BSAR Chapter 30

It was an extremely rare occurrence throughout the entire industry for even the staff on set to be deceived by an actor’s performance and create a commotion like this.

However, while everyone was embarrassed about being caught up in such an absurd and ridiculous misunderstanding, their expressions ironically brightened. It was because they felt this could only have a positive effect on the viewership ratings graph.

Of course, there were countless actors in this field who were good at acting. There were far more actors with outstanding appearances. However, actors who possessed both incredible acting skills and extraordinary visuals were certainly not common.

Moreover, the actor who had just tricked the staff on set was at a level of acting and visuals that people in the industry had never seen before, and he looked so young that it overshadowed those astonishing qualities.

“Come on, let’s go again!”

The PD, sensing the energy of a hit, encouraged the staff with an enthusiastic voice. Since the footage already shot was perfect, they decided to use it as it was and continue filming the next scene.

After Seungwon, who played the lead role, excellently showcased his monologue performance expressing conflicted emotions, they immediately filmed the scene where Seojin lay inside the police line, undergoing an on-site inspection by the National Forensic Service.

‘Wow, this is insane. He really looks like a corpse.’

With his method acting that could only make one stick out their tongue in admiration once again, Seojin perfectly showed the appearance of a pitifully murdered victim. Even the special effects makeup team staff members watching nearby couldn’t help but gasp in awe.

Anyone could hold their breath for a moment, but in the previous scene, his body, which had been limply sprawled, had stiffened as if rigor mortis had set in, showcasing an astonishing level of detail in his acting.

Moreover, his ability to maintain the dilated pupils of a corpse that couldn’t close its eyes without wavering, and his lack of even the slightest reaction to external stimuli in the scene where he was moved to the autopsy room, were honestly frightening.

‘It’s eerie to the point of giving me goosebumps. Still, this is it. The viewers won’t be able to help but be surprised.’

The PD, who took the chilling sensation as a sign of rising viewership ratings, declared that he would bring forward and film all the related scenes in one go to ride this momentum. Thanks to that, Seojin’s waiting time was greatly reduced.

To film the scene revealing what kind of relationship Ha Yunseong’s character had with the protagonist during their trainee days before his death, Seojin changed into a plain school uniform.

“…Are you perhaps a minor?”

However, before the PD called for standby, Nam Seungwon, who played the lead role, suddenly spoke to Seojin as he was checking the blocking in advance.

At first, Seojin didn’t realize that Seungwon was talking to him. He never expected the top star, who had been consistently giving cold responses, to initiate a conversation. Even when Seungwon opened his mouth again, still intently examining the set, and called his name.

“Yeon Seojin-ssi.”

“…Yes?”

A voice that was pleasant to hear, with a solid foundation in vocalization, awakened Seojin’s eardrums once more. Only then did he realize that he had been the target of the previous question, and he let out an exclamation of surprise.

“Are you a high school student? Or a college student?”

“No, sunbae-nim. I’m twenty-seven this year.”

Seungwon, who had been unusually talkative, seemingly out of curiosity about Seojin’s acting, widened his eyes at the unexpected answer. He scanned Seojin’s baby-faced appearance again, which easily looked ten years younger.

His skin was bright, clear, and fluffy, without a single wrinkle or blemish, making it seem as if a radiant light was shining from within. No matter how he looked at it, he didn’t seem twenty-seven at all.

“…I had no idea. The school uniform suits you so well.”

“Thank you for the compliment. You look cool too, sunbae-nim.”

In response to Seungwon’s words, which sounded like an excuse, Seojin smiled brightly and returned the compliment. It was the basic courtesy he had set for the sake of his industry reputation, the same reason he had readily complied with director Nathan’s nonsense.

“Even during your monologue earlier, I was inwardly impressed. I thought, as Teacher Mun Okja said, you’re someone who remarkably knows when to express and restrain emotions, and I learned a lot from watching you.”

“…You seem to know Teacher Mun Okja well?”

When Seojin borrowed the name of a veteran actress, whose connection to him would be revealed in a future interview, and threw out specific praise, Seungwon’s eyes widened even more. It was because Mun Okja was a senior whose connections were not easily reached.

“Yes, a little. I belonged to the same theater troupe as her until recently.”

“Teacher Mun is not someone who would treat just anyone so casually. Well, seeing how you act…”

Seungwon, who had been mentioning the basic attitude of the usually fastidious industry senior, unconsciously nodded his head as if recalling Seojin’s acting that had surprised him.

[Nam Seungwon’s (Compatibility: High) favorability has increased by 1.]

At that moment, a satisfying system message popped up. It was worth the effort to deliberately engage in conversation with him.

[Name: Nam Seungwon]

[Status: Feeling curiosity about the user’s (Yeon Seojin) surprisingly outstanding acting skills and background.]

