Chapter 46: The Ultimate Death

“What should I do?”

Ko Gyeongmin laughed awkwardly. Just like spilled water can’t be gathered back up, a message that has already been sent cannot be retrieved. Muyoung hesitated for a moment before turning off the screen.

“There’s nothing we can do. It’s already been sent.”

“Hmm. Wait a second. Let me think—”

“Muyoung!”

“Yes! I’m coming out!”

The manager shot out energy while holding his fingers to his temples. Muyoung left him like that and went outside. It was his first time filming outdoors after only shooting in a warehouse.

“Haha. This is going to be a hit.”

Whoosh—

A vast space filled with an abandoned factory. It was covered in all sorts of graffiti, befitting a dystopian world, and rusty metal scraps were scattered around. Look at that yellow sand blowing in the wind!

“Oppa!”

“Yuna. This is amazing.”

“It’s so cool, right?”

Just by turning one corner from a makeshift dressing room, a whole different world unfolds. This is another charm of movies, I think. Yuna, who had already finished one round of filming, looked a mess.

“Hello. I’m Ha Muyoung.”

And unlike the scenes he usually filmed, this time a large number of extras were brought in. That’s probably why the assistant director begged so much. They spent a lot of money, so if something went wrong, the loss would be huge.

“I’m counting on you.”

They said it was a mob scene, and it was the largest scale he had ever filmed. Director Jin Gyeongmun, wearing sunglasses, waved at Muyoung.

“Muyoung, thanks for coming.”

“No problem. I happened to have some free time.”

“First, number 77, number 163, number 3……”

“I’ll have to keep running.”

Scenes included running to the entrance knowing the area was being closed off, and running while holding a child in a place that had become chaos. It’s hot out, so I’ll be sweating a lot.

“I’ll check the movements for you. Assistant director! Did you tell the foreman about the things to check?”

“Yes. No problem!”

“Good. And since Muyoung is here today, let’s also film scene 69 and wrap up. Luckily, Hijun is here too, and the extras are ready.”

Louis’s final scene.

Of course, just because he dies doesn’t mean the filming is over. They proceed in such a chaotic order. But I didn’t expect them to do it like this. I thought it would be at least next week.

“Will you be okay?”

“……Of course.”

Being mentally prepared and being physically prepared are two different things. Muyoung gave a confident look. Jin Gyeongmun patted his shoulder and explained the camera movements and things to watch out for.

“You just need to run from here to that truck. Since you’re holding Yuna, be careful not to fall. We’ll do three cuts with the dolly—front, back, and side.”

“Yes. I understand.”

It’s only three times with the dolly, but considering the overhead shots and the likelihood of NGs, he would have to run non-stop for hours. Muyoung checked the angles and movements with the camera director.

“Ah. Yes, yes. I understand.”

“Good. Let’s get started right away.”

“Foreman! Stand by!”

The extras only moved on the instructions of the foreman on site, not Jin Gyeongmun or the assistant director. A man holding a megaphone made a big circle with his arm and gave the signal.

“Okay. Everyone, get back to your positions!”

Muyoung opened his arms to Yuna.

Yuna—no, Jaeni—came running and hugged him. He had sat her on his lap before, but this was the first time he held her while standing, and she was quite heavy.

“Oppa! Fighting!”

“Hold on tight.”

Muyoung supported his leg with his left hand and covered the child’s head with his right. As the staff clapped the slate, his heart pounded wildly. Muyoung had become Louis, who had only one chance left.

“Ready—!”

‘Let’s go!’

“Action!”

Louis ran with all his might. Numerous extras clung to him from behind like a horde of zombies, but he didn’t care and ran like a madman!

Thud, thud! Thud!

“Aaaah!”

A scream naturally escaped his mouth. Jaeni tightly hugged his neck and stiffened her body. He couldn’t even see the camera running alongside him.

“No—!”

Under the scorching sun, Louis’s desperate run to survive continued. Again and again, countless times.

