The Third-Gen Chaebol Becomes a Genius Actor

Chapter 79: Shall I poke a little?

What caught Yoo Yeon Seo’s attention was the reputation and rumor section.

There was a rumor that she was very jealous when Lee Heeseo got married. In fact, she was said to have lived with the words ‘I want to marry a chaebol and live a luxurious life’ in her mouth.

Many people who were interested in Ryu Hyekyung contacted her, but she rejected them after taking a look. She still seemed to have a desire for a chaebol family.

It was not just any chaebol company, but Jusung. A group member who married into a company that represented Korea, she might also want to join a chaebol family that was comparable to that.

‘Maybe her standards have gone up… But shouldn’t she think about her age now?’

It might have been Lim Seunghyun’s opinion, but since it was his report, she could trust it. Yoo Yeon Seo tilted her head as she thought of Ryu Hyekyung who came up to her gently after the reading.

She was a notorious tyrant in the entertainment industry. The turnover rate of managers and stylists was high. She seemed to have managed her image well since no bad words leaked out.

She was good at dealing with the media. Especially, she was fearless in using her personal SNS. The public’s reputation was good.

‘It won’t be easy.’

Yoo Yeon Seo lay down on the bed again and stared blankly at the ceiling.

‘Did I show my hand too early?’

Shouldn’t she have hidden her true feelings until she received Lim Seunghyun’s report? She felt a bit regretful.

‘No.’

But that thought didn’t last long.

Ryu Hyekyung should be the one who was swayed. She didn’t need to grovel to get what she wanted.

‘Why me?’

Yoo Yeon Seo had nothing to lose.

Besides, there were many people who could talk about Lee Heeseo besides Ryu Hyekyung. The president of Twinkle’s agency, or the manager at that time. She could dump Ryu Hyekyung anytime if she dragged on.

And the real reason why Yoo Yeon Seo doubted Lee Heeseo’s death had not come out yet.

‘Beta.’

<Yes, master. I will start the random memory synchronization.>

Beta, who now knew what he was doing just by calling his name, answered in a flat tone.

***

She spent the morning like that, and Yoo Yeon Seo crossed her arms as she saw Lee Taegyeom, who arrived earlier than usual.

“What’s up? We still have a long way to go to the filming site.”

“Look at this.”

Lee Taegyeom didn’t give up and brought some scripts. If he used to bring a lot of them that he had to hold them with both hands, now he brought a few that he could hold with one hand.

Did he think hard and bring them? Yoo Yeon Seo casually flipped through the scripts he put down.

“Why did you choose these?”

Lee Taegyeom cleared his throat with a cough.

Oh, he was confident. He usually looked nervous about what kind of rejection Yoo Yeon Seo would give him, but now he was different.

“North Korea is a cheat key.”

“What?”

It was a somewhat blunt answer, but Yoo Yeon Seo decided to lean back on the backrest and listen to Lee Taegyeom’s words.

“Look, look.”

Lee Taegyeom took out a tablet pad and handed it to Yoo Yeon Seo. The screen was not a PPT, but just a notepad with large letters written on it.

“What do the works written here have in common? They are movies with North Korean agents ‘Goblin’, dramas with one of the main characters being a defector ‘Trap Investigation’, and this one is about the Kaesong Industrial Complex…”

“What is it?”

The movies and dramas that Lee Taegyeom mentioned were works that Yoo Yeon Seo knew well. They were works that were recycled several times in the future. He seemed to have learned the presentation skills from Director Park, as he paused for a beat, which aroused people’s curiosity.

“The movies broke even at least and hit the jackpot in the middle, and the dramas also exceeded the basic 20% viewership. That’s it.”

“Oh.”

This was a new approach… He must have thought a lot. Yoo Yeon Seo opened her mouth, and Lee Taegyeom said with a triumphant expression.

“Just look at the ‘Baekhoham’ that you filmed. In the beginning, the reason why the ship disappeared was North Korea.”

North Korea was not mentioned much in ‘Baekhoham’. But in the beginning, they made the audience confused by making the reason why the ship disappeared as North Korea’s doing, and that the monster that appeared was also done by North Korea.

Of course, ‘Baekhoham’ was different from the scripts that Lee Taegyeom brought. In ‘Baekhoham’, North Korea was just a device, and these works were closely related to North Korea in the main story.

“So you chose this?”

“Yeah, how is it?”

