WeTried Translations
Translator: uglyidol
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became a Top Star by Only Playing Villains ◈
Chapter 5: That Sounds Like Fun
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“Cut!”
At Director Noh Jeong-hyeon’s call, the actors who had been giving their all stopped moving as one.
Everyone froze.
So did I.
The moment I heard the call, I lowered my fist and bowed to the action actor I’d been working with.
“Thanks for your hard work.”
“Y-yes...! G-good work... But wow, seriously...”
The action actor I’d been working with all day stared at me in amazement, their eyes slightly unfocused.
Looking closely, I could see their legs trembling a little too.
“Wow... You’re really good. Your eyes changed the moment the cameras started rolling. For a second, I thought you were a different person...”
“Haha, thank you.”
The thrilling sense of freedom that came after playing a villain.
And now, praise from my scene partner on top of that.
Only someone who’d experienced it could understand how happy I felt.
‘I knew coming here was a good idea.’
As I smiled in satisfaction, someone suddenly called out to me.
“Hey...! What was your name again...? Oh, right. Hansol!”
“Yes...?”
It was Park Dongsu, the action director.
Director Park came running over with a bright smile and gave my shoulder a few cheerful slaps.
Pat, pat.
“Hahaha! I knew you had it in you from the moment I saw you! Both the emotion and the action were fantastic, Hansol!”
“Thank you, sunbaenim.”
“On that note, the director wants to see you for a moment. Is that okay?”
“Sorry? The director?”
Oh no. Had I gotten too immersed in my performance?
The purpose of an extra, or background actor, was to support the leads and supporting cast so they could perform naturally.
But I’d gotten far too caught up in my acting just now.
‘Maybe I’ll get told off for overacting. I might even get kicked off the set.’
Feeling a little nervous, I followed Action Director Park Dongsu to meet Noh Jeong-hyeon, the director of <Savage Blood>.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Noh Jeong-hyeon.”
“Hello, Director. I’m Lee Hansol.”
Contrary to my fears, Director Noh Jeong-hyeon welcomed me with a kind expression.
Some directors treated extras and crew members badly, but Director Noh was very polite.
“Your performance just now really impressed me, Hansol. I was supposed to be focusing on the lead, but my eyes kept going to you.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble...”
“Haha, no! I’m not blaming you. Since things have turned out this way, I’d like you to add some flavor to the next scene.”
There was a Korean expression about licorice in an herbal medicine shop.
Licorice was a common medicinal herb, but it helped balance the properties of the other ingredients and soften their taste.
It was basically like seasoning in food.
Even the finest ingredients couldn’t make a good dish without seasoning.
In the film industry, that “licorice” meant supporting actors who brought the whole film to life.
“The next scene we’re shooting, S#116, is an elevator action sequence.”
“An elevator action sequence...?”
“Jo Gyeong-sik, our male lead in <Savage Blood>, will fight for his life inside an elevator against members of a rival gang who followed him in.”
“Oh...”
A one-against-many fight in an enclosed space like an elevator.
Just hearing about it sounded exciting.
“So, Hansol, would you be willing to play one of the rival gang members in the elevator scene too?”
“...!”
“Director Park told me you attended an action school. If we work out the choreography right away, we should be able to shoot it today.”
It was definitely an attractive offer.
Appearing in the film’s climax would give me a real chance to make an impression on the audience.
“Director Park. How much were we paying Hansol?”
“It was originally 150,000 won, but since he can handle action, I used my discretion to raise it to 300,000.”
“300,000 won, hmm... I’ll give you 1.2 million. How does that sound?”
“...!”
On top of everything else, Director Noh Jeong-hyeon had raised my daily pay by a huge amount.
I’d get more screen time and earn as much as 1.2 million won for the day.
More importantly, appearing in the next scene meant I could do more villain acting.
“Yes, I’ll do it.”
There wasn’t a single reason to refuse.
I nodded with a broad smile.
* * *
“Oh, you must be the new person joining us. Looking forward to working with you.”
“I’m Lee Hansol. It’s a pleasure to work with you...!”
Jo Gyeong-sik, the star of <Savage Blood>, warmly welcomed me to the elevator scene.
Jo Gyeong-sik.
A veteran with twenty years of experience, he was practically a guarantee of box-office success.
If I remembered right, the film he’d starred in last year had sold over ten million tickets too.
To me, he was both a much more experienced actor and someone I wanted to be like.
“Now, we’ve made some changes to the action, so I’ll explain it again.”
