Rebirth: King to Superstar

Joon-won was now in front of San Min in her office, with Kar Jung leisurely sitting on a couch by the side. He just performed in his last drama in the drama house, he performed in all the dramas, every week taking up different roles each time to get more practice. San Min called him into her office before they left for the party. He knew what she wanted to talk about and was waiting for her to start. 

San Min looked at the kid in front of her. Even though she thought of him as a kid, she knew he never carried himself like that at all. He seemed more like a mature man with a lot of experience under him and a guy who went through a lot of trials and tribulations. She was comfortable talking around him and felt like she was talking to someone above her age and was receiving advice. 

Shaking the thoughts away, she said, "Well, another good performance tonight from you, Joon-won. This time, all the reviews were basically about your performance and how good you are. Looks like these two months my drama house and its dramas became a showcase for only you and no one else. Some of the other actors were grumbling the other day at how good you were." Joon-won only shrugged hearing her. 

"Yeah, true. Compared to how the reviews in the first drama he performed were, this is way too much. At first, he was only mentioned a little and now the entire thing is about him." Kar Jung chipped in. 

"Well, alright. Now, with this over, let's talk about you. It looks like you are almost free from your problems. People wouldn't be able to find them unless they are only looking at you and have a high level of experience to catch them, and there aren't many people like that in the industry. So tell me, what are you going to do this coming week? Your semester starts on Saturday and you would have to report to the class that day. So would you be performing on Sunday again, or was this the last time?" She said, folding her hands. 

The summer break was over and it was the 25th, the Sunday before the last week, so she needed to know what his next step was. Was he going to come in for another last drama or try something out in the free week for any auditions?

Joon-won shrugged and said, "No, this might be my last drama this summer. Do Hwan asked me to call him tomorrow so that we can meet and talk about the audition requests we received until now and if possible pick one of them as my debut." He got a text from Do Hwan the day before asking him to call so that they could discuss the future. The so-called training period is now over and he needs the experience to improve further. 

San Min nodded and replied, "Well alright, then. Looks like Do Hwan made plans for you. It was nice to have you act here this summer. Our ratings went up quite a lot when you were on stage, so it's a win for both of us then. Now, let's get going. Our members won't be able to enter the restaurant without me." She stood up, signaling the end of their little meeting.

All of them walked out of the room and Joon-won was thinking about the past 2 months he spent in the theatre, learning. Even though he had ample experience in dramas, that was still not enough compared to many actors in movies. But the practice he had throughout the break was priceless for the present self. It helped him adapt and now he felt he was ready to go into the movies unlike before. 

He gained more confidence in himself and the hard work he was putting in every week after he started to receive offers from a few production crews. He also heard from San Min that a few reputable directors were coming to the drama house every Sunday just to watch him. It made him feel good for the first time after coming into the world.

As he stepped out, he heard the system. The system was often silent since it gave out its first advice. Throughout the summer, the system gave a few small pieces of advice whenever he was contemplating if he was ready and they helped him to continue further as all of its advice was often spot on. 

[Joon-won, you should be ready now. Take any role you get in the next offers to get some experience in the movie set. Those roles would give you a good feel for how the movie production is. After a few small roles, then we can aim higher.] in its same emotionless voice. 

Joon-won, who stepped out of the room with San Min and Kar Jung, nodded to himself, agreeing with what the system had to say. The minor roles which many people don't pay much attention to would be perfect for his current situation. Even if he did a few mistakes, there wouldn't be many problems and he could learn from them instead.

As the three were walking in the hallway, Kar Jung looked at Joon-won and said, "Well Joon-won, you are finally ready, ready for the next step?" Joon-won just nodded.

"Well, you also helped around the drama house a bit. That Dokgo Ki, was such an egotistical idiot before he came, but it looks like he came down a few notches after seeing you act and actually started to try to learn how to get better. The others are also following the same trend, seeing a guy still in his first year of university, who only acted for the first time on a big stage here, be better than them. That's a pleasant sight to see." said San Min. She would be the harshest critic during the practices and noticed everyone improving. That was good for business and the actors themselves, too. So, she felt good about it.

Hearing her, Joon-won nodded as he also noticed it. After Dokgo Ki apologized to him earlier, he stopped acting like the almighty and remained silent. It also seemed like he was keeping much more effort into his acting skills as they were getting better slowly. Compared to the first time he saw him on stage as the hero, Dokgo Ki now could compose himself better and not get the emotions better of him. 

It was always good to see people improving more and more because of competition. The three continued to walk out and Kar Jung asked, "So, are you going to try the for those lead roles you got offered last week? You even got an audition chance for a medium-budget movie. That could be a good first movie for you." 

Joon-won shook his head and told his thoughts about going for the smaller roles he got offered rather than the bigger roles so that he could get a feel for it. San Min agreed with him and said that was rather a wise decision, as he wasn't being too hasty about it. 

All three of them walked out of the building and saw that most of the people already started to make their way towards the venue for a nice party. Joon-won also decided to join the group, as it might be his last time. Kar Jung asked both of them to wait for a second as he made his way to the parking lot, leaving them both alone. 

San Min looked at Joon-won and said, "Joon-won tomorrow when you go to meet Do Hwan tell him you would rather take smaller roles or else he would go into his own fantasies. After you tell him your idea, leave it there and he will select the perfect role for your own choice. He has a good eye when it comes to these things." 

Joon-won nodded and before he could respond by saying anything, his phone rang. He took it out and noticed it was actually from the devil herself, Hea-Jung. Both of them didn't talk for a while as she was busy with the shoot and told him that the shoot was going into the main parts of the film. 

He picked up the call and before he could even say hi, Hea-Jung's voice blasted from the other side, "Joon-won, come to Jade Mountains tomorrow morning asap. I have already booked you a train for tomorrow morning at 6 and I will send you the ticket in a few minutes. Don't ask why right now. I'll tell you on the phone tomorrow morning. All you need to know is that I managed to get you a role in the film right now and I bet some of my salary that you will be the right fit for the role. You might need to stay here for a week too, so pack your clothes accordingly. Alright, I'm still on the set right now and can't talk. Trust your lovely Senior and Come." and hang up the phone. 

Joon-won blankly looked at the phone before turning towards San Min and said, "I think I might have to go to Jade Mountains tomorrow for a role."