Seoul Dragon - Chapter 88

The people who watched Seohyun's acting looked at her in a daze.

The character the director had vaguely set up was there intact.

An attitude of looking down at the world.

And while ridiculing Yul like looking at a moth to flame, some kind of compassion embedded within.

Could that really be someone who had never acted before?

It felt a bit different from Taehoon too.

At least Taehoon had some foundation from learning at acting academy.

But for someone without even basics to act so naturally based on raw feeling and still be able to act to that extent... it was shocking to the people on set in many ways.

Especially, Director An Jinho felt it most vividly.

Jackpot.

The character Hyeon was there intact.

Actually, Hyeon was a character hastily created on set.

Such a character that came to mind the moment he saw Seohyun.

Originally receiving power from a dragon was planned, but there was no thought to materialize it as the character Hyeon.

But a strange spark, yes.

That spark created Hyeon's existence... and as a result, this scene was captured.

Actually, this also included Ju Sohyeon's impressive performance.

To digest such a hastily created script so perfectly.

No matter how much the director is king on set... honestly, it wouldn't be strange if complaints came from anywhere.

Fortunately, it was lucky that Sohyeon understood.

Anyway, a really good scene was captured.

He thought that rather than being Bureau Chief, if she just devoted herself to the film industry as an actor, she could become an excellent actor.

Who could make this possible?

It was just regrettable that she was a civil servant.

And it wasn't just the director who felt this way.

Ju Sohyeon, who acted opposite Seohyun.

She looked at Seohyun with a gaze mixed with strange admiration.

Usually, even fairly veteran actors tend to be overwhelmed when acting opposite Sohyeon... but she couldn't feel that at all from Seohyun.

In a way, there was an aspect similar to Taehoon. Taehoon had never been intimidated or overwhelmed when acting opposite Sohyeon either.

'Are all mutants like that?'

She couldn't help but think that naturally.

Or maybe those two are special.

Whatever the case, she was satisfied that a good scene seemed to have been captured.

Other scenes would probably be similar.

What she personally looked forward to was the scene facing Seohyun's true form.

Could she truly shine without being crushed by that enormous majesty?

Perhaps the character Yul might shine most in that scene.

Originally, this wasn't a scene with this much weight.

It was just a simple flowing scene of meeting a dragon, making a contract, and strengthening Yul's power.

But the moment the character Hyeon was established, it became a scene that established not just Yul's power but her character.

Sohyeon felt her heart strangely racing.

An extremely, extremely good scene might be filmed.

Also, what about the scene facing Hyeonhwa after the meeting with Hyeon ends?

Sohyeon was certain.

This movie wouldn't just end with one-time buzz generation.

The sound of "Cut!" was heard.

It was the director's voice. In an instant, the atmosphere of the drama broke and I became Seohyun again from Hyeon.

Yul in front of me also became Ju Sohyeon, not Yul.

How should I put it... could the atmosphere change this much just with the existence of a clapperboard?

It was an unfamiliar feeling in many ways, but not bad. No, it was more fun than expected.

Acting as someone other than myself... who knew it could be this enjoyable?

Then, Sohyeon approached me with shining eyes.

"The part about never having acted before, that's a lie, right?"

But what is this about now?

"Excuse me?"

"You're too good! Is this really your first time acting? I can't believe someone with no foundation at all can do this much."

...This is quite embarrassing.

Ju Sohyeon right in front of me is often told she has no eye for choosing works, but she's also one of the great actors who has had many big hits.

She was an actor with so-called ticket power, so for such a person to praise me for acting ability seemed like a lie.

Ah, it's probably just lip service.

But even that thought faded when I saw Taehoon's reaction.

I could feel him staring at me quietly.

"...Why."

"No, just. I thought you did well."

"Really?"

"What would I gain by lying to you? You did well."

Huh? Not lip service? It doesn't seem like I did terribly, but it doesn't seem like I did well either...

"Just not being intimidated in front of a senior and acting is already a high evaluation factor."

"Ah, really?"

