An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 56

#12 – What You See May Not Be Everything (5)

I clicked my tongue and tilted my head.

“Cut, NG [No Good]!”

Director Jang’s voice echoed through the set.

Choi Seo-bin immediately turned his shoulders and loosened up.

He squeezed his eyes shut, opened them, and shook his head vigorously.

It wasn’t Choi Seo-bin’s mistake with the lines.

Director Jang opened his mouth, holding the megaphone.

“Seo-bin, it’s good… but since it’s the first scene in the movie, let’s try it again.”

“Yes, I’ll try again.”

Choi Seo-bin nodded.

Soon, Director Jang’s voice was heard.

“Ready, action!”

Choi Seo-bin’s expression twisted instantly.

He sighed, his face full of anger, and muttered.

“Haa, how can they put things in other medical centers?”

“Cut!”

At Director Jang’s shout, I turned my head and looked at him.

He shook his head, indicating his dissatisfaction.

Again, it wasn’t an NG caused by a mistake in the lines.

“Director Jang doesn’t seem to like Seo-bin’s acting right now.”

Kim whispered softly in my ear.

“It happens a lot. We usually set the tone and manner during the script reading, but it’s common to readjust it in the beginning.”

“Ah….”

I nodded at Kim’s words.

Actually, even I felt that Choi Seo-bin’s tone didn’t match the lines.

How should I put it?

It’s not that he’s bad at acting.

His delivery is definitely good, and his appeal is strong.

But the problem is that it feels like he’s playing separately from the lead role, Min Ji-hoon.

Choi Seo-bin seemed to swallow a sigh at Director Jang’s words.

Director Jang opened his mouth towards him.

“Seo-bin, I think it would be good to change the tone a bit.”

“Yes, I’ll try again!”

“Okay. Let’s go right away.”

Director Jang started to get up from his chair but sat back down and shouted.

“Ready, action!”

The filming resumed.

It was only three short lines, but multiple NGs were repeated.

“Cut, cut!”

Director Jang sighed and bit his lower lip.

“Uh… Seo-bin, that’s not the tone. Again!”

“…I’m sorry. I’ll do it again.”

Choi Seo-bin’s face was stiff.

It was the first time I had seen that expression while acting with him.

He was always confident in his acting.

I also sighed as I watched him repeatedly get an NG.

This… it doesn’t seem like filming will be easy?

“Let’s take a break and go to the next scene.”

With the assistant director’s words, the set moved in an orderly fashion to their respective positions.

Choi Seo-bin’s three-line first scene received an okay sign after a whopping 13 tries.

After the ritual, the filming started in a friendly atmosphere.

However, as the fact that the lead actor, Choi Seo-bin, barely got an okay spread, the actors and staff were gripped with tension.

It didn’t seem like it was just to gain momentum at the beginning.

It was just that it took time for Choi Seo-bin to adapt to the lead character.

Despite knowing all of this, the 12 NGs and 13 takes made everyone on set nervous.

“Good work.”

I bowed to Choi Seo-bin as he walked out of the set.

He forced a smile and returned the greeting before moving to his car.

The next scene was a two-shot of Choi Seo-bin and me.

I looked at Choi Seo-bin’s back and quickly opened the script.

Since it was the first scene where I had to deliver lines, I wanted to get an OK sign in one take if possible.

No, I desperately hoped that the number of NGs would be reduced even a little.

I wanted the character I was playing, Department Head Choi, to blend well with me.

I had already memorized the lines, but I closed my eyes and reviewed them throughout the break.

“We’re going to shoot!”

At the staff’s shout, I took a deep breath and handed the script I was holding to Kim.

“Do well.”

I smiled silently at his encouragement.

Barely suppressing my trembling heart, I began to move towards the set.

***

Director Jang sat in his chair with his legs crossed, holding the megaphone.

“Seo-bin, just keep the tone you had at the end.”

Choi Seo-bin nodded, tucking his lips inward at his words.

“Yes, I understand.”

“Hee-sung… let’s just try it once first.”

Jin Hee-sung also nodded firmly with a determined face at Director Jang’s words.

“Yes.”

He took his back off the chair and stared intently at the monitor, then brought the megaphone to his mouth and shouted.

“Ready, action!”

The red light came on the camera.

At the same time, Choi Seo-bin and Jin Hee-sung’s eyes changed.

The moment a camera zoomed in on Choi Seo-bin’s face, he opened his mouth with a resolute face.

