Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Filming Set
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Na Gang-in met with food truck owner Kim Byung-ho the next morning.
Kim Byung-ho bellowed.
"I went to the dawn market and bought everything exactly from the list you gave me yesterday. Take a look and see if anything's missing."
Na Gang-in scanned the ingredients loaded in the food truck with his eyes. AI Jeon Ji-in analyzed the ingredients and displayed the results on his AR Lens.
Na Gang-in spoke up.
"Everything else is decent enough to meet the standard, but the carrots are a bit off on freshness."
"Whoa. As expected of an expert—you can tell just by glancing. I skipped buying new carrots since we had so many left over from before. Should we swing by a mart on the way?"
"It's not bad enough to cause food poisoning, so we're good."
Kim Byung-ho had injured his right hand. So Na Gang-in took the wheel for the food truck.
Kim Byung-ho marveled from the passenger seat.
"You drive like a pro. I never knew my truck could ride this smooth."
"Just a little."
Kim Byung-ho kept Na Gang-in entertained from the passenger seat with all sorts of chatter. Since they were heading to a movie set, most of it revolved around this film.
"This movie's already locked in theaters post-editing. Release is like a week away? Then out of nowhere, they call needing a food truck for reshoots."
"Some sudden issue popped up."
"A massive one. Cops raided a drug party at dawn yesterday, and one of our key supporting actors got nabbed right there."
Na Gang-in tilted his head slightly.
"You mean the drug party they busted while nabbing that arson murderer as a bonus?"
"Exactly. It was on the news, right? They caught the arsonist and it snowballed into hauling in a ton of strung-out addicts."
Na Gang-in was the one who'd sketched the arson suspect's composite for the police.
Kim Byung-ho explained.
"Since the actor got pinched at the scene, the studio can't just say they'll release and wait for the investigation. Wait for what? He was caught red-handed."
"So what happens now?"
"They can't release with the footage they've got. What choice do they have? Gotta cut every scene he's in."
Na Gang-in now understood why they were rushing reshoots and urgently calling in a food truck.
"How much footage needs reshooting for that film?"
"From what I heard, slicing out all his scenes tanks the movie's quality. So they're reshooting every one of them—as fast as possible."
"Can they really make a decent film shooting that quick?"
"It'll suffer compared to the original, for sure."
"Couldn't they just delay the release?"
Kim Byung-ho wagged his left-hand fingers.
"The situation's super delicate. They've booked theaters big-time; delaying kills the slots and craters the studio. I don't know the nitty-gritty."
"So reshoots got greenlit yesterday, and they're filming today."
"Yup. That's why my truck got emergency-booked. Dodging this would've blackballed me for good."
Kim Byung-ho grinned wide.
"Whew. You saved my skin, Gang-in."
"If it was that urgent, they could've grabbed some substitute cook instead of me."
"True, but it'd take begging everywhere. And no way they'd find someone with your skills. Today we'll feed the actors and crew a real feast and make a solid impression. Heh."
Na Gang-in veered off the main road onto a dirt path and asked.
"You know today's not free volunteer work, right?"
"You're putting out their fire—gotta pay you proper day's wages."
Filming was underway at a set in Gangwon Province.
Na Gang-in prepared lunch.
Kim Byung-ho prepped ingredients, swept scraps aside, and said.
"They shot here last time and haven't torn it down yet. Heaven's smiling on THO Entertainment and Director Son Tae-min."
"Does Director Son Tae-min make good films?"
Kim Byung-ho held up three fingers on his left hand.
"Obviously. He's top-tier in Korea's romance flicks—box office gold."
Director Son Tae-min sighed over the morning's footage.
The cinematographer was a close friend.
"Not happy with it?"
Son Tae-min vented his frustration.
"How could I be? It's miles from the original!"
"Redo it then?"
Son Tae-min clutched his hair with both hands.
"I want to, but no time. Have to okay even that crap. Sigh. This might actually tank the film."
"Missing release means total wipeout anyway."
"Doomed. I'll be ruined, studio too. That's why this mad rush—to hit screens and recoup production costs."
The cinematographer sounded wistful.
"Our film wasn't supposed to aim just for breaking even. It turned out great."
Director Son Tae-min exploded in curses.
"All because of that junkie bastard! If I get my hands on him, he's dead!"
The cinematographer tapped his arm.
"Grab some food and rest. Crew's wiped. Nonstop since dawn."
"Food?"
Son Tae-min had no appetite. Still, he needed to eat.
"Gotta fuel up for the afternoon. What's lunch today?"
The assistant director, who'd been hovering, jumped in.
"Food truck guy's bragging he brought in a special chef. Should be tasty."
Son Tae-min snapped.
"Like anything'll taste good to me now?"
"He swore it'd be amazing..."
