Episode 11. Child Actor Debut (5)
Just as they were about to end the day on a good note, a sudden commotion broke out.
If Director Kim Gap-young was saying that the script might need to be revised.
‘This doesn’t seem like a normal situation.’
Even Kang Dae-oh, who was a layman when it came to movies and dramas, knew well how important a script was.
This was because the script played the role of setting the direction and center, preventing the play from going off course.
Kang Dae-oh quietly approached Director Kim Gap-young and asked.
“What’s the matter?”
Director Kim Gap-young, who belatedly realized that the person who had spoken to him was Kang Dae-oh, showed a moment of hesitation on his face.
Strictly speaking, Kang Dae-oh was a civilian.
So, he momentarily fell into contemplation, wondering if it was right to share this information with him.
However, this contemplation didn’t last long.
From the moment Kang Dae-oh stayed on set with the staff, it meant that he was no longer just a civilian, but rather someone involved in the production.
“There’s a location we scouted, and they suddenly contacted us. They said they can’t provide the venue.”
“Why? Wasn’t it already agreed upon?”
“Yes. But it seems they had a change of heart, and they threatened us, saying they wouldn’t allow it.”
The world is vast, and there are many people with beliefs that defy common sense.
Kang Dae-oh, too, could fully understand, as he had experience dealing with countless difficult customers while working as a self-employed individual.
He frequently encountered customers—no, jerks—who picked fights for no reason.
So, suddenly canceling an appointment would be commonplace.
The problem was.
“Tomorrow is the shoot, and we can’t adjust the actors’ schedules for additional filming now. It’s truly troublesome.”
No matter how capable Director Kim Gap-young was, he wasn’t a god who could solve all problems instantly.
Towards Director Kim, who was in a state of panic wondering what to do, Kang Dae-oh subtly shared his own experience.
“When something happens that’s too difficult to handle alone, it’s okay to lean on others a little.”
“Lean on them, you say…”
“Yes. If you try to carry everything by yourself, your acquaintances who are watching might feel even more burdened. So, why don’t you try doing that, Director?”
“……”
Director Kim Gap-young, still seated, looked up at Kang Dae-oh.
Kang Dae-oh was eight years younger than him.
Nevertheless.
“Dae-oh ssi, you’re more mature than I am.”
He realized that Kang Dae-oh was a very thoughtful person.
He speculated that Kang Yebin’s words and actions might have originated from her father.
“As Dae-oh ssi said, I should have a meeting with the staff.”
“Yes. If anything is decided, please let me know anytime.”
“I will certainly do so.”
Kang Yebin’s filming schedule was set for tomorrow as well.
Because of this, he definitely had to inform Kang Dae-oh about how the direction would be adjusted.
Meanwhile. After a brief conversation with Director Kim Gap-young, Kang Dae-oh returned to where Kang Yebin was.
As soon as she saw her dad, Kang Yebin asked what had happened.
Kang Dae-oh shared with Kang Yebin exactly what had happened just now.
In short.
“It’s because of a location issue.”
Kang Dae-oh already had something he wanted to ask Kang Yebin about this issue.
“Do you happen to remember how this problem was solved in the future?”
“Well, I don’t really know about that.”
Kang Yebin’s position back then and her position now were inevitably very different.
She didn’t even remember if such a thing had happened.
And it was understandable, because Director Kim Gap-young or other actors had never mentioned in interviews that there was a hidden anecdote about struggling with a location problem during filming.
So, how they actually overcame this difficulty at the time, Kang Yebin didn’t know.
It was normal not to know unless one was present on set like she was now.
“I hope it gets resolved well.”
Sincerity could be felt in Kang Dae-oh’s words.
And it was understandable, as he was worried that the repercussions of the location problem might negatively affect Kang Yebin.
Kang Yebin, who had been lost in thought for a moment, slowly opened her mouth again.
“Dad. I do have a way.”
“What way?”
“Lend me your ear.”
Kang Dae-oh nodded briefly, then knelt on one knee and lowered himself to match Kang Yebin’s height.
Afterwards, Kang Yebin proposed an idea, containing her thoughts, to Kang Dae-oh.
Kang Dae-oh’s eyes widened upon hearing his second daughter’s words.
“Are you really going to do that?”
“Yes. Rather, for me… no, for us, this problem seems like an opportunity to increase our screen time.”
“That’s true, but…”
There was one thing that bothered him.
“How are you going to persuade Ryu Yeon-ah ssi?”
“I’ll do that. When you’re unknown, if your role increases even a little, you’ll definitely like it. So, Dad, you just need to persuade the Director well.”
“Persuade, huh… I’ve been assigned the most difficult role.”
Nevertheless, Kang Dae-oh intended to make it happen somehow.
Even for his beloved daughter.
Following Kang Dae-oh’s advice, Director Kim put his head together with the staff, discussing and re-discussing how best to proceed with tomorrow’s additional filming.
However, no suitable alternative ideas emerged.
It couldn’t be helped.
This was because both Director Kim and the staff were experiencing such a situation for the first time.
“Could it be that some malicious force from outside intervened to sabotage our shoot and canceled the location?”
Such conspiracy theories were even circulating among the staff.
