Yooil looked at Hwang Yiwon with surprise. Hwang Yiwon met Director Gu Chanik’s gaze squarely and declared, “I’ll do it myself too.” 

Those nearby were visibly startled by his statement.

“Are you sure, Mr. Actor?” they asked, concerned.

“Yes,” came his firm reply.

Director Gu Chanik remained silent, simply observing Hwang Yiwon. His earlier words—about not being able to rest if Yooil kept going—were clearly sincere.

Director Gu Chanik, glancing between Han Yooil and Hwang Yiwon, called his assistant director over with a subtle gesture.

“Hoyeon?”

“Yes?”

“What do you think is most important to an actor?”

The assistant director scratched his head, pondering before the monitor. “Mind and talent, perhaps?”

“Talent is important, yes. Being smart too,” Director Gu Chanik agreed. But he said nothing further, his gaze fixed on Han Yooil. Young and less experienced, Yooil was impressively adaptable and showed considerable drive and passion.

‘But there’s something even more crucial,’ Director Gu Chanik thought as he watched Hwang Yiwon and Han Yooil warming up. They were aligning their movements, considering the camera angles.

“What should we do, Director?” the assistant director asked.

Director Gu Chanik nodded silently, and the filming resumed.

* * *

Han Yooil’s early autumn was entirely consumed by ‘The Mysterious Garden.’ The shooting schedule had become even more intense due to Director Gu Chanik’s desire to capture the authentic ambiance of the season.

“Props team, please set up Scene 82 as quickly as possible~”

“Understood!”

No one prefers a rushed filming set. Yet, surprisingly, the crew members didn’t find it as taxing as expected.

“How many shoots are left after today?” a member of the art department asked.

“After today, we have three more rounds left!” the youngest production team member answered.

“It’s gone by so fast,” the art department staff murmured, looking wistfully at the set. ‘Soon, I won’t be seeing this set anymore.’

Working in the art department, they had been on numerous film and drama sets. ‘The Mysterious Garden’ was no less demanding than the others, but it was uniquely enjoyable. Even amidst the hectic work of checking sets and costumes, they would often find themselves transfixed by the performances of Han Yooil and Hwang Yiwon, forgetting their duties for a moment.

Perhaps due to frequently witnessing them, the chemistry between the actors seemed to improve with each round. The art department staff watched the two actors, drenched in sweat and deeply immersed in practicing the final action scene, wearing just short-sleeved shirts.

‘Wow, they’re incredible.’

Startled out of their reverie by the assistant director and art director calling, they snapped back to reality.

“Please have everything set up by 5 PM~”

The upcoming scene was to be shot right after the climax, nearing the ending. The art department had prepared fake blood made from dye and oligosaccharide to ensure it didn’t solidify.

The atmosphere on set was markedly different when preparing for the action scene. Some of the intruders who had come to the flower shop to cause havoc had recognized Sooil.

“Master Sooil,” they addressed him. Surprised by the form of address, Hyukjin momentarily lost focus, and in that instant, a blade flew towards his heart. However, the next moment, it wasn’t Hyukjin who got hit.

“Ah.” Sooil stood in front of Hyukjin, a knife embedded in his back. “It really hurts…”

Enraged, Hyukjin overpowered the intruders with astonishing speed and strength. Yet, amidst the chaos, he was plagued by one question: ‘Why?’

Hyukjin recalled the profile of Park Sooil he had constructed several times. Park Sooil, 20 years old, an only child. A graduate of the Prestigious Science High School, admitted to the National Science University but dropped out shortly after. His mother, a single parent, ran a clothing store. But the data revealed nothing significant.

It was only when the fallen Sooil spoke that Hyukjin realized something. Even while coughing up blood, Sooil managed to say, “Does the National Intelligence Service teach you to fight like that?”

“Since when did you know?” Hyukjin asked.

Sooil, grimacing with pain, forced a smile. “Even like this, I have… a good head on my shoulders.”

Sooil’s throat gurgled with blood. “Don’t talk,” Hyukjin said, his voice still firm and cold, though his eyes betrayed his emotion. This wasn’t what he wanted.

“Do you know how annoying that is, Boss?” Sooil smiled through his blood-soaked face.

Then, Hyukjin realized why Park Sooil had seemed familiar from the moment he first saw him. Five years ago. As a former agent of the National Intelligence Service, he had been tasked with uncovering the distribution of a drug-infused beverage spreading through Daehak-ro. After months of joint investigations, he identified the company manufacturing the drug beverage and its CEO, Go Hyungoo, who was orchestrating it.

However, the arrest wasn’t straightforward. Go Hyungoo wasn’t an easy man to apprehend. His bodyguards, illegally armed, forced Hyukjin to draw his weapon as well. And then…

“I wanted to know who… killed my father.” Sooil’s eyes, the clearest he had ever shown, spoke volumes. “I quite… liked my father.”

For Sooil, his father was not only a good father but also a man to admire. The cracks in that myth only started appearing four years after his father’s death, in the study his mother strictly forbade him from entering. There, he found things he shouldn’t have seen. Sooil realized then that he didn’t share his father’s surname and that his mother had never officially married him. Everything Sooil thought he knew about his father crumbled.

