NOVEL WEB Episode 72 - Invitation
“The director did a great job with the screen, didn’t they?”
“CG effects come out well these days as long as you spend money. Director, I’m looking forward to the post-processing of the ending scene being completed soon rather than that.”
“The desert racing scene we talked about last time?”
Director Hwang, who had seen the pre-edited scene before handing it over for post-processing, nodded as he glanced back at the screen, where the teaser was now playing.
“Ryu Yeon-woo. That guy’s stuff.”
At that moment, a staff member from the drama department burst into Director Hwang’s office without even knocking, seeming urgent.
“Director! The final ratings have been calculated.”
“How did it go?”
The staff member handed Director Hwang a printed sheet of paper.
Hastily accepting it, Director Hwang looked it over.
Accompanied by Director Lee Sang-hoon, he scrutinized the paper.
The ratings were directly received from a company that calculates viewership figures, more promptly and accurately than from the internet.
[KBC 1 ‘The Star Beyond the River’]
Episode 2 Ratings [15.9%] ▲2.2%
[MBS ‘Valdor’]
Episode 4 Ratings [18.3%] ▼1.5%
“It’s done! The graph has turned.”
Although they hadn’t caught up yet, seeing the graph steadily rising for two consecutive episodes, Director Hwang, based on his 30 years of experience, knew that unless a major event occurred, the ratings would smoothly climb to the mid-range and even absorb the ratings of competing works.
Director Hwang, tapping Director Lee Sang-hoon’s back next to him, smiled contentedly.
“Director, if there’s a shortage of production budget during the latter part of filming, just let me know. Got it?”
“Yes, Director. Hahaha.”
Today, Director Lee Sang-hoon’s shoulders seemed broader than usual.
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The next day, Yeon-woo left home in the morning, driving to the special set.
As he arrived at the entrance, a security guard approached after parking his car.
“How may I assist you?”
“I’ve come to the set of ‘The Star Beyond the River’.”
“Ah, you can go to section B2 over there. There’s a parking lot just around the corner.”
“Thank you.”
Driving to the location guided by the guard, Yeon-woo saw a quite large building.
“It’s quite large.”
After parking his car and entering the building, he saw staff members bustling around, carrying equipment.
“Oh? Yeon-woo.”
“Ki-hoon hyung.”
A member of the lighting team who was setting up lights noticed Yeon-woo entering and hurried over.
“You’re on vacation, and you’re already here at the set?”
“I came early to take a look around. My hometown is Daejeon. Is the director here?”
“He should be in set number 3 over there.”
Yeon-woo opened the door and entered as directed by the staff.
Upon opening the door, he saw the set, which was decorated like a cave. While in reality, the materials indicating it was a set were noticeable, it looked convincing enough on screen due to its darkness.
Inside, Director Lee Sang-hoon, checking the camera frame and setting up the angles, came into Yeon-woo’s view.
“Director.”
“Hmm? Oh, Yeon-woo? Why didn’t you rest and came so early?”
“My hometown is nearby. So, I came here in advance. By the way, the set is impressive, isn’t it?”
“Haha. Have you seen the room next door? We planted several trees in the chroma key room.”
Excited, Director Lee Sang-hoon started explaining various things about the set.
“Oh, by the way, it’s good that you’re here. Yeon-woo, would you like to try getting into the frame? We need to set up the lighting to match your face for each scene in advance.”
“Oh, sure. Should I stand here?”
“Okay, good. Sang-myung, adjust the lighting.”
As Yeon-woo assisted the staff in setting up while being the subject, another actor entered as the set door opened.
“Hello, Director. Oh? Yeon-woo?”
“Yu-han.”
Yeon-woo was surprised by the unexpected appearance of Jin Yu-han.
True to his nature of knowing nothing but acting, Jin Yu-han had left Seoul early in the morning and arrived at the set.
“Wow, the passion of our actors brings tears to my eyes. Haha.”
Director Lee Sang-hoon jokingly wiped away tears, raising the corners of his mouth.
“When did you arrive? I didn’t expect you to come too.”
“My home is nearby. So, I came here in advance as well.”
“That’s great. Since both actors are here, let’s rehearse everything thoroughly while we’re at it.”
They started rehearsing not only scenes involving Yeon-woo but also scenes where both actors appeared together.
“If all the actors put in this much effort, the quality will surely improve significantly.”
Seeing the two young actors who barely took a day off even when given a forced vacation and came to the set as if fulfilling a promise, Director Lee Sang-hoon’s heart was burning with excitement.
“Indeed, with such overflowing passion from young actors, I’ll pour my soul into it as well.”
The passion flowing from above gradually infected the staff below, creating a lively atmosphere naturally.
With all their passion poured into rehearsals, it was already 4 p.m. before they knew it.
“All right, actors, let’s call it a day and go home. We need to manage our conditions so we don’t burn out too much.”
“Yes, Director.”
Yeon-woo had become somewhat familiar with the set as he wandered around and had roughly figured out how he would act while rehearsing with Jin Yu-han.
As Jin Yu-han stretched, he followed Yeon-woo out of the set building.
“Whoa, leaving early in the morning made me quite tired too.”
“Yu-han, are you going back to Seoul now?”
“Well, I don’t have any schedules, but I guess I should.”
At that moment, Yeon-woo remembered his younger sister So-hyeon asking for an autograph.
“Maybe the real thing is better than an autograph.”
“Hmm?”
