SDM 13

Ryu Chae-yoon’s face shimmered delicately under the exceptionally bright and warm sunlight. However, perhaps due to the background music, there was an eerie feeling.

The CG cat didn’t look out of place, and even his grimacing face when bitten by the cat looked like a beautiful being painted in an oil painting.

There was no awkwardness in the conversation he shared with Yuha, the protagonist’s younger brother. Ryu Chae-yoon’s voice was so similar to Seong-woon’s that Seong-woon felt like he was listening to his own acting. Of course, that impression shattered whenever his face appeared.

『Did you do your math homework?』

『Yeah, I’ll lose points if I don’t do it this time too.』

『I really don’t want to do it. I have to do it in the morning.』

『Want me to lend you mine?』

『Nah, that teacher knows when we copy and deducts more points if the mistakes are the same.』

Male Student 1, who had been walking casually, suddenly flinches as if his leg is cramping. The camera, focused on his lower back, doesn’t miss this moment.

『Ah, I forgot to bring my jump rope.』

『I don’t have one either, so I can’t lend you one.』

『I’m doomed. I’ll ask my brother… Hey, what’s wrong with you?』

Suddenly, Male Student 1 starts coughing up blood. The viscous liquid drips down his chin onto the ground. Trembling, he leans against the wall and then abruptly stops moving. At this point, the minor key and dissonant music also cuts off.

In an instant, his eyes become cloudy, and with a blood-covered mouth, Male Student 1 lunges at Yuha. The protagonist swiftly smashes his head with a bat.

『Yuha, what is that?』

『I-I don’t know. Suddenly he…』

『Come here!』

The protagonist grabs his brother’s hand and they disappear down an alley. The last scene shows Male Student 1, who had collapsed, getting up unsteadily and following them with inhuman steps.

They must have worked hard on the CG for the cracked skull. It seems the director put in quite an effort to avoid an R rating.

What surprised Seong-woon was that the director had taken great care in capturing and editing the face of this minor character, Male Student 1, who was merely passing by. When the director showed perfectionist tendencies talking about lighting and such, it was a bit annoying, but if this was the reason, it was worth acknowledging.

Seong-woon, who focused more on other aspects than his own acting, received a flood of compliments.

“Am I biased, or is Chae-yoon really good at acting?”

“Chae-yoon, did you practice alone?”

“That fandom room must have been a practice room…”

After watching the short 3-minute video three times in a row, all the family members crowded around Seong-woon.

“I’m telling you, he’s a genius. The director personally came to apologize to the production manager. He was furious at first when he heard Chae-yoon was a stand-in.”

“Why would he be angry at our Chae-yoon!”

“Exactly.”

Seong-woon smiled wryly as he listened to the praise from his doting family. Well, these were people who showered him with praise even for eating well, so this reaction was within expectations when their youngest, who had died and came back from heart disease, had gone to work, and acted no less.

“You didn’t really get hit with the bat, did you?”

“No, I just pretended to be hit.”

“You must have worked so hard.”

It was actually a very comfortable environment, but Seong-woon just smiled and said nothing.

“Young-joo, make a copy of this…”

Seong-woon quietly looked at the chaebol chairman boldly asking his sister for a leak. Sensing his gaze, his father chuckled and tapped on his phone.

“Father.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s watch it together when it’s released.”

“Shall we?”

“It’ll be better to watch it later.”

No matter what, he had to prevent the video from being leaked by the chaebol chairman.

* * *

“Hello, Director.”

“…Mr. Sang-hyun?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, what brings you here?”

The director, who was in the middle of final edits after badgering the CG outsourcing company, turned around dazedly with dark circles under his eyes and suddenly stood up at the sight of Baek Sang-hyun in the editing room.

“I brought coffee.”

Of course, the director had been drinking coffee like water for the past three days. The submission date was right around the corner, and the CG company had sent their work two days late. Moreover, due to his perfectionism, he couldn’t delegate to others and had to check every single output himself, leaving him extremely short on time.

