Free Web Novel* * *
“Let’s do one rehearsal—.”
Unlike the first day of filming, today they had moved on to scenes set after the outbreak of the zombie crisis. The set was thick with the sticky, clinging smell unique to special-effects makeup liquid, stinging the nose.
It wasn’t the shooting time for Do Gyeoul or Myeong Jeha, but with the NetHolics executive, Jegal Rok, and Seomun Ihwa all visiting, everyone ended up standing in front of the camera, watching Han Yeoreum.
‘This kind of pressure isn’t light.’
Sometimes, a scene without a single line was harder. You had to convince people purely through expression alone.
First day of zombie filming.
Extras filling several large buses, along with industry heavyweights—all of them were watching Han Yeoreum.
There wasn’t a single person who wouldn’t feel pressure in a situation like this.
“Yes, just stay there and look straight ahead without moving.”
Han Yeoreum’s face filled the monitoring screen in a close-up. The scene being filmed now was one where she was staring at a zombie right in front of her.
Blood stained the white sports jersey she was wearing.
In the dim space, the dark smears of blood doubled the eeriness.
“Ready!”
The clap of the slate sounded unusually loud.
“Action!”
At Director Oh’s shout, Han Yeoreum’s gaze changed.
Up until now, her eyes had been like a sharpshooter aiming at a target—precise and still. Whether she looked at a doctor, a mother, or a stranger, she had been On Jihwa without a single tremor.
But now, it was different.
“...”
The moment a character that had been emotionless all this time revealed emotion for the first time.
Her tightly set jaw began to tremble in fine, delicate vibrations. What started as something barely noticeable soon became visibly intense.
Right below her chin, the zipper of her neatly pulled-up sports jersey quivered.
‘....’
From her jaw to her neck, from her neck to her shoulders. The tremor spread as if it were contagious.
As if there really was something standing on the other side.
What Han Yeoreum actually saw in her field of vision were lights, rails, staff—and extras watching from afar.
That was all.
But the profile captured on the monitor made people imagine what lay beyond the frame.
That there must be something out there—
Something that could make that composed On Jihwa tremble like this.
That there had to be a reason her composure had completely collapsed.
Do Gyeoul shifted her gaze toward the NetHolics executive. His blue eyes, arms crossed as he watched the monitor, didn’t blink once as they tracked Han Yeoreum.
Just as Director Oh opened his mouth to call an okay—
That was when it happened.
‘...!’
Han Yeoreum’s forehead began to grow damp. Sweat formed along the nape of her neck.
The droplets clinging to her trembling skin were unmistakable.
From her forehead to her temple, down her cheek—
And finally, to her chin.
Tap—
A bead of sweat fell.
No one called cut. Even though it wasn’t a scene meant to be drawn out.
An incomprehensible sensation.
It existed in a realm Do Gyeoul couldn’t interpret.
* * *
“Props team, please check the trash bags one more time. If anyone digs through the trash and takes a prop, spoilers will leak—.”
Radio chatter echoed across the set. Andrea, confirming security so tight it bordered on madness, looked over each extra actor dressed as a zombie.
With heavyweights flanking him as they watched the screen, Director Oh couldn’t shake the scene from just moments ago.
“You’ve covered the camera lenses with stickers, right?”
“Yes, right here....”
“Thank you. Please make sure no one removes them until the end of the day.”
Most of the extras here were fully made up.
Some had whitened eyes, others had large wounds across their cheeks. Blood streaming from arms and legs was standard.
The intense visual impact alone was enough to make people frown. And yet—
‘What was that?’
Compared to all that, that single drop of sweat had no impact at all.
And yet it was what kept imprinting itself sharply in Director Oh’s mind.
‘How?’
Andrea and Jegal Rok didn’t have much time. They couldn’t stay long.
After confirming Han Yeoreum’s close-up shot, the three moved on. frёeωebɳovel.com
They needed to check how the zombie skin texture was rendered in 4K HDR, according to guidelines from NetHolics headquarters.
As Andrea was guided along, she compared the zombies on the monitor to the real ones in front of her.
“CG is....”
“This connects to the window here....”
While the CG supervisor from Studio Another spoke with Andrea, Director O Seonyul kept thinking about Han Yeoreum.
