Chapter 59

"Ouch, this looks really expensive!"

Han Taesik sneered as he picked up a porcelain piece from the table, sighed, and then threw it to the ground. With a crack, the porcelain was undoubtedly shattered into pieces.

Then, with a look of disdain and provocation, he turned to his half-brother and said, "Now you can fire me, right!"

Slap! His brother finally lost his temper and raised his hand to strike!

"Cut!" Yoon Seokho called for a pause, then cheerfully said to Lee Jung-hui, who was playing Han Taesik, "You dodged too quickly!" Then he turned to Kim Yong-jung, who was playing Han Taesik's brother, and said, "You were too hesitant; your hand movement looked like you were going to pat him!"

This comment made everyone laugh. Lee Jung-hui was now filming the scenes that had been scrapped for Han Taesik. The current scene showed Han Taesik's brother, who was unhappy with Han Taesik's position in the company and his constant playing, finally losing his patience and striking him after Han Taesik showed no signs of repentance and instead acted arrogantly.

This segment provided background and context for Han Taesik's situation and character, and also helped to build the plot.

It wasn't too difficult, but to make it smoother, Lee Jung-hui said to Kim Yong-jung, "Wait a moment, when I finish my line, let's count one, two, three together, and then you quickly strike, and I'll start dodging..."

After explaining, he practiced with Kim Yong-jung to get the rhythm and speed of one, two, three right, and then they started.

Soon, the scene came to the line, "Now you can fire me, right!" At this point, Lee Jung-hui quickly counted in his head and started to dodge.

However, he had only dodged halfway when he was slapped. There was a clear slap sound.

"Sorry, sorry!" Seeing that he had hit someone, Kim Yong-jung was stunned for a moment and then quickly apologized, even checking Lee Jung-hui's face. As a minor character, he really couldn't afford to offend Lee Jung-hui, who was one of the three major figures in the production team, serving as both a screenwriter and a supporting actor.

"It's fine!" If it weren't for the loss of face, it really didn't hurt much. Seeing Kim Yong-jung's nervous and fearful expression, Lee Jung-hui remembered similar moments from his past and smiled, then touched his face, "Really, it's fine."

He then looked at Yoon Seokho and said with a smile, "But I hope this take passes!"

On the other side, Yoon Seokho also laughed, "Yeah, although I'd like to see you get slapped a few more times, let's wait for that later!"

After this scene was completed, they had to move to another location, but it was still within the hotel. This was a principle of filming, to concentrate shooting in one place, especially since they were reshooting, and it wasn't easy to communicate with the hotel for temporary shooting.

It wasn't far, just a room nearby. The previous room was made dark by the lighting crew using curtains to set the mood, but in this suite, sunlight streamed in through the windows, making the room bright.

Because of the tight schedule, the props were already prepared, and they could start filming as soon as they arrived. However, at this moment, one of Lee Jung-hui's new assistants, Han Mi-ju, approached him with his phone and whispered, "It's Director Jang's call!"

Actors generally weren't allowed to carry phones on set to avoid disrupting filming. Lee Jung-hui, who was usually just a screenwriter, didn't mind, but now he had to follow the rules. So, he temporarily gave his phone to Han Mi-ju, who was more meticulous, clearly smarter, and spoke less.

She was one of the agents hired by Jang Dong-guk. The other assistant with Lee Jung-hui was Kim Hye-jin, but compared to the nearly thirty-year-old Han Mi-ju, she was prettier but more inexperienced and talkative, though she was diligent.

Lee Jung-hui appreciated her good nature and didn't dislike her, but he wouldn't entrust important matters to her for now.

In addition to the two assistants, Lee Jung-hui also had two bodyguards, twin brothers named Lee Myeong-eun and Lee Myeong-je. According to Jang Dong-guk, these two brothers were former special forces and had excellent skills.

Suddenly having four new people around him surprised everyone, and Park Dong-jean even teased him, saying that he hadn't become a big star yet, but his demeanor was already greater than many superstars.

"Okay, we've basically talked with Wellmade!" Lee Jung-hui took the phone, and Jang Dong-guk, knowing he was filming, quickly explained, "According to the contract, we have to pay 300 million won in breach of contract fees. Also, Ha Ji-won's current drama 'Secret' must be completed, and the profits will be shared with them..."

Jang Dong-guk then laughed, "That's the surface. Behind the scenes, their representative hinted that they would make things difficult for our Empire Entertainment, you, and Ha Ji-won..."

"I'm looking forward to it!" Lee Jung-hui smiled. Completing the contract was the main goal, and 300 million won was a cheap price, especially since Ha Ji-won wasn't yet famous. As for the rest, he didn't want to think too much about it. He just needed to deal with things as they came and focus on quickly expanding his influence and building his reputation.

