Free Web NovelEun Baekhap stared at Han Yeoreum entering her front door right beside Writer Ahn.
‘This fucking....’
She had been planning to casually bring up Writer Ahn’s next project again at this table.
‘But if that gets mixed in....’
Eun Baekhap forced herself to maintain her expression in front of Writer Ahn. Han Yeoreum was carrying a shopping bag in one hand.
“I felt awkward coming empty-handed. I’m sorry for dropping by so suddenly.”
“Ahaha....”
Not suddenly. This was arranged in advance, and there was never supposed to be a reason for the likes of you to come into this house.
Suppressing what she really wanted to say, Eun Baekhap accepted the gift.
‘Obviously this fucking thing is going to be some shitty nonsense again.’
Eun Baekhap had brands she insisted on and was notoriously picky, refusing to use anything unless it was a very specific product.
‘What?’
After checking Han Yeoreum’s gift, Eun Baekhap’s brow furrowed slightly.
“I saw you using it last time, sunbae....”
“When?”
“In the hotel room....”
Han Yeoreum smiled shyly. Eun Baekhap trembled faintly at the sheer persistence it took to scan her room in that short amount of time.
“Hey, Jaeyeong, you were eating something good?”
“Aww. Unni, hurry and sit down. It was troublesome getting in here, right? Just like an expensive apartment, the procedures were endless.”
The moment she confirmed Writer Ahn had walked over to Director Park, Eun Baekhap immediately brushed past Han Yeoreum’s shoulder and moved ahead.
“Writer Ahn, you haven’t had dinner yet, right? Just a second. While waiting for you, I baked a simple tortilla pizza.”
“Wow—that sounds good.”
“What would you like to drink? There’s wine, beer, ah, sparkling water too! I can even mix in lemon juice.”
“I’ll take sparkling water with lemon juice.”
Han Yeoreum immediately followed right behind Eun Baekhap as she answered.
With that, Eun Baekhap swallowed down her anger, realizing that tonight’s elegant dinner time was, no matter what, completely ruined.
* * *
‘Thank you, elder....’
The three people here probably thought all of this was pure coincidence, but in truth, it absolutely wasn’t.
“Director Park from 〈Noir〉 is planning to visit Eun Baekhap’s house soon.”
“...How do you know?”
“There’s a flower shop she always orders from whenever she goes to Eun Baekhap’s place. She makes reservations at least three days in advance... why are you looking at me like that?”
“No. It’s just... I feel like I should listen to you even better from now on....”
“Haha. Good. Then behave.”
The regressor elder had told me to seek out Writer Ahn on the exact day Director Park would be going to Eun Baekhap’s house. Since I happened to bring the type of wine Director Park liked, Writer Ahn had called immediately, and that was how I ended up here.
“Come to think of it, you two are going into the same project this time, right? This industry really is small.”
Writer Ahn, who had been a little slow on updates because of writing her next project, still hadn’t heard that Noh Seungchan was trying to wedge himself into 〈Unfair Trade〉.
“Aww... will it happen? It’d be nice if it does.”
Director Park smiled as if things were still uncertain. I didn’t miss the chance and nodded.
“Exactly. I was really looking forward to working with Director Park....”
“Why? Is there some problem?”
At Writer Ahn’s innocent question, I buried my face into her shoulder.
“...They said my role might get changed into a male actor....”
“What? Wait, to who?”
“Noh Seungchan from 〈Beyond the Closed Door〉....”
“Why would they do that? No, why over Yeoreum? If it were Myeong Jeha, I could at least try to understand.”
I want to know too. Why would they overlook someone like me—with cute charm, real skill, a solid core fandom, everything I model selling out instantly, the title Nation’s First Love after only four episodes, double ten-million movie success, and over a million teenage fans in Taiwan led by Meiling...
