Chapter 321 : When Ordinary Talent Faces a Genius (2)
Chapter 321: When Ordinary Talent Faces a Genius (2)
“Looks like Junseo wants to try acting.”
The room I shared with Cha Seongbin.
Hyung had been lying on his bed fiddling with his phone for quite a while before turning his head and speaking.
I knew exactly what he was trying to get at.
I let out a faint chuckle and asked back,
“Why? Because I'm against it?”
“Yeah. I can't help worrying about it~.”
Cha Seongbin smiled awkwardly before adding,
“You're not usually the type to oppose something like this.”
When it came to the members' wishes, I was the kind of person who respected them whenever possible.
Likewise, Ha Junseo was also the type who would never do something if the members opposed it.
So even looking through Stardust's history, a situation like this was rare.
Junseo had been pretending everything was fine while continuing his schedule for the past few days, but somehow he seemed absent-minded.
It looked like he really wanted to give acting a shot, yet was nervous about bringing it up to the members.
Cha Seongbin swallowed dryly and glanced at me.
“But can I ask you something? Why are you actually against it?”
It's still too early for individual activities.
That was the reason I had given on the surface.
It was a perfectly reasonable explanation, but things became a little different when the other party was Yoo Milha.
That drama Junseo had been offered could have become a huge hit.
Who would dare oppose it so easily?
But how was I supposed to explain this?
That I'd seen the future?
That I didn't want him to waste his time because the drama would completely flop?
If I'd said that in the meeting room, Manager Song Jinha would have booked me a psychiatric consultation on the spot.
That's why I'd kept my mouth shut.
But if it was just the two of us...
Wouldn't things be a little different?
Ahem.
I cleared my throat before asking Cha Seongbin,
“Hyung, will you keep this a secret?”
“Me? I'll try.”
Him?
When I frowned, Cha Seongbin burst into laughter and waved his hand.
“Alright. I won't tell anyone.”
His hand reached for his mug.
After taking a sip of the warm tea he'd brewed, he asked again,
“So what's the reason?”
“I saw it in the future.”
“Cough!”
Cha Seongbin trembled violently as he shouted,
“Hey! I burned the roof of my mouth! What kind of nonsense are you suddenly talking about?!”
He immediately began repeating, “Ow, hot! Hot!” as he hurriedly placed the mug back on the table.
Looking at me in disbelief, he said,
“Seriously. You sound more confident about that nonsense every day.”
“Because it's true...?”
“I'll book you an appointment at the hospital. That's definitely stress-induced.”
The first time was difficult.
The second time was easy.
Now I could confidently make this claim with a perfectly sober mind.
And contrary to my worries, it didn't affect my Synchronization percentage at all.
Because...
Nobody believed me!
It was a sad reality, but it didn't seem like a bad excuse to use whenever I had nothing else to say.
When you had to persuade someone without any evidence...
In Korea, superstition was surprisingly effective.
Putting on a serious expression, I continued,
“To tell the truth, I saw it in a dream. I dreamed that drama completely flopped....”
“You dream too?”
...Huh?
Caught off guard by the unexpected response, I frowned and looked at Cha Seongbin.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
He shrugged.
“I've been having dreams like that lately too.”
“You mean dreams about Junseo-hyung's drama failing?”
“No. It's... a dream that makes my head spin just thinking about it. To sum it up, I dream that I end up on the same team as Lee Junhyeok. You remember Lee Junhyeok, right?”
A symptom of Synchronization.
Only then did I remember what Kim Woochan had said about someone's Synchronization percentage increasing slightly.
Was he talking about Cha Seongbin?
“You know what kind of personality that guy has. It seemed like he failed to debut in Boy's Dream and ended up living as an ordinary person, but one day he suddenly showed up in my dream. I thought it was just a random dream, but I keep having similar ones. It's unsettling.”
“What?”
So it hadn't happened only once.
It was definitely something worth paying attention to, and my expression naturally became serious.
Pressing his temple with one hand, Cha Seongbin continued,
“And they're really detailed... Junseo said he had a nightmare too, but I forgot to ask him what it was about. Think it's something similar?”
He muttered to himself while deep in thought.
“Maybe the feng shui here is bad.”
“Hm?”
“Think this place is haunted?”
The ghost is sitting right in front of you.
“This won't do. Should we ask them to change our dorm? I don't think this place has good feng shui~.”
“Hyung, you believe in that stuff?”
“I believe in your Four-leaf Clover too.”
Cha Seongbin still kept the thin Four-leaf Clover I'd given him tucked inside his phone case.
Apparently he believed it brought him good luck.
Suppressing a laugh, I asked,
“Then where has good feng shui?”
“I don't know....”
“…….”
“Agh, I should get some rest~.”
Lightly shaking his head, Cha Seongbin threw himself back onto the bed.
Just moments ago, he looked ready to call our manager and demand a new dorm, but instead he quietly started watching YouTube.
I turned away without saying anything.
Yesterday's schedule had gone on until almost dawn as well.
I was exhausted.
Just as I was about to rest my head on the pillow, Cha Seongbin spoke again.
“So are you really going to convince Junseo like that?”
“Huh? With feng shui?”
At my joking reply, Cha Seongbin snorted.
“No. By saying you saw it in a dream and that drama's going to completely flop.”
“Ah....”
Yeah.
That really was pushing it.
Without turning around, Cha Seongbin spoke calmly,
“Just be honest.”
