WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Potter
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◈ Why Do My Dramas Keep Becoming Hits!? ◈
Chapter 50: Fake Madness, Real Madness (11)
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MBS's most ambitious project of the second half of the year.
Living up to that grand title, the casting board for this drama was the very height of splendor.
From leads to supporting roles, it was a golden lineup packed with top stars who were regulars at year-end award ceremonies and considered guaranteed ratings draws.
They were Korea's most prominent stars, each having built an ironclad career in their own field.
They must have had many weapons that brought them this far, including looks and star power.
But there was one weapon above all others, the most absolute and certain.
Their acting ability.
In front of a camera, they had never once surrendered the initiative to anyone else.
Their flawless filmographies, built over years and decades, proved what kind of actors they were and what they could do.
They had always held their heads high, to the point of arrogance.
Even that obnoxious haughtiness was accepted as perfect self-awareness in an industry where their impeccable acting left nothing to criticize. Who could say anything?
But now, one actor was making something abundantly clear through acting alone.
You aren't at that level yet. Don't get cocky.
A chill ran down the spines of the actors trading lines with her.
The veterans, who had watched with skeptical eyes, were now helplessly suffocating beneath a pressure they had never experienced before.
'What is that raw performance...?'
Before entering the reading room, Jang Yu-jin had been half convinced.
Woo Yeon-hee, the center of a scandal drawing every kind of criticism from the public.
After such a long period of lying low amid ridicule, Jang had assumed Woo's mental state would be in tatters and that she would not even be able to read the words in the script properly.
Jang had planned to crush that smug nose, which had been acting so high and mighty just moments ago, with the weight of experience once the real acting began.
But that misconception was brutally shattered the moment Woo Yeon-hee delivered her first line.
There was no rust from her hiatus in her acting.
Instead, the venom and coldness of someone driven to the edge had clung to every word, recreating a Mantis so perfect it sent shivers down the spine.
The faintly trembling muscles beneath her eyes. Her gaze, empty yet revealing a glimpse of brutality. The suffocating silences filling the spaces between lines. Even her overwhelming command over the air in the room.
Only now did they realize.
Just as Woo Yeon-hee had said, she was not the one they needed to worry about.
Their first concern should have been their own fate, about to be swallowed up by her presence.
'...If I get pushed back here, I'm finished.'
'What a vicious monster... I need to get myself together, too.'
'Wow... She's really in the zone. I could get buried here.'
Amid that suffocating pressure, the actors instinctively realized something.
If they relaxed and merely read their lines, they would surely be reduced to nameless extras whose only purpose was to make Woo Yeon-hee's performance shine.
And so, seized by a desperate sense of crisis unlike anything they had ever felt, they once again attacked the script with bloodshot eyes.
Meanwhile, shock spread across the faces of the staff who watched the breathless acting showdown in silence.
"Wow, that's insane..."
The making PD's assistant director pulled off one side of their headphones and let out an empty breath.
At that mutter, the nearby staff nodded as if entranced.
A script reading was normally a chance to get a feel for the overall rhythm before filming began.
It was a light reconnaissance and warm-up, where actors gauged one another's tones, adjusted their emotions to an appropriate level, and conserved energy for the actual shoot.
That was the common understanding in this industry.
But the sight inside this large conference room had completely departed from such leisurely assumptions.
A warm-up? Reconnaissance?
This was not an atmosphere where anyone could spout such relaxed nonsense.
The acting unfolding before them was so chillingly complete that they could record it as it was and send it straight to the editing room without anything feeling out of place.
"This is no joke... They're all going at her with fire in their eyes because they don't want to be outdone by Woo Yeon-hee..."
"You know what's even scarier? Even so, I can't see anyone but Woo Yeon-hee."
"She's annoying, but I can't deny it. Watching her take control of the whole scene... She's just naturally gifted."
"Right. No one can say a word about her talent as an actress. She didn't become a star for nothing."
As the staff clicked their tongues in stunned admiration, Gong Myeong-ho, the chief producer, stood at a distance with his arms crossed, watching the scene.
'Gifted, my ass.'
He let out a small, incredulous snort.
The staff on set had been fooled by Woo Yeon-hee's performance, but Gong Myeong-ho, who had spent decades in this industry, could clearly see the truth she was hiding.
'She's not looking at the script at all.'
Woo Yeon-hee's gaze was not directed at the script on the table.
Of course, there were actors who came to readings having memorized the entire script. But Woo Yeon-hee had gone beyond even that.
It was not simply that she had memorized her own lines.
