There were lights prepared for the photo shoot everywhere with a green screen on one of the walls. A young man approached as Joonbum looked around.
“Let’s introduce each other.”
Taechul Jung called out to the men.
‘I guess they’re filming.’
“This is Kiyoung Park who’s going to be the photographer today. This is Hyuntae Kim who works with him. This here is Joonbum Jang, and this is Jinchul Cha.”
Taechul spoke on behalf of everyone and backed away. Kiyoung and Hyuntae began moving around to prepare for the shoot as Joonbum checked on the equipment he ordered.
“How is it?”
“It’s amazing! It sure is worth the money.”
Jinchul was amazed at the armor before him. Joonbum was surprised also. Well-decorated armor sat on the chair in front of him.
“This isn’t anything like the ones I bought from that store before. This is amazing.”
Jinchul kept complimenting the piece. Joonbum was pleased also.
“This is really great. It exceeds expectations.”
“The color came out great too. Also, the texture is our pride. It’s realistic.”
Taechul smiled as they both complimented on the armor.
“It’s not only the outside that’s amazing. Try it on.”
Joonbum approached the armor as Taechul offered it to him. It was made out of steel that seemed to have popped out from a medieval movie. It had a lot of artificial damage all over its body, replicating the damage done by a sword or spear.
“This really is great.”
“Yes, we had to put some effort into it, but it was worth it.”
Taechul was pleased as Joonbum seemed to be satisfied with it.
It was easier to put on the armor than he first thought. It was not like the actual old armor from the medieval times where a servant had to help put it on. The armor was also very light. He started slipping into the armor starting with the shoe, the shin guard, the knee, the thigh, the waist, a waistband, and finally a breastplate and arm protector which were connected to the shoulder. There was also a shoulder plate that was connected to the neck and the helmet. It was finished when he wore the gauntlets and Joonbum was now covered in iron-plated armor. He looked like a knight from a movie after he finally placed a long sword through his waistband.
“Wow.”
“This is amazing.”
“It’s going to be worth shooting.”
Taechul, Jinchul, and Kiyoung were all amazed at the sight. Joonbum blushed as he saw them through the openings of his helmet.
“Look at yourself in the mirror.”
Joonbum moved as Hyuntae offered the mirror him. Joonbum was surprised to see himself as he stood in front of the mirror.
‘This will go crazy when I upload it as a video.’
There was a knight from the medieval times in front of him. It seemed as if the mirror was portraying someone else.
Joonbum became proud of himself and he gained self-esteem like never before. The part he liked the most was the wolf mark engraved on the chest.
“Let me know if you find anything uncomfortable.”
He moved to a readied stage as the iron clunked noisily. He tried doing various poses as he checked the armor’s movement.
“Oh, don’t mind us. We’re just testing here.”
Joonbum was wary of the continued flashes from the camera, but he soon forgot about it. He was too excited with the heaviness of the armor and sound of the moving iron being transferred to his body.
“It’s a special composite steel, so it’s really light. It’s also very durable too. It only took a little damage even when we swung an axe at it.”
Taechul gave an explanation about the armor. He also mentioned that the joint areas were reinforced with special plastic that made it safe against thrust attacks, which was a common weak point for armor from the old times. The clear plastic also covered the wide, horizontal openings of the helmet.
Hyuntae brought a shield as Joonbum was trying different movements with the swords.
“Can you hold onto this and make a pose?”
‘It’s light.’
“Haha, it’s light, isn’t it? But that one’s really strong. It’s much better than any ordinary steel shield.”
Taechul confirmed it with confidence.
‘So this is the shield.’
The shield was invincible against any axes, spears, or such weapons. Its lightness and clearness allowed the wielder to see through the shield. Normally, shields like this would allow the opponent to see through the shield too, but the one Joonbum was holding had a special coating within the shield to make it only visible from the inside.
‘It would’ve cost fortune if this kind of shield was available back in the days.’
