NOVEL NEXT Episode 088
Episode 088
After my casting for “Escape” was confirmed,
I dedicated myself to practicing daily to improve my portrayal of Kim Sung-yeon’s role.
Of course, I no longer had an environment where I could only practice like before.
As “Let’s Live Together, Princess” gained huge popularity, many advertising offers were coming in.
As they say, you should row when the tide comes in.
There were advertisements that couldn’t be filmed if not at this timing.
For this reason, I kept busy in between practice sessions.
“That was good just now! Let’s do one more take!”
We were currently shooting a chicken advertisement.
The concept was that I, dressed in a suit, sit on a throne and taste the best chicken with amazement.
I took a hearty bite of the chicken leg.
“Star Star Chicken. The real star was here all along.”
And I acted my best while looking at the chicken leg.
When I first received the storyboard, I was worried I might not be able to immerse myself.
Rather than acting without props, I had to genuinely admire a chicken leg.
It was challenging even for me.
I briefly considered whether I should use the power of the method mask.
However, as I did it, it turned out better than expected.
It seemed like it would be good acting practice.
The fact that Star Star Chicken’s fried chicken was actually delicious also helped with the acting.
The freshly fried chicken leg had a crispy coating and juicy meat.
As the shooting continued, at some point the chicken leg really seemed like an amazing “star.”
After all, it had certainly captured the entire nation’s heart, making it a star in its own right.
After eating dozens of chicken legs, I was finally able to finish the commercial shoot.
Yeo Kyung-chan hurriedly followed me and spoke.
“Good work, actor.”
“You too, manager.”
“Honestly, you acted so well, I wondered if it was necessary to put so much effort into a chicken commercial.”
Yeo Kyung-chan lowered his voice and praised me.
He also shared a backstory about how one of the Star Star Chicken employees who prepared the filming chickens was my fan and put extra effort into frying the chicken.
‘So that’s why it was more delicious.’
I wanted to at least greet my fan who had been of great help to the shoot.
However, we had already left the filming location.
Promising myself to do it next time, I asked,
“What’s tomorrow’s schedule?”
“There’s nothing tomorrow. We’ve finished all the commercial shootings including chicken, bed, bank, cosmetics, and street fashion.”
“That’s good. Now I can focus on practicing until the start of ‘Escape’ filming.”
“You’ve worked hard. By the way, would you like to see this? The response after yesterday’s ‘New Quiz’ broadcast is incredible.”
Yeo Kyung-chan sent me some captured images.
I quickly took out my phone to check the reactions.
-Where is that? Seems like a visual feast OMG
-Wow, aren’t they both too handsome?
-Sitting together, you can really tell
-Right? They’re handsome in different ways
-How did two people come from the same womb…. Thank you, mother and father.. Thank you… You are patriots…
-The younger one definitely has a more public-friendly look lol
-Don’t ignore Si-hwan’s decadent charm!
-What’s with Jo Sung-ho trying to touch Lee Si-joon’s face and getting blocked lol
-Lee Si-hwan seems to act cool but really cares for his younger brother?
-I felt that too. His eyes change when looking at his brother
-As expected of New Quiz lol The questions are so comfortable lol
-Isn’t it a bit underwhelming? Like making bibimbap with such good side dishes
-Are you looking down on bibimbap?
-I actually like this feel of New Quiz lol Not just chasing after sensationalism lol
-Oh! What was that just now?
-Wow lol Even the Lee Si brothers’ father is handsome lol
-I expected him to be handsome, but still bbb
-As expected, it was all in the bloodline…
-This is really unfair lol The father is handsome in yet another way lol
-How can that be the father… I’d believe it if you said he was only 30…
-Oh lol So Lee Si-hwan’s original dream was to be an actor lol
-It would be fun if he really filmed a movie with Lee Si-joon later
-Me! I want to watch that movie! Definitely want to watch!
-Just imagining it looks so good… I bet Lee Si-hwan is good at acting too?
-They’re from the same bloodline, so he must be good lol Since Lee Si-joon is so good, even a little skill would be enough
-But aren’t they going to ask about Ji Jung-hyun and Park Jun soon?
-That’s why I’m watching the live broadcast lol
-I vote that Si-joon likes Park Jun more
-Their chemistry in the web novel was really good. But Ji Jung-hyun is my preference
-Oh? They’re asking Lee Si-hwan about that lol
-I wonder how he’ll answer?
-He probably won’t say much since it’s a broadcast
-Moreover, it’s about his brother so he’ll be more careful about mentioning it
-Lololololololololololololololololol
-He actually answered like that? lol
-How much does Lee Si-hwan love Lee Si-joon? lol
-Today’s broadcast is legendary lol They really got the entertainment value
-But I think I’d be the same if I had a brother like Lee Si-joon lol
-For real, I don’t think anyone could resist getting a brother complex lol
People definitely seemed to think my brother’s behavior was a brother complex.
It didn’t feel that way on set, and my brother didn’t answer that way either.
I wondered if the broadcast had edited it too much in that direction.
But if that’s the kind of entertainment people wanted, there was nothing to be done about it.
In fact, the comments exploded the most when my brother claimed ownership of me, saying, “Si-joon is my younger brother.”
