Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 631

“I still can’t give you up.”

Watching Ryu Wei deliver his lines with such passion made Choi Yeon-ha want to curse.

‘Is he reading from a textbook, the jerk?’

“Cut!”

The director seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Let’s take a short break and then go again.”

“It was fine though.”

Ryu Wei muttered, sounding annoyed. Choi Yeon-ha felt another wave of curses rising.

‘Does this moron not know what ‘fine’ means because he’s stupid?’

The world doesn’t give everything to one person. There’s no such thing as a perfect person. But the heavens were a little harsher to Ryu Wei.

They didn’t give him the acting skills needed for someone who dreams of being an actor.

At least, those who know their acting is terrible have room to improve. But right now, Ryu Wei genuinely thought his acting was not bad.

Choi Yeon-ha raised her hand to her forehead.

The acting of the aspiring actors her agency was training was a hundred times better than his. At least those kids knew how to put emotion into it.

As soon as the shoot was paused, Han Eun-sol came running with a parasol. The makeup artists also rushed over with ice water and portable fans. Choi Yeon-ha took a cold towel, sighed, and wiped her forehead.

“Can’t even sit down!”

She could hear her teeth grinding.

She wanted to snap the neck of that director who wouldn’t let her sit down because her costume, which wouldn’t even be seen, might get wrinkled. Was her costume the problem right now when the male lead was acting like that?

The director also looked visibly displeased.

To secure investment, he had to reflect the investors’ opinions. What those who invested in him had unanimously demanded was that either the male or female lead had to be a rising star.

That’s why he cast that guy. If he didn’t get the investment, production wouldn’t be possible. But his acting was just hopeless.

Until now, they had been modifying the script to make him a taciturn character and somehow getting by with just his eye acting. They covered up his lack of acting skills by setting him up as a character who didn’t show his emotions well because he had been hurt a lot in his childhood.

But this scene was impossible.

This scene was where the male lead’s suppressed emotions exploded. It was so intense that it made one wonder if he was the same male lead they had seen so far.

But…

“Is that line so difficult?”

The director’s grumbling at the assistant director was clearly audible. Choi Yeon-ha had to try hard to hold back her laughter, even though she was the one suffering.

‘Serves him right.’

Her head was spinning from standing under the scorching sun, and her body was exhausted, but at this moment, she felt a sense of satisfaction.

“That jerk, really.”

But Han Eun-sol’s reaction was completely different.

It seemed she didn’t like having to redo the scene so many times, especially since it was already a very demanding one.

“Eun-sol, lower your voice.”

“Yes.”

Han Eun-sol pursed her lips. No matter how much the other side was at fault, it was taboo for a manager to raise their voice on set. Besides, it seemed like he was the type who performed worse under pressure, so it wasn’t good for Choi Yeon-ha either.

“Unnie, just hang in there a little longer.”

“I’m Choi Yeon-ha, you know.”

“Yes. You’re a mega star.”

“Wanna die?”

Han Eun-sol silently handed Choi Yeon-ha an ion drink. Choi Yeon-ha took the drink and gulped it down. As soon as the drink left her lips, the makeup artists swarmed in to fix her makeup.

“We have to finish it today somehow.”

A worried voice was heard. Choi Yeon-ha was the most eager to finish this scene today. But somehow, the combination of the rotten male actor’s acting and the director’s perfectionism was creating the worst possible situation.

They were already on the twentieth take of the same scene.

“Aish!”

‘That moron, really!’

Ryu Wei, unable to contain his anger, was kicking a trash can. If only he could use that temper in his acting.

There were aspects of Chinese culture that she, as a Korean, couldn’t understand. Korean actors also had bad tempers, but they wouldn’t show such behavior in front of the director. From a Korean perspective, it was very rude.

But the director didn’t particularly point it out or seem upset.

That might seem very anti-authoritarian, but it wasn’t like that either. They just felt their authority was being violated in different ways than Koreans did.

‘I don’t care, just act properly!’

Her discomfort was skyrocketing.

“Let’s go again.”

At the director’s command, Ryu Wei adjusted his clothes and came onto the set.

“I’m sorry.”

He bowed his head once. But his apology didn’t seem sincere. It didn’t matter. She didn’t expect it anyway. Receiving an apology wouldn’t make her impression of him any better.

As soon as the signal to start shooting was given, Choi Yeon-ha’s face instantly transformed into that of a tragic heroine. The director’s eyes lit up.

‘Impressive.’

He wasn’t a fool either. Even through the camera, he could feel Choi Yeon-ha’s contempt for Ryu Wei. But as soon as the shoot started, that emotion disappeared, and she was filled with love for her counterpart.

It was as if she could switch on an emotion when needed, and Choi Yeon-ha was showing perfect emotional acting.

She was perfectly expressing the subtle emotion of loving and respecting her partner, but also the sadness of having to leave him for his sake. It was because of this acting ability that he had cast Choi Yeon-ha as the female lead, despite the opposition of many investors.

But…

“I, I can’t…”

‘That hopeless guy.’

The director gritted his teeth as he watched Ryu Wei stammer his lines.

Even an elementary school student would be better than that. How could someone who called himself an actor not be able to handle even such a simple line?

Even after changing it to an easier line several times, he still couldn’t do it perfectly.

‘At this rate, really…’

That was the moment.

“I can’t give you up!”

Ryu Wei’s face flushed as he shouted.

