The Weight of a Ten-Million Director's Principles
A director who's once pulled in over ten million viewers to theaters carries an aura incomparable to ordinary directors, regardless of genre—be it commercial or artistic. That was Gu Jeong-hwan, the ten-million director. He was no exception.
His eccentric principles, bordering on outright madness, had halted the entire shooting schedule, yet no investor or production company dared challenge him.
Woof! Woof!
A dog kennel crammed with Tosa dogs on leashes. Thud. In front of them, an actor known in the media as a tough guy fell flat on his ass, his face pale as a ghost.
"Ha."
Gu Jeong-hwan sighed at the sight before speaking up.
"Hey! Why are you scared? They're leashed up—they're not gonna bite you anyway!"
"Uh... um..."
"Get outta here. You're cut."
The actor slowly raised his hand in disbelief, his trembling finger pointing at the ferocious Tosa dogs drooling and panting white breath from their maws.
"Th-this isn't right! You said it was just a camera test! Who the hell tests acting like this?!"
"Yeah, I do."
"At least tell me why I'm out!"
"Hey."
Gu Jeong-hwan sighed at the actor's indignant outburst and turned to Cheon Yoo-seong, the male lead of Hoshi-jeol, sitting beside him.
"You scared of his acting just now?"
"...No."
"Hear that?"
"Director!"
"Didn't you read my script? This Yi Bang-gwa guy is a tiger of a warrior even his own retainers fear when he's pissed. How's a guy who scares the dogs supposed to play him, let alone scare them?"
"..."
"Hey, give him cab fare."
As the disgruntled actor stormed off, Gu Jeong-hwan shook his head. Cheon Yoo-seong cautiously spoke up.
"But Director, those scenes with Su-ho from before... we gotta reshoot, right?"
"Duh. What're we gonna do with scenes featuring a guy who dropped out?"
"Ah..."
"Fear is reaction. Courage is decision."
"Pardon?"
"What do you need to act this vibe?"
"Well..."
Gu Jeong-hwan looked exasperated at Cheon Yoo-seong, who tilted his head with a slight smile.
"Think about it. We need an actor who overwhelms with sheer terror."
"Ah."
"Gotta hit the audience with 'Whoa, that's intense!' That's what makes Yi Bang-gwa whining secretly to his wife feel real. Tension makes the romance sweeter. Sweet-spicy-sweet-spicy. See?"
"Haha, yeah."
Cheon Yoo-seong scratched the back of his head in agreement when an irritated voice cut in.
"Doesn't mean you let the dogs loose, though? Actor syndrome's bad, but director syndrome's worse... I'm gonna die here."
Cheon Yoo-seong stood and bowed to the female lead of Hoshi-jeol—the star among stars, Seol A-yoon.
"Senior."
"Letting dogs loose? We coordinated this with the pros and tied 'em up tight. If they misunderstand—"
"Director, can I have this?"
"You always steal my coffee. What, you boil your manager for soup?"
"Store coffee tastes like crap even if I pay~"
Seol A-yoon snatched Gu Jeong-hwan's coffee mug—the director even Cheon Yoo-seong tiptoed around—and chugged it. Gu Jeong-hwan eyed her curiously.
"...So, what'd he say? Joo-hyuk in?"
"Think he will?"
"If it's drama shooting, we'll wait till it wraps. If it's pay—"
"He won't skip for that."
"Then what?"
"He hates carrying someone."
"He's not above supporting roles, is he?"
"Am I the only one here? Yoo-seong doesn't mind, right?"
It was true enough. Hoshi-jeol focused on the evolving relationship between Yi Bang-won and his wife, Lady Min, in the late Goryeo-early Joseon era. The leads were Cheon Yoo-seong as Taejong Yi Bang-won and Seol A-yoon as Queen Won-gyeong Lady Min. In this film, skewed toward Seol A-yoon, King Jeongjong was just a supporting role who opened up Yi Bang-won to his queen.
"Hm."
Gu Jeong-hwan nodded. Fair point. Among actors that age, the top three were Han Joo-hyuk, Ji Kyung-ho, and the slightly younger Cheon Yoo-seong. Already rivals, who'd want to play sidekick to a peer or junior?
But.
"Still, you two clicked, right? You said you had a surefire way to bring him."
Gu Jeong-hwan knew Seol A-yoon. In this cutthroat industry, she was a natural predator who seized anything that benefited her.
"That 'close friends' bit—was that bullshit?"
"Provocation failed~"
"Hey! Don't drink it all!"
"Whatever, Director."
As she downed the rest with a grin, Gu realized.
"You got connections at DK Entertainment, right?"
"Why there?"
She'd brought prime material for the film.
"I found someone better than Joo-hyuk."
Cut! Nice!
On the Monster City set. They'd just wrapped the third scene featuring Oh Dae-bak.
In other words, until Monster City aired, Lee Tae-gyu had no more work obligations here.