“The response is good.”
“Right? On this community, everything from your father’s real photos to the part about Lee Si-hwan’s dream of becoming an actor has taken the top spots.”
Our
This level of buzz was similar to trending on real-time search rankings.
‘The broadcast that day was fun, but was it this much?’
I was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected response, but soon nodded.
There was nothing bad about the viewers’ positive reaction for either me or my brother.
It was even more so when thinking about promoting the next project.
Wondering if he was thinking the same as me, a message arrived from Ji Jung-hyun.
[Senior Ji Jung-hyun][18:21] I’m about to release the news of your confirmed casting. What do you think?
It wasn’t just Ji Jung-hyun.
Kim Bo-mi also sent a message, as if not to miss the opportunity.
[Team Leader Kim Bo-mi][18:23] Actor! We’re about to release the news of your confirmed casting for “Escape”. How do you feel?
[Team Leader Kim Bo-mi][18:23] Please reply quickly!
* * *
[Rising star Lee Si-joon! Joining Ji Jung-hyun’s ‘Escape’! What synergy will they create?]
[My choice is Ji Jung-hyun! Lee Si-joon’s new work is the movie ‘Escape’]
[I’ll try my hand at movies! Lee Si-joon confirmed for leading role in ‘Escape’]
[Young Shin Han-jae and adult Shin Han-jae unite! Lee Si-joon to appear in ‘Escape’]
[Lee Si-hwan must be envious… Lee Si-joon to appear in ‘Escape’ with Ji Jung-hyun]
[I’ll be back in the second half of this year… Lee Si-joon joins ‘Escape’]
Fortunately, the response to the casting news was good.
Although Director Kim Pil-sung wasn’t known yet, the fact that I was appearing in a movie with Ji Jung-hyun itself attracted a lot of attention.
It seemed especially effective to release the casting news when talk about me was at its peak after appearing on
Time passed amidst such attention, and finally, the first day of shooting for
Today, we were planning to hold a simple ritual ceremony and then shoot scene 15, where Ji Jung-hyun and I have our first meeting in the work.
Usually, scenes are shot in order from scene 1, unless backgrounds overlap.
But we agreed it would be good to shoot scene 15 while everyone was gathered for the ritual ceremony, and that’s how the schedule was set.
“Hello!”
I arrived 10 minutes earlier than the appointed time and greeted the staff.
The staff had already finished preparing for the ceremony.
Dried pollack, steamed rice cakes, makgeolli, various fruits, and a pig’s head were placed on the table.
Thinking a real pig’s head might be a bit cruel, they substituted it with a photo displayed on a tablet PC.
It was indeed a bit unsettling to place the corpse of a hanged pig on the table.
“You’re here, actor?”
Director Kim Pil-sung, who had been quietly staring at the pig’s head, greeted me.
“Yes. By the way, the pig’s head is a photo?”
“I’m afraid of things like pig’s heads.”
“That’s good. I don’t like them much either.”
While we were talking, Ji Jung-hyun arrived, not late.
We quickly finished preparing for the ceremony and bowed.
Then Director Kim Pil-sung read the ceremonial text and burned it, concluding the ceremony.
‘A ritual ceremony…’
I didn’t really think this kind of ceremony actually affected the success of movies or dramas.
In fact,
And there were no accidents during filming.
But it was true that the ceremony marked the beginning of a project and helped bring together many people involved in the work.
The saying that holding a ceremony prevents accidents might stem from this aspect.
The more people responsible for safety immerse themselves in the work, the fewer accidents there might be.
After the ceremony was over.
The staff busily started preparing for filming again.
Ji Jung-hyun and I received on-set direction from Director Kim Pil-sung for the first shoot.
Scene 15 was about us aiming guns at each other in an alley while fleeing from Japanese police after assassinating the same target.
“Actor Lee Si-joon will be aiming from behind a stone wall, and actor Ji Jung-hyun from behind a telephone pole.”
Director Kim Pil-sung gave detailed on-set directions as if he had imagined a lot in his head.
He was particularly thorough with on-set directions regarding each character’s emotions.
“I think that should be enough attention to detail. Please standby as soon as shooting preparations are complete.”
I nodded and quickly walked towards the waiting vehicle.
There were a few things I hadn’t noticed in the scenario.
I thought I might need to practice using the method mask.
‘Huh?’
As I was walking.
I noticed Ji Jung-hyun chatting with his manager.
It seemed as if he wasn’t interested in shooting scene 15.
‘What’s this? Does it mean he’s prepared perfectly?’
Usually, actors look over their scripts after receiving on-set directions from the director.
Or they close their eyes and silently review their practice.
But Ji Jung-hyun showed none of these behaviors.
He seemed unusually relaxed.
‘Is this what sets a great actor apart?’
I watched Ji Jung-hyun for a moment before quickly resuming my walk.
There wasn’t much time if I wanted to successfully handle Director Kim Pil-sung’s on-set directions.
* * *
A little while later.
Shooting for scene 15 began with Director Kim Pil-sung’s signal.
“Standby! Cue!”
At that moment, I couldn’t help but be surprised.
Ji Jung-hyun’s acting was so different from what I had directly experienced in the method mask.