Clack-clack, clack-clack-clack—
"Part 6 is easier than I thought."
It's been a bit too much until now. What was that about the Purple Girls' dance practice room?
For the first time in a long while, I would be able to finish writing without any interruptions...
Thud—
At that moment, someone placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at my laptop.
"Part 6 already? Wow, you're incredibly fast."
I turned my head to see who it was. It was Ji Seongho.
"Seongho-ssi, what brings you here?"
"Ah, Manager Jung was looking for you, so I came over."
"For me?"
"Yes."
"Just a moment, after I finish writing up to Part 6..."
At that moment, the system suddenly activated.
Ding-dong—
[An actor with 87% compatibility with the role has been discovered.] [Do you want to register this actor for the role of 'Seo Hyungmin'? (Y/N)]
No, it hasn't reacted until now, so why today of all days?Besides, Ji Seongho is already the sub-male lead, so what is this?
"Contact... so that's it."
"Pardon?"
Swish—
Hearing my words, Ji Seongho quickly removed his hand.
"Thanks to you, I've learned something."
"Wh-what did you learn?"
"It's nothing."
It seems to have activated after about 5 seconds of contact.
If it had been a woman instead of a man, the difficulty would have been five times higher.
I immediately thought of the answer 'YES' within the system.
[This actor will be registered for the role of 'Seo Hyungmin'.] [At the current tier, a registered actor cannot be changed again.]
I ignored Ji Seongho and checked the remaining time with the system. Now, there were 2 hours left.
I tried to replay the drama in my head from the beginning again.
'...What is this.'
The entire content of the drama was still the same, but one thing had changed.
The sub-male lead's face now matched Ji Seongho's.
My goodness.
The more I see of this ability called the system, the more surprising it gets.
"Ji Seongho-ssi, could you go on ahead?"
"Huh? You're on the 100th scene, so you're almost done. I'll just wait..."
"No. I'm going to scrap it and start over from the beginning."
"Ah, ah... Yes, sir. Writer-nim."
I'll have to revise the scenes featuring Ji Seongho during the remaining time.
Looking at it now, it wasn't just his face that had changed.
Before, it said 87% compatibility, but now it felt like it had finally changed to 100%.
Ji Seongho's usual actions and speech patterns now precisely overlapped with the sub-male lead.
"It would have been nice if it had told me about this function sooner."
If I had known from Part 1, the quality would have been better.
What an unfriendly system.
Clack-clack, clack-clack-clack—
Just as I was about to use up nearly all of the two hours.
Manager Jung Saerom was sitting in the seat in front of me as I stretched.
"Hyaaawn, when did you get here?"
"About 10 minutes ago. It's nice to see you so focused."
The way she smiled slightly was as good as any actress.
Among all the working people I know, she's truly the best. Whether in ability or looks.
"I came to talk for a moment. Do you have time?"
"I'm almost done. Just 10 more minutes."
"Take your time. I brought some work to do as well."
Flutter—
Jung Saerom grinned, waving a few sheets of A4 paper.
Why has she suddenly become so nice? Does she have something up her sleeve?
'Hmm...'
A moment later, exactly 15 minutes later, I spoke to her.
"Manager Jung, I've finished Part 6. Should I send it to you?"
"You're really fast, Writer Kim."
"Well, that's because the gods are helping me."
"What? Are you religious?"
"I am. It's a cult."
"Ah, ah..."
It was a joke, but she believed it.
I couldn't tell if her faith in me was strong, or non-existent.
"Not a pseudo-religion, a cyber-religion. The System Cult..."
"...?"
"It's a one-person order. I'm the leader and the follower."
"Umm..."
Her reaction is colder than I expected.
Maybe it's because there are so many real cults.
Soon after, I logged into my PC messenger and sent Saerom a message.
Tiring—
"I sent Part 6 via message. Please take a look."
"Ah, yes. Just a moment."
I feel like a child getting his homework checked by a teacher.
It's not uncommon for a writer to get their homework checked by a production company.
But since this version has been revised for Ji Seongho's role, wouldn't it be a little different?
"Wr-Writer-nim, something has changed."
"What has changed?"