“Department Head Choi, you did this, didn’t you?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Hee-sung’s face twisted instantly.

“What?”

Jin Hee-sung’s facial expression as he let out a short exclamation and raised one corner of his mouth.

Although the corner of his mouth was raised, the coldness was indescribable.

A murderous look in his eyes overwhelmed the audience.

“Did you just say ‘did’?”

Jin Hee-sung’s words, spoken in a low voice without shouting, were laid on the floor.

The voice was enough to give a sense of intimidation.

Choi Seo-bin’s pupils shook slightly, but he soon glared and shouted.

“That’s not the important thing!”

He held out the paper he was holding to Jin Hee-sung.

“Can you still say that after seeing this?”

Jin Hee-sung stared at the paper Choi Seo-bin was holding with a stiff face.

A document with his signature on it.

Jin Hee-sung swallowed hard and let out a rough breath.

“What is this!”

Choi Seo-bin burst out laughing at his denial.

Jin Hee-sung frowned at his reaction.

“This bastard is laughing in front of his senior?”

Before Jin Hee-sung could finish his words, he snatched the paper Choi Seo-bin was holding.

Then he crumpled the paper and stomped on it.

“Cut!”

At Director Jang’s shout, Choi Seo-bin and Jin Hee-sung looked at him at the same time.

Director Jang’s ambiguous expression.

A face that didn’t seem satisfied or dissatisfied.

“……”

Director Jang didn’t open his mouth for a while, looking at the monitor.

The set was as quiet as a mouse.

Neither Choi Seo-bin nor Jin Hee-sung asked Director Jang.

About the meaning of this silence.

Director Jang broke the silence with a click of his tongue.

“Um… let’s try it again.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Choi Seo-bin and Jin Hee-sung, who were standing on the set, opened their mouths at the same time.

“Yes.”

“Both of you acted well, but let’s bring out the feeling of the characters a little more. Ready, action!”

After several more tries, Director Jang gave the okay sign.

Director Jang put down the megaphone and got up from his seat.

Then, holding the script, he began to walk towards them on the set.

“Seo-bin, I think you can continue with the same tone as you did just now.”

“Yes, I think this tone suits the character best.”

Director Jang nodded.

“But there’s a slightly subtle difference from Min Ji-hoon’s role, right?”

“Yes, what part….”

Choi Seo-bin and Director Jang had a heated discussion, as if having a debate with the script in the middle.

Jin Hee-sung waited for his turn, watching them.

Soon, Director Jang looked at Jin Hee-sung and raised his eyebrows.

“Hee-sung, also express that despicable expression of Department Head Choi. And a little more of the feeling of ignoring and despising Seo-bin when you look at him.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Let’s express the next scene like we did just now, or even better.”

He added as if he was sorry.

“It’s the first day, so I’m trying to get it right… please understand even if we try a lot.”

Choi Seo-bin nodded with a stiff face.

“The script reading ended so quickly that I couldn’t help it. You know?”

Choi Seo-bin answered in a small voice at Director Jang’s words.

“Yes.”

Director Jang patted them on the shoulder, as if encouraging them.

“Let’s go straight to the next scene. Ready, action!”

Jin Hee-sung slowly closed and opened his eyes, scanning Choi Seo-bin.

Then, as he shot a contemptuous look at Choi Seo-bin, the camera captured the gap without missing it.

Although no lines came out.

There were plenty of scenes to capture on camera with just that look and the trembling corner of his mouth.

“You went to Modern Orthopedics without my permission?”

Jin Hee-sung shouted at Choi Seo-bin, his facial muscles twitching.

“That’s… no, do I have to get Department Head Choi’s permission to move?”

He glanced at him, but he said what he wanted to say until the end.

Jin Hee-sung burst out laughing as if he was dumbfounded at Choi Seo-bin’s words.

“Look at this bastard?”

Jin Hee-sung stuck out his stomach and took a step forward towards Choi Seo-bin.

“If I open my mouth in this industry, you won’t be able to set foot in it again. You know?”

Jin Hee-sung’s voice, which shouted confidently, trembled finely as if he was worried about something.

Director Jang looked at the monitor with a satisfied face at the perfect description.

‘Jin Hee-sung, you’re pretty good?’

“We’re not rivals, we’re family members of the same company.”

Choi Seo-bin frowned and shouted at Jin Hee-sung.

“…Family my ass.”

