Our Story - Binjin

Chapter 13: Filming - the Final Scene

Filming set – "The final" scene

Today was the last day of filming. They have filmed non-stop for nearly 7 weeks and are almost at the end. Everyone was looking forward to today's filming as it was the only scene with Ha Chae Yoon and Min Tae-Gu in the same physical space. Professionally, they were all eager to see what kind of sparks will fly when they are physically together and what it could bring to the movie. Personally, they were all curious if they would get more clues about their relationship. It was hard to say which one was more enticing, probably the latter given human nature's love for gossip!

Hyun Bin and Ye-Jin were blissfully unaware but they have been viewed as a mystery, intriguing the crew as well as their own staff, for the past 7 weeks. They were the center of every lunch, dinner, break conversation. Everyone knew its complicated and below is a nice summary by the lead of the gossip committee:

o   Everyone knows Hyun Bin is dating Kang Sora.

o   Based on Son Ye-Jin's personality, it was impossible that she would come between them.

o   The two leads are oblivious to the pink bubbles surrounding them, even if it was visible to the rest of the human population. They behaved as if it was normal to have these pink bubbles. Maybe it was normal then? It's the rest of the human population that are deprived of pink bubbles?

o   To put in perspective, they didn't actually do anything suspicious. If you minus the pink bubbles and consider only their physical action, it was all normal. They laughed together, talked together and in fact had more skin-ship with their own managers than each other. (Note, Hyun Bin's manager is a man and Ye-Jin's manager can technically be called an 'uncle')

There were many theories put forth but they all led to the same conclusion, it was impossible the two leads were actually dating. So what were they then? The million dollar question no one had an answer to. The conclusion was they belonged to a yet-to-be defined social group classification.

Back to our two leads. Ironically, Hyun Bin and Ye-Jin felt a little nervous about finally facing each other. It's definitely not common for two leads to have their first face to face filming at the very last scene. They both arrived early today and were seated at the rest area, speaking in low voices.

"This is where the audience will get a full picture of Min Tae Gu's story right," Ye-Jin said. "It's going to be important I'm able to bring across to the audience that he's not a bad person and help them empathize with his circumstances."

Hyun Bin nodded, "Yes, I think the key to it is the part when you realize the bomb detonator was actually off at the end. This clearly shows that he had no intention to harm Ha Chae Yoon. His target was always the corrupt officials. And the fact that he turned it off once Ha Chae Yoon appeared meant that he was willing to give up his revenge in order to keep her safe."

Ye-Jin nodded, playing the scene in her mind as she digested what Hyun Bin said. "I got it. There's also the line you have about really wanting to get a drink together. I think that's also critical to "humanize" Min Tae Gu. He has the same desire for happiness as the person next door. We have to play up the regret that he's not able to achieve something as simple as that."

Hyun Bin thought hard, "That's an interesting point. I agree. I'll pay attention to that. And the part where Ha Chae Yoon apologizes for what happened to Min Tae Gu's sister. I'll also try to bring across that Min Tae Gu didn't want Ha Chae Yoon to feel bad about that. He had never blamed Ha Chae Yoon. If anything, he recognized she tried and the subsequent lines were to make sure she understood she's not to be blamed."

Ye Jin nodded. That's an important point too.

"Ye-Jin, Hyun Bin," Director Lee called, "Are you ready? We're on standby."

They both stood up and simultaneously turned to look at each other. Their eyes met and they smiled. No words were said but a thousand messages were exchanged in that one look. Maybe because it was their final scene, maybe their guards were down because they had an engaging exchange of ideas, maybe they just finally wanted to, who really knows. For the first time, both of them acknowledged in their hearts, there was something special when the two of them were together. Neither wanted to delve further though, they were content with the status quo.

Action. The scene was nothing short of magical. Everyone was spell-bound as the cast acted out the final scene of the movie. Even though they all knew it was acting, some could be seen rubbing their eyes when Min Tae Gu was killed. They grieved and regretted together with Ha Chae Yoon.

"Cut! Let's monitor but I think we have a winner." Director and cast gathered to watch the playback. The results were clear to everyone, nobody thought it could be better than this. "We have a good take!" Director Lee crowed. Everyone cheered and clapped. This was the official end of filming for The Negotiation. Seven weeks of work, they were finally at the end.

Before leaving with their respective managers,Hyun Bin and Ye-Jin exchanged a warm hug and patted each other on the back. It was unspoken but they both had the same thought – whatever the results, this is one project neither would have missed for the world. Why? They would both give glowing feedback on how much they have grown in their professional arena as the official reason.  However, in a forgotten corner of their mind and heart, they knew this project would remain special because of each other. They just don't fully understand or perhaps even want to understand why yet.