The next day.
I managed to crawl out of the house while my parents were away at work.
“Whoa, so you really were discharged? To think you’d recover from such a big accident in just two weeks? Is this the power of youth?”
“If anyone heard that, they’d think you were at least ten years older. It’s only a four-year gap.”
Go Hyeonsu’s manager, Lee Jinmok, roughly ruffled my hair.
I imitated the Gang Hajun from my memories and playfully talked back.
“Wait until you’re almost thirty. My body won’t feel like my own.”
Having lived until the age of forty-five,
“It’s probably just because you don’t exercise enough.”
the chances of that being true were high.
Lee Jinmok’s face flushed red, as if he’d been stabbed in a vital point.
“Ah, well, you were discharged yesterday, so I’ll let it slide just this once.”
Wow, I’m so moved I could cry.
“Hyeonsu, let’s go get your makeup done first. The makeup team is in the waiting room.”
“Yes, hyung. Hey, Ha-jun. I’m going now, so make sure to tell me if anything feels off.”
“Sure.”
I made an OK sign with my thumb and index finger.
“Why’s your face like that? Are you sick?”
“No. I just didn’t sleep well.”
“Take care of your condition. You’ve been making mistakes you never used to make these days······.”
Go Hyeonsu and Lee Jinmok walked away, conversing.
“Hoo!”
Left alone, I let out a refreshing breath.
When I relaxed all the tension I’d been holding in my face, my mouth stretched from ear to ear.
“How long has it been since I’ve been on a filming set?”
I’d rested for about three months after wrapping my last movie,
and while looking for my next project, I’d been diagnosed with terminal cancer and hospitalized for another three months,
so it had been almost half a year.
“Hmm~”
I savored the vibrant air of the filming set to my heart’s content.
My heart swelled for no reason.
When I’d been lying in the hospital as good as dead, I couldn’t have imagined a day like this would come.
“Hello, PD-nim!”
“Ah, yes. Long time no see. I heard you got into an accident the last time you were on set? While waiting for a taxi to go home. I thought you were badly hurt, so it’s a relief you recovered quickly.”
Kim Yeongjin, the producing PD of the drama
He heartily accepted my greeting.
He looked terribly scrawny and weak with his emaciated, squid-like face, but he was still a rare director despite appearances.
He belonged to the Drama Department of the general programming channel DLB Broadcasting Station, but occasionally produced movies as well.
Among them was a blockbuster that had drawn 5 million viewers.
The title was
It was a movie I’d appeared in.
Since it was released in 2017, it had already been seven years.
Time really flies.
PD Kim Yeongjin was also the first director to send a love call right after the fact that I was from an orphanage was revealed to the world.
As it happened, that movie dealt with the romance of a protagonist who had been an orphan after becoming an adult, and since it fit my situation appropriately, I’d gladly accepted and worked with him.
“Scene 13 is ready!”
“Then I’ll see you later.”
When the assistant director shouted, PD Kim Yeongjin moved away as if he’d been waiting.
Currently, to him, the actor ‘Gang Hajun’ was merely an extra fill-in who was neither here nor there.
I needed to appeal my presence gradually over time.
I slipped out of the bustling staff crowd and sat in a corner opposite the camera.
**
This was a set with the concept of a ‘luxurious building office,’ specifically the chairman’s office of the ‘DL Group’ in the drama.
Go Hyeonsu had been cast as Choi Hanho, the delinquent youngest grandson of the DL Group,
but since the main story revolved around the factional fight between the eldest daughter Choi Hanseo and the second daughter Choi Hanju, his role wasn’t particularly large.
“Choi Hanseo, when you enter through the door, Camera 1 will slowly move from over there to where you’re standing now. Hanseo, take big steps but don’t walk too fast. Camera 2 will get a bust shot of Hanseo from here. Camera 3 will get a bust shot of the Chairman from behind······.”
Following PD Kim Yeongjin’s directing, the actors and staff began calmly matching their movements.
“······Hanseo and Camera 1 aren’t matching the timing at all right now. Let’s go again.”
PD Kim Yeongjin was just as calm now as he had been seven years ago.
He was particularly famous for his ‘long rehearsal, short shot.’
