Life, Once Again!

Chapter 883. Sequence 14

“Good work. You’re borrowing one of our boys, so you should do at least that much. Even if you say that you’re doing your piece and not someone else’s, it’s not bad to receive attention. Alright, let’s have a meal together sometime. I also have some things I want to ask about the film.”

Junmin hung up the call he got from Joongjin. Even though it must have been a bothersome request, he accepted it readily. He even sounded rather delighted.

Junmin put down his phone on the table. A bulldog lingered around his feet as though it wasn’t satisfied with the fact that he hadn’t played with it for a while. He picked up a ball and threw it out into the garden. The bulldog rushed towards the well-mowed grass, followed by several other dogs. Junmin quietly looked at the dogs who were all gunning for the ball. After a bout, the victor came back with the ball in its mouth. It was neither big nor strong, but it was smart. It snuck its snout in at the crucial time and snatched the ball away. Junmin gave a piece of dog gum to the dog who came back with the ball. Ultimately, only one dog could get the prize.

There were many actors with potential. Ultimately, the problem came down to whether he or she was given a place to blossom or not. Junmin had the confidence to scatter the seeds in fertile lands. It was entirely up to the seed which flower it would bloom, but he did well when it came to protecting it before it got trampled on.

The dogs that came late all got into a fuss wanting snacks. Junmin gave up and went to the kitchen to get more snacks. Sometimes, handling dogs was harder than handling people.

“Today, luck is on his side.”

When he heard that the shoot was around RBS, he was convinced that the goddess of luck stood behind Maru. The sister of that same goddess was going to visit the studio soon. He wasn’t the type to let his food get taken away because of cautiousness, so there was no need to worry about that. In fact, he was worried about the other guests who might get swept up in Maru’s pace and talking skills. If it was someone who knew how to find opportunities, they would be able to get a ride on Maru’s speech skills and have an easy time talking, but if there was someone who tried to win against him, they would have a tough time.

“Yes, sir. I’ll visit you soon.”

Junmin scanned the dogs who tired themselves out before standing up.

* * *

“We’ll resume the shoot.”

Younghoon let go of the straw in his mouth. The shoot, which he expected to be difficult, went quite smoothly thanks to an unexpected talent. The intuition he got from Han Maru before the shoot was not wrong. When he gave one, he would get two back, so there was no better guest than someone like this. He even knew when to butt in and when to leave. He stopped talking about stories that may sound boring, and he provided cover fire when it was time to add some vitality to the show.

Choi Jeonghee benefitted the most from him. She watched the guests with a seductive smile and seemed to have realized who the main character was today. When Maru spoke, she reacted and even asked him a few questions, to which Maru would reply delightfully, which made her shine in the process. The two shared a banter they didn’t agree to do beforehand, so the only thing he had to do was just applaud from the side.

“Maru, your connections are amazing.”

“Well, it’s all a coincidence.”

“Connections are the same as assets in this industry. I think that you’ll definitely rise to the top.”

“Having you tell me that feels like I’m already halfway there.”

After the conversation, Maru went to the other side of the table and sat down. During break time, Maru approached everyone first and discussed how he was going to call everyone. Younghoon also liked the fact that he did not hesitate to approach them and just treated them comfortably without much thinking. Although TV shows usually focused on skilled people even if they might be a little shy, it was natural for a proactive person like Maru to be more eye-catching. As for his skills, it was as good as proven since he was acknowledged by Yoon Moonjoong.

He also belonged to JA, which was known to be hard to get into, so it was better to see Maru as someone who was already on the path to success.

During the intro, Younghoon thought that he was just a rookie who just prepared one big impact and had no substance, but during the phone interview with Park Joongjin, he proved that his speaking skills were not ordinary. He asked both questions that the viewers might be curious about as well as questions to proceed on with the show, and Younghoon almost ended up blurting out ‘that’s my boy’ from the side. At the end of the interview, Park Joongjin said that he was going to start shooting a film soon and that he had selected Maru as the main character, along with the words that this was news that he had not announced anywhere else yet. He could still clearly remember producer Kang looking like he was overjoyed to death after the interview. As long as they could make the teaser well, increasing the viewing rate was going to be easy.

He read what the writer added to the script as he started the shoot. The promising talent Yoo Jihyuk, and the one they originally planned to push, Park Hamin, did not do anything after the phone interview as though they ran out of battery. It might be that they couldn’t do anything. After all, the talk was centered around Maru. Distributing screentime was the host’s job, so he was looking for opportunities, but if the people in question lacked enthusiasm, he couldn’t hand over the microphone to them. To feed someone, that someone had to have their mouth open.

“I think I should talk about it here: Why did I become popular? The four of you received just as much attention as the lead characters from your respective dramas, right?”

“Hyuktae, you’re making it obvious that you’re reading from a script. Even if it’s written like that, you should say it in your own words.”

“Just wait a second. I’ll change it into my own words soon enough.”

“Just send me an email when you decide to do so.”

The boy who was too stiff to even read the script five years ago was now capable of retorting back. It meant that time had definitely passed. Younghoon stayed silent so that Hyuktae could proceed with the show.

“Mr. Yoo Jihyuk. You received good responses as an evil torture expert in the movie Heaven’s Decree. I watched it and even I thought you were a psycho. How are you actually? Do you really have an obsession with details or things like that in reality?”

Hyuktae also seemed worried about Yoo Jihyuk’s lack of appearance, since he was inducing him to answer.

“Yes. I do have such a side to me.”

“Do you have any fun episodes where you ran into trouble because of your personality that you would like to share with us? For example, not being able to sleep because of a single thing that’s out of line.”

“You make the most terrible examples, sheesh.”

