Chapter 26: The Trial of the Mirror (Part 2)

  Outside the conference room, Ahn Jun-hee and Kwon Bok-geun waited for a while before hearing a commotion of greetings coming from the front half of the corridor where the most people were lined up. The crowd slowly parted to reveal a slightly chubby middle-aged man walking towards them amidst the respectful and flattering gazes of those around him.

  He took a closer look at the middle-aged man and quietly approached An Junhe's ear, saying in a low voice: "It's Director Li Hengmin!"

  As they spoke, Lee Hyung-min had already approached them, and An Jun-he bowed respectfully, "Director Li, hello!"

  "Hmm!"

  Lee Hengmin simply nodded expressionlessly, his hand on the door handle of the conference room. He glanced at Ahn Junheo with a flicker of his eyes, and then pushed open the door, leaving the two outside.

  As soon as he entered the conference room, Lee Hyun-min frowned and complained to Lee Kyung-hee, who was smiling at him: "Is that guy outside the door? He's good-looking, but this is a TV drama, not a beauty pageant or a singing competition. Yesterday, when the investor told me about it, I didn't respond, how could you also fall for it?"

  In response to his complaints, Lee Kyung-hee, who knew him well, didn't think much of it. Recently, things have been busy and there are many trivial matters, plus the high expectations from the TV station, she knows that Lee Hyun-min is under a lot of pressure, and having some temper is normal, so she just smiled and said: "Appearance is secondary, the key is temperament, sharpness, confidence, strong star aura, and it matches the appearance of Choi Yoon in my script. The investors also think highly of him and even made a special call to us, so I want to give him a try."

  "What does he know about performing, he's just a singer!" Li Hengmin was still unhappy, but his tone wasn't as harsh as before. Just now, it was just the anger and frustration of being interrupted at work, but after the initial outburst, his attitude softened.

  Li Qingxi still had that gentle and amiable appearance, smiling as he persuaded: "Give it a try, just to save face for me. If the performance really doesn't work out, then forget it, this way you'll also be able to explain things to the investors."

  When it comes to investors, Li Qingxi also finds it strange in his heart. The investor occupies a large share of funds, more than 200 million won, and readily pours money into the crew. Since then, he has never mentioned any requirements, as if waiting for the TV series to be broadcast and collect money. Compared with other investors who are eager to fill their own people into the crew, he is too honest.

  Until yesterday, when the other party came to the crew to check on progress, they heard the demo of "Snow Flower" as the theme song and proposed their first requirement - to have this singer named An Junhe come for an audition.

  Because the investor has always been very cooperative with the crew and TV station, never interfering arbitrarily, this is his only requirement, and the TV station and crew will also satisfy it according to the situation. It's just that Li Hengmin doesn't like it. Although he is a low-key person, he has always disliked outsiders intervening in his own affairs.

  However, as a director, she can't just focus on her personal preferences, but also has to take responsibility for the crew. Li Qingxi knows that even if she doesn't bring it up today, Li Hengmin will eventually have to send out audition notices to S.M., and this is also her way of giving Li Hengmin an excuse.

  As expected, upon hearing Li Qingxi's words, Li Hengmin merely hummed twice and didn't retort back. After a moment of silence, he finally let out a sigh: "Fine, I'll give it a try!" He then got up to leave.

  "Don't go either, let's take a look together."

  Li Qingxi held onto him while calling out towards the door, which swung open. The two people outside entered and An Junhe bowed to greet them before quietly watching them, silently waiting.

  "Look at this kid, so calm and composed, a born star." Li Qingxi whispered to Li Hengmin.

  The middle-aged man rolled his eyes and said, "That's because you love him so much, so everything about him looks good to you."

  Li Qingxi ignored his tantrum, smiling brightly as she looked at An Junhe. The more she looked at him, the more she liked him. She had always loved children who were polite and well-behaved, just like Zheng Zhihuan used to be.

  After a brief glance, amidst the increasingly uneasy expression of Kwon Bo-geon, Lee Kyung-hee finally smiled and asked: "An Jun-hyuk, have you had any acting experience before?"

  As soon as the words came out, let alone Guan Baogen's heart almost stopped beating, even An Junhe, who was calm and composed, suddenly let out a sigh of relief, knowing that his attempt to try on the glasses had indeed succeeded!

  His good mental quality kept him calm and composed on the surface, nodding in response: "I have experience, I've received acting training in the company, with all excellent grades."

  On the other side, Li Hengmin burst out laughing, not that he looked down on it, but such "experience" was basically worthless in his eyes.

  In contrast to his ridicule, Li Qingxi liked An Junhe's candor and her expression became more gentle. She picked up a script from her desk, flipped through several pages, drew a few lines on one of the pages with a pen, and handed it to An Junhe: "It's good that you have experience, take a look at the script and then perform this part I circled."

  "Yes!"

  An Junhe took the script and opened it to take a look. Next to him, Quan Baogen was stunned for a moment before finally reacting. It seemed that the crew's screenwriter had prepared a role for An Junhe?

  A pie that suddenly fell from the sky almost made Quan Baogen faint with surprise. At this time, he came to his senses and saw An Junhe browsing through the script. He didn't idle around either, and ran up front on all fours, pouring water for the screenwriter and director while chatting with them, afraid of not serving them thoroughly enough.

