Chapter: 64
The filming of The Chaser was proceeding smoothly overall.
The process of discovering jealousy was somewhat trivial, but it did help with the acting, after all.
‘…I can’t bear to say it out loud though.’
Jealousy — such a strange emotion.
Thinking about it, feeling emotions is a natural thing.
Nothing special.
It was just special for her alone.
As she watched the crew tidy up the set, Seoyeon fell into deep thought.
Deciding to become an actress was, in a way, to understand these emotions more.
A place where various feelings emerge and are expressed artistically.
A mask once made to cover unpleasant feelings had become a skill in this world — perhaps it was just comfortable.
‘…Is my adolescence still not over?’
Today was oddly sentimental.
Maybe it’s because she saw something shocking yesterday.
Just thinking about it made her stomach boil, although not as much as yesterday.
Seoyeon herself discovered for the first time that she had such feelings.
There were times she thought of herself as plant-like.
But it turns out, she was just a fool.
‘Hmm.’
There are still many emotions she doesn’t understand.
Of course, she feels emotions naturally in this lifetime.
It’s just that, because of the disconnect with her past life, she has to ponder what those feelings are.
When acting, she inevitably can’t help but be aware of it.
Like trying to consciously breathe — it becomes an unwieldy burden.
“Seoyeon!”
Perhaps because today’s shoot was successful, Director Bae Jin-hwan approached her with a light step.
“Yes?”
“Today’s shoot was really good! Just like this, and we’re golden. But…”
He trailed off, pondering for a moment because of Seoyeon’s blank stare.
“Next shoot is a bit intense. You know that, right? Kidnapping Han Ye-hwa, and it includes a scuffle with a police officer.”
“Yes, I know.”
“From what I see, you seem capable physically. Do you think you can do it?”
Can I do it?
She stared blankly, wondering what he meant.
“Didn’t you hear? Usually action scenes are done with a stunt double. You must have heard it before?”
“Oh, I heard.”
Now that she thought about it, there was something like that mentioned.
Typically, for action scenes, stunt actors are chosen based on their build being somewhat similar to the actor’s.
The fact that Cha Seo-ah often wears raincoats or disguises is to make it easier to use a double.
Given that there were often physical confrontation scenes in the script, they were planning to use a double.
“But, guess what? The actress who was going to be your body double sprained her ankle. So, we were considering looking for a new actor… when suddenly you came to mind.”
During the first filming.
The chase scene between Seoyeon and Kim Dae-heon.
Back then, Seoyeon just zipped away without a trace.
Sure, running and doing action are different. But what if?
“If it’s alright, there’s an action school I know of. How about that?”
Seoyeon didn’t know, but this was an exceptional case.
An action school. Naturally, if Director Bae Jin-hwan knew of an action school, it had to be the prestigious ‘Action School’ in Seoul.
The place that produced some of the most renowned stunt actors in South Korea.
And naturally, getting in there isn’t easy.
Not just aspiring stuntmen, but actors also seek this place to learn action.
You have to go through an audition, and the competition is extremely fierce.
‘They have very high standards, but for someone like Seoyeon…’
For reference, Bae Jin-hwan had connections with Professor Kim Hong-baek, the founder of that action school.
So, it made sense to recommend an actor with exceptional skills.
He thought Seoyeon was quite a decent talent.
‘If she learned the essentials in a month or two, it should be fine.’
The action scenes in The Chaser weren’t exactly groundbreaking.
After all, it’s a thriller, not an action film.
However, this action encompasses so much; the nuances in performing a fight scene could display a huge difference depending on whether you’ve learned actions or not.
So, action school would cover “all physical acting.”
If she learned just the scenes for this movie quickly, a month should suffice.
“Why don’t you try it out? If it feels good, you can take it on, Seoyeon.”
With Bae Jin-hwan’s suggestion, Seoyeon felt…
“Yes, I want to try it. As an actress.”
A calm response.
Bae Jin-hwan couldn’t help but be impressed: typically, female actors shy away from action roles.
‘She has such a great attitude.’
She’s still young, yet so commendable.
As Director Bae Jin-hwan nodded with a smile,
‘Action acting!’
Seoyeon, who loved to be physical, was absolutely thrilled.
She had secretly wanted to learn action acting someday.
*
Director Bae Jin-hwan handed over his business card along with the address of the action school to Park Eun-ha, Seoyeon’s manager.
He said if she went in and mentioned his name, they’d treat her well.
And so the next day.
As Seoyeon arrived at school, she felt an oddly busy atmosphere.
Students seemed more excited than usual, with a rowdy ambiance that felt different.
“What’s going on?”
Having no friend to ask about it, Seoyeon rushed to the next class during the first break and asked Ji-yeon.
“…You should ask students from your own class about that.”
“What a tough situation. That is.”
“What’s so tough about it?”
Ji-yeon sighed at Seoyeon’s statement.
From the outside, she might seem imposing.
Typically, she showed little reaction, making it hard to grasp her thoughts.
On top of that, Seoyeon had that aura about her.
The description ‘her presence is different’ fit her more than anyone.
Well, if she were at least funny, she’d surely make friends. But with how she was…
“It’s probably because of the cultural festival.”
“The cultural festival?”
Is there really such a thing?
Seoyeon looked at Ji-yeon with puzzled eyes.
