After Story 221

“I’m Han Maru, and I’ll be playing Dooho. Please take care of me.”

Maru stood up from his seat and introduced himself to everyone. The actors participating in the read-through applauded.

After the actors seated alongside him introduced themselves, the director spoke,

“From this time onwards, it would be very rare for all of us to sit down and say our lines like this. You’ll be running and running again. I will prioritize everyone’s safety, but there will be actors who get hurt. It won’t be an easy shoot. I am very grateful to all of you for participating despite knowing all the risks.”

Director Nam looked at the crowd before continuing,

“For this movie, our action director, director Kwon Joohyuk, will have a very big influence. Even the storyline will be mainly composed of action. Throughout the entire shoot, I’m sure you’ll talk about a lot of things as you all work together. I do not think that that process will be so harmonious. There will be big and small scuffles. However, I believe that those series of events are what will contribute to the completion of the movie.”

Please take care of me — director Nam finished his greeting speech before sitting down.

He had emphasized that the shoot won’t be easy since the casting stage. The actors here must’ve resolved themselves to some extent.

“If I fall down, please call for an ambulance,” Geunsoo said.

Some laughter resounded. After some trivial talk, the read-through began.

“A man rushes past the tall grass. Sounds of metal can be heard in the distance. The screen that framed the man’s back figure goes over the horizon. There are screams from a small village with just a few thatched-roof houses. A burly man swings an ax at a man who has fallen over. There is yet another scream. The camera becomes distant, and then, title screen.”

Director Nam read the passage in a calm voice. Maru scanned the script according to the director’s reading speed.

A group of bandits had raided a mountainside village surrounded by large trees. The heads of the men roll off in no time, and the women who watch try to struggle, but they would get captured by those ruffian hands.

Merciless pillaging, voices of plea, the ground being dyed in red.

He pictured the scene depicted by the text in his head.

“Nothing has been resolved. The drought is continuing, and the regional lords have locked down their warehouses and are holding on. It will not be strange even if there is an uprising tomorrow,” a senior actor said his line.

Whenever he spoke, his body jerked and his hands moved as well.

“I have already said that the distribution of power is the division of military might. Not only that, the Park royal family and the Lee family clan are only looking at their own gardens without looking outside. Omens of ruin have come to our nation of Silla.”

Another senior receiving the line on the other side spoke with his back straight up. As expected of veteran actors, they had already set their character in the read-through session.

“You bastard!”

“Gee, mind yer language. Let’s see if yer sword is as strong as yer mouth, shall we?”

Following that, Geunsoo let out the swear words in the script. His tone and pronunciation were so good that even some of the actors who were focusing relaxed and were laughing silently.

The person with them was a modern man wearing neat clothes, but whenever he spoke he turned into a foul-mouthed general from the Three Kingdoms era of Korea.

The way he spotted and emphasized the main points in his lines was phenomenal as well. It could only be attributed to talent. That wasn’t something practice could get him.

“What… did you say just now?” Maru elongated the ‘what’ to make it sound more like ‘whaaat.’

The character he was playing was rash and easily angered. He would speak normally, but once anger got to the top of his head and he could no longer think properly, he would just silently swing his sword around.

“Are ye growing potatoes from ye ears? Did ye not hear that?”

“You mongrel!”

He clenched his teeth after the last line. His body shook like it was going to shoot forward.

The long desk shook and the water bottle he placed on it swayed before falling down. However, no one even gave that a glance.

“Hey, ye prick. Stop yer bullshit and open yer eyes.”

Geunsoo finished off the page with his line. Only the sound of paper rustling as the actors went to the next page could be heard. Everyone was in a state of extreme focus.

As this was the only time when all the actors gathered together to say their lines, they maintained a sense of tension as much as possible.

They could make jokes midway and laugh, but when the story reached its climax, they had to focus on the lines like it was during the real shoot.

Intense emotions were expressed through lines and clashed in midair. Cannonballs of words erupted from everywhere in the venue.

It was tiring just to shout those lines, so what would it be like to say them while fully armored and holding weapons and even fighting? It felt like there would be some parts in this movie where the actors wouldn’t be able to bring out their full acting skills because of their lack of stamina.

“Good job, everyone.” Director Nam applauded.

The actors all leaned back against their chairs and sighed.

“I think some people might die if we do this for real,” said a senior.

“I have it good since my role doesn’t have any action. You guys are so dead. And the shoot is in August too. What a double whammy,” said a senior in his sixties while stroking his unshaven beard.

Director Nam spoke to the old senior,

“Senior, you should get on a horse once too. I heard that you shot an archery scene on top of a horse in your prime.”

“Tell me to die instead. If I ride a horse at my age, I’ll break my back. The young ones are the ones who should suffer. But are you really going to bring a horse?”

“Every actor that can do it will do it.”

“Looks like the production budget will go there, huh.”

“I’ll have to make full use of the horse on the day we rent one.”

“Anyway, I’ll do the shoot in a set with the AC on, so you guys can suffer all you want.”

The read-through ended alongside the joke of an old senior. The journalists and people from the production companies, who were filming for promotion purposes, left the meeting room.

