Chapter 167
A moment of silence passed, and Director Woo Jung-han shouted.
“Cut! Okay!”
As soon as they heard Director Woo’s voice, Seo-jun and Lee Ji-seok relaxed their faces and started to chat.
The perfect time travel was shattered in an instant.
The staff and the branch manager, who had been staring blankly, began to regain their senses.
Slowly, modern objects came into their sight.
The facade of the perfect palace was exposed, the cement floor was visible, and the wires on the floor, the dazzling lights, the cameras with large lenses, and the people wearing padding that did not match the hanbok.
It felt like their vision, which had only seen Danjong and Suyang Daegun, was slowly widening.
The staff, who had been immersed in the two actors’ performances, felt a sense of incongruity with the surrounding environment.
It was like finding a modern object in a historical drama they were watching.
A flaw in the gem. But that incongruity was only for a moment.
“Wow… That was no joke.”
“Right? Both actors are really good at acting. It feels different from watching them on television.”
“I thought Suyang Daegun was really swinging his sword.”
The staff nodded their heads in agreement.
“I was so nervous when Danjong answered back sharply.”
They were staff who had read the script.
They knew what lines would come out here.
They read the script and wondered what kind of acting Lee Seo-jun and Ji-seok Lee would show.
But the acting they saw with their eyes was beyond imagination, no, something they could not have imagined.
As they watched the two actors act fiercely in front of them, they wondered if this was the line they had read.
The lines that they had skimmed through seemed to be stuck in their ears as if they were alive.
‘This is a rare privilege.’
The art director smiled.
Who could see such acting with their own eyes?
It was a privilege only for the staff here.
‘This is Lee Ji-seok’s audition video acting.’
He understood why he had high standards when he saw Kim Naekwan’s acting.
With this kind of acting, he would want to gather better actors and make a perfect work.
The art director’s hands were itching.
For a moment, it felt like he was really in the palace of Joseon.
The set and props he had made blended perfectly.
He did not expect such a synchronization rate.
He felt like his hidden craftsmanship was revived.
It was too late to tear down and rebuild the set and props as they had already filmed for two months. But there was still some filming left.
The art team leader decided to make it more perfect.
The lighting staff said.
“I was really worried.”
“Worried?”
“When they act separately, it’s fine, but when they act together, I thought they might remind me of My Inner World. They looked so friendly before filming… But I guess it was a needless worry.”
The staff’s eyes turned to one place.
The other staff’s eyes also turned there.
The two people who seemed to be standing on a sharp blade until a moment ago were laughing and talking about how real this blood looked and what it was made of.
“How can they change so quickly when they start filming… Isn’t that amazing?”
The staff also nodded their heads and agreed.
***
The branch manager of Plus+Korea wiped his cold sweat with his handkerchief. Director Woo Jung-han, who checked the footage, looked at the branch manager and smiled slyly.
“Short, right?”
The branch manager nodded his head and said.
“It really felt like a blink of an eye. But it also felt very long.”
The two actors’ performances made his heart flutter while making him unable to take his eyes off them.
When he watched them, every movement seemed to be engraved in his head so clearly, as if he was there himself, feeling tense. But when it was over, it felt too short that he wanted more.
His heart was still pounding and his hands felt sweaty.
The branch manager exhaled and said.
“I saw a post on the internet.”
“A post?”
“It said that Danjong’s story was too sad to watch it multiple times.”
Director Woo laughed.
This foreign branch manager who spoke fluent Korean even knew the word ‘multiple times’.
“Yes. I’ve seen it a few times too.”
“I think I would watch it several times just to see this scene.”
Director Woo smiled at the compliment.
A movie that the audience would watch multiple times.
There was no greater compliment for a movie director.
“Thank you.”
“It’s a shame that there are so many viewers who have to watch this scene with subtitles. I can’t tell them to learn Korean.”
He felt sorry for having to move his eyes to the subtitles to read them.
To turn his eyes away from such a wonderful performance, it was a pity.
‘I’m so glad I studied Korean.’
He was proud of himself when he was young and studied Korean hard.
Thanks to that, he came to the Korean branch and got to see this scene with his own eyes.
He thought it was a stroke of luck.
And he would be able to watch and listen and understand Lee Seo-jun’s Korean works in Korean in the future.
“But dubbing is a bit…”
Danjong and Suyang Daegun speaking English.
