A week passed more quickly than expected.
Han Seongtae woke up early in the morning, did some light exercise, and immediately changed his clothes.
With the script in hand, Seongtae sat on the sofa and looked down at his phone screen.
[March 15.]
The calendar was visible, and beside the date there were words written there.
It said it was the first day of filming for Rampage.
Han Seongtae turned off his phone and picked up the script.
There were still more than three hours left until filming.
Before heading to the set, he went over the script one last time for a final check.
Click.
How much time had passed like that?
Along with the sound of the lock being opened, Jung Dusik opened the door and came inside.
He gave the room a quick look around, then walked over to the sofa where Han Seongtae was sitting.
“You’re up early. Aren’t you tired?”
“No, I’m fine.”
At Jung Dusik’s question, Han Seongtae answered with a bright smile.
At that, Jung Dusik smiled and nodded.
“I’ll tell you today’s schedule. We’re eating lunch at 12, and then we’ll head to the set by 2. I already got the address. We’ll eat dinner at 6, and then they say we’re going into the night shoot.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“They must be in a hurry here too. Usually they don’t move this fast.”
At Jung Dusik’s words, Han Seongtae let out a small laugh and turned a page of the script.
International Film, the production company for Rampage, was pushing the filming schedule along.
With all the money being spent in every direction, starting with the daily lodging costs, they probably wanted to wrap up filming as quickly as possible.
Han Seongtae could understand how they felt well enough.
Han Seongtae, who treated time like gold, felt the same way.
‘If filming speeds up, that’s good for me.’
A shortened shooting schedule was good news for Han Seongtae.
He wanted to act with the other actors as quickly as possible.
He wanted to build good scenes with them as they matched their acting together.
For him, a week had felt far too long.
“Still, we really made good use of that week. We saw all of Boston too.”
“It was fun. And it helped a lot.”
Of course, he had not simply stayed inside the lodging during that week.
Even when Han Seongtae tried to practice, Jung Dusik would not allow it.
Whenever he was looking at the script, Jung Dusik would suddenly show up, grab him by the wrist, and pull him outside.
It felt like they spent six hours outside every day.
It had been a good time.
How many chances would someone as busy as him have to look around Boston?
Once filming started, that time would only decrease.
In that sense, Han Seongtae was grateful to Jung Dusik.
If Jung Dusik had not been there, he would have stayed in the lodging every day doing nothing but practice.
“Let’s head out soon. I think we can eat lunch and then go straight to the set. I looked up the address, and it takes a whole hour by car from here.”
“That’s a long time. Then we should get moving.”
Now that it was already past 11 in the morning, there was no time to sit around leisurely.
Han Seongtae immediately stood up and left the lodging with Jung Dusik.
“This place is pretty good.”
“It is. It was even better than I expected.”
They had a light lunch at a restaurant near the hotel.
Maybe because it was a tourist area, but there were quite a lot of good restaurants around the hotel.
It was enough to shake even Han Seongtae’s belief that chicken might be the most delicious food there was.
‘Next time, it might be nice to come here with Minseok.’
He did not want to keep places like this to himself.
The next time he had time, it might be worth thinking about coming back with the people precious to him.
“Hyung, on the way there, can I drive?”
“…Huh?”
“I want to get used to the feel of driving here in advance.”
“Well, you do have a license, so it’s not like you can’t. Will you be okay?”
“Yes.”
At Jung Dusik’s question, Han Seongtae smiled and nodded.
Once he got into the car, Han Seongtae drove skillfully.
“Wow… You’re good at driving. When did you practice this much?”
“Just here and there whenever I had time.”
As he turned the steering wheel, Han Seongtae gave a small shrug at Jung Dusik’s words.
American roads definitely felt different from Korean ones.
Maybe because the land was so wide, what he liked most was that you could really open up your speed.
When they arrived at the filming location,
Han Seongtae got out of the car and walked with Jung Dusik toward where the set was.
In the distance, he could see Britton Lee and the actors.
“Director!”
“Oh, Han, you came early again today.”
Seeing Han Seongtae, Britton Lee welcomed him warmly.
After exchanging greetings with Britton Lee, Han Seongtae turned his head and looked around.
He could see the set, and inside and outside it, there were cars.
‘…Huh?’
There were cars.
Several cars that would be used for filming.
After finishing his greeting with Britton Lee, Han Seongtae immediately walked over to where the cars were.
There were more than five of them, and each one showed off its own individuality.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says they are familiar brands and his eyes shine.]
Among them, there was one car in particular.
The one in the center of the group was a sports car from a Japanese brand.
Its tuned appearance was so sleek and well-shaped that it was impossible to look away.
And it was not just the cars.
The quality of the set itself was on an entirely different level from what he had seen in Korea.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ says there is a reason actors are so desperate for Hollywood.]
