“I’m aware of that as well. Perhaps during the press conference, or when I get a chance to be interviewed later on, I’m thinking of telling everyone it was my first time doing stunts, so I didn’t know what I was doing and shot the scene recklessly. I’ll also tell them that I ended up having to write a self-reflection letter because I was reprimanded by you. So CEO Jang, please be my shield. I’ve shot an action scene like the one today; if I don’t shoot one in the future, it’s not because I’m trying to weasel out of it in fear. It’s either because it’s dangerous or because I really cannot do it. Regardless of what other people say, I simply can’t do what I can’t do.”
- You sure talk well.
“Also, we need something spectacular like this to catch people’s attention or give them something to talk about in order to win against The Blue Castle’s Master.”
- Win?
Once again, CEO Jang was flummoxed by Woo-Jin’s unexpected words. He had not been worried about the quality of the drama, but it was also true that he had not once thought about the City of Shadows winning against The Blue Castle’s Master in terms of viewer ratings or popularity.
“While I don’t think we’ll be able to win against them, I’m shooting the drama with the determination not to lose terribly to them. Our drama is really good; it would truly be a shame for it to go unnoticed.”
- I understand how you feel, but the drama production company has a marketing team and the broadcasting company will advertise it too, so why are you giving yourself such a hard time and going through all this trouble?
“In order to market and advertise it, the City of Shadows team will need something to work with and show the viewers. Come to think of it, the Blue Castle team has already released the behind-the-scenes video with the main leads in it, and it was said that they would be publishing articles about the drama every day.”
Seeing how Woo-Jin was boldly asserting that he should do something in such a situation, CEO Jang got all choked up for a second. It was as though Woo-Jin was a young boy who had become the breadwinner of the family. It was very sad and heartbreaking. And it only became more pitiful as Jang Soo-Hwan wondered if Woo-Jin had jumped from the high building with such a mindset. Jang Soo-Hwan had a soft spot for pleas like that.
When it came to choosing a production, it seemed like Woo-Jin had picked by prioritizing what he liked rather than considering the show’s success rate, so the greed he was showing was rather unexpected as well.
“Of course, picking a production that I like takes priority, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay for it to fail. I aspire to be successful as well.”
The City of Shadows did not sit back and do nothing. But even though they had been publishing some articles and had started promoting as well, there were limits to promoting the storyline of the drama itself. Apart from Woo-Jin, the other main leads were very underwhelming and the public was bound to compare the City of Shadows with The Blue Castle’s Master, which had given people a lot to talk about, from the main leads to the supporting actors.
- I suppose so, but you have to take care of your body too.
“I’ll see how things go. I know that my body is precious too. I absolutely will not do anything that’s too much for me to handle, so please do not worry about me too much. I’m not that foolish.”
Even though he had wondered if Woo-Jin had done something like that because he was such a smart fella, when he heard Woo-Jin’s argument as an actor, he could not blindly oppose, so CEO Jang confirmed it with him again.
- Right?
It might be more productive to think about how to make good use of what had happened, instead of asking ‘why did you do it?’ However, CEO Jangdid not want reckless challenges like this to keep happening and only hung up the phone after he had repeatedly beseech Woo-Jin not to do it.
Kang Ho-Soo had been watching the entire time next to Woo-Jin as he talked to CEO Jang on the phone. He did not try to hide the look of surprise on his face as he asked Woo-Jin, “You said all of those things, and yet the CEO still was not mad?”
“He was mad at me, but it seems like he had a lot to think about first.”
Woo-Jin was well-aware of the temperament of people like CEO Jang Soo-Hwan. While having control and having the upper hand was important, CEO Jang was not someone who liked it when people blindly and obediently obeyed him. Furthermore, because he was more passionate than anyone else, he had a huge desire for his artistes to produce high-quality work. The best way his artistes, who CEO Jang protected and cherished, could repay him was by producing remarkable works.
In contrast with Woo-Jin’s carefree and laid-back attitude, Jang Soo-Hwan’s mind was in a complete mess after he had hung up the phone. He could not help but think that it really had been like what Woo-Jin said - that he really had been shielding his artists from any challenges. He began to become more and more concerned that he had been holding back his artistes as a result.
Jang Soo-Hwan understood and liked the artistes’ eccentric and unique actions so, there were quite a number of artistes with such temperament in DS. In other words, there were no rules prohibiting other artistes from doing the same thing Woo-Jin did in the future. But, just because Woo-Jin had gloriously succeeded did not mean the same success was guaranteed for the rest of his artistes. Just thinking about it sent a chill down Jang Soo-Hwan’s spine as he shuddered.
