Chapter 223

November 2nd.

It was the first day of filming for Shadowman 3.

Seo-jun and Seo Eun Hye got in the car to leave their accommodation for the first shoot.

“Good morning.”

The bodyguard who was sitting in the driver’s seat greeted them with a smile. 

Seo-jun and Seo Eun Hye also smiled brightly and greeted him back.

“Thank you for your help today.”

“Don’t worry. I’m the best driver in the security team.”

The bodyguard had won a fierce competition to drive Seo-jun’s car. He hummed a tune in his mind as he started the engine.

Seo-jun, who had buckled his seat belt, looked at the driver’s seat. 

It felt strange that Anh Da Ho was not there as usual.

“It feels weird without Da Ho hyung.”

Especially since Anh Da Ho always accompanied him during filming.

“He’s busy preparing for the exam with the staff from King’s Agency. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“I knew Da Ho hyung was preparing for the exam, but he’s doing it with the staff? Do they know about the exam?”

Seo Eun Hye answered Seo-jun’s question with a smile.

“Nara said they had an exam every time they opened a new branch of King’s Market. It’s been a tradition since their grandfather’s time. They used to work at King’s Market, so they’ve seen it a few times.”

“I see.”

Well, there were some Korean staff at King’s Agency, so it must have been easier to prepare.

“How many people do you think will come?”

The filming was scheduled for the afternoon. In the morning, they were going to have a simple exam at the set.

“I don’t know. I told them to come if they were interested. I don’t think there will be that many, though.”

“Really?”

Rachel and Evan might have been curious about Korea since they were learning Korean, but other people might not have much interest.

A few minutes later.

Seo-jun and Seo Eun Hye arrived at the set and widened their eyes.

“…There are a lot of people?”

There were more people gathered at the set than they expected.

***

Anh Da Ho, who had received a call from the bodyguard, entered the set with Seo-jun and Seo Eun Hye.

On one side of the set, there were folding screens and an altar that they didn’t expect to see in America. Rice cakes and fruits were neatly placed on top of the altar.

The staff who had finished preparing were taking pictures with curious expressions.

“Da Ho hyung. Is everything ready?”

“Yes.”

He had asked several directors carefully, but it still felt awkward. 

Anh Da Ho read the exam procedure he had written down once again.

“Seo-jun will read the congratulatory message. One of the staff from King’s Agency will translate it for you, so pause between sentences.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll take care of hosting and burning the message.”

They had practiced hard in the parking lot of their accommodation.

Seo-jun nodded at Anh Da Ho’s words. 

Seo Eun Hye said.

“I think Seo-jun and Da Ho should bow first, since most people probably don’t know how to do it.”

Seo-jun and Anh Da Ho agreed.

“But where’s the pig’s head?”

Wasn’t that the most important part? Seo-jun tilted his head and Anh Da Ho laughed.

“Rachel brought it.”

“…A pig’s head?”

“A doll!”

A pink pig nose suddenly appeared in front of Seo-jun’s eyes. 

It was a soft and squishy pig nose that looked like it would be fun to touch. Seo-jun blinked his eyes.

When he rolled his eyes, he saw the eyes and ears of the pig doll. 

He looked up and saw who was holding the pig doll.

Rachel Hill was smiling brightly.

“Rachel! You’re here?”

“I came with Evan and Ms. Swallen.”

Evan Block and Swallen Anne were standing behind Rachel Hill. Seo-jun smiled widely.

While Seo-jun was talking to them, Rachel Hill placed the pig doll in the center of the altar as she had seen in YouTube videos.

The staff who were taking pictures tilted their heads.

“What’s with the pig doll on the table?”

“Yeah, what is it? A decoration?”

A passing staff member from King’s Agency explained with a smile.

“Normally, they put a pig’s head there.”

“…A pig’s head?”

They couldn’t imagine what it would look like. Some of them searched it online. 

The images that came up showed altars with pig heads.

They were real pig heads.

The staff who lost their color laughed softly at their expressions.

“They usually put a smiling pig head, but that seemed too ‘Korean’ and I thought the other staff might feel uncomfortable, so I changed it to a doll.”

