Chapter 274: Showdown (1)

Kang Ra-Eun added necessary notes directly on the script with post-it notes, a highlighter and pen while going through it several times. Seeing that, Seo Yi-Jun was reminded of something.

“Noona. You look like a student preparing for their SATs.”

“Really?”

Ra-Eun checked how she looked at the moment. She was wearing a tracksuit that prioritized comfort over fashion, rolled up her hair into a bun so that it wouldn’t bother her, and was even wearing glasses. She would most definitely be seen as nothing but an SAT examinee if she was in a cram school.

“Whether it be acting or anything else, everything requires studying,” Ra-Eun stated.

One could only do something if they knew or had learned it, and the same went for the path of design that Yi-Jun was on. Even if he had been successfully employed, he did not slack off on studying design.

“I heard you’ve been invited to some sort of event, right?” Ra-Eun asked.

“Yes. It’s an invitational exhibition of a premium brand held in Paris, and one of the designers going there sent me an invitation. I’ve been wondering whether to go or not.”

“Don’t even think about it and just go. Opportunities like that most definitely don’t come often.”

One should always grab hold of rare opportunities; Ra-Eun knew that better than anyone else. Yi-Jun nodded at the advice of his senior in life.

“Okay. I’ll do as you say, Noona. But I don’t have any vacation days...”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it.”

Ra-Eun was the boss, so no one, not even Park Seol-Hun, would dare complain even if she specially gave Yi-Jun a vacation. Rather, Seol-Hun would tell Yi-Jun to go to the invitational exhibition no matter what. The more that Yi-Jun saw, heard and experienced, the higher the quality of Levanche’s products would rise. It was a form of investment in the long run.

“You said you were going to be starring in a film, right, Noona?”

“Yeah.”

“Didn’t you say that you were going to be taking a break? I feel like you’re restarting a bit too early...”

Ra-Eun narrowed her eyes at Yi-Jun. Putting her hands in her pockets, she asked, “Why? Does the fact that I’m starring in a film bother you?”

“N-No, I wouldn’t say that.”

Yi-Jun couldn’t not be bothered since Ra-Eun would be shooting a kiss scene in this film.

“Stop worrying about my business and focus on yourself,” Ra-Eun stated.

“I know.”

It seemed like Yi-Jun wanted to get more out of Ra-Eun, but had no choice but to walk away as Ra-Eun gestured at him to go. Ra-Eun focused back on her script when she noticed something.

‘Aren’t the scenes #22 and #32-1 overlapping?’

They weren’t similar, but the exact same. Books that were not official publications in bookstores often had such typos. Errors were bound to occur since they were done by humans. Ra-Eun reached for her smartphone next to her to call the production team about the error.

“Hello? This is Kang Ra-Eun.”

- Hello? Oh, Ra-Eun?

The writer’s surroundings were very clamorous.

“Are you outside right now?”

- No, I’m in the meeting room. Something came up that needs a discussion, so we’ve been here since this morning.

“Since morning?”

It was 5 PM at the moment. Even if they had begun the meeting at 11 AM at the latest, it meant that they had been in a meeting for at least five hours, excluding lunch break. Was there something that important to discuss? From what Ra-Eun was aware of, there wasn’t.

“Could it be about scenes #22 and #32-1?”

- Huh? What about them?

“I noticed on the script that the two scenes were identical. It seemed to be a printing error... That’s why I’ve called.”

- Oh, please give me just a second! I’ll check right away... My, you’re right. I’m sorry, Ra-Eun. I’ll let someone know to edit it and send you a new script right away.

“No, it's okay. You can just fax me the edited page and I’ll do the rest.”

It was a bit too late to change her script for a new one after making notes here, there and everywhere on the one she already had. She was far too lazy to do it all over again on a new script.

“You seem busy, so you can get on it once you have the time to later.”

- I’m sorry, Ra-Eun. Sigh... It’s been one hell of a day.

“What is it all about exactly?”

Ra-Eun couldn’t help but be curious considering the massive commotion. She would be starring in this film, so she thought that it might influence her in some way. Hence, she wanted to know what was going on. The writer seemed to have thought that it was nothing worth hiding, so they let her know what was going on.

- Yesterday, Mr. Ji Han-Seok said that he wanted to audition for the role of Min Woo-Chan against Je-Woon, and that he wouldn’t accept the casting offer if we didn’t let him. So, the director and the rest of the production team have been thinking all day about what to do.

