The Haunted Monster Actor - Chapter 107



Only Noblemtl

Episode 107

“hello!”

As I entered the Action School gym with a powerful greeting, several trainees were standing in a line.

About ten trainees, including Misun, were selected from the basic training course that had already been completed before the end of the year.

The trainees who had been happily looking at Hyun-soo for a moment… … no, the 21st stuntmen of the Sangnamja Action School waited in the gym with nervous faces.

Today is the day of the first demo video shoot, and soon Park Jung-hoo and Han Ik-sang, as well as other senior actors who have returned from filming other movies, will join us here.

“Hello, senior!!!”

And soon after, seniors from the Action School started showing up at the gym one by one.

“Yeah, 21st class? Haha, what about senior? You don’t have to greet me like that. We’re all coworkers anyway… … Huh? Are you by any chance actor Kim Hyun-soo?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard from me yet because you were filming overseas. I heard that actor Kim Hyun-soo completed basic training with the 21st class.”

“What? Really? No, why did the actor have to go through such a difficult process… .”

“You’re right in front of me. If you have any questions, ask me directly.”

“Wow, I heard about it from a senior, but I didn’t know you were really here. Excuse me, actor Kim Hyun-soo, if you don’t mind, could you give me your autograph later… .”

The senior stuntmen from the action school, who should have shown their dignity when they first met, have completely disappeared and have returned to the appearance of pure fans, their eyes shining as they look at Hyun-soo.

As Hyun-soo was looking at them with an embarrassed expression, Park Jeong-hoo and Han Ik-sang appeared.

“Hello, Director!”

“Senior Han, how have you been? No, should I call you Vice-Minister now?”

The 21st class stuntmen look very nervous at the sight of the director and instructor who showed up in the morning.

However, Han Ik-sang waved at Hyun-soo and the stuntmen with a broad smile, his usual appearance nowhere to be seen.

“Hyunsoo – Did you have a good rest at the beginning of the year? I saw the award ceremony. Congratulations on receiving the grand prize. Oh, and did you and Misun have a good rest too? Hey, it’s not that cold today and the weather is really nice, right?”

“… … .”

A smile that gives off a warm feeling, like a stove with sweet potatoes on it in the middle of winter.

Originally, Han Ik-sang would have started from the beginning with a tiger-like roar.

‘Are you, Master, dreaming of dead ghosts like me?’

Otherwise, it would be impossible for a person to appear with such a completely different impression.

Hyunsoo and his classmates from class 21 are dumbfounded at the sight of Hanik Sang, who looks like someone else.

Seeing such motives, the senior stuntmen burst into laughter as if they knew what kind of reaction they were going to have.

“Hahaha, you guys still don’t know. Senior Han Ik-sang’s original nickname was Han Ik-soon. Look at that round face. Isn’t he as gentle as the sheep of Gangwon Ranch? Huh? Right? But he also has a body as nimble as a wolf, which is amazing to see every time.”

Even though his junior bursts out laughing while holding her stomach when she sees him, Ik-sang just smiles kindly.

Iksang continued speaking, waving his hand towards Hyunsoo and the 21st class trainees.

“Now you can call me ‘senior’ instead of ‘teacher’. We don’t have to be so formal except during training. We’ll be working hard together in the field from now on, so why do we need to frown and try to get along with each other―”

It turns out that Ik-sang only wears the tiger mask during basic training when there is a risk of accidents, and his current appearance, which is gentler than a lamb, is his normal personality.

Anyway, one of the senior stuntmen approached Hyun-soo, who was having trouble getting used to the sight of Han Ik-sun… no, Han Ik-sang, and spoke to him.

“By the way, did actor Kim Hyun-soo come to monitor the demo video filming today? Wow, he personally trained and monitored the demo production. As expected, an actor who receives the Best Acting Award is different.”

“You can speak comfortably, senior.”

“Huh? Hey, what about you, senior? But you’re the lead actor in our movie… … .”

Iksang continued speaking to the senior stuntman.

