After the meal with Kim Seunghun, who had been eating like a starving ghost, ended, Andrew asked him,
“Do you have some kind of appointment today?”
“What? No… well. I think I’ll work out like usual and practice acting.”
“Like usual?”
“Yes. Waking up and working out, then going to practice acting, that’s my routine.”
“At a young age, you’re diligent for no reason. A routine like an old man.”
Kim Seunghun snorted as he looked at Andrew, who was speaking sarcastically.
At words that were hard to tell whether they were an insult or a compliment, Kim Seunghun thought he finally understood what kind of intention lay behind the things Andrew spat out.
And then Andrew started to look like nothing more than a grumbling bearded old guy.
“So what are you going to do? Drink or something?”
At the word “drink,” Andrew frowned and said,
“No. I got a message saying if we can do a test shoot today, we should.”
“Motion capture?”
“What else would it be. Tsk.”
Andrew shook the plastic bottle as if he meant to squeeze out even the last drop of cola, and poured it into the cup, shaking out every last bit.
“But why?”
“Because I’m going to borrow your car.”
“Aren’t you way too shameless about that?”
“That’s my charm.”
Andrew answered with a chuckle.
Seeing that smile, Kim Seunghun said as if it was absurd,
“You decide your own charm? Isn’t charm something other people feel drawn to?”
“Fine. Then I’ll just take a taxi.”
“So you’re going to be late again, like last time?”
At Kim Seunghun’s sarcasm, Andrew made an aggrieved face and said,
“Ha, me, seriously. Back then, the hotel clock really wasn’t right, and every traffic light…”
“Yes, yes, I understand. We just need to go to the MILM building, right?”
“Kheum….”
In a small voice, Andrew muttered quietly.
“Thanks.”
“What?”
Kim Seunghun asked back with a playful smile.
“What did you say?”
“Tsk. Forget it.”
“You’re so bland.”
MILM office.
As soon as I stepped into the office, the employees who had been moving around busily greeted me when they saw me.
“Director Gyeong is here!”
At one employee’s shout, Taylor appeared wearing yet another outfit with a space background.
This time, it was a shirt with an astronaut in an orange spacesuit drifting through space.
Seeing how she showed off a different space-themed outfit every time, it was nothing but amazing.
“Director Gyeong. You came early?”
“Ah, yes. I was curious. Did you get in touch with Andrew? With how he looked yesterday…”
At my question, Taylor answered with a puzzled expression.
“Yes. He said he’s coming with Kim Seunghun.”
“Yes…? With Seunghun hyung?”
“Director, you think it’s strange too, right? I really can’t understand it either.”
“Ha ha….”
I had no idea what had happened.
Yesterday, when Andrew, completely drunk, expelled what was inside him, Jinsu hyung’s shout had echoed through the bar.
‘Hey! Seunghun! You really got him good! No, at this level it’s not just one hit…? A, are you okay?’
At that, Kim Seunghun had grabbed his forehead and disappeared somewhere with Andrew.
I didn’t know what had happened after he dragged that heavy man all the way to his own home.
But coming together meant they had gotten close.
As that thought came, a smile naturally formed.
“Still, that’s good news. If the leads get along, the set atmosphere will get better.”
“But it’s so out of nowhere. Coming together… even up until yesterday, it didn’t look like they were the kind of relationship where they watch each other’s acting.”
“Originally, good people recognize good people quickly.”
“Andrew is a good person?”
Taylor still looked doubtful, frowning as she continued.
“Yesterday, he seemed even more close-minded than I thought.”
“He can be close-minded and still be a good person. A good ‘kkondae,’ maybe.”
“Ugh, I still don’t know.”
Taylor shook her head, then spoke with a fresh smile.
“But there’s one thing for sure.”
“Yes?”
“He got a proper nickname. Hehe.”
Mr. Puker.
A nickname that was born right after Andrew got completely wasted yesterday.
If you didn’t know what happened yesterday, it had a somewhat cute ring to it, like “little rascal.”
But just as I started to wonder how Andrew would react to that word, Taylor said,
“He’s on time today.”
I saw Andrew’s face, looking unwell, and behind him, Kim Seunghun following along with an easy smile.
“Hoo.”
The moment Andrew saw us, he let out a short, heavy breath.
With a gaze that looked worried, he scanned the area.
As he saw the staff smiling at him, he let out a deep sigh, and then when he saw Taylor in front of him, he let out another deep sigh.
“Mr. Puker. You’re here?”
Taylor even waved as she greeted Andrew, and at the word “puker,” Andrew grabbed his forehead.
“Gnn… sorry for showing you something ugly yesterday.”
“Yes, it was pretty ugly.”
As if she was thrilled, Taylor reenacted how Andrew looked right before he erupted.
With both hands on her thighs and her waist bent slightly, Andrew frowned at her.
“That’s enough. Let’s get ready for the setup right now.”
“Yes~ you can go over there.”
Andrew headed to where Taylor pointed.
I asked Seunghun hyung, who was staring at that from beside me.
“Did you get home okay yesterday?”
“Huh? No? Yesterday, dragging that guy to my place, I thought I was going to die!”
“You worked hard. But you stayed at your place until now and came?”
At my question, Kim Seunghun smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
“From the morning, Korean-style hangover cure, English-style hangover cure. Did both and came cleanly. Starting tomorrow I’ll have to eat chicken breast again. Two cheat days in a row… my trainer is going to try to kill me.”
After patting his stomach, Kim Seunghun frowned slightly as if his conscience stabbed him.
