The Haunted Monster Actor - Chapter 121



Only Noblemtl

Episode 121

Pieroreum Building smoke training room.

The practice room was quiet in the early morning when most of the employees had not yet come to work.

Hyunsoo was meditating with his eyes closed, enjoying the morning sunlight streaming in through the window.

‘Definitely… … I feel like my head is much clearer than before.’

The greatest benefit I gained from filming bad weather was that I was able to indirectly embody Kim Yong-cheol’s iron will.

Thanks to this, Hyunsoo has been experiencing fewer and fewer troubles in his daily life due to the aftereffects of his dreams.

No, it’s not just the aftereffects.

‘Come to think of it… …I’ve hardly had any dreams lately.’

It’s already been a month since the last shoot in bad weather.

‘The first week was a total nightmare.’

This is not a story about dreams.

Kim Young-cheol’s dream faded away, and the accumulated fatigue and physical stress from about half a year of intense action filming burst out all at once.

Because of that, Hyun-soo was sick in bed for almost a week with a high fever and body aches.

‘If it weren’t for Geon-i, it would have been really dangerous.’

It was so bad that Go Geon, worried because he hadn’t heard from her, went to find her collapsed and called 119.

[Actor Kim Hyun-soo collapses from exhaustion immediately after finishing filming in bad weather.]

[Admitted to the hospital and discharged the next day… … Hospital staff: “It would have been a dangerous situation if the manager had not discovered it.” Fortunately, he is currently resting at home.]

Because of this, the media and fans have been worried about Hyun-soo’s safety for a while.

[Kim Hyun-soo, show your sense of responsibility as a leading actor.]

[Production staff: “If filming was delayed any longer, we wouldn’t be able to continue filming.” Kim Hyun-soo held on with mental strength until the very end.]

[Kim Hyun-soo’s fighting spirit in acting, what kind of action is it in the movie Bad Weather?]

I had high expectations for the ‘bad weather’ that I was so passionate about that I was rushed to the hospital right after finishing filming.

“As expected, it wasn’t like there were no side effects at all.”

Due to the nature of action scenes that require the mobilization of a variety of large equipment and facilities, once filming begins, it cannot be postponed.

No matter how good the synergy between Hyun-soo and the martial arts team was, humans can’t always be perfect.

The martial arts team also experienced accumulated fatigue and stress, and NGs due to this occurred quite frequently towards the end of filming.

Director Lee Cheong-beom never compromises when it comes to action scenes, so there were times when filming had to continue through the night.

What sustained Hyun-soo’s body and mind even in such a forced march?

‘Kim Young-cheol’s willpower.’

Kim Young-cheol’s dream was not given ’emotion’, and instead, Hyun-soo used Kim Young-cheol’s dream to act out Jang Ki-chun and Lee Jun-hyeok’s dreams.

He took the initiative and used his abilities.

So, I thought that I had opened a way to overcome the ‘encroachment’ caused by dreams to some extent… … .

‘This time, were you receiving help outside of acting?’

How much of a help that was has definitely come to my attention after this nightmare week.

It’s not just a simple metaphor, but while he was sick, Hyun-soo was in a ‘nightmare’ where the dreams he had and the reality he had had were all mixed up.

‘I don’t remember exactly what that nightmare was about, but… … .’

Fortunately, from the morning of the 8th day, when the fever stopped, the nightmare disappeared as if it were a lie.

“Not only the nightmares, but also the dreams are gone.”

Hyunsoo didn’t have a dream for almost a month after that.

Not only did I not have any new dreams, but the dream entities that had taken up residence in my imagination were also very quiet.

So, Hyunsoo’s mind was clearer than ever.

‘… … I thought I would feel anxious if I stopped dreaming.’

As I just said, no one but Hyun-soo knows better than anyone else how much the existence of dreams helped his acting.

In fact, it is true that to some extent it depended on the existence of dreams.

Because of this, Hyunsoo often imagined himself not dreaming anymore before falling asleep.

‘If you don’t have dreams… … will I go back to that shabby time when I was an unknown actor?’

Even at this very moment, as I am thinking these thoughts, I worry that this might be the case.

But at the same time, Hyunsoo’s heart was calm and strong.

The meditation that Hyun-soo has been doing to control his dreams up until now is similar to the ‘Zen meditation’ that high priests do to control their mental demons.

Hyun-soo’s spirit, having experienced Kim Young-cheol’s strong willpower, is stronger than ever.

Hyunsoo recalled the last image of Kim Young-cheol he saw in his dream.

‘What kind of life have you lived since then?’

If only he had known the name of the film production company he had set up, he would have been able to figure out what he had done, but the letters on the sign hanging above the shabby entrance were invisible to Hyun-soo.

As if this was the end of the scenes he could show Hyun-soo, Kim Young-chul’s dream did not continue after he started his production company.

Although he didn’t show what happened after that, it was probably like what he saw in his dream…

‘He would have walked forward like a real man.’

It’s not just Kim Young-cheol.

The firm gaze of director Lee Cheong-beom, who filmed together in bad weather.

I thought of Park Jeong-hoo, Han Ik-sang, Yoo Sang-jin, and the Sangnamja Action School team members.

The moments of working together with them and creating the movie’s action scenes made Kim Hyun-soo a stronger person, not just as an actor.