The actors went to the ritual room next to the meeting room and held a ritual.

“Mr. Maru.”

A marketer for the movie and a man holding a camera approached him. They told him that they were creating a making film and asked for his opinions about the read-through.

“As you probably saw from the read-through, only the finest actors are here. I feel nervous when I think that I’m going to have to act among those people. Still, though, I’m quite young, aren’t I? I’ll try my best to not lose out on stamina even if I can’t keep up with them in terms of acting.”

Maru smiled and raised a fist.

“I’m quite good with stamina too.”

He heard a voice behind him. When he turned around, he saw Geunsoo say those words before walking by. The marketer smiled and said that he was done.

“I saw that the news is finally out,” Maru said next to Geunsoo.

Yesterday, a news article talking about Ganghwan and Suyeon going out was finally leaked.

“They’re going to get married next year, so there’s no real need to hide it at this point. But it sure feels different reading it on the news, huh? They’re finally getting married.”

“You should get married too, senior.”

“Only if I have a partner.”

“How about the blind date I mentioned before? I talked to the person about it, and she showed interest.”

“Did you say it was me?” Geunsoo asked as he gave him a glance.

“No, I just said it was an actor.”

“And she’s still interested?”

“Yes.”

“What does she do?”

“For now, you should know that she teaches acting.”

“Someone in the same industry, huh.”

“You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just that I don’t think I’ll have the physical or psychological room for a while.”

“That’s true. Then I won’t mention it for the time being. Once the shoot ends and if the two of you are still willing, I’ll try to make an occasion.”

“Alright, let’s talk about it again after the shoot.”

Geunsoo, who was walking ahead, stopped and turned around.

“Don’t you have anything you want from me?”

“So suddenly?”

“I’m grateful that a junior is willing to help out with my romantic business, so I was planning to give you a gift.”

“If things go well and I see you in the wedding hall, give me something then.”

“What do you want?”

“The latest-model cordless vacuum cleaner?”

“Don’t people normally ask for shoes, watches, or a suit?”

“I’m drawn more towards vacuum cleaners.”

“Alright. If things go well, I’ll buy you a full suite.”

In the distance, another senior actor looked for Geunsoo. Geunsoo walked over after his reply. Maru thought as he looked at Geunsoo’s back figure – that person probably didn’t know how much teaching and help he had given.

“Maru, come over and help out this old man.”

“Yes, sir. Right away.”

He moved after replying.

* * *

A month had passed since the audition. The crank-in for the movie was announced. The movie did not flop and was progressing.

Videos of the read-through also circulated around the internet. Youngsun put on his headphones and focused on the video. Although it was a short, edited video, he could get a glimpse of the actors’ experience and skills.

As the lead character, Hong Geunsoo’s acting was absolutely first-rate. Even though they were all sitting down, he could feel the force from him. He could picture Geunsoo shouting the lines with a sword or a spear in his hands. How great would it be to see him up close?

The other actors also said their lines with immersion as well. They shouted properly when they needed to, and when it was a calm scene, they used provocative tones.

How could they act like that?

Putting aside his impressions, Youngsun imitated their short acts and learned their breathing and emotional expressions.

This was pure acting that did not contain any of the instructions from the director. There was no better textbook than this.

He paused and replayed the video multiple times when Han Maru came up on screen. Youngsun watched Maru’s acting with focus.

After Maru read his line and a new actor came out, Youngsun thought: he’s pretty good.

Like the actors before him, he tried imitating Maru’s act as well. The more he repeated himself, the more slightly off it felt.

It was a simple shout, but when he tried saying it himself, it didn’t sound as good.

“Is that what you call talent?”

He watched the video repeatedly before going to lie down on his bed. Suddenly, he felt nervous. He couldn’t sleep properly thinking that he was going to shoot with those actors soon.

Not long later, the production company contacted him again. He was notified that as there was a lot of action in the movie, the actors would be split into teams.

Youngsun left his house with some luggage that he would use during his time in Yongin. On the bumpy bus ride, he got carsick. It seemed that his nervousness had reached its peak.

Still, he felt better when he arrived at the shooting location and set his foot down on the ground. The nervousness that made his nerves taut had also disappeared.

What replaced the nervousness was excitement. It was finally the start.

He was guided by a staff member in a historical village. As he was waiting in front of a pavilion, people started gathering one by one. From how they gathered in different places, they seemed to be grouping in the ‘teams’ that they were notified of beforehand.

“I’m Yoo Youngsun.”

I’m Oh Joonhyuk; Jung Sungmin; Kim Youngho – just by introducing themselves, they formed a sense of kinship.

They got to know each other, asking where they were from and how long they had been actors.

“I heard that this was going to be really taxing. How hard do you think it is?”

“Well, first of all, doing a historical movie in the middle of summer is hell.”

“I don’t care if it’s taxing. I just want my face to appear on the screen. I was always part of a crowd whenever I shot a historical movie or a drama, so my face never appeared properly.”

“Me too.”

While they were laughing and chatting, Youngsun saw someone approaching. When that person got closer, he immediately realized who it was.

“I heard that this is team 4, am I right?”

It was Han Maru who spoke with a big smile.