“...”

Ra-Eun couldn’t believe Han-Seok had done something like that. He was either pulled more toward Min Woo-Chan than Nam Yun-Seok as a character, or that he believed that he wasn’t fit for the role that he had been originally offered. However, Ra-Eun thought that one other possibility had a far higher chance of being true than them.

‘It’s probably because of me.’

Han-Seok had confessed his feelings to Ra-Eun before, and so had Je-Woon. Two men who were friends with each other had gotten into a love triangle with Ra-Eun.

‘It feels like the story has already begun when the production hasn't even opened yet.’

Only Ra-Eun was in a pickle in the midst, but she found the fact that Han-Seok had made such a proposal to be rather impressive. However, there was one problem.

‘Would Je-Woon sunbae accept his challenge?’

The production as a whole might be impacted if Han-Seok’s offer was refused, but not at all from Je-Woon’s perspective. Je-Woon had planned to refuse the offer, but had only accepted it after hearing that his co-star would be Ra-Eun. It was already a win for Je-Woon after his role in the film had been decided. He was likely on cloud nine, so Ra-Eun wondered if he would accept Han-Seok’s challenge.

‘If I was in his shoes, there’s no way that I would.’

However, that was only her opinion; Je-Woon might come out differently.

“Sounds interesting,” Ra-Eun remarked unwittingly.

- I beg your pardon?

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just meant that a showdown between two great actors for one role sounds interesting.”

- That may be true, but... It’s a nightmare for us in the production team.

“I guess it would be. Has Je-Woon sunbae given his answer?”

- Just a second. The director said that he would give Je-Woon a call earlier... Oh, Director! How did it go?

Director Yoon seemed to have returned to the meeting room just in time. His heavy voice could be heard over the phone.

- ...He said he’ll do it.

The audition showdown between Je-Woon and Ji Han-Seok had been established.

***

Ra-Eun drove to Director Yoon Tae-Yoon’s company in her sports car and parked it in the underground second floor parking lot. She noticed two familiar cars. One of them was Han-Seok’s and the other was Je-Woon’s treasured car.

‘They’re both quite early.’

Ra-Eun had arrived thirty minutes before the meeting time, but the two men had arrived even earlier than her. It likely showed how thoroughly they wanted to prepare for the showdown, but Ra-Eun had arrived with far lighter feelings than them.

‘I’m not the one in the showdown, after all.’

Ra-Eun had come as a judge rather than a participant. Since this showdown would be deciding who she would be working with, she had been offered to be a judge as well. Ra-Eun gladly accepted the production team’s offer. She had no particular reason for not accepting.

‘There’s nothing more entertaining than watching a fight.’

Although it was nothing like a fistfight, a fight was still a fight.

Director Yoon’s office was located on the third floor. The production team seemed to be even more nervous than the audition participants.

“Hello,” Ra-Eun greeted.

The production team awkwardly lowered their heads and greeted her back.

“Where’s the director?”

“He’s in that room over there. That’s where the audition will be taking place, so you can head in there as well.”

“Thank you very much.”

Creak.

The first thing that Ra-Eun saw when she opened the door was Director Yoon downing an entire bottle of water. There were five other empty water bottles.

Ra-Eun asked the anxious-looking Director Yoon, “Why are you so nervous, Director?”

“How could I not be? They’re both aiming for the role of Min Woo-Chan, and I can only choose one of them. If I do that, I’m sure the one that doesn’t get chosen will be very upset, and might even leave the production altogether... Sigh...”

He was already getting a headache from having to deal with the aftermath. Director Yoon was a very talented film director, but was nowhere near as talented in dealing with people. Hence, he was acting this way before the audition had even begun. The other judges also seemed to be in the same state; Ra-Eun was the only normal one out of them.

“Don’t think too deeply about it. Both Je-Woon sunbae and Han-Seok sunbae are good people, and they’re not the kind of people who would hold a grudge.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes. This is from someone who has known them for a very long time, so you can trust me.”

Ra-Eun’s carefree attitude came from her knowledge of the two of them.

“Shall we begin the audition?” a staff member asked as soon as the time had come.

Director Yoon nodded with difficulty. “Yes. Let’s begin.”

A showdown of pride between two men had begun.