- Death Hill’s director and writer modified the sequence this time. It seems both of them liked working with you last time. They added a few more scenes for your character, which is why I’m contacting you. Death Hill’s director, Moon Seung-Kwon, is known for making sudden changes to the script while filming is still ongoing. The casting directors resent him because he often rushes them to hire actors the day before filming. That also means there are several people like you who get to grab unexpected opportunities, though.

Woo-Jin hung up after Kim Sang-Jin told him about the schedule and location, and cheered as he ran around the sidewalk. At this moment, he was extremely elated, even though people were slowly avoiding eye contact with him as if he were a madman. Even recalling all 999 of his past lives could not compare to a golden opportunity like this.

***

In Death Hill, the female protagonist greatly suffered due to her father’s debt, and her life became even more difficult after she became a suspect upon witnessing a murder. As she was being chased by the police, the killer, and various loan sharks, the only person who believed her was the male protagonist, a journalist. In their story about going through adversity and adventure before having a happy ending, Woo-Jin played the role of ‘Loan Shark A’.

It was such a minor role that the character did not even have a name. He was the antagonist responsible for the female lead’s initial misfortune, which started when her father borrowed money from loan sharks to pay off his gambling debt. To be more precise, he was one of the youngsters who worked for the boss of the loan shark company, whose duty was to collect money.

However, he secretly liked the female lead. He initially approached her intending to collect on her father’s debt; in the process, though, he broke things and tried to intimidate her by sexually harassing her, insisting that she sleep with him instead of paying interest fees. That clingy slimeball even told her that when she gets sold as a prostitute, he would tell his coworkers that he called dibs on her first.

“So, they liked the dirty look in your eyes,” the assistant director explained to Chae Woo-Jin. While elaborating on the full content of the modified sequence, he also emphasized that there was a slight change in Woo-Jin’s role. “Originally, the female lead was chased and caught by the loan sharks, but she was rescued by the male lead before she became a corpse with no organs. Now, instead of the male lead, A intervenes and rescues her. Originally, A was simply a pervert who sexually harasses the female lead, but now, we’re adding a little madness and pure love to his character. Okay?”

“So, the key is to portray him as a pervert?” Woo-Jin asked.

“And a spoonful of madness, and two spoonfuls of pure love,” the assistant director said as he handed over the script of the changed sequence with a mischievous look on his face. He had worked with Director Moon on more than a dozen films over the years, and he seemed to be fine with the modifications.

In the eyes of the public, Director Moon Seung-Kwon was known for improvising and changing the script right before filming to change things up; but in truth, that was not the case. This always happened whenever he disliked the leads chosen by the investors. That was the truth behind the partially modified scenes that reduced the screen time given to the leads. He made his changes spontaneous in order to avoid giving the investors or actors a chance to react. In truth, it was Director Moon’s ‘eccentricity’ that required the cast to be fully prepared after only a few days of discussion with the main staff.

That being said, the changes often made things better, allowing their movies to be more positively received by the public. Thus, even though the investors might grumble, they ultimately did not say much. It was similar to the way bad behavior from an honor student would be overlooked to a certain extent, as long as they kept up their good grades. Regardless of what anybody said, Director Moon was one of the most popular movie directors in Korea.

“There aren’t a lot of lines, so memorizing them isn’t a problem, right?” the assistant director asked. Whether or not he remembered that Woo-Jin had memorized his fairly long lines immediately during the filming a month ago, he did not worry about Woo-Jin’s memorization skills.

“Yes,” Woo-Jin replied.

“Umm…! You’re dressed differently, and your hair is a little longer than the last time we filmed,” the assistant director remarked. After being discharged from the military for two months, Chae Woo-Jin’s hair was still short, but it seemed to have grown a little longer compared to the last time he was on set.

The art director shook her head after hearing what the assistant director said, commenting, “It’s fine. Besides, time passes within the movie as well, so it’ll look natural. If you need to convey pure love, it won’t match well if your hair is too short. Since you have a good physique, there’s no problem.”

