Chapter 167:
Chapter 167
Z-Day. (2)
Eom Jihwan, a member of the boy group Nine Seven, received a sponsorship offer from his agency’s CEO.
“Jihwan, let’s make it big. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s from Cheonghwa Group.”
Nine Seven debuted only two months after Awi, but Jihwan, the visual member of the group, had always thought that he would become a star with his natural good looks. He was confident about his career in the entertainment industry.
However, as time passed, he realized that his group was not as popular as he had hoped. He was anxious when he got an offer that was too good to refuse.
“I’ll do it.”
It was a proposal from a large corporation that he would have never dreamed of before. All he had to do was to have a meal with someone. Jihwan agreed without hesitation.
“Jihwan, you’re not that high-profile, but I’ll try to talk to the VIP for you.”
He felt more ashamed of being someone’s replacement than of accepting a sponsor. His pride was hurt by the fact that someone had turned down the offer before him.
“Anyway, it’s all for my benefit.”
He thought that the person who rejected the offer was foolish. He rationalized that it was something that everyone did secretly in the industry, and that he had no choice if he wanted to succeed.
“It’s killing the mood.”
“They don’t have good chemistry, do they?”
The staff members whispered as they watched Ian and Kim Minjae’s shooting.
“Am I his substitute?”
He looked at Ian’s face, who was immersed in his acting. He couldn’t help but notice. The moment he took over the advertisement that Ian had done, he heard the industry insiders murmuring in his ears.
Jihwan bit his lower lip. If only Cheonghwa Group had contacted him sooner.
‘That could have been my spot…’
Eom Ji-hwan had landed a sponsor and shot many commercials. He was filled with newfound confidence and vain expectations.
‘He’s good.’
He didn’t want to admit it, but it wasn’t just a ‘he’s good’ level of acting.
‘No, he’s much better than I thought…’
He had encountered Ian a few times on music shows, but the Ian standing in the center of the set right now was not the same Ian he knew from the music shows. He had completely immersed himself in his role, becoming a different person, Kim Jun-hee.
“Cut! Okay!”
As the director’s cut sign rang out, Ian quickly changed his expression and relaxed his hand. His heavy and fast fist stopped right in front of Kim Min-jae’s nose. Kim Min-jae felt his heart pounding in surprise. In the end, he collapsed on the spot with his legs giving out.
“Wow…”
“Wow, I didn’t hit you hard… Are you okay, hyung?”
“Huh? Uh… Hey, you’re really good.”
Ian chuckled and helped Kim Min-jae up by his hand. The two, who had received an okay sign in one go, stood side by side and looked at the monitor.
“Is it not too weak, director?”
“No, it’s perfect right now. We’ll shoot K’s appearance scene separately anyway.”
Ian examined the video from various angles of the acting he had just done and nodded his head. Park, the director, paused the video at one point.
“Min-jae, you were good here. Your scared acting was really realistic.”
“No, I was really scared. What kind of eyes are those, so fierce.”
The synergy with the co-star was also important, and Ian was able to focus on his immersion thanks to Kim Min-jae’s acting.
Park and Ian laughed at Kim Min-jae’s words, taking them as a joke.
“You’re very humble, brother.”
“Let’s go shoot the next scene.”
Seriously…. Kim Min-jae laughed hysterically.
* * *
Nausin, who had been knocked out by Kim Jun-hee, was suddenly awakened by the sound of dripping water.
“Ah, Tsuu….”
Nausin wrinkled her nose and made a face. The slap from Kim Jun-hee stung. As he touched his nose out of habit, he noticed that his arms were tied to the chair.
“What the….”
Staring at his bound hands and feet, Nausin twisted his hands a few times, then shook his whole body, trying to free himself from the bindings.
“Are you awake?”
“What, what?”
In the midst of the commotion, Kim Jun-hee opened the door and walked in. The door wasn’t greased, so a creaking sound rang in her ears.
“Where am I….”
“Don’t be so scared.”
