Gentle Visual Acting Genius – Chapter 12 – Let’s kill him more brutally

Author: amourtentia

#Let’s kill him more brutally

The rainy season, which felt like it would never end, had finally passed. It was late August, and the sweltering heat still lingered in the air.

The main writer Woo Yeokyung and PD Lee Junho of OTBC’s flagship seasonal variety show <Detective Record> were in the middle of an unexpected staffing crisis.

“Seriously, how can every single one of them be busy?”

“The hot idol picks are all out. Some water bomb festival or whatever, everyone says they can’t make it.”

““Ugh… Are we really losing out to a water bomb festival now?”

Before OTBC’s special anniversary drama <The Punisher: Vigilante> drove the network’s ratings through the roof, <Detective Record> had long held the title of OTBC’s top show. It had shattered the limitations of the “mystery variety” niche and cultivated a massive die-hard fans.

Since it has become a program that even the most popular stars and hot rookies have been on at least once, they have become accustomed to receiving offers rather than making offers.

But now, just ahead of producing Season 4, things had changed. With the explosion of OTT content and a post-pandemic influx of diverse content, they were facing a guest drought unlike anything they’d ever seen, rejections left and right.

Should we try reaching out to NJ again? See if Yoo Donghyuk’s schedule is open? He was just in <The Punisher: Vigilante> and I heard he landed a second lead role in that KCN romcom…”

“Forget it. This is the premiere episode. You want to tank the whole thing from the get-go? He actually said he’d only come on if we told him who the culprit was ahead of time and explained the escape mechanics? Even if an Academy Award winner asked, we would say no, and he is asking that? Please. He’s not even that good at acting.”

“All the ones who can think on their feet and act half-decently are booked already… Sigh, PD-nim, don’t you have some kind of secret weapon up your sleeve?

“Ha… Wait a minute.”

Groaning with his head buried in his desk, Lee Junho scrolled through his overflowing contact list of industry connections. Then, he paused, his finger hovering over one name, and went quiet.

After a moment, he exhaled like a man steeling his resolve and turned to Yeokyung.

“Actually… I’ve been saving one card. I was going to use it when I needed a real buzz. But hey, this premiere needs to blow up, so, now’s the time.”

“Who is it?”

Instead of answering, Lee Junho turned his phone around to show her the screen. Woo Yeokyung’s eyes widened at the three characters glowing back at her.

“Na… Nam Juwon? You mean that Nam Juwon from <The Punisher: Vigilante>? The Nam Juwon who did a single talk show when he debuted and has never appeared on a variety show ever since? Are you serious right now?”

“Have I ever lied about something like this? I’ve been saving this ace for years.”

As curiosity burned in her eyes, Woo Yeokyung pressed him for more. Lee Junho leaned back and started to reminisce

“Remember the talk show <Midnight Bar> he did back in his debut days? I was one of the assistant producers on that. He was so nervous—, couldn’t even get through telling a single anecdote, hands shaking like crazy. I gave him some herbal calmers, shared a few tips during breaks… I guess he really appreciated it. After we wrapped, he said he was super thankful and that if he ever became a top star, he would come on any variety show I produced, no questions asked.”

“Wow.”

“I mean, I didn’t think that Nam Juwon would turn into this Nam Juwon. Just thought he was a passionate rookie at the time. But if I tell him I’m cashing in on that promise now? Knowing his personality, he’ll show up unconditionally.”

This could work so well! <The Punisher> is the hottest thing right now, and if we pitch it like a tie-in or a promo from the same network, no one will question it. Should we even write a first episode mystery with <The Punisher> vibes?

“That wouldn’t be bad either. If he says yes, we’ll build the whole thing around him. Let me give him a call.”

PD Lee Junho stood and stepped out of the meeting room with his phone. About ten minutes later, he returned with a strangely giddy expression on his face and gave Woo Yeokyung a triumphant thumbs-up.

She let out a cheer.

Lee Junho sat down, clearly pleased, and raised a finger as if to signal one more announcement.

“First of all, casting is a success. But there’s one condition.”

“Whatever it is, we’ll make it work. What is it? Schedule adjustment? Appearance fee?”

“Nope. He wants to appear with a junior actor he knows.”

“Oh… adding another character is no problem. Who is it?”

