Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Camera Action
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The assistant director made a suggestion.
"Director. For this scene, couldn't Mr. Kim Yu-chan just do it himself?"
Director Son Tae-min's voice grew louder.
"What if Kim Yu-chan gets hurt too? If the lead actor twists his ankle like that, our movie's reshoots are completely finished that day!"
Son Tae-min shouted toward all the staff.
"We'll cover the face with sunglasses and a mask, so it doesn't have to look just like him. As long as the build isn't too different, I'll make it work somehow! Anyone who can handle themselves a bit, step forward! I swear I won't forget this favor!"
Na Gang-in finished treating the injured man's ankle and stood up. Son Tae-min's gaze naturally shifted toward him.
"Huh?"
Son Tae-min realized that Na Gang-in and the injured man had similar builds. The injured stuntman's physique was close to the lead actor's.
He then compared Na Gang-in to Kim Yu-chan. Na Gang-in's build was even closer to Kim Yu-chan's than the injured martial arts stuntman's.
With a spark of hope, Son Tae-min asked.
"Hey, food truck guy. You got any martial arts certification or anything?"
Na Gang-in answered.
"I can handle myself a bit."
Son Tae-min's face lit up instantly.
"You saw what the role is while watching, right? Please, I beg you. We're really pressed for time."
Na Gang-in asked in all seriousness.
"Do I get a daily rate?"
Son Tae-min pointed at the injured stunt actor as he replied.
"Same pay as this guy—no, double, since it's an emergency!"
Na Gang-in quietly asked AI Jeon Ji-in.
"Can you support something like this?"
"That's a military skill too?"
Son Tae-min mistook Na Gang-in's quiet muttering for indifference.
He had received a request from film company president Lee Tae-ho not to spare any expense and to absolutely finish the reshoots and re-editing within the deadline.
Son Tae-min shouted.
"Alright, fine! Double double!"
Na Gang-in asked immediately.
"What do I need to do?"
The martial arts stunt actor was helped by others as he moved to the sidelines.
The set was prepared once more.
This film had no martial arts director. It was a romance movie, not an action flick. They had hired stunt actors because fight scenes were needed, but the action itself wasn't complicated.
Co-star Shin Eun-ha was playing the woman in peril. What they needed to shoot now was the male lead taking down three enemies and rescuing her.
Last time they'd shot this scene, there had been four enemies here. Son Tae-min had hastily revised the script yesterday, cutting out the one arrested at a drug party, leaving just three.
The foot-injured stunt actor told Na Gang-in how to move once shooting started.
"My injured foot action is too risky, so I'll skip that and explain the rest of the choreography."
The stunt actor began his explanation.
Na Gang-in said to the action stunt actor.
"I'm not even a real actor. If I try to follow some fixed choreography, it'll come off awkward as hell. Plus, these three don't look like action pros."
"True enough. But we've got no other options. No time to choreograph easy new moves either."
Na Gang-in looked at the three actors and offered an alternative.
"Just attack me for real?"
The three were taken aback.
"Pardon?"
"Come at me like you're really fighting. I'll handle it appropriately. That way it'll feel more real."
The action stunt actor tried to stop him.
"No way. Sure, it'll look real if it works, but what if another accident happens?"
Director Son Tae-min quickly cut in.
"Na Gang-in suggested it first, so he must be confident in his skills. If it works out, we won't have to worry about the acting either. Let's do a rehearsal."
Na Gang-in shook his head.
"If we rehearse first, it won't feel real when we actually shoot. Let's go straight into the take."
"Huh? You any good at real fighting?"
"A bit."
Son Tae-min licked his lips.
"If we nail it in one go, we save shooting time... Alright, let's try. If it flops, we'll call it rehearsal and reshoot."
Son Tae-min returned to his spot.
"I know."
"Yeah, so my work time gets shorter."
Shooting began.
Shin Eun-ha was backed into a corner. The three men menaced her.
Suddenly, the warehouse door panel flew off its hinges as Na Gang-in burst into the set.
Three cameras rolled at once. One captured Shin Eun-ha and the three men, another took a wide shot including the background from afar.
The one mounted on the rail tracked Na Gang-in's movements from the side.
Na Gang-in had no dialogue.
The lines would be recorded separately later by the male lead, Kim Yu-chan. Kim Yu-chan waited beside the director, wearing the exact same mask and sunglasses.
Na Gang-in strode heavily toward his opponents.
The three delivered their scripted lines.
"Who the hell is this punk?"
"Get him!"
They figured three against one, he'd never block it all— instant NG. So one of the actors charged at Na Gang-in first.
Na Gang-in had told them to attack for real, but the actor treated it like acting and threw a punch that wasn't all that fast.
Na Gang-in monitored in real time how he appeared on the three cinema cameras through his AR Lens.
The opponent's punch was slower than anticipated.
AI Jeon Ji-in displayed a translucent virtual overlay of the camera-optimized response movement.
Na Gang-in subtly twisted his body sideways to match the incoming punch's speed. The fist whistled past his face. Mindful of the cameras, he extended his hand forward. His fingertips brushed the enemy's collar.
