Free Web Novel“What’s that in your hand?”
“It’s a thermos, so probably something to drink. Guess he figured this was the time to lock her down tight. Ah, youth.”
“Every second right now costs money~. His mental discipline’s gotten sloppy.”
“Cut him some slack. Wasn’t it cute yesterday how he kept obviously trying to show Colt he’d already been here before? I used to be like that too.... Back when I’d never been in a single fight but still pretended I was good at fighting in front of my wife....”
Yun Hyeonjo looked toward Joo Junseo, who was pouring another cup from the thermos. Kwak Cheolsik, smiling warmly as he watched the two of them, was very different from Yun Hyeonjo.
Yun Hyeonjo observed them with calm eyes.
“It’s fine to relax your nerves, but getting comfortable’s another story~.”
Even at the lowest estimate, they were burning through 200 million won a day. The venue rental cost was insane.
Frame rehearsal before the actual filming began. Yun Hyeonjo opened his mouth.
“The type who seduces people with food?”
“...What?” freewēbnoveℓ.com
Joo Junseo, who had been replaying his movements in his head, turned back to ask.
“If you gain weight while filming, you suffer more trying to lose it later, and production gets delayed for a few extra days too... not very efficient~.”
Yun Hyeonjo glanced briefly toward Han Yeoreum, who still hadn’t left the set, before looking back at Joo Junseo.
“Then again, I guess this is the age where people are still clumsy.”
The moment he understood what Yun Hyeonjo meant, Joo Junseo’s expression stiffened.
“Yes! Frame check complete. Please move to the marked tape positions!”
Right then, Director Gong’s instructions rang out. The jib camera suspended high above the railing moved in a massive arc.
The spot where Yun Hyeonjo needed to appear for this scene was only a few steps away.
After patting Joo Junseo on the shoulder, Yun Hyeonjo walked toward his marker. Kwak Cheolsik cautiously asked,
“Why’re you bullying the kid?”
“If emotions get mixed into the action scene, we’ll get the okay sign faster. Efficiently~.”
Judging by Joo Junseo’s side profile, it didn’t seem like filming would get delayed at all. A very efficient choice.
“Junseo! That was too fast just now! Let’s do it one more time!”
And a little while later, Yun Hyeonjo slightly regretted it.
‘Did I provoke him too hard~.’
And from then on, he established a very efficient personal guideline: next time, take it easy.
Because Joo Junseo moved far better than he had during rehearsal.
* * *
I sat on a chair off to one side of the set and looked up at Joo Junseo standing on the bridge.
This was the scene where he had to fall onto the boat carrying the extra actors.
‘Now this is the real thing.’
My scenes had basically just been warm-ups. Director Kang Hanseong had repeatedly checked things with a serious expression.
To calculate the timing and angle of landing on the boat.
If things went wrong, he could fall into the water, so it was a scene that required real tension.
“Grab here with one hand and sweep over, just like you practiced!”
“...Yes. Understood.”
Not only did he have to vault over the safety railing one-handed, but the falling motion afterward was also extremely difficult.
‘But looking at it another way, the higher the difficulty, the stronger the impact if the scene comes out right.’
The railing reached about the waist level of an adult woman. Simply clearing it effortlessly would already emphasize Chen Wei’s character.
“We’re standing by!”
The staff gathered around Joo Junseo returned to their positions so they wouldn’t appear in frame.
The jib camera hanging high near the ceiling captured Yun Hyeonjo and Joo Junseo together.
“Ready—.”
I need to watch this carefully. My own <Codename: Number Seven> will have scenes like this too.
‘Compared to Senior Han Yohan, though, I’m still nowhere near there.’
I didn’t even want to compare myself to Senior Han Yohan, who had mastered every kind of action scene imaginable.
I watched Joo Junseo leap from the bridge the moment action was called. I couldn’t miss a single frame.
Crash!
Joo Junseo descended /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ onto the gondola carrying the extra actors. The boat rocked heavily beneath his weight. Yun Hyeonjo immediately followed after him.
Standing together atop the gondola, the two men locked eyes.
“Okay!”
The moment Director Gong shouted the okay sign, breaths released all around the set in rapid succession. Everyone had been holding their breath in tension.
“Now catch him once over by that rail and run all the way through—”
There wasn’t enough time to waste shooting the same take repeatedly. They needed to split scenes into as many pieces as possible to capture Macau’s scale.
Joo Junseo jumped onto the gondola over and over again.
His landing from behind atop the bridge, his side profile, then the following chase sequence—all of it continued at rapid speed.
