# Chapter 59
As an actor who T&C had been heavily promoting, Jung Eungyu had been appearing in various places recently, but since Dohyun had begun fully investing in Seowoo, Eungyu’s position had admittedly become somewhat awkward.
Seowoo couldn’t help but be concerned about it. Yet he wasn’t in a position to do anything for him. Pushing aside these distracting thoughts, Seowoo nodded with a warm smile.
“Oh, Eungyu-ssi. It’s been a while. Are you all ready?”
Eungyu, who was playing the accomplice role, was wearing a hood that half-covered his face, making him difficult to recognize. One of the key points of this scene was for his hood to come off during the physical struggle with Seowoo.
He must have prepared very diligently, as the script in his hand looked thoroughly worn.
“Yes, I’ve finished checking the movement paths. The alley has a twisted structure, so it would be easy to get hurt if we run out incorrectly. The director was also worried about that part.”
The roughly drawn picture in pen on the script caught Seowoo’s eye. It seemed Eungyu had checked the alley structure in advance and figured out where they needed to stand and who would be in which position.
Unlike Seowoo, who was familiar with the alley after filming other scenes there, this was Eungyu’s first shoot in this location. The maze-like, twisted alleys where each corner looked the same would naturally make anyone anxious.
Glancing at the script, Seowoo noticed parts that had been highlighted and underlined multiple times with a fluorescent marker.
‘…He’s practiced a lot.’
Eungyu’s part was relatively small. In a film less than two hours long, the screen time available for a supporting actor wasn’t extensive.
Previously, when the script was modified due to Dohyun’s influence, Eungyu had several times more screen time than he currently did. After Seowoo transferred to T&C and the script was restored to its original form, Eungyu’s screen time was also reverted to what it had been.
Though Dohyun had told Seowoo not to worry about it, saying he would handle everything well… Seowoo couldn’t help but feel concerned.
‘…Well, he hasn’t been on the big screen for long, so even this small role isn’t insignificant.’
He wasn’t just an extra, but a supporting actor with a proper role. It had impact too. It’s just that his importance to the narrative and overall screen time were relatively small.
Seowoo didn’t know what to say. Would bringing up the changed script have a negative effect on Eungyu? Dohyun had said he’d already resolved the matter, and Seowoo didn’t want to create problems where there weren’t any.
After moving his lips wordlessly, Seowoo finally swallowed his words. Instead, he lightly patted Eungyu’s back in encouragement, letting the gesture speak for the many words he couldn’t say.
“Let’s do well. The chase scene really depends on our coordination.”
“Yes, sunbae-nim. I’ll do my best.”
Eungyu bowed deeply and respectfully before disappearing to his position.
The unspoken words lingered in his mouth, vaguely irritating him, but there was nothing he could do. After finishing makeup and wardrobe checks, Seowoo took his position at the front of the alley according to the director’s instructions.
The alleyway that had grown dark with nightfall was pitch black. Even with lighting equipment set up around the area, the late hour and complexity of the pathways made it impossible to fully illuminate the scene.
“Isn’t the light a bit insufficient?”
“It’s not completely dark, and we’ve set up lighting in each alley. It’s just slightly dim, so it should be fine if you’re careful when running. If we make it any brighter, it won’t look good on camera, and we’d need more equipment, which is difficult right now.”
The lighting and camera teams had a heated discussion, but the conclusion was that it would be difficult to make it any brighter than it currently was.
“Did you hear that? Since the lighting can’t reach the lower areas, it’s easy to trip and fall over. We can have multiple takes even if there are NGs, so please be careful and watch your surroundings to avoid getting hurt.”
The director anxiously emphasized this point several times. Seo Dohyun had surely issued warnings in advance. He was already overprotective of Seowoo to an embarrassing degree, and with the accident during the last shoot, it was obvious that Dohyun would have scrutinized the staff intensely.
Even without that, if Seowoo got hurt, the filming might be postponed. As the director said, it was better to be careful, even if it meant more NGs and slower progress.
Seowoo closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. After repeating this three times, the distracting thoughts in his mind were pushed out, and his mind became calm.
The cameras, lights, and faces of the surrounding staff gradually became distant and blurred, until only the alley and the actor before him were clearly visible. The tension disappeared, and his expression hardened with concentration.
“Seowoo-ssi, just two steps forward. Yes, clench your fist tightly. Okay, we’ll go with that. Ready… and action!”
The moment the cue was given, Seowoo lunged forward without hesitation. His hundreds of hours of practice didn’t betray him. Before he could even consciously think about what to do, his body naturally knew what actions to take, what expressions to make, and what lines to deliver.
“Good, keep going just like that!”
The culprit was running away, keeping about a block’s distance. Since it would be problematic if Seowoo caught him too quickly, he had to maintain a consistent distance while matching the speed.
His speed was slower than expected. It had been similar during the rehearsal and action practice, but perhaps because of the darkness, he couldn’t maintain that pace.
