I Want to Stay for Just One More Minute (7)
The signal sounded and filming began. On the ring, Seong A-reum, who was capturing Woo Dan-wol and Ju Ha-ryeong in the middle of their sparring, squeezed her eyes shut.
On screen, a fierce exchange of blows unfolded. They weren’t simply guarding; Woo Dan-wol slipped punches with perfect ducks, wove his body in fluid weaves to evade, then stepped in to counter. It looked less like choreography and more like an actual fight. A scene straight out of a combat sports channel was being recreated right there on set.
Most of the staff present were women. Aside from a few stylists and the occasional male junior, everyone on site had been born female. They had expected a light, refreshing romance drama. Instead, the tension kept tightening, forcing beads of sweat into their palms.
The two performers moved through their prearranged sequence. Then it happened.
Ju Ha-ryeong’s eyes flew wide. She realized her mistake a heartbeat too late. Right after the left hook, the attack that should have stopped continued on its own momentum.
Woo Dan-wol weaved to avoid it, but the sudden right uppercut left him momentarily stunned.
It was over in an instant. Ju Ha-ryeong instinctively clenched her eyes shut. Her body had already committed to the motion. The fear that her fist might actually land on him flooded her mind.
-Whoosh!
The punch sliced through empty air. Woo Dan-wol had evaded with flawless precision, dodging the right uppercut that had become almost a habit for Ju Ha-ryeong. Every frame of the sequence had been captured by the cameras.
“...Cut.”
“Whoa…”
Exclamations rose from the staff. It was often said that women found it nearly impossible to dislike martial arts. The sparring had burned with such intensity that it could ignite a flame in anyone’s heart. The crew, who had watched while barely breathing, could not hold back their admiration.
The moment the cut was called, Ju Ha-ryeong bowed deeply to Woo Dan-wol.
“I-I’m sorry, junior. Are you hurt anywhere? Are you all right?”
“I was surprised… but I’m fine.”
A lingering sting remained in Ju Ha-ryeong’s hand. She had deflected the blow and raised her guard to block, yet the impact still throbbed against her palm. Guilt weighed just as heavily. As she kept apologizing, Seong A-reum approached with a puzzled frown.
“What’s going on?”
“Ah, Director…”
“Well, you see…”
After hearing the explanation, Seong A-reum looked as if she had aged ten years on the spot. It’ll be fine, I told myself it would be fine! Her face crumpled like a child who had happily followed along for pork cutlets only to end up at the urologist instead.
“Let’s… keep the action to a minimum.”
“Director…”
“No, absolutely not. I cannot allow the actors to get hurt.”
“That’s not what I—”
Seong A-reum declared firmly that she could not permit any further danger. Woo Dan-wol spoke to her with careful politeness.
“Are there… more action scenes planned?”
The current shoot covered up to episode seven. Including the script Woo Dan-wol had received that day, they had released material through episode nine. Given that the drama was sixteen episodes long, no further fight scenes were scheduled for at least several weeks. The director might have been working from different information, but the awkwardness of the moment remained unchanged. In truth, Director Seong A-reum had known the real fight sequences only began after episode thirteen. The realization only deepened her embarrassment.
“Ah…”
Her footsteps dragged with unmistakable bitterness as she trudged back to her position.
After a brief pause to collect herself, the cameras began moving again.
Following the sparring, the next scene opened with Ha Min-ah announcing she would visit the canteen. The crew adjusted the cameras, and soon everything was ready. This was the final scene they would shoot in this location, and it was an extremely important one.
The romance line had not yet been properly established. Among the many flags dangling like octopus tentacles, this was almost the only moment that would drive one deep and true. For that reason, Woo Dan-wol’s makeup and physical state mattered more than ever. While the cameras were being prepared, Seong Ji-hoon touched up his look. Since sweat was required, he worked the cosmetics with extra intensity.
“All right, we’re going in. Standby.”
Woo Dan-wol and Ju Ha-ryeong settled into position. The scene began not inside the ring but at the entrance to the gym. The signal came.
Woo Dan-wol’s performance began.
“Pepsi Zero, right?”
“Yeah. Hurry back, okay?”
“I kept an eye on things for you.”
“Do it one more time, then.”
Lee Shin-woo’s mouth curved into a gentle arc. For some reason Ha Min-ah found it difficult to keep looking at that smile. She whipped her head around and headed for the canteen.
The next scene followed immediately. Left alone, Woo Dan-wol began striking the sandbag.
-Pow! Pa-pow! Pow! Thwack!
The blows were fast and crisp. Heavy, refreshing impact sounds rang out. What he lacked in raw male strength he compensated for with perfect weight transfer. The eyes watching him filled with admiration. The performance was powerful enough to drop the jaws of both trained boxers and complete novices. How often did anyone get to see a man in thin clothes hammering a sandbag? It was a rare sight.
Soon Woo Dan-wol’s breathing grew ragged. The pace would have been exhausting even for an ordinary person. Sweat naturally beaded and began to slide down his skin. They could have faked it with makeup, but at Woo Dan-wol’s own request they had chosen to capture it naturally.
Everyone had worried about the actor’s stamina, yet the actor in question was Woo Dan-wol. In the end they yielded to his determination, and the resulting footage was nothing short of spectacular. The quality demanded a thumbs-up. No matter how skilled the editor, the raw material itself was what made the difference. Before the sweat could cool, the next scene began without pause. Normally he would have caught his breath for the dialogue, but they kept rolling for the sake of natural flow.
