“Your passport photo came out really well.”
Kim Minseok was admiring Han Seongtae’s passport photo.
At his voice, Han Seongtae let out a faint laugh and turned a page of the script.
Ever since signing the contract, Han Seongtae hadn’t let go of the script for <Rampage>.
“If you’re a celebrity, do you get some kind of buff? Why is there this much of a difference between you and me?”
Kim Minseok’s brow furrowed as he compared his own passport photo with Han Seongtae’s.
“Compared to you, I’m just a squid. It’s not like people call me ugly wherever I go.”
“Instead, they don’t call you handsome either.”
Han Seongtae had only said a single sentence.
That Kim Minseok had never been told he was handsome.
At that one line, Kim Minseok bristled and shouted.
“Wow, damn, are you crazy? Isn’t that too much? I have been told I’m handsome before!”
“When?”
Han Seongtae turned his head to look at him.
Kim Minseok, his one and only precious friend.
He was important enough that Han Seongtae would give him anything but his life, but he still could not lie.
Kim Minseok was neither handsome nor ugly.
He was dependable.
Yes, Kim Minseok suited the word dependable more than handsome.
“Um… my grandma.”
“Family doesn’t count.”
“Then…”
Watching Kim Minseok clutch his head and struggle, Han Seongtae had a hard time holding back his laughter.
He had said it as a joke, but Kim Minseok was taking it far too seriously.
That was what made it so funny and made him want to tease him again and again.
“If you can’t say it right away, that means there isn’t one.”
“…This is annoying. Fine, you win. Yeah, you’re amazing. Must be so nice being handsome.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Ah, damn!”
As expected, Kim Minseok had great reactions.
Han Seongtae chuckled and picked up the script Kim Minseok had dropped.
“Whew…”
Kim Minseok gulped down bottled water and sat back down.
For a moment, the two of them fell silent.
Kim Minseok stared blankly straight ahead, and Han Seongtae focused on the script.
Tick tock, time passed.
And the one who broke the silence filling the room was Kim Minseok.
“Hey.”
“Yeah.”
“What are you going to do about school?”
“School?”
“Yeah. You said you have to go overseas now. Then you won’t be able to show up for classes.”
“I’ll take a leave.”
At Kim Minseok’s question, Han Seongtae answered without much thought.
A leave of absence was something he’d been thinking about for a long time.
He was already busy, and if he filmed <Rampage>, he would have to be overseas, so there was no way he could keep attending school.
“What about you?”
“Me? I’ll take a leave too.”
“And what are you going to do while you’re on leave?”
“I’ll learn directing under the director. Learning at school isn’t bad, but right now, working under the director seems better. It’s fun too. If I want to make my own work, I have to work hard.”
At Kim Minseok’s words, Han Seongtae let out a quiet laugh and nodded.
While Han Seongtae was focused on filming, Kim Minseok was focused on his own work.
Learning directing under Yeon Jaehun, filling in what he lacked.
Han Seongtae was cheering for his friend’s effort.
Because in his previous life, he had always been the one receiving help.
Because he had seen Kim Minseok find his dream late and struggle through it.
He did not want to keep receiving Kim Minseok’s help. Han Seongtae wanted to be the one to help.
Now, he hoped Kim Minseok could run toward his dream and be happy.
“You made a good decision. You’ve been working hard lately, and it looks good on you.”
“Wow… why do you talk exactly like my mom? For a second it felt like my mom possessed you.”
Kim Minseok shuddered and brushed at his arms.
Seeing that, Han Seongtae could only let out a dry laugh.
Sometimes, Kim Minseok acted like a child.
And yet it was still strange how he became serious the moment he started directing.
“You need to grow up a bit.”
“I already did.”
“Sure, sure. Good boy.”
“…Wow, why is this so annoying? You seriously…”
“What. So you don’t like it?”
“It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just annoying. You’ve gotten way too slick.”
At Kim Minseok’s words, Han Seongtae shrugged.
If you lived life over again, could you really not turn out like this?
Han Seongtae did not bother saying it out loud.
It was not something good to talk about, and Kim Minseok would not be able to believe it anyway.
“Hey, but if you film <Rampage> this time, doesn’t that make you a ten million actor?”
“What ten million actor…”
“Ah, come on, it’s possible. Look at <Instinctive Rush>. Every single one in the series passed ten million. Why would the spinoff be any different?”
At that, Han Seongtae laughed.
Ten million…
It was not impossible.
In his previous life, <Rampage> had hit ten million.
No, was it a little short?
Han Seongtae did not think it was impossible.
If it were only him, it would have been hard to even dream of.
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says it would be good to build your forearm muscles today, and lifts a barbell.]
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ mutters that the script content is really good.]
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ suggests that instead of that, you should try practicing a line or two.]
But because the gods of acting were with him, he could turn the impossible into possible.
“Your friend becoming a ten million actor. You’ll show up in my work later, right?”
“Work?”
“Yeah. I have to make something too. Under my name. <Haru> is something I made too, but it’s kind of awkward, you know? I want to make a proper film.”
“Sure. Call me.”
