Filming had begun. In other words, the first shoot had started. More precisely, the opening shoot for Island of the Missing may already have been underway.
The call sheet for Island of the Missing had gone out that morning, but among the lead actors, only one had been called in first.
It was Kang Woojin.
To put it simply, Kang Woojin had opened the filming schedule, while the rest of the lead cast, including Ryu Jungmin, were set to join in the afternoon. According to the schedule that had been handed out, Woojin had started filming in Seoul that morning and was likely shooting in Buyeo by now.
He was appearing as Corporal Jin Seoncheol.
At that very moment, Ryu Jungmin was in exactly that kind of state.
'Hoo-'
As he pictured Lieutenant Choi Yutae from the script, an unexpectedly firm resolve settled over him.
'This time, we're co-leads.'
Back during Profiler Hanryang, there had been a gap between them in popularity and standing as lead actors, but this time, the difference between him and Kang Woojin was almost gone. Of course, Ryu Jungmin's career was still far more established, but the entertainment industry was never a place where popularity was determined by experience alone.
It was determined by the public's attention.
Seen that way, Kang Woojin, currently the hottest issue-maker in Island of the Missing, was the true apex predator of the drama, while Ryu Jungmin had, if anything, reached that place in a far humbler way.
'Forget seniority. I came here purely as an actor, as a challenger.'
A challenger. To Ryu Jungmin, Kang Woojin was the very embodiment of a wall he had to overcome. At least, that was what Ryu Jungmin believed.
And so—
'...Honestly, I want to avoid him.'
Even now, on the way to the set, fear kept rising inside him. It was so heavy and overwhelming that it felt almost impossible to bear. He had already climbed to the top, and he could have chosen a different path.
But Ryu Jungmin was not that kind of person.
"Still, if I get through this, maybe I can become like that too."
He chose to face his own limits and confront Kang Woojin head-on. Once he faced Kang Woojin on the set of Island of the Missing, he would inevitably come face-to-face with a fear close to despair and loss. Even so, as a challenger, Ryu Jungmin chose to encourage himself rather than sink into self-pity.
The two leads of Island of the Missing would engage in a psychological battle completely unlike the one in Profiler Hanryang.
Lieutenant Choi Yutae would struggle to trust Corporal Jin Seoncheol, the role Woojin was playing, while still harboring doubt. And Corporal Jin Seoncheol, almost like a monster, would avoid Lieutenant Choi Yutae while behaving in bizarre ways.
No, in a way, the real villain of Island of the Missing could be said to be Corporal Jin Seoncheol.
Corporal Jin Seoncheol was far more cunning than Park Dae-ri, and he carried far more secrets. In that sense, he could be seen as a step above. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Choi Yutae, played by Ryu Jungmin, was less capable than Ji Jihyung from Profiler Hanryang.
Because of that, the competition felt even harsher for Ryu Jungmin.
And yet, he smiled.
'Perfect. That's exactly how a challenger should be.'
The situation looked fine to him. Pure desire, greed, jealousy, intensity. No matter what words were used, Ryu Jungmin remained unwavering.
'I'll use that monster for my own gain.'
To grow and to push past his limits, he intended to use the astonishing Kang Woojin.
That mood was not limited to Ryu Jungmin alone.
Most of the lead actors heading for the same destination felt much the same. Kim Iwon, one of the leads of the recently successful film Once Again, Man, was one of them.
"A split personality... how is Woojin going to play it? Hyung, hurry up a little."
"I'm already moving. But I'm curious too. That guy who's shaking up both Korea and Japan with his acting."
"Ha... honestly, I'm a little scared. But I'm curious too."
Jeon Woochang, who somehow looked even bulkier than before, still had the same naturally cheerful personality.
"Woochang, stop reading the script and get some rest."
"If I do that, I'm going to ruin the shoot. My acting is already the weakest here to begin with! And now Woojin's here too, so what am I supposed to do?! Didn't you see his acting at the reading?! After seeing that, how is anyone supposed to sleep?"
