Chapter 55

55. In the Name of God

Seungseok was at a loss for words at Siwoo's bold coquettishness, but soon clapped his hands.

Clap clap clap!

"Wow~ Did you see that? Did you see? Look at this! Look at his eyes! He's so sharp, isn't he~!"

Seungseok said, looking at Siwoo.

The junior actors were just frozen in place.

The shocking "Seungseok~!" they had just heard kept echoing in their ears.

...Aren't you scared?

Of course, as a five-year-old, Siwoo wouldn't understand the pressure the name Ha Seungseok brings to actors.

Still, it was an impossible feat for anyone without considerable courage.

At five, he was old enough to gauge the atmosphere.

"Your name is Siwoo, right? Siwoo... Yoon Siwoo, was it?"

"Yep~ I'm! Yoon Siwoo! That's me!"

"Ah! What a cutie! Hahaha!"

Seungseok, who had picked up Siwoo's small body, said to Seunghyun.

"Seunghyun, bring me your script."

"Yes! Senior!"

Seunghyun respectfully handed his script to Seungseok.

"Thanks."

"Yes! Senior!"

The staff and actors, including Director Choi Mincheol, were focused on what he was about to do.

In the spotlight, Seungseok asked Siwoo.

"Can you read letters?"

Siwoo, nestled in Seungseok's arms, nodded and replied.

"Yeees~ Se~n~i~o~r~"

Siwoo mimicked Seunghyun's words in a coquettish tone.

Silence—

The set fell silent for a moment.

...

"Kyaa! So cute!"

At the end of the silence, a female staff member covered her mouth and screamed.

Following her, Seungseok's booming laughter, featuring a perfect echo, burst out.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Seungseok, with a look of amazement, asked Director Choi Mincheol.

"Mincheol! Where did you find this kid? How did you find such a kid? Hahaha!"

Director Choi Mincheol chuckled and replied.

"Where did I find him? His mother must have brought him from home."

Seungseok, amused by the director's joke, looked around.

"Siwoo! Where's your mom?"

Siwoo pointed to his mother.

Seungseok bowed slightly to Hyunju and then shouted.

"Your son is really something! No matter what he becomes in the future, he's going to be great! Ah! This kid is a star! When the movie opens, I can already hear the audience screaming in the theater, really! Hahaha!"

Seungseok spun Siwoo around in his arms.

Siwoo laughed uncontrollably.

For a moment, the great actor Ha Seungseok, who had momentarily lost himself in the cuteness, became a human top, spinning around before meeting the eyes of his juniors.

Startled.

...Seungseok's senses returned.

"Phew!"

A suppressed laugh escaped Han Yuri's lips.

The other actors followed, bursting into laughter.

The frozen atmosphere melted like sweet ice cream.

"Cough! Hmm! See, see? I'm not that scary a senior. I only get serious when someone is really rude or unprofessional... Ah, yeah. This is all just nagging. Anyway, playing well with kids... like... um, what's the word... something like... hmm."

Seungseok's face was slightly red.

He looked embarrassed.

Turning his gaze from the laughing actors and staff, Seungseok looked at Siwoo in his arms.

"What were we talking about? About letters? Do you want to read the script? Come on, how about it. Can you read the letters?"

Seunghyun's script had his lines meticulously underlined.

After looking at the script Seungseok had opened, Siwoo replied.

"Yep~ I know them all!"

"Really? Then let's read it?"

"Just read it? Or~ act it out too?"

The actors and staff saw Seungseok's eyes turn into hearts.

In a voice as if he had had a drink, Seungseok said excitedly.

"Wow~! Look at this! He's so sharp! I'm just impressed! So, do you want to act it out too? Go ahead. I have a beard here. What are you going to do? Ready~ Action!"

Although he doubted a five-year-old would react to "Ready, Action," he dismissed his doubts, recalling Siwoo's career.

Seungseok slightly lowered Siwoo, who he had been holding, and made eye contact.

Then Siwoo started acting.

Siwoo's expression had already changed as if he were the character.

