Song: Little Little (리틀 리틀)

        Her name was Irene and she was a stuntwoman.

As far as the glitz and glamour were concerned, Irene was an anonymous face.

Parallel to top-profile actresses, she was a supporting role that would stand in whenever duty calls.

Sure, she had absolutely no problem with that. In fact, she wouldn’t even dare to label herself a celebrity despite being in the line of entertainment. Irene was a talented gem indeed, but sometimes by only being a diamond would it suffice. She had to work twice as hard while others sport expensive gowns and fancy hairdos, yet still remained a nameless.

Irene had been a stuntwoman for three years exact. Unlike her sister who was interested in fashion and beauty, Irene leaned towards the tougher side. They both looked similar, yet shared contrasting hearts. She had always marvelled over action movies, watching the characters flying all over the place. The special effects (or rather, explosions) after every victory was captivating. That was beauty defined by Irene. It was art. To a naive child, the view was spectacular and one that stuck long enough.

Though growing up, Irene realised it wasn’t such a piece of cake after all. There was certainly no free lunch or silver spoon involved. Fees to get into a decent action school were one thing she had to work for. She’d mull over her finances on odd days. Earning her parents’ blessings were another; they figured it was a landmine for Irene to step foot in the line of film and production with uncertainty. Even so, they would rather she try her hands on being a full-fledged actress instead. However, Irene didn’t need the fame. All she wanted was a platform to exhibit those fancy moves.

And to be honest, with all the limelight on you — it could turn scary.

Hours turned into weeks turned into months. It was all a new experience for a greenhorn. Overwhelmed at first, she slowly started to get a hang of it. It literally took her blood, sweat and tears to perfect every action scenes. It was a bit complex: having to pretend getting hurt without actually getting hurt. Irene would be lying if that wasn’t the toughest phase of her entire 25 years of living. Training intensified and sessions were as gruelling each day. Her muscles battered along with her unbroken spirit. 

There were days when she woke up feeling like she had been hit by a massive truck. Times when she was about to give up for the blue and black painted on her petite body. Defeat was eminent on rainy seasons. She was drained but it would all be worth it, she told herself.

All worth it.

Everything paid off thankfully, or Irene might have ended up sleeping on the streets. Luck came by and scored her an apprenticeship with a proficient stunt coordinator at Riveria Academy, home for others who shared the same interests.

She was taken under the wing of Byun Baekhyun who held a white belt in Hapkido. Needless to say, Irene idolised him to bits. She still had a lot to hone next to the veteran but Baekhyun was truly impressed with her capabilities for an amateur. The mentors at Riveria saw how her initiative and passion were unrivalled to other trainees. 

Soon enough, she climbed the ladder of success and made her first debut in a mini webtoon series.

From then on, they decided to name her Irene.

The stuntwoman who’ll live behind the curtains, whose real mask unbeknownst to the eyes of the world.

 

        “Irene, you’re up next!”

Irene emptied the last bit of water before acknowledging the director on set. Shooting dragged on for the past 10 hours and exhaustion was evident on both casts and crew. Her scene would be the final take before they clapped the slate and called it a day.

It was interesting to see how Irene always gave her all despite being a reserved person in nature. She got into her momentum right away — buckling her boots and securing the safety cable wires. Her prop gun was loaded with blanks, those ammunition could trigger a loud noise without shooting a bullet. 

It was showtime.

As soon as the director shouted ‘ACTION!’, the bungee cord around her waist loosened and Irene dived straight into the window like a bee before skillfully landing on the concrete floor of an abandoned warehouse. The shards scattered into pieces but it didn’t cut her for it was made of sugar glass, a much brittle knockoff of real glass. The other stuntmen, posing as bandits, surrounded her in a fury and were ready to attack.

Irene set her target on the one with an uppercut on his lip and lunged forward before giving him a high kick on the face. She barely dodged a punch by tripping his right leg to which he collapsed behind a table. Another bandit rushed to her wielding a knife and Irene smirked before pulling the trigger of her pistol. The shorter guy screamed in pain and fake blood spurted out from his shoulder in a convincing facsimile of a gunshot wound.

“Nice one, Chen!” Irene mentally noted as she suppressed a subtle grin.

Two other men were defeated simultaneously when Irene grabbed one of them in a chokehold and snapped his head before doing a backflip after careful measurement, making them collide into each other. The site was a catastrophe filled with groans and casualties; only the heroine stayed unscatched. 

By the end of the stunts, she was left panting heavily and beads of sweat trailed down her forehead. That wasn’t the end, she hurriedly sneaked out to exit when the camera panned to another direction whilst the real actress she was doubling for swooped into the scene perfectly. The finale was intense, the actress ran to save the hostage and the camera assistant zoomed into a shot of back before she turned her head slightly, showing her side profile.