Even Ha Yura, who had joined Island of the Missing only recently, felt the same way. Ha Yura in particular, tall and striking, had completely fixed her focus on Kang Woojin. Even while looking at the script, his face kept surfacing in her mind.
'...Now I'll be able to see it properly.'
The elite cast under Director Kwon Gitaek's rough but meticulous control. Kang Woojin had already shown striking acting from the very first script reading. It was the kind of acting ability that was rare to see in a rookie actor.
But it did not seem like that was all.
That could not possibly be everything. This monstrous newcomer was clearly hiding even more secrets. With her hair down, Ha Yura kept picturing Kang Woojin inside the van as well, as if his image were unfolding right in front of her.
How much time had passed?
The white van carrying Ha Yura arrived at the parking lot of the massive set in Buyeo. Several staff members ran toward the vehicle, but around the wide set, there were nowhere near the number of staff one might have expected.
That much was only natural.
By now, Kang Woojin, Director Kwon Gitaek, and the filming team would already be deep in the dense forest, actively shooting. A little later, Ha Yura headed toward the wooded area where the crew was stationed. Soon enough, she saw nearly a hundred people gathered there, along with an enormous amount of filming equipment.
And on top of that—
"Action."
Director Kwon Gitaek's soft cue rang out from in front of the monitor. Filming for Island of the Missing was already underway. Countless supporting actors and extras were acting with everything they had. All of them wore military uniforms, their faces covered in makeup ranging from blood to wounds.
Most of the shooting area was dark.
Given the time and the installed screens, the scene on the monitor gave off a strong nighttime atmosphere. Ha Yura soon came to a stop behind the gathered staff. Ryu Jungmin and the other lead actors had already arrived on set. Even though they were top actors, at that moment they were no different from spectators.
They only exchanged glances.
The mood on set was extremely heavy and tense. Instinctively, they felt that they should not interfere.
It was right then that it happened.
"Cut. Good. Next is Woojin."
Director Kwon Gitaek, as warm-hearted as ever, called for Kang Woojin. At that moment, one of the assistant directors shouted and ran off somewhere.
"Woojin!! Please stand by!!"
Kang Woojin appeared in military uniform, carrying a ballistic helmet tucked under one arm. His hair had been cut short as well. It had not been long to begin with, but now it had been neatly trimmed to suit a soldier. Compared to the other actors, his makeup was cleaner too.
Expressionless, Kang Woojin stood in the middle of the set where all the cameras were focused, talking with Director Kwon Gitaek.
It looked like they were verbally rehearsing the scene they were about to shoot.
At that, Ha Yura watched them with a hardened expression.
'Which scene is this?'
Ryu Jungmin and the other lead actors were staring at Kang Woojin just as intently. Naturally, so were the hundred or so staff members and supporting actors. Kang Woojin's presence was that overwhelming, and his aura was that intense.
And in all of their eyes, there was the same emotion.
They wanted to see the acting of the actor standing at the center of all the controversy.
Soon the setup changed, the actors in the frame moved away, and the background was adjusted slightly. The atmosphere was still dark, but the props had been switched out. A bloodstained helmet and a military jacket thrown onto the ground had been placed in view. Only two actors were needed for this scene, and one of them was, of course, Corporal Jin Seoncheol, played by Kang Woojin.
The other was an extra playing Corporal Choi.
The actor playing Corporal Choi was short and gave off a sharp impression overall. He was a well-known character actor among the supporting cast. After giving instructions to the actors playing Corporal Choi and Corporal Jin Seoncheol—
──────────
Director Kwon Gitaek returned to his place and quietly spoke to the assistant director and the key staff.
"Let's take the first cut comfortably."
A short while later, the staff swiftly cleared the area with impeccable coordination, and Director Kwon Gitaek took his seat. Ha Yura, Ryu Jungmin, and the other lead actors looked even more focused than before.
And then—
Clap!
A staff member snapped the slate in front of the camera.
The scene they were about to shoot took place after several days had passed on the mysterious island. The death toll had already risen to four, and behind those deaths was a dreadful monster hiding in the forest. No one had seen the monster's face, but the soldiers were being found with their throats slashed and their bodies ripped apart.
