Chapter 29

Villain Only Acting 029

Leaving a Bitter Taste (3)

After wrapping up the shoot, Cha Dojin wanted to throw a small party.

However, with a cut on his lip, Jung Sehoon couldn't drink alcohol.

"Ah, Jung-ah, you really. You ruined a fun occasion."

"I came here to drink? I came to shoot. And I'm really sorry to Sehoon-ssi. Because of me, you can't even enjoy the party. What should I do?"

"It's fine, so don't hold it in anymore."

"Yujeong-ah, you came here to drink, right? Are you really going to discriminate like this?"

"If you feel wronged, why don't you bite me, senior?"

That's how they wrapped up the first day of shooting.

The next day, Song Jeongwoo started pushing the shooting schedule forward from early morning.

Yujeong, who finished shooting first, left the set with her manager.

She seemed to want to stay and watch, but her manager stopped her.

"Do you know how many schedules you have to digest in Seoul? There's nothing more to do here, so there's no time to hang around."

"Alright, alright. I'm going, I'm going."

The following evening, Cha Dojin left.

He wanted to stay one more day to have the small party he couldn't have yesterday, but he had to leave, almost dragged away by his manager.

"If the devil granted one wish, do you know what I'd wish for? To make me three people! My schedule is so backed up."

"Sehoon-ssi, let's definitely have a drink later. Definitely!"

That's how the supporting actors and extras left one by one, and eventually, even the stunt team and extras all left.

Now, the only actors left on set were Lee Minsoo and Jung Sehoon.

***

"Is it manageable to shoot on location?"

"Yes."

"It's domestic, so the facilities are good. But there are still some tough places."

While the staff were setting up the outdoor shooting location, Lee Minsoo was busy gathering firewood to roast sweet potatoes.

Jung Sehoon sat across from him, facing the crackling flames.

"Wasn't it a bit chaotic? After all, we're not shooting in the order of the script."

Of course, dramas are shot out of sequence.

They might shoot a scene where the characters confirm their love in the same location, and then immediately shoot a scene where they break up.

"It wasn't chaotic. To save costs and time, it's better to shoot in batches."

"Not all acting is like that. Sometimes, you act in the flow of the story."

"You mean theater."

"Right. Back then, it was fun and romantic. We didn't make much money, but, hahaha."

Lee Minsoo's gentle smile was far from the image of the selfish and cruel Gangnam mafia tycoon, Hwang Hakjin.

But the moment the camera started rolling, he magically transformed into Hwang Hakjin.

"Last time, you asked what I think acting is."

"Yeah. Ah, are you still practicing well?"

Jung Sehoon responded with a chuckle, and Lee Minsoo let it slide with a smile.

"At that time, I was curious. What do you think, sir?"

"Me? What do I think acting is?"

"Yes. I'm curious about the answer you've gained over a lifetime."

"Hmm, what is acting...?"

Lee Minsoo, who was poking the sweet potatoes, focused on the flickering flames.

"I don't know."

Jung Sehoon responded with silence, demanding more.

"When I was young and successful, I was arrogant. I thought what I did was acting. I ignored the advice of senior actors and pretended to be humble in front of them."

"..."

"Now, just thinking about those days makes my ears turn red. I held up my clumsy experiences as if they were secret techniques known only to me."

"Then, really..."

"I don't know, so I asked you guys that day, didn't I?"

Lee Minsoo, who had taken a sweet potato out of the fire, handed one to Jung Sehoon and laughed while peeling it.

"What I learned as I got older is that I don't really know much."

"..."

"I still don't know what acting is. But I do know a little about technique. It's the clumsy act I put on in front of the camera."

Lee Minsoo focused on peeling the sweet potato and laughed heartily.

"If you learn something later, let me know. Don't keep it to yourself. It's a request."

After that, the conversation stopped.

They quietly peeled and ate the sweet potatoes as if they had made a pact.

"Hey, actors. Don't just eat sweet potatoes. Have some soda. PD Song brought it in case you get a sore throat."

The sound of footsteps approached warmly.