“I’m ba… oh.”
“Haa… haa… yeah. You’re back?”
The gloves stopped moving. At the same time, Ha Min-ah’s eyes gradually lost focus. The camera centered on Lee Shin-woo.
His bangs were damp and glistening with sweat. A faint flush had risen across his cheeks from the heat. The usual sharp, delinquent glare had softened into something gentle. Round pupils met Ha Min-ah’s gaze, carrying a quiet smile.
Sweat traced glistening paths down his neck. The thin shirt, soaked through, clung to his body like a second skin. The scene was intensely provocative. At the same time, it was not only Ha Min-ah who felt her heart tremble; Ju Ha-ryeong, the one actually performing the role, felt the same flutter.
If their previous interactions had been the subtle wag of a tail, this was the moment the fox truly smiled, even if she herself had not yet realized it. No matter how difficult the situation or how sensitive his mood, he remained pure when he was doing the boxing he loved.
“Pepsi Zero~”
“Huh?”
“Why are you just standing there? Can I drink it first?”
Without waiting for permission, Lee Shin-woo plucked the can of cola from her hand. Perhaps driven by thirst, he popped the tab and began drinking straight from it.
The cool liquid slid down his throat. It was merely someone drinking cola, yet Lee Shin-woo’s eyes transformed with quiet pleasure. The gentle curve of his smiling eyes suggested a happiness that was easy to imagine. Then the cola that escaped the corner of his mouth became visible.
On skin as pale as snow, the dark liquid traced the line of his jaw, slipped past his throat, and paused at his collarbone before soaking into his shirt.
To Ju Ha-ryeong, however, the image seemed far too stimulating.
-Drip…
“Huh?”
“Ah…?”
“Hey, Ha Min-ah. You okay? Wait, I don’t think I hit your face earlier…”
“D-don’t come closer!”
His face drew near. Lee Shin-woo looked worried as he noticed the nosebleed. Meanwhile Ha Min-ah’s face grew redder and redder. The proud wolf had encountered the fox and begun to panic.
The real problem was that this was not acting; it was the actual state of the performers. Yet what the camera captured looked exactly like Lee Shin-woo and Ha Min-ah.
“Cut! Quick, wipe the nosebleed!”
“Yes!”
Seong A-reum had managed to stay relatively composed, but she was just as shaken. Or perhaps “shaken” was not the right word.
Her heart sank. A director was supposed to see the whole picture, yet she had been momentarily mesmerized by Woo Dan-wol and had simply stared.
The scene they had just filmed was that provocative. Order had to be maintained.
There was an iron rule in the industry: never betray a male actor.
What that meant was simple.
“D-Dan-wol!”
“Yes, Director.”
“Could you come here for a moment? I’d like you to look at the monitor…”
“Of course.”
There had been a precedent. A scene involving slight exposure for a male actor. The actor himself had not even realized it was exposure, but the director had edited the footage with malicious cunning, using the exposure to boost ratings.
The entire country had been thrown into uproar, and that director was never able to work in the industry again. It had become a kind of horror story.
In an entertainment world that lived and died by image, it was a critical issue. Therefore Seong A-reum began discussing the scene with him. She had also called Lee Hye-ri over.
Lee Hye-ri, who had been staring at Woo Dan-wol in a daze, hurried over. She already understood the situation. The most important thing now was an objective eye and Woo Dan-wol’s own opinion.
Ultimately, whether he felt ashamed or not would decide if the scene lived or died.
“What about it?”
“Huh…?”
The reaction was strange. He was not agonizing over it, nor was he giving cheerful permission. It was the expression of someone who genuinely did not see the problem.
“Is it all right to use this scene?”
“Of course. We shot it to use it.”
“...?”
What kind of situation was this? Seong A-reum tilted her head at the surreal response. Lee Hye-ri, who knew Woo Dan-wol’s background, stepped in to explain.
“Dan-wol, what she means is…”
“Ah…”
After hearing the full explanation, Woo Dan-wol nodded. So Korea really is going down the drain.
Of course, that was only his private thought. He did not say it aloud. If he had, it would have added another line to the “Woo Dan-wol Controversy” page.
Anyway, the situation was clear. He was wearing short pants and a thin shirt—an outfit that could easily be called provocative. His body, drenched in sweat, looked unbearably sensual. That was the issue.
It was not overtly sexual. It was simply a high-school student drinking cola and spilling a little. A perfectly ordinary moment. The problem was the flood of thoughts it planted in the viewer’s mind.
“Well… I’m fine with it.”
“Really? Even though Ha-ryeong-ssi got an actual nosebleed?”
“...That can happen.”
Ju Ha-ryeong, who had been watching quietly, choked. She had been hit while keeping her mouth shut. Of course Woo Dan-wol readily approved the scene.
What was the problem? He still did not fully understand the impact his actions created.
He could not even imagine the repercussions that would follow.
“Haa~ That feels good. The footage came out well.”
At the sound of his stretch, the women flinched in perfect unison, as if they had rehearsed it. Only Lee Hye-ri moved, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward a quiet corner. It was time to reinforce his mental defenses.