Chapter 29

The crew of The Chaser finally gathered in early September. And Yoon Hyun officially left his home, entrusting everything to Lee Ji-eun, who was left behind feeling gloomy. Yoon Hyun then moved into the set to live.

Yoon Hyun finally met his "opponent" in the drama, the actor playing Jung-ho, Kim Yun-seok.

Although Yoon Hyun was confident in his ability to play the role of the **killer, he still showed great respect to the senior actor Kim Yun-seok.

"Senior Kim Yun-seok! Hello! It's an honor to act opposite you. I'm a newcomer, so I hope you can guide me a lot," Yoon Hyun bowed deeply.

"Yoon Hyun, no need to be so formal," Kim Yun-seok was very amiable, "My daughter is actually your fan. I hope you can sign something for her."

"I'm flattered! I hope you can take care of me," Yoon Hyun respectfully asked for the name of Kim Yun-seok's daughter and presented her with a signed CD.

The Chaser actually had no female lead. If there was a role with the most screen time, it was the role of the masseuse, played by Seo Young-hee. So these three people were the main actors of the film, and they were the key to the success of this movie, which lacked grand scenes and focused more on inner emotions.

Not only the director during the audition, but even Kim Yun-seok and Seo Young-hee, and the crew members, had significant doubts about whether a young actor who had debuted as a singer and only acted in one idol drama could handle the most outstanding and soulful role in the film.

The director, of course, was aware of these doubts.

So the first scene he planned to shoot was the one Yoon Hyun had performed during the audition, the confession scene in the police station.

Yoon Hyun naturally understood the director's intentions and tried his best to adjust to his optimal state.

With the director's call of "Action," the first shot began.

It was a five-minute long take.

Yoon Hyun sat among a group of extras playing police officers, smiling and vividly recounting how he had killed several people...

Almost everyone on set felt their hair stand on end.

Especially the extras playing the police officers, who had some doubts about Yoon Hyun's acting, but when Yoon Hyun really started "telling the story," they all felt as if they were sitting on pins and needles. When Yoon Hyun's slightly soothing gaze swept over them, they all felt a bone-chilling cold piercing their hearts.

Even Kim Yun-seok and Seo Young-hee, who were watching from the side, were stunned.

The five-minute long take was completed without any NGs, in one take.

When the director called "Cut," there was no usual applause and cheers celebrating the completion of the first shot.

The set was as silent as death.

Almost everyone looked at Yoon Hyun as if he were a monster.

"Sorry everyone, the character in the movie is like this. If I caused any discomfort, please forgive me." Yoon Hyun put on a gentle smile and bowed to the actors, director, and crew members.

At this moment, the set erupted into thunderous applause.

With the recognition from his colleagues, Yoon Hyun's filming went even more smoothly.

Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, it was mid-December.

During these two months, Yoon Hyun was busy with the film set and the various strange specials of Infinite Challenge, such as the Seoul tour and ballroom dancing... In Yoon Hyun's words, Kim Tae-ho really pushed the imagination of a non-human PD to the extreme...

So even with only these two commitments, Yoon Hyun was still tortured to the point of near-death.

Seo Young-hee, who was filming with him, now avoided Yoon Hyun whenever she saw him. Perhaps it was because the first scene left a deep impression on her, or perhaps the aura Yoon Hyun exuded was indeed somewhat oppressive, subconsciously she had equated Yoon Hyun with a **serial killer...

The only thing that made Yoon Hyun somewhat relieved was the little girl at his home.

After the stage of "Gangnam Style," Lee Ji-eun's attitude towards practice seemed to have changed significantly. Since she signed with LOEN, Yoon Hyun had noticed more than once that this little girl was incredibly stubborn.

For example, she seemed to have her own stance on pop music. She was particularly attached to her guitar, and her emotions towards this instrument were very extreme.

But she was now a trainee at an entertainment company. For entertainment companies, they would cultivate the type of idol that the public favored.