But in front of Director Park, I had to maintain humility, so I only let out a soft sigh. freewebnσvel.cѳm
“You know too. SBC really hates taking risks. Honestly, the fact they even brought me in was already a miracle.”
“Why you?”
“Aww, seriously. It’s awkward to say this with Baekhap here, but our 〈Noir〉 wasn’t exactly a hit, right?”
As if her insides were burning, Director Park downed the rest of her drink in one shot.
“When I had meetings with the production company and SBC, you have no idea how much material I prepared. I was a huge fan of the original 〈Unfair Trade〉 webtoon, remember? I analyzed it into four whole notebooks. From what I heard, if I hadn’t brought those? They would never have picked me.”
Eun Baekhap refilled Director Park’s empty glass. The clear sound of liquor pouring mixed with the classical music.
‘Director Park is speaking in circles right now....’
It meant that because even her own position was hanging by a thread, she couldn’t openly push for me. Writer Ahn was far too perceptive not to understand that nuance.
“Damn it. That fucking obsession with stability.”
“Noh Seungchan also still has a lot of Japanese fans. Once NetHolics Korea comes in, they can pull even more of that audience, so they calculated that too.”
Writer Ahn lifted her glass irritably. Director Park lightly clinked hers against it.
“What do you think, Baekhap? Have you read the original 〈Unfair Trade〉?”
“Of course. I read a lot of webtoons. These days the media-mix market is so active that it’s really good for studying acting.”
Even in the middle of this, Eun Baekhap was still subtly advertising herself to Writer Ahn. Writer Ahn wore a benevolent smile that clearly said she had no intention of discussing her next project tonight.
Picking up on that instantly, Eun Baekhap didn’t force the subject and smoothly redirected the conversation.
“Of course, Noh Seungchan still suits television more than the big screen.”
= His face is completely wrecked, nowhere near worth paying money to see in theaters.
I can hear it....
“He should be able to handle a supporting role without any trouble at least... hehe.”
= Looking at how he aimed for lead roles with his shitty acting and wrecked projects, extra-level parts suit him just fine.
Eun Baekhap’s inner voice....
“It does worry me a little whether he can really pull off action, though. I’m not exactly good at action myself, but the longer your limbs are, the more it can end up looking kind of flaily.”
= The only place that bastard’s physique works is in romance roles he throws tantrums over not wanting. The moment he has to really use his body, all his limits get exposed, so what kind of nerve does he have trying to shove his head in here...? Fucking ridiculous, that bastard.
It’s coming through way too clearly....
“But Director Park is so good at directing anyway. I think Seungchan wouldn’t be bad.”
= LOOLL what a fucking idiot~
Writer Ahn still didn’t know Eun Baekhap’s real personality, so it was obvious she was trying her hardest to package it nicely.
I looked diagonally toward Director Park. She met my eyes too.
‘...Director, you know, right...?’
‘Aww... Ms. Yeoreum... how did you even find out...?’
The two of us, already familiar with Eun Baekhap’s inborn hater-commenter nature, silently nodded.
“Well, whatever, Jaeyeong can bring anyone somewhat to life. But the final quality drops, doesn’t it? Yeoreum, aren’t you angry? You must’ve spent all this time analyzing Lee Seohae.”
“Right. I worked pretty hard.”
“Jaeyeong, remember what unni said last time? Pear blossom.”
It seemed there had been some conversation between Writer Ahn and Director Park that I didn’t know about. But judging by Director Park’s expression, I could roughly guess.
There # Nоvеlight # was curiosity in the way she was looking at me.
‘She told Director Park what I interpreted the pear blossom to mean.’
This was my chance.
I had a sudden instinct that this was the moment I could make sure at least Director Park would never give up on me.
“I really did interpret it seriously in my own way, so... is there anything you’re curious about?”
As a fan of the original, Director Park was the kind of person who became terrifyingly analytical once she dug into something.
‘Despite how she looks, she’s an incredibly persistent person.’
