Chapter 014
“Actually, when I first heard about the promotional video, I thought to myself, ‘Ah, someone who is meant to succeed really can make anything work.’”
“Someone who is meant to succeed?”
At my words, Jung PD unknowingly let out a small laugh.
I simply shrugged at his reaction and continued.
“Well, saying it like this might make me sound materialistic, but it’s twelve million won. Twelve million. Honestly, my first thought was, ‘Wow~ We’re practically getting paid for free.’ And Director, you used to make a lot of promotional videos as part-time jobs, didn’t you?”
“That was…”
“Besides, if we reject these conditions, they probably won’t let us use the model house either. From our point of view, we don’t really have another alternative if we can’t use this model house. Isn’t that right?”
I casually turned the question toward Jung PD and Jung In.
“That’s true… Regardless of the money, it’s true that we don’t really have another option if we can’t use this model house.”
Jung PD quietly agreed with me.
“It’ll only take three days to shoot the promotional video. If we shoot it immediately after finishing the movie, we can use our current camera and lighting crews for the promotional video as well. We can also use the equipment we already rented, so I don’t think it’ll cause any major problems.”
I also pointed out that even after paying the additional labor costs and equipment rental fees for the extended shooting period, a considerable amount of the twelve million won would still remain.
“Yeah, Director Song. We even gave up on using a Jimmy Jib because of our tight budget. But if we do this, we can use a Jimmy Jib.”
This time, Jung In agreed with me.
“I’ll explain everything properly to the cinematographer and lighting director.”
Jung PD patted Director Song on the shoulder.
The atmosphere was gradually becoming more positive.
Jung PD and Jung In, who had secretly been worried that Director Song might reject the offer, had quickly changed their attitude.
After remaining silent for a moment as if considering it, Director Song nodded.
“Fine. Fuck it, let’s give it a shot!”
A week before filming began, we held a full cast reading.
A full reading was a gathering where all the actors came together before filming to read through the script and practice working with one another.
It was also an opportunity for the key staff members of the movie to meet each other for the first time.
More than thirty people, including the actors and key staff members, had to gather in one place, so once again, we rented the studio belonging to a photographer who was acquainted with Director Song.
Before the reading began, Jung PD stood up first and introduced himself.
“Some of you may already know each other, while others may be meeting for the first time today. So before we begin the reading, let’s take some time for everyone to briefly introduce themselves. First, I’m Jung In-beom, the producer of this movie. It’s a pleasure to work with you all.”
After Jung PD finished introducing himself, everyone applauded.
Following him, Director Song stood up.
“First of all, I’d like to thank all the staff and actors who have joined us despite our poor production conditions…”
Starting with Director Song, the introductions continued with Cinematographer Park Gyu-tae, Lighting Director Hwang Gi-seon, and the actors.
Finally, it was my turn.
“Hello. I’m Min Gi-baek, the youngest member of the production department. I look forward to working with everyone.”
The youngest member of the production department, Min Gi-baek.
For some reason, my heart was pounding with a strange sense of excitement.
After an entire hour of introductions, the actual reading finally began.
“Why? Shoot me. Go ahead and shoot! Hahaha. You can’t do it, can you? Yeah, you won’t be able to. Because the moment you pull that trigger, you know that you’ll no longer be an agent of justice. You’ll simply become the embodiment of revenge.”
The actor playing the boss, Jang Gil-tae, overwhelmed the atmosphere in an instant with his charismatic performance, proving himself to be a veteran actor.
“Ha, that’s right. I… misunderstood for a moment. For an instant, I almost thought it was justice… Now I think I can pull the trigger. Because… this is simply… revenge… Hmm. Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll do it again.”
Burdened by the pressure of his first leading role and intimidated by Jang Gil-tae’s overwhelming charisma, Moon Hyun-bin was completely different from the confident version of himself he had shown during the audition.
He repeatedly forgot his lines and stumbled over his words.
“Hyun-bin, take your time and try to feel Sun-woo’s emotions. It’s the emptiness of having to admit that what you believed was justice was actually nothing more than personal revenge. But once he accepts that, he can finally let go of everything and pull the trigger without hesitation.”
“Sun-woo’s emotions are really difficult. During the audition, I only saw the part of the script where the details before and after weren’t shown, so it was actually easier to act. But now that I know the cause and effect behind everything, it’s harder.”
“Oh, seeing a rookie actor seriously thinking about his character like that, I think your acting is going to improve tremendously soon. Hahaha.”
Jang Gil-tae, who had been listening to Director Song and Moon Hyun-bin’s conversation from the side, praised Moon Hyun-bin for seriously thinking about his character.
Moon Hyun-bin closed his eyes for a moment as if trying to calm himself.
He imagined the despair, anger, and sense of betrayal Sun-woo must have felt after discovering that the boss of the organization he had trusted completely had killed his wife and even tried to kill him.
“Ha, that’s right. I… misunderstood for a moment.”
Strength entered Moon Hyun-bin’s voice.
The tense stiffness had disappeared, replaced by a mixture of emptiness, hollowness, sadness, and anger.
“For an instant, I almost thought it was justice. But now I think I can pull the trigger. Because this is nothing but revenge!”
Bang~!
For a moment, it felt as though an actual gunshot had echoed through the room.
