Ch.62Kim Donghu, is he really that good?

“Swordsman Baek Dong-soo additional filming has been scheduled, for the final episode.”

At the manager’s words,

“What? That was actually happening?”

Ha Seunghoon, the actor playing the adult Jaun, made a bewildered expression.

“I know. I said it was fine, but I didn’t think it would actually get scheduled.”

“I wonder what changes they’re making.”

“They’re probably trying to boost the ratings. Is Kim Donghu going to appear?”

After saying that, the manager quickly covered his mouth as if he’d made a mistake.

Anyone could tell his tone implied that ratings had been poor because Kim Donghu wasn’t in it.

But,

“When you make a verbal mistake, you should apologize first, hyung. Why do you always cover your mouth? That’s a bad habit.”

The person who heard those words showed little change in expression.

“S-sorry.”

As the manager apologized hurriedly,

Ha Seunghoon looked up at the ceiling with an indifferent expression.

“Kim Donghu, is he really that good?”

“Huh?”

“No, it’s ridiculous. What is it about him that makes everything he’s in a huge hit?”

Ha Seunghoon thought about what his colleagues said about Kim Donghu.

-You’ve seen his acting, right? It’s unbelievable. The character seems to truly come alive.

Like senior Han Taegeon who had already become a complete fan.

-I’m looking for a project I could do with Kim Donghu, but I can’t find anything suitable.

Or senior Jang Geonho who was determined to collaborate with him no matter what.

When actors known for their acting skills praised Kim Donghu endlessly,

it naturally made one curious.

Of course, Ha Seunghoon hadn’t watched any of Kim Donghu’s works.

Because he’d been busy.

Perhaps that’s why he couldn’t understand.

Why were people so enthusiastic about him?

“Have you seen him, hyung? Kim Donghu?”

“I couldn’t watch either since I’ve been following you around. I just know he’s extremely handsome and a great actor.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly all I know too, which makes me really curious.”

He did know what Kim Donghu looked like.

In fact, it was impossible not to know his face.

He remembered reading those trashy articles about how the child actor had transformed after growing up.

‘I’m also considered quite handsome wherever I go.’

He had experienced pretty much every scenario that comes with being handsome.

But hearing that he was outshined made him curious enough to look.

‘That level of handsomeness is truly unfair.’

Frankly speaking, with a face like that, he could get away with mediocre acting.

He could just stand there as eye candy and it would be more than enough.

But all the actors praised Kim Donghu’s acting skills, not his appearance.

‘I guess I’ll find out when I see him.’

Ha Seunghoon slowly got up and picked up the toy sword leaning against the corner of the wall.

“Hyung, get into position.”

“Huh?”

“We need to practice. It’s our first shoot with the child actors, and even though we’ll use stunt doubles, a senior should look cool, right?”

No matter how amazing the junior actor might be,

there’s no rule saying you can’t play the role of a cool senior.

Ha Seunghoon sincerely thought so.

+++++

“…Donghu, you’re really taking a break next year, right?”

“What? Of course I am. Who would joke about taking a break? I really want to rest too.”

I shrugged at Seokho hyung’s sudden question.

“I’m only going on Golden Bell because the kids kept begging me to.”

“What about the youth amateur boxing competition?”

“Well… the coach insisted I participate…”

“And the constant requests to find the script for Story of the Moon and the Stars?”

“Um… I feel like I’ve seen that work somewhere, and I’m just curious to find it…?”

After hearing each of my answers, Seokho hyung looked at me with an expression that said I was hopeless.

“Donghu, you’re only 15. Well, you’ll be 16 in a few months, but you’re still young.”

“I know.”

“You don’t need to try so hard to meet everyone’s expectations. When it’s time to rest, you should rest properly.”

“I’m only doing things I have time for, really, I’m fine, hyung.”

“If your schedule ever gets too much, tell me right away! I’ll pull you out even if I have to pay the penalty fees!”

