Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 96

The Victor of the Whale Fight (4)

* * *

Buyeo, near the ‘Butcher General’ set.

A black van speeds along the stone path.

Actress Jo Hyun-ah gazes at the scenery of the set visible outside the van.

The stone walls and roofs, perfectly recreating the Enlightenment period [Korean history, late 19th/early 20th century], shine in a familiar blue hue.

There are only a few days left to see this sight. Once filming is complete, the set will be opened to fans and become a new tourist attraction in Buyeo.

Just then, her smartphone vibrated.

Lee Dong-soo: [Noona, I’ve arrived]

Lee Dong-soo: [When are you coming?]

Lee Dong-soo: [Geon-hyung’s team sent a snack truck, and we’re just about to dig in]

Lee Dong-soo: [They seem to spend more money here than our company does, lol]

Jo Hyun-ah: [I’ll be there soon. Almost there.]

Two episodes left.

That’s how many episodes their drama has left.

“We’d normally be taking a good rest right now.”

“Pardon?”

“No, just talking to myself.”

After replying to the road manager in the rearview mirror, Jo Hyun-ah leaned back.

Lee Dong-soo, who played Shuhei, a fallen warlord and the last samurai, has truly hit it big in this production.

He had previously been known for his good acting skills but poor choice of projects.

She also knew that he was always stressed about being typecast with his handsome looks.

Now, that junior colleague is a sensation.

[Lee Dong-soo Runs Wild as a Madman in His ‘Role of a Lifetime’··· Perfect Transformation into a Samurai]

[The Broadcasting Scene is Now a ‘Shuhei Craze’, Why is the Villain of a Period Drama So Popular?]

[If Roman Has Park-Baek, C&J Has the Jo Hyun-ah-Lee Dong-soo Duo]

[C&J Continues to Break Records Thanks to the Outstanding Performances of Its Actors··· Is It Now Being Re-evaluated as an Entertainment Company?]

It’s not just the articles. Broadcast appearances and commercials are pouring in, and C&J’s managers are having their busiest days since the entertainment division was launched.

It’s not the first time she’s experienced this.

She has always enjoyed popularity without lacking. She also played the lead role in a drama during her early prime and appeared in movies that drew five to six million viewers, though not quite ten million.

She just hasn’t been able to step on the very top of those stars, and has been getting older.

‘I wasn’t really keen on renewing the contract. The company and I were in an ambiguous situation when a surprising offer came in.’

It’s just a one-off contract that won’t last more than two years anyway.

She moved companies almost on a whim, and before half of her contract period had passed, she hit the jackpot.

-Hyun-ah, it’s a sensation! It’s not just commercials, but projects keep pouring in. Director Ma Jong-mo also sent a lead role scenario!

The excited voice of her manager is still vivid in her ears. She never expected that a decent supporting role, a Japanese character she thought would just pay for his meals, would receive so much attention.

‘The character and immersion are incredible. Was Young Do-eun’s writing this good?’

It was said that Young’s specialty was to lead the play with strong leads while giving three-dimensional narratives to supporting and minor roles.

From the Song family to the members of the Gyeongseong Independence Army, the Japanese in the Japanese Government-General of Korea, and the pro-Japanese factions in Jongno Police Station, not a single person is so-called ‘air’ [insignificant or lacking presence].

On top of that, their acting skills are hitting new highs, so each scene is captivating, without any holes.

‘Except when they’re with Park Geon.’

Jo Hyun-ah’s lips curved up. Now, not only she but everyone knows. The improvement in those acting skills, which is even suspicious at first glance, is due to the Park and Baek combo.

‘Wow, it’s really like what I heard. When you’re with actor Park Geon, even the air here turns into Gyeongseong [Old name for Seoul during Japanese colonial period], you know?’

‘Even the extras who come out have different eyes. Hwang Cheol-ssi, I thought he was from an acting school.’

‘And what about Baek Hani? She’s overshadowed by Park Geon, but that synergy is also brutal. I thought she could only do it alone, but she unexpectedly adapts to the other person’s acting.’

During breaks, the actors’ topic of conversation was, of course, the two representatives sent by Roman.

