The Haunted Monster Actor - Chapter 75



Only Noblemtl

Episode 75

Suin opened her eyes.

I opened my eyes, but I couldn’t see anything.

There is only darkness all around.

There was no cheering crowd or lights illuminating the stage.

When I clench my hands tightly, I feel the texture of cracked calluses.

Only that rough feeling proves that Suin still exists here.

“How did you get your hands on it?”

beep.

beep.

beep.

“I can’t let this go.”

Suin ran towards the direction where the ringing sound was coming from.

When I got tired of running, I walked.

If your legs don’t listen to you, you’ll get sick.

Still, I couldn’t reach the stage.

* * *

“… … Cut, okay.”

Jeong Geun-ho shouts the okay sign with a voice that is less tense than usual.

Jeong Geun-ho’s face was heavy as he looked back at the footage he had just taken.

That’s because he was also quite upset about the main theme song issue.

—Jiyuhan is back? What do you mean?

—You… … Jiyuhan?

—Huh, that’s funny.

Friends who don’t believe in Jiyuhan’s return.

Yoohan just smiled blandly and held an old guitar hanging on one wall of the live kitchen.

To show that he is Jiyuhan.

No, to ‘tell’.

The moment I picked up my guitar and stepped onto the empty stage that had been covered in dust for many years—

‘Here, the intro of the main theme song should flow out.’

The writing of key scenes in the drama has been on hold for several days because the main theme song has not been released.

Thanks to Jeong Geun-ho’s persuasion, I was able to receive the script excluding the scene where the ‘main theme song’ was inserted.

Originally, we were supposed to film a few more major scenes, but we had no choice but to end filming here today.

‘This situation needs to be sorted out somehow before episode 4 airs. It really won’t be easy.’

With Choi Ui-jeong’s return, Jeong Geun-ho also took up the megaphone for the first time in several years.

‘I guess I’m getting older now. My physical strength isn’t what it used to be.’

There was discord between the actors, and even an issue with the theme song.

In the past, Jeong Geun-ho would not have lost his composure over something as trivial as this, but now that he was older, he could not stop the feeling of anxiety slowly rising in his heart.

So, in fact, it would be more accurate to say mental strength rather than physical strength.

At that time, Jeong Geun-ho had a dark expression on his face.

Before I knew it, Hyunsoo came over and opened his mouth.

“PD, wasn’t there a scene in the scene just now where the flow of emotions felt awkward? There’s something about it that bothers me a little.”

Hyunsoo’s face was heavy as he asked that question.

But that was clearly different from the reason why Jeong Geun-ho’s face was stiff.

The seriousness in Hyunsoo’s voice.

He was completely focused on his acting even though there was a lot of commotion inside and outside the set.

“… … PD-nim?”

Jeong Geun-ho, who had been staring blankly, suddenly came to his senses at Hyun-soo’s call.

‘Yeah, now is not the time for me to be doing this.’

In any case, as the person in charge of the site, he must not lose focus.

It’s as if the actor in front of you is only concentrating on acting.

“It was definitely a scene you acted out during the audition, right? It definitely seems like the ending is a little different.”

“What part is that?”

“Compared to that time, it definitely feels like the pent-up emotions have subsided a little.”

“Does the fact that your emotions have subsided mean that your tension has dropped?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Jeong Geun-ho shook his head and continued giving feedback.

“The screen is too good to say that I lost my tension. I don’t know if it was intentional, but if I felt like I was a bit over-exuberant during the audition, now… … Yes, I guess I should say that I feel like I’ve found the right balance through emotional restraint.”

“Moderation… … Isn’t it possible that this flow doesn’t quite fit with Jiyuhan’s?”

Jeong Geun-ho shook his head again.

“Isn’t this the scene where he meets his friends for the first time after a gap of 15 years? If Ji-Yoo-Han that we’ve seen so far was a bundle of ‘unrealistic cheerfulness,’ this one just now seemed like a human-like trembling. Thanks to that, I was able to immerse myself even more into the character of Ji-Yoo-Han.”

Hyunsoo finally nodded with a convinced expression after hearing Jeong Geunho’s detailed feedback.

“Actor Kim can trust his acting a little more. You don’t have to worry about this part.”

“… … Yes. Thank you, PD-nim.”

