The mood climbed higher and higher, and everyone read down through the final scene holding their breath.
And then—
"All right, shall we stop here?"
PD Lee Woo-seok's calm voice cut across the reading room.
The tension that had filled the space released all at once, and someone quietly let out a sigh.
I set my script down slowly too. The sensation left in my fingertips was still heavy.
Looking around, some of the actors still had blank eyes, as if they hadn't come out of their immersion.
Small whispers passed among the staff as well.
"When they actually shoot this it's going to be no joke."
"That scene just now gave me chills."
Someone stretched heavily.
Chairs creaked, and one by one came the words, "Good work today."
Only then did I look at the clock on the wall. It was already 11 PM. The reading, which had started in the morning, had passed the fourteen-hour mark.
A faint ache ran up my back when I got to my feet, but strangely enough I felt refreshed.
'It was a long day, but not a bad one.'
Actors and staff gathered in twos and threes, exchanging greetings naturally, and began filing out of the reading room with the look of people whose tension had finally let go.
Just then writer Yoo Ye-jin came over to me. She looked at me with a gentle expression and said,
"Cha Eun-yul-ssi, it's been a long time, and that was really good."
I bowed my head briefly.
"Thank you. I'm sure there's still a lot I fall short on, but I'll keep adjusting."
Eo Su-hyeon, beside her, nodded and added a word.
"It felt genuine. I couldn't sense any gap at all."
Her tone was light, but there was sincerity in her eyes.
It didn't sound like a courtesy greeting.
I lifted the corner of my mouth slightly and said,
"That's a relief. I look forward to working with you."
They traded those short greetings, and just as everyone was about to scatter with light smiles.
PD Lee Woo-seok gestured to me.
"Cha Eun-yul-ssi, a moment."
I stopped and looked at him.
The reading room was gradually being cleared, but he walked slowly toward me.
Even in the busy noise, his presence was distinct.
He stopped in front of me and, without a word, clapped my shoulder a couple of times.
Then he said in a quiet tone,
"It's been a while, and you're still good."
That one short line spread a strange resonance.
His words held neither doubt nor praise, but a weighty certainty.
The moment I heard it, my heart actually settled.
'Was this man waiting for me to come back?'
The thought surfaced out of nowhere. But there was no need to confirm it.
Simply the fact that we were facing each other again was enough.
"Let's start over."
There was no lesson in those words, and no encouragement. Just a greeting from an equal, someone met again in the same place.
I drew a short breath and answered him clearly.
"Yes. I'll start over."
In that moment, something settled into place.
The confusion from before, the anxiety, the fear of the gap.
I had come back as an actor.
And I was with PD Lee Woo-seok again.
Next was the set. The real fight started from here.
***
The next day.
When I rubbed my eyes and picked up my phone, a message from manager hyung was waiting.
- The announcement finally dropped.
For a second, my chest sank strangely.
My fingertips paused briefly, and then I opened a news site right away.
A large headline on the portal's front page caught my eye.
[Cha Eun-yul was the 'convenience store part-timer' in the MZ Vitamin ad! Agency officially confirms]
[It has been officially confirmed through his agency that the convenience store part-timer in the MZ Vitamin beverage commercial, which recently became a topic online, is actor Cha Eun-yul.]
I read down through the article slowly.
There was no reason to hide it and no reason to deny it.
It was official now, and as expected, the online reaction heated up fast.
- Wow, so this really was Cha Eun-yul??
- It's finally out lol but his expression really wasn't like usual.
- Vanishing for five years and then coming back as a convenience store part-timer is hilarious lol
- Fell from top dog to bottom rung though.
'There are negative reactions after all......'
It couldn't be helped, and I'd expected it.
Still, I took comfort in there being more positive reactions than I'd thought.
I kept scrolling, and then I doubted my eyes again.
A new headline with my name in it was decorating the portal's front page.
['The Temperature of a Meal' casting confirmed – Cha Eun-yul joins as a convenience store part-timer!]
[Actor Cha Eun-yul will play convenience store part-timer Yoo Dae-yeong in tvL's new drama 'The Temperature of a Meal.'
This is the same character as the role in the MZ Vitamin commercial he recently appeared in, and it appears the part-timer in the ad was part of his character in the show.]
- Wow, they tied it together like that?
- So the agency kept it secret on purpose back then? That marketing is nuts.
- Shoots a convenience store ad, then plays a convenience store part-timer? Was this actually marketing??
- The agency was thinking several moves ahead lol
- Is this an MZ Vitamin article or a drama article?
Once one article broke, related news poured out.
[A comeback after five years – Cha Eun-yul stands as an actor again]
[First comeback work after the controversy: can he spread his wings again?]
[The actor who became a convenience store part-timer – a rising star restarts]
Contrary to the provocative headlines, the article contents were relatively positive.
The agency had clearly put considerable care into it.
'At this rate the comeback marketing has properly gone off......'
As though the drama's production company and my agency had set off fireworks all at once, the internet was papered over with news about me and the drama.
***
CEO Lee Sang-hyuk and manager Yoo Ji-ho sat at the conference room table, going through the press materials scattered across it one by one, deep in thought.
CEO Lee Sang-hyuk tapped a newspaper article on the table lightly with a finger and sighed.
