After Story 50

“You’ve been to the studio, haven’t you?” producer Cha asked as he picked up the teacup. Hyojung nodded as she sat down on the sofa.

“I went there a few days ago.”

“How was it?”

“Good. It was almost good enough to live in.”

“You’ll be living there once the program goes on air. You’re someone who works better outside your home.”

“I think that’s what will happen too.”

The studio prepared by the Tv station was filled with a few pieces of furniture, and the walls had gray wallpaper, creating a relaxing atmosphere. She had tested bringing her laptop there to write, and she felt like she could write smoothly without distractions or stopping.

“I think you’ll have one assistant writer. I tried to get two, but the people handling the budget were quite petty.”

“You can’t help it. I also had to write a separate contract from the main writer when I worked as an assistant. But still, at least I get one. That’s better than none.”

“If you have someone in mind later, then tell me. I’ll sign the contract with that person. As for the payment, it’ll be about 800 thousand.”

“800 huh?”

Hyojung wrapped her hand around her teacup.

“How strange. I got paid 400 when I worked as an assistant writer. I got paid that and had to commute to the writer’s house to bring her child home, clean the house, and even go grocery shopping. Back then, I thought that I would most definitely pay my assistant writers a full salary and have them only do things related to writing. But now that I actually saw the manuscript fee contract, I can’t do as I wish.”

3 million won per episode. The money that she would earn from the 16-episode miniseries was definitely not small. It was insignificant compared to star writers who broke records with everything they wrote and talked about selling licensing to Japan, but it was a night and day difference compared to when she was an assistant writer. It was not a small amount, but she didn’t dare think about getting another assistant writer with this money. If the TV station didn’t give her an assistant writer, she might have had to do this by herself.

Even the total of nearly 50 million won manuscript fee felt quite small when she considered that she might not be able to do another work for a few years.

"That's how everyone is. That's why everyone's trying to raise their own worth by writing good things. Ultimately this comes down to business after all; it is both a cultural business and drama business."

"Right. It'd be a big trouble to do art with someone else's money. When I was young, I dreamed of writing a perfect piece from beginning to end, but I don't wish for that anymore. That's a dream only someone who reached the top could have. No, even top-tier writers can't do as they wish in this industry. No one can act superior in front of viewing rates."

"Still, someone on the level of writer Park Misook must be able to do as she wishes."

"But she's the godmother of this industry. I looked at a recent article saying that she's getting 90 million per episode."

"90 million, huh? That's about the same as the annual salary of general managers at decent companies. Considering all the other things she'll be getting, it must be huge."

Whether she liked it or not, everything came down to money. Hyojung also wanted to become a writer who could sell well. The winds blowing in the drama-writer world were too fierce to live with the dreams and hopes of a literature girl.

Before the proposal went through, she was worried every day that the drama might halt, and once the proposal did go through, she was worried about getting enough budget, and once she were to finish the drama, she would have to worry about when she would be doing her next piece.

If she wanted to endure the chilling winds of worries, she had to have a refuge, and the most important factor in creating that refuge was money.

Money — it was a target of hatred, as well as aspiration.

"We should do well with our piece this time so that both you and I can raise our worth."

After gulping down the remaining tea in an instant, director Cha took out something from his pocket. What was on the table was an SD card and a card reader.

"This is the audition video I told you about before I came here. This is something that I can decide on my own, but since this is the first time for both of us, I'd like to listen to your opinion as well for most of the things. If you don't want to be bothered with things like this, I'll take care of everything on my end next time."

"No, it's okay. It'd be exhausting if I have to listen to every detail, but characters are something I am telling you about. You said they're doing the lines of officer Park and Jaeyeon, right?"

"Yes. Officer Park will be especially important. It'll be the first murder that appears in the story."

"The ones I saw last time were pretty good."

"These are the last candidates, so let's decide today after watching this. But once you watch it, only one of them will catch your eye. Well, if you and I have similar preferences that is."

"So there was an actor you liked?"

"He was overwhelming, at least among the people here."

She opened her laptop and inserted the card reader. She played back the videos on the SD card with her video program.

Along with some white noise, a man appeared. Director Cha's voice could be heard outside the frame, telling him to start once he was ready.

"He's good-looking."

"He's preparing to become an idol, apparently. These days, idol trainees are trained in acting as well. Younger and younger people will keep appearing, and they'll have a hard time being idols once they're in their late 20s, so they get prepared early."

"Idols are hard to ignore these days too. There are so many good people."

"Tell me about it. They actually have a lot of tenacity in them, so they improve rapidly. I mean, they do have to digest difficult choreography, singing, and hellish schedules."

Hyojung looked at the acting of the man on the screen. It didn't look bad. It didn't look too off, and his diction of the lines was good as well. Based on acting alone, it was a pity to use him as a minor actor.

"How is he?"

"He's good, but no good."

"I'm of the same opinion. First of all, he doesn't have that detective vibe. I mean, not all criminal investigators are buff and muscular, but he's too skinny, isn't he?"

"I imagined him standing alongside the other actors. He doesn't fit. He also pops out a little too much. I want an amicable image."

"Good. We agree on that."