“Okay, geez, do you know how much those penalty fees are… I’m really fine, so please give me the script.”

“…Okay.”

How long are we going to argue over one script?

When I tried to receive the Swordsman Baek Dong-soo additional filming script,

I ended up listening to Seokho hyung lecture me about the importance of rest for about 5 minutes.

I understand his concern, but my physical condition is different from ordinary people.

I’ve been doing mixed martial arts for almost 8 years now.

My recovery ability is on a completely different level.

Flip.

As soon as I saw the script, I could immediately tell which part had changed.

‘Originally, we were just supposed to appear briefly in a flashback scene.’

Now it had changed to having another duel.

While acting and stunts are important for action scenes,

the most crucial element is the direction.

From what angle,

from what perspective,

how to control the speed.

These factors determine whether the action comes alive or not.

‘Well, that’s not something I need to worry about.’

Right now, I should focus solely on my acting activities.

‘Immersion.’

Whoosh!

In an instant, the world changes.

+++++

A season when golden reeds flutter in the wind.

Standing face to face is a friend who has shared a long time, and,

“It seems the time has come to end our long relationship, Dongsu.”

An enemy.

Neither asks where things went wrong.

Because they know how futile that would be.

“Why, why are you doing this?!”

The friend’s angry cry is met with a light, hollow laugh.

Why am I doing this? Are you really asking because you don’t know?

Or is it a desperate cry because you know but refuse to accept reality?

“Because I am an assassin of the Geomrim, and you are a dog guarding the king.”

Is there any need to discuss further?

‘Everyone is dead.’

No one from the Geomrim remained except himself.

If he, the central figure of the assassins, dies, everything ends.

‘I killed them all for that purpose.’

He has no attachment to life.

Yet, ridiculously, he doesn’t want to die.

Despite killing so many,

he trembles in the face of his own death.

“If you fail to kill me here, I will kill everyone again.”

At those words, Baek Dongsu’s sword moves.

Once they played with wooden swords for practice,

but now they swing blades to kill each other.

“Can’t we start over?”

“What foolish words. That’s why you could only watch as your loved ones died.”

Clang!

Sparks fly as the swords clash.

With each clash of swords, lingering attachments are cut away.

Isn’t this enough?

Perhaps it’s time to stop using this fool who still hesitates to kill him.

-Hey, let’s see which of us will become Joseon’s greatest swordsman.

-Now?

-No, you’d win now! Later, when we’re adults!

A conversation from childhood suddenly comes to mind.

What did I say back then? Looking at your foolish smile, I probably…

‘Said I wasn’t interested.’

An assassin dreaming of becoming Joseon’s greatest swordsman?

What a ridiculous dream, I thought even then.

Perhaps I sensed it from that moment.

That this would be our end, that this relationship could only end in death.

Clang!

The blades graze each other and pull away,

Again my sword moves with terrible efficiency.

A trajectory designed solely to kill,

the same swordsmanship as my master who died foolishly holding onto human emotions.

In contrast, his sword is pathetically weak.

A sword that saves lives? Even the name is ridiculous—Hwalin sword.

Childishly enough.

‘Today I die by that sword.’

Between the chaotic entanglement of blades,

naturally, it was my sword that created the first anomaly.

A little above the side of the waist.

A position where the threat to life would be felt.

Only after my blade touches there does Baek Dongsu’s sword finally gain strength.

And simultaneously, I put down my sword without regret.

Thunk!

Ironically, though a sword is a cold weapon,

when it enters the body, it feels hotter than anything.

The intense heat blurs consciousness.

“…Thank you.”

With that brief farewell,

I exited the script.

‘…But why did I immerse into the adult Jaun role?’

A question that arose as soon as the immersion ended.

And the moment I felt that question, I immediately understood.

‘So they want me to portray these emotions in the childhood scenes.’

Born with the fate of Cheonsalseong,

killing his parents, and eventually becoming an assassin according to destiny.

