Chapter 49:
Yooil looked at Hwang Yiwon with surprise. Hwang Yiwon t Director Gu Chanik's gaze squarely and declared, "I'll do it myself too."
Those nearby were visibly startled by his statent.
"Are you sure, Mr. Actor?" they asked, concerned.
"Yes," ca his firm reply.
Director Gu Chanik remained silent, simply observing Hwang Yiwon. His earlier wordsabout not being able to rest if Yooil kept goingwere clearly sincere.
Director Gu Chanik, glancing between Han Yooil and Hwang Yiwon, called his assistant director over with a subtle gesture.
"Hoyeon?"
"Yes?"
"What do you think is most important to an actor?"
The assistant director scratched his head, pondering before the monitor. "Mind and talent, perhaps?"
"Talent is important, yes. Being smart too," Director Gu Chanik agreed. But he said nothing further, his gaze fixed on Han Yooil. Young and less experienced, Yooil was impressively adaptable and showed considerable drive and passion.
But there's sothing even more crucial,' Director Gu Chanik thought as he watched Hwang Yiwon and Han Yooil warming up. They were aligning their movents, considering the cara angles.
"What should we do, Director?" the assistant director asked.
Director Gu Chanik nodded silently, and the filming resud.
* * *
Han Yooil's early autumn was entirely consud by The Mysterious Garden.' The shooting schedule had beco even more intense due to Director Gu Chanik's desire to capture the authentic ambiance of the season.
"Props team, please set up Scene 82 as quickly as possible~"
"Understood!"
No one prefers a rushed filming set. Yet, surprisingly, the crew mbers didn't find it as taxing as expected.
"How many shoots are left after today?" a mber of the art departnt asked.
"After today, we have three more rounds left!" the youngest production team mber answered.
"It's gone by so fast," the art departnt staff murmured, looking wistfully at the set. Soon, I won't be seeing this set anymore.'
Working in the art departnt, they had been on nurous film and drama sets. The Mysterious Garden' was no less demanding than the others, but it was uniquely enjoyable. Even amidst the hectic work of checking sets and costus, they would often find themselves transfixed by the performances of Han Yooil and Hwang Yiwon, forgetting their duties for a mont.
Perhaps due to frequently witnessing them, the chemistry between the actors seed to improve with each round. The art departnt staff watched the two actors, drenched in sweat and deeply imrsed in practicing the final action scene, wearing just short-sleeved shirts.
Wow, they're incredible.'
Startled out of their reverie by the assistant director and art director calling, they snapped back to reality.
"Please have everything set up by 5 PM~"
The upcoming scene was to be shot right after the climax, nearing the ending. The art departnt had prepared fake blood made from dye and oligosaccharide to ensure it didn't solidify.
The atmosphere on set was markedly different when preparing for the action scene. So of the intruders who had co to the flower shop to cause havoc had recognized Sooil.
"Master Sooil," they addressed him. Surprised by the form of address, Hyukjin montarily lost focus, and in that instant, a blade flew towards his heart. However, the next mont, it wasn't Hyukjin who got hit.
"Ah." Sooil stood in front of Hyukjin, a knife embedded in his back. "It really hurts"
Enraged, Hyukjin overpowered the intruders with astonishing speed and strength. Yet, amidst the chaos, he was plagued by one question: Why?'
Hyukjin recalled the profile of Park Sooil he had constructed several tis. Park Sooil, 20 years old, an only child. A graduate of the Prestigious Science High School, admitted to the National Science University but dropped out shortly after. His mother, a single parent, ran a clothing store. But the data revealed nothing significant.
It was only when the fallen Sooil spoke that Hyukjin realized sothing. Even while coughing up blood, Sooil managed to say, "Does the National Intelligence Service teach you to fight like that?"
"Since when did you know?" Hyukjin asked.
Sooil, grimacing with pain, forced a smile. "Even like this, I have a good head on my shoulders."
Sooil's throat gurgled with blood. "Don't talk," Hyukjin said, his voice still firm and cold, though his eyes betrayed his emotion. This wasn't what he wanted.
"Do you know how annoying that is, Boss?" Sooil smiled through his blood-soaked face.
Then, Hyukjin realized why Park Sooil had seed familiar from the mont he first saw him. Five years ago. As a forr agent of the National Intelligence Service, he had been tasked with uncovering the distribution of a drug-infused beverage spreading through Daehak-ro. After months of joint investigations, he identified the company manufacturing the drug beverage and its CEO, Go Hyungoo, who was orchestrating it.
However, the arrest wasn't straightforward. Go Hyungoo wasn't an easy man to apprehend. His bodyguards, illegally ard, forced Hyukjin to draw his weapon as well. And then
"I wanted to know who killed my father." Sooil's eyes, the clearest he had ever shown, spoke volus. "I quite liked my father."
For Sooil, his father was not only a good father but also a man to admire. The cracks in that myth only started appearing four years after his father's death, in the study his mother strictly forbade him from entering. There, he found things he shouldn't have seen. Sooil realized then that he didn't share his father's surna and that his mother had never officially married him. Everything Sooil thought he knew about his father crumbled.
