On the day of the 「White Blood」 script reading, Amy, who lived in Canada on the other side of the world, stopped in front of her locker as soon as she arrived at school, surrounded by a few friends.
“Amy! Do you know this guy? Is he famous in Korea?”
“Look at this. It’s still low in the rankings, but it’s really fun.”
Closing her green locker in the hallway, Amy looked at the tablet PC her friends were holding out. The screen displayed a Korean movie that had been distributed on Netflix.
Looking at the page titled 「Master Plan」, she tilted her head.
“Hmm, I don’t know. You guys always ask me about Korean stuff, but I can’t even speak Korean.”
Amy had been adopted to Canada at an age she couldn’t even remember and had grown up as a Canadian her entire life. Every time her friends asked her about Korea, she felt a strange emotion. She didn’t have any patriotic feelings towards Korea, so it wasn’t exactly a pleasant feeling, just a curious one.
“By the way, why are you asking about a movie?”
“We were bored at Christine’s house yesterday and watched it. It was really fun.”
Judging by the screen, it wasn’t just the fun that had them excited. They were clearly interested in the male actor with idol-like looks on the main screen. Usually, when Amy’s friends came to her, they mostly talked about K-POP content. Now, her friends could even stammer out Korean slang that Amy herself barely understood. While it wasn’t mainstream yet, she could feel that more of her friends had become interested in Korea since entering high school.
“Really? Hmm, now that I look at it, I think I’ve seen this actor somewhere before.”
“Really? His name is written as ‘Yeonu Ryu’.”
Hearing the name and looking at the spelling on the screen, Amy couldn’t help but chuckle. Her friends’ pronunciation made it hard to tell what nationality he was supposed to be.
“It’s probably not ‘Ryu’. It’s ‘Ryu Yeon-woo’ in Korean.”
“Ryu Yeon-woo?”
Saying the name out loud, Amy remembered where she had seen him.
“I saw him in a movie called 「Sketch」. You know, my dad is a film buff. We watched it together because it won the Golden Bear.”
“Golden Bear? What’s that?”
In general, English-speaking countries don’t pay much attention to foreign films or film festivals, so Amy felt at a loss on how to explain.
“It’s something like the Academy Awards.”
“Wow! Then he must be a famous actor. I’ll recommend it to the others too. Watching with subtitles was a bit awkward, but the movie was really good.”
Amy also thought 「Sketch」 was quite interesting, partly because the protagonist had a background as an adopted child, just like her.
“Hmm, you said the title was 「Master Plan」, right? Maybe I’ll watch it too…”
While Yeon-woo had expressed his ambition to reach number one on Netflix through 「White Blood」, unbeknownst to him, his entry into Netflix was already making progress on the other side of the world.
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The script reading that had continued until the previous evening had concluded successfully. Director Hwang seemed to have a good eye for actors, as the supporting cast members were all highly skilled.
“Phew… I think I’m working out more than when I was active.”
Recalling the previous day, Yeon-woo panted while doing weights. With a small training room set up in his duplex, he could manage his body more comfortably than when he lived in an officetel.
“It’s thanks to having a house that’s too spacious for one person.”
Since 「White Blood」 had a lot of action scenes, Yeon-woo had been working out more rigorously than usual to prepare. In terms of exercise intensity, it felt even more demanding than his days as an agent.
Just then, his phone rang. Pausing his workout, he looked at the smartphone screen to see an unknown number.
“Hello, this is Yeon-woo.”
A young man’s voice came from the other end of the line.
[Ah, hello, Representative Mr. Ryu Yeon-woo. This is Mark Choi, the East Asia representative from Innover Weinstein.]
Innover Weinstein. They were the professional distribution company handling the overseas sales of 「Sketch」.
‘It’s the first time someone has called me “Mr. Representative.”‘
Given that they addressed him as a representative rather than an actor, it seemed they were calling him in his capacity as an investor.
“Nice to meet you. What can I do for you?”
[It’s about the overseas settlement for the movie 「Sketch」…]
After a lengthy conversation, Yeon-woo put down his smartphone. The gist of the call was to inform him about the distribution of overseas earnings.
‘Investing in movies can yield tremendous returns once you hit the mark.’
It was difficult to achieve such high returns on investment compared to labor income or even financial income unless it was a gamble. The dividends from overseas earnings were about twice the amount he had received from domestic earnings.
Yeon-woo stepped out of the training room and leaned against the railing of the duplex, looking around his house. It was still a large house he wasn’t quite used to.
‘I started this just to fulfill a dream I couldn’t achieve in my past life…’
Acting had a stronger influence than he had anticipated. Not only financially, but also in terms of public interest, as articles about him were constantly appearing online. After the script reading revealed the surprise lineup, many fans were eagerly anticipating 「White Blood」.
He picked up his smartphone and opened the portal site app. As expected, articles about him were prominently featured in the entertainment section.
─Ryu Yeon-woo’s next project announced! 「White Blood」 to be distributed via Netflix…
─Next year’s major releases! The highlight is 「White Blood」 among three other works…
─The comments reflected the public’s high expectations for Yeon-woo.
─conan05**: Finally, a new release from Yeon-woo-god! Time to start gathering hints.
─aemo**: What kind of genre is medical action fantasy? I can’t even imagine the plot.
└ sa90: About reincarnating as a military doctor in a fantasy battlefield.
└ imp05: Is this how light novels are infiltrating?
