Chapter 007
“You all didn't get to eat breakfast because we were in such a hurry, right?”
Producer Jung took out a black plastic bag from the back seat and showed it to us.
“I bought some gimbap on the way.”
“Oh~ Producer, you've got great taste~.”
“Eating gimbap while going somewhere like this makes me feel like we're going on a picnic.”
Tae-soo, who was excited, stuffed gimbap into his mouth like a starving man.
“By the way, the director should have come with us too···.”
As expected, the assistant director continued speaking as he ate his gimbap, seeming disappointed by Director Song's absence.
Three days ago, after Yoo Hae-in expressed his intention to appear in the movie and demanded that the script be changed, Director Song had stopped coming to the office and had been staying at home for several days.
“He asked for a week to think about it, so he'll probably make a decision within that time.”
“And Director Song already knows all the locations, so we should be fine.”
“By the way, I'm dying because of Jung-in noona.”
“She won't even talk to me.”
The assistant director was having a hard time because he was in a sort of cold war with Scriptwriter Jung-in after their disagreement.
“Come to think of it, Assistant Director, you've really got the mindset of someone in the production department.”
“How about switching to the production department while you're at it?”
Producer Jung said it half as a joke and half seriously.
“Oh, come on.”
“You're talking to someone who's going to become the next Bong Joon-ho.”
“Oh~ Bong Joon-ho.”
“That's good.”
“Hahaha.”
Although I was laughing on the outside, I kept wondering whether it would really be okay if Yoo Hae-in's appearance was confirmed and the script was changed like this.
I had said it myself.
There was no right or wrong.
It was simply a matter of choice.
Then why did I feel so uneasy···?
After driving for quite some time, we arrived at Yangpyeong Dumulmeori Park, our first location scouting site.
We immediately moved toward the riverside, where a large tree stood tall at the planned filming location.
“Oh, did you send the official filming cooperation request?”
“Yes.”
“I contacted the county office, and they told me to contact the Forestry Department, so I spoke directly with the person in charge there.”
“We haven't decided on the exact filming date yet, so I haven't sent the official request.”
While Producer Jung and the assistant director talked, Tae-soo and I repeatedly took pictures of the surroundings with the camcorders and cameras in our hands.
Cha Seung-jun began checking the things the production department needed to inspect when securing a location.
Normally, during location scouting, the production department had to carefully check the filming location, vehicle access routes, the size and location of parking spaces, waiting areas for the cast, restrooms, electricity, water facilities, and so on.
Although these things might seem insignificant, if they weren't properly prepared, the filming site could turn into complete chaos.
Vehicles carrying filming and lighting equipment were usually 2.5-ton box trucks, so narrow access roads could become a serious problem.
Parking spaces were just as important.
For a movie, at least fifty people, including the staff and actors, usually moved around during a single shoot.
Therefore, enough space had to be secured for dozens of vehicles, including equipment trucks.
When filming in mountains or outdoors, there were usually no separate places for actors and other staff to wait.
So at the very least, a waiting area made with canopies had to be prepared.
Restrooms were another problem.
During outdoor filming, especially when it came to female actors and staff, restroom facilities could become a major headache.
Fortunately, this park was well developed, so there were nearby parking facilities and clean public restrooms.
After getting back into the car, I told Seung-jun hyung that we should stop by the nearby police substation for a moment.
“Why the police station?”
“We should prepare for any complaints that might occur during filming.”
“Even if we get permission from the Forestry Service, complaints at the actual filming site are handled by the local police station.”
“Oh~ Our youngest is more thorough than I thought.”
“Indeed.”
“Sometimes when I look at Ki-baek, he feels like someone who's been working in this industry for about twenty years.”
Producer Jung stared at me with a serious look.
“It's a compliment, right?”
“Hahaha.”
I felt a little nervous, but I forced myself to laugh awkwardly as if nothing was wrong.
‘There's no way he knows something, right···?’
I didn't show it, but ever since I talked with Producer Jung at the bar three days ago, there were times when his gaze toward me felt strangely burdensome.
Perhaps because movies and dramas were frequently filmed in the area, the police officers at the local substation seemed accustomed to situations like this.
They asked us a few questions and told us to contact them again once the filming date was confirmed.
After finishing our schedule in Yangpyeong without any problems, we moved to our second location scouting site, an abandoned factory in Paju.
The old nine-seater Bongo van raced comfortably along a two-lane country road.
I silently looked out the window at the rice fields and farmland passing by.
‘Paju was still countryside back then···.’
Apart from the newly developing Publishing City, the outskirts of Paju still retained the warm atmosphere of the countryside.
‘Should I persuade Mom to buy some land around here while she still can?’
While I was briefly thinking about something pointless, the car left the two-lane road and entered a narrow path through a low mountain covered with concrete.
After driving for quite a while, the road suddenly seemed to widen.
A large unpaved open space appeared, with a huge three-story building standing in front of it.
“Looks like this is the place.”
We parked the car on one side of the overgrown lot and got out.
The building was quite large even at a glance.
It looked like it had been abandoned for many years, leaving behind only ugly gray concrete walls.
“Whoa, it's creepier than I expected.”
“Yeah.”
“It's much bigger than it looked in the pictures.”
“It's also much more desolate than I expected.”
I filmed the ugly exterior of the building with my camcorder while Cha Seung-jun agreed with me.
We passed through the main entrance, where a rusty wire fence had collapsed onto the ground, and approached the abandoned building.
One of the doors had fallen off the entrance.
Signs reading ‘Danger’ and ‘No Entry’ were attached to the entrance, their colors faded by years of wind and rain.
“If we filmed a horror movie here, someone would definitely die.”
“Yeah.”
“You could probably make an entire horror movie just by pointing a camera at this place.”
“But what kind of factory was this?”
“I heard it used to be a furniture factory.”
