The drama shoot was scheduled to take place in a quiet alley near the police station.

Seo Jung-woo went there alone. Originally, Baek Sung-min and Jo Min-seok were supposed to accompany him, but Team Leader Kwon Byeong-cheol came out and dragged them back to the police station.

The director greeted Seo Jung-woo warmly.

“Wow, Detective Seo Jung-woo! I’ve read a lot of articles about you. It’s great to meet you in person.”

“Well, sure.”

The news that Seo Jung-woo was serving as an advisor for this shoot had already spread among the actors.

Two actors approached to greet him.

The male lead, Kang Seo-jun, smiled broadly.

“Wow. I’ve only seen your feats in the news, but meeting you in person, you look different from what I imagined. I thought you’d be as big as Kyung-chul hyung. Hahaha.”

A large, well-muscled male actor, Kwon Kyung-chul, extended his hand.

“Detective Seo, I hear you’re famous. Let’s shake hands.”

“Oh, sure.”

Seo Jung-woo grasped his hand.

‘Hmm?’

Kwon Kyung-chul’s grip wasn’t at the level of a normal handshake. He was squeezing so tightly that his forearm muscles tensed.

‘Is he trying to show off his strength?’

Judging by sheer size and muscle mass, Kwon Kyung-chul should have an overwhelming advantage in grip strength.

However, Seo Jung-woo was an awakened marksman. One of the auxiliary effects of the shooting skill was enhanced strength.

Just as Seo Jung-woo was about to exert some force, Kwon Kyung-chul suddenly let go and stepped back in haste.

Kwon Kyung-chul was startled by what he had just felt.

‘His hand didn’t even budge, like it was made of iron. If I had kept holding on, I felt like my hand would have shattered. Just how strong is this guy?’

Seo Jung-woo was slightly impressed as well.

‘He’s got good instincts. If he were in the other world, he would have awakened a combat skill.’

Kang Seo-jun, who had no idea what just happened, blinked in confusion before extending his hand to Seo Jung-woo.

“Oh, I’d like a handshake too.”

“Ah, sure.”

Kang Seo-jun barely grasped his hand before letting go.

He had heard that Seo Jung-woo was skilled enough to take down criminals barehanded, so he had no intention of testing his strength.

The director, having watched the interaction, approached Seo Jung-woo.

“I hear your combat skills are incredible?”

“No.”

He was better at shooting.

“Oh, don’t be so modest. I saw the news. You took down a knife-wielding criminal with your bare hands. And not just once—three times.”

“They were just weak.”

“Hahaha. Is that so? Well then…”

The director subtly suggested,

“How about making a brief appearance in a scene? There’s a suitable role for you.”

Seo Jung-woo glanced around.

In the distance, the head writer was watching him with sparkling eyes.

‘So that’s why Kim Seong-jun had that strange smile yesterday. This was their plan.’

Seo Jung-woo considered his situation.

It had only been fifteen days since he arrived in this world. He was still adjusting and lacked knowledge about this world’s common sense.

He didn’t particularly dislike the idea of appearing on TV, but it wasn’t something he needed to do.

Moreover, he wasn’t keen on making his face widely known just yet.

‘If someone claims to know me and contacts me, I wouldn’t even be able to tell if they’re telling the truth.’

He made up his mind and came up with an excuse.

“I’ve never acted before. I wouldn’t know how.”

“It’s an action scene, so you just need to do what you usually do.”

“I’m a public servant. Appearing in a drama would be problematic.”

“If you just shoot the scene, we’ll handle getting broadcast approval. Even the police Commissioner is appearing as an extra in the police station scene later.”

Seo Jung-woo used his usual excuse and firmly declined.

“If my face becomes too well-known, it’ll interfere with catching criminals. I won’t do it.”

The director had no choice but to back off, feeling uneasy inside.

‘I told the president to trust me, but this is a disaster. Normally, people jump at opportunities like this. Why is he so against it?’

A little later, the female lead, Lee Seon-hwa, arrived.

She listened to the situation from the director and head writer.

“Oh my. That detective is playing hard to get.”

The director asked,

“Seon-hwa, do you have any ideas?”

