# Chapter 48
Park Suhwan cast in Director Hong Duyoung’s “Detox”… Working alongside Lee Jaei and Kim Ilhun
Park Suhwan (45) has been cast in the film “Detox.” In the film, he plays Haeyoung, a dance director who favors Heejai, a dancer played by Lee Jaei, and leads the story alongside Lee Jaei and Kim Ilhun.
“Detox” portrays the relationship between world-renowned dance director Haeyoung (played by Park Suhwan), genius dancer Heejai (played by Lee Jaei), and Yuha (played by Kim Ilhun), who becomes toxic to Heejai’s talent.
“I just did my best for the person I love, but suddenly I’m labeled as poison.” Doha, who was degraded by his very existence being disparaged in a press release even after death, didn’t hide his displeasure as he narrowed his eyes. Jaei, who had been curled up small in Doha’s arms with his long legs folded compactly, muttered a refreshing curse from the morning.
“Mister, you’re going to get poisoned to death at this rate.”
After checking the article together in Doha’s arms, Jaei stretched out his long index finger and firmly pressed “Angry!” Then, like a fox wanting human praise, he turned his head and stared at Doha. Doha stroked Jaei’s hair and kissed his nose bridge with little pecks. Jaei grabbed Doha’s round head with both hands and pretended to take a bite out of it.
“This is my pretty poison apple. Mine.”
“Eat a lot. When you apply poison, it becomes more sparkly and delicious.”
“No wonder every spot I bite tastes so good, Doha.”
Doha had been getting his shoulders, nape, and ears thoroughly bitten by Jaei lately. When he laid Jaei flat and pressed his weight down on him rudely from above, Jaei naturally bit his shoulders and neck as he was flattened beneath Doha’s body. Being an actor who knew his body could be exposed to cameras at any time, Jaei adjusted the intensity of his bites to avoid leaving marks. Doha likewise left no traces on Jaei’s body.
Doha unhesitatingly offered his cheek to instructor Lee Jaei, who had taught him “how to bite a lover or enemy without leaving marks.” However, Jaei wore a rather displeased expression. It was true that from the day he first met Doha, he had consistently wanted to bite his plump, sweet-scented cheeks.
But currently, the cheeks of 20-year-old handsome actor Ryu Doha standing before cameras were completely dried out without a bit of flesh. Neither Doha nor himself could manage more than a sandwich with added olives and cheese about once a week.
“You’re managing your weight, so there’s nothing to bite on your cheeks anymore. Want me to bite your nose?”
Jaei’s lips moved toward Doha’s prominent nose. While getting his nose bitten by Jaei, Doha simultaneously clenched both fists tightly and squeezed his eyes shut. Soon, Doha opened his large eyes wide and filled his gaze with reverence as he looked at Jaei.
“Since my debut, I’ve come to respect and love you even more. You lived for seven years on an empty stomach for 16 hours a day, with your already sensitive condition. And you never did anything that would harm others, so only your body kept suffering.”
Jaei momentarily choked up at the sympathetic words of his fasting mate who understood his pain. He hugged Doha’s neck tightly and spoke with anguish.
“I didn’t want to show you the fear of unwanted fasting…”
Maintaining an empty stomach for weight management was a completely different issue from abstaining from food due to stress. Despite both being on empty stomachs, Doha and Jaei decided to feel deep gratitude toward each other for continuing their second round of dating without troubles.
Last week, when the movie title and main character names were confirmed, they received the following explanation from Hong Duyoung:
[Yuha is harmful poison (害毒/haedok) to Heejai. Haeyoung detoxifies (解毒/haedok) Heejai.]
Moreover, the character based on Hong Duyoung was named Haeyoung (解/hae). Hong Duyoung considered Ryu Doha to be a harmful (害/hae) poison (毒/dok) who negatively influenced Lee Jaei, while viewing himself as the savior who detoxified Jaei whose body was filled with poison.
He had consistently drawn a line between Hong Duyoung and Lee Jaei, and Ryu Doha based on the infinitely subjective and personal standard of “born true artist,” taking sides. Doha, who had been subdued by and acquiesced to his words as a child, now shook his head at Hong’s ridiculous self-importance.
Most actors would agree to appear without even checking the script when receiving a casting offer from Hong Duyoung. Hong Duyoung based his stories on things he directly experienced in reality and had an impromptu nature, frequently modifying and adding to the script on set.
Since scenes weren’t filmed in order and were often reshot, it was even more impossible to know what scenes other actors had filmed. So until the release date, one had to piece together the fragments of scenes to imagine the plot. When actually seeing the completed work in theaters, it was often completely different from what was imagined.
