The Haunted Monster Actor - Chapter 110



Only Noblemtl

Episode 110

A shabby alley in Seoul.

Under the cameras and lights, dozens of staff members are bustling about, busy preparing to shoot a movie.

Kim Young-cheol was busy reciting a script with only a few lines in a corner of an alley.

Martial arts director Park Jang-sik crouched down next to Yeong-cheol and lit a cigarette.

“Hey, Youngcheol.”

“I’m busy. Please don’t tell me to speak.”

“Huh? Your speech is a bit like that of a Seoul native.”

“What’s wrong with Seoul dialect? Didn’t you say you were busy? Go play somewhere else.”

“Look at the way this kid talks, even though I’m his senior in the industry. Are you a thug?”

“… …Stop it.”

“That’s right, he was a gangster, really. He even went to a nuclear school.”

“Hey, but this saint really said I was busy earlier!”

Jang-sik burst into laughter as Yeong-cheol’s irritated tone once again began to contain a dialect accent.

“Hey Young-cheol, why on earth did you choose to be an action actor out of all the jobs you have?”

“Isn’t it cool?”

“That’s right. It’s cool and stylish. It’s a killer topic. But, who doesn’t know that? What I want to say is… … You’re a person who’s so bad at acting, why are you trying to be an ‘actor’? To be honest, your reputation isn’t good enough to be an actor, is it?”

Perhaps feeling a little irritated by the continued fussing over the decorations, Yeong-cheol slightly tightened his grip on the script.

Kkugit.

“Does an action actor have to be good at acting and face?”

“Oh. I don’t know about acting, but your face is very, very important. Your face is the kind that makes the audience run away in surprise while watching a movie. Isn’t that why the directors roll you on the floor all the time?”

“… … .”

“Don’t do that. Trust me, hyung. Let’s switch to stunt work now. You’re the kind of guy who has to use your body. Are you going to live like that, doing extra roles and getting bullied by those worthless directors and actors?”

“but…….”

“but?”

“Stuntmen don’t appear on TV, bro.”

* * *

Dong Incheon Jemulpo Market.

The Starcraft van driven by Gogun stopped at the entrance to a shabby market.

Incheon is the city with the most filming locations for movies and dramas after Seoul.

This is because it is located near Seoul, and there are many places that are worth taking pictures of just by pointing your camera at, such as Chinatown, Gaehang-ro, Dong-Incheon, and the coastal docks.

So, since ancient times, many Korean noir films have been filmed here in Incheon.

“Huh, this place with its long history and tradition as a filming location for noir films is the first filming location in bad weather… … I guess the director knows a thing or two, hyung.”

Gogun got out of the car and looked around at the scenery, exclaiming in admiration.

Hideous rebars jutting out here and there between abandoned buildings overgrown with weeds.

The faded concrete walls are covered in messy graffiti.

Every time the wind blows, the eerie creaking sound of broken signs echoes.

Jemulpo Market, which has been left abandoned for decades and is waiting for redevelopment at some point, looks almost like the ruins of a battlefield.

“You need to put down another mattress! No, you can’t just put down a mattress because your body might bounce off and get hurt! Don’t you have another box or something?”

“Check when the crane is coming and double check that there are no equipment problems!”

“Isn’t it really going to rain today? Tell them so I can call a water truck right away when the situation calls!”

Among the staff moving busily around the old market place, the one giving various instructions with a serious expression was none other than the martial arts director of Bad Weather, Park Jeong-hoo.

“Hello, Director Park Jung-hoo!”

“Oh, actor Kim is here. Director Lee is on set over there.”

There are three scenes to be filmed today: the scene where Woojin eats with Sooyeon’s family at home, and then the action scenes at home and outdoors.

Hyunsoo found the fellow stuntmen, but they all seemed very nervous about their first time on set and were busy moving their bodies according to their seniors’ instructions.

As it was the first filming of a movie, Hyun-soo was also nervous.

Today was also the first day I met other actors who appeared in Bad Weather.

Let’s go to the scene pointed out by Park Jung-hoo, and you can see the staff preparing to film the new ‘Housing’ scene together with director Lee Cheong-beom.

“Hello! I am actor Kim Hyun-soo! I ask for your continued support in the future!”

As they entered the set, which was a renovated and remodeled empty building, everyone’s eyes turned to Hyun-soo.

As I mentioned earlier, most of the people I met for the first time, except for some of the production team, because I did not participate in the script reading.

“Hello, actor Kim Hyun-soo. Please take good care of us too!”

“Let’s do better in the future, Actor Kim!”

Since everyone was busy preparing for filming, we exchanged brief greetings and then returned to our work.

It can’t be helped, because the action movie set is a dangerous place where an accident can happen at any time, so everyone is on high alert.

In a more intense atmosphere than usual, Hyunsoo found someone and approached them to say hello.

“Hello, seniors! Please do well in filming today!”

The people Hyunsoo greeted vigorously were none other than his senior actors who were filming with him today, Jung Dong-han and Oh Hwa-yeon.

The two people who played the roles of Lee Soo-yeon’s grandfather and mother, respectively, are veteran actors with solid acting skills who have appeared in various films.

“Ah, actor Kim Hyun-soo. Congratulations on winning this acting award. I enjoyed listening to your acceptance speech.”

“This is Oh Hwa-yeon. I saw you at the Red Dragon Film Awards, right? Please take good care of the filming today.”

Unlike the other staff members, the two of them seemed quite relaxed.

That’s partly because they’re veteran actors, but also because most of the film was actually shot today.

Although the roles are small, they are important roles that lead the emotions of the early part of the play, so we cannot cast actors carelessly.