CEO Jang replayed the video Kang Ho-Soo had sent him. Even though it was not taken professionally, it was filled with tension and looked extremely cool. If they were to air the finished product that was professionally shot and edited, it would definitely look fantastic. Since Park Jong-Hyuk was also good at producing the best scenes, Woo-Jin would not have suffered in vain.
It was truly a joyous thing for Jang Soo-Hwan to have been able to watch such a phenomenal scene, and he was proud to have an actor who could display such wonderful acting in his company. He had been about to get extremely angry, but when he heard Woo-Jin’s voice and looked at the footage, his heart softened, and he got greedy.
He wanted to continue seeing Woo-Jin act and looked forward to seeing what kind of acting Woo-Jin had in store for everyone to see. In hindsight, he realized that at some point, the actors in DS had begun to choose only the safe paths. The fence that Jang Soo-Hwan had built to fend off their enemies had been successful, but at the same time, it had restrained his artistes, preventing them from reaching their potential.
Although DS was an agency so difficult to enter that people had coined a new term, ‘the DS qualification exam,’ there were still artistes who chose to leave every now and then.
Perhaps the source of their frustration was the environment created by Jang Soo-Hwan - a safe paradise with no challenges was bound to be boring.
It would have been even weirder if discontentment had not accumulated since not only were they not able to act the way they wanted, they also could not appear in variety programs or commercials because CEO Jang felt that they were not good enough for his artistes. Jang Soo-Hwan had thought he had given them a fair amount of compensation, but now he wondered if that mindset itself was wrong. He had not been like this in the beginning. He used to like and enjoy challenges and taking risks. He could not even remember when he had started to change.
“I was a CEO who held my artistes back.”
Feeling regret and shame upon having that realization, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan continued fiddling with his phone. Even though it was hard for him to change right away, he was willing to do so, and he had many reasons as well. He wanted to keep seeing the acting he had seen a little while ago, and he hoped that the actor who had produced such an acting would continue to stay in his agency and remain safe for a long time.
“First things first!” CEO Jang could not sit back and wash his hands of the publicity of the drama as he had done until now. He hated to see Park Jong-Hyuk add another success story to his name, but there was nothing he could do. In order to gain something, one had to lose something. Even though he truly hated Park Jong-Hyuk, the director also had the talent that CEO Jang adored.
Even though it was still early in the morning, Jang Soo-Hwan rushed to call the CEO of the production company of the drama. He had decided to let go of his complacency that things would work and become more active. He had to do something before the ‘breadwinner’, the young boy whom he cherished, did anything else in the future.
“Yeah, regardless of how great the opponent is, like Goliath, we have our very own David.” [1]
Jang Soo-Hwan smiled as he looked at the morning sunlight shining through the window. It seemed like the day to start something new.
***
Once they had overcome a huge obstacle, everything after that was just trivial challenges. When it came to physical fights, Woo-Jin’s movements were beyond reproach, which had already been proven when they had shot Death Hill. In fact, he had gotten a lot better than before – a double kick in mid-air without the help of wires was nothing to him. Exercising and training regularly had helped a lot.
He ascended the wall with one foot and ran a couple of steps before doing a flying kick. He looked as graceful and agile as a jaguar. The production crew’s jaws dropped in awe. They had never imagined he would be able to do something like this without the help of any equipment.
“I guess after ascending the wall once, doing it again isn’t a big deal anymore.” Even though that statement was true, everyone glared at the person who said it for speaking in the middle of the shoot. That person seem to hunch his shoulders as he became silent.
After striking his opponent in the neck with his long leg, Woo-Jin made a full turn in order to regain his balance. As he did so, he placed his left hand on his opponent's shoulder before jumping and running into the distance.
After rehearsing once, Woo-Jin insisted that he could pull it off without the wires, and so, the shooting began without him being bogged down by the wires. It was a lot more convenient and easy to move without the wire vest. However, Woo-Jin was the only one feeling carefree. All the other people watching could not help but keep feeling nervous. Although they were impressed and amazed by him being able to do somersaults using only his body strength without the help of wires and springboard, the people watching also had to be careful and keep an eye on him in case an accident occurred. Accidents were unpredictable and could happen at any moment.
“What are you doing, you bastard?”