“And... cut! Alright, that’s a wrap!” The director cued and the set erupted into loud cheers. 

The actress was as beautiful as her name was, Seol In A. “Did I look good on camera, director?” 

“Look good? You looked fantastic!” The director sang high praises of the actress for her efforts and In A was fully satisfied as her smile grew from ear to ear.

Irene watched the scene unfold quietly from the sidelines. She gazed at the actress and admired how stunning she looked despite being covered with perspiration and fatigue.

“Irene.” A familiar voice called from behind, “You did well too.”

Baekhyun came by next to her and gave her a light pat on the back. Irene smiled. Perhaps he’d wanted to cheer her on.

“Thanks Baekhyun.” She replied and felt her heart fluttered with joy. Once or twice she would receive some recognition as well. It was a kind of fuel that would keep her energy going.

In A made her way to the center of the site along with her manager carrying boxes of small hampers. “Everyone. I prepared some snacks for all the casts and crew. It’s not much but please accept it. As a token of appreciation for this entire filming journey. I’m a little sad that the shooting has ended, but it was really fun working with all of you. You’ve worked hard!” 

Greetings of bon voyage were exchanged as well as business contacts were spread. The team applauded and while everyone got busy with their new gifts, In A approached Irene.

“This is for you.”

Irene looked down to her palms where she was earnestly holding on to a present wrapped in gold foil. Genuinely baffled by the unexpected treatment, her eyes rounded.

“Ah, I can’t accept this Ms In A!” She vehemently rejected, “I’m not supposed to.”

“In A.” She corrected in hopes that they could drop the formalities, “It’s just my way to thank you for doing all those tedious scenes on my behalf. I know how hard it must be.”

Irene waved her hand. “No no, it’s not a problem at all, don’t worry. I’m just doing my job. In fact, I enjoyed it. A lot.” She made sure to emphasise on the last part.

“Silly, you helped me a great deal.” The actress insisted.

“Really, it’s—”

“Please, Irene? On account of our new friendship?” In A requested with pleading eyes, “It’s a girl code thingy.”

Irene swallowed. Unconsciously, she tucked the loose strands of her ponytail behind her ear sheepishly. It was always nice when actresses and actors dissolve the line between their difference in classes and regard them all of the same status. It was rare in the industry since Irene had a fair account of nasty experiences, especially with the beautiful ones.

Irene sighed at her persistence. In A was younger than her, so she found her to be extremely charming and down-to-earth, like her own sister. Finally she mirrored the actress’s little grin. “Alright then. I’ll accept without any pressure.”

“Oh Irene, you’re the best!” In A engulfed her in a bear hug.

It would be nice to work if Irene could always work with people as humble as her new friend.
 

        With the movie filming of ‘Hostage’ coming to a closure, Baekhyun gathered his crew together as they board the bus back to the academy. Not without a final word of gratitude.

Nobody said it would be easy. In fact, a sight like this was common in the life of stunt performers. Insomniac and bloodshot eyes at 2 AM with ripped fabrics as they continuously reached for their dreams, no one really complained much except how it was an occupational hazard once in a while. Perhaps it was due to a sense of fulfilment and that in itself was rewarding.

“Are you sure you are really fine? I don’t mean fine, like not bleeding, but like a broken bone or a torn ligament or something.” Irene asked for the twelfth time as a matter-of-fact.

“I am so tired of you asking the same question and me giving the same answer. On repeat.” The older man next to her grumbled. His hair was dishevelled from the earlier fighting scene.

Almost everyone in the bus were completely knocked out except a few quiet ones.

“Suho, listen.” Irene said sternly. She wasn’t about to take no for an answer. “I think I might have exerted too much energy while I twisted your neck earlier.”

All Suho wanted on the way back was some peace and now he had to deal with his subordinate nagging about his well-being. “Well I am alive and breathing, if you need proof of how ‘fine’ I am.” His voice came out annoyed.

“Are you serious? I might have caused a fracture.” She cautioned, trying to poke into his flesh.

“Look, really. You executed the scene realistically. Realistic means perfection.” To an outsider, it would have sounded sarcastic but Irene fathomed that Suho meant what he said. “Plus I take fights well, not to brag though.”

Irene scoffed in disbelief as she crossed her arms, “Yeah, sure which is why you held a grudge for almost a week just because you lost that stupid arm-wrestling match with Baekhyun.”

“Excuse me, it wasn’t stupid. It was an honourable defeat.”

Baekhyun, who had been eavesdropping their banter with his eyes shut was amused nonetheless. The atmosphere in the team was always great.

 

        Irene was up by 6AM the next day and started her morning routine. She brought along the pedometer than In A had gave her yesterday as she went for a few rounds of jogs.

This will come in handy.

Vitamins were her mantra before starting th