The Veteran's Second Ad-lib
Burn Your Stamina Americano ♨️
◈ Details: Back-to-back waiting, packed schedules, sleepless nights! All of these add up to a decline in your condition. So why not try an item that gives you the full, well-rested effect of a deep night's sleep—without sleeping for 48 hours?
🪙 1,500p
"Oh, this one's pretty good."
There hadn't really been anything worth calling an overnight shoot yet, and my screen time wasn't all that long anyway, so I was still holding up fine. I'd managed to keep pace well enough while filming Not Interested At All, too.
"What else do we have here…."
I scrolled down to check the list. With so few points to my name, there were only a handful of items I could actually afford. A mint aid for when the tears wouldn't come, a candy that kept you from fumbling a single line of dialogue…
"Huh? This one's not bad."
Blend Into the Scene ♨️ Marshmallow Cocoa
◈ Details: Immersion, above all, depends on your environment! This item helps you melt naturally into any shooting location. So why not try an item that makes even a place you've never been feel like familiar ground?
🪙 1,500p
As it happened, the scene where Influencer 1 was at the club had been weighing on my mind. I'd even considered visiting a real club for research.
But I really don't want to spark a controversy.
It had already been after I'd stamped my face onto the public's memory. If someone posted something like [Just saw Pi Chae-won at a club lol proof!] on a community forum, things would get exhausting fast.
And it's not like I wanted to just gloss over the club scene with quick cuts, either.
Everyone's seen it before—things like an actor who actually smokes pretending to be a non-smoker, genuinely lighting up a cigarette on screen.
No matter how well you act, habit is a fearsome thing. What's engrained in your body only shows up in sharper detail through the lens.
"Okay, purchasing this one!"
The Influencer 1 I had to play was someone who visited clubs often, but to her, the expensive bottles and the sprawling rooms still belonged to a freshman college kid who hadn't found her footing. To properly show that awkward-but-buzzed quality, I had no choice but to lean on the item.
Would you like to purchase this item?
I pressed the yes button without a moment's hesitation.
"Actor-nim, why are you waiting out here instead of inside?"
"Just a little~. I wanted to watch."
Yoon Hyun-jo, a man obsessed with wringing maximum efficiency out of every minute, stood beside Director Gong and gazed at the club entrance with him. Dressed in a full suit despite the humid, sweltering summer weather, his mere appearance was enough to make you sweat.
"Hyun-jo-ssi, are you sure you don't want to go inside? It's hot, and this is a bit… inefficient, isn't it?"
Director Gong, who knew his temperament well, asked—but Hyun-jo stayed right where he was in his chair. He didn't take his eyes off Yeo-reum, who was preparing for the shoot.
"If it really gets too hot, I'll head in later~."
Even while filming other scenes, his mind kept drifting back to her. Those few seconds where they'd exchanged words through a slightly lowered car window—Yeo-reum, speaking her emotions entirely with her eyes.
They said her audition ran over thirty minutes, right?
The story of Director Gong seizing Han Yeo-reum and excitedly gushing about Influencer 1 had long since reached Yoon Hyun-jo's ears as well.
A character with barely a few lines, and she'd analyzed her that exhaustively. He'd grown curious to see what her acting looked like.
"We're rolling—!"
The blocking rehearsal was over. Hyun-jo buckled down and prepared properly for the take.
This scene featured Influencer 1, already inside the club, calling Yoon Hyun-jo over. With the crack of the slate, Han Yeo-reum came spilling out of the club.
"Oh. Oppa~."
It was a deliberately theatrical, awkward voice no matter who heard it. As if to make sure the club's bouncer took notice, Influencer 1 grabbed Detective Yoon by the wrist.
Detective Yoon met her gaze, his expression composed and cool as ever.
Don't worry about the honorifics—just follow wherever I drag you.
He could practically hear the words at his ear. Influencer 1 was speaking whole sentences through her eyes alone. Detective Yoon cocked one eyebrow askew.
"Cut—! Good!"
The hand gripping his wrist fell away. Several more takes followed from different angles.
Even when Influencer 1's face wasn't in frame, Yeo-reum never stopped acting, as if she truly had become the character.
