An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 333

333 #60 – The Whirlwind (6)

The gunshot startled me, and I lost my composure without realizing it.

With my rationality gone, I was as agitated and frantic as I had been with Robert a week earlier.

Without thinking, I grabbed the staff member next to me and twisted his arm.

I was so immersed in the killer role that I couldn’t control myself.

“Hee… Hee-sung!”

The staff member, caught in my grip, screamed while quickly tapping me with his palm.

That brought me back to my senses.

“Ah….”

I jumped back and reached out to him.

“I’m sorry.”

“Ah, no problem.”

He was also stunned by the gunshot, and even more surprised by my actions.

I helped the staff member up, brushed him off, and quickly walked over to the props team, who were standing in a group nearby.

Without looking back, I shouted at them.

“What do you think you’re doing!”

My voice echoed through the set.

Director Fabian ran towards me at the shout.

“Hee-sung, that’s…”

Ignoring Fabian, I yelled at the props team leader.

“We clearly confirmed that there would be no gunshots before filming. How could you bring props like this? Doing this without warning is insane!”

I unleashed my anger on the props team leader with an agitated tone and a distorted face.

He looked at Director Fabian, seemingly wronged.

“That’s… ah….”

“Aren’t you supposed to tell the actors in advance if there’s going to be a gunshot? This is the first time I’ve seen a set like this. What if something bigger had happened?”

The props team members, including the leader, bowed deeply and repeatedly apologized to me.

“We’re sorry…”

“We startled you. We’re really sorry.”

Despite their apologies, my agitation didn’t calm down easily.

It would have been strange if it had.

A gunshot that wasn’t agreed upon in advance.

Even if it wasn’t a gunshot, nothing should happen on set without prior agreement.

Because those minor things could lead to accidents.

Moreover, as someone who was madly immersed in the killer role, I didn’t know what I was capable of.

I was also scared.

Like when I choked Robert’s neck recently.

And like when I grabbed and twisted the staff member’s arm just now after the gunshot.

No, something even bigger might happen.

So, I didn’t want to face these unexpected situations again.

***

A few hours earlier.

“Everyone, let’s break for lunch and then continue shooting,” Director Fabian announced to Jin Hee-sung and Calley.

As they bowed and were about to leave the set, Director Fabian tugged at Calley’s sleeve.

“Yes?”

Calley tilted his head and looked at Director Fabian, who winked at him and stopped him.

Once Jin Hee-sung had left the set, Director Fabian and Calley began to talk.

“Did you want to say something…?”

At Calley’s words, Director Fabian checked that Jin Hee-sung was gone and carefully began to speak.

“We’re filming a making-of video.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we started filming from the beginning of the shoot, but there aren’t as many interesting scenes as I thought.”

Calley put his hand on his chin and nodded, seemingly agreeing.

Usually, there are a few interesting elements in movie making-of videos.

NG [no good, meaning blooper] scenes during filming.

The chemistry between the actors.

The actors are serious when filming starts, but as soon as the cut sign is given, they joke around and play as if they were never immersed.

But none of those things had happened on this set.

The lead actors, Jin Hee-sung, Calley, and Robert.

There wasn’t much chemistry between them yet.

Jin Hee-sung was always sensitive because he was immersed in the killer role.

So, he would only go into his trailer when not filming, or even if he was on set, he wouldn’t mingle with anyone.

Calley wasn’t much different.

He also always had a serious and heavy atmosphere and didn’t interact much with other actors.

Robert alone couldn’t carry the majority of the making-of video.

Other than that, an unexpected episode on set would be an interesting element.

Director Fabian seemed to want to create such a situation.

“Hee-sung is back on set after a long time, so I was wondering if we could make something fun. Do you have any good ideas?”

Calley pursed his lips and pondered.

Then, he snapped his fingers and offered an idea.

“Then how about this?”

“What is it?”

“The gun in our afternoon scene. We’re shooting it without a gunshot, but we’ll shoot it with a blank [a cartridge containing gunpowder but no bullet, used to simulate gunfire].”

Director Fabian widened his eyes.

“Wouldn’t that be too surprising?”

“I’m a former police officer. I won’t aim at Hee-sung. It’s not just slightly off, but completely in a different direction.”

Calley was usually a proud actor with a lot of pride in his past as a police officer, so he tried to use his special skills to make a video.

The director chuckled at his confident expression.

“That would be fun. I’ll tell the props team. A gun is directly related to human life, but since we’re shooting it in a completely different direction, let’s just surprise everyone.”

Calley smiled with a playful expression that he hadn’t shown before.

“Yes, Director. It’s been a while since a hidden camera prank. Haha.”

And now.

The atmosphere on set is completely different from what they expected.

The prank they prepared as a hidden camera for the making-of video.

