Free Web NovelA script reading was a chance for the actors to familiarize themselves with one another and roughly coordinate their characters.
Normally, actors wouldn’t put as much effort into their lines as they would during actual filming.
However, the writer had specifically asked for “acting.”
It was a bold request from a rookie writer, but she ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) was also the writer behind three consecutive hits. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
— So please give it your all and help solidify the “characters” in my head during today’s reading.
To the actors, that seemingly simple request sounded more like:
— Do your best. If you perform well, you might get more lines or even key scenes.
It was like the tempting whisper of a serpent urging them to taste the forbidden fruit.
To secure more screen time or avoid being overshadowed by others,
the atmosphere in the reading room gradually heated up.
She dreamed of becoming an actress, but her circumstances were too harsh. Even so, in order to get closer to her dream, she joined the famous management company Star Entertainment Agency as a road manager.
There, she became the road manager for the male lead, the talented yet arrogant actor Kwon Do-jun (played by Baek Seunghyo), and learned the harsh realities of the entertainment industry. Kwon Do-jun, in turn, realized after meeting Kim Hana that not everything in life would go his way, and the two slowly fell for each other.
Kwon Do-jun’s rival actor, Tak Gyu-min (played by Lee Kyu-seong), also developed feelings for Kim Hana, while actress Ryu Jun-kyung (played by Jung Junhee) had her eyes on Kwon Do-jun. A subtle tension formed between those two as well, creating a complicated love square.
“Shall we start with the cast introductions?”
At the director’s prompting, the lead actors introduced themselves first.
Yoomyeong quietly observed the actors he would be working with for the next several months.
“Hello, I’m Baek Seunghyo, playing the role of Kwon Do-jun. I feel both pressured and excited to play the role of a top actor, and I’ll do my best.”
Baek Seunghyo, with his strikingly masculine features, spoke in a deep voice. At twenty-seven, he was already a five-year acting veteran whose stock had recently risen sharply thanks to his solid acting skills. Rumor had it he had a fiercely loyal fanbase.
“I’m Cha Harin, playing Kim Hana. I’ll do my best.”
The lead actress spoke without much enthusiasm. Having started out as a child actress, she was famous for both her looks and her acting ability. Despite being younger than Yoomyeong, she was already a twelve-year veteran of the industry. Her personality seemed somewhat enigmatic, so Yoomyeong withheld judgment.
“I’m Jung Junhee, playing the role of Ryu Jun-kyung. I’m happy to have been cast in a role that suits me so well. Nice to meet you all!”
The next actress greeted everyone with a faintly flirtatious smile. She had just moved past the rookie stage after three years in the industry. In his previous life, she had been a supporting actress who later frequently appeared as a panelist on cable TV.
And lastly...
“I’m Lee Kyu-seong, playing the role of Tak Gyu-min. I’ve always wanted to work on one of writer Yook Mi-young’s projects. I’m grateful to have been chosen for such an appealing role. Thank you for having me.”
Yoomyeong frowned slightly.
There seemed to be several intentions hidden in his words: flattering a popular writer while subtly elevating his own pride through his choice of wording, emphasizing that he had been “chosen.”
Of course, it wasn’t right to judge someone based on a few words alone.
However, this actor would become embroiled in a scandal a few years later, and that controversy would reveal the flaws in his character. Even before that happened, Yoomyeong couldn’t help feeling a sense of dislike toward him.
Still, his current popularity arguably surpassed even Baek Seunghyo’s, and he was a trendy actor with an enormous teenage fanbase. He had fair, gentle features, a bright smile, and almost looked like an idol. His acting skills were also relatively strong for his age.
These four formed the main pillars of the drama .
The writer had emphasized acting ability, and the cast truly had no weak links.
Among actors in their twenties, all of them possessed at least above-average acting skills.
Then Yoomyeong stood up and bowed.
“I’m Shin Yoomyeong, making my television debut as Yoon Bohyung. Since everyone here is my senior, I hope for your guidance. I’ll do my best!”
At his humble yet energetic greeting, smiles appeared on the faces of most of the senior actors and staff.
Everyone except one person: the PD.
After introductions from the supporting cast and staff, the reading began.
“Scene 1. In front of Star Entertainment Agency. A large modern building. A low-angle shot pans upward to emphasize the imposing structure. The scene changes to a high-angle shot, revealing a small figure wearing an ill-fitting suit.”
Click— click— click—
As the assistant director began reading the script for episode one, the reporter who would later write an article about the reading busily snapped photos.
Then came the female lead’s first line.
“Wow... So this is Star Entertainment Agency.”
What—
Yoomyeong was startled.
Cha Harin’s voice brimmed with energy. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
“If I work here, I’ll get to meet lots of actors, right? Ah, I want to become an actress too, but being poor really is a curse. Still, there are people who get noticed while working as managers and make their debut, right? Ah, wait, wasn’t that a comedian, not an actor?”
Even her sighs sounded cheerful.
Her character—someone who remained upbeat despite difficult circumstances—came through perfectly in just a few lines.
Just as the writer had requested, her delivery carried weight. Her previously unfocused eyes were now sharp and intense.
‘So she’s the type who transforms once she starts acting.’
“Scene 2. Hana, wearing a visitor’s badge, walks down the agency hallway. Her sagging bag catches on a framed picture, causing it to wobble before crashing to the floor. Frozen in shock after causing an accident on her first day, Hana is approached by Gyu-min, who happens to be passing by.”
“Are you okay?”