Influencer 1 tugged Detective Yoon by the wrist and melted into the crowd. Everyone around them clutched their phones, hands moving as if messaging someone.
As if they cared nothing for anyone else, as if they'd come only to casually enjoy the music. Their bodies swayed just enough to ride the rhythm.
Influencer 1 behaved much the same way, looking fairly comfortable in a place like this.
Amid the pounding, packed club, Influencer 1 quietly reached back and yanked Detective Yoon's ear, then cupped one hand to block out the noise and spoke up loud and clear.
"You're older, so I bet clubs like this aren't really your scene. Just stick close to me, okay? Blend in, don't stand out. Got it?"
"…Older?"
"D-don't be so nervous. Whew. Try taking a nice, deep breath."
Over the deafening music of the club, only Influencer 1's voice rang out sharp and distinct.
Detective Yoon, who had stooped slightly to match her height, straightened his back again.
Even in the face of that reaction, Influencer 1 looked up at him brisk and undaunted. The giddy thrill of finally catching the criminals, the taut nerves of maybe getting caught herself, and—thrown into the mix—a certain inexplicable swagger unique to the very young.
"Ha… honestly."
"Yes, exactly like that."
Mistaking his incredulous, hollow laugh for obedience to her command, Influencer 1 raised a small fist in front of Detective Yoon and struck a fighting pose.
Before he knew what he was doing, Detective Yoon half-heartedly raised his hand along with her. It was the most soulless fighting spirit ever committed to film.
"Cut—!"
Director Gong's voice calling the cut rang out unusually buoyant.
"What was that? Hyun-jo-ssi, what was that? You just did an ad-lib, didn't you! Right?!"
"Uh… I suppose I did?"
"What do you mean, 'I suppose'! Wow. I've never seen you ad-lib in my life."
It was a first for Yoon Hyun-jo, too. He looked down at Yeo-reum with a dazed expression. She was still clenching her fist in Influencer 1's expression, radiating something like, See? Good thing you followed me.
Strange.
The words kept reaching him. It felt as though he'd become a psychic eavesdropping on another person's heart. Dialogue kept unfolding itself before his eyes, line after line.
"Director."
It was plainly inefficient. There was no telling how much longer the shoot would drag on, or whether it would throw the next day's schedule into disarray.
In the worst case, they might have to scrap everything they'd shot today and book additional filming.
"May I do an ad-lib as well?"
But some inexplicable impulse had seized him. At Yoon Hyun-jo's question, Director Gong's mouth fell wide open.
The shoot stretched on into the small hours of the morning. Since they'd rented out the entire club, they had to move fast and burn through the scenes.
At last came the scene inside the private room. A balloon marked with a yellow smiley face bobbed gently near the table. The Funny Balloon, destined to become the mascot of Faster Than the Law.
"Yeo-reum-ssi, sit here. Yeah, just like that."
I sat down primly, without crossing my legs—entirely thanks to Director Gong's meticulous direction.
His interpretation: she knows someone could burst in here at any moment, she wants to get up and run, and with her guard still up, she wouldn't be carrying on her usual leg-crossing habit.
Directors really are on another level.
With Director Gong handling the fine points of my posture, the expression and emotion were mine to nail down.
Influencer 1: simple, childish, a kid at heart. But the 'it'll all work out somehow' spirit she'd been coasting on had to go.
Right now she's in a state where the liquor doesn't touch her, and even while laughing, she's anything but at ease.
She doesn't know the details, but she knows some enormous organization is lurking behind all this. One wrong step, and she could end up as one of the sacrificial lambs. A single news line she'd once skimmed past could become her own story.
Why would I ever crash a car—!
That was the first emotion that surfaced. Regret.
It was the perfect thought for a twenty-year-old who'd somehow been thrown into a crime scene through her entanglement with Detective Yoon.
Of course—of course I was the one who volunteered, but….
With no one to blame, she bit her lip for a moment.
"Yes! That expression! Hold it right there—we're rolling!"
Director Gong shouted, having monitored my face on the screen.
This scene was, by reputation, one of the three most difficult in all of Faster Than the Law. It was the moment that showcased the action set piece of Detective Yoon and Detective Gwak storming in on the radio call.
Clack—!
The sound of the slate cut through the air.