When reshooting the childhood scenes, they wanted me to convey similar emotions to now.

‘I wonder if I might be able to immerse into other roles in the future.’

I tried it a few times before, but it was an area that didn’t work at all.

Seeing what I just did, it might become possible someday.

‘Well, I’ll think about that later.’

Right now, I needed to focus on Swordsman Baek Dong-soo, which we would be filming soon.

+++++

Time passed quickly, and it was the day of the additional filming for Swordsman Baek Dong-soo.

Despite the rushed schedule, preparations were extremely thorough.

Perhaps it was because they were reshooting to aim for 30% ratings.

There was even a strange tension flowing through the set.

In that ice-thin atmosphere,

“First, the child actors will show a wooden sword battle, followed by the duel between adult Baek Dongsu and Jaun.”

And later, those scenes will be mixed together in the final edit.

Director Oh Jaedeok’s calm directing continued.

“I especially want the child actors to capture that look in their eyes—close but unable to be close, that kind of atmosphere.”

“Yes!”

“Yes.”

Park Jinhyuk, who would play young Baek Dongsu, glanced at Kim Donghu who answered beside him.

“You’re not using a stunt double this time either, right?”

“Yes, senior.”

“Stop with the ‘senior’ thing. If we’re being technical, you’re the senior here.”

“Yes, hyung. I’m not using one either.”

“That’s why I decided not to use one too. I practiced a lot just in case.”

I’m even working on my kendo certification, amazing, right?

“I’m going to warm up first.”

“Ah, senior—I mean, hyung.”

“Yes?”

“If it seems dangerous, you should let go of the sword immediately. That’s the safest thing to do.”

“I know that much. I told you I’m almost getting my certification.”

Park Jinhyuk, proudly saying this, grabbed the wooden sword and moved toward the camera.

‘I need to show that I can do well too.’

Since the child actors were filming first, he needed to warm up quickly.

“Oh, and for the child actors, Kim Donghu—I mean Jaun—will win. The idea is that Baek Dongsu couldn’t beat his rival as a child, but wins as an adult.”

So Jaun needs to show his genius in the childhood scenes.

At Director Oh Jaedeok’s continued direction, question marks appeared above everyone’s heads except Kim Donghu’s.

They understood the general idea, but showing genius?

Wasn’t the instruction too vague? While they were thinking this,

Only Kim Donghu nodded,

lightly warmed up and faced actor Park Jinhyuk.

‘Displaying genius, huh.’

What could be easier than that?

With that mindset, Kim Donghu slowly immersed himself into Jaun.

Born with Cheonsalseong, killing his parents,

and eventually becoming an assassin according to fate—the young Jaun.

‘…What is he?’

He appears before Park Jinhyuk.

A swirling killing intent pricks sharply at the body.

Though he must be holding a wooden sword, strangely, only Kim Donghu’s appears to be a real blade.

Even before filming began,

seeing him already perfectly embodying young Jaun,

“Wait, did I misinterpret this character?”

Ha Seunghoon, playing adult Jaun, muttered in disbelief.

“That kid grows up to be me?”

Despite the camera right in front of him, Kim Donghu’s unwavering gaze caught his eye.

The calm trembling of his fingertips conveyed hesitation through the shaking sword tip.

“Action!”

And so the filming began.

“Haaaaaah!”

Park Jinhyuk moved fiercely from the start, proving his claim about practice wasn’t a lie.

Curious about how Kim Donghu would display his genius,

he put all his strength into an upward slash without thinking about conserving energy, when suddenly,

‘What eyes…’

The moment he saw Kim Donghu’s predatory gaze, his body froze.

Like a frog before a snake.

Not missing that opening,

Kim Donghu found the weak point of the old wooden sword.

Swoosh!

He struck down hard.

And like a lie,

Crack!

The wooden sword broke.

“?!”

At the absurd sight of a wooden sword breaking another wooden sword,

“…Amazing.”

Director Oh Jaedeok muttered in awe.