Chapter 196: Action School
Kim Woo-ri and Chu Su-an sat in a corner of the action school, staring blankly at the entrance. The shouts of the stuntmen in training echoed, but strangely, their minds were foggy.
“I cried so ugly that day.”
“……I cried too.”
“I would have covered my face and cried like Su-an.”
Muyoung shared his trauma with the two of them.
The fake school violence incident was so loud that I knew roughly that his family situation wasn’t good, but I didn’t know it was this bad.
He had such a murderous impulse toward the unknown stepfather who had beaten and trampled on the young Muyoung.
“I don’t know if I should say this.”
“…….”
“It’s good that he’s dead.”
Sometimes, there are people who prove their worth through death.
Muyoung’s stepfather was clearly one of those people.
“……Junior Muyoung is truly amazing.”
Chu Su-an, who had been listening quietly, murmured cautiously.
He agreed. Muyoung was not just great, but a truly strong person. His resilience in the face of all kinds of hardships was astonishing. Especially the fact that he couldn’t commit violence because of the memory of being hit.
Knowing that the phrase ‘kind trauma’ was nonsense, there was no other way to express it.
“Sister! Senior!”
At that moment, Muyoung cautiously entered through the door. He was wearing a t-shirt, sweatpants, and a baseball cap. It seemed like his first time there, and he looked a bit awkward, but he smiled brightly at the two of them.
“Why did you come so early?”
“My schedule was a bit vague. Would you like something to drink?”
“Oh. I brought some too!”
“Director. Muyoung is here!”
“Ah. Hello, Mr. Ha Muyoung.”
At Kim Woo-ri’s call, a man approached. He was the principal of the action school and the martial arts director of
“But why are we here?”
There were definitely a lot of action scenes. But Muyoung didn’t have any intense scenes that required him to learn something at the school.
It was just a murder scene, so all I had to do was coordinate with the other person.
Chu Su-an seemed to have been coming here since he was cast……
“We only have a few days left to shoot.”
“That’s right. But—”
Kim Woo-ri tied her hair tightly and laughed. The director turned around to call some stuntmen, and Chu Su-an also rolled up his sleeves and prepared.
What is it? What could it be? Only Muyoung blinked, not knowing what was going on.
“I’m going to get rid of what you’re afraid of.”
“Huh?”
“Director, please take care of us today.”
“Of course. But has Muyoung never done any action before? His filmography is so solid.”
“Uh, I’ve been hit and rolled around. Oh, and I’ve burned too.”
In
“Jae-young! Come over here!”
The director called one of the stuntmen who were training. He was a young man with a very good physique, and he was drenched in sweat from all the exercise he had done.
“This guy is the talent of our school. Ah. All the other guys are great too, but Su-an has probably coordinated with him the most. He’s a specialist in getting hit. His reactions are amazing. He was in both the hallway scene in
“I’m Kim Jae-young. Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, hello. Wow!”
The works mentioned by the director were representative Korean noir films. They were especially praised for their artistic and vivid action scenes, and this man was the hidden star behind them.
“You’re amazing!”
He still looked like he was in his twenties. Had he done those works?
When Muyoung expressed his sincere admiration, the man just smiled awkwardly.
Kim Woo-ri gently grabbed Muyoung’s shoulder and added an explanation.
“You heard? He’s a specialist in getting hit.”
“……So what?”
“Let’s coordinate our breathing.”
It was then that Muyoung realized Kim Woo-ri’s intention.
If you’re afraid of water, start with just your ankles.
Then, gradually increase the range to your calves, waist, and neck.
Before acting out the pinnacle of violence, which is murder, you need to adapt like this. When Muyoung just smiled awkwardly, Chu Su-an took the lead.
“……I’ll be counting on you again today.”
“Yes. I’ll be counting on you.”
And then they bowed to each other.
Soon, Chu Su-an took a stance and threw a fierce punch.
“Oof!”
