Chapter 57: Shell and Core

༺ Shell and Core ༻

“Grandma, someone left this in front of your house!”

“Eh? What’s this?”

“It’s a vacuum cleaner! Now you won’t have to bend over with a broom to sweep the floor, grandma!”

“Why would someone throw away a perfectly good item like this? They’ll be cursed… tsk tsk.”

“Maybe they won’t be cursed…? They left it for someone who really needs it…”

Bohyung came in and insisted that someone left the obviously new vacuum cleaner at their doorstep.

“Hana, are you going to be late again today?”

“Yes. Grandma doesn’t eat well unless I’m with her, so please take care of her. I’m glad you’re here… haa.”

“If Kwon Do-jun makes you work overtime again, I’ll scratch his nose.”

“Haha, just like Mimi? Just imagining it is already funny!”

As Hana continued to work overtime, Bohyung took over for her and cared for her grandmother and the cat.

“Mimi—”

Meow~

“Your owner is really weird. How can she still be so cheerful every day when her work is so hard and unlikable? Are you a weirdo like her? Do you like going for walks?”

Meow~

“Yeah, you’re cute, too.”

Bohyung shared a mischievous look with the affectionate and walk-loving cat.

Whenever he acted, the atmosphere became relaxed.

Even Hana, Grandma, and the cat seemed to smile.

“Bohyung, let’s eat together!”

Senior actresses like Bae Ok-jin and Lee Ok-hyung now called Yoomyeong by his character’s name, ‘Bohyung,’ mistaking his laid-back and affectionate personality as his real one.

The shoot had already entered its second week.

Yoomyeong had grown closer to the other actors on set. This was partly because they had never acted with him before, and due to their misconception of his acting as his real personality.

He easily won everyone over with his warm and obliging nature, serving as a kind-hearted and diligent helper of the group.

The relationships among the actors were good.

Baek Seunghyo was curt but polite, and Jung Junhee seemed fussy but turned out to be down-to-earth upon conversation.

Lee Kyu-seong only smiled brightly, showing no signs of trouble.

Cha Harin always lounged during breaks, but she became vibrant and energetic as soon as the cue sign dropped.

She was just like what Miho had mentioned earlier: someone who saved her energy for when the camera was rolling. Her energy was so intense that it was puzzling why she hadn’t risen to the top of the industry.

The problem was with the PD.

“Cut— Hana, be more innocent and lively!”

“Cut— Hana, don’t be too aggressive towards Do-jun. You’re the female lead, so try to look cuter and more lovable.”

Over and over again.

Director Joo repeatedly called for retakes whenever Hana acted.

The reason? She wasn’t fitting his image of a female lead.

Yoomyeong sighed, watching the scene.

The trend of strong, independent female leads started with ‘Rooftop Cat’ and was solidified by ‘Lovers in Paris’. Writer Yook Mi-young introduced a new formula to this trend, drawing a trend that was ahead of its time.

However, Director Joo’s sensibilities were too outdated to capture that essence.

Until five years ago, he was one of the leading production directors, but he gradually lost his touch and dropped to weekend and morning dramas.

He still held into the 90s mindset — a drama would only succeed if it had a cool male lead and a pure, cute female lead. So far, the character most contrary to this formula had been the female lead, Hana.

“Ugh, it’s so hard to shoot each scene. Cha Harin, don’t you understand my instructions? Don’t look so stubborn and act pitifully and lovely, enough to naturally bring a smile to the viewer’s face. Don’t you get it?”

“…I’ll do my best!”

Despite the small production company, the director’s harsh words were relentless. Yet, Cha Harin always bowed her head, persisting in her performance.

She had incredible mental strength.

Soon, it was Yoomyeong’s turn to be tested.

It was in episode 3, during a scene where Bohyung’s demeanor changed dramatically.

*

Two shots were taken of Hana and Bohyung, who sat side by side against a wall.

“What’s wrong, Hana?”

“It’s nothing… it’s just that today…”

Tears easily rolled down Harin’s eyes shortly after the scene started.

It was impressive concentration. Yoomyeong began to tear up too, mirroring her sorrow.

