NOVEL NEXT Episode 085
Episode 085
After the filming of “New Quiz” ended,
I walked towards the parking lot with my brother to go home.
For some reason, an awkward atmosphere flowed between us.
It was the aftermath of the “New Quiz” filming.
To dispel the awkwardness, I struggled to open my mouth.
“Brother… About earlier…”
Then my brother, who was walking ahead, stopped abruptly.
He slowly turned his head towards me and asked.
His face was paler than I had ever seen before.
“What about earlier?”
“When you said I’m your little brother…”
“Was that strange?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking if that was strange. You are my little brother, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, of course. But the timing…”
“What about the timing? I just said it because it seemed people still don’t know well that we’re brothers. I don’t know what misunderstanding you might have, but don’t misunderstand.”
My brother suddenly poured out words.
But none of them were wrong.
I felt that from my brother’s perspective, it was probably just a casual remark.
‘Well, he’s not the type to say things with some hidden intention.’
I chuckled and replied to my brother’s words.
“I’m not misunderstanding. I’m just saying you did well. I didn’t intentionally hide that we’re brothers either, but it seemed like everyone didn’t know, so I felt a bit off about it.”
My brother looked at me and nodded quietly.
“Okay. From now on, let’s talk about it more actively. That I’m your older brother.”
“Huh? Okay. I will. Sure.”
“Then if we’re done talking, shall we go home quickly? We need to go eat dinner.”
For some reason, my brother was wearing a much more relaxed expression.
But my curiosity wasn’t fully satisfied yet.
“No, wait a moment.”
“What now?”
“Did you originally want to become an actor?”
“……”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“…What’s there to tell? I’m doing well as a model now.”
“Well, that’s true, but isn’t it a waste? You must have started receiving casting offers from here and there. To just keep doing modeling work.”
“I don’t get many casting offers.”
“How many do you get?”
“Just 3 works last week?”
“That’s a lot.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah. So why don’t you try acting?”
Don’t give up on your dream because of me.
I wanted to say this, but I swallowed my words.
If I said something like this, I felt my brother would focus even more on modeling work.
“You understand, right?”
When I asked again like this, my brother nodded.
“Okay.”
Feeling like it might become awkward at this rate, this time I urged my brother.
“Now we’re done talking. Let’s go.”
I took the lead like that, but my brother didn’t follow behind me.
Then he suddenly called my name in a low voice.
“Si-joon?”
“Yeah?”
“If we… much later… appear in a work together, would it really be okay?”
I read worry on my brother’s face.
And to reassure him, I smiled.
“Of course it would be okay. It’s fun just imagining it. So make sure to try acting.”
* * *
A few days after my brother and I finished filming “New Quiz”,
“Let’s Live Together, Princess” aired its final 16th part.
It ended with a quite good result of 16.71% viewership rating.
It could be said to be the best performance among dramas aired in the first half of the year.
Moreover, it wasn’t just that the ratings were good.
Praise poured in for the last part of “Let’s Live Together, Princess”.
A brilliant start, a perfect ending.
Everyone unanimously praised “Let’s Live Together, Princess”.
Thanks to that, “Let’s Live Together, Princess” could wrap up in a joyful atmosphere until the wrap-up party.
Cindy, seemingly in high spirits, drank first and got drunk, then repeated the same words to me several times.
“Si-joon! Make sure to work with me again next time! Got it? Okay?”
Writer Jung Su-jin and Director Yoo Sung-hyo also brought up the same topic.
“Si-joon! You worked hard! I’ll send the script to your agency as soon as it’s completed. Please review it positively.”
“Thank you for your hard work and I’m grateful. I’ll cherish our connection, so let’s make sure to meet on set again and work together.”
For me, these were heartwarming offers.
If I hadn’t received the casting offer for “Escape”, I would have seriously considered the offers from these three people.
That’s how meaningful the connections I built in “Let’s Live Together, Princess” were.
It was natural, given that not only was it my first appearance as the main male lead in a drama, but we also achieved a good result of 16.71% viewership ratings.
I thought it would be nice if we could gather like this again sometime and work together.
‘There will surely be an opportunity.’
With that thought, I looked forward to the next time as I finished the wrap-up party and returned home.
Perhaps because we had the wrap-up party on the date of the last broadcast, quite a lot of congratulatory messages had arrived.
I replied to each message one by one, putting “Let’s Live Together, Princess” to rest in my heart.
It was time to focus on practicing for “Escape”, which would start filming in a few months.
[Teacher Seo Myung-hee][11:21] Si-joon! I enjoyed watching Let’s Live Together, Princess until the very last episode!
[Si-joon][11:21] Thank you, it’s all thanks to everyone, Teacher
[Teacher Seo Myung-hee][11:22] I didn’t even help this time, what are you talking about
[Teacher Seo Myung-hee][11:22] I knew our Si-joon would do well
[Teacher Seo Myung-hee][11:22] By the way, I saw the preview for New Quiz, did you talk about me there?
[Si-joon][11:23] Of course, you’re the one who taught me acting
[Teacher Seo Myung-hee][11:23] Thanks to Si-joon, our academy will become famous again
[Teacher Seo Myung-hee][11:23] Thank you, I’ll be looking forward to your next work
[Si-joon][11:24] Yes, I’ll contact you soon. Let’s have a coffee together sometime
[Teacher Seo Myung-hee][11:24] Good, don’t forget to contact me
I especially gathered my thoughts while looking at Seo Myung-hee’s always encouraging message again.