Even so, the ten or so soldiers who remained were still trying to escape with their lives.
They had not even been able to recover the bodies of their fallen comrades. Escaping the forest itself was not easy. They were not even sure anymore whether this place was still Earth. For several days, they had neither eaten properly nor slept in peace. The soldiers' stress and mental fatigue had reached their limits.
The situation was hopeless in every sense.
And in that situation, Corporal Jin Seoncheol began to move quietly.
That take began with Director Kwon Gitaek's relaxed cue.
"Action."
The camera quickly picked up Corporal Choi crouching low and muttering to himself. He looked as though he had already lost his mind.
"What is this——? Where are we? I was an idiot. For something like this to happen in my last year of service... damn it. Damn it. Ah—damn it. Damn it. Damn it."
He kept muttering to himself like someone reciting a spell. It was supposed to be time to sleep. At the moment, the soldiers under Lieutenant Choi Yutae's command were resting while taking turns on watch.
But Corporal Choi was rejecting reality altogether.
He was so anxious and on edge that it felt like he might snap the moment someone touched him.
Right then, a sound came from the side.
The camera and Corporal Choi both turned at once. Out of the darkness came the silhouette of a person, along with a cautious voice.
"Corporal Choi... by any chance... are you not asleep?"
Kang Woojin—or rather, Corporal Jin Seoncheol—spoke in a low, trembling voice that sounded as though all the strength had drained from him. Corporal Choi soon let out a sigh of relief and lowered his head again.
"You little bastard, you scared the hell out of me. Haah... when we get back, you're done for."
As the camera caught Corporal Jin Seoncheol, he stepped closer to Corporal Choi and whispered to him. His eyes were full of concern.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm not okay, you idiot. Where the hell is this place? What kind of messed-up situation is this? Damn it, damn it, damn it."
"······"
Corporal Jin Seoncheol watched him for a moment, then quickly looked around before cautiously asking again,
"Corporal Choi, aren't you hungry?"
"What?"
"I, uh... found something like fruit over there."
Corporal Choi's head snapped around in an instant.
"Fruit? What kind? Where did you find it?"
"Uh... sorry. I'm not really sure what it is. But it seemed okay when I ate it."
Corporal Jin Seoncheol edged even closer to him.
"It was sweet."
Corporal Choi's eyes widened. The camera closed in on his throat.
Gulp.
He swallowed hard. Even so, Corporal Choi barely managed to hold onto his sanity.
"Report it to the platoon leader first."
Corporal Jin Seoncheol answered with slightly more urgency, glancing around warily.
"There's only one left now. It's not enough to report. Couldn't you just eat it?"
"Selfish bastard. You want to survive on your own?"
"N-no, no. That's why I came to tell you, Corporal."
"······"
A brief silence followed, and then Director Kwon Gitaek's signal came in.
"Good, cut there. Now let's break it into individual shots."
The same scene was repeated, and it took several dozen minutes. Before long, the camera began shooting the backs of the two actors. It was time for the next part of the scene. Kang Woojin and the extra, both holding rifles, walked forward carefully. The ground underfoot was muddy. Corporal Choi opened his mouth, grumbling as he walked.
"Damn it, walking around at night is practically hell. Hey, Coward Jin. If you pull something stupid again, you're really done for this time, got it?"
The camera caught the figure of Coward Jin, or Corporal Jin Seoncheol, sharply. But because of the heavy darkness, his expression was unclear.
"I'm not lying."
"Lead the way."
"But, Corporal. I found something else strange too."
"What is it?"
"No... it's nothing."
Corporal Choi smacked Corporal Jin Seoncheol's helmet roughly.
Thwack!
"You idiot, what now? Stop getting on my nerves."
"It's just... this morning, when I went out scouting on the platoon leader's orders..."
"Yeah."
"That's when I found the fruit."
"So?"
"But while I was picking it, I dropped one by mistake... down the cliff. And the fruit that fell there just disappeared."
"······What? Are you messing with me, you moron?"
