Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Praise
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The translucent facial image synthesized by AI Jeon Ji-in perfectly overlapped with Gong Ji-hyun's actual face. When superimposed like that, even the tiniest differences were easy to spot.
"Display the discrepancies down to the millimeter."
AI Jeon Ji-in drew lines over the differing areas and noted the exact millimeter differences.
Na Gang-in looked at it and said to Gong Ji-hyun,
"First, open your lips just a little."
This was a place only shooting staff or actors could enter.
Moreover, Na Gang-in had already shown her a perfect facial expression performance. When she'd mimicked it just moments ago, the effect had been incredible.
There was another reason she didn't feel repulsed by Na Gang-in's instructions. She was in a desperate spot right now. If she botched today's shoot, there might be no more opportunities ahead.
Gong Ji-hyun parted her lips slightly as Na Gang-in directed. Then she looked at him with eyes asking if that was it.
"3 mm more."
She spoke using only her tongue, without moving her lips. Her pronunciation was muffled, but understandable.
"Like this?"
"That's a full 5 mm. Close it 2 mm. Ah, right there. Hold it like that. Upper and lower teeth just barely touching. Good."
"Now...?"
"Now lift the left corner of your mouth just a bit."
She raised the corner of her mouth slightly and gave him a look asking if that was enough.
Na Gang-in said,
"Too high. Down 2 mm. Too much. Up 1 mm. No, I said 1 mm. Weird. Is this really that hard? Down again. Stop! Perfect."
"All done...?"
"Now narrow your eyes a little while holding that."
Controlling facial muscles to the millimeter wasn't easy for an average person. It wasn't simple for Gong Ji-hyun either.
As an actress, she had practiced a wide range of expressions regularly. After falling into a slump, she'd worked even harder to break out of it. Thanks to that effort, she could somewhat keep up with Na Gang-in's demands.
But his standards were incredibly high.
"Not like that. Not blatantly narrowing them—about 80 percent of your normal openness. A bit wider. A little more. 0.5 mm more."
"Pardon?"
"Yeah. Freeze there. Now crinkle just the outer corners of your eyes."
Gong Ji-hyun tried to move only her eye corners. It wouldn't cooperate.
Na Gang-in tilted his head.
"Why isn't this working?"
Gong Ji-hyun, holding the expression, mumbled awkwardly,
"Bo-deu-eun an dae-ja-na-yo."
Na Gang-in easily deciphered the garbled pronunciation because AI Jeon Ji-in translated it into text.
"Put a bit more tension into the muscles beside your eyes."
Na Gang-in pointed with his finger.
"Right here."
Na Gang-in lightly pressed the outer corner of her eye with his fingertip.
"Here."
Gong Ji-hyun focused more on the spot he'd touched and reformed the expression.
"Yes, like that. Almost there. Now the eyebrows just a touch..."
Gong Ji-hyun understood without further explanation. She adjusted her eyebrows slightly too.
"Exactly. You got the eyebrows without me saying anything."
Na Gang-in stepped back one pace to view her face. The holographic expression and her real one nearly matched. There were a few 0.5 mm discrepancies, but that was within tolerance.
There was a prop mirror nearby. Not huge, but big enough to reflect her whole face.
Na Gang-in fetched it so she could see herself.
"How's that?"
Gong Ji-hyun's eyes widened the instant she saw her reflection.
Na Gang-in said,
"Hey now. The expression's collapsing."
She quickly reset it. Her reflected face did the same.
"Ah. So this is it."
In the mirror, she looked outwardly angry, yet a bit incredulous, even amused. But peeking through that complex expression in her eyes was a faint inner sadness.
Those perfectly balanced revealed and hidden emotions all came together in one expression.
It was her face in the mirror, but it felt like someone else's.
'It doesn't even feel like me. But... I love how it looks.'
That sentiment layered onto the expression.
Since the start of the year, she'd lost faith in her acting. The less confident she got, the worse things spiraled. Lately, she'd even thought she'd vanish from the industry like this.