─dongwon**: Fantasy in our country is going to be cringeworthy, no doubt.
└ hyoda: But if the protagonist is Nokyong-jwa, it’s different.
└ dongwon: Honestly, I’m kind of looking forward to it because of that.
─junehee03**: It’s not too late, everyone. Click on the name tag and join the Wooz fan club now…(more)
As Yeon-woo was checking the articles and comments, his phone screen showed an incoming call.
“Yes, Min-soo hyung. I’ll change and come down.”
Sure. Take your time; we still have some leeway.
Ending the call, he went downstairs and quickly changed into his training clothes.
‘Time flies.’
After getting ready, he went down and got into the car, where Kim Min-soo handed him a coffee.
“I got you an iced Americano.”
“Thank you.”
Having rushed down after working out, he was quite thirsty. A sip of coffee seemed to revive his energy.
“The martial arts director mentioned that today’s rehearsal would be quite intense.”
“Really?”
“He was asking about your condition.”
“I’m always in good shape. If it’s the martial arts director…”
Before officially starting the shoot, they decided to rehearse the action scenes that needed to be filmed first.
“I heard Director Do Kwang-wook, who handled the action for 「Stars Beyond the River」, will be coming.”
“Ah, it’s been a while since I last saw him.”
Yeon-woo recalled Director Hwang Min-kwon, who had been excitedly talking about hiring only the best in the industry.
‘Director Do is indeed one of the best in the industry.’
Their previous collaboration on the historical drama 「Stars Beyond the River」 had received rave reviews online for its top-notch action sequences. However, during that shoot, no one had asked about his condition, indicating that the action scenes for 「White Blood」 must be particularly challenging.
Upon arriving at the set in Paju, Yeon-woo entered Building C, where today’s rehearsal and practice would take place. The staff were still bustling around.
“Director.”
“Oh! Actor Ryu!”
Director Hwang, who was directing various tasks in the middle of the set, greeted Yeon-woo warmly. When they first met, he had seemed like a clueless third-rate director, but now that he was starting his own project, he seemed to have grown into his role.
“We’re finally starting. Hehehe.”
…Or maybe not. Seeing him laugh foolishly, he seemed just like the person Yeon-woo had first met. However, his passion for his work was undeniable.
“Now, where did Director Do go?”
“Oh, he’s coming over there.”
Yeon-woo spotted Director Do approaching from a distance.
“Oh! Yeon-woo, it’s been a while.”
“Yes, it’s been over a year, hasn’t it?”
The action scenes for 「Stars Beyond the River」 had wrapped up last summer.
‘Time sure flies.’
As Director Do extended his hand for a handshake, he spoke with a hint of complaint.
“By the way, you should have visited during your break after the shoot. It would have been nice to spar lightly.”
Seeing the genuine regret on Director Do’s face, Yeon-woo scratched his head and replied.
“Yeah, I was quite busy. Right after the movie shoot, I went back to school…”
“Congratulations on your award, by the way.”
“Thank you. By the way, is today’s action scene so difficult that you had to ask about my condition?”
When Yeon-woo asked, Director Do glanced at Director Hwang with a troubled expression.
“The level Director Hwang is asking for is so high that we had to match it…”
“Ahem, ahem…”
Director Hwang quickly looked away, pretending to be interested in something else. Yeon-woo smiled slightly and spoke up.
“It’s okay. I’m quite confident in my action skills.”
Director Do nodded, knowing from their previous collaboration that Yeon-woo’s words were neither boastful nor naive.
“Then I’ll explain and demonstrate right away.”
On the green chroma key set, white lines were intricately tangled like a spider’s web. Director Do began moving frantically, explaining and demonstrating the action sequences.
“Here! Huff. Move to point 3, then again… Huff!”
He rolled to the side, got up, swung a sword, deflected a flying gray cylindrical rod with his arm, and continued moving frantically in another direction. Since all the objects in the chroma key set would be covered with CG, it was crucial to reach the exact points at the right times while performing the actions.
After demonstrating the action sequence for quite some time, Do Kwang-wook paused, panting heavily.
“Phew, that’s one scene. Ideally, we’d shoot it in one take without any cuts.”
Hesitating, Director Do continued.
“…Honestly, that’s probably impossible. But the fewer cuts we make, the better the scene will look.”
Even the martial arts director himself thought it was unrealistic to execute such a complex sequence in a short time. Seeing Yeon-woo’s expression, which seemed slightly incredulous, Do Kwang-wook internally cursed Director Hwang.
‘It might be too much… Sure, it would look cool, but we need to be realistic. Why does Director Hwang always want such high difficulty?’
Meanwhile, Yeon-woo’s incredulous expression was due to a completely different reason.
‘This is just like CQC tactical training.’
CQC (Close Quarters Combat) is a tactical system developed for fighting enemies within 30 meters, combining situational judgment, weapon skills, and close-quarters shooting techniques. CQC tactical training is one of the most common types of training agents receive to prepare for various urban combat scenarios, starting from VIP protection.
In combat situations, agents undergo training to perform complex movements accurately and timely to increase survival and mission success rates. In his previous life, Yeon-woo had even served as an instructor for this training while working in the domestic department.
Seeing Yeon-woo’s incredulous expression, Do Kwang-wook scratched his head and spoke up.
“Isn’t it too tough? I did prepare a simplified version…”
“No.”
Yeon-woo smiled broadly.
“This sounds like fun.”