Chapter 184
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: A Superstar Recommendation
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[Elf Archer's Intermediate Archery - Mid-Low Grade]
This is the intermediate archery skill of an Elf Archer.
Allows for proficient use of a bow and arrow.
Increases accuracy, stability, concentration, stamina, and vision.
A part of the body becomes elf-like.
The bow pattern etched on the back of Seojun's left hand, which held the bow, shimmered.
There wasn't just one. There were three patterns in total.
They were, in order, the patterns for Elf Archer's Basic Archery (Lowest Grade), Elf Archer's Low-Grade Archery (Low Grade), and Intermediate Archery.
Faced with more options than usual, Seojun decided to use the skills in rotation.
'With this many, it's a waste to just use one!'
When Jo Younghoon first taught him, he used the basic archery skill, and up to 30 meters, he used the low-grade skill. From 50 meters, he felt the low-grade skill would be a bit of a struggle, so he brought out the intermediate skill as well.
'Archery and Basic Breathing have great chemistry.'
[Elf's Archery] had good synergy with [Elf's Basic Breathing].
Other skills of good alignment also showed better effects than their original capabilities when used with [Elf's Basic Breathing].
But perhaps because it was a skill from the same elven race, it felt like it had gone up a full grade, unlike the slight enhancement of other skills.
Seojun smiled as he looked at the arrow embedded in the center of the distant target. An Daho filmed Seojun with a camera, while Jo Younghoon shouted in excitement.
“A ten! A ten from 70 meters! This one's definitely an X10! Seojun, let's go to the Olympics! With you, a gold medal is a sure thing!”
Oops.
He had gotten so excited that he forgot to control himself.
He couldn't contain the electrifying thrill that shot through him every time an arrow hit the target, making him wonder why he hadn't tried archery sooner.
'So this is the thrill of it. It feels a bit like hunting.'
He loved the feeling of the sharp arrow sinking into the target with a thud. Seojun wiggled the fingers of his right hand, which had held the arrow, and smiled.
“Hahaha. I like acting more.”
Even Jo Younghoon, who had spoken without thinking, didn't actually believe Seojun would take up archery.
'Though if he did, I'd be willing to help him diligently…'
Jo Younghoon, who had gone to retrieve the arrows from the target, let out a regretful sigh.
The arrow was embedded so perfectly in the center, it made him think, *so this is what a truly accurate and beautiful X10 looks like*. Every target Seojun had aimed at was the same.
Like all the teachers who had taught Seojun, Jo Younghoon looked at him with a gaze full of longing.
“What a real shame…”
They repeated the cycle of shooting and retrieving arrows several times.
Seojun tried shooting without any skills and also used his low-grade archery skill on the 50-meter target where he had previously hit an X10 with his intermediate skill.
Just like that, the time they had rented at the outdoor archery range flew by.
“Goodbye, sir!”
“Alright. See you on the next practice day.”
“Yes!”
After finishing archery practice and returning home, An Daho handed Seojun a bundle of papers. It was the script Director Choi Daeman had been working on until yesterday.
“What do you think? Is it okay?”
An Daho asked cautiously as Seojun read the script. From what An Daho had read beforehand, the order of the scenes had been changed from what was written in the synopsis. There were also slight changes to the flow of the characters.
Seojun nodded with no particular change in his expression.
“Yes. The overall framework hasn't changed, so it's fine. If there's a better scene, it's better to use that one.”
“The director will be happy to hear that.”
Seojun smiled at An Daho's words. Director Choi Daeman had been reporting every little change to the script, almost as if he were getting his homework checked.
“Please tell him he can write freely and comfortably.”
Seojun, already captivated by the idea of a zombie movie, was feeling generous. As long as the script wasn't a complete mess, he was planning to accept it without much complaint.
'And I don't think the director would write a messy script anyway.'
Wasn't he the director of five attempts and six successes? It didn't seem likely that Director Choi Daeman would squander such a hard-earned opportunity.
An Daho smiled at Seojun's words.
“Got it. I'll pass that on to Director Choi.”