At that moment, Hyun-soo’s face brightened up as he received detailed feedback from Jeong Geun-ho, who had accurately identified what he was concerned about.

“… … PD, may I ask how I was?”

Then, Jeong Geun-ho’s eyes lit up as he checked the face of the actor who had requested acting feedback.

‘Kang Ji-hwan came first and asked for feedback on his acting? He’s a shy guy who doesn’t even usually have personal conversations?’

After tilting his head for a moment, PD Jeong Geun-ho soon gave Ji-hwan Kang sincere acting feedback just like he did to Hyun-soo.

“How was I, PD-nim!”

As Kang Ji-hwan gathered, Song Ah-jin followed him.

“… … .”

Before we knew it, Jeong I-shin was quietly standing behind Kim Hyun-soo.

As soon as the main character of the drama appeared, actors began to gather around him.

‘Heh heh… … .’

Jeong Geun-ho burst into an embarrassed laugh when he saw that sight.

‘I see. Was it a needless worry?’

Jeong Geun-ho’s gaze turned to Kim Hyun-soo, who was standing in the center of the actors.

‘Aren’t you worried about this situation?’

I wanted to ask this question, but it was equally useless.

Hyunsoo’s unwavering gaze as he stares intently at the master monitor.

As I said before, this is the look that can come from trusting your colleagues on the drama set and focusing solely on acting.

‘I almost made a bad impression as a PD.’

Jeong Geun-ho, who soon regained his composure, continued monitoring the acting with the actors.

The atmosphere on the set, which had been chaotic due to the heat emanating from them, began to gradually regain stability.

The assistant director, who had been watching the PD and the four lead actors seriously monitoring their acting, opened his mouth and applauded.

match!

“Okay! The PD and the actors are working so hard, so how long can we stay down?”

“Everyone, prepare to withdraw, but leave at least some equipment behind because you never know when the script will come out!”

“We’ll reorganize the schedule by organizing the routes for the scenes that can be filmed right now! The props team must be working hard, but please set up the stage again! Okay, let’s all get busy and move!”

The filming set began to feel as lively as usual.

The Nineties Dive filming site quickly regained stability, centering around the main character, Hyun-soo.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hyun-soo’s face, which had received feedback from PD Jeong Geun-ho, still looked displeased.

I knew there was nothing wrong with the scene I just took, but the fundamental problem that Hyun-soo is currently experiencing has not been resolved yet.

‘After finding out the ‘true’ side of the musician, my emotions became much more erratic.’

At some point after reading the script with Jeong Ee-shin, a new scene was added to the dream.

Even though it is a new scene, the content is still monotonous.

A dream of a man wandering in the darkness.

Although monotonous, the situation is not that simple.

‘The musician… … revealed his name.’

And revealing one’s name meant that one was beginning to make one’s existence known in earnest.

The musician’s name is Hwang Su-in.

Since learning his name, Hyunsoo has been going back and forth between the stage and the darkness every night.

This is why emotions are so volatile.

If the emotions on stage that I had controlled until now were close to extreme mania, now it felt like bipolar disorder, going back and forth between the two extremes.

‘… … In fact, strictly speaking, I wasn’t controlling the musician’s emotions all this time.’

It’s more like dullness rather than control.

What does this mean?

That’s understandable, since it’s already been a while since I started dreaming of becoming a musician…

‘Half a year has passed.’

No matter how exciting and enjoyable the emotions in the dream were, they were repeated for half a year.

So, at some point, you cross the threshold and become numb.

In a word.

‘In fact, it was no different from a prison in the guise of a stage.’

However, because I was so oppressed, I have had some parts of my daily life and acting easier up until now.

The problem starts from now on.

In this situation, the dark bars of negative emotions appeared.

If Ji Yu-han’s script doesn’t come out like this, the situation that will unfold in the future is clear.

‘A reversal of emotions…’

The negative emotions in the darkness will swallow up the positive emotions on stage.

‘If that happens, it’s only a matter of time before Jiyuhan’s emotional line collapses.’

I was worried that there would be unexpected side effects during filming, so I didn’t bother to pursue my dream, which ended up being the cause of my trouble.

‘I can’t put it off any longer.’

Now it’s time to get off the stage.

It is time to learn about the life of a musician and the death of ‘Hwang Su-in’.