Yoo Yeon Seo looked at the script. He seemed to flip through it casually, but Lee Taegyeom knew that his eyes were moving fast and reading it thoroughly. Was it a genetic influence that his brother was called a genius, Yoo Yeon Seo also had a good basic brain.

“Well, it’s not bad… But do you think other directors and writers didn’t know that North Korea was a cheat key as much as you did?”

“Huh?”

When Lee Taegyeom opened his mouth stupidly, Yoo Yeon Seo operated the tablet pad. A list of movies and dramas with North Korean themes appeared on the screen.

“There are so many dramas and movies with North Korea as a theme here, do you think some of them would have been successful?”

“Huh…”

“And isn’t the perception of North Korea not as good as before? Just look at the ‘Trap Investigation’ that aired recently, there was a lot of controversy about North Korea being beautified or something, you have to look at the fun rather than the theme.”

There was even a talk that they used handsome actors to reduce the aversion to North Korea. There was a lot of controversy about this.

Of course, Yoo Yeon Seo was not the kind of person who was swayed by such controversies, but the work itself had to be well done since the theme was the theme. You never know what might happen during the movie release or drama airing.

Lee Taegyeom scratched the back of his head, feeling pierced by the sharp question.

“Is, is that so?”

“Anyway, it’s a new approach. I’ll read it slowly when I have time.”

Yoo Yeon Seo put the script on the table. But Lee Taegyeom’s expression was strange. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Lee Taegyeom.

“Is there more?”

“Yeah.”

Lee Taegyeom quickly answered and put down another script. He came with a purpose… Yoo Yeon Seo leaned back on the backrest and crossed her arms.

“This is not a North Korean theme, is it?”

“Ham Seongsu, director Lim Jinwoo and writer Jeon Nari’s synopsis and script.”

“Why those three?”

Yoo Yeon Seo didn’t know all the writers and directors. He operated the tablet pad and skimmed through the filmography of the three people Lee Taegyeom mentioned.

“They are very bouncy.”

“What?”

“You know, the thing. When the previous work fails, the next work is good, and the next work fails again.”

“Oh…”

Yoo Yeon Seo nodded. There were people like that. People who needed to hear scolding to wake up. Looking at the recent writings of the three people, most of them were scolding like ‘The director should find a separate writer’ ‘The directing is bad’ ‘The writer needs to retire’.

They might suddenly wake up and write a good next work after hearing such scolding.

“I found out that the recent works of these three people were totally ruined. Then what? The next work could be a hit.”

“Huh…”

He looked at Lee Taegyeom, who spoke confidently, with disbelief. He told him to improve his eye for works, but his analytical skills improved.

‘Should I praise him for doing well, or not…’

Anyway, he appreciated his effort. The final authority to choose the work was still with Yoo Yeon Seo, and it was commendable to see it from a new perspective.

Yoo Yeon Seo quickly skimmed through the synopsis that Lee Taegyeom brought.

‘Oh, this is fresh.’

A drama about exorcism… and the role is a priest? That’s different. After a soldier, an AI, and a madman, now a priest… I was curious about other professions anyway. I guess the works I choose are specialized in genres, but there’s nothing like genres to experience diverse lives.

“Okay, I’ll look at this later and decide.”

“You’re not deciding now?”

“I have to go to the shooting.”

“Oh. Your secretary brother arrived.”

***

“Why is he like that?”

Yoo Yeon Seo, who entered the shooting site, smiled at someone.

It was Ahn Hyunsung, the lead actor. He was tense. He didn’t have the relaxed attitude he had during the reading.

“It seems like he got scolded by Go Hyojun.”

“Hyojun hyung?”

“Yes, I saw him being called after the reading.”

Was it in the short moment of waiting for the elevator? Yoo Yeon Seo chuckled. Since Go Hyojun stepped in, Ahn Hyunsung wouldn’t bother him for now.

“Hello.”

“Did you come? The others are…”

“We’re the last three.”

The staff glanced behind Yoo Yeon Seo. There were only Lee Taegyeom, who looked like a manager, and Im Seunghyun, who looked more like a bodyguard than a director.

At first, there were stylists and hair makeup artists who followed him, but they quit because of his personality and Yoo Yeon Seo didn’t need them either, so he didn’t hire anyone else.

“Let’s do the makeup first.”

Yoo Yeon Seo headed to the powder room set up on one side of the shooting site. He was dressed exactly like Itaewo in the webtoon, with a tight white shirt and jeans, and barefoot. He tied his hair sloppily, making his bangs pop out here and there.

