Chapter 117. Loud Cheers (12)

— Hello, it’s Kim Na-Yeon. I didn’t know you called me since I was asleep. I’m sorry.

“I should be the one apologizing for calling you unexpectedly.”

Park Do-Joon headed to the balcony as he recalled her work lifestyle. She would have been entertaining customers up until daybreak and returning home after to rest but did not consider that.

— But why did you call…?

“You mentioned that you’d like to become an actress, right?” Park Do-Joon asked her outright.

— …

Soft breathing could be heard for a few moments, and finally, a reply came.

— Yes, if that’s possible…

“An audition will be held soon.”

— An audition?

“It’s for a movie. It can happen earliest in two weeks or maybe a few months, but prepare a few acts if possible. Make sure you have an impressive self-introduction, and prepare to show a few special talents if you have any. I’ll send the details to you once the criteria are set so you can reference those as well.”

— Okay, I’ll do that. But can I ask what movie it will be?

“I’ll let you know later. I’m quite busy at the moment, so I’ll need to go now,” Park Do-Joon quickly said his piece and ended the call.

When he returned to the table, Ha Jae-Gun asked, “Do you need to go?”

“Nah, it’s just… I met this girl somewhere, and she looked pretty good, so I thought of sending her to join the audition.”

“Audition?”

Park Do-Joon grinned and bumped shoulders with Ha Jae-Gun.

“For There Was A Sea.”

“Oh… Does she look that good for you to recommend her to join the audition?”

“Go take a look at the auditions if you’re curious.”

“Would there be any need for me to be there?”

Jang Eun-Young, who was waiting to fill Park Do-Joon’s glass, chimed in. “Mr. Do-Joon, my arm is going to break soon.”

“Woah, I’m sorry. My mistake. Please, let me pour it for you as well.”

Park Do-Joon filled everyone’s glasses and shared a toast.

“It’s really nice to have met all of you.”

“It’s the same for me. I still can’t believe that you’re here with us in the flesh.”

“Same here. I won’t be able to forget tonight’s dinner.”

Tonight’s star was definitely Park Do-Joon. He was leading the atmosphere at the table with his fun celebrity aura.

“…there was once when I needed the washroom urgently during a live broadcast. If I had beer, I would have stomach problems all day the following day. But even after having diarrhea medicine, hoo—my vision turned yellow, and the panelists kept asking me questions, but I just couldn’t understand them!”

Every time Park Do-Joon said something, there was a particular someone who would keep on grabbing their stomach and bend over to laugh out loud. He had a totally different personality compared to when he was on camera.

The alienated feeling was like a strange charm for everyone else.

“Thanks to Mr. Do-Joon, I’ve learned a lot about celebrities and can use them as references for my character building. Could I use the stories you shared in my novel?”

“Feel free to use the others, except what I said about the washroom.”

They laughed once more. Meanwhile, Lee Yeon-Woo opened another bottle of alcohol. Ha Jae-Gun looked worriedly at the wall clock. It was already past 10 p.m., and they enjoyed the dinner so much that they had forgotten the passing time.

“Yeon-Woo, can you still handle it?”

“Yes, hyung. I’m not drunk yet.”

Despite saying that, Lee Yeon-Woo’s eyes looked torpid.

“Please have another glass, hyung. Park Do-Joon hyung, too.”

Lee Yeon-Woo addressed Park Do-Joon as hyung despite having only met the man for the first time today. His lethargic look and droopy head got Park Do-Joon asking, “Are you alright, dongsaeng[1]?”

“Yes, I’m really fine. I was just thinking a bit about both Park Do-Joon hyung and Ha Jae-Gun hyung.”

“What kind of thoughts?”

Lee Yeon-Woo stared alternately at both of them, then sniggered and said, “It’s about the movie Summer in My 20s. The movie was honestly, uh… not that good. Still, Park Do-Joon hyung acted really well as Lee Jin-Hyuk from the novel. I was thinking of that.”

“Thank you.”

“However…” Lee Yeon-Woo put strength in his drunken gaze and looked up before continuing. “I actually like Ha Jae-Gun hyung’s fantasy novels much more. Summer in My 20s was great, and There Was A Sea would be great as well, but whenever I feel burned out or bored, I would turn to Poongchun-Yoo’s novel first.”

“I agree with you, dongsaeng. I’ve recently started reading Oscar’s Dungeon, and I love how it’s such a much smoother read for me.”

At some point, Park Do-Joon had dropped formalities with Lee Yeon-Woo.

