Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 192

[Extra Story] Actress Baek Ha-ni (1)

* * *

On a snow-white bed.

Like a queen of the snowy mountains, the actress, who had been fast asleep in the sheets, suddenly opened her eyes.

After her long eyelashes fluttered a few times, her unfocused pupils found their focus. It was time to return to the entertainment industry as a star, a dream she fiercely pursued.

The actress, Baek Ha-ni, asked in a hoarse voice.

“…What time is it now?”

There was no one to answer. In this spacious apartment, a 38-pyeong [approximately 1350 square feet] space, she didn’t even allow pets, let alone other living beings.

Only the artificial intelligence robot, which took care of everything from cleaning to controlling electronic devices, responded.

-It’s 07:22 AM.

Time was more than plentiful. Even when she tried to sleep in, she often resented her eyelids for opening at 7:30 AM, whether she had a schedule or not.

When she didn’t answer, the artificial intelligence began to recite her schedule.

-Baek Ha-ni, good morning. Today’s scheduled events are an interview at 11:00 AM, drama filming at 3:00 PM, and an important family gathering at 8:00 PM….

“Okay, I know.”

Baek Ha-ni, who answered, turned her head. Next to her pillow, a newly adopted spotted catbot (robot cat) was licking its front paws.

When her white, slender hand stroked it, the catbot made a pleasant purring sound. To her emotionless companion, she spoke in an indifferent voice.

“You know it too, huh? That you have to do that to survive.”

The homeowner, the most popular actress these days, had distrusted humans for more than just a day or two.

Distrust? No, it’s practically hatred. She preferred being alone to a noisy party, and she’d rather bring in a machine than interact with humans.

-Ha-ni, why don’t you try raising a cat? Pets are so good for peace of mind.

-I’m not depressed.

-No, I’m not saying you’re depressed, Ha-ni….

-PD-nim [Production Director], do you believe that article too? That I fought with Lee Soo-ryun because I don’t take psychiatric medication?

The script was decent enough, so she went out, but at the meeting, the PD was just spouting nonsense.

While the rest of the production team watched in silence, she left the izakaya [Japanese-style pub] and took a taxi.

“Ha, he’s unnecessarily perceptive….”

7 years since debut.

Actress Baek Ha-ni fought again yesterday.

[Baek Ha-ni… Conflict with Lee Soo-ryun, the identity of the discord heard on set?]

[The Cheat, internal problems again? The ‘petticoat’ war between the leading actresses]

[The Cheat embroiled in ‘discord rumors’ again… Production team and actors remain silent]

[The Cheat nearing its end, viewership ratings soar despite discord rumors… Will it break the 15% wall?]

Rumors are inherently fast. Especially the rumors in this industry.

The squabble that happened last night was already in the news before a day had even passed.

Of course, the community was on fire too. A fight broke out on the set of MBS’s popular drama, a romance thriller nearing its end.

And the people involved were two of the most popular actresses. There were plenty of things for gossips to chew on.

“They’re having a field day.”

Muttering, Baek Ha-ni threw away the smartphone she was looking at. The back of her neck, which had been kept up all night, was stiff.

‘Hey, what did you just say!’

‘I told you to do it right. Why?’

‘You, I’m your senior, your older sister….’

‘I don’t care about that. If you’re going to be a jerk to the staff, do it where I can’t see you, and don’t act up in front of me.’

The cause of the incident was Lee Soo-ryun’s makeup artist. The person who usually came was sick with the flu, so someone else came in a hurry, and Lee Soo-ryun was annoyed throughout the filming.

What color is the lip, did you call this cheek, she made the atmosphere cold, and eventually made them kneel down and apologize.

Baek Ha-ni, who couldn’t stand it, said a word, and Lee Soo-ryun responded with a finger-pointing gesture, and a fight broke out.

“Why drag innocent people into a battle of nerves? If you’re going to pick a fight, pick a fight with me directly.”

She’s not the type to care about other people’s business, but Lee Soo-ryun is an actress from Joinus, one of the two major agencies in the entertainment industry.

From the script reading, she made it obvious that she was keeping this side in check, and when there was no reaction even when she scratched, she was abusive to the innocent staff.

Baek Ha-ni, who tied her hair up, went into the shower room. Her clear face, without a single blemish, befitting her nickname, faced her in the mirror.

“…Today is an unlucky day.”

*

Two hours later, at the Roman Entertainment headquarters, in the head of department’s office.

“….”

