By Zephyria 
“What?”
Did he hear right? Yeon-rok asked back with a questioning voice. What did CEO Yeom do? Choi Hwan’s tone was so cheap, like a teenage high schooler, that he was briefly confused.
“Look at this.”
“What am I supposed to look at, you crazy bastard. I’m driving. Just read it to me.”
“You’re my one-day manager today, right? You don’t know your place, telling me what to do!”
Even as he said that, Choi Hwan seemed eager to tell him, so he began to rattle off the title of an article that had come out last week.
“Remember Hwang Si-yeon? The guy who gave me the Concentration Enhancing Drug before, listen to this. Famous idol A, caught with drugs at home. Investigation reveals a string of acquaintances involved, causing controversy…”
Yeon-rok, who had been listening to the article, turned left at the light and replied.
“So it’s true that that friend did drugs?”
“He’s not my friend anymore.”
“What do you mean the CEO snitched? It’s just something that was going to happen anyway. You should be more careful about who you hang out with. And don’t call the CEO by his name.”
“I said he’s not my friend anymore!”
Even as he said that, Yeon-rok couldn’t help but think. Could the timing really be this good? Was it strange to think that Yeom Cheon-ho had gotten rid of him before that acquaintance could do anything else? After reading the article, Choi Hwan muttered in a somewhat dejected voice.
“Well, I was a little reckless…”
It was rare for him to actually seem to be reflecting, so Yeon-rok glanced at him and said.
“Can’t you act well?”
“What! Where else can you find someone who acts as well as me!”
“Then why are you buying drugs that help you concentrate on acting?”
At Yeon-rok’s question, Choi Hwan frowned. Unexpectedly, it was closer to expressing embarrassment than displeasure. He rested his chin on his hand, looked out the window, and grumbled sullenly.
“Whatever it is, it’s good to act better than I do now.”
Instead of asking more, Yeon-rok shrugged. It seemed like he was serious about acting in his own way.
On the way, they picked up a stylist at the place he told them. Yeon-rok chatted amiably with the stylist, who was curious about him and asked if he was an aspiring actor, and arrived at the cafe. Choi Hwan poured out his order as if he had been waiting for it.
“I’ll have a signature dolce latte, one shot, two shots of syrup on top of the whipped cream, and add coconut powder and java chips…”
Yeon-rok nodded and asked the stylist what he wanted to drink. A little later, the coffee he brought was just an iced Americano. Choi Hwan jumped.
“Hey! Why is the signature dolce latte an iced Americano!”
“Jun-ho Hyung said you’re on a diet these days and you’re not allowed to have anything sweet. You only drink Americano normally, right?”
Choi Hwan, with his mouth sticking out a foot, put the straw in his mouth with an angry face. After taking a sip, he said in a sullen voice.
“It’s too cold! Buy me a hot Americano again.”
Instead of getting out of the car, Yeon-rok handed him the hot Americano that was in the drink carrier. Choi Hwan’s eyes widened. He only pretended to drink the hot Americano and then whined again.
“…It’s too hot! Give me one that’s not so hot!”
Yeon-rok took Choi Hwan’s Americano and put a few ice cubes from the iced Americano into it. Then, he handed Choi Hwan the Americano and threatened him.
“Shut up and drink it quietly before I cancel this right now and call your President.”
At Yeon-rok’s threat, Choi Hwan quietly bit the straw without making a sound, and the stylist bit her lip tightly to hold back her laughter.
After neutralizing Choi Hwan, they headed to the filming location located near Seoul. When they arrived, many people were already preparing for filming. It was Yeon-rok’s first time coming to a filming location, so he followed Choi Hwan, looking around with curious eyes.
“Director! Hello!”
Surprisingly, Choi Hwan started by greeting them loudly and politely. Anyway, Yeon-rok, who was playing the role of a one-day manager, bowed along with Choi Hwan.
“Oh, Hwan is here.”
The director, who was busy checking the video and barely waved his hand, suddenly raised his head. The end of that gaze was fixed on Yeon-rok.
“Huh? I don’t recognize that face… Assistant Director. We didn’t have any piggyback sales1) stories, did we?”
Yeon-rok was puzzled as to what piggyback sales meant, and Choi Hwan quickly replied.
“What piggyback sales? My manager had something to do this morning, so he’s a one-day manager who came instead.”
“You’re saying that face is a manager? And you dressed him like that? Isn’t it too much of a waste? Did you bring a rookie to make a name for himself? …That’s not it either?”
