Chapter 544: Myung Je-il Studio(3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 544: Myung Je-il Studio(3)
The photoshoot continued.
The way the people at Myung Je-il Studio looked at me had shifted past terror and into the realm of awe.
"Why are they looking at us like that?"
Oh Yun-ji, who was currently posing with her arm draped over my shoulder, asked the question.
She had a knack for doing most things skillfully, and it seems throwing her voice was one of them. Her smile remained fixed, yet her pronunciation was perfectly clear. It was likely why Myung Je-il hadn't noticed she was speaking.
"Why do you think? They’re probably marveling at the guy who just had three wives and three kids and is now taking pictures with yet another girlfriend."
"……."
Oh Yun-ji shot me a sidelong glance. Then, she let out a dry chuckle.
"Am I part of your collection now?"
"If that’s how you want to see it, go ahead. I’m uthed to being the villain."
"Shut up!"
Look at this crazy bastard go again. He’s nothing like that bald guy.
Since I wasn't as skilled at ventriloquism as Oh Yun-ji, it seemed my words were being caught. As I kept my mouth shut, Oh Yun-ji glanced at me and asked discontentedly, "Hey, isn't this kind of boring?"
"What's boring?"
"We’ve been shooting in the same basic compositions for a while now."
"Well, that’s true."
This was already the fourth round. After going through Seo Ye-rin, Choi I-seo, and Yoo Ah-rin to get to Oh Yun-ji, I was honestly running out of poses. Even though the previous three had the kids with them, the poses themselves were more or less the same.
"It’s not like I’m a professional model. There’s bound to be a limit."
He had given various directions, but I hadn't followed all of them. Striking poses was more embarrassing than I expected, and maintaining a specific expression wasn't easy either.
"Then all the photos with you are going to end up looking the same."
"Uh… I guess?"
Now that I thought about it, she was right. It was like we were copy-pasting; only the person changed while the composition and poses remained identical.
Is that why that bald guy is getting more annoyed?
He had been pressing the shutter with increasing irritability for a while now. Was this the reason? They say artists hate repeating the same thing over and over.
Tsk, well, what am I supposed to do?
As I just said, I’m just an ordinary guy. My repertoire of photo poses was bound to run dry pretty quickly.
"Tsk. These are individual shots; they need some originality."
Oh Yun-ji grabbed my tie and pulled me toward her, standing right in front of me. I was slightly flustered by the confident composition—it felt as if she were holding a leash.
"Oh?"
The bald man’s eyes sparkled. Actually, I couldn't see his eyes because he was behind the camera. I just felt like they would be sparkling. After all, his head was already shining.
From now on, I decided to describe it as his head shining.
The bald man’s head shone.
"Nice try. Good. Let’s go with that vibe."
At the shining bald man’s direction, Oh Yun-ji began to act even more boldly. She went as far as pressing her lips to my neck or playfully biting my finger. As I let her take the lead, the flow naturally shifted in that direction.
"Perfect! Goooood! So goooood!"
The more provocative the compositions became, the more Myung Je-il shouted in admiration. At one point, we even did a shot where our tongues were intertwined in a kiss; he actually put the camera down and started clapping.
Thanks to that, the kiss lasted longer than intended.
"…I should have taken mine like that too."
"Sigh."
"What a mess."
The three who had already finished their turns grumbled under their breaths, looking at Oh Yun-ji with envy. I wondered if there was really anything to be envious of, but that was the atmosphere.
"She’s making it hard for the next person."
"I-I can't do things like that!"
Senior Ju-hee and Choi Jin-ah, who were up next, seemed pressured by what they were seeing.
Regardless, the photos turned out with a distinctly 'adult' feel. Myung Je-il loved them the most so far, saying they were passionate shots that suited her red hair. Now, he even seemed to be looking forward to the next person.
* * *
"Ahem."
Senior Ju-hee stood awkwardly in her spot. She looked stiff; in truth, she was the one most likely to find this sort of thing uncomfortable.
"This is harder than I thought."
She tried to strike a pose and fix her expression, but it wasn't working out the way she wanted.
"…Hmm, five-minute break time."
What is this guy saying?
No, that wasn't the point.
Anyway, the fact that Myung Je-il—of all people—called for a break meant that Senior Ju-hee’s tension was more severe than expected.
"I didn't realize I'd be this nervous. I've never really taken photos in a studio before, so I'm a bit flustered."
As Senior Ju-hee apologized, I gave her a reassuring smile.
"It’s okay. Everyone finds something difficult."
Suddenly, I remembered the time she wore twin tails for a film project back in college. I decided to keep that to myself, though, because if I mentioned it now, she might lose control of her strength in her nervous state and accidentally kill me.
"Um, Senior."
"Yes?"
"I’ve learned one thing after doing this five times. If you just show your natural self, that guy will take care of the rest."
"……."