Joonbum grinned at the thought. He was now feeling fatigued after the long shoot.
“This is going to be the last…”
Something was dragged in on a wheel. There was a horse-like sculpture with amazingly decorated horse armor on top of it.
“Horse armor?”
Taechul nodded at Jinchul’s question.
“Isn’t it amazing? I think we’ll have an amazing picture with some computer graphics.”
“What is it made of?”
“The interior contains insulated cloth to help keep the horse dry. It also can block swords. The exterior, which imitates dragon scales, is made out of the same composite plastic I used on the armor. It’s not heavy either. I think that kind of armor would’ve been considered as a tank if it existed back in the days. It will repel any arrows or spears. Amazing right? Haha.”
Taechul seemed to be very pleased with his products. It looked like he was imagining the sight of his armor-wearing horse charging through the battlefield.
‘This guy is nuts. I guess that’s why he’s the owner here.’
Jinchul put some distance between him and Taechul as he went on. But the armor was definitely amazing. Its quality did not falter from the armor Joonbum was wearing. It protected the horse in its entirety, much different from the actual horse armor that was used in the old days.
“Well, we couldn’t do something like this because of the weight, but now we have an abundance of better materials. Isn’t it really great? Isn’t it?”
“Oh, yes, it is.”
“Right? Haha.”
Taechul backed away as he heard the answer he was looking for.
“Okay, twist a little with the spear and shield. Stay there, like that. Hyuntae! Light! More to the right!”
Joonbum changed poses as Kiyoung asked him to move while pressing the shutter button on his camera continuously. It was awkward at first, but Joonbum quickly got used to it. It was especially because his entire face was covered with a helmet.
He was handed over various weapons as time went on.
‘This guy’s trying out everything,’ Joonbum thought as he pulled out a giant black sword. It was the one from an animation he’d seen before.
“Wow!”
“Whoa.”
“He’s holding that with one hand! I thought he looked muscular, but that’s something.”
Taechul, Kiyoung, and Hyuntae all gasped as Joonbum pulled the sword and put it over his shoulder with one hand. Hyuntae, who barely managed to bring out the sword, was the most baffled. Joonbum was also surprised at that moment. The saddle he was sitting on had a connector that freed his two hands. It prevented him from falling off the horse and the backrest added to its safety. He felt safe to move about without worrying.
“Okay, we’ll try the Green Dragon Crescent Blade!”
The photo shoot continued with more weapons. It continued for two hours, going through every single weapon the Iron Sword had in their arsenal.
‘Ugh, they definitely wanted me to do everything with me here today.’
Joonbum was fatigued as he kept posing. The weather started to cool down, but it was still hot in the afternoon. With the thick armor and the lightning for the photo shoot, it made it really stuffy for him.
“Okay, we should take a break!”
Joonbum took off the helmet.
“Ugh, it’s so hot.”
He hung the helmet on the hanger on the horse armor and opened his breastplate. It felt like he could breathe now.
“You like it?” Jinchul asked teasingly.
“Ugh, it’s not easy. I think we still have a lot to go.”
“Right, we have no other way to save money. You think a few ten million isn’t worth much now? It’s still an amazing deal for just a day of work.”
“Haha, right. I think it’s still much easier than working in a delivery sorting facility.”
Jinchul nodded. Joonbum knew this well.
The armor and horse armor he requested costed amazing amount of money just for the materials. He even ordered extra parts just in case. So if he had to pay, it would’ve come close to 100 million won. But putting up the Iron Sword’s logo on his video and today’s commercial photo shoot cut the price down greatly.
‘This was lucky.’
He needed more money as he was preparing for winter.
“Okay, we should start now. We missed it yesterday so let’s quickly go through it now.”
Kiyoung reminded Joonbum of yesterday as he fixed the armor back on.
“We’ll have a beer later. Go ahead.”
“Okay, I’m ready!”
‘I hope Mom’s doing okay.’
