Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Final Shoot of the First Story
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The final shoot of the first story would take place at the slum set where the demon and the human had first met.
'A god who demands half your lifespan.'
It was the perfect spot to compare the beginning and end of a human blinded by vengeance.
Right in the center of that bustling set, two actors were matching their timing, naturally exchanging ideas.
'Lee Jun-seo and Yoon So-hee.'
They looked like equals.
Main Writer Kim Hyun, sitting beside the director, found the sight disconcerting and called out to him.
"Is this okay? A rookie actor talking to a senior like that..."
"Main Writer."
Director Han Mun-jin cut her off, scratched the back of his neck, then whipped his head around to glare fiercely.
"Watch closely and focus. You can't let your eyes off Lee Jun-seo right now. You know why I called you here today, don't you?"
"......"
Han Mun-jin added,
"Watch Yoon's acting carefully."
"...Yes. Got it."
With that, Kim Hyun let out a quiet sigh.
Her insides burned with anxiety.
'What am I supposed to be watching...?'
Grumbling inwardly, she scrutinized Yoon's performance.
Even though the camera wasn't rolling yet.
Lee Jun-seo and Yoon So-hee kept repeating the same scene in practice.
Their voices carried faintly.
"Lower it a bit there..."
"You too, when you walk in, just a little more..."
Murmur murmur.
The chattering staff right behind made it hard to hear clearly.
But their expressions were visible even from afar.
From those, she could vaguely grasp what she wanted to convey.
'Bitterness and emptiness.'
She was intently watching Yoon So-hee start her acting again when Han Mun-jin leaned back in his chair and asked softly.
"Main Writer Kim Hyun, if there's anything off this time, feel free to tell me straight."
"...Wouldn't the director's eye be sharper? You have way more experience than a newbie writer like me."
"Sigh, no backbone..."
"Pardon?"
"Didn't you hear what Yoon said to me yesterday?"
"I did, but... Yoon might have a keener eye than me..."
Frustrated, Han Mun-jin crumpled the bound script in his fist.
Just yesterday, he'd heard it from Yoon herself.
She would perform the emotions as she analyzed them, and if her expression didn't work, to stop the shoot.
Letting out another sigh, Han Mun-jin picked up the red megaphone.
"Alright, let's start right away. Yoon, Lee—got the emotions locked in?"
The two actors nodded confidently in unison.
"Then let's get to it quick. Camera director, prep for a one-shot."
The shoot began.
Step. Step.
Lee Jun-seo appeared from afar.
Fast yet slow.
Yoon So-hee flinched as she saw him approaching slowly.
She looked palpably tense.
"...Acting nervous about offering half her lifespan to the demon?"
Kim Hyun muttered what she thought was the answer.
Han Mun-jin, lips curled up, immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie and gave directions.
"Focus on Lee Jun-seo's steps first. Good. Tilt up there."
-Roger. Close-up on the face at the end, right?
"You got it. Keep it going steady."
He'd only walked in, yet a heavy atmosphere filled the set.
Step. Step.
Lee Jun-seo stopped abruptly, glanced over Yoon So-hee's face, and twitched his eyebrow slightly.
Yoon So-hee, who had seemed tense, greeted him with a hollow laugh.
"What do you think, Main Writer?"
"It, uh, looks a bit awkward?"
"...Watch a little more, and you'll see why she went with that."
With that answer, Han Mun-jin watched the two continue acting.
Lee Jun-seo spoke first.
No—the demon who had fulfilled the contract.
"Now, I'll take your lifespan. How does it feel to have succeeded in your revenge, as wished?"
Lee Jun-seo smirked, pressing a finger to Yoon So-hee's forehead.
In that moment, Yoon So-hee opened her mouth with a bitterly sweet smile.
"...I thought it'd feel refreshing. But it doesn't sit well. Mr. Demon."
The lines.
The emotions to convey.
They deviated completely from the script.
Originally, she was supposed to praise the demon as the best.
And close her eyes gently.
But.
"No way... for that?"
Yoon So-hee's self-analyzed and altered lines... were perfectly clean.
Revenge always ends in emptiness.
Now, how would Lee Jun-seo alter his lines here?
Intrigued by the unfolding, Kim Hyun stared intently at Lee Jun-seo's mouth.
"Boring. Since it's my first contract, I'll give you some special good info."
"...What good info?"
"Your remaining lifespan is 10 years. Use it however you want from now on."
Even in that brief moment, Lee Jun-seo's changed lines carried deep meaning.
That the end for one who sought revenge is truly hollow.
He had perfectly interpreted exactly what Yoon So-hee intended to convey.
Was this possible? Elevating the completion in such a short time?
Kim Hyun shuddered.
Chills ran through her body.
Unknowingly, she shot up from her seat, clenching her fists.
"...Why didn't I think of that?"
If the demon, bored to relieve tedium, was actually the human who sold his soul to the demon out of blind vengeance...