Lee Seon-hwa spoke confidently.

“Of course. Leave it to me.”

“Really? What are you going to do?”

“Well, he’s a man, isn’t he? If I flirt with him, he’ll cave in less than a minute.”

The director was taken aback.

“No, I meant persuade him, not seduce him.”

“I don’t just flirt with anyone, you know? I’ll do just enough to get him to cooperate. Where is he?”

“He went to the police station for a call, but he’s back now. There he is.”

Seo Jung-woo was walking toward the filming area.

Lee Seon-hwa clicked her heels, maintaining an air of confidence as she approached him. She lifted her oversized sunglasses onto her head and said,

“Detective Seo Jung-woo?”

Seo Jung-woo was taken aback when he saw her.

“Seon-hwa?”

Lee Seon-hwa smiled sweetly.

“Oh my, do you know me? Hohoho. Of course, you do.”

She flipped her hair over her shoulder with a slight toss of her head.

“If someone doesn’t know me, they’re not even Korean.”

This was the first time Seo Jung-woo had seen her in this world.

But he knew Lee Seon-hwa well from the other world.

Back then, he had been assigned to the Special Awakened Forces the very day he enlisted, without even stepping into a training camp. Yeouido had been in chaos due to a sudden gate eruption, releasing hordes of monsters.

One of his missions was to infiltrate a monster-infested broadcasting station and rescue civilians.

Among those he saved was a rookie actress.

That actress was Lee Seon-hwa—of the other world.

‘I heard she became a top star in this world. Well, Seon-hwa had natural acting talent, even if she didn’t awaken any skills. I didn’t expect her to be in this drama, though.’

In the other world, Lee Seon-hwa never became a top star.

She didn’t even manage to land a lead role.

It wasn’t due to a lack of acting skills. In fact, her acting was exceptional, which is why she continued to land supporting roles.

However, in that world, to become a lead in a drama, one needed a skill that could reduce production costs in numerous action scenes.

The Lee Seon-hwa from that world had not awakened any skills.

‘She actually has the talent of a top star, though.’

Lee Seon-hwa saw Seo Jung-woo’s expression shift from surprise to a smile.

That smile felt oddly familiar.

‘Has he already fallen for me? Looks like I won’t even need a whole minute to reel him in.’

She flashed a beautiful smile.

“Detectiiive~ I heard you turned down the director’s offer without realizing you’d be filming a scene with me?”

“Huh?”

“Our writer specifically added a combat scene with you in mind, Detective Seo. I’ll be in that scene too, so wouldn’t it be great if we filmed it together?”

“I don’t know how to act.”

“That’s okay. I’ll lead you well.”

“You’re joking, right? You seem like the type to get mad if your scene partner doesn’t meet your expectations.”

In that world, Lee Seon-hwa was a career supporting actress, so she often had to suppress her frustration even when she got angry. But the Lee Seon-hwa here was a top star.

‘If Seon-hwa becomes a top star, she’s not the type to tolerate bad acting from anyone.’

Lee Seon-hwa hesitated for a moment, then smiled while narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Oh my. Where did you hear that nonsense? That’s all lies.”

“Judging by what you’re wearing today, you don’t seem to be in a good mood. I’d rather not get stabbed by your high heels.”

Her eyes widened.

“What? How did you figure that out just from my outfit?”

She was, in fact, not in a good mood today.

Last night, someone had scratched her car with a sharp object in the parking lot.

‘Seriously, how did he know that?’

Seo Jung-woo had picked up on it because he knew the other world’s Lee Seon-hwa well.

Her outfit here was far more luxurious and glamorous, but her dressing style remained the same.

‘Her tastes are definitely consistent. Her clothes and expressions are identical in both worlds.’

Seo Jung-woo spoke.

“Looks like you have nothing more to say.”

Lee Seon-hwa, having lost her momentum, returned to the director.

The director asked, “Why are you coming back alone? You said you’d have him in under a minute.”

Looking flustered, she asked, “Director, what’s with that detective? How does he figure things out just by looking at someone?”

“What do you mean?”

Lee Seon-hwa hesitated. If she explained it was about her outfit, the director would start noticing every time she was in a bad mood.