Hyojung moved her mouse to click the next video, but director Cha told her to wait and told her to click on the file after that.

"Let's look at the middle one later. For now, this one first."

It seemed that the actor director Cha chose was in the middle. Hyojung clicked on the next video over. As soon as she saw it, she said that it was okay. He looked pretty young, with eyes full of mischief. He gave off a good impression to cover the 'youngest member' image.

Outside lead actors, the actors' impression was more important than their acting skills. This was especially the case for officer Park, who would show the moment of death very clearly. If that innocent-looking face was colored in shock, it would definitely grab the attention of the viewers.

"I like him. I think he'll fit into the story well. His acting is decent as well."

"Yes. I agree. Let's look at the last one."

Director Cha was filled with confidence. From what she could tell of him, he was someone with clear likes and dislikes. His explanation of something or someone would be very long when he was talking about something he had taken a liking to. Yet, even such a person just told her to watch without explaining anything.

How much must he have liked this person to urge her to this extent? She opened the file with a lot of expectations.

Unlike the previous videos, this one had a lot of noise. She could tell what the situation was immediately. This was a video that was taken during practice before the test actually started. The two men she had watched moved past the screen. She could also see two women.

The camera kept moving until it stopped when it focused on the man standing in the corner. The way he concentrated while looking at the script was pretty serious. His eyes were fixed, and his lips kept moving non-stop.

The man, who was absorbed in his script, loosened his hands. He closed his eyes slightly and kept breathing slowly. Unlike the previous two men, his first impression was only about 70 points. His contours were a little too distinct. His eyes were also sharper compared to the two men before. He was a face suited for a criminal investigation drama, but not for officer Park. He was suited to be a veteran detective rather than a new recruit.

No, he was too young, so a veteran role was no good either. She had been mistaken for a moment because he looked to be full of experience despite being young.

She never knew she'd feel a sense of experience from a young man who only looked to be about twenty-three.

What did director Cha like about this actor? Based on impression alone, the second actor was actually better, which meant that he fell for this man due to his acting. Hyojung crossed her arms. Just how good was his acting for him to prioritize this man's acting over the other man's appearance?

The man's mouth opened. His words were light like he was joking around. She thought that he was pretty good. Above everything, his voicing was stable. He felt a lot weightier compared to the two people before. It wasn't a weight that made a character feel heavy, but a voice that turned the character more three-dimensional and realistic.

Still, it was such a pity. Appearances were just that hard to beat.

She glanced at director Cha. He was pointing at the screen as though telling her to wait for the good bit.

The man was changing his tone. He jerked his body a few times before fixing his expression entirely.

It felt messy. He looked incredibly unstable. The sense of weight he gave off disappeared, making his entire character rather faint. She frowned at the terrible acting.

It was when she was seriously thinking about whether she had to doubt director Cha's judgment that there was a change. The emotions that were all over the place started returning to the right places.

His rather deep voice now reached a level that reminded her of officer Park. It didn't feel forced at all and instead felt natural. Even the lines that did not have any character started to have color.

His messy lines and actions were a preparatory step for finding the traits of the character? Officer Park was being constructed like he was being built from all the right pieces. The moment she saw the finished product, Hyojung forgot about the two people she watched before.

"Just seeing that made me think that this is the guy. But there's still more."

More — Hyojung remembered that there was the death scene. The mischievous officer Park flinched backward into a corner. There was another moment of recreation.

The space that was noisy like the middle of the market turned silent in an instant. The other participants that were making noise due to their own practice had turned silent. While it wasn't on screen, Hyojung could tell that they must all be looking at the man in the corner, having forgotten that they were supposed to be practicing.

The man called 'senior Kang' once and stood up with his expression composed. He seemed like he didn't like something. The fear-stricken face changed. The mischievous officer Park had returned. A bold light circulated in his eyes. His interpretation of the character had changed; it had changed from being stricken with fear in the beginning, from getting stricken with fear while facing the killer.

Every one of his expressions and actions was delicate. She knew what the situation was like prior to and after this scene, so maybe it came even clearer to her, but she could see that this man was trying to catch the intent of the writer. She was very excited to see the actor dig deeper into the world of her writing. She felt like she was being praised.

Hyojung locked her fingers and focused on the screen. She could picture officer Park facing off against the killer. Officer Park, who was calling senior Kang with confidence, eventually seemed to have realized that the situation wasn't in his favor and started backing off.

As he staggered away, he fell over. He crawled on the floor like he was pushed to the edge of a cliff. The mischievous, bold officer Park became pathetic in the face of death.

Death without a scream arrived. Officer Park clutched his stomach and curled up. His eyes looked like they were going to burst. She could see the blood vessels appear in his eyes. It was dynamic and realistic, so much so that she thought he was really stabbed.

The man who acted with all of his energy sat down on the floor like a calm man again. He seemed to have fallen in thought as though he felt he was insufficient.

She saw the man look at the camera at director Cha's voice. The video stopped there. Hyojung leaned back again. Then she spoke,

"I watched a performance of The King of Masks once before. I’m reminded of back then.”

She fixed her gaze on the man on the screen. A man of a thousand faces. She thought about the expression that was actually pretty common, but not used all that often.