Personally, it was a somewhat suffocating scene, but Director Bang was extremely satisfied.
Nam Hyun-ho also acted rather carelessly, swinging around the plastic axe prepared as a prop like a madman, but he’s no human—just a prop.
While the axe was swinging right in front of my face, I remained calm and responded without losing my cool. Director Bang said my reaction reminded him greatly of Lee Myung and praised me immensely.
Of course, I had an absolute certainty I wouldn’t get hit by such a prop axe, so I just acted as I usually do. But even actors well-versed in action scenes would feel some tension when an axe—even a plastic one—comes swinging toward them.
Such tension could make the character of a Sword Master like Lee Myung appear less convincing on screen.
What kind of Sword Master would flinch at an opponent’s weapon during a training duel?
“Come to think of it, Hyun-ho, didn’t your axe swing too far just now?”
“Uh, what? No, it didn’t?”
“…You made a mistake.”
“No, I did as agreed.”
While improvisation might be difficult for you, huh?
This guy’s just another reckless brat.
I think if it weren’t for me, the previous scene would’ve been another NG.
“GO!”
—
“To the mine, you say? Laying tracks in the mine is an extremely simple task. Of course, it’s possible.”
“Ah, Yun Mountain… the place that was practically occupied by monsters…”
“Good, excellent. If you catch the creature, give me its bones. If you do, I’ll join you.”
“Ah, we’ll use the bones to build a massive steam robot. Gigantic! Even more so!!”
—
“OK, good. Mr. Lion, let’s do another wide-angle shot.”
In order to persuade Nam Seok-ho (through force), I even drew my sword, but convincing the mad scientist Bison Choi was easy enough with words alone.
When Bison Choi heard the news that a huge monster had occupied the mine, he promised to cooperate with the mine’s development if its bones were given to him.
Bison Choi’s giant steam robot, currently under development, appears briefly at the end of this drama.
When Yi Moon and Violet are temporarily away, Qing soldiers raid the mine, and it’s this very steam robot that blocks them.
In truth, it’s more like a giant tin can of scrap metal that blocks the mine’s entrance by sheer force of mass but eventually gets destroyed under a barrage of rifle fire. It wasn’t particularly powerful but did succeed in buying some time. Later, Yi Moon and Violet arrive and vanquish the Qing soldiers, restoring peace to the mine.
“Still, the acting was decent enough.”
“Ah, Senior Lion?”
“Yeah, doesn’t matter whether it’s an idol or what. If they can act at that level, who’s gonna complain?”
In this drama, Lion plays the role of Bison Choi and is displaying his usual good acting skills.
When you see how well he embodies the crazy mad scientist like Bison Choi, you might even suspect that he’s like that in real life too. Come to think of it, Lion is talented enough to make the top tier. Considering how he managed to resolve a disagreement with Jo Yoo-shin through nothing more than a slight show of competitiveness, he doesn’t seem to have a terrible personality.
Still, it’s problematic that after the last drama, he hasn’t even approached me, I wonder what he realized.
Nevertheless, as long as his acting is concentrated like this, such small issues are easy to overlook.
—
In the end, on set, if the acting is good, that’s all that matters.
“Hmm, so this is all Flame Enter’s production?”
“What do you mean… oh, yeah, something like that.”
While I briefly watched Lion disappear after shooting his scenes.
Nam Hyun-ho, who was searching for something on his smartphone, showed me a few articles.
From my high school bullying scandal to Moon Suyeon’s transfer news, and even the legal notice that finally put an end to the Luna fandom’s excesses.
This was a summarized document of all the media campaigns Flame had run.
“Definitely good at getting things done, huh?”
“Is that right?”
“In fact, I’ve noticed this for a while. There were several rumors related to Senior Cheon, but they all got cleaned up nicely. Wasn’t the representative of Cheon Enter at the time the current representative of Flame Enter?”
“Wasn’t the representative of Cheon Enter Ms. Yuah?”
“Ah, the actor is just the frontperson, but the real operations are handled by the representative.”
No, Cheon Yuah herself runs the business.
“Whatever, let’s say that. Since the executive who was there at the time is now the current representative of Flame Enter, it’s true.”
“So?”
There’s no need to delve into details like these.
Whether it’s Representative Joo or Cheon Yuah, as long as the company is run well, it doesn’t matter to me.
But right now, I’d rather know why we’re having this conversation.
Since it can’t be meaningless chatter after a costly meal, there must be some reason behind it.
“Why do you bring this up suddenly?”
“Ah, fact is… I’m thinking of joining Flame. Isn’t Moon Suyeon with Flame now?”
“Are you?”
“Yeah. Why? Can’t I?”
“…It’s not impossible, but which agency are you currently with?”
“I’m free. Solo planning.”
“Ah, I see.”