“Ugh……”

Muyoung was on his hands and knees, making fake retching sounds. The outdoor filming finally ended after the sun went down. It wasn’t just him who suffered, but he was the only one running while holding a child.

“Are you okay? Have some water.”

Ko Gyeongmin fanned him with a script from the side. Muyoung shook his head as if he didn’t even have the strength to hold a water bottle.

“Pour it on my neck.”

“Oh dear. You’ve worked hard. You’ve really worked hard. But since we filmed it all at once, it’ll be less tiring from now on.”

Fortunately, there were no accidents where someone fell, and the footage itself turned out satisfactorily. It was so good that they gave a lot of instructions on how to do it even better.

“Do you feel refreshed?”

“More, pour more. I feel like I’m going to die.”

“The kid looks really pale. Running is really effective. If you feel nauseous, don’t drink, just wet your lips.”

His face was half its size after just a few hours.

Muyoung pulled at his shirt, which was soaked with sweat and water, and tried to catch his breath. Yuna also squatted beside him and fanned him with her hand.

“Oppa, are you okay? He was really heavy, wasn’t he?”

“Even if I had run without Yuna, it would have been hard. In terms of distance, I ran all the way from here to Seoul.”

“No way. You’re lying—”

Their playful banter resembled that of siblings with a big age gap. Yuna looked worried as she diligently cooled him down with her hands.

“But what can we do? They say we’re going back in right away.”

“Who? Me?”

“They said they’re doing scene 69 today.”

“Oh. Right.”

Muyoung lay down flat on his back and looked up at the sky. The sunset, tinted pink, was beautiful. He felt so exhausted that he didn’t even want to move.

“Hyung. Is this what it feels like to be beaten to death?”

“It would probably hurt so much that you wouldn’t be able to cry.”

“Actually, if it’s too hard, I don’t think tears would come out.”

Thinking that this was the last sky Louis would see, Muyoung felt a lump in his throat. It’s so unfairly beautiful.

“Muyoung, are you okay?”

“Yes. I think I just need to catch my breath.”

“Let’s fix your makeup and go in. We need to coordinate with the martial arts director and the stuntmen. We’ll lose the light if the sun sets.”

“The sky color today is amazing. Muyoung, you have to shoot on a day like this to create a real masterpiece, right? Let’s get it done before it gets dark.”

“Yes, sir—!”

At the urging of the assistant director and the camera director, Muyoung got up quickly. Time is money on set.

The moments of a day that can be captured on camera pass quickly, and a glowing background like this is unique to this moment.

Just because tomorrow comes, will it have today’s sunset?

“Muyoung, close your eyes.”

This time, it wasn’t just regular makeup, but special effects makeup. Blood was smeared on Muyoung’s lips, and there were marks on his nose as if he had wiped it with his hand.

“Senior, we need to hurry.”

“Give me more paint over there.”

The hands of the makeup team around him moved busily. Then, the martial arts director and the stuntmen came near Muyoung and explained the choreography.

“Keep your head wrapped up well. Most of it will be kicking, so…”

“And in the middle, you can grab my ankle as if resisting.”

It’s a one-sided beating, so he’s only being told how to get hit. A makeup artist crossed her arms and looked at Muyoung’s face. The dirt and dust makeup had been washed away by water and sweat.

“Do we need to redo this?”

“Since the sun is setting anyway, I don’t think we need to.”

“Right. You’ll be rolling around on the floor.”

“Okay. That’s it then.”

“Muyoung is ready to go!”

The staff were frantically moving around Muyoung. Come to think of it, this was almost his first solo shot. There was always Yuna or another main actor with him.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes. My body feels completely drained, so I think I’ll do really well.”

“After the beating scene, during the dying act, we’ll shoot the eye light, so don’t flinch. Keep it going. Oh, and it’s a tilt angle, leaning to the left.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“Stand by!”

Muyoung lay face down on the floor, surrounded by stuntmen. At the director’s signal, they pretended to kick and stomp with all their might. They were action school graduates, so their posture and impact were perfect, but there was no damage.

