Chapter 51: Script Reading (1)

Chapter 51: Script Reading (1)

It was the 15th of January 2020—the day of the first script reading for Blue Sky, which was taking place at the SBC Main Building in Room 701.

The atmosphere in the building resembled a busy and bustling marketplace.

"It’s chaotic here, isn't it? Please follow me."

Choi Eun-Hee, who was waiting for us at the entrance to the drama department, led the way.

“Mr. Jung-Hoon, hurry up and deliver this to the editing department!”

“PD Choi, what were your viewership ratings for last week’s episode?”

“Ugh, don’t even ask. I think the stress is causing me to go bald.”

Amidst the bustling activity, I caught sight of PD Choi Seong-Lak and PD Park Hu-Don. I had been familiar with these famous PDs in my past life and to see them in their early days as junior PDs was quite a sight. While they weren't on the level of Kim Sung-Woon, building a connection with them seemed like a good idea. I contemplated introducing myself, but it turned out there was no need for me to make the first move as the PDs, having spotted Yoo-Jin, approached us first.

"Miss Yoo-Jin! What do you think about making a cameo in our drama before you start filming Blue Sky?"

"Miss Yoo-Jin, how about a guest appearance in our Living Only for Today? We'll make sure to give you more screen time and promote you!"

"Hey, PD Choi, your drama's viewership rating is only at 7.5%. Why are you bringing up a drama that's barely surviving?"

"That’s rude, sunbae! It’s only natural for the viewership rating to be low in the beginning! It's going to shoot up soon.”

"Tsk. Well, if that really happens, I'll carry you on my back everywhere you go. Do better, okay?"

All of the PDs at SBC's drama department were giving Yoo-Jin a warm welcome. Highly cognizant of viewership ratings, they all expressed high appreciation for how Yoo-Jin had driven up the latter half of the viewership ratings for The Morning Takes Off.

My back was aching from all the greetings and exchanging of business cards.

“I will check her schedule and get back to you later today.” This chapter made its debut appearance via N0v3lB1n.

At that moment, Jung Sam-Ryong spotted us as he strolled down the hallway and waved at us.

“Hey, when did you get here?”

"Hello, Mr. Jung.”

"Just do as you usually do and everything will be great. Don't feel pressured.”

"Yes, sir!"

"Come with me. AD Choi, you handle things here."

"Yes, Mr. Jung," Choi Eun-Hee nodded and replied before disappearing from the scene.

We were then led by Jung Sam-Ryong to the script reading room.

***

Upon entering the script reading room, I noticed the main director's seat was empty. Kang Soo-Hoon hesitated to take his rightful place as he glanced around nervously.

Observing this, CP Jung clicked his tongue. "You want me to direct myself? You should be sitting here, PD Kang."

Jung Sam-Ryong then moved to the back row while telling Kang Soo-Hoon not to be so nervous.

Upon hearing Jun Sam-Ryong’s reassuring words, Kang Soo-Hoon scratched his head and took the main director’s seat. "Haha. Yes, Mr. Jung. I'll do my best,”

In the meantime, I guided Yoo-Jin to her assigned seat. "Yoo-Jin, you got this!"

Yoo-Jin turned to me and clenched her fists energetically.

"Of course! Don't worry."

‘Worry? What for? Just take it easy and don't overshadow your sunbaes.’

After guiding Yoo-Jin to her seat, I moved to the back row where the talent agents sat. I spotted Kang Myung-Gil—Ju Yung-In's talent agent—already seated and tapping the seat next to him, signaling for me to sit there. Though I preferred another spot, I had no choice but to sit there.

"Why are you so late? You should be more on the ball as a newbie. If the actor lacks discipline, you should at least be responsible."

He started with a complaint even before I sat down. I was exactly on time, but dealing with small conflicts like this was a part of a talent agent's job.

The story of Blue Sky was centered around two families—Sung Blue’s family, who owned ‘Blue Fish House,’ and Kim Sky’s family, who owned ‘Sky Pork Ribs’.

The script reading of Blue Sky began with the child actors.