The direction was different. The emotion was different. It was a scene completely different from the director’s interpretation. But it was also undeniable that the scene was more natural than any scene they had filmed so far.

“Leave it!”

The director stopped the assistant director who was about to get up.

Filming a scene that deviated from his interpretation was rare for the director, but now was the time when that rare thing was needed.

“You shouldn’t do this.”

Choi Yeon-ha’s line was perfect.

Such pathos.

And at that moment, the male lead did something unexpected. He stepped forward and grabbed Choi Yeon-ha. The startled staff flinched, but the director kept his mouth shut. The filming continued.

Choi Yeon-ha was indeed a professional.

Recognizing that the cut sign hadn’t been given, she delivered her lines with perfect emotional acting even in this unexpected situation.

“If you do this…”

“I said I won’t let you go!”

Ryu Wei pulled Choi Yeon-ha into a tight embrace. At the same time, his hand groped Choi Yeon-ha’s face. One hand groped her face, and the other hand went down.

Then his lips moved towards Choi Yeon-ha’s lips.

‘Not bad?’

If it couldn’t be solved with words anyway, showing such intense emotion was one way to go. Perhaps it was the best way to cover up Ryu Wei’s lack of acting skills. It was far from the subtlety he was pursuing, but in fact, this scene would be more vivid and intense for the viewers of the drama.

‘Let’s just go with this.’

He was tired too.

In his mind, he had already calculated that even if he reshot this scene hundreds of times, he wouldn’t get the picture he wanted. If that was the case, it was better to just finish it like this.

Ryu Wei’s lips covered Choi Yeon-ha’s lips.

If he kissed her strongly there, and Choi Yeon-ha seemed to refuse but eventually fell into Ryu Wei’s arms, this scene would be complete. It was a scene he hadn’t directed, but he was confident that Choi Yeon-ha would create a perfect scene.

But there was something he hadn’t considered in that confidence.

“Where do you think you’re touching, you son of a bitch!”

Thwack!

The weather was humid and hot, and the same scene had been reshot dozens of times. On top of that, when a greasy guy demanded physical contact that was not in the script, Choi Yeon-ha’s temper exploded.

“Ah, aack!”

Ryu Wei, who had been kicked, fell to the floor, grabbing his shin and rolling around.

The director, completely taken aback by the unexpected scene, jumped up from his seat.

“W-what is it?”

And at that moment, Choi Yeon-ha threw the crown she was wearing on the floor and shouted.

“Where do you think you’re touching, you pervert! Hey, you jerk! Do you think I worked my ass off to get a nice butt for a guy like you to touch?”

“You bitch!”

Ryu Wei also jumped up from his seat, seemingly furious.

“Who are you? What kind of woman are you? Who do you think you are to treat me like this?”

“What a joke. Does it matter who I am? It matters who you are. Who do you think you are that I should be scared of you? You’re nothing!”

“What am I lacking? Do I lack ability, or am I ugly? If a man like me shows interest, you should be grateful!”

“Ha…”

Choi Yeon-ha took out the pins in her hair. Her hair cascaded down.

“What’s the point of talking to a crazy person? Hey, go tell that to some airhead. I’m Choi Yeon-ha. I can do whatever I want without you feeding me with your abilities. So please, get a grip. I wouldn’t want a moron like you even if you were given to me on a truck. Eun-sol!”

“Yes!”

“Get the kids ready. We’re not filming today.”

“Yes, Unnie!”

Han Eun-sol, who would usually try to stop Choi Yeon-ha, was even angrier today.

“Those bastards, really!”

He had clearly seen Ryu Wei’s hand caressing Choi Yeon-ha’s butt. Even if this was China and it was filming, he wasn’t a manager if he stood by and watched his actress get sexually harassed. He’d be a moron.

“Withdraw!”

When even Han Eun-sol shouted and tried to withdraw from the filming, the director blocked Choi Yeon-ha’s path with a stiff face.

“What are you doing now?”

“We’re not filming today.”

“Who said so?”

Choi Yeon-ha glared at the director with a ghostly face.

“Director.”

“The fact that I’m not filming today is me holding back as much as I can, okay? Don’t keep pushing me like that. Even if I’m a moron, I’m not someone who will put up with sexual harassment.”

“Do you know that’s a breach of contract?”

“There should be a no-skinship clause in the contract, right? You’re the one who broke the contract.”

“That wasn’t my intention.”

Choi Yeon-ha sighed deeply and opened her mouth.

“Intention or whatever, that’s enough. I need to rest today. I’m not someone with a strong enough mentality to act after being treated like this. And what? Breach of contract?”

Choi Yeon-ha swept her falling bangs back and spoke sharply.

“Sue me. Hey, sue me. I’ll pay for it. I have money to burn anyway, so I’ll be a proper pain in the ass and throw money at it, so sue me! Got it?”

“…Choi, Choi Yeon-ha-ssi.”

Choi Yeon-ha stared at the director silently and then smiled sweetly.

Even the director was stunned by her rapidly changing expression.

“So, I’ll just rest today, Director. Okay?”

“Y-yes, do that.”

“Okay then.”

Choi Yeon-ha smiled with a gentle face, greeted him, and turned to leave the set.

‘….Is she really a crazy bitch?’

The dumbfounded director and Ryu Wei, who was still holding his shin, just stood there, not knowing what to do.