“F*ck!”

“Die! Die, you bastard!”

Crude curses flew around, and Louis protected his head with both hands. But that was only for a moment. His strength gradually faded, and his whole body became disheveled.

“Good. Cut!”

Now all that’s left is to zoom in and capture Louis’s dying moment. But—

“Huh?”

Muyoung didn’t move. Even though the stuntmen stepped back, he just lay there, his strength drained. When Ko Gyeongmin tried to run over in surprise, Yuna stopped him.

“Just a moment.”

The atmosphere froze instantly. Everyone instinctively felt it. That wasn’t Muyoung acting—it was Louis’s genuine death.

Watching someone’s death is a sacred, fearful, and sad thing, so everyone just stood there, unable to say anything, and watched.

“……Is he still going?”

Jin Gyeongmun, who had come to his senses, quickly wound his arm and shook it. Like ice shattering with a crackle, everyone moved at once.

“Bring the slate! Let’s go right now!”

“Director! Prepare the lighting!”

The sky was red. It was just about to be engulfed by darkness. The last glowing color made everyone gasp in awe.

“Ready—! Action!”

Louis lay there and lifted his head. The colors visible through the viewfinder were fantastic. White skin, red blood, and sweat-soaked brown hair.

‘Wow, wow.’

Everyone held their breath and watched Louis die. It was so beautiful that the word “amazing” naturally came to their lips. Following Jin Gyeongmun’s instructions, Lee Taekyeong held up the eye light.

Click—

Louis’s eyes looked far away.

In an empty world, what was the last thing he saw? Louis touched the bandage wound around his wrist and closed his eyes. A single tear rolled down his cheek and fell.

‘Open your eyes, Muyoung.’

‘Wow, this is killing the mood!’

Blink—

At that moment, Louis opened his eyes.

Not missing a beat, Lee Taekyeong shone the light into Louis’s left eye. His wet eyes sparkled and reflected the sunset’s glow. And then, he died.

“……Oh—”

The lightless eyes told the story. Like a burnt-out sunset, his gaze was completely submerged in darkness.

Jin Gyeongmun’s neck stiffened as he watched the screen. Could goosebumps really rise like this?

“Okay. Cut.”

“Cut!”

Although the director gave the signal, no one moved. Only Lee Taekyeong, who had turned off the eye light, turned to look at Jin Gyeongmun.

“Director.”

“Yeah.”

The two just exchanged awkward laughter without saying much. It’s done, it’s done! Only one thought lingered in the directors’ minds.

“Haha! Man! This is it!”

“It’s done. It’s done.”

No one knows how the movie will perform or if it will make it to release without issues. But one thing is certain right now—

“This is the best. The best death scene I could ever film.”

“The eye light worked really well.”

Jin Gyeongmun had seen and would see the deaths of countless characters in his life, but none were as perfect as Louis’s. The acting and the natural light blended together like water and essence, ending perfectly.

“Muyoung! Hey!”

Jin Gyeongmun hugged Lee Taekyeong lightly and called out to Muyoung. It wasn’t Louis. Muyoung, covering his eyes with both arms, lay still and only shed tears.

“Muyoung?”

“Ah. I’m sorry. Just give me a moment.”

It was his first experience with death.

It was the first time he had let go of a character’s life.

Even though it wasn’t over, the thought that it was over made Muyoung unable to control his emotions. Jin Gyeongmun gestured to the staff to leave him alone.

‘When you get too immersed, things like this can happen. Yeah. It’s normal. After showing something like that, there’s no way he could snap out of it right away.’

Muyoung continued to lie there with his face covered, and the staff began to clean up busily.

Yuna, who had been watching quietly, went over and lay face down on his chest.

“Oppa. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

“Are you very sad?”

“……Leaving Jaeni behind is so sad.”

At his words, the child also welled up, and tears filled her big eyes. The two lay there for a long time, feeling each other’s warmth.

The silhouettes of the two rising in the darkness were undoubtedly those of Jaeni and Louis.