episode_0038
by admin“Ugh, I’ve messed up from the very first step…”
In the makeup team’s temporary tent. Sua, sitting and getting her makeup done, was trying to look expressionless, but in reality, she was more troubled than anyone else.
Staying still is halfway there.
No, staying still can be more than halfway there.
This was Sua’s creed, etched into her bones, and at the same time, her strength that she had only just realized. So, she tried to be as quiet as a mouse. She intended to silently focus on filming and then disappear without a trace…
‘Why did Seo Yeon-ju have to come up to me there of all places?’
…Sua’s plan was completely ruined. Thanks to Seo Yeon-ju.
Of course, Seo Yeon-ju approaching her was a very honorable thing for Sua. She was a high-profile actress, and she had a good personality, and she was pretty. She didn’t seem to have any major flaws.
But it was true that she was a bit overwhelming for Sua’s timid nature. And it was also true that she ultimately regretted how things turned out.
Sua suddenly felt a sense of disappointment in herself.
She diligently uses perks to improve her acting, but she realized keenly that she wasn’t ready for free acting yet. She will have to conquer this area eventually.
Nothing is impossible. If she puts in the effort.
‘Ugh, anyway, something’s gone wrong. Everyone’s glances have become strange.’
There is only one way out. Only one.
…Sua proving her capabilities in the main filming.
‘Yeah. From now on, it’s really just acting.’
It was when Sua was awkwardly scratching her head.
“Huh? The hair is styled! Don’t touch it!”
“Ah, sorry.”
Right. I was getting makeup done.
Suddenly, the stylist’s words struck her ears. And she was struck with the sensation of the brush touching her face again, it really hit her. She was already on the starting line of the main filming.
‘I, I’m filming a movie. I’m filming a movie.’
The thought made her heart clench. Well, to be honest, she had been nervous ever since she breathed in the air of the cypress forest.
Of course, compared to Special Operations Unit 808, the set of ‘Sword’ is very poor. Just looking at the equipment, and looking at the number of people.
Nevertheless, the reason Sua is nervous is…
‘This isn’t a mock shoot, it’s the real deal!’
The real deal. That was the reason.
Not only that. Sua took on the role of Wi Ji-hye, the central figure of this work. All the staff revolve around Sua. Like other planets orbiting the sun.
Special Operations Unit 808, each of the main characters form a trinity, but ‘Sword’ is very dependent on Wi Ji-hye. Thanks to this, Sua’s shoulders were even heavier. It’s a different feeling from when she was working with Kim Yu-han.
‘It all depends on me. On me, not anyone else…’
Do well. Do well. You have to do well.
But the Sua of now wasn’t just repeating the words that she had to do well for her own success. She thought that it would be nice if the people who had willingly gathered despite the poor environment could all be happy together.
The name of that feeling was a sense of duty as the lead actress. However, it was too difficult for Sua’s intelligence to clearly distinguish it.
‘Yeah, there’s no need to be afraid, right? There’s going to be a lot of filming in the future.’
Sua brainwashed herself while getting makeup done. Most of it was content that would give her a lot of courage.
Then, at one point.
“Sua-ssi, I really got a hit during the free acting.”
Seo Yeon-ju, who had finished her makeup first, came over and spoke.
“Well, we’re competitors here, after all. I guess you wouldn’t want to show your hand from Sua-ssi’s perspective. Should I be happy about that instead? Because it means Sua-ssi is keeping me in check.”
“What kind of…”
“Anyway, Sua-ssi, no, it’s hard for me to use honorifics now. Is it okay to start speaking casually? To get a little closer.”
Sua couldn’t nod. There were still many brushes touching her face. Three, in fact.
Perhaps taking the lack of a negative answer as a positive one, Seo Yeon-ju smiled and continued.
“You met our CEO, right? How was it? Did the conversation go well? I was very curious. Our CEO isn’t easy to deal with either.”
Just in time, Sua’s makeup was also coming to an end. When all the brushes that had applied the skin tone to match the forest were removed, Sua spoke.
“I just greeted him briefly. We agreed to meet again later.”
“…Um? Really?”
Seo Yeon-ju tilted her head.
“Our CEO is quick and decisive. He decides everything quickly, and he never goes back on it. That kind of person made an appointment to meet again and sent you away? That’s strange.”
After saying that, Seo Yeon-ju subtly moved her face closer.
Then, a strong fragrance of perfume.
“So? Is Sua meeting with all sorts of agencies?”
“Not yet. I’m busy.”
“Really? Or is there a condition that Sua wants? Like, ‘I won’t even meet you unless you meet this level.’ Something like that.”
Not at all? Sua had no knowledge of agencies or contracts. But on the other hand, she also thought this: Could it be that you have to set such standards to become a good actor?
Soon, Sua asked timidly.
“…Do I have to think about those things?”