Maybe because he had been a fighter in college, his movements were incredible. Muyoung, who was taken aback, covered his mouth.
“Aaah!”
“…….”
Unlike the stuntman who shouted, Chu Su-an silently took his punch.
No, it was more like he ‘pretended’ to take it. They only touched each other without causing any pain.
The director made a megaphone with his hands and shouted.
“Left foot one more time!”
“Aaah!”
“Right. Then kick back from there!”
The perfect coordination of punches and kicks they exchanged was truly artistic. He was so big, yet he could move so agilely.
Muyoung felt like he was watching a performance art rather than a violent scene.
“Su-an! Lift it up with your knee!”
“……Hiss!”
“Elbow! You have to use it to look good on camera, right?”
Su-an mercilessly lifted the man’s abdomen with his knee and slammed his shoulder with his elbow. What had initially been a somewhat equal exchange now turned into a one-sided advantage.
“Okay. That’s it.”
When the director gave the cut sign, the stuntman’s head was being held up by Chu Su-an. Jae-young shook his head as if nothing had happened and laughed.
“Wow. This is much easier than last week.”
“……Thank you.”
Only then did Chu Su-an lower his sleeves and straighten his breath. Kim Woo-ri cautiously suggested,
“Muyoung, you should try it too.”
“Oh. Um.”
Muyoung hesitated and stood in front of the stuntman.
The director had been roughly informed. Not about domestic violence, but just that Muyoung found action difficult.
“The important thing is to get used to it, so feel free to strike.”
“Yes. It’s okay.”
Kim Jae-young also wiped his sweat with a towel and smiled.
With the kind and gentle encouragement, Muyoung lightly clenched his fist. He wasn’t putting in much strength, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t do it.
He clenched his teeth and lightly hit the stuntman’s shoulder.
It was more like a mere brush.
Tap.
But—
“Owww!”
“……?!”
The man fell backward as if he had been hit by a hammer?
Muyoung, who was surprised, also stopped, and then burst into laughter.
“What was that just now? That’s impossible!”
“Stunts are usually like this. Even if the protagonist swings a leek, we can’t come to our senses. That’s our job. Would you like to continue?”
Unlike how heavy it had started, the reaction was so absurd that Muyoung’s second punch was more natural. His tension had eased.
“Owww!”
“Ahaha. This is weird.”
“Keep going. This time, do about five moves in a row.”
It felt like he was the star of a talent show.
Like a talent show where a baby swings his tiny fists and adults fall like leaves in the wind.
“Aaah!”
It was so funny that he couldn’t even think of it as hitting someone.
Muyoung laughed and threw punches in a row, and the stuntman fell and rolled around before the punches even landed.
He was a true Hollywood action expert.
“What is this? It’s weird!”
“Hey. It’s not weird, so keep moving!”
Muyoung was baffled, but Kim Woo-ri confirmed the effect.
He was laughing, wasn’t he? He had cried and trembled at the thought of breaking a single piece of pottery, but now he was naturally reaching out to the stuntman. Of course, it wasn’t a punch that anyone would consider powerful.
“Would you like to shoot some energy blasts too?”
“Huh? Really?”
“Hehe. Jae-young.”
“Yup! Whoa!”
It was better to approach it as entertainment rather than action. When Muyoung cheekily shot an energy blast, the stuntman willingly flew backward.
“Alright. That’s it.”
After coordinating like that a few more times, Muyoung realized that he was drenched in sweat even though he hadn’t done much. He must have still been tense without realizing it.
“How was it?”
At the director’s words, Muyoung looked down at his hands and smiled faintly. It was absurd, but it was a little fun.
“I felt like a superpowered hero.”
“Practice little by little and get used to using your body.”
“But I feel so sorry.”
He felt very uncomfortable that the stuntman was rolling around because of him. The director, who noticed his feelings, shook his head and told him not to worry.
