I Just Tried It, and It Worked

It had simply worked.

Director Park Hyun-seung had given the kill him direction in the first place because he was convinced a rookie like Yoon Jay could never outshine Moon Chang-min. But now the exact opposite had happened. The director, who had been brimming with things to brag about to Lee Seo-won, went quiet.

Chang-min hyung is a good man, but...

No matter how unpretentious Moon Chang-min was, he had twenty-two years of accumulated craft behind him, and the pride of a man who had climbed to his position. That was why the shoot had been built around him in the first place, and why Director Park was on fairly close terms with him.

Well, now what do I do...

An unmistakable mistake ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on Moon Chang-min's part — and he'd been outshone by a complete nobody of a rookie, no less.

The director wanted to let it slide, but the kill him direction had come from the director himself. And Yoon Jay had executed it brilliantly, exactly as instructed.

The staff on set waited with bated breath for the director to open his mouth. But the one who cut through the frozen air wasn't the director. It was Yoon Jay.

"...I'm sorry."

Yoon Jay bowed deeply at the waist toward Moon Chang-min. Then he turned and did the same to the director and the staff.

"I got greedy. I wanted to stand out."

Even though the mistake wasn't his, bowing first was enough to slowly thaw the glacial atmosphere on set. The director seized the opening.

"Th-that's right! You acted well! You really did act well, but... the dynamics could've been a little better. Right?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. I'll do it again."

The way he apologized — bowing neither too deep nor too shallow — was genuinely endearing. He'd already won everyone over with his acting, and now he'd shown them his character as well.

"Uh... why don't you go get some air for now."

Park Hyun-seung sent Yoon Jay outside first, then walked over to Moon Chang-min, who was still standing there in a daze.

"...Director Park."

"Yes, hyung."

"You're keeping that scene, aren't you?"

Of course he had to keep it. The scene where, after all the buildup, the avenger finally came face to face with the final boss — Baek Jin-ri's madness erupting with Kim Yeon-seok, the man who had meddled in his business, standing right before his eyes.

Even filtered through a monitor, it had made people instinctively turn away. He could only imagine what it had been like for Moon Chang-min, facing it directly.

"Don't you dare worry about my feelings. If you can't keep that scene, you might as well quit directing."

Moon Chang-min ruffled his own hair in frustration. His lingering doubt — is Baek Jin-ri really the final boss? — had vanished without a trace.

Presence like that couldn't possibly be a one-off. It had to be a deliberate strategy — introducing an entirely new face to pull viewers in even deeper.

And besides...

Hyun-seung looked disappointed when he called the cut, didn't he?

Others might have missed it, but Moon Chang-min had caught it. If he hadn't made that mistake, this would have been the performance of a lifetime — the kind people talked about for years.

It was a moment that made him ashamed of having judged the rookie on first impressions alone. He'd always despised newcomers who shattered his immersion — and now he'd gone and done exactly that himself.

"So that's what he was doing. He was being considerate of me..."

From Yoon Jay's position, everything would have sorted itself out if he'd simply stayed quiet. Instead, he had stepped forward first, apologized as though it were his own failing, and spared his senior's dignity. There was no way he could have calculated all that in the span of a few seconds. It was simply who Yoon Jay was.

"Oh, um... you think so?"

Truthfully, everyone present had felt the same. But the director kept up the charade to the very end.

"Exactly. If it were me, I'd have gotten all defensive about it — 'Hah, so Moon Chang-min isn't so special after all.'"

"Come on, hyung, would you really?"

"I would have. Whew. Are all rookies like this these days? I don't think I was like that back when I was one."

"Rookies these days can't even meet your eyes, hyung. That man is just exceptional."

Admitting it that frankly — that took a big man, too. Director Park broke into a sly grin.

"You stayed so quiet I figured you were upset."

"Why would I be upset? He's that good. He kept quiet because I scared him."

"A hyung who can admit that is impressive in his own right."

"I know. I am impressive. By the way... Seo-won really went and found himself quite the find, didn't he?"

Moon Chang-min gazed toward the door Yoon Jay had exited through. The acting was one thing, but the way he carried himself on top of it — he liked this kid.

I let my guard down.

If he didn't want to be overshadowed by acting like that, he'd have to throw himself into it for real. Moon Chang-min flapped his hand.

