小火星

It was momentary. Kim Ryu-jin realized he was falling, tripping over the dense grass. His body naturally inclined towards the ground. His movement was so smooth and gentle, just like Kim Ryu-jin in ‘Exorcism’.

However.

“Uh.”

The one who sighed deeply inside after barely maintaining his balance was not Kim Ryu-jin, but Kang Woojin.

‘Damn, how embarrassing.’

It was a mistake. A mistake can happen to anyone, and it lurks everywhere. It clung to Kang Woojin in this critical situation. This damn thing! Was it because of the pressure of the first shoot of his first leading role? Or because of the nervousness? Or because it was his first time shooting in a real setting? Or for no reason at all, he didn’t know.

Of course, even a veteran actor of 30 years has NG (No Good) takes.

Whether it’s breaking into laughter or messing up a line, for an actor, an NG is very common. But, an NG is part of the process towards an OK, not the result. However, Kang Woojin did not fully understand this concept yet. He may look like a monstrous actor to others, but in essence, he is a rookie of only one month.

Therefore.

‘Did I screw this up?’

Kang Woojin, who was slowly straightening his bent knees, got slightly serious. He even recalled the pretentious attitude he had been maintaining. How did I get here? Is everything ruined because of mere grass? That would be unfair.

Woojin indifferently looked down at his knees. Then he raised his head and looked at the villa.

With his heart trembling slightly, as if caught stealing, he buried an appropriate amount of tension in his face. There were cameras right next to him and behind him, after all. It felt like CCTV cameras were everywhere.

‘What should I do? I fell quite dramatically. Will the director give me a signal? Should I wait?’

What was interesting was.

“……”

No shout came from anywhere. Just silence. It was quiet, just with a distinctive tranquil atmosphere of the shooting site. Huh? That’s strange. Why is it so quiet? It wasn’t a movement that was in the script. However, Director Shin Dong-chun did not shout NG. For some reason, both cameras did not stop shooting Kang Woojin either.

The reason was simple. Director Shin Dong-chun was currently.

‘Kim Ryu-jin is looking at the villa, his eyes full of worries. In the script, it was a brief part, but I didn’t expect him to express it so lingeringly.’

He was pouring praises to Kang Woojin in the monitor while swallowing his saliva. Of course, Kang Woojin didn’t know this. But he sensed it. He didn’t know why, but.

‘Let’s keep going, and I’ll find out.’

He thought he would get scolded after everything was done. Hence, Kang Woojin.

-Swish.

He quickly brought back ‘Kim Ryu-jin’. This process was becoming quite familiar to Woojin.

He recalled the lines, which he seemed to have memorized thousands of times thanks to the void space. Kim Ryu-jin’s feelings and senses spread out through his veins. It must be the ability of the void space, but it was getting smoother and smoother. As he repeats reading (experiencing) the role, the world of the characters becomes more solid, and the time it takes to bring out everything about them decreases as he acts.

The world of the role given by void space is becoming Kang Woojin’s possession.

Kang Woojin quickly transformed into Kim Ryu-jin, who is engraved and implanted. Suddenly, the ordinary villa in front of him looked like a haunted house of ghosts. The chill enveloping his body, the faint spreading fear, the horror mixed with his breath.

It was after seeing a body being carried away.

Kim Ryu-jin’s quiet breathing became distorted into a deflated noise. That noise began to piston. Inhalation and exhalation were speeding up. Kim Ryu-jin felt his body was heavy, as if it was nailed to the grass floor.

His body was resisting.

“Hoo-”

A short deep breath. Then, the camera that had been filming Kim Ryu-jin’s side moved to his front. The focus changed to a frontal bust shot. Hence, on the monitor that Director Shin Dong-chun and Hong Hye-yeon and others were watching, Kim Ryu-jin appeared closer. His face was filled with agony.

His facial muscles were flat, but his eye movements were quick.

Hong Hye-yeon covered her mouth with one hand as she watched Kim Ryu-jin in the monitor. It was neither admiration nor exclamation. It was awe.