It wasn’t unusual in this industry to pair main stars with lesser-known artists from the same agency. But the fact that Nam Juwon himself had personally requested it, without it coming from the company, was rare.

It wasn’t an unreasonable request, so Woo Yeokyung nodded calmly. Until she heard the name of the junior actor that came out of Lee Junho’s mouth.

“You know the guy who starred with him in <The Punisher>? That guy who was in a lot of articles. He wants to bring Seon Woohyun.”

“Wh—WHAT?!”

“·..What’s with you?”

“S-Sundubu—no, you said Seon Woohyun?!”

For a moment, Woo Yeokyung screamed like someone hit with a thunderbolt. But then her eyes ignited with fire.

Junho gave a confused nod as she looked ready to ascend into the heavens.

“Oh my God… Isn’t he filming <Fanatic> right now? Ahhh, what role do we give him? This is huge. Just, daebak!”

Muttering like someone possessed, Yeokyung’s thoughts were spiraling, how could she craft the perfect role for this unexpected gift?

A rookie just four months into his debut, Seon Woohyun didn’t even have an official fan club name. But thanks to his devastating visuals and impact, he had already captured the hearts of countless fans.

Those fans had dubbed themselves “Kongbiji” (“Soybean Pulp”), lovingly referencing his famously soft and delicate appearance, what they called a “Sundubu” (soft tofu) face.

Woo Yeokyung, a veteran writer who had been through a lot and the main writer of <Detective Record>, was also one of the proud Kongbiji.

Now fully activated, she was on fire. Seon Woohyun was coming to <Detective Record> season 4, and she was determined to create the most flawless first episode ever conceived.

The filming set of <Fanatic> had been sailing along without a single accident or mishap, smooth, perfect, and almost eerie in its calm.

Time flew by, and now, the day had come for Woohyun to shoot his final scene on location in Jecheon.

It was the climax, the moment when the ‘Saint’ he portrayed would meet his end, and Gahee and Jooho would finally join forces to put an end to the ever-escalating madness of the Church of Ashes.

Today, Woohyun was scheduled to die, shot by Jooho’s hand.

“We have set up the blood packs to burst on cue with the gunshot, so just make sure there are as few NGs as possible! We’re counting on you, actor-nim!”

“Of course! I’ll get that OK from the director in one take.”

Maybe it was because they had been filming together for over two months, Woohyun and the makeup artist had grown comfortable enough to exchange casual banter now.

As they chatted inside the makeup trailer, Hong Jiwoo and Min Sooah dripping with sweat from rolling around and running through the mountains in this hot season, came in.

Woohyun let out a soft chuckle at the sight of the two struggling with the difficult action filming.

Meanwhile, Sooah and Jiwoo, looking him over with envy, couldn’t help but grumble under their breath. Even with blood packs strapped all over him, Woohyun still looked clean, composed and irritatingly handsome.

“We look like we’re the ones about to die, so why does he, the one who’s actually dying today, look so perfect?”

“Then maybe one of you should play the Saint in the next project~”

“Wow, you’re really annoying. You’re so annoying. Can’t I shoot him twice instead of once?”

While the three of them continued tossing around pointless jokes in the makeup trailer, outside, the set for the Saint’s final stand was being prepped to perfection.

The sun had begun to dip behind the trees, shadows falling faster in this forest than anywhere else.

BOOM!

Inside the Church of Ashes, where the cries, screams, and prayers of its fanatical believers twisted into a haunting cacophony, flames erupted with a deafening explosion.

From the chaos, a man and woman came running.

Gahee, who had gotten her hands on the evidence of the church’s crimes and madness, and Jooho, who had come to rescue her.

Choked by smoke and exhausted from the ordeal, Gahee couldn’t make it far before collapsing. Jooho struggled to lift her onto his back and escape as far from the burning church as he could.

Following them, another figure emerged from the flames behind them.

“Leaving so soon? The holy fire our believers kindled for salvation has only just begun.”

“You crazy bastard! Don’t come any closer! One more step and I’ll shoot!”

Clang!

Jooho, who had a revolver loaded in one hand, was shouting at the saint.

His body was exhausted, near collapse, but the grip on the gun and the fury burning in his eyes didn’t waver for even a second.

And yet, the Saint remained unfazed.