For the sake of expansion, it was inevitable, but he couldn’t help but frown. Director Woo’s words made the branch manager nod his head.
This was a scene that came out of the actor’s voice, accent, tremor, and breath.
If they dubbed it, they wouldn’t be able to feel even 50% of the emotions that Koreans felt.
Of course, subtitles wouldn’t make them feel the emotions perfectly either, but they would be higher than 50%.
“I know. We’re planning to put subtitles only. I was just saying it’s a pity.”
The branch manager smiled at Director Woo’s relief.
There were many people in the English-speaking world who were unfamiliar with subtitles, but the branch manager was not worried.
There was a work that had been uploaded with subtitles only and had been successful.
“Those who have seen My Inner World will all watch it. They have no choice but to watch it.”
My Inner World was influenced by Shadowman. That alone attracted many viewers.
‘It was like that back then… And now, there’s no need to say more.’
Lee Seo-jun now was more than that.
More people were open-minded and waiting for Lee Seo-jun’s work.
A historical movie of a foreign country, unfamiliar to them.
From the palace to the costumes, to the language.
They had never seen or were not used to them, so they felt awkward, but they wanted to try it because it was Lee Seo-jun’s work.
That’s why the views of My Inner World, which had been two years since its release, kept increasing.
That was,
the power of a superstar.
The branch manager smiled at the expected success.
“To be honest, I don’t think I can read the subtitles while watching the two actors.”
“That’s possible.”
Maybe subtitles were not a big problem.
It was a performance that captivated their eyes.
With their movements alone, with their expressions alone.
They might miss the subtitles while watching the performance.
“I really enjoyed watching the filming today. Please contact me if you need any production costs.”
The branch manager of Plus+Korea left the filming site with a bright face. In his hand, he held a signed paper from Lee Seo-jun.
***
The filming of The Rebel went smoothly.
They finished filming all the indoor scenes, and now it was time to film the outdoor scenes.
Director Woo Jung-han decided to film shorter outdoor scenes rather than large-scale scenes that could have many NGs until the weather got warmer.
Today was the day when Danjong, who became Sangwang, left Gyeongbokgung, his royal residence, and moved to a new place, Changdeokgung.
Danjong and Kim Ho-young, who finished their makeup, sat side by side on chairs with their names on them.
The staff were busy running around.
They tried to stay as quiet as possible so as not to interfere with them.
“It’s a bit cold, but it’s nice to be outside.”
“Me too.”
Seo-jun nodded his head at Kim Ho-young’s words.
“Here, Ji-su told me to give this to you. It’s a hot pack.”
“Please thank her for me. This is yuja tea made by my grandmother. It’s delicious.”
“Thank you.”
Kim Ho-young handed Seo-jun a hot pack and Seo-jun handed Kim Ho-young a yuja tea.
The two actors sitting side by side caught the eyes of the staff and the extras.
“Did you see Surprise? Isn’t it amazing?”
“I saw the article and Surprise too. It was really amazing.”
Seo-jun, who had good ears, chuckled inwardly as he drank his yuja tea.
Last Saturday, MBS’s show that delivered amazing stories of the world, ‘Surprise’, broadcasted Seo-jun and Kim Ho-young’s story.
The production company, the director, and the staff were all happy because it was a promotion for the movie.
‘My parents liked it too. My grandparents said it was amazing.’
According to Uncle Ho-young, his daughter and her friends were so excited that they talked about it everywhere.
Uncle Ho-young said he was glad that there was no trauma left from the fire accident.
The only one who felt embarrassed was Seo-jun, who received compliments for making a public service video well.
‘I intended to do it, but I didn’t save him directly…’
He sighed inwardly and heard a new story.
Kim Ho-young’s interview was posted on the internet.
“Uncle, did you do an interview too?”
“The promotion team asked me to do it. It was hard because it was my first time, but it was good.”
“Good?”
“Yeah. When I first acted, I wished it would be like this. This was exactly what I dreamed of. Acting in the same work with famous actors, doing interviews here and there. Every day is amazing and thrilling and fun.”
Seo-jun understood his feelings very well as a former extra actor and a superstar now.
He smiled happily and poured some yuja tea into Kim Ho-young’s cup as a celebration.
“Should we take this?”
“Good idea. Take it.”
The promotion team leader sparkled his eyes.
