TAKE 3
On the day of outdoor filming, during break time, they were sitting under a tree with the staff eating leftover lunch boxes.
“Seungun-ssi, try doing mukbang.”
“Puhaha, Seungun-ssi doing mukbang?”
“Why are you laughing? I’m serious. I really think Seungun-ssi would do well at mukbang.”
“I can’t eat that much…”
Huddled together in the tree shade, they were busy chattering like forest birds.
“Aw come on, these days you can do well just by eating neatly. If you raise just one YouTube channel well, making big money happens in an instant. I’m telling you, they don’t envy celebrity income at all? If showing your face is burdensome, you can show just up to here, just up to your lower jaw.”
“True, these days even faceless ones get insane view counts.”
At the staff’s pipe dream talk, Seungun said in an unconfident voice.
“What would I do? I don’t even know camera filming techniques, and I don’t have that kind of talent. Broadcasting is something people who’ve learned it do.”
“You don’t need that kind of talent. Rather, people who properly majored in video production are twiddling their thumbs these days, and people who started as a hobby sit on piles of money when luck and timing align perfectly. Seungun-ssi, you really don’t know anything at all.”
“True. Buy a tripod, no wait, you don’t even need a tripod. You can just prop up your phone and film yourself eating and upload it. Rather, there are lots of people who like amateur videos more than professionally filmed and edited ones.”
“Right, rather there are many subscribers who only look for new streamers.”
“Listen here. Even though our Seungun eats neatly and heartily, let’s not give false hope to someone working hard at their job.”
Myeongwoo waved his hands. He seemed worried that Seungun, tempted by people’s words, might quit his manager job saying he’d become a full-time streamer.
“But if Seungun-ssi’s going to do it, his whole face should show. That’s how subscriber count will rise, right?”
“Hehe, seriously at this rate, am I going to see Seungun-ssi on my feed later?”
“Come on, stop it already. Why are you all like this to someone doing their job well?”
Myeongwoo raised his voice and cut off the conversation. Seungun smiled faintly watching Myeongwoo anxiously worry about losing him when he had no intention of doing it anyway.
“Don’t worry, I collapse as soon as I get home anyway so I don’t have time for that.”
“Or how about this? As ‘a manager’s day’ content, do a vlog…”
“Stop, stop!”
Just as Myeongwoo flailed both arms, a megaphone sound came from over there.
“Everyone gather now!”
Since the filming team was divided into Team A and Team B, they took breaks and meal times in shifts. The staff whose break time had just ended got up, stuffing their empty lunch boxes into blue garbage bags.
“Alright, let’s go!”
“Gotta work again. That’s how we make a living.”
Seungun, who got up from his spot with them, stretched while straightening his bent back. A landscape covered in deep green filled his vision. The sun cut through the leaves, emitting sparkling light.
If they were lucky sometimes, they could see cute squirrels or Siberian flying squirrels between the sturdy old trees, but as soon as humans looked back at them, they were busy rushing off somewhere. Since it had been a while since visiting a mountain full of earthy and grassy smells, Seungun took a deep breath.
For outdoor filming, they often created personal spaces where actors could prepare using small tents and mobile partitions for the actors. Gi Siyoung was also inside.
He sat with headphones on blocking outside noise, spending time with his eyes closed. From him, who didn’t even eat well saying acting looks dull when full, full energy was visible every time he acted. It was curious where such energy came from.
“When Mukho runs up, Cheolsu will catch Mukho. And he’ll force you saying you can’t forget your duty. From that point up there Cheolsu catches him, so you just need to run up in one breath until then. When running up, speed is life. Mukho is running away quickly as if a leopard, cheetah, whatever, a tiger is chasing from behind, like ‘I’m a dead man,’ going to catch the traitor in front.”
“Understood.”
At the director’s directing, Siyoung obediently nodded. On the side, the stylist was busy adjusting his outfit and more delicately implementing light wounds on his face and the appearance of rolling on dirt.
Gi Siyoung matched up various things with the staff in front of the camera and the director who explained again what posture he should run in.
The filming team split between where to start the shot and where to run up. Im Seungun and Myeongwoo also split up. When he climbed up gasping, the people gathered below looked somewhat small.
– How’s the situation up there? Okay?
The staff’s walkie-talkie crackled and rang.
– Yes. Preparations complete. Give the signal.
A walkie-talkie that the staff used was also stuck in Seungun’s waist, but he had absolutely no occasion to use it.
Soon the director’s voice announcing the start of filming rang through the megaphone. When the shot entered, the surroundings became quiet as a mouse. The distance was around 400 meters, but since the terrain was a mountain, the slope was considerable. Moreover, it wasn’t just dirt. Rocks were stacked in layers on the ground, and damp leaves and moss were piled between them.
Thud thud thud!
Thud thud thud!
