Chapter 177: Gi Hyeon-ho
And so, filming began with the new actor.
At first glance, Gi Hyeon-ho seemed polite, friendly, and cheerful—a handsome guy with a bright image.
He greeted every single staff member, even memorizing their names quickly to build camaraderie.
“Bomi, hi!”
“Oh, Hyeon-ho, you’re here? Nice shirt!”
“Hi, Hyeon-ho.”
As soon as he arrived on set, Hyeon-ho made his presence known, moving from place to place.
When he reached the corner where Cha Eun-seong and Muyoung were sitting, he greeted them just as warmly.
“Hello, good morning.”
“Yeah, hi.”
“……”
It was Muyoung who responded.
Eun-seong only glanced at him briefly, showing no interest.
He just kept sipping his strawberry latte and reading his script.
Normally, Hyeon-ho might have felt awkward, but he didn’t back down.
“It’s so hot today, isn’t it? Would you like an ice pack?”
“Wow, thanks.”
“Oh no, I only have one…”
“Oh, it’s okay. Give it to my brother.”
He took a small cooling pack from his bag, looking very apologetic toward Muyoung. Eun-seong took it silently and placed it on his stomach.
“Hyeon-ho, I’m going to change!”
“Oh, right! See you later!”
With a bow, Hyeon-ho disappeared.
Muyoung focused on his script, lowering his head again.
Then, Eun-seong crossed his arms, looking puzzled, and muttered,
“Is that shirt in style these days?”
“Huh? What shirt?”
“The one he’s wearing. It’s similar to the one you wore last week. Are those popular now?”
Only then did Muyoung take in Hyeon-ho’s overall appearance: an ivory striped shirt and jeans.
It seemed like an ordinary outfit, but the unique cross design on the back of the shirt was from the BORNTORE signature line.
“…Oh, it’s from BORNTORE.”
“Isn’t that your friend and your cousin’s brand?”
“They must be giving out a lot of sponsorships. I got this as a sponsorship too. But I wore it to an event—how did you know, brother?”
“It was all over the news. Anyone with eyes would know.”
“You’ve got a good memory. Even I barely remember wearing it.”
Muyoung laughed it off and went back to reading his script. But Eun-seong still looked bothered, frowning.
He handed the cooling pack to Muyoung and stood up.
“Ugh, annoying.”
“What’s wrong? Low blood sugar? You just had a strawberry latte.”
“Shut up. Get ready for filming.”
What a weird brother.
As Muyoung tucked the cooling pack under his arm, Eun-seong strode off toward the back of the set, probably to smoke.
“Muyoung, the standby will be a bit longer.”
Just then, a passing staff member apologized, looking worried. It was taking much longer than usual. It had already been an hour since they arrived, and there was still no sign of starting.
“It’s okay. Is there a problem?”
“Uh, the props truck broke down on the highway. It’ll be here soon. Just a little longer.”
It was a hint to keep Eun-seong calm.
Muyoung waved his hand, reassuring them.
“It’s fine. My brother’s in a good mood—he just had a latte.”
“Huh? Where’s Cha Eun-seong?”
Just then, Hyeon-ho, now changed into a hanbok, approached Muyoung. He stared at the cooling pack under his arm.
“He went to smoke.”
“Oh, I see.”
He answered, but Hyeon-ho just stood there, staring at Muyoung—or rather, at his script.
It was heavily marked up with colorful underlines and notes, the paper almost falling apart.
It was a last-minute script, so he must have received it just a few days ago.
Noticing Hyeon-ho’s gaze, Muyoung looked up.
“What’s up? The smoking area is over there.”
“Huh? Oh, no. It’s our first scene together, so I wanted to say, please take care of me.”
“Likewise.”
“Hyeon-ho! Makeup!”
At the staff member’s call, Hyeon-ho turned quickly, intentionally letting the script in his hand fall to the floor.
Thud—it slid right to the staff member’s feet.
“Oh, sorry!”
“Wow, but Hyeon-ho, your notes are something else.”
“Huh? It’s nothing…”
“You’ve practically dissected the script like studying for the CSAT.”
People laughed and admired the well-worn script.
“I thought no one could beat Muyoung when it comes to destroying scripts… New actors these days are so dedicated.”
“No, it’s just the basics.”
“So humble. Come this way.”
“Yes, but please just call me Hyeon-ho.”
Hyeon-ho laughed warmly as he headed to the makeup area.
Muyoung peeked over his script to watch the scene. Then, Ko Gyeongmin, who had appeared behind him, whispered,
“That guy’s weird, right?”
“Jeez, you scared me. When did you get here, brother?”
“Just now. I think he’s weird. He seems like a total weirdo.”
He handed Muyoung some snacks and muttered.
His gaze was far from friendly—like he was looking at a real nutcase.
“He keeps paying attention to you.”
It wasn’t just that he was being friendly to the staff. Hyeon-ho’s style, from his clothes to his accessories, overlapped a lot with Muyoung’s, and his behavior was starting to mimic his too.
There was that distinctive way of speaking.
“Huh? Really?”
Just then, Hyeon-ho responded to a staff member, and Ko Gyeongmin nodded, as if to say, “See?”
“Look at how he talks. How annoying, right?”
His voice was dripping with aegyo.
Ko Gyeongmin glared at Hyeon-ho’s back, his eyes narrowing. Muyoung just laughed and popped a candy into his mouth.
“I don’t talk like that, though.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Do I really?”
Here we go again. Hahayiverse.
Ko Gyeongmin clicked his tongue and leaned closer to Muyoung.
