Chapter 120. There Was A Sea (2)

"Where are you going, Jae-Gun?" Park Do-Joon called as soon as he stepped out of the elevator.

However, Ha Jae-Gun didn’t hear him. All Ha Jae-Gun had in his mind was the waiting room that he was heading toward. His footsteps soon crossed the door into the waiting room.

'...?'

There were over twenty people in the room waiting for their turn to audition. Most of them took their seats and were either listening to music or practicing their lines. Ha Jae-Gun quickly scanned the faces of the auditionees, but he could not see the face he had in mind.

He looked around outside the waiting room to no avail.

'Who is Kim Na-Yeon?'

Ha Jae-Gun looked out for the girl whom Chae Bo-Ra thought was disgusting by checking each of their name tags. He finally found someone with the name Kim Na-Yeon.

'Is this her…?'

Ha Jae-Gun quietly looked at the girl, who was focused on reading the script.

Was she in her early twenties?

She indeed had a beauty that surpassed most auditionees.

"Ha…"

Nevertheless, Ha Jae-Gun felt discouraged as a bitter smile painted his face. She wasn't the girl that he was looking for. Ironically, a hint of disappointment was added to his small sigh of relief.

'Yeah… The world is so huge, it's stupid of me to think that Ms. Da-Seul would appear here.'

Ha Jae-Gun mocked himself for his foolish thoughts and shook them away.

Park Do-Joon appeared from behind him and tapped his shoulder.

"Why did you ignore me and walk away?"

"When did you come here?"

"Just a while ago. I called you at the elevator, but you just walked past me. Ah, help me look at the back of my head. I think it got pressed down while I was in the car."

Park Do-Joon pointed at his hair.

The auditionees' attention immediately landed on Park Do-Joon.

It was a natural reaction since Park Do-Joon was the male lead of the movie they were auditioning for. The female auditionees’ reaction was more intense. They smiled widely and stared at him with flushed faces; the same went for Kim Na-Yeon.

She was only pretending that she was reading the script in her hand. She was actually stealing glances at Park Do-Joon. There was no way she could strike up a conversation with him first since Park Do-Joon had always reminded her to act like they were strangers in front of other people.

‘But who is that?’

Kim Na-Yeon’s gaze then fell on Ha Jae-Gun. Who was that man talking so comfortably with Park Do-Joon? The man looked quite handsome and neat-looking, but he didn’t feel like a celebrity.

‘Is that his manager?’

As if agreeing with Kim Na-Yeon’s suspicions, all the other auditionees’ were also secretly stealing glances at Ha Jae-Gun. Just then, one of the many auditionees carefully approached Ha Jae-Gun.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

“Um… Excuse me.”

“Yes?” Ha Jae-Gun turned around to see a large-framed, handsome-looking man in his early thirties looking at him with a slightly bent posture.

“Are you talking to me?”

“Yes, um… Are you Mr. Ha Jae-Gun?”

Ha Jae-Gun smiled awkwardly, feeling embarrassed to hear himself getting addressed not as a writer at the audition site.

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Ah, I knew it…! I wasn’t sure at first since you looked quite different from before. I love your novels, so I’ve decided to participate in this audition.”

The large-framed man’s words got several more auditionees’ gazes locked onto Ha Jae-Gun.

These people were the same as the male auditionees; they had joined the audition because of their interest in Ha Jae-Gun’s works. They were unlike the usual auditionees, whose agencies or acting academies had pushed them to join the auditions.

‘That’s Ha Jae-Gun?’

‘No wonder he looked so familiar! Ah, I should have gone up and talked to him first!’

After finding out Ha Jae-Gun’s identity, the questions in each of their minds disappeared without a trace, like melting snow. The feelings that came afterward were of admiration and envy.

“I’m Jo Won-Jun.” The man said excitedly, "I really enjoyed all of your novels. From Foolish Woman, A 90s Kid, and even Summer in My 20s, I've read each of them at least five times. I even bought There Was A Sea on preorder and finished it."

"Thank you so much."

“The story in There Was A Sea really touched me, especially when Cho Kang-Jae jumped off the bus that was heading to Seoul just to save Ba-Da, wow—I might look like a bear, but I'm quite sentimental. My eyes have puffed up so much after crying the entire night."

The large-framed man pinched his own eyelids.

Ha Jae-Gun smiled apologetically as he gathered his hands together to his chest.

"You're making me feel sorry now. I'll make sure to let the director know of this and seek his understanding."

