Seon Min-gi hadn’t intended from the beginning to give up on appearing in and head to Hollywood.
On the contrary, he was more sincere about appearing in than anyone else.
It was inevitable.
“I can’t fall behind.”
From the moment Taeha joined Action School a month late due to personal circumstances (writing the script for ), this sense of crisis had seized Seon Min-gi.
Taeha’s speed in learning and understanding stunts was overwhelming.
Even to Seon Min-gi, who had no small amount of experience filming action scenes, it was evident.
Even Kyung Juncheol, considered a master in this field, seemed surprised by Taeha’s abilities.
“In the end, is action acting just acting, after all?”
Seon Min-gi thought this without even a hint of jealousy.
Before he realized it, he no longer felt any envy toward Taeha.
The reason was simple.
“Kang Taeha is an actor I have no choice but to acknowledge.”
As an actor, Taeha’s talent was innate.
Not only did he naturally liven up the atmosphere on set with his unique affinity, but he was also outstanding at turning crises into opportunities.
When there had been friction between them, Taeha had never backed down, instead always seeking an active resolution—that, even now, was astonishing to Seon Min-gi.
He couldn’t help but wonder if he, at the same age, could have done the same. The answer was a shake of the head.
But it wasn’t simply because of Taeha’s natural-born ability that Seon Min-gi regarded him as a genius.
It was the acting.
Taeha was an actor with an extraordinary gift for the very foundation of acting itself.
Seon Min-gi, who had never once felt outshined in a role after gaining experience, had to put in his all just to keep up with Taeha.
Especially the emotions he felt when filming episode 13 of still lingered vividly.
Even more surprising was that with every shoot, Taeha’s skills noticeably improved.
So Seon Min-gi had no choice but to define Taeha’s talent as innate.
And once he admitted it, he felt at peace.
Taeha’s talent was like a natural disaster.
A force of nature that couldn’t be stopped by human means.
Because of that, Seon Min-gi no longer felt any jealousy toward Taeha’s talent.
Of course, that didn’t mean he was willing to just get swept away by this “natural disaster.”
Rather, he wondered: Just how far could this “natural disaster” grow?
And faced with a disaster growing beyond control, how long could he endure?
He wanted to find out.
That was the true nature of the sense of crisis that Seon Min-gi had been feeling lately.
In a situation like this, before the filming of was even complete, he would have been swept away by the natural disaster.
“I have to stand shoulder to shoulder with Taeha, no matter what. At least until this project is finished.”
This was Seon Min-gi’s true feeling, heading into the two-top filming with Taeha.
That’s why appearing in had a special meaning for him as well.
If he could overcome an actor with disaster-level talent like Taeha, he believed he could grow one step further as an actor.
In fact, Seon Min-gi had grown as an actor through appearing in .
It was growth born from the realization that he didn’t have to do everything alone.
But things didn’t go as Seon Min-gi had hoped.
An unexpected opportunity to advance to Hollywood appeared.
And it wasn’t just any director’s casting offer.
It was a lead role in the new project by Dan Weber, who had drawn Hollywood’s greatest attention through directing films like , , and dramas like Season 3 and Season 1.
For Seon Min-gi, this was an opportunity he absolutely could not take lightly.
He had no way of knowing if he would ever get to work with a director like Dan Weber again.
It was possible the opportunity to advance to Hollywood would never come again.
But then a problem arose.
The shooting schedule requested by Dan Weber overlapped with that of .
and .
For Seon Min-gi, it was a situation where he absolutely had to choose one and give up the other.
From a third-party perspective, it seemed like a simple choice.
Everyone naturally thought he would choose .
It was only reasonable, as it was hard to come by such a chance.
He hadn’t even signed the appearance contract for yet due to issues with the appearance fee, so the outcome seemed even more obvious.
However,
“Hyung, are you really going to turn down Dan Weber’s casting offer? Ah, seriously, why!”
“No, Min-gi, think carefully. If you miss this chance, you might never get to go to Hollywood again!”
Even with the pleas from his manager, Kim Nam-sun, and his agency’s CEO, Seon Min-gi decided to give up on advancing to Hollywood.
He simply couldn’t give up on , to which he had already promised his appearance.
“I know it might be an opportunity that never comes again. But if I betray trust, who would ever want to cast me in a project again?”
Everyone around him opposed this decision, but Seon Min-gi’s intent was firm.
He refused the offer for and pushed forward with his appearance in .
“More than anything, if I drop out now, a lot of people will be in trouble. Director Jeong Myeong-hwan, who thought of me as the lead, of course, and Taeha, who decided to appear in based on my recommendation—same goes for him.”
Above all, what Seon Min-gi was most worried about was Taeha.