As a manager, he found Hyeon-ho’s behavior irritating.
“He’s trying to get close to Cha Eun-seong, acting all friendly, but he’s subtly ignoring you. Remember when he used your dressing room without asking?”
“I let him. We were short on time.”
It was supposed to be Muyoung’s dressing room, but there must have been a miscommunication, and Hyeon-ho was already using it.
He looked very apologetic and offered to leave, but he had already unpacked his things everywhere.
With the next schedule looming, Muyoung had just said it was fine and gone straight to filming.
To anyone else, it would have been a small incident, but to Ko Gyeongmin, who didn’t like Hyeon-ho, it was infuriating.
“Smiling like an angel, but such a sneaky guy. Are you really okay with this?”
Muyoung just laughed and rolled the candy in his mouth.
Whatever…
“It’s a bit much when he keeps staring, though.”
Every time he tried to focus on his script, Hyeon-ho would strike up a conversation.
Other than that, it didn’t bother him much. There was no real harm done, and Hyeon-ho hadn’t directly wronged him yet.
And honestly…
“It’s kind of funny.”
The way he was imitating him, and the way he was trying so hard to outdo him—it was almost sad to see him struggling to win over the staff.
“The props truck is here!”
“We’ll be right out!”
“Let’s go move some stuff!”
The long-awaited props truck had arrived.
At the staff’s call, everyone with free hands rushed outside. Muyoung focused on rehearsing his lines.
“Justification, you say?”
The scene they were filming today was where Hong Jong-yeon, Hong Hee-bin’s older brother, pressured King Jungjong to eliminate Jo Gwang-jo.
But since the Hong family were also founding merit subjects and part of the old faction, Jungjong couldn’t make a decision easily. Siding with the opposing faction to check Jo Gwang-jo wasn’t appealing either.
“Hmm.”
As Muyoung pondered his emotions, Hyeon-ho approached, looking very troubled.
“Uh, Muyoung, could you help me with this line before we start filming?”
“Of course. Which part?”
It was a pretty long line.
“Your Majesty, everything has its time, and if we miss this moment, we can never turn back. Justification can be created—what is there to worry about? We cannot go against heaven’s will, but it is man who defines that will.”
His delivery was a bit shaky, even though he had paused at the right moments.
“It’s so long, it doesn’t quite land.”
“You’re right.”
Muyoung pondered, resting his chin on his hand. The pauses were fine, but the delivery was off—it was an issue with the actor.
He was wondering how to explain this when Hyeon-ho spoke up.
“What about changing it a bit?”
“The line?”
Change the line because he can’t handle it?
Muyoung looked puzzled, and Hyeon-ho added,
“I’ve heard it happens on set sometimes, with last-minute scripts.”
“Yeah, it does happen. Go ahead and try.”
Muyoung nodded, telling him to talk to the director. Hyeon-ho smiled brightly and said he would.
After rehearsing the lines a few more times…
“Muyoung! Hyeon-ho! We’re rolling!”
“Yes!”
They responded in the same tone.
Gasp. Really? Do I sound like that?
Muyoung was shocked, while Hyeon-ho hurried over to the director, seeming to discuss something—probably about the lines.
“Standby! And remove that stand in the front!”
After a long wait, filming finally began.
Muyoung sat down, adjusted his royal robe, and put on a dignified expression. Across from him, Hyeon-ho kept laughing for some reason.
“Rolling!”
“Ready.”
“Action!”
Both actors focused instantly.
They began delivering their lines steadily.
“Your Majesty, you seem troubled.”
“It’s nothing.”
“The memorial from the Office of Censors must be weighing on your mind.”
“…It’s my fault for being incompetent. All they do is praise Jo Gwang-jo’s memorials and refuse to listen.”
Hyeon-ho’s acting wasn’t bad. Muyoung delivered his lines smoothly, and they reached the problematic section.
“Your Majesty, we cannot go against heaven’s will, but it is man who defines that will. Everything has its time—if we have justification—”
“Cut! NG!”
The director, wearing a headset, waved his hand to stop the scene.
“Hyeon-ho, you mixed up the lines.”
“Ah… Muyoung told me to change them…”
Hyeon-ho’s face turned bright red as he covered his mouth, looking like he’d made a huge mistake.
Muyoung, who had been listening blankly, looked up at him, his eyes wide.
What is this guy saying?
“He told me to change the lines, so I thought it was okay.”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t say that.”
“Ah, I must have misunderstood.”
Hyeon-ho kept bowing and apologizing, looking like the victim, taking all the blame.
It was absurd. Muyoung considered stopping the shoot.
The atmosphere was getting awkward, and the director stepped in to mediate. They couldn’t afford to waste time—they had just started filming.
“What’s going on?”
“Hyeon-ho said Muyoung told him to change the lines?”
“Really? Why?”
“I don’t know. He said there was a miscommunication.”
“That’s strange.”
“Muyoung told Hyeon-ho to change his lines?”
The staff murmured, discussing the two actors.
Hyeon-ho acted like the innocent victim, repeatedly apologizing. It was infuriating. Muyoung was about to call it quits when…
“What are you stopping for? That guy’s blaming Muyoung for something the director should be doing. What’s the holdup?”
Cha Eun-seong, who had returned, shouted from the corner of the set.
His hair was still pinned up, and he stormed in, looking angry.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
Hyeon-ho, looking stiff, responded reflexively.
“Don’t play innocent and try to smooth things over. Tell the truth. Did Muyoung really tell you to change the lines?”