Ha Jae-Gun's joke elicited loud laughter from the large-framed man. However, the large-framed man continued with a serious look. "I joined the audition hoping to get the role of Kim Pan-Ho."

"Ah, I see. He's another one of the characters I liked while I worked on the novel." Ha Jae-Gun nodded in agreement. The large-framed man seemed to fit that role pretty well.

Kim Pan-Ho was Cho Kang-Jae's confidante. He was a relatively important character in the story and was often tormented between staying loyal to Cho Kang-Jae and worrying over his poor family.

"My self-esteem isn’t that high, but I want to do my best. Speaking of which, I would like to act out the scene where Kim Pan-Ho assassinates Cho Kang-Jae for my free-acting piece. Could I ask for some advice on what your thoughts on Kim Pan-Ho’s image or his psychology are like?”

“Advice? Hmm… I’m not sure.” Ha Jae-Gun trailed off with a perplexed look.

He had created the character, but it was only in written text. There wasn’t much advice he could provide in terms of acting.

Just then, a female auditionee approached them with a shy smile and said, “Mr. Ha, I’m looking to try for the role of Ba-Da’s friend, Eun-Hee. If not Eun-Hee, then maybe Mi-Ja. Could you give me some advice as well?”

“Ah, um… I’m an outsider when it comes to acting, so I doubt I can provide you with any useful advice—”

Another auditionee butted into the conversation.

“Mr. Ha, could you help take a look at my mask? Which role do you think I would fit best?”

Ha Jae-Gun broke out into a cold sweat and glanced at Park Do-Joon, asking for help. However, Park Do-Joon was busy drinking his canned coffee, ignoring his silent pleas and enjoying the scene before him with a playful smile.

“Everyone, break’s over. Ah, Mr. Park Do-Joon is here, too?”

“Hello, assistant director. How is the audition going?”

“Haha, let’s talk after it ends. Writer Ha, let’s head back.”

“Okay, I’ll be on my way.”

Ha Jae-Gun finally managed to escape, thanks to the assistant director. As soon as Ha Jae-Gun returned to his seat, the name of the next auditionee was called out.

“Ms. Kim Na-Yeon?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Ha Jae-Gun looked up. Kim Na-Yeon was in a normal grey sweater and jeans, standing next to the camera. Her plain clothes didn’t become her disadvantage. It made her beauty stand out.

Director Yoon Tae-Sung looked at her application and asked, “I see that you’ve been taking acting lessons up until last year?”

“Yes, for around one and a half years.”

“Why did you stop?”

“Um… Because of my family situation.”

“You look quite shy right now, can you do this well?”

Kim Na-Yeon gulped and nodded profusely. Yoon Tae-Sung gestured for her to start, and she started acting out her pieces one by one.

‘...She’s quite good.’

Ha Jae-Gun was astonished. Was it a prejudice that someone’s acting skills would definitely be low when they had extremely good looks? Her ability to switch between sadness and happiness smoothly meant that she was indeed a skillful actor.

Ha Jae-Gun turned to observe the expressions of the other judges, curious to see their reactions. Starting from the director, everyone was expressionless, making it hard for him to read their thoughts.

‘I’m not sure if it’s because of the bad acting from earlier that I felt her acting was so much better.’

Ha Jae-Gun concluded his thoughts there as an outsider to the acting industry.

Kim Na-Yeon soon finished acting out all her parts, greeted the judges, and left the room.

“Mark her,” Yoon Tae-Sung said.

The assistant director nodded and drew a circle on Na-Yeon’s application.

Ha Jae-Gun felt proud that he wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

‘She said Director Woo knew her, right…?’

As the next auditionee stepped in for their turn, Ha Jae-Gun recalled what Chae Bo-Ra had said earlier at the pantry. He had heard her saying that Kim Na-Yeon was a host girl and that she had heard it from Director Woo.

Ha Jae-Gun felt slightly disturbed.

Meanwhile, Kim Na-Yeon stepped into the elevator that was heading down the building. She had spent all her energy on the audition, so she was completely exhausted.

‘Did I come all the way here for nothing…?’

She had taken the audition with Park Do-Joon’s help, but she still felt quite anxious. She had to stop taking her acting lessons due to her family’s financial situation and had to step into the ugly side of the entertainment industry to make ends meet, so how could she even dream of returning to acting?

Even she felt that she was trying to achieve a pipe dream…

Bzzt!

Her phone vibrated in her pocket.

It was a call from her roommate’s sibling. Kim Na-Yeon let out a sigh and held her phone to her ear.

“Yeah.”

— Na-Yeon unni! How was your audition?