Seowoo, who was following, also had to run more slowly accordingly. It might result in an NG if he slowed down too much, but it was still acceptable for now.
‘Turn left at the second alley, go straight to where the streetlight is…’
As he turned at the corner, with a loud thud, his body was suddenly lifted off the ground.
Before Seowoo could assess the situation, his vision flipped upside down. His body rolled several times and crashed to the side.
The director, who was watching, jumped up from his chair in surprise. Thankfully, he didn’t scream.
“Cut, cut!”
“Oh my, what happened? Hey, where’s the first aid kit!”
The voices of people shaken with worry and confusion buzzed distantly. Seowoo slowly opened his eyes, relaxing his grimaced face.
Having collided with boxes that had been placed as props, his entire body was covered in dust. There didn’t seem to be any major injuries, but the unexpected fall had startled his body, making it difficult to move immediately. His back, which had hit the ground, was throbbing.
“Ugh…”
A groan that sounded like someone dying came from right above his head.
Above his head? Surprised, Seowoo raised his head to find Eungyu looking down at him with a distorted expression of dismay, having practically fallen on top of Seowoo.
“S-sunbae-nim…”
Before he could say anything, staff members who had rushed in grabbed both of their shoulders and helped them up. Eungyu’s trembling gaze fixed on Seowoo.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Why, of all places to get hurt…”
His face.
Of course, no one would enjoy getting hurt, but for an actor who had to show his face on camera all day, facial injuries caused many problems.
Hadn’t he been quite stressed for a while over the small scratch he’d gotten during the physical altercation with Seo Dohyun before? Though, to be fair, the stress was more from Seo Dohyun than from the difficulty of concealing the scratch…
Seowoo stared directly into the mirror. Having to redo the makeup was one thing, but getting injured in almost the same spot made unpleasant memories resurface.
The woman who had been repeatedly dabbing Seowoo’s cheek with a sponge bent down to meet his gaze in the mirror.
“But the facial injury now can naturally be passed off as makeup. While we’re at it, I think it would be better for the atmosphere to add a few more injury makeups, so I’m planning to do that.”
“It’s fine now, but I’m worried it might not heal well. The last time, it took longer to heal than I expected.”
Seowoo’s voice sank gloomily. She, as the makeup artist, knew best how on edge he had been about that injury. Her touch became gentler, as if to comfort him.
“How about your leg, is it okay?”
“The leg is less noticeable, so that’s a bit better… but I’m not sure if I can run. And this is a chase scene, of all things.”
The problem was that he had twisted his ankle when he fell. Though he had temporarily applied a pain-relief patch, it was uncertain whether it would be enough.
When he tried lightly running earlier, he could manage it, but his ankle was throbbing, and he couldn’t maintain proper form, which was concerning.
The woman patted Seowoo’s shoulder and then briefly left her seat to find the makeup needed for the touch-up.
As Seowoo leaned back with a deep sigh, Eungyu approached nervously from a distance.
“Sunbae-nim, are you okay?”
With the cautious question, Eungyu handed Seowoo a bag. It contained drinks, snacks, and even pain-relief patches. He seemed to have gone to the convenience store during the short break.
Manager Gu naturally took the bag.
“I’m fine. It’s not like I broke my leg or anything… What’s all this? When did you go out to buy these?”
Instead of answering, Eungyu smiled awkwardly and then bowed deeply, so much so that the top of his head was visible.
“I’m so sorry. This happened because I was too nervous and didn’t see properly… And you got hurt worse than I did.”
Of course, it was true that Seowoo had been injured from colliding with Eungyu. But Eungyu hadn’t harmed Seowoo with malicious intent.
Because Seowoo’s pace had slowed, Eungyu, who was supposed to emerge from the middle of the alley, couldn’t time it right and came out too early.
If there was any fault, it was that he had been too nervous to remember to check his surroundings first, but Seowoo didn’t want to scold Eungyu for that. Not when his junior was already feeling so apologetic.
“It’s nothing. I had all sorts of accidents when I was a rookie.”
“Sunbae-nim…”
As Seowoo deliberately straightened Eungyu’s deeply bowed back, telling him not to worry, Eungyu pressed his lips together and bowed his head once more.
Seowoo rummaged through the bag in Manager Gu’s hand and took out a coffee. Eungyu didn’t leave until Seowoo had inserted the straw and taken a sip.
Noticing that his hesitant stance suggested something unusual, Seowoo raised an eyebrow.
“What is it? Do you have something to say?”
“Uh, sunbae-nim. I just heard this on my way back from the convenience store, but… is your ankle in bad condition right now?”
“It’s a bit twisted from the fall earlier. Why?”
The fact that he had bought a pain-relief patch meant he knew the ankle wasn’t good. Why was he bringing this up?
Seowoo’s sharp intuition raised its head in an ominous direction. He realized that his smiling lips were stiffening slightly.
“…By any chance, the chase scene… could I substitute for you?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
