CH9

Though the news is often filled with grim reports, these events only occur because people are involved.

In a small town only patrolled by a sheriff dispatched from the county due to the lack of city police, the biggest incident was a bear coming to steal food.

When the sheriff arrived at a scene in the long-peaceful village, he scratched his head.

"So, this is really the incident footage? Not something filmed for uploading on YouTube or anything?"

The situation was so clear that there wasn't even a need to question further, much less collect additional evidence.

Everything was evident in the video, started by a child who began filming with their father's phone upon spotting a suspicious person lurking around their house.

'If there wasn't a video, I wouldn't even be asking about this.'

The sheriff watched the video with disbelief, showing a child grabbing a gun, fluttering through a window, and climbing onto the roof to see a threatened elderly person.

Bang!

The child fired a warning shot into the air and shouted.

– Get out of my house now, or I'll kill you before you leave!

It was a fierce voice, filled with anger.

Though it was a young, unbroken voice, the urgency of the situation and the gunshot made it convincingly altered.

"Hmm, your son is quite talented, isn't he?"

"He dreams of becoming an actor."

Dylan, watching the video for the first time, felt his heart sink as the unfolding events revealed his ignorance of the situation, exposing Ian to the criminal.

In a dangerous moment where the criminal could have turned the gun at any time, Ian's actions were swift, throwing his gun to distract the criminal's view, followed by a spirited dropkick.

The sheriff admired the video, which he had seen several times already.

"An actor, you say? Not a professional wrestler?"

"…That might be a possibility."

Dylan agreed, impressed by the technical proficiency displayed.

The sheriff turned off the video. If this video was real, there was nothing more to investigate.

"The criminal's actions are clearly captured, so you don't have to worry. You'll be contacted about the trial, and the video will be used as evidence, which might be disclosed to the public during the trial process."

"Understood."

After parting with the sheriff, Dylan checked the time. 

It was already late into the night, and Sophia's birthday had passed.

Returning home, he was greeted by two people who had been waiting for him.

"Welcome back."

"Nothing happened, right?"

"Well, yes, but…"

Dylan was startled by the scene in the living room.

Ian was seen in a cast, comfortably asleep with his head on Sophia's thigh, hidden from view by the two women.

It was a scene he had never imagined.

Chloe smiled slightly, as if expecting his surprise, and teasingly said,

"Can you believe mother bought a computer because she didn't know what Ian liked? She learned to use YouTube for the same reason, and the sudden departure was to buy a belated gift."

"…We agreed to keep it a secret."

Seeing Sophia's face flushed with betrayal and embarrassment, Dylan realized why she had frantically pushed away the mouse when he moved it toward the viewing history.

"And the cold treatment when I first arrived?"

"How could I warmly welcome you after what had happened? I've wanted to apologize for years, but pride held me back, no matter how old I got."

Sophia stroked Ian's hair.

His black hair softly wrapped around her fingers.

"I was even worse than a child who happily accepted a belated apology."

Dylan smiled brightly at the realization that the long-entangled issue had been resolved and brought up something he had only thought about.

"Now that it's come to this, don't stay alone. Come to LA. The housing prices have dropped a lot recently."

"Yeah. What if something like today happens again? Dad would have wanted that too."

A proposal that would have been firmly rejected in the past.

After hesitating and looking at Ian for a moment, Sophia said,

"I'll think about it a bit."

The couple cheered quietly at the prospect of possibility, exchanging glances.

***

Ian had his leg, wrapped in a plaster cast, propped up on a desk.

Like a school of piranhas that had found their prey, children crowded around him.

"I want to write on it too! Save a spot for me!"

"I'm gonna draw Mickey Mouse!"

"…Don't draw that."

There's a joke that even if you draw it on a deserted island in distress, they'd come to sue you for copyright. Why draw that?

He disliked the idea as much as getting a tattoo of a waiver on his body, even if they wouldn't really sue over children's drawings.

Turning his gaze away from his cast, now a canvas for doodles, Ian closed his eyes.

His leg was fractured, and he had been scolded by his parents for his reckless action, but since no one died, it was perfect.

'Finally, I can act freely without worry.'

Anticipated misfortunes had been the biggest shackles.

If he couldn't prevent that day, returning would have been meaningless, so he couldn't even casually audition.

Now that it was all over, it seemed he could move freely.

"Ian! Summer vacation is coming up. Which camp are you going to?"

"Come to the same camp as me!"

Interest in the densely doodled cast seemed to wane as the children clung to him, and Ian shrugged.

"Well, I haven't decided yet."

Unlike the short winter break of only 2 or 3 weeks, the summer vacation was nearly 3 months long.

Most families send their children to summer camps as a substitute for school, typically engaging in sports activities.

'Before, they used to send me to the city-run ones.'

They were cheap, but essentially just a place where kids were looked after indoors, ending with them playing games together.

Now that the store was doing well and his parents had some financial leeway, they promised to send him to a proper camp this time.

'But that's not my plan. I need to audition now.'

The foundation was all set.

The financial crisis had not yet been completely overcome, leading to a surge in sales of affordable condos, which in turn provided financial relief.

Moreover, a connection with a big name like Ben Roberts had been established, and the greatest misfortune was averted.

