Rebirth: King to Superstar

Chapter 148 - Improvisation

SUPPORT ME!!

If you want to support this poor author, you can donate to me. Help me by providing some energy to churn some chapters out. Of course, it's not compulsory, but if you do, it makes my day. Thanks if you did.

https://ko-fi.com/cruchymonster36912

********************************

Joon-won looked around and saw everyone in the set getting ready. He was already prepared with his make-up and costume, just waiting for the director's cue at this point. So, he just read the script once again before closing his eyes to imagine the entire scene. But as he did that, he heard someone call from him and opened his eyes. 

Opening his eyes, he saw a rough-looking middle-aged man smiling at him.. Joon-won stood up and asked, "Yes, I'm sorry. But were you calling for me?" 

The middle-aged man nodded and said with the same smile still on his face, "Yes, that is if you are Kim Joon-won. Nice to meet you. I'm the actor who is going to play one of the kidnapper roles today." Extending his hand. 

Joon-won went in for the handshake, and as he did, he immediately knew who the guy in front of him was. It was the guy who was going to threaten him during the scene. He was not only 'one of the kidnappers' but rather the right hand of the villain. 

"Nice to meet you. Please take care of me." 

The middle-aged man laughed hearing him and said, "I just wanted to see the guy who made the director ask for a complete reshoot and even made me get a few lines in the scene. You got to be special. I look forward to acting with you." 

Joon-won also nodded and said with a smile, "The feeling is mutual." With that small interaction, the middle-aged guy walked away without even telling his name once. But, of course, Joon-won didn't mind it and just continued with his work until the director called him. When he went there, he also saw the middle-aged man with the director.

"Ah, Joon-won. Now that you are here let's talk about the scene. I want to finish this small scene in one shoot. But, unfortunately, I had to squeeze this shoot in late at night, and we don't know if we can get the shop owner to give us the place even with money. So we don't have time for many tries. So let's get over this quickly and go back to sleep." Both of them nodded and went to their own spots. Joon-won sat behind the counter and waited for the director to start.

Soon he heard the director shout and closed his eyes to get ready.

"ALRIGHT, LET'S GET OVER THIS AND GO BACK. READY! SET! AND ACTION!" 

**********************************

The shop owner pretty much did nothing like always. Sitting behind the counter, he looked out and sighed before telling himself, "It's empty like always. The government just promised us to develop this place, but it looks like we became fools once again." But this thought only lasted a single second as he quickly watched his favorite show on his phone. This was his daily work, open the shop and watch shows on his phone.

As he watched his show, he heard something he didn't hear for a very long time in the streets, it was a car. He looked up to see a black van abruptly stopping before people got out and ran out of it. The shop owner was obviously perplexed. The streets were always empty and so seeing this car was a genuine surprise for him. 

So he simply continued to look at the car, and as he did, he couldn't help but notice the black tire marks on the road before mumbling to himself, "It must be some young punks, don't even know how to drive properly." 

But as he finished mumbling, he saw something which opened his eyes wide. The people who just ran out were back, but with them was a woman. They were holding the woman who seemed to be unconscious and pushed her inside. The shop owner who witnessed this was scared out of his wits as he hid behind the counter. He looked up and saw the van wasn't moving, so he just went back to hiding, only hoping for it to drive away.

But to his horror, he heard his shop's doorbell and couldn't resist the urge to look up. As he did, he noticed one of the masked men was going through the aisles as if he was looking for something. For the shop owner, the time was going at an extremely slow pace, and he could even hear the clock sound as the hands moved.

As he continued to look at the man fr behind the counter, he noticed him stop before the candy aisle. The man picked up a handful of candy and started walking towards him. Even though he couldn't see the man's face because of the black mask, his eyes were enough to make sweat drip for the owner. 

The man was soon before the counter and stared at the owner, who was still crouching behind the counter, now completely frozen. Then, slowly opening one of the candy packs, he popped it into his mouth before taking out a gun from behind. Then, with the gun in his left hand, the man slowly motioned the owner to stand up.

Having no options, the owner slowly stood up with his legs trembling in complete fear. He looked at the man in silence as the guy just continued to chew on the candy while looking him up and down. The shop owner did his very best to remain silent and steady. However, he felt like he would faint at any moment.

The man slowly leaned in and then hooked his arm around the owner with the gun on his forehead. The shop owner could naturally do nothing but freeze silence, praying his final thoughts. 

The guy looked at the owner's face and then slowly said into his ears, "You have a pretty good shop here. You even got my favorite candy. It looks like you have a laid-back like. Now wouldn't it be too bad to end it too quickly?" To his statement, the shop owner didn't react as he was still frozen in silence.

The guy didn't seem to care as he continued to mumble, "This street is always desolate, with no one coming around. Now, even today, it was desolate with no one coming around. You were sleeping on your shift and knew nothing. You did not see a van or any people in black masks. Am I right?" As he pressed the gun harder against his forehead. 

Feeling the gun press harder on his forehead, the shop owner slowly nodded. The guy leaned back as he nodded and said with what seemed like a smile, "I like people like you. Always willing to help out others. Alright then, be sure to remember what I said. If you forget about this and slip out about what happened today, then the bullet won't remain in the gun but inside your head. Well, hope you have a few customers in your shop." And walked out of the shop. 

The shop owner was still standing as he looked into his now empty shop as the van outside drove away with the same speed it stopped. The shop owner slowly looked down and noticed the open candy wrapper as he realized everything that happened before just falling down on his knees. That was just the most terrifying moment of his life, and he never wanted to experience it ever again.

************************

"AND CUT. THAT'S IT FOR THIS ONE. NICE JOB, EVERYONE, PACK UP AND GO HAVE A NICE SLEEP." The director shouted, waking up Joon-won, who was on his knees from the role. He slowly stood up and just walked out of the shop. 

"Joon-won, come here." He heard the director and just walked towards him.

"That was some really nice acting there, Joon-won. Nice improvisation too. The assistant director almost stopped the scene. Why did you do that?" 

In this scene, he had no dialogues, except the one about rash kids. The first dialogue he spoke was entirely from himself. 

Joon-won shrugged as he heard the director and replied, "When I was practicing, that part just felt empty and a bit too quiet. So, I added the line. Was it not good?" He thought it was good, but that would not mean the director thought so. So he had to ask.

The director shook his head and said, "No, it was good enough. But next time, just tell me beforehand a bit. At least I would like to know about it. Well, apart from that, you acted very well. Alright, no, go back. Your next shoot is on Monday, right?" 

Joon-won nodded and said, "Yes, it's on Monday." 

"Alright, just continue acting well then. I'll see you later." And he walked away. Joon-won also walked away and went directly to his hotel as he felt a bit sleepy and wanted to sleep.