The only way to repay Seo Myung-hee’s kindness was for me to continue showing good acting.
‘I should do well in “Escape” too.’
While I was thinking this, a message arrived from Ji Jung-hyun.
[Senior Ji Jung-hyun][03:34] Are you sleeping?
[Si-joon][03:35] No, I’m on my way home after finishing the wrap-up party
[Senior Ji Jung-hyun][03:35] Congratulations on Let’s Live Together, Princess finale. The ending was good
[Si-joon][03:36] Thank you
[Senior Ji Jung-hyun][03:36] By the way, about tomorrow’s appointment
[Si-joon][03:37] Yes, senior
[Senior Ji Jung-hyun][03:37] I think I might have to go abroad urgently for a photo shoot
[Si-joon][03:38] Ah, you can’t come?
[Senior Ji Jung-hyun][03:38] I think you’ll have to meet with Director Kim Pil-sung alone, is that okay?
Tomorrow was the day I was supposed to meet with Ji Jung-hyun and Director Kim Pil-sung to finalize the casting for “Escape”.
But now Ji Jung-hyun suddenly can’t come.
I felt a bit uneasy, but I tried to think positively.
It was called a meeting to finalize the casting, but it was really just a light meeting to stamp the deal and build relationships.
‘Nothing serious will happen.’
Thinking this, I sent a reply.
[Si-joon][03:39] Of course, I’ll make sure to take good care of the director
[Senior Ji Jung-hyun][03:39] Okay, I’m sorry. Let’s meet again, the three of us, soon
Ji Jung-hyun also seemed to just feel sorry for suddenly not being able to come to the appointment.
He didn’t seem to be particularly worried about me meeting with Director Kim Pil-sung.
So I exchanged a few more words with Ji Jung-hyun and wrapped up the conversation.
[Si-joon][03:44] Senior! Have a good shoot tomorrow!
But then I thought about Director Kim Pil-sung for a moment.
‘Hmm… It’ll be fine, right?’
* * *
The next day.
I drove to match the 3 PM appointment.
When I heard yesterday that I’d be meeting with just the two of us, I didn’t think much of it.
But now that I actually had to meet with Director Kim Pil-sung like this, it felt new.
Come to think of it, the last audition I had before my regression was for Director Kim Pil-sung’s work.
“Undisguisable Auditory Hallucination”.
While preparing for this work, I felt desperate and tasted frustration.
As such, appearing in Director Kim Pil-sung’s work could be said to have been my long-time dream.
I still thought Director Kim Pil-sung was the best in Korea.
In fact, the script of “Escape” that I saw with my own eyes was flawless.
It was exactly Director Kim Pil-sung’s script, itself.
‘But to get a chance to appear in Director Kim Pil-sung’s work so easily like this…’
It felt strange.
I wondered if it was okay to appear just like this.
If it was going to be like this, why did I struggle so much before? I felt somewhat empty.
With mixed feelings of excitement and emptiness,
I arrived at the film production company with this peculiar feeling in my heart.
And when I entered the conference room, I met Director Kim Pil-sung, who looked much younger than I remembered.
I quickly bowed my head and greeted him.
“Hello, Director. I’m Lee Si-joon. It’s an honor to meet you like this.”
Then a look of confusion appeared on Director Kim Pil-sung’s face.
“No, it’s my honor to meet actor Lee Si-joon. But…”
“Yes?”
“Is it really an honor to meet me? I shouldn’t be that famous yet.”
“Ah.”
Only then did I realize I had made a mistake.
But fortunately, I had an excuse.
“I really enjoyed reading the script for ‘Escape’.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“I could understand why Senior Ji Jung-hyun even invested directly. It was that kind of script.”
“Hahaha. Even so, it wouldn’t be an honor. Anyway, thank you for viewing it positively. Please sit here.”
Director Kim Pil-sung wasn’t just young-looking.
His personality was also different from what I knew.
He had a smooth personality as if he didn’t know the hardships of the film industry yet.
Originally, Director Kim Pil-sung was a person with strong self-assertion, befitting someone who rose to the ranks of world-class masters.
Moreover, he was someone who had no hesitation in showing his own excellence.
Sometimes that made him feel a bit negative.
But I didn’t show such an attitude.
After all, my evaluation of Director Kim Pil-sung as a great person wasn’t because of his sharp appearance or excellent eloquence.
It was a high evaluation of his essential capabilities as a director and screenwriter.
As I sat down and a staff member from the film production company brought drinks, the real conversation began.
“As you’ve heard, actor Ji Jung-hyun said he couldn’t come today due to an overseas photo shoot.”
“Yes, that’s what happened. I also received an urgent call yesterday.”
“That’s right. It’s unfortunate. But even so, I secretly thought it was very good.”
I was taken aback by the unexpected flow of conversation.
‘What? What’s good about it?’
While I was thinking this,
Director Kim Pil-sung suddenly proposed.
“I thought it was an opportunity to see actor Lee Si-joon’s acting separately. So, I was wondering if I could see your acting right here?”