Yeon-rok glanced down at his clothes absentmindedly. Choi Hwan had urged him to wear them this morning without much thought, but now he realized it was an expensive outfit with several ‘0’s that Yeom Cheon-ho had bought him. When he said he wasn’t an aspiring actor, the director looked at Yeon-rok with the kind of gaze that said, ‘Did some young master throw a tantrum wanting to come play around, so they brought him?’ But that was only for a moment, and as things got busy, he soon lost interest.
“Just don’t disrupt the filming, whatever you do.”
“Ah, of course! When have I ever disrupted filming?”
Listening to the conversation from beside Choi Hwan, who was poking around here and there, Yeon-rok realized there were so many directors on a film set. Yeon-rok, who didn’t know much about the key staff, such as the director of photography, lighting director, and art director, simply found it fascinating.
After quickly finishing the greetings, they soon started on makeup. The stylist and makeup team swarmed around Choi Hwan’s face, drawing, patting, and applying things for a long time. Even amidst the slight chaos, Choi Hwan was staring intently at the script.
As Jo Jun-ho had instructed, Yeon-rok punched a hole in the lid of a beverage bottle, inserted a straw, and also brought a thermos filled with warm water to protect his throat. It was still a chilly season, so he shoved a hot pack into Choi Hwan’s pocket, but he was so focused on the script that he didn’t even notice, which was an unexpected side of him that surprised Yeon-rok a bit. About an hour later, someone came running and shouted.
“Choi Hwan, please stand by!”
Choi Hwan handed the old, worn-out script he had been cherishing to Yeon-rok. Now that he looked closely, there was realistic-looking injury makeup on his face. The scratches and abrasions on his forehead and cheeks, combined with the emotion he was already capturing, gave off a wild vibe from his expressionless face.
The guy who had been whining like a child for coffee was nowhere to be seen. He felt like a completely different person now. While Yeon-rok was feeling unfamiliar, he strode confidently towards the camera. With the script tucked into his arms, Yeon-rok craned his neck from beside the stylist to watch.
“Action!”
Tilting his head, wondering what that meant, the stylist whispered in his ear that filming was about to start, so he shouldn’t make any noise. Yeon-rok unconsciously held his breath. That was partly due to Choi Hwan’s atmosphere, which was completely different from his usual self.
With all the camera lenses focused and the lights pouring down, Choi Hwan staggered as he moved. This wasn’t because he was injured. A fist clenched so hard it seemed to crumble, unable to contain his intense emotions, and eyes that burned fiercely amidst his expressionless face. His boiling breath seemed to be almost audible.
Creak!
The door of a disused warehouse opened. The person hiding inside screamed. Before he knew it, Choi Hwan pulled out a gun and aimed it. He exuded a murderous intent to kill the other person with his whole body. The other person shouted with a face drenched in cold sweat.
“You! You’re a cop! To a citizen, a citizen! You, you can’t do this!”
“Haa, I… I heard this story from my Seonbae.”
A chilling voice flowed out. Click. The ruthless gun barrel pointed at the other person’s chest. The terrified person could only flail their arms and legs, frozen in the face of mortal danger, unable to do anything.
“Everyone is equal before death.”
Rough breathing. A spotlight that seemed to be shining only on Choi Hwan. Every single drop of sweat on his smooth forehead was being noticed.
“Seeing it like this, it really seems like it’s true, doesn’t it? …Gwang-cheol, you son of a bitch.”
Bang! Bang! He kept firing, and the other person convulsed and screamed. Choi Hwan, grinning and baring his teeth, said.
“Up to here, it was Blank cartridge. From now on, it’s Live ammunition. You know that, right?”
“Aaaagh! I was wrong, please save me! I’ll do anything…!”
Choi Hwan’s finger, staring intently at the pleading person, moved slowly. In the tense silence, finally, Bang! A gunshot rang out. The other person spat out blood and collapsed. Soon, the director shouted, “Cut!” Only then did Yeon-rok exhale the breath he had been holding. And he thought.
‘…What kind of story is it?’
Is it a revenge story of a Hubae cop who lost his Seonbae? Is it the beginning of the story, or the end? Is it a movie, or a drama…? For the first time, Yeon-rok became curious about such things.
“Cut! This time, let’s go one more time with a bit more subdued atmosphere.”
He wondered why they were reshooting when it seemed to have been filmed so well, but it definitely felt different this time. If the previous take was mainly an emotional performance of excitement just before revenge, this time it was a performance like a ruthless judge who had abandoned professional ethics. The director, having finished filming, shouted again.
“Cut! Keu, our Choi actor takes the directing in one go, so good? Huh?”
As if he hadn’t mercilessly pulled the trigger just moments ago, Choi Hwan listened to the director’s praise with a smug look on his face. Only then did he seem a bit like the Choi Hwan he usually knew.
Footnote
The act of casting a rookie or supporting actor with low recognition alongside a popular actor in an entertainment agency.