Chapter 42

Chapter 42

“What do you mean by taking it off?”

The art director questioned, and Director Yeom continued in a calm voice.

“You know, it’s a torture scene. Is there really a need to have him fully clothed?”

In other words.

Lee Min Ki’s soft appearance didn’t quite fit the tone of a torture scene, so the suggestion was to take off more of his upper clothing to make it look more brutal.

Of course, this was largely without regard to the actor’s own wishes.

“A nude scene?”

Lee Min Ki flinched.

There wasn’t anything wrong with a nude scene.

Every male actor, at some point, needed a scene that showcased his masculinity.

But, how should he put this?

Lee Min Ki didn’t really feel enthusiastic about this so-called nude scene.

Not because he was particularly shy.

“Not yet! I can’t!”

It was simply that the timing wasn’t right.

“I haven’t bulked up enough yet, and you expect me to shoot a nude scene in this state? I can’t let that happen.”

It had been just under six months since he began working out.

His body had begun to take shape.

With an athlete-level workout schedule combined with strict dietary control, he was steadily getting into the kind of muscular shape he was aiming for.

However, the issue was that his bulk hadn’t fully developed yet.

This was the downside of low-weight, high-repetition training.

Until his muscles fully took form, the results of his efforts wouldn’t be obvious.

If he were going to do a nude scene, he’d want to do it when he could unveil his body alongside his beach profile.

That was Lee Min Ki’s dream.

However.

“Indeed, rather than awkwardly keeping him dressed, it might be better to have him shirtless.”

The art director seemed to agree with the suggestion.

“Director Yeom, if we go that route, to what extent should he be undressed?”

“All the way. Like in that movie Youth. The scene where he takes off his shirt and shaves his head. Can’t we go for something like that?”

“It does give off a certain vibe.”

No.

That’s not the vibe I’m going for.

While Lee Min Ki was silently screaming in his head, the art director voiced his thoughts.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Min Ki’s skin tone is too pale.”

So, the problem was his skin?

Just as confusion popped into Lee Min Ki’s mind at the unexpected comment, the art director continued.

“We’ve already set up the props in dull, dark tones. If we make him go shirtless, we’d have to adjust his skin tone and the overall tone of the scene as well. It might disrupt the immersion.”

“Hmm.”

Director Yeom frowned, seemingly in thought, as the art director’s reasoning made sense.

“But still, I don’t see how a bit of exposure would be a bad thing.”

This was it.

Now was the moment.

If not now, then never.

With the determination of someone trying to deflect a flying bullet with a blade, Lee Min Ki spoke up.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes, Min Ki.”

“Instead of going completely shirtless, how about we just leave the front open… like unbuttoning the shirt?”

A compromise: partial exposure.

It was a suggestion squeezed out of sheer desperation.

Perhaps his sincerity had gotten through, as the art director nodded in agreement, seeming to think it was a reasonable idea.

“That might actually work. It wouldn’t be a bad look.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I think that strikes a nice balance.”

“Sigh. It’s a bit of a shame, but I guess it can’t be helped. Let’s go with that. Min Ki, I’ll leave it to you.”

The two had reached a consensus.

There would be exposure, but only to a moderate degree.

“Yeah, that’s not too bad.”

Lee Min Ki breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

His weaker areas were mostly his forearms and latissimus dorsi.

As long as only his pectoral and abdominal muscles were showing, he would be fine.

Pectorals, being large muscles, grew quickly, and abs were more about reducing body fat than size.

“Good. I did it.”

Without even realizing it, Lee Min Ki was gradually adopting the mindset of a fitness enthusiast.

***

A quick change in makeup ensued.

Lee Min Ki’s pale skin was covered with a layer of yellowish makeup, dust, and patches of red to give a rough and worn-down look.

This was part of setting the overall tone before the actual filming began.

But the highlight was not just that.

It was Lee Min Ki’s outfit.

A white dress shirt, now crumpled and soaked in water, was put on him.

As agreed, the front was left unbuttoned.

And with that…

“Hmm, he’s surprisingly toned.”

It was quite the sight.

“I had a feeling he had a decent body, but it’s better than I thought.”

“He’s one of those guys whose muscles don’t really show unless he’s shirtless.”

“He looks great.”

“How long would you need to work out to get a body like that? Three months of intense training?”

“No way. You’re not Kwon Sang Woo. As someone who’s lifted weights before, I can tell you that kind of body takes at least two years of training.”

