Chapter 81 - You Can't Fool My Eyes

Lee Dong-jae had always been kind to Kim So-yeong until now.

He had also shown a mannerly side to her manager, Baek Hyeon-woo.

That same Lee Dong-jae was now berating Kim So-yeong, so angry that he had sent a prop flying during the acting.

“Did you come here to dance today?”

“Ah, no.”

“Then why are you so feeble? I can't tell if I'm dueling with a swordsman or dancing with a courtesan.”

“……!”

Kim So-yeong flinched at Lee Dong-jae's blunt expression.

“Can't you do it properly?”

“I-I'll do it properly!”

Hearing Kim So-yeong's answer, Lee Dong-jae turned his head.

“Let's shoot it again from the beginning.”

“Ah, understood!”

The production crew kowtowed.

It was a situation where an actor had called 'cut' on his own and said they would shoot again from the beginning, but no one could raise an objection.

Because his opponent was not an ordinary actor, but Lee Dong-jae.

“Lee Dong-jae sunbae-nim has already started his engine.”

“Once he starts his engine like that, he keeps tormenting them until he's satisfied.”

“Because he's such a perfectionist. Even if it looks fine to us, in his eyes, there must be something fatally lacking.”

The sound of the other actors whispering reached Baek Hyeon-woo's ears.

“Cue!”

When the signal was given, the duel began again from the beginning.

However, this time too, Lee Dong-jae stopped the filming in the middle.

“I told you to do it with strength, did I tell you to put a bunch of tension in your shoulders? I'm telling you to do it like a sword-wielding warrior!”

“I'm sorry!”

“From the beginning, again!”

Kim So-yeong's face hardened.

The other staff and actors also swallowed nervously with tense expressions.

“Uh, Sir, just a moment.”

At that moment, the PD cut in.

After even calling the martial arts director and relaying a few points for improvement, they resumed filming from the beginning again.

However, Lee Dong-jae was still not satisfied.

“Is that the only way you can do it? Again!”

“I'm telling you to do it properly! Again!”

“Do it again from the beginning! Are you trying to ruin the drama?!”

How many times had he overturned it?

No matter how hard Kim So-yeong swung the sword, Lee Dong-jae would not give the OK.

And, around the time the people watching also began to feel fatigued.

“PD-nim.”

Baek Hyeon-woo opened his mouth.

“It seems So-yeong is very tired. May we take a short break?”

“Ah, y-yes.”

The PD hurriedly nodded.

“Let's rest a bit. Lee Dong-jae-nim also needs to take a break.”

“Hmph… alright.”

The filming was suspended.

The people who had gathered scattered in small groups. There were also people who moved to fill their stomachs.

Among those people, Baek Hyeon-woo took Kim So-yeong and moved to a corner of the set.

“So-yeong-ah.”

“Yes, Hyeon-woo oppa.”

Today was a hot summer day.

On top of that, Kim So-yeong was wearing a long-sleeved outfit padded with leather.

Despite that, Kim So-yeong was trembling faintly.

“I'm going to hold your wrist for a moment.”

“Huh?”

Baek Hyeon-woo reached out his left hand and grabbed Kim So-yeong's right wrist.

And after clenching his right hand into a fist, he massaged the muscles on the outside of Kim So-yeong's arm as if sliding over them.

“Ugh…!”

“Your arm muscles are tired from swinging the sword too much.”

Being conscious of the grain of the muscles located on the outside of the arm—the extensor carpi radialis longus, extensor carpi radialis brevis, extensor carpi ulnaris, brachioradialis... he applied pressure with the knuckles of his clenched fist.

After finishing the outside, he also massaged the muscles on the inside.

“So-yeong-ah.”

“Yes…”

After finishing the massage, Baek Hyeon-woo held Kim So-yeong's hand again.

This time, without any force, with a gentle touch.

“You haven't gotten intimidated by just this much, have you?”