Jo Gyeong-sik, the other action actors, and I rehearsed the elevator scene under Action Director Park Dongsu’s guidance.
Everyone was so skilled that we finished preparing in about two hours.
My role was to be the first to charge at the protagonist during the standoff in the elevator and stab him several times in the stomach with a sashimi knife.
Of course, it wasn’t a real sashimi knife. It was a carefully made prop.
“All right, actors, please stand by!”
“Whew...”
I let out a deep sigh and entered the elevator set.
Perhaps thinking I was very nervous, Jo Gyeong-sik lightly rubbed my shoulder.
“Haha, don’t be so nervous. Just do what you did in rehearsal, okay?”
“...Yes.”
But I wasn’t nervous.
I was already getting into character.
A gangster who made a living through violence was certainly evil.
But this felt clearly different from Kim Minu, the serial killer I’d played before.
Unlike the psychopathic serial killer Kim Minu, a gangster still had some humanity.
And a gangster felt fear when faced with someone stronger.
The male lead standing before me was easily the strongest fighter in the story.
If he were an animal, he’d be a lion.
By comparison, I was just a hyena.
No hyena would dare stand before a lion without feeling afraid.
But if I wanted to survive, I had to sink my teeth into that tough hide somehow.
...Somehow.
Tremble.
My hands began to shake.
At the same time, a desire to stab the man in front of me to death rose inside me.
It wasn’t the murderous intent of Kim Minu, a serial killer who enjoyed killing for pleasure...
It was murderous intent born from the instinct to survive.
Whoooosh.
“...!”
Jo Gyeong-sik flinched when our eyes met.
But he soon remembered that we were about to film and began getting into character himself.
“All right, we’re rolling. Ready... Action.”
Filming began, and I charged at him just as we’d rehearsed.
「Die!! You son of a bitch!!!!」
I deliberately shouted at the top of my lungs to overcome my fear.
「Die!!!!」
I drove the sashimi knife into his stomach.
Then I slashed him all over.
* * *
“What? You’re adding an extra to the elevator scene?”
At first, Jo Gyeong-sik thought the director had lost it.
Didn’t the director know how important the elevator scene was?
They’d already worked out all the fight choreography, and now an extra was being squeezed in?
He couldn’t understand it, but he couldn’t exactly go against the director’s wishes.
Jo Gyeong-sik had no choice but to reluctantly accept.
“I’m Lee Hansol. It’s a pleasure to work with you...!”
The extra the director had put in was utterly ordinary.
His looks were average, and his action skills weren’t especially outstanding.
He didn’t even have that particular aura actors tended to have.
‘Why bring in someone with so little presence...?’
That question was answered the moment filming began.
「Die!! You son of a bitch!!!!」
Thk, thk, thuuuk!
“Ugh...!”
In that instant, Jo Gyeong-sik felt as though he’d really been stabbed.
The moment Lee Hansol drove the prop knife into his stomach and the fake blood hidden under his clothes burst out...
Whooosh.
Adrenaline surged, and his stomach grew hot.
His body had reacted to Lee Hansol’s acting before his mind could.
It was telling him that his life was in danger.
‘This is insane...’
Another actor might have been thrown off by acting of this level, but Jo Gyeong-sik accepted the situation.
He turned that sense of danger into an opportunity and channeled it into his performance.
「You fucking bastard...!!」
「Gah...!」
He shoved away Lee Hansol, who had charged at him first, and raised his prop knife.
「Did you think I was an easy target, you fuckers?」
His blood-covered face twisted into a savage expression.
Full of adrenaline, he staggered but refused to back down.
His eyes were those of a wild beast.
「...Heh heh. Let’s all die together today.」
「Wh-what are you doing? Everyone, get him!」
「Yaaaah!!!!」
That was how the elevator scene in <Savage Blood>, which would be talked about in Korean action cinema for years to come, was born.
The crew who witnessed the unforgettable scene in person couldn’t hide their amazement.
“...Wow.”
“...Mr. Jo’s acting is insane today.”
“I mean, Mr. Jo was amazing, but that extra at the start was seriously...”
“What did they say that actor’s name was?”
In no time, people all over the <Savage Blood> set were talking about Lee Hansol.
Director Noh Jeong-hyeon, in particular, let out a cry of admiration with a wide grin.
‘...That actor really did add the perfect flavor.’
No, Lee Hansol wasn’t an actor to use merely as seasoning.
