Chapter 197. Say You Want to Live
They said there was something to discuss regarding Serin's audition, so I went to meet them.
I'd expected only Kellin and DeAndre to be there.
But Jennifer McCarthy, whom I'd met last time, was there too.
The director of 〈Geronimo〉.
"Serin's acting was excellent. Even after going over the audition again, it was impressive. And it's a kind of character we haven't really had on Broadway in New York. The fact that Serin herself is taking the role would become a topic of conversation."
"That's right. We'd like to offer Serin the role."
This was news I'd eventually have to pass on to Serin.
And under normal circumstances, I'd probably be incredibly happy too.
With this, Serin had achieved her goal.
She was someone who could succeed no matter what she tried.
She had earned a Broadway role through a proper audition.
But I wasn't happy at all.
Because I planned to kick this opportunity away.
I glanced at DeAndre's face.
He really didn't look like the type to commit college-admissions corruption.
Still.
〈King of the Savannah〉 was definitely going to fail.
"Once 〈King of the Savannah〉 is over, could she appear in one of our productions too?"
Jennifer asked.
Why was Jennifer suddenly joining in?
If she meant after 〈King of the Savannah〉, then for Jennifer it would also mean after 〈Geronimo〉.
Couldn't Serin simply audition again when that time came?
I understood that Jennifer wanted her.
But I couldn't tell why she felt the need to make an offer this early.
"Right now, she's already auditioned successfully for 〈King of the Savannah〉, and we've already completed casting for 〈Geronimo〉, so we can't cast Serin in our current production. But one thing is obvious. She's a very good actress. Even her English pronunciation seems like something she can cover through acting ability alone. That's why I'm mentioning this in advance."
Her next production...
If it wasn't 〈Geronimo〉, then it would be safe from the bomb called Sarah Pullen.
Assuming Jennifer survived the explosion of 〈Geronimo〉 in the first place.
Kellin listened to Jennifer before speaking.
"We hope to make 〈King of the Savannah〉 a success and then continue working with Serin not only on the next project, but for one year, two years, three years. Stage performance is all about experience, isn't it? The more performances an actor does, the higher the quality becomes. Once Serin gains her first real experience through 〈King of the Savannah〉, her true ability will start appearing from the second production onward."
Then the third.
The fourth.
Kellin said Serin would keep growing with every stage she stood on.
But if they handed Serin over to Jennifer right after 〈King of the Savannah〉, what were they supposed to do?
It would be like cooking porridge with expensive abalone only to feed it to a dog.
Apparently, the three of them had stayed up all night arguing about it.
Jennifer immediately countered.
"Serin's main career is still as a singer. No matter what, she can't spend all her time doing musicals with you. She's not an actress any of us can monopolize."
"That's true, but..."
"Of course Serin will keep improving as time goes on, so yes, I'd benefit from casting her later. Then should I use Serin first, and you can cast her in the project after 〈King of the Savannah〉? You don't want that either, do you?"
Why don't you all start by asking the person holding the rice cake whether she plans to hand any out...
Did anyone say we'd definitely give Serin to you?
Of course, I was seriously considering handing out that rice cake.
"Understood. I'll let go of my greed. Let's talk again about casting for future projects when the time comes."
At Kellin's words, Jennifer let out a relieved breath.
"Thank you. Anyway, CEO Do Jun-hyeok. What do you think? About giving Serin a role in one of my productions."
First of all, there was no need to think about it.
We had to reject 〈King of the Savannah〉 immediately.
As for Jennifer's next project, regardless of whether I accepted or rejected it, Jennifer's own situation was about to start falling apart first.
The rosy future they were talking about didn't exist.
What I was actually thinking about was when to tell Chairman Kim Gyu-bong to release the article.
"And just in case, let me point something out... 〈King of the Savannah〉 does have a Carnegie Hall performance, but that's a rental booking, correct? My 〈Geronimo〉, on the other hand, is an officially invited production."
"Ahem...!"
"A lot of artists consider being invited to Carnegie Hall a great honor. I just wanted to emphasize that. I can probably secure the same thing for my next production too."