Jin Hee-sung rolled his eyes and raised the corner of his mouth.

Choi Seo-bin held his head up and stared at the camera.

With an expression as if he had made a decision.

Eye contact with the camera continued for a few seconds.

“Cut, okay!”

Soon, Director Jang’s okay sign fell.

But Director Jang’s expression wasn’t very bright.

A face that seemed uneasy about something.

It didn’t seem like Director Jang was the only one worried.

Choi Seo-bin and Jin Hee-sung were no different.

They had clearly performed the acting perfectly according to the contents of the script.

The directions were well implemented, and the tones of the two were also perfect.

However, they couldn’t catch all of the subtle problems.

Choi Seo-bin tilted his head, tucking his lips in.

Jin Hee-sung lowered the decibel and opened his mouth in a voice that only Choi Seo-bin could hear.

“Senior, can we shoot again?”

At his question, Choi Seo-bin nodded as if he had been waiting for those words.

“Oh, let’s do that.”

Then Choi Seo-bin shouted at Director Jang.

“Director, I’m sorry, but can we go again this take?”

Choi Seo-bin had the same thought as Jin Hee-sung.

There wasn’t a problem that could be said to be in this scene.

However, he didn’t like the scene very much.

He sighed deeply, thinking that his acting ability wasn’t 100%.

“Okay, then let’s go again.”

Director Jang replied.

Choi Seo-bin patted Jin Hee-sung on the shoulder and said.

“Let’s go again.”

***

Tak.

Park Min-joon, who got into the passenger seat, fixed his gaze on the scenery outside the window.

What he was looking at was none other than Choi Seo-bin and Jin Hee-sung.

Even though all the windows were closed, he could grasp their conversation.

Even if he didn’t listen to the conversation, he could tell that they were laughing, joking, and having fun.

The sight of Choi Seo-bin, a senior, playfully rubbing Jin Hee-sung’s shoulder.

Just that sight was enough to know that the two were close.

Jin Hee-sung’s gesture of opening a drink and handing it to Choi Seo-bin.

Park Min-joon frowned as he looked at them.

Clearly, their titles were senior and junior [common terms for someone with more or less experience].

However, their actions felt like older and younger brothers who had known each other from the beginning.

“Haa.”

Park Min-joon let out a long sigh in the car alone.

It wasn’t that he was filled with anger.

The fact that Jin Hee-sung, not himself, was monopolizing the affection of Choi Seo-bin, his senior at the company.

A jealous heart was clearly revealed in his eyes.

Then, without realizing it, he blurted out to himself.

“If I had a senior like that, I could really do well….”

Tak.

At that time, the driver’s seat door opened and his manager, Jung Myung-chul, got into the car.

“Min-joon, what are you looking at?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Jung tilted his head and followed Park Min-joon’s gaze.

Park Min-joon hurriedly tried to change the atmosphere and asked him.

“By the way, what is this?”

What he held out was a document placed on the passenger seat.

Jung moved his gaze to the document.

“That’s the script for the new drama that just came in.”

“No, how can you bring this here.”

Park Min-joon’s face distorted, but Jung laughed as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“It’s okay. Just don’t get caught.”

He said, grabbing the script in Park Min-joon’s hand.

“How about this for your next work? This drama is really good.”

As soon as Jung finished speaking, Park Min-joon’s eyes sparkled and he looked at the script.

“…Really?”

“Yeah, it’s directed by Baek Hyun-sung and written by Choi Na-hyun.”

“What?”

Park Min-joon’s eyes widened.

“If it’s Director Baek and Writer Choi Na-hyun… that’s really a jackpot [a huge success]!”

“That’s right. They’re looking for a lead actor right now.”

Park Min-joon’s eyebrows twitched.

“Audition?”

“No. I think they’re going to cast directly, but it’s still pre-production. They’re not seriously looking for actors yet, and there’s still some time left.”

“About when?”

Jung rolled his eyes and replied.

“Maybe around the time our movie ends, I think they’ll start production in earnest then.”

Park Min-joon raised one corner of his mouth.

“This level of writer-director lineup is excellent.”

He tapped the words writer and director written on the first page of the script.

“Of course. Take a look at it in advance and if it’s okay, I’ll do some work [pull some strings].”

Park Min-joon replied with a confident face at his words.

“There’s nothing to look at. Start working on it right away.”

“Okay, I’ll try through the company.”

Park Min-joon clenched the script tightly in his hand.