GIJS

Chapter 127 Acronyms Are Dangerous

As soon as Gunja began to speak his practice lines, the director, Hyun Si-woo, felt as if he was hearing an eerie echo in his head.

"Ah- Ah, Asadal-."

"Umm- Asanyeo- I'm going- to meet- you-."

However, it was not the harmonious sound of meeting a perfect actor.

Thud, crack-.

It was the clunky noise of a wooden articulated puppet whose joints were stiff and creaking.

"Ahahaha, Gunja~"

The awkwardly hunched shoulders, the lost gaze, and the line delivery that seemed ready to slap on Brother Jang's face.

It was terrible acting. It was hellishly bad acting.

"Ahahahaha, wait, wait~ this is a bit awkward~"

"Hey, Yul Gunja, stop joking around."

"Yeah, Gunja. Even though this is just a practice reading, this is a bit too···."

But Gunja wasn't joking. He was just doing his best to act. His endlessly serious gaze and slightly trembling hands proved that.

"L-Let's try it once more."

"Yeah, focus and try again. Maybe it's just because you're not warmed up yet."

But the second attempt was not much different.

"Puhahahaha-."

"Yang Jeong-moo, stop laughing."

"Hyuk, your mouth is also out of control."

"Ahem, ahem-."

"Seonbi hyung, are you seriously not joking?"

"It seems like he's serious. Look at his pupils shaking."

"Why is it that on stage he has such expressive ability, but his acting is like this···."

Everyone was bewildered by the outrageous acting. Given the expression he had shown on stage, they had expected some level of acting ability.

However, for Gunja, performance and acting were completely different realms.

He had been familiar with singing and dancing for 300 years. When singing, it felt like being drawn into the small world of the lyrics. Hence, natural expressions came out, and his movements were lively.

But acting was different. Unlike singing and dancing, acting seemed like it was about embodying a real person somewhere.

It felt as if he was lying with his body.

"Gunja, you're so natural when you sing."

"Yeah, try to think of it as singing."

"Sing, huh··· okay, got it."

Entering the third round with a solemn expression.

Taking the advice to 'act like singing,' surprisingly, his expression immediately became natural.

"Oh?"

"Haha, how is it? Was it a bit different this time?"

"You crazy guy, how can you add a melody to the lines just because you were told to act like singing!"

"Oh, oops!"

Indeed, by adding a melody to the lines, his expression became naturally smooth. However, such crazy line delivery wasn't suitable for acting.

"Is it really necessary to add a melody?"

"Well, that···."

"Hahaha, but you'd do well in musicals~"

"Si-woo is still so bright even in this situation."

"Haha, not really~ I feel like my head might explode~"

"Si-woo hyung, if you need to, feel free to replace me with someone else. I'm always ready."

"Yang Jeong-moo, are you still after screen time even now?"

"So that's why he did so well in that terrible web drama?"

Tae-woong sighed heavily and looked at Gunja with a worried expression.

"Ha, Gunja. What are we going to do about this?"

"Wow, I've never seen Tae-woong give advice to Gunja before."

"Right? I'm hearing criticism from Tae-woong for the first time."

"Fine, if you're so unhappy, then just act better than me."

"···Is my acting that bad···."

"Want to see? There's a recording that Si-woo took."

Gunja's face turned pale when he saw his own acting on the monitor.

What on earth is this articulated puppet?

"How is it? Not a joke, right?"

"···Well, at least I can remember the lines···."

"Yeah, even in this state, you still manage to remember the lines well."

But Gunja knew. No matter how well he remembered the lines, his acting was simply a nuisance.

While Gunja was sulking, the other members were discussing with Hyun Si-woo.

"Ugh, what should we do? Si-woo, what do you think?"

"Hahaha, Gunja's acting is unbelievable, but~"

Hyun Si-woo then brought up a video on the screen. It was a scene of Gunja in drag jumping up on a rope.

"Wow-."

"This is insane even when watching it again."

"Haha, I can't give up on this visual~"

"Honestly, the face has its own credibility···."

Even the members who had been serious about Gunja's acting seemed to melt once they saw Gunja on the rope.

The power of his S-class looks was truly formidable. Even Yang Jeong-moo, who had been aiming for the lead role, had to admit that Gunja was perfect for the role of Asanya after watching the video.

"Gunja-hyung is really pretty, though."

"···Jungmoo, thanks···."

"Why are you so downcast? It's unpleasant to look at."

"You seem excited···."

"Of course I am. I finally found something I'm better at than you."

Jungmoo teased, but Gunja didn't take his words to heart. To him, Jungmoo's acting was far superior to Gunja's.

"Yeah, Jungmoo, you're really good at acting. You looked just like a venomous snake with its poison fully drawn."

"Can I help you a bit?"

"Y-yes, could you?"

"Well···"

"Jungmoo, help me!"

Seeing Gunja's earnest expression, Jungmoo's lips curled up.

"Oh, what should I do~"

"Jungmoo!"

"Hyung, what do you need from me?"

"Of course! I'll never forget this favor!"

"Only now are you picking me."

"···?"

"Alright, I'll help."

"!"

Seeing Gunja's immediate bright smile, Jungmoo also smiled back.

"You're good at expressing yourself, so if you just learn to relax in front of the camera, it'll get better quickly."

"Thank you, really!"

Though there were some issues, the boys decided not to change the casting.

Thus, Chillin Pictures began preparing for the official filming.

