Chapter 208: Data that did not exist before.

[Yes. The teaser.]

Animals fear As.

As’s alienness, his overwhelming and merciless presence, instinctively makes animals afraid of him.

Perhaps it is because they are beings weaker than humans, and their protective instincts are therefore more intense.

Or perhaps humans are simply the foolish ones, the only ones who become so captivated that they forget even their fear.

[The fact that humans are fascinated by As while animals are afraid of him is one of the important hints that gives the impression he’s something beyond human. I’d like to capture that feeling in the teaser, the way we did earlier.]

[But if it’s a teaser... wouldn’t that actually risk becoming a bigger spoiler?]

It was an obvious concern.

After seeing As radiate such an intense presence, they had deliberately toned down his aura and reshot the scenes because they were worried the audience would realize he was something inhuman.

And yet they were going to reveal that very image in a teaser before people even entered the theater...?

[The reason I thought of this is because of that “30 minute trailer” idea you suggested last time, Myeong.]

A trailer that took up a quarter of the movie’s runtime.

It was absurd, but they had adopted the idea because they believed it might actually work with his acting ability.

The same applied to this teaser.

With his acting ability...

[What I’m thinking of isn’t a “pre release teaser.” It’s a “post release teaser.”]

A teaser.

A marketing method designed to stimulate audience curiosity by showing only a small portion of a film’s scenes or sometimes none at all.

That was why teasers were released even before trailers.

So what exactly did a post release teaser mean?

[Myeong, how long do you think people will remain unaware that As is an alien?]

[Not very long... considering what happened with The Usual Suspects.]

The infamous spoiler for The Usual Suspects, known as “The culprit is OOOOO!”

People who had not seen the movie would turn away and cover their ears to avoid spoilers, but spoilers could strike at any moment.

That was why, if mimicry became a successful hit, the period when audiences could watch it without knowing As was an alien would last, at most, one or two weeks.

[What worries me is the disappointment after the spoiler gets out. Even people who wanted to watch the movie start thinking, “I’ll just watch it when it comes out on DVD,” once they’ve been spoiled.]

[Exactly. People start feeling like it’s a waste to pay full price for something that has already had its wrapping torn open.]

[But then... right after watching Myeong’s acting just now, I suddenly had this thought. What if we release this teaser when the movie has already had its initial boost and starts to decline?]

Around the time when everyone knew that As was an alien, even if they did not know the details of the story,

they would release a teaser showing his overwhelming aura.

They would make everyone think:

“I don’t care if I already know the spoiler. If I don’t see this movie in a theater, I’ll regret it.”

[After the 30 minute trailer... this would become another marketing strategy that has never existed before and will never exist again...]

The assistant director listening nearby reacted with a flushed face, as if his heart were racing.

[Wow. The strategy wasn’t even created for marketing purposes. Both ideas came from trying to create better visuals, and the marketing strategy just happened to emerge from that... If it works, it really will become legendary.]

[It will work.]

Kyler quickly sketched out the visuals he imagined for the teaser and showed them to everyone.

Everyone nodded.

[All right, Myeong. Walk once more. With the same presence you had just now.]

 [Agency W, a new entertainment management company, is holding a large scale actor audition. Regardless of whether applicants are professionals or amateurs, this audition will judge only talent and potential. Those who pass will receive contract terms exceeding the industry average for new actors, along with various incentive benefits as part of the agency’s founding privileges.

In particular, during the final stage of this audition, Yu Myeong, who caused a sensation through , will participate as a judge and...]

Yu Myeong arrived at the agency office through the back entrance.

He had heard this audition had caused quite a stir.

The strategy of putting his name forward had worked, and despite being a new agency, more than a thousand people had submitted applications.

After filtering out the many unrealistic applicants and passing through the first and second rounds, around thirty people remained for the final stage.

They were the people Yu Myeong would be evaluating today.

Yu Myeong sat in the judges’ seat and quietly looked at the place where the applicants would stand.

Until now, he had always been the one standing there.

This was his first time sitting in the position of someone judging others.

“How does it feel seeing it from there?”

“Hmm... It feels like I have some responsibility.”

