A Genius Actor Appears Out of Nowhere - chapter 9
Here is the English translation for Chapter 9:
The Acting Genius Appears Suddenly
Chapter 9
“You don’t know who I am? What, are you trying to play hard to get or something?”
Director Ban Ji-woong laughed as if he found it utterly ridiculous.
Then, he naturally pulled out a cigarette and put it between his lips.
“I don’t mind that you smoke, but could you perhaps step back a bit and keep some distance?”
Even in front of Ban Ji-woong, Bong Seong-hwa showed not the slightest change in attitude.
Ban Ji-woong put the cigarette back into his pocket with a look of visible discomfort.
Standing beside them, Park Sang-hyun shifted uncomfortably, glancing back and forth between the two men.
No matter how arrogant and full of himself Park Sang-hyun might be as a genius, he still knew how to read the room and pick his moments.
Ban Ji-woong represented a future that Park Sang-hyun could only reach after stacking up more than ten years of his current career.
In other words, he was like the bright, successful future of a Park Sang-hyun who had never experienced a single failure.
And with a string of consecutive box-office hits, Ban Ji-woong’s nose was held as high as it could possibly be.
Since he was such a giant-level director, Park Sang-hyun worried that Bong Seong-hwa’s attitude might rub him the wrong way.
Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to correct Bong Seong-hwa’s behavior either.
Because that very uprightness and unbending stance were the exact reasons why he had been captivated by him in the first place.
While Park Sang-hyun was caught in a dilemma, unable to do this or that—
“Sang-hyun, off you go. I need to have a little chat with Mr. Bong Seong-hwa.”
“Ah, well…”
“Get lost, kid.”
Director Ban Ji-woong tried to dismiss Park Sang-hyun in a somewhat high-handed manner.
Even so, Park Sang-hyun stood his ground, cautiously reading the room in case an unfair situation unfolded.
Meanwhile, Director Ban Ji-woong wore a slightly puzzled expression at the fact that Park Sang-hyun was acting like this over a mere actor.
“If you have things to attend to, you may go ahead, Director Park. It seems this gentleman wants some time to speak with me one-on-one.”
However, Bong Seong-hwa seemed to treat the whole thing as no big deal.
Having a quick one-on-one chat wasn’t a difficult task anyway.
He was just displaying a simple response—that he would just go and have a brief conversation.
“…Understood for now. Please contact me when you’re done talking. I’ll come pick you up.”
“If you just give me the address, I can head there myself.”
“……Well, yes. Whatever happens, I’ll get in touch. Have a good conversation.”
Park Sang-hyun took hesitant steps away.
Afterward, only two people, Ban Ji-woong and Bong Seong-hwa, remained on set.
For some reason, it turned into a scene where they stood side by side glaring at each other.
To be precise, only Ban Ji-woong was glaring, while Bong Seong-hwa was simply looking at him.
“You seem to have quite a stubborn streak?”
“Ah, do I? I suppose I’m not entirely without one.”
“You’re preparing to be an actor?”
“Yes. I’m in the middle of preparing. Today was my first day of filming.”
“Starting your very first project with Park Sang-hyun. You’re lucky. If it’s his work, your name should circulate in the industry at least.”
“Ah, that might be true.”
“……”
Ban Ji-woong looked at Bong Seong-hwa with a cold gaze.
Aspiring actors who spoke with him—
No, even professional actors who had already gained fame—usually bowed down completely before him.
Yet, Bong Seong-hwa showed no sign of that whatsoever.
He was merely conversing because he was asked to talk.
It almost felt as though Bong Seong-hwa was doing him a favor by playing along.
Even when given the good news that starring in Park Sang-hyun’s project meant his name would circulate in the industry, he spoke in a tone as if it didn’t really matter whether his name circulated or not.
Whether he lacked ambition for success, was overconfident in his own skills, or was seeing a future alone that others couldn’t see… Ban Ji-woong found his needlessly relaxed composure irritating.
“You two are already having a chat?”
CEO Cha Yun-jin approached between the two, who were radiating a freezing chill.
“His mask is great, isn’t it? Actor Bong’s.”
