Pen and Paper Translations

“Hah. This guy really is a total lunatic.”

When he checked the paper that had fallen, a smile rose on Andrew’s face without him even realizing it.

Detailed character settings.

Drawings of a few of the people who would appear on Planet Selene.

It did not look like the kind of thing where you just toss it to the designers with a rough idea and say, “Do it with motion capture.” It looked like concept art he had drawn himself.

“Hm…”

They looked similar to humans, but with red skin and relatively long necks, you could tell they were clearly a different kind of being.

“He draws like shit.”

Andrew grumbled, but he could tell for sure how deeply Gyeong Chanhyeon had thought about creating this character.

Detailed settings for Planet Selene.

Even though it did not show up in the script, his settings felt as if he had built an entire world, and Andrew’s curiosity only grew. He kept picking the script up and setting it down again.

The clothes Nixroad wore were a chiton, the kind Greek people looked like they might wear.

A red jewel embedded in his forehead.

Because he had painstakingly built it all, down to how that jewel came to be and what meaning its color held, the character details felt alive.

It definitely felt different from the very beginning compared to the script of <The Lord of the Rings>.

Andrew had agonized countless times over how to interpret and portray the character of Gollum and had come up with answers in his own way, but the production staff had coldly rejected his interpretation.

So he had no choice but to do as they told him, but the result was a disastrous failure, and Andrew had to shoulder all the blame.

“Hoo…”

But in the end, it was motion capture again.

The very thought that his face would be covered over with computer graphics and then appear on the screen made him hate it so much.

Acting done properly.

In the end, his acting would be hidden behind CG, and no one would recognize him. With that thought, he put a cigar back in his mouth and lit it.

---

The next day.

As soon as I woke up at the hotel, I washed up quickly, got dressed, and went outside.

It had rained yesterday, but with the bright sunlight today, there was not even a trace of moisture left on the ground.

I could not stop wondering whether the plan of leaving my bag at Andrew’s place would work. It left my sleep unsettled.

After buying the promised case of beer, I took a taxi and got out near Andrew’s place where the trailers were gathered. When I knocked on his trailer door, Andrew opened it as if he had been waiting.

His complexion looked even worse than yesterday. Thinking the plan had worked, I frowned to hide the smile that was trying to slip out.

“Here’s the beer. Thanks for holding onto it.”

“Y-Yeah.”

Andrew pointed to the bag up on the tree.

He gave off a completely different atmosphere from yesterday.

The drunken old man who had been spitting curses was gone, and the careful way he treated me made it clear he had changed.

“The bag’s there.”

“Yes. Aren’t you going to give me a cup of tea this time?”

“What?”

“In my country, we have a saying. ‘Even brushing sleeves is a connection.’ And holding onto my bag is a pretty big connection, so I thought we could at least have a goodbye tea time.”

At my words, Andrew snorted a small laugh, then handed me a cup of tea.

Sitting in his chair, even drawing his legs in, Andrew asked in a cautious tone.

“Yesterday you said do it one last time.”

“I thought it over, and, tsk, it’s kind of wrong to force someone who doesn’t want to do something.”

I pretended to look into Andrew’s eyes, while I checked his expression overall.

“If I look, there are plenty of other actors. I don’t know if there’s anyone who can do it as well as you, Andrew, but I’m going to try looking.”

A kind of push and pull.

There was no one who could do it as well as Andrew, but I could find an actor who could replace him.

When I threw out a line that mixed praise and disappointment in the right proportions, the corner of Andrew’s mouth twitched.

“…”

Without saying a word, Andrew stared down at the tea cup with steam rising from it.

I could be sure Andrew had already read the script.

And that he found it pretty appealing.

That must be why he was treating me in a completely different way than yesterday.

“Did you not sleep well last night?”

“Huh?”

“You look tired.”

“Ah… haha. Well…”

Andrew reached for his cigar, then flicked his eyes toward me once, and as if he had given up, he grabbed his head.

Then he asked me carefully.

“Do you really have to do it with motion capture?”

“Yes. I think there’ll be limits with makeup. I even brought a CG team from America all the way to Korea. They’ll be on a different level from the CG crew on The Lord of the Rings.”

“…”

Acting done through motion capture is not real acting.

I replayed what he had said yesterday in my head.

The problem was that his real self did not show.

But that does not mean the acting for Gollum is not Andrew’s acting.

In the movie I saw, his expressions, voice, and movements were properly infused into Gollum.

Acting only Andrew could show.

“CG staff better than Hollywood?”

“Yes.”

“Hah, kid. You’re saying something funny. You can invest more money than Hollywood?”

“Money matters for quality, sure, but what matters more is skill.”

I shut my mouth for a moment, checked Andrew’s reaction, then continued.

“And most people don’t have skill, so they buy that skill with money. But I don’t need to buy that skill with money. Because I have the skill. And…”

“And?”

When I trailed off, Andrew unconsciously leaned toward me and echoed my words.

“I’m staking my life on this movie.”

“Your life?”

“Yes. I put all my assets into this movie.”

“Hah… you really…”

Andrew let out a laugh as if it was ridiculous.

“Since I’m telling you this assuming you’re not going to take the role of this ‘Nixroad’ anyway…”

“N-No. Wait.”

Andrew stopped me.

Seeing his expression like he’d been properly hooked, I cheered silently inside.

