Chapter 76: I am the leader

[1st place: Daryeong]

[2nd place: Daryeong’s personality]

[3rd place: Daryeong’s departure]

It seems that Big Win has released the black box. Not only was Daryeong’s voice heard, but Muyoung’s voice was also included, so they took action after confirming that there were no legal issues.

“What’s wrong?”

Mumbling, Junho asked in a sleepy voice.

“You said you’d get revenge for Bora.”

“……What revenge. I got a hangover.”

“Daryeong is leaving the drama.”

“What? Really?”

Junho sat up and checked the article together. He was caught lying and was facing a backlash.

As public opinion to boycott not only the drama but also the broadcasting station grew, company M took drastic measures, including delaying the broadcast and replacing the female lead.

“Wow. That’s amazing.”

“A lot has happened while we were sleeping.”

“What about you? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine…….”

When I checked my SNS DM, there were thousands of comments. Strangely, my followers increased even more. Probably new people who came in through the article clicked on it.

-I acknowledge your good looks and good personality.

-Is Muyoung too sweet?…… Grandma…… is melting…….

-Sue the reporter. I’m more angry seeing this.

-Oppa. I’m cheering for you! Stay strong! Aja aja!

Fans looked even angrier and more frenzied. Muyoung chuckled and hugged his phone. Seeing that, Junho muttered beside him.

“But if the broadcast is delayed, it’ll air at the same time as the drama you’re going to be in, right?”

“Huh? Is that how it works?”

“Even if it gets delayed a lot, it’ll be about a month, so it’ll overlap in the middle. Wow. I don’t know whose I should watch.”

“Of course, you should watch both. You have plenty of time.”

“Are you kidding? I’m X busy.”

It was clear that the timing of Bora’s drama, Come to the Cafe, and Muyoung’s drama, You are a Star, I am a Star, would overlap ambiguously. I’m not sure about the time slot, but anyway!

“Hucha!”

Muyoung stretched happily and laughed. It felt so good to wake up and find that everything was over. It felt like I had a bad dream.

Zziiing- Zziiing-

“Hyung!”

Muyoung happily answered his manager’s call.

-It’s good to hear your voice sounds good.

“Thank you for your hard work. It was all because of me.”

-No, nothing much happened. For now, we’ve agreed to receive a formal apology from Maeil Daily, and a statement will be released soon. Whether we’ll go the lawsuit route or settle is something we’ll have to see. You heard that Daryeong is leaving, right?

“Yes!”

-So you heard that you passed the first round of auditions too?

“Yes!”

It’s called the first or second round, but if you’ve gone through the camera test, it’s almost a done deal. All that’s left is to sign the contract.

-It’s a blessing in disguise. Let’s think of it as a way to ward off bad luck. Only good things will happen from now on.

“Yes, hyung. Thank you.”

-Get ready, and I’ll call you again.

Muyoung was so happy that he could only stomp his feet. Junho, who was taking the kicks beside him, asked, holding his queasy stomach.

“But what’s a camera test? Is it like taking pictures in front of a camera like a model?”

“Nope! It’s reading and acting briefly in front of the camera.”

He looked much plainer than he did at the audition.

His neat hair and messy earrings were oddly harmonious. As I opened the meeting room, I saw familiar people.

“Hello. I’m Ha Muyoung.”

“You’re the earliest to arrive. Sit down.”

“You look good in a simple style too.”

The PD, the writer, and the production company’s manager and staff were there. A camera was set up in the middle, and one part of the meeting room was empty like a stage.

“You’ve been busy lately, haven’t you?”

He was asking about the Gangnam Station incident that happened a few days ago. In response to the manager’s question, Muyoung just smiled and answered.

“No, I’m just playing around now.”

That’s just a passing incident in life. There’s a famous line from a movie: If you make it a problem, it becomes a real problem. I decided to live without worrying about it.

“Who’s coming today?”

“Haven’t you heard?”

