Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 280

281. Return (2)

August 8, 2022

The warm atmosphere soon transformed into passion and motivation for filming.

Yeon-woo, despite not being the main character, possessed a presence that overshadowed even the lead. The news of his collapse from exhaustion had sent a shockwave through the entire set.

That gloomy and subdued atmosphere vanished completely when Yeon-woo apologized for the trouble he had caused.

“I think he needs to rest….”

“I don’t know how fortunate we are to have Yeon-woo.”

“Hey, remember that red ginseng PPL [Product Placement – advertising technique where products are integrated into the show] that wanted to sponsor us last time? Should we take it? We need to treat Yeon-woo handsomely.”

“Oh, will that be enough? We should boil down some wild ginseng, turtle, or carp and give it to him.”

“Oh, right. Didn’t we say the Gongjin-dan [Traditional Korean medicine] we got last time was effective?”

“That’s right. We should prepare that at least. I don’t know if it’ll be possible since the reservations are so full, but I’ll have to try throwing some cash at it.”

The set was revitalized after a long time.

Generally, a disruption to the filming schedule creates a tense atmosphere.

Regardless of the reason, it doesn’t really matter.

If dozens or hundreds of people are put on hold due to one person’s problem, there will be losses no matter the reason.

Those losses affect dozens or hundreds of people.

Naturally, they can’t look kindly upon it.

But this time was different.

“We went too far….”

Instead, everyone felt sorry for Yeon-woo, who had halted all the schedules.

It wasn’t just that the schedule was stopped and everything was messed up.

When Yeon-woo was present, the concentration on set strangely reached its peak.

Thanks to that, scenes that would have required three, four, or five retakes ended neatly within two takes at most.

The filming period was shortened, never dragging on.

“Tsk. I was going to increase Sun-woo’s portion even more, but I guess that won’t work out?”

Writer Song, who had been trying to increase Sun-woo’s screen time, regretted it and abandoned his ambitious plan.

It was a plan that ordinary actors or agencies would have welcomed with open arms.

The more you appear in a hit drama, the more your recognition increases, which is a natural thing.

As recognition increases, more opportunities seek you out.

Since supply cannot keep up with demand, your value naturally increases as well.

“Writer, haven’t you heard that story?”

“What?”

“About Yeon-woo’s debut work. That Writer Min’s work.”

“Ah, that. Why?”

“Back then, Yeon-woo’s role was so popular that they were thinking about twisting the story a bit….”

“And then?”

“Yeon-woo opposed it. He said that it would reduce the completeness of the story. He said very seriously not to do that, even though it would increase his screen time. Isn’t that amazing? It’s his debut work, no less. It’s tempting, but how easy would it have been to refuse for the sake of the work?”

“……Then if I say I’m going to increase it this time, he’ll refuse?”

“Probably 99 percent of the time, wouldn’t he? It seems like Yeon-woo has a lot of affection for each work, even if he doesn’t show it openly.”

Sniffle, sniffle.

Writer Song made a crying sound, regretting her decision.

What could she do when he resolutely refused to increase his screen time to make the work better?

“What should I do? I think I’m the problem. I’ve been going to acting school these days and I’ve been praised for improving a lot…!”

Kim Si-hyuk, who had trembled, saying that he couldn’t act without Yeon-woo, was weighed down by even greater guilt.

In fact, Yeon-woo hadn’t really done anything special since the mid-point.

Since the mid-to-late part of Season 1 and entering Season 2, Kim Si-hyuk’s acting had improved by leaps and bounds day by day.

“He seems to think of you as a totem?”

“Yes, well… I think similarly.”

It wasn’t really a serious nuisance….

It was to the extent that the passing actors would burst into hearty laughter, saying that the cute ones were playing very cutely.

It really felt like he had become a totem.

Because of that, he even came to the set on days when he didn’t have a scene.

‘Well, it’s good. I can know how the story is progressing as much as I check on the set.’

It’s not enough to just check the script.

If you grasp it poorly, subtle discord may occur in other scenes that follow.

“If the schedule is tight, we shoot this scene and that scene, and the scenes are all mixed up, but I have no intention of shooting like that.”

It wasn’t for nothing that Gil Sang-joon said that.

In some ways, it’s a very inefficient method.

“Does he have money to burn……? How hard is it to raise the production cost? Time is money, too!”

Someone will say this.

As the saying goes, time is money in this industry.

Shooting scenes in one place.

That is the best route to maximize efficiency.

‘There’s no need to move multiple times, and you save time. It’s a win-win situation.’

The problem is that there is a risk of missing something very important while pursuing that efficiency.

That is the completeness of the work.

“No…… Don’t the actors have a sense of professionalism? I heard that in some foreign countries, they just make them act in front of a green screen, so can’t they act just because the scene order is mixed up?”

There can be such criticism.

There are some people who perform divine acting even in front of a green screen, but…….

-Wow. They just smear CG all over the place, and the actors’ acting is a mess;;;

There are more people who can’t do that, so aren’t all sorts of stories coming out?

It is even said that some overseas actors don’t even know what scene they are filming.

They just do as the director tells them.

Only after editing and completion do they know what scene they filmed.

‘That’s a bit…… isn’t it?’

Well.

Yeon-woo knows that they have their own production method.

But Yeon-woo didn’t think it was a very good method.

