Chapter 148
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: The Ordinary Hero's Gaze
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“Let’s start filming!”
At Kim Soohan's words, the staff cleared the set.
“Start singing, and I’ll give you the signal. You can begin then.”
“Okay!”
At Kim Soohan’s instruction, the children headed to Room 7 with excited faces.
Seojun and the two child actors took their places with practiced ease. The way Kim Jukyung sat in the chair and opened the karaoke songbook was anything but ordinary. Kim Hansuk, meanwhile, already had a tambourine in one hand.
Seojun burst out laughing.
“You two look a little too comfortable, don't you?”
“Ahaha. I went with my friends last week.”
“Me too! I’m the best at the tambourine.”
“So, who wants to go first?”
“Jin-hyung!”
“Alright. You go first.”
“Okay.”
Seojun punched in a number he had memorized.
After the rehearsal, Seojun had asked the kids to call him ‘Na Jin’ during filming. When he told them he had even submitted his audition application under that name, the children found it amusing and broke into laughter.
While Seojun and the children were engrossed in their singing, smoke began to rise from a corner of the set.
Multiple camera lenses were focused on the children.
When Kim Soohan gave the signal,
[The Mos Tribe's Associative Memory is activated.]
Na Jin spoke up.
“Don’t you guys smell something weird?”
“Smell something?”
Kim Hansuk sniffed the air. Kim Jukyung frowned.
“You’re right. It smells strange.”
“Is something happening outside?”
Na Jin opened the door. As he did, the acrid smell intensified. Na Jin peeked into the hallway and looked toward the far end. Something whitish flickered into view and then vanished. It looked like…
“Smoke.”
At Na Jin’s word, the two children jumped in surprise.
“If it’s smoke, does that mean there’s a fire?”
“A fire?”
“I only see smoke, but I think it’s a fire.”
The expressions on the two children’s faces changed, filling with fear. Na Jin’s was not much different.
No, Seojun’s performance was different from the two child actors, who only showed fear.
Fidgeting hands, short, hurried breaths. His eyes blinked rapidly. His heart pounded, and his mind went blank.
Seojun's acting was captured perfectly on camera. Director Park Joongwoo, Kim Soohan, and the staff, who were watching on the monitor, swallowed hard. That wasn't Jin Natra or Gray Vainie, but simply an ordinary elementary school student facing a fire.
Drawn in by Seojun’s performance, Kim Hansuk and Kim Jukyung began to be pulled in as well. Even though they knew it was fake, the pungent smell made them genuinely scared.
“H-Hyung…”
“Jin…”
At the children’s frightened voices, Na Jin, who had been breathing heavily, snapped back to his senses. This was no time to stand around. Na Jin remembered what he had learned in school about evacuation procedures.
“First, we need to get out.”
Na Jin quickly scanned his and the other children’s clothing. If it were winter, they could have wet their sleeves to cover their mouths, but it was summer. He had never resented wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt so much. His eyes darting around the karaoke room, Na Jin spotted some tissues.
“Tissues. Let’s wet the tissues and cover our mouths.”
“There are… so few tissues…”
“We have to cover them, even if it’s not much.”
At Na Jin’s firm words, Kim Hansuk and Kim Jukyung nodded. They divided the few tissues they had and wet them with the water they had bought.
“Here, Hansuk. Take one more.”
“But… what about you, Nuna…”
“I’m okay.”
As Kim Jukyung handed a tissue to a tearful Kim Hansuk, Na Jin silently offered one of his own to Kim Jukyung. She couldn’t help but let out an incredulous laugh. It was a small gesture, but it eased the tension among the three children.
“Let’s go. We have to get out quickly.”
“Okay!”
“Once we’re outside, we have to crouch down to stay low. They said it’s better to talk as little as possible.”
The children nodded at Na Jin’s words. The door to Room 7 opened.
“Cut! OK!”
The smoke stopped, and the ventilation fans on the set began to whir. Several large fans pushed the smoke outside.
In the meantime, the child actors’ guardians rushed to their children. Contrary to their worries, the kids were chattering away with bright faces.
“Jin-hyung, you’re a really good actor.”
“I know, right? I thought you were actually scared.”