Wouldn't he hesitate every time he tried to use his powers upon regaining his humanity?
No. For more tension later...
Better to make it so he couldn't use powers at all?
A flurry of sudden ideas churned in her head.
"I-I have to write this down!"
Scratch. Scratch.
Kim Hyun immediately grabbed her notebook and jotted down the ideas flooding in.
Han Mun-jin watched the passionate Main Writer Kim Hyun with a pleased smile.
She reminded him of himself back when he was a rookie director.
Talented, but spineless.
'That look.'
Shaking off stray thoughts, Han Mun-jin hardened his expression.
He picked up the walkie-talkie.
"Now, action. This is the highlight."
-Roger!
Tap. Tap. Tap tap tap!
As Lee Jun-seo turned and walked away, raindrops began to plop down on the spot.
Yoon So-hee gazed at the sky with a deranged laugh—an ad-lib not in the script.
If it didn't work, stop it, she'd said...? He couldn't help but chuckle.
"Cut! That's it! Just two-shot and full shot left, so let's push a bit more."
The shoot wrapped earlier than expected today. Those humming songs with shoulders bouncing wildly, drenched in sweat, never lost their smiles.
Monsters, really.
Dodging them, I finished greetings with the director and Main Writer.
Then headed straight to where my manager waited.
Whoosh!
"What the—since when's it been pouring?"
Outside the set, a downpour was dumping rain refreshingly.
In the torrent.
The staff were loading vinyl-wrapped gear onto trucks.
Still smiling.
"Off work! Off work! Off work!"
"Yeah! Heading home early!"
"It's been forever. Woo! Gonna crack open a beer at home."
"Feels nice and cool in the rain."
A touch of madness.
I snuck past the staff, hugging the wall to the warehouse back.
This way, I could reach the back without an umbrella.
"Whoa... tons of puddles here."
Soon, I arrived where three black cars were parked. Wait here until the manager came out.
"When's he coming?"
The middle car pulled forward, suddenly stopped, and the window rolled down.
A slender hand popped out.
Holding a small umbrella.
"Hey, take it quick. Rain's getting in."
"Nah, it's fine. Manager's coming down soon with one."
"You'll look pathetic standing there. Just use this and return it later."
"Haha... well, if you insist. Thanks, I'll use it well."
The moment I took it, she raised the window as if uninterested.
"Return later, huh..."
The convenience store logo was big on the umbrella she'd given me.
She didn't have to...
I opened it and approached the manager's car.
Only then did he spot me?
He scrambled down and ran over, popping open an umbrella.
'No, does this guy not see the umbrella in my hand?'
I narrowed my eyes and glared. He averted his gaze, pulling the umbrella toward himself.
"Hey... you were sleeping, right?"
"Just dozed off a bit."
Wipe your drool next time.
And wasn't that more than dozing?
I smacked the manager's sturdy back like the cool rain falling.
Smack! Wet hand made it sound crisp just hearing it.
Yet his expression didn't change as he asked.
"Heading out now?"
I'd hit pretty hard...
Show some pain.
"...Meeting In-ju hyung for dinner."
"Ah. Where to? Reservations would make it comfier..."
"Reserved already, sent you the address. Didn't check?"
He pulled out his phone, checked my message, and grinned vacantly.
"Sigh, place with homemade chicken breast steaks that are tasty. That cool? It's chicken breast."
"Yeah, should be fine."
In-ju was managing his body too, so same diet as me.
Once this project's done...
Gonna gorge on delivery and greasy food for real.
Wiping drool, I followed the manager to the passenger seat and slumped, relaxing fully.
"Didn't know the senior was so passionate... Listening so carefully to my input..."
Kwon In-ju's car passed us ahead. Time for a very early dinner.
"Let's head out."
"Yeah. Go on. And... no need to say stuff like that."
I'd mumbled casually and closed my eyes when my pocket phone buzzed suddenly, startling me.
Call from Shin Dong-hyun.
Didn't this guy say he was shooting that variety show 'Talk is King' today?
Pretty sure I glimpsed it in the group chat updates.
"What? Why call? Aren't you shooting variety today?"
-Huh? Uh... well, that's not the point.
"What's up?"
-Remember the housewarming... first time? What'd you say to me then? Haha!
Oh, this punk?
Seems like I need to say the right keyword for success.
I've rolled in this industry for years.
Hit it right off the bat.
-You sent the address just to me then. So I bragged to hyung and noona?
Ah, got what he wants.
Combining first and now, the word is 'friend.'
Wanna tease a bit?
"Hmm... no clue. If you say 'hyung, please help me out,' it might jog my memory?"
-Hey! Please, I beg you. Yeah?
Right then.
"Time's up" from the phone, and the call ended.
I smirked, tapped out a message to Shin Dong-hyun.
Lee Jun-seo: Dude, helping would ruin the fun, right? Good luck on the shoot.
That should secure Dong-hyun a ton of screen time. Ain't no friend like me.
I chuckled softly, thinking that.