at stake.”
“You lose.”
“...Pardon?”
Yu-seok smiled knowingly.
“Shin Yoomyeong, you’ve never experienced losing something you thought belonged to you, have you?”
It was a strange question.
But after thinking about it, it was true. There had only ever been one thing he truly wanted, and because he had never possessed it, he had never lost it either. Only recently had he begun to experience what that felt like.
“If you lose, experience what it feels like to watch something you thought was yours disappear right in front of you. Emotions like that will help you grow as an actor too. Feel the joys, excitement, and frustrations of life. Shin Yoomyeong, you’re too stiff. You need to loosen up a little.”
A stiff person? Was that really how others saw him...?
“I’m not particularly attached to cars, so would I really feel much loss from gaining one and then losing it?”
“Haha, maybe just a little? You’ll understand once you drive it. This isn’t just any ordinary car.”
He tossed the keys to Yoomyeong and casually walked away.
Beep—
As if in a trance, Yoomyeong pressed the key fob,
and the pinnacle of automotive beauty blinked awake.
The car roared powerfully, its body trembling.
Yoomyeong pressed down on the accelerator.
At the slightest sign of its approach, other cars parted like the Red Sea. His heart pounded wildly, racing along with the speed.
For the first time in a long while, he truly felt like he was back in his twenties.
‘Maybe I understand a little of what Yu-seok meant by “not just any ordinary car.”’
Driving it felt like embodying success itself.
Screech—
After arriving in Suwon and parking in an apartment complex parking lot, Yoomyeong called home.
It had been several days since he’d last been home, since the company provided him with accommodations during busy periods.
His parents were at work, leaving only his younger sibling at home, practically fused to the floor.
{Hellooo—}
“Judging by your voice, you were lying down just now, weren’t you?”
{Ah... If you already knew I was lying down, why didn’t you call my cellphone?! Do you know how much energy I wasted walking from my room to the living room phone?}
She sounded exactly like a teacher making a joke with some barely remembered scientific unit.
“Come downstairs.”
{I don’t want to.}
“If you don’t come down right now, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
{What? Did you buy chicken?}
Her voice brightened instantly, and the call ended abruptly. She must have been sprinting downstairs at the speed of light.
Yoomyeong leisurely rolled down the car window, already anticipating Jiyeon’s reaction.
Looking around—
Jiyeon came down to the first floor and looked around curiously. Even from a distance, her face seemed bright with anticipation.
Then she abruptly pulled out her phone and furiously started pressing buttons, clearly annoyed.
RRR—
“Hello—”
{Hey, Shin Yoomyeong, are you training a dog or something?! Are you messing with me from Seoul right now?!}
Yoomyeong chuckled at her reaction before lightly honking the horn.
??
The moment Jiyeon spotted the silver Ferrari—a car their neighborhood had never seen before—her eyes widened. To make himself visible, Yoomyeong stretched out his left arm and waved his phone vigorously.
“Shin Jiyeon, over here—!”
“What is this? Are you insane? You got into acting and now this... huh? Oh my god!”
Jiyeon had been marching over to scold her apparently insane brother, but suddenly stopped in place. Her jaw dropped the moment she saw Yoomyeong.
‘Who is this... handsome person?’
.
.
“Make it go faster!!!”
“Calm down. Your blood pressure’s going to spike at this rate.”
“Ahh... I should’ve gotten my license! What have I been doing with my life?”
“Fusing with the floor?”
“Why did I waste my life like that?”
Jiyeon, who had temporarily lost her mind from adrenaline overload, finally calmed down after a thirty-minute drive.
“But seriously, what is this? You didn’t go into debt just to show off or something... right?”
Now that she had gotten her excitement out of her system, Jiyeon cautiously probed him with concern about the aftermath, and Yoomyeong chuckled.
“No. My boss lent it to me.”
“Ah, right. Of course your boss would lend a Ferrari to an actor who hasn’t even started filming yet. How generous.”
“It’s true. He has high expectations for me.”
At that, Jiyeon shut her mouth, though her expression remained doubtful.
