Chapter 33: Time to Turn White
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 33: Time to Turn White
The drama Hwan's Torch had been drawing immense attention since the early stages of production.
There was the massive investment from the global OTT platform, Netscreen.
The fourth consecutive collaboration between PD Jang Hyun-soo and Writer Jung Yoon-ah.
And the star power of the leads, Yoon Se-rang and the (now ousted) Kim Ho-jin. The project was overflowing with elements guaranteed for success.
Although Kim Ho-jin had stepped down under disgraceful circumstances, his final "confession barrage attack" during his last press conference had ironically generated an incredible amount of aggro.
The public's rage and contempt for Kim Ho-jin—who had lusted after a minor—transformed into curiosity: Just who is this rookie? Consequently, even with an unknown replacement male lead, interest in the drama actually skyrocketed.
Amidst the swirling rumors, a series of precious photos, captured by the tireless efforts of telephoto camera-wielding fansite masters, were finally leaked...
[Title: You guys realize the drama is on the verge of collapsing right now, right?]
(PD and Writer glaring fiercely at each other.jpg)
(PD and Writer ignoring each other at point-blank range.jpg)
(Yoon Se-rang looking awkward between the PD and Writer.jpg)
(Anyway, the relationship between the PD and Writer is... .jpg)
(Once again, the PD and Writer are... .jpg)
These "proof" photos, posted by a "Staff A" who claimed the set wouldn't function without them, spread like wildfire, fanning the flames of anxiety among fans.
[Title: I really want to stan this rookie, but can someone deal with these trolls?]
- But for real, did the writer and director actually grab each other by the collar?
[Title: I managed to get a front-facing shot of the rookie, but I’m never posting it here.]
- So, what did Yoon Se-rang eat for dinner?
[Title: I’m a minor supporting actor in a certain drama, and the atmosphere is so terrifying I can’t even breathe. Save me.]
- But if it gets canceled, what happens to my appearance fee?
[Title: I’m a writer, please don’t be fooled!]
- You are all currently falling for an aggro-pulling operation disguised as a large-scale social experiment by the director and writer. The drama is not being canceled. Please wait peacefully for the broadcast date. And also...
[Title: Who exactly was it that took down my most hated person, Kim Ho-jin?]
- The content matches the title.
Please, someone get a close-up of that rookie’s face. Just looking at her silhouette and side profile, she looks like she’d be insanely pretty...
[Title: If they just replace the director and writer, the drama will probably continue.]
- Is it just me, or is it suspicious that there hasn't been a single testimony from a former classmate despite her being that pretty?
Sensational rumors ran rampant, claiming that the bond between the PD and the writer—who were close enough to have worked on four consecutive projects—had finally snapped.
The drama is in trouble; it’s being scrapped; it’s a failure; actually, it already failed, but everyone is just pretending it hasn't while they look for an exit strategy...
Actually, actually, all of this is a smokescreen to hide the truth that the rookie actress who took down Kim Ho-jin isn't a real person, but CG...
In this flood of information, the biggest victims were the "visual stans" who just wanted to enjoy the crumbs of Lee Yu-jin that the fansite masters had painstakingly gathered.
└ Can’t we just be happy for once? Why is it nothing but "the director and writer fought" everywhere I go?
└ Seriously, just let me stan the rookie’s face already.
[Title: I took a two-shot with that rookie, but why does my head look so huge?]
- Is the affair between the director and writer for real? Is it right to bring a bedroom fight to the set?
└ Affair? Affair? Affair?
└ Waaaah lol is it true???
└ I knew it. I thought it made no sense for a PD and writer to work together four times in a row.
└ So the part about them grabbing collars was a fact after all.
└ Ugh, the betrayal.
└ SO WHERE IS OUR ROOKIE’S FRONT-FACING SHOT?!
“Wow, PD Jang. This is a bit much. An affair? Even ‘taking it too far’ needs to be done in moderation for it to be art.”
“Hey, this isn't me. I’m a married man and Writer Jung is single. Why would I go this far?”
“Should I sue? I really can’t stand this.”
“As much as you want, Writer Jung. Even I think this went too far. We can’t just let this slide.”
“Actually, this one is me.”
“Hey!! Writer!! Not this! I swear!”
“Really, really, this one is actually Unni.”
“...Honey, I love you. I know you’re not here right now, but I believe you’re listening from the office.”
Jung Yoon-ah called Jang Hyun-soo’s wife "Unni."
*
“With the 'Director-Writer Affair Typhoon' that made landfall early this morning, the 'Lee Yu-jin is an Elf' theory has been completely swept away, leaving not a single trace behind...”