“Yu-han, would you like to come to my place? There’s a spare room in the guest room. You can sleep over and leave for Seoul tomorrow. It’s going to get dark soon.”
Since Jin Yu-han had not had many friends due to his child actor days, he had never visited a friend’s house before.
Yu-han, who recently enjoyed acting quite happily as his only hobby and profession, felt relieved at his friend Yeon-woo’s suggestion.
“Hmm, should I? I hope I won’t be a bother to your family.”
“No, it’s fine. Friends often crash at our place, so nobody will mind.”
In fact, when they were preparing for the college entrance exam, if they studied late, Junsoo and Seong-sik would crash in the guest room without any fuss.
However, unlike his school friends Woo Seong-sik and Kim Junsoo, whether Yu-han, who had been a famous actor for over ten years since his child actor days, would be accepted by his family just like them was uncertain.
Yeon-woo took out his smartphone and called his mother.
[Yes, son.]
“Mom, a friend of mine wants to crash at our place tonight. Is the guest room clean?”
[I cleaned it thoroughly the day before yesterday before you came down. Who? Is it Junsoo?]
“No, it’s another friend. I’ll go home then.”
[Okay, sure.]
“Yu-han, shall we go home and rehearse our lines while looking at the script?”
“Oh, sounds great.”
“Then let’s use my car and leave yours here.”
With that, the two, who were more sincere about acting than anyone else, got into the car and headed to Yeon-woo’s home.
– Ding-ding. –
As they entered and opened the door, Yeon-woo’s mother wasn’t there.
“It seems she went to the market to buy ingredients for dinner.”
“I see. It’s my first time visiting a friend’s house.”
“Oh, really?”
Yeon-woo asked, but upon careful thought, he realized he had no memory of visiting a friend’s house in his past life.
No, he didn’t have friends to visit in the first place.
“Well, I don’t think I’ve visited many places either. Want me to give you a tour?”
Although the house wasn’t spacious enough for a full tour, Yeon-woo, who planned to stay for a day, guided Yu-han around here and there.
“This is my sister’s room. It might be a bit awkward to open the door without her permission. She’s quite sensitive at her age.”
“Oh, you have a sister?”
“Her name is So-hyeon. Ryu So-hyeon.”
Upon hearing the name, Jin Yu-han clapped his hands.
“Oh, I remember now. At the last awards ceremony, you mentioned that Actress Han So-hyeon has the same name.”
“She said that she has been a fan since watching our drama’s second episode. Please sign an autograph for her later.”
“Haha, really?”
At that moment, they heard the sound of the door opening, and Yeon-woo’s mother came in after returning from the market.
“Mom’s here.”
Yeon-woo went out to the entrance to greet her, accepting the market basket, and then came back in.
“Did a friend come with you? Which friend… Oh my, what a surprise.”
Yeon-woo’s mother was startled to see Jin Yu-han entering with Yeon-woo.
“Hello, Mom. This is Jin Yu-han, who’s currently filming with me.”
“Oh, I know. Of course I do.”
“Feel free to speak comfortably. I’m Yeon-woo’s friend.”
“Hoho, is that so? This lad. If a friend who’s coming over is a star like this, you should’ve told me. I would’ve bought some beef.”
Yeon-woo’s mother, being polite, greeted Jin Yu-han with a nod before lightly slapping Yeon-woo’s back.
This was the second time she hit him on the back after seeing a self-camera shot of herself in her room on a variety show since then.
“Mom, if Seong-sik or Junsoo hear about this, they’ll be jealous.”
Yeon-woo and Jin Yu-han sat on the living room sofa, deeply engrossed in their scripts, sharing interpretations, and earnestly discussing their acting, while Yeon-woo’s mother went to the kitchen to prepare fruit.
Soon, as she brought a plate full of fruit, Mrs. Lee Sun-ok stood at the entrance of the kitchen, watching her son and Jin Yu-han with tears welling up in her eyes.
‘The child who used to struggle so much and was so gloomy…’
How he had grown and changed completely filled her with boundless happiness.
“Have some while you work, boys.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
Thus, while eating fruit and earnestly rehearsing their lines and notes on the coffee table, it quickly grew dark outside.
– Ding-ding. –
As the front door opened with a clamor, his father and So-hyeon entered.
“Mom, mom! You know, I took the September mock exam today, and the teacher said… Yikes!”
As So-hyeon came in, chattering about what happened at school, she saw Jin Yu-han sitting in her living room and screamed in surprise.
“What’s with this kid suddenly screaming… Huh?”
Following behind, his father also spotted Jin Yu-han and widened his eyes.
“Hello. I’m Yeon-woo’s friend, Jin Yu-han. I’m staying over for the day.”
“Oh, I see. Nice to meet you. Oh my, you’re even more handsome than on screen.”
His father shook hands with Jin Yu-han and patted his shoulder.
After exchanging greetings with his father, Jin Yu-han glanced at his sister, Ryu So-hyeon, who was standing still behind.
“Hello? Are you So-hyeon?”
“Eek.”
With a strange scream, So-hyeon quickly darted into her room.
“Why is she acting like that? I’m sorry, Yu-han.”
“… Well, is she still in her rebellious phase?”
“Haha. No, it’s fine.”
As his father and Yeon-woo chuckled and apologized, Jin Yu-han waved it off.
As his father chatted with Jin Yu-han, expressing concern about how Yeon-woo was doing on set, it had only been about three minutes when So-hyeon’s door quietly opened, and she stepped out.