Chapter 55: 55

Louie had displayed incredible speed and agility when rappelling down the building while fleeing the scene after committing murder but now, he looked up at the sky weakly. As he stared blankly into space, it was as if his eyes, which were void of all emotion, were reflected in the dark night sky.

Louie walked around sluggishly with his arms stretched out. He went around the corner of the building and walked through the alley before disappearing into the night. The security guards, who had not seen him, ended up running past the alley and onto the main street. Meanwhile, the sun rose slowly, filling the gaps between the buildings with its light.

A long shadow appeared before Louie as he walked with his back facing the sun. With his shadow in front of him and the shadows of the buildings behind him, Louie was buried within them. It was as if this scene was depicting his life within the shadows.

Kang Ho-Soo could not laugh nor cry after watching Woo-Jin act out the stunts. He told the lawyer who had just arrived, to wait for a moment. Even if the mood on site was good, the outcome would be different depending on how CEO Jang responded. Just then, Kang Ho-Soo had received a call from CEO Jang; he took quite a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down, to no avail.

“This is Kang Ho-Soo.”

- How did it go?

This was the follow-up phone call from CEO Jang after he had instructed Kang Ho-Soo to prevent Woo-Jin from doing the stunt at all costs, so Kang Ho-Soo shut his eyes tightly to brace himself from the backlash.

“He jumped twice, sir. The first time was during the rehearsal where he jumped over and scaled the building to the roof. The second was during the actual shoot where he jumped over and rappelled down using a tightrope. Shooting has already ended for all the scenes.”

- Judging from your voice, it seems like there were no accidents.

CEO Jang listened to Kang Ho-Soo’s explanation, but since wasn’t aware of the circumstances, he only focused on the fact that there were no accidents.

- Send it over first.

They hung up and Kang Ho-Soo sent the video he had taken to CEO Jang. In the first video, Woo-Jin had jumped off the rooftop, and the terrifying view of the ground below had been clearly captured. The second video was filmed from the ground when Kang Ho-Soo had worriedly gone down to wait for Woo-Jin. Even though Kang Ho-Soo had only used a phone to record the video, the angle at which he filmed it had perfectly captured Louie’s distant figure rappelling down the building. The actual scene that was shot with multiple cameras would definitely be one for the history books.

Production Director Park would most likely be criticized by the public for a long period of time for shooting this drama without using a stunt double. Kang Ho-Soo did not sympathize with him, because Park Jong-Hyuk himself had already expected it but still decided to proceed with it anyway. The main issue was Woo-Jin.

Since he had shot something this amazing, it would not be surprising for directors to make unreasonable demands when Woo-Jin filmed action scenes in the future. CEO Jang already knew that it was going to be troublesome. Thus, Production Director Park would have to endure even harsher criticisms and become the scapegoat to set an example to others. Other directors might not have the same level of mental fortitude as Production Director Park, and the intense backlash from this incident would keep them in line and force them to make compromises before they make unreasonable demands of Woo-Jin.

While Kang Ho-Soo was sighing repeatedly, he once again received a call from CEO Jang. By counting the minutes, it was evident that CEO Jang had been in a hurry to call him right after he had finished watching the videos.

“This is Kang H-...”

- What on earth have you been doing, you punk! Did you just stand there and record him?

Kang Ho-Soo had already prepared himself and listened silently to CEO Jang’s angry voice, which was drastically different from his prior calm demure. Even if he were to refute CEO Jang’s words, the only response he would get were curse words.

- Put Production Director Park on the line! I already knew he would do something like this, but this is just too much.

Kang Ho-See looked around, but Park Jong-Hyuk was nowhere to be seen. He had gone back up to the roof to supervise the packing up of the filming equipment.

“Please let me talk to him.” Woo-Jin suddenly approached Kang Ho-Soo and reached out his hand as he tried to talk to CEO Jang. Kang Ho-Soo silently handed the phone to Woo-Jin. He looked slightly relieved as he took a step back.

“Hello, I…”

- Hey! You shouldn’t have done that, Production Director Park. You already took one of my actors and put them through hell the last time, but what did you do this time? Descending walls? You crazy bastard! Will you only realize ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have done something like that’ after getting sued?

“I’m Chae Woo-Jin.”

- Huh? Who?

“Chae Woo-Jin.”

- …

CEO Jang who had only shown his cheerful and elegant side to Woo-Jin became speechless for a moment and coughed a couple of times.

- Ah, it’s Woo-Jin. I got a little worked up, right? Why did you do such a dangerous thing? I don’t normally say things like that, but I think you’ve done something rash this time.

“It might have been rash, but as an actor, I think I’ve made the right choice.”

- That’s what the green screen is for, and at the very least, you should have discussed it with me before doing something like that! Did Production Director Park threaten you?

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Jang Soo-Hwan tried to show his calm and graceful side to Woo-Jin, but in the end, his voice gradually got louder and louder as he was unable to hide his rage.

“Production Director Park had told me that it was okay to use a stunt double. It was his idea but I opposed it. Why would I make someone else do something that I’m capable of doing?”

- Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean that you should.

CEO Jang’s rebuttal was not wrong, so Woo-Jin tried to explain his thought process to him.

“First of all, using a green screen is convenient but awkward. Regardless of how advanced technology is, I’m not a fan of the tacky and low-quality CGI used in Korean dramas. The production director also had no intention of shooting using a green screen, and would rather use a stunt double if needed. So that’s why I said I’d do it. And the reason why I didn’t tell you about it is because you would have said no.”

- Of course, I would have said no! Who is crazy enough to make their own actor do something like that!