He adjusted his arm's angle to seize the collar firmly. The grab motion registered crystal clear on camera.
Then he hooked the opponent's foot lightly. That foot sweep was perfectly caught by the lenses too.
Director Son Tae-min's eyes went wide. He could already picture how this would play on screen for the audience.
'A fight scene that's detailed but easy to follow?'
Na Gang-in, who had been moving deliberately slow, suddenly yanked the collar hard.
The actor who threw the punch panicked. His body lurched forward with no chance to react. Suddenly the world spun.
"Urk!"
Na Gang-in hurled the actor aside. The man sailed through the air.
Director Son Tae-min jolted to his feet, fearing another injury, but he didn't call cut.
He couldn't call cut.
'Show the detailed attack buildup, then bam— a sudden explosive throw. And not some sped-up or slowed-down edit, but raw, vivid real combat footage...'
No editing required.
'This scene is perfect untouched. Already flawless!'
He couldn't stop after witnessing perfection.
Son Tae-min's eyes flicked to the flying actor. If he was hurt, they'd have to stop, regretfully.
The actor hit the bare floor in shock. The impact was lighter than expected. It hurt, but not unbearably so.
'What? Why isn't it hurting more?'
He was an actor. Looking dazed here would ruin the take and get him blacklisted by the director. He quickly acted out collapsing from a single blow.
Son Tae-min spotted the acting right away. It was convincing, but it couldn't fool Son Tae-min, one of Korea's top-grossing romance film directors.
'He's fine!'
Son Tae-min hurriedly signaled to keep rolling.
The second actor rushed in.
He'd seen the first one charge moderately and get flung dramatically.
'He wants to go for real? Screw it!'
This actor wound up big, determined to land a solid hit, swinging wildly at Na Gang-in's face.
Na Gang-in snatched the arm mid-swing. He deliberately slid in the direction the punch had come from. The rail cam was tracking Na Gang-in at the time.
Now the camera and Na Gang-in moved in opposite directions.
The cinematographer realized what was being captured.
'It'll look like ten cameras arrayed in an arc, circling around the two of them dynamically.'
Na Gang-in yanked the actor's arm, launching him high into the air. Then he slammed him down. Just before impact, Na Gang-in extended his foot to kick the torso.
To everyone's eyes, it looked like Na Gang-in had hurled the actor as if to kill him— even following up with a kick on the falling man.
Gasps erupted. Some jaws dropped.
This time Son Tae-min raised his hand to stop the shoot urgently.
But he froze just as he was about to yell.
'Wait... no scream?'
After a slam-and-kick like that, a scream was mandatory. Unless the actor was knocked out— but he was visibly conscious.
The slammed actor was baffled too.
'Huh? What?'
It hurt, but it was bearable. Nothing felt broken.
Plus, this actor had braced a little. He didn't do anything stupid—instead, he writhed convincingly on the floor like he'd been neutralized in one shot.
The cameras kept rolling.
Son Tae-min quickly signaled to continue. Unknowingly, he swallowed hard, anticipating the next beat.
'All or nothing now! No stopping!'
The last actor panicked. He hadn't noticed the first two were unhurt. Naturally, he was terrified.
"U, uwaaaah!"
The frightened actor shrieked, flailing alternating fists wildly. His terror elevated his performance far beyond normal.
Na Gang-in evaded solely with elastic waist bends and timely shoulder rolls.
This time, he didn't counter right away. He deliberately baited more punches. The big, sweeping blows were dodged with flexible waistwork by a hair's breadth each time.
To onlookers, it looked like a fierce back-and-forth exchange. Fists grazed perilously close every time.
An average person without martial arts training tires fast swinging hard with big motions.
Na Gang-in dodged five punches. On the sixth, he spotted the speed drop.
'This should be enough.'
AI Jeon Ji-in signaled via AR Lens to proceed to the next phase.
He seized the punching arm and side, tripped the leg, and flipped him sideways. The actor let out a short yell.
"Ack!"
Director Son Tae-min clenched his fist at that instant.
'Perfect cut-off timing! Dodging too long would've looked off... Huh?!'
Na Gang-in drove his knee into the falling actor's belly. Not a real strike, though.
He just grazed the belly with his knee and shoved upward. He tensed his grip on the arm and side to lift the man's body airborne.
The third actor realized in that knee moment what happened to the others. His body soared upward— painless.
The actor's body arced up then down. Na Gang-in eased the descent by controlling his grip.
The third actor finally hit the floor. Even with slowed speed, bare concrete hurt. But it was tolerable.
Acting fully subdued, he thought.
'The others must be fine too, right?'
Director Son Tae-min clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly. Each hit made him want to halt everything, but he couldn't. Not a single frame of this scene could be sacrificed.
Sweat slicked his palms.
"Keep going. Stay in character. Natural, keep it natural."
After downing all three actors, Na Gang-in walked over to Shin Eun-ha.
"Came to save you."
Shin Eun-ha thought the other three actors had really been hit.
With frightened eyes, she blurted without thinking.
"Y-you're going to let me live, right?"
That line wasn't in the script.