Chapter 369: Child Actor Audition for Hwaranjeon (1)

Chapter 369: Child Actor Audition for Hwaranjeon (1)

As I opened the door to the Hwaranjeon's child actor audition room on the seventh floor of MBS, I saw a wide stage about 30 meters across with seating in front of it.

The front rows were filled with child actors and their parents, while the middle and back rows were packed with representatives from entertainment companies, corporate PR teams, and entertainment reporters.

The talent agents were likely here to scout promising young talent, while the PR staff and reporters were undoubtedly present because of Yoo-Jin and Miso.

Soon after, Han Woo-Ju, Oh Bok-Hee, and Ryu Han-Joon made their way to the judges' table on stage to begin the auditions.

I also moved toward the seats where Miso was sitting.

At that moment, corporate PR staff and reporters rushed toward me as if they had been waiting for this chance.

"I'm Chief Jo Hyun-Moo from Pacific Tuna! Just give me ten minutes of your time, Mr. Jung. Please?"

"Team Lead Jung! Please let me have just one quick interview with Miss Yoo-Jin! You know I write good articles!"

"Can we do a one-on-one interview about Miso, Team Lead Jung?"

They were all clamoring for ads and articles, desperate for content.

I said, "Please don't do this and just send an official offer through the company."

"We've been trying to reach you but you never answer. That's why we came here in person. Just give us a quick response now."

"If you send your proposal by email, I'll get back to you by tomorrow."

They finally let me go only after I promised them that I would respond to them.

"Alright, Team Lead Jung. You made a promise!"

Once I was free from the PR staff and reporters, I headed over to sit next to Miso.

"Miso, have you prepared a lot?" I asked.

Miso, who had been video-calling with Yoo-Jin, turned her head toward me and responded confidently, "Yes! I practiced a lot with Mom, so I'm good!"

However, I could hear the crunching of snacks through Miso's phone's speaker.

"Miso, can you hand the phone to me for a second so I can talk to Yoo-Jin?" I asked.

Miso handed over her phone. "Here!"

On the screen, I saw Yoo-Jin lounging on the PD's office sofa while munching on chips.

"Yoo-Jin, what are you doing right now?" I asked with a poker face.

-Zero calories if it's tasty, right?

When I caught her snacking, Yoo-Jin started humming the jingle from the chips' commercial and sped up her munching.

'That chip has crazy calories!' I silently remarked.

I thought of the first script reading for Hwaranjeon next week and urgently shouted, "Yoo-Jin, a ton of reporters are going to be at the script reading next week."

As Hwaranjeon was one of MBS' most highly anticipated dramas, I had been informed that many reporters would attend the first script reading.

If Yoo-Jin wanted to avoid any embarrassing photos, she would need to start managing her image now.

At that moment, Yoo-Jin's hand froze in midair.

-Oppa? Why didn't you stop me earlier!

"I'm stopping you right now, aren't I?"

-I-I guess so.

"By the way, where's Ran-Hee? Why are you alone?"

Yoo-Jin gave me a sly grin.

-She's in the bathroom.

I shook my head. 'Ah, so she'd seized the opportunity to give in to the temptation of snacks.'

I made a mental note to hold Do Ran-Hee responsible for her lapse in supervision and double her workload as punishment.

With a disappointed expression, Yoo-Jin reluctantly put the snack down on the table.

-Don't worry. I only had a couple, like two.

"Liar. I saw at least five chips disappear into your mouth while I was watching."

Yoo-Jin averted her gaze and made an excuse.

-Oppa, it's not good to be so nitpicky.

'Just unbelievable.'

I handed the phone back to Miso since Yoo-Jin had stopped snacking.

While Miso was gaining confidence from her conversation with her mom, I turned my attention toward finding Kang Si-Ah and spotted her. 'There she is.'

Kang Si-Ah was sitting alone in the fifth right-most seat in the front row and was focused on her script.

'It's good to see you, Si-Ah,' I remarked inwardly.

Kang Si-Ah was ten years old and would become a rising star a year later in the weekend drama, Valley of Fate.

However, behind that success lay a tragic future.

Over the next six years, Kang Si-Ah would be exploited by Choi Yi-Sun, the head of ES Acting Academy, and lose 1 billion won under the guise of lesson fees and activity expenses.

I only found out about this after she was signed to Top Entertainment. However, it was too late by then. Kim Dong-Soo had strictly ordered me to stay out of it, as Choi Yi-Sun's husband was none other than Jang Hyun-Soo: a CP at MBS.

However, in this life, I had no intention of just standing by.

'I need to talk to Kang Si-Ah...' I thought.

I scanned the room to see if Choi Yi-Sun might interfere.

After a few more child actors took the stage, it was time for the most anticipated contestant. It was number 29—Yang Yi-Ji.

Nine-year-old Yang Yi-Ji's mother was top actress Lee Tae-Yeon, one of the most respected actresses in her 40s known for her remarkable acting skills.

