I Tamed the First Rank Chapter 25

It was more than just a rumor and gave me goosebumps for a moment, but it didn’t matter since I wasn’t actually dating him. All we had to do was capture Hyeon Gyu-ha perfectly on camera.

So, upon hearing the news that Hyeon Gyu-ha would be drenched with water for no reason, the production team was fired up to record.

“Should I spray at him from above to make sure he gets even wetter?” 

“A thin, white shirt that slightly reveals the skin, with the buttons almost completely undone to the bottom, showing the bare skin underneath.”

“I really like the way men wear short-sleeved shirts and how their cleavage stands out when they’re shown.”

“If possible, combine him with In Yoo-shin!”

“Splashed with water from the side, he’d frown slightly, while water drips from his hair and furrowed eyebrows.”

In a crowded conference room, the youngest child shyly raised his hand.

“How about tentacle monster bodily fluids?”

“I knew from the moment I saw his application that he was a genius."

After much brainstorming, the director had a meeting with the digital communication team with the completed storyboard.

“Are you crazy?!”

Of course, it was rejected.

The result of refining the rejected draft with watery eyes: a sound storyboard for all ages was completed, and Hyeon Gyu-ha who was wet was changed to Hyeon Gyu-ha, slightly splattered with the blood of the demonic beasts. In order to maintain the all-ages rating, it was decided that the scenes would alternate with black and white footage.

In Yoo-shin felt a little disappointed.

Where had all the drafts that disregarded broadcast regulations gone? Gyu-ha protected the citizens in danger, hunted down the monsters, then made his final comment: ‘A country where the people are safe. A country where the people are happy. The Ministry of Ability will be with you.’ It was truly a video worthy of a government department.

‘There was no way that plan would pass in the first place. It’s a waste to do the wet scene……’

That’s one thing, but there was another problem as well.

“I understand everything, but why must I be in this studio?”

In Yoo-shin yawned, still feeling half-asleep from being forcibly picked up by Hyeon Gyu-ha and brought to the studio much earlier than his usual work time. Hyeon Gyu-ha made a shocked face.

“Is Master trying to leave me alone during the filming, which is supposed to take all day?”

“T-that’s not true, but you can just call me…… I also have work to do……”

“Are you going to abandon me?”

“I was wrong……”

The staff, who were busy preparing for filming, responded with excitement to the word ‘Master.’ Hyeon Gyu-ha’s expression, which seemed to be genuinely hurt, seemed to stimulate their imagination even more. It was distressing for In Yoo-shin, who couldn’t reveal that it was all a fake act.

“Well, anyway.”

Hyeon Gyu-ha gently stroked In Yoo-shin’s head, as if he never made a shocked face. It may seem like rough petting to others, but in reality, he was so careful, as though he were caressing a broken piece of glass, that I felt a tingle inside my ribs every time he caressed my head.

“I feel so anxious when I’m away from you, but I don’t think I’ll be able to set aside time to call because I’m busy filming. Plus, I can’t keep the coordinates up during the shoot.”

“What coordinates?”

“That is, my heart’s coordinates so that Yoo-shin-ssi can love me.”

“Ah, sure.”

“Aren't you glad you can legally skip work, thanks to me?”

Honestly, it was. It's not like they're even cutting my annual leave.

In Yoo-shin decided to watch the filming in peace. Since I didn’t have the slightest connection to the broadcasting industry, when would I ever see a studio other than times like this?

The greenscreen and various filming equipment that he had only seen on the Internet were amazing. Although he watched the filming storyboard process, he was curious about how the CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) for the monsters would be applied.

“Hello, Yoo-shin-ssi!”

“Hello. Thank you for your hard work this morning.”

Ohana greeted him warmly, holding a camcorder as if she were in charge of filming the vlog today.

“Did you see the reaction to the vlog we filmed last time?”

“No. I only heard that it went well.”

“It was amazing. In less than ten minutes after we uploaded it, it had the highest number of views among videos on the Ministry of Ability’s channel. There are also comments occasionally expressing affection for Yoo-shin-ssi.”

“Uh, me? Why me?”