“What happened today? Who did this to you?”

“Hey, why are you crying, too…? Huhu…”

As Bohyung started to sob, Hana finally broke down in tears. Hana had been a lonely but unwavering character in the first two episodes, which made her crying even more pitiful.

“It’s just one of those days. Haha…life’s really difficult, right?”

“What’s the toughest part?”

“Grandma keeps getting sick… I feel pathetic for circling around the entertainment industry without letting go of my greed when I should be doing something more profitable for Grandma… And then there’s my boss, who always nitpicks and scolds me, ordering me around… Haa, he’s such a tyrant, and it’s so unfair.”

“Your boss… you mean Kwon Do-jun?”

Baek Seunghyo, who was on standby for the next scene, was startled at how coldly Bohyung mentioned his character’s name.

He took a closer look at the ongoing scene.

“Ugh…”

“Hana.”

What is this sense of discomfort?

“You probably haven’t met a ‘top dog’, but those people don’t need to show off because people naturally cater to them. Those who like bullying others are those who aren’t truly powerful because they’re trying to prove something they’re not.”

“Oh, is that true?”

“It’s similar to a hierarchy, those dogs…”

“…Saying they’re dogs is a bit much…”

“Not ‘dogs’, but a ‘hierarchy’. Take the hierarchy of the Chinese zodiac for example. There’s the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig! Those at the bottom of the food chain assert their power the moment they get a bit of leverage.”

“Hahaha. So the pig pretends to be a dog?”

When Harin burst into laughter again, Seunghyo felt a chill.

Sitting side by side, Harin couldn’t see his expression. However, it was captured on camera. Bohyung’s voice remained warm and playful, but his expression was completely detached.

He wore an extremely cynical expression.

Adopting a cold expression was easy for Seunghyo. Producing a rhythmic, warm voice was doable, though he wouldn’t be able to do it as well as Yoomyeong.

But to separate the warmth of his voice and expression to such an extent?

Genuine expressions stemmed from genuine thoughts.

Genuine voices also came from genuine thoughts.

Thus, conveying two different emotions as equally genuine was… really difficult. No one had two brains.

Try laughing while crying. One of them would inevitably seem fake.

But how could he make it seem so natural?

Hana burst into laughter and then faced Bohyung, whose face had already softened.

Hana stood up first, leaving Bohyung to mutter to himself.

“Bullies like them need a taste of their own medicine…”

There was intimidation in his voice.

A tone devoid of emotion, as if he was flicking away a bug.

Today, Baek Seunghyo realized his mistake.

Though Yoomyeong was praised by writer Yook Mi-young for his unique and slightly musical acting, Seunghyo had regarded Yoomyeong as merely ‘an actor with a unique style’. He was unaware that Yoomyeong was an actor capable of completely transforming depending on the character and situation.

“Cut. Shin Yoomyeong, why did your acting tone suddenly change?”

And there were those in the world who were blind to such talent.

*

Director Joo didn’t like him.

To him, Yoomyeong was an arrogant rookie who barged into a nearly settled situation.

If it wasn’t for him, there wouldn’t have been the need to grovel to Moon Yu-seok or to argue with Yook Mi-young.

He disliked Yoomyeong’s acting tone as well.

When writer Yook praised him during the reading, Director Joo wondered why such peculiar acting was overly praised.

To him, Bohyung’s role was just a supporting character.

No matter how times have changed, the essence of drama was the cool male lead. Wasn’t a capable man who elevated the troubled female lead and offered vicarious satisfaction the essence of a drama?

Yet, he hadn’t openly criticized it until now.

The writer had praised the performance as ‘perfect’, so it felt ridiculous for him to demand changes. Moon Yu-seok was also a concern.

But this was definitely not right, was it?

A character that was previously charming suddenly stepped into the mud. It was almost like character destruction.

So, Director Joo confidently called for a retake.

“How can Bohyung’s expression change so drastically? Let’s shoot again!”

“Director. In my opinion, isn’t Bohyung a character who distinctly separates how he treats Hana from the rest of the world?”

