Two hours later, in Korea. Suwon.
Inside the drama production center of KBC, where the team of ‘Freezing Love’ had established their base.
“The set check is complete!!”
“Lighting OK!!”
“We just need to tidy up the props here and we’re done!”
“We’re shooting in 15 minutes, hurry up!”
The preparations for shooting were nearly complete. The area around the set was densely packed with all kinds of equipment. Cameras set up in the front and at various angles, reflectors and lights, and many cables laid out like veins. The footsteps of dozens of staff bustling between them were busy.
Meanwhile,
“Ah, Writer Lee, please take a seat here.”
The PD, who was at the station with three monitors, seated Lee Wol-seon, who had just arrived, next to him. Soon, Lee Wol-seon, with a designer handbag on her lap, smiled faintly.
“It’s nice, the atmosphere here. Even though it’s been more than a dozen times, I still love the air here.”
“Hahaha. Is that so?”
“Yes. It feels like seeing the fiction I wrote become reality.”
Lee Wol-seon, murmuring this, looked around and chuckled lightly.
“By the way, we have many actors here already.”
It was planned to shoot scenes with Jung Jang-hwan, the male lead, and Kang Woojin, the ‘Mysterious Man Next Door’. Despite this, the actors who should have been waiting were already on set. The PD provided the explanation.
“Well, it’s the first shoot. And they probably want to see it with their own eyes. It’s something both you and I have allowed.”
Lee Wol-seon, reminded of Kang Woojin, nodded as if she understood.
“It’s the scene with the ad-lib from the script reading day that got included. They must be curious.”
“And they are eager to see Woojin’s acting. It’s different from sitting down and reading like during the script reading and acting on set.”
At that moment.
-Swish.
A woman entered from behind the two who were conversing.
“Hello.”
Turning around, they saw the sign language expert who had attended the script reading. Writer Lee Wol-seon stood up and greeted her.
“You’re here? Thank you for coming to our first shoot.”
“Not at all. I wanted to come too. But-”
The sign language expert, noticing Kang Woojin sitting nonchalantly and quietly reading his script, asked cautiously.
“Kang Woojin seems… much calmer than I expected?”
Following her gaze, Lee Wol-seon also shifted her eyes and then laughed softly.
“Woojin is always like that. If I were to compare him to a season, he’d be winter.”
That was mostly a misconception. Inside, Kang Woojin was far from calm; in fact, his mind was boiling with excitement. Specifically, he was preoccupied with other thoughts.
‘‘Male Friend’ editing is finished, so the launch must be soon, right?’
He had heard from Choi Sung-gun just a few minutes ago that the editing for ‘Male Friend’ was finished. It felt like just yesterday he was almost having a heart attack during the kiss scene, and now the editing was already done. Well, it was a fitting amount of time, but to Kang Woojin, it seemed very fast.
Regardless, Kang Woojin started to feel his heart race.
‘Uh- I’m kind of excited but also worried.’
Unlike ‘Hanryang’, ‘Male Friend’ was a project where he played the lead role. It was his first leading role in a project aimed at an international audience outside of Korea. Moreover, Japan was already buzzing with the name Kang Woojin. He was nervous, but he maintained a pure poker face many people were watching.
Other actors observing Woojin whispered among themselves.
“He seems to be getting into his emotions, he looks very serious.”
“Hmm- Is that so? But Woojin is usually like that. Well, I’ve only seen him for a day.”
“He’s been in that state since he got here, probably getting into character, especially since it’s a challenging role.”
“Acting on set is definitely different from sitting down and reading the script, isn’t it?”
“He was incredible in ‘Hanryang’, they said it was like a real serial killer appeared on the set.”
“Acting with a disability is really sensitive, controlling every gesture and movement – Hmm, let’s see how he does.”
At this point, Kang Woojin received a call. It was a signal to proceed with his costume and makeup.
A little later…
Kang Woojin, fully prepared, was now revealed in his entirety. There wasn’t a dramatic change in his appearance. His outfit was simple: jeans and a hoodie. His hair appeared naturally unkempt, slightly tousled, and his makeup was light, just enough to add some color to his complexion.
If anything was emphasized, it was the area around his eyes.
Not too dark, but with a subtle hint of dark circles under his eyes. Once Woojin was ready,
-Swish.
The PD, Kang Woojin, and the tall Jung Jang-hwan gathered in the middle of the set for a brief script rehearsal. Notably, Jung Jang-hwan looked impeccably neat. His hair was short, and he wore a sharply tailored suit.
Anyway.
“Is this okay for the first cut? Let’s go with a light feel, just matching the lines.”
After a brief verbal rehearsal, the PD’s suggestion was met with nods from the calm Kang Woojin and Jung Jang-hwan.
“Yes, PD~nim.”
“Understood.”
With a smile, the PD clapped his hands a few times and then shouted to everyone on set.
“Alright! Let’s roll the cameras!!”
Jung Jang-hwan and Woojin made eye contact. For some reason, Kang Woojin was looking at Jung Jang-hwan, prompting a slight smile from him.