[Cha Eun-yul, a comeback after five years! Anticipation builds for 'The Temperature of a Meal']
['Cha Eun-yul' still silent on the controversy from five years ago.]
[Cha Eun-yul absent from tvL new drama 'The Temperature of a Meal' production presentation]
"There are plenty of positive reactions, but there are still articles that haven't peeled off the 'power abuse actor' label. ...Are interview requests still coming in?"
Manager Yoo Ji-ho turned through the materials and nodded.
"Yes. More than expected, actually, and maybe because we've been turning them all down, even our PR team is starting to ask 'why are we staying silent.'"
CEO Lee Sang-hyuk propped his chin on his hand and sank into thought for a moment.
"The marketing department also says more activity would be better from a promotional standpoint, and apparently the drama's production company is applying a bit of pressure too."
At Yoo Ji-ho's words, Lee Sang-hyuk said in a low voice,
"There's no need for us to push Eun-yul out front and force some explanation. He's starting over while overcoming trauma. Putting a kid like that in front of a camera, and in front of reporters no less, is premature in my view."
Yoo Ji-ho nodded.
"So you blocked all of it on purpose?"
"Yes. I think proving it quietly through the work, the way we are now, is better."
"That's true......"
Yoo Ji-ho sighed and scanned the articles on the table once more.
"But because he isn't doing interviews, only speculative articles keep coming out, and if we leave it like this it could turn into a controversy before the broadcast."
CEO Lee Sang-hyuk propped his chin and sank into thought.
And soon he reached a conclusion.
"Let's discuss it with the staff. Gather the PR team and the marketing team, hold a meeting, and let's sort out how our agency responds."
Yoo Ji-ho let out a light breath and looked at the CEO.
With an important meeting coming up soon, the two of them began working through a strategy to steer Cha Eun-yul's comeback to success.
***
One side of the practice room in the Public building.
My hand paused as I read the script in front of the mirror.
Tap—
When I set down the script in my hand, a short vibration rang out in the quiet space.
Bzz—bzz—
I checked my phone.
The caller was an unknown number.
'Starting with 010 means it isn't spam, but...?'
I hesitated a moment, then took the call, figuring I'd use it as an excuse for a short break.
"Yes, hello?"
Past the receiver, along with quiet breathing, came a composed woman's voice.
"Hello, actor Cha Eun-yul. This is reporter Jeon Hee-jin from Star News."
My fingertips stiffened faintly.
A reporter.
A word both familiar and uncomfortable.
"Ah... yes, what's this about?"
"It's just that we submitted an interview request through your agency and haven't received a definite answer, so I had no choice but to contact you directly."
They'd requested it through the agency, the company hadn't taken it, and so it had come straight to me in the end.
I organized my thoughts for a moment, then answered in the calmest voice I could.
"Ah, for anything interview-related, I'd appreciate it if you'd arrange the schedule through my agency."
"But we've made requests to your agency several times and gotten no reply."
I let out a short breath and said quietly,
"Yes, but all of my scheduling is coordinated through the agency. I'm sorry for the trouble, but I'd be grateful if you'd request it officially."
And I ended the call.
The moment I set the phone down, a text arrived.
[Actor Cha Eun-yul, congratulations on your comeback. I'll write it up favorably, so please do the interview.]
I read the message and looked down quietly at the screen.
'Write it up favorably......'
I wasn't green enough not to know what that sentence meant.
They say they'll handle the past controversy kindly, but you can't believe that 100%.
Even starting off in a positive direction, the possibility that the story turns some other way always exists.
My fingertips went faintly cold.
For an instant, an image rose in my head.
Cameras pouring down at me with flashes bursting.
Shutter sounds going off hard enough to whiten my vision.
Reporters shouting at me to explain power abuse I never committed.
I instinctively set the phone down and rubbed my face lightly with both hands.
'It's fine. It's different now.'
I'd started acting again, and unlike before I had a definite plan.
And still, that moment won't leave my head.
'Anyway, it seems there were a lot of interview requests......'
Now that I thought about it, I had almost no schedule set compared to the buzz.
The lead actors of 'The Temperature of a Meal' were appearing on all sorts of TV interviews and video channels, and actors Kwon Jeong-ryul and Eo Su-hyeon were active as well.
And yet I alone had no movement at all. In that moment, one possibility surfaced.
"Don't tell me... did the agency block it on purpose because of my trauma?"
If it was the CEO or manager hyung, that was entirely possible.
Out of a wish to protect me, so no needless controversy would come up.
I slowly let out a breath.
'But is it really all right to just sit still like this?'
In the past, when the 'power abuse controversy' broke, I never gave a proper explanation.
There were parts of it that were unfair, but back then I chose a lukewarm attitude.
As a result the controversy grew fiercer, and in the end it led to trauma severe enough that I couldn't even stand in front of a camera.
A repetition of avoidance.
If I dodge reality and don't respond head-on, everything could end up flowing in a direction I never wanted.
"I can't repeat the same mistake."
I drew a deep breath.
I understood the agency's wish to protect me, but was continuing to avoid things like this really right for 'me'?
No. I didn't want to run the way the old me had.
'I have to show them the changed me.'
I got up from my seat and changed clothes.
Then, with a cap pulled down low, I walked out the door.
Now, unlike in the past, it was time for me to step out myself.