Lee Minsoo gathered the sweet potato peels and foil into a garbage bag and took the soda offered by Song Jeongwoo.

"Is it finally time for me to be eaten?"

"Today, you'll only be caught. You won't be eaten, sir."

"If you can't escape and you're caught, it's the same as being eaten, what's the difference?"

Lee Minsoo wiped his hands, laughed, and stood up.

Jung Sehoon watched as his smile gradually transformed into Hwang Hakjin's, and then slowly stood up.

In his eyes, Hwang Hakjin was also turning into a delicious prey.

Song Jeongwoo clapped lightly.

"This is the last shoot for this schedule. Let's all do our best."

***

After all the shooting was done, Jung Sehoon got in the car and headed back to Seoul.

Jeongsoo-yeon, who was squeezing into the chartered bus, looked at him with a wistful gaze.

As a blood relative, she couldn't let it go and sent a supportive text.

[I wish someone would drive for me too lol]

[GG]

Jung Sehoon greeted the PD, the writer, Lee Minsoo and his manager, and the other staff, then got into the car.

Despite the grueling schedule, he wasn't tired at all.

He felt refreshed, as if he had slept well, and ready to jump back into shooting immediately.

He touched his lip with his other hand, but the inside wound didn't hurt.

He stopped the car on the road for a moment and checked the inside of his lip, which he had "injured" last time, using the phone mirror app.

He hadn't told Yujeong, but he had definitely felt a wound inside his mouth.

However, when he disinfected it, he couldn't feel any wound.

There was no trace of it now.

"I thought I bled... Was it just my imagination?"

Before stepping on the gas, Jung Sehoon briefly recalled the time spent at the location shoot.

Various scenes flashed through his mind in different sequences.

'Yujeong...'

The sensation of biting her lips, which any male fan would be flattered by, was vivid.

It was far from the pink, heart-fluttering crowd.

When he harbored the plundering heart of a soldier, he had clearly tasted it, but now it was hard to define.

What was clear was that there was a strong, intense taste that erased the mix of fake and real blood.

***

Illegals was riding the wind and steadily advancing.

In episode 8, it finally surpassed 19%, putting the 20% mark within reach.

The conflict between lawyer Go Jeman and prosecutor Hwang Seonhye, who were chasing Lee Jinwook, intensified, tightening and loosening repeatedly.

Sometimes they cooperated, and sometimes they competed, chasing Lee Jinwook.

Lee Jinwook left traces for them to follow, sometimes leading them to dead ends.

- Prosecutor, you and I are of the same kind. If you don't eat what you want to eat, you can't stand it.

- Don't be ridiculous. I have no interest in killing. I just want to put the bad guys behind bars!

- I kill with a knife, and you kill with a death sentence. Is the purpose different just because the tools are different? Is that right?

- Lawyer, why are you suddenly pretending to be good? You're not that kind of person.

- Lee Jinwook, stop everything now. Then I'll defend you.

- Live in prison until you die? Is that the mercy and help you're offering me?

- If you commit a crime, you must pay the price! Your way is wrong! I'll fight for you until the end, until I die!

- For the sake of that person who died because they couldn't afford ten million won, why didn't you fight until the end?

The lawyer and the prosecutor, chasing the same person for different reasons, deny the parts of themselves that are being eroded by Lee Jinwook's arguments and logic.

To protect their identities, they whip themselves harder and chase Lee Jinwook even more.

And before the airing of episode 9, the PR team dropped another teaser.

[In Illegals, episode 9, a shocking kiss scene?]

[Will it be Hwang Seonhye & Go Jeman or Hwang Seonhye & Lee Jinwook? Which couple will succeed?]

- Reporter, don't add random romance to this sacred crime thriller by Kim Sanghee.

- It could be Hwang Seonhye & Hwang Hakjin, you biased reporter.

- It could be Go Jeman & Lee Jinwook, you biased one.

- Why is Kim Sanghee suddenly adding a kiss scene? Is he drifting into romance?

- It's probably to lighten the mood with the Go