Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Casting Candidates

Monday, December 28.

Before the Light Reaches had entered its seventh week and was still playing in theaters.

Its cumulative audience through the previous day was 1,167,842.

The number of theaters had dropped to less than half its peak.

Even so, viewers continued to come every weekend.

That same morning.

TS ENM headquarters.

Geonwoo checked the final page of the contract again.

He had received it over the weekend and had already read it twice.

Screenwriter and director: Baek Geonwoo.

Production: TS ENM-affiliated production studio.

Major actors would be selected through consultation between the director and production company.

After confirming that clause one last time, Geonwoo picked up the pen.

Baek Geonwoo.

He wrote his name and signed.

When Geonwoo handed the contract over, Park Dojin checked the final page.

"Done."

Park organized the documents.

"That's the contract finished."

"Yes."

"I look forward to working with you."

"Same here."

Cha Sookyung separated one copy of the contract.

Park Dojin then pushed forward a thick file lying beside him.

[Major Role Casting Candidates]

Looking at the file, Park continued,

"Shall we start talking about casting?"

Project room on the same floor.

Four role names appeared on the wall monitor.

Historian.

Military Officer.

Princess.

Deposed Crown Prince.

The producer Geonwoo had met during the earlier production review and a casting director sat across from him.

"It'll probably be better to go through them one role at a time."

The producer clicked the remote.

Military Officer enlarged on the screen.

"Let's start with the military officer."

Geonwoo looked up.

The casting director opened the candidate list.

"There's one actor production would like to check first."

A profile photo appeared.

Geonwoo's hand stopped on the file.

Top star Seo Jiwan.

The lead of the recently successful Low Ceiling.

"We'd like to approach Seo Jiwan first."

The producer spoke.

Geonwoo didn't take his eyes off the screen.

He could easily imagine Seo Jiwan in military uniform.

His build suited it.

He could handle action.

And his rough presence wasn't far from the military officer who had lived his entire life beneath the weight of his father's disgrace.

The problem was somewhere else.

In Geonwoo's previous life, that face had covered the news shortly before one of Seo Jiwan's leading films was released.

The film's press screening had suddenly been canceled.

At first, they said it was because of the actor's personal circumstances.

Several hours later, the reason changed.

Drunk driving.

Seo Jiwan had personally gotten behind the wheel after drinking.

He struck multiple parked cars and then left the scene.

No one was injured.

But that wasn't the end of the problem.

His agency initially claimed that he had only moved the car a short distance while waiting for a designated driver.

The next day, CCTV footage was released.

An apology followed.

But public anger toward Seo Jiwan only grew.

The movie eventually failed miserably at the box office.

Knowing that future could happen, Geonwoo couldn't cast Seo Jiwan.

"I'd like to look at other actors first."

The producer tilted his head.

"Do you think Seo Jiwan doesn't suit the military officer?"

Geonwoo didn't answer immediately.

Saying he didn't suit the role would be a lie.

"That's not it."

"Then is there another reason?"

Geonwoo thought briefly.

In this life, Seo Jiwan's incident had not happened yet.

He couldn't give something that hadn't even occurred as his reason.

"He's a little different from the military officer I imagined."

The producer asked,

"In what way?"

Geonwoo chose his words.

"The military officer isn't someone who stands out in the beginning."

"He's someone who's lived his entire life under pressure."

"You think Seo Jiwan has too strong a presence?"

"A little."

The producer nodded.

This time, he seemed to understand what Geonwoo meant.

"You're worried his star image will appear before the character."

"Yes."

"But if you consider the second half, that could also be an advantage."

"The military officer starts acting directly, has more action scenes, and becomes increasingly important."

That wasn't wrong either.

Geonwoo didn't think Seo Jiwan would fail in the role.

In fact, there was a good chance he'd perform it very well.

That only made explaining his rejection harder.

Geonwoo stared at Seo Jiwan's profile for another moment.

"For now, just check his schedule and whether he's interested."

The producer asked,

"You want to look at more candidates first?"

"Yes."

