“Are you talking about actor Jang Youngguk?”
The wrinkled gaze reveals a flood of memories.
“Who can say they don’t miss the passing times? However, the intensity of my longing came with a sense of emptiness and powerlessness. As a film director, it was difficult to find the same excitement I felt when shooting my debut work as I got older.”
Just as plum blossoms bloom in spring and camellias bloom in winter, the peak time of people varies.
For some, it comes when they are relatively young, while for others, it comes late in life. But as a film director, he clearly thought his prime was over. Until he met him.
“Though I met many actors while shooting numerous films, my feelings for actor Jang Youngguk are exceptional. He was the actor who re-planted the word ‘excitement’ in my heart, just like when I shot my debut work.”
It was like lighting a fuse. Watching his acting on the telecast screen, the excitement in my heart did not cease.
Perhaps that’s why I was able to create ‘Outlaw,’ which is regarded as a masterpiece in commercial cinema.
“The success of ‘Outlaw’ was particularly meaningful to me. It wasn’t just about attracting a lot of audiences, but because my work’s direction changed starting from ‘Outlaw.’ Instead of settling, I became inclined to seek something new. Though my body was already old, my heart felt as if I had just grabbed the megaphone for the first time.”
The release of ‘Outlaw’ was incredible. Not only did it achieve great success as an R-rated film, but it also created a nationwide syndrome.
Especially, actor Jang Youngguk’s transformation into a villainous role, which he had never taken on before, drew much admiration from people.
Though it was known that he had a wide acting spectrum, he convincingly portrayed a deeply villainous role without any awkwardness.
Because of this, Jang Youngguk, who played a supporting role, received more attention than Son Hwawon, who played the lead role.
For instance, it’s like how Joker gets more attention than Batman.
“It’s been three years since actor Jang Youngguk won the youngest acting award. Some people said that after winning the award, like all actors, he would face a jinx.”
It was like a rumor passed down among actors. After reaching the peak with an acting award, they would mysteriously enter a decline.
This applied not only to actors but also to all entertainers, including comedians. Statistically, it was true. But.
“Over the past three years, actor Jang Youngguk has achieved even greater accomplishments than his past achievements. Over the last three years, there was no sign of the award jinx. Instead, he leaped toward even higher places.”
When asked how much more he thought actor Jang Youngguk would develop in the future,
“There has been a saying around Chungmuro for some time. No matter how much innate talent one has, without effort, everything becomes futile. This saying originated from actor Jang Youngguk. Those who met him on set all unanimously say. It’s a pity that his effort is belittled as mere talent.”
Director Baek Janghun smiled faintly and added.
“Numerous directors sought him. Not just limited to Chungmuro. Someone once said this. Jang Youngguk doesn’t advance to Hollywood because he chose to be the head of a snake rather than the tail of a dragon. What a laughable statement. I can tell. He will soon become an actor representing South Korea.”
The splendid night view of Hong Kong unfolds. Dazzlingly bright.
Looking down from the skyscrapers, the urban scenery is almost like a new world.
But where there is light, there is also darkness. Small stalls nestle in the narrow alleys connecting the streets.
The foods sold are varied. From dim sum to wonton noodles and jerky. Hong Kong’s representative foods are abundant.
A young couple is eating noodles there. They eat their noodles in silence, unable to look at each other, with hearts aching.
Today is the last day. The man, who came to Hong Kong on business from the U.S., has to return to the U.S. tomorrow, where he has a family.
Though the noodles have been finished, neither of them gets up from their seats.
The noodle shop owner glances at them as if hoping they would vacate the seats, but the two remain silent.
It was the woman who spoke first.
“You haven’t changed a bit, whether ten years ago or now.”
The man’s hand, adjusting his glasses, trembles slightly. It must be due to the excitement and tension caused by the person in his sight.
The woman’s appearance was just as he first met her ten years ago. The filming camera captures her appearance over the shoulder (OSS). The woman only looks at the man without responding.
The man accepts her gaze silently, as if in confession.
“I left you and went to America, but my married life wasn’t easy. I learned too late that a loveless marriage is just a contract. It was my fault. I knew my wife had an affair with another man, but I couldn’t say a word. Maybe it was because I couldn’t give her love.”
The man smiles as he looks at the woman’s face.
“I was sorry to you. I didn’t have the courage to see you again. I said we would be eternal, but in the end, I was the one who betrayed. Even if I regret it now, I can’t go back.”
Though his voice was sorrowful, the woman only looked at him in silence.
