Chapter 6: The choice is yours. What will you do?

The next day.

Sua woke up early. It was with the message from PD Son Jiwoong.

[Sender: PD Son Jiwoong]
[Due to the large file size, uploading to the cloud server is taking longer than expected. Thank you for your understanding.]

Checking the time the message arrived, it was 5 AM, just before sunrise. Had he worked through the night?
[Take your time.]
A text filled with concern was sent, and a reply immediately returned.
[Sorry. I’ll get it to you as soon as possible.]

Sua tilted her head slightly.
“He’s surprisingly polite.”

Muttering to herself, Sua put down her phone.

What had her acting been like?
It was something she was very curious about, but it wasn’t urgent enough to check right away. The third perk. To Sua, it was the most fun toy in the world at the moment.

Then came the notification of approval to join the script-sharing cafe.
[Congratulations!]
[You are now a full member of the cafe.]
[You now have access to all materials.]
[*Our cafe does not deal with illegal scripts.]

It was good news for Sua.
Being able to access more scripts meant she could dive into the perks in much more detail than before.

“Nice.”
Sua quickly downloaded several scripts. It took just a moment to print them all out and organize them into a folder.

The moment her hand touched the neatly stacked pile of scripts,
Suuuuu~!

The familiar feeling of exhilaration. Her mind began to drift.

[Welcome to ‘Acting Time.’]
[This space is tailored to your preferences.]
[‘Acting Time’ is currently deactivated.]
[You can freely experience the scripts.]

The notifications, now familiar, were easily ignored. What stood out were the doors that looked different from before.

Long nameplates were attached to the doors.
[Audition Script
Not a target
– Lacking basic elements]
[Drama ‘Catch If You Can’]
Sufficient implementation elements
[Drama ‘Speed Violation’]
Sufficient implementation elements

Two dramas from the cafe. Both were works that Sua liked quite a bit. Back in her working days, she had watched them in a corner on her phone.
‘Catch If You Can’ was a crime thriller.
‘Speed Violation’ was about the victory story of a car racer.

Sua’s eyes sparkled, as if still amazed.
“So, from now on, I can freely experience these?”
The audition scripts had been completely unknown to her when she was first drawn in, but now the situation was quite different. She still remembered the storylines of these two works in her head.

After swallowing a dry gulp, Sua muttered to herself,
“…How can I stand this? I can’t stand it!”

She threw open the door as if she were going to break it down and rushed inside. The first script she grabbed was “Speed Violation.”

Bang!
“Ugh!”

However, as soon as she entered, she had to endure a major collision. The panic hit first, followed by a painful sensation in her forehead.
“Ughhh….”

Sua rubbed her forehead and looked around the room.

She thought she would immediately dive into the world of the script, but it wasn’t like that. It was just a booth, like a phone booth.
…Why a phone booth all of a sudden? Was I tricked?

However, after glancing at the phonebook next to her, she understood.

[Kim Hyuncheol] 001
[Park Misook] 002
[Park Dongha] 003

“Ah, right. I need to set up the roles.”

Does that mean she just had to call the number she wanted? But wait, the main character, Kim Hyuncheol, is a man, right? Sua, deep in thought, moved her fingers.

She picked up the receiver and dialed the three digits. 001.

Szzzzzzt─!

At the same time, her mind became hazy.
“Wow….”

A moment later, Sua appeared in the hallway with an incredible expression on her face.
“Wow…. Wow….”

She quietly looked down at her hands.
“My, my hands…. I won the competition…!”

Without realizing it, Sua crossed her arms. The exhilarating sensation that rose from her toes to her head, and the chills that had covered her body, needed to be calmed down.
“Ughhh…!”

Sua trembled with pleasure.

The sensation of gripping the wheel was still vivid, and her right leg, which she had pressed the accelerator with all her might, still felt numb. How about the moment when she flipped a near-lost race with a drift?

‘Catch If You Can’ was the same. It was incredibly fun to steal art pieces while toying with the investigation agencies.
“Thrilling, fun, should I just live here forever?”

The audition script had been the worst, but the interesting scripts felt like a pleasant dream. The fatigue was notably less.

But then,
“Hmm?”

Something caught Sua’s eye as she was enjoying herself.

[Drama ‘Catch If You Can’]
Sufficient implementation elements
Experience completed / Grade 3

[Drama ‘Speed’]
Sufficient implementation elements
Experience completed / Grade 5

Both works had an extra line added.

“Experience completed, I get that… but what’s the grade?”

A few possible explanations immediately came to mind. Could it be that Sua hadn’t fully embraced her role?

“I don’t think so.”

She slowly shook her head.

The moment she entered the experiential world, Sua immediately began thinking and acting like her character. It wasn’t just being thrown into the world, it felt as if she had truly become that person.

What other elements could define the grade?

“Grade, grade, grade….”

Sua repeated the two words several times, deep in thought, before quickly realizing that she was being foolish.

After all, there was something much smarter in her apartment than her—her computer.

“Right. Let’s ask it.”

Shu~!

Leaving the Special Perks Hotel, Sua immediately sat down in front of her computer and began typing on the keyboard.

Just by searching the titles of each drama, a lot of articles appeared below.

First, Grade 3, “Try to Catch Me.”
[It did well for a low-budget production!]
[Great acting, but poor props….]
[The actors barely saved the piece.]
Average viewership: 6%.

