Chapter 9

Chapter 009

The office was unusually crowded for once.

It was the first time in almost ten days since my first day at work that everyone from the directing and production departments, including the director and producer, had gathered together.

Director Song first apologized for causing confusion in various ways because of his delayed decision.

Then, we held a group meeting to coordinate all the schedules that had been postponed.

The first day of filming was set for January 15.

It was a tight schedule, with less than three months of pre-production.

But time was money, and with such a limited budget, we had no choice but to shorten the production period as much as possible.

The final day of filming was set for February 28.

In total, we finalized a 45-day schedule with 35 shooting days.

The actor auditions, which had been put on hold because of the issue involving actor Yoo Hae-in, were also scheduled for the end of this month.

Director Song suggested that they should accept actor profiles only until one week before the audition, select the candidates all at once, and then audition only those who passed the first screening.

“But can we gather enough audition applicants in just two weeks?”

“The schedule is tight, so we can't help it.

We need to decide on the actors quickly so we can arrange readings and rehearsals, and the costume team also needs time to prepare.”

Scriptwriter Jung-in said that she had already posted audition notices on several filmmaking websites and acting communities, and more applicants than expected had sent in their profiles.

“And we're also looking into theater actors, so if that isn't enough, we're thinking about holding additional auditions.”

Next, we went over the locations that had already been confirmed.

Cha Seung-jun said that they had finished scouting nine locations except for the abandoned factory, the pier, and the market near the pier.

“What about the official letters?”

“We haven't sent them yet because the shooting dates weren't confirmed.

I'll finish all of them by the end of this month.”

“Send the official letters, then personally call the people in charge and make sure everything is finalized.

You know what I mean?”

“Yes.

And we're also planning to finish scouting the three locations that haven't been confirmed yet by the middle of next month.”

Just as Jung PD and Cha Seung-jun were checking the situation, Director Song suddenly joined the conversation.

“Oh, I heard we're having trouble getting permission for the abandoned factory?”

“That's why we're looking into other places, just in case.”

“Ah...

That place would be perfect...”

Seeing the worry on Director Song's face, Cha Seung-jun continued.

“Actually, I'm planning to go back to Paju tomorrow and meet the village chief again about the abandoned factory.”

“Tomorrow?

Oh, I have a meeting tomorrow about the contract with the simultaneous recording team.”

Jung PD looked at Cha Seung-jun awkwardly.

“It's fine.

I'll just go with Gibaek.”

“Will you two be okay?”

“Come on, don't worry.

I have the kind of face that older people like.

I'll somehow get permission this time.”

Cha Seung-jun joked confidently at the worried Jung PD.

“By the way, I'm worried about the indoor locations...”

“That's true.

If only Yoo Hae-in had joined us, we could have built a set.”

Assistant Director Park Young-soo still seemed unable to let go of his regret about actor Yoo Hae-in.

“Why do you hold a grudge for so long?

It's already been decided, so why do you keep bringing it up?”

Scriptwriter Jung-in scolded the assistant director, who kept mentioning Yoo Hae-in whenever something went wrong.

“When did I ever object to it?!”

“Okay, okay, enough.

Instead of wasting time bickering, why don't you suggest an alternative?”

At Jung PD's words, Woo Jung-in and the assistant director looked embarrassed.

There were two indoor locations in this movie.

One was the inside of a nightclub, while the other was a luxurious house.

The nightclub wasn't a problem because a tourist nightclub operated by a distant relative of Director Song could be used for free.

But the luxurious house was a different story.

“Should we look for some pool villa pensions even now?”

“I don't know...

Like Gibaek said back then, the walls, floors, and everything else have to be covered in blood.

I wonder if there is any pension owner who would allow that...”

“That's right.

And the cost of restoring the place after filming wouldn't be small either.”

“Then what are we supposed to do...

This is giving me a headache.”

Once again, the problem of finding a luxurious house came up.

“I...

I've looked into something.”

“What is it?”

As if everyone wanted to grab even the thinnest straw in this frustrating situation, everyone's eyes turned toward me.

“A model house.”

“A model house?”

“Yes.

You know, when apartments are being sold, they build a place that looks exactly like the actual apartment inside so people can look around beforehand.”

Everyone tilted their heads as if they didn't understand what I meant.

Only Director Song's eyes suddenly lit up.

“People go to model houses to look around.