Seojun's thoughts were relayed to Director Choi Daeman through An Daho. Director Choi Daeman, who was sitting with his arms crossed in front of his laptop, decided to increase the scale even more.
***
In mid-August, as Seojun's summer vacation was coming to an end.
News arrived from Director Choi Daeman that the script was complete. They made plans to have dinner with the director to celebrate its completion.
“CEO Lee Hansol will be there too for a short meeting. If you have any opinions, Seojun, feel free to share them.”
“Okay.”
Seojun, sitting in the passenger seat, nodded at An Daho's words.
To avoid drawing attention, they had borrowed a company car. It felt a little awkward not being in the car he usually rode in, but Seojun quickly got used to it and comfortably watched the passing scenery.
Before long, the car stopped. Seojun tilted his head at their destination.
“Daho-hyung. Isn't this a hotel?”
“It is.”
A 5-star hotel, at that. He had thought they were heading to Director Choi Daeman's house or the Movie Dream production company… Seojun blinked at the sparkling exterior.
While An Daho went to park, Seojun, with his hat pulled down low, looked around the hotel like an ordinary teenager. People were milling about, none of them suspecting that the actor Lee Seojun was in their midst.
A short while later, An Daho returned. The two entered the hotel and went straight to the elevator. Seojun asked.
“Is the director here?”
“Yeah. He was being canned.”
An Daho grinned. Seojun tilted his head.
“Canned?”
“It's when you lock someone in one place and make them do nothing but write. Eat and write, eat and write, sleep, wake up, and write again.”
“...He just writes all day?”
Seojun's eyes widened.
“Director Choi Daeman requested it himself. He said he got inspiration from your video, Seojun, but he just couldn't get it out of his head.”
“Ah.”
Seojun nodded, recalling the reply Director Choi Daeman had sent, saying he looked like a real archer.
“He said the dialogue wouldn't come to him at home, so at first, he was thinking of borrowing an office at Movie Dream, but he gave up on that because it was too noisy with the film production.”
Besides, the new office Movie Dream had rented was small. There was no spare space to create a separate workshop for Director Choi Daeman.
“What about Cocoa Entertainment? We have spare meeting rooms, and they're well soundproofed.”
Wouldn't that have been a good place for the director to write? An Daho nodded at Seojun's question.
“I asked him that too, but he refused, saying he didn't want to bother everyone.”
“I see. So that's why he's writing at a hotel?”
“Apparently, word that he was looking for a workspace reached the branch manager of Plus+. He recommended a hotel, saying that scriptwriting is a very important part of the movie, so he should write in a good place.”
'More like a recommendation...'
The branch manager of Plus+ Korea had apparently booked and paid for it in advance before making the suggestion. An Daho chuckled, recalling CEO Lee Hansol's admiration, saying, 'As expected of an American…'
“When he heard his workshop was a hotel suite, Director Choi said he'd rather go to Cocoa Entertainment, but the assistant director persuaded him.”
Lee Hansol, of course, was all for it.
Director Choi Daeman, his face pale with pressure, had tried to borrow a meeting room at Cocoa Entertainment. But Park Jaemin, who had a silver tongue, tempted him with all sorts of talk, like, 'When else would you get to stay in a hotel like this?' and 'You might even be able to use this for the movie.'
In the end, Director Choi Daeman's workshop became the hotel.
Seojun burst out laughing at the story.
“So he's been working at the hotel ever since.”
*Ding-dong—*
As they stepped out of the elevator, Lee Hansol, who had arrived earlier, greeted them.
“Welcome, Actor Lee Seojun. Manager-nim.”
“Hello, CEO-nim!”
Lee Hansol led them into a living room where Director Choi Daeman and Assistant Director Park Jaemin were. Unlike Park Jaemin, who looked sleek and well-rested from eating and sleeping well, Director Choi Daeman looked haggard, as if he'd been burned to a crisp.
“Hey, Seojun!”
“Hello, Assistant Director-nim!”
“Seojun… you're here?”
“Director, are you okay?”
At Seojun's concern, Director Choi Daeman managed a weary smile.
“I'm fine. First, do you want to see the script?”
“Yes!”