In the draft screenplay, Yuha dies in an accident as a teenager, so there was no separate adult role. The addition of a previously non-existent role and adult Yuha becoming one of the three lead characters was a real-time application of changes happening in reality to the work.
The story development must have completely changed from the moment Hong Duyoung directly met “Ryu Doha’s brother pretending to be his deceased older brother” before his eyes. Therefore, it was crystal clear that what he was most interested in observing as material now in reality was the relationship between Lee Jaei and Ryu Doha.
The ingredients that climbed onto the cutting board holding hands would no longer be docilely cut. Jaei, who had experienced Hong Duyoung for a long time, and Doha, who had confirmed the dark abyss of Hong Duyoung in his final moments, were confident in their ability to understand and act according to his intentions.
Today’s schedule was also arranged at Hong Duyoung’s summons. It was a gathering for Jaei, Doha, and rookie actor Choi Jiwon, who plays the childhood version of Jaei’s character. Hong Duyoung had contacted Jaei directly, asking him to attend the meeting as the senior colleague to both Ryu Doha and Choi Jiwon.
—As you saw on the first meeting day, I really cast young Heejai based on looks alone. I couldn’t find anyone I liked among the audition participants, so I searched all over the country to find this kid. The face most similar to Lee Jaei. A face with absolutely no sense of incongruity when transitioning from child actor to adult. But because of that, his acting is unskilled. Jaei, please guide him a bit. Not just in appearance, but the emotional line needs to connect naturally too.
He was indeed a person with abnormal psychology. I think there’s sadism underlying his actions. Assuming Lee Jaei has tender feelings for Ryu Doha, it was an extremely cruel situation. He was asking Jaei to directly instruct Ryu Doha and “the young actor who resembles Lee Jaei” on how to act out building more-than-friendship feelings.
I know why he has put us in this situation. We could refuse but didn’t. Doha and Jaei had no intention of giving him the reaction he wanted. In the end, we would be the ones getting what we want.
Checking that it was almost time to start today’s schedule, Jaei wrapped his arms around Doha’s neck and said, “Let’s get ready for work.”
Of course, he had no intention of getting up on his own and just stayed nestled in Doha’s arms. Doha, who had made statements along the lines of “I’ll do everything Jaei tells me” and “Hyung, you can use me as an unpaid worker” more than 200 times throughout his life, lifted Jaei in his arms and sprang up without complaint. He had grown into an adult who somehow kept his word once given.
They left the blankets completely naked. Doha, carrying Jaei with his firmly muscled arms toward the bathroom, seated the slightly anxious Jaei in the bathtub as they faced their schedule. Then, kneeling on one knee to meet Jaei’s eyes at the same level, he spoke in a low voice.
“Trust me, Jaei.”
Jaei now truly felt that Doha was an adult. For a very long time, he had lived thinking that Doha, after starting acting, had become immersed in his role and fallen for someone else. All misunderstandings had been resolved, but because the period was so long, remnants of fear still lingered unconsciously. However, the anxiety that remained like a scar could be sufficiently healed by Doha’s love. Jaei gazed into Doha’s clear eyes and answered.
“I trust you. Who else would I trust but you.”
Doha reached out with his large hand and caressed Jaei’s soft cheek. When he stroked his lips with his thumb, Jaei’s eyelashes sank down heavily. Doha could judge Jaei’s state just by touching his body. To calm Jaei, who was pretending to be fine but was actually on edge, he began his love confession.
“If you told me to die right now, I could die again. If you say die, I’ll die, if you say live, I’ll live.”
“Let’s not stake our lives anymore. Neither you nor I. I will never threaten with my life from now on, so you shouldn’t either. Let’s only talk about staying healthy and living long. Because I love you, I’ll do longevity exercises, things like that.”
Jaei smiled with crinkled eyes. Acknowledging Jaei’s opinion, Doha nodded and continued his love confession.
“You’re my best friend, my hyung closer than my real brother, the person I love, and I’ll memorize longevity food recipes for you, I’ll desperately survive carrying you on my back even if zombies chase us, I’ll diligently save money for hospital bills… actual insurance…”
“Yes, yes. Keep going. Keep going. I guess that’s why I listen so well, to hear this.”
Jaei placed his palm against Doha’s large ear and excitedly enjoyed Doha’s confession. Feeling pressured by Jaei’s reaction, Doha rapidly rolled his eyes, searching for new words of love. Then, true to being an actor whose childhood dream was “male lead in dramas,” he concluded this morning’s love confession.
“Even if I’m endlessly reborn, the only co-star in my life is you. The protagonists are you and me.”