* * *

Even after filming was over and most of the staff had left, Hyunsoo sat on the stage at Drug Kitchen for a while, lost in thought.

Someone spoke to Hyun-soo.

“Mr. Hyunsoo, are you okay for a moment?”

The person who approached Hyun-soo, who was deep in thought, and spoke to him was none other than Song Ah-jin.

“I was trying not to talk to you because you were so deep in thought earlier. But Ji-hoon kept nagging at you.”

“Oh, it’s okay, senior. Go ahead.”

“Can I ask what your schedule is for tomorrow?”

‘What’s your schedule for tomorrow?’

Filming scheduled for tomorrow has currently been stopped.

“Oh, that’s because tomorrow’s filming was canceled too, so if it’s okay, I’d like to have some tea with Ji-hoon and do a script reading… … .”

It was at that moment that Song Ah-jin continued speaking.

Before he could finish speaking, a voice suddenly interrupted.

“If we do it together… … .”

“Actor Kim Hyun-soo, what are your plans for tomorrow? If it’s okay with you, I’d like to continue the reading we did last time.”

“… … I was wondering what to do.”

The intruder who interrupted the conversation with Song Ah-jin was none other than Jeong I-shin.

Recently, Song Ah-jin has been trying to avoid friction with Jeong Yi-shin as much as possible, considering Choi Ui-jeong’s strong warning and the chaotic atmosphere on set both inside and outside.

That’s what it was.

‘… … This is, you’re the one who comes first and starts a fight, right? Huh? Right?’

Soon, Song Ah-jin opened her mouth to Jeong I-shin in a sharp tone.

“Excuse me, Mr. Jeong. Lee. Shin. Seon. Bae? Actor Kim Hyun-soo was talking to me just now.”

He spoke to Jeong-i-shin with a smile that contained his anger, but he waited for Hyun-soo’s answer without even looking at Song-ah-jin.

“Actor Kim said he has an appointment with me tomorrow?”

“I don’t think actor Kim has answered yet.”

“Oh, so you knew that I was talking to actor Kim?”

“I never said I didn’t know.”

“… … Haha, that’s right, picking a fight.”

The staff around them started whispering with expressions of being fed up with it, looking at Song Ah-jin with an expression that looked like she might burst at any moment.

“It was quiet for a while, but those two are starting again.”

“But it only bumped into things while filming, but now it does that even when the camera is off.”

“Are you two creating a love triangle with actor Kim Hyun-soo? Oh, I don’t know! I shouldn’t care anymore. I’m sick of it, I’m sick of it.”

The staff, who were now so nervous that they didn’t care about even a light(?) argument, started to organize the scene again without much agitation.

“Actor Kim, since I said it first, you and Actor Kang will meet tomorrow, right?”

“Actor Kim Hyun-soo. I still remember what you said you would help me. Tomorrow is that day.”

… … I don’t think this is what you meant when you said you would help.

Hyunsoo sighed deeply while looking at the two people and then continued speaking.

“Excuse me… …Seniors?”

“It’s me and Ji-hwan, senior Jeong-in? By the way, there are two of us.”

“What time would be best to meet… … .”

“I have an appointment tomorrow.”

Song Ah-jin realized that she had gotten excited without realizing it when she heard that there was an appointment.

He answered, scratching his head with an embarrassed expression.

“… … Oh, really? That’s too bad.”

“Is this by any chance a promise between us?”

Of course, it wasn’t a promise with Jeong-in Shin.

“… … Well, it’s my first time off. I should rest when I have time.”

“It wasn’t a promise with me.”

Like that, the two people turned around and walked away helplessly, with neither of them becoming the winner.

“If it’s okay with you… … .”

“… … ?”

“… … ?”

Hyunsoo, who had soon decided on something(?), opened his mouth towards the two people.

“You can watch it together tomorrow.”

“……huh?”

“As expected, it was a promise with me.”

“Not just Senior Jeong-in, but also Senior Song and Senior Kang. Of course, if you don’t want to come, I won’t necessarily invite you… … .”

“Then let’s see each other tomorrow.”

Before Hyun-soo could finish speaking, Jeong-i-shin left, and Lee Se-ra was jealous.

“Ji-hoon and I are going too.”

Song Ah-jin also joined the party.

Although it was a bit of a fluke, the four members decided to meet privately for the first time once filming began.

Continued in the next episode ▶