But Gi Siyoung fearlessly ran up in one breath a path where energy consumption would be twice as severe as flat ground. As he passed, wind arose around him. Dirt and grass were trampled under his shoe soles.
The director said to run as if escaping from a chasing tiger behind, but rather Gi Siyoung’s behavior was closer to a beast. His body grown larger than usual from exercising would be scary even just walking with big strides, but since he ran up like crazy, a slight tension also appeared on the faces of staff holding filming equipment.
– Cut!
The director’s command rang from below. Satisfying applause echoed from below. The director’s whistling and praising voice was heard through the walkie-talkie.
– Absolutely the best! Director Choi! You got the scene well, right? How is it!
Instead of using the walkie-talkie, Director Choi raised his thumb above his head. Seungun hurriedly approached Siyoung. Even though the mountain was cool, the temperature was high. Everyone was in short sleeves, but sweat already beaded on the forehead of Gi Siyoung, who was moving alone in a dress shirt with a suit jacket and even shoes.
“Please have some water.”
He handed over cold bottled water from the ice box and wiped sweat with a puff. After finishing this much, Gi Siyoung would go to the makeup team and get reorganized. Gi Siyoung, who had emptied half the 500mL bottle, headed back down without complaint.
It was the same scene, but to draw out the maximum scenes, there was still a long way to go. Gi Siyoung ran and climbed again. Now it was wondrous watching him jump up without getting tired. Even with sneakers with bumpy soles, this kind of path was hard to climb. However, Gi Siyoung ran well even wearing gentleman’s shoes with smooth soles.
When Gi Siyoung’s breathing grew labored, even the people capturing that sight breathed roughly.
“Another Gi Siyoung solo music video will be born.”
Gi Siyoung turned crisis into opportunity even in situations where an NG might happen. Because of uncomfortable shoes, his foot slipped on a rock with wet leaves stuck to it and he almost fell, but with excellent athletic ability he pressed the rock with his hand and stood up abruptly like a roly-poly doll, then shot upward as if springs were attached to his heels.
“That’s why other male actors don’t want to film works with Gi Siyoung. Saying they come out like sidekicks.”
“But there’s a truckload lined up wanting to do works together.”
“So are you guys also dissatisfied about that?”
“Hey, that’s not what I meant, Director Choi.”
“There are tons who receive pay like that but don’t properly do their job. But when someone has passion for their work, it makes us want to work too while filming.”
Director Choi added excitedly while adjusting camera equipment. Seungun also agreed to some extent with Director Choi’s opinion. He’d already seen several arrogant celebrities who claimed their rights like ghosts but didn’t consider other staff’s rights at all.
‘When mom suddenly got sick and was hospitalized, it was Siyoung who moved her from the hectic shared room to a single room, and when I was suffering inside unable to nurse mom because of schedules, it was all Siyoung who attached a caregiver, suddenly turned the car toward the hospital, and gave paid leave. Of course, when I came back I had to receive that hysteria.’
There was also a story Myeongwoo told. Rather than doing well ten times then getting cursed once for failing, there might be an effect where gratitude doubles from failing ten times and doing well once, but compared to the characters seen and heard on set, Gi Siyoung’s conduct had nothing to curse about in business-entangled relationships.
“This is the second work with actor Gi Siyoung. We did one together before.”
The cinematographer muttered while looking at the distant mountain.
“He acts more sharply now than back then. Back then there was a somewhat raw aspect, and now there’s also a refined and purified aspect as his years accumulated. Either way, I’ve looked forward to filming days since way back when I’m assigned to that actor.”
Gi Siyoung was receiving quite good reviews on set too. Would there be anything more pleasing to an actor than such words?
“Jiwon-ah!”
“Yes!”
“Be careful in that spot. It’s steep there. This seems like it’ll be the last shoot, so everyone just hang in there a little.”
“Understood!”
“Fighting!”
When the cinematographer sent a signal below, Director Kim picked up the megaphone. Gi Siyoung was already waiting on standby at the mountain path starting point. Soon the assistant director clapped the slate.
Thud thud thud thud thud—!
Gi Siyoung always approached it like filming for the first time. No, now he climbed the rocky dirt path even faster than that. Jiwon, who was warned by the cinematographer, tilted the microphone several times bigger than his height a bit more. Wind started blowing so noise formed inside the headset.
Since this was the last one, he had to do his best to capture the best sound. He got a bit more greedy. He wanted to capture in more detail the kicking sounds like Touré. Of course, there was also a colleague capturing that sound below, but the sound heard from below and the sound captured from above were worlds apart. It was the moment he stepped forward a bit more. The ground he stood on became loose.
“Uh, huh?”
His vision spun.
“Park Jiwon! Hey, you bastard!”
The director’s concern brushed past his ears again. The accident was instantaneous.