The assistant director clicked his tongue at the dynamic laughter of the art director, who liked Woo-Jin’s physique and looks that outshone the male lead’s. He remarked, “She won’t be able to leave this floor because she wants to ogle handsome men.”

“I love looking at pretty things and earning money. Mr. Chae Woo-Jin is tall and handsome. I enjoyed the view back then, and it’s so nice to see you again. Good luck this time. I hope to see you often on this floor for a long, long time,” the art director said.

There were quite a number of new actors present as a result of the ‘modified script’ that had been created thanks to Director Moon’s spontaneity. An appearance in the movie, no matter how brief, would be impactful enough to make one’s name known to the world. Everyone who was present knew that for a fact.

Thus, the way they looked at Woo-Jin today was subtly different from how they had looked at him a month ago. If an actor who had already finished filming his part had been brought back to replace the male lead, it meant that the director must have seen something in him. If he messed up, he would have nothing to say if people mocked him for blowing his chance.

Woo-Jin received the script for the scene, which only had a few lines, and read it over and over again. In order to understand the ambience and A’s personality, he had to understand the entire story. As soon as he was done with his makeup, however, he had to go on set immediately due to a lack of time.

***

The loan shark boss’ face quivered with anger as he yelled at A, “So, you’re telling me you don’t know where she went?!”

“Yes,” A replied.

“You don’t know, or you’re pretending not to know?”

“...”

“Do you think nobody in the office knows you like that woman?!” As soon as the boss said that, he threw a light stainless steel ashtray at A’s face.

A’s eyes glistened through the flying gray ash after he was hit by the ashtray. He replied with a sly smile, “That’s because she’s so hot. Aren’t you like that too when you see pretty things?”

The boss finally stopped looking so angry after people started shooting glances at each other. He said, “Find her before the police get to her first. It doesn’t matter whether or not she was the killer, I just want my money back.”

The interest fee alone was already more than enough, but it did not mean anything to the loan sharks.

“Should we sell her after we catch her?” A asked.

“Are you crazy?! Her face is plastered all over the country; how are you going to do that? How much would it cost to change her face? If the bounty is high, we can take it and also get a commendation. Just put 3,000 somewhere and hand it over to the factory,” the boss replied.

“The factory…” A began.

“You know what I’m talking about!” the boss exclaimed, laughing cruelly.

In response, A laughed too. His eyes, which were void of all emotion, did not tremble at all. However, as soon as he left the boss’ office and turned around before closing the door, his eyes filled with rage. He smirked sinisterly, muttering, “Factory? I like factories.”

A had a dark look on his face, as if he were quietly asking, ‘Who gave you permission?’.

***

“Cut!” the director yelled.

The director’s clapboard lifted a weight off Woo-Jin’s shoulders. That scene had been filmed with no bad takes from start to finish, leaving the director and other staff members very satisfied. Woo-Jin’s performance was better than they had expected, even though he had been suddenly summoned without any prior preparation. They liked the venomous look and madness in A’s eyes, in particular.

“Was he that good at expressing emotions through his eyes?”

“He wasn’t bad in the first place. Is he the actor who was selected after the audition?”

Loan Shark A had originally been such a minor role that there was no need for auditions. However, the director had not liked the male lead, who had been selected due to pressure from the investors. Hence, he had decided to hold auditions even for the smallest roles. In a way, the director had wanted to use this movie to protest against hiring actors via connections. If a good actor were to come by, like today, it would serve as a strategic move to help them.

Chae Woo-Jin was 186cm tall and had a personable face, with features that were popular these days. He was handsome and had soft and beautiful features, as opposed to sharp and defined features. However, because of his distinct features, it was still possible for him to achieve a bolder look depending on the makeup he used. At first glance, he looked like a gentleman, so they were worried that he would not be able to play the role of a delinquent loan shark. However, he was still able to do it effortlessly.

“He’s going to be popular, right?” the cinematographer asked in a soft voice. Director Moon merely smiled. Having been in this field for a long time, they often had certain hunches. They were mostly correct, apart from a few exceptions here and there.

