Chapter 209: This is the unedited version.

[Hmm... Director. I heard that you’re filming every take twice...]

Kyler Earnshaw was meeting face to face with the head of TW’s film division.

For a company the size of Work Brothers, dozens of projects were being developed and filmed simultaneously, from the planning stages onward. For the executive overseeing the entire film division, there was usually little reason to meet individual directors except during contract negotiations or internal screenings.

Of course, that was excluding major films that could determine the division’s yearly performance.

[If it’s because of the budget, the actors have been performing so well that there are almost no NGs, so I don’t think we’ll go over budget.]

[That isn’t the issue. You know TW is currently concentrating considerable resources on mimicry. It’s not a matter of money. It’s a matter of time and energy. Rather than spreading the set’s energy on something unnecessary, it would be better to focus it...]

At first, the company had not shown this much interest.

When TW announced that it would use film production as a way to promote the broadcasting company it had acquired through the merger, there had been considerable complaints within the film division.

However, Casting Vote became an unprecedented success.

More importantly, the casting had been excellent.

Aside from one unnecessary unknown actress being inserted as the female lead.

Therefore, taking any more unnecessary risks was out of the question.

[Something unnecessary... you say.]

[Please don’t take it the wrong way. This is a business, after all. And from the rumors I’ve been hearing, our lead actor is apparently performing as if he’s possessed by the god of acting. Once you get into editing, Director, you won’t be able to resist using those shots. If that’s the case, it’s better to focus from the beginning.]

Not rumors.

They probably had someone planted on set.

[What if it isn’t unnecessary?]

Kyler took a tape out from inside his coat.

It was the footage of As and Hetty’s first meeting scene.

[Watch this.]

[...?]

After the playback ended, the executive remained silent for a long time.

Naturally.

Kyler recalled his conversation with Yu Myeong that day.

Hetty exists outside the boundaries of the information As has collected. That’s why As let his guard down. He forgot the camouflage he had always worn except when he was very young after hearing Hetty’s music.

...Good. The overwhelming presence that would make Hetty’s body tremble automatically was excellent. That matched the atmosphere As had when he first revealed his true form in Scene 2. But after that... how did you do it?

Erhi had carefully added her thoughts from beside him.

She said that after feeling an overwhelming sense of intimidation to the point of exhaustion, she suddenly felt inexplicably comfortable.

Then Yu Myeong had answered.

He was mimicking Hetty.

??

A human who was much weaker in energy than an ordinary person, someone who would not stand out. He adjusted his appearance to match her energy level.

?!

For a moment, Kyler could not understand.

Camouflage was nothing more than a cinematic concept he had created.

There should not be any human being capable of actually doing it.

And yet...

In that two shot, Erhi was not fading into the background as she always did.

She was not being overwhelmed by As’s presence.

I had planned to show the difference in their presence becoming smaller as they grew closer, but I thought it would be impossible to achieve in a two shot... so I was going to use cross cutting and visual adjustments instead...

Just how far did his acting ability reach?

The shock Kyler had felt at that moment was now reflected exactly on the executive’s face.

[This is the unedited footage.]

At those words, the executive’s narrow eyes widened until they were almost the size of buttonholes.

[Then even more... we can’t give up on this footage.]

[There is a strategy.]

The meeting in the executive’s office continued for a long time that day.

 The world moved slowly, but time on a film set passed quickly.

And time inside the movie passed even faster.

Three weeks became half a year within the film.

During that time, As devoted himself to Hetty, an existence he could not analyze.

He carefully listened to her piano performances and wondered why this irregular yet beautiful sound was dismissed as ordinary by other humans.

Hetty’s daily life became much more eventful than before.

Some students who envied As, the most popular student in school, following Hetty around began to harass her.

This... you got hurt because of me, right?

Not because of you. Because of those idiots. I’m fine. I’m not stupid enough to mistake who did something wrong, and I’m not so timid that I’d push away my first audience over something like this.

Hetty calmly dismissed his concern despite the injury on her face.

She lightly tapped As’s shoulder as if comforting him.

The shoulder of As, who had mimicked a “worried expression.”

For the first time, a “different emotion” appeared on As’s face.

Even though he had never actually worried about her, his heart rippled as if he had truly been comforted.

Like a child who was not hurt at all, but began feeling pain and tearing up the moment someone asked, “Are you hurt?”

Again... something I cannot analyze...

According to As’s “human analysis,” this was not the moment when she should have been comforting him.

Yet she looked down at As, who sat there with an unwavering gaze.

Rather, she seemed worried that he might concern himself over it.

Why is she different from other humans?

Parents who feared him.

An older sister who obsessed over him.

His mind repeatedly calculated and recalculated.

He had judged that human nature was being captivated by appearances they liked, then quickly turning away the moment something no longer suited their preferences.

I want to know more... about her. To do that...

He reached out and took Hetty’s trembling hand.

Startled, Hetty and As’s eyes met.

Their gazes remained fixed on each other for a long time.

[Cut. Good work.]

[Good work!]

This was the final scene of the first thirty minutes covering As’s high school years.

As and Hetty, as if they had stepped straight out of the script, had carried out the scenes with almost no NGs.

The concerns about Erhi’s acting ability at the beginning had also gradually turned into recognition.

Hetty, who seemed like an extra when surrounded by other actors, somehow fit naturally into two shots whenever she stood beside As.

That guy is deliberately adjusting his presence so Erhi doesn’t get overshadowed...

Only Miho and Yu Myeong knew the truth.

[Checking complete. We’ll prepare for Alter B shooting!]

The final Alter B shoot.

After the high school portion ended, As’s point of view shots would come to a complete end.

The cinematographer watching the last cut of the final scene felt absurdly disappointed.

I was certain that using shots of As directly would be better...