Yet the acting issues that had plagued her all year vanished so simply now.
It was almost absurd. She felt a flicker of anger at her foolish past self for not figuring it out sooner.
Still, she felt great. The reflection showed emotions beyond what she'd hoped for. Seeing it brought a slight smile.
All her current feelings seeped back into the mirrored expression.
Her reflected expression grew richer, better.
Now it diverged noticeably from the hologram—not just millimeters, but nearly a centimeter in spots.
Na Gang-in didn't correct her. Her current expression outshone what he'd taught her.
He murmured softly,
"Ji-in, the expression you suggested isn't the best, huh?"
- For infiltrating a site, you don't need that level of deep, complex emotion conveyance. My skill is optimal for mission performance.
"No need to get embarrassed. Just saying."
Gong Ji-hyun stared into the mirror for a long while. Her expression shifted gradually. Some were even better than before; others suited different scenarios.
Eventually, it relaxed completely. She now fully grasped how to perform today's scene.
Only then did she notice Na Gang-in holding the mirror.
Na Gang-in smiled faintly and said,
"See? You're good at this."
She met his eyes and asked,
"Really?"
"Average people can't control their facial muscles that precisely for such subtle movements."
- She's probably trained a lot normally.
Gong Ji-hyun said,
"I've practiced facial expressions a ton. Really a ton."
"They said you were good at acting from the start, and it's true. The expression you made later was way better than what I described. You nailed it."
She beamed broadly.
"Thank you."
Na Gang-in handed her the prop mirror.
"I've got work, so I'm off. Good luck with today's shoot."
"Pardon? Oh, sure."
Na Gang-in picked up his convenience store bag of snacks and headed toward the set.
Gong Ji-hyun assumed he was part of the site's crew.
'I'll give a proper greeting after the shoot's done.'
For now, she wanted more practice. She gazed at her reflection. She loved it.
Everything had felt so hard just moments ago, but now nothing did.
Na Gang-in passed the convenience store snacks to Lee Yeon-ji.
"Chocolate, slice cake, drinks. Saw macarons and grabbed three."
"Whoa! Such good taste from you, mister!"
"Head straight home after the shoot. I've got stuff to do, so I'm going first."
Shin Eun-ha said,
"I'll take Yeon-ji. See you later."
"I've got company business, so maybe dinner time."
"Iron Man Training?"
"Yeah."
Gong Ji-hyun's shoot resumed preparation.
The PD said,
"Ji-hyun, let's do it right this time."
She bowed her head.
"Sorry."
The drama writer whispered to the PD from beside him.
"PD, if things go south, we could swap actors."
"Isn't it too late for that?"
"It's her first shoot today anyway. If we're swapping, now's the time."
The PD glanced at Gong Ji-hyun preparing in the corner and asked,
"Got a replacement?"
"Heard Na Gang-in's at our set today."
The PD looked around.
"Huh? That Na Gang-in? Where?"
"Somewhere around here. With his help, we could turn that verbal spat into a real fight scene. Swap the actress naturally that way."
"Eh... Doesn't our drama shy away from flashy action?"
"Nah, not flashy—just a quick, realistic scuffle. Won't affect the later plot."
The PD rubbed his hands.
"Alright? Let's shoot this first. Can't scrap the setup now. While we film, find Na Gang-in and ask for help."
Shooting began.
Friends 1, 2, and 3 first clashed verbally with the female lead. They'd shot this several times already. Lee Yeon-ji as Friend 3 had improved noticeably.
Then Gong Ji-hyun appeared and started arguing with the female lead.
The PD watched from his chair, leaning back.
"Learned her lesson? Opening expression is decent..."
The PD sat up straight.
"Huh?"
Gong Ji-hyun acted like she was in a real fight with the female lead. Not just angry ranting, but conveying complex emotions throughout.
Yet it didn't feel forced. As you watched her fight intently, an elusive sadness slipped in unnoticed and struck your heart.
