Based on IU's "Through the Night"
Gender-neutral
Fluff
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Being in the movie industry, especially when you become a part of the main cast of a highly anticipated film for the first time, is nervewracking. The pressures of making a movie succeed were high. People would expect a flawless performance day in and day out.
I had become rather popular over the past few years, acting in a number of award-winning short films for multiple directors. This was going to be the first time I was taking part in a full-scale movie, though. When I was handed the script, I knew this was a movie I'd like to be a part of. A mix brilliant mix of comedy and romance, all set in an odd dark fantasy world where the main character would be trapped in after spending their living life as a brutal serial killer.
I was going to be the main character's love interest. A human who had the ability to pass between the world of the living and world of the dead. I was cast pretty late into the process, only getting the script a few days before the reading.
I didn't know who was going to play the main character until the day of the group script reading. According to my agent, the production company was in talks until the last second with a few options.
The reading was held in a large room, larger than the ones I was used to. Pre-shoot meetings for the short films I acted in only required around fifteen people at most. This time around, it was a full gymnasium. If I were to guess, it was nearing eighty people. As I walked over to my seat and scanned over the revised script that sat on the table.
I looked to my left to see an empty spot. The nameplate on the table read "Choi Hye-rim", the main character of the movie. I guess she hadn't arrived yet.
The meeting hadn't started yet and boredom set in. I pulled out my notebook and started scratching in some ideas. While many didn't know, I wanted to become a singer before I got into acting. I used to love writing lyrics and still to this day, do so when I have free time.
I checked my phone to see it's been ten minutes since the meeting should've started. With the absence of the lead actress though, we couldn't start.
That was when I heard the door to the gymnasium burst open. "Sorry, I'm late!"
I looked up to see one of South Korea's top actresses, Lee Ji-eun, or IU. Was she going to be the main character? I watched as she shyly walked past through the aisles, bowing to everyone she saw. She stopped in front of the aisle I sat in and walked towards me.
"(l/n) (y/n), right?" IU smiled brightly at me.
I felt my cheeks flush the moment she said my name. I stood up out of my seat and timidly bowed. "Y-Yes I am. Pleasure working with you."
IU took the seat beside me and quickly scanned over the script on the table.
The director of the film then spoke up. "Thank you all for coming. Today will be the first day of many with the production of 'Hôtel Fantôme', though I guess today is just an introduction to the project."
The reading of the script then began.
I was mesmerized by IU and her ability to recreate all sorts of emotions with her voice. I caught myself staring at her multiple times throughout the day.
She'd catch me a few times too. When she did, she'd give me a cute smile and turn back to her script.
"Take this firefly in a jar to your wor-" She paused and raised her hand. "What's the firefly for?"
"Fireflies represent signals that travel between worlds. They hold positions in both the living and dead worlds." The director explained. "When a firefly glows in the world of the dead, it does so in the world of the living. They act as a link between two people who are separated by supernatural barriers. They're like cellphones if they could fly and have minimal functionality, I guess."
