Ch.215Shall we have a fun conversation for a moment?

After a major safety incident was narrowly avoided and successfully resolved, Seokho, Berillard Ice, and the production team decided to hold a separate meeting.

“This isn’t something that ends just because you say you’re fine. That’s why we have contracts.”

“I know. Thanks as always, hyung.”

“This is what being a company representative and manager is all about.”

No matter how well things ended, they couldn’t just ride that positive atmosphere all the way through.

A safety incident in Hollywood where hundreds of millions easily change hands?

It definitely needed to be thoroughly addressed.

‘But it’s strange for an actor to be involved in that part.’

For matters like this, having Seokho hyung and a good lawyer would resolve everything.

Since there had been a safety incident, they would need to inspect the entire studio again.

‘That’ll leave at least a week of downtime.’

They said this was routine in Hollywood.

It felt strange, but I had no choice but to adapt quickly.

As I was organizing my thoughts at the now-wrapping film set…

*Swoosh*

“Is your shoulder okay?”

The director of Tarzan approached quietly.

“Pardon? My shoulder?”

“Yes, these kinds of movements put a lot of strain on your joints. And your back too.”

“I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”

A cleanly shaved head with sparse remaining hair.

Blue pants and a plump figure.

He looked somewhat like a cartoon character.

“I look like one, right?”

“Excuse me?”

“A cartoon character. I hear it often. That I look like one, D’oh!”

“…?!”

“Usually when I eat a donut after this, people are really surprised by the resemblance.”

I was startled by this sudden performance when the director extended his hand.

“I don’t think I properly introduced myself. I’m MacGrory Drom.”

“I’m Kim Donghu.”

Though the situation was unexpected, it somehow felt natural.

He had a certain bouncy quality to him. I wondered if this was what Hollywood was like.

“I actually prefer very realistic direction.”

“Pardon?”

This was followed by an unexpected self-promotion.

I was confused at this point.

Director MacGrory continued speaking.

“Using minimal CGI, I mean. I don’t like spending money on things that don’t need it. I guess you could say I like making things?”

“Ah… I see.”

“Of course, jungles need CGI for environmental protection reasons, and animals obviously need CGI too.”

Was he someone who lived in reality while dreaming of ideals that fit within that framework?

But why was he telling me this?

Just as I was wondering, he got to the point.

“So, um… would you mind looking at the footage with me?”

“The footage?”

“Yes, this scene turned out so well that I think we’ll use it almost as is, so… ahem, yes.”

Following Director MacGrory’s guidance, I moved to the monitor.

There I was, grabbing vine-shaped ropes and swinging around.

From precariously riding the vines to wrapping my ankles around them to hold on.

Various acrobatic feats were displayed on screen.

And between those feats.

*Dangle*

“…”

Something was dangling.

“I want to continue with this kind of approach, giving it a raw, natural feel. What do you think? A vivid direction!”

*Dangle*

*Dangle*

The characteristic of the Tarzan costume is that the lower body is covered with banana leaves.

Underneath, I was wearing short pants secured with drawstrings.

*Bulge*

*Bulge*

I never expected it would look like this.

“…No, I think this needs CGI treatment?”

“What? This direction?”

“Is that what you were talking about?”

“Yes, what else would I—”

After hearing my response, Director MacGrory’s expression changed subtly.

His face showed sudden understanding of why we’d been talking about different things.

“Th-this will definitely be edited out. Haha… hahaha, I thought it was like a portable club or something…”

I thought it was a prop you had prepared in advance.

But it wasn’t.

My head drooped at Director MacGrory’s rambling explanation.

And to somehow defuse this situation…

“S-so! What I wanted to ask was how you feel about increasing this kind of action and direction…”

“…That sounds good.”

Director MacGrory somehow managed to continue the conversation.

I felt like I was going to go crazy wanting to escape this scene as quickly as possible.

+++++

News that Kim Donghu’s first Tarzan shoot had finished spread quickly.

“He already did his first shoot?!”

“Yes, I just heard.”

“No, no… no! I was really hoping to watch that!”

Mid-February.

Evelyn Queen Ember, preparing for her last off-season performance before the Tarzan shoot, expressed her disappointment.

“I can’t believe I missed it…”

“Can’t be helped when schedules don’t align.”

“We need to practice together properly, and that requires spending a lot of time together, so meeting early would be better.”

Evelyn wasn’t usually talkative.

Three sentences at most.

But lately, she’d been talking more.

‘It’s because of a man.’

The CAE representative wondered if this was a good sign.

After all, scandals were the most lethal thing in Hollywood.

