Why Do My Dramas Keep Becoming Hits!? - Chapter 22

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Potter

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Why Do My Dramas Keep Becoming Hits!? ◈

Chapter 22: We Need to Raise the Stakes (4)

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“You always make yourself out to be the victim... No, that delivery is too obvious.”

“Should I pause here instead? Hmm... This is hard.”

During standby, the lead and supporting actors had gathered with their scripts in hand, deep in rehearsal.

Even during a break when the cameras were not rolling, they were completely immersed in their roles as if they were already filming.

Watching their fierce passion for acting, I suddenly felt a sense of awe.

'They're amazing. Is that why people call them actors?'

I realized it again, but being an actor was not something just anyone could do.

It was not enough to have a pretty face.

You needed an actor's unique aura and acting skills. You needed all of it to become successful, and it was not as easy as it sounded.

The bigger problem was that plenty of actors still failed to make a name for themselves despite having all that.

Like Do Jae-hyun, the perpetually unknown actor standing in front of me.

'Seriously, this isn't a job for just anyone.'

You had to be handsome, good at acting, and lucky too.

They might as well be telling people not to bother.

“Uh, Writer!”

“...?”

That was when Director Woo Young-taek hurried over and called for me.

Did something happen again? I had already heard that one of the bit actors had dropped out.

“Could you come over here for a moment?”

“Out of nowhere?”

“Yes, yes. I need to check the picture for a second.”

Director Woo beckoned me over without explanation.

I followed him, not knowing what was going on.

And there stood Do Jae-hyun, looking awkward.

“Yes! Just stay right there!”

Director Woo crossed his thumbs and index fingers to make a camera frame.

Then he alternated between framing Do Jae-hyun and me, nodding repeatedly.

What the hell were these people doing? I felt like a monkey at a zoo.

“Nice. This picture works. A two-shot from the chest up really brings out the proportions. Assistant Director, what do you think?”

“Hmm... It definitely isn't bad. Since this scene is supposed to be comedic, his vacant-looking visuals might actually be a plus.”

“...?”

What was that? Why were they insulting my looks out of nowhere?

Just as I was about to ask, Director Woo suddenly grabbed my shoulder.

“Writer. May I ask you a favor?”

“Yes?”

Director Woo built up the mood, swallowed dryly, then continued.

“Would you consider making a cameo appearance?”

“Excuse me? A cameo?”

“Yes. As Han Ji-hoon.”

My thoughts came to a complete stop at that utterly unexpected nonsense.

I stood there blankly, moving only my lips for quite a while.

What was I even supposed to say in a situation like this?

After a short but intense deliberation, I voiced the most instinctive and sincere thought I had.

“Director, have you been drinking?”

Even after my firm refusal, Director Woo's persistence did not let up.

No, it was not just the director. The staff joined forces and blocked every possible escape route, then Do Jae-hyun, the lead actor, landed the finishing blow.

“I like the idea. I think I could really get into the scene if I worked with the Writer.”

How could I possibly escape after the lead actor went that far?

In the end, I was practically shoved through makeup and made to stand in front of the camera.

'Well... Is it at least fortunate that I'm playing Han Ji-hoon?'

The setup for my cameo role, Han Ji-hoon, was simple. He was a legendary Casanova who made up for his ordinary looks with flashy talk and masterful push-and-pull, seducing women left and right.

Of course, as was the usual fate of Casanovas, the scene we were filming today was him getting a satisfying slap from Min A-young after he cheated on Min Seo-a, his girlfriend and her older sister.

“Ms. Ye-rin, please go easy on me.”

“Okay! I look forward to working with you!”

Cha Ye-rin, the actress I would be acting with, smiled brightly and took my offered hand.

But why was she shaking out her wrist so vigorously the moment we finished shaking hands?

'Wow. What a wrist snap.'

As if she were practicing in advance, she lightly swung her palm through the air.

Whoosh!

The sound of her hand cutting through the air sent an inexplicable chill down my spine.

Surely she did not have some personal grudge against me, right?

Sure, I had lowballed the actors' pay and cut their screen time however I wanted, but I had done plenty for them too.

I had just made sure they had coffee and food, after all.

Comforting myself like that, I stood before the camera.

“Quiet! Stand by! We are rolling! Camera, roll!”

“Scene twenty-four, take one!”

Clap!

“Action!”

In the distance, Do Jae-hyun, playing Han Tae-yoon, spotted us and waved.

At that moment, Cha Ye-rin grabbed my collar and screamed at the top of her lungs.

“You call yourself a human being?! You call yourself a human being?!”

