YDCF 36

Chapter – 36

Inside a conference room at Studio Cocoa, a top-tier media content production company.

Today was the main meeting for May the Mountain Spirit Bless Us, Studio Cocoa’s highly anticipated project and a collaboration with a local government.

The female lead, Joo Sae-i, the male lead, Do Je-hyeon, and the writer, director, and other related staff were seated in their assigned places.

On the wide table were neatly arranged cups of warm honey water, snacks, and officially printed scripts.

Among the many people gathered, the gaze of Studio Cocoa’s CEO, Park Ji-seok, was fixed on one person.

Why on earth did they cast some total nobody…

That person was Joo Sae-i, who would be playing the female protagonist, So Ji-min.

Studio Cocoa, under Park Ji-seok, was famous for producing hit after hit.

Popularity, commercial appeal, and meaningful storytelling—covering all three was Studio Cocoa’s motto and greatest strength.

Do they have any idea how hard I worked to build this company up?

Thanks to the studio’s reputation, this project had secured a partnership with the Gyeonggi tourism industry.

When Park Ji-seok first received the script from Choi Gi-young, he had expected a massive hit—but the conditions attached made him recoil.

“Leave casting authority entirely to me.”
“Do you already have an actor in mind?”
“Hmm, of course. You know I cast based on image.”

He should’ve sensed something was off when Choi Gi-young gave that meaningful smile.

The actress Choi Gi-young brought in as the female lead was a complete rookie, with virtually no prior roles.

She had participated in a drama written by Choi Gi-young’s younger sister, Choi Gi-jeong, but given that production’s later release schedule, May the Mountain Spirit Bless Us, a web-drama–style project, would air first. For all intents and purposes, this was her debut.

You can’t just shove a rookie into the lead like this. What are you thinking?

It wasn’t that Park doubted Choi Gi-young’s eye for talent. He just wished they’d chosen someone with at least a little name recognition.

Still, it was fortunate that a big fish like Do Je-hyeon had taken the bait.

Apparently, Do Je-hyeon had built some rapport with Joo Sae-i on a previous set—because the moment he heard she’d been cast, he immediately agreed to join the project.

“Haaah…”

Her face really was good, though. Clear, bright, very student-like—delicately pretty.

Park Ji-seok let out a sigh as he looked her over.

“Let’s start with introductions. Nice to meet you all—May the Mountain Spirit Bless Us team. I’m the writer, Choi Gi-young.”

The first to speak was Choi Gi-young herself, the writer of the project.

“I’m Director Kwon Hui-taek. Let’s make this run smoothly, haha.”

After everyone introduced themselves, Choi Gi-young took the floor again, extending her arms toward Joo Sae-i and Do Je-hyeon to draw attention.

“These are the two leads I fished out of my sister’s project. Let’s give them another round of applause.”

“Woooo!”

With a sharper tone than her younger sister’s, Choi Gi-young prompted the applause. The entire room clapped loudly in response, while CEO Park simply watched with his hands in his pockets.

“First, Joo Sae-i. She’s an actress I was determined to cast as my female lead. As for her skill—well, you’ll see soon enough.”

Her pointing hand shifted toward Do Je-hyeon.

“You all know Do Je-hyeon, right? If you don’t, you must be a spy at this point. Our Je-hyeon here said he wanted to join the project the moment he heard Sae-i was cast.”

“Writer-nim, you didn’t have to say that…!”

Do Je-hyeon suddenly cut in, covering his face with his large hand in embarrassment.

“We’ve worked together before, even if it was as child actors, so I’m really looking forward to it. Let’s do our best together until the end.”

Choi Gi-young set the microphone down. The next person to speak was CEO Park Ji-seok.

“This project will be produced as a web drama. Four episodes, about twenty-five minutes each, uploaded to the Intube channel. In addition, it’ll be broadcast as a special weekend one-episode drama.”

