152 There is No Yun Woo 5 (1/2)

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

Sang Young was out with his wife, Soo Jung, for an interview celebrating the movie 'Trace of a Bird' reaching ten million viewers. Surrounded by cameras in an office decorated mostly in white, they were reviewing a series of expected questions with a broadcast reporter. As he looked around the busy office, Sang Young realized that he had grown familiar with the sight only recently.

”You OK, hon? You looked like you checked out for a second there,” Soo Jung asked her husband.

”Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about how fortunate we were.”

Despite the lack of context, she caught on immediately and smiled.

”It wasn't a coincidence, you know.”

It was an opportunity that Sang Young had worked desperately for, and that opportunity bore a fruit of success for him and those who contributed to the production of the movie. In a world full of people and relationships, there was no room for coincidences.

”Right.”

Sang Young answered his wife with his husky voice. Though it sounded worn out, his voice wasn't always as harsh as it was at present. As far as he remembered, his slightly younger self had had a voice that sounded much smoother and more pleasant, and his current voice was one of the results of an event that had taken place at some point in his life. After all, it was with that husky voice that he had been saying the young author's name.

”What are you talking about? You've sounded like that since you were born!”

”That's harsh.”

Sang Young felt slightly relieved from Soo Jung's light-hearted joke. He was living that moment in the present because he had met his wife, and his encounter with a particular book had pointed him in a direction that proved to be crucial to his life. No matter what they looked like, encounters were essential components of a person's life.

”All right! We will officially begin our interview now. Are you guys OK with that?”

”Yes.”

The reporter who was hosting the interview struck up a conversation with the director and his wife. With the camera rolling, the reporter received a signal and started off with a question that had been written down prior.

”So, your movie reached ten million viewers just recently. How do you feel?”

Despite the boring question, Sang Young gave a sincere answer, ”It still doesn't feel entirely real, but I believe that people like Soo Jung here, who is sitting next to me, and the actors and the crew contributed much more to the film than I did.”

Then, Soo Jung's turn came.

”I know that Mr. Ju doesn't sound all that excited, but at home, he was jumping up and down with joy. One time, we held each other and screamed. It was a lot of fun,” Soo Jung said, and the reporter laughed cheerfully.

”How do you think 'Trace of a Bird' was able to reach ten million viewers?”

”I'm sure there are a number of factors, but what I see as the biggest factor is the fact that we made the most out of the original. It kind of sounds like I'm blowing my own trumpet here, but that's what we decided to do from the get-go, and we actually carried it out, so I'll just boast confidently.”

”He's right. A majority of the viewers agree with Mr. Ju's statement,” Soo Jung added.

Agreeing with her, the reporter asked a more specific question, ”Was there a something that caused you to decide to stay faithful to the original?”

”I believe I've already answered this question elsewhere, but I'll say it again anyway. There was no other reason for my decision aside from the book itself. I learned about 'Trace of a Bird,' and I read it without much thought. Then, I fell in love with it. So much so, that I looked through it a number of times throughout the day. I thought about it when I ate, as well as in my dreams, where I was the protagonist of the book. What would a person like that do if he didn't make a movie that stayed true to its original?”

In other words, the movie was created by a fan of the original, and it had been an obvious choice.

”Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask about that. My understanding is that there were several directors who were interested in making a film adaptation of the book. You probably remember reading about it on the news, right? 'Yun Woo turns down film adaptation offer.' I don't know how I'll sound when I say this, but honestly, I was somewhat puzzled when I first heard that you were directing the movie. Let's just say that it was not something I was expecting.”

”I fully understand. I was surprised myself.”

”I'm very curious as to how you managed to convince Yun Woo.”

As he remembered something, Sang Young smiled and said, ”There was nothing fancy enough that I said that convinced the author. I just kept bothering him. I'd been trying to kick the ball into the net, if you will. Needless to say, I was quite pretentious at times.”

Although the reporter wanted him to elaborate, Sang Young spoke sparingly.

”In hindsight, it seems like you really were the best director for the movie. Do you think Yun Woo saw something in you?”

”Perhaps.”

Sang Young gave a light-hearted answer to the reporter's slightly exaggerated remark, all the while thinking that Yun Woo might have seen something special in him as a director.

”Was there any difficulty in the casting process?”

That time, Sang Young answered immediately, ”Not at all. Practically everyone in the crew knew about 'Trace of a Bird,' and a majority of them were very into the book. There was often mention of the book during every break. I remember thinking, 'Would there ever be another movie set like this elsewhere?'”

Because everyone had carried 'Trace of a Bird' around with them, Sang Young didn't even have to remind his actors to read the original.

Then, Soo Jung chimed in, ”Seriously! One time, we heard the news that Yun Woo was coming out with a new book while we were filming, and the whole place shook in celebration. It was such a peculiar set.”

”That does sound like one peculiar movie set.”

With that, the reporter moved on to the next question.

”Now, about the actor that played the protagonist's brother in the movie. Myung Joo Mu has been drawing a lot of attention for his performance.”

”We've been keeping our eyes on him since the audition as well. Myung Joo Mu excels when it comes to sad scenes, and his expressive eyes really work to his advantage.”

”What kind of advice did you give the actor?”

”I wouldn't say that I gave him any advice, but we did converse quite a bit. Both of us were quite greedy about wanting to get the character right. Besides, the brother was such a strong character in the original. Frankly, I had quite a hard time with the lack of description about the character, but I barely managed to get by.”

”What was it like working with Ji Hye Goo? I know that she was already famous and a top-notch actress, but she was an especially great fit for her role in this movie.”

At that, Soo Jung nodded in agreement. Ji Hye Goo was a great actress.

”Working with Ji Hye was a breeze, especially when we were filming. We hardly ever had to ask her to do anything because she was always so well prepared. She had already studied the script thoroughly by the time she arrived on set.”