Login in to Alandal

A few days later, Kyu-ha arrived at the film site after receiving a phone call from director Ji Yeong-seok, a friend of CEO Soel Woo-don. 

The off-screen filming site was cluttered, with many people shouting and running in different directions. 

Kyu-ha went up to a person who seemed to be the director and greeted him. 

"Hello. I'm Song Kyu-ha. Mr. Seol introduced me to this place."

"Song Kyu-ha? I heard a lot about you from Woo-don. Thank you so much for your willingness to help me. Come this way, please."

Director Ji asked the costume team to bring Kyu-ha an outfit as he explained the overall shooting plan.

"Your role is quite straightforward. Just do what you normally do. The camera will mainly capture you from behind or take a close-up of your hands, so you don't have to worry about its presence. Oh! If possible, please act more theatrically than usual. But, of course, it doesn't matter if you stick to what you usually do if you think it is risky."

"Yes, I understand."

"Alright, then we'll start in five minutes. Camera team, get ready."

Kyu-ha grabbed the prop knife and stood in front of the chunk of beef hanging from a hook. 

"Hmm…. How realistic should this be? Well, since it's a movie, I'd better do it properly."

"Kyu-ha, are you ready? Ok, roll the camera! Ready, action!"

Kyu-ha momentarily stood in front of the meat with his eyes closed. Then, when he reopened them, he channeled Lee Hyun, his killer persona. 

The knife in his hand began to cut up the front leg part with lightning speed and precision, and whenever his hand moved, it neatly separated the meat from the bone. 

The aura emanating from Kyu-ha began to overwhelm the set. 

"Wow... I never knew cutting the meat could be so awe-inspiring!"

"This is crazy. I can't even see his hands."

The filming staff whispered and looked at Kyu-ha and his cutting skill as if he were possessed. 

It took only eight minutes for him to cut the whole cow into sections, causing the director to give the thumbs-up without asking for any retakes.

"Nice. It came out better than I expected! I'll make sure you don't feel sad about your pay. Thank you for your hard work today."

"My pleasure, Director Ji. Although I was asked to come, it was also fun for me. So please invite me to more things like this.

He returned home safely after filming was completed. 

***

A couple of days later.

Diriro-ri-ri-ri~ 

Kyu-ha was resting in his room when his phone rang. 

He could tell it was Director Ji by looking at the phone number. 

“Hello, Director Ji. Song Kyu-ha is speaking.”

"How are you doing? It's nothing but..."

The reason for Director Ji's call was that his friend was filming a historical movie and had asked if Kyu-ha would be interested in playing an assassin in a small role. 

"There are only a few lines for you to say, but I think the character will suit you since there's an action scene involving a dagger. That image seems to be a good fit for you as well... What do you think? Would you like to give it a try?"

Shooting a film was quite enjoyable for Kyu-ha. And this time, he would be playing an assassin. He was intrigued since it reminded him of when he was Lee Hyun, the killer.

"Sure, that's amazing. Thank you for giving me the opportunity, Director Ji."

"Excellent! I'll let him know. Good luck."

***

A few days later, the assistant director called him and gave him the address of the film site, and Kyu-ha headed there.

“Hi, I'm Song Kyu-ha.”

"Ah, welcome! I'm the assistant director, Yang Gu-cheol."

Mr. Yang gave him a general introduction to the movie.

"The title of the movie we're filming is 'The Palace of Blood Sea.'  To summarize, it depicts the fight between Prince Imhae (Yi Jin), Prince Gwanghae (Yi Hon), Prince Jeongwon (Yi Ju), and Prince Soonhwa (Yi Bo), the sons of the ancestors of the Joseon Dynasty. Your character is the assassin 'Soo-chil' who serves Prince Imhae."

The character Soo-chil was a so-called hunting dog ordered by Prince Imhae to kidnap and torture Prince Gwanghae's most beloved henchman before eventually getting discovered and killed by Prince Gwanghae. 

"It's not a major role, but there is an important scene. You are to brutally torture Prince Gwanghae's henchman, Lee Wi-gyeong, whom your character kidnapped to express his cruel intentions, engraving the word 'warning' on his body with a dagger as a warning to Prince Gwanghae."

Kyu-ha nodded, as he had already done many brutal murders. 

"Since this is an important scene where Prince Gwanghae loses his temper, it must be both cruel and lively. We have prepared a lot of dummies, so you need not worry."

"I'll try my best."

Kyu-ha could inscribe a whole poem on an opponent if he wanted to. So, simply engraving "warning" was a piece of cake for him. 

As such, Kyu-ha was confident in acting out the scene. 

"Shooting will begin within an hour, and you may wait in your costume before you get into the shoot. Costume team! Please help Mr. Kyu-ha prepare for Soo-chil! I'll see you later."

The assistant director left, and Kyu-ha wore the costume he had received from the team for the Soo-chil role. 

The costume was black from head to toe, just like an assassin's, and it also had a mask, an assassin's trademark.

A scar was made with unique makeup, running from the corner of Soo-chil's mouth to his cheeks to enhance the pale feeling and create a cold-hearted atmosphere. 

Kyu-ha had become the cold-blooded Soo-chil himself. 

After some time, he was ready, and the camera began to roll. 

***

[The Palace of Blood Sea]

Prince Imhae, Yi Jin, noticed that his father, the king of this nation, planned to make the son of his concubine, Prince Gwanghae, Yi Hon, crown prince over him, the eldest son. 