Then, Seo Yeon-ju looked slightly surprised. At the same time as her face, which had been close to Sua, moved back slightly.
But Seo Yeon-ju soon chuckled.
“Well, you’re right. It’s the agencies’ job to rack their brains.”
Good luck with the first scene. Seo Yeon-ju left the tent first, and Sua soon got up as well.
Oh, last but not least, she put her hand on the script one last time.
Because it was time to become Wi Ji-hye now.
◈◈◈◈◈
Main filming. Sua’s turn had finally arrived.
It was also the moment when extras who had been resting in various places frantically gathered in front of the monitor. Wi Ji-hye. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the fate of ‘Sword’ depended on that role.
Minor roles added a word each in tense voices.
“Finally, it’s Wi Ji-hye’s turn…”
“Will it go well?”
“We’re running out of time? The sun will set soon. The moment there’s even one NG, we have to stop filming today. We’ll have to do it tomorrow.”
Seo Yeon-ju and Kim Seon-il were no exception.
An entourage like a folding screen behind Director Park Joon, who was sitting in front of the monitor, and Seo Yeon-ju and Kim Seon-il naturally blended into it.
“Director, I want to see it up close, too.”
“As much as you want. But there are no chairs, should I give you mine?”
“I’m fine. Should I give it to Kim Seon-il? Hey, do you need a chair?”
“…I’m fine. A chair someone else used.”
“Ugh. That germophobia of yours.”
Even while Seo Yeon-ju and Kim Seon-il were bickering, the tension on everyone’s faces only deepened. All of them were craning their necks, trying to watch closely without missing a single thing.
Between the cypress forests, an open space like a circular meadow.
Lee Sua and Son Ji-a stood facing each other.
Even at a glance, it was a suitable place to hold a life-or-death duel, and as many as 5 cameras were installed in different directions.
S#16 Forest / Day
Yoo Heon-a (Son Ji-a) walks as if possessed by something, even while seriously contemplating something. When she comes to her senses, she’s in the forest.
Her hand on the sword handle as if she has made up her mind. Wi Ji-hye, when she feels someone’s presence, she stops meditating and raises her eyelids.
Yoo Heon-a has already drawn her sword and is waiting.
Both instinctively feel that the time has come to put an end to it.
Scene number, production name, roll number, take count, director’s name, cinematographer’s name, date…. One of the staff picked up a slate on which all of those things were written without omission.
When he approached the two actors and spread out the slate.
Crank in.
Everyone held their breath.
.
.
.
.
.
In a circular empty space between the forests, two women stood facing each other.
But they had not yet stood as Wi Ji-hye and Yoo Heon-a. They were still keeping their respective places as Lee Sua and Son Ji-a.
Whoosh—
As a bleak wind swept through the surroundings like a gloomy tongue, it was Son Ji-a, who played Yoo Heon-a, who broke the silence first.
“Lee Sua. You’re quite something, aren’t you?”
But Sua did not raise her tightly closed eyelids. She only moved her lips, seemingly completely immersed in something.
“What is.”
“You pushed out Yang Ha-rin and took the lead role. With pure skill.”
The acting skills that Sua shows as Wi Ji-hye? Son Ji-a had already finished analyzing it. She was convinced after seeing the free acting with Seo Yeon-ju.
So Son Ji-a’s remarks were clearly provocative. A provocation meaning, how could you take the lead role with those kinds of skills.
There was no way she wouldn’t know what it meant, but Sua didn’t react much.
“I didn’t push her out. She just ran away on her own.”
“Really?”
Son Ji-a shrugged.
“This is just my opinion, but I don’t think you know yourself very well.”
“That’s right.”
“I thought so? Yeah. That’s what I’m saying. It seems like it.”
Son Ji-a smiled brightly as if she was a good person.
‘She has no understanding of herself at all. If she knew her own place even a little, she couldn’t be this brazen.’
In Son Ji-a’s opinion, Lee Sua had no awareness of her terrible acting skills.
If she objectively understood her own acting skills, she would never show this kind of attitude. No, she wouldn’t have even done something so presumptuous as taking the lead role in the first place.
‘This means she’s been praised a lot by the people around her.’
Son Ji-a was sure. That Lee Sua was a parachute hire.
That’s because there were plenty of characteristics of a parachute hire.
What happens when a person with endlessly terrible acting skills only receives praise? This kind of abomination is born. From some point on, they believe that they are truly giving an excellent performance.
It’s the most hypocritical thing.
‘Well, I’ll admit that her backing is pretty strong.’
The two Mystique actors are unusually protective of Lee Sua, and if Park Joon gave up Yang Ha-rin and CT Entertainment entirely, then Lee Sua must have something she believes in.
Her parents are some kind of chaebol president? But Lee Sua is a rookie, and you can’t openly bribe your way into blockbusters from your first work, so she’s testing the waters with ‘Sword’ first. Something is fitting perfectly.