When Yoo Yeon Seo came out of the shooting site after finishing his makeup, the director exclaimed softly.

“Oh, that’s good.”

He was worried that his appearance would be too shabby, but it was clearly different.

Of course, he had taken a character poster before the shooting, but that could be edited on the computer, and it was different to see it in reality.

But he couldn’t hide his innate aura, so he was worried, but Yoo Yeon Seo’s mood was changing as he stared at the script.

“Let’s do a quick rehearsal.”

There was no big change in the script from the reading, and there were only some ad-libs added. The reading was a process of matching the characters that each had interpreted, and the director was impressed by Yoo Yeon Seo’s performance at the reading. It was a perfect character interpretation that even the writer nodded.

“Ready, go!”

Yoo Yeon Seo, who finished the rehearsal, entered the monitor screen. He changed his expression at the director’s signal. The scene he was shooting now was Itaewo’s first appearance.

“You see… there’s something missing.”

“Yes, yes?”

Bang! Bang! The steel pipe in his hand hit the steel railing, making a loud noise. Then he suddenly slumped down.

“I’m sleepy. So sleepy!”

He shook his head violently, shaking his hands as if he was having withdrawal symptoms. He looked out of his mind, and the other actor swallowed his saliva.

Itaewo leaned his head forward to the silent opponent and opened his eyes slightly.

“What, aren’t you curious?”

“Well, but…”

“But I can’t sleep.”

“What?”

Itaewo suddenly kicked the pile of trash next to him.

“I can’t, sleep, I said!”

It was an action that was not written in the script. He kicked it so hard that the trash scattered with a thud and a gust of wind.

“Uh…”

The other actor was stiffened by Yoo Yeon Seo’s ad-lib and missed the timing for the next line.

“Cut! Wait a minute. Yeonseo.”

The director gestured for him to come over.

“I get what you’re trying to do, Yeonseo, but let’s give a heads-up. That actor doesn’t have much experience yet.”

“If I give a heads-up, is that an ad-lib? He knows now, so he’ll do better.”

Yoo Yeon Seo’s interpretation of Itaewo was like a bomb that could explode at any moment. He thought it would be good to do a lot of ad-libs for a character who had a lot of sudden actions.

He couldn’t sleep and sometimes showed violence. He also had moments of sudden acceleration when he spoke. He needed some venting, but he couldn’t hit the other actor, could he?

“Anyway, let’s do it again.”

The director knew the rumors about Yoo Yeon Seo well. But he was cooperative enough. And it wasn’t an ad-lib that didn’t fit at all, so he could let it go generously.

After the shooting, Yoo Yeon Seo approached Ryu Hyekyung, who was standing a little away from the monitor.

“Auntie, hello.”

“Oh, yeah. Hi, nephew. You’re good at acting.”

“Aren’t you shooting today, auntie?”

“Huh? Oh… I came to see the shooting atmosphere. I’m always like this.”

Ryu Hyekyung’s manager widened his eyes. He was a person who didn’t sleep unless it was his own shooting.

The stylist poked his side and the manager managed to keep his expression.

He had already seen Im Seunghyun’s report and knew it was all a lie, but Yoo Yeon Seo pretended to be surprised.

“Really? That’s amazing.”

“Amazing, what? It’s basic.”

Ryu Hyekyung shrugged her shoulders.

‘Should I poke her a little?’

Yoo Yeon Seo asked cautiously.

“Do you remember what I said at the reading?”

“Oh, that? It was such a long time ago that I don’t remember well.”

Ryu Hyekyung waved her hand. She added a word as if she was kind.

“I’ll tell you if I remember anything later.”

“Really? Then I can’t help it. Excuse me, the director is calling me.”

But contrary to her expectation, Yoo Yeon Seo turned his body as if he wasn’t very sorry.

“Did Yoo Yeon Seo just call you auntie?”

“Well, technically, he’s right.”

He was a member of the same group as Lee Heeseo, so it wasn’t a very fitting word… Ryu Hyekyung’s stylist lowered his head at the unusually kind attitude.

‘Does this sister still have feelings for him?’

The stylist who had been with Ryu Hyekyung for years knew her intentions well. And Ryu Hyekyung was…

‘That’s not it…’

Yoo Yeon Seo wanted information about Lee Heeseo, and Ryu Hyekyung wanted to tease him with it, but Yoo Yeon Seo didn’t seem to have much attachment. Ryu Hyekyung was flustered and just looked at his back.