A Genius Actor Appears Out of Nowhere - Chapter 5

“So this is your place, Actor Bong?”

“My place… calling it that might be a bit much. It’s just a studio apartment.”

“With acting skills like yours, you’ll be clearing out of this home in no time.”

“Well, but I already have everything I need. I wonder if there’s any need to move.”

“…Even with this?”

“Yes.”

Bong Seong-hwa’s rooftop room.

Park Sang-hyun, who had rushed over here in a flash after just a single phone call, was sitting on the floor facing him.

And beside Bong Seong-hwa was Lee Jin-sung, who had still not fully recovered from his hangover.

“…I, uh, drank a bit yesterday, so please excuse my unkempt appearance.”

“…Ah, haha, of course.”

Since he was someone he had seen yesterday as well, Park Sang-hyun deduced that he must be Bong Seong-hwa’s acquaintance.

“This is the revised script. I put my true heart into it, just as you gave feedback, Actor Bong.”

Bong Seong-hwa received the script handed to him by Park Sang-hyun.

Before looking at the script, he first examined Park Sang-hyun’s complexion.

Though he knew directors in the middle of shooting fatigued easily, even so, his current state was quite severe.

‘He’s lost half his weight in a single day.’

It felt like he had endured mental and physical anguish all at once.

‘He must have stayed up all night.’

Feeling strangely sorry that Park Sang-hyun had gone through such hardship on his own accord over a single word he said, Bong Seong-hwa felt a wave of sympathy.

However, feeling sorry and liking the work were two entirely separate matters.

Bong Seong-hwa carefully looked through the script that Park Sang-hyun had torn apart and rewritten overnight.

“Hmm…”

And so, twenty agonizing minutes passed while Park Sang-hyun’s heart burned with anxiety.

Early morning hours.

Assistant Director Lee Yu-jun stared blankly at the staff group chat room for Cutting Edge.

There was no particular activity yet.

Not only was there still plenty of time until 11:00 AM, the announced assembly time, but Park Sang-hyun hadn’t issued any instructions whatsoever.

Even so, Lee Yu-jun was watching the group chat room with a trembling heart.

‘Will it… really be posted?’

Last night. No, it couldn’t be called last night. At 3:00 AM this morning.

Lee Yu-jun had stumbled up from his sleep at Park Sang-hyun’s frantic touch shaking him awake. Because there was so much work, the two had agreed to sleep together in the department office.

Since Lee Yu-jun was accustomed to sleeping in the department office, he had fallen into a quite deep slumber, but Park Sang-hyun had shattered that sweet sleep.

And what he showed him was the new script for Cutting Edge.

Unlike Lee Yu-jun’s suggestion to add just one or two scenes, there was a script that had undergone a complete transformation.

Yet the surprising part was that he hadn’t touched the scenes of the supporting actors who had finished filming today at all; he had merely adjusted their placement slightly.

He chose a method of making the most of the previously written scenes while inserting new scenes here and there.

In other words, despite making minimal modifications that wouldn’t disrupt the filming schedule, a completely different script had been born and unfolded right before his eyes.

‘…Is a genius really a genius?’

It wasn’t a text tossed out recklessly while swayed by inspiration, but a text truly planned and rationally judged.

He had accomplished that difficult task merely by devoting a few hours to writing—and that too in the middle of an ongoing shoot.

Furthermore, the perfection of the result was exceptional as well…

—…It’s insanely good, Senior. —That goes without saying. Any other thoughts? —… —Hurry up and tell me your other thoughts. —Now it feels… a bit more like a Park Sang-hyun work. —Okay. Now go back to sleep. —Wow, are you seriously a psycho, Senior? —A real psycho wouldn’t let you sleep right now. —Ha, seriously.

Since what he heard made sense, he quietly laid back down. Right before falling asleep again, Park Sang-hyun uttered a single sentence.

—If Actor Bong accepts this, I’ll drop the modified script in the group chat tomorrow morning. When that happens, keep an eye on how the crew reacts. Tell them not to worry because although the story content changes, the daily shooting schedule stays the same.

Having heard up to that point, Lee Yu-jun had fallen asleep again. When he woke up later, Park Sang-hyun was gone. He had likely gone to meet the person named Bong Seong-hwa.

‘He said if the revised script is posted in the group chat, it means Actor Bong joined, right?’

Honestly, he didn’t even know whether that person was an actor or not, but for now, following the director’s orders was an assistant director’s job.

At the moment he was rubbing his sleepy, unawake eyes while staring at the chat room—

[Park Sang-hyun Senior: ver.2] [Park Sang-hyun Senior: The script for Cutting Edge has changed. Everyone, please make sure to familiarize yourselves with it before today’s shoot.]

Park Sang-hyun posted the script in a businesslike tone. No, beyond businesslike, it was even somewhat domineering. Though he spoke nonchalantly as if it were nothing, in truth, it was a major affair that turned the tables upside down. Park Sang-hyun’s lack of tact was famous within the school, but this was crossing the line quite a bit.