It was as though she had crammed the entire flow of each scene, the emotional arcs of the actors sitting across from her, and even the empty spaces between the lines into her head. She was controlling the entire scene.
She had no need to lower her gaze, so her fierce eyes held her fellow actors' pupils captive as she ruthlessly crushed their momentum.
This had already surpassed the realm of talent.
It was something compounded by an almost grotesque obsession and mad effort.
Gong Myeong-ho rubbed his face and gave a small, incredulous laugh.
Everyone was her enemy. The entire world was pointing at her and tearing her apart as a druggie. On top of that, she had endured a long hiatus.
Yet even in that terrible pit, where an ordinary actor's spirit would have shattered long ago and sent them running, she had sharpened her teeth and emerged to prove herself perfectly.
'Heh... Woo Yeon-hee really is Woo Yeon-hee.'
As long as she had that chilling tenacity and skill, Woo Yeon-hee remained an irreplaceable top star.
#
Fifteen minutes of break time were given after the second part of the reading.
Gong Myeong-ho and Drama Bureau Chief Bae Seong-hwan stood side by side in the rooftop garden atop the broadcasting station.
For some time, Gong Myeong-ho could only watch Bae Seong-hwan, whose expression was unreadable.
"Hmm..."
Leaning against the rooftop railing, Bae Seong-hwan hummed habitually.
To be honest, Bae had thought this drama had no hope.
Public opinion toward Woo Yeon-hee was worse than expected, and instead of dying down, the controversy was growing larger by the day and pressuring the network.
Faced with that terrible pressure closing in from every direction, Bae Seong-hwan had been half resigned to giving up.
But after watching that suffocating script reading, it seemed necessary to revise the pessimistic calculations that had been dominating Bae's mind.
'I thought it was impossible.'
There was one absolute truth in this industry that cut through the public.
Whether an actor in a drama did drugs, drove drunk, or beat people up, if the drama was entertaining, all of it would be forgiven.
And today, the venom of the actors throwing themselves into their roles as though their lives depended on not being erased from the screen was thrilling enough to send chills down the spine.
They had merely sat around a table and exchanged lines, yet a perfect scene was already playing in Bae's mind like a movie projector.
Above all, the actress's performance as Mantis was so chillingly perfect that no modifier could contain it.
'That changes things.'
The calculator in Bae Seong-hwan's complicated mind had finally produced one clear answer.
It would absolutely be entertaining.
So controversy or no controversy, this crazy drama had more than enough chance to become a hit.
Having finished thinking, Bae Seong-hwan suddenly spoke.
"CP Gong."
"Yes, Bureau Chief."
"How do you think this will turn out?"
At that weighty question, Gong Myeong-ho looked at Bae Seong-hwan, then quietly stared into the empty air.
Soon, a firm and unwavering voice flowed from his lips.
"Well, for now, I intend to see this through to the end."
"...."
"Of course, I don't know whether the drama will make it out into the world safely."
At that pointed remark, Bae Seong-hwan's brow sank heavily.
Public perception? Viewer complaints? Boycotts? Those were minor issues.
The biggest problem was not the viewers outside the network, but inside it.
'That demanding bastard is the problem.'
They could silence the public with that insane acting ability. But what good would that be if the whole project was scrapped before the result could even reach the public?
And the content division head, who currently held the broadcast slot in their hands, was trying to pull out a knife and erase the project every other day.
Even if Bae Seong-hwan threw his entire body into holding the line as the drama bureau chief, there was nothing they could do if the content division head used their authority to wipe it from the schedule.
"Hmm. This is troublesome."
"Tell me about it."
Faced with that bleak reality, Bae Seong-hwan's mind raced, searching for a way to win over the person who loathed risk.
#
"Good work, everyone!"
The assistant director's booming shout finally brought the suffocating script reading to an end.
Formal applause filled the room, while several actors busied themselves gulping down bottled water as they caught their breath.
"All right, everyone, pack your things and head to the dinner venue! We've reserved the entire barbecue restaurant in front of the station!"
As people began gathering their belongings and the atmosphere gradually relaxed, Woo Yeon-hee stuffed her script from the table into her bag.
Without offering a single word of greeting to anyone around her, she swiftly turned away.
At the cold, upright sight of her opening the conference-room door and walking out, the brows of the senior actors seated behind her immediately furrowed.
"Look at that rude little thing. She's leaving without even bowing her head to the director and writer?"
"Oh, leave her alone. It's a hundred times better for her to get lost on her own than come to the dinner and ruin the mood."
By industry convention, it did not look good when a lead actor skipped the dinner after the first script reading.
No one would have found it strange if the staff and actors had complained, asking where she thought she was running off to.