‘He’s scared. But he can’t turn back. Although he’s clumsy, his curiosity is strong. After tripping, he’s even captured the character’s charm because of the lifelikeness.’

It was acting that fulfilled the director’s direction to realistically portray fear. The current Kim Ryu-jin was.

At that moment.

-Thump.

Kim Ryu-jin, who had been standing still, barely took a step forward. He had made a decision. The reason he worked as a ‘detective’ was that he found pleasure in ‘seeing on behalf of others.’ Surprisingly, people often confide secrets in strangers.

Especially when there is a professional relationship between them, trust is amplified

Kim Ryu-jin enjoyed looking at the hidden sides of others more than money. But this time, it was murder. He wasn’t sure exactly how, but how often can one see such a scene and situation in one’s life? That became the driving force for Kim Ryu-jin to move forward.

Becoming a ‘witness’ was a surprisingly rare experience.

Before he knew it, Kim Ryu-jin’s pace quickened.

-Thump thump.

It didn’t take long to reach the front door of the villa, and Kim Ryu-jin muttered softly as he slowly raised his hand.

“I’m going crazy, damn it. How can I endure this?”

But then.

-Thud.

The front door was locked. Damn. Soon, Kim Ryu-jin glanced at the camera next to him. Of course, he wasn’t looking at the camera. He was checking the movements of the wife who had driven away in a car. Fortunately, it was quiet. Instinctively, Kim Ryu-jin checked the large windows.

And then.

-Creak.

He found a window opening. At the same time, the smell of the inside of the villa that had been contained was inhaled into Kim Ryu-jin’s nose.

“It’s unnecessarily nice and crazy.”

It smelled good for a place where someone had died. As if the villa itself was saying it was not at fault. Kim Ryu-jin, who briefly clicked his tongue, stopped as he was about to climb over the window. Inside and outside. This window’s boundary line felt like the line between life and death. Kim Ryu-jin moistened his mouth. Because his tongue felt dry.

But he enters.

The moment the boundaries of his life become vague, one camera follows Kim Ryu-jin, and another stays outside the window. Bust shot and full shot. Kim Ryu-jin quietly scanned the living room of the villa. Other than the leftover dishes, it was a normal atmosphere.

Director Shin Dong-chun, who was watching this through the monitor, decided inwardly.

‘I should originally cut it here, but the liveliness overflows several times if I continue. Let’s go with a long take.’

Kim Ryu-jin in the villa found a basement. There was another corpse there. No, is it alive? At that time, there was a sound from the upper floor. To be precise, no sound was heard, but it was clearly heard in Kim Ryu-jin’s ears.

Actually, the audio is added in post-production.

So, the current Kim Ryu-jin had to act based on his imagination and delusion. Moreover, ‘Exorcism’ was a movie where sound played the main part—the horror of sound. Although the shape isn’t seen, the sound strangles Kim Ryu-jin, and the point of focus was Kim Ryu-jin’s claustrophobic acting that occurs here.

Soon, Kim Ryu-jin hides between the broken furniture.

At the same time, the basement door opens again. The voices of a man and woman in conversation followed. No, there was no one in the basement right now, but Kim Ryu-jin heard it.

“What should we do with this bastard?”

“Why is this one still alive?”

“We can’t let the witness live.”

A man’s voice like scraping metal. It included the word ‘witness.’ There was another witness in this basement.

The camera closes up on that witness’s face, and Kim Ryu-jin, who had crouched down, forcibly holds his trembling breath. His fingers, which are touching the ground, are tense. The muscles in the calves and thighs supporting his body twitch slightly. He can’t stop his whole body from shaking. It seems like his body is making fun of Kim Ryu-jin.

No matter how much he commanded, his body trembled on its own. He looked as if he was extremely cold.

Stop, please stop. He couldn’t afford any noise, even a breath. The horror of the encroaching silence at that moment. Kim Ryu-jin rolls his eyes incessantly. Though the dull gray floor had nothing to look at, his eyes moved frantically.

Shit, shit, shit. Just go away.

