Crank In
Sion Lee possessed a constitution that made it incredibly difficult to gain weight. In his later years, he had felt a bit of a soft layer forming if he overate, but in his youth, his body stubbornly refused to retain fat no matter how much he consumed. Moreover, he was tall with a sleek, well-proportioned frame, meaning a standard increase in weight barely even registered on him.
But that was only under normal living conditions. In other words, the soft double chin, the protruding belly, and the pure flab he had painstakingly plastered over his entire body over the past two weeks were the result of blood, sweat, and tears. Though eating it left a sickly sweet taste in his mouth and made his stomach churn, whipped cream spray—with its near-liquid texture—never truly filled him up, no matter how much he shoved down his throat. The sheer amount of calories and sugar packed into a single can was astronomical.
I inhaled several cans of that stuff every single day.
It was, quite literally, a physical transformation achieved by weaponizing the common health knowledge of his past life and the experimental data gathered from his own body. After leading a half-dazed Daniel Summit into his apartment and sitting him down on the sofa, Sion explained how he had achieved this look.
"How on earth did you..."
"I sprayed whipped cream on tacos every morning."
"...I see."
"For lunch, I bought KFC chicken and sprayed whipped cream on that, too."
"That must have tasted... remarkable."
"I also had snacks. Just whipped cream, straight from the can."
"J-just that?"
"Yes. And for dinner, I had steak with..."
"Did you spray whipped cream on it?"
"No, I sprayed cheese spray on it."
"..."
The question Why? almost slipped out of Daniel's mouth. Noticing his reaction, Sion chuckled and answered.
"Even I get sick of eating whipped cream all day long."
"Y-you've worked so hard. By any chance, is there a family history of diabetes?"
"I don't know. I don't have parents around to ask."
"...Oh..."
"J-just kidding. Just kidding."
"I... I spoke too hastily. I'm so sorry if I hurt your feelings."
Sion looked at the incredibly awkward Daniel and thought, I should tone down the teasing with this guy. I can't treat him the way I treat Charlie.
After a brief silence, Daniel smiled awkwardly, his eyes scanning the empty whipped cream spray cans scattered all over the apartment. Sion Lee had gained a massive amount of weight in just two weeks to prepare for the role. In that short span of time, he had put on at least five kilograms. Moreover, what he had gained was not muscle but pure fat, making the flab clinging to his body stand out even more.
What an incredible professional spirit. Was his handsome appearance before also the result of thorough self-management?
Once again, Daniel misunderstood on his own. Sion casually asked the awe-struck director,
"I've 'made' myself look as close to what we discussed as possible. What do you think?"
"I absolutely love it. It's exactly how I pictured Alex."
"I was thinking of growing my hair out a bit more and tying it loosely, but it seems hard to grow it that much in the two weeks left before filming."
"Your hair...?"
"Looking at the script, he seems like the type of guy who wouldn't even bother cutting his hair. Too lazy, and no money."
"Ah...! That's definitely true!"
Daniel admired, his interest thoroughly piqued by Sion's character interpretation. He pulled a folder out of his backpack and spread it out in front of Sion.
"What do you think?"
It was the concept art for the protagonist, Alex. There were clippings of decent fashion photos from various newspapers and magazines, along with photos of people he had taken himself while researching. There were also some crude sketches. It felt a bit like a college student's report, but Sion couldn't help but smile at the immense love for the project radiating from the unrefined materials.
The protagonist, the driving force of the work. Defining and creating that image was, without a doubt, one of the most important tasks in filmmaking. The countless images displayed on the screen enter the audience's eyes with various intentions. Therefore, everything had to be planned and completed with concentrated meaning.
Basically, the director, writer, and experts in each field agree on it.
They also listen to the actor's opinion and consult with the agency in the process. And in the case of Hollywood A-list movies, power struggles between various agencies, production companies, and filming crews during this process were a daily occurrence. Going beyond the movie itself, each party had a different interpretation of the commercial viability derived from it.
But in this indie film, that wouldn't be an issue. Sion's mood began to lift as he saw Daniel looking positively at his ruined appearance. To be able to immerse himself solely in the work without considering any other nonsense in filmmaking.
It's completely different from working in Hollywood.
Just a while ago, when he was promoting Deadly Summer Camp, he had to constantly worry about how every single word and action would be received, and whether there was any room for negative interpretation. Now, there was no such worry.
"Everything looks great. I'd love it if you could add a scene where I'm just wearing a T-shirt indoors so I can show off my lovely belly fat."