Instead of rehearsing meticulously and carefully, he minimized NGs, consequently reducing filming time and costs.
Occasionally when things went wrong, filming efficiency would drop exponentially, but that was generally the idea.
“Good! Going for scene 13. Alright, and—”
Clack!
Finally, the rehearsal ended, and the heavy sound of the slate echoed through the set.
Choi Hanseo entered the chairman’s office with eyes filled with anger despite her expressionless face.
Clack, clack.
Her heavy footsteps disguised as leisure stopped in front of the chairman’s desk.
“Grandfather. No, Chairman. There’s a rumor going around that you’re handing over the representative position of DL Media to that bastard Choi Hanho. Is it true?”
“How dare you call your younger brother a bastard. So frivolous.”
“Please answer me.”
“That’s none of your business.”
The chairman avoided Choi Hanseo’s eyes.
A crack formed on Choi Hanseo’s cold face. The corners of her mouth trembled slightly.
“Why is it none of my business? DL Media is practically something I raised. You know that well.”
“Your problem is that arrogance. You completely ignore the contributions of your subordinates and believe it’s all your own ability.”
“It’s not arrogance, it’s confidence and pride. And furthermore, Chairman.”
After taking a breath, Choi Hanseo opened her mouth again.
“Isn’t a leader with arrogance better than a boss without ability?”
Her eyes blazed fiercely.
The cold atmosphere heated up to the extreme in the battle of wills between the chairman and Choi Hanseo.
“Cut, okay. Next scene.”
The synergy created by a good director and good actors was tremendous.
It wasn’t simply because they finished filming the scene without a single NG.
Even after filming that intense scene, the atmosphere on set was nothing but harmonious, and the chemistry between fellow actors matched perfectly regardless of age.
Eventually, I felt like I was growing impatient.
I merely regretted being here as an uninvited guest.
I wanted to become a formal member as soon as possible and work together with them.
“Please prepare for scene 21!”
When the assistant director shouted, Go Hyeonsu and manager Lee Jinmok, who had been quietly waiting outside the door, came inside.
Go Hyeonsu was wearing a white t-shirt underneath a suit jacket.
His hair, fixed with spray, reeked of delinquency.
Though it was a completely different feel from the tense appearances of the Chairman and Choi Hanseo roles, his base features were so outstanding that he looked charming in his own way.
It went without saying, but Go Hyeonsu was a likable type with distinct features and a tall frame.
So unless he deliberately tried to ruin it, he couldn’t look bad.
He was quite good at acting too; if he only shed his child actor image, he would rise to fame quickly,
but that didn’t seem so easy for Go Hyeonsu himself.
“Are you already finished?”
Go Hyeonsu sat beside me.
“Yeah. No NGs.”
“Haah.”
Perhaps feeling the pressure mounting, he let out a sigh and skimmed through the script.
About ten minutes later,
in one corner of the set, Casting Director Jeong was facing PD Kim Yeongjin with an ashen face.
“The minor role of the loan shark is in a detention center now?”
PD Kim Yeongjin burst into laughter as he chewed over Manager Jeong’s words.
“I’m sorry. I just got word from the manager myself. The stupid guy got caught driving drunk last night, and of all times, there happened to be a crackdown······.”
Manager Jeong trailed off, not knowing what to do with himself.
The smile faded from PD Kim Yeongjin’s face.
“So when is he getting out?”
“The thing is, since he’s been caught for drunk driving more than once or twice, he needs to be investigated······.”
“Manager Jeong.”
He cut off Manager Jeong.
“How could you bring in a habitual drunk driver in this day and age? If it becomes a problem later, can you take full responsibility?”
“I’m truly sorry. The agency deliberately hid it, so I had no way of finding out······.”
“Is this the time to be making excuses?”
“Ah, yes. I’ll look for a replacement right away.”
“You know there are only five scenes left until the loan shark shoot, right? Find an actor who has the lines perfectly memorized by then. Someone without any issues.”
PD Kim Yeongjin barely swallowed the curses that had welled up to the tip of his chin.
Lee Jinmok was watching that scene.
He’d been snooping around because standby had been called but there were no signs of filming starting.
