TBM Vol 2 Part 11

After repeatedly turning off the alarm and postponing getting up several times, Lee Il-seo finally rose when it seemed he would be late if he didn’t wash now, and left a message to Choi Kyung-hyun saying he was up. Seeing the reply that Choi Kyung-hyun would have come to wake him if he’d been a little later,  Lee Il-seo massaged the back of his neck with a bitter expression.

Was this punishment for lying to Choi Kyung-hyun about the diet meal? If today’s filming hadn’t started in the afternoon, his body would have been so heavy he might have missed it entirely. Both washing and dressing felt like lifting tons, and his dawdling eventually made Choi Kyung-hyun wait for 10 minutes in the alley.

“You’re here. How are you feeling?”

Choi Kyung-hyun, who had been standing outside the car, immediately checked on Lee Il-seo’s condition.

“I’m fine.”

“Fine, my foot. You look terrible.”

Avoiding eye contact due to a guilty conscience, Lee Il-seo got into the car first. Choi Kyung-hyun, getting into the driver’s seat, complained while fastening his seatbelt.

“I should ask Uncle Jin-hong to make you some medicinal herbs.”

“Come on, please don’t.”

“How are you going to manage being so weak? Your schedule will only get busier once the drama airs.”

A busier schedule… Having never experienced it, he wasn’t worried at all. He could only think about how great it would be to be busier.

“I’ll take care of my health myself. Thanks for your concern.”

Lee Il-seo deliberately raised his voice to ease the concerns of the kind Choi Kyung-hyun. Choi Kyung-hyun was about to say something more but held back, thinking it would just be nagging, and started driving. Today’s set was different from their usual filming location. It was closer to Seoul, which was good. He reviewed the script while having a light meal with the sandwich Choi Kyung-hyun had brought.

‘I’m not feeling well.’

He silently touched his head. It was strange that the fever hadn’t subsided for some time now. He hadn’t gotten tired this quickly even when doing much harder work. Was his body strained because of having sex after so long? At that moment, Sa Seung-yeon’s face flashed in his mind, and his heart thumped loudly.

‘Focus. Please.’

With faintly blushed cheeks,  Lee Il-seo frowned and turned a page of the script.

Today’s scene was part of the climax of the drama. At the moment when the conflict between Jang Tae-hyun and Haru escalates because they can’t contain their confused feelings for each other, Haru gets kidnapped. And despite knowing it’s obviously a trap, Tae-hyun follows Haru without hesitation.

It was an important scene where Haru, seeing Tae-hyun rescue him at the risk of danger, shows his emotional settlement for the first time. At first, when being kidnapped, there was an action scene (although it was a scene where he just gets beaten one-sidedly) that required coordination with the other actor, and afterward, he just needed to open his eyes while tied up on an open construction site.

After the kidnapping, he just had to sit still, which seemed much easier than moving around and delivering lines. It was fortunate, given his poor physical condition.

Slowly practicing his lines, Lee Il-seo briefly fell asleep thanks to Choi Kyung-hyun’s smooth driving.

When the sound of labored breathing reached Choi Kyung-hyun’s ear, He quietly checked the rearview mirror. As the car momentarily stopped, Choi Kyung-hyun turned to look at  Lee Il-seo.

 Lee Il-seo was sleeping uncomfortably with his head against the car window, script still in hand. As expected, he had barely eaten half of the prepared sandwich before covering it with wrapping paper again. Choi Kyung-hyun’s brow slightly furrowed.

At first,  Lee Il-seo had focused on weight loss by managing his diet and exercise, but lately, he didn’t seem to be particularly managing his diet. He ate food from the meal truck when it came, and lunch boxes sent by actor fans when they arrived.

The important thing was that it was visible that he wasn’t ‘not eating’ a full portion person, but rather a ‘couldn’t finish’ eating it person. He was continuing to lose weight despite not being on a diet.

Whether the knife injury and surgery had a big impact or not, Choi Kyung-hyun wasn’t sure, but after recently visiting the emergency room for panic symptoms,  Lee Il-seo hadn’t been able to regain his strength. These concerns of Choi Kyung-hyun intensified after receiving a text from  Lee Il-seo’s personal trainer. The message, which began with ‘Manager, is Actor Lee Il-seo unwell?’, meticulously reported on  Lee Il-seo’s physical condition.