With Cha Harin setting the tone high from the start, Lee Kyu-seong, the second male lead, also raised his performance.
Wearing a pure smile capable of making teenage girls swoon, Gyu-min kindly held out his hand and even covered for her mistake in breaking the frame. Hana immediately began to like him.
Soon afterward, Hana was assigned as the personal road manager for the male lead, Do-jun.
“You’re assigning a rookie girl as my road manager? Boss, have you finally lost your mind?”
“What choice do we have? Nobody wants to be your road manager because of your awful personality!”
Do-jun was the quintessential kdrama male lead: arrogant and prideful at first, but gradually changing after meeting the heroine.
After losing the argument with his bickering boss, he reluctantly accepted Hana as his road manager. Even then, he nitpicked and tormented her at every opportunity in hopes of making her quit.
“Ugh! What a huge disappointment! I was his fan, but he’s such a jerk!”
After enduring Do-jun’s antics all day, Hana grumbled on her way home when she spotted a familiar figure in the park.
It was Bohyung’s first appearance.
“Huh? Bohyung? Why are you dressed like that?”
“Our family went bankrupt...”
“What?”
“I have no clothes to wear... and nowhere to sleep tonight...”
“Oh no! Are you okay? What about your parents?”
“They... they ran away and left me behind. They even took the cat... probably because it eats less than I do... huhuhu.”
Rumors about this exceptional rookie actor, whom the writer had repeatedly praised, had already spread among both the cast and staff. Some watched him skeptically, curious to see just how good he really was.
But... their skepticism quickly melted away.
“Do you happen to have any newspapers at home? I heard newspapers keep you warm. There’s probably a reason homeless old men sleep wrapped in newspapers. A cardboard box would be nice too... but that would be too much luxury, right? I asked for too much... I’m still young, so newspapers are enough...”
His performance felt fundamentally different from ordinary acting.
‘What is this? It feels more like listening to a song than dialogue... Ah...!’
Listening intently, Baek Seunghyo realized what made the acting feel so different.
Rhythm.
Someone untrained might not notice, but an actor like Baek Seunghyo, who had thoroughly mastered the fundamentals, could tell.
The actor was delivering his lines rhythmically.
As though this were more than just a simple slice-of-life drama.
Cha Harin, exchanging lines with him, was equally surprised.
Even though they were merely reading lines together, she felt strangely at ease.
The air itself seemed to move to the melody of his voice. Influenced by it, her own delivery naturally slowed.
“I live with my grandma... If you want, you can stay at our place until you find a part-time job and can afford your own room.”
“Rea... really? Thank you, Hana. I’ll definitely repay this kindness. Thank you so much!”
The next scene took place in Hana’s old multi-family home.
“Grandma! I’m home~ Were you okay today? Did you eat properly while you were alone?”
“Our Hana’s home. Don’t worry about me. But who is this young man?”
Veteran actress Lee Ok-hyung, who played Hana’s grandmother, asked cautiously at the sight of the unfamiliar figure.
Then—
“Grandmaaaa~ I’m Hana’s friend! I’ve heard so much about you. I’ve really wanted to meet you!”
A voice overflowing with charm, as soft and sweet as whipped cream.
‘Is this guy... really a guy?’
The expression of the notoriously picky veteran actress Lee Ok-hyung instantly melted.
PD Joo had been planning to give some feedback to the actor playing Bohyung after the first episode reading ended. Compared to the others, the actor’s tone had felt somewhat out of place.
However, writer Yook spoke first, her voice brimming with excitement.
“Bohyung! It’s like the Bohyung from my imagination has come to life!”
She showered him with praise.
“How did you do that thing with your voice? It sounded so... resonant.”
She was referring to the rhythm.
“In the script, there were several instances describing Bohyung as ‘speaking as if singing.’ So I tried to deliver the lines as rhythmically as possible without losing the feeling of actual speech.”
“You understand why I wrote him that way? You understand Bohyung’s character?”
“In my opinion, he’s kind of like... Hana’s guardian angel?”
“Yes, exactly!”
Yook Mi-young slapped her knee in agreement.
At a time when dramas mostly focused solely on the leads, trends were slowly beginning to change.
She wanted to create an appealing supporting character who wasn’t the lead but still played a pivotal role in the narrative. That character was Bohyung.
For Kim Hana, an aspiring actress from an ordinary background, there were two unfamiliar worlds.
The glamorous world of celebrities, and the equally dazzling world of the wealthy elite.
As Hana stepped into the unfamiliar world of entertainment, Bohyung—a member of that wealthy elite—entered her life.
He acted as an advisor to Hana whenever she felt lost.
Since the entertainment industry was merely another version of the conglomerate world Bohyung originally came from, he used his own experiences to offer Hana sharp advice.
He also served as her material supporter.
He quietly helped with her financial struggles and made sure she always looked presentable.
In essence, he was a realistic character fulfilling an unrealistic role.
A jack-of-all-trades butler. Or...
A fairy godmother for Cinderella, turning pumpkins into carriages.
That was why Yook Mi-young repeatedly used the phrase “speaking as if singing” in the script whenever describing Bohyung. She wanted the interactions between Hana and Bohyung to carry a slightly surreal atmosphere.
She had written it that way, but she had never truly expected anyone to portray it so perfectly...
“You were good during the audition, but you’ve improved so much since then.”
In contrast to the dreamy look on the writer’s face, the atmosphere in the reading room grew tense.
For all the actors and staff present,
and especially for the four leads,
their first impression of Yoomyeong became deeply etched into their minds.