Yi Jin, notorious for his vicious and cruel personality, sent his assassin, Soo-chil, to kidnap Yi Hon's loyal servant, Lee Wi-gyeong.

Soo-chil brought Wi-gyeong to a secret place and tied him up as ordered by Yi Jin. 

Then, he woke him up by splashing cold water on Wi-gyeong's face.

Panicky and afraid, Wi-gyeong looked up at Soo-chil. 

"Uhh! Where am I..? Who are you? Why did you bring me here!?"

Soo-chil stared at Wi-gyeong through his mask with cold eyes, not uttering a word.

"Hey... Please let me go. You have a mask on. I don't know who you are. So even if you leave now, there is no way I can catch you, so let me go. You'll be in big trouble if you hurt me."

Lee Wi-gyeong desperately began to persuade Soo-chil as he feared that something terrifying might happen to him.

Soo-chil listened to him babbling and took off the mask suddenly. 

"Now we know each other's faces."

Soo-chil's face was hideous. A scar ran from the corner of his mouth to the bottom of his ear, while his horrifyingly emotionless eyes terrified Lee Wi-gyeong.

"Help! He-help...."

Soo-chil crammed the mask he took off into Wi-gyeong's mouth and began torturing him. 

His torture method was brutal. 

Firstly, he began to cut off his limbs with a giant sword that was not sharp enough, causing him to hit it several times to take off the limbs properly. 

By that time, Wi-gyeong was already unconscious after losing much blood. 

The scary thing was that Soo-chil showed no emotion despite dishing out such brutal torture.

Lee Wi-gyeong eventually stopped moving, all the blood veins in his eyes straining from pain.

Soo-chil looked down at Wi-gyeong carefully as if he appreciated his work of art. Then, he took out a dagger, removed Wigyeong's shirt, and inscribed the word 'Warning.' 

The knife carved it so neatly that it would have been called a masterpiece if it were not carved on someone's back. He then left the secret location.

***

..........

A long silence replaced the noise at the filming site. 

Director Kim Yeong-chul was so immersed in Kyu-ha's acting that he also briefly forgot to give the OK sign to stop shooting. 

"Cu… Cut! Ok, it was excellent."

As soon as the director called the sign, actor Park Man-chul who had played Wi-gyeong, glanced at Kyu-ha, his disgust evident as he walked away after calming himself down. 

"He's in...insane. Who is that guy? He scared the shit out of me."

"We had 20 dummies ready, but he finished in one cue!" Even the way he swung the knife with speed and accuracy, what the hell was that?"

Director Kim called the assistant director in a hurry. 

"Hey, Gu-cheol, who is he? What does he do?"

Mr. Yang also seemed surprised, as he had never imagined Kyu-ha would have such an impact. 

"I called him because Director Ji recommended him. He's actually not an actor but a butcher."

"What!? How can he be so good? I actually thought he was torturing someone for real and almost stopped shooting! Alright. I have to give a bigger role to Soo-chil."

As if suddenly hit by inspiration, Director Kim started revising the scene where Soo-chil was supposed to die. 

In the original script, Soo-chil was to be manipulated by Prince Imhae and get killed in vain by an arrow of the chasing group sent by Yi Hon. 

Perhaps it was his director's instinct, but he knew he would have regrets if Soo-chil died that way, so he slightly modified the character's end.

Soo-chil was supposed to be a mean and money-driven character, but Director Kim altered the story.

Prince Imhae, Yi Jin, visited a village in disguise in childhood. While in a slum, he found Soo-chil being beaten up by a group of punks and rescued him. After that, he gave Soo-chil all the money in his pocket for his mother's medicine. 

With this, Soo-chil vowed lifelong loyalty to Yi Jin. Although Yi Jin became violent and cruel as he grew up, Soo-chil never left his side, following any order he was given. 

"Alright, Then. Let's film Soo-chil's death scene."

***

[The Palace of Blood Sea]

As ordered by his master Yi Jin, Soo-chil brutally murders Lee Wi-gyeong, even sending a warning message. But Prince Gwanghae gets furious that Wi-gyeong was kidnapped and murdered and sends out numerous search troops. Soon enough, they located Soo-chil and surrounded the area he was found in.

Realizing he had no escape, Soo-chil faced the hundreds of assailants alone.

"You bastard! Surrender, and I'll spare your life."

Soo-chil looks around at the troops encircling him with calm eyes and charges toward them, a sword in his hand. 

At that moment, dozens of arrows pierce his body. 

"Ugh."

Blood oozes out of his mouth, but he continues walking, taking one step at a time toward the death squad. 

Before he takes three more steps, another barrage of arrows pierces his body. Finally, with countless arrows stuck in his body, Soo-chil stops moving. 

"Ok, cut! Well done!"

"Wow... that was awesome... Was Soo-chil supposed to be that cool?"

"Did you see his eyes when he moved forward, even with the arrows piercing him? I thought he was a general rather than an assassin."

Kyu-ha left the scene after greeting the field staff, having fulfilled his part. 

It was easy for him to immerse himself in the role since he knew how it felt to be pursued and slain mercilessly. 

Regardless, Kyu-ha went home content since he had an extraordinary acting experience thanks to CEO Seol Woo-don's request.

He had no inkling about what would happen to him after the release of the movie, 'The Palace of Blood Sea.'