Bang!
The moment the gunshot that pierced his eardrums rang out, Han Seongtae immediately stepped on the pedal.
Han Seongtae’s car began to rush forward with a roar.
Ahead of him, two cars driven by Luna and Rogers had already shot out first.
The cars they were driving were from a brand called the sports car of sports cars.
Compared to his old car, there was bound to be a difference starting from the speed at which they launched.
Looking at the cars that had already pulled far away, Han Seongtae did not seem nervous. He looked calm.
‘It runs well.’
He changed gears.
Clack.
Each time the gear rose by one level, the car pushed against his back.
The car was gradually rising higher.
Han Seongtae was not in a hurry.
Because he already knew the result of this race.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ loosens his hands, saying he should show the juniors what driving is.]
There was a reason he could not lose alongside him, so there was no need to get impatient just because he was a little slower.
Clack.
The speed of the car, which had gone up another gear, had already passed 200 km/h before he knew it.
The objects around him flashed by in an instant, and Han Seongtae faced the first corner.
Far ahead, he could see the two cars turning the corner.
Watching the way they dug in from the outside course to the inside course, the corner of Han Seongtae’s mouth rose slightly.
The speed they had pushed all the way through on the straightaway, they immediately reduced when they faced the curve.
And that became Han Seongtae’s chance to overtake.
Clack, tak.
His hands moved busily.
He shifted gears and quickly turned the wheel.
Han Seongtae’s car, turning through the curve, did not reduce speed at all.
The car began to grow faster and faster.
Screeeech!
With the harsh noise of tires scraping, the body of the car was pushed sideways.
Vroooom!
Han Seongtae’s car, which had slipped out of the corner with a drift, began to run at a fierce speed.
His car, which had not slowed on the curve, widened the distance from the cars that had reduced their speed.
[‘The One with a Thousand Faces’ mutters softly that he also once liked speed.]
[‘The One with a Thousand Faces’ says he wants to drive a car too.]
Messages from the gods of acting appeared now and then while he was driving.
But he did not let his concentration waver and gripped the steering wheel tightly.
With his gaze fixed straight ahead, he occasionally checked the rearview mirror and confirmed the figures of the friends following behind him.
Vroooom!
Before long, Han Seongtae had passed the second course and was racing toward the final course.
If he kept going like this, he would be able to cross the finish line without any strain.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says complacency is not good.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says martial artists lose because they become complacent.]
Complacency?
The corner of Han Seongtae’s mouth curled up.
He was not complacent.
How could he be?
Vroooom!
The two cars that had followed right up behind him were constantly eyeing the chance to get ahead of him.
Han Seongtae absolutely was not complacent.
There were two curves on the final course.
He intended to shake both of them off on those two courses.
Rogers and Luna were both good drivers.
‘But they’re still not good enough to follow me.’
To beat him when the gods were with him, they needed to drive better than they did now.
They did not.
Grip.
Strength entered the hands holding the steering wheel, and Han Seongtae’s car entered the first curve.
Screeeech!
He did not reduce his speed.
He turned through the curve at a speed where it would not have been strange if he spun out right away.
Screech!
Rogers’s car, which had been turning the corner after him, spun around and around before stopping in place.
Rogers did not have the skill to quickly recover from a spin and take off again.
‘The only one left is Luna.’
Watching Luna cling to him stubbornly, Han Seongtae turned the wheel.
Luna was good at driving.
She had loved cars from a young age and lived alongside cars, and running with her like this, he could feel at least a little of the affection she had for them.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ smiles proudly, saying she really is someone’s daughter.]
I don’t think this is the time for that.
Before he knew it, Luna’s car was running beside him.
Han Seongtae’s driving skill was better, but the car Luna was driving had enough performance to narrow that difference in skill.
He glanced sideways and could see Luna’s face as she drove right beside him.
She was smiling.
Just as Han Seongtae was enjoying this now, she was enjoying it too.
Han Seongtae, who had been looking at Luna, turned his head forward again.
The finish line was visible.
Han Seongtae’s car was ahead by a narrow margin.
If things went on like this, Han Seongtae would win.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ takes his foot off the pedal, asking how he could possibly win this race.]
The speed dropped.
It was only for a brief moment, and he immediately raised his speed again.
Rattle.
The two cars crossed the finish line at the same time.
That subtle difference became an equal difference because of a single hesitation.
“……”
With his foot on the brake, Han Seongtae blankly looked at the gods’ messages.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ showed an awkward reaction.]
Rather than wondering why he had done that there, the thought that he could do that came first.
It was not that he could not understand his heart.
He had only gone blank because he felt a little regretful.
Han Seongtae got out of the car and found Luna wearing a proud smile.
Right. If she was satisfied, that was enough.
The god of acting had wanted that too.
While Han Seongtae was looking at her, she also looked at Han Seongtae and moved her feet.
Luna, who came close, spoke to him.
“That was fun. You really drive well. I didn’t know you could do that much with that car.”
“Luna, you drive well too. I thought I’d be able to shake you off on the final course.”
At Han Seongtae’s words, she smiled bashfully.
Until Rogers came, the two of them happily talked.
The sight of the two of them talking about driving looked enjoyable.
Vrooom.
Rogers arrived, and the moment he got out of the car, he grumbled.