“Hey! Let go of me!”

“Shut up, you piece of trash!”

Smaaack!

“Argh?!”

My vision flashed white, and a Riiiiing filled my ears.

For a moment, I even felt as if lightning had struck in the middle of the set.

“Never contact my sister again, you son of a bitch!”

I could not hear a word the actress in front of me was shouting.

All my attention was fixed on the burning agony in my left cheek.

“Ah... Ahh...?”

They said that when something hurt too much, you could not even scream.

Before I knew it, tears had welled up in my eyes.

Do Jae-hyun had come over and was supporting me.

He was saying something urgently with a startled expression, but his voice too sounded muffled, like cotton soaked in water.

'It hurts like hell...'

Clutching my reddened, swollen cheek, I swallowed down the pain like an animal.

Only after a brief moment that felt like an eternity did my runaway hearing slowly begin to function again.

“Cut! Okay! Wow, Mr. Jae-hyun, your energy just now was insane! And Writer, your reaction was absolutely perfect!”

Director Woo sprang from his seat at the monitor and clapped enthusiastically like a seal.

The staff around us began buzzing too.

“Wow, did you see Do Jae-hyun jump in there? He caught that immediately and made it work.”

“Wasn't the Writer amazing too? The Writer's eyes filled with tears after getting slapped. That pathetic acting was incredible. The Writer was totally Han Ji-hoon.”

“Is it because the Writer wrote the script himself? Even without direction, his body just reacts naturally.”

“This is crazy. Their back-and-forth is working even better than expected.”

It was not my body reacting from acting, you bastards. I was crying because it actually hurt like hell.

As I glared at them resentfully, Cha Ye-rin, who had been watching my reaction, cautiously approached me.

“W-What do I do? Writer, are you okay?!”

“....”

“I'm sorry! I really tried not to hurt you... I wanted to get the full shot in one take, so I couldn't control my strength...”

To hell with getting the full shot in one take. You put your whole body weight into it.

“...Ms. Ye-rin.”

“Y-Yes?”

“If your role gets reduced later, just assume it was bound to happen.”

“Excuse me? Ahaha! What a joke, Writer!”

Did that sound like a joke? Did it?

The outdoor open set was in the middle of a busy district.

Naturally, it drew the attention of passersby.

“Hey, hey. Are they filming a drama in that park?”

“They are, right? Is it that SBC one? Let's go take a look.”

“Holy shit! Isn't that Seok Woo-jin?! They're seriously gorgeous!”

What initially stopped the public in their tracks was the filming set for SBC's heavily promoted blockbuster, <Suspect X>.

But it did not take long for their expectant gazes to turn cold.

“Who's that guy? Kang Min-hyuk? Every time he opens his mouth, it ruins the scene.”

“Seriously. His diction is off too. He's been mumbling the whole time, so I can't understand anything.”

“Wasn't this supposed to be a crime thriller? Why does his dialogue sound like it belongs in some teen romance?”

The actors' faces were working hard, but the combination of miserable acting and lazy direction was enough to shatter the onlookers' expectations.

Just as complaints began rising from the crowd, someone spoke.

“Hey, they're filming tvM's new drama at the intersection over there. Want to go there instead?”

“tvM? Oh, that one?”

“Yeah. The one everyone's been talking about online lately. The lead actor had those sponsor rumors.”

The tvM drama had attracted plenty of negative attention before it even aired, which made it more than enough to draw people's curiosity.

The spectators who had quickly lost interest began heading for tvM's set one by one.

Among them was a woman standing with her arms crossed and an expression like she had bitten into something foul.

“Ugh... When are they filming Tae-kyung's scene?”

Most people who came here probably wanted to see the controversial actor Do Jae-hyun in person, but she was different.

She had been a dedicated Choi Tae-kyung fan for years, and she had come today to see his face.

To her, Do Jae-hyun was nothing more than a thorn in her side.

Because of some no-name nobody, Choi Tae-kyung's filmography had been tarnished. That alone made her resent him.

“Why does he even have so much screen time? He should just film carelessly and leave.”

Rehearsal had only just ended, but she was already shooting Do Jae-hyun a hostile look.

Most of the other onlookers felt the same way.

Rumors were widespread that a seven-year unknown had suddenly landed a lead role because he had been parachuted in, so people were watching him with strict eyes, searching for flaws.

But not long after filming began, the atmosphere started to change in a strange way.

“Uh... Better than I expected...?”

“Hmm....”

The eyes of the citizens who had been staring at him like hawks began to waver.

