Life, Once Again!

After Story 94

Jealousy. Seungah smiled bitterly after uttering that word. It was a word she never thought she would use. Only after saying it did she realize what she said. She looked at Jichan who looked at her in puzzlement before shaking her head.

“Hey, hey! It’s snowing!” someone shouted.

Seungah reflexively raised her head. She couldn’t see it clearly due to the strong lighting, but she soon saw snow falling. At first, they were like bits of salt, but they soon became thicker.

“I wonder if this is going to pile,” Jichan muttered.

Seungah put her hand inside her pocket. The weather was teeth-clatteringly cold. The snow should pile up without melting down. The shooting location was already quite bustling, but there was a mess after people heard that it was snowing.

A cover was drawn over the camera that was shooting inside the warehouse from the outside. The lighting equipment was also moved slightly as well. It was rather fortunate that the shoot was done inside the warehouse. If it was a place without a roof, the shoot would’ve come to a halt.

The scattering snow stopped for a brief moment. Under director Cha’s instructions, people moved around busily. Even the actors gathered around the heater went over to the camera.

Seungah looked at Maru exchanging words with his opposing actor. He looked more relaxed than when he was practicing. Back when he was practicing, there was a sense of sharp tension around him, but now he felt more rounded.

Well, if he had practiced to such a degree of perfection, he must be enjoying the shoot.

Seungah recalled the barrel reed field. She thought back to the act Maru showed there.

It was rough yet delicate. The moment she saw the eyes filled with fear, she couldn’t just utter the lines moderately. She put emotions into the lines in order to keep up with Maru. She focused so that she could become a killer who knew the taste of blood and was suited to be with the crime investigator nearing death.

However, it was no good. The acting she displayed did not fit in with the act that Maru showed her. It was an act meant for someone else, and she had never practiced that before, so it was natural that she was bad at it. It was supposed to be natural, but she wanted to do it.

They did it several times over. After some time, she was so into it that she couldn’t tell whether it was her or Maru who was the one practicing. Even then, she was lacking. Whenever Maru exploded with the accumulated emotions, she wasn’t able to hold herself together and got swayed by him.

She felt like she had become a mirror, a mirror that just displayed the emotions that Maru showed. She told Maru to do it once again when Maru said that it was enough, but she immediately retracted it. She was sweating profusely under her jacket. She had been so immersed that she forgot about the cold. Despite that, it didn’t feel like she had acted with Maru. She only followed the path that Maru showed her.

It was a vain yet incredible experience. That was also when the feelings of jealousy sprouted.

* * *

Maru stepped backward just as Choi Jungho stabbed out with the knife. Jungho stepped out with his right foot in a large stride to decrease the distance.

One back step and then injury.

Maru looked at the knife that dug into his armpit. They were perfectly in sync.

“I think that just about does it,” he said with a smile.

“Was the speed of the knife okay?” Jungho retracted his knife.

“I think I can react even if you do it slightly faster.”

“Then let’s do it once more before the camera rolls. It’s a prop knife, but you’ll get bruised if you get hit on a soft spot.”

They tried doing it again. The action director watching from the side revised Jungho’s position for a bit, saying that he had to stab out a little more to make it look better.

“Mr. Maru, you’re really good at spinning. Did you do it somewhere before?”

“I like action movies. I just practiced by myself while watching many things.”

“You have good senses for that to be true. When Jungho slashes sideways, do you think you can watch it until the last moment before falling back? Watching you made me greedy. It’ll look really good if we don’t separate the cuts and can do it in one cue. If you can, I’ll talk to the director about it myself.”

“Shall I try?”

The action director told him to take into consideration that the camera was shooting from the side. If it was shooting from the side and not the back, there should not be any dead angles. When being stabbed from the back, he just had to pretend to get stabbed at the right time even if the knife didn’t appear in front of him, but when shooting from the side he would have to control the distance accurately.

If the knife drew across thin air but scattered blood anyway, that wouldn’t be a drama, it would be a comedy.

He talked to Jungho for a few minutes. In action scenes, trust in each other was just as important as skill. Neither of them would get hurt only if they stabbed and got stabbed according to the agreement.

“Here, like this.”

Jungho stabbed to the left. Maru twisted his body slightly.

“And then again like this.”

Jungho pushed his shoulder forward. This was about getting the flow right, so there was no need to be rough. Maru pretended to have been bumped in the shoulder and stepped backward. Jungho came at him again. He retracted the knife and stabbed out again. Maru dodged and glared at him, while Jungho slashed sideways.

“Let’s do this part again.”

Maru lowered his posture and looked at the knife coming at him.

Jungho said that he would do it for real. He charged with the right air about him. The knife came at him as though it was going to cut his nose. Maru watched until the very end before pulling back.

“You okay?” Jungho was startled and walked over. He was looking at the prop knife.

“I didn’t get cut,” Maru scratched his nose and said.

Jungho reached his hand out. Maru grabbed his hand and stood up.

“It’s been a long time since I did something so tightly. And it’s in a drama too.”

“We’re both dying thanks to the two directors.” Maru pointed at director Cha and the action director.

The action director was probably persuading director Cha to change the cut. Eventually, director Cha came over.

“Let’s have a look.”

Maru exchanged gazes with Jungho and got into position. They showed director Cha the action scene they had repeated many times. Their action had become much more intricate with more practice, so at the last bit, the prop knife brushed past Maru’s clothes.

“Will the two of you be okay with that?” director Cha asked worriedly.