Wasting an actor like that in a supporting role was like using premium caviar to make fish roe stew.
‘If only I’d discovered him sooner. No, forget that. I should create a role for him right now...’
It had been a long time since the director had found an actor so perfectly suited to their taste.
Director Noh Jeong-hyeon, a master of Korean noir with decades of experience, watched Lee Hansol’s performance with enchanted eyes.
* * *
After filming ended, a blood-covered Jo Gyeong-sik held out a hand to me as I lay facedown.
“Wow... Your acting was incredible. You said your name was Hansol, right?”
“Yes, that’s right, sir.”
Jo Gyeong-sik, an actor whose film had sold ten million tickets, had praised me and even remembered my name.
Overcome with emotion, I bowed deeply. He smiled brightly and said,
“I’m the one who should thank you. You really helped me get into character. I have a feeling we’ll meet again, so I look forward to working with you.”
As if to show he’d taken a liking to me, Jo Gyeong-sik patted my shoulder before leaving the set.
At the same time, Director Noh Jeong-hyeon approached me.
“Hansol.”
“Oh, Director.”
“Your acting was excellent again. So I wanted to ask, would you be interested in taking a supporting role?”
“Sorry?”
“It’s a little late, but I can quickly create a role just for you.”
Where had this suddenly come from?
Judging by the director’s expression, the offer was completely serious.
“You’d have quite a few lines, and I promise you won’t be disappointed with how we treat you.”
“Oh, well...”
It was certainly a good offer, but I had no choice but to refuse.
I had to start filming <The Last Clue> soon.
Trying to shoot <The Last Clue> and <Savage Blood> at the same time would definitely make my schedule too tight.
When I explained this, Director Noh Jeong-hyeon nodded, looking disappointed.
“Ah... You’ve already been cast in something. And if it’s a major role, with production about to begin... I suppose getting you on board would be impossible.”
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. But I really hope we get to work together on my next project.”
A firm squeeze.
I took the hand the director offered, and the grip tightened unconsciously.
“I mean it.”
“...”
It felt as though the director didn’t want to let me get away.
‘I was an unknown actor until just last week.’
Now a veteran actor and director were recognizing my talent.
For some reason, that dramatic change made me smile.
“Yes, I really hope we get to work together on your next project.”
Ever since I’d started playing villains, my life as an actor had been changing.
* * *
On my way home after finishing the <Savage Blood> shoot, I got a call from my older friend Seongsu.
“Hi, Seongsu.”
[Hey, Hansol. I heard you went to work as an extra today. How did it go?]
Since I belonged to D&P Entertainment, I had to tell the agency whenever I appeared in a production, even as an extra.
I’d filed a routine report with the company, so he must have seen it.
“Yes, the shoot went well.”
[Glad to hear it. But I think you’ll have to stop taking extra work now. You’re going to be busy starting next week.]
“Busy starting next week?”
[The script reading for <The Last Clue> has been scheduled. All the actors and production staff will be there.]
“...Finally.”
Filming <Savage Blood> today had definitely been fun.
But I was still looking forward to <The Last Clue> more.
After all, Kim Minu, the character I’d be playing in <The Last Clue>, was none other than the drama’s main villain.
More importantly, <The Last Clue> had star-level actors not just in the lead roles, but in the supporting cast too.
From talented newcomers who’d recently been drawing attention to highly respected veterans with decades of acting experience.
I’d get to meet all of them at next week’s script reading.
[Hansol. This is a secret, but the company has really high hopes for you. Even our CEO...]
“The CEO...?”
[Ah, no. Forget I said that... Ahem. There’ll probably be someone in the cast who isn’t happy about you being there.]
I nodded at the concern in Seongsu’s voice.
For the past few years, I’d been an unknown actor barely scraping by with supporting parts and extra work.
There were bound to be people who complained about an utterly ordinary unknown suddenly landing a major role as the main villain.
[But it’s okay! Your acting skills are the real deal. Just silence their complaints with your talent, like you did at the audition.]
“Like I did at the audition?”
I recalled the performance I’d given at my last audition for <The Last Clue>.
「But this fucking bitch already knows everything, and she’s playing games with me?」
He wanted me to repeat the performance that had left everyone trembling, right in front of top stars and veteran actors with decades of experience?
Well, that...
“Sounds like fun.”
[Hmm? What did you say?]
“No, nothing.”
It sounded like a lot of fun.
My heart began to flutter at the thought of playing the serial killer Kim Minu in front of everyone.
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