As soon as the light aircraft landed.
"I'm so relieved you’re not hurt. You absolutely must not get injured... Anyway, really... I’m just really relieved."
"It’s a miracle everything was OK in one go. You worked so hard."
"Are you insane?! Why did you do sothing so dangerous?! Huh?! Do you think that was the right decision?!"
A barrage of dialogue hit my ears the mont I stepped out, as if they had been waiting for this mont.
From experience, I knew that in situations like this, saying too much wouldn’t help.
One firm sentence would be far more effective.
"But it looked cool, didn’t it?"
I answered with a bright smile.
"Is that really what you should be saying right now?!"
Evelyn stomped her feet, looking like she was about to lose her mind.
"I ran through it during rehearsals, so I thought it would be fine. I’m sorry."
And within the heated atmosphere, I made sure to slip in an apology.
No matter how much it was for the sake of the film, what I did was undeniably reckless.
So things required an apology, no questions asked.
"No, actually... You already showed us during rehearsals, but I failed to confirm it again. That’s my mistake."
"I... I feel the sa way. As the director, I shouldn’t have been so complacent."
Dealing with an unconventional actor must have been exhausting.
I bowed my head toward Producer Berryard and Director McGroy, acknowledging their struggles.
Then, I gently took Evelyn’s still-flushed hand.
"I won’t make reckless decisions like this again. I promise."
"...You really need to consider how it feels for the people watching."
The mont I held her hand, Evelyn’s anger seed to dissolve.
Sothing about this reminded of a certain childhood friend.
"The shot... The shot was incredible. In any case, we sohow managed to finish all the high-difficulty scenes ahead of schedule."
McGroy smoothly transitioned the conversation, summarizing the current situation.
To put it simply—
Starting with the rope-swinging scene.
Then all the complicated sequences involving the light aircraft.
All the tension-inducing, nerve-wracking action scenes were wrapped up.
From this point on, we’d be shooting on set, using CGI for the remaining parts.
In other words, only the relatively safer scenes were left.
"Filming in this order makes everything flow much better. It kind of feels like checking off howork assignnts one by one."
Producer Berryard seed pleased with this filming thod, smiling in satisfaction.
"Well, maybe it’s because the lead actor doesn’t make any mistakes?"
The schedule had estimated about a month for this scene.
And we finished it in just one day.
I was about to make a modest remark in response to their praises—
"When following this pace, the next scene should be the kiss scene."
McGroy suddenly dropped a bomb.
"Ah, I guess that’s right."
I was surprised, but it made sense.
So I quickly accepted it.
"Wh-what? H-huh?! A k-kiss scene? Not just a light peck?"
Evelyn's eyes widened in shock.
She turned to the director with an expression of utter disbelief.
"Yes, yes, just a light peck. I only phrased it that way to make it easier to understand. Sorry for the misunderstanding."
McGroy waved his hands in a flustered attempt to clarify.
A kiss scene, huh.
There had been one in Phantom of the Opera, too.
But even then, it was fild with clever cara angles—just pretending to kiss.
There had never been any real physical contact.
Just a bit more body proximity than usual.
Nothing more than that.
And yet, sohow, fate had led to my first actual kiss scene in Tarzan.
While I was lost in thought, Evelyn—her face now red all the way to her ears—started inching closer to .
I lowered my head slightly, wondering what she was about to say.
"It’s my first kiss. What should I do?"
"—?!"
A real bomb exploded right next to my ear.
***
"The conditions are amazing."
—"Yes, so if it’s at all possible... I’d love to do this together."
"Donghu is definitely the main star, right?"
—"That’s correct. I’ve sent the full proposal and contract details via email."
"Sounds good. I’ll check and get back to you once the decision is made."
—"Understood! I’ll be waiting for a positive response."
Click.
As soon as the call ended—
"Wow. This is insane."
Choi Seokho recalled the conversation and let out a deep, satisfied laugh.
The program’s na? Will It Work on the Mainland?
At first, he hadn’t known what to make of it.
But the concept was solid.
A food truck showcasing Korean cuisine in the U.S.?
And since it was set to be released as an OTT exclusive first,
if done right, it could perfectly target global audiences.
‘Forget everything else—the deal itself is the most appealing part.’
Choi Seokho opened the email and skimd through the contract, feeling pleased.
Despite Kim Donghu’s skyrocketing status,
he still wasn’t receiving proper treatnt in Korea.
‘Even after getting recognized overseas, since he hasn’t been active dostically... they’ve been lowballing him.’