Where wasn’t it a good method? That was when he thought about the completeness of the work.

It is perfectly normal to pursue efficiency in a capitalist society.

But in Yeon-woo’s opinion, the proportion of that efficiency in the completeness of the work is not particularly important.

‘PD [Production Director] Gil Sang-joon’s method is probably the standard.’

Gil Sang-joon’s words that he would proceed with all scenes sequentially unless it was absolutely necessary.

Yeon-woo agreed with that idea.

Fortunately, Dramatic Tempest had overflowing production costs.

It was so overflowing that PPL was not necessary.

Because of that, at least the order of the shooting scenes was not mixed up and there was no confusion.

“Yeon-woo, are you busy? We’re happy that Yeon-woo comes every day, so we can concentrate, but I don’t know if we’re causing trouble by holding onto a busy person.”

Yeon-woo made full use of that consideration.

The words that the filming crew said to Yeon-woo,

‘We put too much burden on him.’

Probably originated from here.

He wasn’t just sitting there.

He lent a hand to the parts that needed it.

Also, his eye for capturing angles was so amazing that Gil Sang-joon often asked for Yeon-woo’s opinion.

Anyway, therefore.

Yeon-woo regarded going to and from the set as a way of life.

It’s not that other people don’t know this method.

But it was impossible because they were busy with different schedules.

To Yeon-woo,

“Yeon-woo, don’t you have CF [Commercial Film] schedules? You must have received a lot of advertisements?”

“Yes, well….”

That’s what he heard.

But neither the agency nor Kwon Seong-hyun nor anyone else forced him to shoot CFs.

It wasn’t like they were short on money anyway.

The agency was not a place that would exploit its affiliated entertainers to the point of interfering with their acting career.

In the first place, Yeon-woo’s agency was a place where money was overflowing.

Thanks to that, Yeon-woo was able to completely immerse himself in acting without any restrictions.

‘The PD is considerate of the actors to the point of enduring inefficiency, so at least I have to be able to accept it properly.’

Basically, they do a reading before entering a new scene.

This is because it is necessary to match the lines and movements.

You can create a plausible performance with just this. But…….

‘It’s not enough.’

It was not enough for Yeon-woo.

“Our Yeon-woo. Did you come to see me again today?”

“Yeah. Act well.”

“Really? Then that changes things…… I have to burn my soul and act. I can’t be embarrassed if you’re watching. Hiss. I’ll work hard! Aja aja! [Fighting!/Let’s go!]”

The reason why he watched most of the filming as much as possible and lived on the set was because of that.

Yeon-woo didn’t want to do ‘plausible acting’.

‘If you’re going to do it, do everything perfectly.’

That perfection must be based on a solid foundation of understanding.

Unfortunately, that understanding was not obtained simply.

‘Researching alone is important, but what’s certain is to see and feel the atmosphere directly.’

A picture is worth a thousand words.

It is an old proverb that makes you feel the wisdom of the old ancestors.

‘Character and scene interpretation are bound to be different. I have to find those subtle differences and reflect them in my interpretation. That way, there won’t be any discord.’

Even if it starts with a very subtle difference, the gap will inevitably widen over time.

It’s like Actor A wanted 1, but Actor B is heading for 2.

In that case, the entire work will inevitably be shaken.

What viewers commonly call ‘character collapse’ arises from places like this.

Anyway, therefore.

“……Are you really going to film? I’m glad to have you, Yeon-woo. But what if you collapse again?”

“I’m going to film, and I won’t collapse. And I don’t have many parts, so there’s nothing difficult. Listen to what people say.”

Yeon-woo wanted to become a fixture on the set once again after nearly a week.

“How can he come to the set even with his skin and bones showing…….”

Sniffle.

The big guy sniffs.

Perhaps Kim Si-hyuk was the most moved of all the people on set.

He’s a good kid, but he has strange parts in strange places.

“Yeon-woo, you are truly the most amazing person among the celebrities I know.”

Kim Si-hyuk took a big breath, making a strange sound without even trying to hide it.

Then he placed his hand solemnly on Yeon-woo’s shoulder.

“Really…… If you’re okay with it, I’ll be your older brother…….”

“What are you saying so creepily now?”

What is it, a new kind of crazy guy?

His eyes seem to be filled with madness for some reason.

What’s even more creepy is that the intention was very kindly,

[Truth]

told me.

“Ah, is it creepy? Then I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t if our Yeon-woo says it’s creepy.”

It was as quick a surrender as it was solemn.

But it seems that he hasn’t given up on other things, as he still took something out of his arms with tearful eyes.

It was like he was doing a black market transaction in a shady back alley in the Harlem district of America.

However, Kim Si-hyuk stubbornly shoved something into Yeon-woo’s arms.

“You have to eat this alone. You have to eat it alone. This is so delicious. Once you get your hands on it, you can’t stop, so don’t share it with anyone and eat it alone……?”

As I always feel.

It is surprisingly touching that a person with great gluttony shares food like this.

But Yeon-woo became sullen at the words that followed.

“You’ve lost too much weight. You were already skinny, but what if you lose more? You’re just skin and bones…… Don’t hang out with the writer because she likes it, and eat this and recover quickly. Got it?”

Kim Si-hyuk looked at Yeon-woo with the eyes of seeing an unfortunate neighbor and reddened his eyes once again.