“Yeah. But well, good masks are dime a dozen in this business.”
“Oh, come on, Director Ban. Look again. A face as good as this isn’t that common.”
“What’s the point of having a good mask? A person needs to have some manners first.”
Cha Yun-jin internally thought, ‘You’re talking about manners?’ but swallowed her words and continued.
“Is Actor Bong that type of person? Actor Bong, are you a bit of the proud type?”
Since the atmosphere between the two looked grim, she stepped in directly to try and break the ice.
In fact, the meeting between Ban Ji-woong and Bong Seong-hwa needed to move in a direction beneficial to her, but it wasn’t moving in a beneficial direction at all.
“I’m not sure about being proud, but I don’t think I am. I was the favorite staff member among the elderly at the nursing home, after all.”
“A nursing home?”
“What kind of random nonsense is that now?”
“Ah, I worked at a nursing home before coming up to Seoul.”
“Oh.”
Cha Yun-jin thought to herself that it wasn’t a bad background.
It was a good story angle to leverage for topic-building when appearing on variety shows or doing promotional press.
However, that wasn’t what was important right now.
The key was to thaw the rigid atmosphere between these two.
Bong Seong-hwa didn’t particularly seem to be trying to pick a fight, but Ban Ji-woong seemed annoyed by the rookie’s unyielding attitude even toward someone like himself.
“Then shouldn’t you have just kept working at the nursing home? Why come up to Seoul saying you want to be an actor?”
“I came up because something I want to do through acting came to mind.”
“And what is that?”
“I plan to show that through my acting little by little. It seems a bit difficult to explain in words.”
“Ha, wow. What an interesting character.”
“Sh-Should we head somewhere with a nice ambiance to talk instead?”
Seeing the conversation continuously running on parallel tracks without closing the gap, Cha Yun-jin tried to change the location.
Ban Ji-woong seemed to want a rookie to bow down low and grin meekly like a proper beginner, but Bong Seong-hwa was treating him no differently than he treated anyone else.
Given Director Ban’s personality, the conversation wouldn’t flow smoothly like this.
And if the conversation didn’t flow well, it would be a complete failure for Cha Yun-jin.
“Director Ban needs to see Actor Bong’s acting a bit, and it’s not a bad thing for Actor Bong to have a meeting with Director Ban either.”
There were two reasons why she brought these two together.
First:
To bestow a favor upon Bong Seong-hwa and make him favorable toward Cha Entertainment.
Their first meeting wasn’t exactly great, to be honest.
Because it had started with Kang Woo-joo’s temper tantrum.
To make up for that, Cha Entertainment needed to offer good terms first.
However, recklessly shoving a contract in his face from the start wouldn’t work, so she was trying to set the mood first.
For that good mood, Cha Yun-jin had brought out her trump card: Director Ban Ji-woong.
Because for an unknown actor, there was no better situation to build a good atmosphere than giving him a chance to meet and work with a famous director.
And second:
To maintain a good relationship with Director Ban Ji-woong as well.
Originally, Kang Woo-joo had been slated to star in Director Ban Ji-woong’s next project.
However, after getting battered by the public over the drug incident, Director Ban Ji-woong’s production company sent a notice of contract termination on the very day the story broke.
At this rate, even her connection with Director Ban Ji-woong was about to end on bad terms.
So Cha Yun-jin had played a move.
Since Director Ban Ji-woong was a director who cared strictly about acting ability rather than fame or public recognition anyway, introducing Bong Seong-hwa would help her score points with him.
In short, it was an innovative idea that could resolve two crisis situations at once.
Of course, this chilly standoff hadn’t been part of her plan.
Thus, these two needed to form a friendly relationship with each other and achieve a good synergy.
Only then could CEO Cha Yun-jin reap both of the benefits she desired.
“I know a really fantastic French place nearby. I’ve already made a reservation, so you just need to go and enjoy the meal.”
Nothing softens the atmosphere quite like good food.
She tried to settle things there, but—
“Well. I don’t feel like working with someone who lacks basic courtesy like this. See you next time, CEO Cha.”
Ban Ji-woong’s mind had already checked out.
He stomped over to his vehicle and slammed hard on the accelerator.