A photo of Danjong and Kim Naekwan wearing padding and drinking yuja tea side by side was quickly uploaded on the internet.
***
The day came.
A new king appeared and Danjong became Sangwang.
He had to leave Gyeongbokgung, the king’s residence.
Danjong stepped out of Gyeongbokgung with a pale face.
His legs trembled and his feet were heavy.
He felt like it was not his body.
“Sniff.”
Kim Naekwan and the court ladies who were attending Danjong shed tears.
His heart ached at the sight of the empty seats. During the Gyeyujeongnan, the people who blocked Suyang Daegun’s invasion died and not many were left.
Danjong came down the stairs and looked around.
The palace was already in Suyang Daegun’s hands.
There were few people who cried for him.
Most of them had cold expressions or avoided his eyes.
Danjong looked at the palace he had come out of, Gyeongbokgung.
There was his grandmother and his mother and where he had been.
He was intimidated by its grandeur, but soon became familiar with it.
He couldn’t take his eyes off it.
Every tile, every pillar, every window paper.
He looked at them in detail, slowly, as if to engrave them in his eyes, as if to dream of them, as if to draw them.
He saw petitions there, cared for the people, listened to the opinions of his officials, worried, agonized, laughed, cried, felt angry, happy, studied, missed, decided, achieved, and worried.
And finally,
was driven out.
Danjong bit his lip.
Tears seemed to flow out, but he was a king.
A king who was driven out, but he couldn’t show his tears to anyone.
His throat was sore.
His eyes were burning.
His chest felt stuffy as if it was blocked.
Many thoughts crossed Danjong’s mind.
The longing for his parents who had gone first and the lament for his fate that had become like this.
The guilt for the people who had died and the resentment for Suyang Daegun.
“Please…”
He swallowed all those feelings and opened his mouth.
It was a wet, trembling voice, but everyone pretended not to notice for the young king who tried to keep a calm expression.
“Please, be a virtuous king. Uncle.”
He didn’t know if he would hear it directly or through someone else, but Danjong said so.
At that word, another cry broke out from the people who were attending Danjong. Even those who avoided their eyes bit their lips and bowed their heads.
They wished only for the safety of the young king’s future.
Chapter 167
A moment of silence passed, and Director Woo Jung-han shouted.
“Cut! Okay!”
As soon as they heard Director Woo’s voice, Seo-jun and Lee Ji-seok relaxed their faces and started to chat.
The perfect time travel was shattered in an instant.
The staff and the branch manager, who had been staring blankly, began to regain their senses.
Slowly, modern objects came into their sight.
The facade of the perfect palace was exposed, the cement floor was visible, and the wires on the floor, the dazzling lights, the cameras with large lenses, and the people wearing padding that did not match the hanbok.
It felt like their vision, which had only seen Danjong and Suyang Daegun, was slowly widening.
The staff, who had been immersed in the two actors’ performances, felt a sense of incongruity with the surrounding environment.
It was like finding a modern object in a historical drama they were watching.
A flaw in the gem. But that incongruity was only for a moment.
“Wow… That was no joke.”
“Right? Both actors are really good at acting. It feels different from watching them on television.”
“I thought Suyang Daegun was really swinging his sword.”
The staff nodded their heads in agreement.
“I was so nervous when Danjong answered back sharply.”
They were staff who had read the script.
They knew what lines would come out here.
They read the script and wondered what kind of acting Lee Seo-jun and Ji-seok Lee would show.
But the acting they saw with their eyes was beyond imagination, no, something they could not have imagined.
As they watched the two actors act fiercely in front of them, they wondered if this was the line they had read.
The lines that they had skimmed through seemed to be stuck in their ears as if they were alive.
‘This is a rare privilege.’
The art director smiled.
Who could see such acting with their own eyes?
It was a privilege only for the staff here.
‘This is Lee Ji-seok’s audition video acting.’
He understood why he had high standards when he saw Kim Naekwan’s acting.
With this kind of acting, he would want to gather better actors and make a perfect work.
The art director’s hands were itching.
For a moment, it felt like he was really in the palace of Joseon.
The set and props he had made blended perfectly.
He did not expect such a synchronization rate.
He felt like his hidden craftsmanship was revived.
It was too late to tear down and rebuild the set and props as they had already filmed for two months. But there was still some filming left.
The art team leader decided to make it more perfect.