“Seriously, aren’t you all driving way too brutally? A beginner like me can’t live because it’s too unfair.”
At his words, Han Seongtae and Luna laughed.
Rogers came closer, and as she looked at him, something suddenly seemed to occur to her, so she spoke to Han Seongtae.
“Han, but why did you lower your speed at the end?”
“My speed?”
“Yes. If you had gone in like that, Han would have won. Your speed dropped at the end.”
At her words, Han Seongtae smiled awkwardly and glanced to one side.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ pretended not to know anything.]
Han Seongtae let out an inward sigh and opened his mouth.
“Maybe it was because the car was old? I did intend to win.”
“Ah.”
At his words, Luna nodded as if she understood.
It was true that the car was old.
Simply drawing with Luna’s car in that car was amazing enough.
Han Seongtae did not bother saying the truth.
There was such a thing as a white lie, after all.
“Next time, let’s race with proper cars.”
“Sounds good.”
He was willing to drive with her as much as she wanted.
Today’s race had been fun, and he was certain the next one would be fun too.
Rogers, who had been watching the two talk, frowned and opened his mouth.
“Isn’t this a bit much when the person who came last is right in front of you?”
At his words, Han Seongtae and Luna burst into laughter again.
This time, it was a laugh big enough to clear their chests.
“Good work.”
Britton Lee approached Han Seongtae, who was coming out of the recording room, and spoke to him.
Han Seongtae lowered his head slightly toward him.
“You had a harder time, Director.”
The follow-up work for Rampage had continued for two weeks.
Everyone knew that Britton Lee, who had handled editing and direction, had worked harder than Han Seongtae, who had only recorded a few lines.
Walking with Britton Lee, Han Seongtae arrived at the conference room where David was.
“Han, Lee, welcome. Sit over here.”
David welcomed the two of them warmly.
Han Seongtae sat down, and Britton Lee sat across from him.
David, who had waited until both of them sat, opened his mouth the moment their backsides touched the chairs.
“Did the recording go well?”
“Yes. We just finished and came out.”
“You worked hard. The work is finished as of today too. How do you feel, Han?”
“It feels good. It’s refreshing, and I’m also looking forward to finally having the work revealed to the world.”
He was curious about the reactions of the people who would watch Rampage too.
There had been people who doubted Han Seongtae’s acting.
He believed their thoughts would change through this film.
“How do you think this movie will do? Do you think it can win an award?”
David turned his head and asked Britton Lee.
At his question, Britton Lee did not answer right away.
After thinking for a moment, Britton Lee slowly shook his head.
“It will probably be difficult.”
“Difficult?”
“Yes. There are so many strong contenders. It’s true that our Rampage was made well, but I think it could be difficult.”
“Ah, I see.”
At Britton Lee’s words, David nodded as if he understood.
Even in his view, it could be difficult to win an award this time.
What they were aiming for was not some mediocre award.
The Academy Award.
And they were aiming for Best Picture, at that.
“What do you think, Han?”
“I don’t think it’s impossible.”
“Really? Do you think you can beat Tom?”
From David’s mouth came the name of the greatest living actor.
Tom Braum.
He was a master of action and an actor loved by all.
He was also an actor Han Seongtae deeply respected.
If one thought only of that part, then it was clear one might think it was impossible.
[‘The One with a Thousand Faces’ says that the moment you think it is impossible, it becomes impossible, and tells you to have confidence.]
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ smiles, saying the effort you made is not worthless.]
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ says that awards are not decided by an actor’s name.]
Because no one knew how human affairs would turn out.
A curve formed at Han Seongtae’s lips.
There was not even the smallest bit of worry in his smile.
All of his schedules in America had come to an end.
Now he had to return to Korea and do his work there.
While organizing his luggage, Han Seongtae saw a script placed on the dining table.
Youth My Way.
It was the script of a film personally produced by Kim Minseok, and he had watched and practiced it whenever he had time.
So that he could act at any moment.
Because the plot was quite interesting, he had barely managed to suppress the urge to film it right away.
Now, there was no need to suppress that urge anymore.
Since he was looking at the script anyway, Han Seongtae called Kim Minseok.
“Uh, why?”
“I remembered because I’m looking at the script right now. When I get back, we can start filming right away, right?”
“……”
“Minseok?”
Kim Minseok did not answer.
He was originally a talkative guy, so there was no way he would not answer.
Had some kind of problem come up?
“I was actually going to contact you because of that. Good timing.”
“……?”
“Can you be an audition judge for me?”
At Kim Minseok’s proposal, Han Seongtae froze.
He had asked whether he could film, only for it to come back as a question about whether he could be a judge.
At that question, Han Seongtae answered without needing to think.
“I can do that. What’s so difficult about that?”
If it was a request from Kim Minseok, he was confident he could listen to anything except being asked to die.
At his answer, he heard Kim Minseok let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed he had been worried about this.
‘He could have just asked.’
What was so difficult about asking?
Han Seongtae laughed and continued the conversation.
“I’ll contact you when I get back to Korea. It would be good if you text me the audition date too.”
“Got it. I’ll send one to you and one to Dusik-hyung.”
“Okay. Then I’ll see you in Korea.”
After hearing Kim Minseok’s answer, Han Seongtae ended the call.
He was already looking forward to the day he would return to Korea.
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