NOVEL NEXT Episode 014
Episode 014
FQ’s headquarters located in Hannam-dong.
Unlike the busy office scene, there was a dark atmosphere.
It couldn’t be helped.
An unexpected school violence controversy erupted involving one of their affiliated celebrities.
Moreover, the subject was An Myung-hyun, the main vocalist of NEXT, whom the company was actively promoting.
“An Myung-hyun. Speak honestly without lies. Did you really not cause any trouble when you were in school?”
FQ’s Vice President Chae Yeon-seok asked sharply in a soundproofed room.
An Myung-hyun, sitting in front of him, gritted his teeth and replied.
“No. Honestly, even if there was something, shouldn’t I say there wasn’t in this situation? Why are you asking?”
At An Myung-hyun’s bold attitude, the color drained from the faces of the manager in charge and the manager team leader sitting with him.
They never thought An Myung-hyun would behave so rudely in front of Vice President Chae Yeon-seok, nicknamed the “bloodhound.”
“Myung-hyun, what’s with that manner of speaking…”
The team leader quickly tried to scold An Myung-hyun, but Vice President Chae raised his hand to stop him.
“I’ll ask one more time. Did you ever bully or hit anyone when you were in school?”
“…”
“It would be better to speak honestly. Your fate, as well as NEXT’s fate, depends on your words.”
Vice President Chae’s words carried a sense of finality.
But An Myung-hyun paid no heed to this attitude.
Instead, he stood up abruptly and started to get angry.
“When did I ever say I wanted to do dramas? Why are you pushing me into such places and then blaming me! It was all your decision for me to become NEXT’s main vocalist!”
Where was the smile when he said he didn’t mind being asked to appear in
Everyone was speechless at An Myung-hyun’s brazen attitude.
Only Vice President Chae looked at the arrogantly behaving An Myung-hyun with clear eyes.
“There’s no use talking further. Stop acting up and get out.”
Vice President Chae issued a clear order for An Myung-hyun to leave.
At the same time, the team leader held his forehead.
The reason was simple.
He realized that this determined An Myung-hyun’s treatment.
Now that Vice President Chae had made up his mind, An Myung-hyun’s journey with FQ was as good as over.
Clearly, that was the situation, but…
“What are you going to do? You’re going to release a statement saying the allegations are groundless, right?”
For some reason, An Myung-hyun stood his ground and asked shamelessly.
Vice President Chae let out a snicker at this incomprehensible behavior.
But it was only for a moment.
Soon, with eyes full of killing intent, he issued the order to leave once again.
“I told you to get out, didn’t I?”
This time, even An Myung-hyun seemed to have difficulty withstanding Vice President Chae’s gaze.
“There’s only 30 minutes left in the golden time. Please hurry.”
Like someone in urgent need of the bathroom, he left one last comment before quickly opening the door and leaving.
Vice President Chae quietly watched An Myung-hyun’s retreating figure, still talking about the golden time, before speaking.
“Clean it up.”
The team leader understood Vice President Chae’s meaning and pleaded.
“The school violence hasn’t even been confirmed as fact yet. If we hastily deal with Myung-hyun, the fans…”
“Look at how he’s acting. Won’t it become a fact? I’ve already talked with the legal team, so do as you’re told.”
“Ah…”
“I’ve clearly given the order. Deal with it before more specific secondary allegations come out.”
“…Yes.”
With that, the team leader who received Vice President Chae’s order went out to handle the matter.
The manager in charge also tried to follow the team leader out, but Vice President Chae’s voice stopped him in his tracks.
“Did you say An Myung-hyun felt jealous of the rookie actor?”
The manager in charge awkwardly stood there before sitting back down and nodding.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Why?”
“Well, first, his acting is so good it’s embarrassing to compare with Myung-hyun…”
“Of course a professional actor should be better than Myung-hyun. Is that all?”
The manager in charge, recalling Si-joon’s face, spoke the words he really wanted to say.
“No. His face… It’s unbelievably handsome. It’s crazy.”
In fact, An Myung-hyun felt more intense jealousy about this aspect than about the good acting.
“Good at acting and handsome to boot… From An Myung-hyun’s perspective, it must have felt like the rookie actor was stealing the attention that he, as the lead, should have gotten.”
Vice President Chae, who wasn’t even at the scene, accurately pinpointed An Myung-hyun’s emotional state.
The manager in charge broke out in a cold sweat, feeling as if he had been under real-time surveillance.
“…That seems to be exactly how it was.”
“Stupid kid. If he hated losing attention so much, he should have practiced acting more.”
The manager in charge bowed his head deeply, as if he had nothing to say.
“…”
But for some reason, a light of interest appeared in Vice President Chae’s eyes.
“You… Perhaps…”
“Yes?”
“Do you think the rookie actor would have stolen the spotlight even if An Myung-hyun had acted well?”
By this point, the manager in charge felt goosebumps.
“H-How did you know that?”
“It’s nothing special. I’ve felt similar emotions in the past. Anyway, it’s surprising. How handsome must he be for you to think that? An Myung-hyun isn’t exactly lacking in looks either.”
