Chapter 42: Ad-lib
Silence fell.
The two managers stared at the other actor, their mouths slightly agape. The feelings they experienced were different, but the same.
It was sheer disbelief.
“And I practiced a lot so I wouldn’t mess up, but you’re telling me to do it on purpose? Why? What for?”
Muyoung asked again, his voice clear and steady.
As if he really didn’t understand, his clear gaze fixed directly on Hijun. Was this what absurd, pure curiosity looked like?
“Hey, you…….”
Hijun hesitated, taken aback by the unexpected reaction. He thought the guy would be easygoing because he was always smiling and calling him “senior.”
“You don’t think filming is a joke, do you?”
He was strong in other ways.
That answer was full of sincerity!
The expression on his face, as if he was wondering if the other person was really sick, was priceless. Muyoung was increasingly horrified at the scenario playing out in his head.
“Are you kidding me? Are you on vacation, senior?”
Whoa. This time, Hijun’s manager froze like a rock. His tone was flawless, without a hint of malice, but his words were sharp, like a knife cutting through thorns.
“No. But I’ve been hearing—”
Watching Muyoung and his manager’s reactions, Hijun realized how much of a mistake his words had been.
But this kind of reaction wasn’t right.
He had his pride, so he should at least pretend to be offended for appearances’ sake. Just as he tried to salvage the situation, Muyoung cut him off.
“Right? No, right? Phew. I was almost shocked. I was wondering how to deal with it if that was the case.”
“Are you not listening to me?”
“I’m listening. We’re having a good conversation, aren’t we?”
What’s this? He’s being overwhelmed by the other’s energy and the atmosphere.
The great Lee Hijun! By a rookie like this? He clenched his teeth and threw away his cigarette. His face, now bright red, spoke volumes.
‘How embarrassing!’
In front of him stood Ko Gyeongmin, blocking his way. Muyoung peeked over his manager’s shoulder and looked at Hijun.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said. I think it was a slip of the tongue. You’ve been so busy lately, so it’s understandable.”
Oh, so you’ve been so busy that you’ve lost your mind?
Muyoung looked at Hijun in admiration and gave him a thumbs up, not realizing that was exactly what was irritating him.
“Anyway, have a nice chat, and I’ll see you later. Oh, and one more thing. That rumor wasn’t started by us. You know, the one about how Lee Hijun got ‘acted’ down by Muyoung.”
“Yeah. Absolutely not!”
Ko Gyeongmin’s skill at subtly getting under someone’s skin was impressive.
He had rolled around in the toughest places, not just in acting. Countering like this and cutting things off was no problem for him.
“Let’s go, Muyoung.”
“Senior! I’ll have a cup of coffee ready for you. Get your act together! Let’s go, fighting?”
Muyoung cheered, clenching his fists. His manager seemed satisfied and pulled him away, urging him to hurry.
Until the moment they turned the corner and disappeared, Muyoung kept shouting, “Let’s go, fighting!”
“Those—those—!”
“Hijun, hold on, hold on.”
“Ah! Damn!”
Bang!
After the two left, Hijun, unable to control his anger, kicked some random items. His manager stopped him with exaggerated gestures. In the empty back of the warehouse, Hijun’s scream of embarrassment echoed.
“That’s strange.”
As Muyoung entered the set and muttered to himself, Ko Gyeongmin poked him in the side to warn him. Now, the staff’s eyes and ears would be everywhere.
“Just think of it as stepping on shit.”
“Why would he ask for something like that? I’ve never even thought about it. A deliberate mistake? ……On purpose?”
For Muyoung, this combination of words was unimaginable.
Besides, for Hijun, it wasn’t a request but an order, but he didn’t realize it at all. Ko Gyeongmin collected the script with a faint smile.
“Let’s just focus on filming. I heard the new lighting director is coming today to check things out, so make sure to greet him properly—”
Ko Gyeongmin recited the filming schedule. Muyoung listened and greeted the staff. The staff, who had looked tired, now had smiles of welcome on their faces.