In the current K-pop scene, guitar playing was not mainstream. Even though Yoon Hyun's "Dong Miss" caused a stir, what truly made him famous were the two fast songs, especially "Gangnam Style."

Otherwise, Yoon Hyun would have remained a niche singer.

But Lee Ji-eun had always resisted the company's training approach. This might also be related to her poor dancing skills. She was not very interested in singing and dancing music.

This was directly reflected in her lack of enthusiasm during practice.

This was something Yoon Hyun noticed and needed to correct during the filming of Infinite Challenge. Otherwise, her talent was not enough to waste. If the company found that her stubbornness was seriously affecting her potential, some decisions would not be difficult to make...

Just like JYP.

Yoon Hyun felt some responsibility towards Lee Ji-eun. It was a kind of guidance from fate. So he felt it was his duty to guide her.

Fortunately, although Lee Ji-eun was stubborn, she was not stupid. During the entire "Gangnam Style" process, she first reluctantly followed Yoon Hyun to perform on the show, and then she discovered the fun in such stage performances.

The joy of bringing happiness to the audience and feeling it herself.

And when this song was performed on the Music Center stage in front of ten thousand people, and everyone in the audience danced along with the horse-riding dance that she initially found ugly, she genuinely felt a sense of joy.

So, she changed. Some changes that made Yoon Hyun excited and relieved.

For example, every morning, although Yoon Hyun still had to drag her out of bed when he was at home, he knew this was just the little girl being playful. At least when he was not at home, Lee Ji-eun's morning exercises had not been interrupted for a single day.

At the company, Lee Ji-eun's practice was much more active. She no longer hid to play the guitar whenever she could, but spent more time interacting with various teachers and learning...

When Yoon Hyun finished filming and returned home, if Lee Ji-eun was awake, she would always pull Yoon Hyun to watch her perform the latest routine she had learned, and then ask Yoon Hyun for advice.

Of course, with Lee Ji-eun's small frame, performing songs like "10 Minutes" was more amusing than impressive.

But this attitude was what Yoon Hyun hoped to see. It made him feel a bit more at ease.

After two months of filming that felt like a rush job, the movie production was nearing its end. This gave Yoon Hyun, whose schedule was already packed by Kim Soo-yeon for the end of the year, a slight relief.

At the end of the year, Yoon Hyun would participate in the music festivals of the three major TV stations and Mnet, the MBC Entertainment Awards, and the MBC Acting Awards.

"Thankfully, I only have MBC to deal with!" Yoon Hyun smiled wryly when he saw the schedule.

December 13, 2007. Today was the last day of filming for The Chaser.

And the scene to be shot was the most exciting part of the entire movie.

The direct confrontation between the two male leads.

Originally, according to the script, this was just a simple fight scene.

But after observing each other's performances for the past two and a half months, the two lead actors suddenly had a desire to compete in this final scene.

So, with the director's call of "Action," the entire shoot went out of control.

Perhaps as a new director, Roh Hong-jin lacked the desire to control the set. Or perhaps he also saw the two lead actors' accumulated desire to compete over the past two months.

From the moment Yoon Hyun's first evil smile appeared, the entire scene almost completely lost control.

Yoon Hyun and Kim Yun-seok's fight almost became a real fight, looking almost like punches to the flesh. Soon, Kim Yun-seok's clothes were torn by Yoon Hyun, and before long, Yoon Hyun's abs were exposed.

As the most experienced cameraman on the set, he knew from the first moment he saw Yoon Hyun's smile that these two had entered the so-called "acting competition" state.

This kind of acting competition was completely different from the term often used in advertisements. It was a situation where two experienced actors or actors with a deep understanding of their characters transcended the lines and script, using the outcome of a scene as a guide and their grasp of the character as a pace, to mutually push each other to perform beyond the script.

Now, Yoon Hyun and Kim Yun-seok were clearly in this state.

Kim Yun-seok, from the perspective of a hardworking "chaser," drew his strength from the desire for justice, seeking justice for the little girl who had awakened his conscience.