Yoomyeong cautiously expressed his opinion. However,

“You’re a rookie so maybe you don’t know, but such a drastic change in texture stands out in a bad way. Isn’t it too early for you to be asserting yourself?”

“But, Director…”

“You really don’t get it, do you? Assistant director! Let’s take a 5-minute break! Think about your attitude as a newbie actor.”

As Director Joo turned away and headed outside for a smoke, Harin whispered to Yoomyeong.

“Brother, I’ve tried it too. Once the director is set on something, he doesn’t listen.”

“But I still have to say something. How can I act convincingly if I’m not convinced myself?”

“That’s why I keep getting infinite NGs.”

“…?”

“I’ll keep acting that way until the director gets tired. It’s better to be seen as foolish for acting the same way than to gain a reputation for being arrogant. I can’t give up on Hana’s character, who is more ‘human’ than a ‘woman’.”

Judging from her tone, he thought she was simply straightforward…

‘A 12-year veteran is really different.’

Yoomyeong learned something.

*

After that, an endless battle between the PD and Yoomyeong began.

They would re-shoot the same scene over and over again until one of them gave up and dropped out.

Fortunately, Yoomyeong had 15 years of patience, making him stronger than the director.

“Why can’t you do it just like you usually do?”

“Sorry. I’ll do it again—”

“Never mind. It doesn’t seem like it’ll change anyway. OK! Actually, this is an NG, NG!”

Feeling smug over Yoomyeong’s submissive attitude, the director constantly nagged him. However, he remained silent and diligently performed the character he had prepared.

And then came the final scene of the day.

It was Yoomyeong’s first scene with Baek Seunghyo.

“Let’s start the rehearsal!”

Do-jun, who relieved his stress by tormenting Hana every day, received a summons from the president one day.

— The grandson of Hyukseong Group’s chairman is a fan of yours and wants to meet you. Make a good impression. If you do, we might get a bunch of ads from their subsidiaries.

Do-jun was led to the room where they were supposed to meet and found Bohyung waiting there.

“Hello! I’m actor Kwon Do-jun!”

He bowed deeply to the young-looking Bohyung, who gestured towards a chair with a nod.

“Oh, have a seat.”

“Yes, thank you!”

Do-jun felt slightly offended by the treatment he wasn’t used to, but he couldn’t show it. No matter how popular he was as an actor, offending an heir to a conglomerate could ruin him in an instant.

“You act really well. I’ve enjoyed watching your works.”

“Thank you. As an actor, I always do my best.”

“Hmm… An actor’s duty is to act, but what about a human being’s duty?”

“Sorry?”

Bohyung leaned back on the sofa, crossing his legs.

He looked down and stared at him with a crushing gaze.

Baek Seunghyo felt an overwhelming pressure, the kind that came from someone who had been ‘on top’ since birth.

It was so natural that he couldn’t even feel offended. His gaze involuntarily dropped slightly.

“From a human perspective, being an actor or wealthy is just a shell, isn’t it?”

“What? Oh… that’s right.”

“But some people get so wrapped up in their shell that they start to think that it’s who they are.”

“…What do you mean?”

“When the shell gets too thick, it becomes a monster, consuming the core.”

“…”

“This is just some advice from a fan, in case Kwon Do-jun might be heading that way.”

“Ah, yes… I’ll keep that in mind.”

Bohyung smirked.

“See? If we were just looking at shells, then I’d be in a position to speak informally to you. But I’m still using honorifics, aren’t I?”

It was revenge for the mistreatment Do-jun had shown Hana.

Yook Mi-young’s scripts were unique.

The male lead didn’t come to the rescue of the female lead in distress.

The female and male lead started with a superior-inferior relationship, became rivals, and eventually fell in love.

The female lead was seemingly small and unassuming, but she had a strong core.

As she grew to match and even compete with the male lead and love on an equal footing, there was a ‘cheat key’ — an ally and mentor who leveled the playing field for her.

From A + B = C,

To A = C,

The ‘cheat key’ that Yook Mi-young had created and Yoomyeong was aiming to portray…

Was Bohyung.

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