The lighting staff said.
“I was really worried.”
“Worried?”
“When they act separately, it’s fine, but when they act together, I thought they might remind me of My Inner World. They looked so friendly before filming… But I guess it was a needless worry.”
The staff’s eyes turned to one place.
The other staff’s eyes also turned there.
The two people who seemed to be standing on a sharp blade until a moment ago were laughing and talking about how real this blood looked and what it was made of.
“How can they change so quickly when they start filming… Isn’t that amazing?”
The staff also nodded their heads and agreed.
***
The branch manager of Plus+Korea wiped his cold sweat with his handkerchief. Director Woo Jung-han, who checked the footage, looked at the branch manager and smiled slyly.
“Short, right?”
The branch manager nodded his head and said.
“It really felt like a blink of an eye. But it also felt very long.”
The two actors’ performances made his heart flutter while making him unable to take his eyes off them.
When he watched them, every movement seemed to be engraved in his head so clearly, as if he was there himself, feeling tense. But when it was over, it felt too short that he wanted more.
His heart was still pounding and his hands felt sweaty.
The branch manager exhaled and said.
“I saw a post on the internet.”
“A post?”
“It said that Danjong’s story was too sad to watch it multiple times.”
Director Woo laughed.
This foreign branch manager who spoke fluent Korean even knew the word ‘multiple times’.
“Yes. I’ve seen it a few times too.”
“I think I would watch it several times just to see this scene.”
Director Woo smiled at the compliment.
A movie that the audience would watch multiple times.
There was no greater compliment for a movie director.
“Thank you.”
“It’s a shame that there are so many viewers who have to watch this scene with subtitles. I can’t tell them to learn Korean.”
He felt sorry for having to move his eyes to the subtitles to read them.
To turn his eyes away from such a wonderful performance, it was a pity.
‘I’m so glad I studied Korean.’
He was proud of himself when he was young and studied Korean hard.
Thanks to that, he came to the Korean branch and got to see this scene with his own eyes.
He thought it was a stroke of luck.
And he would be able to watch and listen and understand Lee Seo-jun’s Korean works in Korean in the future.
“But dubbing is a bit…”
Danjong and Suyang Daegun speaking English.
For the sake of expansion, it was inevitable, but he couldn’t help but frown. Director Woo’s words made the branch manager nod his head.
This was a scene that came out of the actor’s voice, accent, tremor, and breath.
If they dubbed it, they wouldn’t be able to feel even 50% of the emotions that Koreans felt.
Of course, subtitles wouldn’t make them feel the emotions perfectly either, but they would be higher than 50%.
“I know. We’re planning to put subtitles only. I was just saying it’s a pity.”
The branch manager smiled at Director Woo’s relief.
There were many people in the English-speaking world who were unfamiliar with subtitles, but the branch manager was not worried.
There was a work that had been uploaded with subtitles only and had been successful.
“Those who have seen My Inner World will all watch it. They have no choice but to watch it.”
My Inner World was influenced by Shadowman. That alone attracted many viewers.
‘It was like that back then… And now, there’s no need to say more.’
Lee Seo-jun now was more than that.
More people were open-minded and waiting for Lee Seo-jun’s work.
A historical movie of a foreign country, unfamiliar to them.
From the palace to the costumes, to the language.
They had never seen or were not used to them, so they felt awkward, but they wanted to try it because it was Lee Seo-jun’s work.
That’s why the views of My Inner World, which had been two years since its release, kept increasing.
That was,
the power of a superstar.
The branch manager smiled at the expected success.
“To be honest, I don’t think I can read the subtitles while watching the two actors.”
“That’s possible.”
Maybe subtitles were not a big problem.
It was a performance that captivated their eyes.
With their movements alone, with their expressions alone.
They might miss the subtitles while watching the performance.
“I really enjoyed watching the filming today. Please contact me if you need any production costs.”
The branch manager of Plus+Korea left the filming site with a bright face. In his hand, he held a signed paper from Lee Seo-jun.
***
The filming of The Rebel went smoothly.
They finished filming all the indoor scenes, and now it was time to film the outdoor scenes.
Director Woo Jung-han decided to film shorter outdoor scenes rather than large-scale scenes that could have many NGs until the weather got warmer.
Today was the day when Danjong, who became Sangwang, left Gyeongbokgung, his royal residence, and moved to a new place, Changdeokgung.
