Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 64

Love’s Scolding (4)

* * *

Seo Yenni had been feeling like she was floating on air lately.

It wasn’t that she was floating away on her own, but rather that a transparent hand was grabbing her by the scruff of the neck and lifting her up.

Anyone would feel that way when a drama that had been like a water-soaked rag was now blazing fiercely, constantly breaking records.

“…It’s actually working.”

She had thought it was over when the discord rumors broke out.

The clash between Park Geon, who had succeeded with his insane leadership, and Byun Hwi-seung, the ‘Byeon Satto’ [a historical figure known for exposing corruption] who was an all-time legend for his scandalous incidents.

A dramatic settlement? The ground hardening after the rain [meaning a situation improving after a crisis]? No way. It was like a secret royal inspector and a corrupt official had met, and she thought one of them would die before leaving.

She would have been relieved if they could just secure some commercials after the drama… but the train she thought had derailed was actually an armored tank that was sweeping away obstacles and everything else.

“Hello, actress.”

“Oh, yes. Isn’t it heavy?”

“It’s okay.”

“If the equipment falls, you’ll get hurt and my head will get smashed, so take it easy.”

Byun Hwi-seung, who walked over with his hands in his sweatpants pockets like a jobless bum, was chatting with the staff.

Ratings were king, and the atmosphere on set was more motivated than ever.

If the previous atmosphere was due to discord rumors, now it was genuinely enjoyable to work.

Not only the supporting and minor actors, but even the staff members who used to pass each other like strangers were now greeting Byun Hwi-seung first.

‘But are those two ever going to reconcile?’

He was still cold to Park Geon, but he wasn’t grabbing him by the collar like last time.

Did they resolve it behind the scenes? As she was thinking, Byun Hwi-seung strode over.

“What is it? You’re here early again?”

This guy always made barbed remarks. Since it was true, Seo Yenni tried to swallow her complaints.

“Should I come late, then? How much more should I get cursed at?”

“I thought our Yenni would cover for me. I thought you’d stand as a punching bag for me and retire together, but I guess you still have ambitions for broadcasting?”

“Wow. Your curses are real… !”

“Yeah, not curses, jokes.”

Byun Hwi-seung smiled and waved as he passed by. She unconsciously grabbed the hem of his jacket.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“About what?”

“It seemed like it passed without any issues. I was wondering if something happened between you two after that.”

Byun Hwi-seung nonchalantly picked at his ear.

“What could have happened? That was it.”

“It doesn’t make sense that you’d just let it go with your personality. If you fought with Park Geon again, all the Black Knights fans would come running… No, I mean, did you call for a truce because you were really going to end up in the hospital?”

“I’m a 9th-dan in Muay Thai [a high rank in the martial art]. You want to talk nonsense?”

Byun Hwi-seung glared, but he didn’t seem genuinely angry. Seo Yenni, who was feeling a bit nervous, raised another suspicion.

“No, look. They reshot the scenes that Hwang PD-nim [PD is abbreviation for Producer Director] had already filmed. He’s not the type to reshoot, especially scenes he already okayed and sent to the editing room.”

“The script was revised, they said. The writer and director must have come to an agreement separately.”

“That’s right! But why isn’t the writer coming to the set? Did they know you and Park Geon were going to fight?”

“You’re really persistent…”

Byun Hwi-seung gave her a look of exasperation as his large manager followed him like a bodyguard.

“We’ll start soon!”

The assistant director shouted from afar. As Seo Yenni awkwardly got up with the script in her hand, she tilted her head.

“It’s amazing, really.”

*

The filming of ‘Hoedo Team’ was nearing its end.

Including the highlight scenes of the main actors, less than half of the content for episodes 13 and 14 remained.

If they hadn’t reshot some of the footage they had already filmed, today might have been the last day on set.

‘In the end, the schedule has become tight.’

Hwang Chang-jae PD, squatting on the bathhouse chair that Yoo Ho-young had brought, sniffled.

His dark complexion had recovered, but his expression wasn’t exactly bright.

The work that had been averaging was doing much better than expected, so the pressure of the ending had begun to weigh on him.

‘PD-nim, that’s a real disease. It’s a hundred times better than having discord rumors and the ratings plummeting!’

‘Don’t talk without knowing the situation.’

Yoo Ho-young waved the script to chase him away for his nagging, but he knew it was a privileged complaint.

‘Chang-jae, this is a bit dangerous. There’s no making-of, and you’re not taking out time for readings separately. Really, you might be the only one getting screwed by the director’s pick.’

Right after the first episode, ‘Hoedo Team’ gained momentum, making the concerns of his PD friend, who had worried about him, seem unnecessary.

It wasn’t because the work was special, even as a compliment. From the beginning, he had coldly assessed that this new writer’s ability and his own directing were only decent.

