[The Birth of an Acting Genius.]
An article went up.
A short title, but one that left a strong impression.
「[The Birth of an Acting Genius]
Around November 4, 2023.
There was a script reading for Netflix’s ‘Haru.’
‘Haru’ is a work that won the grand prize at the Free Short Film Festival contest…
As the lead of ‘Haru,’ there is actor Han Seongtae, and as the director, there is his friend Director Kim Minseok.
The ‘Haru’ that has now begun production is an adaptation of the ‘Haru’ that appeared at the contest, and Director Kim Minseok was participating in the production as Director Yeon Jaehun’s assistant.
What’s unusual is that Netflix’s ‘Haru’ cast the existing actors as the leads.
This reporter initially had doubts about that choice.
It’s true that actor Han Seongtae is good at acting, but he was still only in his first year.
I thought there were many actors who were better at acting than him.
Then, on the day of the script reading.
Actor Han Seongtae’s acting was beyond imagination.
As if the role ‘Choi Deoksu’ had been made for him.
He showed the very figure of ‘Choi Deoksu’ itself.
It was to the point that the character of ‘Ji Yeonwoo’ in Baeknyeoncho didn’t come to mind even a little.
An acting genius.
When you watch actor Han Seongtae’s acting, the word ‘genius’ comes to mind on its own.
This new Netflix release, ‘Haru.’
It is more than worth looking forward to.
—AlmondChoco: Han Seongtae’s new work? I can’t hold back. Slurp.
—IfYouFeelWrongedThenKickOutTheCar: I did hear he was doing something with Netflix this time. They said they were going to invest properly.
—ChewGum: Netflix has been putting out a lot of fun stuff lately. Worth anticipating. Han Seongtae—when you see his acting, it just goes crazy.
An article posted by Kim Minsu.
That article captured what happened at the script reading for Netflix’s ‘Haru.’
A vast amount of information.
And if there was one thing that stood out the most, it was the parts related to Han Seongtae.
Kim Minsu was lavishing praise on Han Seongtae.
He even used the word “genius” as he praised Han Seongtae’s acting.
—RollRollRoll: If it’s a drama Han Seongtae’s in, it’s legit. His acting has been at its peak lately.
—FallFastForGold: I fell for Han Seongtae after watching Baeknyeoncho. I’m already excited to see what kind of acting he’ll show this time.
—FuckingDog: I looked up the contest, and ‘Haru’ is there. This thing kind of slapped. They’re adapting this?
Interest sparked by the article.
People weren’t satisfied with just reading the article.
They went and looked up the details mentioned in it, and they even went as far as searching up the short film festival contest itself.
「[Hey, hey, I think this Han Seongtae contest thing is the one?]
Just in case, I went and looked up the 2023 Free Short Film Festival.
And there was something called ‘Haru.’
Sadly, there’s no video.
I guess Netflix took it down since they’re producing it.
If you look at people’s reactions being good, can we admit it’s okay to hope?
—Vitamin: We admit that part. It’s Han Seongtae, not just anyone. Look at Baeknyeoncho. Honestly, I watched Baeknyeoncho because of Han Seongtae.
—BrokeMyMonitor: Han Seongtae’s acting has something to it. If you even look at that contest thing, look at people’s reactions. They’re all praising Han Seongtae, I’m telling you.
—MyFist: I mean… isn’t it already amazing that a first-year made it this far?
—PullOutRadish: If it were another actor, they couldn’t have done it this far. Look at the guys who debuted around the same time as Han Seongtae. Are any of them even known right now?
There were testimonies from people who had directly searched up the contest.
At those testimonies, people’s reactions heated up even more.
—Villein: I’m insanely excited for Han Seongtae’s next work. If Kim Minsu is saying it this strongly, it means it’s not ordinary.
—abyss2da: Exactly. If that guy who always just trashed people is praising him, there has to be something.
The community, before anyone knew it, was filled with talk about Han Seongtae’s next work.
That was how much attention Han Seongtae was receiving.
Amid the attention of countless people,
“Seongtae, what are you doing? Let’s go!”
“Yes, hyung. I’m coming now.”
Han Seongtae was moving diligently for filming.
Humming, humming.
On top of the set.
Han Seongtae was walking along, humming a tune.
Every time he took a step, people’s gazes followed him.
“This side is locked. Ah, this one’s locked too.”
Han Seongtae was muttering as he wandered around the house built on the set.
He walked very leisurely, repeatedly tossing the axe upward and catching it.
As if he didn’t need to hurry at all.
He moved slowly, but not sluggishly, circling the house.
Bwoong.
A drone followed him.
The camera attached to the drone captured Han Seongtae exactly as he was.
Han Seongtae didn’t care in the slightest about the sound of the drone flying.
His gaze was fixed entirely on the house.
He could see Seo Harin inside.
Following Han Seongtae’s movements, she ran quickly and locked the windows and doors of the house.
So there wouldn’t be even the smallest opening for an outsider to get in.
The sight of Seo Harin running here and there and locking every door she could find looked desperate in itself.