Park Geon had heard of it, but everyone was puzzled by Baek Hani’s performance, who was notorious in other ways.

Only Jo Hyun-ah, who had contact with her at the Jarmani launch show, was calm. Aren’t rumors in the entertainment industry full of exaggeration and fabrication anyway?

‘No matter what, is it possible that she threw something at her own headquarters manager? She may not have manners, but she has a sense of proportion.’

Amidst the strange misunderstanding, the actress’s van stopped.

Jo Hyun-ah, who was about to get off after taking her coat, asked the road manager.

“Kyung-hoon, even if you look at it, is it Baek Hani rather than Ki Eun-seo [referring to who is better]?”

“Of course. If I were Baek’s manager, I would have carried her on my back and commuted to Buyeo.”

“Oh, then should I start tomorrow too?”

“···Oh no, I’m going to be late for the director’s briefing!”

*

“Director, hello.”

“Oh, good work.”

While hurrying his steps, martial arts director Do Jong-woo receives a greeting from a staff member.

He doesn’t remember his face, but he must be from the lighting team. Judging by the way he’s struggling to carry that equipment.

A brief impression flashes across his face, tanned and hardened, typical of someone who has delved deeply into one field.

‘Their expressions are still alive.’

It’s not just the lighting team. At the end of the long journey, the staff’s expressions, who should be dying, are bright.

‘Our stunt team kids, not to mention the extras we brought in additionally······.’

If you were to pick the team that suffers the most in an action historical drama, it would definitely be the stunt team.

In addition to matching the actors who are clumsy, they often take on dangerous stunts as doubles and still get scolded by the directors.

But this work is… the stuntmen and actors have switched places and are being taught.

To that god of stunts walking over there.

“Actor Park!”

Park Geon, who was wearing a durumagi [traditional Korean overcoat] and wandering around without a manager, greets him.

“Have you arrived.”

“I’m glad I met you. I forgot yesterday, but when is the next fan meeting? Our kids really want to get tickets, and they say they’re going to pick the front row.”

“I don’t know yet. It was decided suddenly last time too.”

“Hey, don’t do that, give us some slack. Why, if you do a stunt show or something, I’ll roll up my sleeves and help. Even though we’re the best among action schools······.”

While the martial arts director is recommending a fan meeting to the actor, PD [Production Director] Jeon In-woo and cinematographer Seo Eung-seo are talking.

“Actor Park, his expression seems subtly different today?”

“Really? Why didn’t I notice?”

The cinematographer is the one who captures the main actors most closely and persistently on camera during filming.

Cinematographer Seo Eung-seo, who is six or seven years older than Jeon In-woo, muttered.

“I felt it while filming, but the atmosphere changes slightly depending on the scene. It’s definitely acting, but… it’s like it’s not acting at the same time?”

Park Geon’s divine skill of instantly immersing himself and pulling himself out, like turning a switch on and off, is well-known among the staff.

PD Jeon In-woo casually dismissed it.

“Isn’t that all his know-how? At this point, he’s even adjusting his immersion.”

“Well, it’s a bit more than character immersion······.”

Cinematographer Seo Eung-seo scratches his nose. He was only an expert at capturing actors in the lens, so he is not good at expressing his feelings in words.

If someone with a keen sense of acting had examined Park Geon, they would have analyzed it like this.

That narrative of the Joseon butcher… on top of Lee Cheon-in, it seems like he’s overwriting some old memories.

“By the way, a lot of people are dying.”

“Are you talking about the scene we’re filming today?”

“Yeah. Writer Young is dancing with a knife in real time. The script is getting later and later.”

“Oh, I’m going to die because of that too. The editing is getting delayed every time, so the editing room keeps pushing me.”

The two directors sigh at the same time.

The swamp of the side script [script being written on the fly].

Filming, which started with more than 70% completed, has finally reached the point where they see it that day and shoot it that day. The writer sends it late, so the director has no choice.

-I’ll send the script to the set right away. There are a lot of things to fix, but if I know the order of the scenes to be filmed, I can definitely match it.