Senior Ju-hee looked at Myung Je-il, who was adjusting his camera. Honestly, his first impression was pretty foul, but he was definitely talented at what he did. Even if we were awkward, he would find a way to make it look good, so we just needed to be ourselves.
She pondered my words for a moment, took a deep breath, and nodded.
"All right. I'll try to be myself."
The shoot resumed as we took our positions. I was wondering what 'being herself' would look like when—
"Whoa?!"
Suddenly, she lifted me up!
"Are you crazy?!"
She had swept me off my feet into a princess carry. In my shock, I instinctively wrapped my arms around her neck. Even while holding a grown man, her expression didn't change a bit.
"What is this?! Put me down!"
"Pfft."
Actually, it did change. She was smiling at me as if I were adorable. On the other hand, my face turned bright red. I felt like I was going to die of embarrassment.
Click-click-click-click!
"Goooood! So goooooood!"
"Shut up! Don't take pictures of this!"
"Oh! The man’s expression is so cuuuute!"
"You son of a bitch! I said don't take it!"
"Hehe."
With a mischievous smile, Senior Ju-hee still refused to let me go. Even when I tried to squirm in surprise, she held me tight as if she would never let go.
* * *
"……."
The final runner stepped up hesitantly. Clutching the hem of her skirt, Choi Jin-ah crept toward my side and stole a glance at me.
"What now?"
I was exhausted by this point. When I asked what was wrong, Choi Jin-ah let out a rapid-fire stream of words in a panic.
"PleaseknowthatIcan'tdothatkindofthingIcan'tsuddenlykissyouorliftupWoo-jinorsomethinglikethatatallit'sembarrassingenoughtodothatwhenit'sjustthetwoofushowcouldIpossiblywithotherpeoplewat—Heeeeeek!"
"……."
I couldn't tell if she had forgotten to breathe or if she had just swallowed her breath whole.
"Haa! Haa!"
Whatever the case, Choi Jin-ah managed to voice her opinion through a bright red face. It seemed the strong impact of the previous participants had put a lot of pressure on her.
"I didn't expect anything like that from you anyway."
"……."
"Is showing affection in front of others that embarrassing?"
"P-Please don't misunderstand. It's not that I'm embarrassed of you, Woo-jin."
I didn't misunderstand. I knew Choi Jin-ah’s personality well enough by now.
"It's just that doing those things while everyone is watching is still a bit… for me."
Looking at her like this, she seemed so small. When she stood on stage with her violin, she couldn't have looked more imposing. Well, I suppose this side of her was part of her charm too.
"Pose, please."
Myung Je-il, who had wiped the sweat from his brow after such intense concentration, held up his camera again. Choi Jin-ah and I stood side-by-side, motionless.
Since she was fidgeting, unsure of what to do, I quietly reached out and took her hand.
"Is this okay?"
"Ah, yes… but will this be enough?"
"Everyone has their own way of doing things."
At my words, Choi Jin-ah gave a soft smile. She looked at the camera and murmured with a youthful innocence.
"Should we put the photos we take today in our elementary school album?"
"……."
"I mean, putting the way we looked when we were little next to how we look now… don't you think that would be really… wonderful?"
I chuckled at her suggestion and nodded.
"That sounds good."
"Oh, dramatic!"
What is he even saying?
The shoot with Choi Jin-ah was the shortest, and we only took a few photos, but it was a memorable time nonetheless.
* * *
"Is it over?"
After finishing the shoot with Choi Jin-ah, I stretched my stiff muscles and asked.
"Not yet."
"What do you mean? Come here, quick."
But Choi I-seo and Yoo Ah-rin grabbed my arms and dragged me back in front of the camera. I wondered what else there was to shoot, but it seemed it was time for a group photo. The kids were left with the staff, and it was just me and the women.
"Kim Woo-jin in the center. Everyone else, squeeze in tight."
The women gathered around me. As we huddled together for the shot, I noticed someone was missing.
"Where’s Ye-rin?"
Just as I asked, Seo Ye-rin walked over from the dressing room. In her hand was the sign I had seen earlier.
The one that said [MINE!].
"Ta-da! Ta-da! Boom-chicka-boom!"
Seo Ye-rin approached with a strange dance and rhythm. Standing right in front of me, she hung the sign around my neck.
"You really want me to wear this for the photo?"
"Hehe. You're mine!"
Then she took her place right in front of me. Everyone else pressed in close to find their spots.
By now, the way the studio staff looked at me had changed again. It had moved beyond shock, disgust, and resignation. Now, they were looking at me with pity.
At first, they thought I was some scumbag controlling and manipulating these women. But now, they had realized the truth.
I was the one being dragged around.
"……."
Unlike before, Myung Je-il watched us in silence. After staring at us as we posed with bright smiles, he too wore a soft smile and slowly pressed the shutter.
"What a happy family."
Click!