248 The Rising Star, in Action (1/2)

The next day.

Yeo Ri was on set first thing in the morning.

Her morning, which had originally been free, was now used to fill in for her scenes in the period drama she was suddenly given a slightly bigger role in.

The cast and crew gathered in front of a forested hill, where they would be filming. As the staff went around setting up the equipment, the morning joggers and hikers who were passing by curiously glanced at the group.

The scene they were supposed to shoot took place inside the forest. It was a scene where the Prince's bodyguard sacrifices his life to save the second male lead's younger sister as they fled from pursuers after the civil war broke out.

Since the scene had only been added at the last minute, Yeo Ri only received her script when she came to the meeting spot.

”From here to here,” the director pointed out at the map of the route they were supposed to take. ”Once you reach the clearing here, the fight will begin. Yi Seok gets fatally injured by one of the assassins, but cuts through several more opponents before he falls. Seo Yeon then picks up the sword Yi Seok dropped and tries to fight back while channelling the spirit of her military family. Of course, being raised as a noble young lady, she fought without technique and only managed to hold on out of sheer willpower. The allied subordinates finally find them but it was too late. She ends up dying while grieving over the man she loves. That's about it. Any questions?”

The director looked around. Seeing no one voicing out any objections or questions, he ended the briefing. ”Let's get straight to rehearsals, shall we?”

Yeo Ri held onto her script and followed the rest of the crew like a little chick as they walked down the route for the scene. The set director pointed out several spots to take note of during the scene, such as where to step and what they should watch out for to prevent injury in the unfamiliar terrain.

She watched attentively as the fight choreographer instructed the actors and stuntmen on the fighting sequence, and when her turn came up, Yeo Ri excitedly held onto the prop sword and mimicked the choreographer step-by-step.

After making sure that everything was covered, it was finally time to shoot the scene.

Since Yeo Ri had another different project to film later, the director was aiming to wrap up the filming before lunch, thus he wanted to reduce the number of takes and hoped that the mistakes were minimal.

In the back of her mind, she was reminded of that day—the day the devil had found her and destroyed her.

'I have to get away!' her mind shrieked at her.

'That's right, remember... how scared you were. How pitiful and weak,' the devil cackled. 'How you never got away.'

Yeo Ri closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 'No—the past is the past. Don't let it control you. Learn from it and use it well.'

She remembered how it felt like when he caught her—

Yeo Ri opened her eyes. 'Yes...' she exhaled slowly. 'Let it be fuel.'

—and she channeled the fear she once felt into her act.

She felt her arms tingle, and her fingers trembled. A sudden urge to hit or choke something—someone—emerged as the memories of the past replayed in her head but she pushed it down. This wasn't the time to be 'Lee Yeo Ri', she reminded herself. It was not the time to get lost in her personal grudges. She was supposed to be 'Seo Yeon' right now; the girl who was running away from the people sent to kill her.

Seo Yeon; the sweet, fragile lady of noble birth. A lady who, had her life ran its normal course, would have gone on peacefully, in her safe and luxurious boudoir. And now, here she was—running for her life.

Oh, how tragic. At least she had the man she was secretly pining for with her by her side, doing his best to keep her alive.

Ryeon Jae Hwan held a sword in one hand and offered her his other hand. Yeo Ri unhesitatingly held onto the man's offered hand, and at the director's signal, her face morphed into that of muted fear and trepidation as the two began running through the established route.

”'Catch them!'” One of the stuntmen yelled out his line as several of them began chasing after the duo.

”'Over here!'” Ryeon Jae Hwan said, tugging her towards the left trail as they approached a branching path.

A drone followed them from the top, and several cameramen were placed at several different points along the route.

Finally, after running for a few more seconds, they reached the small clearing where they were supposed to engage in combat.

One of the extras whistled as they burst through to the clearing, and another group of stuntmen entered from the other side, all garbed in black.

”'—Tsk! The assassins...'” Ryeon Jae Hwan muttered.

”'Kyaaa—!'” Yeo Ri screamed as the man pulled her closer to him in a protective manner.

His sword expertly slashed at anyone and everyone who dared to take even one step closer, but with a liability he needed to protect and being outnumbered by a swarm of assassins, even the man famed for his strength could not win.

Several attacks landed on him, causing several bleeding gashes to appear.

He pushed the girl behind him as they were forced to back away. Behind them was a large tree, and coming in from all sides except the back were assassins; they were stuck.

One party were experienced killers and soldiers, while the other party consisted of a weak lady and an injured man. There was little chance they could get out of this alive.

However, 'Yi Seok' refused to give up.

Ryeon Jae Hwan gritted his teeth, appearing to be in pain yet determined. He eyed his enemies with his sharp eyes, and as if he spotted an opening, he launched an attack at the group's weakest link.

Another bout ensued.

As the assassins flanked around the injured bodyguard, one of them managed to slip past his defences and reached the girl.