It was a scene where a security guard, played by an action actor, yelled at Louie and swung a club at him. Originally, Louie was supposed to grab the club, twist it before yanking it out of his hand, and swing it instead. However, the actor had felt excited by the rhythmic action scene and swung the club at full strength. Naturally, the club had slammed against Woo-Jin’s palm as he reached out to grab it.
“Keuk…”
Fortunately, the club was made of plastic and was hollow on the inside, and had been painted over with metallic paint. However, the actor had swung subconsciously and the club had gained momentum before smacking against Woo-Jin’s palm. Naturally, there was no way it did not hurt. Woo-Jin’s palm throbbed with pain as the red marks started to feel warm.
“Are you okay?”
The production director and the production crew stopped working and ran over to Woo-Jin. Kang Ho-Soo squeezed through and grabbed at Woo-Jin’s wrist and looked at his hand as he asked about his condition loudly.
“It hurts a little, but it will be better soon. Getting hit by a plastic stick is not a big deal.” Kang Ho-Soo could no longer hold his anger back and flew into a rage after hearing Woo-Jin’s indifferent remark.
“What’s fine about it!? Are you only going to be an actor for a year or two? Don’t you know there’s a possibility of you getting bone-related disorders later on if you just leave it?! Is that why you’re so carefree and reckless about your own body? And also, you might be fine with it, but I’m not. If I let something like this happen, I would be disqualified as a manager. Are you going to make me into an incompetent person like that?”
Woo-Jin smiled slightly when he heard Kang Ho-Soo shouting ceaselessly at him. Since dawn, Kang Ho-Soo had been dropping honorifics when he spoke to Woo-Jin. He was oblivious to the fact since he had been preoccupied with expressing his rage and worry.
“Why are you smiling? Regardless of what you say this time, I’m taking you to the hospital first.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Hmph, you think I’ll calm down just because you’re… wait, you’re going to the hospital?
For some reason, he had thought Woo-Jin would smile and say that he was alright, so when he agreed, Kang Ho-Soo was taken by surprise.
“Production Director, can we go to the hospital real quick?”
“Of course! Don’t worry about the shoot. Hurry up and go to the hospital.”
“After you get out of here, cross the crosswalk and go down in the direction of the station, you will see an orthopedic clinic.”
After reading the room, a quick-witted staff member started searching immediately and told them the exact location of the hospital. Kang Ho-Soo checked the time; it was now 11 a.m.
“The clinic is open till 2 pm on Saturday.” As the staff continued to explain, Kang Ho-Soo grabbed Woo-Jin and tried to leave the set in a hurry.
“Hyung, I’m fine so please don’t be too worried.” Woo-Jin gently closed and opened his right hand as he smiled at the action actor who had hit him with the club. Even though it hurt a little, he tried his best to keep a straight face and hide his pain for the sake of the person who had been more concerned about him than Woo-Jin himself was.
“Ah, alright. Go get your hand treated…I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to be sorry. We tried to do our best and ended up making a mistake. We’ll just have to do a better job next time.”
Action actors or extras would end up finding themselves in a very difficult situation if they injured the main actor. This was because the storyline would not be affected even if they were not in the film or drama, so if the main actor did not want to see their faces, the crew would have no choice but to fire them.
Woo-Jin did not know what would happen since he did not know what Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk was like, but the action actor would most likely have a lot to worry about. Woo-Jin wanted to lighten the mood first and ease the actor’s burden. There was no need for them to be embarrassed or upset over this any further. Due to the nature of his role, he had to keep working with action actors till the end of the drama. If they were to be careful with one another, nothing would happen.
The rigid atmosphere at the filming site naturally softened thanks to Woo-Jin acting normally and even joking that he would take a break before coming back. Even though it was a short distance, Kang Ho-Soo drove Woo-Jin to the hospital. Hwang Yi-Young, who had tagged along, had found some ice and was using it as a cold compress on Woo-Jin’s hand.
“Noona, are you still mad at me?”
Since yesterday, Hwang Yi-Young had not spoken with Woo-Jin. While Kang Ho-Soo had fought with Production Director Park yesterday in a bid to stop Woo-Jin from shooting, she had only been able to stamp her feet repeatedly from a distance in anxiety.
“Don’t talk to me! Because I really hate you.”
She had heard Woo-Jin’s thoughts and convictions about being an actor, but apart from that, there was something else that made her upset and angry.
1. This is a biblical reference to David and Goliath. Goliath was a Philistine giant who was defeated by young David in single combat. This reference is widely used to denote an underdog situation, where the smaller and weaker opponent faces a bigger and stronger enemy. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">