Various comments about Lee Min Ki’s physique floated around the set.

It was unusual.

There were plenty of actors with good bodies in this industry.

Technically speaking, while Lee Min Ki’s body was good, it wasn’t exceptional in terms of raw muscle mass compared to the physically dominant actors.

Yet, his physique had a particular allure.

His frame.

His innate proportions and the way his muscles formed created an impressive look.

[People like you, if you work out for just three months, it shows as much as someone else’s year of progress. You should count yourself lucky.]

A person’s body is like their face.

Some people have flawless, radiant skin even with minimal care, while others need to visit dermatologists regularly just to maintain an average complexion.

Bodies are the same.

Even chest muscles, for instance, can develop in different shapes—triangular, square, or pentagonal.

In this sense, Lee Min Ki’s body was blessed.

A small head, broad shoulders.

Short torso, long arms and legs.

In short, even with minimal muscle, his body looked fantastic.

What people commonly called a ‘pretty’ body.

With the touch of the makeup team, the result was…

“Wow.”

“He’s literally glowing.”

It was comparable to a Renaissance masterpiece sculpted by a master’s hand.

“He must have worked really hard.”

Joo Ha Na’s respect for him grew even deeper.

“I used to look like that once. Ugh.”

Choi Yoo Chang clicked his tongue.

“He could give me a run for my money at this rate.”

Jerry sneered.

“I didn’t expect it to suit him so well. Hmm, should we tone it down a bit? But that seems like a waste.”

The makeup team was lost in thought.

While all eyes were on him, Lee Min Ki sat on a metal chair.

The sound of creaking metal filled the air as his wrists and ankles were tied to the chair, giving off the grim atmosphere of a torture scene.

“Nice. Let’s get started right away.”

Director Yeom clapped his hands, eager to begin filming.

“Do Won, get ready.”

Moments later.

“Ready, action.”

In a kitchen.

Kang Do Won began filling a kettle with water.

Behind him, the character [Detective Goo Hak Jin], played by Lee Min Ki, snarled like a cornered beast.

“You piece of trash. You think you’re Batman, huh? You play like a bat, so I guess that makes you Batman.”

The murderer-cop [Hwang In Beom], portrayed by Kang Do Won, remained silent.

He simply continued to fill the kettle with water.

The sound of water filled the silence as [Detective Goo Hak Jin] kept spitting out curses at him.

“You piece of trash, you’d even stab your own family to death. You can’t even tell the difference between dung and doenjang.”

At that moment, the water filling the kettle had overflowed, trickling out.

“It doesn’t take much to drown a person.”

[Hwang In Beom] turned and walked slowly toward [Detective Goo Hak Jin].

Finally, he placed a thin cloth over [Detective Goo Hak Jin]’s face.

And then—

Trickle, trickle, trickle—

He began to pour the water.

“Mmmph! Mmm! …Mmm! …! …! …!”

[Detective Goo Hak Jin]’s voice gradually faded away.

In its place, a silent scream filled the space.

As if he was about to suffocate from the lack of air, his whole body twitched and jerked frantically.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

He struggled desperately, kicking and thrashing in the chair, but the cloth clinging to his face didn’t budge.

Several seconds passed like this.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Thump! Thump!

Thump!

…Crunch.

The sound of the chair rocking gradually subsided, and the trembling of [Detective Goo Hak Jin]’s body faded away.

A few more seconds passed in silence.

“…….”

It was over.

As [Hwang In Beom] gave a confirming kick to [Detective Goo Hak Jin], tipping him over, all the staff held their breath, watching closely.

‘Did he really die?’

‘His body looks like a lifeless, rotten log.’

‘Is he even breathing?’

Lee Min Ki lay there so still, sprawled across the floor, it was questionable whether his heart was even beating.

Like a corpse.

As the camera zoomed in on [Detective Goo Hak Jin]’s face, still covered by the cloth, [Hwang In Beom] slowly raised a golf club, preparing to finish him off.

“Cut!”

Director Yeom Gwang Ho shouted joyfully.

At the same moment, the staff, who had been holding their breaths in tense anticipation, all exhaled in unison.

“Wow, I thought we’d need a few more takes, but this one turned out perfectly. Min Ki’s face, let’s get that cloth off him quickly. No, wait, I’ll do it myself.”

Director Yeom rushed over, freed Lee Min Ki, and checked his expression.

