Summer Time Loop (3)
"Uh...."
The editing room inside the video production and practical building. Facing the senior's harsh critique that my acting was utter trash, I tried to defend myself in my own way.
"I thought I captured some sadness there."
Wasn't the emotion decent enough?
Meanwhile, Baek Yul across from me shook his head slowly while seated.
"That won't work. You'd just look like a sad street tree."
"What does that even mean?"
"You know. That."
Baek Yul tapped his chest impatiently, as if it was obvious.
"Nope."
The video production seniors chimed in one by one.
"Your acting really sucks."
"But doesn't he look good just standing there?"
"Honestly, I couldn't tell what emotion it was."
Baek Yul let out a deep sigh and pointed at the recorded footage on the camera.
"Look at this."
Kim Seryeon on the screen. Definitely handsome. But the acting? Awful.
"If it was a psychopath faking sadness, it'd be perfect."
Just a guy who couldn't act.
Baek Yul asked with a hint of shock.
"You ever think about being an actor?"
"No."
"Good. Don't."
"So what do we do now?"
Baek Yul pondered deeply.
"We. 'We' huh...."
Everyone knew where this was going—the seniors, me, even Kang Saero.
Kang Saero stepped forward abruptly.
"You're about to say Seryeon junior's out of the 'we', right?"
"How'd you know?"
"Ah, but he can just stand there, right? Like an extra NPC. That could work, yeah?"
Baek Yul squeezed his eyes shut at her desperate plea.
"No. Don't throw a tantrum at me."
"It's not a tantrum."
"Anyway, no. Soye hates that."
Baek Yul, who had just passed the 100-day mark with his younger girlfriend, slumped back in his chair and propped his chin up.
"The problem's Seryeon junior. Kim Seryeon, got any acting you're confident in? Doesn't have to be sad."
"Then how about acting like I'm singing?"
"Try that at least."
I'd sung well on stage before, gotten praise for my emotional expression and vibe. If I thought of that, I could pull off the acting.
Or so I thought—but the reaction was brutal again.
"Hm?"
"Why's the singing off too?"
"Still not quite right."
Baek Yul nodded in agreement with the seniors' comments.
"No matter what, this guy's acting is garbage. At this rate, I can't shoot the music video no matter what. No idea how to fix it."
The crisis hit me like a slap. If this kept up, the music video shoot was doomed.
What now? Self-loathing washed over me. I'd regressed, gotten this cheat-level handsome face, and still? Pathetic. I hadn't even grasped what it meant to suck at acting.
I stuck to composing because I loved it. No singing or acting gigs. No reason to obsess over my vocals or practice acting.... All half-assed excuses.
I'm just avoiding it.
I was running away. Because exposing my raw inner self, facing others' judgment head-on, triggered panic attacks. Almost always when alone with someone. And acting always meant one-on-one time.
My inner world was still unchanged. Barely overcome anything, even after regression and a second chance.
"......"
Kang Saero, sensing the shift, gripped my forearm tightly.
"Huh? You okay mentally?"
"Yeah, fine."
Meeting her eyes straight on felt like it'd drag me into the abyss. I mumbled vaguely and looked away nearby.
"Hang on a sec."
Thoughts raced through my head, dark ones shoved down forcibly as I dredged up brighter ones. Amid the chaos, one word surfaced.
Regression.
Regression....
Then it hit me like a flash.
"Senior, I got an idea."
"What, really gonna play the street tree?"
"Time loop! How about that?"
"Hm."
What? Lame?
"So I'm clueless about everything. Kang Saero keeps regressing back to first-year arts high every time, but I just live normally, oblivious. Concept like that—"
No matter how handsome, my personality hadn't flipped overnight. My voice, confidence drained, trailed toward zero decibels.
Right then—
"Love it."
Baek Yul's eyes gleamed from his seat.
"Perfect. Grab the board."
A staff senior hurried over with a small whiteboard.
"Can't force what doesn't work. So flip the board entirely."
Baek Yul bit off the marker cap and scrawled roughly on the board.
TIME LOOP
"Like Seryeon junior said, scrap the concept. Time loop. In the MV world, time repeats endlessly."
He scribbled more.