She knew her brother wasn’t the type to brag or act recklessly. But just how good was his acting for both their parents, who had seen his play, and his boss to think so highly of him?
It seemed she would get her answer sooner than expected.
After both of their parents came home from work, Yoomyeong broke the news.
“I’m going to appear in a drama.”
“What? A drama?!”
“When? Which channel?”
His mother and sister shouted at the same time.
“It’s a mini-series airing on KBK in early December. It’s called . I was lucky enough to land a supporting role...”
“Wow, not an extra or a bit part, but an actual supporting role?”
Jiyeon’s mouth fell open.
“Oh my goodness, congratulations to our son!”
“You’ve been so busy lately, and now I see why. You’ve worked hard.”
His mother teared up while his father smiled proudly, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening.
Since his parents had already seen his acting, they didn’t seem especially shocked. They were simply touched that such an opportunity had come so quickly. Yoomyeong almost felt guilty for not telling them sooner, afraid things might fall through and disappoint them.
“Yes, I’ll do my best! I’ll be busy for a while, so I probably won’t be able to come home often. Make sure you watch me on TV.”
“You’ll really be that busy? What if you get sick...?”
“My boss takes good care of me. Don’t worry too much.”
“Mom, isn’t brother’s boss incredible? He lent a Ferrari to a rookie driver...”
“You’re going to become a teacher, and this is how you talk?”
“But it’s true!”
Amid his mother’s scolding and Jiyeon’s protests, his father quietly opened a book before pulling out a 100,000 won bill.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Meat.”
“Meat.”
“Honey, what’s that money for?”
At that final question, his father cleared his throat.
After wandering around for a long time(?), Miho had finally followed him to the set.
According to Miho, the energy of a theater production was like the fresh taste of sashimi, while the energy of a film set resembled luxurious gourmet cuisine. A drama set, meanwhile, had the stimulating flavor of instant food. Of course, the taste varied depending on the production and the actors involved.
Just as the spirit fox described, the drama set was utter chaos.
“The crane still hasn’t arrived! Are we filming or not?!”
“A light bulb shattered over here! Don’t walk through until it’s cleaned up!”
“Is anyone from production around? The lunch delivery guy needs to get paid before he leaves!”
That frantic atmosphere was exactly what defined a drama set.
Unlike films, where scenes could be reshot endlessly until perfect and heavily refined in post-production, dramas often demanded more immediate and raw performances because of tight schedules and limited budgets.
Yoomyeong had arrived an hour early today, greeted everyone, and was now observing the atmosphere on set.
Ah—
He warmed up his voice and stretched lightly.
Flipping through the script, he reviewed the lines he had highlighted.
Just then, someone tapped Yoomyeong on the arm. Startled, he instinctively recoiled.
“Hello, rookie actor— Oh... hi.”
“Hello. You’re full of energy. I’m jealous.”
The person who greeted him lazily before collapsing into a chair like a jellyfish was Cha Harin. Yoomyeong checked the time, wondering whether it was already call time, but there were still thirty minutes left.
He had arrived early because he was a rookie, but even she, despite being a twelve-year veteran actress, consistently showed up ahead of schedule.
“Where did you learn acting, brother?”
“Huh? I was part of my university’s theater club, but I never had formal training.”
“Really? Then where did you get the inspiration for that unique acting style...?”
Hearing Harin mutter to herself, Yoomyeong flinched slightly.
Just as she said, there really was a key reference Yoomyeong had used when shaping Bohyung’s character.
He was Kim Hana’s guardian angel.
Kind, warm, sweet, and always on her side.
But also sharp as a blade when necessary, with insight that pierced through the ways of the world.
Someone who normally hid his claws beneath an adorable exterior, yet could strike swiftly when needed. It was a very familiar kind of character to Yoomyeong.
{Hey, she has an interesting way of handling her presence.}
The blue figure swirled through the air before settling on Harin’s shoulder.
It was Miho.
The prototype Yoomyeong used for Bohyung’s character was based on her existence.
