Martin’s piercing expression made Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung’s palms clammy.
If there were any major issues, honestly even if there were some issues, appearing on ‘Heroes’ would undeniably be beneficial to Do Wook.
KK being a world-renown idol group and Do Wook himself becoming a world-renown actor were separate matters.
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung observed Martin’s expression.
Martin was elderly, but also a virtuoso. He might seem like a regular elderly man if you happened to casually pass by him, but the ‘Heroes’ world that he had created was nothing to sneeze at.
Of course, Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung also had some parts that bothered him, but it was very difficult to say them unfiltered in front of the creator, Martin.
He couldn’t carelessly mess this up.
“The reason…I have a few, but…”
“What are they?”
Sara asked quickly because he said not one but several.
“I see the setup is that David’s mother works as a cashier at a supermarket in Koreatown and his father as a janitor at his college. And they had come to America for the sake of their one and only son’s education.”
“That’s right. Even Americans know well that Koreans are very passionate about education. Thanks to that, there are a lot of Koreans at prestigious universities like the Ivy League. His parents’ sacrifice for him is uncommon and…Martin was also deeply impressed by the story of the pro golfer Mr. Choi’s father. He worked as a manager, going as far as starving himself, for the sake of his son.”
Sara explained the background of the setup.
“Yes. The story of David’s family is convincing enough…And David becomes a person focused only on his studies so that he won’t dishonor his parents’ sacrifice and expectations. He came to a foreign country and did nothing but study, no freedom in his heart. Because of the pressure, he is also an introverted and passive person.”
Martin nodded his head.
Do Wook’s interpretation of the character was accurate.
And the character David that Martin had drawn was also believable, from his background to who he is currently. Considering that the heroes in ‘Heroes’ all have their relatable struggles, it was a convincing backstory to give to a first generation Korean American immigrant character.
However, that was the problem.
‘How Americans think of Koreans…it’s too much like that.’
It showed that he, in his own way, had thought about it and researched it, but in the end the image Westerners have of Asians was inevitably set in stone. His growth as he does hero work after meeting Billion Man and receiving the latest Real Man mask, could actually be interpreted as a perspective of Western dominance.
‘I can’t be grateful just because he didn’t bring up Koreans during the Korean War,’
Do Wook thought as he continued speaking.
“Of course the other heroes have their own shortcomings and anguish. However, an introverted and passive personality…a bookworm…I think these would only reinforce preconceived notions or negative realities about Koreans.”
Martin’s expression became darker.
“If that kind of ordinary, universal character becomes a hero and changes, wouldn’t it be meaningful in its own way?”
Sara refuted.
“Of course. However, starting with the idea that Koreans are universally introverted and passive…I don’t like it. Even if he becomes a hero, that’s the personality people will see.”
Do Wook responded with a serious expression. Sara felt she had made a mistake and stopped talking.
“Honestly, it might be that I’m asking for too much. Still…”
“Pleaes continue.”
Martin said to Do Wook, who seemed to be wary of Martin’s expression.
“Above all else…the reason that I can’t be this character is the changes his body undergoes.”
Several generations above David, perhaps his great-grandfather, lived on the Korean Peninsula during the Japanese occupation. And they were mobilized for Japanese medical experiments. At the time, they were released safely without any problems, but in Do Wook’s body, who is the third generation, a mutation manifests. That was the backstory.
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung nodded his head.
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung also found it difficult to accept this part. However, it was not explained in detail, it just ended after a single line, so he wondered if he should just let it go.
During the Japanese occupation, Japan committed numerous atrocities. The Maruta experiment was one of them.
However, that Maruta experiment was simply summarized in one line as a ‘Japanese medical experiment’ for technological development.
If used well, it could expose the fact that human experiments were conducted during the Japanese occupation, but the focus was not on anti-human aspects like that.
Instead, Do Wook’s surprising ability is attributed to the Japanese experiment, which helps him become a hero with amazing ability.
The history of East Asia was at stake. If it was going to be summarized in one line and not illuminated properly, the right thing would be to not leave any room for interpretation.
Martin and Sara remained silent as Do Wook spoke clearly about areas that could be problematic.
“This part is unavoidably a very sensitive issue,”
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung added with difficulty in the heavy atmosphere.
The reason that Do Wook had no choice but to come on strong like this was because he hoped that they would understand.
Of course the scenario writers, including Martin, had written the scenario with Korea and Japan’s historical background in mind.
However, to them it was merely ‘material’.
Therefore, many things had been overlooked.
They had thought about it deeply in their own way, but it was just to the level of ‘giving the material some thought’ for the project’s sake.
Heroes was also a field where experts in their respective fields demonstrated their expertise as much as possible. There was but one reason that such experts had made this mistake despite insisting casting Do Wook, a Korean person.
They had thought about it too lightly.
Without they themselves realizing it, they were thinking ‘this should be enough’.
Make an Asian person into a hero and cast a Korean person. That alone had already been somewhat of a breakthrough and a change. They thought it was meaningful enough for a movie.
The movie ‘Heroes 2’ would gain significance of its own through content that was more liberal and progressive than the original.
There was awkwardness reflected in the script that was unlike the ‘Heroes’ production team.
In that regard, Do Wook felt that he no longer could do this project.
If it were discriminatory with them not having put any thought into it at all, it would be easy to tell them they were wrong. Then they could start worrying about it moving forward.
