The Third-Gen Chaebol Becomes a Genius Actor

Chapter 21.1

Oddly enough, I had dreamt of escaping the apocalyptic world and entering a bright, hopeful drama, but a single memory synchronization had turned the genre into a mystery.

Yeon Seo repeatedly closed and opened his eyes. It was an effort to stay conscious. The volume he was vomiting was concerning enough, even if it was just food… but he was throwing up blood.

‘I might actually die at this rate…'

<I told you it was too dangerous, Master.>

Even Beta, who was currently learning human behaviours, had started to chime in subtly. Yeon Seo ignored the comment and bowed his head to vomit blood again. The sink and even the floor were covered with the blood he had spat out.

<Current synchronization rate is 12.82%.>

Pushing it to the limit allowed him to gain some pretty important memories.

He was a man with a good head on his shoulders, despite his unpredictable temperament, so he wouldn't make such a statement without basis. Clearly, the voice doubting his birth mother's suicide was Yeon Seo's. So, who was the recipient of those words?

‘My brother? Or some third party?'

Yeon Seo washed his face with cold water and looked at himself in the mirror. His naturally pale and smooth complexion was now tinged with grey, despite the heavy makeup.

‘Now isn't the time to worry about that.'

Even though he felt like he was losing his mind, he wasn't at home, but on set.

‘I need to shoot at least one more scene while these sensations are still vivid.'

After all, there was a reason why he had pushed his memory synchronization to the limit.

With great effort, Yeon Seo got up. He still felt nauseous, but it was bearable. 

Fortunately, his costume was already stained with fake blood, which perfectly camouflaged the blood he had vomited.

"Ah, sh*t…"

Swearing involuntarily, with every step he took, his body screamed in pain, as if he was suffering from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, where even minor friction causes severe pain.

Before entering the set, Yeon Seo casually wiped the cold sweat dripping from his face with his clothes.

"Huh? Yeon Seo is here!"

Amidst the filming set, which had been buzzing due to the lead actor's absence, one of the staff members shouted out loudly.

"Director, let's shoot right away."

Director Park Ho Jin studied Yoo Yeon Seo's pale face. To his eyes, it appeared as though Yeon Seo had isolated himself to immerse in his role for the shoot. The director then ordered the other staff members to prepare for filming.

"…Are you okay?"

A staff member, who had been connecting Yoo Yeon Seo's body wire, seemed so concerned that he forgot the rumours about Yeon Seo's eccentric behaviour. Yeon Seo simply nodded without saying a word. The small motion almost triggered another wave of vomiting.

"Hurry up."

His body was wracked with a kind of pain he'd never experienced before, and his nerves were on edge. However, nobody seemed to object to his sharp words.

His face, with eyes wide open as if clutching onto his fading consciousness, was perceived as immersing himself emotionally in his role.

Park Min Woo and Lee Han Gyeol, who had intended to approach Yeon Seo, stepped back instead, not wanting to disturb his focus.

"Ready, action!"

The stunt was directed by Park Sung Jin. Thanks to rehearsing dozens of times before shooting, his hurting body moved instinctively.

"…Captain."

Park Sung Jin played the role of a superior officer who had been transformed into a monster due to an unidentified virus. Upon seeing him contort and make strange noises, Yeon Seo, in the role of Sergeant Kim Woo Jin, stepped back a few paces, swallowing hard.

They were currently in a narrow hallway inside a ship. If he took a few steps back and closed the door, he could easily isolate the infected officer.

Just as he was calmly trying to escape the area, the transformed Park Sung Jin charged towards him.

"Ugh…"

Blocking a fist aiming for his face with both hands, Yeon Seo's hands shook and a pained groan escaped from his lips. It was not acting – he was genuinely in pain.

‘I should've just gone home…'

Pushing his memory synchronization to the limits, followed immediately by a high-difficulty action sequence. Yeon Seo momentarily regretted his choices, then clenched and opened his eyes. His actions added to the intensity of Sergeant Kim Woo-jin's predicament.

Park Sung Jin, the martial arts director who was in his direct line of sight, widened his eyes in surprise, but like a professional, continued with his performance.

"Aaaah!"

Yeon Seo deflected the incoming fist to the side, rolled, and grabbed a handgun that was thrown on the floor. Park Sung Jin's fist punctured the Styrofoam wall, and Yeon Seo, looking at the monster whose arm was stuck in the wall, aimed the gun with both hands.

"Die!"

Park Sung Jin twisted his body, realistically depicting the impact of being hit by the gunshot. He was wearing a strange-looking suit for the later addition of CGI. The suit, which had been the subject of mockery before the shoot due to its odd appearance, no longer seemed funny. Yeon Seo's unprecedented performance was so realistic, it felt like there was truly a monster in front of them.

"Wow…"

Park Min Woo stood with his mouth agape. The filming of ‘Baekho-ham' had begun thanks to Yoo Yeon Seo, but he had assumed that the praise for acting and action scenes would be directed towards him, the lead actor. But what he was seeing wasn't Yeon Seo, it was Lieutenant Kim Woo Jin himself.

‘Did he take some kind of performance-enhancing drug?'

There was no other explanation for the drastic improvement in his acting. He had taken a few lessons himself from Park Hyun Jeong, who was Yoo Yeon Seo's acting teacher, but he never saw such dramatic changes in his performances.

‘It doesn't seem like method acting; he can turn it on and off…'

Of course, his previous performances were so subpar that any slight improvement might appear to be a divine upgrade.

Park Min Woo, Lee Han Gyeol, and all the staff on the set watched Yoo Yeon Seo's extraordinary performance with bated breath.

"F*ck!"

Out of bullets, Yeon Seo nervously tossed the handgun aside and pulled out a knife. It was now a do-or-die situation. With gritted teeth, he rushed at Director Park Sung Jin and stretched out his hand.

After a lengthy bout, Yeon Seo ended up sprawled on the ground, and Park Sung Jin reached out and gave a light punch to his stomach. They planned to add CGI later to show his stomach being pierced.

"Arrrrrgh!"

At that light touch, Yeon Seo thrashed around and let out a loud scream. Despite all the movement, his abdominal area remained unnaturally still.

Seeing such meticulous detail, the director instinctively clasped his hands together in a prayerful gesture. This was it. The brutal action scene that he had extensively discussed with the writer, Kim Dae Sung.

"Hrk… Hrk…"

As Yeon Seo vomited blood and screamed out in a metallic voice, his breath began to hitch. His will to cling to life gradually faded, and Yeon Seo stopped breathing.

"…Cut! Good job!"

After a few seconds of filming Sergeant Kim Woo Jin lying still with eyes open, the director signalled the end of the scene. Those who had been watching also let out their breaths, held in anticipation.

"Wow, that was incredible."

"Do you think we'll get a rating for this scene?"

"One hundred per cent we will."

"Even if we get an R-rating, we must use this scene. It'd be a waste to only show it in the behind-the-scenes."

"Or maybe it's okay to separate it into R-rated and PG-15 versions."