Kim Seryeon - Clueless
"Kim Seryeon here is oblivious,"
Kang Saero - Endless Summer
"From Kang Saero's view, first-year summer never ends. She's the protagonist who alone realizes the loop."
Baek Yul grinned at the other seniors.
"Kinda cliché, but cool, right?"
"Great for hiding Easter eggs."
"Mise-en-scène!"
"Fans'll love theorizing if we add some."
"Yeah, fits our original plan perfectly with the time loop."
"Mise-en-scène...!"
Genius high school director Baek Yul, double award-winner at the film fest, explained it like this.
The MV backdrop: a school in an endless summer day. I go to school at the same time daily, sit in the same spot reading, leave at the same hour. No tomorrow for me. Just repeating a perfectly preserved day of youth.
"But Seryeon junior's clueless."
"Even though days repeat?"
"Shows how monotonous and bland his life is. Cliché if you've seen films."
"If it's that obvious, maybe do something else...."
"But? Even cliché material changes feel with interpretation, right?"
Overwhelmed by his momentum, I nodded.
"Ah. Yeah."
"That's on the director. Don't worry."
His eyes brimmed with total conviction.
"So Seryeon junior, no acting needed. Don't chase emotions. Just stand there: I'm clueless. Living normally.... Breathe with that handsome face. Done."
"Really okay like that?"
"Yeah. You're handsome just existing—don't overdo it. If you do, I'll cut it."
Praise or threat? But his eyes screamed certainty.
"And. Seryeon junior's gotta do one more thing...."
Panic triggers weren't just acting. One-on-one rushes like this were getting scary. I shot Kang Saero a help-me glance; she raised her hand confidently, like trust me.
"Um, senior?"
"Right, forgot about you, Saero junior."
"So I'm the one realizing the loop?"
"Yep."
The MV protagonist was Kang Saero after all. More directing on her side inevitably.
"Time loop clichés: protagonist thrashes, screams to escape the endless repeat. But we go opposite."
Baek Yul's voice dropped low.
"Kang Saero enjoys the loop. No escape thoughts."
Staff murmured, puzzled.
"Why? She's trapped."
"Same day repeating—wouldn't you go mad?"
Baek Yul shrugged.
"Normally, yeah."
Trapped folks usually suffer. But genius director Baek Yul had a twist?
"Her counterpart's Kim Seryeon."
Silence fell again.
One second later.
"Ah...!"
"Wow, sold."
"Makes sense."
"Genius. For real."
Staff slapped knees in unison.
"Mise-en-scène!!!"
That guy only knew one phrase?
Anyway, total buy-in.
"Right? With Kim Seryeon as male lead, why leave?"
"Exactly."
"No reason to struggle out."
"Wakes up every morning, Kim Seryeon smiles at her."
"Uwawang."
"Freaking awesome."
"I'd loop 5000 times, no boredom."
"Every day thrilling. Always fresh."
I coughed awkwardly, but Baek Yul ignored it, asking Kang Saero.
"What about you? Would you leave?"
She glanced at me briefly.
Answered.
"No."
One second flat. Utterly firm.
"Even I'd stay. No leaving."
Baek Yul snapped his fingers, satisfied.
"Perfect. Got the emotional arc."
If it's with you,
I'd gladly be trapped
in this endless summer.
"This is it."
The senior dove in, sketching detailed storyboards on the board.
"Kim Seryeon repeats same actions. Reads in same spot, same smile, shares earbuds same way. But Kang Saero's reactions differ each loop."
Different Reactions Per Loop
"First shocked by loop, then happy seeing Kim Seryeon endlessly, later savoring the moment with loving gazes. Discovers fresh nuances each loop. Building details. Deepening eyes. That's the hook."
Accumulation of Secret Special Narrative
Fulfillment & Lack Like Coin's Two Sides, Yearning
Baek Yul approached Kang Saero seriously.
"Seryeon can't act, so the MV story rides entirely on your eyes. Can you handle it?"
"Leave it to me."
"Alright. Lights setup. Reflectors. Props too. Script. Easter eggs."
Prep kicked into high gear.
"Sun's setting soon, so night sky shoot starts then. That's late act anyway—tons of scenes to grab now."
"Let's do it."
The video production club buzzed into action.