Chapter 36
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: The Baby Shaman
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Everyone got their autographs and went back to work. Accompanied by the assistant director, Kim Heesang and Seojun headed to the house with the blue gate where they would be staying during the shoot.
The assistant director opened one of the doors. A floral-patterned blanket and pillow, clearly reflecting the grandmother's taste, were neatly folded.
“The grandmother must have gone to work in the fields. This is the room. There are blankets and pillows, and the bathroom is over there. She said you can help yourselves to anything in the kitchen fridge if you get hungry. Here's a list of staff contacts; just call me if you need anything. Seojun's scene can only be filmed after sunset, so please get plenty of rest before then.”
“Understood.”
“Seojun, you should get a good nap too, so you won't be sleepy during the shoot.”
“Okay!”
The assistant director left the room, and Kim Heesang unfolded the blanket.
“Aren't you tired from the long car ride?”
“Mm. A little?”
“Should we take a nap then? Let's get a good rest, have dinner when we wake up, and then go to the shoot.”
“Okay!”
Seojun slipped under the floral blanket. He pulled the cozy covers over him and laid his head on the pillow. Though he hadn't intended it,
[Summer Bear's Hibernation has been activated.]
“Seojun?”
The moment his head hit the pillow, he was fast asleep.
Despite Kim Heesang's call, Seojun slept soundly, breathing softly.
“Was he that tired?”
Kim Heesang chuckled and started unpacking Seojun's things.
* * *
The sun had set.
It was time to prepare for the shoot.
After waking from his nap, Seojun ate the dinner prepared by the grandmother, who had returned from her work in the fields. Seeing the little baby eat so heartily, the grandmother kept bringing out more side dishes from the refrigerator, and Kim Heesang was busy trying to politely decline them.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah!”
Having slept soundly, Seojun, with his eyes wide and bright, stuffed his mouth full of rice and side dishes, chewing thoroughly.
He had been doing eating broadcasts since he was eight months old and had become a master at it. Watching Seojun eat with such gusto made both Kim Heesang and the grandmother scoop up hearty spoonfuls of rice for themselves.
After finishing dinner, Kim Heesang and Seojun talked about the monster drawings in Seojun's sketchbook while waiting for the staff to call them.
“This one is supposed to be a darker color, but I colored it like this because the crayon set only has 24 colors.”
“So, would a color like this work?”
Kim Heesang showed him a color from a color palette on his phone. Seojun nodded.
“Yeah!”
“Next is this one. What is this? Fur?”
“Those are antennae.”
Seojun explained slowly. Kim Heesang listened attentively, jotting down notes.
Knock, knock—
“Yes, come in.”
A staff member wearing a cap opened the door quietly and made eye contact with Seojun, who was drawing in his sketchbook and explaining.
“Oh, you're already up?”
“Yes!”
“Perfect timing. It's time to shoot now. You can come to the hanok back there.”
After the staff member left, Kim Heesang and Seojun got dressed and went outside. In July, Seoul remained hot even at night, but Ogyeri was cool.
“It might get chilly later on.”
Kim Heesang went back into the room and came out with a blanket and hand warmers. Seojun and Kim Heesang chatted amiably as they headed toward the only traditional Korean house, a hanok, in a village full of slate-roofed homes.
Walking along the hanok's wall, the house seemed enormous.
“While you were sleeping, I heard from the grandmother that the family who owns this house is incredibly smart. All of them are famous doctors, judges, and lawyers. I wonder if the land has good energy?”
“What's 'good energy'?”
“Hmm. You see that mountain over there? And there's a river in front of us. The energy from the mountain and the energy from the river gather at this hanok and give strength to the people who live here. It could be the power to make a lot of money, or the power to make the people born here smart.”
Seojun's gaze followed Kim Heesang's finger, looking first at the mountain, then at the river.
“That's amazing!”
“Isn't it?”
They also talked about the structure of the hanok. Kim Heesang had a wide range of trivial knowledge, so Seojun got to hear many fascinating stories.
Chatting pleasantly as they walked, they soon arrived at the filming location.
Director Choi Daeman, who was talking with Lee Jiseok, spotted the two and approached them.
“How are you doing? It's late, but you're not sleepy?”
“I took a nap!”
“Good. That was smart.”
“The makeup room is this way. Shall we go together?”
Lee Jiseok led Seojun into a tent. Various clothes were hanging inside, along with a large mirror and chairs. Lee Jiseok and Seojun sat down as directed by the staff.
“Don't talk, okay?”
“Mmm!”
Seojun's muffled reply with his lips sealed was so adorable that the staff didn't know what to do. The staff member who had won rock-paper-scissors to do Seojun's makeup carefully moved her brush. Lee Jiseok felt a bit like he was being given the cold shoulder.
“It suits you well, doesn't it?”
Seojun came out wearing his costume. It was a pure white sobok, the kind the baby shaman wore to sleep.
Seojun touched the sobok. He had worn a hanbok for Seollal and Chuseok, but this was the first time he'd worn clothes that were completely white. Kim Heesang felt the fabric. Was it a little thin?
“Are you cold?”
“No!”
“Tell me if you get cold.”
“Okay!”
Lee Jiseok came out after finishing his makeup. He was dressed just like Soohyuk, who had been attacked by the evil spirit in Seoul and all the way to this village.
“Wow!”
Seojun's eyes widened. He looked like he was really covered in blood and dust. His face was full of scratches, and one eye was bruised a dark purple, as if it were truly swollen. His clothes were tattered like rags. Kim Heesang was also amazed to see the movie's special effects makeup up close.
“Wow. It looks so real.”
“That's the skill of our team.”
The assistant director, who had appeared at some point, boasted. Then he guided the two actors and Kim Heesang to the filming location.
