By Zephyria 
In the movie Painkiller, the two characters Myeong-eum and Jeong-on were Ability Users. Even though they were both men and Ability Users, the two men were helplessly drawn to each other.
Jeong-on’s ability was in his tongue. He could synchronize people with his heart.
Myeong-eum’s ability was in his ears. He could hear the sound of a needle dropping 10 kilometers away. But because of this ability, Myeong-eum’s heart was full of wounds. He grew up hearing everything people said about him. The gossip of his friends and even the innermost thoughts of his parents that he didn’t want to know.
Jeong-on was the same. People listened to Jeong-on’s voice and easily agreed with Jeong-on’s opinions. At one time, he liked his ability. Because everyone was kind to him. But Jeong-on, who lived in a world of positivity, realized that all the relationships he had built were illusory and collapsed.
This movie was a psychological drama about two men who couldn’t trust each other’s sincerity. The movie was going to be filled with scenes of the two men constantly talking for 70 minutes.
Limited staff and a limited budget. Only seven shooting sessions. Simple calculation meant that each session had to cover 10 minutes.
That meant the chemistry between the two main characters was extremely important.
“We met like this, it must be fate, would you like to have dinner together?”
Lee A-gon recited the line in a soulless voice.
“I already had lunch.”
Seo Ji-hoon also delivered his line without any soul.
“Is that so? Then shall we part ways now?”
“Yes, goodbye.”
Then they decided to say lines that weren’t in the script and go their separate ways.
“……Why are they like this since earlier? Why aren’t they following the script? Are they not on good terms? If they keep doing this, I might replace the actors even though tomorrow is the first day of filming.”
Director Lim threatened. Lee A-gon had no choice but to recite the lines properly. Scene 1. The scene of their first meeting. Jung-on is almost hit by a car, and Myung-eum saves him and then flirts.
“We met like this, it must be fate, would you like to have dinner together?”
“I already had lunch.”
“Then how about coffee?”
“Why should I have coffee with you?”
“Well. Because I saved your life?”
“I would have dodged it just fine even if you hadn’t helped.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, I’m quite nimble.”
Then, Lee A-gon suddenly smacked Seo Ji-hoon’s forehead. Thwack! It made a sound.
“……”
What was that? Was there something like that in the script?
Hae-jun rubbed his eyes and looked at the script.
Myung-eum uses his Ability to sense that a drunk driver is speeding, so he hugs Jung-on and rolls away. Jung-on, suddenly held by a strange man and knocked to the ground, gets angry, but then sees the car speeding towards where he was standing and is greatly surprised.
Myung-eum flirts with Jung-on, who is feeling awkward. Would you like to have dinner together? Instead of saying no, Jung-on replies that he already had lunch. Myung-eum doesn’t give up and this time asks if he wants to have coffee together.
Jung-on defensively crosses his arms and gets slightly annoyed. Why should I have a meal or coffee with you? I’m nimble, so I would have dodged it just fine even if you hadn’t helped, he says. Then Myung-eum flicks Jung-on’s forehead with his fingernail. Jung-on, who is dumbfounded by the sudden hit to his forehead, is surprised when Myung-eum says this. “Liar. You’re not nimble at all.”
“Liar. You’re not nimble at all.”
Lee A-gon delivered the line with a brazen face. Seo Ji-hoon couldn’t react. He was clutching his forehead, which had been hit, and screaming silently.
“……Did Ji-hoon really rip off A-gon’s money or something?”
Director Lim, who had been watching, asked cautiously. Hae-jun, who had been silently observing the situation, whispered something in Director Lim’s ear. Director Lim nodded with a gleam in his eye.
“If you keep doing this.”
He said in a solemn voice. Seo Ji-hoon looked at the director. Lee A-gon also looked at the director with a crooked face.
“I’m going to put in a bed scene for the two of you.”
“……!”
“A really explicit one.”
Director Lim made a gesture of squeezing something in the air, like he was squeezing his balls.
Lee A-gon shuddered and straightened his back. Seo Ji-hoon, who had been rubbing his forehead and cursing, also straightened his posture. Only then did the two of them begin to read the script properly. It seemed they hated touching each other’s dicks more than death.
“Haa.”
Hae-jun sighed and rubbed his forehead.
Will we be able to finish filming this movie?
“Hyung asked that bastard out on a date.”
When asked why he did that to Seo Ji-hoon, Lee A-gon replied. He looked truly resentful, his face even showing anger.
“I explained that I didn’t do that.”
“Hyung might have asked him to have a meal out of pure intentions, but that bastard isn’t. That’s why he didn’t refuse.”
