Chapter 32

Villain Only Acting 032

What Exploded? (1)

In anticipation of a large-scale battle scene, the actors, extras, and stuntmen were extremely tense.

As the camera started rolling, everyone shouted and ran at once.

"Kill him!"

"Capture him!"

"Don't let him get away!"

The powerful shouts and the dull thuds of metal pipes and baseball bats clashing echoed.

Though it was all staged and agreed upon, the intensity of the shouts made it seem like a real gang fight.

Jeong Soo-yeon lifted the sign.

[It's Actor Jeong Seo-hoon's turn.]

Jeong Seo-hoon, dressed in Lee Jin-wook's mask and clothes, stood up.

Before walking to the camera, his eyes met those of Yoo Jeong-a, who was quietly sitting in a chair.

She had come to monitor the shoot even though she didn't have any scenes today.

With Lee Jin-wook's face projected over his own, Jeong Seo-hoon held a prop knife in reverse and took his stance.

His swift movements accurately targeted the combatants in the intense battle.

After moving his body for a while in a state close to trance...

"Cut! That's good."

***

"Autographs? There's a fan here to watch? That's quite impressive."

"I'm not sure if I, an old-timer, should even join in."

Lee Min-soo happily signed autographs.

Yoo Jeong-a turned her head slightly to confirm the fan standing at a distance and smiled.

"Oh, it's him."

"Miss Yoo, do you know him?"

"He's been a long-time fan, but he looks really tough on the outside. Inside, he's very affectionate. He always brings his bromides or photo books to fan meetings and gets autographs."

Kim Hyun-tae muttered with a dazed look.

"Once you see him, you can't forget his appearance..."

"When he comes, it's reassuring. Even the obsessive fans become as gentle as lambs."

Unlike the nervous Kim Hyun-tae, Song Jeong-woo looked completely at ease and kept praising.

"Good, good. He'd be perfect for a gangster role. It's a waste to let such a physique go unused."

Kim Sang-hee complained from the side.

"Is a gangster role something just anyone can do? These days, villains are all about being smart. That image is outdated."

Yoo Jeong-a finished her autographs quickly and handed them to Jeong Seo-hoon.

"Seo-hoon, here."

"Do I have to sign too?"

"He asked for three autographs from all the actors he could get."

"He's a fan of Yoo Jeong-a, not me. He might hate it if I sign, thinking it's a waste of paper."

"He's not like that. I guarantee it. From the way he asked for three, it seems like it's for his family or friends. He's probably a fan of the drama."

Jeong Seo-hoon looked at the bulky figure standing at a distance with his arms crossed, then took the pen.

***

Every time Illegals aired, the viewer board heated up, and quite a few viewers even lay down demanding the PD to appear.

The ratings eventually surpassed 24%, and Song Jeong-woo's ego soared to the heavens.

Hwang Hak-jin felt intense anger as Prosecutor Hwang Seon-hye tightened her包围圈, and he once again tried to manipulate Lee Jin-wook to eliminate her.

Hwang Seon-hye finally obtained Hwang Hak-jin's ledger of political contributions, and the conglomerates that had paid him began to feel uneasy about his existence.

A rival organization, which had been waiting for the right moment to dominate Gangnam's nightlife, finally got the chance to meet a key figure in the ruling party.

- President Hwang is outdated. He's not the same as before.

- We will serve the honorable member without any inconvenience.

- Handle this properly. If Hwang Hak-jin blows himself up, many others will go down with him.

While chasing Lee Jin-wook's trail, Go Jae-man stumbled upon a drug cartel that had been polluting the Gangnam area.

In the middle of his pursuit, he discovered a large-scale drug transaction site in the mountains.

However, the peaceful atmosphere froze instantly when a blood-soaked corpse fell from a tree.

- Chief! No, you bastards? You didn't...

- What are you talking about? Why would we do such a thing!

The verbal confrontation grew increasingly hostile, and just as it was about to turn into a full-blown fight, a dagger flew from behind one of the groups and grazed the ear of the highest-ranking member.

- You bastards! Kill them all!

With a deep gash on his ear, blood dripping down his face, he shouted, and a large-scale fight broke out instantly.

Go Jae-man, trembling, tried to capture the scene on his phone.

- Don't.

Lee Jin-wook, who had appeared out of nowhere, covered his mouth, took the phone, stopped the recording, and deleted the file.

- Don't even think about forensics. You probably didn't get more than a few seconds anyway. Why are you so fearless? How many lives does our lawyer have?

After the third meeting following the crime announcement.

- Let's just watch today.

- You...!

- Just watch. It'll be quite interesting.

Go Jae-man, unable to stop or look away, watched the entire scene.

A predator tearing apart its exhausted prey with ruthless precision.

***

- Already episode 11

- Can't believe it's the final week

- wjwj

- Can Lee Jin-wook ever be happy? Can't he just live a peaceful life with Hwang Seon-hye?

- Are you a viewer of a different parallel universe's Illegals? Where's the room for a peaceful life in the Lee & Hwang combination?

- The writer is hinting at a predetermined catastrophe, but it's making the happiness circuit in my brain work instead?