“Muyoung, you’re here?”
“Hello!”
“Oh. Good morning!”
Muyoung exchanged eye contact and greetings with every staff member, even the lowest-ranking ones. He looked around for the lighting director but couldn’t find him.
“Should I go straight into makeup?”
“Yes. Sis. Oh, right. I need to make a cup of coffee.”
“Coffee? Muyoung doesn’t drink coffee, does he?”
The youngest member of the makeup team asked as she organized her tools.
The warehouse door opened, and Hijun, having calmed down a bit, entered. His glare was sharp, and Muyoung muttered,
You’re still not in your right mind, huh?
“Not for me. They say coffee helps you wake up. Someone needs that.”
“Ready—!”
Jin Gyeongmun’s signal sounded.
Everyone held their breath as they watched Lee Hijun standing on the set. Jaeni’s house was filled with garbage, leaving no room to walk. Hijun took a deep breath.
“Action!”
“Where is it? Where is it—!”
Jin, like a madman, rummaged through the floor, searching for the note Jaeni had unknowingly taken. It had the factory system’s password, which changed daily, written on it.
Crash! Swish! Smack!
They would add sound effects later in post-production, but this kind of liveliness wasn’t bad either. The boom mic got as close to the set as possible to capture the sounds.
The intense performance continued. Jin Gyeongmun, satisfied, cut the scene after checking the viewfinder.
“Okay! That’s good. Let’s go with that. Prepare the next scene. Which one was it?”
“It’s scene 58, following this one. Are Yuna and Muyoung ready?”
“Before that, let’s rehearse the choreography one last time. Where’s the action director?”
“Hijun, just a moment.”
Every time a take ended, the staff had to rush around frantically. Amid the chaotic set, the actors were the only ones who could relax.
“This is your first action scene together.”
“Yeah. I’m nervous.”
“Hmm. Just trust Yuna.”
The action wouldn’t amount to more than grabbing each other by the collar and rolling around. Yuna punched her chest and assured everyone. Hyojung watched the scene with a blank expression.
‘Can I go sit in the car and rest? Huh?’
The SOS sent to the manager came back as an ‘X’ sign with her fingers. Apparently, they had to sit like this and take still photos because of those damn stills.
“Sis. Have some of this too.”
Yuna offered Hyojung some snacks. Hyojung, who would never eat them under normal circumstances due to her diet, accepted them this time.
How could she refuse when the still team was openly pointing their lenses at her?
“Thanks.”
“Is Hyojung done for today?”
As the three of them were taking photos, Hijun approached, wiping his hands. All four actors gathered and looked at the lens.
Click—click!
“Yes. For now.”
“If there’s no additional filming, you can go right away, right? I’m jealous. That’s why supporting roles are good. Don’t you think?”
Hijun slung his arm around Hyojung’s shoulder and sneered.
Hyojung wore a smiling mask while venting her frustration inside. Yuna crunched on her snack and replied,
“Then you should play a supporting role, Uncle.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“If you’re jealous of supporting roles, then do it. Originally, you weren’t even cast as Jin.”
“……Uh, Yuna?”
“We’re taking pictures. Don’t look at me, look ahead.”
She was bold, almost cunning! Hijun glared at the back of Yuna’s head and clicked his tongue. Their meeting was like a whirlwind. Only the managers in the corner had to endure the anxiety.
‘What the hell is up with Muyoung?’
Except for Ko Gyeongmin.
Didn’t Hyojung and Hijun, and Hijun and Yuna, sense the complex, tense atmosphere between them?
“Should we try this pose too?”
“Let’s all link arms together!”
“Wow. The photos turned out great.”
If you had any sense, you couldn’t possibly miss it.
Muyoung was excited and kept making V signs in front of the still team. But there was something Ko Gyeongmin didn’t know.