I half-listened to Jang Ji-hye, who was channeling a weather forecaster as she reported the news of the tempest in the internet's teapot.
Jang Ji-hye looked quite upset.
“Who keeps leaking these on-set photos? If I catch them, I won’t let them off easy.”
“At least we know it’s all fabricated, so that’s a relief.”
I had seen the "proof" shots of the PD and writer’s discord that Jang Ji-hye was showing me.
Every single one of them was a staged shot created using clever angles.
To a third party not on set, it really did look like the two were fighting, refusing to speak, while the other actors and staff were caught in the middle, not knowing what to do.
But because we knew the truth, we weren't shaken by any storm in the internet's teapot.
The Hwan's Torch, captained by PD Jang Hyun-soo with Writer Jung Yoon-ah as the first mate, was cruising steadily on its course, ignoring all the noise.
“Rolling!”
We all fell silent, holding our breath as we watched Yoon Se-rang and the replacement lead, Kang Seok-won, begin acting before the camera.
“Cut! Kang Seok-won, I told you this is a drama, not a play. Tone it down a bit, just a bit. You’re slightly overacting right now.”
“I’m sorry! I’ll do it right!”
“Going again. Stand by, cue!”
Kang Seok-won occasionally caused NGs, but they were minor "aiming errors" caused by the different nuances between theater and television.
Whenever PD Jang gave feedback, he immediately adjusted his zero and found his mark.
“My Princess, do you still not understand? What I want isn't you, stripped of everything and naked, but the Empress who possesses the Hwan Empire.”
“How could you... to me...”
“You knew all along. I gave you so many signals, and you’re saying you didn't know? No. You simply wanted to look away. You didn't want to face the fact that I—the man you love—am actually a being who had everything sacrificed to the Hwan Imperial Family...”
“Ji-wook, stop. Please, stop!”
“Give me your country as your dowry. Then, I shall give myself to you.”
Ooh, I’m getting goosebumps. My hands and feet feel like they’re about to shrivel up from the cheesiness.
Because they were both so good at acting, it made me feel even more flushed, like I wanted to run away.
They’re the ones acting, so why am I the one feeling embarrassed?
“You felt like screaming just now, didn't you?”
“Writer Jung?”
I was startled. She had approached me without making a sound.
Is this the stealth capability of a veteran writer?
“The lines were so poignant, and the actors were so good that it was moving enough to make me want to scream...”
“Liar. You wanted to close your eyes, cover your ears, scream, and run away.”
“...”
“But a drama needs these emotionally over-the-top scenes sometimes. It’s a deliberate attempt to make the viewers cringe.”
“Deliberate?”
“That sense of guilty pleasure—where you’re too embarrassed to watch but find it impossible to change the channel—amplifies parched emotions. It’s like a wave. There has to be an upward surge for enough kinetic energy to build up for the fall.”
What she just said sounded a bit cool.
“Then you must have felt very proud while writing it, Writer?”
“Does that make sense? How could anyone write lines like that while sane?”
“...?”
“I play the K-stock market. When I see my stock app turning completely blue, another version of me emerges and swallows all my shame.”
What did I just hear? The domestic market? K-stocks?
“Writer, you shouldn't do K-stocks...”
“I only do it with pocket change on purpose. To allow that other 'me' to exist and feast on my shame.”
Jang Ji-hye clapped silently in admiration and asked.
“Wow, how can I become like you, Writer?”
“You don’t become it. You’re determined. At the very moment of conception in your mother’s womb.”
“It sounds so sad if everything is deterministic.”
“There’s no need for that. I believe in determinism, but we can’t observe every determined value in our lives. Ji-hye, you still have infinite talents you haven't observed yet, and you won’t even see them all until the day you die.”
Writer Jung Yoon-ah suddenly looked at me and smirked.
“Unlike Yu-jin here, who was born with brilliant results that were already definitively revealed.”
“So I have to work myself to death to find out what I was born with!”
Aaaagh! Once again, the embarrassment is all mine.
*
After finishing my scenes with the male lead, Kang Seok-won, we shared some meaningless small talk.
“But really, is it better to go to the military early?”
“If you go late, you have to say 'Yes, sir' to seniors who are way younger than you, right? That really doesn't feel good.”
“Yu-jin, what do you mean 'doesn't feel good'?”
“Oops, I mean, they say it doesn't feel good.”
“Who said that?”
“A League of Legends friend of mine who enlisted at seventeen.”
“You can enlist at that age? Don't you get your physical exam at eighteen?”
“If you meet certain conditions and apply to go early, you can go even earlier if the Commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration approves. But that was a long time ago, so I don't know if it's still like that. You should look into it.”
