NOVEL NEXT Chapter 120
Cheonghong Action School.
The cradle of stuntmen created by Korea’s top martial arts director, Kim Hong-baek.
Recently, Professor Kim Hong-baek has been receiving various contacts regarding a certain variety show he agreed to participate in.
“They told me you can join starting from the next shoot.”
“Hmmm…”
Honestly, he initially thought about declining. Variety shows weren’t really his thing.
But this time, he had various curiosities.
“Some actors who passed through our academy will be appearing.”
Most of the prominent action actors are alumni of Cheonghong Action School.
But this time, it’s a female actress.
Specifically, the cast is primarily made up of younger actresses, which piqued his interest.
Generally, female actors are often treated as side dishes in action acting.
But that’s just how it is; acting is ultimately still ‘acting.’
So when filming, you can’t help but prefer a male actor for their larger physicality and dynamics.
“Physicality, huh…”
The power of acting.
That’s what’s most needed in action acting.
Emotion and body must both follow to bring that power to life.
“But these days, filming techniques have improved, so there are more stunt doubles.”
As Professor Seong Ho-cheol said, back in the day—
That is, during the Hong Kong cinema boom—most actors did their own stunts as a norm.
But nowadays, who in their right mind would do their own stunts?
It’s better to let someone who can use their body well handle the action.
That’s the current trend, but…
“I should participate in this.”
It wouldn’t hurt to give a little push to a true action actor after a long while.
“I’m also worried because Seo-yeon will be there.”
“…Well, that’s one reason.”
Today just so happens to be the day Seo-yeon was coming.
Probably because of [Hyper Action Star].
In fact, many of the recent contacts Kim Hong-baek received were for that reason.
Those appearing in this show were coming to Cheonghong Action School to receive acting guidance.
Coincidentally, Professor Kim Hong-baek also appeared in it.
Though he mostly turned down those calls.
Action acting isn’t something you can just cram in a day or two.
“Did you apply but get scared?”
[Hyper Action Star] had some actors request to be cast directly, but most applied from outside and participated freely.
They did select based on profiles, but many came through their agencies’ influence.
From the get-go, [Hyper Action Star] was quite a challenging variety show, and the industry held a negative stance towards it.
It was a show with a higher probability of failure than success.
An outdated public audition, even.
And if it’s acting, especially, there’s less for viewers to find entertaining compared to singing.
That’s probably what the conclusion was.
So many actors were participating to build recognition by gathering those who could do at least some action.
“But from the very first encounter, they showed Rappel Action.”
Suddenly, a variety show started gaining public attention.
The views increased daily.
Actors who joined half-heartedly couldn’t help but feel rushed.
The scales shifted from failure to success, so if they didn’t show something substantial, they’d miss out on that opportunity.
“Ah, Seo-yeon is already here warming up.”
“Really?”
Kim Hong-baek headed to the action school’s stunt training area with a familiar gait.
In the past, many actors looked down on Seo-yeon, but now it was different.
Whenever they faced Seo-yeon, they hurriedly averted their eyes.
After all…
“Is there no actress to practice with me today?”
“……”
At Seo-yeon’s request, everyone lowered their gazes.
Performing together meant the actors exposed a lot.
There was no denying that when thrown several meters, what they had learned would also go flying away.
Such is life.
People become indifferent, occasionally catching a glimpse of life’s fleeting moments.
Anyway, acting that dances between life and death has allowed them to handle stunts with a smile, which left them somewhat satisfied.
“But to perform together too often…”
Seo-yeon gazing intently felt like a puppy let out for a walk, lowering its tail at the front door.
Therefore, they couldn’t help but avoid eye contact, fearing they might end up holding its leash and going for a walk.
In the midst of this strange atmosphere…
“Oh, Master.”
Seo-yeon said, looking at Professor Kim Hong-baek.
All the actors at Cheonghong Action School call Kim Hong-baek ‘Master.’
