[Free Short Film Festival, 12th Competition Winners.]
Grand Prize: With You (Joo Mansu).
Gold Prize: Haru (Kim Minseok).
Silver Prize: Passed By
……
……
……
Seongtae was looking over the list of winners that Kim Minseok had sent him.
The short they had shot, Haru, had actually won the Gold Prize at the competition.
The prize money was not large, but the very fact that they had won at a competition was something that made them very happy.
Especially for Kim Minseok, it carried the meaning of a strong conviction that he could go forward as a director.
Seongtae knew all too well how much Kim Minseok had agonized and worried in the meantime.
— It would have been nice if you could go with me too.
“Yeah. I’m sorry. My plans got scheduled all of a sudden too. I’ll at least buy you a meal next time.”
— It cannot be helped. You are busy too. Still, I wanted to go to the awards ceremony with you. Of all days, why did the dates have to overlap?
The awards ceremony for Haru and the set visit day for Baeknyeoncho overlapped.
Seongtae decided to go to the Baeknyeoncho set visit instead of the ceremony.
It was something he had promised to Kim Mucheol, and it could become an experience Seongtae definitely needed.
“I’m sorry.”
— No, why are you apologizing so much. We already finished talking about it back then. We discussed it all.
“… Thank you.”
— Thank me for what. Just make time for me later. So we can have a meal together. My mom said she wants to see you too, told me to bring you over.
“Got it.”
Kim Minseok understood Seongtae’s thinking.
They could not be together at the ceremony, but it was not something that would sour the two of them.
— You are on the way to the set now, right?
“Yeah.”
— Do well when you get there. Who knows, they might even give you a role?
“I am not hoping for something like that. Just being allowed to look around is already something to be grateful for. Hang in there.”
— Okay. Let us talk later.
After hanging up with Kim Minseok, Seongtae let out a soft sigh.
[“The One Who Defines an Era” says you have a good friend.]
“I think so too.”
With a small laugh, Seongtae hurried his steps toward the Baeknyeoncho set.
Thud, thuuud!
He did not know how long he had walked.
From the set he could hear various sounds.
The sound of cars crashing into each other, the sound of people letting out fierce cries…
It was fortunate there were not many buildings nearby.
Otherwise, the loudness of it all felt like it would have produced quite a lot of complaints.
“How may I help you?”
As Seongtae was about to enter the set, a guard at the entrance stopped him.
When the guard said outsiders could not enter, Seongtae said that he had come on Kim Mucheol’s introduction.
“Ah, you are Actor Han Seongtae. Please come in.”
Perhaps he had been briefed in advance, because the guard nodded and stepped aside.
Seongtae bowed his head to him and went to look for Kim Mucheol.
“Ms. Miyeong, please bring dress number 3 over here!”
“Light number 4 is tilted too much! Remove the reflector!”
“Yes, good. Keep it just like that. Ready, action!”
Clack!
Props crew were scurrying around and the lighting team was bustling.
With the sound of the slate, the shoot began and then cut.
[“The One with a Thousand Faces” murmurs that the overflowing heat is good to see.]
[“The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy” watches the various props with sparkling eyes.]
[“The One Who Defined an Era” softly marvels that perhaps because the times have improved, far better scenes are being made.]
The acting gods who were looking around the set with Seongtae each offered a word.
Reading their messages, Seongtae headed further inside.
“Mucheol, that was great just now! But the action is too rough. Let us go a little more elegant. Elegant. You are a gumiho. You know what I mean, right?”
“Yes, I understand.”
A set surrounded by a dozen-odd cameras.
Inside it, Seongtae could see Kim Mucheol in a dark blue suit.
“Looks cool.”
With wound makeup on his face and lenses expressing fox-like eyes, Kim Mucheol looked quite dashing.
You could call it the image of a male lead brimming with wild charm.
In front of Kim Mucheol, stuntmen playing the villains were each loosening up.
“It has been a while since I saw Mucheol hyung’s acting.”
Instead of calling out to Kim Mucheol, Seongtae watched from a corner as he performed.
“…?”
Some assistant directors looked at him and tilted their heads, but they were soon called away by others.
Under Seongtae’s gaze, filming began with directions from the director.
“Haa… Guys, let us finish this quickly, all right?”
Looking at the thugs surrounding him, Kim Mucheol sighed and straightened his sleeve.
Though ten thugs had him encircled, there was not a hint of fear on Kim Mucheol’s face.
He was not the human Kim Mucheol, he was Baek Yeon, the gumiho.
“Kill him!”
“Aaaargh!”
The thugs rushed him.
Baek Yeon slipped their punches as if it were nothing and took them down swiftly.
Thud!
Crack!
Screeeam!
With each swing of his hand, thugs let out sharp screams and collapsed.
When all the thugs had fallen, black smoke rose from their bodies, and with a bestial cry it dispersed into the air.
“So it is that guy’s work again.”
Unlike when he had easily handled the thugs, now his expression had gone hard.
Kim Mucheol let out a long sigh.
“Cut! That is it!”
A loud cheer came from the director.
Kim Mucheol then reshot the same scene several more times from different angles.
“He is good…”
“Right? Our Mucheol hyung acts pretty well.”