  The script was only a few pages long, and An Junhe quickly finished reading it. It only included some lines from the second male lead, Cui Yun, as well as simple scene descriptions. However, Li's writing skills were very strong, and even with just these few lines and descriptions, An Junhe was able to envision a young man who had been spoiled by his mother since childhood, grew up to become a star admired by many, and had never tasted failure, living a carefree life.

  He closed the script and An Junhe smiled slightly, such a simple role image, for him was completely stress-free.

  Seeing him close the script, Li Qingxi smiled and asked: "Is it okay?"

  "Yes!"

  "Let's get started!"

  An Junhe nodded, slightly closed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and when he opened them again, his entire demeanor became more lively. A faint, sly smile hung at the corner of his mouth, as if he had instantly returned to the temperament that was suitable for someone of his age, and began to recite his lines.

  The lines are a scene where Choi Yoon teases the female lead Eun-chae, which is considered one of the more difficult parts. Not only does he have to show the humor and openness of a carefree young man, but also his dependence on Song Eun-chae. If it were another newcomer, they might not be able to let go of their "youthful" image, but for Ahn Joon-hee, who has strong self-control, it was just a slight initial discomfort before he quickly immersed himself in the lines and brought out the character's traits vividly - although the scene looked a bit strange without a partner.

  However, this did not prevent the director and screenwriter from appreciating his acting skills. After a segment of performance, Li Qingxi applauded lightly, and even the expression on Li Hengmin's face beside him looked much better, no longer as indifferent as before.

  One hand clapping, Li Qingxi kicked Li Hengmin lightly and asked in a low voice, "How is it? I didn't misjudge the person, did I?"

  Li Hengmin fell silent for a moment before nodding, "Not bad."

  This is just a conservative statement, in fact, from the day of casting, he has hosted so many days, it's still the first time to see someone who can interpret Cui Yun's role with ease and precision, others are either too exaggerated or too childish, or they can't let go, performing awkwardly, An Junhe is the first person to satisfy him in many days.

  He still had some misgivings in his heart and was not quite willing to admit it at this time.

  Li Qingxi smiled and said, "So it's decided then, Cui Yun?"

  "Whatever!" Although he was not very willing in his heart, since Li Qingxi, as a screenwriter, said so, he couldn't afford to lose face and refute it. Both parties had similar status in the crew, and their relationship was good on ordinary days, there was no need to leave any resentment over a supporting male role.

  Receiving his reply, Li Qingxi smiled and raised her head, smiling at An Junhe who had been quietly waiting: "An Junhe, congratulations!"

  The meaning has already been expressed very clearly, staring at their treasure root with eager eyes, the smile on his face is about to be collected, hurriedly covering his mouth with his hand, not letting himself laugh out loud, but those two eyes have already narrowed into a slit.

  Passed?

  An Junhe was stunned for a moment, even if he had been more confident and calm before. The good news came so suddenly that it still made him slightly dazed, and he didn't react immediately. After a pause, he hurriedly bowed to thank: "Thank you Director Li, thank you Screenwriter Li!"

  As always, with a polite attitude, Li Hengmin's heart felt much better on the other side, and he didn't put on a face anymore. He said lightly: "Go back now, come again tomorrow with your agent to discuss contract matters with the crew."

  "Yes!" Ahn Jun-ho responded, seeing Lee Hyung-min stand up, seemingly wanting to leave, and hastily took a step forward, saying: "Director, if possible, I'd like to challenge the role of Woo-hyuk again."

  "Huh?" Lee Hyung-min stopped in his tracks and turned around, while Lee Kyung-hee on the other side also looked surprised.

  Wu He is the male protagonist of the play, the most important role, and not a second male lead like Cui Yun can compare with. The main line of the story is led by Wu He and also ends with Wu He. Such an important role that runs through the beginning to the end requires extremely high acting skills.

  Not even Lee Kyung-hee thinks that Ahn Joon-hee, who is still a rookie, can handle it.

  "Young people..." Lee Hyun-min's eyebrows furrowed, his voice suddenly becoming much colder. Just as he was about to scold, Lee Kyung-hee, who noticed the change in his expression, hastily intervened and asked in a warm tone, "Jun-hyuk, why do you want to take on this role?"

  An Jun-hyeok, who had a good impression of the script that had been maintained from the beginning, replied respectfully as soon as he heard it: "I like acting, I just want to challenge myself, and I hope the director and screenwriter can give me this opportunity."

  With that said, he bowed at a 90-degree angle.

  The atmosphere suddenly fell silent, Quan Baogen was so anxious that his forehead was sweating, while Li Hengmin and Li Qingxi exchanged a glance, silently exchanging a look.

  Looking at Li Qingxi's eyes, it seemed that she was really moved. Li Hengmin was both angry and amused. He knew that she had softened her heart again and wanted to give this newcomer a chance. With such a kind-hearted partner, although many things would be easier, but often also made people feel helpless, yet couldn't get angry.

  Li Hengmin thought for a moment and smiled coldly, saying to An Junhe in a light tone: "Alright, I'll give you this chance. Let's see what kind of performance you can put on."

  An Junhe was indifferent to his cold tone and only thanked him: "Thank you! Thank you very much for the tolerance of both elders!"

  This speech, An Junhe has been preparing for not just one or two days. From the preparation to entering the crew of "Sorry, I Love You", he was aiming for the leading role position. Although he also knew that due to his experience, it might be impossible for him to get this role, but how can you know the outcome if you don't try hard?

  He didn't care if he would offend the director, his attitude was always humble, as long as he could show his due strength next time, a small sudden move didn't matter at all!

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