Of course, a scandal breaking didn’t mean immediate ruin.

Depending on the type of scandal, it could become a stepping stone to success.

It could even open up a different avenue for publicity.

‘The problem is the paparazzi.’

The story changes depending on how they process it.

If you have to spend time making unnecessary explanations, you take a hit.

From the representative’s perspective, Evelyn’s previous lack of interest in men had been quite convenient.

It meant ignoring what would otherwise be the most concerning aspect.

But.

‘Who knew one man would change all that.’

Kim Donghu was the problem.

Yes, he was handsome—admittedly at a level that could be called the most perfect in the world.

In such cases, he should at least have a terrible personality or some other issue.

But he had none of that—he was impeccably clean.

A man anyone would fall for.

In a way, it might be better that she fell for someone like him.

‘If she’d fallen for some other jerk…’

He might have truly harbored ill intentions.

Having met Evelyn just before she entered middle school,

the representative thought of her as a daughter and truly cared for her that way.

“That’s true, we’ll need to dance together later too… so.”

Perhaps that’s why conversations about romance were difficult.

“Should we meet separately for extra practice then?”

“What?”

“Why are you so surprised? We did the same thing for Ghost of the Opera.”

“Privately?! Private meetings are a bit… hmm, not good.”

That was absolutely out of the question.

The probability of getting caught by paparazzi in private meetings was 100%.

It was extremely dangerous.

“Is it because of the paparazzi? We just need to avoid getting caught.”

“Oh, Evelyn… I knew this day would come someday, but let me tell you this.”

“Yes?”

“Everyone who has ever said that ended up getting caught and embroiled in scandals.”

“Are the paparazzi really that relentless?”

“Of course they are. It’s even difficult to harm them in any way.”

It was an incredibly complex structure.

Evelyn understood but couldn’t truly grasp it.

Because she hadn’t experienced it firsthand.

“But I sometimes see articles about people taking cameras away… I didn’t know.”

“Those make the news because they’re unusual. Usually, you don’t even know where they’re shooting from.”

“Really?”

“Of course. And rookies are even easier targets.”

Especially someone like Donghu Kim who had just landed the lead role in Tarzan.

As the representative spoke with confidence, Evelyn nodded.

And as if to prove those words…

At that very moment.

*Click*

*Click*

‘This is good material.’

A paparazzo was photographing Kim Donghu in real-time.

Having an informant at Disney had definitely paid off.

Information about Tarzan’s lead hadn’t been properly revealed yet.

Breaking the story first would definitely attract enormous attention.

‘Whether they’re still doing internal testing or whatever…’

Digging up information on an actor who had briefly worked on Ghost of the Opera was extremely easy.

‘But he really is incredibly handsome.’

Despite not being well-known yet,

people were noticeably looking at him just walking down the street.

Some were openly staring in admiration.

The power of looks that devoured both Eastern and Western standards was tremendous.

*Click*

*Click*

‘And I’ll be the one introducing that face to the world.’

You should be grateful.

The paparazzo muttered while continuously pressing the shutter.

After taking photos for a while…

Having not yet captured any Tarzan filming scenes,

he confirmed he had enough teaser photos and was about to leave when…

*Whoosh*

“?”

His eyes met directly with Kim Donghu’s.

He thought it was a coincidence.

It didn’t make sense.

The current distance was about 250 meters.

Unless he was Mongolian, making eye contact in a crowded city?

‘More precisely, with my lens?’

That was absolutely impossible.

‘It’s probably nothing.’

Just as he was thinking that…

*Swoosh!*

Kim Donghu moved.

“Huh?”

The path was a straight line.

He could see him coming directly toward him.

“W-what, what, what, what!!!”

His gaze fixed on him.

With the momentum of a predator charging at its prey,

the paparazzo was startled and hurriedly packed his equipment.

The time elapsed so far was about 12 seconds.

In that short time, Kim Donghu had already significantly closed the distance.

‘Is he really coming for me? Really?’

Why hadn’t he taken super long-distance photos? Simple.

For rookies who hadn’t dealt with paparazzi before, close-up shots from this distance were the sweet spot.

Generally, the closer you shoot, the more you capture.

And the more you capture, the more you can sell it for.

But getting caught?

Was that even possible?

As he was thinking this and about to leave…

*Thud!*

Time had already passed 26 seconds.

Kim Donghu had somehow already arrived right in front of him.

“You were taking pictures of me just now, weren’t you? Multiple shots.”

“…H-huh, wh-what?”

Facing the paparazzo who was too shocked to speak…

“Would you like to have an interesting conversation with me?”

Kim Donghu smiled brightly.