Naturally, the chat room turned into total chaos. Someone sent dozens of question marks asking what on earth was going on. Someone else merely let out a deep sigh. Fortunately, no one left the chat room, but if left like this, deserters would surely emerge.

Now, cleaning up was Lee Yu-jun’s responsibility.

He first called the director of photography and the lighting director to explain the situation, informing them that filming would proceed according to the daily schedule. Afterward, he called the head staff members one by one to ask for their understanding. In addition, he threw around blank checks promising that he would control Director Park Sang-hyun as much as possible to finish the work within the set dates without extra shooting.

‘Is he… really worth bringing in to this extent? That actor?’

In the middle of making calls, he swelled with an inexplicable anger toward Bong Seong-hwa.

Please, that actor had better act well. If he didn’t, Lee Yu-jun would storm right off the set.

All the staff members of Cutting Edge looked at a single spot in unison.

They felt as though they were witnessing a strange phenomenon.

“Actor Bong! You can sit here and wait for now. Do you need some coffee or something?”

“Ah, I’m fine.”

“We’re still setting up, so there’ll be about a 10-minute wait. You can help yourself to these snacks here while you wait.”

“Yes. Understood.”

“Then I’ll be back shortly.”

Park Sang-hyun was groveling. Park Sang-hyun, who never lowered his arrogant head even in front of professors, was now pandering to a man whose name, face, and background he didn’t even know.

People stared blankly at that man.

“Is that guy… Kang Woo-joo’s substitute?”

“They met yesterday and locked him in as the actor?”

“Wow…”

“Because of that guy, Park Sang-hyun even scrapped and revised the script?”

To the students of Donghan University, he was a man like a massive mystery.

“His mask is better than Kang Woo-joo’s.”

“Is it?”

“What do you mean ‘is it,’ my eyes are accurate.”

“I think Kang Woo-joo is handsome too, though.”

“Stand him in front of the camera. That face will be far better.”

The camera director seemed to like Bong Seong-hwa’s mask.

Of course, there was no standard to judge anything other than that yet.

“But today’s scenes are tough.”

“I know. Because Kang Woo-joo bailed yesterday, the schedule was rearranged around difficult scenes. What are they gonna do?”

Difficult scenes were usually spread out for the sake of the actor’s emotions. How would it be if a person who was acting out the rage of a climax just a moment ago was now asked to act out the grief of losing everything in the world? The tone would break. Of course, professionals had to pull it off even in such harsh environments, but this was strictly at a student level.

Thus, multiple complex emotional acting scenes that would originally have been split up were arranged into today alone.

To make matters worse, the waiting actor was someone who hadn’t done a separate script reading nor spent a long time researching the character.

“I heard he’s not even a film major.”

“Not a major?”

“He doesn’t belong to any agency either. I heard he’s just someone who worked in the countryside and came up to Seoul to become an actor.”

“…Park Sang-hyun is acting like that in front of an actor like that?”

Park Sang-hyun couldn’t sit still in one place even now, hovering around Bong Seong-hwa. He opened a bottle of water and brought it to him. In case his mouth was bored, he opened snacks and handed them over. He even personally stuck a straw into the coffee Bong Seong-hwa had already rejected and placed it in his hand. It was utter, devoted care.

“I don’t think Park Sang-hyun acted like that even to his ex-girlfriend.”

“Isn’t that why they broke up?”

“Ah, right.”

Bong Seong-hwa, who was constantly brought up as the topic of conversation among the staff, made a move for the first time.

He looked around the set, checking the field where he would be acting.

Then he returned to his seat and opened the script to start reading.

Just in time, the set setup was completed.

“Sang-hyun. Setup is all finished.”

The camera director went over to Park Sang-hyun and told him the setup was done. Since the two were the same age and classmates, they spoke comfortably even on set.

“Really? I’ll bring the actor over.”

Park Sang-hyun said so and walked over to Bong Seong-hwa. Watching that scene blankly, the camera director worried about the scene they were about to shoot.

‘The emotion won’t be easy.’

This scene was one where the protagonist of the film, Park Hyeong-won, shares a conversation with a junior who succeeded in landing a job first.

Through this scene, the audience gets to properly understand the person named Park Hyeong-won.

While the previous scenes merely introduced his basic information, from this scene onward, they would deeply assimilate into Park Hyeong-won’s inner self.

That was why it was an even more difficult scene. It was a scene that had to subtly show him slowly festering inside.

Rather than explosive emotions, subtle emotions like these were far harder to bring to life. If one immersed too deeply, the audience would feel like emotions were being forced onto them. If expressed too casually, it would pass by without feeling a thing.

‘Park Sang-hyun would normally go through dozens of takes for a scene like this.’

Furthermore, Park Sang-hyun, who was obsessed with details, was not the type to ever let actors rest until the tone he envisioned came out.