Lee Yeon-Woo was overjoyed to hear that Park Do-Joon agreed with his opinions, so he said excitedly, “Right? Right? People criticize novels and say that they’re bad or whatever just because the writing style isn’t too complicated, but I don’t feel that way.

“Aren’t novels great so long as many people are reading them? So what if no one is reading a novel, despite its greatness by virtue of its verbosity?”

“Just what are you trying to say, and what’s up with those deep words?” asked Ha Jae-Gun.

However, Lee Yeon-Woo continued speaking in a roundabout manner.

“Can’t the Records series or Pezellon get adapted into a movie as well? The same goes for Oscar’s Dungeon. Ha Jae-Gun hyung could write the original, and Park Do-Joon hyung could take the male lead roles—wow, just imagining that made my heart pound.

”What’s that? Why doesn’t the Nobel Literary Prize give awards for fantasy or martial genres? I think Ha Jae-Gun hyung is more than qualified to receive them. His novels are interesting and extremely touching as well.”

Lee Yeon-Woo’s drunk speech didn’t make any sense at all.

Moreover, his ideal argument didn’t give any form of consideration to reality, making everyone else smirk in response. All except for one person. Park Do-Joon’s expression was serious as he nodded and agreed with Lee Yeon-Woo.

“Like what you’ve said, there’s no rule saying that fantasy genres can’t receive the Nobel Literary Prize, too. And as long as it’s Ha Jae-Gun’s novel, even if it’s a bad novel, wouldn’t there come a day that it would get adapted into a movie as well?”

“Do you really think that way?”

“Of course. If Oscar’s Dungeon gets adapted into a movie, I would get my hair bleached immediately and join the audition for the role of the male lead.”

Lee Yeon-Woo couldn’t hide how touched he was by Park Do-Joon, and even started making gestures of his pounding heart at him.

“Ah, Park Do-Joon hyung, I really love you.”

“I like girls more, so forget it.”

Lee Yeon-Woo collapsed less than twenty minutes later.

Ha Jae-Gun quickly caught him and supported him while tutting. “Seriously, he can’t even handle his drinks, but he actually drank so much?”

“Let me help you.”

Ha Jae-Gun and Park Do-Joon supported Lee Yeon-Woo back to the room and laid him in his bed. Lee Yeon-Woo was smiling as if he was having a great dream.

“I should get going now, too,” Park Do-Joon said.

“How are you going to drive?”

“My manager hyung is resting and waiting for me somewhere in the area.”

“I’ll send you to the car park, then.”

Park Do-Joon bade his goodbyes to everyone else, promising to drop by again next time, and then left the office. As they walked down the corridor together, Ha Jae-Gun asked, “Isn’t Yeon-Woo cute?”

“Yeah, he’s really guileless. I’m so envious.”

“Thank you for accepting his antics.”

“No, I actually agree with him wholeheartedly.”

Park Do-Joon pressed the button on the elevator, then said, “I’ve looked up all the past interviews you’ve done before. You like fantasy novels, and that’s why you started writing them first, right?”

“…”

“Think back about what novels made you feel happy the most when you were writing them. Isn’t that what Yeon-Woo was trying to say? You should write whatever makes you feel the happiest.”

“Hearing you say that makes me think that I’ve felt something, too.”

“It’s something random from me, so I guess you can ignore it.”

Park Do-Joon’s manager was already waiting at the car when the pair arrived at the car park. Park Do-Joon hopped into the car and wound down the window to wave at Ha Jae-Gun.

“Thanks for inviting me. I’ll see you again.”

“Um, Do-Joon,” Ha Jae-Gun called out.

“Yeah?”

Ha Jae-Gun looked around to check if anyone else was around before asking softly, “Do you really want to act in There Was A Sea? Is Director Woo Jae-Hoon going to be fine with it?”

“…I knew you were going to say something about it. I want to act in the movie that I want, so why would he complain? It’s my problem as well, so don’t worry about it. Anyway, I’m going now.”

The window went back up, and the car cruised away.

Park Do-Joon’s manager looked through the rearview mirror at Ha Jae-Gun and muttered, “It’s definitely going to be an issue, Do-Joon.”

“But the president gave his word.”

“Can it even be considered a promise? He lost to you just because you’re too stubborn.”

“I hate getting led by the nose and being told what to do. I want to do what I like, and I want to enjoy the roles I’m acting out.”

Park Do-Joon’s opinions were made clearer than ever. The words he had said to Ha Jae-Gun in the elevator earlier were also meant for himself.

“Aigoo, I don’t know anymore.”

“How can there be an irresponsible manager like you? How can you say that? You should keep looking out for me.”

“God, what sin did I commit that you have put such a nuisance in my care?”