Director Cha was definitely a good person compared to other people who would just go ahead with whatever looked good. Though, he might change with more experience.

“I’m okay with it. I’m not the one getting injured. It’s up to Mr. Maru here,” Jungho said.

Director Cha’s eyes then headed to him.

“Director, you know today’s my last day. It shouldn’t be a huge problem even if I get injured. Even if I do, it’ll be beneficial if it looks good.”

“You’re saying something scary. You shouldn’t take injuries lightly.”

“I’m just saying. As you saw, Mr. Jungho’s maneuvers are artistic. I’m not that slow either. As the action director says, I think it’ll look cool to go like this. What do you think?”

“Of course, it looks killer. It’s one of my wishes to parody the corridor hammer scene.”

“That one’s a little too far out of reach.”

Director Cha stroked his chin and looked inside the warehouse. The camera director had walked over as well.

“Senior, do you think we’ll get a good picture if we use a dolly shot?”

“Let’s have a look, with lighting and all.”

The camera came in. Maru and Jungho stood where the camera director instructed them to. Light shone down on them from either side.

“That’s some good contrast. The depth is good thanks to the materials behind it as well. I think orientation is good,” said the camera director.

Maru displayed some light action with Jungho. He could see the camera moving slowly above his head.

Director Cha, the camera director, and the action director all got together and had a talk. They seemed to have decided on a direction as the action director stopped talking to the other two and walked over.

“Let’s go with what you practiced last time.”

At the same time, there was a voice outside saying that it was snowing.

“Let’s shoot now.”

People moved. Maru and Jungho also practiced one last time. Maru could tell the trajectory of the knife with his eyes closed at this point. He was glad that he could be in sync with this actor.

“Get into position!” director Cha shouted in front of the monitor. Jungho stepped aside.

Maru waited for the signal at the entrance of the warehouse. The FD, who was instructed by director Cha through a walkie-talkie, gestured to him.

Maru ran in pace with the camera in front of him.

He panted heavily like he had been running at full strength and went inside the warehouse before falling down on his knees and breathing heavily. He intentionally used his shoulders to breathe. He opened his mouth and raised his chin. He dusted off his head with his left hand and looked around.

“You’re tiring me out. Why don’t you just go when you still have the chance?”

Park Uijung was a passionate new detective. He passed the police exam in one go and always talked about going to the crime investigation department during probation. He was someone who was enamored with the job of a detective. He was someone who had dreams about the cases that occurred there.

And right now, he was given the opportunity to achieve great things as a detective.

A new crime investigator catching a murder criminal? He was trembling slightly, but he was not afraid. The figure of the killer was not that large when he saw him while running away. He had the confidence that he could easily subdue him. He could already picture himself getting awarded by the Police Commissioner.

According to his senior, the one hiding inside the warehouse was a serial killer. If he managed to arrest this man by himself, getting an award was not too big of a dream. He had dreamt of becoming a police officer for the sake of the safety of the citizens, but it wasn’t that he didn’t have any desire for power.

He could get promoted to team leader, department leader, then section chief, then police chief, and so on, couldn’t he? This case might become the trigger. The inexperienced rookie treatment would be over once he subdued a murderer.

He looked at the warehouse sunken in darkness as he walked. The criminal had hidden in there. The door on the outside was firmly shut. He would have to run to the entrance if he wanted to escape.

“Let’s not make any trouble.”

He didn’t have any handcuffs, but he had cable ties. He pictured in his mind doing a suplex on the criminal.

The moment you are found is the moment you are caught.

He was excited. There was not a shred of fear in him. He felt like being a criminal investigator was his calling.

His heavy breathing returned to its original state as well. He was going to end it in one go the moment he caught sight of the criminal.

At that moment, he heard asphalt being scratched. He immediately turned sideways. The criminal was walking out of the darkness. He stopped his breathing and looked at the criminal.

“Cut.”

He heard a voice that woke up his mind.

Maru relaxed his expression. The thread of emotion was very taut right now. He opened his eyes halfway and stood still while looking at the ground. The camera moved around to his back. He and Jungho were now going to be shot together from the side.

He could let go of his emotions here, but he maintained the tension so that Jungho could immerse himself more when they acted together.

Jungho, who stood in front of him, also seemed to be of the same mind as his face was stiff despite the fact that the cue sign hadn’t appeared yet.

“Let’s go immediately.”

The shoot resumed. Maru looked at Jungho through Park Uijung’s eyes.

The criminal looked around with uneasy eyes. He seemed to be looking for any potential comrades.

He was now convinced. This man had a small figure and was afraid. Moreover, his victims were only women. He was a stereotypical killer who only exerted violence against targets he had superior strength over.

“Cut.”

Director Cha did not instruct anything. Only the camera changed locations. It meant that the acting was satisfactory.

The makeup artist came over and redid the makeup under his eyes. Maru maintained an excited expression. The makeup artist did not request him to relax his face or even talk to him at all.

She must be being considerate of the actor’s state.

“Just a little more inside.”

He could hear the camera director’s voice. A camera was mounted on top of straight rails. Light fixtures and a person with a boom mic stood next to it.

While the lighting was being set up, the action director came over.

“Both of you, read each other well. Keep moving before the shoot starts. The weather’s cold so you might make a mistake.”

Per the action director’s words, he kept moving. Eventually, preparations for the shoot were done. He got into position again.

“Let’s do this in one go. Be careful.”

The camera started rolling along with director Cha’s words.