Still, he had to drink the coffee Baek Sang-hyun brought.

“I got you something sweet for an energy boost.”

“Oh, thank you so much.”

He had been craving something like a mocha frappé.

“You like mocha frappés, right?”

“How did you…?”

“I asked Soo-hyun.”

By Soo-hyun, he meant the assistant director. Usually, even when the production manager buys drinks, they just get iced Americanos for everyone. For him to ask the assistant director about the director’s preference and buy accordingly, that level of thoughtfulness was truly admirable.

“So, what brings you here…?”

The director asked Sang-hyun while sipping on his frappé. Sang-hyun smiled softly, his eyes crinkling, and slightly gestured towards the screen being edited.

“I was curious to see how the final touches were coming along.”

“Ah, of course. I’m putting my heart and soul into it. As you know, this is my first time working with Webflex too, so this needs to go well for future opportunities. I plan to review it over and over until right before submission.”

“I see…”

He had heard that this kind of thing happens quite often when editing dramas for broadcasting stations… Especially when actors fight over screen time, it’s said to be worse than war. Bringing snacks for the staff and director is just the beginning; a quarter is threats, a quarter is coercion, a quarter is placation, and a quarter is favors, or so he’d heard?

The director started in the film industry and had only done genre films that were practically directorial playgrounds from his debut until now, so he hadn’t experienced much of that. But the strange thing was that although “Human Justice” had many supporting roles, it was undoubtedly Baek Sang-hyun’s one-top show, so there was no one to battle for screen time with.

“Mr. Sang-hyun, you have a ton of screen time.”

“…Pardon?”

“Isn’t that why you came?”

“No, of course not.”

Sang-hyun, with a smile that made the shabby and gloomy editing room feel like a flower garden, pointed at the screen again.

“I was just curious. This genre is new to me too.”

“Ah, I see. Want to see the first part?”

“Yes, please.”

Baek Sang-hyun naturally sat down next to the director, placing his share of hot Americano on the desk. Although Sang-hyun was slim, perhaps due to his height, there was a slight sense of intimidation.

The first scene featuring Ryu Chae-yoon, Shin Seol-ah, and Baek Sang-hyun flew by. Chae-yoon’s mask was truly perfect, and his acting was so good it was a shame to think where he had been all this time before deciding to act now. The director had put a lot of effort into editing this part.

And Ryu Chae-yoon really seemed to be the nephew of the RBS president as rumored. Everyone knew that Cherry on SNS, RBS actress Ryu Chae-yoon, and the youngest son of a chaebol family were the same person, but couldn’t be certain – it could be an impersonator, or someone who looks similar, and no one had officially confirmed they were the same person until now – but seeing Ryu Young-joo come and specifically take only Ryu Chae-yoon’s entrance scene… it was obvious.

“What do you think?”

The director grinned as he showed off his masterpiece. He was curious about the lead actor’s opinion of his own performance.

“…It’s amazing, Director.”

Sang-hyun, who had been staring at the screen as if entranced, carefully opened his mouth. However, contrary to his words, his face was full of confusion.

“Is there something you don’t like?”

“Ah, no. Could I possibly see the very beginning one more time?”

“The beginning?”

“Yes. The very beginning.”

The very beginning would be the scene where Ryu Chae-yoon appears, right? Although puzzled, the director played the part Sang-hyun wanted to see again.

Even though he shot it himself, it’s truly art. The scene where Chae-yoon first appears, the use of light and the atmosphere, in a way, didn’t fit with a zombie story at all.

But the director used that as an element of twist and utilized it to create anxiety by using bizarre music. The thrill when that pretty face, like part of a cosmetics commercial, gets covered in blood!

“Ah, Ryu Chae-yoon’s acting was really good. When this airs, it’s going to make quite an impact.”

“…I suppose so.”

“Such a pretty face and great acting! And even a chaebol to boot. He’s got it all.”

