Chapter 337

Chapter 337

TeSTAR’s cameo in the movie saw them appearing as the protagonist led a large-scale battle. They were to back up a side character, then vanish.

It’s perfect to pay homage to or parody the original game, that much is true. Based on what we’d seen of the script, it seemed that there would be a lot of passing appearances from other game characters, not just us.

I would guess that this scene takes place sometime after the midpoint of the movie, right before the climax. But we were not actual actors or computer graphics, and if we appeared out of the blue as game characters, it would seem very out of place. If we came off as even a little awkward, the moment would be ruined.

And if it’s any worse than that, the internet will laugh at us. It was no wonder the director and the people on set didn’t like us. This had been a choice made by the film company, as a deal between two corporate entities.

The producer sitting in front of us was the head of the working-level people, the person situated right in between the film company and the production team. He had rights, but in a way, he could sympathize with the people who actually did the work. What was more, we currently had the advantage—he was willing to listen to us.

Seon Ahyeon set the mood well. He was likely to accept any opinion at this point that seemed passable, now that the situation had grown so tense. I spoke slowly. I would start by offering a carrot before showing him the stick.

“We didn’t mean to disrupt the schedule on set, either. It’s impossible anyway, given our touring schedule.”

We’re busy, too, asshole. After the interpreter did their part, the producer nodded, wearing quite the serious look on his face. I continued.

“So why don’t we just add a very simple scene that will serve to show TeSTAR in the movie. The contract must be honored, after all.”

I waited for the interpreter to speak.

The interpreter said, “He says that he’ll look for the most similar scene in the movie he can, then we can arrange a time for you to film.” He had taken the bait, thinking we were trying for conciliation, too.

I knew you were going to do that, but not so fast. I stifled a grin. We couldn’t appear in a battle scene looking like stupid cosplayers. I wanted something different for us.

“Doing that will make things difficult for both sides, so we’re willing to make it easier for you.”

I was leading the conversation somewhere very specific. Thinking of the scenes that I’d taken note of while looking at the summarized script on the plane, I picked one of them out from the rest.

“How about this scene?” I asked.

I’d asked our staff, who’d been largely ignored as they moved about on the set, as soon as we got back to the hotel whether any of the scenes I’d picked had been mentioned by the set’s staff. There had been a single match.

“Oh, this one…”

“Did they mention it?”

“Yes. Uh, I think they said this actor was going to be on set soon.”

This was the same scene I’d just pointed out, the only one that fit our schedule perfectly. I held out the relevant page from the summary.

“It’s more fun if artists stay true to their role. We’re idols, and a big battle scene might seem awkward with us in it.”

It was a cut that would be quick to film, affecting the filming schedule very little while contributing favorably to our reputation as well. This is how we would proceed.

“There’s not much you need to do—we’d say a line, and be seen in the background. This will probably be more convenient for you.”

The producer listened to the interpreter, and I glanced around me. We’d already discussed this in advance at the hotel, so none of the others seemed particularly surprised.

Eugene, however, who was sitting closer to the producer, raised an eyebrow facetiously. He seemed to have overheard something.

Ah? Eugene grinned. I think I can guess what the man is talking about.

Moments later, the interpreter said, “He says he would like to hear more.”

This was basically a go-ahead.

There we go. I shrugged.

Three days later, in the afternoon, our cameo was filmed as planned.

***

It was a morning in late winter, and as with all Hollywood sets, the employees all knew exactly what their roles were. Even if their jobs paid poorly and consisted of being treated badly and a lot of drudgery, there was no way around it. If they only wanted to put food on the table, they would have gone to law school instead.

One assistant, who was basically acting as an errand girl to the entire production team, was no different. She was the youngest personal assistant and only barely managed to listen to a sudden briefing while checking the coffee was topped up on set.

“There’s more people coming in?”

Though it was only for a short cameo, sudden additions like this were very rare.

When she asked who these exceptions were, a team member replied tersely, “K-pop stars.”

“Oh.”

They were the ones who’d left the set without asking a few days ago. It was unclear just how popular they were in their own country, but she knew of K-pop and hadn’t heard of them.

