***
"Ugh, I can't stand it anymore! Hey, Park Eun-Bin. Yes, you! You better start acting properly. Are you messing up on purpose to fuck me over?"
Choi Eun-Yung's sharp voice echoed throughout the set, startling the staff to the point where they stopped their work.
Given how awkward Park Eun-Bin's acting was, Choi Eun-Yung couldn't hold back anymore and exploded in frustration.
From the second floor of the set where she had been waiting for her turn to shoot, Yoo-Jin poked her head out of the window like a mole. After assessing the situation, Yoo-Jin gestured toward me to ask when it was her turn to start acting. She also placed both hands on her cheeks to tell me she might fall asleep because the waiting time was too long.
When I formed an X with my index fingers, Yoo-Jin curiously tilted her head. What I meant to tell her was that she might not be able to shoot today, but it didn't seem like she understood what my gesture meant.
In 2029, talent agents and actors could easily communicate on set through wireless microphones and in-ear headphones. But it was still 2019 here.
'What a shame that they lack technology.'
At that moment, the atmosphere of the set suddenly changed when Park Eun-Bin retorted with irritation.
"I did make a few mistakes in the beginning, but I did it right this time."
The atmosphere on set turned tense with Park Eun-Bin's remark.
Despite having a five-year career as an idol, Park Eun-Bin was only ten months into her acting career. Yet, she was leveraging her popularity as a girl group idol to confront her senior who was a far more experienced lead actress.
I felt the strong urge to sell the video being filmed right now to Jang Moon Ki, the reporter of Weekly Stars.
'Oh man. This is huge.'
"Miss Eun-Yung, stop it."
"Gosh, many people are watching. Hey, AD Jung, stop them!"
"Miss Eun-Bin, please don't do this. Your fans are watching…"
The staff tried to intervene in their argument, but Choi Eun-Yung didn't seem to have any intention of backing down.
"This is ridiculous. Who said you can act all high and mighty on set, huh? Does this script look like a joke to you, huh?"
As Choi Eun-Yung shook the script and glared, Park Eun-Bin opened the script and read her lines out loud.
Indeed, she was no easy opponent. She simply recited her lines without apologizing.
"...See? I did it right."
Choi Eun-Yung was shocked.
"Seriously? That's how you interpreted this line?"
"Yes. This is how I interpreted it."
"Unbelievable. If you suck at acting, at least be humble. And how dare you talk back to your sunbae like that?"
As their argument went on, Park Doo-Shik intervened as if he couldn't bear watching the fight anymore.
"Miss Eun-Yung, Miss Eun-Bin. What are the two of you doing right now? There are many people watching!"
At that moment, Park Eun-Bin started shedding tears as if she had been waiting for Park Doo-Shik to say so.
'Being able to cry when things are going against you is a talent.'
I couldn't understand why she was so bad at acting out the script when she had the ability to shed crocodile tears whenever she wanted.
'Can't she act out her role properly since she is so good at being fake in real life?'
"I'm sorry, Mr. Park. I just can't do it right since the script suddenly changed. Sob."
Tears fell like a waterfall from Park Eun-Bin's eyes and ruined her makeup.
Park Doo-Shik was perplexed, Choi Eun-Yung frowned, Petite Angels murmured in the back, and chaos filled the set.
'Yep. I'm certainly back.'
Looking at the chaos, it felt like I had really returned to the entertainment industry. If I hadn't been worried about the issue of the viewership rating not changing in the planner, this would be an entertaining situation to watch with some popcorn.
Staff members intervened, and Choi Eun-Yung decided to take a short break and left the set.
In the meantime, instead of consoling Park Eun-Bin, Ma Dong-Pal approached Park Doo-Shik and started a serious conversation. The moment I saw him talking to Park Doo-Shik, it became evident to me why the planner hadn't changed—they were trying to revert the script.
Ma Dong-Pal was undoubtedly trying to persuade Park Doo-Shik to change the script back to the original version. The excuse Park Eun-Bin gave, saying she couldn't act because the script had changed, was just a ploy to change the script back to the original version.
'So this was it?'
Thanks to Lee Ji-Yeon's script revision, it seemed like a protest was unfolding on the set. The expressions on Ma Dong-Pal and Park Doo-Shik's faces became brighter as their conversation continued. Their camaraderie made it seem as though they were close childhood friends who had grown up together.
But even if they reverted the script to the original version, there was no reason for me to be scared. This was because I had already sent the video recording of the entire situation via KkTalk.
'Ma Dong-Pal and Park Eun-Bin. Do you really think things will go your way?'
"Let's see how this turns out, Ma Dong-Pal and Park Eun-Bin. Park Doo-Shik, you too."
***
"So please, Mr. Park. I'm begging you. I'll triple the compensation that we promised."
Park Doo-Shik's eyes widened at Ma Dong-Pal's offer to triple the under-the-table money for featuring Park Eun-Bin.
Tripling the amount would be sufficient to take on any risk.
"But opposing Lee Ji-Yeon isn't easy…"
"Oh, come on. Why is everyone so scared of that writer? I told you. My company will take care of her. Since when did the great producer Park Doo-Shik become such a coward?"
Park Doo-Shik frowned at Ma Dong-Pal's words. He knew better than anyone that Lee Ji-Yeon wasn't the type to be swayed by others. But because of his pride as a producer, he couldn't bring himself to admit it.
"Hey, that's rude."
"Sorry. Anyway, let's cancel the new script sent by Lee Ji-Yeon and use the original version. You know Eun-Bin's acting skills, don't you? It's obvious she can't handle the changed script with her level of acting. Do you really want to proceed and watch her ruin everything?"
"If you knew how terrible her acting is, you should have made her practice before letting her on set. Why would you…no, nevermind. Let's not talk about it."
Seeing Ma Dong-Pal frown, Park Doo-Shik quickly shut his mouth.
"Alright, Mr. Ma. I'll handle it, so you can go now."
"Thank you so much. And tonight…let's have a drink at Rose Blanc. I'll prepare the full course."
"Well, there's no need for that. But if you insist…I guess it would be rude of me to decline."
Unaware of what was soon to come, Park Doo-Shik's face lit up at the invitation to an extravagant time at Rose Blanc, a hostess bar for the top 1%.