Park Hoon took his eyes off the monitor and stood up. The actors all looked at him.

“Cut. Let’s take a break. Also, Yeseul, Giwoo.”

When he waved, the two kids came towards him.

“It’s hot, isn’t it?”

“Eh? No, it’s not that hot.”

“If it’s not hot, why are you all wobbly like you’re having a heatstroke?”

Yeseul became quiet after his reply. Park Hoon then looked at Giwoo.

“Kang Giwoo.”

“Yes.”

“Do you think you have everything perfect since I tell you that you’re good? Maintain your emotions until the end. Don’t get loose just because you’re outside the frame. You’re not at a level where you can pick up and put down emotions in a blink of an eye, are you?”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“Don’t do things you’ll be sorry about. You’re killing me because you stop when you can clearly do more. Okay? Also, Ahn Yeseul. Get yourself together. If I see you turn your head to the fans one more time, I will quit shooting today, you understand?”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

He waved at them to go away. The two of them bowed before walking off.

“Director Park. Seems you’re giving those two the proper treatment now, huh?”

“Senior, don’t say that. I’m just scolding them because they’re dazed out.”

“That’s what I call proper treatment. How long do you think I’ve known you for? You don’t even talk to those that you don’t like. Seeing you pick specific people out and scold them, I already have an understanding. So you’re supporting those two.”

Park Hoon looked at Hwang Joonghoon, who came and sat next to him. He was the eldest member on the shooting set of New Semester and a senior he personally respected. He was one of the rare actors who could perform intense actions like rolling on asphalt despite the fact that he was nearing 60 in age.

“This is why I can’t say anything in front of you. I feel like you know me better than I do.”

“I can tell from looking. So the one you’re pushing is the boy side, huh? Kang Giwoo, that boy’s pretty decent.”

“Yeah, he’s a good seedling. When I touch him he shows change immediately. I don’t want to touch those that sulk when I point things out, but if I see people trying to improve like that, then I want to keep supporting them. Yeseul became okay recently, but she has a tendency to rely on Giwoo. That’s why, in order to raise Yeseul’s skill, I need Giwoo to do better. ”

“You should compliment them from time to time. They’re still young kids. How are you going to handle it if they sulk without knowing that you did it for their sake?”

“If I can’t tell that much, I should quit being a director. Oh yeah, I have some chocolate. Would you like some?”

“I don’t eat such things because of my blood sugar.”

“Oh, looks like I’ll have to prepare some tea next time then. It’s become quite warm since we entered May. Are you doing okay lately?”

“Me? I’m nothing without my health.”

“I saw you on TV yesterday. Are you okay with doing another historical drama? I saw that you’re going to have to roll around in the mountains.”

“Isn’t that my specialty? It’d be bland if a historical drama with me in it didn’t have such a scene. The directors seem to want that as well.”

“Still, you should use a stuntman if you want to look after your body. If you get injured, you’ll be in a world of trouble.”

“It’s been 38 years since I’ve been doing this business. If something was going to happen, it would have happened a long time ago. Rather than that, those kids seem like they don’t get tired of standing there all day.”

Park Hoon looked at ‘those kids’ that Jonghoon was talking about. He saw some students gathered at the entrance of the school. Most of them were girls, and they had cheering messages written with highlighter on banners that were tied around their necks. They were Ahn Yeseul’s fans, who had been showing up every weekend for a while.

“They’ll tire themselves out soon enough.”

“Shouldn’t you at least give them water or something? It should be hard standing there all day.”

“Sheesh, senior. Your generosity is your greatest downfall. If you give those kids something, they’ll bring more next time. These days, girls like that are scary. They claim themselves to be fans but they practically stalk the people they like, and sometimes, they appear at shooting locations that we’ve scouted even before we get there. I wonder where the information is leaking.”

“They’re thankful people. What do you think an actor lives off of? It’s the interests of those kinds of people.”

“Honestly, isn’t it the money paid to you by the TV stations?”

“Hey, you know what I’m getting at here. Anyways, Yeseul has it good. She has so many fans already.”

“I’m worried since she keeps getting distracted by them. It’s not like I want her to look stiff all the time, but like this, she’s all wobbly like molten ice cream.”

“That happens to everyone who’s receiving attention for the first time. You know that better than anyone. You shouldn’t be so cruel.”

“I’m telling her about it so that she doesn’t get a celebrity complex. You know that they don’t know what’s right and wrong if they attract attention at such a young age. I’ve seen too many promising kids who fell from popularity after thinking that they were bigshots just because the adults around them complimented them a little.”

“There are kids like that.”

“So don’t act so generously towards the kids either, senior Hwang. These days, I can see that the kids go look for you after getting a scolding from me.”

“Maybe they like me.”

“You’re turning me into the villain?”

“It’s fine, isn’t it? You’ve always been evil. It’s not the first time this happened.”

“Someone might misunderstand that I’ve been evil since I was born if they heard you.”

Yeseul! - he could hear the fans shout from afar. Yeseul waved her hands at the fans before looking his way and turning around.

“Don’t scold her. It’s not like she can completely ignore them.”

“Hey, little one! Aren’t you going to restrict them properly!”

Park Hoon shouted at the youngest recruit of the direction team. The quick-witted member ran towards the school entrance.

“If I was under you, I would’ve quit already.”

“Senior, I’m not such a bad guy, you know? I just have a slightly louder voice than others, and I’m a little more sensitive.”

“Sure you are.”

Joonghon laughed before pointing at someone else.

“That one, the one that joined us recently. He’s pretty good too.”

“You mean Song Siwoo? You know early education is the trend these days, right? Unlike when you were in your prime, kids get educated starting at five, you know? I was flabbergasted when I was introduced to a kid, who turned out to be a trainee at a pretty famous company. These days, these agencies just take anyone they think is promising. I wonder where they get all their money from.”