As he spoke, Park summarized the structure on the whiteboard.

“The programming’s already been confirmed by KDS. Two web episodes will be combined into one broadcast episode of about fifty-five minutes.”

As he casually scribbled on the board, Park glanced sideways at Joo Sae-i.

Huh?

She was listening more intently than anyone else in the room, her eyes shining with enthusiasm.

More than an actress, she looked like a model student attending a lecture. It almost made Park feel like a student teacher supervising practice teaching.

“Depending on the response on Intube and broadcast, we might plan follow-ups. Either way, the two lead actors need to deliver. Right, Ms. Joo Sae-i?”

He directly called on her to gauge her reaction. The way she nodded eagerly really screamed rookie.

“Well, that about covers the explanation.”

“Oh—and one more thing.”

As soon as Park returned to his seat, Choi Gi-young adjusted her glasses and spoke up.

“Since we’re all here, why don’t we do a quick script reading? Just to check the tone.”

“Sounds good.”

Do Je-hyeon pulled his chair closer and opened the script.

Naturally, Park Ji-seok’s gaze settled on Joo Sae-i. Her fingers trembled slightly as she flipped through the pages.

She’s totally going to stumble over her lines.

When rookies do impromptu script readings, they usually shake like that, then freeze up, botch their lines, and look like they’re about to cry. Park had seen it countless times as CEO.

“We’re just checking the vibe, so don’t feel pressured. Of course, perfect would be nice. Alright—let’s start with Episode 2.”

Choi Gi-young showed no hesitation in pushing forward. She must have had something to rely on.

With no expectations, Park waited with a bored expression.

The actors skimmed the script lightly, and soon, under the writer’s lead, the reading began.

“Are you filming a historical drama right now?”

Joo Sae-i read her line, eyes sparkling.

At that moment, a crack appeared in Park’s bored expression.

What the—?

A lively, bouncy tone. It sounded exactly like a modern high-school girl—like she had fully become So Ji-min.

“What is this—no, wait! Hold on! This is a prank, right?”

“Release your grip at once.”

“Ahhh, cosplay or something? But I have cram school to get to…”

“‘Gosu-borae’? Is that some kind of idiom?”

“No, seriously, what are you even saying? Please tell me this is a prank…”

The back-and-forth with Do Je-hyeon perfectly filled the early part of Episode 2.

This was exactly how Park had vaguely imagined So Ji-min when he first read the script.

“So if I want to go back, I need… um, your spiritual power… right?”

Joo Sae-i was bursting with energy like a fish in water, while Do Je-hyeon skillfully played off her.

The contrast between the noisy high-school girl and the serene mountain spirit painted itself effortlessly in Park’s mind. He closed his eyes.

Even though it was just a reading, every breath felt vividly real.

…Is this really a rookie’s skill?

He opened his eyes again and looked at Joo Sae-i.

The trembling hands were gone. She projected her lines boldly, her voice full and confident, making Park’s heart thump for no reason.

Park shifted his gaze to Do Je-hyeon.

The Do Je-hyeon he knew—despite his immense talent—usually approached script readings with a flat, emotionless face.

But now…

Is he glowing? That’s Do Je-hyeon?

As if he’d already memorized his lines, he wasn’t even looking at the script anymore—he was looking straight at Joo Sae-i as he spoke.

“Eek, please spare me…! If I don’t go to cram school, my mom’s going to smack my back—my back!”

“Why do you seek your path to survival through me…?”

“Eek…”

“Hah. No matter how you stare, I cannot grant you my power.”

“Tch. I’m totally spreading rumors that the golden axe, silver axe mountain spirit is all fake.”

His eyes sparkled as he acted—like he was genuinely enjoying performing with her.

What in the world…

That was when CEO Park Ji-seok finally realized it.

This isn’t a rookie who snagged a big fish.

Joo Sae-i and Do Je-hyeon’s casting—

It was a big fish bringing along another big fish.