“For the rehearsal, we're just going to check the blocking. The director said that since both actors are so talented, the emotional drain will be significant. Besides, if we have to shoot a full shot, a bust shot, and a close-up, it's not good to waste energy during the rehearsal.”
The first shooting location was in front of the hanok's large wooden gate. Several cameras and lights were already set up, and Director Choi Daeman, who had been checking the background on a monitor, stood up and approached them.
“Seojun, Mr. Jiseok, you both look great. Shall we start by checking the blocking?”
Director Choi Daeman explained in detail. Although Seojun and Lee Jiseok already knew what to do, they listened attentively.
Meanwhile, Kim Heesang went through the gate into the courtyard. Cameras and lights were set up on this side as well, to film Seojun.
“We're starting the shoot!”
After a brief rehearsal, the actual filming began. The cameras started rolling, and everyone took their positions.
Dressed in the pure white sobok, Seojun stood before the large wooden gate.
The role Seojun played was a baby shaman who harbored a fearsome god within him.
His lines were few, but conversely, there was much he had to express with his body.
Before the director's cue, Seojun looked at the wooden gate and moved his lips.
“Mr. Kim, let's play.”
[Bell Goblin's Teasing Mr. Kim - Low Grade - has been activated.]
* * *
[Bell Goblin's Teasing Mr. Kim - Low Grade]
The energy of the Bell Goblin is released.
The shape of the energy can be changed.
With the power of the shaman's bell, you can, on very rare occasions, predict Mr. Kim's future.
Activation: Mr. Kim, let's play.
Deactivation: Done teasing Mr. Kim.
* * *
The Bell Goblin was a little goblin born from an old shaman's bell.
The Bell Goblin lived for the fun of teasing passing men named Mr. Kim.
It would emit a strange energy to make its body seem two or three times larger, or it would turn its naturally yellow, brass-like aura pitch black to imitate a creature of the dark.
There was one Mr. Kim who frequently visited the mountain where the Bell Goblin lived, and it grew fond of him because he would get startled every single time they met.
‘Isn't it about time you got used to it, Mr. Kim?’
‘Do you think you would get used to it if you were me!?’
After revealing its identity, the Bell Goblin became close friends with Mr. Kim, sometimes receiving acorn jelly from him and sometimes giving him gifts.
‘...This gat looks awfully familiar...’
‘Ehehehe.’
‘It's mine, isn't it!?’
One day, on a very rare occasion, the Bell Goblin saw Mr. Kim's future. The Bell Goblin thought it was a great relief. Knowing that Mr. Kim was about to die, the Bell Goblin jumped into the jaws of death in its friend's place.
‘Hey! Why would you do that!’
‘Because I've lived longer than you, Mr. Kim!’
For his goblin friend who had sacrificed its life for him, Mr. Kim placed the broken shaman's bell inside an old tree and performed a memorial rite.
‘The next time we meet, I'll give you a real good scolding.’
* * *
Something stirred in the center of his chest. Seojun brought out what he had been practicing for the past month and a half.
He shaped the goblin's energy into a human form and placed it inside his body. As if something truly resided within him.
He had struggled to create this form. It had to look human, but not be human. It had to be internal, yet its energy needed to manifest outwardly to some extent.
He molded the form as if playing with clay, and somehow, a 'thing' with long, slender limbs and a frightening gaze was created.
-Ready.
Just like when he filmed *Shadowman*, Director Choi Daeman's voice came through faintly. Perhaps because he had grown a little, unlike that time when he had been sucked in without any awareness, he could now think a little.
‘Ah, it's about to start.’
That was all, though.
-Action!
The god of the baby shaman was an incredibly powerful and fearsome deity. It had not even revealed its name, but even so, it possessed immense power.
Rumors of the baby shaman circulated only within the village. The power of the great god made it so. The god's power, never venturing outside, continued to accumulate inside the baby shaman's body.
Thump-thump!
And so, he knew.
Thump-thump!
The baby shaman opened the wooden gate. Before him was a man, panting heavily. The man was covered in wounds. He was limping on one leg, and his eye was swollen. The baby shaman knew what had done this to him.
That thing.
The thing inside the man.
The evil thing.
“I heard there's a skilled shaman here...”
The man stopped mid-sentence.
The baby shaman lifted his head to look at the man from head to toe, then lowered his gaze to the man's feet.
The evil thing.
That's it. That is what killed your parents.
The baby shaman could see it all, everything swirling inside the man's body. The dark, malevolent spirit, like a dancing flame, laughed and cried as it looked upon him. He saw the image of the man's parents, dying quietly, holding their breath so as not to startle their child.
Thud!
The all-knowing baby shaman closed the wooden gate. It was not yet time.
“Cut! OK!”
Turning around, Seojun let out a light breath and muttered.
“Done teasing Mr. Kim.”
Heesang, who was off-camera, quickly ran over, wrapped a blanket around Seojun, and placed a hand warmer in his hands.
“Are you okay, Seojun?”
“I'm okay! It was the same with *Shadowman*; I'd feel a little drained after a scene.”
Fortunately, in the past six months, his 'body' had grown a lot, so he had a fair amount of energy left.
“That's how focused you were. You did great.”
Kim Heesang patted Seojun's head, then picked him up and walked over to Director Choi Daeman. They had agreed beforehand to review the scene on the monitor after getting an OK.
Kim Heesang pushed the wooden gate. Hmm? It was stiffer than he expected. He pushed a little harder, and the gate opened.
“This takes quite a bit of strength. Is Seojun that strong? He pushed it open so easily.”
“No, it wasn't. It was super easy.”
Seojun mimed opening and closing the gate, saying, "Like this, like this." *Is that so?* Kim Heesang clenched and unclenched his hands a few times as he looked at the wooden gate. The rather large wooden door was shut tight.
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