After her final line, the PD yelled,
"Cut! That's not it! How do you act like that?!"
Gong Ji-hyun looked crestfallen. She'd felt confident before this take, but no OK again.
'Even this doesn't work? That's not right either? Am I hopeless?'
The PD shouted at the female lead,
"How do you mess up there? Why the stutter? And that expression?!"
The female lead bowed in panic.
"Sorry! I just got flustered for a sec..."
The PD knew why. Gong Ji-hyun's acting was worlds apart from before.
He told the female lead,
"Pull yourself together this time."
"Yes!"
This time, he addressed Gong Ji-hyun. His face brightened.
"Ji-hyun, keep doing exactly that. You got it, right?"
Gong Ji-hyun's face lit up. She realized her acting had landed.
"Yes? Yes!"
Shooting restarted from Friends 1, 2, and 3.
Then Gong Ji-hyun and the female lead's argument.
The female lead stayed composed this time, acting sharply to match her.
After the take, Gong Ji-hyun anxiously looked to the PD. The female lead did too.
The PD grinned wide.
"OK! That's it! Perfect! Man, this is exactly what I wanted!"
Gong Ji-hyun and the female lead brightened.
The PD suggested,
"You both nailed it, but let's do one more. Got the feel now—too good to stop."
He directed the staff,
"More cameras! Roll backups for multi-angles. Someone touch up Ji-hyun's makeup. Lights on her too!"
The set buzzed.
The drama writer approached. She'd missed the take.
"PD, couldn't find Na Gang-in anywhere."
The PD waved it off.
"No worries. Don't need him now."
"Huh?"
"No actor swap. Sticking with Gong Ji-hyun all the way."
"But her acting..."
"Watch with me, Kim Writer. It'll erase any swap thoughts."
With extra cameras and lights focused on Gong Ji-hyun, they reshot the scene.
She acted even more confidently. To the PD, she seemed to glow.
"OK! That's the one!"
The drama writer stared blankly at the set.
The PD whispered,
"Kim Writer, we never even mentioned swapping Gong Ji-hyun. Got it?"
The drama writer clapped a hand over her mouth in surprise.
"Shh! Why say that out loud? Wipe that bad idea from your memory."
"What about her screen time? Stick to the original plan?"
This drama's script was complete but tweaked as needed.
"Obviously revise the back half to boost her role. Saw how the lead's even changing her intensity not to lose out. How could we waste that?"
"Right? That's what I thought."
The drama writer looked uneasy.
"But what if it was just a fluke? We can't rewrite everything for one good take."
"No way. Gong Ji-hyun's always been good. She had a slump making it rough for a bit, but now she's better than ever."
After the shoot wrapped, Gong Ji-hyun realized it.
Her stubborn, sticky, mud-like slump was finally over.
She no longer feared the camera. By the last take, she was thrilled.
Earlier this year, a few senior actors had told her that wasn't how to act. That's when issues started.
She'd tried avoiding such criticism. But the harder she tried, the more her original style crumbled, her emotions overacted, her uniqueness faded. The more force she put in, the less it conveyed.
Less confidence meant clumsier acting. Her escape efforts only worsened it. Moments ago, she'd even pondered quitting acting in the set corner.
Now, all was well.
"Guess I did great today."
The reactions around her confirmed it.
Na Gang-in had fine-tuned her expression, but that alone didn't produce the stellar acting.
What she'd needed wasn't a whip to run faster. It was praise, assurance she was good.
Na Gang-in had given exactly that today. It was enough for her.
All her past anti-slump efforts exploded out in that shoot.
She smiled brightly.
"I'm good now. Someone who really knows acting said I did well. I wasn't wrong."
She scanned for Na Gang-in. No sign.
What he'd done wasn't typical staff work.
"Must be an acting coach from another agency."
She wandered the crowd searching for him.
But no matter where she looked, Na Gang-in was nowhere.