Just as Muyoung tilted his head in confusion, the door opened and Romin came in. Very confidently, with a manager I hadn’t seen before following behind him.

“Hello!”

“Romin!”

“Hahaha! Surprise! It was a complete success!”

Romin greeted with a V sign. The manager, who had become acquainted with him through the Enbin stalking incident, exchanged a glance with Muyoung and left.

“Why didn’t you tell me? You really surprised me.”

“I knew you’d be too busy, hyung.”

He chuckled and sat beside me. Somehow, he looked like someone who had secretly succeeded in losing weight. Since he had secretly auditioned without the company knowing and got the part, now he could confidently handle it as an official schedule.

“So Romin’s role is…….”

“Mermaid Prince, Jungmin.”

He was a legendary vocalist in another club who had lost his voice in an accident and switched to bass.

The counterpart role was also a woman who didn’t talk much, so a cold-looking couple would be born.

“I was a bit worried because Romin looks too cute, but the acting you showed back then was a strange face, so I decided to trust you.”

“Thank you. I’ll really work hard.”

“You were an acting student, but this is your first work, right?”

At the PD’s words, he nodded.

In fact, the background didn’t play a role at all. I came in believing a little in the name value of Zero Term. But that too is skill in this industry. Muyoung clenched his fist and smiled.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise, it’s nice to meet you. Now we have two leaders. Haha.”

Zero Term and Meryl Kelly. I would be working with two teams. Then Song-a and Pyo Lai arrived.

“Hello!”

“……Hello.”

Song-a had a light ponytail and a lively image, while Pyo Lai looked like someone who would just stare at you without answering even if you talked to her. How could these two opposites be close friends?

“You two are actually close in real life, right?”

“Oh. Yes. You know that?”

“I heard that Pyo Lai has been a trainee at Forestainment for a long time.”

In the end, she moved to another place and debuted. Anyway, it’s a small industry, so they knew each other well.

Only Muyoung seemed not to know who the two were. If I had known in advance, I would have studied…….

“Are you Ha Muyoung, who plays the role of Doha?”

Song-a smiled and greeted.

“I’m Miran.”

“Oh! You’re the heroine. Then that’s Seri, your friend over there.”

“Isn’t the name Seri too foreign?”

The writer, who had been listening quietly, intervened slightly and asked. It was a question that also served as a test. How was she interpreting the friend named Seri? When Pyo Lai fell silent, thinking deeply, Muyoung continued.

“I think it’s fine. Jungmin is the Mermaid Prince, so it’s a fitting name for a princess.”

An accurate analysis.

The writer clapped inside and smiled with satisfaction.

At the same time, there was a cry of ‘Ah’. Pyo Lai had never thought deeply about it even once. I just thought the name was a bit unusual.

“Okay. Then we just need one more person, right?”

“Yes. The sub-male lead who is also a keyboardist-”

“I’m late.”

Squeak.

Oh my. Even if I don’t know Song-a and Pyo Lai, I know that man. Isn’t that Seo Jeongmun, who came in first place in an audition program recently? Muyoung’s eyes sparkled as he brought his hands together.

“Wow! I’m a fan!”

“Huh? Ah. Hahaha. Thank you.”

Seo Jeongmun sat down awkwardly, laughing. He looked around for a moment and asked strangely.

“Are you the male lead by any chance?”

“Yes, I am.”

You’re the male lead, and you shouted that you’re a fan? What a peculiar character. When all five people gathered, the staff happily set up the camera.

“Wow. But this is really a visual feast.”

“That’s right. Both my ears and eyes are satisfied. There’s no reason not to watch this.”

Sparkling. Even sitting still, the five people shone. Muyoung looked at them for a while and suddenly realized.

“Huh? But I’m the only actor here?”

The rest were all idol alumni. Seo Jeongmun was a solo artist, so it was a bit ambiguous to call him an idol. But his color was definitely that of an idol.

“Help each other out. Three of you here are acting for the first time.”