All he could do was roll his eyes. Kim Ryu-jin thought he might wet himself. If he relaxed his lower abdomen, it felt like it would pour out refreshing. Hold on, even breathing had to be held now. Kim Ryu-jin’s facial muscles subtly started to convulse. It was the process of becoming rigid.

He only focused on the sound. Listening to the sound.

All these processes were vividly captured on the camera. The actors watching such Kim Ryu-jin through the monitor slightly opened their mouths.

“……..”

“……..”

But no one could utter a word. It wasn’t acting they could evaluate themselves. Even understanding with their eyes and heads was overwhelming. No, there were actors who could not understand.

They were nobodies?

But what was this unbelievable gap? Amidst it all, Director Shin Dong-chun, who was looking at the monitor with a mad smile, whispered.

“It might… it might not be a dream. No, it must work. It must.”

Then Hong Hye-yeon, who was next to him, whispered.

“The ‘Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival’ is going to be turned upside down. If they give the prize to something else after seeing this, they’re corrupt.”

She laughed as she looked at the actors who were frozen like mannequins.

“If only we do well too?”

Meanwhile, in the studio of writer Park Eun-mi.

Writer Park Eun-mi and PD Song Man-woo are sitting side by side on a sofa, having finished a script meeting a few dozen minutes ago. They’re both watching a large TV, where a script reading scene from a few days ago is being played.

At that moment.

“Hmm-”

Writer Park Eun-mi, with her arms crossed, took off her hairband and clicked her tongue.

“It was like this on the spot too, but seeing it this way, it’s even more certain. Call Tae-san and tell him he needs to catch up.”

PD Song man-woo, stroking his goatee, answered while keeping his gaze on the TV.

“I already called. He’s gone into secluded training.”

“Secluded training?”

“Yeah. After the reading, he’s been working intensely, squeezing whatever time he can from his schedule. Even Manager Kim was surprised. He said he’s on fire for the first time in a while.”

“Hmph, you really have to see it with your own eyes. Taesan has good energy, but the detail is lacking.””

At that moment,

“Ah.”

Park Dae-ri, or Kang Woo-jin, appeared on TV. Writer Park Eun-mi, who had been watching his acting for a moment, leaned slightly forward and murmured.

“I felt it on the reading day, that eccentric. His voice is nice too. The way he chews and spits out his diction is unquestionable. I always look at the overall acting balance, but that day I dissected a little, and it was really······”

“Isn’t that just being infatuated?”

“Didn’t you feel that way, PD? Ah, look at that! The control of expression intensity! Controlling the pace!”

“I saw something else.”

“What?”

In response to her question, PD Song Man-woo, who was leaning deep into the sofa, crossed his legs.

“He is still growing in that moment.”

“Ah.”

“The Park Dae-ri I first saw and the Park Dae-ri that day were clearly different. He’s gradually digging deeper, becoming more raw. I’m sure he’s practicing relentlessly and repeating, even if we don’t know. That’s why it looks a little dangerous too.”

“He’s still self-taught since there’s no one around him… You should keep an eye on him, PD. directing isn’t just about taking pictures.”

“We’ll have to wait and see for now. He’s a tough kid, so poking him might be more harmful.”

PD Song Man-woo, who sighed lightly, changed the topic.

“Anyway, thanks to Woojin, all the actors are on fire. When I contacted them, they all seemed to be trying to improve their acting quality like Tae-san.”

“The public’s eyes are so accurate. If you stand next to Woojin, you can easily tell if you’re acting carelessly.”

“It’s a funny situation. It’s not the lead or supporting role like Ryu Jung-min, Hong Hye-yeon, etc., but a nameless newcomer who has just revealed himself is playing the role of the heavy hitter, right?”

“What’s funny about that? A mountain tree that has been growing steadily for more than 100 years has to be incredibly tough.”

“Is Kang Woojin a 100-year-old mountain tree?”

Writer Park Eun-mi shrugged without denying.

“In a metaphorical sense, yes. He has walked silently and solitarily, and suddenly appeared, that’s Woojin.”

