TLICO 09

Chapter – 09

A moment later.

Jegal Seyeon was watching Seo Gyeong-bin’s acting through the camera. This scene was the first meeting between the male and female leads.

Hyeon-woo is a friend of the landlord. He has been promised that if he can evict the troublesome tenant in this house, he can live here for a monthly rent of 100,000 won.

— You look a bit scary. Use your strength to push her out.

In front of the door, Hyeon-woo answers his friend’s call dismissively.

“Strength? My foot. Hey, I’m an intellectual too.”

Jegal Seyeon smiled slightly as she watched Hyeon-woo’s acting. She knew it. Seo Gyeong-bin was a rookie who had appeared like a comet in the independent film world; he fit these cocky yet handsome roles perfectly.

‘With that face and acting skills to boot, it’s no wonder independent film directors are drooling over him.’

The only downside was that his face didn’t scream “romance,” making it hard for him to break into dramas—

‘But with that acting, he’ll be in commercial films soon.’

“Everything can be solved with words. This guy is just…”

Just as Hyeon-woo said that and pulled the doorknob, something that seemed to be leaning against the door fell with a thud. To be precise, a woman had fallen backward and was staring up at Hyeon-woo.

Her face, seen upside down, was covered in red jjamppong soup that looked like blood. The woman stared with wide eyes. She looked cute yet grotesque. She muttered:

“Yong-mok…?”She called out the name of her old lover. The moment he saw Su-in, Hyeon-woo freaked out and screamed.

“Uaaah! Argh! Aaaaaah!”

But Su-in didn’t care at all. She simply slurped up a strand of jjamppong noodles hanging from her lips.

The sound of staff members stifling their laughter echoed. Hearing that, Jegal Seyeon felt goosebumps all over her body. Ah, she had a feeling. A feeling that this would be the point where the audience in the theatre would burst out laughing!

It was the same when she worked as a script supervisor on other commercial films. The production company wanted to cut a certain scene, but she felt the goosebumps on set and strongly insisted it stay in. Eventually, that scene became the “kick” of the movie, to the point where comedians parodied it on gag shows.

And then—

“Cut!”

With Jegal Seyeon’s shout, something appeared before Su-in… no, Ha Eun-rae’s eyes.

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The moment Ha Eun-rae, still sitting on the floor covered in soup, whispered ‘Yes’ in her mind:

Awards: Invited to the La Cinef section of the Cannes Film Festival

Audience Count: 20,000

Cannes Film Festival: An international film festival held in Cannes, France; one of the world’s three major international film festivals.

……!

Cannes Film Festival? 20,000 viewers for an independent film?

Ha Eun-rae’s eyes widened, and suddenly, a handkerchief was held out in front of her. Looking up, she saw Park Seo-woo holding it.

“You worked hard.”

And at the same time—

[Congratulations! You have achieved ‘Surpassing 10,000 first audience members’ and 1 ‘Search Pass’ has arrived!]

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A ‘Search Pass’ had arrived.

Park Seo-woo had not taken his eyes off Ha Eun-rae’s acting the entire time.

The setup—believing oneself to be a ghost—was inherently artificial. However, Ha Eun-rae pulled off that setting perfectly while breathing a sense of reality into it, making it feel like such a woman actually lived somewhere.

Above all, her acting was creative. She created a character in a way no one else had thought of and was fearless in showing that character through her body. To the point where it was almost unsettling to watch.

But at the same time, her acting was so desirable that it overcame that unease. It was almost unpleasant to think that her performance would be placed in someone else’s work and not his own.

“Eun-rae. This scene is so good. I need to film it from another angle too. Can you stay in this state while we set up?”

“Yes, of course.”

Ha Eun-rae smiled at the director and returned the handkerchief to Park Seo-woo.

“I don’t think I should wipe this off yet.”

“Ah, yes.”

Park Seo-woo put the handkerchief back. He walked back to the cinematographer and checked the storyboard.

“Hey, that girl is something else.”

While setting up the equipment for the different angle, the cinematographer spoke quietly to Park Seo-woo. This cinematographer was someone who had filmed a few dramas for OTT platforms before joining the film academy. In fact, the “Film Academy” was an academy in name only; many people there already had professional experience.

Such a man was calling Ha Eun-rae “something else,” even though this was supposedly her first time acting in her life.

“Does she still not have an agency?”

“Don’t call the lead actress ‘that girl.’”

“…There’s a 12-year age gap between us; should I call her ‘My Lady’? Don’t be so sensitive, kid.”

The cinematographer, who was on close terms with him, slapped Park Seo-woo’s shoulder. Despite being pushed by a man who tossed around heavy filming equipment, Park Seo-woo’s body didn’t budge.

“You look skinny, but you’re solid. You still boxing? Huh?”

“Do you want to get beaten up again?”

“This brat.”

The cinematographer, who had once lost a sparring match to Park Seo-woo, frowned. Their relationship had started at a boxing gym. Park Seo-woo at nineteen. The cinematographer could never forget him back then. He heard the kid had been learning boxing for a few years, but there was a weight difference of over 20kg. Naturally, he thought he would win, but…

“Ugh… Uh?”The result was a K.O. defeat in the first round. Nineteen-year-old Park Seo-woo moved in and knocked him down in an instant, as if he had no fear of being hit. It was impressive. That lack of fear toward an opponent’s attack.

“Are you planning to be a professional boxer?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“A film director.”
“What?”
“I said I want to be a director.”That was the beginning of their bond. The cinematographer felt it every time—Park Seo-woo was a truly mysterious person. He watched Park Seo-woo’s profile as he studied the storyboard.

“What if we film this scene one more time? I think it would be good to add more close-up shots.”He remembered what Park Seo-woo said during the incense scene. This monster of a guy, who could visualise an entire movie just by looking at a storyboard, must have already planned exactly how to edit those close-ups in.

‘I was shocked when I saw the stuff he filmed in the club.’

Not to mention the scripts. He had even been stunned by the photos the kid took. He wondered how a 20-year-old could take such good photos. He could write well, he knew how to look at a camera, and now he was a master at storyboards and editing. At this rate, getting into the professional academy later was a given.

Of course, it didn’t seem like Park Seo-woo’s ambition stopped there. When the cinematographer suggested they immediately start working on a script Park Seo-woo had written, what did the kid say?

“I need to fix it a bit more.”“Are you going to submit it somewhere? It’s just for YouTube…”“I like things to be perfect.”Geniuses are impossible to understand. And Ha Eun-rae was the actress that such a guy had recognised instantly. Though seeing her act now, there wasn’t a soul who wouldn’t recognise her talent.

“Anyway, whatever company snatches that actress up has hit the jackpot. There’s going to be a frenzy once this is released. If you just show the rough cut to the professors, casting calls will pour in from everywhere. Those people don’t just sit still when they see a ‘big fish’ like her.”

He was right. People in the film industry are always keeping their eyes peeled for “the real deal.” Sometimes that “deal” is a script, sometimes it’s a director. But the most important “deal” of all is a new face. A rookie actor. If you discover one properly, you literally hit the jackpot.

Just as he was thinking that, Park Seo-woo said something unexpected.

“Hyung. That script of mine you said we should make into a short film.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to fix it again today. Let’s film it. Us.”