“Of course I’ll call you. You’re my only connection. If I don’t use you at a time like this, when would I ever use you?”
At Kim Minseok’s matter of fact tone, Han Seongtae smiled and nodded.
“Just don’t boycott me later.”
“Why would I do that? I won’t.”
“Right? That’s what being friends is. You have to use each other at times like this.”
“Sure. Use me as much as you want. Just pay me properly.”
“Of course. You’re our ten million actor. I’ll take good care of you.”
What ten million actor.
Han Seongtae shook his head and returned his gaze to the script.
Rustle, rustle.
As the sound of turning pages filled the living room—
“Hey.”
“Why?”
“They said the teaser drops tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah.”
At Kim Minseok’s question, Han Seongtae hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Tomorrow.
The teaser for <Haru> would be released.
The start of the changes for the two of them would be <Haru>.
Tap, tap.
Kim Cheolmin lifted a finger and slowly tapped the armrest of the sofa.
On the large TV in front of him, the teaser for <Haru> was playing.
“Huff! Huff!”
A woman was running through the forest.
Blood streaming from her forehead trailed in a long line across the ground.
“You’re being a nuisance.”
Behind her, a man was chasing her.
Holding up an axe and cutting down obstacles that got in his way.
He was running after the fleeing woman.
“I want to live.”
The woman’s voice, Seo Harin’s, came through.
“You can’t live.”
Han Seongtae’s voice swallowed hers.
“Run. Keep running. That’s all you can do.”
“I’m going to live.”
“But you know, right? When this game of tag ends—”
“I don’t want to die.”
“I’m going to kill you.”
Their voices overlapped.
And at the end, Han Seongtae holding an axe filled the screen.
Inside a chilling disguise, his eyes gleamed.
Eyes full of killing intent.
Those eyes curved into pale crescents, as if he found it fun.
“Let’s start. A game of tag, just you and me.”
Han Seongtae raised the axe high and swung it toward the camera.
“Hahahahaha!”
At the same time, Han Seongtae’s laughter filled the forest.
“Hah!”
As the screen darkened, Kim Cheolmin let out the breath he had been holding.
He raised a hand to cover his mouth.
This is insane.
It was only a teaser.
A short video barely two or three minutes long.
And yet for that entire time, Kim Cheolmin had been completely seized.
At some point he had become absorbed in the video.
All five senses of his were caught by it.
Even when Yeon Jaehun said he was confident, Kim Cheolmin had thought it would turn out as a reasonably decent work.
But seeing the video himself…
This is beyond what I imagined.
Now he could not help but understand Yeon Jaehun’s confidence.
Feeling his tightly clenched fist damp with sweat, Kim Cheolmin turned his head to check the daughter sitting beside him.
Kim Rina could not take her eyes off the screen even after the teaser ended.
Her wide open eyes showed just how shocked she was.
“Han is good at acting.”
At his words, Kim Rina nodded blankly.
After watching her for a while, Kim Cheolmin turned away again.
He was curious about the reactions of the people who had watched the teaser.
—OneMillionVolt: That was insane. Is a teaser allowed to be like that? Wow… I’m going to go change my underwear.
—BraveUnderwear: Damn, how does this guy act like that? This is a first year? That makes no sense. This is no joke.
—GoldPattern: This is really going to hit big. If the teaser is like this, how crazy is the actual show going to be?
—Lid: Please, just don’t end up being all bark and no bite.
The reaction was explosive.
The moment the teaser dropped, people started leaving comments.
And looking over them, most of them were favorable.
At this level, it was fair to expect the reception of the main release to be strongly positive too.
It feels like we made the right choice using Han Seongtae.
Kim Cheolmin felt as if Han Seongtae’s image from the teaser was still lingering.
Acting that showed he was Choi Deoksu himself.
If they had not brought him in, could Haru have produced something like this?
Kim Cheolmin could immediately answer no.
And now he’s going to be with Britton Lee too.
Han Seongtae was an extraordinary actor in every way.
“I’m looking forward to what comes next.”
“He’s not an actor you look forward to.”
“…?”
Muttering quietly, Kim Cheolmin immediately turned his head at her sudden words.
In his gaze, Kim Rina had her lips pressed tightly together.
He’s not someone you “look forward to.” He’s someone Netflix has to hold onto.
As Kim Rina clenched her fist—
“Rina.”
“Yes, Dad.”
“This time, I’m thinking of shooting a special with the <Haru> cast. What do you think?”
“I love it!”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, the fans will love it!”
Before he even finished, Kim Rina sprang to her feet as she answered.
What he was talking about was making a behind the scenes video for <Haru>.
“You mean the stuff you put on MeTube, right?”
“Yeah.”
Netflix had already filmed making of type videos with actors from earlier works and uploaded them to MeTube.
She remembered the most recent one having 700,000 views.
“If you do it, it’ll be really popular.”
Kim Rina said it with certainty, and Kim Cheolmin nodded, as if he understood.
This will be fun.
Hearing her father’s confirmation, she moved with an even brighter expression.
The fans’ wishes.
Maybe those were closer than anyone thought.
Leave a Reply