Following in her mother's footsteps, Yang Yi-Ji had shown an early talent for acting and was regarded as a child prodigy.

In my past life, she had even landed the role of Princess Yu-Hwa, the protagonist of Hwaranjeon.

Now, Yang Yi-Ji took the stage and began portraying Princess Yu-Hwa. Her performance seamlessly conveyed both the warmth of a princess who enjoyed mingling with commoners and the elegance of a royal.

This brought smiles to the faces of Han Woo-Ju and Oh Bok-Hee.

With both Jin Gong-Ju and Yang Yi-Ji delivering outstanding performances, potential lead candidates were emerging.

Then it was finally time for contestant number 30—Miso.

Miso confidently strode onto the stage and loudly shouted, "I'm Jung Miso, number 30!"

Her bold and confident voice brought smiles to the slightly weary faces of the judges.

"Miso, which princess would you like to play?"

"I'd like to play Princess Yu-Hwa!"

Princess Yu-Hwa was the lead character of Hwaranjeon, the one role Miso had her heart set on.

Oh Bok-Hee smiled warmly and nodded. "Alright, Miso. Can you show us a scene? Scene 11, where you're playing by the stream. Is that okay?"

"Yes!"

"And could you also sing for us? Do you think you could handle that?"

"Yes! I can do it!"

Miso responded energetically as always.

"Alright, let's see it then."

"Okay! Number 30, Jung Miso! I will now begin my performance."

Miso took a deep breath and slowly began immersing herself in the character.

***

Scene 11 took place on a summer night in Seorabeol, where the three princesses—Jeong-Hwa, Yu-Hwa, and Do-Hwa—played in a stream under the watchful eyes of their attendants.

As the scene began, Miso lifted her hanbok skirt slightly just enough to reveal her feet in flower shoes.

Then she slipped off her shoes and left them on the stage as if she were actually about to step into the water.

She cautiously extended her toes forward as if testing the cold water. Miso flinched and lifted her foot slightly. Then she shook it playfully as if surprised by the cold yet full of joy.

Miso didn't make a single sound because she had to keep with the decorum of a princess, but she portrayed her delight entirely through her facial expressions.

Miso then took two more steps forward and stopped abruptly as if both her feet were now fully immersed in the cold stream, shivering in response to the cold.

After a brief pause, Miso began singing 'Seorabeol Moonlight', a song from Scene 11.

『Under the bright moon of Seorabeol...』

The song lyrics expressed a wish for the people of Seorabeol who lived where the bright moonlight shone to live happily under the benevolent king.

Han Woo-Ju had written the song in Middle Korean for the script, as the Silla-era language would have been too difficult to understand.

However, the song remained challenging even with this adjustment, because it contained archaic sounds and labialized consonants not used in modern Korean.

Yet having learned from Yoo-Jin, Miso sang each word with perfect pronunciation. Her clear and pure voice filled the audition hall.

As Miso's song echoed through the room, child actors and reporters who hadn't left were captivated and listened intently.

With that, Miso finished performing Scene 11.

Ryu Han-Joon exclaimed with praise, "Cut! Wow, that was excellent!"

Han Woo-Ju clapped enthusiastically, and Oh Bok-Hee also nodded with satisfaction.

Just as I thought Miso had secured the role of Princess Yu-Hwa, Oh Bok-Hee surprised everyone. "Miso, you were amazing. But could you try Scene 22 for us this time?"

Oh Bok-Hee requested a scene she hadn't asked of anyone else.

"Scene 22?"

Scene 22 was the first scene where the three princesses—Jeong-Hwa, Yu-Hwa, and Do-Hwa—begin to clash.

It was a heavy scene that required them to express intense anger, hatred, and jealousy.

The problem was that Miso struggled with darker emotions. As a naturally kind child, feelings like anger were foreign to her.

When asked to perform a scene that exposed her weakness, Miso hesitated for a moment.

Oh Bok-Hee asked, "How about it? Do you think you can do it?"

I was worried she might give up.

Contrary to my concerns, Miso confidently answered with a determined expression as if she was ready to break through the wall in front of her. "Yes! Number 30, Jung Miso! I will perform Scene 22!"

Just as Miso responded with confidence, Oh Bok-Hee asked her to wait a moment. "Miso. It'll be hard to evoke emotion alone, so I'll assign you some partners."

Oh Bok-Hee called on two more actors from the remaining contestants in the audience.

"Number 25, Jin Gong-Ju. Number 29, Yang Yi-Ji. Could you both join us on stage?"

It was at that moment I understood why Oh Bok-Hee had waited until now to test Scene 22. She had narrowed down the candidates and was saving this scene as the final test.

'So this is the real competition, huh?' I thought.

In my past life, such a test didn't happen as there hadn't been any child actors on par with Yang Yi-Ji. This time, both Jin Gong-Ju and Jung Miso were promising talents.

As a result, Oh Bok-Hee was putting the child actors against each other to ensure the drama's success.

This meant the outcome of the Scene 22 audition could very well change who landed the coveted roles.