Despite the severity of the situation, Woo-Jin laughed after hearing what CEO Jang had said. There were several actors in this world who had shot scenes that were a lot more dangerous and harder than the one he had done today. If the actors themselves were not the CEO of their agency, that would mean that the CEO of their agencies were all crazy people.

“I’m well-aware of what you’re worried about, but sometimes I feel like we are your pretty dolls that are kept in your dollhouse for you to display and admire.”

- I…

Jang Soo-Hwan wanted to refute Woo-Jin’s words, but he was unable to. The artists in DS matched his tastes, be it in looks or talents. Thus, CEO Jang couldn’t help but to treat them dearly. He had given them the best environment and honor under one condition – they had to always comply with his strict requirements. That was because he did not want his favorite artists to be screwed over or be in danger.

“I didn’t become an actor who would play safe and use a stunt double to execute the things I’m able to do myself. In the future, I plan to personally do stunts that are more difficult than this, if it’s within my means. I will do my best to act out all the roles that I’ll choose perfectly. That’s what an actor is. I didn’t start acting to play it safe and look graceful.”

Jang Soo-Hwan felt as though someone had struck him on the head. That was because what Woo-Jin had said was very similar to his ideal definition of an actor. He used to call actors who weighed the pros and cons of everything they had to do terrible. However, when it came to his cherished actors, he could not make rational decisions. This was not the first time he had a desire to protect an artist and prevented them from making the choices that they wanted to make.

When Woo-Jin was signing his contract with DS, he had emphasized that he wanted the freedom of choice in production and role, and added a clause indicating that no interference of any kind when it came to acting would be allowed. At that time, Woo-jin had a brief debate about it with CEO Jang Soo-Hwan. Ultimately, CEO Jang had accepted Woo-Jin’s demands because he was confident that he would be able to convince Woo-Jin, who was still in his early twenties.

Regardless of what was written in the contract, if CEO Jang Soo-Hwan said no, most of the artists would simply accept it. Nobody could go against his will. Jang Soo-Hwan was certain that Woo-Jin would have listened to him too. Jang Soo-Hwan’s influence was just that great, even if he took out his status as CEO. Of course, there were also people who were not afraid of him, and one of them was Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk.

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This time, Woo-Jin had made a reckless decision and had gone through with it. This was only possible because Park Jong-Hyuk was supporting him. Park Jong-Hyuk was not worried about the consequences. It might be a different story after the drama was over, but Park Jong-Hyuk was well-aware of the fact that CEO Jang would not take any legal action against him before the drama had even started because Jang Soo-Hwan was not someone who would engage in anything that might come across as buzz marketing.

After the drama wrapped up filming, Park Jong-Hyuk was willing to accept any consequences from Jang Soo-Hwan. He was someone who had nothing to fear, because he had experienced something similar many times before. Jang Soo-Hwan knew Park Jong-Hyuk as much as the latter knew him.

More importantly, Park Jong-Hyuk had clearly suggested to Woo-Jin to use a stunt double if he didn’t want to film the scene, but Woo-Jin was the one who had rejected his suggestion. When Jang Soo-Hwan thought about this, he cursed at him, calling him a rat. Park Jong-Hyuk was always well-prepared and armed with loopholes.

In terms of legal issues, Woo-Jin had made the grave mistake of acting independently without notifying his agency. However, he could not be held responsible for it because of the clause he had added to his contract with his agency. Clearly, Woo-Jin must have already thought things true.

Jang Soo-Hwan had been mocking TM's CEO, but something similar had happened to him. Jang Soo-Hwan had finally realized that he himself had made the same foolish mistake. He had subconsciously treated the docile and pure-looking Chae Woo-Jin like the other young men in his age group. In other words, he saw him as a young naive boy.

In hindsight, Woo-Jin had been looking for a fence to protect himself from TM, rather than an agency. It also seemed as though he had thoroughly researched the environment of the agency and prepared himself before entering the ‘fence’, such as the personality and behavior of CEO Jang Su-Hwan around his actors.

It was clear that he had provided great support to his artists, but it seemed like Woo-Jin did not want to compromise on the arrogant and inflexible aspect of Jang Soo-Hwan, who was similar to Heungseon Daewongun, who had refused to establish diplomatic relations, like what he had done today.

- Are you saying that you did the right thing?

Woo-Jin answered CEO Jang’s question, which sounded much calmer than the first time around, with the same look on his face.

“I’m not saying that I did the right thing, it’s just that I am not ashamed of what I did. If I gave up on shooting the scene out of consideration towards you, it would have been disgraceful of me.”

- It might have gone smoothly today, but there’s no guarantee that you won’t make a mistake in the future.

“I’m not foolish enough to do something that I have no control over. Today’s stunts were truly doable.” The tone of his voice as he grumbled a little was full of youthful exuberance that people his age had. That was the reason why Jang Soo-Hwan kept getting deceived. Even though Woo-Jin was not as naive and innocent as he seemed, Jang Soo-Hwan was still deceived by his appearance and innocent smile. Just like right now.

- As you wish, I will not blindly oppose your decisions in the future. However, bear in mind that this should also be your last time recklessly doing whatever you please. Regardless of how much you want to follow your heart and act like what you’ve stated in the contract, I still have a responsibility and an obligation to protect you.

CEO Jang could not compromise anymore, and Woo-Jin did not argue with him. What Woo-Jin accomplished today would be a stepping stone to his future challenges, and it was not meant to be the start of a feud with CEO Jang.

- However, we will have more problems to worry about in the future. Because of your actions today, I feel horrible just imagining what the other directors will demand from you in the future. I’m not stopping you because it’s dangerous, I’m trying to tell you to take good care of yourself!

CEO Jang shared the same concerns as Kang Ho-Soo. Since filming had already been completed, there was nothing they could do about it. What was most important right now was what would happen in the future.

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