Free Web Novel* * *
“Kyahhh!”
The casino doors opened, and the camera followed behind Han Yeoreum as she entered.
There were no rails installed on the floor for this shot. It was filmed handheld while following her directly, with a full spin movement added in the middle.
“Woooow....”
As Influencer 1 stepped into the enormous casino, her head turned left, then right.
The dazzling casino spread out behind her. Her awkward steps gradually sped up.
As though thousands of roulettes had stolen her eyes away.
The constantly spinning roulette graphics truly did their part, whirling nonstop and dizzying people down to the very second.
This place felt like a space where both time and senses had been paralyzed. Every minute, every second, imaginary money melted away and exploded.
Some people shouted in triumph while others groaned in despair.
Influencer 1 kept walking deeper and deeper into the casino. Like a pitiful piece of prey swallowed whole by the casino’s gaping mouth.
Unlike Influencer 1, whose pace kept increasing, the camera’s movement remained steady. Thanks to the growing distance between them, the scenery of the casino looked even wider.
Amid the passionate performances of countless extra actors, Influencer 1 herself became just another figure making up the casino.
‘And right here.’
The line from the extra playing the dealer came in.
“No more bets!”
At the words declaring betting was closed coming from behind her, Influencer 1 spun around in place. Curiosity lingered across the side of her face revealed beneath her swaying hair.
Under the glittering lights of the casino, Influencer 1’s eyes shone even brighter.
It was the kind of sparkle belonging to someone bewitched by something.
A cross-cut editing scene was supposed to go in here. Influencer 1 would witness someone successfully hitting a bet and sweeping in chips.
So what they were filming now was the scene where she parted her lips slightly, completely mesmerized by the sight.
“....”
Han Yeoreum wore the unmistakable face of someone who had lost their reason.
The cinematographer holding the camera quietly began zooming in. As if becoming increasingly immersed in the situation, Influencer 1’s face slowly filled the frame.
There was a reason this scene had been placed near the beginning. They needed to convince the audience too.
The most important thing in a film was making viewers understand the flow of events within a short amount of time.
Two hours. If they failed to show a character’s emotional state and the changes caused by it within that brief span, the entire thing would become meaningless.
Gambling.
And not just gambling, but the so-called “overseas gambling trips” people traveled abroad for.
Even in Korea, more and more people were becoming unable to forget the thrill of it, staying up all night clutching their phones and thinking about nothing else all day long. That explosive increase was the central subject of 〈Faster Than the Law 3〉.
A complete addiction.
They needed to show from the very beginning, through Influencer 1, that this was already a situation too late to recover from.
And right now, Han Yeoreum was portraying the moment of addiction better than anyone else.
The sparkling eyes, the captivated lips, the flushed cheeks. Even her breathing carried the expectation that perhaps she herself could become the protagonist of such a moment.
Every bit of it perfectly embodied someone taking their first step toward becoming a gambling addict.
“...Okay!”
Director Gong immediately gave the okay sign. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Without realizing it, he felt as if he himself were being dragged together with Influencer 1 into the world of gambling.
* * *
After filming only the walking scene, they immediately switched over to the hallway scene. It truly was filming measured down to the second.
Only now did Yeoreum feel like she could understand the elder’s profound wisdom.
“There are plenty of times when you shoot the ending scene the very first day you meet. Shouldn’t you practice pretending to fall in love without having time to immerse yourself emotionally?”
If they had to move locations nonstop without even proper rest like this, or shoot an ending scene after doing nothing more than changing clothes, it felt impossible to receive a 100% okay.
‘I should keep this in mind for the next shoot.’
Who was she, already thinking about the next project while still filming the current one? Han Yeoreum, the true actress of this era. She took her place in front of the staircase.
“The Jimmy Jib’s gonna sweep all the way through here, so just walk looking as awkward and hesitant as possible. Got it?”
“Whoa. They’re really using the Jimmy Jib a lot for this shoot.”
“Well... gotta get their money’s worth.”
〈Faster Than the Law 3〉 used overhead filming angles from the ceiling an unusually large amount.
‘And I know part of the reason is to avoid NGs as much as possible.’
It wasn’t just to show off Macau’s scenery. It was also for maximum efficiency. They didn’t have the luxury of capturing every detail of the actors’ faces.
‘Besides, people mess up way more often with expressions and dialogue than with body movements.’