In his hand, a ceremonial dagger. A threat, yes, but what made the moment truly chilling was his calm. As the embodiment of the Church of Ashes and the source of all its doctrines, the Saint showed no fear. Not even at the edge of death. His eyes were wild, ecstatic.

The ecstasy of impending salvation.

The pity he felt for the two fleeing souls.

The fury toward the heretics who continued to reject his truth.

Conflicting emotions, seemingly impossible to coexist, bled together on Woohyun’s face, his expression a vivid portrait of the Saint’s deranged faith.

“Can’t you hear them? The lambs, crying out in joy. Why don’t you rejoice as they do?”

“That’s joy to you?! That’s not rejoicing, it’s agony! They’re screaming as they burn alive!”

“…You still don’t understand, do you.”

“Then why aren’t you burning with them?! If it’s so wonderful, you go die in the fire too, you lunatic!”

“They became the kindling to send our signal to the heavens. Someone needs to bear witness, someone must tell the world what this means. That’s my mission. My duty.”

“You’re not leaving this mountain. Neither your damned church nor you are getting out alive.”

“…Tch.”

The Saint sighs at Jooho’s last words and shows his irritation for the first time.

The flames surged higher, licking at the sky as if to consume the entire church.

The screams gradually die down. Only the flames that seem to engulf everything in the church blaze remains.

In that moment, a crack appeared in the Saint’s expression.

The mask he had worn so perfectly, began to shatter.

“Foolish kindling.”

With a voice twisted in hatred, the Saint hurled the dagger at them.

BANG!

The gunshot echoed through the forest. The saint’s body, shot in the chest, collapses helplessly.

His eyes remained open, staring up at the blackened sky. Blood poured freely from his wound, pooling around his head like a red halo, like a tidal wave formed of his own beliefs.

He died with his eyes wide open, never blinking, never looking away from the sky.

A final price paid for his madness.

The camera shifted to a high-angle shot, capturing the Saint’s body like a divine being struck down, a martyr’s silhouette, draped in the flames of a manmade hell.

Then the angle rose even higher, as if pulled upward toward heaven itself.

A heavy silence fell over the set.

“Cut!”

At Director Jang Hangyeol’s call, the tension broke all at once.

Woo-hyun immediately got up from the dirt and stared at Director Jang Hangyeol’s face.

They stared at each other across the quiet set.

Then, slowly, Jang Hangyeol rose to his feet and said:

“This scene, this doesn’t seem right.”

After the intense filming, everything came to a halt.

Because unless the director gave a clear okay sign, filming wasn’t over.

Now, five people sat huddled in front of the monitor, Director Jang, the assistant director, and the scene’s three leads: Seon Woohyun, Hong Jiwoo, and Min Sooah, watching the playback of the final shot.

They watched all the way through, up to the moment Woohyun, as the Saint, was captured from above, lying in a pool of blood.

Director Jang let out a low groan, stroking his chin.

“The acting was solid. The narrative makes sense. But… this isn’t the image I had in mind when I wrote the storyboard.”

“What kind of image were you going for…?”

“I wanted the death of an unmistakable villain. No room for sympathy. A fall so absolute, no one could call it justice. But the way this scene turned out, he just looks too cool. It’s heart-wrenching.”

“Ah!”

The four of them who heard Director Jang Hangyeol’s answer all exclaimed as if they realized what his hidden intention was,

Woohyun also nodded as he stared at his own performance on screen.

‘My visuals can be a hindrance like this.’

The acting worked. Even revealing the Saint’s true colors had gone well. But that final shot, his pained, noble expression, the blood pooling like a halo, the haunting composition, it didn’t look like a villain’s end.

It made the viewers empathize more with the Saint than the survivors, Jooho and Gahee.

But above all…

‘That’s not how the Saint died in the original version of <Fanatic>.’

In his past life, <Fanatic>’s villain, the Saint, had been remembered as a perfect antagonist, right down to his demise.

But this version wasn’t it.

How did the Saint die back then? Woohyun searched his memory, trying to recall the scene.

Then, his gaze caught on the still-burning flames in the distance.

“Ah!”

“Woohyun, do you have any ideas?”

Director Jang’s eyes lit up as he turned to him.

Woohyun, now completely certain, looked right back at him.

“The Saint… Let’s kill him more brutally.”