Geonwoo nodded.

"I'd like to find someone else first."

His mind was already made up.

He had no intention of casting Seo Jiwan as Lee Gyeom.

He simply couldn't explain an event that hadn't happened yet.

Park Dojin watched him briefly before nodding.

"Understood."

"Production will only check Seo Jiwan's availability for now."

"Yes."

The producer turned to Geonwoo.

"Do you have an actor in mind?"

"One."

"Who?"

Geonwoo didn't immediately give a name.

He didn't know the man's name.

He didn't even know his face.

All he knew was a voice he'd heard in his previous life.

Strong, yet sad.

There was a strange anger toward the world in it.

But somehow, the voice still sounded righteous.

After thinking, Geonwoo spoke.

"I don't know his name."

The producer stared at him.

"Excuse me?"

"Actually, I don't know his face either."

Silence fell.

Cha Sookyung looked up from the papers in her hand.

The producer asked again,

"You're saying you already have an actor in mind even though you don't know who he is?"

"Yes."

"I know his voice."

"His voice?"

Geonwoo nodded.

It was a voice he'd heard only once in his previous life.

Strangely, while writing the military officer's lines, that same voice kept returning.

Whenever Geonwoo read Lee Gyeom's dialogue in his head, he heard it.

"Where did you hear him?"

Geonwoo paused.

He couldn't explain that part honestly.

"I happened to hear him a long time ago."

"You're certain he's an actor?"

"Yes."

That much, Geonwoo knew.

If the man hadn't been an actor, Geonwoo never would have heard that voice in the first place.

The producer uncrossed his arms.

"Finding someone when you don't know his name or face won't be easy."

"I know."

"And you don't know his agency?"

"No."

The producer glanced at Park Dojin.

Even Park looked slightly troubled this time.

"Director Baek."

"Yes?"

"Do you at least have a way to find him?"

Geonwoo nodded.

"I do."

"Give me a little time, and I'll find him."

Park Dojin studied Geonwoo's eyes.

His expression was as calm as usual.

But there was no hesitation in his voice, despite saying he would find an actor whose identity he didn't even know.

Park nodded.

"All right."

"Then we'll leave that actor to you."

"Thank you."

"Let us know immediately when you find him."

"Production will review him together with you."

"Of course."

After leaving the meeting room, Geonwoo stopped in front of the elevators.

He was about to press the button when his hand paused.

Across the corridor, several other project rooms lined the floor.

Each door had a project title attached.

Geonwoo stared at them for a moment.

Moon Taeseok's next film was probably being prepared somewhere on this floor too.

At this point in his previous life, Geonwoo had not been sitting in a room selecting actors for his own film.

He had been rewriting Moon Taeseok's screenplay.

At first, he'd only revised a few pages.

Then more and more problems appeared.

Characters changed.

The order of events changed.

Eventually, Geonwoo rewrote almost everything except the original framework.

That became The Silent Verdict.

But casting had never been Geonwoo's job.

The production company and Moon Taeseok decided the lead actors.

Geonwoo then had to rewrite dialogue again to suit whoever they selected.

He looked back toward the project room he'd just left.

This time was different.

He was personally searching for an actor who suited a character he'd written.

The elevator opened.

Geonwoo stepped inside.

At the same time, inside the meeting room Geonwoo had just left, the producer asked Park Dojin,

"Since we're checking with Seo Jiwan anyway, should we send him the screenplay too?"

"Director Baek is still a rookie, but the script is really entertaining."

"He might be interested after reading it."

Park nodded.

"Good. Let's do that."

That afternoon.

Another TS ENM project room.

Moon Taeseok turned the final page of a screenplay.

Across the table sat the assigned producer and the newly attached writer.

Moon Taeseok remained silent for a while.

The writer nervously touched the water glass.

Finally, Moon Taeseok closed the script.

The cover appeared.

The Final Witness.

Beneath it were Moon Taeseok's name and the new writer's.

"This is much better."

The writer released a small breath.

"I completely reorganized the middle section like you asked."

