Chapter 332
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 332
Chapter Title: An Unscripted Clash
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A few hours earlier.
Seojun arrived at the set with An Daho.
“Hello!”
Everyone smiled and welcomed the actor who always arrived early.
“Looking forward to a good shoot today, Jun.”
“Don't worry! I'll do my best!”
After greeting Director Jeffrey, the head of Bear Round's planning team, and the staff, Seojun headed toward the set.
“Whoa…”
This set, too, was more real than reality itself, making it a sight to behold.
‘No, that's not right. It’s hard to see something like this in real life… so I guess I should say it looks like a movie.’
It looked as if a cave had been formed from the remnants of a collapsed building.
Debris that appeared to have once been walls and a ceiling formed the cave, with dangerous-looking rebar jutting out sharply.
There, between the rocks, merchandise from shops—which must have been brand-new, sparkling items just a short while ago—lay crushed and mangled under piles of stone.
“Doesn't it look like an ant farm, Daho hyung?”
The cave, which narrowed and widened without any discernible pattern, did indeed resemble an ant farm.
“You’re right.”
An Daho nodded in agreement with Seojun.
It was like looking at a cross-section of an ant farm with one glass wall.
Some paths were intentionally blocked so the actors could create their own way through, and the set could be split into multiple sections to allow for filming from various angles. The staff moved busily, checking the set as it separated and reconnected.
“Move section one!”
“Section one moving! Stand back!”
At a staff member’s command, the crew nearby stepped back, and one side of the set shifted with a clank. Slowly, a piece of the set began to move away, like a slice of cake being cut out.
“Section one move complete!”
“Beginning move for section two!”
The staff ignored the falling dust and proceeded to move sections two and three in sequence.
“…It’s like a transforming robot.”
An Daho chuckled in agreement with Seojun’s observation.
After watching the set for a moment, Seojun turned to greet the other actors as they arrived.
***
Before filming began.
Davis Garrett glanced over his script one more time.
Disaster films had their clichés, though modern takes often twisted them.
There was the protagonist, the most dependable character who strives to save everyone else.
The sidekick who helps the protagonist.
The character who messes up and puts everyone in danger.
The selfish character who only thinks of themself.
Of these, the character Davis Garrett was playing, Raymond Wish, was the protagonist, the de facto leader during the escape from the mall.
‘The kind of character who doesn't get shot, doesn't die when he is, keeps moving despite fatal wounds, and ultimately saves everyone, becoming a hero.’
The editing for *Survivors* was planned to follow Raymond Wish from his visit to the 'Galleria Mall' with his family, then shift in the middle to show the backstories of the four final survivors.
In this narrative, Lee Hyunwoo, played by Seojun Lee, was the burdensome character who couldn't act in time due to mental shock. Jackson Miller and Cynthia Lindberg were the protagonist’s helpers. And Ian Weaver was the character symbolizing 'hope in the midst of disaster,' someone who absolutely had to be saved.
These roles, obvious at a glance, were a little concerning to Davis Garrett.
He knew that clichés became clichés because they were the most stable and popular formulas, so he didn't dismiss them entirely.
‘Well, this should be fine.’
Nevertheless, to make the one-dimensional character of Raymond Wish more multifaceted, Davis Garrett occasionally revealed subtle behaviors—faint movements that could easily be ignored.
‘It would be nice if someone noticed…’
Improvisation only worked if the other actor could play along.
There had been times when Davis Garrett couldn't fully express the character he envisioned because his ad-libs didn't mesh with his scene partners.
***
It had already been over two weeks since he started filming with Davis Garrett.
During that time, Seojun had felt a certain subtlety in Davis Garrett’s actions. The way he walked, his intonation, his expressions while playing Raymond Wish. The Raymond Wish on screen seemed very, very slightly different from the character in the script.
Seojun, wearing the mask of Lee Hyunwoo, watched Davis Garrett walk ahead of him.
‘So…’
Look.
