The Haunted Monster Actor - Chapter 112



Only Noblemtl

Episode 112

There’s a saying in the stunt industry:

Actors only receive applause after the movie ends, but stuntmen are the only ones who receive cheers and applause on set.

“Cut, okay!”

and-!

Clap clap clap clap clap!

As soon as director Lee Cheong-beom gave the okay sign, all the staff members in the venue applauded and cheered without realizing it.

“I don’t think this is just about being good at action.”

“Yeah, it was exactly as described in the script as Lee Woo-jin… … ?”

Kim Hyun-soo’s movements were clearly drawing Lee Woo-jin.

With each action, the monster hidden inside bursts out in its ferocious movements.

It was then that one of the staff muttered with a blank expression.

“Lee Woo-jin is Lee Woo-jin… … Was that scene that Shin just did in one take?”

uh?

Soon, the cinematographer, whose whole body was covered in red paint, nodded and answered the two staff members’ questions.

“I didn’t think this would happen in one go. I’ve been to a lot of sites, but the chemistry between those guys is no joke.”

That was also the thought of director Park Jeong-hoo, who was monitoring together with Lee Cheong-beom.

‘As far as I know, this is probably the first time in the Korean action scene that the lead actor has been in sync with the stunts from the demo video stage.’

“Even so, I didn’t know the synergy would be this great.”

I’ve matched the chords dozens of times and memorized the demo videos hundreds of times.

We spent several months interpreting the character of Woojin Lee and the action scenes in the script.

The combination of Hyunsoo and the handsome action team was showing something more than just an actor and a stuntman.

“What on earth have you been doing with Actor Kim all this time? How can you do something like this… … .”

Are you able to pull off some ridiculous actions?

Park Jeong-hoo answered Lee Cheong-beom’s question with a slightly excited look on his face.

“It wasn’t something I did.”

‘Kim Hyun-soo… … No, it’s the result of them all training hard together.’

All Park Jeong-hoo did was believe in his disciples and watch over them.

And, as he listened to the two directors’ story from behind, Han Ik-sang’s face was filled with an indescribable sense of pride.

‘Everyone knows how hard Hyunsoo has worked so far.’

Except for a few days when I had a schedule, I went to the training ground without missing a single day.

It’s not just a matter of learning a few action moves.

Not only did he undergo the same training as regular stuntmen, he also practiced until his breath blew in order to master each movement.

‘Not only is he talented in action, but his attitude towards it is also different.’

The actor, who showed a greater natural talent for action scenes than anyone Han Ik-sang had ever seen, studied and participated in action scenes from the film’s production and demo video shooting stages.

That achievement has led to the absurd results we see today.

‘There will probably never be another movie like this again.’

Han Ik-sang is confident.

Actor Kim Hyun-soo will have a hard time appearing in the future… … .

‘I’m going to be an action actor.’

* * *

“How was it?”

The stuntman who just came to match the pose with Hyun-soo is asked by his colleagues who were waiting.

“You’ll know when you see it. It wasn’t a joke.”

“I also almost went by instinct and matched the tempo of the suspension, right? But… … .”

“however?”

“The strange thing is, even if the timing is a little off, Hyun-soo automatically reels it in.”

“You mean you made up for the missed sum with ad-lib? In the first action scene?”

“Well, you all know that. That guy Hyunsoo, that guy, he’s a freaking monster.”

All the stuntmen around him nodded their heads at Lee Ho-cheol’s words.

“In fact, except for extremely dangerous actions like high-altitude wires or car stunts, he’s probably better than most stuntmen.”

“I didn’t tell you to do it because it was dangerous, but you’ll probably be able to master wires and vehicles in a month or two.”

“It sounds scary… … but Hyunsoo might be able to do it.”

The stuntmen’s fearful gazes all turn to Hyun-soo.

Hyunsoo, who had just finished filming, roughly lifted up his shirt, which was soaked in red paint.

Wow!

Then, cheers erupt from the scene once again.