Writer Young Do-eun danced with a knife on her script with amazing skill.

The lead’s lines change, the person who should die comes back to life, and the role that was originally insignificant runs wild as a scene stealer.

“Even so, the quality continues to rise, so anyway, the writer and the actors are monsters.”

“I agree. It’s also amazing that actor Baek acts without complaining about the side script······.”

PD Jeon In-woo, who was stroking his beard, suddenly waved his hand towards that side.

It was because he saw the two veteran actors coming side by side like them.

“You two, do you have good expressions today?”

The two villains of the work and real close friends.

Go Cheol-jun and Nam Joong-ik, who will pay the price for the ‘Butcher Mask’ today, also laughed heartily and replied.

“We can go home now. Isn’t it the last scene?”

“I don’t know how hard it was to do it without a stand-in at this age. My junior is flying around, so I can’t just do it roughly.”

They pretend to be sick, but the existence of those two also perfectly supported the play.

The protagonist stands out when there is a villain. The vicious imperialist and the cunning traitor were filling the viewers’ bulletin board with anti-theses of Lee Cheon-in.

Nam Joong-ik, who plays the Jongno Police Chief, who meets his end a little earlier than his colleagues, looked at his watch.

“It’s time for me to die, let’s go.”

*

S#.64 Streets of Gyeongseong (Outside)

The wind blows through the deserted streets.

Gyeongseong has been turned into a wasteland. Dozens of burnt houses, and blood that has not been cleaned and seeped into the walls and fences, are staining them dark red.

Passers-by gather their clothes, and rickshaws run carefully, lest they make a loud noise.

-Butcher Mask, has he been caught?

-No, there’s no news. If those guys caught him, would they have left him alone? They would have hung his head on the Government-General and propagandized it.

-So he’s still on the run, but there’s been no news for eight days. I really hope he didn’t die a lonely death······.

-Hey, you. Don’t say things that bring bad luck! With the independence army gone, if Butcher Mask is gone too, Gyeongseong is really over!

On the other hand, the number of patrolmen who used to walk around in pairs has increased to five.

If they go around in small numbers, they will definitely be attacked. Jongno Police Chief Lee Gyun, who was possessed by Butcher Mask’s indiscriminate guerrilla warfare, issued a special alert.

On the day of the Government-General attack, Lee Gyun, who was horrified by Butcher Mask’s power, drives his subordinates like a madman.

-He was injured, but he must have an assistant. He may have recovered, so search the houses fully armed with the organized personnel. If you encounter him, kill him immediately, you must kill him immediately!

Meanwhile, a wooden house on the outskirts of Gyeongseong.

Lee Jeong-nyeong, the leader of the Gyeongseong Independence Army, and Butcher Mask Lee Cheon-in face each other under the lamp.

···The situation here is worse.

Lee Jeong-nyeong’s left arm is gone, and Lee Cheon-in has not recovered from the gunshot and sword wounds. The independence army has also scattered and hid in various places.

‘Things have gotten dirty. I shouldn’t have gone to save those idiots who were caught that day.’

No matter how strong Lee Cheon-in is, he cannot single-handedly face the enemy’s forces.

Moreover, he is currently injured. Even if five or six samurai from the Hwangwoo Association who are good at swordsmanship come, it will be difficult.

The gaze behind the Butcher Mask, which he does not take off even after his identity is revealed, stays on Lee Jeong-nyeong.

‘There will be no support······.’

Lee Jeong-nyeong contacted the independence army in Manchuria, but it is difficult to expect anything. It will be too much to protect that front with insufficient troops.

The dead independence soldiers are regrettable late. If they had come to Gyeongseong and cooperated with these guys right away······.

In the midst of physiological repulsion, Lee Cheon-in shakes off his vain thoughts.

It is his hometown that he has returned to for personal revenge, not for independence. There is no use in regretting.

-It’s because of you!

-What independence army role are you going to play as the son of a butcher······.

-Get out of Gyeongseong, you butcher!

After his old identity was revealed, he faced the resentment of the common people of Gyeongseong. Most commoners valued their livelihood more than distant independence.

