Chapter 141: Peerless Joseon (1)
“Cut! Good. Let’s do one more take.”
At Director Park Se-yong’s command, the actors and staff returned to their positions and prepared for another take.
After five more retries, Director Park finally seemed satisfied and called for the next scene.
Filming continued to progress rapidly, with Jung Pil-gyu at the center.
As he grew more accustomed to the process, his tension eased, and his acting became noticeably more natural.
“Pil-gyu-ssi, that was good.”
“Th-thank you.”
Jung Pil-gyu bowed repeatedly at Director Park Se-yong’s praise.
Time passed, and lunchtime arrived.
When people spotted the catering truck and coffee truck already waiting on one side, they burst into applause—
—all while calling out Jung Pil-gyu’s name.
—Pil-gyu-ssi, enjoy the meal!
—Actor Jung Pil-gyu, thank you for the food!
As everyone thanked him by name, Jung Pil-gyu looked around in confusion until he finally noticed the banners on the trucks.
[Cold drinks have arrived~ Wishing safe filming for <Peerless Joseon>. Sponsored by Jung Pil-gyu.]
[Meal truck has arrived~ Wishing safe filming for <Peerless Joseon>. Sponsored by Jung Pil-gyu.]
Seeing those words, Jung Pil-gyu was completely baffled.
The first person who came to mind was Choi Seung-yong, who had strongly recommended him for this role—but when he looked over, Choi Seung-yong was clapping along with an innocent expression, as if he had no idea.
Jung Pil-gyu hurriedly called his wife.
—Hello? Honey, is it lunchtime already? How’s the shoot going?
“Huh? Uh… yeah, it’s going fine. But honey… did you send a catering truck to the set?”
—Huh? No… Why? Are people giving you a hard time about it? Should I send one?
“Ah… no, it’s okay. Never mind. Enjoy your lunch.”
—Okay. You take care and shoot well too.
After hanging up with his wife, Jung Pil-gyu still had no idea who had sent the trucks in his name…
But after thinking for a moment, one name remained.
The one person who had always looked out for him…
Jung Pil-gyu rushed over to Kim Si-woo, who was taking care of the kids nearby.
“Huff… huff… Writer-nim.”
“Yes?”
Jung Pil-gyu, out of breath from running to find him, called out.
“Um… the meal truck and coffee truck… did you send them, Writer-nim?”
“Ah… haha. Yeah.”
Kim Si-woo answered with a slightly sheepish smile.
When Jung Pil-gyu just stared blankly, Kim Si-woo quickly added,
“Was it too much…? I should’ve discussed it with you first… If it was burdensome, I’m really sorry.”
As Kim Si-woo apologized, Jung Pil-gyu waved his hands frantically.
“N-no, it’s not that… I’ve just… never received anything like this before… Thank you.”
Even during his time in the theater troupe, Jung Pil-gyu had never once been given a gift like this.
Overwhelmed once again by Kim Si-woo’s constant care, a sudden rush of emotion surged up inside him.
“Really… thank you so much.”
Jung Pil-gyu bowed deeply once more, expressing his gratitude.
Tears fell with the bow.
As his tears dropped to the ground, Kim Si-woo hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to him.
“The kids will get startled if they see. Wipe them quickly.”
Kim Si-woo cracked a light joke to lighten the mood.
Jung Pil-gyu wiped his tears while feeling his fondness for Kim Si-woo grow even stronger.
After calming himself a moment later, Jung Pil-gyu raised his head again.
“You should go eat.”
“Ah… yes.”
“Hey kids, I’ll grab some more meat side dishes—stay put and behave.”
After telling the children to wait quietly, Kim Si-woo headed to the catering truck together with Jung Pil-gyu.
And watching the scene from the side were several actors—Kim Ji-hyun, Shim Ji-young, and others close to Kim Si-woo.
“Tch… I thought the first catering truck would be for me.”
“Huh? What? Shouldn’t it be me instead of sunbae?”
“What? Come on, I’m obviously closer to him.”
“Hey, but I’ve never gotten one yet. Shouldn’t he do mine first?”
“Could I maybe go first…?”
Park Jun-ho jumped into the two women’s playful argument.
“What?”
“Excuse me?”
“Ah… never mind.”
Of course, Park Jun-ho surrendered instantly.
