The predawn air in December was bitterly cold.
It wasn’t snowing, but without a coat it was difficult just to walk around outside.
“Huff! Huff!”
On an empty street devoid of people, Han Seong-tae was running.
He was breathing hard, yet he didn’t stop.
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ tells you to exhale a bit more deeply.]
He couldn’t stop.
A god of acting beside him kept urging him to keep running.
[‘He Who Defined His Era’ questions whether it’s necessary to work out so excessively.]
[‘The One of a Thousand Faces’ wonders if it might be better to practice acting at this time instead.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ insists that healthy acting comes from a healthy body.]
Although Han Seong-tae kept silent, the gods of acting were in an uproar among themselves.
Watching him exercise, they debated how efficient he was being.
This is really tough.
Having arrived at a park, he steadied his breathing and surveyed his surroundings.
It was his first time at this park.
Even though it was just after six in the morning, a few people were there to work out.
They’re all so diligent.
Seniors were exercising to stay healthy.
Seeing them, Han Seong-tae started stretching.
Those elderly folks, who moved with difficulty, were still out there exercising. He felt there was no reason a young man like himself should take it easy.
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says that’s enough warm-up and suggests you start practicing some action moves.]
After running for an hour and doing the full-body exercises taught by ‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do,’ he was finally able to start training in earnest.
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ sighs, wondering if you can handle the real lessons later when you’re already so exhausted.]
“…I can… keep up.”
Catching his breath, Han Seong-tae radiated a firm resolve that he could do it.
He wasn’t the type to give up just because his body ached.
“I can do it.”
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says at least you have some perseverance, smirking slightly.]
Reading that message, which indicated approval, Han Seong-tae lifted his head.
Since returning to the past, he had exercised under the coaching of ‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do.’
Thanks to that, his stamina had improved.
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ wonders what kind of action you can show him.]
“How should I go about this?”
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says the best thing is to practice in real combat, but since that’s not possible, try some image training instead.]
In short, he wanted Han Seong-tae to throw punches into the empty air.
Someone else might have found that embarrassing, but not Han Seong-tae.
‘If I were shy about doing something like this, I’d never have become an actor in the first place.’
His entire life had basically been performing into empty space.
He was so used to it that when ‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ gave this instruction, he had no hesitation.
‘What kind of demonstration should I do?’
He thought it over briefly and got into position.
In his previous life, he had learned jiu-jitsu.
He’d picked it up in case he ever got a role requiring action scenes, figuring it was better to prepare in advance.
He had only trained for about three years before quitting, but the muscle memory still remained.
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ is impressed with your stance and brightens his gaze.]
[‘He Who Found Laughter in Tragedy’ watches you closely.]
[‘The One of a Thousand Faces’ looks uncertain whether you’ll do well.]
Ignoring the messages for a moment, he imagined an opponent right in front of him.
Ultimately, what he was doing now was still a form of acting.
It was a solo performance, just like a monologue, for the gods of acting.
Just as he had on the stage at his university, he began to act.
‘I am a fighter. A challenger in a championship match.’
This is Han Seong-tae’s performance.
He could see the gloves on his hands.
In front of him, a champion was throwing punches in a title defense.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Han Seong-tae dodged the champion’s jabs, exchanging blows back and forth.
[‘He Who Defined His Era’ remains silent.]
[‘The One of a Thousand Faces’ narrows his eyes, finding it an odd sight.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ watches your performance and sighs.]
He was deep in concentration, but then messages from the gods of acting appeared in his line of sight.
They were sighing as they watched him perform.
Huh?
His focus slipped when he noticed the messages, and then his phone began vibrating in his pocket, so he lowered his arms.
Drip.
Sweat beaded along his jaw and fell to the ground.
How long had he been moving around?
Before he realized it, he was drenched in sweat.
“Ah…”
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says that while you at least have good concentration, everything else is lacking, and sighs again.]
[‘The One of a Thousand Faces’ murmurs that you still seem to show some potential.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ thinks you definitely need a partner to coordinate with and ponders this problem.]
While watching them talk, Han Seong-tae reached into his pocket.
His phone had been vibrating for a while.
“Director?”
Recognizing the familiar name, Han Seong-tae blinked.
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says it looks like there’s a way forward and brightens his eyes.]
Ignoring the excited message, Han Seong-tae quickly answered the call.
“Hello?”
—“This is Choi Ye-chan. Han Seong-tae, right?”
“Yes, Director.”
—“Ah, great. How have you been?”
Hearing Choi Ye-chan’s cheerful greeting, Han Seong-tae answered with a smile.
—“I was just calling on a whim. Didn’t expect you to pick up at this hour.”
“I’ve been working out early in the morning these days.”
—“Working out? At this hour?”
