Chapter 187: Longing
Chapter 187: Longing
On the day Check Mate began filming, the set had been running busily since dawn.
While staff from each department moved about setting up equipment and checking blocking, the one place that was especially swamped was, without question, the art team.
“Make that section of the floor look more twisted.”
“Will this do?”
“No, more! It has to give the feeling of Alex Han’s mind collapsing.”
“This floor-pattern sheet is starting to ripple a little. What should we do?”
“Bring a hair dryer and flatten it out again! If this gets ruined today, we’re all dead!”
The art director’s shout rang loudly across the set.
And for good reason, because the scene being filmed today was a masterpiece the art team had prepared by pouring their souls into it.
They had recreated the inner world of the protagonist, Alex Han, as a set.
A chessboard motif.
But it was twisted and warped in a bizarre way, ignoring the physical laws of reality.
The black-and-white pattern on the floor swirled inward as though being sucked toward the center, while dozens of distorted mirrors hung from the walls and ceiling.
At last, once all the setup was complete, the staff watching all let out exclamations at once.
“Wow... this is insane.”
“They really nailed the feel. It’s exactly the kind of space that could drive someone mentally ill.”
“What would it feel like to act in there?”
“It seems like it’d be exciting, like being a character inside a game.”
When one staff member said that in an excited voice, a member of the camera team beside him shook his head and scolded him.
“Yeah, right. Imagine standing up there while dozens of people are staring at only you. Your stomach would churn so hard you wouldn’t be able to deliver a single line.”
“...You’re right. Thinking of it that way, it really feels like the set might swallow me whole.”
The staff nodded.
An overwhelming set could give wings to an actor, but it could also devour one instead.
If the actor’s presence was weak, they would simply be buried under the extravagant background and erased.
“That’s why actors are amazing. Our lead is even more amazing. You watched Vacuum State, right? That insane acting in the mirror room.”
“It’s Ryu’s first day of filming today. I’m ridiculously excited. What he showed us at the script reading is still floating around in my head.”
“God, seriously, I’ve never seen someone’s voice switch that wildly in my life.”
The expectations were sky-high.
But there were also calm voices of concern.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves too much. That was a seated script reading.”
“Right. It could feel like pressure to the actor too, so let’s not make a big fuss.”
“By the way, I heard the director ordered Ryu to dye his hair?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right. He wanted Alex Han to feel surreal, so the character design was set with silver hair.”
“Hmm... I’m a little worried. Silver hair isn’t easy to pull off.”
“I agree. If it goes wrong, it can look tacky, like cosplay. And it clashes even more with Asian skin tones.”
“Of course I understand Director Quentin’s intention, but the lead actor’s appearance is also one of the film’s important weapons. I’m worried it might lose points for no reason there.”
As they were voicing those worries, a member of the camera team checking the angles suddenly looked toward the set entrance and muttered, “What’s this? Why did they already turn on the lights? The actors haven’t even all arrived yet.”
“What? They’re not on yet.”
“If they’re not on, then why is it suddenly flashing?”
“N-No, that’s not it... look over there.”
The staff member pointed with a trembling finger.
In that direction, Ryu Sunho, now with silver-dyed hair, was walking in.
“...Holy shit, the thing shining wasn’t a light. It was a human face?”
“...No, that’s not human. There’s no way that’s the same kind of person as us.”
“...My God, who knew silver hair would suit him even better.”
The staff could only stare in admiration.
The reactions of the staff on set felt different from usual.
Every time they looked at me, they either flinched in surprise or stared blankly.
It seemed the silver dye really suited me, even to American eyes.
Good. At least it wasn’t just my own illusion.
“Ryu, over here. Let’s do a quick greeting before filming.”
The assistant director called me over.
A special actor was with us today.
The actor playing my younger self, in other words, young Alex Han.
“Hello.”
A small child was standing there.
Holding tightly to the hand of a woman who appeared to be his mother.
A little boy with bright, clear eyes.
But the moment he saw me, he flinched and ducked straight behind his mother’s leg.
“You should say hello to hyung.”
“......”
Did I look too scary?
Well.
A tall person with white hair walking up to him would definitely be frightening.