“Yeonhwa High School tends to host a big cultural festival.”
Yeonhwa High School is a place where students typically excel in arts and sports rather than academics.
As a result, their average grades are right at the mean or slightly below, but they shine in the arts and physical education.
Thus, they generally hold grand events for sports days and cultural festivals.
Especially, for the cultural festival, each class sets up their own booth.
“…Are they really doing something like that?”
“Surprisingly, yes.”
So there were many things.
Seoyeon nodded.
Even if there was a cultural festival, she realistically didn’t have anything to contribute.
It seemed like they had already decided what they would do for this festival yesterday.
‘What will our class do?’
Even if she wanted to ask, she had nobody to turn to.
Suddenly, Seoyeon thought she couldn’t let it stay like this.
If this continues, she’d go through the cultural festival without mingling with her classmates and end up all lonely.
“Realization hit, huh? Go over to your class now.”
Ji-yeon’s blunt words made Seoyeon a bit disheartened.
Returning to her classroom, all the students’ gazes landed squarely on her.
Seoyeon felt like she was becoming a transfer student every day.
‘…Surely, something has to be done.’
If she got busy with her acting career like this, she’d continue to feel out of place.
That certainly wouldn’t do.
Living her entire senior high life with Ji-yeon as her only friend…
Isn’t that a bit too sad?
As she pondered this, Seoyeon suddenly recalled something she had forgotten.
‘Oh, I should’ve asked.’
About Ramiel.
Having gone to Ji-yeon’s class, she was supposed to ask, but she completely forgot due to the festival.
Yet even if she wanted to ask, what should she inquire about?
Who is the magician?
Why did she suddenly start broadcasting?
“…”
Seoyeon flopped her head onto the desk.
Her thoughts became tangled in various ways.
*
Professor Kim Hong-baek.
A representative stunt actor and martial arts director of South Korea.
The Cheonghong Action School he established in Seoul produced countless action actors.
It was known as a gateway for aspiring stuntmen without any connections.
Naturally, numerous stuntman hopefuls challenge themselves each quarter, creating a massive number of applicants.
“Hm, Joo Seoyeon…”
A slender-looking guy mumbled the name.
Today, an actress was supposed to visit the action school.
Or, perhaps it’s more accurate to call her a rookie actress still finding her footing.
She had one drama credit to her name.
Aside from that, just a single play.
Her first foray into film was still fresh and new.
And yet, the director Bae Jin-hwan took the opportunity to personally introduce her.
“She plays Princess Yeonhwa and Hong Jeong-hee.”
Both roles had nothing to do with action.
Nevertheless, Bae Jin-hwan was a director with exceptional insight.
If he suggested that a character requiring some action be played directly by an actress rather than a stuntman, there must be a strong reason behind it.
Later in the afternoon.
The appointed time arrived, and a girl, along with her manager, arrived at the school.
Joo Seoyeon.
Her appearance drew the attention of the trainees, who were busy practicing action moves.
She had a captivating beauty that effortlessly caught attention.
However, Kim Hong-baek frowned slightly.
‘Her physique seems well-balanced. But…’
Has she really done any proper training?
Outwardly, she didn’t show signs of doing anything intense.
While she was slender, it was more challenging to find an actress who wasn’t sleek.
Especially for female actors.
Often, excessive body control leads to weaker physiques in some instances.
If she’s that slender, doing action would be hard.
Better off with a double.
“Hello, I’m Joo Seoyeon, a rookie actress from Nova Entertainment.”
Her demeanor was bright despite that.
As she politely bowed, Kim Hong-baek’s expression softened.
“Hmm, I’ve been introduced. I’m Professor Kim Hong-baek. Here, you can just call me Master or Professor.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“So, have you ever done any action acting…? No, right?”
“No.”
“Have you trained at all?”
Seoyeon hesitated for a moment.
While she regularly worked out in the gym and practiced other sports from watching online,
“I’ve never received proper training.”
Even during her time in acting academy, there wasn’t anything like that done.
At her words, Kim Hong-baek nodded as if he expected that.
Meanwhile, the other trainees nearby exchanged glances of curiosity.
‘Who is she?’
‘Seems to be an actress, but…’
For those who entered through auditions, seeing someone entering with connections like this could only be off-putting.
Not everyone could get the privilege to learn from Professor Kim Hong-baek.
Yet here comes an actress who obviously has no relation to action?
Ambition for acting is good, but it was painfully obvious she might give up halfway.
“Since there aren’t many action scenes, I think a month should be enough. It might be a bit tough, but you’ll be okay, right?”
“Yes, it’s fine.”
Kim Hong-baek had already seen the script through Director Bae Jin-hwan.
Cha Seo-ah’s action scenes mostly consist of struggles against detectives while committing ‘murder.’
And chase scenes.
The highlights of the movie.
To fully realize these two aspects, roughly a month would be needed.
Because they had to first learn some physical skills before moving on to action.
Otherwise, it could lead to injuries.
“First, your height and weight weren’t on the profile; could you tell me?”
Kim Hong-baek, looking Seoyeon over, asked.
About 50 kg, perhaps?
That’s how slender she appeared.
“…Weight?”
Yet for some reason, Seoyeon’s voice trembled as she said it.
Kim Hong-baek, surprised by her reaction, regarded her oddly.
She didn’t look the type who would care about her weight.
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