Lee A-gon brought up the lines from today’s script reading as evidence. “See? Here too, he’s asking a guy he’s interested in to have a meal.”
“A-gon, that’s……”
Hae-jun sat Lee A-gon down and gave him a lecture on the difference between “let’s have a meal sometime” and “let’s have a meal sometime.” “Let’s have a meal sometime” doesn’t really mean “let’s have a meal sometime,” it’s just a greeting. “Why do you say such greetings?” It’s just because you don’t want to part ways awkwardly, so you leave some room for possibility. “…Are you saying that Hyung left some room for possibility with Seo Ji-hoon? No, I’m not saying I left some room for possibility……”
The persuasion was ineffective. In the end, Hae-jun resorted to threats.
“Lee A-gon, think about what will happen if you don’t work hard. The angry director will cut you from this movie, right? To make matters worse, let’s say
Lee A-gon widened his eyes and covered his mouth with his hand.
“Imagine this movie becomes a huge success after you’re gone. It gets invited to major overseas film festivals, the president gives you a commendation for making Korea shine, and all the actors who starred in it become famous, get cast in other movies, and film commercials, but you’re still stuck with minor roles, unable to even afford formula for our baby, struggling desperately.”
Lee A-gon shook his head, covering his mouth. It seemed scary just imagining it.
“That can’t happen.”
“Right. What do you have to do to prevent that from happening?”
“I have to work hard.”
“Good. You’ve thought it through well.”
Hae-jun sighed. It was a ridiculous threat, but it succeeded in changing Lee A-gon’s mind.
“I trust you, Hyung. A-gon will do well on set, right?”
“Yes, I’ll do really well. I’ll work hard, Hyung.”
Lee A-gon nodded vigorously. I hope it stays that way. Hae-jun decided to trust Lee A-gon’s paternal love for a baby who wasn’t born yet and would never be born.
The movie
“You’re here?”
The call time for the first day of filming was five in the morning. The staff’s call time was even earlier, as the director and writer greeted the two with haggard faces. They were also able to greet the other staff members they hadn’t met on the script reading day.
“We’re going to hold a gosa ceremony now. After the writer Choi and I bow, you two bow as well.”
There was a gosa table in the middle of the cafe, which they had arranged to borrow for a while before the cafe opened. It had all the necessary elements. Fruit and rice cakes were placed on a red folding table, and pork was neatly placed in the center.
“We were really busy this morning. Because of that.”
Hae-jun made appropriate small talk in response to Director Lim’s words.
“Ah, you must have gone through a lot…”
“Writer Choi suddenly suggested boiling the meat. I thought it would be better to put it on raw, but Writer Choi said that putting on boiled pork looked more sincere? Then one of the staff members suggested making spicy pork stir-fry, and from then on, everyone was saying they liked tonkatsu or braised beef in soy sauce…… No, I told them we’re not choosing the lunch menu right now, but the kids wouldn’t listen. What do you think, Manager? Raw meat is the way to go, right?”
Was that what they were busy with? I thought they were busy disagreeing over the interpretation of the work.
Hae-jun reluctantly replied, “Yes, I like raw meat too.” Director Lim, who had gained an ally, puffed out his chest and left triumphantly. They argued loudly for a while, but eventually everyone agreed to put on raw meat, as Director Lim, who had won two votes, had said.
The director and writer bowed, and then the two lead actors bowed. Hae-jun also bowed with the staff in the back. When he said he didn’t need to do it, he was told that it was customary to bring even a part-timer who worked for a day and ran away to bow when holding a gosa ceremony.
The first scene to be filmed today was a scene where Myung-eum and Jung-on sat facing each other in a cafe and talked about their anxieties. They had to finish filming by ten-thirty, when the cafe started preparing to open.
Lee A-gon and Seo Ji-hoon sat facing each other across the table. Soon, the clapperboard was struck and the director shouted “Action!”
“I have something to say.”
Seo Ji-hoon delivered his first line. The first scene of the first BTT was a scene where Jung-on, who didn’t trust Myung-eum, pushed him away.
“What is it?”
“I want to break up with you.”
A bewildered look appeared on Lee A-gon’s face, which had been smiling brightly at meeting the person he loved. Seo Ji-hoon lowered his head like a child who had been called to the principal’s office.
“Can I ask why?”
“Because this isn’t normal.”
“What’s normal and what’s not normal?”
“You know. You’re an Ability User and I’m an Ability User too. Ability Users have to meet Assistants. That’s normal.”
“I want to meet you, not an Assistant.”