After that, the conversation shifted to Jung Pil-gyu.
“To be honest, it’s not just his acting… how should I put it? He really looks like a blacksmith, doesn’t he?”
“He’s been going to the forge every day since he got cast.”
“Seriously… in a way, he’s kind of a monster…”
They couldn’t help but shake their heads, thinking that even if Jung Pil-gyu had been given a much more physically demanding role than blacksmith, he probably would have thrown himself into it with the same intensity.
“By the way, do you know why they’re filming Jung Pil-gyu-ssi’s scenes first?”
“Hmm… Si-woo asked for it, so I just figured something was going on.”
While they were talking, Choi Seung-yong spoke up from behind.
“Probably… because of his wife. Pil-gyu’s wife is pregnant right now.”
“Huh?”
“And she’s due any day now, so no one knows when something might happen. Writer Kim Si-woo must have asked to prioritize his scenes as a courtesy.”
“Ah…”
The actors let out quiet exclamations of admiration once they understood Kim Si-woo’s intentions.
“As expected…”
“Yeah, of course…”
Shim Ji-young and Kim Ji-hyun nodded as if they’d known all along that Kim Si-woo would do something like this.
When they caught each other nodding in the same way, the two immediately resumed their subtle rivalry.
Then Shim Ji-young leaned close to Kim Ji-hyun’s ear and whispered so quietly that no one else could hear.
“Hey, just give it up already. You’re still too young. You’ve got a long career ahead as an actress.”
“There are plenty of actresses who date, get married, and still do great work.”
“Ugh…”
Kim Ji-hyun’s point was valid—there were many actresses who continued thriving after marriage—so Shim Ji-young changed tactics.
“But you’re still so young, aren’t you?”
“And unnie, aren’t you being a bit too greedy? Writer-nim is younger than you…”
“I look super young, so it’s fine.”
Just as Shim Ji-young said, her appearance—whether from consistent care since her younger days or natural gifts—was undeniably that of a stunning beauty who looked far younger than her age.
“Well, the choice is up to Si-woo anyway. Let’s just wait and see.”
“That’s what I should be saying.”
And with that, their little competition fizzled out meaninglessly.
***
After filming wrapped up and Jung Pil-gyu returned home, he showed his wife the photos taken that day.
“How do they look? Pretty good, right?”
“Yeah… But these catering trucks and coffee trucks—Writer Kim Si-woo sent them?”
“Yeah.”
“Our crybaby husband must have cried again.”
“Huh? Uh… how did you know?”
Jung Pil-gyu panicked at his wife’s words.
“I can tell without even looking… You cried when you confessed to me too. Hah, how do you survive such a tough acting career when you’re this much of a crybaby?”
“Acting itself isn’t hard.”
“Okay, okay. But later, you have to bring Writer Kim Si-woo over to our house. Got it?”
“Got it. Once the movie filming ends, I’ll ask him. By then, our little one will be here too, right?”
“If the baby takes after Dad, they’ll definitely be a big crybaby.”
“And if they take after Mom, they’ll be incredibly pretty.”
A warm, gentle atmosphere quietly enveloped the home of the couple.
Meanwhile, Kim Si-woo’s house was lively and noisy.
“Waaahhh!”
“Wooooh!”
Besides Kim Si-woo, two more people were in the house.
Kim Da-on and Hong Soo-hyuk.
Kim Si-woo had gotten permission from the orphanage director to bring Kim Da-on, and Hong Soo-hyuk had received approval from Hong Soo-yeon and her grandmother to stay for a few days.
“Cat! It’s a cat!”
“Cat~!”
“Oppa, what’s the cat’s name?”
“Danbi.”
“Danbi~ So pretty. Danbi-ya~ Come here.”
But the cat found the kids annoying and climbed to the very top of the cat tower, refusing to come down.
“Hiiiing… Oppa, the cat won’t come down.”
“Yeah…”
Kim Si-woo could have called Danbi, but he didn’t want to stress the cat out just for the sake of it.
Instead, to change the subject, he called them to the table.
“Come on, both of you—sit down.”
At Kim Si-woo’s words, the two elementary school kids sat at the table.
“Was filming hard today?”
“Yes!”
“It was fun for me too.”
“From now on, make sure to listen well to the adults and greet everyone properly.”
