‘He’s an interesting person.’
Rogers let out a small laugh as he looked at Han Seongtae.
At first, he had not been particularly interested in him.
Because Britton Lee praised him, he had simply thought, ah, so he’s a fairly decent actor.
That was all Rogers had felt while looking at Han Seongtae.
When Han Seongtae showed a good side of himself at the script reading, Rogers became interested in him as a person.
And the moment he saw Han Seongtae’s acting on set, all that came out was a hollow laugh.
‘I thought he was good even during the script reading.’
The acting Han Seongtae began showing on set was far too different from what Rogers had seen at the script reading.
Should he say that it had gained a sense of reality?
Han Seongtae was acting as if he had become a different person.
The pronunciation with which he delivered the lines was smooth, and his breathing was steady.
More than anything, the character Han Seongtae was acting was coming through in full dimension.
If a person named Yu actually existed, wouldn’t he look exactly like that?
“Can you even drive properly in a car like that?”
Han Seongtae’s acting was so vivid that Rogers naturally became excited too.
Ah, with someone like this, I can push things to the limit.
That thought came to him on its own.
He gave a small laugh.
Watching Han Seongtae’s dry laugh, Rogers clenched his fist.
Just as it was not Han Seongtae but Yu standing before him,
Rogers, too, faced him as Daniel.
Vroom, vroom.
At the sound of the engine, Rogers’s heart pounded wildly.
He could not help but feel that they might be able to create the best scene possible.
[Scene 3. Daniel turns to look at Yu. Seeing his fierce smile, the corner of his mouth lifts slightly.]
Following the script, he turned his head and saw it.
Han Seongtae, Yu, smiling as if he was going crazy because he wanted to start racing right this instant.
At that fierce smile, the corner of Daniel’s mouth twitched on its own.
Because he was acting together with Han Seongtae, he was able to immerse himself in the role naturally.
Let’s run.
His instincts were telling him to step on the pedal.
Bang!
The gunshot rang out, and he left himself to instinct.
Vroooom!
The cars shot forward.
—50…… 60…… 80…….
He could see the speed on the gauge rising quickly.
In an instant the car had passed 100 kilometers per hour and reached the corner at a terrifying speed.
—You don’t need to push it too hard in the corner. We’re using a stuntman for the drift scene, so don’t feel pressured. Just act.
As the area the director had mentioned drew near, Rogers stepped on the brake.
No matter how much he loved driving, he was someone who knew how to distinguish between what he could do and what he could not.
Rogers was acting as Daniel, but he was not Daniel.
Screech.
As soon as he hit the brake, the car’s speed began to drop.
Thinking Han Seongtae would lower his speed too, he had no choice but to pause at the sound ringing in his ears.
Vroooom!
Unlike what he had expected, Han Seongtae did not slow down, and instead his car was running even faster.
‘Huh?’
Watching Han Seongtae’s car blaze past him in an instant, Rogers could only stare blankly.
Instead of lowering his speed, he was increasing it?
That was something unthinkable to Rogers.
Immersing yourself in acting was one thing, but you should not recklessly show off.
It was when his mind had gone blank for an instant and he was staring ahead in a daze.
Screeeech!
As Han Seongtae’s car took the corner, Rogers was able to see his face through the front windshield.
He was smiling.
There was Yu in that car.
Vroooom!
The car came out of the corner in a drift and shot down the road.
Watching that, Rogers gripped the steering wheel tightly.
Unlike him, who had been acting Daniel, there was Yu in the car Han Seongtae was driving.
That difference was so striking it almost made him laugh.
“A mad bastard just showed up.”
He muttered quietly and let out a hollow laugh.
“Cuuut!”
The director’s voice, sounding as if it would tear, rang out.
Screeeech!
Cutting through that sound, the shriek of tires tore into Han Seongtae’s ears.
“Hoo…”
Han Seongtae, pressing the brake all the way down, could not move for a while and only let out a deep breath.
A drift done on impulse.
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ shouts at you, asking if you’ve lost your mind.]
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ lets out a hollow laugh, saying he never thought he’d see another person who risked his life for acting.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ applauds you, saying you are manhood itself.]
The gods were speaking to him, but for Han Seongtae, whose vision had gone white for a moment, those messages were invisible.
“Inhale… exhale…”
After breathing several times, Han Seongtae’s trembling body gradually calmed.
Just now…
Only for a moment, but while drifting, he had been able to see the world of ‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed.’
It had been a fantastic experience, and it had hit him with just as strong a shock.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says he is satisfied to have enjoyed speed again for the first time in a while.]
Looking at the god’s message, Han Seongtae let out a hollow laugh and slowly got out of the car.
The moment he stepped out, he could see the smell of burning rubber and smoke rising from the tires.
That drift had burned the tires out.
“F-fire!”
“Bring the extinguisher!”
The staff hurriedly brought a fire extinguisher.
Fwoooosh!
With the powder sprayed from the extinguisher, the heat of the tires died down.
As Han Seongtae watched that, he saw the director, Jung Dusik, and the other actors running toward him.
“Han! Are you hurt anywhere?”
At Britton Lee’s question, Han Seongtae smiled and nodded.
“Hey, you crazy bastard! Are you out of your mind trying to die?”
Jung Dusik, usually quiet, struck his shoulder in anger.
The hit hurt, but the smile on Han Seongtae’s lips still remained.
Because it had been enjoyable.
Because he had driven properly, acted properly, and created a good scene.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says that strictly speaking, that was not proper driving.]