Then PD Song Man-woo, who laughed a little, looked at Kang Woojin on the TV again. How much bigger will that monster become when it goes through our work and ‘Exorcism’? He was curious again. All the characters he brings to life by shedding his flesh alone.

Sometimes there are such actors.

An actor who inspires ambition in the director through acting. Thriller by that monster? Comedy? Romantic comedy? Action? PD Song Man-woo, who applied Kang Woo-jin to all existing genres.

‘…I want to shoot all of them.’

If possible, he wanted to have at least one of them.

“That’s why I can’t quit directing.”

“Huh?”

Soon, PD Song Man-woo, who lowered his head, checked the time.

“The shooting must have started by now, ‘Exorcism’.”

“Ah, right. I’m curious. I wonder what kind of crazy things they are doing there.”

“I’m curious about his direction too.”

“But, you know. If either our work or ‘Exorcism’ really succeeds… what will happen?”

“What do you mean, what will happen? That oddball Kang Woo-jin becomes a totem.”

PD Song Man-woo imagined the future in his head.

“Needless to say, his acting is crazy, and if he joins, the combat power of other actors goes up as well. Then the quality of the work increases. And if everything he shoots succeeds? He becomes the number one casting priority. Realistically, it won’t all succeed, but still.”

“Then a Kang Woojin religion will be created. Hearing this, he really sounds like a balance-breaking character.”

Writer Park Eun-mi, who had been admiring quietly, smiled slyly.

“Well, it’s okay. Because we are connected with that balance-breaking character.”

PD Song Man-woo, infected with laughter, lightly tapped her shoulder..

“What is it, Writer Park. Are you already thinking about that Kang Woojin guy for your next work?”

“Aren’t you the one who thought about using Woojin in your first directorial work after setting up a production company. weren’t you? Am I wrong?”

Kang Woojin deeply permeates the future of these two heavyweights.

“How can I resist a totem.”

Of course, it was a future full of misconceptions.

Meanwhile, in a meeting room at a major film company.

Two men were seen in a meeting room with a round table. One was about 40 years old and short, and an older man was sitting in front of him. The old man had white hair mixed in his eyebrows.

Anyway,

“Director! I found a crazy guy while looking at another one!”

The short man yelled at the old man while standing.

“It’s really amazing! I was wondering if that was acting!”

The old man stroked his chin.

“Really? How great was it that Chief Choi is so excited.”

“It wasn’t just me, everyone who came to the ‘Profiler Hanryang’ reading felt the same. ‘Park Dae-ri’ was sociopathic acting, but it was the most vivid I’ve ever seen… No, he was just Park Dae-ri! He chewed up all the other actors there.”

“Hmm-”

“I felt it right away! He’s perfect for your work!”

“He’s perfect for the role I’m thinking about?”

“Yes! The light bulb just turned on in my head, really!”

The old man who was watching the excited, short man spit out a small sigh.

“Alright. I know well how discerning Chief Choi’s eyes are. What’s his name?”

“His name is Kang Woojin!”

“But he’s a nobody.”

“But he’s really going to make it big! He has a peculiarly cold vibe, but the aura he exudes is something different. Oddly arrogant, but also relatable, you know?”

“I’m not talking about him making it big, but isn’t he lacking in experience? Nobodies remain nobodies, no matter how much they struggle.”

“Ah, how should I explain… He’s like a veteran actor with rich experience. He can perform smoothly in front of hundreds of people. And yet, he learned acting by self-study.”

“This kid must be really crazy. How can he learn acting by self-study. Stop joking around.”

The old man who scoffed slightly. In fact, he was one of the few master directors in the country. He continued speaking.

“So, did you check his agency?”

“Ah- He doesn’t have an agency yet.”

“Not yet? What’s that about? Something feels off.”

“Just let him audition first! Trust me, as the production PD!”

“···Hmm, did you give him your business card?”

“Yes! He saw the name of our film company, so he will surely contact us. If he doesn’t, I’ll personally reach out to PD Song!”

Soon, the old man slowly stood up from his seat and nodded slightly.

“Alright, bring him in then.”

*****