Life, Once Again!

“Yes, we should be. I heard that I was on team 4 before I came here. Right, everyone?” Youngsun asked the people around him.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Hello, then, everyone. I’m Han Maru. I believe we’re all around the same age.” Maru held out his hand.

Youngsun looked at the hand in front of him for a moment before grabbing it. Unlike when he saw him through the small gap in the door, Maru felt different when looking at him from up front.

What should he call this… he looked… sturdy? Even from the hand he was holding, he could feel strength.

The sneaky impression that he had, like a predisposed bias, disappeared in an instant. The first meeting left just that deep of an impression on him.

“What’s your name?”

“Me?”

He was rather taken aback by the different impression. He calmed down his slightly excited voice before saying that he was Yoo Youngsun.

“Mr. Youngsun. I do have a decent memory, but I sometimes forget. I probably won’t do this, but even if I ask for your name again, please don’t take offense.”

It was a kind smile. Youngsun had rarely talked to an actor in a shooting location like this.

Maru then went on to get to know the others.

“In the upcoming shoot, I will be working with you all the most. That’s why I’m here to say hello today. I’m sure the weather will be hot and the shoot will be hard, but let’s power through this together.”

Maru, who was about to talk to them some more, was called by one of the staff and left. Before leaving, he asked them to not pretend like they didn’t know each other the next time he greeted them.

“He’s actually quite bright. I thought he would be more indifferent when I saw him through the screen,” said Oh Joonhyuk, to which the others agreed.

His face made him seem like he would be quite petty if he stayed quiet, but he smiled pleasantly throughout the whole time he talked. As they say, the smile was the biggest weapon in a conversation, and indeed, Maru looked like a pretty decent guy.

“I thought he looked quite awkward when I watched Case Number 0, but he was really good towards the end. After watching the last episode, I went back to watch the first one, and when I looked at him again, his acting looked really clean. If I look back, maybe I was biased because he was a new actor around the same age as us.”

Hearing Jung Sungmin’s words, Youngsun nodded subconsciously. Perhaps what he saw in the audition venue was just him being mistaken out of jealousy.

“He was just here to say hello, so don’t put too much meaning into it. I’ve seen plenty of actors coming over to say hello like that in my acting career, but they’re only like that at first. All of you know already, right? Once the shoot begins, minor actors like us rarely get to work with someone like him,” said a man who had been listening this whole time.

He did introduce himself, but Youngsun couldn’t remember his name. While he sounded rather cold, he was also right.

“That’s true,” Youngsun replied.

Stars weren’t called stars for nothing. They were really like the stars in the night sky, so unless the shoot happened to overlap, it was merely a dream to approach them.

Once, he had seen a minor actor approach an actor with a smile and ask for an autograph. That actor smiled and signed an autograph, but that minor actor was then hugely scolded by the assistant director, who was in charge of controlling the scene.

“Still, what’s good is good. He seems to have a decent personality from how he came here to say hello at all. I had an opportunity to work with actor Yeon Sungjoon before.”

“You mean the actor who became popular last year?”

“Yes. I thought he had a good personality because he really smiled a lot in front of his fans, but he’s absolutely terrible. He thinks he’s the king when there are no other senior actors around. He’s really pretentious.”

“They say even a humble person would change once they become famous. Honestly, I feel like I would be like that too. People’s treatment of you becomes different, and you’re given good treatment wherever you go. It’s not surprising that you start to feel proud.”

“This is why becoming famous is important. Only if you make yourself known and have a high body price will you be treated like a human being.”

While they were spending time talking about some episodes that they experienced during their shoots, Youngsun found himself starting to sweat like crazy. The sun above his head was really spiteful.

“I guess waiting hell has started. Let’s look for some shade.”

“But we were told to stay close by.”

“We should stay alive first.”

Youngsun wiped his forehead before starting to walk. He had heard that the heatwave was starting at the end of July, and indeed, the weather felt like someone could have a heat stroke.