“···They’re like stupid bastards. They’re blind to their immediate safety and volunteer for exploitation for the rest of their lives.”

Lee Jeong-nyeong, who has become one-armed, speaks without hesitation. The pain of phantom limb should be burning, but he is maintaining a proper posture.

The young man who took over as the leader of the independence army at a young age grew up in a life-threatening battle.

“Isn’t that the nation you were trying to protect?”

“If they are the same people, they should know shame. What origin is there in the independence army? If you insulted this hyung [older brother/respected male figure] in front of me, I would have beaten you to a pulp.”

The title of calling him this hyung is quite friendly, but Lee Cheon-in’s response is only cold.

“With that skill?”

“I’m the best swordsman in the independence army.”

“That’s absurd, take care of yourself so you don’t become a burden.”

If it were before, he would have been angry, but Lee Jeong-nyeong does not get angry and snickers.

“Burden··· I’m a one-armed cripple, but I can still swing a sword. I can handle the other burdens that are dragging this hyung down.”

A look of doubt settles in Lee Cheon-in’s eyes.

Song Byeol-hak resisted and died, leading his old body, and Song Yi-seol’s whereabouts are unknown. Troops are needed to stop the Government-General, Jongno Police Station, and Hwangwoo Association.

But how?

“Let’s start with a diversion. Use me, I’m ready to die.”

“He wasn’t as pathetic as his first impression.”

The eyes of the two young men meet. Understanding that transcends time comes and goes between the son of a butcher in the marketplace and the son of a fabric merchant across from him.

In a strange heat, Lee Jeong-nyeong searches his waist with his only hand. Lee Cheon-in’s pupils widen in his mask when he sees the object that comes out.

“This is the last fight for the soul of Joseon [historical Korean kingdom].”

.

.

.

Right after the next scene, S#.65 is a Japanese-style house.

-Huff, huff······.

Inside a luxurious wooden house, rough breathing leaks out repeatedly.

The security personnel who were guarding the Jongno Police Chief are already lying down as cold corpses.

A man wearing a dark red durumagi and a butcher’s mask has cut them all down. Now, only two people are breathing in this house.

“Butcher is also called Huigwang. Originally, he was an executioner of the military called Hoejasu, but you are also Joseon, so you may know.”

“Please, just spare my life······.”

Under Butcher Mask’s feet, the traitor who sold the country to fill his personal glory is wriggling like a worm.

“In ancient times, when there was a famine or drought, the king was executed, and the person who beheaded him was Huigwang. But··· a person who is not a king sells his compatriots and mocks his homeland, isn’t he a usurper of the nation?”

“No, I··· I just did it for this country······!”

“Nonsense.”

The cold executioner does not listen to excuses. The ax with blood clots falls like lightning.

“Kkyaaaaaak!”

What flew away was a special prop arm, but the scream that burst out was real.

Lee Gyun, who plays the Jongno Police Chief… veteran actor Nam Joong-ik is feeling the pain of the severed nerve bundles in extreme immersion.

‘Even if I look at it again, it’s amazing immersion. It’s different from those who are good at it alone.’

While the experienced actor’s consciousness admires, Police Chief Lee Gyun faithfully performs his acting.

“If you save me··· if you just save me, I will repay you. The Government-General, yes! You want to kill Dokuro Shinji, right? There are many Joseon patrolmen in Jongno Police Station, let’s hit the Government-General together with them. We are still compatriots··· aren’t we the same Korean people!”

Lee Gyun desperately begs with tears, blood, snot, and saliva mixed together, but it’s useless.

Because there is no word as meaningless as the nation to the man in front of him.

“Jongno Police Chief Lee Gyun, you are an ugly leech. Die as a half-wit who is neither Joseon nor Japanese.”

“No, please······!”

After another flash, the desperate scream is cut off from the middle.

Lee Cheon-in, who lifted Butcher Mask up, wipes off his sweat. His body warns him to stop immediately, but he cannot stop here.

Even if he uses up the rest of his life··· while his body is moving, he must cut down more enemies.

“Now, there are only a few left.”

The young man’s last soul burns.

* * *