Translator: Dreamscribe
About an hour later.
The first scene was approved on the sixth take. Of course, the fifth scene, where Yasutaro had suddenly improved, was of sufficient quality for an OK, but Director Kyotaro also decided to try 6th take just to be sure.
As a result.
‘Good, we’ll go with either the fifth or the sixth.’
Director Kyotaro was able to capture the scene he wanted. Thus, the rather challenging first scene of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ was completed. However, the set, including Director Kyotaro and dozens of staff from ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’, became even busier.
After all, they had only just finished the first scene.
“Fog!! More intense fog!!”
“Yes!!”
“The director wants another light added!!”
“We’re setting it up now!”
“Props team!! Where’s the other wooden boat??! We need to add one more camera!”
“We’ll get it ready!!”
Before they knew it, it was past 8 PM. The local onlookers, excluding the journalists, film company and distribution company staff, and the actors, had mostly left. The fishing village ‘Ine Funaya’ had become even more eerie.
Due to the filming cooperation, the village lights other than the street lamps were further dimmed or removed, making it almost pitch dark.
Especially around the filming area at the dock.
Only the soft lighting focused on the filming was there.
That was when.
-Thud!!
The sound of the slate echoed again. Following that, Director Kyotaro’s signal resounded loudly across the filming set.
“Action!!”
Simultaneously, Kang Woojin on the wooden boat unleashed Iyota Kiyoshi with his whole body. Instantly, the vitality in his eyes vanished. Expression? It was always mannequin-like, but now it was several times harder to discern. Darkness shrouded Woojin’s face.
Of course, the cowering Konakayama Ginzo also brought out an evolved version of himself.
Unlike the initial squawking, the current Konakayama Ginzo exuded a vibe of an adult child forcibly suppressing fear.
Kang Woojin surveyed the fog-filled sea and spoke in a dried up voice.
“Do you remember Toka? Misaki Toka.”
“···Toka. Misaki Toka. That, that’s right. You! You’re Kiyoshi. Iyota Kiyoshi??”
“Correct. You’re finally remembering.”
“Is, is that really you, Iyota Kiyoshi? You?”
“Long time no see.”
A greeting devoid of expression or emotion. Meanwhile, Konakayama Ginzo’s breathing became unsteady, his eyes bulging with shock.
“Why······did you.”
‘Do this to me?’ would complete the sentence, but Ginzo couldn’t continue. Kang Woojin, calmly breathing, remained silent. However, inside his heart, parched by drought, a wind was blowing.
Anger? Frustration? It wasn’t anything like that.
It was more like realization. Ginzo recognized me and changed his thoughts. As evidence, the sense of crisis in his voice slightly faded. One must notice every change visible in the opponent. Any hesitation could ruin everything. Kang Woojin became utterly lukewarm.
He lowered the temperature of his previously calm mindset even further.
And he turned cold.
The camera captured such Kang Woojin with a chest-up shot, and Woojin slowly began to speak.
“Ginzo. This is a fishing village near Chiba.”
In reality, ‘Ine Funaya’ was in Kyoto, but the movie setting changed it to Chiba.
“And it’s also Misaki Toka’s hometown.”
“Ki, Kiyoshi. Don’t tell me this is because of when we bullied her a little back in the day??”
“Of course not.”
“Ha ha, right, right. You were magnanimous. As I thought, it’s just a joke, right?”
“But Toka is dead.”
Instantly, Ginzo’s head filled with a panorama of the forgotten past, everything about Toka, and her death, including his own relief.
But he didn’t show it. He had to hide it at all costs.
“…That, that’s!”
“Right. She threw herself. But it’s no different from being pushed by many.”
Ginzo’s lips trembled as he looked at Kang Woojin in front of him and alternated his gaze to the man dressed like a homeless person in the boat next to them. Expressionless, Kang Woojin stared back at Ginzo and dryly asked,
“How much of that pushing force was yours?”
“······”
A brief silence spread. Here, Director Kyotaro cut the scene. It’s an OK, but change the composition and action again. The shooting continuity sheet was turned one page over.
Next scene.
Starting with Ginzo slowly lowering his head in response to Iyota’s question. His eyeballs were rolling incessantly. In the midst of it, he was calculating.
Crazy bastard. What the hell are you fucking talking about now? Revenge? For that Misaki Toka?
‘Why bring that up now?!!’
More importantly, does this damned guy know everything? No way. That can’t be.
‘We had that bitch’s weakness, and she didn’t have the courage to talk about it recklessly.’
Ginzo, looking down at his bare feet, gradually lifted his head. Kang Woojin’s dry face became visible, clearer now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness.
Ginzo made up his mind.
“Kiyoshi. You have some kind of misunderstanding!”
He decided to deny everything.