VTIC? That’s the only K-pop boy band that I know, though. She frowned slightly for a moment, thinking of her younger sister, who was a K-pop fanatic.

“Joanne was rude, that much is true.”

The assistant director and half the production team had not been particularly polite that day—in fact, only completely rookie actors would ever be treated that way. Of course, it was another matter entirely whether it was actually acceptable to treat even rookies that way.

“Even so, it was pretty bold of them to just leave the set without asking,” the team member said.

This was not a compliment. If they just left their trailer, unable to endure waiting in the cold, they could kiss any chances of success in Hollywood goodbye.

It’s going to be a rough day. She tried to guess at how badly the band, who had stomped off set the same day they’d arrived, would ruin her day. She sighed.

“A longer day filming, then?”

“There’s a thirty-minute extension.”

“Uh… I hope Steve doesn’t kill anybody today.”

“I pray that it ends quickly.”

Their chitchat ended quickly. She was called away and soon began running about the set again. The director of this movie had cut down on computer graphics costs as much as possible, instead spending lavishly on the set.

The set itself, and the effects, were extremely realistic. It was rare that such an incredible environment was provided for the actors to work in, since with this sort of movie it was common to act wearing nothing but skin-tight green suits.

Still… What exactly are they going to film today? This scene was set early in the movie. The protagonist, visiting the space station for the first time, meets a companion at a bar. It served to show off the massive scale of the universe the movie was set in. There was no place here for strangely dressed K-pop stars.

Well, I suppose Joanne, the assistant director, knows that. The assistant’s role was only to manage the menial labor. She repressed a sigh as she moved a desk. She was mid-way through stacking a few chairs when she lost her balance.

“Whoa!”

She stumbled backwards.

My god! She shut her eyes, but didn’t fall to the floor along with the chairs. Instead, someone snatched the chairs she’d been holding from her hands.

“You all right?”

“…! Oh, y-yeah…”

“Gosh, you’re carrying so many. I see some other staff lazing around over there. Shouldn’t they be helping?” The voice was cheerful and relaxed.

Who is it? She wondered, but stood up first. She was surprised at who she found when she finally looked around.

“We each have our jobs…”

“Well, I suppose you’re right.”

She looked up and found more than ten people standing before her—they were all Asian, and most of them male.

The handsome boy who had taken the chairs from her grinned. “Our job is to appear in a cameo. Nice to meet you. We’re TeSTAR.”

“Hello!”

The other boys who were saying hello to her from behind the first seemed about the same age as him and were quite polite. They all had smooth skin and were good-looking, but a few were a little too pretty in her eyes.

Still, they seem nice. Any worry she’d had about them making things difficult vanished entirely.

“Hello, yes. Thank you for your help.”

She nearly complimented them on their English, but stopped herself and said something normal instead.

A boy with pink hair spoke with an odd look in his eyes, like he’d noticed. “This guy is from around here… California.”

“Oh, okay.”

She realized she’d been more surprised because of his obvious Californian accent. She found herself studying the boy who had helped her. He was muscular and relaxed-looking, giving off the usual confident vibes you’d expect from someone who was very successful.

“You can call me Eugene,” said the boy.

“Oh, all right.”

“We don’t have to eat those delicious sandwiches in the trailer today, do we?”

The way he spoke… he was definitely from around here, all right. He had the classic Californian way of putting even the negative things in a vaguely positive light down pat. She smiled with some effort.

“Perhaps. Let me bring you to Joanne—that is, the assistant director.”

“Thanks!”

As she began to walk, she heard a foreign language being spoken behind her.

“Wow! Eugene sure is smooth!”

“I know!”

She had no idea what they were saying, but they sounded cheerful, and not at all offended.

Did they get their cameo extended or something? One thing was for sure. The assistant director was now treating them very differently, too. Joanne was suddenly being excessively polite.

What in the world? In any case, they quickly took to the set before the lead actors had even shown up for the day. She moved quickly as well, first fetching snacks and drinks.

“So, where should I bring these after you’re done?”