That’s why he had turned down countless offers until now.
Even hundred-billion-won deals felt laughable when they tried to cut his rate.
Just reading so of those proposals had been infuriating.
‘But since this is a collaboration between tvW and Netflix, they’re handling it properly.’
On top of that, everything about the project scread that it was tailor-made for Kim Donghu.
For one thing, he was the main chef.
No matter how good he was at cooking, he wasn’t officially a chef.
Normally, they’d bring in a professional, but this was an incredibly bold decision.
‘That just shows how badly they want Donghu.’
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
The supporting cast was set to include Kim Sujin, Ove, Kim Hyunjun, and Ahn Suhwan.
Even the role distribution was flawless.
‘Sujin is a workplace colleague but mainly plays a supporting role... Ove is a foreigner, so communication works, and Kim Hyunjun and Ahn Suhwan are codians.’
The lineup was impressive.
These ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) were all well-established nas in the industry.
And all of them had already signed the contract.
From what he heard, the mont Kim Donghu’s na was ntioned, they imdiately agreed.
Of course, if Donghu declined, the whole deal would collapse.
But still.
Choi Seokho ticulously went through every detail, ensuring nothing was overlooked.
"Donghu, I’m about to send you sothing. Can you check it? It’s about a variety show."
He imdiately contacted Kim Donghu.
There was no reason to delay sothing like this.
A quick decision was beneficial for everyone involved.
And usually, in situations like this—
—"Yeah, I checked. If the filming dates are between sumr and fall, it’s fine."
Kim Donghu never turned things down.
***
What is a Kiss?
It is the contact of mucous mbranes.
One of the most common forms of physical affection in movies.
When done passionately, it becos a French kiss,
which is said to evoke intense sexual pleasure.
In films with lower intensity,
a peck or a hamburger kiss is typically used.
Exchanging saliva is rare.
And since Tarzan was rated for general audiences,
a deep kiss involving tongues was obviously out of the question.
To keep things innocent, it would just be a simple press of the lips.
However—
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
For so, even that could be overwhelming.
Evelyn, 24 years old, was furiously punching her pillow.
"I was already shocked by how close our faces were in Phantom of the Opera!"
And now, I have to actually kiss him?
Not just hovering near each other, but closing the distance completely?
She knew what she had signed up for.
But now that the mont was right in front of her, she had no idea what to do.
"Just—just do it! Just get it over with!"
She tried to hype herself up.
"But how the hell am I supposed to do that?!"
It was useless.
She had never felt anything like this before.
How was she supposed to suddenly film a kiss scene?
"Uuuuugh..."
How should she approach it?
What kind of expression would look the most natural?
As she agonized over these thoughts, ti flew by.
And before she knew it—
The day of the kiss scene had arrived.
Evelyn was the first person to arrive on set.
Usually, she would have been relaxing in the waiting room with a cup of tea.
But today, getting used to the set took priority.
‘Green here, green there... I have nowhere else to look.’
Besides the basic structures, everything was green-screened.
Once they added artificial rain from above, it would be complete.
What was the right way to do this?
While she was still racking her brain—
‘Screw it. I’ll just do it and see what happens.’
Evelyn decided to let fate take the wheel.
Honestly, it was just filming. Why should she be embarrassed?
As long as she acted confident, it would be fine.
The mont she settled on that mindset, ti sped up.
When she ca to her senses, Kim Donghu was already standing in front of her.
And with each blink, he was getting closer.
‘Wait, this is real?’
A surreal mont.
Evelyn slowly closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his.
"Cut! Uh—Evelyn... you, um... you can’t use your tongue."
"...Huh?"
"It’s just a simple peck."
"...Wait. You’re telling I—wait—WAIT! I—I need to go to the waiting room! Right now!"
The mont she processed the director’s words, she bolted from the set.
She wanted to die from embarrassnt.
***
anwhile, in England
"So, he’s really going through with it? That’s honestly hilarious."
"What is?"
"The idea of an Asian becoming a heavyweight champ. It’s laughable."
A heated podcast was taking place.
The white man sitting in front of the mic had a voice as confident as his massive fra.
"I an, co on. I’m the champ.
And this guy—so nobody from God-knows-where—thinks he can take my belt?"
Donghu, Tonghu?
Even his na was hard to pronounce.
The man—the reigning WBC Heavyweight Champion—grinned as he openly mocked his challenger.
"He’s playing Tarzan, right?
I’ll send him back to the Stone Age before he even gets to act like a real human.
Step into the ring, caveman."
This happened in early May.
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