“His body fat is dropping too quickly. When I asked if he was deliberately losing it, he said yes. But it’s reaching a level that’s not good for his health. He can’t lift beyond a certain weight anymore.”

“I’ll ask  Lee Il-seo about it.”

“Yes. He’s also continuously losing muscle, so I think it’s better to switch from weight training to endurance exercises.”

“Understood.”

Even though he kept insisting he was fine whenever asked if he was ill, Choi Kyung-hyun felt so frustrated he could scream. Normally,  Lee Il-seo would have gone for a run along Tancheon when morning filming was canceled, but seeing him just sleeping constantly and then walking out weakly made Choi Kyung-hyun almost angry.

Looking sympathetically at  Lee Il-seo sleeping in a slumped position, Choi Kyung-hyun drove even more smoothly to avoid waking him. They soon arrived at the filming location, and  Lee Il-seo got out of the car with a dazed expression, smacking his lips and stretching.

 Lee Il-seo had his eyes closed while his makeup was being touched up. Suddenly, something ice-cold touched his forearm. Shuddering, he opened his eyes to find Park Jae-ho standing with one leg crossed, smiling brightly as he offered an iced coffee.  Lee Il-seo’s eyes widened with delight.

“What brings you here? Wasn’t your part over?”

“The script was revised. You get kidnapped by me now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. The writer called me not long ago.”

He explained that the director, noticing Park Jae-ho’s strong presence on screen despite his special appearance, had discussed with the writer to increase his scenes. The script was revised to make Haru’s kidnappers part of Park Jae-ho’s gang, consequently delaying his departure from the show.

“Here’s the revised script; the director asked me to give it to you. My action scenes with Jang Tae-hyun have increased, but not much has changed for you.”

 Lee Il-seo examined the script Park Jae-ho handed him. Indeed, Haru’s lines hadn’t changed much. Only the kidnapping process was slightly altered with Park Jae-ho’s appearance.

“Han Sang-jo ties up Haru and puts him in the trunk. The trunk lid closes over the injured Haru, dissolving the scene.”

“[S4. Road]

Han Sang-jo’s silver sedan speeds along, pursued by Jang Tae-hyun’s black sedan. Both cars already appear damaged and battered. Jang Tae-hyun rams the back of the silver sedan without any change in expression, and Han Sang-jo momentarily curses before smirking. Haru groans in the darkness, and the scene alternates between the two cars in their intense chase…”

 Lee Il-seo’s eyes trembled faintly as he calmly read through the script.

“I’ll go get ready for makeup. See you later.”

“Oh… Okay.”

 Lee Il-seo stared vacantly at the space Park Jae-ho had left before looking back at the script. Between the kidnapping and the scene where Haru regains consciousness in the vacant lot, a scene had been added showing Haru losing consciousness in the trunk. It seemed this change was made to incorporate the car action scenes between Sa Seung-yeon and Park Jae-ho.

Growing concerned,  Lee Il-seo bit his lip, prompting a makeup artist to quietly whisper that he shouldn’t do that and quickly dabbed his lips with a sponge. His complexion was already poor, and with his lips now whitened, he looked distinctly unwell.

” Lee Il-seo, if you’re ready, they want you to come out!”

The cheerful voice of the youngest assistant director came from beyond the temporary makeup room made of blue tarpaulin.

As he stepped outside, a cold wind immediately swept through. Choi Kyung-hyun, noticing  Lee Il-seo shivering slightly with his eyes tightly shut, draped a thick cardigan over his shoulders. Putting his arms through the cardigan,  Lee Il-seo shifted his gaze to the filming area. Under the bright lights, he caught a glimpse of Sa Seung-yeon filming.

Sa Seung-yeon, exchanging lines with another actor with a serious expression, ran his hand through his hair and muttered a curse. It was a scene where Jang Tae-hyun was angry. Perhaps due to the lighting, the tense line of his jaw stood out particularly vividly.

For a moment,  Lee Il-seo recalled how Sa Seung-yeon had clenched his jaw yesterday, trying to hold back his climax. His ears burning,  Lee Il-seo repeatedly fanned himself with the bundle of scripts he was holding. Choi Kyung-hyun tilted his head toward  Lee Il-seo and asked:

“Are you hot? Want to take it off?”