Even those who had mocked Do Jae-hyun were now blankly watching his performance.

It was not a long speech or a scene where he exploded with emotion.

It was merely a very brief reaction shot of him being shocked after witnessing his older brother cheating on two women.

Yet, in that instant, he perfectly conveyed his disbelief and anger through the slightest tremor in his facial muscles.

The rhythm of the ordinary conversation scene that followed was natural enough to give people chills.

“His vocal projection is insane. His diction hits you right in the ears.”

“Didn't people say he was bad at acting? He seems good to me.”

“His acting aside... His face is no joke. He's so handsome he could slap Baek Kang-min in the face three times without stopping.”

“I heard that other actor is the writer making a cameo. He's better than I expected? It's not that he's a great actor, but he has really good chemistry with his scene partner.”

“Agreed. Seriously, he looks more natural than Kang Min-hyuk just now.”

The spectators watched in a daze.

Before long, some began defending Do Jae-hyun, while others cursed the rumor articles that had attacked him.

“No matter how I look at it, he wasn't parachuted in. Why would someone who acts that well need a sponsor?”

“I feel so bad... I think I left something close to a hate comment before....”

“The real problem is those trash reporters. Should we film this and upload it to social media?”

“Yeah, yeah. Good idea. I'll put it on Reels too.”

Before long, countless spectators raised their smartphones high and began filming Do Jae-hyun's performance.

Watching the scene from afar, the newest member of the directing department approached the assistant director and whispered.

“Senior. Shouldn't we stop those people from taking pictures and videos with their phones?”

It was a situation where spoilers could leak, and inadequate on-site control could raise questions about who was responsible.

But the assistant director, who was listening through the radio, merely crossed their arms and replied casually.

“No. Just leave them.”

“Excuse me? But what if people make an issue of it later?”

At the junior's confused question, the assistant director nodded toward the monitor station.

There, Director Woo Young-taek was watching the screen with a pleased smile, unable to look away.

“The director said to give the public something to chew on.”

A few days later.

Social media and various major online communities were in an uproar.

Short fancam videos recorded by citizens at the set had spread in an instant and taken over the real-time trends.

[tvM new drama outdoor location fancam just dropped. Controversial Do Jae-hyun's acting level.mp4]

Holy shit, his face is insane;; With those looks and that vocal projection, how has he been unknown until now?

As someone who stanned Baek Kang-min, I am switching trains today^^

↳ 222222

I'm literally bowing to Baek Kang-min in real time. Thanks for dropping out, oppa[1]! Thanks to you, I found a gorgeous guy who's actually good at his job!

Did they unleash paid commenters? The random defending is so disgusting lol

↳ Seriously, the paid commenters are so obvious lol

Those tvM bastards always market their dramas like this? They never improve;

He is good at acting, yeah, but isn't he still a sponsored actor? It's a fact that he has a trash personality;;

↳ You got manipulated by rumors and are spewing baseless speculation, but you seem more brain-dead.

↳ Fuck you.

People are worshipping him just because one short clip came out well. Pathetic.

Once the actual broadcast starts, I bet that scene will be the only great acting of his life lol

↳ Agreed. There is a 120% chance it was editing and set luck.

Bullshit lol. It's a one-take fancam. How could editing possibly save it, you shut-ins trying to tear him down?

It's really disgusting seeing people seize the chance to dogpile him;

↳ Look in the mirror lol. You'll see something more disgusting.

↳ Yeah, your face.

Supporters and critics clashed fiercely in a muddy keyboard battle.

Thousands of comments poured beneath every post, and the real-time trends were filled with Do Jae-hyun and the drama.

Videos comparing the clumsy vocal delivery of the <Suspect X> lead actors, who had been filming nearby at the same time, were even uploaded, drawing other fandoms into the total shitshow.

And the chaos gradually focused public interest in one direction.

[So which weekend drama are you all watching?

Suspect X vs. Living with an Ex-Boyfriend.

I'm picking SBC without question.

It is Seong Yu-ra's drama. You know it will be good.]

Is it safe to look forward to Seong Yu-ra's next work?

Looking at the actors' pathetic acting, tvM's drama is probably better.

That Suspect X drama cannot decide whether it is a thriller or a rom-com. The tone is all over the place, damn.

Nobody is even mentioning MBS lol

Their lead lineup has no ticket power from the start. It looks like it will disappear without a sound.

Honestly, from what has been revealed so far, <Living with an Ex-Boyfriend> looks the most interesting.

↳ Lol, don't you know you cannot judge a drama until it airs? Why are you getting hyped before broadcast?