Yoon Hyun, on the other hand, placed himself in the role of the "final boss," determined to use his cold and ruthless nature to crush the resistance of the weak.

Thus, one attacked, and the other defended. One fought desperately, while the other was at ease.

The entire set seemed to feel the desperate struggle of the character played by Kim Yun-seok, while the character played by Yoon Hyun, with a cruel smile, seemed to be toying with his prey.

All the crew members felt an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Finally, the final judgment sounded.

When Kim Yun-seok fell backward in the last shot, the entire scene was over.

There was no pause, no NG, and no sound outside the frame during the shooting.

It was a seamless performance.

A cruel and tragic beauty.

Then, the set erupted into thunderous applause.

And the two lead actors embraced silently.

This was a kind of默契 (mòqì) that only two men could understand, a mutual respect that only two actors could share.

But what followed was a scolding from their managers...

The two had fought so passionately that it was almost a real fight.

Now that the adrenaline had worn off, the pain set in...

So at the wrap party that night, the two lead actors had no appetite, only forcing themselves to drink a few sips of alcohol before hurriedly going home to tend to their injuries...

For Yoon Hyun, the remaining matters related to the movie were waiting for the premiere, which would be in January or February of the following year. Now, his main task was to recover and start the busy schedule at the end of the year.

From August, when "Gangnam Style" swept the entertainment industry like a storm, even spreading to the world, to the end of December, the craze had not subsided. The reason was that no matter how many people covered the song or how many different versions circulated, as the originator of the craze, Yoon Hyun had only performed it once on the MBC special stage.

This made SBS, KBS, and Mnet very unhappy.

When this dissatisfaction accumulated and fermented for four months, it finally turned into a regret that they had not had Yoon Hyun perform on their stages.

So all four TV stations invited Yoon Hyun to be the final act at their music festivals. This made the Korean top group, TVXQ, who had been urgently recalled from Japan to counter Yoon Hyun, extremely frustrated.

But there was no choice. Even though TVXQ had the largest fan base in Asia, in the face of Yoon Hyun's greater influence, they had to reluctantly give up the final act position and find a place that suited their status as the top group in Korea.

For this, Yoon Hyun gained at least a few thousand more anti-fans...

The final performance: "Baby" + "Gangnam Style."

Yoon Hyun was flattered by the treatment he received and promised to give his best performance.

The first event was the Mnet Awards.

Yes, the awards. Actually, all four events were award ceremonies.

But Yoon Hyun did not treat them as opportunities to receive awards, but rather as stages for his performances.

When Yoon Hyun got out of the limousine and walked the red carpet prepared by the organizers, he heard deafening cheers and boos.

These boos mostly came from the fans of TVXQ who were there for the show. Due to the MV Yoon Hyun had filmed, most of the online artists still gave Yoon Hyun some face, and their fans generally did not attack him. Only TVXQ, who had been developing in Japan, missed the opportunity to participate in Yoon Hyun's MV, and they might not have even looked up to Yoon Hyun. So, whether it was Big Bang or Super Junior, who were from the same company as TVXQ, their relationships with Yoon Hyun were still quite good. The fans who booed, Yoon Hyun could easily guess were TVXQ fans.

Yoon Hyun smiled, ignoring the discordant sounds, confidently walked the red carpet, politely declined interviews from the hosts, and entered the venue alone.

Actually, Yoon Hyun had some confidence in not caring about TVXQ's fans. Perhaps the small butterfly's efforts to flap its wings finally paid off. LOEN's business data in the second half of the year was surprisingly good, even catching the attention of its parent company, SK. After carefully reviewing LOEN's reports and learning that "Gangnam Style" alone had brought significant profits through online downloads, SK decided to accelerate its business layout, acquiring the largest and main music download site in Korea, Melon, and integrating it into LOEN Entertainment.

This meant that LOEN had become the largest online and offline music distribution company in Korea.

