What He and She Conceal (2)
-Let's start with a light warm-up. It's just taking out one person.
-How would you like it done?
-No traces. Disappearance is best. Accident if that's tough. No suicide. Too noisy.
-Understood.
He didn't ask who the target was. No unnecessary curiosity.
That was what Hwang Hak-jin liked about him.
That was why he'd gone to the trouble of recruiting him with a fortune, drawing his blade into his fold.
-Manager Yoon will give you the details later.
-Yes, sir.
-It suits you. Wear clothes like that from now on.
-I'll do so in front of the Chairman.
Hwang Hak-jin rarely met Lee Jin-wook in person to give orders directly.
This was his indirect way of saying not to force such outfits anymore.
The blade was too sharp to risk pointing out his insolence. It could wound even the master.
-Go.
-Yes, sir.
Hwang Hak-jin glared briefly at the retreating figure in its impeccably tailored suit, then spoke to Manager Yoon, who stood rigidly at his side.
-Proceed.
-Yes, Chairman.
"Cut!"
When Lee Min-soo demanded to review the monitor, Song Jeong-woo smirked as if he knew exactly why.
"Let's watch it together, sir."
"Mm."
The cinematographer, PD, and veteran actor sat side by side, scanning the monitor.
"This part here—your expression is perfect, sir. As expected from the spine holding up the core of our drama."
"Not satisfied."
"Pardon?"
"Who is Hwang Hak-jin? A power broker who rules Gangnam's underworld with one hand. He bows outwardly to chief prosecutors or attorneys general, but inwardly sees them beneath him—a true arrogant upstart."
"……."
"A guy like that flinches, even slightly, at just one of his prized blades? That's an NG. We need to reshoot."
Song Jeong-woo glanced away awkwardly, then shrugged.
"Sorry, but that's not possible. It came out just right."
"I called NG."
"It's not an NG. That was exactly the expression I wanted. Don't worry, sir."
Lee Min-soo's eyebrows knitted together.
"I see it as a mistake, but you say it's what you wanted?"
"Yes. That subtle flinch—just enough to catch if you're sharp-eyed, but barely noticeable otherwise. Exactly what I aimed for."
"……."
Lee Min-soo's pupils quivered faintly horizontally.
He'd slipped under the atmosphere of 'Lee Jin-wook.'
Yet that slip was precisely the PD's desired take.
"Jeong-ah's got her first scene with that kid tomorrow, right?"
"Yes. No shared scenes until now."
To hide Lee Jin-wook's twist, they'd filmed post-episode 5 scenes without him first.
Now filling in the gaps.
"We should grab dinner together, all three of us."
"Oh, I'd be honored, sir."
The quick-witted Song Jeong-woo flashed a raccoon-like grin and bowed fawningly.
Lee Min-soo was prepping Yoo Jeong-ah with a heads-up for her sake.
Lee Min-soo took Jeong Seo-hoon and Yoo Jeong-ah to a quiet Korean restaurant in Shinsadong.
-Let's have dinner together.
Jeong Seo-hoon didn't refuse the invitation. Thanks to Jeong Su-ryeon's earnest plea.
If he wanted to keep standing in front of the camera, he had to get used to the industry's customs and hierarchies.
He could gladly accommodate that much.
"It's an honor for this lowly junior to dine with you, sir."
Lee Min-soo couldn't help but chuckle at the clean expression, the earlier predatory drool wiped away.
"No need to be so formal. At my age, all that senior-junior stuff feels pointless."
At the round table, they sat at the points of a triangle.
"Where'd you learn to act?"
A casual toss of a question.
"I've been dying to know. Who trained you? But nothing rings a bell."
"I've never formally studied acting."
Both Lee Min-soo and Yoo Jeong-ah's expressions turned enigmatic.
"So the camera test with PD Song was really your acting debut?"
"Yes."
"Huh. I thought it was exaggerated. Stories like that are common here. But if you say so, who am I to doubt? Heh…."
Dishes came out one by one, and Lee Min-soo poured beer for them both.
"Even innate talent has limits without effort. Effort is the blade that draws out talent, the tool that peels away the shell hiding it."
"……."
"No matter how great the talent, it needs at least some polish to shine. But your reading performance was flawless—shell intact."
Back then, Lee Min-soo had thought, 'Good acting, but the texture doesn't match.'
Yet the drama's twist retroactively erased the flaw, now reborn in brilliant luster.
"What were you thinking in front of Hwang Hak-jin earlier?"
"Hard to put into words."
"Not asking Jeong Seo-hoon, but Lee Jin-wook?"
"……."
"So if we set up a camera here, could we summon Lee Jin-wook? I've been dying to ask."
Lee Min-soo's faint smile revealed it as a joke.
"No private lessons?"
"No, sir."
"How do you practice then?"
"Practice?"
Jeong Seo-hoon tilted his head briefly before answering.
"I don't think I do."
Lee Min-soo, sipping his beer, turned to Yoo Jeong-ah.
"Jeong-ah, what do you think acting is?"
"Acting?"
Caught off-guard, Yoo Jeong-ah paused, then composed her thoughts.
"Hiding myself and fully becoming the role. That's acting to me."
"The better you hide yourself, the more you expose the role—better acting?"
"Yes. How well you conceal yourself and convey your interpretation of the role—that's acting skill."
"Seo-hoon?"
Yoo Jeong-ah's eyes sparkled with curiosity at his answer.
"I'm new to acting, so I don't know much. But…."
"But?"
"If acting means hiding myself and revealing something that's not me…."
In the brief, tense silence, Yoo Jeong-ah swallowed hard.
"I'm practicing every day."
Lee Min-soo pounced as if waiting.
"Even now?"
Jeong Seo-hoon didn't answer, but Lee Min-soo heard it.
Even after Jeong Seo-hoon left first, claiming he was late, the two lingered without clearing the table.
"He's an intriguing guy."
"Forty-five years in acting, and he's a first for me. That kid's got star potential."
"How big?"
"How should I know? At my age, retirement could come anytime."
"Come on, sir, retirement? You could go another twenty years."
"Oh dear, I was hoping for thirty."
"Oops, sorry."
"That kid still unagented?"
"Not sure. Why? You interested, sir?"
Feeling her subtle eagerness, Lee Min-soo chuckled heartily.
"Our agency's prez is old like me. Just counting down to retirement. Couldn't nurture young talent like that properly."
"Still, same agency as you? They'd welcome with open arms."
"Nah. Not interested."
Lee Min-soo recalled the earlier shoot.
Those heavy footsteps approaching—like chains on a beast's ankle scraping the floor.
The flawless model-like exterior only accentuated the ferocity within.
Now he could faintly envision the source of that uncanny dissonance.
"First blocking with him tomorrow?"
"Yes. Excited. Wonder what acting he'll show. Watching from afar versus hearing his breath up close—worlds apart."
"Indeed. Actor on stage and audience off it can't be the same."
Lee Min-soo downed his last beer in one go, chuckling.
"Jeong-ah, brace yourself. That kid's no ordinary one."
"Don't worry. I'm a star and a vet. Won't lose in acting."
"Stand before the camera, and you'll get what I mean. No slacking."
With a joyful laugh, Lee Min-soo jabbed his chest with his thumb.
"That kid's hiding something fierce in here."
"Fierce…?"
"Yep. Sleeps quietly when unseen. But when the camera rolls, it bursts out and…."
He'd wanted to stand before the camera until his aged, ailing body gave out.
In these repetitive twilight years, such thrill was pretty lucky.
"…bites."
What He and She Conceal (3)