But no one stopped Woo Yeon-hee.
'Hmm...'
Watching Woo Yeon-hee walk away, I thought to myself.
Well, neither side wanted to sit across from the other and share a meal.
Especially Woo Yeon-hee, who had heard dozens of people badmouthing her. She would sooner chew cardboard than eat meat with them.
'Ugh... I feel bad about this.'
After briefly considering it, I immediately left the conference room and followed Woo Yeon-hee.
In the station's underground parking lot, I called out to her just as she was about to get into the black van waiting for her.
"Excuse me, Actress Woo."
At my call, she paused and turned toward me with cool eyes.
Acting as though it were nothing, I walked over and held out the plastic bag in my hand.
I had grabbed the most expensive leftover boxed meal the staff had been eating.
"What is this?"
"A boxed meal. I'm not going to drag you to the dinner when you don't want to go, so at least have this."
"No, thanks. Who eats something this cheap?"
"Huh? I had the same thing for lunch."
"...."
At my shameless answer, Woo Yeon-hee's thin lips pressed shut for a moment.
The vicious energy that had frozen the entire reading room only moments ago was nowhere to be seen. She was clearly flustered by my unexpected response.
After looking back and forth between my face and the small boxed meal in her hand for a long time, she finally let out a reluctant sigh.
"...I'll enjoy it."
"Sure. If it doesn't taste good, you can throw it away. Don't force yourself to eat it."
"What... Why would I throw it away? That would be a waste."
"Ahaha. Is that so? Then you can keep it as a family heirloom, like I do."
At my ridiculous joke, Woo Yeon-hee let out a small, exasperated breath.
Perhaps she no longer saw any value in answering me, because she simply tightened her grip on the plastic bag holding the boxed meal and climbed silently into the van.
Clunk.
Soon, the low hum of the engine echoed across the parking garage.
Just as it seemed the van would leave the parking lot without hesitation, it suddenly paused.
Whirr.
The deeply tinted rear window slid halfway down.
Through that narrow gap, Woo Yeon-hee looked at me with a calm smile.
"I'll enjoy it. Thank you."
"...?"
Then the heavy sliding door shut, and the black van with its dark tinted windows smoothly left the parking lot.
Watching the black vehicle disappear into the distance, I quietly muttered.
"Whoa, that made my heart skip."
She had only smiled for a moment, but she looked like she had been drawn in a completely different art style.
This was why not just anyone could become an actor.
#
Inside the content division head's office on the seventh floor of MBS.
Joo Tae-seok sat with brow deeply furrowed, irritably flipping through approval documents.
The sole cause of Joo Tae-seok's foul mood lately was that damned ambitious project the drama bureau idiots were stubbornly insisting on.
'Tch. I should get rid of this trashy project right away.'
Public opinion had already sunk into the gutter, advertisers were watching for a chance to cut ties, and yet they intended to keep the controversial lead actress.
Just when Joo Tae-seok resolved to pull out a knife and cut the broadcast slot apart entirely, roughly setting down a fountain pen, there came a careful knock.
Knock knock.
The thick door to the division head's office slowly opened.
An employee poked their head through the gap and hesitantly spoke.
"Um, Division Head... An actress is here to see you..."
At those words, Joo Tae-seok's brow creased even more sharply.
"I don't have time to meet with entertainers. Send her away."
At Joo Tae-seok's irritated shout, the employee swallowed dryly and answered in a shrinking voice.
"Well... Ms. Woo Yeon-hee is already right outside the door..."
"What? Who?"
Joo Tae-seok's face stiffened.
Woo Yeon-hee? The center of the controversy that the entire world was tearing apart?
Why had that insolent bitch, whose head Joo Tae-seok was prepared to cut off at once, dared to come here of her own accord?
As Joo Tae-seok asked in bewilderment, a woman boldly stepped through the crack in the door past the hesitant employee's shoulder.
Creak!
"It's been a while."
Her voice was cold yet calm.
She wore dark sunglasses, but her distinctive aura and beauty made her identity impossible to mistake.
As the flustered employee stepped aside, Woo Yeon-hee threw the door fully open, walked in, and met Joo Tae-seok's eyes with straight-backed poise.
"I've been hearing that you keep getting in the way of our drama, Division Head. That's why I came here."
The cold force that had choked the breath from the veterans in the script-reading room moments ago now extended straight toward the network's highest-ranking power holder.
Before Joo Tae-seok could even begin to speak, stunned, she twisted her lips into a smile and confidently sat in the chair before Joo Tae-seok's desk.
"Let's talk."
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