Head of Department Lee Seong-cheol narrowed his eyes and looked at the troublemaker in front of him.

The actress, who was leaning back on the sofa with her legs crossed, in a truly arrogant posture, asked as if to say, what are you looking at?

“Is there something on my face?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s strange, I don’t think so.”

“What do you mean no! Trouble here, trouble there, there’s no place that’s not covered in it!”

Instead of the CEO, who is away from his seat from time to time, the head of department is responsible for managing the agency’s celebrities.

Even though Head of Department Lee Seong-cheol, who is known for being picky, was spitting fire, Baek Ha-ni was calm.

“Head of Department, that’s like soot. It’s strange not to get it on you when you’re working in this industry. Why are you acting like this when you know it all?”

“…Okay, tell me the reason.”

“What reason?”

“Why did Lee Soo-ryun grab your hair? You didn’t go too far, did you?”

Baek Ha-ni replied indifferently.

“She attacked me first.”

“No, I mean, tell me the whole story. I heard you sent Director Yoo back because you didn’t want to talk to him either.”

The laughter disappeared from Head of Department Lee’s voice. At this point, even the worst troublemaker in the world would have difficulty exercising their right to remain silent.

Baek Ha-ni, who nervously crossed her legs, took a deep puff of her electronic cigarette.

“She was treating the coordinator like a rat. Pointing fingers, swearing, and later even making her kneel. I didn’t want to see that, so I said something.”

“It’s none of your business with their staff. You should have let the person who was attacked do the exposing or reporting.”

Baek Ha-ni chuckled briefly and said.

“That’s me.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying she wasn’t picking on the staff, she was picking on me. She was trying to ruin my mood by picking on an innocent coordinator.”

“….”

Head of Department Lee Seong-cheol swallowed a groan. He thought it was just a simple battle of nerves, but the beginning was bitter.

In the end, the problem is the size of the agencies involved.

As Roman Entertainment closely follows the leaders, the checks and balances become more severe.

DG, which rivals Lee Soo-ryun’s agency Joinus, and is notorious for its dirty rumors, has even engaged in public opinion warfare several times.

‘I was a little worried about the double casting, but this kind of misfortune at the last minute….’

If it were other actors in the company, he wouldn’t have cared much. After all, it’s a problem that the public relations team will run around and deal with.

The reason why he’s having a headache is just one thing: the daughter who came back from the fight is Baek Ha-ni.

“Ha-ni.”

“Yes.”

“Baek Ha-ni.”

“Say something, if you called me.”

“Can’t you just bear it a little bit? Even if we fight the same way, we get more hate. Just look at the trending articles….”

“Head of Department.”

Baek Ha-ni, who cut him off, nailed it down.

“If that’s the case, I’ve already retired. A long time ago.”

“….”

Head of Department Lee Seong-cheol closed his mouth. This is even specified in the contract.

Unlike other actors who had mud fights with malicious agencies, Baek Ha-ni’s scout was easily carried out.

-Actress Baek, why Roman? We can match everything for you!

The unconventional conditions presented by the existing agency were useless. Baek Ha-ni came to Roman, refusing all kinds of premiums, and presented only one condition.

-I can’t pretend to be nice.

-…?-

-I’m not interested in profit sharing. I’ll take care of filming and make money for the company, so don’t tell me to pretend to be nice anywhere.

The Roman officials who came to the contract table blankly looked at each other.

What that ‘don’t make me pretend to be nice’ clause meant, they could find out a few months later. In addition, the fact that Baek Ha-ni was a pitcher for the youth baseball team.

‘That, that damn temper….’

From her debut, Baek Ha-ni has been attracting attention with her unique mask and amazing acting skills.

And, with more of a fighting spirit than that, she decorated the portal [major internet search engine’s front page] and brought about the screams of the public relations team.

-Why should I go to greet them when I’m not their junior? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my relatives during the holidays?

-Hey, are you done talking!

-I’m not done. Don’t gather actresses for after-shooting parties. Unless you want to blow it up and make all the filming crew unemployed.

She has a terrible personality that never tolerates what she wants to say, and she doesn’t avoid it when someone picks a fight.

There are no exceptions, whether it’s a public PD [Production Director] who farts a little, or a middle-aged actress who is famous for catching military discipline. If you get hit by the abusive language she pours out with contemptuous eyes, you become a mute who has eaten honey.

Yoo Joon-il, the director who was in charge of Baek Ha-ni from the beginning, announced with a shiver.