Younghoon chimed in a little. Hyuktae told him to stay still. Younghoon twitched his lips and leaned back on the chair. The younger member retorting to an older member was something that always worked on the viewers. The only thing remaining now was for Yoo Jihyuk to package his episode well.

“Well, nothing of the sort happened to me.”

It was no good. Younghoon hinted at the other hosts. Yoo Jihyuk had lost all his cheerful attitude from the beginning and was now no different from a teddy bear that parroted the same words when pressed. Even without getting attention, he should have reminded himself that this was a TV show and that he should try his best to liven up the mood, but Yoo Jihyuk acted like a lost child. He acted like he didn’t know what to do. Like this, there was no way to help him. Although producer Kang would probably tell him that he could relax, if he stiffened up on the inside, it would be hard to get any fun out of him no matter how many times they knocked on his door from the outside. This was a common mistake made by rookies on TV, so it wasn’t even that surprising. The only thing they could hope for from him at this point was for him to applaud well.

Hyuktae talked to Yoo Jihyuk a few more times for his screen time, but all the answers were things that were hard to use for TV. Hyuktae also forfeited after seeing that it was just an ordinary conversation without any interesting or emotional elements.

“Miss Hamin. You passionately played as a terminal patient in Doctor’s Office, right? Do you remember that you even went on the search term rankings back then?”

“The atmosphere was good at the shoot, but I didn’t think that it would be reviewed so well.”

“It was hard back then, right? Your eyes were bloodshot, you know?”

“I didn’t realize that. I just tried my utmost best, and it felt like my eyes were going to burst. I thought about taking a break midway and doing it again, but I was worried that my emotions might get out of line, so I just forgot about it and did my best.”

Park Hamin replied with vitality when Hyuktae gave her a chance. It meant that she still had the energy to receive what she was given. Responding like Park Hamin would allow the hosts to liven up the mood. Hyuktae was someone who made tens of thousands of people jump out of their seats. With enough preparation, he could turn anyone into a main character.

Park Hamin calmly continued her talk. It wasn’t anything laugh-inducing, but it wasn’t bad either since it showed her truthfulness. While listening to Hamin, the writer gave Younghoon a signal. it seemed that she judged that this was the right time to refresh things.

“Miss Hamin. I think you should pick up that call.”

“Eh?”

She seemed completely clueless. Younghoon received a phone from a staff member.

“Hello? Mr. Lee Hyuk. Can you hear me?”

-Yes. I hear you.

Hearing the name ‘Lee Hyuk’, the staff rejoiced. Although their voices didn’t get picked up by the microphone, the guests could see that the staff were rejoicing. Park Hamin also put some strength into her eyes. He didn’t know what happened to her, but she looked like she had realized that this was her opportunity to create a flow favorable for her.

-Miss Park Hamin is a junior I cherish a lot. I realized that she was someone really passionate about acting the first time I met her.

As expected of an actor who had been in this industry for a long time, Lee Hyuk followed up the interview fluently.

“Hello, senior.”

-Yes, Miss Hamin. How are you doing?

“I’m not sure. I’m very nervous.”

-Don’t get too embarrassed and do your best.

Younghoon quickly cut in after seeing Park Hamin act embarrassed.

“You two sound pretty distant. Are you sure you’re close?”

-Of course.

“Then call each other comfortably like you would in private.”

-Shall we, Hamin?

After being called out to, Hamin shyly replied ‘Yes, oppa.’ Hyuktae and Taeksoo jumped in at the chance like hyenas, saying that Hamin probably fancied Lee Hyuk.

-If that really is true, then I’m grateful. I’ve been single for too long.

Lee Hyuk fluidly responded to that. Park Hamin also did not miss the opportunity and told him that they should have a meal together sometime. Going any further and there might be viewers that might be uncomfortable watching, so Younghoon hinted at the juniors. Taeksoo and Hyuktae both noticed him and changed the topic.

The call with Lee Hyuk was not that long. In the first place, it wasn’t a phone call that they were planning to do for long. The guest was Park Hamin after all. Park Hamin smartly talked about episodes she had with Lee Hyuk to gain the upper hand in the conversation. There were some funny stories as well. She talked about the secretive stories of a top star that the viewers might be interested in without crossing the line. It was no surprise that her agency looked out for her a lot. Who would want to leave someone like her alone when she could pick up the hints and follow up? With a little push, Park Hamin spoke fluently like she had gained wings.

“Is that true?”

“It absolutely is.”

Younghoon looked at Maru who sneakily spoke to Park Hamin from time to time. This guy was incredibly good at reading the flow. He did not try to change the flow from going over to Park Hamin and instead rode on it while increasing his opportunities to speak. He was practically a veteran. It was hard to think that this was his first entertainment show. Park Hamin, who seemed to be competing against Maru before also changed her posture to face Maru since the timing of his responses was almost artistic. It was to the point that the hosts didn’t have to talk a lot in order to proceed with the show. Choi Jeonghee, who was ousted a little, also participated in the conversation proactively once Maru tossed her a question. Yoo Jihyuk still stayed a sitting duck.

There was no helping it. There were 8 people in this show talking. It would be great if everyone could give the audience something to laugh about with equal distribution, but TV shows weren’t so easy. He only got to say a few words because of the hosts’ considerations.

While Park Hamin kept taking the lead, Younghoon saw the youngest writer suddenly leave her seat. When she came back, she ran up to the producer in an instant. Her busy movements caught the eyes of the guests as well. Park Hamin stopped talking for a little. Then, the source of the busy staff peeked into the studio. Younghoon inwardly shouted ‘awesome’ and stood up.

“Oh my god, aren’t you Ahn Joohyun?”