I Don’t Want to Play Villains Anymore - Chapter 45

First of all, the first plan is to do nothing.

“…What? Haneul. Is that really so?”

“It’s just as I said.”

At Ral’s words, Jiwoo’s mouth corners twist in a strange way.

The tension that won’t disappear. That tension spreads from her mouth to her forehead, eyebrows, and around her shirt collar.

How did it spread over there?

“So far, we’ve filmed such a burst…”

“Up to episode 2.”

I interrupted her words and spread out my two hands very calmly.

“We’ve only filmed up to episode 2, and everything after that is undecided.”

Jiwoo pressed her lips tightly together and picked up the script that was on the desk.

On the slightly crumpled page, the names of the characters drawn in pen are messily intertwined.

“Haneul, about this… I thought I was going crazy when I was writing it.”

“I know.”

“The scene where Lee Jun-seong is defeated by Cheong-ha and kneels was Ral’s first climax written in tears—”

“So we filmed all of that.”

I raised an eyebrow and said.

“We filmed it, so that’s enough. We did well, and the quality is good. The reaction isn’t bad either.”

Jiwoo blinked her eyes and couldn’t speak.

“So the problem is what comes next.”

I slowly took out my smartphone, slid the screen to open the window.

‘Age of Battle | Teaser’ video.

The view count has already exceeded 20,000. It’s fast. This is what goes viral.

But the window… oh. Just looking at it makes Gineul feel strange.

[To be honest, isn’t the female lead coming on too strong? ;;]

[No, the male lead is just getting hit…]

[This is a bit over the top and intentional ;;]

[Hahahaha, the female lead is carrying it with just her face lol ]

[Honestly, the direction is good, but the script favors the female lead too much ;;]

[Typical girl-crush type of drama.]

I quietly scrolled without saying anything.

Of course, not everyone thinks that way.

The name Haneul, Ral’s face, Ral’s acting.

There are many comments that say they ‘like’ that.

But I know.

When such reactions gather, eventually public opinion divides into extremes.

The higher it rises, the more fans and haters it attracts.

“Jiwoo, you know, I was aware.”

“What?”

“After watching our teaser, I knew what kind of responses people would create within 5 seconds.”

They were predicting it even before it was released.

Jiwoo looked at my face.

I smiled.

Brightly, dryly, and with an oddly chilly smile.

“Kukga is being too much, right? They’ll hear that as a response first.”

“No, that’s not it. If you look at the acting, they’ll manifest—”

“The ones who would manifest are already fed up. What we need to capture are the people who haven’t been interested in me until now.”

I clicked and brought up the window again.

And I added one last sentence.

“If we make it well and put it out into the world… now we have to listen to what that world has to say.”

Jiwoo nodded silently at my words.

Her eyes likely weren’t frozen in shock.

It was because she understood and stopped.

“…So.”

She asked carefully.

“Are we going to revise the script from here on?”

I slowly nodded my head.

“Of course, we need to.”

“Then, we might have to change the direction completely.”

“Yeah. But Jiwoo.”

This naive girl.

I crossed my arms and tilted my head somewhat seriously.

“Is that something you dislike?”

Jiwoo stared at me in silence for a long time and then opened her mouth.

“…No. The director trusting the actors means something like that.”

“…Oh.”

But now she’s saying somewhat cool things?

It feels good to see her growing.

“After all, Haneul is the actor, and I am the director.”

“You speak well.”

“…So, we are what we are. We have to break down at least once.”

At those words, I laughed sincerely.

That’s right.

Creating a work is indeed about breaking down oneself.

“Okay. For now, let’s take our time with the script for episode 3. Right now, we need to analyze the reactions and look at the community… you know a lot.”

“Yeah. I’ll check the YouTube channel and browse the fan café a bit…”

Jiwoo seemed to have collected her thoughts and started organizing her notes.

“Okay. Then I’ll go do my work.”

“Haneul.”

“Yeah?”

“…I’m just glad you’re here.”

I silently nodded at those words.

As I quietly opened the door to leave, the tiles in the hallway echoed beneath my feet.

I walked a little slower than usual.

This was just a time of waiting for the next script.

Now, it was the moment Jiwoo first felt the sensation of ‘seeing’ the work.

Being intertwined only creates obstacles.

A Korean actor must not hinder the director’s flow.

—

“Okay. Kukdeul, I’ve revised the script for episode 3, so can you take a look?”

“Oh, really? You revised it?”

Su-a was the first to react.

Her mouth, which had been sipping the yogurt in her hand, stopped, and her eyebrows raised slightly.

“But you haven’t even uploaded the second episode yet?”

“That… the teaser reactions…”

Jiwoo lightly rubbed her temples.

Fatigue subtly settled under her eyes.

Emotional exhaustion added to tired editing, revealing a yellowish hue on her face.

“Oh, that.”

Jae-hyeon quietly interjected.

Sipping his café latte, he leaned back in his chair as he casually glanced toward Ral.

“The view count is doing well, but the comments are a bit harsh, right?”

“You saw it.”

Jae-hyeon chuckled.

“Well, I couldn’t miss it. The algorithm is pushing it hard.”

As expected, it’s fast. Reactions, comments.

I slightly pushed aside the script that was next to my seat.

The first page of the revised script for episode 3.

Some lines highlighted with a fluorescent marker, a few lines deleted.

And…

Ral’s monologue was eliminated.

“Jiwoo, is this monologue going to be gone?”

