Chapter 93

Villain Only Acting Chapter 093

Aunt's Affection (2)

Yoon Jin-won, a former child actor, was currently in the third year of middle school.

With fair skin and a height of about 160cm, he was often doted on by other actors.

Through his long career as a child actor, he had developed solid acting skills, and his outward appearance matched his roles, leading to his unanimous selection by the production team.

"Hello, PD!"

Yoon Jin-won appeared with his mother-manager and greeted confidently.

His clear, energetic voice was full of vitality, making anyone who heard it feel good.

"Oh, hello. Actor Yoon Jin-won. Thank you for coming."

"I was so curious about what's going on that I rushed over!"

His confident and fresh attitude would make anyone smile if they didn't know him.

However, in the eyes of the seasoned Jang Seung-won, there was a hint of bitterness.

That polite attitude also reflected the seasoned experience of this young actor, who had been in the media for a long time.

"Do you like horror movies, Actor Yoon Jin-won?"

"Huh? Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"

"It's important to me, so please answer. Do you like horror movies?"

Yoon Jin-won exchanged a cautious glance with his mother-manager, suspecting some kind of trap.

That cautiousness, uncharacteristic of his age, made Jang Seung-won feel a bit sour.

"I like horror movies!"

"Really? How much?"

"I usually try to watch them, but the conditions aren't always right. Still, I make an effort to watch them."

It was an ambiguous answer, uncharacteristic of his age.

Jang Seung-won changed his posture and asked.

"Have you seen The Shining? It's an old movie, but—"

"Really?"

"I see, you don't know it. What about Rosemary's Baby? It was recently remade, so you might have seen it."

"That's... I haven't seen it."

"Looks like you haven't seen that one either. What about The Wailing? It's often shown on movie channels."

"..."

"Dark Woman? Alone? The Conjuring? Shutter? Which one scared you the most?"

"I'm sorry, PD. I haven't seen any of them."

Jang Seung-won lightly rubbed his neck.

This wasn't going to be easy.

"Have you seen The Innocent?"

"Yes! It's the movie where Actor Jung Seo-hoon played my uncle! Of course, I've seen it!"

"That's not a movie, it's a drama."

"Ah! I must have gotten confused! It's a drama, not a movie. Ahaha..."

"It's okay. Don't worry about what your manager thinks. Just be honest. Can't you handle scary stuff?"

Jang Seung-won whispered subtly while giving a stern look to the mother-manager.

She closed her mouth, signaling not to interfere.

"PD, to be honest, I can't handle scary stuff at all..."

Yoon Jin-won answered with a dejected tone.

"Is it because in your dream, the former kings appear like ghosts? But you won't be alone; I and the staff will be with you. It's just acting, after all."

"Um, that's not it. I just... get scared easily."

"Alright. Let's see if you can handle this."

"Sure!"

Jang Seung-won sat Yoon Jin-won next to him and showed him the scene he had acted in.

As Yoon Jin-won watched the neatly edited scene, he answered with a slightly trembling voice.

"Wow, Actor Jung Seo-hoon's villainous acting is really intense."

"You need to do exactly the same thing, replacing me. Can you do it?"

"Yes, I can."

"Great. Now, let's watch the original."

Jang Seung-won played the unedited original long take.

The video focused only on Jung Seo-hoon's face and upper body from start to finish, followed by a close-up of Jang Seung-won's neck being strangled until he suffocated...

"Ah! Jin-won! Snap out of it! Snap out of it!"

Yoon Jin-won suddenly fainted, and the assistant director quickly helped him, preventing any injury. His mother-manager was shocked and shook his body.

After a while, Yoon Jin-won slowly opened his eyes and, realizing the situation, felt embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, PD. I get scared easily..."

Jang Seung-won looked at him silently and gave a weak smile.

"You'll get used to it if you see more. Let's build up your courage, Actor Yoon Jin-won."

***

Jung Seo-hoon, who had slept in until the afternoon, finally woke up.

When he went downstairs to the living room, Jung Su-yeon was soaking her feet in a foot bath and laughing while watching TV.

"Sister, don't you smell something delicious?"

"Delicious smell? I don't smell anything."

"I smell the scent of braised pork feet. Did a new pork feet restaurant open nearby?"

"The scent of braised pork feet? I don't smell anything at all..."

Jung Su-yeon, who had been talking, looked down at her feet in the foot bath and threw the doll next to her.

"Die!"

Jung Seo-hoon chuckled sinisterly and headed to the kitchen.

He roughly scooped out the food his mother had prepared, placed it on a plate, covered it with plastic wrap, and put it in the microwave.

While the 2.45GHz frequency heated the water molecules, he checked his phone.

He read through the messages from the four actresses, who were all stunningly beautiful, and replied briefly. He also sent a message to Jang Seung-won, saying, "I just woke up."

He positively responded to Cha Do-jin's invitation for a drink and paused at Kim Sang-hee's message.

[Kim Sang-hee] I heard you had a great drink with a beautiful actress at my place yesterday?

[Me] Did Mr. Kim tell you?

[Kim Sang-hee] I'm the owner, but I don't casually leak private information. Jung-ah was really proud of it.

Is that something to be proud of? Jung Seo-hoon smiled bitterly.

[Kim Sang-hee] I'm glad you're taking things step by step as I suggested.

[Me] It's not like that. I was just struggling to manage my emotions and needed some comfort.

[Kim Sang-hee] That's usually how it starts. I'll make sure to include a warm kiss scene for you next time.

[Kim Sang-hee] And I feel a bit guilty that you had a hard time managing your emotions.