However, you could tell from the script that they had ‘put thought into it in their own way’ and because of that, he felt that it would be hard for them to understand what the issue was.
Since this script was the result of much deliberation, it felt unreasonable to ask for revisions to the script.
“Mmmm…I see.”
The silence was short but it felt long.
After the seemingly long silence, Martin spoke.
‘Is this how it ends, with him turning it down like this…?’
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung felt it was a pity. At that moment, he made eye contact with Sara. However, Sara, whose expression had not been good up to just a moment ago, was smiling.
‘What’s going on?’
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung was briefly confused.
Do Wook was facing Martin so he didn’t see Sara’s expression. Martin’s expression was very solemn. It was definitely a different vibe than when Do Wook had seen him at the casino.
“…this won’t do,”
Martin said.
Do Wook didn’t regret his decision.
He thought it would be a greater loss to contribute to people around the world developing mistaken ideas about Korea or East Asians.
His only hope was that his words would get through to Martin or the ‘Heroes’ production team a little and get them to write their first Asian character with more depth and care.
“I sincerely thank you for at least giving me this opportunity. ‘Heroes’ is a film that has a bigger impact on the world than any other movie…Especially when younger kids watch Heroes, their own dreams will grow. If the Real Man character gets completed and ends up joining the heroes, it will truly be very meaningful,”
Do Wook said, laughing lightly.
He genuinely hoped for that to happen, and his gaze was sincere.
Do Wook was talking about the part Martin had thought about the most after creating ‘Heroes’, what had brought him the most joy, what he had felt the most pressure about yet at the same time was the driving force behind him making ‘Heroes’ all these years.
Martin thought as he looked into the black eyes that seemed to be drawing him in. His eyes weren’t wrong. It might have been Do Wook who had caught the pickpocket, but it was him who had discovered ‘the real man’, Do Wook.
“I know. Of course I know. That’s why, this script…”
Martin relaxed his expression and said,
“This won’t work. As it is now.”
“…What?”
Do Wook looked at Martin with a bewildered expression. Sara grinned, as if she had known this would happen.
Actually, a question had already been brought up once when they were setting up the character: isn’t it too outdated, with only stereotypes about Koreans included, isn’t there something that could break those prejudices?
Even Martin agreed. A Korean that Martin had met, that is, Do Wook, was absolutely not introverted, nor passive, nor meek.
However, there was an image that the majority had in mind, and following that image was a way to easily gain the sympathy of many people.
It was true that most people only had an image of Koreans and would simply think, ‘He’ll become a hero anyways’, not giving more thought over what most Koreans are really like.
It was also true that since he wasn’t a main hero in ‘Heroes’ yet, they hadn’t spent much time on him.
Anyways, Do Wook had precisely pinpointed the parts they wanted to just gloss over.
They felt they should apologize to Do Wook for not realizing that about the Japan’s experiment part. They had not fully understood the pain of the Japanese occupation.
“We will completely modify the character Real Man.”
“That’s…”
“You’ll have to bring Real Man to life anyways, Do Wook. There’s probably no way another Korean person would want a Real Man that you don’t want. I do commercial comics and commercial movies. This level of revision is nothing if it means getting even a little more people to see it.”
Martin said firmly. Do Wook, who had assumed that, as a master, he expected him to be quite stubborn, had to admit that this too was his own prejudice.
As a commercial writer, Martin was always ready to accept other people’s opinions.
That was why he was able to build the ‘Heroes’ world, adapting his work to be with the times.
“Will you still decline? Is it such a mess that you don’t even want to see a revised script?”
“Ah, that’s not it! It’s just that, your project…”
“You’re ok with having declined after giving such sharp criticism?”
Martin gave him a ribbing and Do Wook could only laugh.
“Thank you. For telling me honestly. Since it’s a commercial film focused on entertainment anyway, no one really has high expectations, but…I still thought that it’d be nice if it had depth.”
Do Wook nodded his head at Martin’s sincere words.
After finishing the long meeting and even having dinner together, Do Wook and Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung left Martin’s mansion.
Sara saw them out.
“How did you know?”
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung asked.
“That Martin would accept what Do Wook said…”
Sara looked at Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung wondering what he meant, then soon laughed when she understood. Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung’s dumbfounded expression out of utter confusion when Sara laughed earlier had also left a rather strong impression in Sara’s memories.
“Martin never responds with something like ‘I see’ to opinions he absolutely does not agree with. Because there are so many people who would misinterpret even his short responses…But in the end, he said ‘I see’ to what Do Wook said.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Yes. I see.”
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung and Sara looked at each other and laughed.
There was a long discussion session, including arranging a video call with the Chief Director of the ‘Heroes’ film crew but in any case, things wrapped up smoothly so it was a relief.
Do Wook and Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung could not hide their anticipation about how the revised script would turn out and what Do Wook’s ‘Real Man’ would ultimately become.
***
3 months later.
General Comic’s studio in America.
Do Wook entered the large studio for his first shoot.
It was also the scene where Do Wook first appears.
It was a character that Do Wook had researched for quite a long time, especially with the various script revisions. Now that David, aka Real Man, had become a completely new character from the original draft, Do Wook was confident that he could portray it well.
At least, that was how it was until he got to the studio.
Next chapter: It was a long road…will it have been worth it?
9 chapters left!!!