* * *

Two weeks after the first reading, the first filming day finally arrived.

From early in the morning, Chillin Pictures was busy preparing for the shoot.

Hyun Si-woo, who always had a carefree smile, was leading the scene with a somewhat serious and sensitive demeanor today.

"Art team, is the setting done?"

"Yes, Director, the art setup is complete."

"Ah, good~ Assistant director, can we start shooting in 15 minutes~?"

"Yes, no problem."

"Then, Cinematographer, let's check the first storyboard one more time before we start."

Meanwhile, Gunja and Jungmoo were diligently rehearsing their lines for the final time.

"So, how was it this time?"

"It's much better."

"Really? How much?"

"It used to be toe acting, but now it's at least foot acting level?"

"Foot acting? What does that even mean?"

"It means you're really bad at acting."

"Taewoong, that's harsh···."

"Don't be discouraged. You used to be terrible, but now you're just bad."

"Ahaha, it's okay~ We can just push through with Gunja's visuals to cover up the awkward acting~"

"Indeed, the director has a solid plan."

"Foot acting··· I'm really foot acting···."

While Gunja was still shocked by the term "foot acting," Hyunjae took the opportunity to post on social media.

"Team leader, can I post this on Twitty?"

"Hmmm··· Yes, that's fine."

"Yay."

Inside Hyunjae's bundle, transformed into a cute bundle seller, was a heart-shaped chocolate box.

Although it could have been filled with something like newspaper, since the contents would never be revealed, it was prepared as a chocolate box at Hyeonjae's request. Hyeonjae took one of the chocolate boxes and uploaded a selfie to their personal Twitty.

[Today I'm transformed into a bundle seller! Buy chocolates~♥︎ (Photo)] [Ughㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ So cute!!!] [Hyunjaeㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [Where is there such a lovable bundle sellerㅠㅠㅠ] [Hyunjae, I'll break my savings to buy out all that chocolate] [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Give me one toooooo] [Oh, carrying a big bundle is so cuteㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [But what is this? What kind of outfit is this!?!?] [Doesn't look like stagewear!!!! Hyunjae, let us knowㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [Wow, Hyunjae, are you filming a drama!?!?] [Isn't that a filming monitor in the back????] [Wow, Hyunjae must be filming a web drama!!!!!] [Huh huh huh huh huh huh huh] [What is this, so the cross-dressing and the wooden clapper were all teasers???] [But what kind of drama is it that has cross-dressing and wooden clappers!?!?!??] [Hyunjae, please tell usㅠㅠㅠㅠ!!!]

"Sure enough, Hyunjae is the communication king."

"Hehe, it's fun playing around with fans."

"Hmmm, should I post one too?"

Taewoong, dressed as a monk, also took a selfie and uploaded it to his personal SNS. In the high-angle selfie, Taewoong's bald head was shining brightly.

[I'm the monk of this district ㅋㅋ (Photo)] [????] [????????????] [Taewoong-ah????] [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Wait a minute] [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ?????????] [Where's the hair?????????] [Where did the hair go and what is this?] [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ What is thisㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [Is it makeup? Is it makeup? Is it makeup? Is it makeup?] [Monk fans are crying in a group] [The monk can't even eat chicken breast, did he really leave the monastery?ㅠㅠㅠ] [Ugh, being a fan of Taewoong is really hardcore] [????? What is this??????????] [Oh, the head shape is so prettyㅠㅠㅠㅠ Our Taewoong's biceps, triceps, and deltoids are all amazing] [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Fans, get a gripㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [The fans are too stunned to recover with just mugwort and garlic] [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It's driving me crazy]

Of course, Taewoong had to take down his bald selfie after just 5 minutes, getting scolded by the head of the department, but Gunja found Hyunjae and Taewoong's SNS antics entertaining.

"Hyunjae, I also want to interact with fans through SNS."

"Ooh, hyung, give it a try. Just don't post weird selfies like Wooong's hyung."

"Alright."

"Since your makeup is pretty, just posting ordinary photos should be fine."

"Thanks, Hyunjae."

"Oh, and it's good to drop some hints so fans can guess."

"Hints?"

"Yes. But don't drop them in a weird way like Wooong hyung."

"Should I write a poem?"

"Hmmm, that's not recommended."

"Why?"

"Nowadays, all our fans have Chinese character certificates. They'll probably decode it immediately."

"I see. Then how should I drop hints?"

Hearing the conversation, Taewoong chimed in.

"How about using abbreviations like a code?"

"Abbreviations? Do you mean shortening words or sentences?"

"Yeah. It's an old method, but it's perfect for fans to guess."

"Indeed!"

Abbreviations. That seems like a good method.

Hyunjae left a clue about being a bundle seller, and Taewoong threw out the monk clue, so I should leave a clue about "foot acting."

But how to shorten this word···.

After thinking for a moment, Gunja slapped his knee.

"Aha!"

He started writing under the pretty cross-dressing selfie.

"Today's··· breath···."

[What word describes today's breath? : ]

As Gunja was still more comfortable with brush writing than with a QWERTY keyboard, typing was slow and meticulous.

"B··· a··· l··· g···."

The word to describe today's breath?

The word following this was an abbreviation created by Gunza using the first and last letters of "foot acting."

Upon seeing the completed sentence.

"···No, no, this hyung must be crazy—!!"

Hyunjae, who had been looking at Gunja's smartphone without much thought, rushed in, astonished.