[Compatibility: High]

[Favorability: 54 (Recognition)]

[Conquest Method: Show a shocking appearance that will be etched in the other person’s sensitive nerves and keep coming to mind.]

Anyway, even with that, the favorability was still at a low level, not even reaching [Normal], but the important part was that the other person had a rare high compatibility.

Since the reward acquisition targets in the dating sim had expanded infinitely, Seojin had been registering everyone he met in the favorability management system without even bothering to check their status windows one by one.

[Owned Points: 501p]

Thanks to that, he was able to accumulate a considerable amount of points in a short period of time, but…

[Talent Roulette Points: Grants a chance to spin a talent roulette of a certain grade by deducting a certain amount of points.]

[Bronze Talent Card Roulette: 500p]

It was only enough points to be exhausted just by drawing a single bronze card. In other words, it meant that a person with a compatibility of [High], which would allow him to obtain a silver talent card if the favorability reached the [Normal] level, was that precious.

One disappointing aspect was that the remaining scenes to be filmed were not the kind that would showcase Seojin’s acting skills to the extent of delivering another shock to Seungwon, who had already been surprised once.

In particular, the content they were about to film was a series of simple and short shots that would be filmed without even voice recording, like a singer’s music video, merely peaceful and everyday images to be used for the protagonist’s flashback.

Although it was a scene that would serve as a trigger, making it inevitable for the protagonist to meet the female lead who was chasing the evil spirit possessed by the culprit, and would become the driving force for the protagonist’s actions in the future, he couldn’t expect a big impact.

‘Well, you can’t have it all in one go.’

If he tried to be greedy for no reason, he would ruin a scene where naturalness was key. So, Seojin decided to put aside his intention to capture Nam Seungwon with his acting skills for now and focus solely on the emotions of ‘Ha Yunseong’.

“Ready, action!”

Soon, the PD’s cue sign was given. At the same time, Seojin immediately transformed into Ha Yunseong, the minor character in “Idol Who Hunts Evil Spirits.” The image of a remarkable teenage boy who always lived with a bright and hopeful attitude.

His appearance, lying halfway on the sofa in the sunlight, concentrating on reading a comic book, or constantly chattering while swinging his bare feet that were exposed in white, fully revealed Ha Yunseong’s character.

Nam Seungwon’s eyes, who had been putting on an indifferent expression next to him according to the protagonist’s personality, shone with interest. Usually, in a scene like this where no lines were given, most of the time, the actors would just move their lips.

“I’m going to buy this as soon as I get my part-time pay next week! It’s a limited edition, so I don’t know if it’ll still be available by then. Ah, I hope it doesn’t sell out. My precious goods…”

However, Seojin recited lines that weren’t in the script so naturally. Pointing to the pen and memo pad engraved with a cute cat character that came as a bonus with the new comic book he was holding as a prop.

“What, why are you looking at me like that? I’m telling you, if you pray with these goods before taking the monthly evaluation, you can find peace of mind. It’s not a waste of money. I can easily skip just one meal!”

The fact that he had given Ha Yunseong his own settings, such as his family’s financial situation and hobbies, so as not to contradict the character’s personality that would be briefly revealed in the scene with many lines to be filmed later, felt fresh even to Seungwon.

Perhaps because he had recited lines that wouldn’t reach the viewers, Seojin’s expressions were much more vivid and lively than what the script demanded. The same was true for the next scene filmed in the kitchen.

“Lee Taekyung, I’m definitely 10cm taller than you. Huh? Just watch. In a year, I’ll really…”

His appearance, drinking the white milk provided as a prop with difficulty and showing a sense of rivalry with the protagonist over trivial matters…

“Ack! Hey! You spilled it all! The price of milk was already driving me crazy, and now this! Lee Taekyung, how are you going to take responsibility?!”

And his appearance, playfully getting angry while considering the protagonist who was apologizing with an embarrassed expression after his school uniform got completely soaked from the milk spilled during a squabble…

“Cut! Okay!”

The PD gave an okay sign right away this time as well. He had a very satisfied expression.

“Let’s take a 10-minute break!”

And he declared that they would take a short break. It seemed he wanted to check the equipment again.

Seojin went to the bathroom first. Before getting touch-up makeup from the makeup artist assigned by the agency, he needed to calm his cheeks that were slightly flushed and heated up due to the penalty of [A Thousand Delicate Faces].

“Ah.”

However, he had no choice but to stop in his tracks when he made eye contact with Nam Seungwon, who had come in first and was standing in front of the urinal. Not because he was embarrassed, but because he suddenly felt a tickling sensation inside his throat.

Seojin, who felt an inexplicable sense of unease, hurriedly turned his body to the side and covered his mouth with his hand. However, unfortunately, he couldn’t completely hide the bright red blood that was vomited out with a cough.