“I’m sorry. He’s shy. He still gets very nervous around strangers.”
“No, it’s fine. I can look a little scary to kids.”
I bent my knees and lowered myself to the child’s eye level.
Wearing the gentlest smile I could, I waved my hand.
“Hi. What’s your name?”
The child kept his mouth tightly shut and only shook his head.
I could feel with my whole body that he was scared of me.
His mother smiled awkwardly and answered instead.
“His name is Daniel. He was born and raised in America, so his Korean is a little clumsy, and he doesn’t really know Korean celebrities.”
“Ah, I see.”
“But I know you very well! My younger sister is in Korea, and she’s a huge fan of yours. She was completely obsessed with Doctor Princess. She kept strongly recommending it to me too, so I watched it, and it was so fun.”
His mother’s voice rose a full notch.
That was the vibe of a real fan.
“You’re even more amazing in person. Your hair color too, you really look like you walked straight out of a comic.”
“Haha, thank you. If you’d like, I can give you an autograph later. One for your sister too.”
“Oh my! Then it would be a real honor for me. Thank you!”
His mother beamed and soothed the child.
“Daniel, hyung is a really famous actor. He’s the hyung from the drama Mommy likes.”
But the child still looked indifferent.
No, was he only pretending to be indifferent?
He seemed fascinated by my hair color and scared of it at the same time.
He kept sneaking glances at me while avoiding my eyes.
If I force things and try to act close, he’ll probably run away even more.
This was where I should back off.
“Then good luck with filming today. See you later, Daniel.”
As I stood up and walked away, I could finally see the child step out from behind his mother’s leg and let out a breath of relief.
It looked like it would take a long time before we got close.
“We’ll start filming now. Please stand by.”
The child went in first.
My filming was right after his.
Since the gap was not long, I decided to wait on the set.
The scene we were filming today was roughly this:
Young Alex Han waking up in the hospital after the traffic accident.
After losing his sense of self from the shock, he instantly grows into an adult inside his inner world.
It was a scene that compressed the narrative of his childhood for the sake of rapid story progression while visually expressing Alex Han’s identity fracture and psychological instability.
That way, the audience could empathize with Alex Han’s unstable inner world and immerse themselves in the character with multiple personalities.
“Action!”
With the cue, the child’s acting began.
Empty eyes. Hollow expression.
Oh...
He handled the acting better than I expected.
His immersion was good.
I did not know whether becoming an actor was his dream, but if he wanted to be one, he seemed like he could become a very good actor.
At that age, I don’t think I was even capable of emotional acting at that level, much less thinking about acting in the first place...
It made me a little envious.
And a little proud of him too.
“Cut! Good job, Daniel!”
Daniel’s filming ended, and now it was my turn.
I took a deep breath and stood in the center of the set.
The bizarrely twisted chessboard floor.
The giant suspended pieces.
And the dreamlike lighting.
Quentin came over and gave direction.
“Ryu, this scene is entirely on you. You have to show ten years of time and suffering all by yourself. You can do that, right?”
“Of course.”
I nodded.
Everything was ready.
“Okay, let’s go. Ready... action!”
The clapper snapped.
Silence fell.
Ryu Sunho slowly raised his body from where it had been curled on the floor.
His shoulders trembled faintly.
It was as though the fear the boy Daniel had acted was now running through his body.
“......”
He opened his eyes.
Emotion began settling one by one into pupils that had held no focus.
“We have to protect him. Because he is weak.”
The first voice that came out was low and heavy.
It was King.
But soon the corners of his mouth twisted grotesquely, and a laugh tinged with mockery burst out.
“How is someone in that condition going to protect anyone?”
The elegant, firm voice of Queen flowed out.
At the same time, his body immediately drew soft curves.
Then, in an instant, that soft line of his body sharpened like a blade.
“You’re talking with your mouth again. That’s why you got hit in the back of the head like an idiot.”
This time the voice was rough and aggressive.
It was Knight’s voice.
Alex Han held a conversation all by himself.
He screamed, sneered, commanded, and pleaded, all alone.
But every time the personality changed, he became a completely different person.
The tone of the voice, the movement of the facial muscles, even the way he stood.
It was chaos itself.
“......”