This also means that director Lee Cheong-beom is putting his heart and soul into each and every element that makes up the film.

“No, actor Kim, your acting skills are so good, so why do you do such difficult action scenes? It costs a lot of money and it’s bad for your health.”

“Haha, I also appeared in action movies when I was younger. Youth is a wonderful thing.”

The atmosphere is as if it is a different space within the same scene.

The biggest reason why these two veteran actors can maintain such calm expressions is because there is no scene where they have to perform action scenes themselves.

“Yes, please take care of it.”

“Yes, you don’t have to look so nervous. You even received an award, but I guess you’re still nervous on set?”

“Haha, I’ve been through that too.”

After greeting the two senior actors, Hyunsoo returned to the waiting area and took off his coat.

And instead of taking out the script, I started to seriously warm up.

‘Whew… Is this your first real battle?’

In fact, Hyunsoo also didn’t feel any particular tension while filming with the two senior actors.

Hyunsoo had already felt the dangers of action stunts firsthand while filming the demo video.

The training over the past four months was not only to show off great action acting, but also to minimize the risk of accidents occurring during the process of performing the action scenes.

“Actor Kim Hyun-soo, please stand by!”

Today was the day that Hyunsoo performed his first action scene as an actor.

* * *

Ding dong—

As the bell rings, a strange liveliness comes to the face of the old man who was staring at the Go board with absent-minded eyes.

Seohee, who was chopping onions with a dry face, runs out in one go.

When I opened the front door, standing in front of me was an unfamiliar young man.

The young man asked, holding out a torn, crumpled, and illegible old leaflet.

[There is a room.]

When did I tell the real estate agent that I wanted to rent out a place on one side of a run-down house?

It feels like such a long time ago now.

I don’t even remember the flyer the young man was holding.

I’ve put up a lot of other flyers.

“Do you have a room?”

Seohee responded without realizing it, feeling the strange power in the young man’s voice.

“There is a room available.”

From the moment I first met him, Woojin Lee was a young man who gave off a strange vibe.

But that was it.

He was just an ordinary young man who happened to live in the same house.

But just with that, time began to flow again, slowly but surely, between the old man and Seohee.

“What should I do?”

The old man let out a hollow laugh at Woojin’s question.

“Did you learn Go separately? I think it’s the first time I’ve seen a young man your age with this kind of skill.”

“This is my first time with an elder.”

The young man seemed to have a bit of a delusion.

“The side dishes are delicious.”

“Really? It’s nothing special, but eat a lot, Mr. Woojin. Oh, and about the rent I mentioned last time. If you can’t pay it every month… … .”

“I paid one year’s rent in advance.”

“huh……?”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, that’s not it, but… … .”

Seohee, who was trying to find something to say, soon realizes one strange fact.

‘But have I ever given you my account number?’

The introduction to the film Bad Weather is very static.

In the midst of the static, the protagonist Woojin Lee’s extraordinary nature begins to be revealed little by little.

‘But… isn’t this too lukewarm?’

As she watched Hyun-soo continue Lee Woo-jin’s acting, Oh Hwa-yeon felt a little dissatisfied inside.

The same was true for Jeong Dong-han, who played the role of an old man.

‘Even though this movie is an action movie, doesn’t acting have to have at least a little bit of tone?’

A careless way of delivering lines that seem to be thrown out without notice.

‘I know that Lee Woo-jin is a character with psychopathic tendencies… … but still, this acting is much more ordinary than I thought.’

‘Anyone can interpret a character to that extent. I wonder if the character of Lee Woo-jin will be convincing at this rate.’

It was natural to be dissatisfied with Hyunsoo’s acting.

The two of them take up almost the entire screen time in the movie as gods in the ‘house’ with Hyun-soo.

So what if Hyunsoo’s acting dies? Naturally, their acting will also lose its power.

Even though the amount is small, they are professionals.

The two veteran actors were not very satisfied with the performance of their junior actor who had won an award at a young age.

‘You came to the set and didn’t even look at the script once, I knew this would happen.’

‘I thought he was a junior who acted pretty well… … It looks like he’s decided to go all-in on action for this production.’

Although I was thinking about various things inside, I continued acting without showing it on the outside.

The meal scene takes place in a strange atmosphere without any conversation for a while.

I don’t know what he’s thinking, but director Lee Cheong-beom has no intention of giving the okay.

All I could do was capture the image of Woojin Lee continuing his neat meal with an unreadable expression on his face.

‘Isn’t this NG? When on earth are we going to say our next lines? Surely you didn’t forget that short line?’

‘I think it would be okay to just cut it off and go back in.’

However, a strange tension begins to flow on the faces of the two people who are watching Hyun-soo, or rather Woo-jin Lee, continuing to eat right in front of them.

While feeling this incomprehensible ‘anxiety’, all of the actors’ attention begins to focus on Kim Hyun-soo and Lee Woo-jin.

‘Come to think of it… …Why am I so nervous?’

Just a moment ago, I almost shook my leg.

At some point, the sound of Lee Woo-jin scraping a porcelain bowl with a spoon starts to bother both actors’ ears.

In each and every one of Lee Woo-jin’s movements, a ‘strange sense of discomfort’ begins to be felt that is different from usual, or rather, different from that of an ordinary human being.

Then at one moment.

widely.

Lee Woo-jin says, placing down spoons and chopsticks at regular intervals next to the bowl that has been emptied cleanly without leaving a single grain of rice.

“Lee Soo-yeon.”

Just one sentence.

“Shall I help you find it?”

It was the number of lines needed to reveal the ‘ominous shadow’ that Lee Woo-jin was hiding inside.

Continued in the next episode ▶