Yu Myeong thought back to the many seniors in the industry he had met during auditions.

Director Ki Do Han, writer Yuk Mi Young, Director Son Chi Uk, and more recently Natalie Kassen, Derek McCurdy, and Eva Dobransky from Casting Vote.

Evaluators who each had different standards and gave different advice.

Among them, the one who had left the deepest impression on Yu Myeong as a judge was Natalie Kassen.

“Whether they pass or fail, I want their time here to become something valuable.”

With that thought in mind, Yu Myeong began flipping through the applications one by one.

[It’s fine to immerse yourself in the role, but don’t force that immersion.]

[...?]

[There are characters that the audience naturally becomes immersed in from the viewer’s perspective during certain scenes. The protagonist is obviously Kitty, but in this scene, the person the audience is emotionally following is Beth. In moments like this, it’s better to focus on giving the right reactions and maintain a slight distance from the audience.]

[Ah...]

Before he realized it, Yu Seok was watching Yu Myeong more than the applicants themselves.

This was already the twenty ninth person.

Yu Myeong’s critiques and advice had flowed without hesitation.

With knowledge of acting that was clearly extensive, he pinpointed the strengths and weaknesses of every single person with frightening accuracy.

It was almost embarrassing for Yu Seok, who had always prided himself on having a good eye for actors, because he found himself naturally nodding along to every point.

At first, the applicants had entered with sparkling eyes and expressions that said, “Wow! It’s really Yu Myeong!”

After performing, they had been emotionally torn apart by Yu Myeong’s sharp analysis of their acting, their eyes filling with tears.

And finally, before leaving the room, they received unexpected practice methods that would either help them overcome their weaknesses or strengthen their advantages.

“Seriously, you’re always practicing, but when do you even study? You know all the latest theories too...”

“......”

Yu Myeong casually pretended not to hear Yu Seok’s admiration.

If he said he even knew theories from ten years in the future...

Yu Seok would never believe him.

[This is the final participant.]

[Hello. I’m Anna Platt.]

Yu Myeong’s eyes widened the moment he saw her.

Why was she here...

After the audition ended, Yu Myeong handed the evaluation sheets to Yu Seok and spoke.

“There were quite a lot of excellent raw talents among them. Since the company needs to grow anyway, wouldn’t it be better to recruit as many as possible? I think you could accept more than half of them.”

As expected, Yu Seok’s eye for talent had been accurate.

Among the thirty finalists, many were faces Yu Myeong had seen before in small and major roles in Hollywood films and American television series.

And more than anyone else...

“President. Are you planning to move forward as an actor focused management agency?”

“Not necessarily. But our company still lacks recognition, so I want to use Myeong’s name to build up a group of actors first, then expand into other areas as well.”

“Then, what about developing the final applicant as a singer?”

Yu Seok looked at him with a deeply puzzled expression.

“A singer? Without even hearing her sing?”

“Her voice is incredible, and she felt more like a singer than an actor to me. Trust me and try developing her in that direction. I think she’ll be interested too.”

“Hmm... Since it’s your opinion, Myeong... I’ll try to steer her in that direction as much as possible.”

This time, Yu Myeong truly felt like he had helped Yu Seok.

President, you hit the jackpot.

Anna Platt.

Also known as A. Platt.

She would become a singer known as the goddess of pop several years later, possessing a voice of extraordinary power.

 <Scene 6_Lunch Break, School Field>

While playing basketball with his friends, As hears a faint sound that slightly catches his attention.

Distracted by it, he accidentally allows the opposing team to score.

When his friend taps him on the back and asks what is wrong, As asks:

[You don’t hear that sound...?]

[Huh? What sound?]

His friend perks up his ears for a while before finally going, “Ah,” and nodding.

[You’re right. I didn’t notice it before you mentioned it, but now that I’m focusing on it, I can hear it. Sounds like a piano?]

It was not that As did not recognize the sound of a piano.

It was just that...

the sound itself defied common sense.

It was not music that had been learned.

It was as if someone were playing Beethoven like Chopin.

Strange dissonances suddenly intruded into the strict score of classical music.

To As, who interpreted the world as accumulated data, this “data that had never existed before” was extremely stimulating.