The way she moved with a face full of fear was enough to stir sympathy.
But…
Grin.
Han Seongtae was smiling as he watched.
Because what was there wasn’t Han Seongtae anymore.
From the moment filming began, Han Seongtae had been moving as Choi Deoksu.
His thoughts, his actions—everything belonged to Choi Deoksu.
Seo Harin… Yoon Heeyeon’s terrified face?
That wasn’t a reason for Choi Deoksu to hesitate.
‘It’s so good.’
Her fear was coming to Choi Deoksu as pleasure.
After circling and circling, Choi Deoksu paused at one point.
He saw a door.
It was open, just a little, but that was more than enough for Choi Deoksu to slip in.
“Heh.”
He ran over with a bright smile.
His made-up face twisted grotesquely, forming a bizarre grin.
Click, bang!
It was by a hair.
If Yoon Heeyeon had arrived a little later to lock the door…
If Choi Deoksu’s foot had been even one step faster…
Yoon Heeyeon wouldn’t be able to let out that sigh of relief.
Watching her utterly terrified face, Choi Deoksu smacked his lips as if disappointed.
“…”
Yoon Heeyeon was silent.
She couldn’t say anything at all.
So frightened, she couldn’t even think.
Watching her, Han Seongtae thought Seo Harin was acting very well.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ mutters that that doesn’t look like acting, it looks like she’s really scared.]
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ shakes their head, saying with a face and performance like that, how could anyone not be scared.]
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ nods, saying it wouldn’t be strange at all if this went as a horror genre.]
He could see the gods’ reactions, but they didn’t enter Han Seongtae’s eyes.
He was busy acting right now.
Even while acting, he was thinking about how he could act in a way that felt even more vivid.
Thump, thump.
Choi Deoksu tapped the glass with the axe handle.
At the sound, Yoon Heeyeon flinched and backed away.
“Next time, luck like this won’t follow you.”
A bright, innocent smile on his face.
The makeup followed that smile, creating something eerie and grotesque.
“…”
He could see her staring this way with her mouth hanging open.
Her pale face told anyone that she was terrified.
‘She really is good at acting.’
Watching her, Han Seongtae felt satisfied.
“Cut!”
Right on cue, the director’s voice rang out.
The sound that told them filming was over.
Han Seongtae lowered the axe he’d been holding high and let out a deep breath.
‘This has been happening a lot lately.’
Maybe because he’d been immersing himself too deeply into the role.
After his focus ended, a brief dizziness would come.
His body wasn’t hurting.
The first thing he’d done after signing with PAN Entertainment had been a health checkup.
“Harin, you worked hard. You can stand up, right?”
“Y-yes? Ah… yes.”
When Han Seongtae held out his hand, she flinched, then let out a sigh of relief and took his hand.
After standing, she let out another deep breath and headed toward where her manager was.
“Good work. How is it that you just keep getting better and better at acting?”
“Do I?”
“Yeah. I watched you just now and—ugh… I got full-body goosebumps.”
As Jung Dusik handed him water and spoke, Han Seongtae let a small smile show.
“Seriously, even other people are making a huge fuss saying you act way too well.”
“If they see it positively, I’m grateful.”
“It’s not just seeing it positively. If you listen to what they’re saying, it’s like they’re just seeing you as an acting god.”
An acting god.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ says it wasn’t bad just now, but in the last moment when you raised the axe, your emotion loosened.]
With the acting gods chattering right beside him, maybe it wasn’t entirely wrong.
Han Seongtae smiled and walked toward the monitor.
He could see a crowd of people gathered in front of it.
“Ha…”
“This is crazy. How can he act this well?”
“Is this really the same person acting? No matter how I look, it feels like someone else.”
People were whispering as they watched the monitor.
Han Seongtae stepped in among them.
“Oh, Seongtae’s here.”
“Welcome.”
“Wow, our genius is here.”
People smiled and tossed him a remark each.
Han Seongtae smiled, responded, and then looked straight at the monitor.
On the screen, the scene they had just filmed was playing.
Han Seongtae loitering around the house with an axe.
And in front of him, Seo Harin acting utterly terrified.
‘It’s good.’
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ mutters quietly that no matter how you look at it, that isn’t acting.]
The gods said something strange, but it didn’t enter Han Seongtae’s eyes.
Through the monitor, he checked his own acting to see if there were shortcomings.
Then he analyzed how to act better based on what he found.
“Director, at this level, couldn’t we even aim for number one?”
“Mm… honestly, it’s not impossible. If we add an event and push promotion, the inflow will increase.”
“Then.”
“Still, it’ll be hard. Number one isn’t something you can do as easily as you want. Luck has to follow too.”
From behind, he could hear Yeon Jaehun and the assistant directors talking.
Number one on the popularity rankings.
Looking at the monitor, Han Seongtae clenched and unclenched his fist.
It was true the scene came out well, but it still looked like there were many important parts to reach number one.
Because number one wasn’t something you could get just because you wanted it.
It was probably impossible.
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