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Myeong Jeha collapsed sideways, and as the goggles on his helmet slipped off, his eyes were revealed. Tak Jeongyun could only stare at his acting without even remembering to breathe properly.
‘Wow....’
Tak Jeongyun had watched all of Han Yeoreum’s final filming scenes too. Spending time on the <Seoul Metropolitan City> set constantly felt like standing before an impossibly distant wall.
The acting of these rising stars who far surpassed the average shocked her every single moment.
‘How do they even do that?’
Myeong Jeha portrayed the agony of having his limbs torn apart by zombies using only his eyes.
The corners of his eyes reddened rapidly. Tears born from raw physical pain gathered along the bridge of his nose. Unable to even close his eyes, Myeong Jeha grimaced while the tips of his eyelashes trembled faintly.
Han Yeoreum, who broke into sweat through immersion alone.
Myeong Jeha, whose eyes bloodshot themselves red.
‘And then....’
With the call of “Okay,” Myeong Jeha’s scene ended. Director O and the staff practically rushed toward him immediately.
Anyone would get excited after witnessing acting like that right in front of them.
Tak Jeongyun turned her head to the side. There stood Do Gyeoul, wearing her usual faint smile even today.
Even with her hair a mess from the zombie outbreak setting, she was still beautiful enough to look like someone was holding reflector boards around her from every angle.
‘Gyeoul’s definitely different too.’
Her experience since childhood acting had never been meaningless. Do Gyeoul truly looked like a nurse dragged in from somewhere real. Her gestures, footsteps, tone of voice, gaze—everything....
She really did deserve the nickname: the actor most beloved by directors and writers.
It felt as though she absorbed the entire script itself and reconstructed it into a person named Do Gyeoul.
She never missed a single syllable in her lines, nor changed even one instruction in the script.
“She’s good, right?”
“Mm. Definitely different....”
“Does that kind of acting just come naturally to her too...?”
Since Tak Jeongyun had the most scenes together with Do Gyeoul and played her senior in the drama, she spoke casually to her. But somehow, Do Gyeoul still felt difficult to approach. Quietly watching Myeong Jeha, Do Gyeoul turned her head.
“Do you have acting that just comes naturally too, unni?”
“Huh?”
“Acting that comes out without thinking. Is that what people call natural acting? I’m not sure how to explain it. Ahaha.”
With her hair all disheveled, Do Gyeoul asked a strange question.
“The other day I asked Yeoreum how she acts, and she said there are things that just happen naturally.”
“Ah....”
“There’s nothing like that for me at all, so I was curious. That kind of talent. Lately I keep feeling empty.”
From Tak Jeongyun’s perspective, Do Gyeoul was already an incredibly talented actress.
Not everyone could instantly pull in other people’s attention or memorize entire scripts whole.
“Well... if we’re talking about acting without thinking... hmm. I think I could play a cram-school teacher.”
Tak Jeongyun answered lightly.
“I worked as an assistant instructor at academies for a long time, so—ah! I could also do scenes where I stagger around right after waking up without thinking. I have low blood pressure.”
“Natural acting” you could do without thinking actually covered a surprisingly wide range.
Every role had at least one aspect similar to your real self.
You couldn’t pour your entire real self into every character, but using pieces of yourself for a few scenes wasn’t difficult.
“Sometimes when I watch Yeoreum acting, I end up wondering what the hell I’ve even been doing all this time too....”
To begin with, actors like Han Yeoreum—actors who erased themselves completely and created entirely new people for every role—were rare.
There was a saying that talent existed above effort.
No matter how hard an ordinary person worked, they could never catch a genius. In this field, that was practically a law of nature. free𝑤ebnovel.com
The very way they absorbed and expressed things was fundamentally different.
Han Yeoreum was a hardworking genius.
Even hardworking ordinary people pulling all-nighters, and hardworking geniuses pulling all-nighters, still struggled to catch up to Han Yeoreum.
‘Because she’s a genius who stays up all night.’
So it wasn’t strange for Do Gyeoul to feel this way either. In Tak Jeongyun’s eyes, Do Gyeoul acted with something close to obsession.
Exceptionally exemplary acting that never strayed outside the predetermined script directions.
Because she was an actress who reproduced exactly what the writer and director wanted to say, Tak Jeongyun understood the pressure she must feel.
“You probably have lots of acting you can do naturally too, Gyeoul. You just haven’t realized it yet.”
At Tak Jeongyun’s words, Do Gyeoul slowly blinked for a moment.
Her gaze looked cautious, like someone fitting together a lost puzzle piece.
“Ahaha. You’re right. I never thought about it that way....”
The <Seoul Metropolitan City> set was drenched in blood from every direction.
And Do Gyeoul smiled brightly—
as though she had finally realized the kind of acting only she could do.