The staff did not dare make even a sound.
They could only stare blankly at Ryu Sunho in the viewfinder and on the monitor—
no, at a man becoming a monster.
Soon, the violent convulsions gradually subsided.
The harsh breathing calmed.
The bent back straightened.
Alex Han slowly lifted his head.
Eyes revealed through the disheveled silver hair.
There was no longer confusion there, nor sorrow.
Only absolute arrogance remained, the kind that sought to control and dominate everything.
Only then did Alex Han neatly straighten his clothes, look down at the chessboard, and lift his chin.
“Only now have the rules within us been decided.”
Delivering the final line as King seated on the throne, Ryu Sunho looked straight into the camera lens.
“Cut!!! That was good!!!”
Quentin’s shout broke the silence.
Only then did the staff finally release the breath they had been holding and begin pouring out their admiration.
“...Wow.”
“...That script reading really was nothing but a taste.”
“...I don’t even know how many times I got goosebumps.”
Daniel, who had been watching from one corner of the set, had his eyes wide open too, staring without blinking.
Then he gripped his mother’s hand tightly and whispered, “Mom...”
“Yes?”
“I... want to become an actor like that.”
Stars of longing were set in the child’s eyes.
It was the moment he became someone’s dream.
Meanwhile, at that same time, James Rogers went to find Director Frank, who was making the musical film with him.
His steps were lighter than ever.
“I finally found our protagonist!”
“......Looks like you found another singer who can sing well.”
Frank’s response was unexpectedly flat.
That was because it was hardly the first or second time he had clashed with James Rogers’s stubbornness.
The actors Frank suggested got mercilessly torn apart for not being able to sing, yet James Rogers himself kept bringing in singers who could sing well without considering their acting ability.
But James Rogers’s next words were unexpected.
“No. He’s an actor. And not just any actor—a Cannes Best Actor winner!”
“......Really?”
Frank’s brow twitched.
It seemed he was finally interested.
If it was a Cannes Best Actor winner, then the acting ability was all but guaranteed.
“Who is it?”
“Just watch.”
Rather than explaining at length, James Rogers simply played the video.
“Hoh...”
Frank let out exclamations the whole time he watched.
The acting passed.
As for the singing—
well, if James Rogers was reacting with that much delight, then it was obviously good.
But.
When the video ended, Frank spoke carefully.
“......Everything’s good, but there’s just one thing that bothers me.”
“What?”
“This may sound racist, but an Asian man doesn’t have the right look for the lead of our film, Within.”
Frank added seriously, “By the setting, he’s the first emotion-type android created by humanity. The concept is that he possesses ‘the most perfect beauty humanity can imagine,’ a ‘form that transcends universal standards of beauty.’”
“......”
“I’m not saying we should be racist. But the archetype of the ‘perfect human form’ engraved into the subconscious of Western audiences is still far removed from an Asian person. Which means you have to persuade the audience.”
Frank’s logic was tidy.
It was not simple prejudice, but the judgment of a commercial film director analyzing mainstream audience perception and box-office risk.
In a musical film costing hundreds of billions of won, he could not afford the adventure of fighting against the audience’s fixed ideas.
He knew better than anyone that the moment you had to persuade the audience, immersion cracked.
It was not that James Rogers did not know that.
But he could not forget the thrill he had witnessed firsthand at the Mystery Singer set.
“What you’re saying makes sense too. But if you see him in person, you’ll say something different. That guy has a halo around him. There’s something about him that enchants people.”
“Oh, come on. It was probably just the lighting.”
“I’m telling you it wasn’t! Trust my eyes.”
Frank still shook his head with a doubtful expression.
“We’re making a film. No matter how much of a halo someone gives off in person, if the camera can’t capture it and the audience beyond the screen can’t feel it, then it’s useless—”
When James Rogers’s expression stiffened, Frank backed down a step and changed his tone more flexibly.
“...But if you’re insisting this much, let’s at least have one meeting. Nothing to lose.”
And then, a few days later.
Knock knock—
The door opened with the sound of a knock.
“Hello. I’m Ryu Sunho.”
“......!”
Director Frank froze halfway as he was starting to rise from his seat.
He could only stare blankly up at Ryu Sunho.