Sang-hyun smiled faintly, peeling his gaze away from the screen where it had been glued as if with adhesive.

“Thank you, Director. This has been very helpful.”

“Oh, is just this part enough?”

“Just seeing the beginning, I can tell how well it’s going to turn out. I shouldn’t take up any more of your time, Director.”

“Oh, alright. Thank you. The teaser comes out tomorrow, so make sure to share it!”

“Yes, I’ll leave the final touches to you.”

Baek Sang-hyun stood up, bowed politely, and walked out. His manager, who had been anxiously checking his watch, rushed over to Sang-hyun.

“Sang-hyun, the time…”

“Do you know where Ryu Chae-yoon is headed next?”

“Huh?”

“Ryu Chae-yoon.”

“Let’s talk while we move first.”

Sang-hyun nodded at his manager’s urging and started walking, but briefly looked back. The glaring light still hurt his eyes.

“Ryu Chae-yoon? Who’s that?”

“I heard he’s signed with our company.”

“Then how could I not know…”

Baek Sang-hyun’s manager held the position of department head. RBS had a total of three management teams, and although they were in charge of different actors, they weren’t so disinterested in each other’s affairs as to not know which team was responsible for which actor.

“Ah, could it be an actor managed by that independent organization?”

There had been a strange organization in RBS since before he joined. An additional management team directly under the president, making people wonder what kind of team it was…

“You can find him if you search. Ryu Chae-yoon.”

“Wait a minute. If it’s Ryu Chae-yoon… That Ryu Chae-yoon?”

The manager finally pulled the name he couldn’t recall in his confusion from his memory. It was because it was a person he never expected to hear from Sang-hyun’s mouth.

“You mean the president’s nephew, right?”

“…Yes.”

The manager, who had referred to Ryu Chae-yoon quite familiarly, signaled to Rhodes to start driving and contacted someone in the company. It was the person who manages the schedules of all actors.

“Yes, yes…. Ah, is that so? Yes. Thank you.”

Sang-hyun, who had been sitting upright in his chair with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them as the manager finished his call. Ironically, his deepening eye bags due to lack of sleep seemed to make his face stand out even more.

“Um… he’s auditioning, they say.”

“What audition?”

“…〈Orbital Collision.〉”

That was also the work Sang-hyun had already been cast in as his next project. And as his first villain role, no less.

“But why Ryu Chae-yoon all of a sudden?”

From the manager’s perspective, Sang-hyun was truly, very much, the kindest actor in the world. He had been making a living as a manager in this industry for 15 years now, and he had encountered many actors.

Actors’ personalities and tendencies were generally not great, regardless of their popularity, so he hadn’t expected much from Sang-hyun’s character when he took him on. But Sang-hyun was the only actor in his 15-year managerial history who treated staff like actual human beings.

The manager was very worried because Sang-hyun, who had never caused any trouble, had been seeming very anxious lately. Perhaps it was after the death of ‘Jin Seong-woon.’

Well, if someone so young in the same profession, and even an acquaintance at that, dies, it would probably make one reflect on life.

The manager didn’t have any particular thoughts about Jin Seong-woon. Seong-woon was terrifyingly good at acting, but strangely, he wasn’t a likable person. Baek Sang-hyun, who got along well with people, seemed different though.

“Contact the director. Tell him I want to participate when they’re holding auditions.”

“Huh?”

“That audition, it’s for the undercover cop role, right?”

“Oh, yes, I heard so.”

“It’s the role that clashes most strongly with mine anyway. They probably won’t mind if I’m present at the audition.”

The lead might dislike being exposed, but they’ve already received the production budget, and once casting is complete, they’ll start filming right away, so exposure shouldn’t be a big problem. If it leaks, they can use it as noise marketing anyway.

“Alright. Get some rest on the way.”

“……”

Sang-hyun closed his eyes again without saying anything. Feeling sorry for his long, straight eyes that occasionally furrowed, the manager dimmed the car’s interior lights.