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ says even the scale is different and looks over the set closely.]
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ says that with a set like this, acting would feel incredibly satisfying.]
Han Seongtae looked over the set and the cars with the gods, his eyes shining.
Seeing the set in person made him want to act even sooner.
It felt like it would be unbelievably fun.
“So you really are interested in cars.”
While Han Seongtae was standing beside the sports car and looking around it, Britton Lee came over and spoke.
He was wearing a warm smile as he looked at Han Seongtae.
“Yes, I got interested in them recently.”
“I see.”
After one god of acting had appeared, Han Seongtae had ended up developing an interest in cars.
Even when he was walking down the street, if there was a car on the road, his eyes would naturally drift toward it.
He found himself imagining how enjoyable it would be if he were the one driving it.
“Would you like to get in once?”
“…”
At the director’s offer, Han Seongtae paused.
Would he like to get in once?
Han Seongtae stared at the car, then shook his head.
“No. I’ll be riding in it a lot from now on anyway. It’s okay. Thank you for thinking of me.”
“All right. I’m looking forward to seeing you act, Han.”
Britton Lee reached out and patted Han Seongtae on the shoulder.
At that touch, Han Seongtae smiled.
They spoke for quite a while together.
And then the other actors arrived at the set.
The first shoot for Rampage was a racing scene.
Because it was a scene that formed the foundation of the film and announced both its beginning and its end, people were moving busily while paying even more attention than usual.
While the staff were rushing around, Han Seongtae was talking with the actors.
“So the first shoot is a race. I really like this kind of thing.”
“Rogers looks really happy. I’m worried, though. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do well.”
“Ivy, don’t worry too much. Driving isn’t hard. You just have to keep a good grip on the wheel and shift gears properly.”
“That’s exactly what I can’t do. I only barely know how the controls work, so what if I make a lot of mistakes?”
At Ivy’s anxious look, Rogers laughed and encouraged her, saying it would be fine.
‘Come to think of it, Rogers was originally an actor who loved driving.’
Rogers was famous for his looks and acting, but he was equally famous for his love of cars.
He loved driving so much that articles had even been written praising how good he was at it.
“How about you, Han? Are you good at driving?”
“I don’t think I’m bad at it. I did drive a lot in Korea, after all.”
“That really makes me look forward to it.”
Hearing Han Seongtae’s answer, a smile appeared on Rogers’s lips.
Apparently, Ivy’s lack of confidence, as one of the leads, had made him uneasy.
From his position, it was a relief if there was even one more person who knew how to drive.
It was not as if he could personally give driving lessons to everyone.
‘Ah, I want to act already.’
As he talked with Rogers, Han Seongtae stole glances at the set.
The technicians standing with the staff were checking over the set once again.
To make sure no problem arose, they carefully inspected everything one more time, from the set to the cars.
Once that inspection was over, they could begin acting right away.
“It feels like driving together is going to be fun. I wonder when they’ll finish checking.”
“I’m waiting for them to finish too.”
At Rogers’s words, Han Seongtae smiled and nodded.
It was a good atmosphere.
This moment of talking about acting with the actors was enjoyable.
That enjoyment was shattered all too easily by a single voice.
“But isn’t driving in Korea very different from driving here?”
“…Pardon?”
“Driving isn’t easy when you do it on unfamiliar roads. The roads in Korea and the U.S. are different from the start. Will you really be okay?”
“……”
“Ah, maybe it doesn’t matter. There are stuntmen too.”
Why was this person like this again?
Looking at Michael, Han Seongtae frowned without realizing it.
He could have just stayed quiet.
But Michael always had to say one thing and ruin the good atmosphere.
“You are going to use a stuntman, right?”
“…I’m doing it myself.”
“What? Won’t it be hard to drive when even the road conditions are different?”
At Michael’s seemingly concerned tone, Han Seongtae let out a hollow laugh inwardly.
He did not know what Michael thought Korea was like, but every single thing Michael said made Han Seongtae uncomfortable.
“Thank you for the concern, but it’s fine. I’m confident when it comes to driving.”
“You’re confident?”
“Yes.”
Han Seongtae nodded with complete certainty.
At that, Han Seongtae could see Michael narrowing his eyes.
It was the look of someone who absolutely could not understand where Han Seongtae’s confidence was coming from.
He could see Michael’s face full of doubt, but Han Seongtae did not try to clear it up.
Rather than clearing it up, he simply smiled.
That question of whether he was confident in driving.
It might mean something when asked of someone else, but to Han Seongtae, it meant nothing.
‘Confident?’
How could he not be confident?
He had no choice but to be confident, and there was a reason for that.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ wears a fierce smile and says it is time to show his skills again after so long.]
A god of acting was with him.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says he is worried whether they will be able to keep up with him.]
As long as he was together with a god of acting, there was nothing Han Seongtae lacked confidence in.
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