Kim chuckled. But his eyes weren’t smiling. His stare was penetrating, and Nausin lowered her head. An underground room with a single flickering light bulb, and only one door through which Kim had entered. The heavy atmosphere made Nausin swallow hard.
“Fuck….”
He cried. He’d been kidnapped by a zombie, and he was dead. The zombie in front of him seemed to be able to speak, so Nausin pleaded.
“Can’t you just let me go home?” he pleaded.
“I’ll just check this out and let you go.”
Kim Jun-hee slammed the door, making Na Woo-shin flinch.
‘He doesn’t listen to reason at all…’
A man entered the room at Kim Jun-hee’s signal. He was holding a syringe in his hand. His name in the drama was Kim Kang-hyuk. He played the role of K’s right-hand man, which was taken by Eom Ji-hwan.
“Is this the kid who got bitten?”
Kim Jun-hee nodded. Na Woo-shin had been out of his mind since then. Kim Kang-hyuk also had pale skin and wore a mask on his face.
“Shh… It’s okay.”
Do you think it’s okay to be here in a zombie den? Na Woo-shin glared at Kim Jun-hee, who was trying to calm him down.
“Our Woo-shin is very scared. Calm down.”
“Fuck, do I look calm to you?”
It was a matter of life and death. Na Woo-shin screamed and shook his body violently. Kim Kang-hyuk shrugged his shoulders.
“Why bother? Just let me poke him once and see what happens.”
“No.”
Kim Jun-hee shook his head slightly and leaned against the wall. His movement was strangely inhuman and unnatural.
“What, what do you mean by poke…?”
Kim Kang-hyuk was holding a syringe, but it seemed that he meant something else by poking. On the surgical tray, there were various sizes of knives. Tears welled up in Na Woo-shin’s eyes.
“Woo-shin, you worked at Hwa-un Pharmaceuticals, right?”
“Hwa-un Pharmaceuticals?”
Kim Jun-hee’s words made Kim Kang-hyuk stiffen. Hwa-un Pharmaceuticals, a government-affiliated company that specialized in zombie vaccines.
The zombies were barely keeping their sanity because of the vaccine. The company that sold the vaccine at a ridiculously high price had also angered the zombies, but the humans did not care about the zombies’ voices. In this society, the company was a necessary evil for the zombies who wanted to survive.
Kim Jun-hee waved his employee ID card from Naowin. The logo of Hwaun Pharmaceuticals made Kim Gang-hyuk frown.
“Hwaun Pharmaceuticals, you bast…”
“Cut! Hold on a second.”
The director stopped Eom Ji-hwan from saying his line.
“Ji-hwan, can you come here for a moment?”
“Yes!”
Ian approached Kim Min-jae, who was tied up. Kim Min-jae’s wrists were swollen and red.
“Doesn’t it hurt from the rubbing?”
“He’ll be here soon.”
“I’m also suffocating from this mask. Do you want me to loosen the rope a bit?”
They ignored their chatter and Eom Ji-hwan hardened his expression. He felt his pride wounded by the fact that the director only called him.
“Kim Gang-hyuk is a character that confuses the viewers, you know that, right? You must have analyzed him thoroughly.”
“…Yes.”
Eom Ji-hwan sensed a thorn in the director’s words.
Kim Gang-hyuk was supposed to be the right-hand man of the wanted criminal K, but he had a radical personality that contrasted with Kim Jun-hee, who was calm and rational. He had to deceive the viewers into thinking that he was K.
“But you’re not giving enough weight to your role. Right now, only Min-jae and Ian have presence on the screen.”
“…”
Eom Ji-hwan looked at the footage on the monitor.
Kim Min-jae portrayed the person cornered on the cliff well, and Ian had a strong presence even as he stood in the corner and delivered his lines smoothly.
In between them, he felt like he had no presence at all. Eom Ji-hwan bit his lower lip.
“What should I do?”
“First of all… forget about Kim Gang-hyuk and think of K. We need to create a smokescreen.”
Director Park Pyo-hyun was famous for his innate directing sense and his ability to direct actors well.
