Chapter 120

Cheonghong Action School.

The cradle of stuntmen created by Hong Baek Kim, the top martial arts director in South Korea.

Lately, Professor Hong Baek Kim has been receiving various contacts from all sorts of people.

All because of a certain variety show he recently decided to appear in.

“For the next filming, your appearance will be required.”

“Hmmm…”

To be honest, he originally planned to decline the offer.

Variety shows weren’t really his taste.

But this time, something sparked his interest.

‘Since actors from our academy are also participating.’

The majority of renowned action actors hail from the Cheonghong Action School.

However, this time, it was a young actress.

What captured his attention was the cast predominantly consisting of young female actresses.

Generally, female actors were usually given less prominence in action roles.

But it couldn’t be helped; action acting is, at its core, still ‘acting.’

When filming such scenes, the dynamic and imposing presence of male actors often gets preference.

“Dynamic presence….”

The power of acting. This is what action acting requires the most.

The emotions and the body must work in tandem to breathe life into the performance.

“But nowadays, with improved filming techniques, action doubles are used more frequently.”

As Professor Seong Ho Cheol pointed out, in the past – specifically during the era when Hong Kong films were popular – it was customary for actors to perform the stunts themselves.

But in recent times, who would want to act out their own action scenes?

Action is better left to those who are adept at physical combat.

That’s the current trend, at least.

“I guess I should cooperate for something like this.”

Isn’t it time to give prominence to proper action actors once again?

“Seoyeon will also be participating, so I am slightly worried.”

“…Yes, among other reasons.”

By coincidence, Seoyeon was set to visit today.

It was most likely because of “Hyper Action Star.”

Indeed, many of the recent contacts Professor Kim received were for this very reason.

Participants in “Hyper Action Star” were reaching out to him urgently, seeking guidance in action acting at the Cheonghong Action School.

Especially since Professor Kim himself was partaking in the show, many hopefuls reached out, though most were declined.

Action acting is not something that can be mastered with a crash course.

‘Did they perhaps get scared after submitting their applications?’

“Hyper Action Star” invited certain actors directly, but mostly the casting was open to external applications, with selections based on profiles.

Of course, while formal auditions were conducted, quite a few participants were brought in through their management companies.

From the outset, “Hyper Action Star” was a bold venture, and not everyone in the industry was supportive.

It was a variety show with high chances of failure.

Given that the open auditions had faded out, it was unclear how engaging the show would be to viewers.

Presumably, the industry judged it as such.

Thus, many participants joined simply to showcase their action skills and raise their visibility.

‘But they started with an impressive rappelling action scene.’

The sudden spike in public interest became evident with continuously increasing viewership numbers.

Even actors who joined casually were starting to get jittery.

With the scales tipping in favor of success over failure, it became vital for the participants to deliver impressive performances to seize this opportunity.

“Oh, Seoyeon is already here warming up.”

“Oh?”

With his now habitual steps, Professor Kim walked towards the stunt training ground of the action school.

Previously, Seoyeon often faced critical gazes from other actors, but things had changed.

Now, as soon as they saw Seoyeon, they would look away hurriedly.

Why?

“Is there anyone here who can perform in sync with me?”

“….”

In response to Seoyeon’s question, everyone looked away.

Acting with her involved many challenges.

Though there were many things to learn, throwing someone a few meters away often made all that learning go to waste.

Life’s unpredictability and the acceptance of death – actors learned these lessons deeply when working with Seoyeon.

Thanks to those lessons, they could now take on even moderately intense stunts with a smile.

‘But doing it too often with her…’

Seoyeon’s focused gaze was like that of a puppy eagerly wagging its tail at the doorstep, hoping for a walk.

Looking at her would tempt one to pick up the leash and leave for a walk, so everyone preferred averting their gaze.

In such a curious atmosphere,

“Ah, Master.”

Seoyeon greeted Professor Kim.

All actors at the Cheonghong Action School referred to Kim Hong Baek as ‘Master,’ with no particular reason except his expertise and their apprenticeship under him.

“Today, I received a mission briefing.”

“Mission?”

“The mission for Hyper Action Star.”

Professor Kim slightly nodded his head.

It seemed that the general outline of the mission was delivered to the participants before filming.

‘Ah, that’s why there have been many inquiries recently.’

Knowing the mission details ahead of time allowed specific learning, although Professor Kim didn’t offer help in such matters.

‘Though, shouldn’t they have informed me too about what they’re filming?’

He had some doubts, but considering that they trusted his expertise for demonstration purposes, it seemed reasonable.

“What is the mission this time?”

“A gunfight, it seems.”

Seoyeon mumbled slightly hesitantly.

Of course, she had handled firearms before.

Though not in her current life, it was in her past life; back then, a soldier with the same condition had engaged in a shooting spree, disqualifying her from military service but still allowing her to participate in a mandatory six-week military training where she had some experience with firearms.

‘But military service and that training are quite different.’

To be honest, her memory of the correct techniques had faded after so much time had passed.

As parts of her previous life’s memories began to fade.

“Gunfight…!”

Professor Kim’s eyes widened.

‘This mission will be safe, then.’

With a brawl or hand-to-hand combat, things might have gotten more problematic, possibly altering the genre.

“The acting will involve paintball guns.”

Like a survival game field.

But remember, this filming is not a survival game.

It’s fundamentally about action acting.

“So, the faces are off-limits for shooting. We need visibility of the acting.”