Kim So-yeong’s eyes went round as she looked at Baek Hyeon-woo.

“Newstarz's Kim So-yeong wouldn't get intimidated by something of this level, would she? Right?”

“Hyeon-woo oppa…”

Originally, Kim So-yeong was the strong-outside, soft-inside type.

Even if she looked confident on the outside, on the inside, she had a personality that struggled while worrying a lot.

In the past, when she was the main vocalist for Newstarz, she had spent her days in hardship, worrying about her lack of skill.

However, Baek Hyeon-woo knew that Kim So-yeong was not in that state right now.

“I was watching you closely.”

Baek Hyeon-woo said in a calm voice.

“Even while being scolded harshly by the actor, Lee Dong-jae, your gaze didn't weaken in the slightest.”

“……!”

Kim So-yeong held her breath.

“Y-you were observing that?”

“Of course.”

Baek Hyeon-woo nodded his head confidently.

“I'm the one who has always watched your gaze most intently, So-yeong. If your gaze weakens, I notice it right away.”

“O-Oppa…”

Kim So-yeong's ears turned red.

“If you say it like that, it's a bit...”

“Because it's a fact.”

Of course, he had also checked her Mental Condition on the status window.

Currently, Kim So-yeong's Mental Condition was 75%... not very high, but still not at a level where a minus correction would be applied.

It was an amazing feat to be maintaining this level of mental state despite Lee Dong-jae constantly scolding her in a fearsome voice.

“Right now, you're in the middle of trying to perform acting that meets the demands of the actor, Lee Dong-jae. You're by no means intimidated, and you're burning with a competitive spirit.”

He continued to speak while looking straight at Kim So-yeong, who was trying to avoid his gaze.

“It's truly amazing. To think you're being so motivated despite it being your first time acting.”

“Oppa…”

“Let's continue while maintaining that mindset. You don't have to change that part.”

Saying that, Baek Hyeon-woo added.

“There's no need to change your character interpretation either.”

“……!”

Kim So-yeong's character interpretation is perfect.

It had been acknowledged since the audition, and no one had raised any issues at the script reading either.

“The problem right now is the way you're expressing it with dynamic movements.”

“Yes… that's right.”

Kim So-yeong bit her lip for a moment.

“I think it's the difference between idol dancing and historical drama acting. Unlike an idol's dance, which has to be nimble on stage, a historical drama actor needs acting with a sense of weight.”

"That's right."

No matter that it's a fusion historical drama, a historical drama is a historical drama. Lee Dong-jae had felt the 'lightness' of an idol in Kim So-yeong's movements and continuously pointed it out.

"Then as expected... do I have to do the opposite of what Yoon Si-kyeong sunbae-nim advised last time?"

"No, that's not it."

Baek Hyeon-woo shook his head.

"Rather, you have to follow that advice."

"What?"

"Yoon Si-kyeong-nim told you to take the strength out of your shoulders. The actor, Lee Dong-jae, also said something similar earlier."

"Ah..."

Kim So-yeong flinched in surprise.

"You can't put strength into your shoulders. If you do, your arm movements will actually feel even lighter."

Putting strength into your shoulders means your arm movements become that much more unnatural. You can't express a sense of weight with unnatural movements.

"The place you need to put strength into is here, your torso."

"My torso..."

"Hold your center with the strength of your core. Just like when you sing."

"......!"

Hearing something similar to what she heard when receiving vocal training from Trainer Tae Jong-soo, Kim So-yeong's eyes widened.

"Hyeon-woo oppa, how do you know even that..."

"We don't have time, so I'll correct you."

"Huh? You'll correct me?"

"Yeah, just like when I correct your dance movements."

"......!"

Until now, Baek Hyeon-woo had been continuously analyzing the silhouette while watching Kim So-yeong's acting. Because just like during dance practice, the optimal movements were being displayed through the silhouette.

The conclusion that she needed to put more strength into her core was also one he had reached after analyzing those silhouettes in detail.