“Are you okay, actor?”

“…I almost died.”

“Haha, should we do one more take?”

“No.”

And with that, Lee Min Ki’s scene wrapped up.

Though the filming schedule for Forever Green still had some time left, Lee Min Ki’s appearance was complete.

The only thing left was the showdown between the lead senior detective, [Oh Man Shik], and [Hwang In Beom].

“Did it turn out well?”

“Of course.”

Hearing this, Lee Min Ki finally relaxed and smiled.

‘I thought I was going to die.’

To be honest, it had been a close call.

Five more seconds and he would have fainted.

Thank goodness for his consistent cardio workouts.

***

About two more weeks passed.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

“Wow, everyone worked so hard.”

Since there wasn’t much footage left to shoot, the filming wrapped up quickly, like a gust of wind.

Perhaps because the production went so smoothly, the actors remained cheerful, despite the exhaustion from the long shoot.

“Haha, thanks to Min Ki, I had a blast every day.”

“What are you talking about? It was all because you were so supportive, senior.”

“That’s why I almost died, you cheeky brat.”

This camaraderie was largely thanks to Lee Min Ki’s talent being fully recognized.

From veteran actors to those of similar rank, everyone had come together around him.

“Min Ki is really good.”

“I didn’t realize at first, but as we kept going, his real talent showed.”

His skills had been proven time and time again across various scenes.

There was no need for further rivalry or posturing.

It was better to just get along.

“Min Ki, are you heading to the gym again today? Skipping the after-party?”

“Ah, today’s my cheat day.”

“Then you’re coming to the dinner?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Haha, great. I’ll make you a killer soju-bomb tonight.”

“No alcohol for me.”

“…You’re really good at playing hard-to-get, Min Ki.”

The informal celebration for the film’s completion wrapped up.

But just because filming had ended didn’t mean the studio’s work was over.

That’s how it always was with movies.

If a release was set for December, filming usually wrapped up six months before.

So, what happens during the remaining time?

Post-production.

This was where the serious editing began.

It was like this when compared to cooking:

Filming was like gathering the ingredients, while editing was the actual cooking.

If three months of filming provided high-quality ingredients, it was the director’s true skill that mixed those ingredients into the best possible final product.

About two weeks after the film had wrapped.

‘Now, the real work begins.’

Director Yeom Gwang Ho let out a long breath.

Before finalizing the completed cut, there was a necessary step.

Showing it to a select few people with discerning eyes.

Among those, Director Yeom particularly enjoyed showing it to the people from the distribution company.

The distributor.

The company that held enormous influence over everything from marketing to the general release of the finished film.

In this case, it was Attica, the company Yeom had worked with for ten years.

“Oh my, Director Yeom, how have you been?”

Attica’s senior employee, Manager Bae Jae Seo, greeted him with a wide smile, to which Director Yeom responded with a smirk.

“Same old, same old. I’m confident, so go ahead and find whatever flaws you can.”

Manager Bae Jae Seo’s judgment could be trusted.

Director Yeom believed his insight was two, if not three, steps ahead of most critics.

That’s why, before proceeding with the final edits, he wanted to hear Bae’s opinion.

“If there’s anything you think needs fixing, don’t hold back.”

“Come on, who am I to give advice on your work, Director? On my way here, I was just thinking about how I could properly praise you.”

“You sly devil, saying things you don’t mean.”

The two exchanged lighthearted banter naturally.

Though the relationship between distributors and production companies was often one of mutual reliance and subtle competition, these two acted more like old friends.

And they practically were.

‘Still, I can’t let my guard down.’

Manager Bae Jae Seo glanced at Director Yeom with a suspicious look.

He knew well.

Yeom had talent, but he also had an underlying obsession with artistic expression.

A dangerous tendency.

In this industry, artistic ambitions often clashed with commercial success.

‘But it’s Director Yeom. There’s probably not much to criticize, but I’ll still keep an eye out.’

They were about to watch the nearly final cut of the film.

“Have a seat. Get ready, though—you might pass out from what you’re about to see.”

“I always come prepared for your films, Director. Haha.”

With that, Bae Jae Seo sat down, his eyes carefully scanning the rough cut.

The tense atmosphere of the movie built.

Then, one person stood out in particular to Manager Bae Jae Seo.

“That actor, is he a rookie?”

A male actor with striking visuals had caught his attention.