Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Nomen (4)
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Thud thud thud thud!
Running at full speed, the stairs come into view before long.
Exactly twelve steps.
I leap over the stairs without slowing down, land on the ground, and roll smoothly.
There had been a lot of talk about using a stunt double for this scene.
But it wasn't that dangerous of an action.
These stairs were all specially padded, soft and cushioned.
Even the handrails were made of Styrofoam.
I have no idea how they made them, but thanks to that, even if you fell here, you wouldn't get seriously hurt.
And that's not all. At the end of the stairs, right where I'd land, there's an elastic mat prepared.
It can't be too soft, or you'd twist your ankle. This level of firmness is perfect.
When the actual movie releases, that mat will vanish without a trace, leaving only asphalt.
'Go CG team!'
From the special stairs to the CG team.
The production crew had done their part, and they would continue to do so.
Now it was my turn.
Thud thud— thud!
I kicked off from the landing point and soared into the air like a bird.
Action starts with form, and it ends with form too.
To avoid flailing around, I tightened my core and controlled my body firmly.
But...
Maybe because I was too tense, I jumped farther than I planned.
I could land on the mat, but during the roll, I'd hit the asphalt.
'...Oh man.'
There was no time to think long.
Unless you escape gravity, airtime is short; the landing spot rushes up in an instant.
If you roll right, you won't get hurt at all.
Falling techniques are what they teach first and most at action school.
As long as you don't panic, it's fine.
The moment I landed, I tensed my ankles so my heels wouldn't hit the mat.
As my toes touched down, I pushed off the ground and leaped forward.
Since it had come to this, I decided to add a bit more flair and threw my body farther out.
I figured a big, bold roll would look better on screen than a timid little tumble.
My arms hit first, bending naturally, then my shoulder, then my back to disperse the impact.
Using the momentum and inertia from running, I sprang back up.
And ran off as if nothing had happened.
"Cut! Okay!"
Only after hearing the director's cut sign did my back start to ache.
My arms, which hit the ground first, stung quite a bit too.
No injuries, but the pain was real.
I wondered if I'd overdone it...
But anyone who knows falling techniques would notice how textbook perfect and cool that roll was.
For the audience in theaters, this much pain was nothing to shrug off.
Rolling on real asphalt hurts. That's normal. No whining.
"Jeong Gyeowol! That roll on the asphalt just now..."
"I'm fine. I didn't go to action school for nothing—this is a breeze."
I reassured the cameraman who was about to fuss and headed to my [Great Actress Jeong Gyeowol] chair.
It still felt burdensome, like I was showing off.
Yoo Jun-seung... you jerk.
I'd considered complaining to Executive Manager Kim Gyu-jin.
But he was on set too. No way he missed this.
If those two weren't conspiring to mess with me, I was sure I'd already been scolded.
I'll leave Yoo Jun-seung alone.
While the crew prepared for the next scene, I went to sit in my chair again...
"...Didn't you see my blanket I left here?"
"...Huh, it was here earlier. Where'd it go?"
"That was new..."
My ultra-fine fleece blanket, bought from Qoo10 for the princely sum of 15,900 won, vanished on its first day of use.
Actual usage time? Maybe thirty minutes.
A water bottle's one thing, but a blanket...
Even if it fell on the floor, I could just shake it off and use it.
Is there some neat-freak cleaner on set with OCD?
I had no idea why my stuff kept disappearing.
"There's another blanket in the car—I'll grab it. But this is weird. Where could it be?"
Yoo Jun-seung tilted his head and headed to the car.
He keeps getting stuck doing chores...
'...But yeah, if I can't keep track of my stuff, it's the manager's fault.'
I'm the one shooting. Only the manager can move around then.
I'm grateful he watches over me and rushes if I might be hurt.
But if my things keep vanishing, I have to blame him for not watching my spot.
Just in case someone took my blanket to snuggle under, I scanned the set from my seat.
Kim Ye-rim smiled at me.
Still just smiling with her mouth.
Like a scene from a horror movie.
Like I'd been marked by a psychopath?
I had no clue why she was hanging around set when it wasn't even her scene.
Acting all suspicious.
No way a actress of her caliber is going around stealing.
I shook my head and checked the script for the next scene again.
After that, Kim Ha-yul weaves through alleys, doggedly tailing Yi Jang-woo.
She loses in a brawl mixed with light knife fighting.
Face-down in a pile of scrap paper, she watches Yi Jang-woo's retreating figure, her eyes trembling.
No matter how legendary he is, she'd lost to a has-been who'd quit years ago.
Kim Ha-yul's pride as an elite killer crumbles.
At the same time, doubts about Babylon's training arise.
The grueling drills were a given; she'd survived brutal training that stripped away emotions.
Yet she couldn't beat that chuckling old man? Does that make sense?
That doubt leads to a flashback of Kim Ha-yul's past.
-
A basement full of kids.
A man who looks like an executive brings in puppies and has the children pick one each.
"This is the animal you'll raise. Choose."