Clap clap clap clap clap! Thunderous applause poured toward Tae-gyu, fresh off his performance.
"Great work, Tae-gyu."
"Your acting's killer."
"Let's keep fighting the good fight."
The set buzzed hotter than day one. Inspired by Tae-gyu's acting, the other actors had practiced fiercely, delivering intense takes.
Front-loading Tae-gyu's debut scene had paid off big.
"Time to rest now."
"Rest? He's off to meet another director."
"What? Already?"
"Tae-gyu's with DK, remember."
"Ah... yeah."
"Tough gig."
"Hey, you jealous? For someone like Tae-gyu, acting non-stop is the fun part."
"Think so?"
Amid the murmurs, PD Ji Cheol-geun nodded and spoke.
"Drop by sometime."
"Sure."
"We're watching the Monster City premiere together, right? I'll hype you up proper, so get ready to shine."
"...Thanks."
Lee Tae-gyu nodded. Kwak In-ho chuckled heartily and waved him off.
"Go on. We got more shooting. Hit the bar when you're free, yeah?"
"Got it, Writer."
"Writer my ass. Call me bro."
"Sure, bro."
"Beat it."
Unlike day one when he'd escorted Tae-gyu out, Kwak dove right back into concepts with Ji PD, laughing. Tae-gyu's spark had ignited it all. His Oh Dae-bak had everyone fired up.
Thud. Thud. As Tae-gyu headed to the van after his final take, one nagging question from days ago lingered.
...What is it?
Since Seol A-yoon pitched the Hoshi-jeol role, he'd wondered: Could he fully capture non-human animal emotions as dokkaebi fire?
Animals had emotions. He'd confirmed it himself. He bowed his head. Through three days of Oh Dae-bak shoots, he'd added six new emotion pockets.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Six emotions. Three from the zoo.
Including a tiger's.
Fwoosh.
Tae-gyu shook his head after trying the zoo tiger's dokkaebi fire.
...Kinda iffy.
The tiger's fire differed subtly in color and shape from humans'. And it was short. Just as he sensed something, it faded. Pondering the fleeting zoo tiger fire, Tae-gyu wondered.
Is copying non-human animal emotions limited somehow?
Did other species follow different rules? Or.
The zoo?
The animals seemed listless, maybe that affected it.
Humans vary too—emotions spike or not.
Tae-gyu sank deeper into thought. He'd started with dokkaebi fire to spice up his dull life.
Definitely... different.
The brief, subtly thrilling animal emotion piqued him. Plus, curiosity about Hoshi-jeol's King Jeongjong role.
Lots of rage scenes...
He might resolve both with one solid thrill. He'd already told DK about Seol's pitch. After complications, he'd booked a camera test with Gu Jeong-hwan.
But.
...
This wouldn't cut it. He craved more than generic anger.
Tiger-like presence.
Tae-gyu sought thrill. Long numb, he wanted full, real over fake or partial. Something unique this time.
...Yeah.
Nodding, he called DK CEO Do Yoon-seop.
Thick cigar smoke billowed out the window. Do Yoon-seop smirked at his monitor.
The acting footage from the set he'd acquired. Thinking of its star filled his empty stomach.
Lee Tae-gyu.
As long as he avoided stabbing someone in a personal spat, post-Monster City, he'd be industry blue-chip.
Lived with real gambling addicts, huh.
He burst out laughing. He'd known method actors, but few this dedicated. Especially at that age—national treasures.
And his self-PR? Spot-on.
A supporting role in a mega-hit by ten-million director Gu Jeong-hwan, starring dual-twenty-million actress Seol A-yoon!
My instincts were right.
Those ambitious eyes at their first meeting, mirroring his own defiance. A climber. He'd charmed the set with it.
This town's all connected anyway.
Do Yoon-seop didn't dwell on how Seol A-yoon pitched him. Ride the wave, details sort themselves.
Instead, he pondered Tae-gyu's mindset.
...I see.
Tae-gyu had snagged Hoshi-jeol's King Jeongjong. Right after they handed him a bit part!
Hm.
Small agencies would celebrate luck. Do Yoon-seop saw a message: This is my caliber—treat me like this?
Step up, huh.
He nodded slowly.
Fine, I underestimated.
Less than six months left on the clock. Prove DK worthy of him—this bold move thrilled Do Yoon-seop.
Been a while since a actor like this.
The epiphany sent pleasant tension through him. Then.
Ring.
His phone buzzed. The screen:
Do Yoon-seop exhaled smoke, chuckling.
Ballsy.
Rare for a rookie to call direct, even after that first contract.
Swipe. Accepting the blatant demand—Prove your performance now.
Fine. I'd top any ask—I'm Do Yoon-seop. Your caliber's light for me.
Scoffing, he answered.
"What's up."
But at Tae-gyu's request.
"Tae-gyu."
His face hardened.
"...We can't fetch a wild tiger, obviously. No clue why you'd need one anyway."