* * *
Hwang Boseok versus Woo Seungri.
Hong Suryeon versus Han Yeoreum.
“Who’re you betting on?”
“Still, beating Hwang Boseok won’t be easy. I’m betting on his side.”
“Come on. Hong Suryeon and Yoo Jiuk together totally have a shot!”
The exact broadcast dates hadn’t been released yet, but everyone was already treating it as fact that they’d air in the same time slot.
Everywhere in the broadcasting industry, people debated which side would win whenever they met.
No matter who won, it would practically count as a revolution in the romantic-comedy world itself, so excitement was unavoidable.
On filming sets, in cafés, restaurants, broadcasting stations, even bars—everyone talked about the same thing.
“At this point KBC’s obviously gonna toss in filler programming, right?”
Naturally, a mood of mourning for KBC started to spread.
Anyone in their right mind would avoid this fight.
“Well, even if they tank the second half of the year a bit, they’ve still got that project with Han Yohan and Han Yeoreum. They need to save money if they want to spend big there.”
“That’s true. Even with JC funding them, there are still limits....”
“Exactly. If they want that one to succeed, they need to conserve their strength before then!”
Before anyone realized it, the conversation had shifted toward KBC.
“Han Yohan... ha, seriously... but honestly, I just can’t picture KBC succeeding somehow....”
“Han Yeoreum’s incredible at picking scripts, but she still hasn’t landed one huge hit with romance yet, so I’m kinda nervous too. I wonder if she can cover for Han Yohan, the swamp of romcoms.”
“Can’t they just erase the romance line? Han Yohan dominates in genre stuff anyway, so they could make it a dual-protagonist story.”
“Don’t say stupid shit. The character introduction itself is literally about love. How are they supposed to erase the romance?”
“If the production cost pressure gets bad enough, the writer might turn the wheel.”
The moment those words were spoken, laughter erupted around the table. Only a few people blinked in confusion.
“Who’d you say the writer was again?”
“Ma Eungyo.”
“Ahhh. Well then.”
“And the director’s Reed Kingdom.”
But the moment the writer’s name came up, the conversation wrapped up neatly.
“They’re Ja Sokhwan kids.”
That single sentence explained everything.
“Hey. But we’ve got something huge coming too.”
Right then, someone who had been silently drinking finally spoke up.
A person from KBC’s drama department.
“What is it?”
Hwang Boseok and Woo Seungri. Hong Suryeon and Han Yeoreum. On top of that, Yoo Jiuk, one of NetHolics’ Seven.
The board was practically already complete.
“You’re saying it’s huge?”
But KBC was hiding something.
* * *
“Come to me....”
The KBC Drama Director had one final card.
To begin with, he was the one who let a lunatic like Ja Sokhwan rampage freely in the industry.
The legendary first-episode <We Rund> “Joseon scum” ending incident had practically been greenlit with his own director position on the line.
He himself wasn’t exactly /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ stable either—it was just that Director Ja’s insanity was so overwhelming that it overshadowed everyone else.
“Sweet....”
The KBC Drama Director smiled with his eyes closed.
“Eun Baekhap....”
That was right.
The card they had prepared was Eun Baekhap.
Combined with a legal drama genre that already guaranteed viewers no matter what.
After <The Great Garland>, Eun Baekhap was trying to transform her image once again. Her two signature works in a row had both cast her as first-love archetypes, so she intended to challenge herself again with the kinds of performances she’d attempted before but failed to turn into hits.
Everyone told him to save resources a little longer, but the KBC Drama Director shook his head.
Right now, just before NetHolics fully entered the scene, this was probably the final golden age of terrestrial dramas.
If they were going to fight, now was the perfect time.
And the moment he read the script, he dared to think:
This might actually be a card capable of defeating Hwang Boseok.
A father unjustly imprisoned.
A top-ranked student whose life collapsed because of the incident.
Yet someone who clawed their way back by becoming the youngest person ever to pass the bar exam and restore their elite life to its proper track.
A psychopathic lawyer.
“This will hit 100%.”
But shortly after—
“What?”
The KBC Drama Director asked back in disbelief.
“What did you just say?”
The three-way war among actresses was already practically guaranteed.
But then an unexpected variable appeared.
“Do Gyeoul?”
“Yes. The writer said....”
The writer hurriedly corrected themselves. The KBC Drama Director let out a hollow laugh after hearing the call.
“What nonsense. How could someone her age possibly play that role?”
“The writer thought the same thing too, but....”
At first, the KBC Drama Director intended to reject it outright.
At that point, it still genuinely sounded absurd.
“She said your opinion would change after seeing it once.”
The KBC Drama Director clicked the file he’d received.
Honestly, the fact that an actress on Do Gyeoul’s level had personally visited the writer to persuade them and even performed a small audition was moving enough already.
