Our Story - Binjin

Chapter 12: Filming - the Epic Scene

Filming was entering the mid-way point and their partnership was getting better every day. Despite the challenging filming conditions and limited face to face interaction, they were doing brilliantly in Director Lee's opinion. Their interactions were smooth and still managed to bring out various facets of their complex relationship. The Negotiator and Kidnapper were on opposing sides but at the same time, they are intimately entwined partners trying to resolve the conflict. Hyun Bin and Ye-Jin were able to showcase the fine balance between their relationships.

While Min Tae Gu was a villain, Director Lee never intended for the audience to hate him. Instead, the aim was for them to empathize with his circumstance and recognize that sometimes things are beyond an individual's control. We're not all black and white, there's an infinite number of shades of gray between right and wrong, good and bad.

What he wasn't expecting was that extra spark of chemistry between the two leads. It was very hard to describe the feeling they exude – it wasn't romantic since there's no hint of romance in the script. Yet, as Director Lee poured over the filming footage at night, what he felt was a meeting of two like-minded souls who unfortunately were on opposite sides. He could feel the underlying connection between them and it had nothing to do with acting skills. It's a gift from some higher power and beyond what he could explain. It was probably rare for two individuals to have this connection and even rarer that they would meet. Director Lee thanked his lucky stars and gave himself a pat on the back – he would claim credit for uncovering this pair for a long time to come.

Director Lee turned his attention to today's filming. They were going to film one of the climactic scenes in the movie – when Min Tae Gu shot dead Ha Chae Yoon's senior officer in front of her. The scene calls for a myriad of emotions from Ha Chae Yoon, shock at the sudden turn of events, anger with Min Tae Gu for his actions, guilt for failing the person she's tasked to protect and sadness for losing a close senior. This was a test of technique and skills for Ye-Jin. The scene needed to deliver a powerful message but was ironically very simple. There's no fancy backdrop or other characters to distract the audience. It was purely focused on Ye-Jin's portrayal of Ha Chae Yoon.

There was an unusual air of tension in their usually friendly and busy set. Ye-Jin and Hyun Bin were already at their respective sets, on stand-by. Director Lee had both of them on monitor and saw that they were both seated with their eyes closed, probably mentally psyching themselves.

"Hyun Bin, Ye-Jin," Director Lee called over the communication line. "Are you ready?"

They both nodded, so synchronized on monitor that Director Lee would have laughed if the take was not so serious. "Stand-by," everyone got into place. "Ready, Action!" And filming began.

"Chae Yoon-shi?" Min Tae Gu stared at the camera. "Take a seat"

Ha Chae Yoon sits down.

"We said no lies, didn't we," Min Tae Gu continued.

"I didn't know," Ha Chae Yoon explained.

"But you realized it along the way. Even I did" Min Tae Gu smirked.

"No, I really didn't know," Ha Chae Yoon made another attempt to explain, as she processed what was happening

"Shut up, you bitch. What did I say will happen if you lie," Min Tae Gu hissed.

Ha Chae Yoon stood up and tried to get to him, "Min Tae Gu-shi"

"I said complete honesty," Min Tae Gu repeated. His expression hardened, stood up, turned, walked to the hostage and "Bang!". It was a one-shot kill.

There was complete silence, a sharp contrast to the loud gunshot. Ha Chae Yoon's senior fell lifelessly to the side. Ha Chae Yoon's eyes widened, tears welled up and her expression froze. She clenched her fist.

"Get rid of him," Min Tae Gu told his men, sat down and started patting his shirt. "Shit, it's all over me"

"You crazy bastard," Ha Chae Yoon whispered, fists clenched and tears sliding from her widely opened eyes.

"What did you say?" Min Tae Gu caught the whisper and turned his attention back to her.

"You crazy bastard," she repeated, just a tad louder than before, as if she didn't hear him. She looked as if she's caught in her own nightmare.

"Are you swearing at me?" Min Tae Gu stood up.

"Hang up! Hang Up!" the senior Inspector screamed and everything went blank.

"Cut!" Director Lee shouted. "Let's review but I think we have a good take! Good job Ye-Jin! That was phenomenal. Is Hyun Bin on his way up?"

Hyun Bin was on his way up the flight of stairs. He was still shaking from the take. He never imagined Ye-Jin would whisper when she cursed at him. He had thought she would scream the curse at him and he was prepared to respond with mocking laughter. The whisper was a game changer. He felt his hair stand on end when she whispered and looked at him with a myriad of expressions. He saw shock, disbelief, anger and even a tinge of betrayal. He responded intuitively to her tightly controlled anger which he knew was straining to explode. The take has taken on a totally different direction. He can't wait to monitor the results.

The team had already gathered around the monitor when Hyun Bin arrived. He walked over to Ye-Jin and gave a smile which showed off his deep dimples. "That was great Ye-Jin," he praised. "I nearly couldn't react quickly enough."

Ye-Jin looked up at him, her eyelashes still wet with tears and smiled weakly. "I'm sorry I didn't give you more heads up. It only struck me when I saw you smile after you fired the shot. I was so angry that you could smile and I reacted to it."

Director Lee waved for them to go over to the monitor. The results were great, Director Lee was grinning from ear to ear and everyone was nodding their heads in agreement. They never expected to complete this scene in one take and everyone was in awe of the talent they saw.

Ye-Jin went back to her dressing room once Director Lee cleared the take. She had put in so much emotion and felt mentally drained. She needed to sit down and catch her breath. She laid back on the sofa and closed her eyes, so tired that she didn't even notice when Hyun Bin knocked and entered the room.

Hyun Bin's eyes immediately focused on Ye-Jin when he entered the room. She was resting and he took a seat opposite her, musing to himself that this was a new facet to Son Ye-Jin. She was usually bubbly in social settings, professional and approachable when working and now, he paused, he's probably seeing for the first time, Ye-Jin, as herself without any of her shields. She looked more vulnerable and ironically, even more beautiful to him.

While he was staring at her and lost in his own thoughts, Ye-Jin opened her eyes and was surprised to see Hyun Bin seated across from her. "Bin?" she called out when he didn't seem to respond.

It was Hyun Bin's turn to be startled. The tips of his ears turned a little red and he quickly gestured to the cup of coffee he had brought along. "I thought you could use this. Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to be resting and came into the room."

"No worries, I am also surprised by how drained I was from the scene." Ye-Jin reached for the coffee. "I have been preparing for this scene for a few days and I think I got too caught up. The intensity of the emotions was stronger than what I expected with the addition of visual cues at filming. For a second, when the gunshot sounded, I felt as if my heart really stopped." She smiled wryly. "I sound crazy right."

Hyun Bin just smiled but in truth, he was a little awestruck. Now he knows why Son Ye-Jin is acknowledged as a top actress in Korea. It wasn't her pretty face, not even the fact that she's a box office guarantee. It was because of her passion and respect for acting. He always knew she was a good actress but today, he learnt the difference between good and crème de la crème.