GalaxyTL
"Additional filming for The Swordsman Baek Dong-su has been scheduled, specifically for the final episode," the manager informed Ha Seung-hoon, the actor playing the adult version of Ja-un.
"What? They’re actually doing it?" Ha Seung-hoon’s expression turned into one of disbelief.
"Yeah. I mean, we said it was fine, but I didn’t expect them to really go through with it."
"How are they changing it?"
"They probably want to push the ratings higher. Maybe they’re bringing Kim Dong-hoo back?"
The manager quickly covered his mouth, realizing that his words implied that the drop in ratings was due to Kim Dong-hoo’s absence.
But—
"If you say something wrong, you should apologize first, not just cover your mouth. That’s a bad habit," Ha Seung-hoon said, unbothered by the comment.
"S-sorry," the manager stammered, quickly apologizing.
Seung-hoon, unfazed, looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought. "Is Kim Dong-hoo really that impressive?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, it’s ridiculous, isn’t it? How does everything he touches turn into a huge success?"
Seung-hoon recalled the endless praise his fellow actors heaped on Kim Dong-hoo.
That came from his senior, Han Tae-gun, who had become a fan.
And from senior Jang Gun-ho, who was determined to collaborate with Dong-hoo someday. Even veteran actors, with no lack of their own talent, were praising Kim Dong-hoo non-stop.
Naturally, Seung-hoon had never seen any of Kim Dong-hoo’s work. He had been too busy.
That’s why it didn’t make sense to him. What was everyone so worked up about?
"Have you seen him act? Kim Dong-hoo, I mean."
"I’ve been following you around, so I haven’t had the time. I just know that he’s extremely good-looking and that his acting is great."
"Right, that’s all I know too, so now I’m curious."
He knew what Kim Dong-hoo looked like, of course. In fact, it was impossible not to.
Seung-hoon had read a gossip article years ago that criticized Kim Dong-hoo for supposedly having an "ugly duckling" transformation after his childhood.
‘I’ve always been told I’m handsome wherever I go.’
Seung-hoon had collected his share of stories about being praised for his looks. But seeing Kim Dong-hoo being exalted in comparison had piqued his curiosity.
‘If someone can be that handsome, it’s unfair.’
Kim Dong-hoo’s looks alone were enough to let him skate by, even if his acting wasn’t stellar. Just standing around and being the "face" would have been more than enough. But the fact that actors kept praising his acting, not his appearance, was what intrigued Seung-hoon the most.
‘Well, I’ll find out when I see it myself.’
Seung-hoon grabbed the toy sword leaning against the wall and slowly stood up.
"Hey, hold that stance."
"Huh?"
"I need to practice. Even if we’re using stunt doubles, it’s my first scene with the younger actors. I need to show them what a cool senior looks like, right?"
No matter how talented the juniors were, there was no rule saying the seniors couldn’t shine too.
Seung-hoon genuinely believed that.
+++++
"...Dong-hoo, you’re really taking a break next year, right?"
"Of course! Who would joke about taking a break? I want to rest," I replied, shrugging in response to Seok-ho hyung’s sudden question.
"The only reason I’m doing Golden Bell is because the kids kept pestering me about it."
"And what about that youth amateur boxing competition?"
"Well... that’s because the coach kept insisting."
"And what about your persistent request for the script of The Story of Stars and Moons?"
"That one’s just because I remember seeing something about it somewhere. I’d really like to find it."
Seok-ho hyung gave me a long, disbelieving look after hearing my answers.
"Dong-hoo, you’re only 15. Sure, in a few months, you’ll be 16, but you’re still young."
"I know."
"You don’t need to meet everyone’s expectations. When you rest, you should fully rest."
"I’m doing all this because I have the time. I’m really fine, hyung."
"If it gets to be too much, you better tell me right away! I’ll even pay the penalty to get you out of it!"
"Alright, alright. Do you know how much those penalties would be? I’m really fine. Now, hand me the script."
"...Okay."
It had been a good five minutes of listening to Seok-ho hyung lecture me about the importance of rest while I tried to get the revised The Swordsman Baek Dong-su script from him.
I understood his concern, but my physical stamina was on another level compared to normal people. I’d been training in mixed martial arts for nearly eight years now.
My recovery ability was different from the average person.
Flap.
As soon as I opened the script, I could see what had changed.
‘Originally, it was just a simple flashback scene.’
Now, the scene had changed to include another duel.
Of course, action scenes depended not only on the acting and stunts but, most importantly, on the directing.
The camera angles, positioning, and pacing—these were the factors that made or broke an action sequence.
‘But that’s not really something I need to worry about.’
Right now, my focus should be solely on the acting.
‘Immerse.’
Whoosh!
In an instant, the world shifted.
+++++
The season when golden reeds swayed in the wind. Standing face to face were two people who had once been friends.
"It seems it’s finally time to end this long connection, Dong-su."
And now, enemies.
There was no need to ask where it all went wrong. They both knew how meaningless that would be.
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Dong-su’s voice was filled with rage.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
Why was I doing this? Was he really asking because he didn’t know, or was he shouting in denial, unwilling to accept reality?
"Because I am the assassin of the Sword Forest, and you are the dog guarding the king."
There was no need to discuss anything further.
‘Everyone is dead.’
There was no one left from Sword Forest except me. When I died, everything would be over.
‘That’s why I killed them all.’
I had no attachment to life. Yet, ironically, I didn’t want to die.
Even after all the killing, the thought of death still made me tremble.
"If you don’t kill me here, I’ll kill everyone again."
At those words, Dong-su’s sword moved.
Once, we had sparred for practice with wooden swords, but now we swung our blades to kill.
"Is there really no going back?"
"Don’t be a fool. That’s why you’ve always had to watch your loved ones die."
Clang!