“Everyone, smile properly just once.”
Muyoung wasn’t unaware; he just didn’t care. He figured, whatever, water is water, and mountains are mountains! As long as it didn’t interfere with filming.
He noticed the still photographer’s disappointed expression and quietly asked his fellow actors to help out.
Click! Click—!
“Yuna, Hijun, Muyoung! Over here!”
“Yes!”
And finally, the action director called them over. The director checked the script and screen alternately as he explained. It was a scene where the three of them got tangled up together.
“We’re going to do the fight scene as planned. It’s actually nothing special. Louis comes in first, right? He discovers Jin, who’s flipping through the floor, and blocks Jaeni from coming in. Then he stops Jin, who’s rushing at him. Jin grabs Louis by the collar.”
“What about the bandages Yuna and I are tied up with?”
“Since it’s your left hand, pull it all the way back, and only use your right hand to swing around. Yuna, just shake your body to match that. And maybe struggle a bit to help Louis?”
It’s really not much of a scene.
But the reason the action director was there was just one: Jin Gyeongmun had asked him to be careful because a child was involved.
“Like this?”
Hijun calmly grabbed Muyoung’s collar and pulled him.
“Then I’ll twist my body right away.”
“Then block this side—”
Maybe because all the staff were focused, Hijun was quite professional in coordinating with Muyoung. Ko Gyeongmin, who had been slightly worried, breathed a sigh of relief.
“Like this—snap! And that’s the cut, right?”
“You’ll need to move a bit faster.”
“Really? Director!”
Since it’s a fight scene, the goal is to get it done in one take.
The three of them practiced enough to get the choreography right. Muyoung was satisfied as he grabbed the back of his neck—
“Hmm.”
Yuna frowned and scratched her chin.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s just… something feels off.”
The child’s eyes were fixed on the side profile of Hijun, who was talking to Jin Gyeongmun. It was strange. Something was different from usual.
“But since intensity is key, after pushing him against the wall, finish it naturally with some ad-libbing.”
Jin Gyeongmun gave instructions to Muyoung and Hijun, then put on his headset. It was a signal to start. Muyoung pulled Yuna’s hand, who was still deep in thought.
“Ready—!”
Smack!
“Action!”
“Fuck, where is it? The paper…… It was definitely yellow…….”
Whoosh!
Jin’s hand trembled like that of someone suffering from OCD. Paper and garbage flew around, and he was almost on the verge of losing his mind.
Creak.
“I’ll just change my clothes…….”
“……!”
As the door opened and someone entered, Jin instinctively turned his head. It was a reaction like that of a beast, jumping at any sound.
Crash!
“Jaeni! No!”
“Fuck, you come here! You!”
“Go! Go! Jaeni! Untie this!”
Hijun grabbed Muyoung’s collar and pushed him against the wall. Louis struggled desperately to protect the child. The bandages connecting the two men were cumbersome.
“Untie it and run! Run!”
“Aaaah! Louis! It won’t untie! I can’t do it!”
Louis screamed, and Jaeni also screamed. The child’s body swayed back and forth along the dirty cloth, dangerously caught between the two men.
“You little bastard! Shut up—!”
‘Shut up? That’s not in the script.’
At that moment, Hijun screamed and grabbed Muyoung’s collar even harder, shaking him violently.
Bang! Bang! Bang against the wall!
It was stronger than during rehearsal, but bearable. As Muyoung desperately tried to pull him off with both hands—
Ding—clang!
“Ouch!”
Hijun suddenly stumbled. He turned around in disbelief. Yuna, holding a tin pot, had hit him on the head.
“What are you doing? Ah—really. Uncle! That’s an NG.”
And she sighed, as if to make a point.
The child was speaking with her eyes.
“It’s an ad-lib. An ad-lib.”
Just hold him properly. Every time Hijun used force on Muyoung, she would hit his head with all her might.
“We’ll have to do it again, right? Director?”