“Ah, don’t worry. I won’t ad-lib today. Even if I do, I’ll let you know in advance, Woojin.”
Huh? That’s fine with me. Kang Woojin thought to himself. He was simply in awe of Jung Jang-hwan’s towering height.
‘Envious. Is he like 2 meters tall? I wish I could borrow just 5 centimeters.’
But there was a character concept to maintain, and bargaining over height wasn’t an option. He responded in a blunt and deep voice.
“Please do your best.”
“Yeah, you too.”
Around this time, the PD, now seated at the monitor, called out to the two actors.
“Jang-hwan, Woojin! Let’s get into position!”
A little later.
The camera captured the set, reminiscent of a luxurious apartment corridor, with iron doors lined up next to an elevator door. From the front, left, and right.
For now, Kang Woojin and Jung Jang-hwan were not in sight.
The reason was simple. Their entrance involved coming through a door, so they were standing behind the set’s iron door. As soon as the action sign was given, Jung Jang-hwan would move first, followed by Kang Woojin.
Meanwhile, Kang Woojin,
‘Whew-‘
Stood in front of the iron door, awakening the ‘Mysterious Man Next Door’ that lay dormant within him. He brought him forth. This process was now as quick as a blink of an eye. Before he knew it, everything from Woojin’s head to toe was cloaked in the aura of the ‘Mysterious Man Next Door’.
Woojin’s posture and demeanor changed.
Like a line recited a thousand times, the clear dialogue took its place in his mind, his senses and emotions took root in his heart, and a firm world unfolded before his eyes. Gradually, his ears began to ring.
It started with tinnitus.
A noise like a beep- spread in Woojin’s ears. The noises of the world around him gradually faded away. Simultaneously, the bustling set’s scenery began to vanish like smoke, one by one.
‘So quiet.’
It felt as if only this piece of the corridor was floating like an island in an endlessly vast space. But it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
A world where nothing can be heard is just empty.
At the very least, Kang Woojin, or rather, the ‘Mysterious Man Next Door,’ felt that way. It was hollow and suffocating. Despair surged from deep within him. Yet, he endured. He did not even glance at despair. Endure? Not quite.
It was more about deceiving himself with familiarity.
Soon, a profound silence and a faint fear intertwined within Kang Woojin. The frustration of having to live this way for a lifetime, and the loss of motivation that overflowed even beyond that frustration. At this moment, the camera behind Woojin moved to capture his profile.
The angle was a bust shot.
As a result, Woojin’s face appeared on one of the many monitors watched by many. Writer Lee Wol-seon’s eyes brimmed with intensity as she covered her mouth.
“Even before the start of the actual performance, his face seems to encapsulate the world of the ‘Mysterious Man Next Door’······”
The script supervisor and several other staff members also let out exclamations of amazement.
“Wow- Look at Woojin’s unfocused gaze in his eyes.”
“The detail is incredible – it’s like there’s an expression, yet no expression… Where does one learn to express like that?”
“How many seconds did that take? It’s ridiculously fast to capture such emotion…”
Around this time, Lee Wol-seon asked the sign language expert seated to her right.
“What do you think of that expression?”
The sign language expert, with widened eyes, softly responded.
“There’s no sense of alienation, it’s really like real life. Even someone like me, who doesn’t know acting, can tell it’s impressive. How does he do that?”
And the action hadn’t even started yet. Soon, the PD in the first seat, looking at Kang Woojin on the monitor, let out a chuckle.
‘Acting a character with a disability is something ordinary actors avoid. It’s natural to be afraid. But this guy, he’s fearless. And the vividness is chilling.’
With a mix of awe and seriousness, the PD slowly raised the megaphone, and then came the announcement across the set.
“Hi- Cue!!”
Immediately, the previously buzzing set went silent as if someone pressed a mute button. But for Kang Woojin, for the ‘Mysterious Man Next Door’, it was all the same.
Then.
-Thud!
Jung Jang-hwan, or rather, ‘Song Tae-hyung,’ opened the front iron door. The camera focused squarely on him. Song Tae-hyung appeared, rubbing his hands as if he had just sprayed them with hand sanitizer.
Simultaneously.
-Click.
The iron door of the apartment next to Song Tae-hyung’s also opened. The ‘Mysterious Man Next Door’ emerged slowly. Song Tae-hyung narrowed his brows in response.
“Tsk.”
On the other hand.
-Swish.
Woojin noticed the presence of Song Tae-hyung visually, not audibly. A tiny bit of joy tinged his otherwise pale complexion. A situation had arisen from his rigid loss. That was precisely the expression on Kang Woojin’s face now.
He didn’t mind Song Tae-hyung.
‘His house always smells good.’
Perhaps due to his sensitive sense of smell, Kang Woojin liked the fragrance that came from his house the moment it opened. The camera then pulled back, capturing both Kang Woojin and Jung Jang-hwan in a two-shot.
The contrast between the two was clearly visible on the monitor.