‘This is such a hard-earned opportunity…’
Kim Gang-hyuk was a role that Eom Ji-hwan had obtained not by the power of Cheonghwa Group, but by his own efforts.
Eom Ji-hwan clenched his fists. This was not the time to be prideful. If he let his guard down, he would be overshadowed by the two lead actors and fail to get any attention.
After a short acting directing session between the director and Eom Ji-hwan, the shooting resumed.
***
“Hwawoon Pharmaceuticals, huh? Fucking elite, aren’t you? You’re living well on our money, right?”
“Just draw some blood.”
Kim Jun-hee smirked at Na-woo-shin. Kim Gang-hyuk stopped abruptly and glared at Kim Jun-hee.
Kim Jun-hee didn’t avert his gaze and locked eyes with Kim Gang-hyuk. As the two seemed ready to fight, Kim Jun-hee lowered his voice and warned him.
“Don’t do it.”
“Do we really need to draw blood?”
“Kim Gang-hyuk.”
Kim Gang-hyuk stabbed Na-woo-shin’s thigh with a knife. The fake blood bag that was set up beforehand burst, and Na-woo-shin screamed.
Kim Gang-hyuk laughed wickedly, using his scream as background music. Madness flickered in his expression.
Kim Jun-hee sighed deeply and looked tired.
“You look like you’re ready to clean up the mess again.”
Na-woo-shin’s scream was cut off as he lost consciousness.
Kim Jun-hee, who was leaning against the wall, checked Na-woo-shin’s thigh. When Kim Gang-hyuk pulled out the knife, blood gushed out without stopping.
“No way.”
The two zombies, who had been looking at him with hopeful eyes, quickly changed to disappointed expressions.
“Fuck!”
Kim Gang-hyuk turned around and kicked the wall.
They were trying to resist the zombie virus, but they were also looking for a human who had the advantages of a zombie.
When they heard that their colleague had bitten an innocent human, they went to the scene to dispose of the body, because they would be killed if they were caught.
But there was no body, and they found out that the bitten human was alive and working. They thought they had finally found the human they had been looking for, and they were filled with hope.
“What are you doing? Let’s go, call the body disposal team.”
Kim Gang-hyuk opened the door. But Kim Jun-hee didn’t give up. He stood in front of Na-woo-shin and tried to find any signs of change.
“Wait.”
He was examining Na-woo-shin’s stabbed thigh and tore his jeans with his hand.
It was not in the script. It was purely Ian’s ad-lib, and he used his strength to rip the tough jeans.
Na-woo-shin’s bare skin was exposed under the torn jeans. On the camera screen, it was covered with fake blood and smooth without any wounds, but Ian saw the wound as an afterimage.
“Look at this.”
The wound was healing.
Kim Jun-hee and Kim Gang-hyuk exchanged meaningful glances.
“Cut! Okay! Good job!”
Director Park clapped his hands. Kim Min-jae, who had been lying like a corpse, relaxed his shoulders. The staff hurried over and untied the rope that bound him.
“I almost opened my eyes in shock. Give me a heads-up next time.”
“Ah, it just happened…”
Ian smiled awkwardly. Kim Min-jae’s one thigh was torn. Ian, who was immersed in the role of Kim Jun-hee, suddenly felt like ripping Kim Min-jae’s pants, and he did it right away.
“Did I overact too much?”
“Ripping the pants? It was great. We’ll do some CG work, though.”
Director Park praised Ian’s ad-lib. With this scene, he could show the physical characteristics of the zombies as well.
The three actors stared at the monitor, looking for areas to improve. Director Park pointed out the parts that bothered him on the monitor.
“Let’s reshoot this section.”
“Yes.”
Kim Min-jae changed his pants to a new one, and Ian took off his mask and drank some water. Only Eom Ji-hwan was nervously biting his nails.
After that, the shooting of the same scene went on for a long time. It was a problem caused by the poor acting chemistry, and most of it was due to Eom Ji-hwan’s NG.
‘I was the only one who made NG.’
Eom Ji-hwan clenched his fists.
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