Park Do-Joon smiled and took out his phone. The first half of the scenario that he had read over ten times appeared on the screen. He started practicing the lines alone in the car.

***

“Yeah, Soo-Hee. It’s tomorrow. Well, I'm not that nervous yet. If I am, I’ll just have one of those calming herbal drinks. All right, I’ll call you again. Do a good job at work.”

Ha Jae-Gun ended the call and looked at the full-length mirror before him before sighing. He was holding the lecture script that he had prepared beforehand.

“Rika, my expressions and gestures are weird, right?”

“Meow?”

“Even I feel that I look too stiff. There are over 300 attendees, and it’s different compared to the orientation and library lectures, too.

”I think I’ll go crazy from nervousness even before it starts. I’m afraid that I’ll faint upon stepping onto the rostrum.”

Bzzt!

The vibration from his pocket made him flinch, which made it clear that he was truly nervous.

He answered calmly when he saw Park Do-Joon’s name on the screen.

“Yeah, Park Do-Joon.”

— I just dropped by Newdon’s office and received confirmation that I’ll be acting as Cho Kang-Jae in There Was A Sea.

“Congratulations, and thank you.”

— I heard that you’re invited to watch the casting auditions as well. I actually called you because of this.

“Me? Why?”

— Because you’re the author of the original novel. You must have had some sort of image in your mind when you created your characters. Your opinion matters, so Director Yoon Tae-Sung said it would be better if you could attend as well.

“I see…” Ha Jae-Gun recalled the look of the thin-looking director.

Who could have known that the director would go to such lengths to make sure Ha Jae-Gun could make it for the auditions? The confidence that he had met a decent director just grew stronger.

— So what are you doing now? I’m quite bored now since I’m free, can I drop by your place?

“I’ve got a lecture to give tomorrow at a game development company, so I’m practicing right now, but I’m going crazy from the nervousness. It’d be great if I could be as confident as you are.”

— Hey, you should have told me earlier. I’ll help you out, so just wait for me.

“Do you know where I live? I’m at home practicing, not at the office.”

— How would I know that? Just send me your address already. I’m hanging up.

Park Do-Joon arrived roughly thirty minutes later at Ha Jae-Gun’s house.

Park Do-Joon was shocked at the sight as he passed the gate and through the garden.

“Wow, you did a great job buying this house. You must have earned a lot of money.”

“Not really, I’ve spent almost all of my savings on doing up the interior.”

Rika ran up to Park Do-Joon upon recognizing him. She did not even shun away from his reach and even let Park Do-Joon pick her up.

“Shall we view the house later and take a look at your script first?”

“You’re really going to help me with it?”

“I’m here to tease you about it. Quick, pretend that I’m one of your audience.”

As Park Do-Joon took a seat, Ha Jae-Gun began practicing according to his script. However, less than five minutes later, Park Do-Joon started yawning and waved his hand at Ha Jae-Gun.

“Why? Is something wrong?” Ha Jae-Gun asked.

“Isn’t this a relatively important event? And it’s important for your portfolio as well, I suppose?”

“Yeah, since the company is relatively well-known and all…”

“But why is it so boring? If you weren’t the one doing the lecture, I would have upped and left already.”

“Umm…”

“The reporters would be attending as well, so it has to be interesting enough for them to write an article on it, too. What’s that introduction anyway? Hello? Nice to meet you? I’m Ha Jae-Gun? Wow, that isn’t funny at all. Hand me your script.”

Park Do-Joon snatched the stack of papers from Ha Jae-Gun’s hand. He briefly read through the seven to eight pieces of paper and was rendered speechless.

“Your lecture is missing the two most important things.”

“What is it?”

“Appropriate humor and emotions. You did it so well in your novels, but why did you write your script so lifelessly, like a robot? You must have a few tough episodes when creating your novels, no?”

“But I feel embarrassed talking about my own stories. It’s not like I lived my life just to reveal it to others.”

Park Do-Joon shook his head disapprovingly and picked up a ball pen, then began striking out more than half of the script.

“Here. Now you have to fill up the rest with your own stories and the right humor to elicit responses from the audience.”

“That’s easy for you to say, but how am I going to do that?”

“And that’s why I’m here. Now, it’s your turn to receive special training from the top star Park Do-Joon. You gotta treat me to drinks if it turns out well.”

Park Do-Joon loosened his necktie and rolled up his sleeves.

Ha Jae-Gun gulped and looked into the full-length mirror. He didn’t feel at all certain that Park Do-Joon’s help could help him change his timid demeanor.

1. 동생, a unisex term for younger siblings, can be used regardless if blood-related or not. ☜