VrooOOOooom—!
The flashy car sped away, letting out a boisterous exhaust roar.
Only Cha Yun-jin and Bong Seong-hwa remained on set.
Since things had turned out like this, Cha Yun-jin figured she should at least secure Bong Seong-hwa, but—
“Director Park. The conversation is over now. Where is the meat restaurant?”
Bong Seong-hwa had already contacted Director Park Sang-hyun and decided on his next destination.
“I’ll be taking my leave then. I have a team dinner to attend.”
“……That team dinner is being paid for with my money, you know?”
“Then would you like to join us, CEO?”
“……”
Getting an actor hooked at a noisy, bustling meat restaurant was the last thing she wanted to do, but…
Given the circumstances, she had no choice.
After all, she was the one who had fallen for an unknown actor with nothing to his name.
“Let’s go, Actor Bong.”
“Would you like to go in my car?”
“My car would be much better, obviously.”
Of course, she wanted to decline riding in a vehicle that looked older than Bong Seong-hwa himself.
“Ugh, seriously, it’s jammed like crazy.”
Beep— Beep—
The tightly packed evening Seoul roads.
Ban Ji-woong honked his horn irritably.
However, no matter how much he honked, the car ahead couldn’t drive any faster.
When the traffic was backed up all the way from the intersection far ahead, what kind of trick could the car right in front of him possibly pull to move?
Fortunately, the traffic light at the intersection changed, and cars began to move one by one.
If he could just pass this intersection, he would enter a section with relatively less traffic, but—
“Argh! Fck! Ugh, seriously!”
BEEEEEP—!
Only the car right in front barely squeezed through the intersection on the amber light.
Ban Ji-woong’s car came to a dead stop right in front of the stop line.
If the car ahead had started just a second faster, he could have made it through too.
It was a razor-thin margin.
No matter how high and mighty he flew in the film industry, in front of traffic signals, he was merely the driver of a single vehicle.
Driver #1, who had to stop at a red light and go on a green light.
He irritably pulled out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and struck his lighter.
He was already sensitive because Kang Woo-joo’s departure left a void in his project.
It felt as if nothing was cooperating with him.
“That kid Kang Woo-joo had a rotten personality, but his acting was good, though.”
Siiip— Pheeew.
He mumbled, exhaling a long plume of smoke.
As nicotine entered his system, his reason returned, and with a somewhat calmed mind, he reviewed everything that had happened so far.
“……Bong Seong-hwa. His mask was good.”
Though he was annoyed by the unbending attitude, there were points he couldn’t deny.
CEO Cha Yun-jin’s eye for talent was certainly remarkable.
He was the best among the actors he had seen recently—no, in quite a long time.
On top of that, his face was perhaps an even better fit for the role Kang Woo-joo had flunked out of.
“His voice was good, too……”
That wasn’t all.
An actor’s skill can be gauged even without them starting to act.
Whether it was natural vocalization or something he had learned, his sound was clean and solid.
It sounded that way even in a noisy environment, so the sound coming through a microphone would be even better.
“……He’s the type that’s hard to be bad at acting.”
Park Sang-hyun giving a lead role to an unknown actor who popped out of nowhere?
That didn’t make sense either.
Ban Ji-woong knew the character that was Park Sang-hyun.
Because he was the same type of person.
People of their type could tolerate a lack of manners, but they couldn’t stand a lack of skill.
Just then, traffic was still blocked.
Just then, the U-turn lane was completely empty.
Just then, the pedestrian signal turned green.
“Haah. So annoying.”
Feeling as though someone was pushing him by the back to turn around and look again, Ban Ji-woong ultimately turned the steering wheel.
“Let’s take one more look.”
His face was too good to just glance at once and let go.
Park Sang-hyun wondered what on earth was going on.
CEO Cha Yun-jin coming to a meat restaurant and giving one-on-one mentoring to his juniors…
She was someone considered a giant in the industry.
Yet she was drawing out roadmaps for the future of his juniors, who were mere aspiring actors.
Of course, she didn’t bring up any contract proposals at all.
Still, it genuinely felt as though she were cheering for his juniors’ futures.