“Yes, I figured it’d be good to get in shape ahead of time.”
Upon hearing his response, Choi Ye-chan sounded surprised.
It was approaching 7 a.m.
Exercising so early was hardly easy.
—“Very disciplined of you. By the way, do you have someone to work out with?”
“…No. It’s just me by myself.”
He briefly thought of the gods of acting, but there was no way to explain their existence.
[‘He Who Found Laughter in Tragedy’ whimpers, asking why he’s not being counted.]
[‘He Who Defined His Era’ looks at you wistfully, as if lamenting this abandonment.]
Seeing them messing around, Han Seong-tae let out a small chuckle and shook his head.
—“In that case, how about I introduce you to a gym? A friend of mine runs one, so all you have to do is show up.”
“You really don’t have to go that far…”
—“They’re open 24 hours all year round, so it’s not a big deal. If you’re interested, I can set it up for you right away.”
Han Seong-tae hesitated.
It was a proposal to use a gym for free.
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ declares you’d be a fool not to take this opportunity.]
He had no intention of letting it slip away.
Tap, tap, tap.
Sitting in a chair, Jeong Du-sik’s leg was jittering anxiously.
This was the Team 2 office for actors at PAN Entertainment.
He was at his desk, staring down at his phone.
“…He really hasn’t reached out.”
It had been nearly two weeks since he gave his business card to Han Seong-tae.
For that entire time, he had waited for a call, but still there was no word from the young man.
Did he lose my card?
He was starting to worry that maybe the card had been lost or his offer forgotten.
“This is really frustrating…”
But worrying didn’t make the phone ring.
Feeling stifled, he stood up from his desk and stepped out of the office.
He really needed a cold drink—maybe a cup of coffee.
“Du-sik, you have to go to the set later, right?”
“I know.”
A colleague from the team called out as he was leaving. Responding casually, Jeong Du-sik headed to the break room.
‘The call I’m waiting for never comes, and the work keeps piling up.’
In the time he had waited for Han Seong-tae to reach out, he’d been busy with other things.
He managed several actors at PAN Entertainment and had to shuttle between locations for them.
Today, too, he had to take one of them to a shoot.
“It’s about time he got in touch, though.”
Sipping coffee, he checked his phone again.
He remembered Han Seong-tae’s performance in that play, and each time he recalled it, he became all the more eager to hear from him.
“Oh, manager?”
“…?”
It was Seo Ha-rin, looking his way.
She was an idol trainee at PAN Entertainment and was known for being unfailingly kind to those around her.
Usually, staying a trainee for a long time can make you irritable, but Seo Ha-rin wasn’t like that.
She always walked around with a bright smile, and Jeong Du-sik, too, found it easy to root for her.
“Are you waiting for someone to call? You haven’t taken your eyes off your phone for a while.”
“Ah, well. I am waiting for someone, but they haven’t called yet.”
“A girlfriend?”
“No, not at all.”
He had dedicated himself entirely to PAN Entertainment.
He was far too busy to even consider having a girlfriend.
“Then maybe someone you’re interested in…?”
At her question, he shook his head.
For some reason, each of her guesses felt like a painful jab to his heart.
“I found this actor recently who really caught my eye. I gave him my card, but he hasn’t followed up.”
“Ah…”
Hearing that, Seo Ha-rin nodded with understanding.
As he fiddled with his coffee cup, he looked at her.
“You seem to be in a good mood. Did something nice happen?”
“Ah, I did a fitting job last time. The shopping mall that hired me just released a new product, and apparently it’s getting a great response…”
“Really? Think I could see?”
“Sure!”
She happily offered her phone to him.
Her screen displayed a shopping site called ‘Smile.’
“…Huh?”
Scrolling through the site, Jeong Du-sik’s eyes went wide when he saw the man photographed alongside her.
That’s Han Seong-tae!
He was the very person Jeong Du-sik had been waiting to hear from, and here he was in an unexpected place.
“We’re almost there.”
Checking the map on his phone, Han Seong-tae continued walking.
He was on his way to the gym recommended by Choi Ye-chan.
Honestly, he was a bit excited.
Since the director had introduced it himself, there had to be a good reason.
“Huh?”
Arriving at the address, he stood there, stunned.
He had followed the directions that Choi Ye-chan had given him perfectly.
Using his phone, he had made sure he wasn’t lost.
‘What… is this?’
Why was he seeing something totally different from a standard gym?
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says he quite likes this Choi Ye-chan fellow.]
[‘He Who Found Laughter in Tragedy’ bursts out laughing at your bewildered expression.]
The address Choi Ye-chan had sent was not for a gym.
It was for an “Action School.”
Standing before it, Han Seong-tae realized this was a place that trained stunt performers.
TN: Sir Director, a gym ≠ stunt school. ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ
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