It was the reaction I had expected, so a smile escaped my lips.
Pretending not to know, I observed her reaction.
"The role of Seo Hyungmin... it suits our Seongho so well!"
"Ah, is that so."
"Yes!!! Didn't you feel it while writing? This is completely...!"
Manager Jung, in the middle of speaking, quickly came to her senses and cleared her throat a couple of times.
"Ahem, anyway, this is very good right now."
"Me too."
Soon, I asked her the reason for her visit.
"Ah, but the reason you came all this way, Manager Jung..."
"It's about the audition."
The time has come.
I had just informed Im Jaejun about the audition via message.
But I felt so guilty that I couldn't bring myself to call him.
"Please continue."
"You said before that the main male lead would be a rookie, right?"
"Yes, I did."
"Then why did you suddenly change it to an audition?"
"..."
"We feel that we need to know the direction of the audition before proceeding."
For a moment, I felt Manager Jung's gaze shoot at me sharply.
It must be my imagination that it sounded like she was telling me to confess the truth.
"Actually, there was an actor I had in mind from the beginning."
"Then why on earth the audition..."
"What do you think people would say if a rookie actor was suddenly chosen for a lead role in a drama?"
"..."
"It's better since he's a male actor, but I don't think it's much different."
Corruption, sponsors, connections, family background.
Various speculations and criticisms would be directed at Im Jaejun and the drama.
"Let's conduct the audition on a small scale."
"A private audition..."
"Yes. We'll proceed with just a few actors with some name recognition."
"Are you asking me to commit fraud right now...!"
"No. Absolutely not!"
"Then?"
"I think you've misunderstood my intentions..."
I am certain. Whether it's a public or private audition, the result will be the same.
Im Jaejun will be chosen anyway, so it's a waste for the production company to spend unnecessary money on an audition.
"Please evaluate him fairly."
"What?"
"If the reason for his failure is reasonable, I will accept it."
"..."
"Please choose the person who best suits the role of the pure-hearted macho. That's all I ask."
They say a drama follows its title.
The pure-hearted macho protagonist can't be without his pure-hearted macho-ness.
I finished what I had to say and stood up from my seat.
Scrape—
But, the moment I stood up, someone came to mind.
A woman serving customers with a smiling face just 10 meters away.
"Excuse me, Manager Jung."
"Yes."
"That cafe employee, Ms. Kim Hyunji."
"What? So suddenly?"
"She has talent as an actress. You should develop her."
"That's so random..."
"If you don't want to, that's fine."
I gave a light bow to Manager Jung Saerom and left the cafe.
When I glanced back, her gaze was fixed on the cafe employee.
"Please raise her well. She's the actress for my next project."
As soon as I arrived home, I tried to organize the system's abilities.
Seeing a specific actor makes a work come to mind.
An unassigned actor can be registered through 5 seconds of contact.
At the current tier, two works cannot be written simultaneously.
At the current tier, a registered actor cannot be changed.
"In other words..."
It meant that if I raised my tier, I could write two works at once or even change actors.
I don't know if that will be at the next tier or the one after that.
But later on, I might not have to be so hung up on just Im Jaejun or Semi like I am now.
"This is such a cheat."
Right now, it's hard to imagine my drama without those two.
But the system would probably just show me a new drama that fits a new actor anyway.
"The drama's content changed just today."
It probably would have been similar even if I had registered an actor other than Ji Seongho.
Doesn't that mean I can replace even the main characters at will?
"I should raise my tier as soon as I earn money."
I don't know what tier I need to be to change actors.
But insisting on only rookie actors like I am now is too big of a constraint.
No, if it were a top actor instead of a rookie, it would be an even bigger problem.
Most top stars already have packed schedules.
Casting people like Chungmuro's top stars or Hallyu actors would be much more difficult.
Perhaps because I had been thinking about the system for a while.
As always, when I finish one part, the writing location for the next part is revealed.
Ding-dong—
However, this time, the reason for the selection was not easily understandable.
[Content: The Chaebol Heir is a Pure-hearted Macho, Part 7]
[Genre: Romance, Chaebol]
[Location: Baengnokdam, Hallasan Mountain]
[Time Limit: 2 days]
[※ Bronze Promotion: 110-110101-1011(Virtual Account, W Bank)]
[※ Deposit Amount: 0 won / 10,000,000 won]
Sudden hiking mood?