“No, it’s alright.”

 Lee Il-seo quickly turned away from Sa Seung-yeon and waved his hand dismissively. Just then, the action director, spotting  Lee Il-seo outside the waiting room, raised his hand to call him over.

After rushing over with quick steps to greet the director, the supporting actor standing beside him bowed to  Lee Il-seo first.  Lee Il-seo extended his hand for a handshake, and the action director briefly introduced him.

“This is an actor from our action school. He mainly does stunt work, but he’s continuing in act as well.”

“Hello, I’m Lee Il-seo.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Ah, your name is…?”

“Me? I’m Lee Geun-soo.”

“Yes, Mr. Geun-soo, pleased to meet you.”

He couldn’t express how happy and proud he felt on days when an actor would call him by name during supporting role shoots. At such times, he would put more effort into filming, and the results were more satisfying. Remembering this, his greeting was met with an even brighter smile from the other actor, creating a positive atmosphere.

“Here, when you’re running down this alley, you’ll meet. When this guy extends his arm, you dodge downward and…”

“Mr. Geun-soo will be coming from this side?”

“That’s right.”

Following the action director’s instructions,  Lee Il-seo and Lee Geun-soo coordinated their moves. Lee Geun-soo was playing the role of a thug kidnapping Haru.  Lee Il-seo needed to flee from him as he was threatened with a knife, then get caught and pass out after his nose and mouth were covered with a cloth soaked in anesthetic.

“Here, your arm gets cut once, so when Geun-soo extends his arm, twist your body like this and take the knife hit.”

“Yes, like this.”

“Wow, experience really does make a difference. Your reaction is definitely different.”

 Lee Il-seo, who had been moving with a serious expression throughout, suddenly burst out laughing. It was a joke about the previous stalker incident. Lee Geun-soo, slow to understand, blinked before letting out a short sigh.

“Ah, I saw the news article too.”

Not long after the eyewitness account spread about Sa Seung-yeon rushing into the emergency room with blood on his clothes, related articles sprouted up everywhere. The problem was that the information wasn’t accurate, and the eyewitness account spread online in a distorted state. An article claiming that Sa Seung-yeon was seriously injured during the filming of Director Chae Geum-soo’s new work and taken to the emergency room topped the entertainment news, leading to criticism of dangerous filming conditions.

Eventually, Director Chae clarified that the injured person wasn’t Sa Seung-yeon but actor Lee Il-seo, and that it was due to a stalker who had trespassed onto the filming location. This quickly quieted public opinion. Articles about  Lee Il-seo throwing himself to catch the stalker briefly appeared, but the response was less than expected, naturally dwindling as fans who thought Sa Seung-yeon was injured lost interest.

“Are you okay now? Is there anything I should be careful about?”

In response to this diligent question befitting an action actor,  Lee Il-seo smiled brightly with crescent-shaped eyes.

“I’m fine. I’ve fully recovered.”

“Shall we go rehearse then?”

 Lee Il-seo nodded at the action director’s question and moved to a different spot. His gaze, sweeping across the filming area, naturally settled on Sa Seung-yeon. Still filming, he was shooting a scene where he frantically searched for traces of Haru.

“Okay, five-minute break, and then we’ll move to the next shot.”

“Set up!”

An okay sign came down without a single NG, and Sa Seung-yeon immediately walked over to the camera, bent down, and began monitoring.  Lee Il-seo had hoped to at least exchange a glance, but Sa Seung-yeon was speaking to Director Chae with a serious face, so he had no choice but to turn away.

 Lee Il-seo had arrived at the filming location before Sa Seung-yeon, and while he was getting his makeup done, Sa Seung-yeon had arrived. Now, Sa Seung-yeon’s shots were being filmed, repeatedly missing the right timing to greet him. It would have been better if he had greeted him brightly as soon as he arrived at work, but after continuously missing each other, he felt awkward about how to greet him later.

” Lee Il-seo, what are you doing!”

The action director called out to  Lee Il-seo, who was lost in thought. Looking up,  Lee Il-seo moved with quick steps toward the alley.