The first day of filming.
Kim Seunghun and Andrew left together from Kim Seunghun’s home.
The Yangsuri set.
When they arrived at the place where the first step of would begin, Kim Seunghun, perhaps because he was tense, had his hand trembling slightly even until he parked.
“Seunghun.”
As he finished parking and was about to get out of the car, Andrew, sitting in the passenger seat, spoke.
“Yes?”
“Are you scared?”
“…”
It had been a long time since acting felt this burdensome.
Up until now, sets had been places he came to with a light mindset, but this felt different.
The is the first set he was coming to after changing his acting method.
How would the camera capture his appearance on set?
Maybe because worries like that showed on his face, Andrew, on purpose, spoke in an even more playful tone.
“Haha. Doesn’t it feel like going back to when you acted for the first time?”
“Rather than the first time standing in front of a camera, I think I’m more nervous.”
“A complete coward, huh?”
Andrew, showing a playful smile, said toward Kim Seunghun.
“A coward?”
“Yes. When you take on a new challenge, you should feel fluttering. Not be nervous.”
“Fluttering and nervous are a hair’s difference. I do have fluttering feelings right now too.”
“Looks like you’re trembling like a puppy that needs to pee.”
At Andrew’s words, Kim Seunghun snorted a laugh and replied.
“It’s not to that extent.”
“Loosen up a little. If you’re only tense like that, you can’t act properly either.”
“Today, you’re kindly burdensome.”
At Kim Seunghun’s reply, Andrew laughed and answered.
“If someone’s kind, you should know to be grateful, you punk. Then should I say you’re a green rookie right before filming or something?”
“That would be better. Better than praise that doesn’t even suit you.”
“Hm…”
Watching Andrew clear his throat, Kim Seunghun snorted a laugh, got out of the car, and headed toward the makeup van.
Inside, there were three members of the makeup team in charge of Kim Seunghun.
They moved busily, once more adjusting Ryu Seongmin’s outfit and props.
“Kim Seunghun-ssi. Today you look even more handsome.”
At the makeup artist’s smooth talk, Kim Seunghun gave a small smile once.
“Seems like you worked out even harder. Even your jawline looks much more defined.”
“Haha, thank you.”
While getting his makeup done, Kim Seunghun looked at Ryu Seongmin’s clothes displayed behind him.
A purple trench coat and his trademark black mask.
On the mask that could cover the entire front of the face, there were traces carved deeply as if by a blade.
“Hoo…”
“Today you seem very nervous. Are you okay?”
At the staff member’s words as they touched up Kim Seunghun’s face, he gave an awkward smile and said.
“Haha…… yes. I’m okay. Haha…….”
Ryu Seongmin of <Space Vagabond>.
He had to immerse into him properly.
He had to properly show what he had practiced all this time.
So that, like Andrew said, the film could succeed.
When they arrived at the spaceship set for Ryu Seongmin in <Space Vagabond>, many people were moving busily.
The busiest especially were the art team.
This shoot took place on a set that depicted the interior of Ryu Seongmin’s spaceship, “Eagles.”
Props completed through hundreds of rounds of confirmation.
The detail was clearly alive, and it did not seem lacking for the actors to immerse.
“Oh, Director Gyeong. You came?”
Art director Kim Juri approached me as I was looking over the Eagles and greeted me.
“Hello.”
“So how is it? Do you like it now?”
Ryu Seongmin’s spaceship, Eagles.
It had been made through countless revisions.
In particular, they paid even more attention to the Eagles’ design.
In the protagonist’s spaceship dogfight, what was important to draw people’s interest was not scientific accuracy but a distinctive visual.
“There were so many revision requests, everyone is so tired they’re about to die.”
“I’m sorry…”
Kim Juri looked at my expression, then snorted a laugh and patted my back.
“Sorry for what? Still, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do something like this again. Seriously. Making miniatures, and how many times we held meetings among ourselves. I think I’m going to be more familiar with the team members’ faces than my family’s faces.”
Kim Juri looked around the Eagles once and continued.
“Still, thanks to Director Gyeong’s revision requests, the detail is more alive. It really feels like a spaceship that could exist in the future.”
The many keypads on the “Eagles.”
Even if pressed, they meant nothing, but they seemed sufficient to fool the audience’s eyes.
While I was checking the Eagles, Kim Juri saw something and shouted.
“Kor 2138! Come here!”
At Kim Juri’s words, a cylindrical robot, just big enough for a small person to barely fit inside, approached.
Then the cylindrical robot suddenly grew larger and legs popped out.
“Senior, you know I’m inside it! I’m not some puppy or anything!”
A junior from the art team grumbled toward Director Kim Juri.
Even though the weather was not that hot, he was sweating buckets.
“It’s because it’s cute. Director Gyeong. How did you think of something like this?”
An AI that can interpret all languages in the world.
An AI robot is a character that appears like a cliché not only in the space opera genre, but in any future setting film.
Like TARS from <Interstellar>, like C 3PO from <Star Wars>, it was a character created with the intention of keeping the atmosphere cheerful, centered on back and forth banter with the protagonist.
“It came out much cuter than expected, right?”
“Yes. I really like it.”
“Rather, I’m saying I like this one more than the protagonist?”
Kim Juri, looking proudly at the props she created, said.
“But you chose the background really well. Since you just made it the 2200s, didn’t even need things like scientific accuracy. Like Director Gyeong said, things that can arouse curiosity in the audience while also being enjoyable visually. Since I only thought about that and made it. It was fun.”
“I feel like I’m going to die, though?”