"Are you crazy?"
I found myself asking the system a question.
It feels like it's about to say, 'No, I'm not.'
But, I can understand going to Jeju Island, but Hallasan is too random.
"Wait a minute."
Could this be related to Ji Seongho? I just registered him today.
I immediately went to Grass-leaf Wiki and searched for Ji Seongho.
「Hobbies: Reading, Watching movies, Hiking」
No, fuck. If this is how it works, who doesn't have hiking as a hobby?
It's sending me up a mountain based on a copy-pasted list of the top 3 Korean hobbies.
I had thought I might go to Jeju Island someday.
But to tell me to go to Jeju so suddenly like this.
"I have to go."
I wonder how much plane tickets cost these days.
2 weeks later,
"Manager-nim, only one person has applied for the audition through unofficial channels."
"Good work, Team Leader Gam."
Saerom immediately opened the report her employee handed her.
A one-page resume neatly processed in a file for approval.
"Im Jaejun..."
Since it was a private audition, one had to know inside information to apply.
He couldn't be an employee of Tempest Entertainment, so it must have been Writer Kim Jinwoo.
"Team Leader Gam, is this person that good at acting?"
"Yes. His acting is good, but more than that, he was such a good fit for this role. Like it was his own clothes."
"Is that so?"
First Semi, and now him; how did Writer Kim recognize their potential?
He was just an aspiring actor, embarrassing to even be called a rookie.
"Shall I bring the video evaluation data for actor Im Jaejun?"
"No. We'll be seeing him in person today anyway."
After the final audition today, the main male lead would finally be confirmed.
The representatives from the broadcasting station, including Director Sung Kihoon, and the production company, including herself.
Of course, Writer Kim Jinwoo should also be included, but he had been out of contact for two weeks.
Suddenly, another actor he had recommended came to mind.
"Have we signed actress Kim Hyunji?"
"Yes. We signed her with the best treatment for a rookie."
"Good work."
"Manager-nim, how on earth did you discover such a talent?"
"Is she that... amazing?"
In terms of casting actors, Team Leader Gam was more of an expert than Jung Saerom.
Just looking at this audition, he was an employee who had worked harder than anyone.
"Her acting skills aside, actress Kim Hyunji has her own unique aura."
"Ah, um..."
"That's not something you can get through practice."
"Right. Once today's audition is over, take a two-day vacation."
"Oh no, that's alright. I do this work because I like it."
Saerom saw off the departing Team Leader Gam with a smile.
A key figure who was indispensable in the so-called Jung Saerom Division.
Besides Team Leader Gam, the talents led by Manager Jung were all top-class in the industry.
"If I can just make Writer Kim my person, I'll have nothing more to wish for."
A talent with great skills as a writer and as a casting director.
Just as she was contemplating whether to offer an exclusive contract with improved conditions again.
Bzzzzt—
At that very moment, Saerom's smartphone vibrated.
It was a contact registered as 'CEO-nim'.
"Yes, CEO-nim."
-It's your uncle today.
"Ah, yes. What is it, uncle?"
-Your brother said to have a family dinner today.
A father who conveys a dinner invitation for his daughter through his younger brother.
However, Saerom showed a hint of discomfort.
"You know what my relationship with my father is like."
-The company is struggling these days.
"...Are you the CEO right now? Or my uncle?"
-The CEO.
"..."
The CEO of Tempest, Jung Kitae, continued to cling to Saerom.
-Please, do me a favor. Niece. No, Manager Jung.
"Hah, fine. I'll go after the audition is over."
-How much can you even earn with that drama that you're working so hard.
"...That's not something for you to say, CEO-nim."
-A killer movie scenario just came in recently...
"I'm hanging up."
Click.
Her mood sank at the thought of having to see her father's face.
Their relationship had cooled rapidly after her mother passed away.
"No, but still..."
Saerom took out her frustration on an unrelated matter.
"What am I supposed to do if Writer Kim Jinwoo is out of contact for two weeks!"