"Good."

Moon Taeseok tapped the script with one finger.

"Having a younger writer definitely helps bring out the energy of a younger protagonist."

Moon Taeseok's original version had centered around a young prosecutor.

He searches for a witness who disappeared and pursues the truth behind a case.

In Geonwoo's previous life, he had dismantled that structure from the ground up.

Instead of a young man pursuing the truth, he'd made the protagonist a middle-aged prosecutor who had personally buried the truth fifteen years earlier.

But Geonwoo wasn't here this time.

The new writer kept Moon Taeseok's young protagonist.

Instead, he removed repetitive tracking scenes from the middle and moved up the chase and internal betrayal that occurred after securing the witness.

He also added more scenes where the protagonist took direct action.

It came from the same original concept.

But it had already become a completely different movie from The Silent Verdict that Geonwoo remembered.

"What do you think of this version, Team Leader Park?"

Park Dojin, who had been reviewing materials, looked up.

His evaluation of the original version had been harsh.

The beginning wasn't bad, but similar conflicts repeated throughout the middle.

Dialogue explained things before character action did.

And above all, the storytelling felt too familiar and old-fashioned for current audiences.

The project had stopped at the investment-review stage.

That had been when Moon Taeseok approached Geonwoo.

Park Dojin looked down at The Final Witness.

"It's much better than before."

"Do you think it'll pass this time?"

"That's not something I can decide here."

Park immediately drew the line.

"We still need to follow the proper process through screenplay evaluation and production review."

Moon Taeseok watched him without reaction.

Park continued,

"But if you're asking my personal opinion, I think it has a strong chance of passing this time."

The new writer's shoulders relaxed slightly.

Moon Taeseok also smiled.

"That's enough for me."

Park closed the screenplay.

"The protagonist is much clearer now."

"Before, the incident dragged the character along."

"This time, the protagonist actively drives the story."

"Do you already have an actor in mind?"

Moon Taeseok looked at the cover briefly.

"One."

"Who?"

Moon Taeseok leaned back.

"Seo Jiwan."

Park Dojin's gaze paused.

"Seo Jiwan?"

"Good face. Good build. His acting isn't bad."

"More importantly, he can handle action."

"His recent film was a hit too."

Moon Taeseok noticed Park's reaction.

"What was that look? You don't think he fits?"

"No. He fits the role well."

Park pulled his laptop closer.

"But his name came up for another project this morning too."

Moon Taeseok's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Whose?"

"Director Baek Geonwoo's."

Moon Taeseok gave a short laugh.

"Really?"

"He hasn't signed yet, right?"

"No."

"We're just sending the screenplay and checking interest."

"Then send ours today too."

Moon Taeseok smiled.

"Ours is a solo-lead role. He'll definitely be interested."

"And Seo Jiwan will probably prefer working with me over a rookie director."

The next morning.

Seo Jiwan entered his agency's meeting room and immediately hung his coat on a chair.

"Why did you call me into the office?"

Two screenplays lay on the table.

His manager answered,

"TS ENM sent us two movie scripts yesterday."

"Both movies?"

"Yes."

Seo Jiwan picked up the one closest to him.

The Night the King Died.

His hand briefly stopped when he read the name beneath the title.

Baek Geonwoo.

"Isn't this the director of that movie we saw in Busan?"

"Yes. Director Baek of Before the Light Reaches."

"It's passed 1.16 million viewers now."

Seo Jiwan flipped the screenplay over once.

"What role?"

"The military officer. One of four leads."

"Four?"

"Yes."

Seo Jiwan looked at the cover again.

"Over a million viewers with his first movie is pretty good."

The manager nodded.

"People in the industry are talking about him a lot."

"Still a rookie director."

Seo Jiwan placed the script down.

"And it's a four-lead movie."

The manager pointed toward the other screenplay.

"This one is Director Moon Taeseok's film."

"You'd be the sole lead."

Seo Jiwan smirked.

"Then what is there to think about?"

He picked up The Final Witness.

"Let's read this one first."