Peninsula: I can steal the luck of disgraced celebrities

The interview for Dream High was held at the KBS Annex.

It wasn't the usual Yeouido headquarters; it was another branch of KBS in Mapo-gu, a building with a gray-blue glass facade. On the seventh floor, at the end of the corridor, was a small meeting room that was used year-round for actor auditions.

When Lim Ji-hoon stood downstairs at the KBS Annex, he looked up at the row of neat, uniform blue glass windows.

The November sunlight was pale and glaring, reflected off the glass curtain wall as a cold, lifeless expanse of light.

He came to the annex for an interview today. Before pushing open the door, he was wondering if this building would be like the one in Tanxian, with a vending machine at the end of the corridor.

There were no vending machines, but the corridors looked pretty much the same.

The elevator doors opened on the seventh floor, revealing a row of posters and display boards bearing the KBS logo.

A giant poster for "King of Papa Kim Takgu" occupies the most prominent position, with Yoon Shi-yoon, who plays Kim Takgu, smiling憨厚ly, next to which is the glorious achievement of the series' highest viewership rating of 50.8%.

Lin Chih-hsun stood in front of that poster and looked at it for a long time.

"Will I ever be able to create a hit show with such high viewership ratings?"

He went to the front desk.

The receptionist confirmed his identity and interview time, and led him through a corridor covered with a light gray carpet.

The walls on both sides of the corridor are covered with posters of classic KBS dramas from over the years, such as "Winter Sonata," "Autumn in My Heart," "Full House," and "IRIS"—each one a milestone in the history of Korean dramas.

When the door to the interview room opened, the first thing you saw was light.

The November sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the long table in its glow and making the resumes and scripts spread out on it shine.

Four people were sitting behind the long table.

On the far left is screenwriter Park Hye-ryun, with a round face and wearing round-framed glasses, who looks very kind.

Beside her was director Li Yingfu, with a thin face but sharp, hawk-like eyes and a composed demeanor.

Next to him was the head of KBS's production department, impeccably dressed in a suit and tie, looking like the most businesslike person in today's interview.

The person right in the middle, Lin Chih-hsun knew him from a past life.

Bae Yong-joon.

He had seen the movie "April Snow" starring him and Son Ye-jin in his past life.

Today, Bae Yong-joon is sitting here as the producer of this drama.

"Mr. Lim Ji-hoon," Bae Yong-joon said, his voice gentle and deep, like the G string of a cello being softly plucked. "Please sit down."

Lin Chih-hsun pulled out a chair and sat down, his back naturally straight.

Li Yingfu opened the documents in front of him, looked up at him, and said:

"I acted in SBS's 'Will It Snow for Christmas?', then I played the male lead in 'Bad Guy,' and the second male lead in KBS's 'Sungkyunkwan Scandal.' My resume is very solid; I filmed three dramas in less than a year."

"Thank you, director. But there's also the third male lead in 'The Warring States,' and Kim Hee-sun plays the second female lead in it."

"Extensive resume."

Li Yingfu put down the documents and placed his fingers interlaced on the table.

"I watched several key scenes of Shen Jianxu's character in 'Bad Man.' When you realize that you've been taking revenge on your own biological parents, and you break down emotionally, that scene made me wonder if you're a newcomer."

"But...we'd prefer fresh faces for this drama, and we'd like the audience to see the actors' inexperience."

"This will make me a better fit for the role."

Lin Chih-hsun did not respond.

"You recommended this person," Lee Eung-bok turned to look at Park Hye-ryun beside him, "You go first."

Park Hye-ryun pushed up her round-framed glasses, speaking softly but very quickly:

"I watched the scene in episode 19 of Sungkyunkwan Scandal where Moon Jae-shin changed his look. The contrast was huge, and his eyes were very clean."

"The character of Song Sendong needs to be played by someone with a clear and pure heart."

"Although he is a country boy, he can't be stupid or dull. He has to make the audience believe that he really has musical talent, but it just hasn't been discovered yet. There is that undiscovered quality in your eyes."

She paused, then suddenly pulled a photo from her folder, flipped it over, and placed it on the table. "Besides, I think your image is indeed very suitable."

That's a reference image of a Dream High character.

The note next to him read "Candidate: Lim Chih-hsun" and included a still of him as Moon Jae-shin in "Sungkyunkwan Scandal".

When the two photos are placed side by side, the scholar's robe has been replaced with a baseball jacket, the long hair has been changed to short hair with bangs pointing upwards, and the wicked and roguish corners of his mouth have been replaced with a silly and cute smile from a young man.

Bae Yong-joon picked up the photo, glanced at it, then put it aside and continued looking at Lim Ji-hoon.

He didn't look at the photos or the script; he just stared at Lin Chih-hsun himself, his gaze calm and focused.

This role was originally intended for Kim Soo-hyun.

But the raid on Lishui Village in September ruined everything.

Kim Soo-hyun was arrested for soliciting prostitution, and KeyEast was busy with crisis management overnight, dealing with paid endorsements, canceled variety shows, and cancelled shows, cleaning up the mess left by that brat.

It can only be said that soliciting prostitutes ruined Bae Yong-joon's dream of becoming a star.

He had no objection to casting Lin Zhixun in the role, partly because there was no conflict of interest, and partly because...

The investors in this drama include not only KeyEast Entertainment, but also CJ Entertainment.

As long as it's not too bad, the head of KBS's production department and Bae Yong-joon will generally give him face and won't object to Lim Ji-hoon playing the role.

"Then let's try it out," Bae Yong-joon said.

Park Hye-ryun opened the script, found the page where she had folded the corner, and pushed it across the table.

"In this part, Song Sendong is playing the piano and singing 'Dreaming' in the practice room."

"On the rooftop, Hye-mi told him, 'You're not actually stupid, you're just afraid that you're not a genius.' Then Hye-mi played the guitar to help him find his falsetto."

"It was that scene—the first time Mori sang in front of someone else."

She paused, a faint smile appearing on her round face, and tapped the script lightly twice with her finger.

"This song hasn't been officially recorded in the studio yet. Right now, we only have the lyrics and sheet music, so please sing it a cappella."

There is no accompaniment, no backing tracks, and no way to fix the audio in post-production.

Every pitch, every breath, every vibration of the vocal cords would be laid bare to the ears of four people.

Lin Chih-hsun is not a singer and has not received professional singing training, but he has to portray the clumsiness of a musical genius.

This was indeed a huge test for him.

Lin Chih-hsun stood up, moved his chair half a step to the side, and made a small space.

He glanced down at the few lines of handwritten lyrics on the script, then looked up and closed his eyes.

Lin Zhixun opened his eyes.

He raised his head slightly, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

All eyes were on him, and his expression was no longer that of the calm and composed Lin Zhixun.

He was, however, a clumsy country boy.

The corners of his mouth first habitually curved upwards slightly, then were suppressed by a more tense emotion.

In that brief moment of tension and release, the image of that country boy singing in front of others for the first time was already standing before them.