When Hyunsoo took off his top, all the staff members around him (especially the female staff members) exclaimed with their eyes shining.

Hyunsoo’s body, covered by a thick top in a weather that was still wintery, was, to put it in a word, no joke.

In fact, there are few people here who haven’t seen Hyun-soo in a state of disrepair.

This is because the CF for Low Arts Sports, which started broadcasting some time ago, had already been given a (?) rating.

Some of the staff members saw the commercial and bought and wore Lowarts Sports fleece jackets.

“I thought the body in the commercial was edited with CG or something… … But when you see it in person, it’s even more ridiculous.”

“Oh my… … Actor Kim Hyun-soo, you too. Even though it’s a filming set, I appreciate you taking off your clothes like that anywhere.”

“More than that, don’t you have to retake the scene you just took?”

“What does that mean?”

“No, it’s such a waste. With a body like that.”

Soon, the female staff member, who had gained a deep understanding from her fellow staff member’s words, nodded with shining eyes.

“Where’s the costume team, the costume team? From the next shoot onwards, don’t wear baggy clothes like that… … .”

“Yes, senior. I’m going to get wanted for wearing tight-fitting clothes like suits.”

Thanks to Hyunsoo, the female staff members developed a strong camaraderie from the first filming.

Hyunsoo also had an amazing experience.

‘There was no moment to recognize any emotion.’

It felt like the aftereffects of a dream, like somatization, where you’re just moving on instinct, as someone on the stunt team put it.

‘Did Kim Young-cheol’s dream intervene during the action scene?’

Hyunsoo thought for a moment and shook his head.

‘No, that wasn’t it.’

“Then what on earth is… … .”

As he continued to think like that, Hyunsoo noticed the 21st class classmates looking at him and smiling.

A smile soon appeared on Hyunsoo’s lips without him knowing.

‘I see.’

For the blood fight scene we just shot, the chemistry with the stunt performers we filmed together was more important than anything else.

So this wasn’t a dream intervention or a somatization symptom.

This is the result of the hard work of Hyun-soo and the Sang-namja Action Team.

* * *

After the first shoot, the bad weather filming crew had a quick meal together at a shabby pojangmacha near Jemulpo Market.

The next day, it was a simple dinner with some drinks, except for Hyun-soo and some of the stunt team members who were filming an action scene.

“Senior, I’m sorry about what happened earlier.”

Hyunsoo, who is sitting in front of me and cutting meat with scissors.

Gulp.

Oh Hwa-yeon swallowed dry saliva as she recalled the intense action scene from earlier and nodded her head at Hyun-soo’s apology with a tense expression on her face.

“Uh, uh. Well, I wasn’t like a senior earlier. There are all sorts of things that can happen on set. I’m sorry too.”

As Lee Cheong-beom said, Oh Hwa-yeon was a woman with a simple personality who, although she had a bit of a childish side, was not lingering.

Soon she continued speaking to Hyun-soo with a face of pure admiration.

“But, the action scene earlier was really great. Although I have no experience filming action scenes, I can’t even imagine how much effort it took to get to that level.”

“Haha… … I didn’t do it alone, it was the result of the stunt team’s hard work.”

Oh Hwa-yeon nods at Hyun-soo’s words and raises her glass.

“So, stunt actors! That was awesome earlier! Ta-da!”

Even where the stunt team was sitting, they responded to Oh Hwa-yeon’s toast with boisterous laughter.

“Haha, thank you, senior! Ta-da!”

As the atmosphere became cheerful, Jeong Dong-ha, who was sitting next to Oh Hwa-yeon, also seemed to feel better and burst into laughter as he continued to speak.

“Haha, Kim Hoobae’s action scenes earlier were amazing. Seriously, in this movie, do you think that guy Heewoon might get his nickname stolen?”

The villain of bad weather, Kim Hee-woon’s nickname is none other than ‘main character stealer.’

It is a nickname given to him because he steals the lead role with his unique and overwhelming villain acting in every role he takes on.