Minor actors all lined up in the shade created by a rock fence. Everyone took out sunscreen and applied it on their faces. They had to protect their skin, even if it was just until the shoot.

“I did a historical drama shoot last year and my skin ended up peeling off. That was when I realized the greatness of sunscreens,” said someone from the team.

Behind the fence, there seemed to be a shoot as the voices of the actors could be heard. The minor actors who were waiting started dressing up as well.

Youngsun put on a historical wig and attached a mustache and a beard. He didn’t get the props that the main actors got, where each part was attached with care, and just got some patches of hair that he could stick around his mouth.

There was no need for any delicate work, so it didn’t look that pretty. There were many minor actors who went to the bathroom to touch it up.

“Looks like they’re using cheap ones here. You’re going to get pimples once you take these off,” Oh Jonhyuk said while touching the beard.

After putting on their clothes as well, they entered the shooting location. Youngsun was slightly uncomfortable because his straw shoes weren’t his size, but he couldn’t complain. He had to get them changed later on.

“I think we’re better off.”

Some background actors wearing armor could be seen where Oh Joonhyuk was pointing. Under the orders to wait, dozens of background actors were waiting under the scorching sun.

“Those things are like steamers. It’s big, heavy, and unwieldy.”

“Summer is hell, but winter is hell too. I had frostbite when I wore that in winter once. Sweat pooled under my feet and froze.”

“No matter how I think about it, being an extra in a historical drama is not something a human should do. Especially in the summer and the winter.”

They were minor actors whose names would go up on the ending credits, so the staff did look out for them to an extent. However, there shouldn’t be anyone on the staff that was looking out for the background actors who just treated this as a one-off part-time job.

As Youngsun clicked his tongue and watched the people being grilled under the heat, someone walked out from under the parasol installed for the main actors to rest under. He realized that it was Han Maru the moment he saw the red armband around his left arm.

Maru walked over to the background actors and said a few things. He also talked to the production crew nearby, and the background actors moved.

“A young actor stepping out like that usually causes trouble,” said someone from the team.

Contrary to his words, however, nothing much went on. Maru could be seen laughing and chatting with director Nam and someone that seemed to be the leader. He was young, but he seemed to be able to read the atmosphere of the scene incredibly well.

Above all, it was curious that he looked out for the background actors. This was really unexpected, so much so that using the word ‘curious’ was not unsuitable. Leading and supporting roles waited in a totally different place from the background actors. Unless they specifically looked, they would naturally not know what kind of sufferings the background actors went through.

No, that wasn’t true. They were actors too, so they should know about it. However, it wasn’t the actors that decided the overall atmosphere at a scene, but the leaders of various parts.

The problems related to background actors were supposed to be taken care of by the leader. That was the rule.

“That’s a type of person I haven’t seen before,” said someone next to him.

Youngsun nodded as well. It wasn’t that there weren’t any actors who did not think of the background actors, but he could swear that there was not a single young actor who stepped out like that.

After the procession of the officials, the background actors, who were waiting, stepped in. The marketplace street was filled with soldiers wearing armor.

The rows of soldiers moved according to the signal of the assistant director.

“Over there, don’t look at the ground!” a shout burst out.

As it was a crowd scene that was supposed to look orderly, they seemed to be doing the shoot over and over again.

An hour had passed since the nearly one hundred people began moving in unison until they were finally given the okay sign.

“Those people must be dying.”

“I’m sure they’re all regretting coming here now. They should’ve come here thinking that they’re going to earn money while watching some celebrities, but rather than a celebrity, they just see a middle-aged man shouting at them.”

Youngsun laughed and waited for his turn to come. He didn’t just fool around while he was waiting. Unlike background actors, the minor actors in teams had a lot of action to digest.

“In a moment, you’re going to shoot near the wall over there. It’s a scattered fight scene, and the main cuts will be handled by professional action actors. We won’t ask you to do a lot of action, but you have to do some of the movements.”

The action director, Kwon Joohyuk, gathered all the teams and calmly gave an explanation. He mainly explained what each of the teams had to do, which actors they had to be next to, and the like.