“…Good call.”

If they had seen the real thing… The staff shook their heads.

The pig in the picture was grinning.

***

A little later.

Anh Da Ho raised his voice.

“Then we’ll start the exam. Some parts will be in Korean. Please understand.”

The people who were going to participate in the exam gathered in front.

Rachel Hill and Evan Block came forward with excited expressions. Ryan Will, the director, and Jonathan Will, the assistant director, also stood in front with half-curious expressions. Fallon Park, who came from the Marines, headed to the front. There were also some staff who didn’t mind bowing.

“I never thought I’d do this here…”

Kim Jae Yeon, the stuntman, scratched his cheek and stood in front.

He had explained to the stuntmen and the martial arts director, who were also superstitious and cared about safety more than anyone else.

Seo-jun, who was going to bow first and read the congratulatory message, stood in front and the atmosphere became calm.

[(Sun)Orc Priest’s Prayer-Intermediate is activated.]

[The exam begins.]

[(Sun)Orc Priest’s Prayer-Intermediate]

A prayer that was offered to the gods before a battle with enemies.

You must follow the exam procedure of (burning incense>praying>burning fire).

The concentration, mental power, and healing power of the participants will increase during the battle depending on the number of prayers.

Prayers: 0

Deadline: 4 months

The prayer of the orcs who had placed the skull of their greatest ancestor on the altar and offered an exam.

It was a skill that increased the concentration to avoid enemy attacks, the mental power to make correct judgments without getting excited at any time, and the healing power to recover quickly even if injured.

It was a skill that would be very useful during filming.

Seo-jun smiled contentedly as he found the perfect skill. 

He briefly rolled his eyes and looked at the ‘ancestor’s skull’ that was placed on the altar.

‘…Is a pig doll okay?’

There was no mention of it in the skill conditions, and it seemed to work fine, but he felt uneasy looking at the smiling pig doll with red cheeks.

‘I should have asked Uncle Hee Sang.’

No, then he would have brought a real orc head.

Seo-jun felt troubled as he looked at the cute pig doll. 

Anh Da Ho lit a fire on the candle that was on the altar. 

He then lit an incense stick. 

A thin smoke rose from the tip of the incense stick.

Wow.

Some people unconsciously exclaimed. They held their breath.

Anh Da Ho bowed three times right after lighting the incense stick.

‘Please let Seo-jun film safely during this shoot.’

He didn’t care if it was superstition. 

Anh Da Ho prayed sincerely.

His manager’s earnest bow, filled with concern for his actor, captivated everyone’s attention. 

The people who had felt like it was a small event became solemn.

[Prayers: 1]

[(Sun)Orc Priest’s Prayer-Intermediate], the smoke of the incense, and Anh Da Ho’s bow blended together. It felt like a heavy energy settled in the set.

Anh Da Ho, who had bowed, stepped down and Seo-jun stood in front of the altar.

‘Please let no one get hurt and finish filming safely.’

[Prayers: 2]

He bowed three times and Anh Da Ho handed him the congratulatory message. 

It was written in Korean with a black pen on a white paper that was easy to burn.

“November 2nd.”

Seo-jun opened his mouth. 

The atmosphere was more solemn than he expected, and everyone’s eyes were on him.

“Director Ryan Will and all participants of the movie Shadowman 3 respectfully announce to the heavens and earth that we are filming the movie Shadowman 3.”

Seo-jun’s calm voice echoed, followed by the voice of a staff member from King’s Agency who translated it. The congratulatory message was slightly modified, but everyone was silent.

“O heavens and earth.”

A strange aura emanated from the priest’s body.

“Please watch over our movie Shadowman 3 and protect us from all evil spirits and gods during the production period. Please let us finish filming without any accidents.”

It was a solid and heavy voice that expressed his wish for the soldiers who were facing a battle.

“Please let our movie Shadowman 3 achieve an amazing box office record from the first day of release and become a masterpiece that will last in history.”

It was a voice that reminded him of the glory that would come after the battle. The people felt their hearts flutter at the glory that seemed to come true just by praying for it.