That was why, unless it was an especially important scene, all the close-up shots would be filmed back in Korea. Once they recreated the same background in the studio, it would look like the same scene anyway.
‘Unless it’s a scene with Senior Joo Junseo. I absolutely can’t afford an NG during solo filming.’
Just like all the seniors got okay signs yesterday. She couldn’t become the only flaw.
And then, shortly after,
‘Uh...?’
Yeoreum encountered the danger of her first NG.
* * *
Joo Junseo, who had already been standing by in preparation for the upcoming scene with Han Yeoreum, paused.
“....”
This was the scene where Influencer 1, after hitting a jackpot, was being dragged by guards to Chen Wei’s room.
The guards looked intimidating because they were checking whether or not she had rigged the game. Men who obviously worked in the shadows surrounded Influencer 1 from the front and back as they walked.
And inside the frame, Han Yeoreum awkwardly stumbled, one of her high heels slipping off.
‘So they put her in shoes bigger than her actual size.’
Because of sponsorship issues, the fit floated awkwardly half a size off. Joo Junseo let out a short sigh.
Since the shot was being filmed from above, they would probably have to go back to the start of the staircase and redo everything from the beginning.
Still, it wasn’t a difficult cut. They could just reshoot it quickly.
“Ah!”
But only for a moment. Han Yeoreum continued acting.
“Wait! Ah, time! Time!”
She lifted the hem of her dress and aggressively appealed to the situation she had ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) found herself in.
“Attention please. I’m Cinderella! No shoes! Can’t you see I’m barefoot? Ah, why is everybody so impatient, seriously.”
Then she slowly put her shoe back on as deliberately as possible.
“I don’t think this really fi?ts? properly. Ah. My heel’s all scraped up now. This is because of you guys.”
Influencer 1 crouching down while nervously glancing around truly looked like a real living person.
‘Actually, it’d look stranger if she obediently followed them right away.’
Joo Junseo slowly curled up the corners of his lips. It wasn’t just him. Director Gong, who was staring at the monitor, wore the exact same expression.
“Go.”
One of the guards spoke to Influencer 1. She sighed, then resumed walking after them.
Under the dazzling chandelier, the image of Influencer 1 slowly ascending was captured 그대로 by the camera.
“Okay!”
Director Gong gave the signal with laughter mixed into his voice. At the same time, joking comments burst out around them.
“What was that just now?”
“I seriously thought that was gonna be an NG this time!”
Han Yeoreum, walking up the remaining stairs for monitoring, flashed a V sign with one hand.
“Did it look natural?”
At that relaxed attitude, Joo Junseo answered,
“I don’t think there’s a single person here who’d say no.”
Just as he said, Han Yeoreum now truly felt like some real influencer who existed somewhere out there.
Every movement, every line she delivered felt alive.
* * *
The camera immediately moved again. The next location was the junket room at the end of the hallway.
The true VIP room of the casino.
A glamorous world ordinary people gambling with pocket change would never even set foot in. As befitted a place only VIPs from various countries could enter, even the colors of the chips were different.
Unlike the noisy lower floor, soft classical music flowed through this place.
Women wearing diamond necklaces from brands Influencer 1 had never even heard of, along with chandelier-like diamond earrings, collapsed piles of chips while men with cigars in their mouths checked their cards.
And all of it unfolded in a space that looked as though it had been wrapped entirely in gold.
“....”
Influencer 1’s expression changed as she followed the guards. The frightened face she wore just moments ago slowly relaxed.
And before long, another kind of anticipation emerged.
They had only gone up a single floor, yet an entirely different world had unfolded before her. Instinctively, she could tell this place existed on a completely different level from the chaotic lower floor.
The sofas looked far softer and more comfortable. The tables were wider. The dealers were more refined. All of it belonged to the high rollers gathered here.
The camera riding along the rail captured every one of Influencer 1’s footsteps.
At last, the intimidating guard reached the far end of the junket room. He pulled out a key card from his pocket and pressed it against the elevator.
Beep.
The massive elevator doors opened. There were only two buttons.
One to descend back down here.
And the other leading to the place where the owner of this casino stayed.
Influencer 1’s expression changed again. It was a face where anticipation and tension coexisted.
At last, the elevator swallowed her whole and began to rise.
Upward.
To the private high-limit floor.