From behind, an art team member who was wiping sweat with a towel spoke.
“Hey. That’s why I pay you more. Not enough? Then should we change it?”
“…”
“You punk. You got excited and applied when I said I’d pay more.”
The art team staff behind shut his mouth at Kim Juri’s words and sighed.
“Did I know it would be this hard…?”
“Haha. It’s hard, right?”
At my words, the staff member in charge of Kor 2138’s movement shook his head as if flustered.
“Ah, no. Director. I’m originally pretty close with Juri noona, so we’re just joking…”
“Huh? I’m not close with you.”
“Come on. Noona, why are you like this.”
“I told you to call me Director on set!”
At their conversation, a snort of laughter came out. And while I was checking the inside of the Eagles again, I saw Andrew and Kim Seunghun entering the set.
Andrew and Kim Seunghun, as if amazed at the spaceship set they were seeing for the first time, looked around.
And maybe because Kim Seunghun noticed me, he waved his hand toward me and approached.
“Chanhyeon!”
“Oh, you’re here.”
Seeing Kim Seunghun, the corners of my mouth naturally lifted.
It felt like the character called Ryu Seongmin from <Space Vagabond>, who had only existed abstractly in my head, had popped out into reality.
Even down to the purple trench coat, and the black mask he carried at his side.
At the perfect visual, my mouth fell open.
“This is insane. I didn’t think it would suit you this well.”
At my praise, Kim Seunghun, as if embarrassed, answered with an awkward smile.
“Thanks. Haha. But the set is also really insane. This kind of thing is completely my first time. A spaceship…”
“It’s the spaceship you’re the owner of, hyung. Haha.”
Andrew beside him also looked at the set and spoke to me.
“It’s not something you just made roughly. It’s beyond expectations.”
“Haha. Thank you. You can also look forward to Planet Selene. We made it all as miniatures.”
What the CG team would focus on was the space background and motion capture.
Even just this had them busy out of their minds, and to reduce that burden even a little, divided a lot of work with the art team.
When using Planet Selene as the background, most of what would be shown would be through illusions using miniature techniques.
If even that were left to the CG team, in an instant, the budget would have easily jumped past 20 billion won, and we would have had to hire many more people.
“It’s tremendous.”
Andrew looked at me as if it was fascinating.
“Taylor, that friend’s CG team too, and your art team too. No matter how I think about it, it’s really amazing.”
“Yes?”
Andrew, as if embarrassed that praise had come out of his mouth, turned his eyes to the set.
“What did you say?”
“It’s nothing. Forget it. Hm. Let’s just watch Kim Seunghun act.”
At that appearance, Kim Seunghun laughed loudly and pointed at Andrew.
“Changing the subject. He said it’s amazing, Chanhyeon.”
“Hey, hyung. I heard it too, but I wanted to hear it properly from Andrew’s mouth.”
“…”
Andrew, his face red, headed to the place where the actors waited.
“Andrew hyung! Where are you going alone like that. Let’s go together!”
Kim Seunghun, with light footsteps, chased after Andrew, whose neck was also red.
At their backs, for no reason, my heart stung.
Kim Seunghun seemed brighter, and it felt like his bright personality had properly seeped into Andrew.
Andrew also no longer looked like an old man with a filthy personality.
A little later.
“Kim Seunghun-ssi, and the person in charge of Kor 2138! Please get ready!”
At the staff member’s shout calling him, Kim Seunghun let out a rough sigh.
“Aren’t you going?”
“Yes?”
“Move quickly. There isn’t even time to breathe a sigh like that.”
Andrew looked at Kim Seunghun with eyes full of anticipation. But Kim Seunghun, perhaps because the tension had not fully loosened, stood up with a stiff expression.
“You’re like a wooden club. Loosen your face too, you punk.”
At Andrew’s words, Kim Seunghun tapped his cheeks repeatedly.
“Just remember properly what you know. The rest, the staff will take care of it on their own.”
“Haha. Andrew, you can say things like that too.”
Kim Seunghun spoke with the corners of his mouth slightly lifted, as if his tension had loosened a bit.
“What?”
“You said you would never trust the staff. You said the only thing to trust is me.”
“…Today I changed a bit. Look at that set. Anyway, the important thing isn’t that.”
Kim Seunghun snorted a laugh, seeing Andrew’s flustered expression.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, my tension loosens a bit too.”
“Tsk. Then that’s fine.”
Andrew frowned as if he did not like Kim Seunghun’s reaction, then quickly relaxed it.
“Let’s go out quickly. I’m curious too.”
“Yes, yes. Understood.”
Kim Seunghun stood up from the chair and smoothed his clothes once. Then after looking in the mirror once, he pressed his temple with his index finger and said in Korean.
“You’re Ryu Seongmin now.”
Andrew, who did not understand those words, blankly looked at Kim Seunghun for a moment.
“What did you say?”
“From now on, you are Ryu Seongmin.”
“Hah, a classic immersion gesture.”
When they went out of the actor waiting room, the staff who had finished preparing for filming came into view, waiting for Ryu Seongmin.
And Gyeong Chanhyeon looked at Kim Seunghun with eyes full of expectation.
After striding toward the camera.
Kim Seunghun, lying on the bed, blankly stared at the ceiling.
“You’re ready, right?”
At Gyeong Chanhyeon’s words, Kim Seunghun nodded.
“Scene 1, cut 1, take 1!”
Clack!
At the sound of the slate struck by the youngest on the directing team, Kim Seunghun closed his eyes.
And Gyeong Chanhyeon’s shout that came through.
“Action!”
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