There wasn’t any particular reason.
It was merely because it involved physical work, and he thought of them as his disciples.
“I received word about today’s mission.”
“Mission?”
“It’s the mission for Hyper Action Star.”
Professor Kim Hong-baek nodded.
It seemed they roughly informed the cast of the mission’s outline before filming.
“So that’s why I’ve been getting a lot of calls these days.”
Now that he knew what they’d be shooting, he could quickly focus on learning those parts.
Of course, Professor Kim Hong-baek had no intention of helping them with that.
“But shouldn’t they at least tell me what they’ll be shooting?”
He had those questions, but perhaps it was about trusting him.
After all, as a stunt double, he could see why they might think that.
“What mission is it?”
“It seems to be a gunfight,” Seo-yeon murmured with a hint of uncertainty.
Of course, she had fired a gun before.
Not in this life, but back in her past life.
Due to a mass shooting incident involving a soldier with a similar disease, she couldn’t go to the military.
In other words, she was exempt.
But she had at least undergone six weeks of military training, so she had experience firing a gun, but…
“Still, it’s different from being in active duty.”
Honestly, it’s been too long, and she couldn’t even remember how to do it precisely.
Some memories from her past were clearly fading.
“A gunfight…!”
Professor Kim Hong-baek’s eyes widened.
“Well, that means it’ll be safe.”
What if it were a brawl or something? The genre might have shifted a bit then.
“It’s said that the performance will be done with guns that shoot paintballs.”
Like a survival game venue.
But of course, this filming isn’t a survival game.
It’s undeniably acting.
Among those, action acting.
“So shooting faces is prohibited. They need to see the acting.”
They’d only wear goggles as minimal protection on their faces.
So they could see the acting.
“Action and acting combined.”
Seo-yeon’s specialty is emotional acting.
Mixing in a gunfight didn’t quite fit her style.
There was no narrative in the scene, so she’d have to whip up a character on the spot.
“Seo-yeon must understand to some extent. First, think about what to show in this gunfight.”
“What to show… the character, right?”
“Exactly. This movie is an action film with superpowers. Although it’s a gunfight, don’t forget that.”
Indeed, that’s a good point.
Just having superpowers opens a broader scope for injecting ‘acting’ into a simple gunfight.
‘My superpower is regeneration.’
It certainly wasn’t a carefully considered power.
She thought it’d be easy to manage.
Also, it suited Seo-yeon’s personality, she figured.
Honestly, she contemplated physical enhancement.
‘But physical enhancement would be too common.’
There was a sudden Rappel Action.
If she were to act and jump down in that state, she’d instinctively choose what was easiest.
Out of the hundred participants, thirty said physical enhancement.
Naturally, with thirty people having the same superpower, competition would become even fiercer.
So Seo-yeon had chosen a similar but slightly different regeneration ability.
It could manage most actions physical enhancers could do and was easier to highlight with points or impacts.
‘But will this carry over to the film shoot?’
That was her curiosity.
If the protagonist’s superpower wasn’t specifically determined in the film, the superpower chosen during this audition might carry over.
Kim Hong-baek spoke to the pondering Seo-yeon.
“If it’s regeneration, there are many actions viewers would want to see. However, it’ll be tricky from an acting standpoint.”
“If it doesn’t match perfectly, the ability becomes meaningless.”
“That’s right. You’ll need to show that in the gunfight. Acting that requires hitting.”
That’s not an easy act for a female actor to pull off.
If another actress had chosen such a power, Kim Hong-baek would have dissuaded them.
He would have suggested they talk to the production team and change it to something else.
‘Well, it probably doesn’t matter.’
Professor Kim Hong-baek nodded.
Seo-yeon’s skin wasn’t fragile enough to be nicked by paintballs.
He’d never seen her get hurt, to begin with.
When he asked her about it:
“Uh… It’s because I use good cosmetics.”