“You guys did well, too.”
Kim Hansuk and Kim Jukyung met each other’s eyes and laughed awkwardly.
“We were actually scared.”
“You were acting so well, Hyung, that for a moment, I got confused. I really thought there was a fire.”
“Yeah. I almost forgot my lines.”
Huh? That wasn’t supposed to happen.
Since the role was that of an ordinary elementary school student, he had acted scared, but it seemed they had become more immersed than expected.
‘But, shouldn’t we have called for an NG in that case?’
Seojun’s gaze shifted to Director Park Joongwoo. The director and Kim Soohan were deep in discussion about something.
‘Seeing as they’re not saying anything, I guess it wasn't bad enough for an NG?’
Seojun scratched his cheek.
“Really? Should I tone it down a bit then?”
“That would be great!”
“Got it.”
A little gentler. As Seojun was adjusting the intensity of his performance, the argument between Director Park Joongwoo and Kim Soohan continued.
“Joongwoo-hyung. Excessive immersion isn’t good either. You need to know when to cut it.”
“I know… I know, but…”
At Kim Soohan’s words, Director Park Joongwoo put a hand to his forehead.
“If we’re filming Lee Seojun, how can we not have this level of impact? Everyone would blame the director for wasting such an actor, wouldn't they?”
Hearing that, Kim Soohan sighed internally. He understood Park Joongwoo’s pressure. A mediocre video starring Lee Seojun would indeed make people question the director’s competence.
“Hyung, this is a PSA, so it’s fine. Everyone will think so.”
Park Joongwoo agreed with Kim Soohan’s point.
He was right.
This wasn’t a movie or a drama with a clear beginning, middle, and end; it was just a few minutes of footage. A public service announcement, at that.
Most people would just be thrilled that Lee Seojun was in it. He knew that, yet there was another reason Director Park Joongwoo wanted to film a better, more memorable scene.
“…When else will I get a chance to capture Lee Seojun on camera?”
At the director’s regret-filled voice, Kim Soohan finally let out a sigh.
***
“Ready, action!”
Crouching low, the children moved swiftly through the smoke-filled hallway. Na Jin led the way, with Kim Hansuk and Kim Jukyung following close behind.
The children headed for the entrance of the coin-op karaoke. The door, which was always supposed to open automatically, was shut tight, perhaps broken due to the fire.
“It’s closed!”
The automatic door at the entrance was shut. No matter how hard the three children tried, it wouldn’t open.
While Na Jin and Kim Hansuk hung onto the automatic door, Kim Jukyung looked around and spotted a green light.
“The emergency exit! Jin, Hansuk! Let’s go to the emergency exit!”
“Okay!”
Kim Jukyung poured water on the tissues from the counter and handed them to Kim Hansuk and Na Jin. Reassured by the thicker wads of tissue, the children shared a silent smile before heading toward the green light.
All they had to do was go through the emergency exit and head up or down. The children's eyes sparkled with hope.
Na Jin, who was leading the way with his body lowered, came to a halt. Kim Hansuk, following behind him, tilted his head.
“Hyung, aren’t you going?”
“Jin? What’s wrong?”
“…No…”
At Na Jin’s trembling voice, Kim Hansuk and Kim Jukyung stood beside him. Through the hazy smoke, the emergency exit—their only hope—was blocked. Trash from the karaoke, beverage boxes, and other heavy-looking crates were piled up.
Tears began to well up in the children's eyes. Kim Hansuk sniffled.
“…Do you think we can move it?”
At Kim Jukyung’s words, Na Jin wiped his tears with his arm and tried to lift a box. The other two helped him. They pushed with more desperation than ever before, but whatever was inside, the box wouldn’t budge.
“It’s not moving…”
“*Sob*…”
At Na Jin’s tear-filled voice, tears streamed down Kim Hansuk's and Kim Jukyung's faces.
It was then.
*CRACK!*
The sound of something breaking echoed. An orange light flickered from the far end. The way it swayed back and forth looked just like fire. No, it had to be fire. Though it shouldn’t have been possible, it felt like the air was getting hotter.
“*Hic*…”
As fear filled the children’s eyes, Na Jin gasped for breath.