Although they were looking at each other, communication was impossible. ‘Song Tae-hyung’ had chosen to isolate himself, while Kang Woojin was isolated against his will. Therefore, their understanding, thoughts, opinions, and perceptions were all different.
At this moment, Kang Woojin took a step towards ‘Song Tae-hyung.’
Song Tae-hyung flinched, but Kang Woojin, absorbed in his own world, only smiled slightly. To others, it might seem like an ambiguous smile, but for Woojin, it was affirmative.
He liked the consistency of Song Tae-hyung.
Song Tae-hyung always left his house at the same time. Thus, they could meet as if by appointment, even without speaking. Woojin also liked Tae-hyung’s neatness. He was always well-kept, without any disarray.
His rigid, expressionless face might seem aggressive, but even that, Woojin liked.
Song Tae-hyung treated everyone the same, not just Woojin. He was consistent.
‘When people learn about me, they change.’
Whether it was out of consideration or aversion, everyone Kang Woojin, the ‘Mysterious Man Next Door,’ had encountered was the same. It wasn’t a bad thing. Woojin always found the aggressive Song Tae-hyung admirable. It seemed that his fairness was not dependent on others, but on himself.
Kang Woojin’s hand twitched slightly.
The camera zoomed in on Woojin’s hand, then his forearm, and finally his face. At that moment, Kang Woojin’s eyes had changed, filled with longing and agony.
Just then, the sign language expert, who was watching the monitor, widened her eyes in astonishment.
“My goodness.”
Writer Lee Wol-seon quickly responded to her exclamation.
“…Yes, I was about to say the same thing.”
“Right now, Woojin – he doesn’t look like an ordinary person at all.”
“How did he bring such depth to this brief role, in such a short performance?”
While not provocative, Woojin was not transparent either. There was a loss of motivation but not a loss of hope. That hope soon turned into despair.
Witnessing this expression directly, Song Tae-hyung, or rather Jung Jang-hwan, hesitated.
‘I see now, why the big shots are drawn to him. If he looks this way to my eyes, then to theirs…’
Then came Song Tae-hyung’s heavy dialogue.
“What on earth are you doing?”
Reading his lips, Woojin, who couldn’t hear, understood his words from the movement of his lips. He was asking something. From here, Kang Woojin’s eyes filled with numerous past memories. At the end of it all, ‘hesitation’ awaited.
I want to ask him questions, I want to talk to him, can I do that? I’m also afraid of change, I wonder if he’ll freak out when he sees me?
Can we become friends?
But Song Tae-hyung, perhaps fed up with the ‘Mysterious Man Next Door’, clicked his tongue and went on his way.
“So annoying, maybe I should move.”
The camera, initially focusing on Song Tae-hyung from the front, stopped and then slowly approached Kang Woojin. He stood still, watching Tae-hyung’s retreating back. This alone was peculiar enough.
No, everything about Woojin’s performance up to this point had been peculiar.
Without a single line of dialogue, he acted solely through his gaze, expressions, and detailed gestures. Everyone watching the monitor, along with the audience, would surely see it that way.
That man, the silent man next door, is suspicious.
Just as everyone was about to conclude this, Kang Woojin slowly raised his hands. His facial muscles relaxed. Speaking to Song Tae-hyung’s back, Woojin said,
‘I like you.’
For him, sign language was his dialogue. Soon, Woojin’s face was zoomed in on the monitor. It captured the ‘Mysterious Man Next Door’s’ slightly relaxed smile. Perhaps by this point, the viewers would realize.
It’s not that he’s mysterious, but that he’s unable to communicate.
It was a scene pulled entirely through emotion, one that could easily be misunderstood if not done carefully. But so far, Kang Woojin had not made a single error.
He was compelling and flawless.
The entire process, every emotion, and expression, was firmly captured by the camera. Though without a single spoken word, it was more eloquent than a hundred words. Deep and intense. The actors, watching Kang Woojin both on the monitor and in person, reacted in their own ways.
Some were simply mesmerized.
“…”
Others internally exclaimed in amazement.
‘Wow- his acting is insane, how does he express such a gaze…’
The commonality among all the actors was one conclusion.
This is not the kind of acting a newcomer can do.
Then, the actors watching Woojin widened their eyes even more. Not because something was intense, but because they were overwhelmed by the quiet and dignified performance. Kang Woojin’s moving hands in the air, his sign language.
‘Can’t we become friends?’
It was too bittersweet, yet poignant.
Then, almost involuntarily, Writer Lee Wol-seon chuckled.
“He just ripped up the script and came out.”
The performance of a two-day minor role overturned the standards of Lee Wol-seon, a star writer with 20 years of experience.
“It’s a big problem, if your standards become too high. It would have been better not to see it at all.”
She remarked lightly.
At this moment, in Japan.
While Kang Woojin was turning the set of ‘Freezing Love’ upside down, a surprising and somewhat bizarre incident related to ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ was occurring in Japan.
『Kashiwa Group shows interest in the crumbling ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’? Rumors buzz in the film industry』
It was the Kashiwa Group.
*****
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