Continuity, Seoul – Part 3: The Final Take

They drove out of Seoul that night in Ji-woo's small car, past the glittering bridges over the Han River, into the dark hills where the hotel sat beside a mountain lake.

The receptionist would not tell them anything. But Min-jun knew one trick. He asked whether a guest had ordered a particular eye cream, the only one Tae-ho ever used, because Min-jun had recommended it.

The receptionist checked. "Room 402."

Tae-ho opened the door in a sweatshirt, unshaven, astonished.

"Min-jun?"

He was not a prisoner, exactly. Director Oh had hidden him here "for his safety" after the threats. But his phone had been taken. Every day he had been told the police were handling it, when nobody had called the police at all. Director Oh had simply replaced him, kept filming and protected his money.

"He told me it would only be a few days," Tae-ho said. "That was a week ago."

Ji-woo was already on the phone to the real police.

The scandal broke two days later. Director Oh was removed from the production. The fan who had sent the threats was found and stopped. The double, it turned out, was a struggling actor who had been paid and frightened into silence. He cooperated fully.

The drama finished filming three weeks late, with its real lead actor. On the last night, Tae-ho sat in Min-jun's chair for the final time.

"Left side," Tae-ho said, smiling. "Don't get it wrong."

"I never do," said Min-jun.

When the final take was called, the crew cheered. Ji-woo found Min-jun outside the trailer, packing his brushes in the pink-and-blue glow of the city.

"You know what you are?" she said. "You're the only person on this set who actually looks at people."

He smiled, and his pearl earring caught the light.

"Then let me look at you," he said. "Over dinner. Somewhere with no cameras."

She laughed, picked up his kit and carried it for him.

Above them, the neon of Seoul flickered on, one colour at a time.

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Next: The Lace Map of Bruges, a restorer, a 60-year-old piece of lace and a code stitched into a border.