“Just… something. Anyway, he’s an unbelievable detective.”

“Whatever it is that impressed you, just accept it. He’s Detective Seo Jung-woo, after all.”

“Huh? Is he famous?”

The director looked at her in surprise.

“What? Seon-hwa, don’t you watch the news? He’s the detective who caught the serial killer in 24 hours.”

“Ah! That detective was him? I did see the news, but I don’t remember them mentioning his name.”

“There’s more than one news report. When the president of AKX Pictures was framed for murder, Detective Seo caught the real culprit right away. He even rescued the president’s girlfriend. Writer Yoon and I saw the news while drinking and shouted at the same time that we had to turn it into a movie.”

“Huh?”

“And then there was another kidnapping case where…”

Lee Seon-hwa raised her hand to cut him off.

“Wait, wait. So you’re saying that guy is an incredible detective?”

“More than just incredible. He’s supposedly the best. That’s why we wanted his advice for this scene. Though it’s a shame he doesn’t seem too interested in helping. But Seon-hwa, what did you get caught about?”

Her eyebrow twitched.

“Let’s not talk about it. I’m already in a bad mood today.”

Until the drama shoot ended, there were no runaway malfunctioning cars, collapsing sets, or actors falling from high places.

Seo Jung-woo didn’t appear in a single scene.

He also didn’t provide any investigative advice, as he wasn’t knowledgeable about police procedures.

Still, since he had come as an advisor, doing absolutely nothing felt wrong. So he gave one opinion about the fight scene.

There were no martial arts directors or stunt doubles here, so his advice wouldn’t be a burden.

Fight scenes were far more spectacular in the other world, where awakened beings acted. He described a commonly used combat scene from dramas there.

“If you fight like that, it’ll look too plain. If the attacker charges in, you should push off the wall, leap behind them, and strike. It’ll look much better on camera.”

The male lead, Kang Seo-jun, thought he was joking. To move like that, they’d need wires.

So he played along.

“Show us first. Then I’ll follow exactly.”

The villain actor, Kwon Kyung-chul, was completely serious.

“I’ll come at you properly, so show us how it’s done.”

During their earlier handshake, he had lost in a grip strength contest. Now, he wanted to balance the score with a physical match.

‘No matter how strong his grip is, he can’t beat weight difference. I’ll charge in with my shoulder and lift him up.’

Seo Jung-woo responded casually.

“Sure.”

Kwon Kyung-chul lightly bounced on his feet like a boxer and shouted, “Here I come!”

Unlike the script, he charged at Seo Jung-woo.

The director, who had been watching absentmindedly, was startled.

“Huh?”

Seo Jung-woo leapt lightly onto the sidewall.

Using it as a springboard, he soared higher and twisted his upper body in a wide arc mid-air. Since he had kicked off the wall, his torso was already above Kwon Kyung-chul’s head, and his legs swung even higher.

Seo Jung-woo spun in a large circle in mid-air.

Kwon Kyung-chul, charging forward, suddenly experienced something bizarre—Seo Jung-woo vanished from sight.

Startled, he stopped in his tracks and looked up. Seo Jung-woo was inverted mid-air, passing over him. Their eyes met.

“Huh?”

He wanted to keep watching but couldn’t tilt his head back any further. Seo Jung-woo disappeared from his field of view.

“Uh…?”

Seo Jung-woo landed lightly behind him.

This was a common move in other-world dramas. It wasn’t even a high-level action sequence—just one of many basic fight choreography techniques.

He placed a hand on Kwon Kyung-chul’s back and said, “After jumping like that, you kick the enemy’s back.”

Kwon Kyung-chul flinched and leaped forward.

“Ack!”

“No, not like that. You’re supposed to dodge sideways and counterattack. That way, I can quickly lower my stance and…”

Seo Jung-woo trailed off.

Everyone was staring at him, wide-eyed.

‘Huh? Why are they so shocked? Did I overdo it? I don’t think so…’

He asked, “In movies, isn’t this normal? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

Kwon Kyung-chul was too stunned to respond.

Kang Seo-jun exclaimed, eyes round with shock.

“In movies, they use CGI for that!”

“Ah. CGI.”