Our swords clashed, sparks flying between them.
With each strike, more remnants of attachment were severed.
Hadn’t it been enough? Should I stop using this foolish man, who still hesitated to kill me?
That conversation from our childhood flashed through my mind. What had I said back then? I probably smiled at his stupidity and said—
‘I wasn’t interested.’
Why would an assassin care about becoming the greatest swordsman in Joseon? I had thought it was absurd even back then.
Maybe I had sensed it even then. This would all end in death—that our relationship would only end when one of us died.
Clang!
Our blades slid past one another, then clashed again.
My sword moved with cold, calculated efficiency, tracing deadly arcs meant to kill. It was the same swordsmanship as my master, who had foolishly held onto sentiment and died.
In contrast, his sword was laughably weak. A sword meant to save lives? The so-called life-saving sword? How absurd.
It was childish.
‘I’ll die by that sword today.’
Amid the chaos of our blades, it was mine that made the first decisive strike.
I felt my sword connect just above his waist, at a point where it would threaten his life.
Finally, only after reaching that spot did Dong-su’s sword gain true strength, and with it, I released my own blade.
Thunk!
It was ridiculous how a cold weapon could feel so hot as it entered my body.
The intense heat blurred my consciousness.
"...Thank you."
With those short words of gratitude, I left the script’s world.
‘...Why did I immerse into the adult version of Ja-un?’
As soon as the immersion ended, I felt a sense of confusion. But it didn’t take long for me to understand.
‘They want me to channel these emotions into my portrayal of young Ja-un.’
Born under the star of death, destined to kill his parents and walk the path of an assassin... They wanted me to act with the same emotions now as I would when portraying the adult version.
‘At this rate, I might even be able to immerse in other roles in the future.’
I had tried before but never managed to immerse in a role outside my own character. Now, seeing this, it felt like it might one day be possible.
‘Well, I’ll think about that later.’
For now, my focus was on the upcoming shoot for The Swordsman Baek Dong-su.
+++++
The day of the additional filming for The Swordsman Baek Dong-su came quickly. Despite the rushed nature of the shoot, the preparations were incredibly thorough.
Perhaps it was because the goal was to break through the 30% ratings barrier. There was a palpable tension on set.
In the midst of that tense atmosphere—
"We’ll start with the young actors’ wooden sword fight, then move on to the adult versions of Dong-su and Ja-un. Later, we’ll intercut the scenes together for the final edit."
Director Oh Jae-deok gave calm, concise directions.
"I want the child actors to express the tension of being close yet unable to fully connect. That’s the kind of energy I need you to convey."
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes."
Park Jin-hyuk, the actor playing young Dong-su, glanced at Kim Dong-hoo as he responded.
"You’re not using a stunt double this time either, right?"
"No, hyung."
"Ugh, I told you not to call me hyung! If we go by seniority, you’re the senior."
"Yes, hyung."
"Well, I’m not using a stunt double either this time. I’ve been practicing a lot for this."
I’m even getting a kendo certificate soon. Pretty impressive, right?
"I’m going to go warm up."
"Ah, hyung, wait."
"Huh?"
"If you feel like it’s getting dangerous, let go of the sword immediately. It’s the safest way."
"I know that much! I told you, I’m getting certified soon."
With that boast, Park Jin-hyuk grabbed his wooden sword and headed toward the camera.
‘I have to show them I can do this too.’
Since the young actors were up first, it was important to warm up quickly.
"Oh, and by the way, in the fight between the young actors, Ja-un—Kim Dong-hoo’s character—will win. The idea is that Dong-su couldn’t defeat his rival when they were younger, but as adults, he’ll finally win."
So, Ja-un should display his natural genius in this scene.
Director Oh’s direction left everyone but Kim Dong-hoo with question marks over their heads.
They understood the general idea, but showing "genius"? How exactly were they supposed to do that?
While everyone else seemed confused, only Kim Dong-hoo nodded calmly, lightly stretching as he faced Park Jin-hyuk.
‘Show genius, huh?’
What could be easier?
With that thought, Kim Dong-hoo seamlessly immersed himself into the role of young Ja-un, born under the deadly star, destined to kill his parents, and to walk the path of an assassin.
‘...What’s with him?’
Before Park Jin-hyuk stood Ja-un.
The murderous intent radiating from him seemed to prick Jin-hyuk’s skin. Even though it was just a wooden sword in Kim Dong-hoo’s hand, it looked like a real blade.
Though the cameras hadn’t started rolling yet, Kim Dong-hoo had already fully embodied the young Ja-un.
"Wait... am I misunderstanding this role?"
Ha Seung-hoon, who played the adult Ja-un, muttered in disbelief.
"That kid is supposed to grow up to be me?"
Even with the camera right in front of him, Kim Dong-hoo’s unwavering, intense gaze held everyone’s attention. His fingertips, barely trembling with uncertainty, translated into the subtle quivering of his sword.
"Action!"
With that command, the shoot began.
"Haaah!"
Park Jin-hyuk, having practiced extensively, moved with impressive sharpness right from the start.
He was curious about how Kim Dong-hoo would portray genius, and so he swung his wooden sword with all his strength, not holding back.
‘What’s with his eyes?’
But as soon as Jin-hyuk saw Kim Dong-hoo’s murderous glare, his body froze.
It was like a frog caught in a snake’s gaze.
Seizing the opportunity, Kim Dong-hoo identified the weakest point of Jin-hyuk’s old wooden sword.
Wham!
With a swift strike, Kim Dong-hoo swung down hard.
And, as if in a surreal dream—
Crack!
The wooden sword snapped in half.
"...!"
In disbelief, everyone stared at the broken wooden sword.
"...That’s incredible."
Director Oh Jae-deok mumbled in awe, completely stunned by what had just happened.