“I’m not sure. I think I performed weirdly.”

— Things will turn out well. You’re pretty and a good actress, after all. Let’s eat out tonight. Let’s have meat, meat!

“What about your part-time work at the restaurant?”

— It’s my off day today. I changed shifts wanting to celebrate you passing the auditions in advance. Heheh.

The younger girl’s energy brought a smile to Na-Yeon’s exhausted face.

“Alright, I’ll be back soon. It’d be great if you could come together. Park Do-Joon came as well.”

— Wow, really? Really? I should have gone, too! Is he really tall? Is the height on his profile true?

“Yeah, he’s really tall. I thought I would get a herniated disc if I talked to him while looking at his face. Ah, and the author of the original novel came, too. Ha Jae-Gun.”

— …

“They seem to be friends. They look quite close.”

— …

“Hello? You can’t hear me?”

— Y-yeah, unni. Sorry, I’m underground right now, and I suddenly couldn’t…

“It’s fine, let’s talk when we meet. See you later.”

Kim Na-Yeon ended the call.

The elevator doors soon opened, and she stepped out into the sunlit area.

***

[Ha Jae-Gun’s new novel There Was A Sea on a steep rise, increasing twice as fast as Summer in My 20s]

[8th on Bandi & Lunia’s bestseller four days after the publication of There Was A Sea]

[There Was A Sea confirmed for movie adaptation before its publication, the male lead is once again Park Do-Joon]

[OongSung Publication Group invests 4 billion won production fee on rookie director]

“This is going to be a huge hit again.”

Kang Min-Ho and Jang Eun-Young were on the sofa in the writer’s office, enjoying their afternoon break. Kang Min-Ho was reading the articles on his phone while Jang Eun-Young was watching an entertainment program on the TV.

“If the initial response was twice of Summer in My 20s, it might hit two million copies sold. Wow, so how much would he be earning in royalties?”

“It’s going to be a huge sum, right? I can’t imagine. Oh my, hyung. Park Do-Joon appeared,” Jang Eun-Young said and slapped Kang Min-Ho’s shoulder.

The TV was broadcasting an interview with Park Do-Joon before the filming of There Was A Sea. The reporter asked various questions about the movie and finally asked about Ha Jae-Gun.

“The photo of you and Writer Ha Jae-Gun at the Apgujeong Rodeo has been quite the topic on social media platforms recently. Many fans are quite curious as to how both of you are related and why something like that happened. They have many other related questions as well. Any comments about it?”

Park Do-Joon scrunched his nose slightly with his signature aloof expression and replied, “I appeared at a radio broadcast sometime back before. We knew each other from back then. I have many things to learn from him as well. Our personalities matched, so we ended up becoming good friends.”

A picture of Ha Jae-Gun was shown on the screen behind Park Do-Joon. Kang Min-Ho and Jang Eun-Young both laughed, amused and fascinated at the same time.

“Mr. Park Do-Joon is definitely cooler in person.”

“And you want him to drop by the office again?”

“What, are you jealous?”

“Bull. He needs to be of a certain level for me to be jealous. Do you want some coffee?”

“Yeah, thank you. But where is Yeon-Woo? He said he went out to take a breather, but why is he taking so long? Should I call him?”

Kang Min-Hon let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. “Don’t look for him. It’s best for him to spend some time alone when things are going tough.”

“I don’t feel good to see the usually bright kid looking so depressed.”

“He’ll get himself up again soon, said Kang Min-Ho, but he was still quite worried.

Lee Yeon-Woo was going through his first ordeal since he had become a writer.

Both Kang Min-Ho and Jang Eun-Young had gone through the same ordeal as well, so they were aware that no one else could help Lee Yeon-Woo other than himself.

***

“Are you really fine with not going back?”

“I’m free until tomorrow. I love this place. Can I call some of the AppleT girls?”

Tap!

Park Do-Joon thrust the billiard stick toward the ball. They were currently at the lounge in Ha Jae-Gun’s basement. The construction had ended, and the space had become filled with a variety of colors.

Park Do-Joon had already spent a few hours here and was unwilling to leave.

“Come here, let’s play a game.”

“I’m not good at billiards.”

“I’ll help you as we go, so don’t be worried. Place five hundred thousand for yours, and I’ll place two million.”

“Will you remove three cushions for me, too?”

“Isn’t that going too far?”

Bzzt!

His phone left on the bar was vibrating. Ha Jae-Gun held his cue stick and went to answer the call.

“Hello?”

— Hello, is this Mr. Ha Jae-Gun? This is a call from Gasan Police Station.