‘I don’t know who her backers are. But they wasted a lot of money.’
You can only ride a parachute if your acting skills are somewhat supported. No matter how good a parachute you attach to someone with pathetic skills, it’s meaningless. It’s like cutting the rope yourself every time you act.
Son Ji-a smiled slyly after finishing her calculations.
“An expert who pushed out Yang Ha-rin! Experiencing the acting of such an actress will be a great help to me as well. So, I have a favor to ask. Will you please act with all your might?”
Of course, this was also a meticulously calculated setup.
Lee Sua can’t act well anyway. So, the more you force her to act with all her might, the more people who turn their backs on Sua’s acting will take on doubled disappointment.
“I’ll tell you in advance.”
But Sua’s answer, still with her eyes closed, was short.
“Once I start this, I can’t stop. Until I see the end.”
“…?”
What is she talking about all of a sudden? Son Ji-a tilted her head.
But she wasn’t given a chance to ask again.
Clack—!
A staff member who came up close struck the slate very loudly. The filming of scene 16, the life-or-death duel between Wi Ji-hye and Yoo Heon-a, had begun.
Son Ji-a immediately put on the face of Yoo Heon-a.
‘Good. I’ll go strong from the start.’
She intended to put in as much effort as possible.
It would be even better if she could overwhelm Lee Sua with her acting skills.
…A lead actress who is beaten by an extra? There’s no greater humiliation for an actor than that, is there? How ridiculous would it look.
Son Ji-a, who had steadily built up her career with theater, had exceptional confidence in her ‘movements’.
The skill and vividness of the movements of wielding a sword. In order to survive, she had no choice but to hone it because of the nature of theater, which conveys everything on stage, and now she had become quite skilled.
In comparison, ‘Sword’ is poor. Pathetic.
She hadn’t heard that Sua had received swordplay training, and when she saw her briefly during free acting, it seemed like she was holding a sword for the first time. Moreover, ‘Sword’ is a movie with minimal action scenes.
That’s because it’s a movie that pursues artistry, not a commercial movie.
Unlike commercial movies that captivate audiences with flashy action scenes, it’s a fusion historical drama that mainly involves philosophical debates with swords. It’s like a movie that pursues artistry.
The conclusion was simple.
Even if it’s just a simple movement of wielding a sword, the swordplay of Son Ji-a, just an extra, will be recorded as far superior to the swordplay of Sua, who is supposedly the best in the world.
The atmosphere of the set afterwards? It’s obvious without even looking.
The lead will get torn apart for being worse than the extra.
『You must be getting tired of living. Die now!』
A crazy smile spread across Son Ji-a’s lips.
Along with a precise swing. It was when a movement that would be projected as an excellent sword strike on the camera lens was unfolding.
Finally.
Wi Ji-hye’s eyes revealed themselves to the world.
Meanwhile, the hand holding the sword floated alone in a different timeline. Because the sword blade of the best in the world was already finding the answer and drawing the sword path.
Whoosh—!
Like riding a wave, Wi Ji-hye’s sword rode up Son Ji-a’s sword blade. Completely understanding and breaking the opponent’s power, an enlightenment called Paroe in the world of swordsmen.
Clang—!
While the sunlight collided with Wi Ji-hye’s sword blade and emitted shimmering light, the pure white light left a trace that flashed once around Son Ji-a’s neck.
All of this process is as natural as flowing water.
It was just a fleeting moment.
Swoosh—
As if trying to read the best in the world, the wind, which seemed much more timid than before, swept through everyone once again.
“….”
Only the places where Wi Ji-hye and Son Ji-a were standing were unusually quiet.
Before she knew it, Wi Ji-hye had passed Son Ji-a. In the reversed position, Wi Ji-hye silently revealed only her back.
It was a beat later that the lower strands of Son Ji-a’s hair shot up into the air all at once as if they had been struck hard.
Bang—!
“…!”
Son Ji-a knew instinctively.
That CG would definitely be added to this scene later.
She could picture the scene without even calculating it. Perhaps her hair, which had been struck by the sword strike, would be cut short and scattered.
That’s how perfect the sword path was. To the point where the whole situation could be pictured.
But how?
…Just how could Lee Sua?
Son Ji-a, whose expression showed bewilderment for the first time, turned her creaking head, but Wi Ji-hye still didn’t look back.
However.
『A life-or-death duel must not be this shabby.』
She just slowly lowered the tip of her sword and put strength into her voice.
The grass that seemed to bow its head along the resounding voice, the tree branches that seemed to shake in fear. The entire space surrounding her began to move around her.
『Because I, not anyone else, drew my sword.』
Wi Ji-hye, the best in the world, calmly recited to Son Ji-a, who had not yet become Yoo Heon-a. It was also a warning at the same time.
『You too, give it your all.』
Son Ji-a. Come as Yoo Heon-a, with all your might.
0 Comments