The camera caught Corporal Choi's upper body as he stopped in place, then slowly pulled back. Soon, Corporal Jin Seoncheol pointed somewhere with his index finger.
"Over there, right there. I dropped it near the edge of the cliff, and it just disappeared."
"Really? What about the fruit?"
"That big tree over there."
"I can't see it."
"I buried it in the ground."
"You're lying right now, aren't you?"
"No, I couldn't believe it either, so I threw a rock too... and that disappeared."
Corporal Choi was dumbfounded. What kind of nonsense was this damn bastard spouting? But then again, the biggest mistake was getting trapped on this damned island in the first place. Just then, Corporal Jin Seoncheol's voice came from near the edge of the cliff.
"Didn't we come here through that cave? I think... there might be a path circling around below. Ah, it's just a guess, though."
A path circling around below. Corporal Choi's eyes widened. The camera caught his profile. Soon enough, Corporal Choi peered over the edge of the cliff together with Corporal Jin Seoncheol.
It was dark.
The situation was already bad enough that he could not see anything. Besides, it was night. It was quiet now, but later the sound of waves would be added to the scene. At that moment, Corporal Choi furrowed his brow.
"Exactly where?"
"There. Can't you see it?"
"Ah, what the hell are you talking about? I can't see anything."
Kang Woojin, or rather Corporal Jin Seoncheol, took a step back. With darkness smeared across it, his expression twisted into something strangely distorted. And then he delivered his next line.
"Wait a second. I'll go get the fruit. That spot is perfect."
"Are you crazy? What can you even see in this pitch dark—huh? Didn't something just move down there?"
"It's probably just the waves."
"No, not the waves."
The camera slowly pushed in on Corporal Jin Seoncheol's face. His expression, faintly lit by moonlight, was impossible to read. The meekness that had dominated him only minutes ago was gone.
Just one more step.
Perhaps because the moonlight was too weak, the upper half of Corporal Jin Seoncheol's face was swallowed by darkness. At that point, only his mouth could barely be seen.
His teeth were bright white.
No—he was smiling wide enough for all of them to show.
His whole face was dark, yet that endlessly spreading smile seemed to fill it completely. It was a clean smile. But the dissonance between the dark face and the smile was striking.
More than anything else—
'That's really strange. It's like he belongs on the island of the missing. How can a smile that happy come out so naturally?'
'That smile alone completes the character.'
'The directing is good, but Woojin's acting... if I saw this on a big screen, I think it would genuinely give me chills.'
As actors like Ryu Jungmin and Ha Yura murmured to themselves inwardly, Kang Woojin's smile—outwardly cheerful, inwardly chilling—dramatically intensified the impact of the scene.
But it lasted only for a moment.
With a rustling sound, Corporal Jin Seoncheol's face disappeared completely. Failing to notice, Corporal Choi kept his head lowered and went on talking.
"Hey, look at that. I told you, there's something down there!"
From the darkness, Kang Woojin—called Corporal Jin Seoncheol in the scene—answered.
"Then... should we try throwing something down there?"
"Throw what?"
Suddenly, Corporal Jin Seoncheol's tone turned rough and savage.
"You."
Startled, Corporal Choi whipped his head around.
"You bastard, did you just mouth off to me?... Hey, where are you?"
The camera showed the view directly in front of Corporal Choi, with the pitch-black forest laid out before him. It was still and silent. That silence was so eerie it bordered on grotesque. Then, from somewhere, Corporal Jin Seoncheol's voice came again.
"Heh. Talking back? You really don't understand the situation at all, do you?"
"······What?"
Before the question could fully leave his mouth—
Corpor al Jin Seoncheol suddenly burst out of the darkness. His face was full of delighted laughter, and the camera captured it in its entirety.
And then—
He shoved Corporal Choi without the slightest hesitation.
One second. That was all it took for Corporal Choi to disappear. Soon after, Corporal Jin Seoncheol looked down over the cliff and held back his laughter with a deep breath. His bright white teeth showed faintly in the darkness.
That smile was full of satisfaction.
"Who talks politely to a corpse, you idiot?"