Sooil wanted to prove that his roots weren't tarnished. That's when he started poring over the Detective-Agent List' his father had organized, narrowing down suspects. The encounters between Sooil and Hyukjin, seemingly coincidental, were all part of Park Sooil's plan.
"I wanted to ask, cough, you about it."
"I said don't talk."
"But it's alright now."
For the first ti, Hyukjin's eyes wavered. He didn't know what to do as he looked at Sooil.
"It's cold."
Hyukjin felt helpless. There was nothing he could do.
Waiting for the ambulance, Kim Hyukjin could do nothing but watch the young man before him. He knelt down, sitting next to the foolishly smart and pitifully dying child.
"Cut!" Director Gu Chanik ticulously reviewed the monitoring before nodding his head. It was undoubtedly okay.
During a break, Hwang Yiwon, panting, approached Yooil, holding an empty water bottle. Instead of looking for fresh water, he sat down beside Yooil.
"Yes, senior," Yooil replied.
"You said you've never studied acting at an academy or school."
"That's right," Yooil nodded and handed his unopened water bottle to Hwang Yiwon, who took it and drank eagerly.
"Ah, that's life-saving." Hwang Yiwon ran his hand through his sweaty hair and leaned his head back. It was the most relaxed Yooil had ever seen him. "I went to the U.S. about eight years ago for a isner Technique acting camp."
Yooil had heard of the isner Technique.
The isner Technique' was developed by Sanford isner, an Arican actor and acting teacher born in 1905 and deceased in 1997.
Hwang Yiwon continued, "I felt limited in my acting and wanted to learn properly."
"Did you go without telling anyone?"
Hwang Yiwon nodded. "I didn't even tell my agency. It was my first ti doing sothing like that. Everyone was surprised, but I don't regret it."
He showed Yooil so photos from the program, looking unrecognizable with nerdy glasses, outdated clothes, and long hair.
"Do you know what was the most important thing I learned there?" He smiled faintly and continued, "Say what you an, an what you say."
"So, act like you're not acting?"
Hwang Yiwon nodded. "But that's the hardest part. That's when I realized so people can, and so can't."
He took another sip of water and said slowly, "And I think, Han Yooil, you're one of those who can."
Before Yooil could respond, Hwang Yiwon got up. "Do you like fishing?"
Yooil, unsure of the appropriate response in this context, said, "I've never tried it."
"That's a pity," Hwang Yiwon murmured. "I thought it'd be nice to go together before it gets cold."
"I'm always up for it, senior."
"Well, I'm not sure," Hwang Yiwon said, tilting his head slightly. "After this movie releases, I think you'll be even busier."
Yooil blurted out, "Thank you, senior."
"For what?" Hwang Yiwon asked.
"I've learned a lot," Yooil said earnestly, but Hwang Yiwon just chuckled in response.
"So have I."
As Yooil awkwardly smiled, he suddenly rembered sothing and rummaged through his pocket, pulling out his phone. "I just realized we've never taken a photo together."
Hwang Yiwon seed a bit surprised but soon joined Yooil with a look of amusent. "You really can't take photos, can you?"
"Sorry" Yooil apologized, but Hwang Yiwon took over and snapped a perfect selfie, except for that minor hiccup. Later that afternoon, the selfie they took spread like wildfire across various social dia platforms.
Look at this
[(Photo)]
Wow
How does Hwang Yiwon never age?
It feels so surreal
Han Yooil looks so handso
These two are in the sa movie? Can't wait!
Already loving it
And it's a Gu Chanik film, no less!
The anticipation for the movie grew exponentially.
* * *
The filming of The Mysterious Garden' was successfully concluded. The movie had already been submitted to the Berlin International Film Festival's feature film category as a rough cut and was scheduled for a premiere screening in the first half of the next year.
Choi Hoyeon, the assistant director, was organizing the movie's production diary and reflected on the filming process. The script was interesting from the start, and he had a feeling the movie would turn out well. But the atmosphere on this set was unlike any other Gu Chanik project.
Movies are often driven more by direction and editing than by actors. The job of a director is to bring out the best in an actor's performance and, even if the on-screen performance is lacking, to create the desired atmosphere through post-production dubbing, editing, and sound. This is why direction is crucial, especially in Gu Chanik's projects.
However, this set was different. "The actors were at the core."
Good atmosphere creators among actors? Sure, they exist. Talented actors? Quite a few. Actors with good personality? Rare, but they exist. But an actor who embodies all three is almost unicorn-like.
"I thought such people were unicorns," Choi Hoyeon mumbled as she looked at her screenplay, which had gone through several drafts. It had been 15 years since she entered the film industry, learning and growing by Gu Chanik's side. She had been preparing for her directorial debut for years.
"If I get to make my movie with this script" She looked at Han Yooil's profile, the sa one she received the day Gu Chanik first ntioned Han Yooil's na. "I'd want to cast him as the lead."
At the sa ti, Yooil, lying in bed with his eyes closed, heard a voice in his head. Goal Level 2: 91.8% achieved.
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