Sooil wanted to prove that his roots weren’t tarnished. That’s when he started poring over the ‘Detective-Agent List’ his father had organized, narrowing down suspects. The encounters between Sooil and Hyukjin, seemingly coincidental, were all part of Park Sooil’s plan.

“I wanted to… ask, cough, you about it.”

“I said don’t talk.”

“But… it’s alright now.”

For the first time, Hyukjin’s eyes wavered. He didn’t know what to do as he looked at Sooil.

“It’s cold.”

Hyukjin felt helpless. There was nothing he could do.

Waiting for the ambulance, Kim Hyukjin could do nothing but watch the young man before him. He knelt down, sitting next to the foolishly smart and pitifully dying child.

“Cut!” Director Gu Chanik meticulously reviewed the monitoring before nodding his head. It was undoubtedly okay.

During a break, Hwang Yiwon, panting, approached Yooil, holding an empty water bottle. Instead of looking for fresh water, he sat down beside Yooil.

“Yes, senior,” Yooil replied.

“You said you’ve never studied acting at an academy or school.”

“That’s right,” Yooil nodded and handed his unopened water bottle to Hwang Yiwon, who took it and drank eagerly.

“Ah, that’s life-saving.” Hwang Yiwon ran his hand through his sweaty hair and leaned his head back. It was the most relaxed Yooil had ever seen him. “I went to the U.S. about eight years ago for a Meisner Technique acting camp.”

Yooil had heard of the Meisner Technique.

【The ‘Meisner Technique’ was developed by Sanford Meisner, an American actor and acting teacher born in 1905 and deceased in 1997.】

Hwang Yiwon continued, “I felt limited in my acting and wanted to learn properly.”

“Did you go without telling anyone?”

Hwang Yiwon nodded. “I didn’t even tell my agency. It was my first time doing something like that. Everyone was surprised, but I don’t regret it.” 

He showed Yooil some photos from the program, looking unrecognizable with nerdy glasses, outdated clothes, and long hair.

“Do you know what was the most important thing I learned there?” He smiled faintly and continued, “Say what you mean, mean what you say.”

“So, act like you’re not acting?”

Hwang Yiwon nodded. “But that’s the hardest part. That’s when I realized some people can, and some can’t.”

He took another sip of water and said slowly, “And I think, Han Yooil, you’re one of those who can.”

Before Yooil could respond, Hwang Yiwon got up. “Do you like fishing?”

Yooil, unsure of the appropriate response in this context, said, “I’ve never tried it.”

“That’s a pity,” Hwang Yiwon murmured. “I thought it’d be nice to go together before it gets cold.”

“I’m always up for it, senior.”

“Well, I’m not sure,” Hwang Yiwon said, tilting his head slightly. “After this movie releases, I think you’ll be even busier.”

Yooil blurted out, “Thank you, senior.”

“For what?” Hwang Yiwon asked.

“I’ve learned a lot,” Yooil said earnestly, but Hwang Yiwon just chuckled in response. 

“So have I.”

As Yooil awkwardly smiled, he suddenly remembered something and rummaged through his pocket, pulling out his phone. “I just realized we’ve never taken a photo together.”

Hwang Yiwon seemed a bit surprised but soon joined Yooil with a look of amusement. “You really can’t take photos, can you?”

“Sorry…” Yooil apologized, but Hwang Yiwon took over and snapped a perfect selfie, except for that minor hiccup. Later that afternoon, the selfie they took spread like wildfire across various social media platforms.

– Look at this

[(Photo)]

┗ Wow

┗ How does Hwang Yiwon never age?

┗ It feels so surreal

┗ Han Yooil looks so handsome

┗ These two are in the same movie? Can’t wait!

┗ Already loving it

┗ And it’s a Gu Chanik film, no less!

The anticipation for the movie grew exponentially.

* * *

The filming of ‘The Mysterious Garden’ was successfully concluded. The movie had already been submitted to the Berlin International Film Festival’s feature film category as a rough cut and was scheduled for a premiere screening in the first half of the next year.

Choi Hoyeon, the assistant director, was organizing the movie’s production diary and reflected on the filming process. The script was interesting from the start, and he had a feeling the movie would turn out well. But the atmosphere on this set was unlike any other Gu Chanik project.

Movies are often driven more by direction and editing than by actors. The job of a director is to bring out the best in an actor’s performance and, even if the on-screen performance is lacking, to create the desired atmosphere through post-production dubbing, editing, and sound. This is why direction is crucial, especially in Gu Chanik’s projects.

However, this set was different. “The actors were at the core.”

Good atmosphere creators among actors? Sure, they exist. Talented actors? Quite a few. Actors with good personality? Rare, but they exist. But an actor who embodies all three is almost unicorn-like.

“I thought such people were unicorns,” Choi Hoyeon mumbled as she looked at her screenplay, which had gone through several drafts. It had been 15 years since she entered the film industry, learning and growing by Gu Chanik’s side. She had been preparing for her directorial debut for years.

“If I get to make my movie with this script…” She looked at Han Yooil’s profile, the same one she received the day Gu Chanik first mentioned Han Yooil’s name. “I’d want to cast him as the lead.”

At the same time, Yooil, lying in bed with his eyes closed, heard a voice in his head. 【Goal Level 2: 91.8% achieved.】