With filming about to begin, Kwon Hyuk sometimes had to skip his acting training classes.
A portion of his contract's remuneration was paid in advance, with the rest to be issued after the drama concluded.
The initial payment he received was not much, only the remuneration for a few episodes.
At the same same time, MBC TV Station officially announced the drama's cast through news media.
It was initially unremarkable, only garnering reactions from some fans, but when Kwon Hyuk's name appeared as the male lead, the news became exceptionally prominent.
Some media outlets even used headlines or comments such as:
"Twelfth-place Kwon Hyuk Exceeds Expectations!"
"Kwon Hyuk Lands New Role at Light Speed, Unaffected by Audition Failure!"
"Kwon Hyuk Debuts as an Actor!!"
"This Face Has Finally Found Its Rightful Place!"
"Such a Handsome Face Should Be Acting to Purify My Pupils; Make My Eyes Happy in the Future!"
Kwon Hyuk's fans, who had nowhere to vent after the audition ended, seemed to quickly find a new base and began to celebrate.
This, coupled with the escalating controversy surrounding the audition rigging, became increasingly noticeable, reaching the top of Naver's trending list. The most common reaction emojis for the news were 'surprise,' followed by 'happiness.'
Many in the general public, however, did not know who he was. But upon seeing reports that he was allegedly one of the biggest victims of the audition rigging scandal, they formed an initial impression of him.
Thus, Kwon Hyuk's name officially entered the public eye, replacing the title of 'audition rigging victim.'
Accompanying this was the new drama's popularity, which, when combined, unexpectedly boosted his recognition.
As he found himself at the center of attention, with his popularity surging dramatically, Kwon Hyuk also opened a personal Instagram account.
His follower count grew rapidly, eventually stabilizing around 100,000.
One hundred thousand might seem small, but for the current situation, it was quite a lot. After all, he still had no works to his name and was merely a highly-watched audition trainee.
This number is comparable to that of some third-tier actors. For actors, Instagram follower counts usually represent their korean wave, or overseas, popularity.
The first Instagram post Kwon Hyuk made consisted of several landscape photos and a final selfie. Immediately, this post garnered tens of thousands of likes and thousands of comments, and the quality content led to a slight increase in his follower count.
Through all this, Kwon Hyuk re-entered the public eye, transitioning from an audition failure to an actor.
In this place, which is merely a province but boasts a highly developed entertainment industry and an artist population comparable to that of a large country, the competition in korean entertainment is exceptionally fierce. Popularity is fleeting, so every surge in attention must be cherished.
Script reading session.
The location was a large conference room within the MBC TV Station. The drama's main creative staff and actors were all to participate, beginning rehearsals and setting the tone and direction for the drama.
Kwon Hyuk arrived alone. There were many people in the TV station, and particularly as he entered the conference room, many eyes were on him.
As a main character, Kwon Hyuk politely greeted everyone present before finding his seat.
Soon after, the male lead Kim Ro-woon, a member of the boy group SF9, the female lead Kim Hye-yoon, and a host of others arrived one after another.
First, the producer briefly introduced the main personnel present. When Kwon Hyuk was introduced, he could feel many eyes scrutinizing him.
Next was the script reading. This part wasn't too difficult; it mainly involved going through the scripts for the first few episodes and allowing the main creative staff to familiarize themselves with each other.
Kwon Hyuk was born in 1997, making him the youngest among them, except for Lee Naeun, the second female lead, who was younger than him.
The script reading session was to last all day, with natural breaks in between.
Several main cast members shared a waiting room. It was easy for young people to bond, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.
Kwon Hyuk took the initiative to talk to the female lead, Kim Hye-yoon.
"Senior, it seems you memorized all your lines during the script reading? Your rehearsal was very smooth."
He praised her proactively.
Kim Hye-yoon was only one year older than him, but she had debuted earlier, so calling her 'Senior' was appropriate.
"Just call me Hye-yoon."
As actors who would be collaborating for several months, getting to know each other earlier would facilitate filming later on.
Kim Hye-yoon, a cheerful and sunny girl, said with a smile, "It's actually not bad; I've played this kind of role a few times."
The two chatted back and forth, and the male lead, Kim Ro-woon, also joined the conversation.
Kim Ro-woon, who came from a boy group, was also starring as the male lead in a drama for one of the three major broadcasting stations for the first time. Although he had previous works, he was still considered a newcomer.
Kim Ro-woon knew many idols, which piqued Kwon Hyuk's interest, so he casually asked, "Do you know Twice?"
Kim Ro-woon thought for a moment, then nodded decisively. "We often met during promotions. But, why, do you want their contact information?"
"I'm a fan of theirs. I like Tzuyu the most; she's very beautiful."
Kwon Hyuk said casually and didn't press further.
They had just met and weren't familiar yet; it was too soon to try to meet them through an intermediary. It wouldn't be too late to discuss it once they were more acquainted.
"Tzuyu… many people pursue her."
Kim Ro-woon thought for a moment and said.
Kwon Hyuk nodded, not finding it surprising at all.
It was normal for beautiful people to be popular.
The few of them continued to chat about other random topics.
Meanwhile, the female lead, Lee Naeun, actively approached him and started a conversation.
"Do you want to get to know them?"
"I don't have too many thoughts on that for now."
Kwon Hyuk turned to look at her, finding her proactive attitude somewhat novel.
He wasn't that eager to pursue anyone; he currently had nothing settled and didn't know them well.
He was just thinking of making friends, and he wanted to try his sixth sense more, to see if he could get more inspiration.
"I used to be a trainee at JYP, and I know Choi Youngjae. We still keep in touch."
This surprised him quite a bit. He looked at Lee Naeun in front of him. "You were a trainee at JYP?"
Lee Naeun smiled, "Are you surprised?"
"I just didn't expect that everyone could be connected in such a roundabout way; it feels a bit magical," Kwon Hyuk said.
"Like Kim Ro-woon, we often saw each other during group activities, and we were already quite familiar from before. We're close friends."
Lee Naeun explained with a smile.
Kwon Hyuk nodded in agreement.
Given this, it was quite normal for those seemingly unrelated celebrity couples to end up together.
However, Kwon Hyuk was not in a hurry. His current focus was still on his career. While he could have this as a diversion for now, it shouldn't take up too much of his energy.
After his work was released, he could then develop male-female relationships, thoroughly experience what male-female relationships are like in the entertainment industry, and critique them well.
As mentioned before, Kwon Hyuk entered the industry for fame and profit, and the profit naturally included all kind of profits..