“Oska!”
The young man entered the room with a pleasant smile. The staff and actors turned to him with wide eyes. The latter wasn’t expecting his arrival.
The auditions for the main role had been kept within the down low, and it was only being revealed who had passed.
Annie looked down at her notebook and bit her lip. So, they really did choose him, huh? Her mind kept going to a certain man with a sparkly gaze and intense delivery.
She had remembered picking him as the best among those who had auditioned. However, in the end, the final decision was still with the director and SK channel.
“Good morning, everyone,” he greeted, taking a seat amongst one of the five vacant seats.
“Oska Baek is really here.”
“His aura is definitely different. As expected, someone who comes from a rich family has a different aura.”
“I was able to watch his audition tape by accident, and he did really well. What a great guy.”
“With him as Hajin, I feel reassured.”
Annie sighed quietly. It seemed that everyone was in favor of him being Hajin, too. As much as she wanted to fight for what she wanted, she also didn’t want to create any trouble.
Meanwhile, Hajin couldn’t help but feel happiness inside his heart. After a while, he had landed a main role, and it was one of the most well-loved novels of all time in their country.
“Oska had auditioned for Hajin,” Daeshim started off.
The others bowed at him.
Oska smirked and started to guess the roles of those inside the room.
“Crown Prince?” he said, pointing at Shin. The older man nodded.
“Emperor?” he asked, pertaining to Hyunbin.
Hyunbin chuckled, placing his hands over his stomach. He was flattered that someone had mistook him for the emperor.
“Oh, you are flattering me,” he said. “I’m Minister Yoon. My senior is going to play the emperor.”
“Oh,” Hajin muttered.
Then, he turned to the next person, which was Risa. “Lady Dasom?”
Risa merely nodded with a polite smile.
“It’s nice to see you here, Risa,” Hajin smirked. “We don’t see each other as often in the company. I guess we’ll be playing as lovers this time around.”
Risa chuckled, crinkling her eyes before pursing her lips.
She should address her as his senior! She started acting way earlier than he did!
Despite the two of them being in the same company, Risa couldn’t say that she liked Oska. People in Daebak seemed to love to praise the ground he walked on. He hasn’t shown anything disgustingly obvious. However, Risa wasn’t a fan of those who were aware of their privilege and made sure it was known wherever they went.
It was quite a shame that he was going to be her leading man. But then again, she wasn’t a stranger to working with some of the worst people on Earth.
Oska turned to the side, frowning slightly when he saw that there were still some empty seats. He thought he was going to arrive last. He usually liked doing so.
As mentioned, those who arrive last are usually the main characters.
He cleared his throat. “I believe these are the seats of my brothers?” he asked, chuckling in amusement.
Daeshim smiled, but before he could respond, another person arrived. They all turned, seeing Yuan, who appeared fresh from the salon.
“Everyone, meet Yuan,” Daeshim said.
Yuan’s eyes widened when he saw the popular actors in the room. He wasn’t expecting them to be here. He bowed before taking the seat next to Oska.
“Good morning,” he softly said.
Oska was quite surprised. He was expecting Suho to get chosen as the younger brother, but it seemed Yuan took the role in the end.
Yuan also smiled at Oska. “Pleasure to work with you,” he said.
Oska nodded and focused his gaze on the bigger stars in front of him. Since this was going to be his home for the next couple of months, it was better to leave a lasting impact during their first meeting.
Before he could get another word out, the door opened once more, this time revealing Suho.
Oska’s eyebrows raised in surprise. So, Suho was also here? That meant that he was the eldest brother. He was pretty confused. Suho appeared younger than him—that was because he was. Wouldn’t it be a mismatch?
Still, Oska shrugged, deciding to accept it in the end. He didn’t care who they cast. Just as long as he was the main character, then everything was alright for him.
“Can we start now?” Oska asked, impatiently tapping his feet against the floor.
Daeshim smiled. “We’re still waiting for some people. With that, he returned to his conversation with the other artists.
Oska was even more confused. What other characters were still there? Did they also include the eunuchs and such?
Just then, the door opened once more, this time revealing Daniel Byeon, who had the friendliest smile in the entire world. When he saw who was sitting at the table, he felt even more alive.
What a great set of cast! He was more excited to be working with such big stars.
Although he already had his big break, he was greedier for more!
“Daniel?” Oska muttered. Who will he be playing? Lady Dasom’s brother? But he was an only child! That was why she was the most cherished of the State Councillors.
Oska shook his head. They were nearly complete, so he decided to give his thanks to everyone.
“I just want to take this opportunity to thank all of you,” he started off, capturing everybody’s attention. “From the beginning, I always thought I would make the perfect Hajin.”
The other three men turned to him with furrowed brows.
“Hajin?” Yuan innocently asked. “Aren’t I Hajin?”
Suho chuckled, but it sounded quite strained. “As far as I know, I am Hajin.”
“Wait, wait,” Daniel interrupted. “I am Hajin.”
The staff were surprised, and they all checked their emails. However, there weren’t any errors. Chachi read through it and frowned.
“Umm, you see, no one is Hajin yet,” she began explaining.
The other actors, too, turned to her and listened intently.
“This is fun,” Risa muttered, looking at their faces. They all appeared quite confident.
At that moment, Risa realized what they were there for.
To choose the true Hajin.
“This is where we will decide,” Chachi continued. “A second audition. This is what we’ve sent to your respective companies.”
The moment their companies received the news, the four actors were sure they had the role. They didn’t even see it was for a callback. They merely saw the ‘congratulations’ and thought it was a done deal.
Oska felt like he was hit by a cheap truck. Then, he turned to the empty seat before turning back to Chachi.
“So, that means—all of us are doing it again?”
“Yes,” Chachi smiled. “All five of you.”
“Five?” Daniel muttered.
Then, like perfect timing, the fifth person finally arrived.