You could understand a director through their work. Her 〈Noir〉 was practically proof that she could make 〈Unfair Trade〉 more perfectly than anyone else.
“You know, in the latter half Lee Seohae says this.”
Looking at me, Director Park asked in a low voice.
“I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid of becoming useless.”
It was what Lee Seohae had said to Gam Seonghwan when he worried about her.
“Why wasn’t Lee Seohae afraid of dying?”
I answered immediately.
The moment my reply left my lips, the expressions of all three people subtly changed.
Only classical music flowed through the quiet dining room.
After quite a long silence, Director Park finally let out a hollow laugh.
“Aww... this is insane....”
Eun Baekhap drank silently. Writer Ahn slung an arm around my shoulders as if proud.
“See? I didn’t bring her here for nothing.”
At the very least, it felt like the director would keep pushing for me until the end.
‘This works.’
Her tenacious gaze was fixed directly on me.
* * *
The room was so thick with cigarette smoke that the view itself felt blurred.
The air was stale enough to sting the nose, but no one gathered here cared about something that trivial.
Expensive liquor bottles were scattered messily across the table.
“Looking at it today! This young guy really knows how to talk.”
“Haha. Our Seungchan has always been more comfortable around men—no, around older brothers. He’s easygoing. That’s why doesn’t he fit this kind of work that reeks of pure masculinity even better?”
“Right. Pretty down-to-earth for someone his age.”
Noh Seungchan poured drinks with perfect manners, smiling half-heartedly. The investors, already thoroughly drunk, clapped and cackled.
‘They’re all hooked.’
No matter how much anyone struggled, an actress was still an actress.
Even after reaching the top, her pay still ended up similar to that of a rising male actor.
For investors, it felt easier to choose the man who got applause after doing one thing right out of ten, rather than the woman who got viciously pointed at for slipping up once out of ten perfect tries.
“If the main’s a guy, the sub should be a guy too. What’s that thing called again? Bromance sells no matter what.”
“Mm. Right, right.”
Noh Seungchan was now convinced the entire board had tilted in his favor.
‘Han Yeoreum’s side won’t go all-in over one supporting role in a crime investigation drama anyway...!’
Not only was it not a lead, Han Yeoreum also had to begin filming 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉 this year.
Her schedule was packed.
So if JC ENM tried to make a scene over a project of this scale, it would only become a loss in both time and money.
‘As long as it’s not Jegal Rok, anything works.’
The Jeongdam manager, who had confidently boasted exactly that, quietly gave Noh Seungchan a thumbs-up.
“I told you from the beginning, didn’t I? It’s action—how’s a girl that small supposed to pull that off well?”
“Tch... true enough. Unless Han Yeoreum had ever had some huge breakout with action before. But she hasn’t, right?”
〈Unfair Trade〉 was the story of a detective who, even after losing his family to a serial killer, refused to resent the world.
Gam Seonghwan ran passionately to protect the innocent many.
At his side, Lee Seohae gradually learned what it meant to be a detective, while her sociopathic tendencies became especially obvious whenever she subdued suspects.
To make Gam Seonghwan’s thickly humanistic side shine even more, Lee Seohae—the one who showed the underlying mechanism—had to be male.
“So what kind of Lee Seohae are you thinking of, Seungchan? You read the script, didn’t you?”
One of them finally spoke.
As if this were the moment to lock everything down for real, Noh Seungchan answered smoothly.
“Of course I have to show it through action! Without putting too much force into the dialogue, he blends quietly among people, and then when he finally meets the suspect one-on-one, that’s where I show what a real sociopath is. That’s the Lee Seohae I’m thinking of.”
Pleased by his bold answer, the investors smiled in satisfaction and nodded.
“Good! Then let’s all cheers together—!”
“Okay, Seungchan. Your older brothers will push hard for you!”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Clink—!
The amber liquor shimmered inside the glasses as they collided.
The harsh alcohol created a brief swirling vortex.