“Do you remember this place? It was the first place we visited together in the past. It was also the last place I saw you. I wanted to have a meal with you here again if we met.”
The man said, brushing his face with his long fingers.
“I don’t want to leave your side. So, can you stay with me tonight?”
Eventually, the man pays for the noodles and gets up.
The noodle shop owner looks puzzled as he watches the man’s back walking down the alley.
One of the two bowls of noodles was empty, while the other remained untouched. No wonder he found it strange when the man ordered two bowls by himself.
The man and the woman walk while looking at the night view of Hong Kong.
The man walks as if possessed by the woman’s appearance. Chasing her receding figure, the man quickens his pace.
His steps speed up as if he doesn’t want to lose her. And before he knows it, he goes down to the subway station.
Among the many people in the subway station, when the woman is nowhere to be seen, he finally stops walking.
It must be because he realized that everything was an illusion. Soon,
Beeeeep—!
The sound of a horn and people’s shouts are added. The man had already come down to the subway track, chasing the woman or the past.
The man looks at the approaching subway, ignoring people’s gestures.
There was no fear or terror in his eyes.
Soon, a dazzlingly bright light envelops him.
“Cut―!”
It was a filming set that rented out a whole subway station in Hong Kong late at night. The subway was stopped for filming, only its headlight shining, and the actor came up from the track.
Since it was the last scene, the director personally went out and hugged the actor.
Wearing a suit, neatly slicked-back pomade hair, and classic glasses, adding an intellectual look.
Like wine that becomes more fragrant and flavorful as time passes, Jang Youngguk’s appearance shone even more brightly in just three years.
Wang Jin Yang is a maestro of Hong Kong. The glorious golden age of Hong Kong cinema had declined due to numerous censorships and government interventions.
Wang Jin Yang, who once dominated the Hong Kong film industry, also went into exile abroad because of this.
As he aged, he thought his passion for movies would wane, but the passion that had been simmering in his heart showed no sign of diminishing.
He wanted to grab the megaphone again, but he couldn’t find any actors in China to work with.
Though he once reigned as a maestro in the Hong Kong film industry, Chinese actors even avoided him after his exile and clashes with the government.
Thanks to his considerable wealth, he managed to negotiate with the Chinese government to film in Hong Kong, but he had no actors.
At that moment, what caught Wang Jin Yang’s eye was none other than a Korean actor.
Unlike the Chinese film industry that had declined after its glorious heyday, Korea was experiencing an increasingly brilliant golden age, unlike its barren past.
At the center of it was a young man named Jang Youngguk.
‘They say he’s so famous that even Hollywood seeks him out. Is there a catch?’
He knew he had already stepped down from the ranks of maestros. It had been over ten years since he last held the megaphone. Objectively speaking, the possibility of the young actor Jang Youngguk appearing in his work was almost zero. At the time, not just Hollywood, but even Europe sought him out, visiting Korea to meet him.
Thus, he was prepared to go to any lengths, like Liu Bei did when he sought Zhuge Liang. But to his surprise, the young actor he met readily agreed.
-I will do it, I will appear.
Wang Jin Yang poured a full glass of clear bamboo leaf liquor and spoke.
“How could you trust and follow me like that? Even now I wonder, back then I was just a worthless ghost of the past. Though I was once famous in the Hong Kong film industry, it was just faded glory.”
Sitting opposite, Youngguk answered without hesitation.
“Because I like your works.”
Though a simple answer, Wang Jin Yang could not hide the emotions swelling deep in his heart.
Even his own country’s actors had turned their backs on him. But a young actor from another country saying he liked his works so much touched his heart deeply.
‘Director, you’re crying again.’
Youngguk scratched his head. Wang Jin Yang was more sensitive than expected.
On set, he exuded fierce charisma like a tiger, but when he drank, his tear ducts were never dry.
“Do you really like my works?”
As if confirming again, Wang Jin Yang asked, and Youngguk briefly nodded. It wasn’t a lie. He had watched the Hong Kong films from the 80s, when Wang Jin Yang was active, so many times that he could recite the lines. Moreover.
‘Thanks to this project, Director Wang Jin Yang will also soar again.’
In fact, when Wang Jin Yang had personally sought him out, Youngguk couldn’t believe it. He knew how famous Wang Jin Yang had become overseas in his past life.
“Are you going back to Korea?”
“Yes, there’s a wedding in a week.”
“Mr. Jang, are you getting married?!”
Director, you forgot again.
“No, it’s my mother’s wedding.”