The pink-haired boy glanced at her instead of the staff and gave a short response, pointing up.

Up?

“Thank you. Up there, if you please.”

“…?”

She followed where he was pointing with her eyes, and the boy continued politely, “We’re going to perform.”

Oh my god. He was pointing to a corner of the pub, created as part of the set for completeness’ sake. It was a small stage, positioned in the corner. They were here as extras that would be shown in the background of a scene! It was unbelievably unassuming.

Why… Why are they bothering to do this at all? They were wearing makeup, but she wasn’t even sure if this outlandish set would suit them. The preparations for the shoot proceeded, however, and after a camera test, the boys really went and stood on the stage.

They’ll include the sounds during the editing phase, so they only need to pretend they’re singing.

They adjusted their microphones, however, and one member even actually sat at the keyboard. One of the boys asked how to use a strange-looking space-themed instrument. The set was quiet as filming began, nobody really expecting much from it.

The speakers hummed, and the lights dimmed, nighttime lighting and the mirror ball glinting.

Black hole

A rich voice rang through the microphone that wasn’t meant to be used for actual singing.

“…!”

They sounded amazing, and multiple voices sang in harmony as accompaniment, the sound seeming to shimmer through the air like a light show or starlight. It wasn’t graceful, however. The texture of the sound was reminiscent of a random crayon scrawl, the song itself quick and addictive, perfect for a kitsch space opera.

They were now a rebellious space band singing on a tiny stage.

Let me swallow it

The image they painted was absurdly good, completely blending in with the bizarre sci-fi bar set. They were very talented at capturing the moment. She suddenly felt that she could understand why the boy had left the state where he was born to live in a faraway country.

You can’t turn down the opportunity to work on a team like this. She would probably have been floored to learn that they hadn’t always been a team, and that they’d initially only been a temporary group born from an audition show.

In any case, their live performance of the song made for the soundtrack, shortened to two minutes, left quite a few staff in a daze, not only her. Some of the staff even bounced along with the rhythm as the song escalated and climaxed.

Then it was over.

“Thank you.”

The relaxed way they bowed after they were done made them seem even more impressive. They really gave off the vibes of popular celebrities.

That was surprisingly good. What was more, they hadn’t looked at the camera once—which was perfect, since they were filming a movie.

The assistant was filled with disappointment.

This will all be edited out! It was highly unlikely that the movie would include the full performance. It would be too random and extraneous. Perhaps it would be included as behind-the-scenes footage, but that was it.

For some reason, she felt that this was extremely unfair. She knew why they’d picked this as their cameo scene, but they’d probably made a mistake, not knowing much about the industry.

“Phew.”

It seemed she hadn’t needed to worry. The artists themselves didn’t even seem to expect much to come of their performance. They weren’t hoping they did so well that the whole song would be included in the movie. They were building up to the next scene.

“Hmm.”

“I guess that’s it for the performance, right?”

“I would guess so.”

Park Moondae moved away from the microphone, speaking to Bae Sejin as the other members stood by for the next scene.

“Sejin, it’s time to show us your acting skills.”

“Let’s go!”

“Don’t feel pressured in any way, but know that we trust you very much!” Raebin said.

Bae Sejin nodded gravely, as if he’d never been dismissive or remarked that a single line of dialogue was nothing to take so seriously.

“Got it!”

“Yeah!”

Seems like he’s pretty immersed in the role, Moondae decided. Bae Sejin refused the water that the staff offered him and adjusted his outfit, his gaze serene.

A while later, after the actors arrived on set, TeSTAR’s real cameo was filmed.

“…!”

The youngest assistant finally understood why the K-pop band had chosen this scene in particular. At the same time, she grew confused.

Why is this guy in a boy band at all?

***

Two months later, an unreleased preview of the movie was shown internally, and TeSTAR’s scene was not cut or shortened even after the feedback process was complete. Rumors spread, however, and articles speculating about it began to circulate in Korea.

[“Set in a Korean game’s universe” Limestone’s new movie might include a K-pop idol group]

The firewood was ready, and all that remained was for the match to drop.