"Haha, I'll keep that in mind. And originally, because of the season, I was thinking of putting him in a hoodie. But if we go with the long, tied-up hair like you said, maybe a cheap windbreaker would be better than a hoodie."
"It's winter, so let's wear both. We can layer them. He's a poor worker, so he wouldn't have money to buy a warm coat anyway."
"Oh... that's true. That would be really great."
As they began to construct the image in earnest, various ideas that the rookie director hadn't finalized yet started to pour out. Hearing Sion's words, Daniel pictured a man's appearance and situation in his head.
Steam rises from a boiler pipe. Alex is standing in front of it, escaping the cold. His eyes, with the hoodie pulled down low and the windbreaker zipped all the way up, are... empty. A sad young man who has suffered defeat after defeat and has now accepted this rock-bottom life. If he could add one more thing that suited him...
"Sion. What if you grew your beard more? Like you didn't have time to shave..."
Daniel, who had spoken impulsively, quickly waved his hands.
"Ah, no. Let's not do that."
"Why? I think it's a great idea."
"I started to worry that if we go any further, it might affect your image. It's a bit awkward to say this after talking so excitedly, but..."
"What's wrong with my image?"
"You're Hollywood's Teen Heartthrob. Every girl I know likes you. Even my first love from film school liked you. I mean, you're younger than her! That's why I hated you even more!"
"..."
Sion realized once again that Daniel tended to speak without thinking when he got excited. Still, he understood. They had come this far talking excitedly about various things, but Daniel had become afraid of completely destroying the image Sion Lee had built up so far.
It was only natural. Just because of one audition, so many articles had been published not only in Chicago but all the way to California.
As a rookie director, he must feel the risk is too high.
Sion pinched the thick layer of fat covering his abs and continued.
"But I gained all this weight because I was so moved by the story you created, Danny."
"Ugh..."
"Eating whipped cream every day was a nightmare."
It was a lie. In fact, he had been delighted. He had eaten so much that he could almost see the fairy of blood sugar spikes dancing before his eyes.
"Don't worry about what the world thinks. If there's anything scarier than that, wouldn't it be my agency CEO getting angry?"
"Ah, that scary-looking..."
"The actor whose image he carefully crafted is completely destroying it, gaining weight, and growing a beard for a movie."
"...I-I didn't think about that."
Daniel, who had just entered the real world, fell into a slight panic. Sion patted his shoulder to comfort him.
"But it's fine. He can't do anything against me anyway."
"Is... is that so?"
"Danny. I also thought deeply before deciding to star in this movie. People will think what they want to think and consume what they want to consume anyway. If so, isn't it my freedom to choose what kind of product I become in this democratic country? Within reasonable ethical boundaries, of course."
"..."
Daniel calmed down a bit and took a deep breath. He felt ashamed in front of Sion, who showed such deep passion for his film as a rookie director. Just as Sion said, the most important thing in his first movie was not the public's evaluation. It was what kind of movie the two of them, and the crew, wanted to make. That was the beauty of indie films.
"Then shall we go with growing the beard more and smoking?"
"Actually, I've never smoked... Can I just hold it in my mouth?"
"Then let's use that too. As a device to symbolize the protagonist who has vaguely stepped into crime."
The conversation went smoothly.
People consume products as they wish. An actor is also a kind of product. But at the same time, because they are human, they have the right to decide how they are consumed.
...It was a sound argument, but in a complex society, things do not happen according to such ideals. That was something Sion had felt deeply while living as a 'Paralympic special recruit' in his past life.
An actor's image is ultimately just that. Used as needed.
In that sense, since his regression, he had made up his mind to thoroughly utilize the image given to him in various directions. For better or for worse.
I managed to revive my hit-bottom image a bit during the movie promotion. Ruining myself for a bit in a situation like this will actually be big news. And even if I ruin myself, it won't immediately destroy my Teen Heartthrob image. There are still many places trying to sell me, and in the end, it's just one indie film. Though the next step will be that much more important.
Not only the internal determination as an actor he had told Daniel, but he was also constantly planning from the external aspect as he approached this project.
The day of the first shoot for the indie film, Swing in Chicago.
8:00 AM.
Arriving at the filming location alone in a beat-up Hyundai without a single agent, Sion got out of the car, spraying whipped cream into his mouth.
This time, it wasn't for the concept; he just woke up to find nothing to eat at home.
Waking up early after living with a messy lifestyle pattern like before made it tight to buy anything to eat.
So, he had no choice but to replace breakfast with the whipped cream spray left at home.