Su-a carefully asked, as if she were perched on the edge of her seat.

Jiwoo paused for a moment before responding to that question.

“…Well, if there are too many, the audience might get tired of it.”

“Eh? That monologue was nice. It was a deep emotional description of Baek Cheong-ha.”

Yeah.

It was a monologue that well-explained the character of Baek Cheong-ha to the public.

But this is not the case.

“I know.”

Instead of answering, I turned to the next page.

In the revised script, Baek Cheong-ha’s mouth was shut.

Instead, there were more actions.

[Steps on Junseong’s fallen arm with her foot.]

[Shoots a cold glare with a smile.]

Silence was heavy, and the gazes developed before the lines.

It was closer to the traditional ‘character-driven’ type.

These days, the term character-driven has become a laughing stock for some reason.

Still, I suppose Cheong-ha is the epitome of a character-driven character.

“I’m trying to observe a bit more. Making the audience curious about the character.”

Jiwoo explained instead.

Yes. I could feel that she was reading the intent.

“Right now, Haneul’s image is too set. The genius child actor, the emotional master, the actor who performs great monologues… something like that.”

“That image isn’t bad, is it?”

“No. But this time it’s different.”

Jiwoo said it.

As a director.

“This project should reveal Haneul’s less showcased side; make the audience curious.”

“…Wow.”

Su-a let out a small exclamation.

“That sounds difficult, right?”

“Difficult.”

I admitted honestly.

“I’ve always been the one to ‘fill’ in front of the camera.”

Filling emotions, filling roles, pushing scenes to prove my acting.

What I had done to become the lead was essentially ‘overwhelming’.

But this time…

“I have to lessen it.”

Jiwoo said firmly.

“You’re already full as a character. This time, you need to hide that.”

“…”

The silence lingered over the script.

The three lines written under the name Baek Cheong-ha.

[Baek Cheong-ha: (pauses for a moment.)]

[Baek Cheong-ha: …So, who are you?]

[Baek Cheong-ha: Well then, I won’t go easy on you.]

“Yeah. So this is the role…”

Jae-hyeon said, late to the party.

“Haneul was always the type to bulldoze with lines and emotions in the past… but this time, it really feels like she doesn’t need to say anything.”

“Exactly. So our battle scenes too…”

Jiwoo trailed off.

“…The battle scenes need to be restructured.”

“…Really?”

“Really. It can’t be too ‘satisfying’. It should look ‘dangerous’ now.”

Jiwoo said that while nervously fiddling with the prop kn*fe.

Shaky. Like a kid who might do something wrong.

I couldn’t help but smile.

“…Yeah. Then I’ll go out this time with a bit of fear.”

I placed my fingertips on the revised script.

“This time… without emotion, without lines. Just with a gaze. Just with my body. I’ll dominate.”

Jae-hyeon smiled quietly.

“Oh, then I really won’t be able to reclaim my title as the male lead?”

“It can’t be helped. You’re destined to lose to me.”

I said, somewhat mockingly.

And I placed the folder labeled ‘Revised Script’ down on the table with a thud.

“For now, let’s proceed with doing nothing.”

Jiwoo said as if summarizing.

“So we must accept this silence. Until we reorient… we will observe the ‘results’ of what we’ve created.”

I nodded my head.

This was, for the first time, the work ‘speaking for itself’.

And perhaps, this moment would allow the work to become a truly living story.

“Then… how will Haneul’s battle scene be?”

Tentatively, extremely cautiously.

Su-a raised her hand.

However, that motion carried a strange urgency and longing.

It felt as if the answer to this question would be the decisive trial that shapes her destiny.

Those eyes.

Two twinkling, bright eyes.

What filled them was not simple curiosity.

It was hope.

It was expectation.

And the desire to live.

Jiwoo raised her head from the script and looked at Su-a.

At that moment, Su-a instinctively hunched her shoulders as if she didn’t realize she was doing it.

“It seems like it will focus on kn*fe skills.”

Jiwoo said.

At her words, Su-a’s eyes widened in an instant.

Whether Jiwoo knew it or not, she continued with an indifferent tone.

“There will be a lot of fake bl**d. I want to incorporate a more ‘cinematic’ feel in the editing, and I want some more terrifying elements…”

“Then…!”

Su-a started to raise her voice but stopped.

“Then I… don’t have to get hit by Haneul now?”

The desperation of a puppy hidden in her tone.

In previous episodes, she faced countless kicks, side kicks, shoulder throws, and even asking for a chop to the jaw if she didn’t obey…

She even acted to bounce off the wall like a fall guy last time.

In terms of practicality, she was no different from a fall guy.

Jiwoo slightly squinted her eyes.

As if to avoid Su-a’s teary eyes.

“Yeah. Probably.”

At that moment…

“Yay!!!”

Su-a raised both arms and shouted in triumph.

‘Does she have a talent for acting?’

What originally seemed like a bad performance now revealed her potential as an actress.

All that compressed emotion was encapsulated in her shout.

“Finally… Finally, I can have a role where I can stab someone…!”

“No. That’s not the case…”

Jiwoo quickly waved her hand.

“Your role is still a supporting role. Occasionally involved in fights. But you probably won’t get hit.”

“…Wait. Did you just say ‘occasionally’?”

Su-a’s eyes lit up again.

Jiwoo smiled awkwardly as she corrected herself.

“It’s less than before… it’s less than before.”

Hearing Jiwoo’s words, Su-a despaired.