Someone came up to Seongtae, who had been watching the shoot, and spoke to him.
Seongtae knew who it was.
“You are Mucheol hyung’s manager, right?”
“Yes, you remember? I am Lee Seonwoo.”
A face he had seen during War of Villains. To be more precise, the person who had followed alongside the team leader.
“Team Leader Joo did not come with you today?”
“Ah, Team Leader? He is on a business trip right now.”
“I see.”
Had he not also received a business card from Joo Jicheol?
“Mucheol hyung talks about you a lot. Says he really wants to bring you in.”
“It is something to be grateful for, that you all think of me.”
“But seeing Mucheol hyung like this, it suits him quite well. I thought he would never do romantic comedy.”
“I thought so too, but he said he liked the script. He prepared really hard.”
Perhaps happy to have someone to chat with, Lee Seonwoo talked quite a bit.
He even spoke about things he did not particularly need to say, which made Seongtae laugh.
“Looks like that cut is over?”
“Ah! You are right.”
At Seongtae’s words, Lee Seonwoo turned his head and hurriedly ran toward where Kim Mucheol was.
Soon he returned with Kim Mucheol to where Seongtae was.
“You are early. Did you see me act?”
“Yes. Hyung, you looked amazing.”
“Amazing, my foot.”
Coming closer, Kim Mucheol chuckled and sat in the chair next to Seongtae.
“How was the shoot? The atmosphere is good, right?”
“Yes, the mood was great.”
“Right? So, if there is an opening, do you want to try it too?”
“Pardon? Ah…”
At Kim Mucheol’s gentle probing, Seongtae hesitated.
If there was a spot to act in Baeknyeoncho, would he do it?
“Then of course I should. If you give me the chance, I would gratefully work hard.”
Seongtae knew the drama Baeknyeoncho well.
Split across two seasons, Baeknyeoncho posted very respectable ratings, and even ten years after it aired, people kept talking about it.
If he could join such a drama, how could he refuse?
“Yeah? Got it.”
At Seongtae’s answer, Kim Mucheol laughed and nodded.
Joo Mansu looked at the results with a strange expression.
[Grand Prize Joo Mansu]
His name was in the spot for the Grand Prize.
For him, the son of the competition organizer Joo Seokho, this result was only natural.
Not simply because his father organized the competition; Joo Mansu was confident in his directing ability.
He thought he had received what he naturally ought to receive.
“They said the winning works would be posted on the website.”
Joo Mansu went to the Free Short Film Festival website.
His own result was a given, but he was curious what the other winning works were like.
He especially wanted to know in what ways the Gold Prize work fell short compared to his.
By watching their work, he could find directing choices he himself should not make.
“…”
As he looked for the other winning works, Joo Mansu’s expression gradually hardened.
“This… won the Gold Prize?”
Watching the short film Haru that had won the Gold, his face looked very confused.
The more he watched, the more his face twisted.
— Anonymous87: Wow, what is this? This is insane. How is this a Gold Prize? It should get the Grand Prize.
— Anonymous99: Exactly. It seems better than the Grand Prize. Did the judges take bribes or something?
— Anonymous45: Bribes at a tiny competition like this lol. The Grand Prize went where it should, no?
— Anonymous5: Bribes do not make sense, but I also do not get it. It feels like the places for the Gold and Grand Prize got swapped.
There were comments people had posted under the video.
Most were reactions that they could not understand the judging results.
They were comments that insulted the piece Joo Mansu had directed.
Yet even as he read them, he could not say a word.
He only stared at the video with his fists clenched tight.
Two days had passed since Seongtae visited the Baeknyeoncho set.
To keep his promise to Kim Minseok, Seongtae headed to his house.
Kim Minseok’s family home, where Lee Hyeyoon and Kim Miso were.
“Welcome.”
Kim Miso greeted Seongtae warmly.
Beyond her, he could see Lee Hyeyoon filling the table with food.
“Now that Seongtae is here, we can eat right away.”
They sat at the table and had just started to eat when
Lee Hyeyoon looked at Kim Minseok.
“Minseok, I watched your film. It was fun. The direction was good, and the editing was not bad.”
“Yes.”
At Lee Hyeyoon’s praise, Kim Minseok gave an awkward smile and nodded.
Watching that scene, Lee Hyeyoon immediately continued.
“Are you going to keep directing?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I see.”
Hearing Kim Minseok speak with conviction, Lee Hyeyoon fell silent for a moment.
She looked as if she were thinking it over deeply.
Seongtae quietly watched the two of them talk.
He knew all too well this was not a situation for him to step into.
“All right. I see. If you are going to do it, then work hard. Do not complain later asking why I did not stop you.”
At Lee Hyeyoon’s words, Kim Minseok nodded.
That was the end of their conversation.
For a conversation between mother and son, it looked very stiff.
But if you knew their family circumstances, you could not say anything.
“Seongtae.”
“Yes, Professor.”
“Please take good care of our Minseok. I cannot tell you how reassuring it is to have you by his side.”
“Of course. I will stay with Minseok to the end.”
Kim Minseok was his one and only friend.
Whatever happened, they would be together.
At Seongtae’s answer, a small smile hung at the corner of Lee Hyeyoon’s lips.
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