The moment Calley realized that the action wouldn’t end as a prank, he sighed and ran to Director Fabian.

“Director!”

“Yeah.”

“What do we do about this?”

Director Fabian also sighed deeply.

“I know. I thought it would be fun to include Hee-sung’s reaction, but this reaction is more serious than I thought.”

Calley nodded.

“Yes, I think he was very surprised by the gunshot. I knew Hee-sung was a really good actor, but I didn’t know he was such an immersed actor.”

Calley expressed his surprise as he thought of Jin Hee-sung.

“It seems like he reacted so strongly because he was too immersed in the role…. On the one hand, he’s a really great actor.”

“Yeah, he’s not just immersed in the role, he’s the role itself. I never expected this kind of reaction.”

Director Fabian looked at Jin Hee-sung, who was resting on one side, and spoke quietly.

“Hee-sung already thinks it was a mistake by the props team and made a big fuss.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Should we just bury this…?”

Calley couldn’t shake off the uncomfortable feeling as a fellow actor.

He made a ‘tss’ sound and said to Director Fabian.

“We should still apologize. Hee-sung’s condition is too bad.”

Director Fabian wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

“Let’s do that.”

***

After the filming was interrupted by the gunshot.

I returned to the trailer, still shaken.

Manager Park looked at me with concern.

“Hee-sung, are you okay?”

“…Yeah.”

I said I was okay, but my heart was still pounding.

I couldn’t forget the moment when I lost it and grabbed the staff member.

Manager Park also knew about what happened in the forest a week ago, so he must be very worried about me.

He approached me with a serious face.

“Hee-sung, I’m worried because you seem to be having a hard time with this role.”

“But I can’t help it because of the role itself. It’s a role that I have to immerse myself in.”

“That’s true… but if it’s too hard, I’ll tell them to postpone today’s filming until tomorrow.”

I waved my hand.

“No. I can rest for a while and then film. It would be a nuisance if the entire filming was postponed because of me.”

As an actor who has played both minor and supporting roles, I have seen too many times the filming being delayed due to the situation of the lead actor.

And now that I have become the lead actor, I didn’t want to cause such a thing.

It’s not like I’m injured to the point where I can’t film.

I composed myself and stepped out of the trailer, and a large man was visible when I opened the door.

It was Calley.

He was pacing in front of my trailer, wondering how long he had been waiting for me.

I approached him.

“Were you waiting for me?”

Calley, startled by my question, widened his eyes and shook his head.

“Ah… yes, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Yes.”

It was the first time.

It was the first time Calley had spoken to me outside of filming.

And what he told me made me frown.

“Actually, I was going to do a hidden camera prank with Director Fabian for the making-of video. So, that gunshot earlier….”

Calley told me everything that had happened a few hours ago, without leaving anything out.

I was filled with anger, but I barely suppressed my feelings and listened to the story.

“…So, Director Fabian and I didn’t expect Hee-sung to be so surprised. I’m really sorry.”

“Ah….”

“I sincerely apologize. We thought it was a prank, but it seems like the action was too much. I’m really sorry.”

I bit my lip.

What could I do? It had already happened.

He was always solemn, but he was bowing deeply to me and apologizing.

I nodded.

“I understand. I’ll accept your apology.”

“Thank you. And I’m really sorry.”

“Instead, I hope you don’t play pranks like this in the future. Especially when it comes to something so dangerous. Moreover, a gun….”

Calley nodded vigorously.

“Of course. I don’t think I realized that.”

“Yes, it’s okay now.”

Calley and I got up, and I spoke again.

“Ah, and….”

“Yes?”

“Instead of apologizing only to me, I hope you apologize to the extras who were filming the scene with me.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Are you talking about the police extras next to you?”

“Yes, they must have been surprised too.”

Calley pursed his lips and nodded.

“I will.”

***

After apologizing to Jin Hee-sung, Calley immediately headed to the extras.

Police extras who were filming with Jin Hee-sung.

He was going to apologize to them as well, as requested.

Calley glanced at Jin Hee-sung in the distance and thought.

“Jin Hee-sung… he’s the real deal.”

In fact, Calley didn’t expect Jin Hee-sung’s anger to be resolved with this much of an apology.

He thought it was too big of a deal for his anger to subside so easily.

But knowing that he apologized sincerely, man to man, he immediately accepted Calley’s apology.

He could have made a big issue of this and stopped the filming.

Moreover, he was not only thinking of himself, but also taking care of the other actors.

Calley couldn’t help but be surprised, especially since those actors were extras.

Extras are often overlooked on set.

“He even takes care of the extras?”

Calley clicked his tongue and gazed at Jin Hee-sung, muttering.

“…His acting isn’t the only thing that’s great. He’s a really decent person.”

Then, he smirked.

“I want to get closer to Jin Hee-sung?”