Wow. As soon as Muyoung heard that, he opened his mouth wide. It’s not just about acting skills, they really picked them based on their image. It’s either a hit or a miss.

“Then shall we start with the camera test?”

“Leader first!”

“Leader? Me?”

At the PD’s call, Muyoung stood up, flustered. The team members laughed quietly. He smiled awkwardly and stood in front of the camera.

‘He’s handsome, but is he really an actor?’

There was not a trace of the charisma that the character Doha exuded. On the contrary, he looked fluffy, more suited to a sub-role. Song-a and Pyo Lai whispered as they watched him.

“Here’s the script. We’ve bound what’s been written so far, but the latter part is still in the final stages. Let’s do scene 17 and scene 34.”

The staff handed out scripts to the actors. Considerately, the cover had both the actor’s real name and the role name written on it.

Muyoung happily opened the paper.

“Are you ready?”

“Heung-”

“Pfft!”

The ‘Heung-’ that came out of that shy mouth was too middle-school-like. Doha’s natural response, captivated by his own charm. The PD laughed, spraying the water he was drinking.

“Ready, action.”

“You know, there are only two things I hate the most in the world.”

Muyoung said that and looked intently at the script for a moment. The people who had been staring at the paper raised their heads.

“Is there a problem?”

“Ah. Sorry. I’ll do it again.”

“……? Go ahead.”

The PD looked puzzled and gestured to the staff. As the recording button was pressed again, the members, except for Romin, sighed inwardly.

‘Even just reading and doing it makes him nervous, I guess.’

‘Hmm. I hope it goes well?’

And they watched Muyoung listlessly, resting their chins on their hands. As soon as the camera button sound was heard, his eyes changed completely. Song-a sat up straight, slightly startled by his spirit.

“You know, there are only two things I hate the most in the world.”

Doha made a V sign with his fingers and bit his teeth hard. He spat out his annoyance, biting down on each syllable tightly.

“Being stupid and being dumb! Is it that hard to understand perfectly even if I speak poorly? Don’t you know my style?”

Then he threw the script on the desk. Doha pointed his finger at the empty air, at an invisible opponent, and continued his lines.

“Huh?”

Are you doing it without looking? Surely there’s…….

“The harder you hit, the higher you should set the settings! So there’s no buzzing! This body practiced desperately even while you were giggling in your room. It’s not a problem if my fingers twitch a bit! I definitely said this before, right? Five days ago in terms of days. 7,298 minutes ago in terms of minutes! 437,880 seconds in terms of seconds! After hearing it once and seeing it, please put it in that head of yours!”

“Wow.”

Song-a covered her mouth unconsciously. Did he memorize that long line after just reading it once? Pyo Lai, who had been quickly following the script with her fingers, also burst out laughing in disbelief.

‘Not a single mistake. Is he crazy?’

The reason he stumbled at first and said he would do it again was for this very moment. It was a scene full of annoyance and anger, and to make the natural gestures of pointing fingers, his hands needed to be free.

“Did you just memorize all that?”

Director Lee Yujin asked in admiration. It was so perfect that she wondered if he had seen the script in advance. Of course, she had just handed it to him, so that couldn’t be the case.

“Yes!”

As one scene ended, Muyoung returned to his cheerful self again. And he gave a cute answer.

“Doha said to put it in your head after hearing and seeing it once, so I tried that.”

That’s impossible.

Is that even possible? But there was something else they didn’t know. When he was filming The Plague, he never made a single NG. All the NGs were caused by others.

“You’re truly a leader.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

I’ve never even been a class president as a student, but I’m a leader! Muyoung scratched his head shyly and turned the script for the next line.

“Huh? The next one is a two-person scene. Song-a?”

“Huh? Yes, yes.”

Everyone was blank for a moment and then quickly came to their senses. It felt like a character who seemed to have zero combat power turned out to have maxed-out stats. Song-a straightened her clothes and stood up from her seat.