Seungseok, facing his own intimidating face, felt an indescribable thrill as he watched Siwoo's expression change without flinching.

'This... This... Am I really watching a five-year-old change expressions?'

Siwoo's mouth opened.

The lines Seunghyun was supposed to deliver to Seungseok during the shoot came out one by one in Siwoo's babyish voice.

"You're caught now! Come here~ It's okay~ Come here~"

Seungseok smiled inwardly and delivered his line.

"Ah... Yes... I'm here."

Siwoo, who had already memorized the entire script, still pretended to look at it occasionally as he continued.

"Do you know why I called you? Don't you?"

"I know."

When Seungseok glanced down to avoid his superior's gaze, Siwoo's hand shot up from under Seungseok's face.

"Uh-oh~!"

"Uh-oh" was Siwoo's original ad-lib.

Seungseok, finding it too cute, barely suppressed a laugh.

This kid was... fatal.

The scene that Seunghyun had struggled to perform was now unfolding before everyone's eyes.

Siwoo, grabbing Seungseok's chin with his hand...

With his soft, smooth hand, Siwoo lightly tapped Seungseok's chin.

Tap tap tap tap tap!

Seungseok's cheeks trembled.

While the junior actors were shocked, Seungseok, feeling Siwoo's somehow skilled touch, thought to himself.

'Wow, this feels like a back massage at a spa on the chin. Haha!'

He felt he could regain his V-line if he stayed like this for ten minutes.

Siwoo's voice broke his dream of a V-line.

"You were supposed to trim your beard! You're meeting King Yama, and you're going like this..."

At this point, Siwoo pretended to glance at the script.

"Yes! Yes! No! I said! What did I say~?"

Here, the director's intention was to convey a sense of comicality to the audience by deliberately acting stern, and Siwoo was bringing it to life.

Moreover, the last part, "What did I say~?" was not directed at Seungseok but at the other subordinate Grim Reapers.

Siwoo looked at the other actors standing in line and delivered his lines.

Siwoo, who diligently followed the script, including the stage directions.

Jin Sung, Han Yuri, Choi Jae-hoon, and Ryu Seunghyun.

The four actors, upon making eye contact with Siwoo, simultaneously and as if on cue, said in unison.

"Be a polite~! Grim Reaper~! Let's be~!"

Siwoo, still in Seungseok's arms, crossed his arms and, with a smile like a child who had secretly peeked at a gift placed by their father on the night before Christmas, said.

"Right! No matter what, you have to keep your word! Got it?"

"Yeees!"

Siwoo impressed upon the minds of Director Choi Mincheol and actor Ha Seungseok that he could handle any role, not just King Yama.

King Yama Siwoo was sitting alone at the highest point of the underworld, calmly playing Go.

This scene was added by Director Choi Mincheol after hearing that Siwoo had attended a Go academy.

The atmosphere of a seemingly innocent child playing Go deeply at the top of the underworld.

That was exactly what Director Choi Mincheol wanted to convey.

The camera was capturing Siwoo's delicate movements as he placed black and white stones on a black Go board with mysterious patterns, using his soft, fluffy hands.

Siwoo didn't force a serious expression or pretend to be deep in thought.

It would look unnatural.

He simply moved his hands quietly, as if it were a routine task.

Each time Siwoo took out a stone, the other stones in the container clattered.

The desolate appearance of the underworld and Siwoo's adorable appearance created a contrasting effect, forming a mysterious scene.

An assistant director signaled from the front of Siwoo.

While showing King Yama's dignity and mystique to the audience was important, if that was the only focus, there would be no reason to cast a five-year-old as King Yama.

Seeing the signal, Siwoo immediately pouted and slapped the Go board.

"Ugh~ Really! I'm so frustrated~ So frustrated~"

Siwoo, pretending to be angry, started tapping the stones on the Go board with his fingers.

This part, where the stones fly, was to be enhanced with CG later.

The stones would fly through the air, embed themselves in various places, and the underlings watching from below would tremble at King Yama's power.