I layered myself over those images.
Im Ria, chased by unidentified agents.
‘How should I do it?’
Just as all acting changes depending on character interpretation, action was exactly the same.
Even the same punch changed depending on who I was and who my opponent was.
Who was I?
Lee Seohae, the genius who calculated maximum efficiency even while fighting?
On Jihwa, the national athlete who had never fought anyone in her life and even carried a shoulder injury?
Or Im Ria, who had received proper combat training but still didn’t want to hurt people?
And who was the opponent?
A cowardly criminal? A mindless unknown lifeform? Or perhaps—
“Okay!”
The okay sign echoed across the set. Listening to it, I thought:
Even while standing on set, I still couldn’t erase the desire to be on set.
I wanted to act more. Longer. A lot more.
* * *
“Hey. You could’ve just stayed inside. Why do you keep coming out? Aren’t you tired?”
Joo Junseo approached Han Yeoreum while wiping sweat off his neck with a towel. He couldn’t hide the subtle pride in his voice.
Joo Junseo knew Myeong Jeha’s entire filmography.
Because despite his absurd results, there were only three projects.
A crown prince, a detective, and a boy by the sea.
‘Nothing like this.’
There had never been action this flashy or eye-catching, which meant Joo Junseo had definitely won.
Running and throwing punches across the gondolas had been worth it.
Han Yeoreum couldn’t take her eyes off him.
“Then again, I guess this is the age where people are still clumsy.”
This was the perfect moment to directly refute Yun Hyeonjo’s words.
He wasn’t clumsy at all. Nor inefficient.
He had shown himself this skillfully and efficiently.
“I just wanted to watch.”
Wanted... to watch?
Joo Junseo froze stiff.
“But we still couldn’t finish a few cuts within today’s schedule, right? We’re adding the rest on the final day... so tomorrow we really can’t afford any NGs.”
But Han Yeoreum smoothly changed the subject back to filming, and his mind snapped back into place.
In reality, several scenes had already been delayed to the final day because of repeated NGs. Getting action shots within the time limit wasn’t easy.
“Yeah. Let’s do well tomorrow.”
Joo Junseo nodded.
Tomorrow just happened to be the most expensive shoot day.
It was also the scene capturing the full panorama of Macau’s casino district.
“...Us.”
It would also be the day Han Yeoreum and Joo Junseo acted opposite each other again for the first time in four years.
* * *
As I descended in the elevator, I steadied my heart.
This was day two of the location shoot.
And once again, it was deep dawn.
Because renting out the casino during operating hours was impossible.
‘The daily profits are ridiculous....’
Even then, the casino had only been rented during the least crowded hours—from four to eight in the morning. freēwebnovel.com
Everything from setup to filming had to finish within just four hours.
‘This costs as much as yesterday’s canal scene.’
The space had to be used properly to fully display the oppressive weight of capital.
The rental fee for those four hours alone was 300 million won.
And there were around a hundred extras on top of that.
I had to become Influencer 1, suddenly dropped into the casino’s uniquely addictive atmosphere, disconnected from reality.
Wearing the same red dress as yesterday, I arrived at the casino.
Even from the entrance, the sound of slot machines echoed loudly.
A staff member who spotted me immediately guided me inside. Director Gong, standing in front of the monitors, smiled brightly.
“Yeoreum! You’re here? You could’ve taken your time.”
“I wanted to come early and look around a bit. When else am I ever going to see a casino like this?”
“Exactly, exactly. Come once and never again.”
Director Gong pointed at me with his gaunt face.
“Please, even when you travel, never come to a place like this again. Not just here—any casino at all. Got it? Promise me... please....”
“Ah....”
Come to think of it, Director Gong had made a gambling-related movie once....
‘The male lead got caught gambling and basically got buried from the industry....’
He’d been pretty famous too, but after that, nobody even heard his name anymore.
I hooked my pinky around Director Gong’s finger.
“I seriously promise. I really hate gambling, Director.”
“Everyone always said that to me too....”
Since Director Gong still looked unconvinced, I decided to show him how sincere I was.
“I hate gambling sooo much I’m honestly worried whether I can even act properly today.”
I tightened my grip around his finger.
The slot machine sounds echoing against the ceiling. The dizzyingly flashy graphics. The dealers’ bowties, absurdly formal for a place built entirely around money games.
As though I intended to stay far away from things like this for the rest of my life.
‘Liar.’
And a short while later, Director Gong wanted to completely deny everything Han Yeoreum had said before filming.
‘She looks like she loves it way too much, though?’