"So-yeong-ah, can you do as I say?"

"Hyeon-woo oppa..."

Kim So-yeong looked at Baek Hyeon-woo for a moment with trembling eyes.

And, she gave a small smile.

"Have I ever not done as you've told me, Hyeon-woo oppa?"

Saying that, Kim So-yeong took Baek Hyeon-woo's hands in hers. Those hands were no longer trembling.

"Please tell me what I should do."

……

"We will now resume filming!”

The voice announcing the restart of filming echoed, and the scattered people gathered.

Lee Dong-jae, who was drinking coffee, also entrusted his coffee cup to his manager and returned.

“……?”

The moment he faced Kim So-yeong again, Lee Dong-jae felt a sense of incongruity.

This was because the state of her gaze had become even stronger than before.

She was a kid whose gaze didn't falter in the slightest even when reprimanded like that, but in just a short moment, her gaze had become stronger.

‘What is this?’

Lee Dong-jae sneakily turned his head.

And he checked the face of the manager who had taken Kim So-yeong away earlier.

‘Did he throw her some words of confidence?’

He had already grasped that Kim So-yeong deeply trusted the manager named Baek Hyeon-woo.

Because it was rare for a young actress to be relying on a young manager, he had been watching them carefully.

He had also suspected if it was because of his actor-like looks, but it seemed that wasn't it.

“Standby… Cue!”

Filming started again.

Lee Dong-jae moved, holding his sword.

This scene starts with a long shot that captures both the actor and the background at once.

Because of that, the actor appears small on screen. This means the actor's acting has to be big.

In the beginning, you have to move more than 1.5 times your usual to deliver the intended acting to the viewers.

“……!”

Clang!

The moment the swords clashed, Lee Dong-jae flinched in surprise.

This was because the swords had collided faster than he had expected.

Was Kim So-yeong's movement faster? No, that's not it.

Her movements had gotten bigger, like Lee Dong-jae's. That's why the sword extended further and collided earlier.

‘How…!’

Clang, clang! Whoosh!

Every time the swords clashed, every time a sword cut through the empty air, Lee Dong-jae felt a sense of surprise.

All her movements had changed. Each and every motion had a sense of weight. Not only that, but they were also equipped with sharpness and agility.

Those things blended together to create something. It was the killing intent of a sword-wielding warrior.

Before he knew it, sweat was flowing down his back. It was a sign that he was feeling tense.

Of course, it wasn't the tension of an actor.

It was the tension of the character named Choi Young that Lee Dong-jae was acting as right now.

His opponent is the swordswoman he had raised with all his heart and soul.

If he let his guard down even a little, his head would fly off.

Since some point, Lee Dong-jae had become completely immersed in the character within this scene.

This was because the person in front of his eyes was the swordswoman from the drama itself.

“Your skills have improved a lot…!”

The line came out of his mouth on its own.

His partner responded in turn, speaking her own line.

A short conversation followed. Through it, they perfectly expressed the inner worlds of the characters.

It was a success.

“Cut!”

Only after the PD's voice, signaling the end of the scene, was heard did he finally return to reality.

Lee Dong-jae lifted his sweat-drenched face.

“Hey.”

Among the people who were surprised by the unexpected passionate performance, he found the tall young man.

The reason Kim So-yeong's acting had suddenly improved so drastically was because of that manager.

In that short time, Baek Hyeon-woo had upgraded Kim So-yeong's physical acting.

That is a difficult task even for a person with expert knowledge of acting.

How could a mere idol manager do such a thing.

Lee Dong-jae made a deduction based on his own actor's life, which spanned several decades.

There is only one answer.

“You can't fool my eyes.”

No matter how much he pretends he isn't, he can't fool the eyes of this Lee Dong-jae.

Lee Dong-jae, convinced that he had seen through Baek Hyeon-woo's secret, asked.

“You're a former actor, aren't you?”

I thought he looked like an actor for some reason.