We're talking about turning such a place into a bloody mess.

Do you really think the people running a model house would allow that?”

“Exactly.

It'll probably be even harder to get permission than from a pension owner.”

I calmly continued explaining to everyone who looked doubtful.

“You see, model houses are built during the sales period.

Once the sales period ends, they're demolished.

So we can simply film there right before they tear it down.”

“That's right.

It's going to be demolished anyway, so what's the problem if we cover it in blood?

Haha.

Gibaek, how did you even think of something like that?!”

Director Song seemed to really like my idea and laughed cheerfully.

And there was a reason for that.

In fact, this idea originally belonged to Director Song himself.

A long time ago, I had read an interview with Director Song in a movie magazine.

The reporter had asked him to share the most memorable episode from all the movie sets he had worked on.

Director Song had answered like this.

“It was when I was making my first independent feature film.
At the time, we didn't have enough money to build a set.
Because of various circumstances, we couldn't rent an ordinary house or pension either.
So the idea I came up with was to rent a model house that was about to be demolished.”

“This actually seems more possible than I thought.”

Scriptwriter Jung-in reacted positively, but the assistant director still shook his head with an uneasy expression.

“But how are we supposed to know which model house will be demolished and when?

We don't even know whether we'll find one that matches our schedule.”

‘As expected, there was always something annoying about this guy.’

I deliberately pulled out the model house information I had researched and showed it to the assistant director.

“So I looked into a few places...”

“Wow, Min Gibaek.

I wondered what you were doing alone at the office after work.

So you were researching this?

You should have asked me for help.”

I explained that I wasn't sure whether this idea would actually be used, so I felt bad about asking him for help.

Then I continued.

“I found two places.

But since the shooting schedule was only finalized today, there's only one place that currently matches our schedule.”

I showed them information about a model house in Ilsan that was scheduled to be demolished on December 31, and another model house in Daejeon that was scheduled to be demolished on February 28 of the following year.

“What?

February 28 overlaps with our final shooting date.”

“If we can secure the location, then we'll have to change our shooting schedule.”

Director Song immediately settled the assistant director's complaint with a single sentence.

Then he carefully compared the interior photos of the model houses I had gathered.

“Looking at the layout, the Daejeon one fits the luxurious house I had in mind better.”

“But can we film all the indoor scenes in one day?

We don't even have the storyboard yet...”

“If we can secure the location, we'll have to shoot it even if we have to change the order of the scenes.”

Director Song decided that, for now, we would visit the Daejeon model house in person sometime next week, meet the person in charge, and then hold another meeting.

The meeting that had started at ten in the morning finally ended after seven in the evening.

Everyone looked exhausted after the intense nine-hour meeting.

Still, once the major schedules were finalized, it finally felt like we were truly making a movie.

At the same time, I could feel both excitement and tension building inside me.

The next day, Cha Seung-jun and I drove Jung PD's twenty-year-old van to Paju as planned to secure permission for the abandoned factory.

Last time, we had been dragged away by the old man without even knowing what was happening, so we had gone empty-handed.

This time, we had at least bought a box of vitamin drinks to show some sincerity.

“You don't need something like this.

Just take it back.”

“Village Chief, please.

Just help us this once.”

“Good grief, you people.

What do you expect me to help you with?”

“We'll film so quietly that you won't even know we're filming.”

“Enough!

I told you to find somewhere else.

I don't like movies like that at all.”

The village chief absolutely refused, as if he had personally lost everything making a movie in his previous life.

Once again, we practically got kicked out of his house.

“Ah, what should we do?

It really seems impossible.”

“This is ridiculous.

He doesn't even give us a chance to explain and just keeps saying no...”

That was when it happened.

“Actually...

it's all because of me...”

At the familiar voice, we turned around.

The old man we had met before was standing in front of us.

“Shin Sang-il, Eom Hyang-ran?!”

“That's right.

Shin Sang-il, Eom Hyang-ran, Kim Joo-mi, Baek Il-sang...

They all worked with me.”

We couldn't hide our shock and confusion when we learned that the old man had once been a senior figure in the film industry who had even worked on movies starring veteran actor Shin Sang-il.

“Take one of those out and give it to me.”

The old man pointed toward the box of drinks we had bought for the village chief but had brought back with us after being kicked out.

I quickly took one of the drinks from the box and handed it to the old man.

The old man took a long drink.

Then, he continued speaking.