Chapter 217

Action Training Center, A3 Training Ground.

The place was bustling with shouts, screams, and sounds of impact from all over.

There were four stuntmen and their trainers scattered around the spacious training ground.

The stuntmen for Shadowman, Bel Natra, Tul Natra, and Jin Natra.

“Three, two. One!”

At the trainer’s signal, a man hanging from a wire jumped down from the second floor. 

He didn’t just fall to the ground, but plunged like a spear onto the mat below with a fast speed, as if he was targeting a prey.

The trainer, who was watching him without blinking, shook his head at the man’s body leaning to the side after landing.

“Yeon. You put too much force on your shoulder. If your body is stiff, you’ll get hurt easily.”

“I’m sorry.”

Kim Jaeyeon scratched his head. 

He must have stepped on his foot wrong when he landed. 

His body lost balance and almost fell to the side, but he didn’t collapse thanks to the wire. 

Kim Jaeyeon straightened his body in an awkward manner.

“Is your ankle okay?”

At the trainer’s question, Kim Jaeyeon rotated his ankle. 

Three times to the right and three times to the left. 

He checked his ankle, knee, and leg with ease and nodded his head.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“Be careful. Your body is not just yours anymore.”

The trainer took off the wire vest from Kim Jaeyeon and joked half-seriously.

“Marinsa, Shadowman, Director Ryan. And even the Shadowman fans all over the world. They’re all waiting for the release. I know you’re happy to be filming Shadowman, but it’s all for nothing if you get hurt.”

“Yes. I know. I’ll be careful until the filming.”

“Nope. Be careful until the filming is over. The most dangerous thing is during filming. There are always some actors who get complacent because they’re used to filming.”

Kim Jaeyeon nodded at the trainer’s firm words.

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Then. Take a break and let’s do it again.”

Kim Jaeyeon caught his breath at the resting place set up on one side of the training ground. 

The trainer handed him a towel and a water bottle. 

Kim Jaeyeon wiped his sweat with the towel and drank some water. 

He exhaled.

“Calmly and flexibly. Don’t forget that.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

The other stuntmen around him looked bored at the trainer’s words, but for Kim Jaeyeon, every word was precious.

The trainer left for another stuntman and Kim Jaeyeon was left alone. 

He took a moment to catch his breath and closed his eyes. 

His heart was pounding. 

It was so loud that it seemed like it would be heard outside his body.

He didn’t know if it was because he was tired or because he was so happy to play the role.

‘It’s been months since it was decided…’

He still couldn’t calm down his excitement. He smiled softly at himself.

‘But it’s Shadowman. Marinsa…!’

No one knew how much he cried and laughed when he heard the audition results. 

He had nightmares every day until he signed the contract that it was a mistake, an error, or that another stuntman was chosen instead. It was really a day of heaven and hell.

Kim Jaeyeon opened his eyes and clenched and unclenched his hands. 

He could feel his body stiffening clearly. 

If he trained like this, he would surely get hurt.

‘Be careful.’

His body was not just his own anymore. But Kim Jaeyeon didn’t fully believe that. 

It wasn’t that there was no one else to replace him just because he was hard to replace.

The Shadowman side didn’t say anything, but Kim Jaeyeon knew that there would be at least two more people who could substitute for him if he got hurt.

‘I have to be careful to keep this position.’

Kim Jaeyeon made up his mind and calmed down his pounding heart.

“Yeon! Director Ryan is here!”

“Yes!”

At the trainer’s call, Kim Jaeyeon jumped up from his chair. 

His heart that had just calmed down started pounding again at the director’s call.

***

“Director Ryan. Jonathan. Would you like to have dinner at my house tonight if you’re okay?”

After the awkward atmosphere subsided, Seo-jun asked.

“Dinner?”

“Yes. It’s like a welcome party, Evan and Rachel are coming too.”

They had decided to rest for two days and have dinner together tonight. 

Seo-jun asked Director Ryan and Jonathan, remembering his mother’s words to ask them too.

Seo-jun’s question made Director Ryan and Jonathan nod their heads.

“I have to greet them anyway, so I’ll go.”

“I’ll go too.”

The two answered readily and Seo-jun took out his phone.

“Just a moment.”

His mother didn’t know that Jonathan was there, so Seo-jun had to text her.

<Director Ryan is coming!

<Jonathan is here too, so he’s coming with us!

Really? Then I have to prepare more food!

Seo-jun contacted Seo Eunhye and while Anh Da Ho was talking to Director Ryan for a moment, they arrived at the A3 training ground.

“Shadowman is using the A3 and A4 training grounds, but A3 is for the main actors and their stuntmen, and A4 is for the other stuntmen. Jun, you’ll train here from now on.”

Jonathan explained and Anh Da Ho asked.

“Is there a set time for using it?”

“It’s the same as the training ground usage time. For high-difficulty actions, you can only do them when the trainers are there, but Jun doesn’t have anything that difficult, so you can use it as you please.”

At that, Seo-jun smiled with satisfaction.

The door of the A3 training ground opened.

Seo-jun and Anh Da Ho looked around the training ground with admiration. 

The training ground was wide and high. 

There were also unknown machines and devices everywhere.

It was similar to the Korean Action School, but also different.

Seo-jun’s eyes sparkled.

“It looks like a hero’s training ground.”

“To an ordinary person, there’s no difference between them and heroes.”

