A Gun Versus No Gun
When a person with a gun faces someone without one,
most people assume the person holding the gun will win.
But that assumption is wrong.
The 21-foot rule.
According to this principle, a distance of approximately 6.4 meters is the minimum "safe" range needed to reliably fire a gun without unexpected interference.
Within that range, the outcome is unpredictable.
In short, holding a gun doesn’t guarantee victory.
And if the person with the gun isn’t a trained professional, like a police officer, but a mere criminal?
And if the distance between the two is a mere three meters?
The result is anyone’s guess.
"Shit!"
Three seconds before the fight broke out,
Ji Hyuntae—caught off guard—watched the Hero charge toward him without hesitation.
Anyone else would have been scared and tried to run.
But not this man.
Without a second's hesitation, he was closing in fast.
Because of that, Ji Hyuntae’s aim wavered.
He tried to fire at the last second—
Bang!
Too late.
Crack.
The Hero’s knuckle landed squarely on Ji Hyuntae’s forearm, forcing the gun barrel skyward.
The follow-up strikes flowed seamlessly.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of bones fracturing under knuckles.
Even soft strikes produced loud echoes, showcasing the protective gear’s function.
But—
"Is this even protective gear?"
Ji Hyuntae—no, Ju Seonghwan—was in agony.
He bitterly regretted saying earlier that the gear could handle stronger hits.
"Is he even human?"
The punches from this Olympic gold medalist surpassed the realm of ordinary humans.
It was like being slammed repeatedly by a sledgehammer.
Even with the protective gear absorbing 60% of the impact,
it was easy to understand why most opponents got KO’d within a minute.
How could anyone endure this?
"No, I can’t let the pain distract me. I have to match the choreography perfectly."
Back in Traitor: Seeds of Corruption, he and Donghu had been on the same side.
Now, acting as enemies was overwhelming.
The tempo was far too fast.
Clang!
The gun scraped against the knuckles.
Close-quarters combat.
Even though the gun was useless at this range,
he couldn’t let it go.
All it would take was one well-aimed shot.
Just one, and everything would turn around.
"Who the hell sent you, huh?!"
He was desperate.
He needed to stall for time, just long enough to fire.
"Why are you doing this all of a sudden?!"
"Do I need a reason to kill criminals?"
Because you did wrong.
And now you’re being punished.
As the Hero answered, his gaze burned with madness.
Ji Hyuntae—someone who had killed many—knew exactly what that meant.
"You psycho... You’re just like us."
Those eyes didn’t belong to someone seeking justice.
He didn’t care about lofty ideals or righteous punishment.
He just needed an excuse.
An excuse to beat someone to death.
"I’m not dying to a bastard like this!"
Fueled by sheer determination,
his desperation seemed to pay off.
Finally, the gun was aimed directly at the Hero.
Bang!
The gun fired without hesitation,
and simultaneously—
Crunch!
The Hero’s knuckles smashed into Ji Hyuntae’s face.
"Cut!"
And with that, the shoot was over.
"Holy shit... that was terrifying."
Ju Seonghwan stared at the knuckles in front of him, resisting the urge to collapse from sheer relief.
If this weren’t a movie, if that punch had really connected—
"Donghu, thank you for sparing me."
He didn’t even want to imagine the alternative.
*****
After Successfully Wrapping Up the One-Take Shoot
We ended up filming the one-take sequence multiple times.
From trying different camera angles to adjusting the placement of props and reworking the choreography,
it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we spent the entire day shooting nothing but one-take scenes.
And just like that, the time flew by. It was already 3 a.m.
"Great work, everyone!"
Finally, the day’s shooting schedule was complete.
"You didn’t overdo it, did you? Are you really okay?"
"Yes, I’m totally fine."
"As expected... I guess being a gold medalist comes with incredible stamina."
Director Lee Seong-deok kept checking on me even after filming had ended.
He seemed concerned because of how many takes we’d done for the one-take scenes.
But honestly, I felt completely fine.
Maybe it was because I’d been in far more demanding matches in the past.
For now, it was still manageable.
"I’m dying here, Donghu. Let’s grab some drinks."
In contrast to me, Ju Seonghwan looked utterly drained.
With a soft pat,
he threw an arm around my shoulder, miming the act of drinking soju.
"Days like this call for a drink, don’t they? Come on, let’s celebrate! Just enough to get a nice buzz, you know what I mean?"
"Seonghwan, you can barely walk. Why are you talking about drinking?"
"That’s exactly why I need a drink. Right now, it’d be like medicinal wine, medicinal!"
"But your wife’s here to pick you up."
"...My wife loves me so much. If the shoot runs late, she comes to get me."
Seonghwan glanced over at his wife’s car, visible in the distance, and hung his head in resignation.
"Donghu, listen to me. Put off getting married for as long as possible. It’s great, but trust me, later is better."
"Uh, what? Where’s this coming from?"