The biggest problem was that,

despite that,

even the dissonances blended together so naturally that they created an incredibly unique and beautiful sound.

[Hey, where are you going, As?!]

He dropped the basketball from his hand and walked after the music as if entranced.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

[All right, this is the first meeting scene between As and Hetty.]

Yu Myeong alone appears until Scene 6.

Today, Hetty would finally make her first appearance.

Yu Myeong, wearing a gym uniform, and Erhi, wearing a school uniform, stood at the center of the music room set.

As described in the script, the entire wall on one side of the set was covered with windows.

A grand piano was positioned with its back toward the windows, receiving the light from behind.

Erhi sat down in front of the piano.

[Erhi, have you practiced enough?]

[Yes. I’ve been practicing continuously with the music director.]

For this project, they had brought in Work Brothers’ most skilled music director, along with several pianists for consultation.

The music director was satisfied, saying Erhi’s piano skills exceeded expectations.

[Good. To make As’s shock feel more realistic, before we film the first shot, let’s have you play Hetty’s performance for the first time.]

[Understood.]

[Myeong. Let’s check the movement for Scenes 7 and 8. Walk through it once according to the blocking.]

Rehearsal.

The camera moved along Yu Myeong’s path.

Yu Myeong walked down the hallway outside the music room.

He stopped in front of the door and looked through the small window set into it, checking the person inside.

Then he opened the door and met Hetty’s eyes.

He slowly walked into the music room, moving around the grand piano until he stood facing Hetty.

[Okay, good. After crossing the music room door, we’ll switch to the main camera and move into Scene 8, but since this is an emotional scene, we’ll film it continuously without cutting. We’ll remove any pauses during editing later, so don’t worry about that. Just focus on the emotions.]

[Yes, understood.]

[Yes.]

The filming began.

 Erhi placed her hands on the piano.

From the window behind her, lighting poured down like sunlight, illuminating the sheet music until it shone brilliantly.

Acting and piano.

The thing she loved most in the world and the thing she loved second most.

To be able to do both at the same time made Erhi’s heart quietly pound.

She began playing the very unusual version of Beethoven she had practiced hundreds, thousands of times.

This was a score and technique created by the greatest experts gathered together, calculated and designed to express “genius.”

But now that she had become Hetty, this was no longer something created by others.

It was music that rose from her own heart, a performance she created in the moment.

Without realizing it, excitement and soul flowed into the music.

After expressing every last piece of her spirit and sinking into silence, she closed her eyes.

Then, at the sound of the door sliding open, she slowly opened them.

Blink.

She closed her eyes and opened them again.

Was it an illusion?

The sunlight pouring from behind her could not pass through the silhouette of the person who had opened the door.

Instead, it created a shadow stretching into the hallway behind him, far too enormous.

Who...?

Something enormous was staring directly at her.

Without realizing it, the fingers resting on the piano began to tremble.

The vibration spread from her hand to her arm, and eventually her entire body began shaking.

Yet even then, she did not take her eyes off the person before her.

Blink.

This time, it was not because she blinked herself.

Her eyes had grown tired from being open for so long, and when they closed and opened again without her realizing it, the person standing there was someone she knew.

[As... Predator...?]

[You know me?]

[...Who at our school wouldn’t?]

She answered while barely holding onto her still trembling body.

[My body suddenly feels cold. I don’t know why.]

[Hmm... Are you feeling sick? Should I call a teacher?]

[No, I think I’m fine now.]

Strange.

His presence became comfortable in an instant.

[You’re really good at playing the piano.]

[Me? That’s the first time I’ve heard someone say that. My teacher always says I lack individuality.]

[That can’t be true. Strange... I really liked it. What’s your name?]

[Hetty... Hetty Lamb.]

[Right, Hetty. Will you play one more song for me?]

It was a beautiful smile.

A name often mixed into the sounds of other girls squealing and chatting.

A man who drew people’s attention exactly as the rumors said...

At his request, Hetty placed her hands on the keys again.

[Cut.]

Still dazed, as if she were dreaming, Hetty heard Kyler’s surprised reaction along with the sound signaling the end of the scene.

[Myeong, what you just did was...]