Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 630

“It’s so humid, so humid.”

Choi Yeon-ha pressed her cheeks with her fingers.

“Unnie [older sister or a term of endearment for a close female friend], your makeup isn’t setting. Please don’t do that.”

“I’m going to end up drinking water trying to get my makeup to set.”

“It’s too humid, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Sigh.”

Choi Yeon-ha sighed deeply.

‘I need to calm down. It’s not their fault.’

Initially, there wasn’t a plan for such a large crew to come over. Hollywood stars might bring a cloud of staff with them for every shoot, but Choi Yeon-ha wasn’t at that level.

Not that she could be, and because she had a strong individualistic tendency, she didn’t really like having a lot of people around her.

However, before her first shoot in China,

after getting her makeup done by the Chinese makeup team, she called her Korean agency on the spot.

“President, send a makeup team right away.”

Due to that ambiguous request, or rather, command, they were dragged all the way here. She could endure the costumes since she had to follow the director’s instructions, but she couldn’t compromise on makeup.

It wasn’t that the Chinese makeup team’s skills were low, but there were subtle differences. If Choi Yeon-ha could have tolerated those subtle differences, she wouldn’t have been called a perfectionist.

“Do you need to put on more? You don’t think my face is a sketchbook, do you?”

“No, the director complained that the makeup was too light.”

“That old man can make the background look like a painting, but why is he so obsessed with caking on makeup on people’s faces? So old-fashioned.”

“China tends to be like that. And it’s a historical drama, after all.”

“If it’s a historical drama, you should use less! Where would they have had makeup back then?”

“Oh my? Unnie, haven’t you seen Chinese opera? They make their faces completely white.”

“…Are you saying they all went around like that back then? Really?”

“Who knows? They even used mercury to make their faces white in the old days in the West. People are all the same.”

“That’s awful.”

What was truly awful wasn’t the heavy makeup of the old days, but Choi Yeon-ha having to follow that makeup style. Or rather, it wasn’t about matching the tastes of the old days, but matching the director’s tastes.

“If I ever do another historical drama, I’m not human.”

“Oh my, Unnie. I heard they liked your performance so much that they want to work with you on the next project?”

“Tell them to make it a modern one.”

Choi Yeon-ha gritted her teeth quietly.

‘If only I could even film the next project.’

Relations between China and Korea were strained, and there were rumors that the Chinese government was regulating the appearance of Koreans on their broadcasts. Although they were keeping it quiet, many colleagues were actually suffering the consequences.

Fortunately, the director of this drama was powerful enough to resist changing the cast of a drama that was already more than halfway through filming, but on other sets, actors were even being replaced mid-shoot.

And a next project?

That was a pipe dream.

No matter how powerful he was, he was just a director. He couldn’t go against the will of the government. So, this was Choi Yeon-ha’s last chance. If she couldn’t make a strong impression with this drama,

the chances of her succeeding in China were slim.

Her agency had already predicted that even if the project was successful, it would be difficult to secure planned merchandise sales, broadcast appearances, and commercials, which could reduce profits by more than half.

Although the agency president was whining, it didn’t really matter to Choi Yeon-ha.

She wasn’t here to make money anyway.

The reason she was filming a drama in China was to make her name more well-known in the Chinese-speaking world.

If that was the goal, it would be better to go straight to Hollywood rather than entering the Chinese drama market, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much demand for pretty Asian actresses in Hollywood.

Even if there was, it was a demand for Japanese actresses, not Asian actresses. To be precise, it was a demand for Asian actresses to play Japanese roles. If not that, then Chinese.

Recently, there have been more cases of Korean characters being included in American productions, but the roles Choi Yeon-ha wanted hadn’t been created yet. So, she had no choice but to return.

In the end, considering all the circumstances, Choi Yeon-ha had to do her best in this role. She had to give a performance that would perfectly imprint her name with just one project.

Of course, Choi Yeon-ha was confident. She was confident that she could do that much.

The problem arose from a completely different place.

“Unnie, you’re done. You can go to the set now.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Choi Yeon-ha nodded, lost in thought. The tedious process of putting on makeup, getting dressed, and then touching up the makeup again was finally over.

Perhaps the reason why actresses are said to be temperamental and prickly is because of this makeup process. Sitting still for over two hours to get made up was more stressful than one might think.

Especially when the clothes you had to wear for the shoot were almost like blankets, as they were now.

“Hold it from the back.”

‘I’m going to die, really.’

It was already so humid, and wearing thick, heavy clothes made her sweat profusely. Two people were holding her costume from the back, and in the front, a makeup artist was constantly dabbing powder on her forehead.

She felt a little dizzy.

‘Should I eat some salt?’

She had lost so much weight that her health was now at risk. The war against weight was an inevitable war for any actress.

The problem was that she had won that war too much.

“Unnie, be careful.”

“It’s okay.”

When Choi Yeon-ha seemed to sway slightly, those who were supporting her looked at her with worried eyes.

“Haa…”

Choi Yeon-ha let out a deep sigh.

“Guys.”

“Yes, Unnie.”

“As you know, a sickly concept doesn’t suit me, right? Right?”