Nam Hyun-ho.
Indeed, this guy is competent.
In terms of acting skill and appearance.
Though his family’s wealth could be considered a flaw, he doesn’t flaunt it and seems relatively unpretentious, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
In fact, this could be an advantage. As the youngest son of Changcheon Group, he should be able to shield against unnecessary outside pressures, right?
Though S&M is far larger than Changcheon Group and operates overseas, their movements feel a bit uncomfortable.
The way Cheon Yuah has been stepping out lately suggests there might be some issues.
Also, I’m slightly concerned that our company’s actor lineup is gradually leaning heavily female.
After all, while the lone male in an all-female group is often treated like royalty, the lone female in an all-male group is inevitably relegated to servant status.
We have Moon Suyeon, Cheon Yuah, and even Yang Yuli. Even our young protégé is female, isn’t she?
If Nam Hyun-ho joins, it would balance things out a bit, right?
And speaking of which, if Nam Hyun-ho joins Flame, isn’t that like the youngest of the Namgung Family joining New Religion?
This would be an accomplishment even the great Heavenly Demon couldn’t achieve back in the day.
The direct entry of a direct-line Namgong heir into New Religion? Seriously, how could anyone resist laughing at that?
Still, I need to verify why Nam Hyun-ho is considering joining our company.
If it involves personal feelings for Moon Suyeon or Cheon Yuah, that could present some complications.
Our company’s welcoming attitude toward contracts and simultaneous entry could lead to romantic entanglements.
Romances within the company always end in disaster, so it is something we should absolutely prevent.
“Eh? What…?”
Just in case, I asked about this, only for him to look at me like I’m crazy.
So I decided to reinforce this with facts.
He himself once said he prefers women of a certain type.
“Senior, you said you liked women, right?”
“No, I do like women. But Senior Cheon or Luna… they’re a bit…”
“Huh? Why?”
“I prefer a more petite type. If I must specify, Yang Writer is more to my style than those two.”
“…Is that so?”
Saying that makes Nam Hyun-ho sound small, but he’s actually quite tall.
His profile lists him at 181 cm, but in reality it’s 179. Even if he doesn’t reach exactly 180, it’s still respectable.
Many male actors aren’t as tall as Nam Hyun-ho.
Yet, if he prefers a petite type, then neither Cheon Yuah nor Moon Suyeon fits his style.
Both Cheon Yuah (170 cm but listed as 169 in her profile) and Moon Suyeon (168 cm but listed as 169) are considered tall for women.
Looking at it, their listed heights are the same.
What kind of honey is applied to make them both 169? Why are they both 169?
Anyway, in contrast to these tall women, Yang Yuli, who Nam Hyun-ho mentioned last, is small, barely reaching 160 cm.
It just seems strange when compared with Cheon Yuah or Moon Suyeon, but objectively, Yang Yuli is rather cute.
Even in Martial Forest where everyone talks about the destruction of Orthodoxy while scowling, Yang Yuli appears much more normal and therefore interesting.
She isn’t my type, but she’s good enough to be acknowledged as decent.
“Anyway, it’s not about that, right?”
“Yeah. But why ask? In the same company, we don’t have much chance to meet anyway, right?”
“If everything is normal, that’s true.”
Well, that’s something he’ll find out later, so no need to mention it now.
Truthfully, I was concerned about the worst case scenario. I never thought Nam Hyun-ho would actually move into the company building.
It was strange that Moon Suyeon suddenly decided to move in, but it seems even more unusual for Nam Hyun-ho to relocate.
As mentioned before, every entertainer desires freedom from the company.
The company is merely a place to confirm scripts.
Outside of that, there’s rarely any reason to visit unless there’s a special reason, like for me or Moon Suyeon.
“Anyway, you’re saying you want to join because Flame does great work?”
“Close. Actually, doing everything alone is somewhat tiring. What I like about Flame is how they handle everything, fitting exactly my preferences.”
“In that case, the first step would be to meet our people for a discussion.”
“That’s the plan. So, you’re not opposed to me joining your company?”
“What can I say? If Senior wants to come, then come. Unless it’s Yuah.”
Probably Cheon Yuah wouldn’t oppose either.
Flame’s motto is ‘Quality over quantity,’ but Nam Hyun-ho fits the profile as an elite.
Actually, it’s rare to find an actor as pleasant and unselfish as him.
Certainly, he can be quirky, but not in a bad way, so it should be fine.
“Looks like they’re coming. Cheon Yuah and Suyeon.”
“Oh, they are. Probably here for tonight’s shoot. But, what’s…?”
“It’s a coffee truck? Suyeon’s.”
Just as I was conversing with Nam Hyun-ho, Cheon Yuah and Moon Suyeon appeared.
And there’s a coffee truck.
The truck had a rather cute message: “(