It was a story from my previous life that I didn't remember much.
Maybe that officer dragged me to the firing range right before my final leave because I was an orphan.
“Oh... are you still in touch with that League friend?”
“No, he’s dead.”
“Oh, dear... How...?”
“He was dragged to the firing range right before his final leave and got caught in a shooting accident. It probably didn't even make the news. Because he was an orphan.”
“But how does an orphan go to the military... Ah, sorry. I shouldn't be asking things like this.”
“Back then, if you became an orphan after graduating middle school, they didn't give you any slack.”
Anyway, today’s filming with Kang Seok-won ended well.
I was changing clothes in the temporary container room assigned to me for styling when Jang Ji-hye walked in.
She looked around suspiciously and cautiously, then whispered to me even though we were the only ones there.
“Dad told me to tell you. The operation is in three days.”
“...!”
“But what does that mean?”
“Ah, it’s just... something.”
“Seeing as it’s a secret even from me, it must be some grand plan. But I’m fine. I’ll pass.”
“Huh?”
“I know. You’re trying to give me a surprise cameo or something. I’m good, so you tell Dad yourself, Yu-jin.”
“...”
“And make sure to add that I don’t want to force my face into my dad’s work by using my friend. Then slip in the idea that since I’m so thoughtful, he should give me some allowance, acting like it was your idea. Got it?”
“...”
Jang Ji-hye was completely misunderstanding.
But for the sake of security, I couldn't tell her the truth.
The "operation day" PD Jang mentioned.
It meant we were filming my exit scene—the final moments of the Sword Spirit, Yeon Si-ho.
「Yu-jin, we need to minimize the on-set personnel for this scene for security reasons, so I can’t guarantee when the schedule will open up. I’ll let you know when the timing comes, so keep it a secret from your family...」
But he could have just texted me; was there a reason to send the message secretly through his daughter?
‘Ah, I’m nervous.’
Yeon Si-ho’s end appears in the final episode of the drama.
Since we were still in the early stages of filming, I thought we’d shoot it much later, but I didn't expect it to come so soon.
I wasn't quite mentally prepared yet.
*
Eventually, the day of the final scene arrived.
I spent the whole day at school pretending everything was normal in front of Jang Ji-hye.
I kept it a total secret from my mom and brother and cleared my schedule.
“Ji-hye, I’m going to be at the PC bang until 10 PM tonight, so go home by yourself.”
“Huh? What are you going to do at the PC bang alone?”
“I’m a sub for a League scrim. I’m playing as a ringer for the pros' practice match.”
“Ah, like a boxing sparring partner.”
And I used Jang Ji-hye as an excuse for my mom.
[Me] I have to finish a group project at Ji-hye’s house today, so don’t come pick me up.
[Mom] Then should I pick you up from Ji-hye’s house tonight?
[Me] No, no.
[Me] The PD said he’d drop me off. Don’t worry.
When school ended, I sneaked into the bathroom, changed my clothes, and came out.
I stuffed my hair into a baseball cap and wore a mask as I headed to the rendezvous point.
The vehicle for the promised secret operation was waiting for me...
‘No, no! You told me not to stand out, so how can you bring a car like that!’
Writer Jung Yoon-ah was leaning against the hood of a red Ferrari, waiting for me.
She recognized me from a distance and waved broadly. I hurried my steps.
“Get in.”
“If you bring something like this, it stands out too much.”
“But out of all my babies, this one stands out the least.”
“This is the car that stands out the least?”
Do drama writers really make that much money?
As I looked at her in renewed surprise, Jung Yoon-ah smirked as she opened the driver’s side door.
“I said it stands out the least; I didn't say it was the cheapest.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ll introduce you properly later. Let’s leave it as a surprise.”
This person refers to introducing her cars.
As I buckled my seatbelt, the magnificent exhaust note that would make any man’s heart race and the intense road vibrations gave me a sense of ecstasy.
Feeling good, I closed my eyes slightly and savored this extreme flavor, so different from the cozy ride of a Rolls-Royce.
“The PD went to great lengths to bring in an expert today. They’re going to change your hair color with temporary special hair painting.”
“Ah, so that’s why you didn't mention dyeing it.”
When we reached the outskirts road leading out of Seoul toward the filming site, Jung Yoon-ah suddenly spoke.
“My Führer, are you ready to go turn white?”
Führer? Purée? Like the French dish Mom makes sometimes?
“Writer, why the sudden mention of mashed potatoes? My mom is really good at making that.”
“I guess kids these days don’t know this. It’s fine. It’s better not to know things like this.”
Jung Yoon-ah laughed.
“I’m going to step on it. Hold on tight.”