Oh Hwa-yeon nodded in response to Jeong Dong-ha’s words.

“No, I’m not the type of person who can stand watching cruel scenes, but I couldn’t take my eyes off that scene just now.”

Oh Hwa-yeon, who has gone from being a senior like the sky to an ardent fan of Lee Woo-jin.

Hwayeon felt much better after being given a glass of soju by her special junior who had the courage to approach her first, and she started to chatter nonstop after that.

“Well, the old woman, she started a fight with me all of a sudden, saying, ‘Sister, you don’t like me, do you?’ And you know what I said to her?”

“What did you say… …?”

“Hey, if you do that to your senior, you won’t last long in the movie industry. I shot him that right away. Then he immediately backed down and said, ‘I’m sorry.’”

“… … Haha, yes. I see.”

When Hyunsoo poured soju into an empty glass, Oh Hwayeon lifted her glass and continued speaking.

“But that junior… … is he still doing well?”

“yes?”

“I know. I sometimes act like I’m being unreasonable. But that’s just how people are, right? As we age, we sometimes have days like today when our judgment is twisted and distorted. Oh, but that doesn’t mean I did a good job. Anyway! Thank you for apologizing first, junior! Thanks to you, I’m in a really good mood today!”

“… … Yes, I feel good to have a dependable older sister actor.”

“Haha, now that I look at actor Kim, he’s totally a fox? Okay, I like it! Let’s be brother and sister from now on, brother and sister! Haha!”

Jeong Dong-ha shook his head with a tired expression as he watched Oh Hwa-yeon from the side.

“I don’t know how you managed to boil Oh Hwa-yeon in one day, but you’re in the wrong now. Run away before it’s too late.”

Maybe it was because she was in a good mood, but after that, Oh Hwa-yeon’s chatterbox action(?) gradually increased in intensity.

Even for Hyun-soo, who had trained his mind through dreams, listening to the chatter of a single actress in her early 50s was not an easy task.

‘This… seems more difficult than just doing action sequences with a teacher all day long.’

It was then that a savior appeared from the side.

Before anyone knew it, martial arts director Park Jeong-hu, who had brought an empty glass, sat down next to Hyun-soo.

“Actor Kim, have a drink.”

“Yes, Director. But I have an action scene tomorrow too… … .”

“One glass is okay. It’s a real painkiller.”

Hyun-soo, who had emptied the glass he had received from Park Jeong-hoo, poured soju into his empty glass.

“That was cool earlier.”

“No, it’s thanks to the director and my seniors who worked together to prepare such great action scenes.”

Park Jeong-hoo burst into hearty laughter at Hyun-soo’s words and continued speaking.

“It’s action, but… … Thanks to you, the atmosphere on set got better from the start. I wanted to say thank you for that.”

Although Park Jung-hoo is now one of the top three martial arts directors in South Korea, there was a time when he was at the bottom.

Of course, I have never really experienced people ignoring the stunt teams that put their whole bodies into making a movie.

But one thing is clear… … .

‘We have always been on the periphery.’

Even though he is a body-based stuntman, he is fundamentally in the realm of ‘acting’.

So most aspiring stuntmen… … .

‘I dream of becoming an action actor… … a main character.’

However, stuntmen are perceived as ‘doubles who act in dangerous scenes’ and are never put on the same level as actors.

But, this time the atmosphere is a little different.

As the lead actor, Hyun-soo, treated the stuntmen as senior actors without hesitation, some of the staff on set started calling the stuntmen ‘sir’.

This was the result of the lead actor, who could be said to be the center of the scene, breaking down barriers and approaching first.

‘Someday, stuntmen will be able to stand on the same stage as regular actors. No, I’m going to make it happen.’

Hyunsoo was nothing less than showing Park Jeonghu a glimpse of his dream.

“I was grateful for today too. But… …what did I do?”

Park Jeong-hoo burst into laughter at Hyun-soo’s words.

“I really like that about you.”

The number of Lee Woo-jin’s ardent fans has increased by one.

Continued in the next episode ▶