Returning to his spot, Lee Jinmok spoke with the air of watching a fire across the river.
“Seems like a minor role flaked out.”
“What minor role?”
“Your loan shark friend role. Got caught driving drunk last night, apparently.”
“Really? Will today’s filming be delayed too?”
Go Hyeonsu, who had been answering indifferently, suddenly turned to look at Gang Hajun.
He wore a serious expression and was reading the extra script that Lee Jinmok carried around.
“We’re going in for scene 21 rehearsal!”
At the assistant director’s booming guidance, Go Hyeonsu snapped to attention and went out to the center of the set to wait for the PD’s directing.
**
“PD-nim, I found a replacement.”
After two of the five scenes remaining until the loan shark shoot had been filmed, Manager Jeong hurried over to PD Kim Yeongjin.
“Where is he now? Can he get here on time?”
“Of course! He’s right here.”
The person Manager Jeong pointed to was,
“Mr. Gang Hajun.”
me.
It was Go Hyeonsu’s doing.
As soon as scene 21 filming ended, he’d asked Lee Jinmok a favor.
To recommend me as a replacement for the loan shark role to Manager Jeong.
Manager Jeong had been skeptical at first.
While my identity was certain, he’d only seen me appearing as an extra, so he couldn’t gauge my acting skills.
Moreover, the loan shark role had a higher degree of difficulty compared to ordinary minor roles.
For one, the amount of lines wasn’t exactly small.
It was an industry reality that even among those who called themselves ‘bit part actors,’ the majority couldn’t handle even a single line.
But after checking my acting, Manager Jeong’s attitude did a complete one-eighty.
He put away the phone he’d been using to call around asking for help.
“Mr. Gang Hajun?”
PD Kim Yeongjin looked at me with an expression of deep doubt.
“Even if you’re desperate, this is too much. Haah, have you memorized the lines? Let’s see it first.”
He looked half-resigned.
He also seemed to be laying down a warning that I’d better not screw up.
“Start.”
PD Kim Yeongjin gave a rough order.
And so an impromptu audition began.
Feeling the chaotic atmosphere, the staff held their breath and watched this way.
Gang Hajun began acting with the script he’d analyzed for about ten minutes.
“Aw, Chairman Choi. Why does a man go back on his word? From what I heard, you borrowed money from my old man to start your business. You said you’d pay it back when the business succeeded and that you’d give me a hefty share too! But why haven’t I heard a peep? Just because my old man died, are you ignoring me?”
Manager Jeong couldn’t close his gaping jaw.
And for good reason—this acting was completely different from the rushed check he’d done before putting Gang Hajun in front of PD Kim Yeongjin.
If his previous acting had been like a neighborhood thug,
now his acting was like the boss of a gang who’d united all the neighborhood thugs and risen to the absolute top.
The former had its own charm, but the latter definitely looked more threatening.
Moreover, Gang Hajun wasn’t wearing any makeup or costume suited to the current role at all.
Creating this kind of atmosphere with just facial expressions and vocal tone wasn’t something just anyone could do.
Especially with such an ordinary face.
From the current him, how should I put it,
he exuded an aura that only people who’d reached the pinnacle of their field could possess.
Manager Jeong suddenly found Gang Hajun unfamiliar.
PD Kim Yeongjin felt the same way.
“······When did you memorize the lines?”
He opened his mouth, having spaced out for a moment.
I straightened my posture and answered.
“I was watching diligently during the filming.”
“Not bad. When I saw you flitting about the set while everyone else was working, I thought you were at best qualified to be an extra.”
Oh dear.
It was a blunt shot that would have hurt quite a bit if he were talking to the original Gang Hajun.
“You memorized all the lines that come after this too?”
“Of course.”
“Hey, rookie.”
Upon hearing my answer, PD Kim Yeongjin called the assistant director.
“Contact the editing team. Tell them to cut out all footage where Mr. Gang Hajun’s face shows up from his previous extra appearances.”
“Yes.”
“And you, take Mr. Gang Hajun to the makeup team, and you go get the costume.”
The set that had momentarily stopped began moving in perfect order again.
I’d never dreamed the opportunity would come this quickly.
I followed the assistant director with a heart pounding for the first time in a while.