The manager in charge sat quietly without saying anything.
He knew Vice President Chae wasn’t expecting an answer.
How much time passed like that?
Vice President Chae slapped his knee and opened his mouth towards the manager in charge.
“The rookie actor’s name was Lee Si-joon, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“You said he currently doesn’t have an agency?”
“Yes, that’s what I understand.”
“Recruit him.”
“Pardon?”
Vice President Chae replied with a deep smile on his face.
“Bring him in. We need to fill An Myung-hyun’s gap somehow, don’t we?”
* * *
After finishing the filming of Part 3, where the high school student role was prominent, I took a three-day break.
I hadn’t completely stopped practicing, but I didn’t go to the acting academy.
This was because Seo Myung-hee needed to adjust class times as she started to focus on filming for
Fortunately, the class times were smoothly adjusted, and today was the first day.
“How was the practice?”
“By taking on Shin Han-jae’s role, I was able to newly confirm the depth of
Since filming was over, there was no meaning in continuing to practice Hwang In-seop’s high school role.
However, there wasn’t enough time for Seo Myung-hee to start teaching a role from another work from scratch.
For this reason, a new teaching method was needed, and Seo Myung-hee suggested practicing other roles from
She explained that this would improve acting skills while also gaining a deeper understanding of the work.
It was even an optimized teaching method to make up for Seo Myung-hee’s limited time.
‘It’s also very closely related to actual practice.’
So I accepted Seo Myung-hee’s proposal and proceeded to practice the role of Shin Han-jae, the male lead of
It would have been possible to practice the adult role of Hwang In-seop that I had played, but I wanted to try acting as Shin Han-jae if possible.
It was natural that the essence of the work would be contained in the lead role.
“That’s great. I thought Si-joon would learn something from this. Shall we check how you’ve been practicing?”
I nodded and stood in the center of the practice room to get into character.
But I couldn’t proceed with the acting.
Someone suddenly opened the door of the practice room and came in.
Surprisingly, it was Jung Su-min, the main writer of
“Unni!”
“Oh my. What brings you here without notice? Weren’t you busy working on Episode 12?”
“Is Episode 12 the problem now? What should we do! Our drama is about to be cancelled!”
“What? What are you talking about? Calm down and explain slowly.”
“First, read the internet articles that are coming up right now!”
At Jung Su-min’s urging, Seo Myung-hee checked the internet articles.
I also took out my smartphone from my pocket, sensing that something was amiss.
[Is An Myung-hyun really a school violence perpetrator? Internet buzzing with exposé post!]
[How did it come to an exposé…. Netizens shocked by An Myung-hyun’s past actions]
[Investigate the truth immediately! NEXT fans’ demands pouring in]
[Truth battle due to FQ’s silence…. How much of it is true?]
[Victim A’s secondary damage exposé! An Myung-hyun’s school violence enters new phase]
[(Official statement) FQ admits An Myung-hyun’s school violence…. “We apologize for causing concern to fans”]
[Secondary damage due to school violence incident,
[(Full text) NEXT’s An Myung-hyun’s official apology…. ‘I think leaving the team is the least I can do’]
[‘The least I can do’…. School violence perpetrator An Myung-hyun causes another wave]
I had been feeling uneasy, and finally, what was bound to happen, happened.
The internet was already abuzz with articles about An Myung-hyun’s school violence.
It was the moment that resolved the question of why Writer Jung Su-min had come here.
“Unni? What should we do?”
“Well. He was already causing delays and trouble when filming Part 3. Now he’s caused a big incident. Have you talked with the director?”
“Not yet. I rushed here as soon as the news broke.”
“You’re so thoughtless. When something like this happens, you should call the director first. You stayed up all night writing the script yesterday too, right?”
“Well…. Should I call the director now?”
“If we want to recast and reshoot as quickly as possible, we should.”
As Writer Jung Su-min was nodding at Seo Myung-hee’s words and about to make a call somewhere, it happened.
Once again, the practice room door burst open and a new person appeared.
It was Director Kang Han-sung.
“As I thought, you were here. I actually had something to say to the three of you.”
Director Kang Han-sung’s final gaze unexpectedly lingered on me.
Just as I was wondering why he was looking at me, Director Kang Han-sung continued.
“As you know, with Actor An Myung-hyun’s departure, new casting and reshooting of Part 3 are inevitable.”
“In this situation, will there be any actor willing to join our drama?”
“There will be almost no one willing to take on the high school Shin Han-jae role. It’s right to consider it impossible to find someone immediately.”
“Ah… As expected…”
“But it’s different for the high school Hwang In-seop role. There will surely be people who want to join.”
“The high school Hwang In-seop role? Why is that suddenly being mentioned? Isn’t that the role that Actor Lee Si-joon already played 200% perfectly?”
“Moving Actor Lee Si-joon to the high school Shin Han-jae role and casting a new actor for the high school Hwang In-seop role. This is the solution I want to propose to this situation.”
As Director Kang Han-sung finished speaking, Seo Myung-hee and Writer Jung Su-min’s gazes turned towards me.
This was a development that even I, knowing the future, hadn’t anticipated at all.