“Hoo… Let’s not think too hastily. Yeah? You have to think with every possibility open. People shouldn’t be that hasty.”

“One of the Korean traits is ‘ppalli ppalli’, hurry hurry. I’m especially bad about it. So I’m not going to cling to you any more, Andrew. If you won’t do it, it’s better to quickly look for another actor.”

At my words, Andrew bit at his fingernails.

“If you’ve changed your mind, tell me. It’ll be easier for me if you come, Andrew.”

“Hm… yeah. I’ll be honest.”

Andrew drew in a deep breath and spoke with difficulty.

“This project is interesting. Even just from reading the script. The character I’d take is the character called Nixroad, right?”

“Yes. You read the script.”

When I said it with a smile, Andrew said, looking a bit awkward.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I read it as a sleeping aid.”

“And you read all night, so you’re tired.”

“…”

Andrew silently nodded.

“I want to do it, but…”

“You’re still hung up on that? That motion capture acting isn’t real acting?”

“Huh…?”

After taking a sip of tea, Andrew spoke.

“Yeah. That too.”

“I’ll prove to you that motion capture acting is acting, too. If we make this project succeed, everyone will know you’re Nixroad.”

“…But isn’t it only releasing in Korea?”

“We’ll sell the rights. For sure.”

At my words, Andrew snorted.

“You’re positively insane. You sound like you’ve completely lost it.”

“My friend said this. If you want the result you want, going crazy comes first.”

Junseong’s “If you’re not mad, you won’t reach it.”

I said it because I was ready to do anything to persuade Andrew.

“Nixroad will become you, Andrew, and you will become Nixroad. Once I start filming, I’ll make it that way.”

When I said it with my eyes wide, Andrew looked into my eyes with an expression that seemed slightly frightened.

“Fine. I get it. I guess I need to try going crazy once too, like you.”

---

Even hours after Director Gyeong Chanhyeon left, Andrew sat on the sofa, frozen like a stone statue.

What Director Gyeong Chanhyeon had said as he kept grabbing Andrew’s hand and shaking it while leaving the trailer.

‘I’m going straight back to Korea. I’ll send you the plane ticket. Pack your things like you’re going to live in Korea for a few months.’

Leaving London, England for Hollywood, America. Then leaving Hollywood as if he had been chased out, back to London.

Now, thinking about leaving for Korea, Andrew felt emotions he could not put into words.

Korea. A place no different from a barren land for film.

A country where Robert Sigal, famous for having only one facial expression, went to earn money after flopping in Hollywood.

A director from that kind of country.

With the situation hard to describe in words, Andrew sat on the sofa, not even sure what he should do.

A junk trailer.

It was so cramped that almost anything was within reach.

But even though it was within reach, there was one thing he could not touch carelessly.

“Hoo…”

The family photo behind him.

As he looked at the brightly smiling faces of his ex wife Evelyn and his daughter Grace, Andrew let out a deep sigh.

He carefully lifted the small family photo with both hands, as if it were heavy, and gently set it down on the table.

Then he took out his phone, found his ex wife’s number, and called.

-Hello?

“Ah… uh. Hello?”

-Yeah. Andrew. Have you been well?

They had not divorced because their relationship was bad.

It was a decision made because he thought he had to endure his burden entirely on his own.

A rumor spread at his daughter Grace’s school that Andrew had played Gollum, and at a young age, Grace had been bullied and deeply hurt.

There was no greater pain for him as a father than having to watch that hurt from the side.

He had even prayed that the pain his child felt would go to him instead.

Seeing his daughter struggle was great pain for him as well.

“Yeah. Haha. I’m always the same. How’s Grace?”

-She went to school. Well.

“School’s okay now… right?”

-Yeah. She really likes it. It doesn’t seem like she’s getting teased, and she doesn’t hate waking up early to go to school like she used to.

“That’s a relief, haha. Really, what a relief.”

Sitting on the sofa, Andrew let out a sigh of relief.

-Call sometimes when Grace is around, too.

“How can I listen to her voice when I feel so sorry….”

-Sorry for what? Grace talks about you sometimes, too. She says she misses you. What if she forgets your voice?

“…”

Without speaking, Andrew stared for a moment at Grace’s bright smile in the photo.

“I think I’m going to Korea soon. I got a shoot there.”

-Korea? All of a sudden? That, uh, North Korea? Are you talking about North Korea right now?

At Evelyn’s words, Andrew burst into laughter and could not speak for a moment.

-Andrew! Are you going to North Korea?

“No. The south.”

-Whew… still, won’t it be dangerous? It’s an armistice country.

“It’s the same even if I stay in England. Where in the world isn’t a battlefield? Living is war.”

-…Yeah. Okay. It’s a film shoot, right? That’s still good news.

At Evelyn’s warm voice, Andrew felt his throat tighten, and he held the phone away and sniffed once.

“Ah, I should hang up now. Tell Grace about me…”

-W-Wait. When are you coming back to England?

“It’ll take a few months. When the shoot ends, I’ll come right back and contact you.”

Andrew hung up without even waiting for Evelyn’s answer.

Then the first thing he put into his cheap suitcase was the family photo.

“Hoo…”

No matter what, he would show a successful performance.

He would step onto English soil again as a successful actor.

Making that firm vow, Andrew packed his things.