- Everyone, just hold on. This is going to be a rollercoaster acceleration. lol

- If Lee Jin-wook ends up in jail, it'll be too tragic.

- I don't think it'll be a jail ending.

Hwang Hak-jin, betrayed by the political establishment, suffered fatal injuries from other hunting dogs.

With everything on the line as the organization teetered on the brink of collapse, they launched a surprise attack on the rival organization.

A fight to the death, with no tomorrow.

As the casualties on both sides grew exponentially, Lee Jin-wook suddenly appeared and attacked the enemy from behind.

Wearing a protective suit and wielding a military knife and a metal pipe, he moved through the ranks of the organization members like a predator stalking a flock of sheep.

Just as everyone thought they had won, Lee Jin-wook began to kill the exhausted allies.

When the mad, gleaming eyes stood before him, Hwang Hak-jin burst into laughter, not fear.

- I didn't raise a hunting dog, but a monster.

Episode 11 of Illegals surpassed 25% in ratings.

It was a significant lead over the other dramas airing at the same time, which were all below 15%.

***

"Looks like we won't reach 30% after all."

"What can we do? There are too many broadcast channels."

"Should we have just closed our eyes and made it a 16-episode series?"

"Come on, would forcing it make it a better work? Dragging it out would just invite criticism. It would all show in the end. Anyway, good job, Writer Kim."

The staff, listening to the PD and the writer's conversation, were inwardly amazed.

For a 12-episode cable drama to surpass 25% was already a remarkable record.

Yet, the two were lamenting the missed 30% milestone just before the final episode aired.

"But didn't we finish shooting a while ago?"

"They're reshooting one scene from episode 12. Something about the color being off."

"Surely they're not going to reshoot the whole thing just because there's some extra time before the airing date?"

"Just one more scene, they say."

"Phew. I was feeling uneasy because we didn't have a wrap party even after finishing the regular shooting schedule."

"The reshoot schedule was already in the PD's mind by then."

The main characters of the reshoot were Lee Jin-wook and Hwang Hak-jin.

So today, both actors would be in front of the camera.

However, other actors like Cha Do-jin, Yoo Jeong-a, Hwang Shin-yoon, and Hwang Ra-hee also showed up without fail.

This was because Song Jeong-woo had announced that this reshoot would be the final shooting.

"The weather is perfect. Let's go before the sun sets. Is the water truck ready?"

"Yes, it's ready. The water tank is full."

The solo scene for Lee Min-soo started first.

A scene where he loses all his organization members in a double-cross and is dragged by Lee Jin-wook, desperately trying to escape while being held captive.

"Cut! That's good!"

After finishing his performance and returning behind the camera, the veteran actor monitored his own performance and was satisfied.

"Hmm, not bad. Good that we decided to reshoot."

"Yes, today your acting was even more profound, so I was completely absorbed."

"You're flattering me. Shall we move on to the next scene?"

"Once the sun has set a bit more. There's a time difference, so take a rest in the meantime."

Lee Min-soo sat in a folding chair and pulled out the heavily marked script.

After today, he wouldn't read this script again.

Suddenly, he noticed Jeong Seo-hoon.

From a distance, he was meticulously checking the surroundings, looking every bit the diligent newcomer actor.

Lee Min-soo was looking forward to seeing how this young man would deliver his lines to him this time.

Suddenly, a thunderclap echoed.

Looking up, he saw dark clouds rapidly gathering on the horizon.

Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter.

"Oh dear."

Song Jeong-woo, who was about to stand up in a panic, was suddenly drawn to Jeong Seo-hoon, who was looking up at the sky with a blank expression.

There was a strange sense of thirst in his unfocused gaze.

"It's raining. How inconvenient."

The voice, which felt strangely dry, made Song Jeong-woo involuntarily take a few steps closer.

It wasn't Jeong Seo-hoon's tone.

It was the tone of the killer, Lee Jin-wook.

Prepared to dismantle the fresh prey just before the organization's disintegration.

Then, another thunderclap echoed.

Shocked screams erupted from all directions, but Song Jeong-woo didn't hear them.

His eyes were fixed on the predator's gaze, which was calmly watching the prey without any movement.

At that moment, a flash of lightning illuminated the sky, and the bright light sharply magnified Lee Jin-wook's eyes.

Lee Min-soo had felt the predator's gaze on him for a while.

The lightning from the dark clouds made the stillness in the pitch-black eyes stand out.

In that brief moment, Lee Min-soo read the desire to tear him apart.

At that moment, he transformed from Lee Min-soo to Hwang Hak-jin, from the Emperor of the Night to a worn-out prey.

Pitter-patter, the rain started pouring down.

The staff hurriedly covered the filming equipment with waterproof sheets.

The prey and the monster continued to watch each other without moving.

Hwang Hak-jin suddenly looked down at his hands.

His tightly clenched fist was trembling uncontrollably, defying his will.

Every cell in his fingertips sensed the impending feast and was trembling in fear.

The veteran actor, who had instantly shed his role, smiled faintly.

"I came here thinking it was just one scene, but this..."

What Exploded? (2)