The cameos’ passionate performances? Don’t even mention it. The actors who took on supporting roles were just doing enough to earn their keep.

‘Kwon Yu-jin has improved a lot, and Seo Yenni is doing her usual acting…’

The moment the drama heated up due to the discord rumors of the main actors, the problem solver who threw in the bomb was ‘that actor’ again.

‘…Park Geon is Park Geon.’

Who said he wouldn’t adapt to romantic comedies?

The scene where he first reunited with Seok Tae-oh, the scene where he grabbed the ratings by the collar along with the villain’s collar, and the scene where he was confused by his feelings for Han Tae-ri.

The moment the shoot started, the actor became ‘Lee Jin-ha’ himself, flitting between the set, the factory, and the office in the blink of an eye.

He had even lost the energy to be amazed at how he pronounced short lines in four languages like a native speaker. When asked if he was a graduate from studying abroad, Park Geon hesitated for a moment, then checked that his manager wasn’t there and answered.

‘I stayed in Western countries for a while… But why did he look to see if I had a younger sibling?’

Anyway, he had overcome a major crisis.

The viewers who came to watch the fight took their seats in front of the TV, and they became the new concrete base of ‘Hoedo Team’.

If the acting had been even a little bit funny, they would have been ridiculed and plummeted.

In that sense, the contribution of that guy swaggering over there can’t be ignored.

“Director, has the script been pulled out again?”

“Ah, yes. It just happened that way…”

Byun Hwi-seung fanned himself with the script that had been delivered this morning.

“We’re completely doing a live-shoot, aren’t we? It was supposed to be pre-produced, but half of it is being overturned. If you had told us in advance, we would have prepared to suffer.”

Hwang Chang-jae became shriveled and avoided eye contact. He was embarrassed to reveal the inside story.

From what point should he explain that the writer’s creative desire had been seriously stimulated since the discord rumors, and that’s why they were even fixing the footage they had already shot?

[KkayoVillain] PD-nim, would it be okay to revise it just a little bit more?

[KkayoVillain] I just had a really good idea

[KkayoVillain] If we do this, it connects the things we threw out in episodes 1 and 2 as foreshadowing

[KkayoVillain] PD-nim

[KkayoVillain] Are you perhaps annoyed?

[KkayoVillain] And if we change the concept of Lee Jin-ha and Han Tae-ri’s kiss scene a bit

[KkayoVillain] PD-nim? Are you awake?

‘…This is why I can’t live to my full potential.’

Fortunately, Byun Hwi-seung was far from being a gloomy or resentful person. The way he was expressing his dissatisfaction was closer to conveying the actors’ positions.

“Then let’s do our best today too. Fighting, Director!”

After Byun Hwi-seung coolly left, Park Geon appeared from somewhere this time and greeted him.

“You’re working hard.”

“Ah, y-yes.”

“About the changed script today, would it be possible to capture the shooting angle from the back…”

This was the real hardship.

The overly passionate actors were tag-teaming him.

‘Is it because they fought? Why is their teamwork so good?’

Hwang Chang-jae decided that he would be bedridden for ten days after this work was over, and he looked up at the sky powerlessly.

And he quickly lowered his head again, blinded by the rail lights on the ceiling.

“Why the tears… Should I give you some medicine? It seems like pollen has gotten in, even though we’re indoors.”

“…It’s okay. Let’s continue.”

1 AM, in front of the ‘Hoedo Team’ set.

The water truck thoroughly wets the alley from this side to that side.

In the highlight scene of the last episode, where the main characters confirm each other’s feelings, Hwang PD deliberately ordered heavy rain.

Even if it’s the same romance, there are scenes where a downpour is more suitable than a drizzle, and there are scenes where a fragile rain is more suitable than a heavy rain.

Today’s scene between Lee Jin-ha and Han Tae-ri is the former.

“Don’t you have a raincoat? I told you to bring one.”

“Jung-hoo forgot. I’ll deal with him later, and I’ll hold an umbrella for you since there are a few in the trunk.”

“Oh my, look at the door to hardship opening. If we don’t get an okay at times like this, it’ll be a disaster…”

The voices of the staff are faintly heard through the sound of the rain. The battle fought when reclaiming the coastal cities is revived with the humidity.

Piercing through the thick fog of Strahholm, the demon army raided from the high sky.

—Shoot the crossbows! Fire into the sky!

—Visibility is poor, they’re wasting arrows while spinning around!

—Commander, the rear has collapsed! The corrupted sea giants are in the water… Aaaagh!

Compared to the coastal city where it rained half the year, this amount of rain is like a child’s pee.

Looking at the stream of water being sprayed by the water truck, Geon, standing in front of ‘The Chic’ main gate, thought.