They were passing through a dangerous, cave-like area, a flashlight he’d grabbed during the evacuation lighting the way, and there was a slight urgency in Raymond Wish's steps.
Seojun, immersed in his role as Lee Hyunwoo, was moving slowly, as if being dragged along against his will, with no desire to live. The other three actors were also taking careful, deliberate steps appropriate to their roles. Only Raymond Wish seemed to be in a hurry.
In the script, Raymond Wish would occasionally turn back to check on the others with concern, but the look in Raymond Wish’s eyes when he looked back…
‘Is it a little cold?’
That side of Raymond Wish, which wasn't in the script, was truly strange, and…
Interesting.
‘Is this the improvisation Davis was talking about?’
The unwritten history of ‘Raymond Wish.’
When he was born, how he grew up, what schools he attended, and how he became a soldier. The reason he had to retire.
They were details too minor and specific for Director Jeffrey to create, but they were essential to character development.
Seojun became curious about the ‘Raymond Wish’ that Davis Garrett had created.
Davis Garrett kept sending signals. But they were the kind of signals that could be retracted at any moment, so it seemed no one else had noticed.
‘Or maybe everyone is just too focused on the script.’
Having read the script, everyone knew how ‘Raymond Wish’ was supposed to act. Of course, knowing the script well was paramount for filming a movie, but nothing was less thrilling than a predetermined future.
So, Seojun decided to treat the ‘Raymond Wish’ walking ahead of him as a complete stranger. A man he had just met today at the 'Galleria Mall,' a stranger he didn't know if he could trust.
All he knew was his name; he knew nothing of his personality.
So, Seojun erased half of the script he had memorized.
He became ‘Lee Hyunwoo,’ who knew nothing.
And then, *clank*.
Three seconds after a signal sounded, the floor of the set began to shake. Amid the violent tremors, Seojun, as per the script, curled up and trembled. Just as scripted, Jackson Miller, Cynthia Lindberg, and Ian Weaver moved to Lee Hyunwoo's side.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Though he couldn't curl up any tighter, Lee Hyunwoo crumpled his body, folding into himself.
Darkness.
It was darkness.
The pitch-black darkness that came with the shaking had opened its maw and devoured his mom and dad, and now it had come to devour him too.
His mind filled with terror, Lee Hyunwoo trembled, breaking out in a cold sweat. His breathing grew ragged, and pained groans escaped his lips.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
“Breath. Try to breathe slowly.”
The two of them said something in worried tones, but Lee Hyunwoo couldn't hear or see anything.
Darkness.
Darkness.
Darkness.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Inside the narrow, suffocating cave.
Only the grating sound of Lee Hyunwoo's moans could be heard.
It grated on the retired soldier's nerves.
The heart of the soldier, who had been discharged for ‘post-traumatic stress disorder from overseas deployment,’ began to pound violently.
Raymond Wish anxiously clenched and unclenched his fists.
His nerves were already frayed from the bomb-like sounds that shook his entire body, the ground-heaving vibrations, the red blood, and the sharp screams. Now, Lee Hyunwoo's faint gasps were scraping at Raymond Wish's last nerve.
Strangely.
Though the voices of Jackson Miller and Cynthia Lindberg were louder, it was Lee Hyunwoo's thin gasps that bothered Raymond Wish the most.
To the point where it gave him goosebumps.
To the point where he wanted to tear his own ears off.
Still, Raymond Wish endured.
He reminded himself that Lee Hyunwoo was a young civilian, that he was weak.
He endured,
and endured, and endured, until—
He snapped.
“Can't you be quiet!”
The startled faces of the three actors flashed through Davis Garrett’s vision, and at the end of it was the figure cowering and flinching.
Now, the turn had passed.
Seojun Lee?
Or Lee Hyunwoo?
Davis Garrett’s improvisation would change depending on the answer.
“Ugh… ugh… Aaargh…!”
A faint moan could be heard.
A scream filled with agony could be heard.
Haha.
This was it.
Davis Garrett was so thrilled it sent shivers down his spine. It was rare to find an actor who could play along so brilliantly from the very first ad-lib.
