While Kim Donghu was immersed in the brutal and violent fragments of the world for his role, others were caught up in a different kind of chaos.
The phones kept ringing.
"You said it would work, you bastard!" "Bastard? Are you calling your senior a bastard?" "Yes, I did! Now what? Your face is all over the internet! Your identity's exposed!"
It was Park Seokgu and Kim Sansu who had posted the initial allegations about Kim Donghu's school violence.
"Why isn't he falling like other celebrities? And why is his response so fast?!"
Kim Sansu, the instigator of the whole affair, was panicking. Normally, such accusations would lead to a downward spiral, but Kim Donghu managed to flip public opinion in just three hours.
Moreover,
"Kim Donghu committed school violence? Nonsense, testimonies from Shinbit Middle teachers: 'He was diligent and kind, a former class president.'" "People don’t change. Why would the main culprit of school violence act like a victim?" "'Just exercising legitimate rights,' live testimony from the developers of Happy Note!" "Strong support from fellow actors: 'Actor Kim Donghu could never do that'" "Our youngest must be protected, veteran actor Jang Geonho: 'There are people maliciously trying to degrade others, it's really low quality.'" "Why did Dispatch stay quiet during the school violence controversy, and start rowing with support articles? What's the reason?" "Daily Happy's editor-in-chief Gilgildong showing strong affection from the start: 'We've been on Kim Donghu's side from the beginning.'"
Public opinion was fervently defending Kim Donghu.
"See, I was right, physiognomy is a science." "(The most handsome in the world, a muse for Louis Vuitton, sponsored by Richard Mille)" "(Drawing a 40% viewership rate from a single show)" "(Repeatedly rated as the most perfect face in physiognomy studies)" "Kim Donghu has been going to the gym since he was young, he would've been exposed if he was violent towards ordinary people." "Agree, a gold medalist's fists being used like a thug’s, it'd be impossible not to hear about it."
Even those who initially threw stones were now joining his side. They tried to delete their posts, but it was too late.
"What's an archive? Why won’t this disappear!" "It's all been captured, it's going up on YouTube!"
Park Seokgu and Kim Sansu were terrified by the continuous ringing of their phones. They couldn't turn them off, fearing they'd lose track of the situation.
"What do we do now, is there no way out!?" "Bastard, you made it seem like everything would work out, and now look where we are!" "You keep swearing at your senior! You want to get hit?" "Hit me! Please, just hit me! Maybe I can pin this on you instead!" "You're insane!"
Their shallow camaraderie shattered. A grim reality loomed.
"Veritas: 'No mercy. Kim Donghu is Veritas itself, this was a declaration of war against us.'" "CEO Choi Seokho vows: 'We will sternly govern to ensure no one else does such things.' Plans to assemble a luxurious team of lawyers!"
There was no turning back. Reality seemed impossibly distant.
"[Park Seokgu, you no longer need to show up.] "[Sansu, don't come to the gym, or you're dead to me.]"
It took just 3 seconds to be fired from their jobs and gyms, faster than reading the firing texts.
【Breaking News! The reason police appeared at Shinbit Middle? Let's uncover Kim Donghu's actions!】
Now, YouTube was revealing everything about the past, from attempts at gang violence to near-criminal records overlooked because they were students.
Everything was being exposed.
"Huh?" "Ah."
Park Seokgu and Kim Sansu suddenly looked at the ground. Everything was pitch black. This was the beginning of their downfall.
Meanwhile, Kim Donghu,
"Wow, this one's tough."
He emerged from immersing himself in the script, digesting the experiences within it.
****
As the protagonist of "True Hero," Hero is a character made more commercial than his previous role in the independent film "Hero." He's become more brutal, more thorough, and colder—a portrayal of ruthless justice that only Kim Donghu could deliver, at least in the eyes of director Lee Seong-deok.
Whirring.
The camera moves, about ten seconds before shooting starts.
Director Lee Seong-deok watches Kim Donghu, standing in front of the shabby warehouse, with keen interest.
'That innocent-looking face.'
He's curious about how it will transform 180 degrees the moment the camera rolls and what Donghu will bring to this action scene.