‘He’s coming back. He’s been acting expensive lately [meaning he’s putting on airs or being difficult].’

He deliberately lowered his senses, so even though the surrounding sounds were obscured by the rain, a familiar elation was wriggling.

As if telling him to quickly go into the middle of that downpour and put on the role.

There are two changes that come when filming starts. One is the memory of the Iron Kingdom that he lost upon returning to this world, and the other is the power of the hero that returns only when the camera is rolling.

Both were quieter than usual on this set.

The memories of the Iron Kingdom were few, and even those were just fragments of ordinary life. Talking to the saintess or giving instructions to the commanders of each army.

‘Is it a genre problem?’

During the dog days in Seoul, he killed humans. In Black Knights, he fought demons. What about this work? He only felt the harmony during the audition, and of course, there were no scenes in the scenario where he killed anyone.

Romantic comedy isn’t a thriller, and it can’t suddenly turn into a battlefield with blood and flesh flying, can it?

‘However… I couldn’t have just passed it by.’

He can instinctively know. Even right now, after returning, some great providence is pulling him in as a kind of rule and arrangement.

Just like the battles with the great demons, where he had to face the first and second, third and fourth in order.

—Saintess, I’m going straight to Valmon.

—…What nonsense are you talking about? The first one isn’t the Lord of Wrath, but the Gorgon of Arrogance…

—The death knights he’s sending are destroying the northern part of the kingdom. If the saintess won’t go, I’ll carry it out alone.

—Wait, Hero! Hey, mister!

It was probably around the 10th episode. That’s how the suicide squad that went straight to the third great demon, Valmon of Wrath, burst into a cloud of blood.

‘From then on, I listened to those damn pigeons [likely referring to advice or messengers]. I should have known that the more great demons I killed, the higher my status would become.’

Geon smiled bitterly. In light of the Iron Kingdom’s long history, he would have been the hero who listened to the saintess the least.

Anyway… he achieved his initial goal with this ‘Hoedo Team’. He was cast in a work with harmony and led the play with meaningful ratings.

‘If this trend continues until the last episode… yes, I think we’ll probably hit 20%.’

According to what Hwang Chang-jae PD said with a somewhat sad expression, they had an overwhelming advantage among the Wednesday-Thursday dramas of other broadcasting stations.

There’s no time to catch his breath. He must win in this battlefield and quickly advance to the next battlefield.

Because someone’s debt will be there.

“Okay, let’s go in now!”

Hwang Chang-jae PD’s voice is heard. Behind him, in the lobby hidden by the automatic door, Kwon Yu-jin, who has finished preparing to follow him, will be waiting.

“Standby… cue!”

The faintly rising smile disappears. Geon, who erased his expression, stepped into the rain.

Another battlefield is approaching its end.

*

“Standby, cue!”

Filming is forced in the rain.

It’s already the sixth standby, but none of the staff, including the cinematographer, show any signs of dissatisfaction.

It’s because of the strong request of the main actors of today’s scene. Among them, Kwon Yu-jin.

Two actors stand facing each other in the downpour.

“Team Leader. Don’t go.”

Park Geon, covered in Lee Jin-ha, raised his distorted face. Rain streams down like tears on a face mixed with despair, loneliness, and loss.

“…Why are you stopping me?”

“You’re going to leave again. I know you’re going to disappear like this.”

“I make the people around me unhappy. My parents, my friends, even everyone who loved me or everyone I tried to love.”

A painful confession continues. The rain from the water truck pours down like a torrential downpour, but the lines penetrate the ears as if they were spoken right next to them.

“So please, leave me alone…”

The moment Kwon Yu-jin ran and hugged Park Geon, who was muttering as if vomiting, she realized.

‘…That person came out again.’

There is someone inside Park Geon.

He is not acting as Lee Jin-ha. It is not the true self of actor Park Geon either.

She had vaguely noticed it. The shadow beyond the eyes that appeared fleetingly in the gaps between scenes.

It’s a small trace that she, who had prepared to be a professional Go player until she was twelve years old and had constantly analyzed her opponent’s eyes during matches, could know.

‘Kwon Yu-jin, keep your mind straight.’

So what if that’s the case? Whatever the circumstances behind it, he is someone she will not see after the drama ends. They live in different worlds and look in different directions.

“How can I leave you alone! I’ve already come to like you, Team Leader… !”

She has already received a lot of help.

Her acting skills, which had been just okay at first, have now jumped to a solid promising level.

There is only one way she can repay him, to finish the play with the best acting she can do.

“……”

The gazes of the two completely immersed actors intertwined as if to evaporate the rain.

The makeup is all gone and the lips are blue with cold, but the eyes are still clear.

Soon, a white, shining hand grabbed Kwon Yu-jin’s shoulder and pulled her in.

“…Cut!”

*