Become a Star

The director of Confession of White had been decided –– Pharrell Bob. He was a director who was said to captivate not only the hearts of fanatics but also the general public, having created several eccentric and fantastical works. He was indeed one of the few talented people who were both artistic and successful, and all of his films were box office hits.

When it was announced he would be directing the film, both critics and fans of the original novel alike responded positively. They remarked that there was no need to worry about how Lloyd’s bizarre and wondrous abilities would be portrayed.

Pharrell Bob announced that they would only be holding auditions for Lloyd’s part. As for the other roles, they already had other actors in mind. He also expressed that they would be casting them after having a discussion with Ilya Turner.

In response, Ilya Turner stated he would only be involved in Lloyd’s casting and added that any other matters would fall under the director’s purview. It was as though L. Dmitri was indirectly saying that Lloyd’s casting was his most significant concern.

Nevertheless, even though Pharrell Bob asked Ilya for advice on the casting, the latter passed the baton to the director and told him to do as he pleased. This was the same reaction Ilya previously had when Selena approached him to talk about making his novel into a movie.

Ilya honestly thought that aside from Lloyd, it didn’t matter who portrayed the other characters. He wondered if the director would be able to take care of the rest on his own. His heart was sincere up to this point.

***

{Of all people, why does it have to be Ian Essery?}

Less than a week after Ilya’s interview, where he said that he respected the director’s opinions and that he would give him as much authority over casting matters as possible, Ilya raised his voice at Selena. To add to this, Ilya had even turned down Pharrell Bob’s request for assistance initially.

{There aren’t any other actors who are as fitting as him when it comes to portraying… Albert.}

Selena was usually always firm and decisive, but in this situation, she avoided Ilya’s gaze and answered with difficulty.

Albert was the second most important character in Confession of White. In the novel, he was Lloyd’s adoptive father, as well as the sole witness and the one who provided Lloyd’s only refuge. And, as soon as Ian Essery was cast as Albert, Ilya became furious. Similar to how he didn’t like people in general, Ilya didn’t particularly hate anyone either. Yet, there were a select few he harbored animosity towards.

Ian Essery was the actor that introduced Confession of White to the public during an interview. This was the source of Ilya’s murderous rage toward the man, and it was also the reason he despised him so much that he didn’t watch any of the films he appeared in. Ironically, however, Ian ended up being cast in the movie adaptation of his own work, which was absurd to Ilya.

For a long time, Ian had always wanted to take on Albert’s role if the novel were to be adapted into a film. His wish had come true, but it was a disaster for Ilya. Yet, since Ilya had been ignoring Ian Essery, he didn’t even know about the interview.

{Can’t we just pretend the film adaptation never happened?}

Ilya brought up canceling the movie production immediately, taking barely any time to contemplate the matter. Instead of coming forward and telling everyone that he was absolutely against Ian Essery being cast as Albert, Ilya thought it would be better to make L. Dmitri appear to be the most fickle person in the world. In any case, L. Dmitri’s true identity hadn’t been revealed, so Ilya irresponsibly thought that regardless of the criticisms people hurl at L., it wouldn’t matter.

{Unfortunately, the results of the first audition have already been announced. You made quite a stir for the film adaptation, so it would be too difficult for us to call it off. Three people were selected in the United States, and the other Midas Agency branches had six, making for a total of nine people.}

Selena handed a stack of documents to Ilya, telling him canceling the movie production was out of the question. These papers contained the results of the first round of auditions held by the Midas Agency.

Hiccups often occurred throughout a movie production, but now that they’d even held auditions internationally, they would lose all credibility if they dropped the adaptation altogether. It would be a severe blow to the Consccia Foundation since they were the main investors and the ones overseeing the production. They would be blamed for taking things too far, and as the chairman of the foundation, Selena would have to shoulder the responsibility.