From early morning, he felt like the fairy of blood sugar spikes was waving from afar. But his young eighteen-year-old body quickly tried to burn it off as energy. Sion stretched lightly, feeling the power of his young body once again. He had intentionally eaten two cans of thick, salty Campbell's chicken noodle soup before going to sleep to make his face swell, but although he felt a bit groggy upon waking, he was still full of energy once he cleared his head. His face was slightly swollen, but after washing it with cold water, most of it disappeared.
Youth is indeed great.
He didn't have acid reflux, hyperlipidemia, or numbness from high blood pressure. Of course, the reason Sion suffered from those in his past life was because he only ate sweet and greasy processed foods during his ten years of isolation after his face was ruined.
I must be careful this time. Let's manage it right after filming.
Even as he thought that, Sion habitually sprayed whipped cream into his mouth.
The first filming location was a poor neighborhood where most people had already left for work, leaving it deserted. It was an area with more apartment buildings than houses, and despite being quiet, a few people had gathered around to watch, drawn by the cameras. Sion blended in naturally and walked slowly down the street. It was to grasp the atmosphere of the scene from Alex's perspective.
The first person to spot Sion was the cinematographer, James Parker. While discussing today's shoot with the director, Daniel Summit, and other staff, he spoke up hesitantly, half-doubting his eyes.
"Is that... Sion Lee?"
At his gesture, people turned to look for Sion. The crew consisted of five people in total, including sound, makeup, and lighting. It was beyond humble—it was practically shabby, looking like a circus troupe if you didn't know better. Diverse in race and gender, they stared at a young man walking with a slouch and doubted their eyes for a moment.
No way.
Crazy. It can't be, right?
Even as they thought that, they were certain that the young man was Sion Lee. First of all, his aura was completely different from ordinary people.
...And they had met during the script reading and shared a beer. Crucially, the clothes he was wearing were the outfit of Alex that had been discussed beforehand. Since there was no place to change nearby other than a public restroom, the director had promised to bring them to his house the day before filming.
In any case, Sion Lee's appearance was changed to the point where "shocking" was an understatement.
He's still incredibly handsome, but... the vibe is completely different.
He wore a vinyl jacket over a worn-out hoodie, and he was spraying something from a can into his mouth with a psshhh. His dark blonde hair was messy, as if he hadn't washed it in days, and with a patchy beard, a slightly waddling gait, and a slouched posture, there was absolutely none of the cool image seen in the media.
Perhaps because of that, the onlookers didn't recognize Sion. A few tilted their heads, but that was it. Because his previous image as a handsome prince was so solid, the current Sion was shocking people with his completely transformed appearance.
Daniel, noticing Sion's arrival, shouted with sparkling eyes.
"Sion!"
Only then did Sion Lee approach, shivering slightly, and spoke casually.
"Good morning, Danny. Perfect weather for filming."
"Haha! Indeed! It's freezing!"
Chicago was already covered in snow. November 1st. The snow that had accumulated overnight covered the ground sparsely, like powdered sugar sprinkled on a pancake instead of syrup to save on ingredient costs. The contrast between the concrete ground and the white snow made the city look even more desolate and depressing.
Seeing Alex in front of such a background, Daniel couldn't hide his excitement. Following him, other team members came over to greet Sion.
"You've changed so much in such a short time."
"I feel like you've become Alex itself."
"Thank you. It's a bit awkward because it's so different from my usual makeup. Haha."
Sion lightly stroked his beard, joking. Of course, it was a joke.
To me, looking handsome is actually more awkward.
Eating whipped cream spray constantly, lounging on the sofa or bed, and reading the script while recalling the past every day had naturally made him look more familiar to himself. Recalling the memories after his face was ruined in his past life to reflect on Alex was a kind of penance, but also like a time of meditation.
Shaking hands last, James Parker asked,
"Wow, is this okay? We've ruined Hollywood's prince like this."
"Ruined?"
It was a comment that pierced the core of the public's view surrounding this indie film, but Sion shrugged and lightly retorted.
"In this movie, I'm not Sion Lee. I'm Alex."
"Haha, that's true!"
"Ugh, I'm scared of the aftermath..."
"It's so different from your usual image! But you're still handsome!"
Generally, the lead actor plays the most important role in setting the atmosphere of the filming set. This is probably because they are filmed the most and receive the most attention from all the staff. In that sense, Sion's "self-ruined" appearance and his nonchalant attitude inspired many people positively.
And so, the first shoot was about to begin.