“Still, it looks like you got close with Andrew pretty fast?”
Kim Seunghun snorted and looked at me with a strange expression.
“That guy… like you said, he doesn’t seem like that bad of a person. Why does it feel like you’re never wrong?”
He continued right away.
“Is it intuition again?”
“That’s right, I guess…”
Kim Seunghun laughed hollowly and said,
“His mouth is kind of nasty and he’s a little twisted. But after chewing on what he said yesterday and thinking it over again, I could understand why he talks like that, in a way.”
“What did he say?”
“It’s a secret.”
“A secret between just you two—did you really get that close already?”
“It’s personal. It’s kind of hard for me to say it out loud, you punk.”
Kim Seunghun said with a rather serious expression. Then, with a bitter smile, he looked at me and asked,
“But do you think I have problems in my acting too?”
“Hm….”
Kim Seunghun’s acting.
His acting was, like Andrew said, acting built on his good looks.
It was true that his acting shone because of his handsome face.
Just as I was thinking what to say—
Kim Seunghun poked me in the side and said,
“Forget it, you punk. Sheesh.”
“Hyung’s acting doesn’t have that big of a problem. But from an actor’s point of view, it might be different…”
“Learn how to say pretty lies too, you punk. Being honest can be a flaw, depending on how you look at it.”
“Ha ha… hyung, your acting is really good.”
“Oh, listen to you? Don’t do that. Just stop.”
Kim Seunghun chuckled, and seeing that smile, I felt relieved.
“But hyung, aren’t you busy?”
“Huh?”
“You don’t have to come all the way out for a test shoot. I never even thought you’d come today.”
Kim Seunghun was one of GO Entertainment’s flagship actors.
Even aside from Space Vagabond, he would have plenty of busy work.
“I asked them to adjust my schedule a bit. I really wanted to see Andrew’s acting. Since he talked to me like that, I wanted to judge with my own eyes if he’s really that level.”
“…”
A little later.
Andrew came out wearing the motion capture suit, with tracking markers even stuck on his face, frowning.
“Did I put on a little weight? I think I told them the wrong size.”
“What? No, we made it in the size you asked for, Andrew.”
“It was the size from when I filmed The Lord of the Rings. I thought it would fit… but it’s more uncomfortable than I expected.”
Taylor frowned and grumbled.
“No, and that’s pretty expensive too.”
“Fine. Well, can’t we just do it. It’s tights, so it won’t tear.”
With a suit that looked like it might burst at any moment, Andrew waddled and stood in front of the camera.
“Is it good?”
“Just a moment. We’ll set the camera.”
Taylor skillfully directed the people around her, divided up tasks, and then finished the preparations.
“Can I start?”
“Yes.”
At Taylor’s answer, Andrew lightly touched his nose once and went into acting.
A few seconds after he closed his eyes.
He began acting with a completely different expression.
His lines would be done in English for the actors’ immersion, but in the film, we planned to reverse the audio so it would sound like an alien language.
“Citizens of Planet Selene. Hear my words!”
Just one line.
At his majestic voice, everyone at the set was pulled into Andrew’s acting.
Even though he looked ridiculous with the tight green tights and the tracking markers stuck to his face, there was no problem at all with immersion.
“What on earth is that…?”
As Andrew acted in front of us, Kim Seunghun asked me.
“It’s still too early to be surprised.”
At my words, Kim Seunghun focused again on Andrew’s acting.
The movement of his arms. Even the movement of his legs.
The way he moved, like detailed research was shining through, might look comical in a way, but it clearly showed something that was not human.
“Oh….”
Even Taylor just watched Andrew’s acting with her mouth slightly open, without saying a word.
And a little later, Andrew finished his acting, breathing roughly as he dropped down into his seat.
Seeing that, Kim Seunghun said to me as if he’d been hit with a huge shock.
“No… wow… the immersion is insane.”
“If his looks backed it up too, he would’ve devoured Hollywood.”
A presence worthy of the best motion-capture actor.
If this film got released and succeeded, then in films with aliens or monsters, it was obvious Andrew would be the number one choice to cast.
Because it wasn’t common to find an actor who could act naturally even looking like that.
A naturalness in the character that only Andrew could create.
That was thanks to the countless theater stages he’d experienced, and his method of research tailored to the character.
“So, Director Gyeong?”
Even though the temperature wasn’t hot, Andrew was sweating in beads as he walked toward the camera and spoke.
“Honestly, you’re really good. The best. No… it’s more than that.”
“Hah. Yeah. Of course.”
Andrew looked at me and gave a slight smile, then looked at Kim Seunghun beside me.
Kim Seunghun stared at Andrew as if he’d taken quite a big shock.
“That’s incredible.”
“Can you tell now why I looked down on you?”
Andrew looked like someone packed full of arrogance, but I didn’t feel any dislike at all.
Because his arrogance had a reason worthy of it.
“Yes. Teacher.”
“……?”
Me, Andrew, and even Taylor—
We all looked at Kim Seunghun, surprised by his sudden honorifics.
“What…?”
“Teach me. How you act like that. I want to fill what I’m lacking.”
“No, that’s not something you can just learn quickly…”
“Just teach me first.”
Kim Seunghun grabbed Andrew’s motion-capture suit tightly.
“Hey, no. Let go of this. Let go and talk…”
“No. I won’t let go until I get an answer.”
“You crazy…”
Riiip.
“Hah…”
At the sound of the motion-capture suit—already looking like it might burst—tearing open,
Taylor shut her eyes tight on instinct.
And as if proving her choice was right, a groan of dismay rose up all around.
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