Then, Grade 5, “Speed Violation.”
[It’s a masterpiece, but… critics sigh.]
[The racing genre is still too new in Korea.]
[Didn’t even break even.]
[Only its artistic value is top-notch.]
Average viewership: 1.8%.

“Did ‘Speed Violation’ fail this badly?”

Sua was surprised. She had been completely captivated after watching it by chance, but it seemed people’s tastes differed.

After searching more, she realized the investigation was narrowing down.

“‘Speed Violation’ is highly praised by experts, yet it has a low grade. It’s not a grade that indicates artistic value.”

If that’s the case, there is only one likely candidate left.

Grade 3, “Try to Catch Me.” Viewership: 6%.

Grade 5, “Speed Violation.” Viewership: 1.8%.

“Is this about the box office level?”

That seemed to be the case.

After this thought crossed her mind, Sua immediately rushed back to the Special Perks Hotel. An idea had suddenly flashed in her mind.

[Independent Film ‘Spiny Fish’]
– Elements implemented fully
Spiny Fish. This wasn’t a material shared in the café; it came from a recruitment ad.

In other words, it’s an unfinished piece, not yet even born.

“Could it be? If I experience this, will a grade be assigned?”

What’s the point of talking about it? Sua immediately opened the door.

“Ahhh…”

A short while later.

“Ugh… ughhh…”

Sua crawled out the door. In fact, she could barely move properly, looking like she was wriggling.

“A shrimp trawler… insane… why is the title ‘Spiny Fish’…”

Sua muttered in a dying voice. Seriously, what could possibly make a story about shrimp trawlers have the title “Spiny Fish”?

She felt frustrated. Should she go find them and complain?

But when she finally managed to lift her head, something caught her eye.

“…!”

The dim eyes, once drained of energy, suddenly sparked with life.

[Spiny Fish]
– Elements implemented fully
– Experience complete / Grade 6

“I see it! The grade!”

Sua immediately sprang up from her seat.

The pain from two hours of working on a shrimp trawler was already gone.

Now, she could see the grade of a piece that hadn’t even been released yet. To Sua , nothing was more amazing than this.

Shu~!

Once out of the space, she frantically searched the internet.

[Short Film ‘Basement’ Actor Recruitment]
[Sketch Comedy Actor Recruitment]
[Music Video Shooting Recruitment]
[Short Video Commercial CF Actor Recruitment]

Sua downloaded every script that had been attached.

If these grades really represent box office figures… if she could see the grades of unfinished works in advance…

“Hehe.”

Sua smiled without realizing it.

But then.

[Sender: Son Ji-woong PD]
[Sua , here’s the link.]

A solution that would clear up her doubts about her acting skills, as well as the doubts regarding the script’s grade, had arrived.

Sua immediately clicked on the link.

Finally, it was time to face herself.

The audition “This is How I Became an Actor” was taking place in an exhibition hall.

The space, once so crowded there was no room to step, now looked unbelievably empty.

This was because the first round of auditions, which had taken place for four days, had come to an end. Occasionally, only staff members could be seen moving around.

And, while all the scenery had been pushed aside,

Sagraak—

A man sat quietly inside a luxury van, flipping through a script. His sharp facial features were striking in harmony.

Sagraak sagraak—

It was dignified. It was poised.

At the moment the man was filling the space with elegance,

The van door suddenly opened slightly. A woman’s face peered out, instantly brightening the dark and heavy space.

“I knew it. Kim Sun-il, have you been here the whole time?”

Seo Yeon-ju, the epitome of innocence that others would try to catch another glimpse of. Yet, he seemed completely uninterested.

“Yeah.”

It was because they were familiar with each other. Kim Sun-il and Seo Yeon-ju were from the same agency, had worked on many projects together, and had similar popularity.

“The rumored feast, but there’s nothing to eat.”

He had been receiving real-time updates on the audition situation today, and he had been continuously disappointed. There were no shining gems to be found.

“What were you looking for? Ah, I get it.”

“Yeah. The next project by writer Lee Geum-sook.”

This writer’s next project was so good that he had no choice but to accept the script. However, after that, Kim Sun-il had sighed every single day.

He had encountered an unexpected problem.

Maybe it was because the script was so excellent, but he couldn’t find the right pieces to fill other roles. A drama couldn’t be made by one person, so it was bound to feel frustrating.

Seo Yeon-ju clicked her tongue in irritation.

“Fix your pickiness first. You’re not only obsessive-compulsive, but you have to personally choose the partner actor as well. What, are you some kind of mental case?”

“If you have complaints, go ahead. Find a man who acts better than me.”

Kim Sun-il answered briefly, slamming the script down.

“I’m leaving. I’ve lost interest.”

“Is it the participants? Or the script?”

“Both. Time to move on.”

“Hmm, if you had come on the first day, you wouldn’t have said that.”

Seo Yeon-ju shrugged, and Kim Sun-il furrowed his brow.

“…What are you talking about?”

“There was a pretty good gem on the first day.”

At the same time, Seo Yeon-ju opened the slightly ajar door wide.

Then the man appeared. Seo Yeon-ju hadn’t been alone from the start. The muscular Choi Hee-won, the PD, had been with her.

“Now we’re going to meet this writer with PD Choi Hee-won. We’re going to talk about the participants, so you can come with us.”

Seo Yeon-ju tilted her head coquettishly.

“The choice is yours. What will you do?”