The script is deceptively simple.
Hero subdues human traffickers.
The choreography was all improvised, despite having been rehearsed. That’s why so much money was spent on the stunts—to perfectly match Kim Donghu’s action capabilities.
A gulp of tension, then immediately,
"Action!"
The cue for filming starts.
Bang!
As soon as the word is out, Kim Donghu—no, Hero—forcefully kicks open the warehouse door.
'Huh?'
Director Lee Seong-deok is startled. That door wasn't a prop.
It was just an old, rusted real door. And he kicked it open as if it were made of paper?
'How strong is he?'
Shocked but refocused, Lee Seong-deok concentrates again on Hero’s action.
"What are you!" "Me? A hero."
The contrast on the screen is striking.
While the interior of the warehouse is brightly lit due to long-term storage, the backdrop behind Hero, who kicked in the door, is dark with late night.
"Are you crazy, what is this... where do you think you are?!"
A young-looking trafficker approaches Hero.
Crunch.
Then, the baseball in Hero's hand,
Whoosh.
Cuts through the air fiercely. Realism is key, so even though the ball is caught by someone wearing triple-layered protection, the sound it makes seems visceral.
"Was that a gunshot?"
From here, it’s all pure improvisation. How will he move? While pondering this,
Clang!
Hero’s baseball shatters all the lights overhead.
'Ah, that’s why!'
When the lights broke, Director Lee understood why Donghu had asked before the shoot:
-Can we switch to cheaper lights? -What? -Just regular ones from a lighting store, covered for safety... in case they break. -They'll break? -Yes.
He had wondered why but decided it was better to just follow Donghu's suggestion.
'Should have just listened to Actor Kim Donghu!'
Such staging was unexpected.
The bright warehouse slowly darkens. An abrupt blackout.
Only enough light remains to continue shooting, and Hero quickly moves into the warehouse.
Thump!
Right upon entry, without hesitation, he grabs someone nearby and punches them directly.
The most efficient movements for subduing someone. Even the stuntmen momentarily forget this is just acting.
'What, what is this.' 'It's terrifying.'
Their eyes.
The stuntmen see the look in Hero's eyes—they genuinely see us as human traffickers. Eyes filled with dreadful disdain and disgust.
Swoosh.
Hero disappears from view again. A classic one-against-many, using the environment, reducing numbers one by one.
"Ah, aaaahhhh!" "Stick together! You idiots, stick together!"
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The traffickers' leader, played by Ju Seong-hwan, is also in a panic.
'This much?'
The immersion is more intense than what he saw in "Traitor." Back then, it was like watching a sword master, but now,
'A demon.'
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Though it's rehearsed action, hitting just the protective gear,
The sound makes people flinch.
"Ah, ahhhhhh!!!"
It forces unplanned screams. The surroundings grow darker. Friends diminish before one can even adjust to the dark.
All these elements together invoke terror, whispering in your ear to scream.
"You, what are you! Why are you doing this!" "There must be a reason for this!"
Eventually, even the traffickers who were meant to be killed unasked begin to question Hero.
Why are you killing us? Why are you doing this?
"You, your family here? I, I'm sorry, my mistake!"
They apologize unexpectedly. Begging for their lives.
People who once traded lives for money now naturally kneel, begging for mercy.
But,
"I'm here to punish."
As if he never intended to spare anyone, Hero's knuckle brutally connects with a temple.
Bang!
A person collapses instantly.
Crackle, crack.
A belatedly breaking light flickers back on.
"Ah, ah..."
A horrific scene unfolds before Ju Seong-hwan. Bodies twisted grotesquely.
"Are you the ringleader?" "Th-that, um..."
He forgets his lines, paralyzed with fear.
"Cut!"
Director Lee quickly gives the OK signal, only then realizing,
"...One-take?"
That everything was done in one go. That seemed impossible.
An action sequence that lasts about ten minutes conducted in one-take should normally exhaust an actor, but,
"If there's any lack, I'm ready to go again immediately."
Kim Donghu looks too composed as he says this.
"Let's take a break, Donghu."
It was terrifying in a different way.