At the children’s replies, Kim Si-woo gently patted their heads.
“Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Sushi!”
Hong Soo-hyuk shouted sushi first, while Kim Da-on stayed quiet.
“What about you, Da-on?”
“I’m fine with anything.”
“Yeah, then let’s go with sushi.”
Kim Si-woo ordered sushi and told Hong Soo-hyuk and Kim Da-on to go shower before it arrived.
“Soo-hyuk, use the first-floor shower. Da-on, the second-floor one. Hurry up.”
“Yes~.”
As soon as the two elementary school kids disappeared to shower, Danbi—who had been perched at the very top of the cat tower—came down and padded over to Kim Si-woo’s side.
“Annoying, right? Just keep dodging them.”
“Nyang!”
Kim Si-woo gave Danbi a treat and placed several more at the top of the cat tower.
***
A week passed quickly, but filming proceeded without any major hitches.
The children made no serious mistakes, and Jung Pil-gyu, now fully in the flow, displayed sharp, intense skills that occasionally drew everyone’s attention on set.
“He really does have talent… He’d be perfect as the lead in <Gangster Detective> Season 2 too.”
While Kim Si-woo watched Jung Pil-gyu and considered casting him as the next protagonist, today’s catering truck arrived.
“It’s Writer-nim’s truck again today…”
“Yeah.”
This was already the fourth time Kim Si-woo had sent meal and coffee trucks.
Since he was close with so many actors, it felt awkward to treat some and not others—so he had no choice.
“At least the menus are different every time, so that’s a relief.”
As Kim Si-woo scratched his head and approached the truck, a sudden loud voice rang out across the set.
“H-Help… please!”
Just before filming wrapped for the day, the very thing Kim Si-woo and Jung Pil-gyu had feared finally happened.
Jung Pil-gyu’s wife had gone into labor.
“S-Someone… can I borrow a car?!”
Having received the call from the hospital where his wife had been admitted, Jung Pil-gyu panicked, babbling incoherently. He couldn’t even speak properly to the director as he ran toward the crowd.
“Hold on, calm down. What’s wrong?”
“Ah… my wife… she’s in labor. They said the baby’s coming soon.”
Kim Si-woo realized that sending Jung Pil-gyu off alone in this state could lead to disaster, so he quickly made the decision to go with him. After briefly explaining the situation to Director Park Se-yong and receiving permission—
“Director-nim, thank you for understanding.”
“Drive safely.”
“Thank you.”
If Kim Si-woo hadn’t been there, Jung Pil-gyu might have completely disappeared from the film industry because of this.
This incident was important to him personally, but it also affected over a hundred other people.
If filming got delayed because of Jung Pil-gyu’s personal circumstances, most of the crew would remember only the inconvenience they suffered—not his situation.
After all, he was still an unknown actor, not a big name.
“Let’s go.”
“Th-thank you…”
Once they were in the car, Jung Pil-gyu trembled the entire drive to the hospital, fidgeting with his legs and biting his nails anxiously.
“It’ll be fine. Usually when you worry this much, everything turns out okay.”
“I hope so, Writer-nim.”
“By the way… is it a girl or a boy?”
“I don’t know yet. My wife wanted it to be a surprise until the baby is born…”
Kim Si-woo kept talking to ease Jung Pil-gyu’s anxiety while pressing harder on the accelerator.
After about an hour of driving, they arrived at the hospital—where Jung Pil-gyu’s wife was already in the delivery room.
Waiting outside were Jung Pil-gyu’s parents and his in-laws.
“Pil-gyu!”
As soon as they spotted him, his mother-in-law called out.
“Mother-in-law… where’s Soo-min?”
The moment he reached the delivery room, Jung Pil-gyu asked about his wife.
“They said we still have to wait a little longer…”
“Ah…”
Everyone gathered outside the delivery room comforted one another and began to pray.
And from behind, watching the entire scene, Kim Si-woo felt a deep sense of pride and emotion at the same time.
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TL Note:
This novel is now translated and finished at Chapter 176
If you’d like to continue right away, the remaining chapters are available on My Patreon Premium tier and Plus Tier, but if you want to read my other 5 translated novels, join the Premium Tier
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
For this novel specifically, check the collection under “Genius Writer”
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