So, after discussing the arrangements for Ha Ji-won, such as finding her a new place to live and arranging bodyguards to protect her from threats, he hung up the phone.

Threatening or even directly harming artists was something that management companies often did, and he had experienced it firsthand, so he specifically asked Jang Dong-guk to take it seriously.

Ding! As soon as he hung up, a system notification popped up in his mind, "Dear player, greetings. The 'Save Ha Ji-won' mission has officially started. Ha Ji-won is currently under the blacklist of her former management company, Wellmade. Please restore her popularity and status within six months... Mission completion: 20 achievement points, 2 luck points, +5 reputation, one random jade-level treasure chest. Mission failure: -200 achievement points, -10 reputation, +5 destruction points, and trigger a B-level system mission..."

After reading it, Lee Jung-hui shrugged indifferently. This mission, which had an 80% chance of triggering, was something he had already prepared for. It wasn't a big deal. Now, as long as he successfully produced "Autumn in My Heart" and made it shine, everything would fall into place.

With this in mind, Lee Jung-hui handed his phone back to Han Mi-ju and walked back into the room, patting Song Seung-hun, who was already sitting on the sofa, on the shoulder, and smiled, "I'll need your guidance, senior!"

Song Seung-hun also smiled and nodded slightly, "You're too polite!" Honestly, when he returned and found out that Lee Jung-hui had secured the role, he was also very surprised.

However, he understood that it wasn't because Lee Jung-hui had deliberately sought the role; otherwise, he would have gotten it long ago. So, he was curious about Lee Jung-hui's acting skills. After watching his performance throughout the morning and early afternoon, he saw that Lee Jung-hui's acting was quite good, and he even felt a bit of pressure.

"Everyone, listen up!" Seeing that everything was almost ready and Lee Jung-hui had returned, Yoon Seokho clapped his hands, "The next scene is a long dialogue. Actors can use the cue cards, but pay attention to the camera angles, especially when transitioning from wide shots to close-ups... Let's do a run-through first..."

The run-through wasn't too strict. Once it was done, without waiting for Yoon Seokho to say anything, Lee Jung-hui and Song Seung-hun greeted each other and started.

—Han Taesik was washing his hands in the bathroom. Yoon Jun-hui looked around and then sat on the edge of the bed, asking Han Taesik, "You really won't paint anymore?"

"It's fine if I don't paint," Han Taesik dried his hands with a white towel, casually threw it on the sink, and walked out, looking at Yoon Jun-hui and smiling, "Want a drink?"

"Sure!" Yoon Jun-hui replied casually, watching Han Taesik walk back to the small living room and open the fridge. He also stood up, looking at the empty room and casually said, "Don't you find it boring living alone in a place like this?"

They continued like this, exchanging lines. When Han Taesik congratulated Yoon Jun-hui on his marriage and Yoon Jun-hui thanked him with a smile, the first part of the scene was over. The next part, although in the same location, was a night scene, so they had to wait.

After watching them go through it, Yoon Seokho called Lee Jung-hui and Song Seung-hun over and said, "Not bad, at least it looks good on camera," pausing for a moment, he added, "But you need to be more natural, like you're really chatting with a friend. Also, Song Seung-hun, when you say 'thanks' at the end, your smile should be more restrained, showing that you have something on your mind..."

Lee Jung-hui and Song Seung-hun both nodded. After Yoon Seokho finished, Lee Jung-hui said to Song Seung-hun, "Yeah, let's try to find that feeling, like we were chatting over drinks last night."

Unlike Won Bin, who was shy and spoke little, Song Seung-hun was good at livening up the atmosphere and got along well with everyone. So, before filming, Lee Jung-hui had specifically gone out for drinks and snacks with him to chat for a long time.

This was an idea he got from working with Son Ye-jin. When actors were more familiar with each other, their performances would be more natural and harmonious. Hearing this, Song Seung-hun thought it was a good idea, nodded, and started to recall that feeling, even remembering the conversations he had with So Ji-sub.

Undoubtedly, this was helpful. Acting, whether method or performance-based, required understanding the character's feelings and then expressing them. So, except for a few times when Song Seung-hun laughed because the beer can foamed over when Lee Jung-hui opened it, everything went smoothly.

"Great, it's a pass!" With Yoon Seokho's command and a happy clap, the scene was finally completed. After relaxing, Song Seung-hun looked at Lee Jung-hui, thinking that at first, he hadn't fully gotten into character, but Lee Jung-hui's natural and confident performance had quickly inspired him and helped him enter a good state.

Senior! Thinking of this word, Song Seung-hun smiled and shook his head, then high-fived Lee Jung-hui, and thought of the word "genius"!

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