“I heard CEO Cha Yun-jin used to be an actress in the past. I guess it’s true.”
“She definitely has a face for it.”
“That’s true.”
Lee Yu-jun and Park Sang-hyun shoved meat into their mouths as they held this conversation.
Though the team dinner wasn’t the most comfortable setting because of Cha Yun-jin’s presence, the meat tasted great.
Besides, since she was the one buying the meat, there was nothing to complain about.
If not for CEO Cha Yun-jin, they would have been eating cheap pork belly near the university right now.
“Is the meat good, Actor?”
Just then, CEO Cha Yun-jin moved over to the table where Bong Seong-hwa was sitting.
Bong Seong-hwa was sitting at the same table as Park Sang-hyun and Lee Yu-jun, eating meat.
Because of that, only Park Sang-hyun and Lee Yu-jun felt a little uncomfortable.
“Yes. It’s delicious. It’s been a while since I had Hanwoo beef, and I think there’s a reason it’s expensive.”
He meant it sincerely.
A nursing home employee’s salary was not that high, and because most of it was spent elsewhere, Bong Seong-hwa was always short on money.
This was the first time in almost five years that he was eating Hanwoo beef.
“Next time, let’s meet privately instead of a setting where everyone is around.”
“Do you have business with me?”
“Well, rather than business, buying meals for juniors in the industry is one of my few pleasures in life.”
Park Sang-hyun and Lee Yu-jun quietly admired Cha Yun-jin’s attitude as she tried her best to leave a good impression on Bong Seong-hwa.
‘So that’s the attitude of the top management in the industry. As expected.’
‘She doesn’t need to take such a humble stance, yet she’s amazing…’
Around the time the team dinner was winding down to an end—
Rattlle—
The sliding door of the restaurant hall opened, and a man appeared.
“Uh?”
“It’s Director Ban Ji-woong.”
“Woah.”
“Gasp!”
Director Ban Ji-woong, who they thought had left, made a reappearance.
“Argh, the smoke! Cough!”
As if annoyed, he waved away the smoke from the meat with his palm and strode forward.
“Sang-hyun.”
“……? Yes?”
“Show me a few of Actor Bong Seong-hwa’s footage clips.”
Then, in a high-handed manner, he demanded that Park Sang-hyun show him the footage.
Even for a successful director, it was a demand that bordered on an overreach of authority.
However, Park Sang-hyun realized it.
He might be asking to see Bong Seong-hwa’s acting to cast him in his own project.
If so, he was more than willing to show him.
Because working with Director Ban Ji-woong as an actor would be a beyond splendid mass-media debut.
“Ah, just a moment, Director. There are a few if I access the cloud……”
Even though his pride might take a hit, he was about to happily show the footage, but—
“Director Park. What are you doing?”
“……Pardon?”
“You don’t need to go that far.”
“……Because it seems Director Ban might cast you, Actor Bong, so I’m just……”
“Then he can just ask me to act for him. There’s no need to demand to see work-in-progress footage in the middle.”
Bong Seong-hwa continued, looking directly at Ban Ji-woong.
“Are you always this rude, Director Ban?”
Those were hardly appropriate words to utter to one of the hottest directors currently in the industry.
“Ha! How amusing.”
Ban Ji-woong glared at Bong Seong-hwa as if his temper had flared up at that attitude.
“Then go ahead and do it. Act. If it’s mediocre, I won’t waste my time and can just leave.”
In a situation like this, even if told to act, could someone actually do it?
“Yes. Give me a script first.”
However, Bong Seong-hwa did not back down.
“Do a free monologue. Anything.”
“Sure, then.”
Bong Seong-hwa stood up from his seat and walked right out the door of the meat restaurant hall.
“……What is he doing?”
“Did he just go home because he got mad?”
Around the time opinions formed that he had simply gone home out of anger given the situation—
Rattlle—
Bong Seong-hwa reappeared, and then—
“Argh, the smoke! Cough!”
“……?”
“……Uh?”
“Sang-hyun. Show me a few of Actor Bong Seong-hwa’s footage clips.”
He began to act.
Impersonating Ban Ji-woong’s exact actions from just one minute ago.