It meant he could now focus on his dream.

'First, I need to make an impression at the party with Ben and look for audition opportunities to participate in as many as possible.'

He was already itching to act; how could he be interested in playing ball with the kids?

After school, as Ian was about to leave, his teacher called out to him.

"Your mother came to pick you up today."

There had been no particular talk of this at the start of the day.

Feeling puzzled, he went outside to find his mother waiting, along with another man.

"…Who?"

Recognizing the somewhat familiar face, Ian asked, and the man looked slightly hurt.

"Don't you remember? I was the assistant director who took you to the set."

"Ah!"

He remembered. 

"I had so neatly not cared that I even forgot his face."

"What's going on? Since Uncle Ben didn't mention anything specific, I doubt it's about the Sucker Punch incident."

"Right, it's not about that incident. I'm no longer an assistant director."

'Ah, he got fired.'

Considering how hard it is to get fired for a political hire who just needs to show up on time.

 He couldn't imagine what he did to get kicked out, and even more so why he came to him in this situation.

"So, what's the matter? And why with my mother?"

Chloe answered,

"You said becoming an actor was your dream."

"I did."

"It hasn't changed, has it?"

Even if he now believed he could live well without being an actor, his dream wouldn't change.

If it was a dream that could change that easily, he wouldn't have spent decades trying to succeed as an actor.

"There's a casting director who wants to see you."

"Me?"

Based on what?

The man clarified his question.

"I showed them your acting video. So, they said they wanted to see you."

With this answer, the situation became perfectly clear.

"Ah, so that's why you got fired. I was wondering why you were kicked out."

"Ugh."

He internally scoffed at the man's grimaced expression.

Naturally, leaking footage from the set without permission could easily get someone fired.

If he hadn't had connections, he might have been sued instead of just fired.

At this point, Ian began to wonder if meeting a casting director associated with such a person was a good idea.

"The director of Sucker Punch advised me that it would be good to meet you."

"The director?"

If the director, who knew whom the former assistant director had shown the footage to, suggested it, then it must be okay.

"If you want, they said you could come today. What do you think?"

"Sure, let's go."

Unless it's a scam, there's no reason to turn down any opportunity.

'But, whoever it is, they must have a bad attitude.'

Demanding an audition without any information is stressful even for adult actors, let alone a child actor.

If it's not deliberately snubbing the invited person, then this must all be part of the evaluation.

Arriving at the place after a long journey, Ian's eyes widened 

slightly.

'Acosta Casting?'

In Hollywood, casting directors are as crucial as directors and editors.

It's natural since the success of production can depend on the casting director's ability to supply everything from lead roles to extras.

Thus, there are companies that focus exclusively on casting, and Acosta Casting is among the major players.

'I've worked with her before. I wonder if she's here?'

Ian's heart raced at the thought that she might not be working here anymore, but the possibility excited him.

Upon entering the room filled with anticipation, he was met by a woman with a stern demeanor.

"I'm Adelia Acosta. I serve as a casting director here."

As Adelia handed her business card to Chloe with a polite greeting, Ian thought his heart would stop. 

Her face, unlike his memory, was smooth and wrinkle-free, but unmistakably familiar.

-I'm pleased to meet you. You're always in makeup for shoots. Do you have the confidence to appear on screen without it?

The woman who had shattered the limitations of an actor consumed with hiding his disfigured face. 

Despite the few meetings where their passion flared,

-Let's keep it to a night to remember. Is it because you don't like my looks? If that were the case, we wouldn't have shared a bed. I thought this would be better for you, as an actor.

Could the eyes of a well-known casting director be any different? 

After that, he delved deeper into acting and even won an Oscar.

Meeting a woman who had significantly impacted his life,

'The 18-year age difference really isn't small.'

While age-gap couples aren't rare, being a kid again made the difference seem even more pronounced when looking up at her.

As he gazed at her in wonder, she reached out and lifted his hair.

"Just fixing your hair could give off quite a variety of vibes, which is good. Of course, acting comes first."

What mattered now wasn't their one-night stand but her reputation as an excellent casting director.

"What kind of acting would you like?"

Ian's unflinching attitude earned a slight bonus from Adelia.

"Can you play a pretentious character?"

"Of course."

It wasn't an easy request to comply with, especially without a script. 

He had to create a character on the spot.

Thinking of a typical character who squanders money, Adelia was taken aback as Ian began to speak.

"It seems you're not familiar with table manners. Perhaps we should have gone somewhere less formal."

A roundabout way of saying she didn't belong in such a place. 

But what truly surprised her wasn't the dialogue but his pronunciation.

"Posh?"

His use of posh, known for the pronounced elongation of vowels like T and O, U, typical of the English upper class, was remarkable.

It was astonishing enough that a child used posh pronunciation.

"Did you intentionally make a mistake in the middle?"

"Of course. Why would I need to mispronounce a sentence like that?"

Adelia laughed at his flawless posh English.

She hadn't expected him to complete a pretentious character by awkwardly using posh English.

'Is this the acting of a child?'

She glanced at the younger sibling who brought him in.

It was clear that bringing this child was the sibling's greatest achievement.