SDM 5

“You can choose from here.”

He didn’t expect such a big role. Most of the supporting roles offered by the manager who introduced himself as ‘Lee Hyeong-seok’ were just basic roles with secured lines. There were even a few leading roles in web dramas.

It was a part where he could feel the aunt’s affection, but the problem was that Seong-woon had no intention of putting on such a great performance.

“What’s bothering you?”

Hyung-seok, who saw the frown on Seong-woon’s forehead,asked with a cautious attitude more akin to that of a secretary than a manager. After all, his title was originally ‘Young Master’.

“Everyone has big roles. I’ve never done acting before.”

“Is there anything you like?”

“I just want to start with small roles….”

“Small roles….”

“Just something I can do right away.”

The deadline was crucial. He only had seven days, and now it was already reduced to five.

Even now, they must be shooting dramas or movies somewhere, but hastily fitting in wouldn’t be easy. The minor roles must have already been filled through part-time jobs, and any role with even a single line would have been snatched up by acting academies, acquaintances, or agencies.

“When you say right away…?”

“Right now.”

“I’ll check if there’s any filming happening immediately.”

RBS has a broadcasting company, a production company, and an agency, so they might be able to fit in at least one minor role. He wasn’t sure what level of ‘appearance’ the quest required, but… as long as he appeared, wouldn’t that be enough? So even if he only showed his back, it still counted as an appearance.

“Um… Young master. Would a zombie drama be okay?”

“Zombie?”

“Yes. It’s a drama going on OTT, and they’re currently shooting scenes related to school. It’s for the role of the protagonist’s younger brother’s friend, who speaks a few lines and then gets bitten by a zombie stray cat and turns into a zombie.”

Bitten by a zombie stray cat and turning into a zombie? What kind of setup was that? And wasn’t it too demanding in terms of acting skills? Questions popped up in his mind, but there was no time to hesitate.

“I heard that the actor who was originally supposed to do it got appendicitis, so they’re postponing only that part of the shoot.”

Shooting a school scene in droves means filming it not on a set but at an actual school. Even though it was summer vacation season, there must be a rental period, and surely the shooting team was annoyed because of one minor actor.

“We can handle the acting with editing and special effects.”

It has an underlying message that acting wasn’t necessary. After all, if it was just the protagonist’s younger brother’s friend, he wouldn’t be on screen much, and it was just a few everyday lines and pretending to be bitten by a cat before transforming into a zombie… He had already played zombie roles in historical dramas and even military zombie roles.

“What do you think?”

When Seong-woon didn’t say anything, Hyeong-seok couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Seong-woon smiled a little, as if to ease the tension. Just that alone made Hyeong-seok feel relieved and he smiled back.

“I’m okay with it.”

“It’s okay for you to come right now? Are you sure it’s okay?”

Hyung-seok was worried, perhaps remembering that he had been taken to the hospital due to shock just a few days ago, but Seong-woon simply nodded, indicating he was perfectly healthy.

It was because since the bombshell announcement that he wanted to act, he had been dragged to the hospital for various tests since yesterday morning, but there were no major issues found. He even heard miraculous stories like some parts of his previously dead heart muscle showing movement.

Of course, when told that he would be accompanied at all times by a bodyguard and a manager, as well as a doctor, Seong-woon nodded without resisting, so his family could no longer stop him.

“Then I will prepare the car for you.”

“Yes, I’ll be down shortly.”

With Seong-woon’s movement, numerous people followed. There was a bit of discomfort when leaving the hospital, but he soon got used to it. It was easy to ignore the guards following in plainclothes outside.

But it was still a bit awkward to ride in the back seat of the car. Since Seong-woon didn’t have a manager, he had been driving his own car for nearly 10 years, and he sold that car last year.

This time, he naturally headed towards the driver’s seat but smoothly moved to the backseat, even taking the chairman’s seat.

“I just sent the script, so please check it.”

“Yes.”

Is there a road manager too? There was someone other than Hyeong-seok sitting in the driver’s seat.

“This is Choi Hoon-jin. He’ll be handling the road for us.”

“Hello.”

“Yes. Hello.”

Probably one of the bodyguards. Seong-woon made a completely plausible guess and then glanced down at his phone. He was a bit surprised when he saw the file name.

〈Human Justice〉- Webflix Original

This must be a series that started filming a while ago, right? Isn’t it even going to be released next month?

“Isn’t this… supposed to be released soon?”

“Oh, you know? Yes, that’s right. It is scheduled to be released next month.”

“But they’re still filming?”

“They said there’s been a delay in obtaining permission for the school scenes. They’ve already shot the other scenes, and they’re just focusing on shooting the school scenes at the last minute.”

Even though the lead role would be Baek Sang-hyun. He wondered if they were really filming only the school scenes, but the script that came to Seong-woon was the very first part of episode 1. A scene literally showing the appearance of zombies.

The role offered to Seong-woon was ‘Male Student 1’. This male student gets bitten by a zombie cat while going to school in the morning. However, the male student, who of course did not know this fact, greeted the protagonist’s younger brother ‘Yoo-ha’ who was attending school earlier, chatted a few words with him, and suddenly turned into a zombie.

Male Student 1, who was about to attack Yoo-ha, gets his head smashed by the baseball bat of the protagonist ‘Yoo-young’, who chased after Yoo-ha to bring him the supplies he had forgotten. For reference, the main character, Yoo-young, appeared as a professional baseball player.

Well, it was a role that fits well with Baek Sang-hyun. Maybe they thought the same thing after seeing the news about his involvement in the filming. Baek Sang-hyun was very suitable for roles involving blood, sweat, and tears. If it was a zombie drama, it was obvious there would be a lot of blood, tears, and sweat.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“It’s your first time acting….”

Oh, did you think I would refuse the role outright if I didn’t like it? Seong-woon chuckled and read the script with only the parts where he would appear several times.

He used to find acting and such things tiresome, but now, as he held the script in his hands, he couldn’t help but feel oddly pleased.

As his days as a child actor passed and he entered adolescence, people strangely began to dislike Seong-woon. Even his parents, who used to shower him with love, became distant, and even feared him. Yet despite all this, he couldn’t give up this profession of standing in front of people…

“What’s so great about this…”

“Yes?”

“I like the role.”

“Oh, do you like genre films? Then let’s look for more in that direction…”

The manager didn’t need to work so hard. It might be better not to create a situation that would be too embarrassing later if Seong-woon decided to leave, or if Ryu Chae-yoon’s soul returned.

Of course, Ryu Chae-yoon was so active on social media that he received countless messages even after just a few days of rest, and since he originally wanted to be an actor, a few acting gigs shouldn’t pose much of a problem.

“We’ve arrived.”

Seong-woon brushed back his soft hair and stepped out of the car. The chaotic atmosphere of the set was familiar, almost comforting.