"Go on. Let me focus."

"Yes, sir."

The director grinned and backed away in retreat. He had a feeling that today would produce a scene for the ages.

"Whew..."

Yoon Jay, out getting air on the director's advice, took a long, deep breath.

He wanted to march back in and ask to reshoot immediately, but the emotions hadn't settled yet — he needed to rein them in first.

"Whoa! Wow!"

Han Jin-woo, the manager who had followed him out, kept exclaiming in awe as he gave Yoon Jay's shoulder a light shake.

"Hyung, that was insane earlier, seriously? Unbelievable. I got full-body chills."

"Don't make a scene. The senior's manager is right over there."

"Ah. Got it."

Han Jin-woo clamped his mouth shut and tilted his head back to study Yoon Jay's expression.

H-he's so cool.

He had delivered that jaw-dropping performance — the kind that rattled even Moon Chang-min — and now he was just standing there in silence, staring up at the sky. To Han Jin-woo, it only made him look cooler.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Some cold water."

"On it!"

Han Jin-woo went sprinting back inside. Left alone, Yoon Jay allowed himself a faint smile.

I did lay it on a bit thick, didn't I.

Emotions he'd been carrying for decades were finally finding release. He had let them pour out exactly as they were... but there was nothing left to hold him back now, and that made him happy.

For his next project, he wanted something he could get in front of the camera for right away. A drama would be fastest, wouldn't it?

He was quietly savoring that small joy when someone came to stand beside him. Han Jin-woo, maybe? He turned his head — and found a face he'd never seen before.

"Hello."

"Hello."

Yoon Jay returned the bow while stealing a glance at the stranger's face. He had memorized the face of every single staff member on The Garden of Evil. This person was entirely new.

"Forgive me, but who are you? I don't believe I've seen you among the staff."

"Oh dear, caught me."

A tailored suit completely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out of place on a film set, and slightly clumsy pronunciation. An overseas Korean? Come to think of it, The Garden of Evil's biggest investor had been Nflix.

So someone from their side, then?

A connection like that couldn't hurt to have — and the other person clearly wanted something from him. Yoon Jay spoke up.

"If Korean isn't comfortable for you, feel free to just speak English."

"Well, I'd be happy to. Your English is excellent."

"My family is based in the States."

"Oh, I'm from California. Rayna Yang. Pleasure to meet you."

"Yoon Jay."

After the brief introductions, the two exchanged light conversation.

"Your acting was remarkable. Have you done theater, by any chance?"

"This isn't my first project, but my résumé is short."

He had no desire to reveal that he was Yoon Jae-hee, so he answered vaguely.

There was The Child, released twenty-one years ago, and a brief stint in the drama Everything About First Love — but with no work since, it hardly counted as a career.

"Aren't you curious what I do for a living?"

"Not particularly. I'd rather get back to the next shoot."

Why interrogate someone who wasn't volunteering anything? All Yoon Jay wanted was to get back inside.

They didn't talk much after that. Rayna Yang, keeping up small talk about the Korean weather and the food, eventually announced she had to be going and headed off toward the parking lot.

"Hyung, here's your water."

"Thanks."

"Who was that person? You two were speaking English."

"No idea."

Han Jin-woo, who had been hovering nervously in the background, let out an impressed grunt.

"Is our hyung already building connections with the big shots?"

"How could you tell?"

"He just looks important. The suit, the English. Some foreign investor, maybe?"

"Probably someone from the Nflix side. How's the set looking?"

"Feels like they're about to roll again."

Really? Then he should head in. He wanted to get back in front of that camera as soon as possible.

From inside her car, Rayna Yang watched his retreating back.

Yoon Jay...

The striking looks aside, that momentary performance — powerful enough to overwhelm Moon Chang-min — had left an impression. An actor worth keeping an eye on.

After a brief lull, shooting resumed.

Before the director's signal came down, Moon Chang-min pulled Yoon Jay aside and asked him not to hold back — to do it exactly as he had before. He'd prepared himself thoroughly this time; there was no way he'd be pushed back again.

"Hello?"

"Do I look fine to you?"