Technically speaking, that was being honest.
But Cha Seongbin had no way of knowing that.
He let out a short sigh.
“Actually... I don't think it matters how you say it.”
“Why?”
“I think Junseo just wants someone to reassure him.”
I raised my eyebrows slightly at his words.
“He wants to try acting, but he can't quite find the courage. Like you said, he's probably worried about the group schedule, and he's also conscious of what the fans will think. That's why he wants confirmation from us.”
Scrolling through his phone, he continued,
“You know him. If we oppose it, he probably won't do it.”
Only then did I realize what that meant.
It meant he'd give up on acting altogether.
In the future, acting would become an indispensable turning point in Ha Junseo's career.
...No way.
Surely he wouldn't quit acting entirely because of this.
For the first time, I became slightly afraid of the butterfly effect my decision might create.
As I swallowed hard, Cha Seongbin continued in an even voice,
“But you know...”
“Yes.”
“The reason he wants to try acting isn't anything grand... I think he's just worried about his position.”
His position...
Keeping a stiff expression, I silently listened.
“He never said it outright, but he felt like his role in the team was a bit ambiguous... Anyway, that was the impression I got.”
“Junseo-hyung's position?”
“He didn't have many parts in this title track. He's good at singing rap, but sometimes he feels closer to a vocalist. Well, the longer you're active, the more things you start worrying about. Junseo probably has his own thoughts. Oh, and keep this a secret from him...?”
So that's why he'd supported it from the very beginning.
I could understand how Cha Seongbin felt.
In my previous life, Ha Junseo had been the leader of the team.
On top of that, with members constantly causing trouble without a break, he probably hadn't had time to think about anything else.
The worries he'd never experienced before were probably filling his mind now.
“...Sleep well.”
With those final words, Cha Seongbin immersed himself in YouTube once again.
The lights went out.
In the pitch-black room, illuminated only by the faint glow of our phones...
What was the best choice I could make?
I lay in the darkness, thinking about it for a long time.
“You're asking me to get you a drama script...?”
Do Seojun asked with a dumbfounded expression.
I shamelessly nodded.
“Yep.”
Link to You.
I couldn't recommend that work to Ha Junseo when I knew it would soon disappear like dust.
At the same time, I was worried that stopping him without offering an alternative might become an obstacle to his acting career.
So the conclusion I reached was simple.
Find him a better project.
The first target I came up with was the Wednesday-Thursday SBC drama Return: Secret of Hwarang, scheduled to air in the first half of 2020.
Unlike Link to You, it mainly cast relatively unknown actors.
That's why it started off weak.
Since it failed to attract much public attention, the first episode barely managed a 2% viewership rating.
But...
The strength of its well-crafted story was incredible.
As word spread among viewers that it was genuinely good, its popularity exploded.
By the time the final episode aired, it had surpassed a 20% viewership rating, and the actors who appeared in it went on to film countless commercials and enjoyed tremendous success afterward.
More importantly, it was a pre-produced drama, meaning it wouldn't overlap with our overseas tour schedule.
Around this time, they should've been narrowing down the cast.
In other words, it was the perfect time to audition.
Which was why I'd come to see Do Seojun.
I didn't have the confidence to persuade the company, which had already become obsessed with the Link to You script.
So I chose the easier route instead.
The problem was...
Hyung wasn't being cooperative at all.
Do Seojun frowned deeply and sighed.
“Hey. Do you think I'm some drama producer? I'm a variety PD. Where am I supposed to find a drama script?”
“Hyung, you know a lot of writers through connections.”
“Who told you that?”
“You don't?”
“Ahem.”
Looking slightly guilty, Do Seojun cleared his throat.
I looked at him pitifully and muttered,
“So you don't have any friends at the station....”
“It's weirder for a variety PD to know drama writers, okay? Do you have actor friends?”
“…….”
“See? Nothing to say?”
Not working.
In that case...
I'd just shamelessly beg.
“Come on, please help me just this once.”
“What?”
“You can at least get me a script. Ask a drama PD you know through connections. It's even an SBC script.”
“Haa....”
No matter how I thought about it, that script had probably already reached the drama department.
After I kept pleading, he rested his chin on his hand with a thoughtful look.
Then he finally spoke.
“What are you giving me in return?”
Gulp.
I swallowed.
I really should've thought about the most important part beforehand...
There was no way he'd help me for free.
With my limited imagination, I blurted out the simplest thing I could think of.
“Money?”
“You little brat.... Showing off your money now?”
I got scolded for nothing.
“Then... I'll do a livestream with you.”
“I decided to live as an ordinary person.”
“Huh?”
Pretty sure even the lady next door already knew what you looked like.
Changing the subject, Do Seojun said,
“Forget it. I'll take a guaranteed appearance in your next program instead.”
“Mmm~. That's not bad.”
“If I make some extreme job-experience variety show, you have to appear no matter what.”
“Okay.”
I nodded first.
“I should just send you into a coal mine....”
His quiet muttering was a little unsettling.
Damn it.
I wasn't exactly in a position to argue right now.
“Fine. Deal.”
Only after getting my agreement did he ask again,
“So what kind of script?”
“It's a time-slip drama set during the Silla era, with a little romance mixed into a martial arts coming-of-age story.”
“What? That's weirdly specific. Where'd you hear all that?”
“I didn't.”
I smiled while denying it.
Do Seojun stroked his chin and muttered,
“Hm... You're acting suspicious....”