One by one, Ilya reluctantly flipped through the documents that Selena handed over to him, but he looked amused shortly after. Four out of the nine applicants were actors Selena had chosen in the first place. Additionally, Ilya wasn’t aware, but two of the actors she had eliminated were on the list as well, proving that Selena’s secretary had done a great job.

{Nothing unexpected happened in the end.}

{We’ll only know once we find out who the finalist is.}

It was not yet known if things would take an unexpected turn or if the outcome would be as anticipated.

{So, are you really thinking of dropping the movie?}

Ilya didn’t answer Selena’s serious question. He glanced down at the list of applicants that passed the first round and waved her off as though he was annoyed. He liked the applicants, so it was a sign for him to set aside the Ian Essery issue for the time being.

However, Selena wasn’t relieved. In fact, she became even more anxious. If the actor Ilya referred to as ‘child’ didn’t get Lloyd’s part, she didn’t know if he would change his mind about the movie again. Ilya had a calm and rational personality in his own way, and yet, he couldn’t help but have the temperament of an artist.

Whenever he made impromptu decisions on a whim, he didn’t even think about the consequences. He was never criticized because the people around him always took care of things and sided with him. It would be the same in this instance. Even if the movie production were canceled, the Consccia Foundation and Selena would face more criticism than Ilya.

{Regardless of the outcome of the auditions…}

{From the beginning, this adaptation was something I started after making up my mind. Ian Essery was an unexpected variable, but if something like that were to happen again, I’d just have to ignore it.}

Ilya glanced at Selena and smiled magnanimously. She was also worthy of being called a ‘child.’ While he did find how demanding Selena was annoying at times, she was one of the few people he was generous towards.

Just as much as anyone else, Ilya didn’t want to get Selena in trouble or make her have a hard time. Despite how much he disliked Ian Essery, he had no intention of putting Selena on the spot in any case. Expressing his feelings by throwing a monkey wrench into their plans was enough to make him feel satisfied.

{Why are there so many things at the back of my mind the older I become…}

{I’m sorry?}

{I’m saying the older you get, the weaker your mind becomes.}

Selena didn’t think that was the case, but just like a true Consccia, she was adept at hiding her thoughts. Yet, she couldn’t fool Ilya –– someone who had dealt with Lansky. Even when compared to the devilish Giorgio, she was like an open book. And Ilya knew how to snap Selena out of her poker face.

{By the way, did the friend you mentioned attend the audition? Didn’t you say he was rather famous?}

Ilya tapped his fingers on the list of applicants that passed the first round. After Ilya asked what happened when he didn’t see the actor on the list, Selena shook her head with a disappointed expression. Dustin also went to the audition, but it seemed as though he was somewhat lacking and did not meet the cut.

According to the judges’ comments, they said he had fought hard until the end, but unfortunately, he was eliminated. They also mentioned that he had been dropped because of his bright and cheerful image, rendering him a poor fit to portray Lloyd. As such, it wasn’t because his acting skills were insufficient. Selena shared the same sentiment, but she couldn’t help but feel saddened.

{He still needs a great deal of improvement.}

{Even though he needs improvement, I’m guessing he must be a close friend, seeing as how he has a friend like you who thinks this way of him.}

Ilya looked at Selena’s face with a faint smile. It seemed that the era of the new generation had arrived. The fact that he was starting to wonder about the future they would create made Ilya wonder if he was truly old. He suddenly felt the need to let go of the Lloyd he had been holding on to and embrace the new Lloyd created by the next generation.

Instead of aging disgracefully, obsessed with the pain and lingering feelings of the past, for some reason, assuming a supporting role and watching over the new era created by the next generation was his mission now. As a writer, he would still be writing a story about this fresh era, but perhaps the content would be different from before. Hence, he hoped that the children in his upcoming story would be happy.