“You don’t seem to like that, director Park?”

“It’s somewhat funny for me to talk about who is and who isn’t a proper actor in front of you, senior, but the basic criteria for actors in my opinion is that they must have experienced life. Being young is completely fine and all, but do you know what I think when I see kids who have received top-quality education like a flower raised in a greenhouse? I think, ‘wow, so robots with elastic skin can make expressions huh’ - just that. Even if they’re young, they can polish a splendid foundation with a variety of experiences. However, when I see kids acting in front of me like they are something after being fed their food their entire life like some rich young master, I get frustrated to death. There are definitely good ones among the young actors. When you have a close look at them though, they’ve experienced a lot of ups and downs in their life. I’m not saying that a good actor cannot emerge from a good environment, but kids like that don’t have that raw tastefulness. What would they know when they’ve been treated like an actor their whole life?”

“There you go again. Eating good food and seeing good things can allow people to do good acting. It’s not like you think that experiencing hardships is everything, do you? You’re way too old fashioned. If it’s your brain, I think it’s even older than mine.”

Park Hoon sighed softly.

“I know that the trend is teaching them at an early stage, and I can’t help that, but child actors are appearing by the dozen like they’re some mass-produced goods. When I look at them, it makes me wonder if it’s me or the world that’s going crazy.”

“Be more flexible. If you keep living like that, you won’t live a long life.”

“Don’t you think it’s worrying, senior Hwang? When you see all of the kids acting like they’ve learned from the same bok?”

“It’s the era that changed, so don’t keep bothering yourself with it. Director Park, you already know what kind of actor survives in the industry, don’t you? No matter how much the world changes, the public only wants one thing when they watch TV. That is, actors that make them excited. If they have the talent, even if they look like they’re injection-molded plastic, they’ll show their unique acting one day, and if they don’t, then they’ll just become one of those so-so actors like me.”

“If you’re a so-so actor, then there would be less than ten actors in the country who can call themselves that. Try telling that to the kids, they’ll be in an uproar.”

“I knew it, you’re the only one who cares about me.”

Joonghoon smiled in satisfaction before massaging his shoulders.

“Don’t do that. The kids will swear at me if they see this. They’ll think that a young person like me is ordering around a senior.”

“Stop grumbling. That’s what you do to me all the time. Anyways, how long are you going to keep doing this?”

It was rather sudden, and there was no context, but Park Hoon could only smile bitterly.

“I wonder about that too.”

“Don’t you like deeper stuff, director Park? Like thrillers. I wonder why you’re holding on to such a cheerful one like this one.”

“I do it because the president told me to. Plus, there was no one to do it too since the mini-series lineup was screwed. Above all, I don’t see any good works from any good writers. Well, I am contacting one, but it’s still unknown if that will come to fruition or not.”

“You were contacting one?”

“Yes.”

“What’s the genre?”

“A romantic thriller.”

“A what thriller?”

“A romantic thriller. Don’t you think it sounds cool?”

“Cool my ass. Did you change your tendencies since you’ve been doing flowery dramas lately?”

“Senior Hwang. One of the biggest elements of a successful drama is the twist, isn’t it? I tried reading the novel, and it was pretty interesting. The writer never worked on writing scenario scripts before, so I would probably have to have a proper script writer work with her, but the story progression is really good. If it does come to fruition, I’ll start preparing from the 4th, no, the 3rd quarter even if it means that I hand this over to someone else.”

“Your eyes are sparkling. You seemed to have taken a liking to it, huh?”

“You sure got that right. If I do it, help me out a little, will you? It’s a minor one, so we won’t get a lot of funds, meaning I can’t pay you much.”

“Why don’t you rip me off instead? Well, if it’s something you’re trying seriously, I can’t miss out. I want to do something proper with you while my body still lasts.”

“A verbal promise is still a promise okay? You can’t come to me and say no later.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll do it.”

Joonghoon yawned before looking at the school field. Park Hoon also yawned. The sunlight in May was in itself a strong sleeping drug. There was even a cool wind, so he felt like he could sleep until the next day if he closed his eyes right now.

“That one, that one over there,” Joonghoon pointed at a boy near the goalpost.

“I like him too. He’s a kid, but his acting isn’t too overdone. I’m not sure about veteran beauty, but he looks like he knows what acting is.”

“If it’s him, I’ve already been taking note of him. One of my colleague producers used him for a brief moment as a minor actor. It was the role of a murderer, which is hard for a kid to do, and he did really well. It did feel like Ahn Joohyun received it well, but without a solid foundation, he couldn’t have acted like that.”

“You said that the one you’re planning to do is a romantic thriller, right?”

“Yes. If I do it, I’m taking him as well. If I give him a role, he’ll do better than I expect him to.”

“What about Kang Giwoo then?”

“He’s good too, but how should I put this.… He’s good at acting, but he doesn’t have that attraction. You know how people prefer infighters when it comes to boxers even though they get beaten up horribly? Outfighters can become popular, but they’d have to be really good, but Giwoo isn’t on that level yet.”

“Why? I like him because he’s polite.”

“Acting isn’t based on politeness, is it? Also, I don’t like people who are too clean. Maybe because I’m not that clean myself, but looking at someone who’s too clean makes me feel like they aren’t human. In that sense, that boy is moderately not clean. Well, he said he’s going to be an actor for money, so that says a lot about him.”

Park Hoon turned his phone on to have a look at the time. It was about time to resume the shoot.

“Senior, I’m going to resume the shoot. Please get ready.”

“Alrighty.”

“Assistant director! Have everyone on standby!”

“Yes!”

Park Hoon dusted off his pants and stood up.