I Returned as a High School Girl

Chapter 101: Professional Gender Bender Actress (1)

Kang Ra-Eun had been planning on immediately refusing Director Yoon’s proposal, since it was a waste of time to star in one of his works before he became a household name. However, she could not conceal her perplexity as soon as she saw what the movie was about.

‘Huh? Had Director Yoon also made something like this?’

Barely anyone knew about Director Yoon’s works from before he rose to stardom, other than the small number of ‘Director Yoon Fanatics’ who actively searched for copies of his old works. Hence, Ra-Eun had never thought Director Yoon to have gone for a gender bender trope for his next movie.

Hearing Ra-Eun’s silence, Chief Jung continued as if he had expected it.

- The genre is a bit manic, right?

It certainly wasn’t orthodox, but Ra-Eun was silent not because it lacked mainstream qualities, but because it was the exact same situation she was in right now.

‘Could it be he knows that I’d returned to the past as a high school girl?’

She felt like she was being called out.

“Chief Jung. You’re saying Director Yoon’s next production is about a change in gender, right?” she asked.

- Yeah, that’s right.

“Is it from a man to a woman? Or the other way around?”

It was possible that she was not the protagonist, but Chief Jung’s answer only made it official.

- I heard it was from a man to a woman. I don’t remember if the man was set to be in his thirties or forties, but it’s basically a middle-aged man returning to the past as a university girl.

The movie would have perfectly matched Ra-Eun’s situation if the male protagonist became a high school girl instead.

“Then was I offered the protagonist role?”

- Yup.

The more she heard, the stranger she felt. She unconsciously pressed on her temple from the inexplicable emotions she was feeling.

Chief Jung spoke first after hearing Ra-Eun sigh.

- Should I politely refuse if you don’t want to do it?

It was significantly difficult for a woman to act like a man due to the massive barrier that was gender. There were things that only men could understand, and the same went for women. No matter how skilled an actor was, it was by no means a simple feat to perfectly comprehend such things and to incorporate them into one’s performance.

There were quite a few actresses who had refused Director Yoon’s proposal because there was no guarantee that the movie would be a hit, no matter how passionately they acted. Chief Jung also expected Ra-Eun to refuse, but was completely taken aback by Ra-Eun’s answer.

“For now, please have them send the script over. I’ll decide after I give it a read.”

- Eh? Really?

“Yes.”

Ra-Eun was not saying she would take on the role; she had just felt a strange sense of resonance with the character who had been put in almost the same predicament as her. Hence, she wanted to check for herself the synopsis and how it would end.

***

After arriving at the GNF building, Ra-Eun walked with Shin Yu-Bin to where Chief Jung was waiting for her. Chief Jung handed her the script as soon as she arrived.

“Here’s the script that you wanted to see so much,” he said.

“It’s thicker than I expected.”

It wasn’t because of the number of lines, but Director Yoon’s tendency. He was famous for demanding very detailed performances from his actors, so there were many texts regarding stage direction.

This was why actors felt twice as exhausted working in Director Yoon’s productions than any other. If he was not satisfied by the performance, he would keep filming until he was. It was because of his fine attention to detail that his production quality was so high.

‘The only problem is that they lack commercial value.’

Ra-Eun was rather surprised that TP Entertainment had decided to invest in Director Yoon’s next work. Park Hee-Woo was a very calculative woman, but she had invested in Director Yoon, who was currently risky to invest in.

‘Did she see elements of success in the script?’

Ra-Eun still had no idea. Just in case, she asked Chief Jung before opening the script, “Am I allowed to read this right now?”

“Yeah. I gave it to you for that exact reason. Oh, and Director Yoon will be visiting the agency at around 5 PM. Take a look through the script for now and ask the director when he gets here if you have any questions.”

“Okay.”

The title was still undecided. Unlike usual, Ra-Eun read through each page of the script in detail. She usually skimmed through scripts to the point that one would be skeptical whether or not she had actually taken a good look at the synopsis.

‘I already knew the contents for those ones.’

Not only had she known how the work would progress, but she had even known the ending and how many people would come to watch it in cinemas. Hence, she had no reason to read through the script in detail.

However, that was not the case for Director Yoon’s gender bender film. Not only did Ra-Eun not know its contents, but she was getting immersed in the script before she knew it from how similar it was to what she had gone through. She was resonating more and more with the protagonist as she got further into the script.

‘Yeah. This is exactly how I felt when I first wore a skirt.’