“I! I actually treated Toka well! Yes, it’s true that the kids bullied her a bit. No! It was severe. Yes, that’s right. But I felt pity for her. I even tried to stop them instead.”
“······”
“It’s unfair. If Toka were alive, I would have told them to let her live.”
“That so.”
“Th-that’s right. Ah! How about this? I’ll help you.”
“No, if it were Toka, she would have chosen forgiveness over hatred for you.”
“···What?”
Kang Woojin let out a bored sigh.
“Ginzo. You really are clever.”
“What do you mean?”
“Even now, you’re calculating. Whether I know everything or not. Yes, keep denying it.”
“Wa, wait. Kiyoshi.”
“Do as you think. It’s okay.”
It’s okay. This single phrase was terrifying to Ginzo. Or rather, to Yasutaro, who was playing his role. He wasn’t sure why. It was just a dry tone of voice, but it felt as if he could his death. The dull eyes of Kang Woojin were the same.
‘Damn it. How can he act like that?’
Yasutaro, who unknowingly felt envy, returned to Ginzo’s mindset. There’s no front or back. Only the sea. What’s the depth of the fog-filled sea like? Deep? Scary. I want to live. However, not a trace of hope was visible in that guy Kiyoshi’s demeanor.
The camera filmed Yasutaro, who had become increasingly anxious, from the side. He suddenly twisted his body backwards and shouted toward the eerie village.
“Save me!!! Here!! Here!! There are people here! Please save me!!”
His own voice echoed from the mountains beyond the village.
“······”
But his voice returned like a boomerang, with no response whatsoever. Instead, there was a response from expressionless Woojin.
“You’re only making it hard for youself, Ginzo. There’s no one here. Do you remember the bubble era from decades ago?”
“···What?”
“This place aimed to expand as a tourist destination back then. Lodgings, restaurants, they increased indiscriminately. But the bubble burst and it all failed. No one comes here anymore.”
It was like an abandoned village.
“They’ll probably find out if they investigate tomorrow, but for now, no one knows you’re here.”
“How, how did I get here?”
“By car.”
Kang Woojin pointed to the homeless man in the boat next to them.
“He drove. I sent a message to your wife, Ginzo, from your cell phone.”
“Hey.”
“You often meet women under the excuse of business trips. You frequently stay out overnight. Your wife probably doesn’t suspect anything. The three of us will stay together until tomorrow morning.”
“······”
“Are you hungry?”
“Ki, Kiyoshi. I am.”
“If not that—”
Woojin, having finished speaking, made a move. He pulled out a cellphone from his pocket. It was Ginzo’s.
“Make a call.”
“···What? To whom?”
“To ‘Horinochi Amie.’ She’s the owner of the karaoke bar you were at just before coming here and one of our nine classmates.”
In the script, before coming to this sea, Ginzo had been drinking at the karaoke bar run by his classmate ‘Horinochi Amie’. And she was also one of the nine names written on the crumpled piece of paper that Iyota Kiyoshi possessed.
“I’ll tell you what to say. Just deliver the message as I tell you and then hang up.”
“Amie······Wait a minute. Kiyoshi, are you really taking revenge for Misaki Toka?”
Woojin, shaking his head quietly, spoke in a dry voice innocently.
“No. It’s just something that I need to do.”
“Just… something that needs to be done?”
“Homework.”
Ginzo’s body trembled more violently, and he furrowed his brow deeply.
“Look, if this is some kind of joke, stop it. Why? Why would you, Kiyoshi, take revenge for Misaki Toka… You were nothing to Toka?”
“That’s right. I’m just a ‘stranger’.”
At this point.
“Cut! OK!”
Once again, Director Kyotaro’s signal spread. This time, it was OK in one take. Everyone was so focused that dozens of staff members swallowed their saliva and watched their acting intently.
Then, the reorganization was completed again.
Compared to the first shoot, the pacing of the current shoot was much faster. Not only Kang Woojin, but also Yasutaro and the actor playing the homeless man, had greatly improved in quality. Amidst this, Yasutaro experienced for the first time since becoming an actor the process of ‘stepping out’ of a role.
The difference between being ‘Ginzo’ then and now was stark.
He had to control the intensified emotions and maintain them. No, he did not want to let go of the vivid threads of Ginzo that enveloped his whole body.
‘Have I ever experienced this before?’
For Yasutaro, it was the first time as an actor to be so immersed in a role. That’s why he was greedy. He found acting enjoyable. When Director Kyotaro’s action signal rang out next, the cynical Kang Woojin in front of him instantly changed. The vanished Kiyoshi appeared in just one second. The speed was jaw-dropping.
From the dry lines delivered by Woojin, Yasutaro realized that his current acting ability.
“Make the call, Ginzo.”
Was not purely his own.
‘Iyota Kiyoshi. Yes, Kang Woojin. It’s because of this Korean actor… that I was able to do it.’