“…That’s right.”

In real life, Choi Yeon-ha was far from sickly. She was more like a warrior.

“I think you guys are mistaken because I’m playing this kind of role, but I’m not that weak, so let’s not overdo it. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Choi Yeon-ha gave a wry smile.

If the staff, who were always busy gossiping behind her back when she wasn’t around, were worried about her, it meant her condition was really bad.

“It’s okay. When else would I have this kind of experience in life? It’s a good experience. Thanks to this, I don’t even have to step on the scale. Isn’t that great?”

“Yes, Unnie. Let’s eat a lot of delicious food when we go back to Korea after filming.”

“People should know how hard Unnie is working on this shoot.”

“People know? They’ll just say you’re being dramatic and criticize you. Don’t even think about it. How scary are the hate comments these days?”

“That’s true.”

Choi Yeon-ha tried her best to give a comfortable impression to the people around her. If she were in Korea, she would have complained several times, but this was a foreign country. She couldn’t get annoyed at the staff who had followed her to a foreign land and were suffering because of her.

As she stepped out of the makeup area, the scorching sun hit her.

‘I’m going to die.’

It was the kind of weather where you could collapse from heatstroke just by being exposed to the sun for a little while. And wearing these clothes on top of that was a big problem.

“Go get a fan! A portable one, quickly!”

“Yes!”

When Han Eun-sol shouted, the road manager started running.

“Noona [older sister or a term of endearment for a close female friend], just hang in there. They said the shoot won’t be that long.”

“You’re acting like you’re the director. Hey, stop being so dramatic. People are going to talk.”

“I’m just worried about you, Noona.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. Am I the only one like this?”

“Yes.”

“…Really?”

Choi Yeon-ha looked around with a sullen face. The other actresses playing the concubines were also dressed in elaborate costumes, but they weren’t wearing as many layers as Choi Yeon-ha. And besides…

“Oh my, is she crazy? Why is she like that?”

Choi Yeon-ha saw the actresses flipping up their skirts. They were wearing shorts underneath, but it was still an embarrassing sight.

“It’s better than dying from the heat.”

“I’d rather die from the heat.”

Choi Yeon-ha shook her head, and Han Eun-sol turned on the portable fan that the manager had brought and lifted Choi Yeon-ha’s skirt.

“Hey!”

And Choi Yeon-ha responded by kicking Han Eun-sol away without a second thought.

“Are you crazy? Where are you putting your hands!”

Han Eun-sol, who had rolled on the ground, protested as if it was unfair.

“I have to put it inside to make it a little cooler! You’re wearing so many layers of skirts, and even pants underneath! What’s the big deal!”

“No way, you idiot! Give it to the makeup team. How can you try to put your hands inside a woman’s skirt without any sense?”

“You’re so modest in weird places.”

Han Eun-sol grumbled and handed over the portable fan. Several fans disappeared inside her skirt. It wouldn’t be very effective, but it would be better than nothing.

Choi Yeon-ha frowned as she saw the director preparing for the shoot in front.

‘That pervert.’

She acknowledged his talent.

He was a famous director even in Hollywood for his unique mise-en-scène [the arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a play or film]. But after experiencing firsthand how much the actors suffered to create that mise-en-scène, she couldn’t see him in a good light.

But what could she do? Results were everything in this field.

“They’re ready for the shoot.”

“Hoo.”

Choi Yeon-ha took a deep breath.

Since the lines were in Chinese, she had to repeat them several times before the shoot. Han Eun-sol was already standing next to her, holding the script for the scene they were about to film, even before she could say anything.

That was why she kept using that sly guy as her manager.

“Okay.”

Choi Yeon-ha jumped up from her seat.

Then she walked onto the set.

So far, so good. There were many difficult and annoying things, but making money was like that. She was earning an amount of money that ordinary people couldn’t even imagine for one shoot, so how could she complain about it being hard?

Everything was fine so far.

If only she didn’t have to see that damn guy walking in with that disgusting smile on his face.

‘Just hold on. It won’t be long now.’

Even if the actors didn’t get along, a professional had to be able to act like they were in love. Even if they didn’t just dislike each other, but hated each other, a great actor had to have a heart that truly loved their partner the moment the shoot started.

Choi Yeon-ha did her best to control her mind. The scene she had to shoot today was a hugging scene.

The male lead confesses his passionate love to the increasingly weak female lead, and the female lead, knowing that she is going to die, does not accept that love. That kind of scene.

‘I’m going to throw up, really.’

If she could, she wanted to slap that annoying face and forget about the shoot. She wanted to run him over with a truck.

Especially…

“You look beautiful today as well. I think I’m really falling for you.”

She felt like hitting that mouth that was spouting such nonsense with a baseball bat wouldn’t be enough. She wanted to run him over with a truck.

‘I’m going to lose my mind, really.’

Choi Yeon-ha desperately tried to calm herself.

She was already known as a hothead, and if her personality got any worse here, she would really have to give up on getting married. It was a problem she had to seriously consider now, unlike before.

“Shut up and let’s just shoot.”

“If you wish.”

Before Ryu Wei’s greasy smile could fade, the signal to start shooting was given.