Danjong and Kim Ho-young, who finished their makeup, sat side by side on chairs with their names on them.
The staff were busy running around.
They tried to stay as quiet as possible so as not to interfere with them.
“It’s a bit cold, but it’s nice to be outside.”
“Me too.”
Seo-jun nodded his head at Kim Ho-young’s words.
“Here, Ji-su told me to give this to you. It’s a hot pack.”
“Please thank her for me. This is yuja tea made by my grandmother. It’s delicious.”
“Thank you.”
Kim Ho-young handed Seo-jun a hot pack and Seo-jun handed Kim Ho-young a yuja tea.
The two actors sitting side by side caught the eyes of the staff and the extras.
“Did you see Surprise? Isn’t it amazing?”
“I saw the article and Surprise too. It was really amazing.”
Seo-jun, who had good ears, chuckled inwardly as he drank his yuja tea.
Last Saturday, MBS’s show that delivered amazing stories of the world, ‘Surprise’, broadcasted Seo-jun and Kim Ho-young’s story.
The production company, the director, and the staff were all happy because it was a promotion for the movie.
‘My parents liked it too. My grandparents said it was amazing.’
According to Uncle Ho-young, his daughter and her friends were so excited that they talked about it everywhere.
Uncle Ho-young said he was glad that there was no trauma left from the fire accident.
The only one who felt embarrassed was Seo-jun, who received compliments for making a public service video well.
‘I intended to do it, but I didn’t save him directly…’
He sighed inwardly and heard a new story.
Kim Ho-young’s interview was posted on the internet.
“Uncle, did you do an interview too?”
“The promotion team asked me to do it. It was hard because it was my first time, but it was good.”
“Good?”
“Yeah. When I first acted, I wished it would be like this. This was exactly what I dreamed of. Acting in the same work with famous actors, doing interviews here and there. Every day is amazing and thrilling and fun.”
Seo-jun understood his feelings very well as a former extra actor and a superstar now.
He smiled happily and poured some yuja tea into Kim Ho-young’s cup as a celebration.
“Should we take this?”
“Good idea. Take it.”
The promotion team leader sparkled his eyes.
A photo of Danjong and Kim Naekwan wearing padding and drinking yuja tea side by side was quickly uploaded on the internet.
***
The day came.
A new king appeared and Danjong became Sangwang.
He had to leave Gyeongbokgung, the king’s residence.
Danjong stepped out of Gyeongbokgung with a pale face.
His legs trembled and his feet were heavy.
He felt like it was not his body.
“Sniff.”
Kim Naekwan and the court ladies who were attending Danjong shed tears.
His heart ached at the sight of the empty seats. During the Gyeyujeongnan, the people who blocked Suyang Daegun’s invasion died and not many were left.
Danjong came down the stairs and looked around.
The palace was already in Suyang Daegun’s hands.
There were few people who cried for him.
Most of them had cold expressions or avoided his eyes.
Danjong looked at the palace he had come out of, Gyeongbokgung.
There was his grandmother and his mother and where he had been.
He was intimidated by its grandeur, but soon became familiar with it.
He couldn’t take his eyes off it.
Every tile, every pillar, every window paper.
He looked at them in detail, slowly, as if to engrave them in his eyes, as if to dream of them, as if to draw them.
He saw petitions there, cared for the people, listened to the opinions of his officials, worried, agonized, laughed, cried, felt angry, happy, studied, missed, decided, achieved, and worried.
And finally,
was driven out.
Danjong bit his lip.
Tears seemed to flow out, but he was a king.
A king who was driven out, but he couldn’t show his tears to anyone.
His throat was sore.
His eyes were burning.
His chest felt stuffy as if it was blocked.
Many thoughts crossed Danjong’s mind.
The longing for his parents who had gone first and the lament for his fate that had become like this.
The guilt for the people who had died and the resentment for Suyang Daegun.
“Please…”
He swallowed all those feelings and opened his mouth.
It was a wet, trembling voice, but everyone pretended not to notice for the young king who tried to keep a calm expression.
“Please, be a virtuous king. Uncle.”
He didn’t know if he would hear it directly or through someone else, but Danjong said so.
At that word, another cry broke out from the people who were attending Danjong. Even those who avoided their eyes bit their lips and bowed their heads.
They wished only for the safety of the young king’s future.