In Yoo-shin’s eyes became round. Hyeon Gyu-ha stressed that not a single strand of my hair should be featured in the vlog, so why?

“Well, it’s all thanks to Yoo-shin that Hunter-nim is actively showing his face these days! Actually, I used to be a bit of a fan of Hunter-nim too.”

“I thought that there would be hate comments about me.”

“It’s not like there aren’t any negative comments about Yoo-shin-ssi elsewhere, but in general, the reaction isn’t bad…… but it would still be better not to see those reactions. They say that even if there are a lot of good comments, one bad comment is more memorable.”

That’s correct. If you didn’t want to worry about them, it was better not to look at them in the first place.

“The response was so good that I’d like to do a live broadcast for at least 30 minutes before filming begins……”

“No way.”

Hyeon Gyu-ha, who was receiving stage directions from the director from afar, heard something and cut her off with a single sword.

“Yoo-shin-ssi doesn’t like it. If Yoo-shin-ssi appears on live by mistake, I’ll have to pay a penalty and cancel this shoot.”

“Of course, I was just saying.”

Ohana, who smiled shyly at Gyu-ha, frowned at In Yoo-shin and walked around the studio holding the camcorder. Then, full-scale filming began in earnest.

The video to be edited for broadcast was 30 seconds, and the original video to be uploaded to YouTube was two to three minutes long at most, so I thought it would be over quickly. It was a misjudgment by In Yoo-shin, who did not know much about filming.

“Cut! Man 2 over there doesn’t look like he’s afraid of the monster, but rather like he’s holding back a full bladder. Do it again.”

There were stage directions for the extras who played the roles of the citizens Hyeon Gyu-ha saved, and the same action scenes that were to be used in CGI were filmed over and over again.

‘Since it’s Gyu-ha’s first time filming, won’t he be stiff? Maybe he’ll move all creaky, like he has metal rods in his limbs.’

Although I was concerned, Gyu-ha’s acting, which was basically just pretending to fight monsters, was surprisingly natural. He’s a man who seemed to be good at anything he was asked to do.

However, the scene didn’t come out the way the director wanted. The director stopped filming for a moment and asked while stroking his beard.

“Hunter Hyeon. Do you use any weapons other than guns? The scene looks great on screen because your action is so fluid without wires, but something feels a bit lacking.”

“Since I only fight solo, I usually use guns to push through with firepower.”

“What about a melee weapon? I feel like a sword or a spear or something similar would be good. Or something like a bayonet.”

“I use just about everything.”

“Ooh, then let’s change weapons! A bayonet—no, a sword! The kao (‘reputation’ aka ‘face’ in Japanese) of a hunter is, after all, his sword!”

“Don’t speak Japanese.”

“Un? Ah, well…… Anyway! It’s a sword. A sword!”

“This is not a matter for the director or I to choose.”

Hyeon Gyu-ha cut off his words firmly and naturally looked back at In Yoo-shin.

“Master-nim, what is good for my kao?”

In Yoo-shin, who was watching in a corner, was startled when the eyes of the entire studio suddenly turned to him. In particular, the expression on the director’s face when he was just chastised for speaking Japanese was worth seeing.

What would be better for Hyeon Gyu-ha’s kao, or rather, his coolness?

‘I think anything will look cool on him.’

If Hyeon Gyu-ha were to hit a monster with a fly swatter, the picture would come out beautifully. However, the thing that left an impression on In Yoo-shin was an ax—the ax that eradicated Karens.

“A……”

Just as he was about to say ‘ax’, In Yoo-shin made eye contact with the director. The director, who found out who the person voluntarily controlling Hyeon Gyu-ha was, desperately tried to keep his mouth shut. Sword! Sword! Sword! Sword! Sword! Sword! Sword! Sword! Swoooooord!!

“I-I think a sword would be cool.”

“I see.”

Hyeon Gyu-ha immediately pulled out a Korean sword—a hwando—from his inventory. The blade was engraved with constellations and sword patterns decorated with silver thread, and the hilt had auspicious patterns and decorations.

As the person in charge, Team Leader Noh of the digital communication team was watching the shoot, and his eyes lit up.