He knew better than anyone what a good actor Taeha was.
But for those who didn’t know, there were bound to be worries.
There was no guarantee he had enough skill to appear as a main character.
In fact, Taeha had no experience acting in films.
Even for someone like Jeong Myeong-hwan, this could only be a point of concern.
In reality, when Seon Min-gi first recommended Taeha for the role, Jeong Myeong-hwan was reluctant.
“Kang Taeha… He’s definitely a good actor. He has a good face and is great at acting. But isn’t he a little weak for this role?”
But Seon Min-gi repeatedly persuaded him, and finally received a positive answer from Jeong Myeong-hwan.
“If our Seon-actor recommends him that much, fine. Let’s confirm his casting.”
But now, if he dropped out—
It could even lead to Taeha’s casting being canceled.
With that responsibility, there was no way he could give up on .
Everything changed after Seon Min-gi received a call from Taeha.
– Hyung. Just go appear in . I’ll find a way to fill your absence.
***
Taeha heard the news about Seon Min-gi a little late.
It was understandable.
He and Seon Min-gi belonged to completely different agencies.
So by the time Seon Min-gi had received the casting offer and made his decision,
Taeha heard about it only after the fact, and he was a bit worried.
He thought there was no way Seon Min-gi wouldn’t choose .
That meant, right before filming began, they would have to recast the male lead for .
“Filming will be delayed, then. At least the risk of me being dropped from the cast is low—that’s a relief.”
Unlike Seon Min-gi, Taeha wasn’t at all worried about being dropped from the cast.
The reason was simple.
Unlike Seon Min-gi, he had already finished negotiating his appearance fee and signed his contract.
Of course, just because the contract was signed didn’t mean he could rest easy.
Dramas and films could fall apart for any number of reasons at any time.
Especially if the investors pulled out, the contract could become void without any penalty.
But when it came to one actor dropping out rather than the investors leaving, there was nothing to worry about.
The chance of the contract being suddenly canceled was very low.
Unless Seon Min-gi’s dropping out led to the investors withdrawing, but that was another matter.
So for now, all they had to do was find a replacement for Seon Min-gi’s role.
“Well, not that it’ll be as easy as it sounds.”
It was sure to be a real headache for Jeong Myeong-hwan.
There simply weren’t that many actors with Seon Min-gi’s level of recognition.
Taeha, too, was worried about the casting issue.
He felt a sense of relief knowing he’d be working with Seon Min-gi, so he was even more anxious.
“Truly, people are the greatest variable in any situation.”
He realized this fact once again.
He started to think about whom to cast as a replacement.
But Taeha’s thoughts didn’t last long.
He heard something unexpected from Im Chan-hyung.
“Seon-actor-nim. They say he turned down Hollywood.”
“What? Really?”
To turn down Dan Weber’s casting offer.
It was shocking.
Even though Korean actors were getting more chances to advance to Hollywood than before, who knew when such an opportunity would come again?
And even more shocking,
[Don’t worry]
[I’m not going anywhere]
Taeha received this message from Seon Min-gi.
And from that message, he could read Seon Min-gi’s thoughts.
“Ah… He’s turning down Dan Weber’s offer out of a sense of responsibility.”
It was natural for Seon Min-gi to feel responsible.
Filming was about to start, and Taeha had only been cast because Seon Min-gi recommended him.
And it was obvious how hard it would be to cast a replacement, so it would be strange if he didn’t feel responsible.
But to give up the opportunity to advance to Hollywood for the sake of responsibility—
That didn’t make sense.
So Taeha called Seon Min-gi.
And he told him.
That he would take care of covering the absence, so he should just go to Hollywood.
In response, Seon Min-gi asked back.
-… Are you sure you’ll be okay?
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m sad I won’t get to work with you, hyung, but just because you’re not here doesn’t mean I’m getting cut from the project. I already signed the appearance contract.”
– Ah… I see.
“So don’t worry and go grab this opportunity. Actually, I’ve thought of someone who could fill your spot.”
– Who?
At Seon Min-gi’s question, Taeha mentioned a name.
And Seon Min-gi accepted.
– If it’s that person, there won’t be a problem. The director will probably like it, too. But can you persuade him? I heard he’s had a pretty long gap since his last work.
“I actually know someone who can connect us right now.”
– Someone who can connect you?
“Yes. My cousin, noona.”
Successfully persuading Seon Min-gi, Taeha immediately called Kang Sojeong.
And he asked her,
“Noona. About Lee Seok-hyun, the male lead from —are you still in touch these days?”
That’s right.
The person Taeha had in mind as the new lead for —
Was none other than the male lead from , with whom he’d shared a deep bond in his previous life.