Director Kim gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
“If such a malicious force truly existed, they would have used a much simpler and more fatal method than this.”
“Are there such methods?”
“Of course there are. Where else is as dirty and despicable as the entertainment industry? All sorts of things exist in this business.”
Because of this, he sometimes encountered truths he didn’t want to know.
Perhaps it was because such memories resurfaced in his mind after a long time.
A bitter smile once again settled on Director Kim’s face.
However, it wasn’t always bad things that happened.
“Ahem! Director-nim. Are you busy, by any chance?”
Kang Dae-oh, who had briefly drawn attention to himself with a short cough, came to where Director Kim and the staff were gathered.
“No. What is it? More importantly, you haven’t left yet.”
Kang Yebin’s screen time filming had finished a long time ago.
It was surprising to Director Kim that Kang Dae-oh was still remaining on set despite that.
Kang Dae-oh nodded briefly.
“I was wondering if a solution had come up.”
“Well… I’m sorry. We haven’t come up with any concrete measures yet. I want to let you know as soon as something is decided, but it’s just… not going my way.”
Since that’s always how things in the world are, Kang Dae-oh showed a reaction of full understanding.
“It actually turned out well.”
“Turned out well? What do you mean…?”
“An idea came to me while looking at the script.”
“Is it an idea Dae-oh ssi came up with?”
Actually, no.
It was Kang Yebin who told him, but she additionally asked him to make it seem like her dad came up with it.
This was because Kang Yebin was still very young.
Even appealing to Director Kim with her extensive knowledge of movies and dramas when they first met was actually crossing a line.
This was because if a young child, who should only be thinking about playing with her mom and dad, possessed knowledge that even industry professionals would find surprising, they would naturally find it strange.
So, from now on, Kang Yebin wanted to control this tempo.
Kang Dae-oh also had the same thought as his second daughter.
Even if Kang Yebin showed abilities comparable to adults, ordinary people wouldn’t definitively conclude, ‘Ah, that child has regressed.’
This was because the phenomenon of regression itself was realistically nonsensical.
Even so, there was no harm in being careful.
This was because the less suspicious attention one received, the better.
Kang Dae-oh revealed the idea he received from his second daughter in front of Director Kim and the staff.
“How about we add additional scenes for Yebin and Yeon-ah ssi instead?”
“Additional scenes for those two?”
“Yes. It seems the canceled scenes this time were mainly ‘daily life’ parts that don’t significantly affect the scenario. If it’s just to fill in screen time, Yebin and Yeon-ah ssi alone can do it perfectly fine.”
More than anything else, Director Kim Gap-young admired Kang Dae-oh’s ability to read the flow of the script.
In fact, an expert would immediately see that this scene was inserted just to fill broadcast time, even though it wasn’t strictly necessary.
Those scenes were precisely S#10 and S#12, which were canceled this time.
“Dae-oh ssi, you’re good at reading scripts. It wouldn’t be easy for an ordinary person to clearly distinguish what purpose this scene serves.”
There was a separate secret.
It was his regressed second daughter.
Thanks to Kang Yebin explaining all the reasons, Kang Dae-oh could logically present his argument.
However, successfully persuading Director Kim was entirely Kang Dae-oh’s responsibility.
Kang Dae-oh shrugged his shoulders and said.
“I tend to read a lot of fantasy martial arts novels. So, I’m confident when it comes to text.”
Director Kim Gap-young nodded briefly and intended to seriously consider Kang Dae-oh’s proposal.
But.
There was one thing that bothered him.
“Will both of them be okay? A sudden, unplanned schedule came up.”
“Yes. You don’t have to worry about that part. Yebin has wanted to do it for a long time, and Yeon-ah ssi also said she’d prefer it if her screen time increased.”
Because she was unknown, this couldn’t be anything but an opportunity for her.
Kang Dae-oh had already secured the actors’ consent.
Director Kim Gap-young looked at Kang Dae-oh and laughed heartily.
“Dae-oh ssi, you could sit in the director’s chair instead of me, couldn’t you?”
Kang Dae-oh shook his head, politely declining.
“I’m more suited to being a cafe owner.”
In addition, he was also surprisingly suited to the role of a regressor’s dad.
The very next day.
As per Kang Dae-oh’s suggestion, S#10 and S#12 were revised with Kang Yebin and Ryu Yeon-ah as the main focus, and filming continued.
Director Kim, who was watching the actors’ performance, picked up a megaphone and shouted.
“Okay, cut! You both did great, and you worked hard!”
Director Kim Gap-young smiled with satisfaction at the two who had finished filming quickly and without any NGs today.
He had expected Kang Yebin to do well all along, but…
“Yeon-ah ssi is quite surprising. She’s got some acting chops, doesn’t she?”
“Th-thank you, Director-nim!”
“If you have time, would it be alright to increase your scenes a bit more? Both Yeon-ah ssi and Yebin, together.”
“Yes! It would be an honor!”
Ryu Yeon-ah sent a bright smile towards Kang Yebin, who was smiling contentedly next to her.
This was because she knew it was all thanks to Kang Yebin.
And so, the positive influence of the regressor with the small body was spreading widely throughout the entire film set.