He didn’t know when cosmetics gained such properties, but he simply accepted it.
Denying it wouldn’t exactly clarify what she could do.
“Let’s practice first. I have model guns with paintballs here too.”
In any case, Professor Kim Hong-baek intended to seriously train Seo-yeon.
He knew how sincere she was about acting.
‘If…’
If Seo-yeon could elevate her acting while managing action…
‘The success of this movie could very well depend on Seo-yeon.’
Professor Kim Hong-baek didn’t believe Seo-yeon would fail at this [Hyper Action Star].
If she did fall short, it’d be because she couldn’t adapt to action acting properly.
But that said, no director would pass up the chance to use Seo-yeon in a film.
Even if she didn’t end up the protagonist, she’d definitely have a significant role.
He had confidence that such a role would certainly be given to her.
‘No.’
Professor Kim Hong-baek shook his head.
He wiped the thought of failure from his mind.
This time, she must be the lead.
He genuinely wanted to see Seo-yeon lead the story as a main character.
“Alright, let’s start with some shooting practice.”
Thus, Professor Kim Hong-baek planned to pass on everything he had to Seo-yeon.
Korea’s best action star.
Seo-yeon had the potential to become just that.
*
The auditions for [Hyper Action Star] are conducted live from the preliminaries on.
Every round eliminates twenty participants.
In the semi-final round, ten more drop out.
After the final showdown among ten, one actor will be chosen as the lead for the new movie being prepared by GH Group.
– Is episode 1 airing today?
– Preliminaries for Group A.
– Simulcast online ㅇㅇ
– Is Joo Seo-yeon participating?
– But they’re really pushing Joo Seo-yeon.
– Yeah, agree.
– It’s not acting; she just jumped down, I can do that much too lol.
– Everyone does that in the army, nothing special ㅇㅈㄹ
Due to Seo-yeon being emphasized in the teaser, various reactions emerged.
Of course, there were those arguing she leaped without safety measures.
Many were also arguing there was an air mat below, so there’s no way there were no safety measures.
Regardless, amidst that buzz, the one generating the most conversation was Seo-yeon.
Remarks about other characters occasionally surfaced, but they were scant in comparison to the focus on her in the preview.
At least Jo Seo-hee got a bit of attention for her solo elevator descent.
“Alright then.”
Lee Ki-tae looked at the gathered members of [Hyper Action Star] Group A.
Twenty individuals.
Dressed in their casual best, each wore a tense expression as the camera slowly passed by.
“…Huh?”
Seo-yeon caught eyes.
She was hard not to notice.
“Uh, Seo-yeon?”
“Yes?”
“Uh, why are you in a school uniform?”
Seo-yeon stood in a cool short-sleeve uniform on set.
Among those dressed for movement, her outfit stood out.
In response to Lee Ki-tae’s surprised remark, Seo-yeon answered as if it were obvious.
“It’s because my character is a high school girl.”
Ah, so it’s a character setup.
Everyone nearby chuckled, but Jo Seo-hee immediately understood Seo-yeon’s intention.
‘Character.’
Lee Ki-tae’s bewildered expression.
He surely hadn’t expected her to show up in a school uniform.
However, it was due to the ‘school uniform’, which was why he seemed surprised.
After all, it was a unique outfit initially intended by the production team.
‘Basically, outfits are flexible.’
Any wise actor would have caught onto that implication.
The outfit is the most basic aspect of visually representing a ‘character.’
In a situation where neither scene nor script was predetermined, there’s no better way to leave an impression of who the character is for the viewers than through the outfit.
In other words.
The instruction to prepare one’s own attire meant they should dress according to the character they had defined.
That’s why Jo Seo-hee also came in a rather glamorous outfit.
An outfit layered with luxury brands.
‘…Compared to luxury, the school uniform is so much better.’
Jo Seo-hee chuckled at the oddly excited Seo-yeon.
She had already monopolized everyone’s attention from the very start.