Excited at the mention of the script, Seojun sat down on the sofa. Director Choi Daeman handed a pre-printed copy of the script to Seojun, who was waiting with sparkling eyes.
With a face full of anticipation, Seojun opened the first page of the script. While Seojun focused on the script, An Daho and Lee Hansol, after a brief conversation, also received copies from Park Jaemin.
Director Choi Daeman watched the three of them read the script with an anxious face. But his eyes were still sparkling.
'I didn't think I'd be able to write until I came here…'
At first, the sparkling, clean hotel room was intimidating. He thought he wouldn't be able to write a single line, but that was a needless worry. Director Choi Daeman got used to the hotel faster than he had worried, and with Park Jaemin's help, he was able to fully concentrate on the script, aside from eating and sleeping.
At that point, where he was no longer mattered. No, in fact, it was a great help.
The environment, different from his home, allowed the scenes stuck in his head to flow out smoothly into words. The wide-open view and the sparkling nightscape, which he couldn't see from home, gifted Director Choi Daeman with a new sense of perception.
And so, the script for *Escape* was completed.
Director Choi Daeman watched Seojun with nervous eyes. He was confident in the script. He thought Seojun would like it too. But he couldn't help being nervous.
Seojun's eyes moved nonstop. They followed the text down, turned the page, and headed down again. Before long, the constantly turning pages came to a halt. As Seojun's hand stopped, everyone's gaze turned to him.
Director Choi Daeman swallowed hard and asked.
“How is it?”
Seojun beamed.
“It's great! It's so much fun!”
The main framework hadn't changed, and the scale had gotten bigger, but there were definitely parts that had changed from the synopsis. However, he liked the revised script even more.
'I want to start filming.'
He was so eager to start filming right away that he felt his hips fidget.
From Seojun's shining expression, the adults could tell he was being sincere.
At Seojun's reaction, Director Choi Daeman let out a sigh of relief. Park Jaemin smiled and handed Director Choi Daeman a glass of cold water.
While Director Choi Daeman took a breather, drinking the cold water, Seojun flipped back to the very first page of the script and began to read it slowly again. He started to understand the story by focusing on the lines and actions of his character, Go Joowon.
Lee Hansol, who was contemplating the cast and locations while checking the script, spoke up.
“There are foreign characters too. Should we contact an agency?”
With his mind at ease, Director Choi Daeman, whose complexion had returned considerably, nodded.
“Yes, please do.”
“An actor who can speak Korean would be good, right?”
“That would make communication easier, which would be nice.”
At the mention of casting a foreign actor, Seojun, who was reading the script, shot his head up.
“Director.”
“Hm?”
“If it's okay for that role, can I make a recommendation?”
Lee Hansol and Director Choi Daeman's eyes widened. An Daho and Park Jaemin, who were ordering food for dinner from the hotel restaurant, also turned their gazes to Seojun.
“A recommendation? Who? Is it an actor I know?”
Wondering if there was a good foreign actor Seojun had met during another shoot, Director Choi Daeman, Park Jaemin, and Lee Hansol all perked up their ears.
'A recommendation from Seojun should be good, right?'
The three of them waited for Seojun's answer with relaxed minds, recalling the faces of foreign actors they knew.
Unlike the three of them, An Daho, who was well aware of Seojun's sphere of activity and knew most of the people Seojun knew, sensed something. An Daho's hand, which he thought had grown quite accustomed to the title of a superstar's manager, trembled.
Unaware of his manager's agitation, Seojun answered brightly.
“Evan and Richel.”
“…”
Just as he thought!
An Daho took a sharp breath, while the other three looked blank, as if they hadn't yet understood Seojun's words. 1%, 2%, 10%... very slowly, Seojun's words began to sink in. Slowly, the eyes and mouths of the three began to widen.
Wait, who?
Soundless gasps of shock escaped the three at the appearance of such unexpected names.
Seojun, who had expected them to be pleased, tilted his head at the adults' ambiguous reaction.
“Director?”
At Seojun's call, Director Choi Daeman asked back in a trembling voice.
“S-Seojun… who?”
“Evan Block and Richel Hill!”
At Seojun's clear and innocent answer, the four adults felt their minds go blank.
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