The reason why some actors could not make it big despite having a good body and looks, as well as great acting skills, was fate. In fact, becoming a star in the sky was about more than just hard work and luck. Stardom was a position that only those chosen by the masses and the God of Fate could enjoy. It could not be determined by mere gut feelings.

“The look in his eyes is really good,” the cinematographer remarked.

“That’s what I’ve been saying. He was good at conveying emotions through his eyes before, too,” the director replied.

“What did you get from him? Why are you so concerned with his success?” the cinematographer asked, puzzled.

“One or two jobs. They try to make a good impression when they’re still unknown, and repay the favor once they make it big,” the director said.

Ignoring obscure actors and being reckless were things that people without foresight would do. Of course, Director Moon was not generous enough to care about people with no prospects, but at the very least, as a rule, he had to be loyal. Regardless of how jungle-like the entertainment industry was, he had had to follow this rule in order to survive in it for a long time. If those actors wanted to make it big, they would have to start building good relationships from the beginning when they were still nobodies.

“Are you going to get stabbed in the back again, then?” the cinematographer asked.

“Ah! Those bad memories are starting to come back,” the director exclaimed.

“You shouldn’t approach them with such intentions in mind while merely hoping they’re sincere,” the cinematographer cautioned.

Because Director Moon and the cinematographer were engaging in a secret conversation, the actors had to get back into their momentum. They had thought that it would be done in one take, but the director did not seem entirely satisfied.

After his conversation with the cinematographer, Director Moon lifted his head and told the actors there were changes that needed to be made with a blank expression on his face, not knowing how confused they were.

“Why are you doing this instead of moving onto the next scene?”

The others might not know, but Woo-Jin was done with filming for today. The important scenes would be filmed the next day, so he grabbed the script and quietly left the set. Despite how rushed it had been, the schedule for the day was not so bad.

The crew had rented an entire building that had been scheduled for demolition. Even though there were several rooms, they were all in use. When Woo-Jin went down to the actors' lounge downstairs, there were already people seated there. They were Loan Shark 1, Loan Shark 2, and Loan Shark 3. Fortunately, they were not unfamiliar to him, as they had been on set with him during the last filming. Loan Shark 2 saw Woo-Jin first, but did not acknowledge him.

“Oh… A is here!” Loan Shark 1 remarked.

“Hello. I’m guessing you guys aren’t done with filming today,” Chae Woo-Jin replied.

“Yeah. We’re police officers today, loan sharks tomorrow, and passersby the day after. Did the filming go well for you?” Loan Shark 1 asked.

“It went all right today, but I’m worried about tomorrow,” Woo-Jin said. Tomorrow’s scene was going to be an action-packed brawl, so he was worried.

Loan Shark 1, who knew about Woo-Jin’s situation, smiled and patted the seat next to him. The lounge, which had been originally used as an office, was rather huge, so even after the four men sat down, there was still a lot of space. Judging from the mat on one side, it seemed as though sleeping arrangements had been settled.

“A, are you going to sleep here tonight too?” Loan Shark 1 asked.

“I might, since we have to work on the brawl scene early in the morning tomorrow. Is there space for me?” Woo-Jin asked in response.

“There will be mats and blankets everywhere at night, so you don’t have to worry about finding a space to sleep. Director Moon takes good care of the staff, as well as the actors who do minor roles, so it’s great to work with them,” Loan Shark 1 explained.

Woo-Jin nodded upon hearing those words. Even he, who had just entered the entertainment industry, knew that Director Moon was famous for his good personality in a sea of demanding directors. He was very lucky to be working with Director Moon for his first movie.

“Since you’re doing the brawl scene tomorrow too, that means you’ll be joining us,” Loan Shark 1 said.

“Yes, I’ll be beaten up by all of you. Please be gentle with me,” Woo-Jin replied.

“Why are you being so formal with us? In the film, you’re our older bro,” Loan Shark 1 added.

“That’s because he was hoping we would go easier on him tomorrow,” Loan Shark 3 interjected.

Woo-Jin played along with Loan Shark 3’s playful response, and the three men clenched their fists as they laughed, looking forward to tomorrow.