‘Even if I stop dreaming like this… … .’

Kim Young-cheol will move forward toward his own dream, just like the manly action teams have shown.

For quite some time after that, Hyunsoo closed his eyes and dreamed of the path he would take.

* * *

“Actor Kim, are you here today?”

Hyunsoo, who had been immersed in meditation, opened his eyes at the voice calling his name.

“Representative.”

Woo Ji-yoon, standing in front of Hyun-soo, has a worried expression on her face instead of greeting him happily.

“Actor Kim… … I told you to rest at home for the time being, didn’t I?”

It was an uncharacteristically forceful tone for Woo Ji-yoon, but this time there was a good reason for it.

When Hyun-soo was taken to the hospital after filming in bad weather, the person who was more shocked than anyone else was none other than Woo Ji-yoon.

‘I really am not qualified to be your representative. I am truly sorry. Mother, Yumi.’

Woo Ji-yoon bowed her head with an embarrassed face toward Mrs. Lim and Yu-mi, who rushed to the hospital in one go.

That would be the case, she was the one who had so earnestly entrusted Hyun-soo’s safety to Lee Cheong-beom.

That’s why Woo Ji-yoon often visited the filming set to check on safety on site.

‘But I didn’t notice at all what the condition of the actor I was working with was like… … .’

When I said I was unqualified to be a representative, I meant it with sincerity.

Hyunsoo smiled and waved his hand at Jiyoon, who still had a heavy face even after a month had passed.

“No, sir. I told you it wasn’t fatigue from filming, it was just the flu or something.”

Hyunsoo also didn’t notice that his physical condition had deteriorated to that extent.

That’s why Hyunsoo felt sorry for her blaming herself.

“The flu? I clearly heard the doctor say it was just accumulated fatigue.”

“Haha, jogging at dawn has become a habit now. Isn’t it actually better for my health?”

“… … Then go home and rest. You’ve just moved, so you’re probably out of your mind.”

“The company employees almost did everything, so what?”

The reason Hyunsoo was meditating in the Piorum training room from early in the morning.

That’s because I moved into an officetel near Hyehwa Station just a week ago.

“If I had known I would have to stamp my work card at the office every day like this, I would have just gone to the Sangam area like I had originally planned.”

Originally, it was Go Geon who was looking for a place for Hyun-soo to move to near Sangam, where there are many broadcasting stations and drama studios.

But Hyunsoo asked me to look into it near the company.

‘I heard there’s still quite a bit of time left until the new office building is relocated? Then wouldn’t it be better for me to stay near the company until then?’

‘Yes? But I think it would be better to move to a bigger house while you’re at it… . ‘

‘Let’s save some more money and move to a bigger, nicer house. If possible, let’s go to a place with a view of the Han River?’

‘Well, that’s true.’

The relocation of the office building is scheduled for next year or the year after.

In fact, since it was good for Hyun-soo to be close to Go-geon in order to move around for his schedule, Hyun-soo’s request was able to be carried out without a hitch.

Woo Ji-yoon also thought that it would be right for her to be closer to the company in order to take better care of Hyun-soo.

That’s what it was… … .

‘I never thought I’d be able to come to work every single day without missing a single day.’

Hyunsoo goes to work every day, participates in acting practice with new actors, and reads the scripts that come in.

But Hyunsoo also had his own reasons.

A new dream has not yet come to Hyun-soo.

‘If Kim Young-cheol’s dream is the last.’

In the future, he may have to forge his own path as an actor.

Accordingly, Hyunsoo was not only practicing acting with the new actors every day at the same level as them, but was also looking for acting roles he wanted to try out among the new scripts that came in.

“Well… … I would be happy if actor Kim showed his enthusiasm for his next project so quickly. So, what do you think your next project will be?”

“This time, I want to try a historical drama.”

“history?”

“yes.”

“Hmm… … It’s a historical drama. Not bad.”

Up until now, Hyunsoo has been acting based on the narratives of dream characters.

But when I look back on my experiences to date, I see that the dreams have been highlighting people from the relatively recent past.

‘So, unless you dream of being a person from the Joseon Dynasty, it won’t be easy to get a chance to do a historical drama.’

So, I thought that I wanted to try my hand at a historical drama when dreams like these don’t appear.

‘It would also be meaningful to challenge myself with my original acting skills rather than focusing on the emotions of a dream.’

“It’s a historical drama… … Okay. I’ll look for a good one too.”

“No, you are very busy, sir.”

“… … That’s true.”

Then, Jiyoon checks the watch on her wrist and is startled.

“Oh, it’s already this late. Actor Kim, I’ll be going now. Let’s have lunch later if we have time.”

“Yes, please come in, sir.”

Woo Ji-yoon, who had been turning around to leave, stopped walking shortly after.

“Come to think of it, why didn’t I think of that?”

“… … ?”

“Actor Kim.”

Woo Ji-yoon’s eyes, which had turned around once again, were shining brightly, unlike before.

“……yes?”

“If you’re going to come to work like this every day, how about actor Kim doing it too?”

“Together? Surely… you’re not talking about that, are you?”

“Is that right?”

Woo Ji-yoon nodded and answered.

“Audition for new actors in the second half of the year. If actor Kim has acting skills… … then it’ll be okay, right?”

Continued in the next episode ▶