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ points out that if you had been even slightly slower hitting the brake at that corner just now, the car would have flipped immediately.]
Even at the message sent by the god of acting, the smile on Han Seongtae’s lips showed no sign of fading.
He had checked the monitor himself, and everyone had said it could not have been any better.
Han Seongtae thought so too.
“Han.”
“Ah, Rogers. Good work.”
“Why did you do that earlier?”
“Pardon?”
“It could have been dangerous. Even if you had safety gear on.”
“Ah.”
At Rogers’s words, Han Seongtae scratched his head.
Han Seongtae knew too that it had been dangerous.
How could he not?
He had been so focused while driving that he had not even breathed, and because of that, once the acting ended, his breath had caught in his throat.
While drifting, he could have lost control and slammed into the wall several times over.
There had been many situations where it would not have been strange for the car to flip.
And yet the reason Han Seongtae could still smile was—
“Because it’s fun.”
“…What?”
“Because acting is fun. I even think maybe it would be fine if I died while acting.”
“…”
“I know that might seem strange.”
“No. It doesn’t seem strange. It’s cool. So cool that it makes me look pathetic. I should reflect on myself.”
Watching his reaction, Han Seongtae blinked.
He had not expected Rogers to react like this at all.
Within Han Seongtae’s blank stare, Rogers spoke.
“Han, I won’t lose to you.”
“…”
“Should we just speak casually? I’d like to do that with you.”
“Sounds good.”
Han Seongtae, too, was more than willing to become closer with Rogers.
The more you got to know Rogers, the cooler he seemed.
“I’ll be in your care from here on.”
“I’ll be in your care too, Rogers.”
The two of them smiled as they looked at each other.
“The food is here!”
At the staff member’s voice, Han Seongtae lit up visibly.
Maybe because there were so many action scenes, his physical exhaustion was bound to be high.
Naturally, that meant he was hungry too.
As Han Seongtae got out of the car, Rogers came over and spoke to him.
“Wow, the food’s finally here.”
“Seriously. I was hungry, so this came at the perfect time.”
“Come on. I’m going to eat five bowls today.”
At Rogers’s words, Han Seongtae laughed and walked with him.
The two of them got their food and sat side by side at the same table.
“Is it okay if I sit here too?”
“Of course. Come on over.”
As the two of them sat there, Ivy and the other actors gathered beside them.
Han Seongtae glanced at them, then picked up his spoon.
“Han, you were pretty intense earlier too.”
“You weren’t bad either.”
“I’ve still got a long way to go. Ah, right. If you get the chance later, want to go driving at the track I usually go to? It’ll be fun.”
“Sounds good.”
At Rogers’s suggestion, Han Seongtae smiled and nodded.
He had already been finding driving extremely enjoyable while filming Rampage.
If he got the chance later, it might be good to race together with Rogers.
‘I need to buy a car too.’
As he got into driving, he had naturally started taking an interest in cars as well.
He had a driver’s license, but he did not have a car, did he?
Someday, it might be a good idea to go buy one.
It would be hard right now, but later, when he had more room, maybe.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says he can pick the very best car for you.]
Since he even had someone beside him who could help, buying a car would not be a problem either.
For now, let’s focus on filling his stomach.
“This is good.”
Han Seongtae was admiring the food as he tasted it.
Was it really okay for catered buffet food to taste this good?
At this level of quality, he felt like he could eat nothing but buffet food for a whole month.
“Han. I guess it must be hard to eat food like this in Korea?”
“…?”
At the voice from beside him, Han Seongtae’s hand holding the chopsticks paused.
‘What did I just hear?’
Feeling slightly taken aback, Han Seongtae turned his head toward the direction the voice had come from.
And he found Michael there, wearing a strange smile.
“I don’t know that much about Korea, but I do know it’s a conflict nation. They say you’re still at war, right?”
“Huh? Is that true?”
“Han, your country is at war?”
At Michael’s words, the surrounding actors lifted their heads in interest.
Seeing them, Han Seongtae set down the chopsticks he had been holding.
“I saw something on MiTube a long time ago. They said that in conflict nations, it’s common for people not to have food and to go hungry.”
‘How old is the information he’s talking about?’
“I hope you eat a lot while you’re here. Once you go back, it’ll probably be hard to eat properly.”
“Thank you for the concern, but just because it’s a conflict nation doesn’t mean it’s like that.”
Han Seongtae had no intention of just listening to words like that.
How many people would sit quietly while someone openly insulted their home country right in front of them?
“Korea is far more prosperous than you think. Everyone lives comfortably. There are even statistics saying it’s one of the safest countries when it comes to public safety, and K-pop is famous too.”
“…”
“What you’re thinking of is probably from decades ago. If you saw it on MiTube, that is. Though it is strange. If you search Korea on MiTube, you should have been able to tell exactly what kind of country it is. Why don’t you try searching again?”
“…”
“Korea has a lot of things that are famous worldwide too, from intangible cultural heritage to music. If you come to Korea later, I can show you around properly.”
Han Seongtae said it with a bright smile, and at that smile, Michael’s expression cracked.
“I’ve been wanting to go to Korea anyway. If I do go later, could you show me around?”
“As much as you want.”
“Oh, Han, me too. I want to go to Korea too.”
“If Ivy comes, she’ll always be welcome.”
At the other actors’ words, Michael’s face twisted.
Seeing that expression, Han Seongtae smiled and turned his head away.
‘Ah, this is delicious.’
The food tasted especially good.
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