The 30 minute trailer strategy.

When he first heard about it, he had thought it was ridiculous.

We’ll expose the first thirty minutes of the film like a trailer. But with the narration turned off.

Wait, a quarter of the movie is being revealed. Who would pay money to watch it?!

People who want to know what As is thinking.

The trailer footage would show As exactly as he appeared during high school.

A boy who was captivating to anyone who saw him.

The entire process of him laughing, talking, being loved by others, meeting Hetty, and becoming close with her.

But his subtle inner thoughts, the one thing that made him different from other people, would not be revealed.

But... I want to know. I want to know so badly it’s driving me crazy!

The cinematographer’s thoughts had completely changed over those three weeks.

After finishing Alter A, while designing the point of view shots, he found himself obsessing over what thoughts had created that expression on As’s face earlier.

From the perspective of that captivating yet ominous figure, he wanted to know how the world looked.

He wanted to imagine what thoughts As would have in this situation and what voice he would use to speak them.

Even though he was someone who knew the entire screenplay perfectly.

That’s how subtle the expressions As slips in here and there are.

Expressions and movements that seemed familiar, yet drew people in every time they appeared.

By now, all the female staff on set were so captivated by As that they hesitated to even run errands during his shooting times.

Yet whenever nobody was looking, or whenever Hetty showed an unexpected side of herself, strange expressions emerged through tiny cracks in his shell.

And there’s another reason we absolutely need to use point of view shots.

Thinking about that reason, the cinematographer moistened his dry lips.

 Yu Seok was flipping through magazines placed in the waiting room of a company.

<The Sponsorship Scandal Grows, Actor Y Keeps His Mouth Shut>

<The Yu Myeong Bubble Theory: “A Skill That Only Works Among Amateurs”>

<An “Audition Specialist” Actor With No Proper Works Yet Turns Into a Judge?>

<George Housley vs. Kyler Earnshaw, Owen Whitfield vs. Yu Myeong>

<An Asian “Hollywood Dream” Collides With Owen Whitfield and Falls Apart?>

Yu Seok’s lips pressed tightly into a straight line.

After Hollywood Week raised the sponsorship allegations, gossip magazines were becoming increasingly aggressive with their baseless articles.

He had thought the rumors would soon die down because they were nothing more than speculation.

But the fact that they had gone this far made him suspect someone was actively feeding the fire.

[Come in.]

A receptionist guided him to an internal meeting room.

When the person who entered after opening the door appeared, Yu Seok could not help but be surprised.

Nicholas Pandas himself...!

This was CRD headquarters.

The reason he had come today was to deliver profiles of actors under his agency.

From CRD’s perspective, as a giant drama production company, a business visit from the head of a new agency without any notable achievements would normally be handled by someone at the team leader level at best.

Yet one of CRD’s top three figures had personally come out to meet him.

[You’re here, President Moon. You should have contacted me first.]

[Today’s visit isn’t related to Yu Myeong. I came to deliver profiles of actors from our agency, so...]

[Whatever the reason. Are we strangers?]

He laughed casually and gestured for Yu Seok to show him the profiles.

Yu Seok pushed over a file containing around twenty profiles.

Nicholas flipped through them one by one.

[To have built a talent pool this large already... As expected, you move without hesitation.]

[We still have a long way to go.]

[This person here. He caused quite a sensation in Casting Vote, didn’t he? A Black actor with an angelic face...]

The profile he pointed to belonged to Kai Nunen.

[That’s right. He is one of our company’s promising talents.]

[Actually, there’s a project that comes to mind. It’s one of the programs entering the pilot stage next season. I’ll send you the script. If you think it suits him, let’s have a private audition.]

A private audition meant that if the actor matched the image of the role, they were essentially willing to consider casting him first.

That was one thing if it were Yu Myeong.

But Kai was not at that level yet.

For a producer to suggest this before even the director or writer had seen Kai was slightly suspicious.

An excessive favor. Is he trying to make me indebted to him with this?

[Is this... a debt?]

At Yu Seok’s direct question, Nicholas burst into laughter.

[Haha. Why would you put it that way? The final decision belongs to the director anyway. Rather than a “debt,” let’s call it a small “favor” because I want to become closer with you. Besides... you don’t seem like that type of person, President Moon. You’re overly defensive. Looking at your eye for actors and the scale of your noise marketing, I thought you were quite the capable strategist.]

Noise marketing...?

[Mimicry is something we’ve also been watching with considerable interest. The rumors coming from the set are unusual. The production is going well, but your ability to use gossip magazines to keep the buzz alive when attention might fade is impressive.]

For a moment, Yu Seok felt as if he had been struck on the head.

He had been agonizing over how to clear Yu Myeong’s name from the unfair accusations.

Yet in the eyes of someone with the same kind of strategic instincts he possessed, this was not a crisis.

It was an opportunity.

An opportunity he had created himself.

What am I doing right now...?

This was unlike him.

Perhaps he had been influenced by Yu Myeong and temporarily forgotten himself.

He held the strongest weapon in his hands.

Why had he been hesitating?

He and Yu Myeong had promised not to deceive each other because they were partners.

But there was no reason he could not deceive the world.

[Haha.]

Yu Seok hid his complicated feelings and smiled faintly as he leaned back deep into his chair.

For the first time in a while, the black steam engine inside his mind began roaring and spinning rapidly.

[Then I’ll send Kai next week.]

[Understood. As I said, I would like to become close with you, President Moon. Let’s have a drink sometime.]

[Whenever you like.]

The moment Yu Seok left CRD, he called Ho Cheol.

Click.

“Yeah, it’s me. I want to attach a paparazzo to Yu Myeong.”

[What??]

Ho Cheol’s stunned reaction came through the phone, and Yu Seok smiled.