“Ho-cheol, Hyun-soo isn’t here as a lead actor today. Just think of him as our team’s junior.”

“Huh? You didn’t come as a lead actor. So… … ?”

“As a stuntman for the Sangnamja team, I will be directly involved in the production of a demo video for bad weather.”

“Is that… … possible?”

Regardless of their fandom as an actor, the senior stuntmen’s distrustful gazes were all directed towards Hyun-soo.

At that time, Hyunsoo was looking at his seniors with an awkward gaze.

“Okay, then let’s start with the production meeting.”

“Yes, Director!!!”

With a few words from Park Jeong-hoo, the production of the first demo video began in earnest.

* * *

On one side of the gym, a pre-printed script and storyboard for bad weather are spread out on a large table.

The first step in creating a demo video is to review the script and storyboard.

“Since not everyone has joined yet, we will focus today’s meeting on one-on-one combat that doesn’t require any special equipment.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Han Ik-sang, who was in charge of the martial arts team.

The senior stuntmen, excluding the 21st class graduates, had bright eyes as they watched Han Ik-sang presiding over the demo production meeting.

‘How long has it been since Senior Han Ik-sang came out to the scene… …!’

Originally, Han Ik-sang was someone who could have been in charge of a work of art long ago, based on his skills alone.

‘If it weren’t for that accident, he would have already built up a great career in the field… … .’

The stuntmen who knew Han Ik-sang’s skills had no objection to Ik-sang returning after five years to take on the role of on-site supervisor.

“I’m sure you’ve all read the script and storyboard beforehand. If you’ve seen it, you’ll know that the characteristic of the action that Director Lee Cheong-beom is aiming for in Bad Weather is ‘conciseness of breathing.’”

“It will probably be less flashy and stylish, right?”

“It seems like they’re trying to make up for the simplicity of the action with the individuality of the characters.”

The faces of the new stuntmen, who were nervous from the start about getting in sync and moving their bodies violently because it was an action video production, appeared a little strange.

In fact, it is true that in the past, as soon as we saw the storyboard, we immediately planned the action sequence, just like newbies did.

But as time passed, the film set became more specialized, and the expertise of each team was strengthened.

In the past, the level of participation was limited to literally following the action scenes ordered by the director, but today’s martial arts team is different.

“If this is the personality of ‘Lee Woo-jin’ in this story… … Rather than turning around and immediately kicking, wouldn’t he have just pushed forward briefly? You asked for a concise line, didn’t you?”

“Then, you might be able to take a more calm breath and understand the situation.”

“Did you say that the scene here is an underground gambling den? Since Woojin Lee is a special forces soldier who has received professional assassination training, it seems plausible that he would use something like chips or cards as weapons.”

“That’s not in the storyboard, but… … If done well, it could turn into a good picture. What do you think, Director?”

As the senior stuntmen’s opinions exchanged heatedly, the rookies’ eyes lit up with admiration.

‘I thought I was just doing the actions that were written in the script.’

Identify the character’s personality and emotions according to the incident and plan the path.

Create a concrete sum considering the location and nature of the action.

This was literally a level of recreating the actions in the script and storyboard.

“Newcomers, if you have any ‘final’ ideas that you’ve been thinking about, please feel free to share them.”

Of course, it was difficult for new stuntmen to participate in discussions at that level, so they had only been watching and learning so far. Since it was their first time seeing how an action meeting was conducted, Hyun-soo also watched the meeting process with interest.

“What do you think, Hyunsoo?”

“yes?”

“Since you are the actor who plays the role of Lee Woo-jin, wouldn’t it be best for Hyun-soo to understand the character the best?”

Soon everyone’s curious gaze turned to Hyunsoo.

Just as it was Hyun-soo’s first time attending a demo production meeting, it was also the stuntmen’s first time being present with the lead actor.

‘He is truly a unique actor.’

As Iksang said, when it comes to action, the stunt performers on the martial arts team here may be more expert, but Hyunsoo is bound to be one step ahead when it comes to understanding the script and the characters.