"It’s really great, but save it for last. Like eating strawberry shortcake, you get what I mean?"
"Not really. Should I ask your wife about it?"
"I just realized why my wife likes you so much. Forget it, you punk."
Waving me off,
Seonghwan removed his arm from my shoulder and trudged straight toward his wife’s car.
"He can barely walk, and he’s talking about an afterparty."
Still, my thoughts lingered on something else.
"This is what they call an A-grade production, huh."
The story itself was incredibly simple.
But the action sequences elevated it to a completely different level.
"Shooting a one-take scene this long? That’s incredible. Once the post-production enhancements are added, it’s going to be insane."
"You’re not wrong."
Even Seokho, who had seen countless film shoots, was visibly impressed.
"Honestly, this might become the number one film in the country!"
"Wait, what?"
His sudden declaration caught me off guard.
"Number one? Really?"
"Why not? Honestly, it’s got what it takes! This movie’s going to be a total crowd-pleaser!"
He wasn’t wrong.
A "crowd-pleaser" was an apt description.
A story about taking down villains untouchable even by the police—that was the core of True Hero.
Monstrous criminals with no remorse.
Human traffickers who sold people like cattle.
Corrupt cops, and more.
All of them met their gruesome ends at the hands of the Hero.
"And the way those deaths are portrayed—through one-take or long-take action sequences—is so visceral."
Number one in the country?
I couldn’t help but feel some excitement at the idea.
"Even as a B-grade production, it hit ten million viewers."
If a B-grade movie could achieve that,
how much could an A-grade one accomplish?
The time to open the lid and find out was fast approaching.
*****
Smooth Sailing
That phrase came to mind so naturally.
The recent schedule had been nothing short of seamless.
The filming for True Hero was nearly finished.
Our Fake Wedding was proceeding without a hitch.
And since Shall We Get Married? was a reality observation show, there wasn’t much to stress about.
Before I knew it, it was late March.
『Shall We Get Married? Viewership Hits 13%! Exceeds Its Peak!』
『The Ultimate Couple? The Dongrin Couple Showcases Adorable Affection!』
Shall We Get Married? continued its steady rise, solidifying its presence in the industry.
"Impressive."
As I scrolled through the articles, I couldn’t help but feel the popularity of the show.
"Now that I think about it, didn’t we plan to record a couple song?"
This wasn’t something suggested by the Shall We Get Married? team.
It had actually come from Jaerin’s agency.
Their proposal was that releasing a duet could help boost recognition for both of us.
It was a suggestion with no downsides for me.
"I can sing decently enough."
Thanks to the talents I’d gained from Jaejae, I wasn’t just proficient at piano—I could sing too.
There were no real obstacles in my way.
"Didn’t they say the show starts airing next month?"
After much schedule coordination,
Our Fake Wedding was slated to premiere around April Fool’s Day.
They’d chosen the timing to emphasize the “fake” aspect of the marriage.
I recalled that this was the reason for the April release date.
"True Hero is set to release between October and November."
If everything went according to plan,
it seemed like this year would unfold without any major complications.
Just as I was thinking how smoothly everything was progressing—
Brrrr. Brrrr.
My phone rang.
"Hello?"
I answered the call.
“Donghu! The Shall We Get Married? team suggested a trip to a hot spring in Japan. What do you think? They’re even talking about mixed bathing!”
"What?!"
I was caught off guard.
"Mixed bathing? Like, naked?"
Obviously, that wouldn’t be the case.
They’d probably arrange something wholesome, like mixed bathing in swimsuits.
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Still, did the Shall We Get Married? team have the budget for something like that?
It wasn’t just a matter of Korea—renting out a private hot spring in Japan for mixed bathing wasn’t cheap.
Could they really afford to cover it all?
“Apparently, with the ratings skyrocketing, they’ve been given the green light to go big. So, what do you think?”
"I’m fine with it, but isn’t this going to be an issue for the idol side? Don’t they have to worry about managing their image?"
“Uh... that’s true. But apparently, it’s already been approved on their end.”
"What?!"
So Jaerin’s team had already signed off on her doing a mixed bathing scene?
"Oh, in that case, I don’t see any problem."
“Really? You’re okay with it?”
"Yeah."
If Jaerin’s side was fine with it, I had no objections.
Besides, I’d been planning to revisit Japan whenever I had the chance.
"Why am I even doing the 10th anniversary Oz production?"
The project was considered one of the worst 10th-anniversary works.
What did they expect me to gain from it?
"Am I supposed to change the outcome somehow?"
Doing a tokusatsu project at a time when my market value was at its peak...
There was only one way to find out the truth.
I’d have to confront it head-on.
There was no other way.
*****
At the Same Time
"I’ll let it slide that you unilaterally chose your muse. This is a first-time offense, after all. But do you really think that Asian has what it takes to appear in a fashion show?"
At a Louis Vuitton meeting,
Kim Donghu’s appointment as a muse by designer Kim John had put him in a difficult position.