-Her? I’ve lost 5 kilos since I took over Baek Ha-ni. She’s a living diet supplement.

That doesn’t mean there’s no place to find her, on the contrary. Among actresses in their 20s, it was difficult to count even three resources to replace Baek Ha-ni.

Naturally, the fandom grew, and the extreme anti-fans also increased. The editor of a certain entertainment magazine presented a plausible ranking table for Baek Ha-ni.

Actress who fights well No. 1,

Actress with extreme anti-fans No. 1,

Actress that reporters hate No. 1.

Head of Department Lee muttered with a resigned heart.

“Ha-ni. I hope people know your true worth, huh? You have a bad temper, but you’re not a real psycho like Ki Eun-seo or Oh Ye-ji.”

“It feels like an insult, so I feel bad.”

“I’m saying all this for your own good. If you’re just a little quieter, the number of malicious comments will be cut in half.”

Baek Ha-ni snorted.

“Let them write as much as they want, they’ll curse at me even if they get into a car accident. Saying it’s because I harassed my manager and kept them up all night.”

“…Anyway, I’ve blocked the articles as much as possible. Please, let’s get through the end of the show without any problems.”

“If she doesn’t act up.”

“Hey, Baek Ha-ni!”

It’s not even worth shouting at her. Baek Ha-ni looked at her watch as if she was listening or not, and then got up.

“I’m leaving. Filming is long today too.”

After the door slammed shut, the head of department’s office was engulfed in the silence after the storm.

Head of Department Lee Seong-cheol swept back his thinning hairline with both hands.

“What, when is she going to retire and act like that?”

*

A large set in Gwacheon.

‘The Cheat’ is a humanistic spy thriller involving special forces, the National Intelligence Service, and psychics.

Baek Ha-ni, who plays the female lead in the work, former National Intelligence Service agent Choi Si-ha, snaps in a cold tone.

“Why did you come?”

“Si-ha. Everyone is waiting for you.”

“We won’t see each other anymore. Kim Senior, and the people from our old team. No matter how many guilty people you scrape together, you’ll only commit more sins, right?”

It’s a line that’s thrown out without any strength, but the deep sense of emptiness inside is felt even in the lens.

The detailed character change that starts in the early part of the play, starting in her late teens and going through her 20s and 30s… and finally playing the role of the protagonist in her 40s, is a bonus.

While the male actor, who was pressed by the energy, was mumbling the next line, Baek Ha-ni immediately continued with ad-libs.

“Look, you still can’t say it honestly. That you need me,”

“Our organization….”

“That damn organization, organization! How long are you going to keep looking for relics of the old era? In those days, our comrades were still burning in hell in the midst of the barrage!”

Sparks fly from the actress’s eyes. She put on makeup to look older, but the actor’s acting ability is what best shows the passage of time.

‘Yes, that’s it.’

An Hyun-mo PD, the general producer of ‘The Cheat’ who took the megaphone, was inwardly delighted.

‘Leaving someone like this… Who, Lee Soo-ryun and Kwon Ha-won? I’d rather spend three months in Bangkok than film a drama with those two.’

Before filming, there was pressure to set up two tops with Joinus’s actresses during the casting process.

He responded strongly. Lee Soo-ryun is OK, but if Kwon Ha-won is given Choi Si-ha, this work will definitely be ruined.

And Baek Ha-ni met his expectations by raising the stagnant viewership ratings by almost 20%.

Although there were minor disputes in the middle of filming….

‘Well, it’s okay as long as the work doesn’t get buried. Thanks to that, I sucked up the topicality and viewership ratings frugally.’

Isn’t it the situation of the broadcasting station that it doesn’t matter whether the actors get cursed or tap dance as long as the amount is well extracted?

An Hyun-mo PD, who smiled, raised his voice.

“Cut!”

.

.

.

After all the filming schedules were over, the sweat-soaked assistant director ran over and reported.

“Director, Lee Soo-ryun and Baek Ha-ni are both absent from today’s dinner!”

As soon as her scene was over, Lee Soo-ryun got into her van and left the set. An Hyun-mo PD asked as if he knew it would happen.

“Lee Soo-ryun was probably afraid of getting hit again… What about Baek Ha-ni? Didn’t she say she would only show her face?”

“Ah, she had an important dinner appointment.”

“If it’s a dinner appointment….”

The assistant director shrugged.

“Well, she said it was some kind of family gathering?”

* * *