The acting that had been sheer unpleasantness earlier — he'd assumed it was a fluke, but seeing it again sent the same chills crawling up his spine. But he had braced for it this time. He was fine. And Moon Chang-min radiated his own presence in answer.

"Why did you do this to me? I asked you a question — why did you do this to me!"

"Would you explain yourself to an ant you happen to step on?"

The one smiling at the razor-taut standoff was the director. This was the picture he'd wanted. Baek Jin-ri, fully intent on killing, and Kim Yeon-seok, refusing to yield an inch.

Thwack!

"Gahh...!"

Just as the scene was climbing toward its peak, Yoo Tae-hyun — Kim Yeon-seok's ally — appeared behind Baek Jin-ri and brought his arm down on the back of his head. It was in none of Moon Chang-min's pages.

"Cut! Excellent!"

"...What."

Yoon Jay, who had convincingly crumpled sideways to the ground, rose as if nothing had happened.

Only Moon Chang-min stood blinking in bewilderment. What — why did Baek Jin-ri go down so easily?

"Director Park, what is this?!"

"Let's move to the next setup! Jay! You're not hurt, are you?"

Yoon Jay, chatting and laughing with the actor playing Yoo Tae-hyun, threw him a thumbs-up. Great body control, too. Adorable. Park Hyun-seung chuckled to himself.

"No, seriously — shouldn't you be telling me something by now?"

"That would kill the realism."

Throughout the shooting of The Garden of Evil, Moon Chang-min had been fully immersed in Kim Yeon-seok, which was exactly why Baek Jin-ri's anticlimactic end had been so impossible to believe.

Watching him bristle with frustration, Yoon Jay thought to himself: to keep the twist from his lead actor, he plotted a twist on top of a twist. I should never sign onto a project without Director Park Hyun-seung again.

"Now then, Jay. Treat the camera as Kim Yeon-seok's face, and play it again. Make people's skin crawl. Understood?"

"Yes."

And Yoon Jay played it again, this time from a different angle.

"Hello?"

The monitor filled to the brim with Baek Jin-ri's face, the face Kim Yeon-seok would see. The director slapped a hand over his mouth the instant he laid eyes on it.

Whoa. I can't breathe.

Now he understood why Moon Chang-min had looked away. Apparently it really was possible for a handsome face to be buried alive under pure unpleasantness. A few of the staff turned their heads aside the moment they saw it.

At the sight of them, Moon Chang-min gave a shrug. There you go. Told you I had every reason to lose.

"...Cut!"

Having delivered the take without a single NG, Yoon Jay strode back over with long, even steps.

Several of the staff stared at him in open wonder. The unsettling creature on the monitor had reverted to being an actor again — just like that.

"May I check the monitor?"

"Ah, of course."

Everyone gathered around the screen to review the take — and something felt off.

Uncanny valley, absolutely, that much was a given. But there was something else... Just as the whole group was wrestling with that strange dissonance, someone murmured:

"Um... aren't his pupils, like, small?"

At those words, everyone's eyes snapped back to the monitor.

It had been back then — after a grueling, drawn-out engagement, the operation finally a success and the hostages rescued. Buoyed by his comrades' encouragement, he had gone into the barracks, washed his face, looked into the mirror — and noticed that something was wrong.

Something was wrong with his eyes.

Much later, he learned the explanation: after surviving extreme situations like combat, the moment the tension finally broke, his pupils would constrict.

It was a bit of staging he had kept in the back of his mind ever since he first read the script.

Yoon Jay possessed an ability no one else had. An experience, once truly felt, never faded — it could be drawn upon again later. So if that was true, couldn't he summon the emotion he had felt in that mirror, too?

The timing couldn't have been better.

The adrenaline of having conquered his chronic phobia, of being able to deliver a proper performance at last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— letting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the tension drain away afterward had been easy.

I needed to leave a striking impression, after all.

It was a burdensome shot, his face filling the entire frame — and handled carelessly, it could easily get carved away in the edit.

He had already radiated presence exactly as the direction called for. This time, he had to show them something new. That was the only way the scenes featuring him would survive, frame by precious frame.

So he had mixed it in — and it had worked. He hadn't even known for certain until he checked the monitor himself.

"I just tried it, and it worked."

"Wow..."

A rookie who can act with his pupils. Goosebumps raced up Park Hyun-seung's arms.