***

After much struggle, the Korean branch announced that Chae Woo-Jin had passed the audition, but the public saw it as an expected outcome. Rather than disagreeing with the results, people were surprised by the fact that Park Min was only one point behind Chae Woo-Jin. They didn’t think Park Min had done well; they believed he would’ve never obtained that score without the help of a corrupted judge. They knew the difference between Chae Woo-Jin and Park Min, so the difference in their scores was something they couldn’t comprehend.

The people on Park Min’s side weren't expecting such a reaction, as they had excessively used the media to manipulate public opinion from the start. While Park Min was under heavy fire, Village’s Do-Ya was receiving peaceful attention from the public. People didn’t understand why he was only two points behind Chae Woo-Jin, but most of them assumed he had gotten the score because of his skillful performance during the audition.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! They’re only saying that because they don't know Do-Ya’s uncle was one of the judges!”

Hwang Yi-Young was looking at articles that described the audition and the public’s reaction. As she beat her chest, she said she was going to explode from anger.

All’s well that ends well, but when Park Min’s agency published an article about how it was a pity he failed by only one point, Do-Ya also joined in and used the media to shape how the public viewed him. Even though it was natural for Park Min to get criticized, the fact that Do-Ya slithered through the gap and rose to the surface made her feel sick to her stomach. Additionally, her fury grew exponentially after CEO Jang Soo-Hwan told her about the relationship between Do-Ya and one of the judges.

“To be precise, he isn’t his biological uncle, but he’s close enough to Do-Ya’s father for Do-Ya to call him ‘uncle.’”

As soon as Woo-Jin corrected Hwang Yi-Young, her eyes smoldered with anger, and she snapped at him.

“Woo-Jin, are you disregarding the friendship between men? If the judge is close friends with his father, he’s considered an uncle to Do-Ya! Don’t you know that friendship is thicker than blood?”

Hwang Yi-Young wasn’t wrong when she said that people had closer connections with the family they chose than those they were linked to merely by blood.

However, in Woo-Jin’s opinion, Do-Ya’s acting wasn’t bad. At the time, Woo-Jin was so immersed in Lloyd’s role that he didn’t pay attention to Do-Ya and Park Min when they acted out their parts, but there was nothing he could do to block out their voices and the sounds they made. Do-Ya was adept at expressing emotions through his voice, panting as he spoke while running away. When he heard their voices without looking at the two people’s faces, Woo-Jin felt that Park Min paled in comparison when delivering his lines.

“I wasn’t there to see the other actors’ auditions, so I can’t comment on them, but at the very least, his acting was better than Park Min’s. It doesn’t make sense that he had a lower score.”

The reason behind these odd scores was that Kwon So-Hyun was conscious of the threat Woo-Jin posed, so she was going to lower his score before the audition even began. Since she had to give Chae Woo-Jin a lower score, she also knew that Do-Ya couldn’t have done better than Woo-Jin, so Do-Ya also started with an even worse score. One or two points were significant enough to control the outcome of a situation when it was such a close fight.

“If they give you 2 out of 5 for appearance, you’re done. Are we not going to publish an article about this?”

In the entertainment industry, where people had a conflict of interests, nobody expected auditions to be conducted fairly. Yet, Hwang Yi-Young didn’t expect them to be so openly biased in such a publicized audition. She understood that it was an opportunity of a lifetime, but she felt they were too greedy.

Hwang Yi-Young was frustrated by how Park Min and Do-Ya were using the media to sway public opinion using their audition scores, so she wondered if they should do something about it too.

“That’s the reason people are looking deeper into the situation. It’s because they’re aware of these facts.”

While organizing Woo-Jin’s schedule, Kang Ho-Soo tried to appease Hwang Yi-Young and told her to calm down.

Park Min had made the mistake of arousing people’s curiosity by commenting on how narrow his defeat was and using the media to influence the public. In truth, everybody was well-aware of his subpar acting skills. The only thing he had going for him was his appearance, but he was overshadowed by Chae Woo-Jin in that aspect as well, so it made people question why he still received such a high score.