It felt as if the acrid smoke was seeping into his lungs.
Two faces appeared in his mind, which had gone white with fear. Mom, Dad. The thought of their bright smiles made him want to cry, so Na Jin clenched his teeth.
I have to calm down. I have to be calm.
Na Jin thought of his mom and dad, who would be waiting for him.
They were supposed to go to his maternal grandmother’s house this weekend. They had planned to go to the beach during the school break. Na Jin wanted to be an actor when he grew up. He wanted to be a shining star.
There were so many things he wanted to do, so many places he wanted to go. He couldn’t give up here, like this.
“Hoo…”
Exhaling a heavy breath, Na Jin firmly grasped Kim Hansuk’s and Kim Jukyung’s trembling hands. The two children, their eyes red, looked up at Na Jin.
Director Park Joongwoo unconsciously zoomed in on Seojun’s face. As Seojun’s face filled the monitor, everyone stared blankly at the screen.
It wasn't the face of a reliable superhero or a hero. His trembling hands, tightly pressed lips, and quivering eyebrows revealed Na Jin’s fear. But no one could look away from one thing.
Na Jin's dark eyes.
Amidst the fear-filled expression, they could see firm, dark eyes that showed he had steeled his resolve.
‘Let’s get out.’
Those eyes seemed to say just that, inspiring faith.
Faith that they could get out of here.
Staring blankly up at Seojun, Kim Hansuk and Kim Jukyung thought so too. The fear was still there, but they felt like they could move.
“Let’s find another way.”
Na Jin’s quiet voice calmed the two children. Soon, the look in Kim Hansuk’s and Kim Jukyung’s eyes had changed. Having inherited Na Jin's resolve, Kim Jukyung, now with a determined gaze, wiped away her tears and spoke.
“The door won’t open, and the emergency exit is blocked. Where do we go?”
“Let’s go back to one of the rooms.”
“Back to a room?”
The cracking sound continued, and the orange and red lights danced. Even in that urgent situation, the children did not lose hope. They did not lose their composure. The eyes of the three children, with wet tissues pressed to their mouths, shone brightly.
“Let’s go into a room with a window and block the gap under the door. So the smoke can’t get in. If we’re by the window, it’ll be easier for the firefighters to find us.”
“Let’s do that.”
Kim Jukyung nodded. Kim Hansuk nodded repeatedly as well.
“There were a lot of rags and tissues at the counter. Let’s grab those.”
“Okay!”
The children began to move.
“Cut! OK!”
Even after the call to cut, the set remained silent.
Kim Jukyung and Kim Hansuk didn’t lose their focus. They felt as if they were about to take a step forward in their acting, beyond anything they had done before. They wanted to film the next scene with this exact feeling, in this exact state.
Seeing the quiet children, their guardians could only swallow nervously.
‘Is this why the child actors who work with Lee Seojun are still active?’
Afraid of causing the slightest disturbance, the guardians didn't dare approach.
Director Park Joongwoo and Kim Soohan were also in deep discussion. How would they edit this? Even Kim Soohan, who had called it excessive immersion, had thrown away any thought of releasing this as just an ordinary commercial. The staff, too, kept their mouths shut and diligently did their jobs.
The employees of the advertising agency, Cloud, felt a pang of guilt. Could they really release this as a commercial? Wasn’t this performance too magnificent for a mere ad?
Observing the atmosphere on set, An Daho couldn’t help but smile.
‘He said he was going to act like an ordinary elementary school student…’
He was ordinary. Na Jin was ordinarily scared and ordinarily frightened. But a single look in his eyes had changed everything.
Even an ordinary person can become a hero in a crisis. The special quality of that ordinary person stirred everyone’s hearts. It made them want to cheer him on.
An Daho was no different. Watching the children strive to escape filled his chest with emotion. He hoped they wouldn’t give up. He was proud of his actor for delivering such a performance.
Amidst the myriad thoughts filling the set, there was one person who was utterly unconcerned.
It was the actor Lee Seojun, who had just delivered that magnificent eye-acting. He took a bite of a snack prepared by Cloud, and when his eyes met An Daho’s, he broke into a wide grin.