Seeing Lee Hyunwoo's seizure-like reaction, Davis Garrett smiled a satisfied smile internally and started walking. He couldn't stop here, not when he was acting with someone who so perfectly received his improvisation.
***
At Raymond Wish’s shout, Seojun thought, ‘Here it comes.’
His heart pounded for some reason. The unpredictable nature of improvisation was exhilarating.
But Seojun didn't let that joy show.
He thought like Lee Hyunwoo and acted like Lee Hyunwoo.
No.
He was already Lee Hyunwoo.
***
Raymond Wish strode aggressively toward Lee Hyunwoo.
In the face of this sudden turn of events, the other three actors could only stare blankly.
Raymond Wish grabbed the cowering Lee Hyunwoo by the shoulder, forced his head up, then seized him by the collar and snarled. The flashlight that fell from Raymond Wish's hand spun around, its dazzling light scattering in all directions, creating a disorienting effect.
“I said shut up! You think you’re the only one who’s not okay?!”
“Hk… Heuk…”
At Raymond Wish's loud voice, Lee Hyunwoo's breathing hitched as if it would stop. Held by the collar, Lee Hyunwoo's head bobbed limply.
His forcibly met eyes were dead. His unfocused gaze stared into the empty air, as if to say, do whatever you want, kill me or save me.
Those lifeless black eyes grated on Raymond Wish's nerves.
The thick trauma he thought he had forgotten, had erased while living his daily life with his family, felt like it was writhing its way up from his gut like a swarm of insects.
Raymond Wish's face twisted into a savage snarl.
The character Davis Garrett had built and the character Seojun Lee had built clashed violently, creating sparks.
They were intensely hot sparks.
***
Andrew Walker grabbed Vanessa Olson's arm.
Vanessa Olson’s hand covered his small, slightly trembling one.
It was strange.
It was scary.
But,
…it was amazing.
Andrew Walker's heart pounded in his chest.
It felt like Davis Garrett and Seojun Lee were in a completely different world. No, they had been like that all along, but today, they seemed even less like the people he knew.
They were simply Raymond Wish and Lee Hyunwoo.
The fiery gaze of Raymond Wish, who looked ready to burn himself up at any moment, met the empty stare of the already-dead Lee Hyunwoo.
Witnessing a scene rarely seen on a typical film set, everyone forgot even to breathe as they watched the two actors.
If that moment had stretched on any longer, the immersion might have broken, and one of the two actors might have raised a hand to stop filming, or Director Jeffrey, who was staring intently at the monitor without even blinking, might have called “Cut,” wasting the precious scene.
Fortunately, there was an actor here who had filmed with Davis Garrett before.
Milan Chellun, who was watching the two actors' improvisation from the closest vantage point, snapped back to his senses.
He knew it would happen eventually, but he never expected it to be so sudden.
He certainly hadn't imagined they would change the characters' personalities.
But Milan Chellun didn't want this goosebump-inducingly brilliant scene to become unusable either.
‘Though I’m sure they’d both do great in a retake.’
He smiled faintly to himself.
Milan Chellun knew full well that he couldn't improvise on the same level as Davis Garrett or Seojun Lee.
He could only,
“Stop it! This isn't the time for this!”
rack his brain and pull a suitable line from the script. The irony was that it was one of ‘Raymond Wish's’ own lines.
At Jackson Miller's words, Raymond Wish, whose eyes had been about to roll back in his head, snapped them back into focus. He panted heavily before shoving Lee Hyunwoo away.
Without so much as a groan, Lee Hyunwoo collapsed to the floor, raising a cloud of dust.
A startled Andrew Walker rushed forward. In that moment, Cynthia Lindberg, also immersed in her character, clutched her pounding heart and ran to Lee Hyunwoo.
An unsettling wind had begun to blow through the once-calm group of survivors.
***
Silence settled over the set.
Director Jeffrey Rodox, who had barely managed to call “Cut,” felt as though he had heard the sound of something shattering.
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