Not at all. I was just over-invested until I was satisfied. It's not the writer's fault.

[Kim Sang-hee] Then there's no need to revise the script, right?

[Me] Actually, I wouldn't mind if you made it even more intense.

[Kim Sang-hee] That might be a bit difficult.

[Kim Sang-hee] It seems Actor Yoon Jin-won, who plays the young king, is having a hard time.

***

"Actor Yoon Jin-won had sleepwalking when he was young. Once, he woke up in the middle of the night in the countryside and found himself sleeping at his great-grandfather's grave. He was so scared that he ran back to the house, but no one knew because everyone was asleep. Since then, he can't watch ghosts or zombies."

Jang Seung-won explained calmly, and Jung Seo-hoon responded.

"But Da-gun isn't a ghost, right? The ghosts are the former kings, the young king's father and grandfather."

"When Actor Yoon Jin-won first saw your close-up long take, he fainted."

"..."

"Now, he doesn't faint, but he still trembles. Given his age and sensitivity, I'm a bit worried he might develop a trauma."

"That's understandable."

Jung Seo-hoon seemed to understand.

Mental injuries are common on the battlefield, and though they are common, they are by no means light.

He had seen many subordinates, colleagues, and seniors suffer more from mental injuries than physical ones.

Most of them carried these injuries for life, even after adapting to daily life.

For Yoon Jin-won, the experience of waking up in a grave due to sleepwalking must have been such a mental injury.

Jang Seung-won lowered his voice.

"Though it's a bit awkward for me to say, most directors and PDs don't care if actors develop such traumas."

"Is that so?"

"You know there are many selfish people in this industry. I'm not a selfless person either; I do it for selfish reasons. If a PD lets an actor's mental state deteriorate, it's bad for my reputation."

"Someone who acts kindly for their own reputation is still kind."

"Thanks for saying that. It makes me feel good."

Jang Seung-won gave an embarrassed smile, and Jung Seo-hoon asked again.

"But if he's just scared, will he really develop a trauma? Everyone knows it's just acting."

"The real problem is the repeated NGs during filming. This drives young actors crazy."

Jang Seung-won explained with a light sigh.

"Think about it. There's a young, scared actor. The other actor is trying to scare him for real. If they both get into it, they can pull off a good method acting scene, but young, scared actors usually get nervous and keep making NGs."

"I see."

"If it happens two or three times, everyone can laugh it off. But by the fifth or sixth time, people start to get tired. The young actor will notice and start to feel self-conscious, which leads to more NGs, creating a vicious cycle."

"He might even develop a trauma about acting itself."

"Exactly. Some actors even quit because of it."

"You're worried about that, PD."

"Even if I, like a Buddha, laugh it off ten or twenty times, other staff, actors, and managers waiting for their turn won't. The young actor will inevitably feel self-conscious."

During the main filming, many cameras, staff, and other actors are watching.

The pressure of performing without mistakes in a part they lack confidence in is added.

"From now on, let's practice this part together whenever we have time."

"Special training?"

"Not that grand. If I can spare some time to help, it will be less stressful for Actor Yoon Jin-won. The more he practices, the more confident he'll be during the main filming and the fewer mistakes he'll make."

"You're not guaranteeing no NGs, though."

Jang Seung-won scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.

"Given how scared Actor Yoon Jin-won is, I don't think he'll nail it in one take even with practice."

***

Jang Seung-won removed the unnecessary late-night shooting from the schedule.

Thanks to the ample buffer of pre-shot scenes, they could afford to do this.

He scheduled the last scene of the day to be with Jung Seo-hoon and Yoon Jin-won.

"Everyone, good job. Let's wrap up. Oh, leave the three main cameras. I'll take care of it."

"Sure, PD."

After the filming ended and the actors left, most of the staff packed up the equipment and went home.

"Assistant director, aren't you going home?"

"I have to serve PD. How can I go home when the great PD hasn't?"

"I'm not that authoritative."

"PD, please help me gain more experience. I want to debut soon."

"Then stay. I'm fine with it."

In the augmented reality studio, only the PD, assistant director, Jung Seo-hoon, Yoon Jin-won, and their managers remained.

Jung Seo-hoon gazed intently at the slightly nervous Yoon Jin-won.

This wasn't their first time practicing together.

They had already filmed several warm and affectionate uncle-nephew scenes.

Throughout the filming, Yoon Jin-won hadn't been strongly affected by the Lens Power.

'Maybe it's because he's still young and inexperienced.'

However, people around him genuinely praised his acting, saying he had improved a lot from his previous work. This suggested he wasn't completely unaffected.

"How was today's filming?"

"It was great! Senior, you led me calmly, so I hardly made any NGs and could comfortably play my role!"

"Really? That must have felt good?"

"Yes!"

Yoon Jin-won smiled broadly and bowed.

With a height difference of nearly 23cm, Jung Seo-hoon had to look down at him.

When Yoon Jin-won lifted his head, Jung Seo-hoon could see a bitter smile.

"I was struggling to hold back the urge to strangle you to death, but you were acting so comfortably?"

Yoon Jin-won, suddenly pale, started hiccupping, and Jung Seo-hoon, as if nothing had happened, smiled warmly and patted his shoulder.

"That's Da-gun's true feelings. He always smiles in front of his nephew but harbors a desire to tear him apart inside. I wasn't talking to you, so relax."

"..."

Yoon Jin-won, his two managers, and the assistant director were speechless. Jang Seung-won quietly clapped.

"The opening was good."