“We’re going to see how the cuts go and pick some out. As you heard during the audition, this film places a lot of emphasis on action. Those that do well will have a lot of appearances.”

Those words made his eyes flash. While he wouldn’t be as good as professional stuntmen studying in action schools, he should be able to do pretty decently if he clenched his teeth.

If he somehow managed to catch the action director’s eyes, he might get placed next to the lead or supporting actors, making himself known to them.

“Please get ready.”

After the crowd scene, the background actors left the shooting location.

The faces of the actors, who couldn’t be seen behind the crowd, could be seen now. The minor actors in teams started gathering in front of the camera.

“Listen well. Using your body isn’t something you can do if you aren’t smart enough. I’m going to go over the big fight scene and then look at the details. Keep your focus. If you make a mistake here, you won’t hurt yourself, but you’ll hurt others. Okay?”

“Yes.”

“And once we start the rehearsal, I might not be as polite. I’ll say this beforehand.”

The action director’s eyes changed. It seemed that he wasn’t lying when he said that he was going to put everything he had into this film. If Youngsun stayed out of it, he would probably get insulted.

“Mr. Youngsun. We meet again after meeting in the morning.”

Maru was next to him.

“Let’s get along as members of the Red Tiger Troops,” Maru said as he pointed at the red armband.

Red Tiger Troops. That was the role that Youngsun and team 4 were going to play for a while.

While the action director was going through the actions of each of the lead and supporting roles, the minor actors learned their movement paths from the stunt team.

This was going to be a messy fighting scene involving dozens of people across a narrow alleyway.

First, he had to learn where he was going. If the teams ended up crossing paths, it wouldn’t be a cool fight scene, but a fight between a bunch of kids.

“Okay, we’ll start this slowly. Starting from team 1, move as I told you to, and then team 2 should follow immediately. Teams 3, 4, and 5 follow up right away.”

The rehearsal began. Youngsun walked around everywhere while wearing the uncomfortable straw shoes.

The action director sped up, seemingly judging that everyone had adapted to an extent. In a narrow space, dozens of people started charging forward.

“Over there! I told you to come in! If you zone out, you’re going to get into an accident with the people next to you.”

As the scene contained risks of injuries, the action director’s words became a lot sharper. Youngsun also collected himself and moved. He had to go to the ceramic pot, twist his body around, jump over the wall, and…

He memorized his movement path like he was studying for a test. Meanwhile, the main actors joined the group. They stood in a spot slightly away from the paths that the minor actors were going to run around.

To the camera, it would look like the actors were moving busily, but the ones actually suffering would be the minor actors.

“Block here, turn around, and parry. Got that?”

Youngsun was given a sword right after he got used to moving as a team. It was a light, plastic mockup. Team 4 went over their fight with team 3.

“If you swing your sword like you’re going to stop right at the end, it’ll look awkward. Push forward. Your opponent will push against you as well. Later, you might need skills like cutting an action short, but you just need to do this for now, okay?” said the action director while showing a demonstration.

Youngsun immediately understood how it was supposed to go after watching it.

The action director was probably teaching some neat tricks since he was teaching minor actors who would be shown only in the background. Once the shoot began and the minor actors looked ‘cool,’ they might be given an opportunity to do some real action.

“Maru, shall we go over it here?”

Hearing Joohyuk’s call, Maru stepped forward, holding a short spear.

A sword at least looked cool when swinging it around, but that thing… it would be hard to make things look cool with that.

Youngsun tapped on his knees with the sword in his hand and watched.

Would he be awkward? Or would he be pretty good?

“I’m not sure if it’ll go as well as I practiced,” Maru said as he quickly snapped his wrist holding the short spear.

The short spear flew up into the sky vertically, drawing circles.

Youngsun’s head went up as well. The short spear, which went straight up and fell right back down again, spun around Maru’s arm once before entering his hand.

Youngsun’s jaws slacked a little. That looked a little extraordinary.