“Please accept our humble food and drink and respond to our sincere devotion.”

He somehow reminded him of the little shaman of evil spirits.

“November 2nd. Director Ryan Will and all participants of the movie Shadowman 3.”

Seo-jun folded the congratulatory message he had read and got up.

“Then, please come up if you want to bow.”

At Anh Da Ho’s words, Rachel Hill, Evan Block, Ryan Will, and Jonathan Will stood on the mat with awkward but serious expressions.

“I practiced, but I’m nervous.”

“Do we do it three times?”

“Yes. Just relax.”

At Seo-jun’s words, they exhaled. 

Seo Eun Hye, who noticed their worried expressions as they tried to time their rise for the second bow, smiled and said.

“Do you want me to join you?”

“Yes!”

They brightened up at her words. Seo Eun Hye smiled softly. 

Jonathan Will stood next to Seo Eun Hye and they bowed together. The four people followed their timing.

‘Please let us finish well.’

He had dreamed of this series for a long time. Director Ryan Will sincerely hoped for it.

Somehow, he felt his mind calm down just by praying like this.

[Prayers: 3]

‘Please let everyone be safe.’

She wished for the safety of their stuntmen, Swallen Anne and Evan Block, Rachel Hill and her son and friends.

[Prayers: 7]

‘Please make it a good movie.’

She hoped that her uncle’s dream would come true.

[Prayers: 8]

Seo-jun barely held back his laughter as he watched them bow sincerely. 

It was nice that they prayed earnestly, but all four of them couldn’t catch the timing to get up for the second bow. 

They looked around awkwardly, just like Eun Soo did on New Year’s Day.

The five people who had bowed stepped down and this time, Fallon Park led the Marines staff to bow. 

They all tensed up and looked at Fallon Park.

[Prayers: 16]

Next was the stuntmen’s turn. 

Kim Jae Yeon bowed awkwardly under the gazes from all directions. Finally, the staff and the King’s Agency staff also bowed.

[Prayers: 43]

43 people.

There seemed to be some people who prayed with them while watching from the sidelines.

‘That should be enough, right?’

Seo-jun smiled contentedly.

The last step was to burn the congratulatory message. 

Anh Da Ho held the message and a lighter in his hand after clearing the nearby objects that could catch fire.

“Then I’ll burn the message.”

Seo-jun watched as the fire caught on the end of the message. 

A red flame burned and a notification popped up.

[The exam is over.]

[(Sun)Orc Priest’s Prayer-Intermediate is activated.]

The congratulatory message burned quickly along the paper. 

As they watched the message burn, Seo-jun’s eyes were elsewhere.

Only he could see the aura that resembled the flames from the message, exploding and embracing the prayers.

Seo-jun smiled satisfied at the aura that headed towards the stuntmen, who would be in the most danger during filming.

***

[Shadowman 3, crank in!]

[Shadowman 3, hold an exam! “Safety, success, box office!”]

[Shadowman 3, replace pig’s head with pig doll!]

[Marines, upload Shadowman 3 exam scene on YouTube!]

[What is this? Foreigners’ ??? comments pile up!]

-…???

=Koreans are also ‘???’. Why are you holding an exam?

-Right. There aren’t many Koreans in Shadowman 3, right? How did you know?

-Seo-jun?

=No, it’s Rachel Hill. It was on Rachel Hill’s SNS. She brought a pig doll instead of a pig’s head.

=How did Rachel Hill know…

=She learned Korean, which was amazing enough. And an exam

=Lol pig doll.

-But they all do it very seriously.

=Right. It felt like a small event before the exam started, but it became solemn after that

=It made me solemn too.

=I prayed too. Please make Shadowman 3 a hit!

-Seo-jun’s voice is nice.

=22 It reminds me of The Evil Spirit.

=If it was that god, he would grant Seo-jun’s wishes.

=You want this? Here you go! This too? Of course! Wait! This might be useful too…(mumbling) This is good too, don’t you like it? Not this but that? Ugh! Just take everything!(all kinds of good things pouring out)

=Lololol

-I wish he came to our store and read a congratulatory message

=Then it would really be a hit.