With such a strong backing, and as the only artist of this company, Yoon Hyun naturally believed that even if he did not speak up, the boos would make LOEN furious and the parent company, SK, feel embarrassed. As for who would pay the price for this, it was not Yoon Hyun's concern.

So, as soon as Yoon Hyun entered the backstage, before he could even take a sip of water, he heard his manager, Kim Soo-yeon, relay a message that TVXQ's manager wanted to meet Yoon Hyun and apologize for the red carpet incident.

Yoon Hyun would not hold a grudge against TVXQ for this, and even if he did, he would not give them any reason to complain.

Upon receiving the message, Yoon Hyun immediately asked Kim Soo-yeon to bring his only mini album and accompany him to TVXQ's dressing room to meet the seniors.

The meeting with TVXQ went much smoother than expected. They were seasoned veterans who had seen many storms, and with the manager having already briefed them on LOEN's current state, the five members of TVXQ were unexpectedly very friendly to Yoon Hyun.

To suppress misunderstandings from overzealous fans, the members posted selfies with Yoon Hyun on their personal pages and fan cafés, repeatedly stating that they were good friends...

Leaving TVXQ's waiting room, Yoon Hyun once again felt grateful for his choice. Who would have thought that a company like LOEN could transform from a small chicken to a phoenix?

Then, under the guidance of Kim Soo-yeon, Yoon Hyun began visiting all the seniors who were participating in the event, in the order of their debut.

Although some seniors were not present due to scheduling, Yoon Hyun politely left notes in their waiting rooms to show his respect.

Then, Yoon Hyun returned to his own waiting room to wait for his juniors to visit.

Although many new artists debuted in the eight months after Yoon Hyun, only a few were qualified to participate in this year-end award ceremony.

So, Yoon Hyun waited for a long time and only a group of familiar faces arrived.

Girls' Generation.

"Come in and sit for a while," Yoon Hyun smiled at the girls standing nervously in a row at the door. "I guess you don't have your own waiting room. My room is quite large, so come in and sit for a while."

"Thank you, Uncle... Oppa!" Lim Yoona was not at all shy. Today, they were the youngest in the performance lineup, and after visiting all the seniors, their backs were almost broken. Even worse, they were sharing a waiting room with the senior Kangta, either by Mnet's arrangement or **'s decision... This was almost a death sentence for these lively girls.

"You don't need to be so formal with me," Yoon Hyun said with a smile. "Relax a bit. You can go back to the waiting room to prepare when it's almost time to perform."

"Yoon Hyun Oppa, this is our first album, 'Girls' Generation.' Please take care of it," Seohyun handed an album to Yoon Hyun.

"Oh, I've been busy filming and haven't congratulated you on your new album yet! Congratulations!" Yoon Hyun was taken aback but immediately smiled and accepted it. "Hey? Why is it just an empty album? No signatures?"

"Um... We'll sign it right away!" Kim Tae-yeon, who was always more afraid than close to Yoon Hyun, felt a bit flustered.

"Tae-yeon, no need to be so nervous," Yoon Hyun noticed Tae-yeon's fear. "I was just saying. Soo-yeon, can you get me a pen?" Yoon Hyun said to Kim Soo-yeon without turning his head.

"Okay!" Jessica, who had been sitting on the sofa without a word, suddenly stood up.

"Jessica, Yoon Hyun Oppa wasn't calling you; he was asking his manager to get a pen," Lim Yoona quickly pulled Jessica back and sat her down.

"Jessica's name is also Soo-yeon?" Yoon Hyun was a bit surprised. Of course, he knew her name...

"My Korean name is Jung Soo-yeon," Jessica replied respectfully.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Kim Soo-yeon had already brought the pen, and Yoon Hyun asked each member of Girls' Generation to sign the album.

"By the way, Yoon Hyun Oppa, do you still have the signatures of Yoona and me?" Seohyun suddenly asked.

"Of course!" Yoon Hyun confirmed and took out