How enviable, Sarah Pullen.
Getting a role in a production like that.
Of course Jennifer said she planned to receive another invitation next time too, but that wasn't guaranteed.
〈Geronimo〉...
From Jennifer's perspective, how would 〈Geronimo〉 need to explode for her to suffer the least damage?
What would let Jennifer make a definite comeback with her next production?
Would it still be best to expose everything as quickly as possible?
I took Serin around to audition after audition.
Word had spread among Broadway directors, and some places contacted us first.
There were even productions offering her outright leading roles, even if their scale was somewhat smaller than 〈King of the Savannah〉 or 〈Geronimo〉.
It made sense.
Serin had gone around auditioning everywhere and demonstrated incredible ability each time.
At this point, it almost seemed better to gather all the directors who wanted her in one theater, have Serin put on a one-woman show, then hold an auction afterward.
Her personal effort was extraordinary too.
Since arriving in New York, I hadn't seen Serin sleep for more than three hours at a time.
"I think we should stop going to auditions now."
"Mmm..."
Serin still looked hungry.
Of course she did.
It was finally time to stop hiding things and show her everything she'd passed.
I showed Serin the list of productions I'd prepared in advance.
These were the auditions she'd passed.
Now she only needed to choose whichever one fit her schedule.
Serin looked over the list.
"Huh? 〈King of the Savannah〉 is here too!"
"Yeah. It is. But personally, I don't recommend it."
Serin's face had brightened for a moment.
Then it changed immediately.
"Why?"
"I just don't recommend it. If you really want to do it, you can. But there are plenty of productions here that look more interesting than 〈King of the Savannah〉, right?"
I pointed at several of the others as naturally as possible.
Objectively speaking, there really were quite a few that looked more interesting.
She'd already proved her ability by passing the auditions, so I advised her to stop caring about scale and simply choose the one that looked the most fun.
"What's this one that only says Jennifer McCarthy?"
"Ah. That's the director we met at the 〈King of the Savannah〉 audition. It's her next production."
"〈Geronimo〉?"
Serin misunderstood me and looked extremely happy.
"No, no. 〈Geronimo〉 has already finished casting. I mean she offered you something in advance for the production after that. Her n-next project."
"Ah. I see."
Serin's expression changed subtly.
If it was a Jennifer McCarthy production, shouldn't any one of them be fine?
Did she specifically like 〈Geronimo〉?
"Why? Do you like 〈Geronimo〉?"
"It's a really attractive musical. If it's the same director, wouldn't her next production probably be just as good as 〈Geronimo〉?"
"Well... probably?"
Serin looked over the list one last time.
Then she said,
"I really liked the animated movie 〈King of the Savannah〉 when I was little too. But if you don't recommend it, I don't particularly feel the need to do it. But if I choose Director Jennifer McCarthy's project, the schedule isn't even confirmed yet..."
There were plenty of other opportunities.
Yet she kept talking only about 〈King of the Savannah〉 and Jennifer McCarthy.
Apparently, she wanted one of those two.
But she couldn't do 〈Geronimo〉.
Meaning what she really wanted was 〈Geronimo〉.
"Do you want to try 〈Geronimo〉?"
"What? Ah, yes. I'd like to, but there isn't an opening."
If she said she wanted to do it, I'd make it happen.
And Serin had just said she wanted to.
Then should I create an opportunity somehow?
The moment I started running circuits in my head involving Sarah Pullen, Serin realized exactly what I was thinking and hurriedly backtracked.
"You're about to go sell the idea again, aren't you?! If that's what you mean, then forget it! It doesn't mean anything if I don't get in through an audition!"
So the one with shamanic powers wasn't Aran.
It was Serin.
"That's not what I mean. I think an opening is going to appear in 〈Geronimo〉 soon. Sarah Pullen's role. I was thinking about whether we should prepare you to audition for that role."
"Sarah Pullen's role?"
Serin tilted her head.
"How do you know there's going to be an opening? Did Director Jennifer McCarthy tell you?"
"Thanks to you, one huge worry is gone. How in the world did you even find out there was a broker like that?"