‘But even so?’
Writers treated their works like children.
And there were few things more capable of shaking a writer’s resolve than an actor who desperately cherished the words they themselves had written.
So he assumed it had merely been an impulsive statement.
-“Mister.”
But the instant the KBC Drama Director watched Do Gyeoul’s acting video—
-“How is that my problem?”
—he instinctively understood.
-“People who don’t know their place and keep acting up are the ones I hate most.... They always think being stupid automatically means they’re kind.”
The investors and production companies would abandon Eun Baekhap for Do Gyeoul almost immediately.
Eun Baekhap was a good actress.
Her hit rate wasn’t particularly high, but all of her projects had been respectable.
And her acting involved throwing herself away completely in immersion.
Her overseas popularity was strong.
Public favorability was high too.
But Do Gyeoul possessed all of those things as well.
-“Please get your mind together and start living properly.”
And sadly, after watching acting like this, people couldn’t help but lean toward her.
The KBC Drama Director’s intuition proved correct immediately.
The investors and production companies changed sides in an instant.
Because they decided this option would make more money.
This was a ruthless industry.
Actors could be replaced at any time—even after contracts were signed.
If contracts hadn’t even been signed yet, then even more so.
And so, while Eun Baekhap was away on an overseas fan-meeting schedule, the protagonist was replaced.
[The Actress War Begins... Hong Suryeon・Do Gyeoul・Han Yeoreum “This lineup is insane~”]
[Do Gyeoul attempts full-scale image transformation as psychopathic lawyer]
[StarCutCut ⎢ Do Gyeoul interview: “It’s a character I always wanted to try at least once... I hope you’ll give it lots of love”]
The dogfight had finally begun.
Everyone focused their attention on who would claim glory in the second half of the year.
But this wasn’t the end.
The real bomb dropped last.
* * *
“We are facing an unprecedented trial....”
My legs trembled violently.
Sitting across from me, Seo Eden clasped both hands together and spoke solemnly like someone praying.
“This is the time for all of us to unite and overcome it together....”
I immediately collapsed face-first onto the desk and screamed.
“AAAAAHHH!!!”
The horrifying reality I heard the moment I returned to Korea nearly made me collapse.
‘Why the hell is Do Gyeoul involved in this too?!’
With a blank mind, I searched the project Do Gyeoul had joined and genuinely—
“Yeoreum! Yeoreum!!!”
—I collapsed.
Manager Choi instantly pulled me back up after my knees hit the floor, but my legs had no strength in them.
‘<Dear Judge>....’
Before my regression, it had been a massive hit that surpassed 20% ratings.
The story itself was already excellent, but the way it mixed unbearable frustration and cathartic payoff with full spicy intensity elevated the quality even further.
And the thing that scared me most wasn’t just the project itself.
‘This means Do Gyeoul’s going full method acting.’
The protagonist of <Dear Judge> was practically Do Gyeoul herself.
She wasn’t angry that her father had been unjustly imprisoned.
She was angry that her own perfect life had been ruined because of it.
-“Then why the hell did you get involved in something like this and completely destroy my life?!”
‘That line is supposed to be spoken by a daughter to her imprisoned father...?’
Maximum controversy bait, with an airtight story.
There was no way the public wouldn’t go insane over a project like this.
And once you added Do Gyeoul’s godlike acting on top of it, there was nothing more to say.
‘The one tiny blessing is that their male lead isn’t on Yoo Jiuk’s level....’
If they’d also brought in a top-tier male lead, it would’ve been a truly brutal fight.
I hurriedly contacted Myeong Jeha.
“You knew about this too, didn’t you, Elder? Huh? What is this?! What the hell is this?!”
-“Mm... honestly, I knew up to the Eun Baekhap part... haha. I really didn’t expect Do Gyeoul to take it. Don’t cry.”
I desperately tried to force strength back into my trembling legs.
-“But this is the first time I’ve seen something like this, Yeoreum. Things are getting interesting.”
“...What do you mean?”
-“You still haven’t heard?”
Bzzz.
My phone vibrated.
Caller: Myeong Jeha.
A bad feeling washed over me.
It wasn’t ending with Do Gyeoul.
Something huge was still coming.
While still on the call, I pulled the phone away from my cheek and checked the message the Elder had sent.
The screen filled with unbelievable articles.
[Eun Baekhap joins the “Actress War”? “Please look forward to my femme fatale” she says with a smile]
[Intense <Acting Battle> begins... Eun Baekhap・Lee Yeongyu’s dangerous meeting]
[Eun Baekhap Lee Yeongyu “Please let us fall in love” forbidden lovers incoming?]
“Yeoreum! Yeoreum!”
The moment news broke that Eun Baekhap had clenched her teeth and decided to compete in the same time slot on JTBS—
I truly fainted for real.