"What, spiking it with drugs? Jealous he got nabbed alone? Shall we all try handcuffs?"
"No, that's not it."
Son Tae-min snorted.
"Chef my ass. Food truck guy's just bullshitting you. Who hires a chef on their budget?"
Director Son Tae-min was stunned midway through lunch.
"Why's this so damn good? I had no appetite."
The assistant director shoveled rice busily beside him.
"Right? He said he brought a chef—must be legit. No drugs in it either."
Son Tae-min couldn't wrap his head around it.
"A pro chef plus premium ingredients? Food truck turn a profit? Must be bleeding money."
"Yeah."
The cinematographer chimed in.
"Food truck guy's treating us to boost morale."
Not just the director thought it tasted great. Staff and even actors used to fine dining raved.
"Tasty."
"This is a hidden gem spot."
"Feels like a gourmet trip with Gangwon views."
A nearby staffer sighed over his meal.
"Vacation? We've been grinding since dawn—exhausted."
"True, but good food helps."
"Yeah. One junkie screws us this hard; bad grub would've been hell."
The film had plunged into reshoots right before release. Schedule was insanely tight—no post-meal breaks even.
Actors and crew wolfed down food. Afternoon filming kicked off immediately.
Na Gang-in tidied the food truck, then watched the shoot nearby with Kim Byung-ho.
Kim Byung-ho commented.
"Everyone's on edge. Director Son Tae-min doesn't usually yell at actors or crew like that—nonstop screaming. Must be frustrating."
"Rushing like that invites accidents."
"Nah, no way..."
Accident risk elevated... Accident occurred!
Before AI Jeon Ji-in finished her warning, an actor tumbled across the ground. His fall looked seriously wrong.
Director Son Tae-min shot up from his chair.
"What happened?! Hurt? No way—please say he's fine!"
"Argh! My ankle!"
Nearby actors and crew rushed over to check the injured man.
Actress Shin Eun-ha screamed.
"Oh no! Director! His ankle's twisted bad!"
Son Tae-min halted mid-run at her words. His vision went dark; he couldn't move. Wanted to collapse right there.
"We're... screwed."
But he couldn't. Injury on set—director was responsible.
"Call 119 now!"
"We're in the mountains—ambulance'll take forever..."
"Call anyway! Anyone know first aid, step up!"
No one did.
"Hey! Assistant! Nobody?"
The assistant director stammered, panicked.
"Director, the injured guy's the one who knows first aid."
"What?"
"No one else, probably."
"Damn it! What now? Can't leave him like this!"
Son Tae-min scanned the crowd, yelling.
"Anyone know anything—step up!"
Kim Byung-ho turned to Na Gang-in.
"Can't you handle it, Gang-in? You fixed my bad sprain quick."
A few heads whipped toward Na Gang-in at that.
Na Gang-in said.
"Thought 'twisted around' meant it for real. Bad sprain, but not that extreme."
Na Gang-in stepped forward.
"I'll do first aid—then get him to a hospital right away."
Director Son Tae-min nodded eagerly.
"Absolutely—we'll do that. Just help him now! He's screaming nonstop!"
"Got compression bandages?"
A staffer sprinted over with the first-aid kit.
"Here!"
Na Gang-in properly reset the actor's ankle joint, wrapped it with compression bandage, and eased the pain with targeted massage.
The screams quieted. Still hurt, but bearable now.
"Ah... thank you so much."
"No big deal."
Director Son Tae-min sighed in relief watching.
"Phew."
But he couldn't relax fully. Bigger issues loomed.
Son Tae-min asked Na Gang-in.
"Can he keep shooting?"
Na Gang-in had seen which scene triggered the accident.
"Walking'll be tough for a while. No filming."
Son Tae-min covered his face with both hands.
"Screwed."
The assistant director asked.
"Call another stunt double?"
Son Tae-min blew up.
"Find someone matching Kim Yu-chan's face and build that fast? Haul 'em to deep Gangwon? Sync hands when? Damn! Miss release, we're all toast!"
"Have a staffer sub? Mask and shades—might work for this scene."
The injured man was a martial arts stunt actor, dressed to resemble lead actor Kim Yu-chan.
Son Tae-min paused, then nodded vigorously.
"Yes! We'll do that! No time for redo makeup anyway. Tweak script—he's masked to hide identity!"
This film was scripted by director Son Tae-min himself. He could edit it.
Son Tae-min looked around.
"Anyone wanna sub?"
The stunt guy had already gotten hurt mid-performance. Replacement needed solid physical skills. Eagerness alone could mean another injury—and blacklisting.
Crowd glanced around.
Three staffers matched lead Kim Yu-chan's build.
Son Tae-min asked them.
"Any of you black belts? Or did gymnastics?"
All three shook heads. Total klutzes.