The minimum protective gear on the face will be just safety goggles, allowing facial acting.

‘Merging action with acting.’

Seoyeon’s forte is emotional acting, so mixing a gunfight seemed ill-suited.

With no narrative setup for the scenes, Seoyeon had to improvise her character on the spot.

“You probably understand this already, Seoyeon. We need to consider what to display through this gunfight.”

“What should be displayed… a character, you mean?”

“That’s right. This movie is a superpower action movie, remember? The gunfight must align with that setting.”

Indeed, the concept of superpowers broadens the scope of ‘acting’ even in something as straightforward as a gunfight.

‘My superpower is regeneration.’

Not something she carefully decided upon, but merely chosen for convenience and compatibility with Seoyeon’s personality.

She had contemplated physical enhancement,

‘but it was already overused.’

A sudden rappel scene would require her to effortlessly choose an instinctively simple superpower.

Out of a hundred participants, a whopping thirty actors chose physical enhancement.

With so many sharing the same power, competition would be fierce.

Hence, Seoyeon opted for a slightly different regenerative ability.

This ability allowed her to perform most stunts a physically enhanced person could, while granting her the opportunity to deliver unique action sequences with distinct impacts.

‘But will this connect all the way to the filming of the movie?’

It intrigued her because if the protagonist’s superpower wasn’t decided upon for the movie, the superpower chosen in this audition could carry over.

This thought lingered in Seoyeon’s mind as Professor Kim added,

“With regeneration powers, audiences expect many thrilling action sequences. However, it gets tricky from an acting perspective.”

“After all, your powers are meaningless unless you’re hit.”

“Exactly. During the gunfight, you need to showcase that. Being hit is part of the act.”

It’s a challenging act for a female actor. Had another woman chosen that power, Professor Kim would have advised her against it and suggested discussing alternatives with the production team.

‘Hmm, it doesn’t matter though.’

Professor Kim nodded.

Seoyeon’s skin wasn’t fragile enough for a paintball to leave marks.

There had been no instance of her getting hurt thus far, and when he asked her about it, she replied,

“Umm… It’s because of the good cosmetic products I use.”

The efficiency of cosmetics, though questionable, was accepted as is without any further inquiry because denying it wouldn’t change anything.

“Let’s try it once then. We have paintball models here.”

Professor Kim was serious about training Seoyeon.

He was aware of how genuine her dedication to acting was.

‘If…’

Seoyeon could elevate her acting skills while mastering the action sequences,

‘then the success of this movie largely rests with her.’

Professor Kim never thought Seoyeon would drop out of “Hyper Action Star.”

If that happened, it would only mean she hadn’t fully adapted to action acting.

Even if that were the case, no director would skip casting Seoyeon.

At the very least, a substantial role equivalent to the protagonist would be hers.

He had full confidence that such a role would be hers.

‘No…’

Professor Kim shook his head, removing the thought from his mind.

Seoyeon would definitely be the protagonist this time.

He wanted to see her as the protagonist, earnestly so.

“Let’s start practicing shooting.”

Professor Kim was ready to impart all his expertise to Seoyeon.

Because she had the potential to become South Korea’s premier action star.

***

The auditions for “Hyper Action Star” were live-broadcast, from the qualifiers onwards.

With each round, twenty participants were eliminated.

And in the semi-finals, ten more were set to be cut.

At the conclusion of the top ten contenders, one would be chosen as the lead actor for GH Group’s upcoming movie.

– Is the first episode airing today?

– Group A prelims.

– Streaming live online.

– Is Sooyeon Joo appearing?

– They’re pushing her way too much.

– True.

– It’s not acting; it’s just about jumping, right? I could do that too.

– Everyone does that in the army, so it’s nothing special.

Despite her jump being overly dramaticized in the teasers, various criticisms flooded the comments with some supporting her, mentioning the lack of safety gear, while others pointed out the presence of an air mattress.

Still, amidst all these discussions, Seoyeon was the primary subject.

Other participants sometimes came up, but only briefly unless featured heavily in the teasers.

Jo Seohee garnered some attention, though, because she descended via the elevator alone.

“Alright then.”

Ik-tae Lee addressed the Group A members of “Hyper Action Star.”

Twenty members, each wearing comfortable costumes, appeared tense as cameras swept by.

“…What?”

Seoyeon caught everyone’s eye.

She was hard to miss.

“Seoyeon?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you in a school uniform?”

Seoyeon stood confidently in a casual summer school uniform at the filming site.

Her outfit contrasted sharply with others dressed more practically for action.

To Ik-tae’s question, she answered matter-of-factly,

“It’s the setting of a high school student.”

Ah, a high school student setting. Surrounding members chuckled lightly at this explanation, but Jo Seohee immediately grasped Seoyeon’s intent.

‘Character.’

The surprise on Ik-tae’s face was evident; he hadn’t expected her to wear the uniform.

However, his surprise stemmed more from the uniform itself than anything else.

Since unique costumes were part of the production team’s intention,

‘Costumes were supposed to be free choice.’

A shrewd actor would have realized this.

Costume was the most basic way to visually represent a ‘character’ when no specific scene or script has been decided.

It was a direct way to leave an impression on the viewers.

Thus, Jo Seohee also dressed in a flashy outfit covered in luxury brands.

‘…Luxury brands aren’t half as attention-grabbing as a school uniform.’

Jo Seohee smiled lightly while observing the unusually excited Seoyeon.

Already from the get-go, Seoyeon had captured everyone’s focus.

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