NOVEL NEXT Episode 038
Episode 038
In a small, dimly lit living room.
I’m watching a movie with my older sister (Jung Se-hee).
The movie depicts a male protagonist, crying and throwing punches at his parents’ killer, who is pinned to the floor.
The bald-headed enemy is helplessly taking the protagonist’s punches and losing consciousness.
“You bastard! You bastard! You bastard! Aaargh!”
A violent scene with blood splattering everywhere.
I unconsciously frown and stop my hand that was reaching for popcorn.
I don’t feel like eating popcorn at all.
Honestly, it would be strange if anyone could eat popcorn while watching this…
“Sob.”
Could it be crying?
I slowly turn my head at the unbelievable sound.
Sure enough, my sister is covering her mouth with both hands and crying.
“No way… You’re not crying because you’re moved, are you? Please tell me you’re not. I’m really scared right now.”
“Sob sob. Don’t you feel like crying watching this?”
“A person is being beaten… blood is flowing… what if he dies… You’re crying over this worrying scene?”
“Waaaah! The protagonist is so pitiful! Even if he succeeds in revenge, his mother won’t come back to life!”
“Waaaah! I’m so pitiful! You’ll be my sister until I die!”
When I shout this, my sister suddenly stops crying.
An awkward silence flows between us for a moment.
“Why are you such an immature kid?”
“I see someone immature right now. Are you looking in a mirror when you say that?”
“Ugh! Hey!”
Finally, my sister explodes and throws a box of tissues at me.
I dodge the tissue box with a graceful backward roll.
Then I throw the popcorn I was holding and hit my sister’s forehead.
Thud!
“You crazy bastard! Hey! Kim Won-young! Come here right now! You’re dead if I catch you!”
If I’m dead when caught…
There’s no choice but to not get caught.
I quickly run away and shake off my sister.
As a result, I had to leave the house barefoot, but it’s better than dying.
* * *
“Cut! Okay!”
Fortunately, my first shoot received an immediate okay sign from Director Kang Han-sung.
From dodging the tissue box with a backward roll to hitting the forehead with popcorn in one shot.
I was worried because it required some minor action, but it turned out well.
‘Phew.’
As I sighed in relief, I once again noticed how many people were watching my acting.
The expressions of the actors and staff were generally good.
Above all, it was positive that Director Kang Han-sung, who gave the okay sign, had a bright expression.
He nodded and muttered, “As expected,” while reviewing the scene I acted with the assistant director.
It was then, as I was thinking that I had successfully completed the first scene.
Someone spoke to me from behind.
“Si-joon. Good job. Your acting has improved even more than during the script reading, hasn’t it? You seem to have some skill in throwing popcorn.”
When I turned around, Jung Se-hee, who had just acted with me, was standing there.
For some reason, Jung Se-hee’s cheeks seemed somewhat flushed.
Her eyes were sparkling, and she seemed to have something more to say as her lips moved slightly.
‘Did she feel bad about getting hit with the popcorn?’
As I was thinking this and about to apologize, Jung Se-hee spoke first.
“It was beyond… no, even better than what I imagined. Kim Won-young’s acting was really good.”
What came out of Jung Se-hee’s mouth was unexpected high praise.
While I was happy about that, I also wondered if it was something to be praised so highly for.
Except for the minor action, the acting just now wasn’t really that difficult.
Kim Won-young didn’t feel many complex emotions when he was with Kim In-young (Jung Se-hee).
He was just a mischievous younger brother.
So I was able to act with a relatively comfortable mindset.
Of course, I had to repeat the same act hundreds of times with the Method Mask to achieve this, but it didn’t feel as challenging compared to other scenes.
If I had to compare, it was more difficult when I played the role of high school student Shin Han-jae in
‘Relatively comfortable acting… Come to think of it, I’ve grown a lot too. In the past, even this level of acting wouldn’t have been easy. I wouldn’t have even thought like this.’
It seemed that Seo Myung-hee’s lessons on eye contact were effective.
The fact that I was approaching the shoot with more confidence than before was proof of that.
Anyway, I couldn’t keep thinking about other things, so I quickly responded to Jung Se-hee’s words.
“Thank you. It was possible because you led me well, senior.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I was also greatly impressed by your portrayal of Kim In-young, senior.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Jung Se-hee seemed pleased with my answer but also appeared to be thinking about something else.
To be honest, I was thinking about something else too.
Frankly speaking, Jung Se-hee’s acting felt similar to Park Jun’s acting.
Not bad, but there was something off about it.
It wasn’t as exaggerated as Park Jun’s, but the forced confidence felt similar.
However, it wasn’t particularly bothersome, so it didn’t interfere with the acting.
Jung Se-hee’s acting was definitely better than Park Jun’s.
‘Somehow I’m evaluating others… I should focus on my own acting.’