He was influenced by Kang Woojin. He was dominating this vast filming location like a solid beam. Yasutaro’s acting ability was merely boosted by Woojin.
‘Because it’s realistic. Because he is Kiyoshi himself, it feels like I’ve entered the world of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger.”
‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ was Kang Woojin, and Kang Woojin was ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger.’ Yasutaro felt this watching Woojin right in front of him. And so did Director Kyotaro monitoring from the screen, and Akari, the original author, would feel the same.
It was as if the set of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ was laid out in Kang Woojin’s hands.
Normally, if the acting partner was weak, an actor had to somehow portray the role alone. Then naturally, the camera captures the disparity between the two performances. This is also referred to as the scene being jarring. The Japanese actor Yasutaro had countless experiences of this.
But it was okay. There was no problem.
‘Because I only had to focus on my own part.’
Getting the scripted lines right and acting a bit over-the-top was enough for an OK. More than the synergy between actors, more than the acting quality, a striking image was crucial. That was the current market in Japan. However, ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ was not like that at all.
In this place, centered around Kang Woojin, Yasutaro had no reason to exist if not as ‘Ginzo.’
‘Ha, Kang Woojin. The presence of this actor is simply too immense.’
-Creak.
Soon, from the slightly shaking wooden boat, Kang Woojin’s dried up voice rang out again.
“The message you need to deliver to ‘Horinochi Amie’ is simple.”
“······What, what is it?”
“Just say ‘Misaki Toka has returned.’”
“Toka has returned?”
“Yes, that’s all. Then I’ll send you home.”
“Really?!”
“Of course. I’ll really send you home.”
Expressionless, Woojin extended Ginzo’s cellphone to him.
“Just so you know, no mistakes.”
“No! A mistake, I won’t make one. Absolutely not.”
“It’s okay, Ginzo. It’s okay even if you do make a mistake.”
“It’s okay?”
“Like telling ‘Amie’ about your current situation or asking her to save you. That would be fine too.”
“Ah, no! I have no such intention!”
“That’s fine too. The scenario will just change a bit. But then, you’ll be ravaged and found naked tomorrow morning.”
Ginzo’s arms trembled uncontrollably as Woojin spoke emotionlessly. Nonetheless, he managed to take the cellphone. He then called ‘Horinochi Amie’ from the list. Ginzo’s hands were respectful as he held the phone to his ear.
“······Ah, Amie.”
His gaze shifted to Kiyoshi across from him.
“Misaki Toka has returned.”
It sounded like a loud woman’s voice could be heard over the phone, but Ginzo slowly lowered the phone. Woojin took it from him. Then he moved to the wooden boat where a man dressed as a homeless person was.
“You did well, Ginzo.”
The man in the guise of a homeless person moved to the wooden boat where Kang Woojin had been seated. They swapped places. Ginzo’s eyes flickered anxiously, and that was when Woojin’s calm lines were heard.
“Now I’ll send you home. Though it’ll be hard to do so alive.”
A little later.
Kang Woojin could be found on the rooftop of the tallest building in the fishing village. Two cameras filming him were behind him. And on the rooftop railing, the man who appeared to be a homeless person who had been with him earlier stood. It was a familiar setting, only the location was different.
Yes, it was like the last scene of Misaki Toka and Kiyoshi.
Soon, the homeless man, who appeared to be in his sixties, looked down from the building. The port and the moonlit sea were visible. On it, two wooden boats floated; one of the boats had a naked man lying in it. It was Konakayama Ginzo.
For some reason, he was motionless. Was he asleep?
Whether he was or not, the homeless man’s gaze drifted far off to the moon.
“By tomorrow, the world will be turned upside down. The detectives will chase you madly. Don’t let your guard down thinking you’re hiding in the fog.”
Kang Woojin. No, Iyota Kiyoshi responded with an expressionless face.
“You don’t have to go that far, Misaki Shutoku ssi.”
It seems the man’s name was Misaki Shutoku. He shared the same last name as Misaki Toka. The man laughed heartily.
“That’s right. But now, I want to see my daughter.”
“Death is death. Saying you’ll see her after that is just superstition.”
“Haha. You’re the same as when I first saw you. Iyota Kiyoshi, I’m sorry for entrusting you with such a heavy burden.”
“It’s not a burden.”
“Yes, yes, it’s your homework. You said it yourself, didn’t you? I just need to stay silent and the detectives will be thoroughly confused. Even though I am of sound mind, I lack the courage to stay quiet. That’s why I am asking you, my daughter’s ‘strange’ friend to take on this burden.”
Kang Woojin did not respond anymore. It wasn’t that he ‘did not’; he ‘could not’. The man at the railing had already disappeared, just like Misaki Toka.
“······”
The homeless man. No, he was Misaki Toka’s father.