‘He’s not just any actor, he’s an actor with top-notch acting skills who won the Best New Actor Award for a drama at the recent Red Dragon Film Awards.’

Although Hyun-soo didn’t know it, most of the stuntmen present recognized Hyun-soo as a character called ‘an eccentric actor with genius acting skills.’

That’s why Park Jeong-hoo was also waiting for Hyun-soo’s next answer with interest.

Hyun-soo’s face became a little tense under everyone’s burdensome gaze, but soon his eyes turned cold as he turned to the script prints and storyboard on the table.

‘In fact, director Lee Cheong-beom’s storyboard did not depict the action in such detail.’

Conversely, this was possible because we believed that the Sangnamja Action School would fill that void.

‘But at the same time, director Lee Cheong-beom… … instinctively knows that this is the essence of the action that the character Lee Woo-jin possesses.’

S#27. The first clash in the underground gambling den.

The ‘ominous shadow’ is walking out towards the gambling house depicted in Hyun-soo’s mind.

Through this, Hyun-soo recalled the emotions of Woo-jin Jo, and for a while, he closed his eyes and imagined the battle scene of the gods.

What Hyun-soo has created here is not a sum of actions or specific movements.

“Hyunsoo… …?”

“… … Lee Woo-jin is probably here.”

“… … ?”

“I will take action before I speak.”

“What? Taking action before the dialogue? What do you mean?”

“What I mean is, this line will come out after all the enemies are killed. So it would be good if the action scenes were to take that into consideration. For example, Lee Woo-jin barging in without warning during the enemies’ lines.”

“… … ?”

Soon the stuntmen’s bewildered gaze turned to the fingerprints and script of ‘S#27’.

“But… … In the script, there are instructions for action after the lines?”

Before fighting the villains in the underground gambling den, Lee Woo-jin speaks these lines.

-Where is Lee Su-yeon?

“No matter how you look at it, isn’t this a line that had to come out before a fight? Wasn’t the reason Lee Woo-jin came here in the first place to find the old man Shin Se-jin and the landlady’s daughter, Su-yeon?”

“Right, what’s the use of asking this after killing everyone?”

Senior stuntmen and even rookies agreed with this statement.

This is because no matter how much I looked at it, I couldn’t understand Lee Woo-jin asking about his purpose after killing everyone.

Hyunsoo continued speaking to them.

“If you look at the character Lee Woo-jin, you will know that he is a person with psychopathic tendencies.”

“……yes?”

“Is it really true that such a person is looking for Lee Soo-yeon for those two people just because they have lived face to face for a few years?”

“… … .”

“And, leaving aside such feelings. Lee Woo-jin already succeeded in finding the gambling house in a few days by following the traces of her who disappeared eight years ago. A person with such inhuman tracking ability, asking the tails of those mere stragglers about Lee Soo-yeon’s whereabouts? I can’t quite picture it. If I were Lee Woo-jin, the primary reason I came here would be one.”

“… … ?”

“It must have been because they just wanted to kill ‘anything’.”

His original purpose was not to find Suyeon.

The purpose is to set up an enemy and slaughter them mercilessly.

Therefore, placing the action before the dialogue asking about Lee Soo-yeon’s whereabouts is more ‘Lee Woo-jin-like action’.

For some unknown reason, everyone who heard Hyun-soo’s words as he continued his ‘analysis’ in a calm yet cool tone felt goosebumps run down their spines.

At that moment, when Han Ik-sang and his classmates were also blankly staring at Hyun-soo for the first time, Park Jeong-hu, who was lost in thought, muttered without realizing it.

“With a simple reversal of the arrangement, you can instantly picture the character Lee Woo-jin in your head? Wow, this is incredible.”

Soon, Park Jeong-hoo continued speaking to Hyun-soo.

“In the future, I would like Actor Kim to attend the demo production meetings as much as possible. Is that too much to ask?”

The bad weather martial arts team’s demo production meeting began to create tremendous synergy with the participation of lead actor Kim Hyun-soo.

Continued in the next episode ▶