On Jihwa finally recognizing the situation.
A girl who had barely avoided the zombie—
but couldn’t escape the fear consuming her entire body.
“It’s good.”
Andrea said it while staring intently at the special makeup on one of the actors. Jegal Rok, too, showed no sign of finding fault.
“Did that actor earlier use special makeup?”
“Which...?”
“The one who filmed.”
At Andrea’s question, Director Oh shook his head.
“Didn’t you apply glycerin to the forehead beforehand? Adjust the viscosity?”
There were several ways to create a sweating scene.
You could mix glycerin—thicker than water and slow to dry—with water and spray it on.
Apply it with a brush between strands of hair, and the weighted mixture would drip downward.
You could also fix sweat gel or dummy sweat in place to control where it appeared.
It was the most common method for creating a steady flow of sweat.
Or there was the tear stick.
Applied near the eyes, it stimulated tear ducts and sweat glands to produce moisture in real time. freewebnovel.cσ๓
But—
“We didn’t use any of those.”
Han Yeoreum had chosen none of them.
“When she first stood in front of the camera, her bangs looked slightly damp.”
“That was hair gel, to avoid awkward continuity in the following scene. She’d just been running for her life. If she looked too fresh, that would’ve been stranger.”
“So you’re saying....”
The NetHolics executive stared at the zombie as he spoke.
“She just immersed herself, in front of everyone?”
Even Director Oh found it hard to insist on that outright.
There were many actors who could cry in front of others.
In fact, actors who couldn’t cry were rarer.
Joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure.
Those basic emotions were something anyone aspiring to act had to be able to express.
‘But fear....’
Sweat was different.
It bypassed the realm of voluntary control.
It ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) was something that only emerged under extreme fear or overwhelming tension.
There was one thing O Seonyul could say for certain.
This wasn’t an emotion that could be summoned instantly—
not in front of this many heavyweights, extras, and staff.
“It won’t get scrapped. There’s at least one person people would pay to see.”
Director Oh looked toward Seomun Ihwa standing beside Andrea, recalling what she had said earlier.
‘What, it’s just the name I can’t remember.’
A top writer’s eye was truly different.
* * *
With the director gone, a natural gap formed in filming. Inside the hospital waiting room, I wiped my forehead with the towel Manager Choi handed me.
“Unnie, can I have a moment alone? Could you grab me something to drink later?”
“Yeah, sure. An ion drink? Something cold? Or hot?”
“Anything’s fine. Whatever’s nearby.”
The moment I was alone, I took off my sweat-soaked jersey. The back was completely drenched.
“Ha....”
I collapsed onto the foldable cot like I was diving.
It had only been a short moment, but maybe because I’d burned through too much concentration, I was exhausted. I didn’t even have the energy to turn on the heater nearby.
‘It’s okay.’
I breathed slowly.
‘You did well.’
I hadn’t said a single line yet, but today’s performance had a clear distinction.
‘So there’s no need to worry too much.’
Will the NetHolics executive see me differently after today? Will they remember me? Will they think they want to cast an actress named Han Yeoreum again?
I kept covering the intrusive thoughts with hope.
INTUBE
[Can you escape a hospital full of zombies? ⎢Seoul Metropolitan City]
1,384,446 views
-1:03 I keep replaying this part seriously it looks like she actually saw a zombie right in front of her lol
˪Exactly lol you can tell DaeYeJong really is different
-This is seriously so fun T_T I binge-watched everything and my weekend disappeared
-On Jihwa is a god-tier character... damn TT__TT
-I’m a fan of Yeoreum Unnie♥︎ Always cheering from Taiwan, our love!
Good. The moment the teaser drops, everyone will focus on me. There’s no room for other thoughts to slip in.
“I did well, so they’ll release a still cut too... right?”
A still cut released by NetHolics carries a different weight.
It’s a huge opportunity to show your face to hundreds of millions of subscribers. It’s also the moment that declares the core of a project.
Han Yeoreum’s On Jihwa—
my On Jihwa—
If it can be shown as the character that pierces through <Seoul Metropolitan City>, if only it becomes that...
Knock, knock—
Just then, there was a sound at the door.