‘How will it turn out?’

Just as he thought it would be an entertaining show to watch—

“Oh, is that person Woo-joo Senior’s substitute?”

“Ah, yeah. I heard you were late, but you arrived right on time?”

“Ah, yes. My profile shoot finished early.”

“Busy, busy. An actor’s life.”

“Wow, but that person is really handsome.”

The actor playing the junior who would be Bong Seong-hwa’s acting partner today—Choi Yeong-sik—appeared.

Originally, he should have arrived earlier, but he joined somewhat late, saying he had to do a new profile shoot after recently signing with a major talent agency.

“His mask is better than Woo-joo Senior’s, though?”

“I agree on the mask.”

“I’ll have to see his acting… but wow, is Sang-hyun Senior smiling gently at that person right now?”

“Surprising, right? I’m watching it in real-time right now, and I still can’t believe it.”

Choi Yeong-sik was laughing as if finding the scene amusing, but he couldn’t completely hide his inner feelings.

‘He’s gonna lose his mind again and overact.’

Choi Yeong-sik. At twenty-four, he was evaluated as the most talented actor among his peers. His mask wasn’t bad either, so he had already completed a contract with a major agency. Of course, being a major agency didn’t necessarily mean success as an actor, but there was no denying he was far ahead of his peers.

However, whatever made him so greedy and dissatisfied, he was the type who became desperate to overtake anyone who was even slightly better than him.

Right now, that Choi Yeong-sik was showing an underlying annoyance on his face as he looked at Bong Seong-hwa.

“I’ll have to see… whether he has the chops to play the lead or not.”

“Hey. Even if Kang Woo-joo went to the holding cell a hundred times, you wouldn’t have gotten the lead role. Have you ever seen Park Sang-hyun hand over a role to someone else once he’s picked an actor?”

“If I do better today, his mind might change. He’s already changed the lead actor once—can’t he change it a second time?”

Choi Yeong-sik took off the coat he had arrived in and changed into clothes suited for the work. He also quickly wiped off the makeup he had done for the profile shoot.

Once Choi Yeong-sik’s preparation was finished, the setup to truly begin shooting was complete.

“Since it’s your first time working together, let’s consider this take a throwaway and match your rhythm calmly. Then I’ll trust in you, Actor Bong.”

Park Sang-hyun returned to the director’s seat set up in front of the monitor. Left on set were Bong Seong-hwa and Choi Yeong-sik.

Choi Yeong-sik looked up displeased at Bong Seong-hwa, who was slightly taller than him.

‘I’ll overwhelm him in a single take.’

Choi Yeong-sik took pride in his acting. He had more than enough confidence to give a feeling of overwhelming pressure to an unknown actor from who-knows-where.

“Sound speed—!”

“Camera roll—!”

The equipment began to run. From here on was the start of actual film shooting.

“Ready—”

Park Sang-hyun’s cue sign sounded.

“Action!”

Choi Yeong-sik quickly immersed himself in his role.

“Senior! I got in! SY Electronics! Wow, they said the competition rate this time was insane, so I didn’t expect much, but it actually happened!”

Choi Yeong-sik’s acting was neat.

Tone, diction, emotion. An unexaggerated performance that fit the role precisely. Striking this exquisite balance well was his strong point.

Now it was Bong Seong-hwa’s turn to respond…

“…Ah, yeah. You got in.”

“…Senior, did something bad happen?”

“Mmm. No. No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Ah, Senior. I’m sorry. I was so dense…”

“…What for. Hey, if you act like that, I become the person giving you an attitude.”

“…Haha. N-No, it’s nothing like that. Anyway, you’ll do well too, Senior. You’re the top student in the department. The top student.”

“…”

“I’ll be going then.”

“Hey, Song-won.”

“…Yes?”

“You’re not dense, though.”

“…Pardon?”

“I mean, you have good quick wits.”

“…What are you trying to say—”

Thud—

Clenching his fist tight, Park Hyeong-won struck his own palm repeatedly for no reason. At that moment—

“…!”

Choi Yeong-sik saw something else in Bong Seong-hwa’s eyes. An emotion captured as an actor? It wasn’t a technical thing like that.

Truly, those eyes were looking coldly at the opponent, laying bare his unsettling inner thoughts.

“Does getting in there really have that much meaning, though?”

“…”

“No, I’m not picking a fight. I’m asking if it has meaning.”

“…I’m… sorry. Senior.”

“I’m not asking that right now.”

Grip.

Park Hyeong-won gripped Lee Song-won’s shoulder tightly as he asked.

“So, does it have meaning, Song-won? Meaning. What on earth is it that you’re going to do there?”

Empty eyes. Hollow words. A chilling tone.

It was as if Park Hyeong-won from the script had completely devoured Bong Seong-hwa.

“…Ah…”

Choi Yeong-sik felt like throwing up at the sickening nature of those inner feelings.