『Ugh...』

『What’s wrong, Sky? Don’t you want a barbecue?』

『Dad, I just can't eat meat. No matter how much I try, I just can’t. I hate it. It's greasy. I feel like I'm going to throw up.』

Kim Sky's child actress puffed her cheeks with her arms crossed, looking dissatisfied. Jung Beom-Gyu, a veteran actor with 30 years of experience playing Sky's father, leaned in to match the child actor's height.

『Is that so? Then shall we go to Blue’s restaurant for sashimi?』

『Yes! And...can we invite Blue oppa and eat with him?』

『Hey! You little one. Did you refuse to eat barbecue because you wanted to see Blue? Sigh. You used to say your dad was all you need. 』

『Hehe.』

Kim Ye-Jin, who was playing the role of Young Kim Sky, giggled and playfully stuck out her tongue in response to Jung Beom-Gyu's teasing. Her charming performance would significantly contribute to the high viewership ratings of the first episode. The chemistry between the two actors brought laughter to the entire room.

Flip, flip.

The script pages began to flip at an incredible speed and it only took less than ten minutes to finish reading the first episode. This marked the transition from child to adult actors.

The moment Ju Yung-In started her lines, the atmosphere immediately shifted. She began her performance without looking at the script.

‘As expected. She hasn’t changed a bit.’

Ju Yung-In calmly looked at the other actors and read the script as if she were in an actual filming session. She seemed to be doing this simply to declare herself as the true protagonist of the drama.

This display of dominance made the other actors, who were comfortably reading their scripts just a moment ago, extremely tense.

Then, Ju Seong-Jin—who was playing the role of the main male lead, Sung Blue—stumbled over his lines several times and made a mistake. He was an actor from Ace Entertainment with five years of experience and was known for his great acting skills. Unfortunately, he was caught up in Ju Yung-In's rhythm and acting, causing him to lose focus in an attempt to match her acting by not looking at the script.

“Mr. Ju, shall we take a short break?”

“N-no, Mr. Kang. I can do this.”

“Take a deep breath. It’s fine if you need to look at your script. It seems like you haven’t fully memorized the script yet, so don’t push yourself too hard because we still have some time left until we start shooting.”

Ju Seong-Jin’s face turned red out of embarrassment at Kang Soo-Hoon’s advice. Despite Ju Seong-Jin's insistence on continuing in his attempt to make up for his mistake, his confidence was visibly shaken.

‘Getting it together right after you lose your tempo isn’t easy.’

When Ju Seong-Jin made two more mistakes, Kang Soo-Hoon decided to skip Ju Seong-Jin’s lines.

“Okay, maybe today is not the day. Let’s just move on to Scene 52.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Kang.”

If they were filming on set, the director would simply give an NG cut and suggest that the actor take a short break before resuming. However, this was a script reading where directors would often skip their lines and move on to the next scenes if the actors made a mistake.

Thanks to the reporters being in the room, Ju Seong-Jin’s confidence and ego were greatly hurt.

The chain of errors continued among the other actors, but Ju Yung-In maintained her stellar performance. It wasn't until Jung Beom-Gyu and Lee Sa-Rang, who played the role of Sky's parents, joined in that the acting rhythm began to stabilize. Their natural interaction with Ju Yung-In—laughing, crying, and scolding—made them seem like a real family.

Writer Kim Soll-Ip was visibly delighted as she watched the actors bringing her characters to life through their performances and acting as if they were actually shooting an actual scene.

Now, it was Yoo-Jin's turn to act.

The tension in the room was palpable, especially after witnessing the brilliant performances by the veteran actors. My palms started to get sweaty without realizing it.

Flip.

When Yoo-Jin, who was seated opposite Ju Yung-In, closed her script, all eyes in the room were drawn to her.

“No way. Has she also memorized the entire script?"

"We can't be complacent. These hoobaes might actually outshine us."

Yoo-Jin took a deep breath as she waited for her turn and briefly closed her eyes before opening them again.

At that moment, the atmosphere around Yoo-Jin transformed. Her gaze, posture, and expression shifted, embodying the character of Kim Twilight so completely that it felt as if the character had come to life.