"You felt some force when the senior was acting, right? Other actors get crushed by that. They feel strange pressure. Should I say they get devoured by the acting ability?"

"Ah, I think I know what you mean."

I recalled how Sohyeon looked when acting earlier. Yes, there was a strange force.

"So the director is probably thinking it's jackpot too. Same for me."

"Oh..."

Then, Taehoon casually asked me.

"Did you practice by watching something?"

"No?"

"This bastard, after cheating with mutation, now he's cheating with acting too."

"I'm tied to being a civil servant anyway, so I can't do other jobs. And this was only possible because it's a type of character I know well. If you told me to act other characters, I probably couldn't."

When I said I knew the character Hyeon well, he tilted his head.

"A type of character you know well?"

"Yeah. In the first place, if you watch animations or novels and such, they show how dragons are depicted. I referenced that... And since I memorize everything just by glancing through the script and directions once, it's easier to immerse myself."

"That's cheating, really. I don't know about other things, but I'm really envious of memorizing scripts immediately. Compared to others, I memorize twice as fast, but I can't memorize just by glancing through once."

"Ah, really?"

He shrugged.

"Yeah. By the way, at this rate, filming might end quite quickly. Ah, right. Hey."

"What."

"Could you maybe introduce me to Jinha later?"

"Why Jinha?"

I asked him puzzledly. Why Jinha suddenly?

"No, we'll have a premiere when this is all filmed, right? I don't have proper clothes to wear then... You said before. That Jinha makes one outfit for mutants for free."

"You remembered that well. Got it. Are you free this week?"

"Today is the last of this week's filming schedule. Even tomorrow is possible."

"Then let's go see Jinha tomorrow. She'll probably welcome you with open arms. Jinha secretly likes cute things."

At my words, he looked disgusted.

"Ugh..."

"What, again."

"Hearing you call me cute makes me want to vomit."

"No, I'm talking about appearance, you bastard. Just based on appearance, you do belong to the cute side, so that's why I'm saying it. Do you think I'd find Han Taehoon cute?"

While chatting about Han Taehoon and Jinha, it was time to resume filming again.

This scene was where Hyeon teaches Yul.

No, wait. Don't I need to know martial arts for this?

So I told the director...

"Ah, you just need to speak. It should all be written in the script. In other words, you're giving enlightenment."

"Ah, I think I know what you mean. I'll give it a try."

Filming resumes again.

Hyeon examined Yul with sharp eyes.

Yul was creating black flames from her hands.

Flames filled with vengeance.

She was certainly using the ability she received magnificently for a first time, but... that was about it.

And with just that much, she could never defeat Hyeonhwa.

Knowing that fact, Hyeon told Yul.

"Pathetic, you are."

"What's pathetic? With this much power, surely..."

"With that level of power, you cannot surpass Hyeonhwa. Hyeonhwa transcended humanity and gained the power to control fire. With that level of flame, you cannot devour Hyeonhwa's flames."

"...Then, what should I do?"

"It's simple. What did I say when I gave you my power?"

"You said it was the power to burn life."

"Exactly. That flame is power that burns using your life as fuel. The more you burn life from your body, the more intensely it burns. Right now your instinct is rejecting that, so only that much power comes out."

"I understand what you mean. What a loss this is. I already sacrificed half my lifespan as the price, and now I have to burn more life for the power to work."

At Yul's grumbling, Hyeon smiled slyly.

"You have no attachment to life anyway, don't you? Were the words that you'd do anything if you could burn intensely for one moment and complete your revenge false?"

"...Of course not. It's just grumbling. Then, Hyeon, as you say, I should use this power in the fight with Hyeonhwa."

"That would be good. There's no need to waste lifespan on useless things right now."

"You definitely said you'd train me, but is this training?"

"Hehe, that's right. To call this training, I've only given you a bit of enlightenment. Then, shall we have a sparring match? I may not know other things, but I'm well-versed in human martial arts."

At Hyeon's question, Yul showed a slightly flustered expression.

Yul, no, Sohyeon had no choice but to be actually flustered.

Seohyun's current line was ad-lib not in the script.