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Chapter 11
THE EXCITEMENT OVER BRYAN’S AND MY “RELATIONSHIP” dies down after the next two episodes, and with that, so do our ratings. They don’t drop as low as they were before our amusement park date, but they’re still pretty bad.
Things must be far worse than I thought, though, because I overhear a production assistant gossiping with an assistant director during one of our breaks.
“Is it true that the director isn’t satisfied with the scenes we’re shooting?” he asks as he nibbles on some snacks from craft services.
“Shh! No, that’s not it at all,” the assistant director replies. “The ratings aren’t as good as the higher-ups want them to be, so the creative team is looking for more ways to change things up to increase the show’s popularity. There’s probably going to be a few shifts here and there. Not necessarily all bad ones.”
I was in the middle of a school reading on how to best perform monologues, and I keep my eyes on my paper as I makemy way toward them. But the moment I step in their direction, the two immediately stop talking.Darn.Acting like I’m justreallythirsty, I grab a bottle of water from the craft services table and walk away.
Once I’m out of earshot, I take deep breaths. Anxiety looms over me like a colossal wave. I know it’s not entirely my fault that the show isn’t doing well, but I still can’t help but feel bad that we’re underperforming. This is my first time being the lead actress. Even though most people are watching the show for Bryan, I can’t stop feeling somewhat responsible as the co-lead.
I wish I knew what the assistant director meant by “shifts.” I’ve never liked change, especially when I have no idea what it’s going to be.
Sophia doesn’t look up from her tablet when I walk over to her. She just holds up my phone so I can check it, which is our usual routine during breaks when she’s on set with me.
“I’m not here for my phone right now,” I say. “Thanks, though. Have you heard anything about the changes that the higher-ups are making with the show?”
Sophia frowns. “Sorry, I haven’t. I’ll tell you as soon as I do.”
Things stay the same for the next two days. I reluctantly fall back into my regular routine of showing up to set on shooting days and studying at home on our days off. Even at the end of the week, everything seems normal. My parents, who regularly watchFated Destinywhenever they’re not working,thankfully seem more invested in the show now. The fact that they care what happens to Hyun and Sora gives me hope that other viewers will, too.
But by Thursday, everything changes.
“Attention, everyone!” says one of the assistant directors when I get on set. “We have the latest revisions of the script for episode ten. There are quite a few new additions to the main storyline with this script, so we will be having a quick script debriefing meeting tomorrow at the Sangam-dong office before we shoot the next episode. Please be sure to have read over the script before tomorrow morning. We’ll shoot out a text with more logistical details by the end of today.”
There’s a mumble of confusion from everyone as she passes out copies of the script. I didn’t even know they were making changes to the main storyline, and from the surprised looks on everyone’s faces, neither did anyone else. Even though the storyline is bound to change at least a little bit in any live production format, this is the first time we’ve had a significant change on this show.
When I get my script, I do a double take. There’s a new name on the script, right below mine.
Kim Danbi—played by Park Minjee
A sense of betrayal flares up inside me. I’ve been texting on and off with Minjee ever since our video call, mostly sharing memes and talking about new Korean music, but not once didshe mention that she’d be joining the show. Or that she had even auditioned for another role.But why?I can’t help but wonder.Why would she keep this a secret from me?I skim through the script, and the sickening feeling only grows worse. Not only did the creative heads add Minjee to the script without giving us much of a heads-up, but they also changed the whole arc of the show so there’s now a love triangle between Minjee’s character, Bryan’s character, and mine.
A small note in the beginning of the new script explains how Minjee’s character fits into the new storyline.
Danbi is Hyun’s lover in his other lives. Hyun ended up with Sora for some of his reincarnated lifetimes, while he ended up with Danbi in the others. This new and exciting addition is sure to keep audiences watching until the very last episode while they try to guess who Hyun will end up with in this lifetime!
Just like that, Minjee is our third co-lead.
A pit opens up in my stomach. Even greater than the disappointment I feel about Minjee is the one I feel for myself. I can’t help but think all of this wouldn’t have happened if I’d somehow been a better actress. Maybe if I’d been better at playing Sora, my performance would have captivated more viewers enough to not need another female lead.
The assistant director must have seen the expression on my face, because she comes over to talk to me.
“Hana... I’m sorry,” she says. “The writers just thought that a love triangle would spice things up a bit. Minjee is joining us tomorrow morning so we can have a table read with her.”
“A table read?” I ask.
When we get new editions of the script, we usually don’t do table reads because we’re already short on time. We only did a table read at the very beginning of the process, before we started shooting. Afterward, we’re expected to show up on set having memorized our lines. It’s unusual for us to meet up and go over lines together so late into the game.
“Yes. The director wants Minjee to try reading her lines with everyone before she gets in front of the camera. She was runner-up for your role, so I think the company reached out to her right away when this spot opened up.”
“When was she officially cast?” I ask, still scrambling to make sense of everything.
“About two weeks ago? I’m not sure, honestly. The decisions were all made above my paygrade. I only found out about them this Monday.”
Bryan and I went on our first date almost two weeks ago, on the tenth of December. Why would Mr. Kim and the rest of the higher-ups decide to make this huge change at the same time Bryan and I agreed to his fake-dating scheme? And why didn’t Minjee tell me that she was joining the show?