“Reactions are also part of the school curriculum. Everyone here trains for this, so don’t think about it that way at all. However, depending on the time, someone other than Jae-young will be in charge.”
Then that’s a relief.
Muyoung bowed deeply to the stuntman and expressed his gratitude. His reactions were so good that he was able to swing his arms without any resistance.
“Thank you so much. You worked hard.”
“No. Muyoung has long arms and legs, so I think he’ll be great at action. It was fun. Then, take care.”
And he went back to where his colleagues were training. What should he do now? When Muyoung turned around, this time Kim Woo-ri rolled up her sleeves.
“Are the two of you going to take turns handling me?”
“Of course. That’s our job.”
As colleagues, as seniors.
It was a way to repay Muyoung, who had made a difficult confession. Muyoung smiled brightly and expressed his gratitude to the two of them.
“I’m glad I told you.”
“What we just did was training to reduce resistance, so I hope you’ll keep practicing whenever you have time. Not just for
Kim Woo-ri stretched her body and answered.
“Now it’s my turn with you.”
The violence that Do-kyung inflicted on Kim Woo-ri was diverse.
He slapped her cheeks, grabbed her head fiercely, touched her, and finally, he would stab her heart countless times with a knife. Muyoung replied with a tense expression that he understood.
“Would you like to start with grabbing the head?”
“……Yes.”
Muyoung gently wrapped his hands around the back of Kim Woo-ri’s head and carefully grabbed it. She smiled slightly and placed a peanut on Muyoung’s forehead.
“Don’t stroke it. You have to grab it firmly.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Shall we start?”
The two brought their faces close together.
Kim Woo-ri instantly became immersed, her eyes filled with fear. Her trembling pupils were filled with tears, and surprisingly, they soon began to fall.
“Ah.”
“Again.”
When Muyoung was surprised and hesitated, she firmly cut him off. The victim Kim Woo-ri and the senior Kim Woo-ri clearly had the same face, but they seemed like completely different people. That was the power of acting.
“Put more effort into your immersion, Muyoung.”
“Yes?”
It was unexpected advice. He had acted to live someone else’s life, so he was sure about his immersion.
“Leave the real Ha Muyoung behind and completely become a character in the work. Would Do-kyung hesitate to strangle someone? Isn’t it difficult because the real Ha Muyoung is still lingering subconsciously?”
Erase yourself completely. Erase the existence of Ha Muyoung, who has trauma. Like Muyoung’s name, without a shadow, without a trace.
“The person shaking your head right now is not Ha Muyoung, but Do-kyung. So you have nothing to do with it.”
He realized what he had been missing.
Yes. That’s right. If he became the character of Do-kyung himself, there would be no reason to hesitate like this. The one with trauma was the person named Ha Muyoung.
“It would be impossible to change in just one day today. But you asked for my help, and I agreed, so I’ll go all the way, even if it means losing all my hair.”
“……I don’t want my sister to go bald.”
“……Pfft.”
Chu Su-an, who was squatting beside him, burst into laughter. It wasn’t the right atmosphere, but Muyoung also ended up laughing. Strangely, his eyes became moist. He was so grateful to everyone.
“Let’s go again.”
“Yes, sister.”
“Immerse yourself properly.”
“Yes. Completely, without exception.”
I’ll erase the name Ha Muyoung.
Muyoung closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against Kim Woo-ri’s. Then, he threw himself into the ‘Do-kyung’ abyss. It was so deep and dark that even if he sank, he couldn’t see his own figure. It was very suitable for hiding Muyoung.
Swoosh.
Muyoung placed his hand on Kim Woo-ri’s nape more densely than before. The hand that had been stroking her neck playfully slowly moved up to the back of her head and then slowly twisted her hair.
“……!”
Kim Woo-ri, whose head was tilted back, almost let out a cry. The man looking down at her had such a dangerous gaze. More than anything, it felt like the Muyoung who had been laughing just a moment ago had completely disappeared.