“Isn’t that the sword?”

“Yes. Since this year is the Year of the Black Tiger, this is a new sainchamsageom (a type of Korean sword traditionally forged during specific times believed to imbue them with spiritual power) that Seong-gil-hyung forged for me.”

“On top of that, this sword is forged by Master Kwon? Director, this is fine. Let’s do this.”

“It works! Of course! If it’s a sainchamsageom, that’s the one, right? That sword, forged in the year, month, day, and hour of the Tiger, meant to slay evil! What is the constellation on the blade?” 

“It’s the Big Dipper!”

“Ooh, the Big Dipper! Anyway, Hunter Hyeon is holding his signature sword, and the blade with the constellation on it shines brightly as he hunts monsters! Whoa……!”

Hitting it off with Team Leader Noh, the director stood in front of the camera as if he had received a revelation from heaven, and filming proceeded without a hitch.

“Studio filming ends here! We still have time, but let’s go to the gate right away!”

In Yoo-shin also tried to help move the filming equipment, but the staff strongly discouraged him.

“Boyfriend, rest comfortably! Take it easy!”

Standing shyly in the corner, In Yoo-shin, who was a little embarrassed because everyone was busy while he was doing nothing, felt a sudden sense of shame. Then, a few seconds later, he flew through the air and landed in Hyeon Gyu-ha’s arms.

“Hmm, as expected, I feel the most stable when we’re in close contact.”

After checking Yoo-shin’s weight and letting him down to the floor, Gyu-ha lightly placed his hand on top of In Yoo-shin’s head, and the corner of his eyes crinkled.

“How was I?”

“Your kao is alive.”

This was not an empty remark—it was unlike usual, like a scene from a movie, with Hyeon Gyu-ha wielding a sword while his long coat flaps in the wind. Wouldn’t it be even cooler if there were a CG of the battle against the monsters? In Yoo-shin thought that once the video got uploaded on YouTube, he should download it in high definition.

“Then, today’s surprise quest.”

Hyeon Gyu-ha bent down, and In Yoo-shin looked around and confirmed that no one was paying attention to them, then patted his head and praised him. He had also got used to handling people.

However, he never got used to the nice scent he smelled every time he got closer.

We left the studio, travelling for 40 minutes to arrive at the national gate. It's a location with a continuous gate near Seoul, where we'll briefly film the sunset scene.

Originally, the crew planned to finish filming here and return to the studio to continue, but thanks to the director’s excitement after seeing the sainchamsageom, studio filming ended ahead of schedule.

“It’ll end smoothly, right? If there are no problems in the dungeon, this will be the last shooting!”

The filming ended earlier than expected, and smiles bloomed on the faces of the staff, who were exhausted from the relentless filming that had gone on since the morning.

Then, of course, a problem arose.

PA: Hello~~~ everyone~~~ I hope you have a nice day.

Editor M: Someone save me… I had to open Wikipedia to edit this chapter properly… (TwT)

The sword that Hyeon Gyu-ha uses in this chapter is most likely a sainchamsageom; the sword’s name literally means ‘Great Four Tiger Sword.’ This is a ceremonial sword that is used for demon slaying and Shamanistic rituals. The ingeom (Tiger Swords) are usually of the same designs but of different strengths. They are all made according to the year, month, week, day, and hour of the Tiger. Other examples include the sam-ingeom or ‘Three Tiger Sword,’ and the i-ingeom or ‘Two Tiger Sword.’)

Editor M: Anyway, I did the best I could as someone who’s strictly supposed to be an editor.

Editor’s Daily Entries: PA

 Dec 28/23: I attended a company Christmas party, I was happy and ate a lot of food.

Jan 05/24: I got invited and attended a company New Year’s party, got drunk and ate a lot of food.

Jan 06/24: Got admitted to a hospital, because of food poisoning. No laptop, No phones, No Internet.

Jan 9/24: I’ve been told by my doctor that I need surgery. I didn’t understand but “YES”

------

Credits:

Translator: Hoshi Miya

Editor/Proofreader: PsycheAsylum, Editor M

We made a discord server! please join us!

Previous

Table of Contents

Next