"Hmm..."

As Siwoo sighed, the five Grim Reapers, led by Seunghyun, appeared and ascended to where Siwoo was.

Noticing that the underlings were climbing the stairs too quickly, Seunghyun shouted at them.

"Don't run so recklessly! Act with decorum! Especially you!"

Seunghyun... scolded... his senior, Seungseok.

Despite his trembling insides, Seunghyun managed to maintain a sharp expression.

"Young~ punk~ running the fastest? I'm watching you!"

'Sorry, senior. Really sorry.'

While outwardly scolding, Seunghyun inwardly apologized. From above, Siwoo shouted.

"Get your act together~ You're the loudest~ Come and report immediately!"

Seungseok, chuckling at Siwoo's line, said playfully.

"Look, he's telling us to run. Haha. Should we fly? Whoosh!"

Seungseok took a jumping stance in the middle of the stairs.

It was time for more CG.

Seungseok's body would disappear in a flash, turn into a black light, and fly up the stairs ahead of the seniors...

Then, Han Yuri would grab Seungseok's ear and pull him up.

"Cut! Okay!"

Director Choi Mincheol called it a cut.

After checking the order of the lines and the movements, they would shoot the scene where Han Yuri pulls Seungseok by the ear and Siwoo scolds them from above.

"Good job, Siwoo!"

Seunghyun, with a bright smile, climbed the stairs.

Siwoo also jumped down from the King Yama's throne.

Just as Siwoo was about to go to the top of the underworld to greet Seunghyun, the phenomenon that had been occurring more frequently happened again.

Thump—

Siwoo's heart beat strongly.

Whoosh—

His head buzzed.

His vision spun, and his body felt hot.

His mana was surging.

Hiding under King Yama's desk to avoid being seen, Siwoo, after taking a deep breath, quickly pressed his small, slender fingers on his body's pressure points.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

It was becoming difficult to control with just qi.

Siwoo, slowly straightening his bent knee, thought to himself.

'It's all part of the process to gain momentum.'

"Brother Seunghyun~!"

With a bright face, Siwoo ran and hugged Seunghyun's legs, who had just finished climbing the stairs.

* * *

A few days later.

Hyunju was dreaming in bed.

In the dream, Siwoo, dressed as King Yama, was fighting demons with Seunghyun, the leader of the demon investigation team, on top of an apartment complex.

Each time Siwoo took out a Go stone from his pocket, a demon would disappear, and Seunghyun... for some reason, was beating demons with a pink bicycle.

Thinking about the scenes from the movie "In the Name of God" that had been shooting for a few days, it felt like a dream.

The moment Siwoo, holding ten Go stones in his small hands as if they were a special move, threw them, Hyunju woke up.

"..."

It was a ridiculous dream.

Hyunju found her phone on the bedside table and checked the time.

6:37 AM.

It was an awkward time to go back to sleep.

Stretching, Hyunju got up, stroked her husband Dojin's head a few times, and got out of bed.

Opening the bedroom door and stepping into the living room, she felt the cold air, as it was still March.

They only heated the bedroom and Siwoo's room at night.

– Meow~

– Meow~

"…Huh?"

The cries of Boksil and Nero were heard.

Although they sometimes woke up early and played, it felt different from usual.

Hyunju headed to Siwoo's room.

"Huh? What's wrong with you two?"

Boksil and Nero were whimpering inside Siwoo's cabin bed.

Suddenly feeling a strong sensation, Hyunju climbed into the cabin bed.

Wheeze wheeze—

Siwoo's breathing was rough.

"Ugh…"

A groan, which she had never heard before, came from Siwoo's mouth.

Startled, Hyunju quickly placed her hand on Siwoo's head.

He was burning up.

"Ah… Siwoo? Siwoo—!"

Panicked, Hyunju ran to the living room to find a thermometer and fever medicine.

At that moment, Siwoo, hearing Hyunju's voice faintly in his daze, managed to utter a word with great effort.

"Mom…"