Late that night, Director DeAndre visited Sarah Pullen's house.
They had remained close after working on a film together once in the past.
"You have to be thorough about these things. I had to call in all sorts of contacts and run around everywhere. Director, you really owe me for this. You have plenty of money, sure, but if you count all the time I spent on it, even a few hundred thousand dollars wouldn't be enough."
"I know. I'm truly grateful."
"Your son majors in cello, right? From what I heard, music admissions are the easiest to arrange. You don't need to worry anymore."
That was right.
They were sharing information about the broker William Rick.
In truth, Sarah Pullen had never wanted William to become famous.
The more famous he became, the easier it would be for his work to be exposed.
Even so, she'd introduced William to DeAndre purely out of goodwill.
Then DeAndre suddenly spoke as though he'd remembered something.
"I'm not saying this as repayment or anything... but you know Blue Moon, right?"
"Blue Moon? Of course. Anna is incredibly famous. My son plays American football, and his favorite player is friends with Anna Maralak."
He meant Jared Big.
DeAndre had also seen the endless articles that had floated around social media back then, practically at the level of dating rumors.
And the person who had supplied Serin with rap lyrics at the audition last time had clearly been Anna too.
"Right. Not Anna. There's another member named Serin who acts. You know 〈The Stranger〉, the film that won Best International Feature, right?"
"Ah, right. Yes. The Asian girl from that movie is pretty famous over here."
"Jennifer McCarthy seems to have her eye on that girl. She came to audition for our production, which is how I found out. She's actually quite good."
Sarah Pullen, who had been giving only vague responses, finally showed interest.
"Really? For 〈King of the Savannah〉? So, did you decide to cast her?"
"Yes. Well, nothing's final yet. Normally, once we decide to cast someone, the other side immediately says yes. But apparently she's going around auditioning everywhere and plans to choose one afterward. She still hasn't called us back."
Even among famous actors, only the ones doing exceptionally well could pull something like that off.
She auditioned because she wanted a role, passed, and still hadn't committed?
She had acted quite well, but was she really at that level?
Then again, judging by the reaction to the Super Bowl stage...
Maybe she was.
"Anyway, what do you mean Jennifer has her eye on her?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. She wants to cast Serin as the lead in her next production. If Serin says yes, Jennifer looks ready to start preparing her next show tomorrow. Sarah Pullen, your position might be in danger."
Sarah Pullen snorted as though that was ridiculous.
"Come on! She can cast another lead actress once or twice. I can't carry every single Jennifer McCarthy production as a one-woman show."
"I'm telling you, that's not what I mean. I tried talking about turning Serin into our own persona and laid out an entire three-year plan, and Jennifer took the idea seriously. Almost as though she wants exactly the same thing!"
Sarah Pullen's expression immediately turned cold.
DeAndre felt like he was stirring up conflict between the two of them for no reason.
Still, he continued.
It wasn't like anything he was saying was false.
"How long have you been working with Jennifer? About two years? She's already thinking about a period longer than the time you've spent together. Shouldn't you be worried? I saw that girl. Her acting is impressive too. Losing your place could happen in an instant."
"Three years... Jennifer really said that...?"
DeAndre nodded.
"That Jennifer...! Who does she think made 〈The Hunchback of Cologne Cathedral〉 a success last time...? She talked like we'd work together forever, and now she's already looking around for another actress?"
There was no way Sarah could tolerate that.
Jennifer was talented.
She was also kind enough to take care of actors without abusing her power.
That was why Sarah had thought they could continue working together without any serious trouble.
But apparently, Jennifer had wandered into Serin's audition by chance and fallen in love with her acting.
If she was going into other people's auditions to scout actresses, didn't that mean she'd made up her mind?
Sarah's hands began trembling as though she'd just been betrayed and dumped.
"Jennifer is also a good friend of mine, so I'm not trying to insult her. I'm only worried about you. Still, the fact that she's looking at other actresses without telling you... I'm a little disappointed."
"How dare she try to push me aside and search for another lead actress when she doesn't even have her next production planned yet... How can she be this disrespectful...!"