To the scared, lonely kids trapped here, it was welcome news.
They each picked a companion and raised them with utmost care.
After tough training that drained their emotions, the pets that greeted them helped with their mental care.
Years pass.
Now 17, the kids must become interns and carry out missions.
Fail, and who knows what fate awaits.
Few survive the cutthroat, hellish training.
Most friends they'd leaned on were dead.
The kids now had hollow, emotionless eyes.
Their faces had turned doll-like.
The only thing holding them up was their pets.
"The animal in front of you is your target. Kill it. This is your final test to become an intern."
"...!"
Everyone's eyes fill with panic.
Deep in their worn-out hearts, a flicker of emotion remained.
"The instructors told us to raise animals to help our mental strength!"
"This is that process. I'll say it once more. Kill the target in front of you."
"I-I can't do it!"
A kid dared to defy the instructor.
The instructor picked up the puppy next to the defiant child.
He gave it a small cut and hung it upside down.
Now that puppy would slowly bleed out and die in agony.
The defiant kid had to watch if they didn't want to die themselves.
Watching that, Kim Ha-yul snaps her puppy's neck.
Better to end it quickly with her own hands than let it suffer.
A single tear falls.
At the same time, she loses even the deep-buried emotions in her heart.
-
'Ugh... it's cruel no matter how many times I read it.'
I don't know when we'll film this, but shooting it as scripted would be bad for the kids' mental health, and accusations of animal abuse would fly for sure.
So they'll film the kids and real puppies separately first.
The dying puppy will be a prop with CG.
They'll stitch it together seamlessly, like it was always one shot.
Once more, respect to the CG team and technical director.
I closed the script, and soon the assistant director called.
"Jeong Gyeowol, standby!"
We continued shooting.
Not a single NG, not one injury.
We wrapped safely.
That was the end of my scenes for today.
The rest was for Kim Ye-rim, Shin Su-hyeok, and the other actors to grind through.
It wouldn't take too long.
Since it was the first time everyone gathered, a dinner was planned.
'Anyone'd think we live for company dinners.'
I'd head home, rest, then go to dinner...
"...Manager."
"Yeah, Gyeowol? Good work. Heading home?"
"I am, but... where are my slippers?"
"...?"
Yoo Jun-seung's eyes widened as he rummaged under the chair, then the sides.
He even flipped the chair upside down and shook it.
As if flipping the chair would make slippers pop out, you idiot.
Water bottles from production budget? Fine.
The 15,900-won blanket hurt a bit, but okay.
But slippers too?
Why only my stuff?!
There has to be malice toward me on set.
Given the situation, the prime suspect was...
Mouth smiling, eyes not at all.
Who picked a fight and bullied me right from the start.
I thought she was a cold, pretty beauty, but maybe a cold, pretty witch.
Someone who could kill with a smile.
'...Smiling bitch.'
Kim Ye-rim.
***
A fun dinner time.
But I wasn't enjoying it at all.
I had to root out the malice lurking on set.
I kept a sharp eye on suspect Kim Ye-rim.
Still, I didn't refuse drinks offered or ignore the grilled meat.
Eat, drink, repeat. On the way back from the bathroom, I spotted Kim Ye-rim heading into an alley with highly suspicious movements.
Suspicious moves by the suspect? Can't ignore that.
I carefully tailed her.
But...
"What the hell is wrong with you! If you're gonna act like this, you shouldn't have joined in the first place! Don't you know your attitude is causing rumors everywhere? Be careful, just be careful! You think I didn't notice you picking on Gyeowol on the sly?! Lucky only I caught it—no one else did!"
Director Kim Chi-seung's voice came from where Kim Ye-rim headed.
"...You're still cold only to me, harsh only to me. If that's how it is, go live with that Jeong Gyeowol bitch!"
Kim Ye-rim sniffled, snapping back at Director Kim Chi-seung.
"What? Why bring that up! I'm doing this for your sake!"
Director Kim Chi-seung glared coldly, clearly displeased with her.
This situation...
I'd gotten tangled in something I shouldn't.
In showbiz, what you see, you unsee. What you hear, you unhear.
Aaahhh—
I'm deaf.
I'm blind.
I don't even know Hangul.
Uaaahhh—
I turned to hurry back to the dinner...
Of all things, a pebble was by my foot.
And the most clichéd trope kicked in—I sent it flying.
"Who's there!"
"Hahaha, hi! Director, I was stumbling around trying to sober up and ended up here! Where am I?!"
"...Gyeowol."
Acting so bad it made my career look pointless.
The worst performance of my life at the worst moment.
No good excuse, so I claimed I was walking to sober up.
The street's right out front—why walk to this dark alley?
Jeong Gyeowol, me. The world's biggest idiot.
"...I'll head out now!"
"Did you... hear?"
Kim Chi-seung glared at me.
Fierce. Like a dagger aimed at my carotid.
...W-why are your eyes so wide?
Opposite of how he looked at me on set.
If eyes could kill, he'd be the culprit.
'This is bad...'