While I was thinking this, Director Kang Han-sung, who had finished monitoring, gave a new sign.
It meant he was going to shoot a close-up of the scene we just filmed.
I focused on acting again and was able to finish shooting the close-up in just one take.
“Good work, everyone!”
“Filming team, please standby for the next scene!”
The shooting ended in a good atmosphere.
At that moment, I saw someone hurriedly leaving from one side.
Looking closely at the back view, it wasn’t difficult to recognize who it was.
It was Park Jun.
* * *
The filming of was going smoothly.
We were already filming up to episode 3.
I had been participating in the shooting, alternating between Team A and Team B.
When filming with the main lead actors, I was with Team A, and when not, I was with Team B.
Director Kang Han-sung seemed to have judged that Lee Joo-yeon and I could act well enough under the direction of Team B’s director.
Since we filmed this way during
Although it was regrettable that I couldn’t always be with Director Kang Han-sung, I knew that filming this way was more comfortable and efficient for everyone.
Above all, filming with Team B’s director made me feel a bit more at ease.
I was practicing not to be conscious of others’ gazes during filming, but it wasn’t entirely possible.
In that sense, shooting without Director Kang Han-sung or the main leads was inevitably more comfortable.
But from a certain day, even filming with Team B’s director became uncomfortable.
“Si-joon, did you see?”
“What?”
“Senior Park Jun came to watch Team B’s filming again today.”
“Ah… yes, he did.”
“I wonder why he keeps showing up?”
I shook my head and replied.
“I’m not sure. I’m curious about that too. It must not be easy to handle Team A’s filming schedule as it is.”
As Park Jun kept visiting Team B’s filming set whenever he had time, the atmosphere on set started to become strange.
He wasn’t coming to watch all the shootings because Team A had its own schedule.
But for some reason, Park Jun was visiting Team B’s set whenever he had time.
It was strange for him to be so actively watching Team B’s filming.
Even with consideration for standby time, the main lead’s scenes were not easy.
He must have been tired just from handling his own filming.
‘Is he just coming to watch often because the filming location is close…?’
Certainly, as was a slice-of-life drama, the filming locations were limited.
For this reason, Team A and Team B’s filming locations were often not far from each other.
However, it was unreasonable to think he came to watch frequently just for this reason.
Perhaps that’s why many people found Park Jun’s behavior strange.
“Could it be for surveillance purposes?”
“What?”
“Like, ‘I won’t let anyone ruin the drama where I’m the lead.’ Something like that.”
“No way.”
“Then why is he doing this? Everyone’s upset about how uncomfortable it is.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He doesn’t say anything, just watches with a serious expression and leaves.”
Lee Joo-yeon seemed bothered by Park Jun’s behavior.
I was curious about why Park Jun was acting this way too, but the atmosphere wasn’t right to ask.
As mentioned earlier, he always watched Team B’s filming with a serious expression.
Then Lee Joo-yeon brought up a meaningful point.
“He doesn’t even watch all of Team B’s filming. He only does this for our scenes.”
“…Hmm.”
“He didn’t come to watch when your filming was separate from mine, but now he keeps doing this…”
“He didn’t come to watch when my filming was separate?”
“Yeah. He went to watch your side of filming, not mine. Ah! Could it be…”
“What? Do you have an idea why Senior Park Jun is doing this?”
“I do. This is just my hypothesis, but…”
“Yes, go on.”
“Could Senior Park Jun be a face-con?”
“What?”
“A face-con. If not, why would he keep following only your filming?”
It somehow felt convincing.
That’s why it was even more frightening.
But I soon shook my head.
I didn’t want to think that Park Jun could be a face-con.
‘No… it can’t be…’
While Lee Joo-yeon and I were whispering like this, Team B’s director, who had been monitoring for a while, spoke up.
“I think this is good enough. Let’s proceed with the next shoot.”
The new Team B director who joined was cautious, unlike Director Kang Han-sung.
He tended to thoroughly monitor even after giving the okay sign before instructing to proceed with the next shoot.
He was trying to shoot the same scene two or three times if possible to choose the best one.
Some might find this approach tiring, but it was necessary for a better production.
Fortunately, in my case, I didn’t have to shoot the same scene more than three times very often.
Anyway, the okay sign was given, and the next Team B shooting schedule was Lee Joo-yeon’s solo scene, so I moved to wait.
“Then I’ll go rest. See you later, senior.”
“Okay. Good job. See you later.”
I saw Yeo Kyung-chan approaching from not far away to go with me.
As I was naturally moving towards him, someone blocked my way.
When I looked up, the person standing there was Park Jun.
“Ah, senior. Do you have something to say…?”
Park Jun stared at me for a moment before speaking.
“Tomorrow, right? The day we finally act together.”