Director Ryan waved his hand at the trainer who met his eyes and continued.

“From tomorrow, Jun will train here too. First, he’ll learn the basics and then how to wield weapons and match the choreography.”

After looking at Seo-jun for a moment, Director Ryan said.

“Basic training will be boring and wielding weapons and matching choreography won’t be all fun either. It’ll be much more exhausting and harder than you think. Your body might not follow you as you want.”

He listed the things that Seo-jun might experience as if to scare him, and Jonathan and Anh Da Ho looked at Seo-jun. They thought he would be a little scared, but Seo-jun’s face was calm.

“It’s okay. Even middle schoolers train hard if they’re professional athletes. I’m a professional actor too.”

Seo-jun was willing to accept even the hardship for acting. 

No, he enjoyed and was happy even with the hardship.

At his answer that sparkled his eyes even more, not only Director Ryan but also Jonathan and Anh Da Ho laughed.

“But who is my stuntman?”

There were three people who looked like stuntmen, but one of them was Evan Block’s stuntman whom he had seen during the filming of Shadowman 2, and one of them was Rachel Hill’s stuntman. The man with an unfamiliar face was bigger than Seo-jun.

“You’ve seen these two, right? That actor is Tul Natra’s stuntman. Oh, by the way. Jin Natra’s stuntman is Korean.”

Seo-jun and Anh Da Ho widened their eyes at Jonathan’s words.

“Korean-American?”

“No. He came from Korea three years ago.”

As soon as Jonathan finished speaking, Seo-jun saw two people walking from the corner of his eye.

He spotted Director Ryan first and was about to greet him, but the two people were surprised to see Seo-jun. 

They didn’t seem to know that he was there.

Jonathan introduced them with a smile.

“This is Aiden, the trainer who will handle Jin Natra’s action. He will also train you before filming and guide you during the action scenes.”

“Hello. I’m Seo-jun Lee. I look forward to working with you.”

“I’m Aiden. Nice to meet you.”

Aiden, who had hidden his surprised expression, reached out his hand. Seo-jun also shook it with a smile.

“This is Jaeyeon Kim, the stuntman for Jin Natra.”

“Hello. I’m Seo-jun Lee.”

“Jaeyeon Kim, or Kim Jaeyeon, is my name. I hope we get along well.”

“Please speak comfortably. We’ll train together from now on.”

At Seo-jun’s words, Kim Jaeyeon hesitated for a moment and smiled awkwardly.

“Then, should I?”

“Can I call you hyung?”

“Of course. Seo, Seo-jun.”

Seo-jun…!

He never imagined this would happen until he came to America, no, until he dreamed of becoming a stuntman. 

His family and friends in Korea would have been shocked if they heard it. 

His face turned red with excitement.

Kim Jaeyeon tried hard to hide his fluttering heart, but the actors, managers, directors, and trainers who had good eyesight because of their profession noticed it at a glance.

After greeting them, Kim Jaeyeon started training again with Aiden. 

He gathered his scattered concentration, thinking that Seo-jun was watching him. He moved his body.

Wow.

Seo-jun’s eyes sparkled at Kim Jaeyeon’s splendid movements.

***

That evening.

The Shadowman team gathered at Seo-jun’s place. 

The dishes made by Seo Eunhye, Rachel Hill, and Evan Block filled the large dining table without any gaps.

“Was the center fun?”

“Yeah! It was so fun. Oh, there was a stuntman for Jin Natra. He was Korean.”

“Really?”

Seo Eunhye widened her eyes at the word Korean.

She had never met a Korean because of filming while she was following Seo-jun through various works in Hollywood.

Evan Block, who was eating dumplings he made himself, nodded his head.

“I saw him during training and he did better than I expected. He seemed diligent too, since I ran into him every day I had training.”

Rachel Hill, who was eating samgyeopsal wrapped in lettuce, tilted her head at Evan Block’s words.

“Huh? You too? I think I saw him every time I went there too. Does he train every day? It’s not good to work too hard either.”

She looked worried. She didn’t know if Kim Jaeyeon had any signs of fatigue.

‘He looked fine.’

“How did you find him?”

At Seo Eunhye’s question, Jonathan, who was cutting a large piece of steak and chewing it in his mouth, answered.

“We auditioned him. It was hard to find someone with exactly the same physique and silhouette as Jun, so we chose the most skilled person among those who had the most similar silhouette. We also considered Jun’s growth spurt. You can trust his skills.”

Ryan Director looked at Seo Eunhye’s face and said.

“He seemed to have no problem with his personality either. I liked what I saw at the training ground. The trainer also gave him a good evaluation.”

He had chosen him carefully because he would train and film with Seo-jun. He even used Marinsa to check him out in various ways, in case he would have a bad influence.

“I saw him too and he seemed like a nice person.”

At Director Ryan and Anh Da Ho’s words, Seo Eunhye smiled with relief.

“That’s good to hear. Seo-jun-ah. Ask him next time you see him. Let’s have a meal together sometime.”

“Yeah! Okay.”

Seo-jun, who was inhaling spaghetti with meatballs, nodded his head.

“You’ll start training tomorrow. It’ll be really hard at first? Are you ready?”

At Rachel Hill’s words, Seo-jun burst into laughter.

His flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes showed his anticipation for tomorrow’s training.

“It sounds like it’ll be really fun.”

Everyone laughed at his expression.