She even laughed at some parts. This was the first time Chief Jung and Yu-Bin had seen Ra-Eun so immersed in a script. She felt completely unfamiliar to them.

Her intensive reading came to an end at last after flipping through the final page. She sighed after closing the script. Chief Jung, who had stayed completely silent to allow Ra-Eun to focus, opened his mouth.

“So? What did you think after giving it a read?”

Ra-Eun answered concisely as she stared at the thick script, “It was interesting.”

***

Ra-Eun did not want to admit it, but she honestly found it to be enjoyable. However, it could simply be because she resonated so much with the character that was put in the same situation as herself. The film might have been a flop in her past life, but...

‘I’m getting drawn to it.’

She couldn’t get Director Yoon’s synopsis out of her mind.

Chief Jung then asked a different question. “Then are you going to accept the casting offer?”

“I’ll decide after I speak directly with Director Yoon.”

There was one mystery that hadn’t been solved yet. If Director Yoon could give an answer that could satisfy Ra-Eun, then she was planning on starring in the film. Chief Jung and Yu-Bin couldn’t help but be dumbfounded by Ra-Eun’s unexpectedly positive response.

Knock, knock.

As they were about to ask what she liked so much about it, a knock on the door caught their attention.

“Chief Jung. Director Yoon is here.”

Director Yoon followed the employee into the meeting room and introduced himself to Chief Jung, Yu-Bin, and his main objective for today, Ra-Eun.

“Hello, my name is Yoon Tae-Yoon. I’d wanted to come a little earlier, but traffic caught me. I’m sorry.”

“It’s no problem. You’re right on the scheduled time. Please, have a seat,” Chief Jung replied.

The script caught Director Yoon’s attention as he took a seat as Chief Jung advised.

“Oh, it looks like you’ve been going through my script.”

Ra-Eun answered, “Yes. I just finished reading it.”

“What did you think? I can’t deny that I’m a little worried, considering the unique trope...”

Even Director Yoon himself knew that his preferences were far from the norm. Ra-Eun decided to give the worrying director her honest opinion.

“I enjoyed it. And most of all, the script was extremely detailed.”

“A few actors I’ve worked with didn’t really like the huge amount of detail. What do you think about it? If you don’t like it, then I’ll try to reduce it as much as I can.”

Director Yoon was known to be very stubborn. He was the kind of person who tried to get his way as much as possible, but he was trying to match Ra-Eun’s preferences instead. Ra-Eun did not let that slip past her.

She then asked to feel him out, “Can I take that as you wanting to cast me in this movie no matter what?”

Director Yoon took bait that she lightly cast all too easily.

“Yes, because this movie can only be smoothly produced if you take on the protagonist role.”

“Pardon?” This was the first time Ra-Eun was hearing of something like this. “Could you explain in more detail?”

Chief Jung and Yu-Bin also showed great interest in Director Yoon’s response. The director felt cornered at first, but he decided to just tell Ra-Eun the behind-the-scenes story of the casting offer.

“The truth is... Vice President Park Hee-Woo set her heart on you for the movie’s protagonist role.”

Ra-Eun had never expected Hee-Woo to be brought up here.

***

According to Director Yoon’s explanation, Vice President Park, after hearing the entire synopsis, had strongly suggested for Ra-Eun to be cast as the protagonist. That was why Hee-Woo was trying to get Ra-Eun and Director Yoon acquainted with each other during the Drama Awards afterparty.

“Did she say that it couldn’t be anyone else but me?”

Ra-Eun was asking if the production would go completely down the drain if she refused the casting offer. However, Director Yoon shook his head.

“No. The production will continue with a different actress. But she did say that she would increase the amount of support that she would provide us if we successfully cast you as the protagonist.”

Hee-Woo had said that not only would she increase her investment, but would also provide various filming equipment, personnel, and other diverse benefits. Ra-Eun had finally realized why Hee-Woo decided to invest in Director Yoon’s movie.

‘It’s because of me.’

Hee-Woo was sure that Director Yoon’s gender bender film would succeed if Ra-Eun starred in it, so she had devised a plan for it to happen.

‘That’s noona for you. I have to admit, she has an eye for stuff like this.’

The problem was with her personality. Now that Hee-Woo had set the stage, all Ra-Eun needed to do was to make a massive hit out of it. The time had come for Ra-Eun to make her decision. She answered...

“Okay. I’ll do it.”