Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Back to Filming
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In the blink of an eye, the sweet holiday came to an end, and it was back to work with filming resuming.
In just about a week, the drama shoot would finally wrap up.
*So today.*
We were set to film the scene where I take on the final commission and approach the chairman.
Well, that was that.
From a corner of the set, I watched Yu-na playing on my phone screen and let out a deep sigh.
*She's low-energy even at kindergarten...*
Yu-na was slouched over, listlessly stacking toy blocks with her friends.
What was I supposed to do about this?
*Just a few days ago.*
After falling for my lie and getting her loose baby tooth pulled at the dentist, she'd been sulking ever since and hadn't gotten over it.
She ignored me even when I tried to talk to her.
At night, she wouldn't share the bed like usual and instead went off to an empty room alone, crying quietly until she fell asleep.
Watching her like that tore at my heart every time.
She must feel a huge sense of betrayal, right?
"Haa..."
I sighed deeply again.
"Hey, long time no see. How've you been?"
Kwon In-ju, back after finishing makeup, plopped down next to me with a folding chair.
The vibe was somehow different from before.
With his broader shoulders and thicker arms, he finally looked like a real man.
*Guess he's been consistent with his workouts.*
I shrugged and replied.
"You too, hyung?"
"You sick or something? Why the long face? Something happen during the break?"
"Ah... well, you see..."
I spilled all the details to him about what went down at the dentist last time.
Surely Kwon In-ju could come up with a good way for me and Yu-na to make up.
But he just laughed.
He wasn't taking it seriously at all.
"Ahaha! So that's why you look like death."
"Hyung, I'm serious."
"Oh, sorry. Ahem! When someone's sulking, they're at a disadvantage. She'll burst into tears and apologize soon enough, so don't worry."
"...Why?"
"'Cause I went through the same thing as a kid? Mom said we'd go get pork cutlet, so I held her hand tight, all excited..."
He rambled on with a story from his past I hadn't even asked for, too busy laughing.
"And the destination turned out to be a urology clinic. That's when I felt this massive betrayal from the mom I trusted most."
"Ah..."
"So for... three days? About that long, I wouldn't talk to her. Just like your daughter, I'd go to my room alone and cry..."
Kwon In-ju suddenly stopped, stared at me, and chuckled.
"You know, watching you, you're totally a daughter fool. No need to keep it bottled up—focus on today's shoot."
Smack!
His palm slammed hard on my back, snapping me to attention.
"Ah, hyung! That hurts."
"You're such a wimp. Anyway, go get your makeup done. Fix that depressing face. Got it?"
Was my expression that gloomy?
I schooled my features and shrugged lightly. Right—once you're on set, you leave personal feelings behind.
When I returned to my spot after getting ready, Kwon In-ju had vanished in that short time.
My lonely folding chair.
And right next to it, on the chair he'd been sitting in, lay a tattered script and a black smartphone.
*Where'd hyung go?*
As I scanned the surroundings,
My eyes locked with a burly guy peeking around like he was searching for someone.
*Actor Ma Dong-sik.*
Even from afar, it was unmistakable.
He widened his eyes and strode right up to me confidently.
Solid muscles and fierce-looking eyes.
Just him approaching felt intimidating, even though he was just a senior.
"...Jun-seo, junior."
"Ah, yes! Hello, sunbaenim!"
I hastily bowed politely, sneaking glances at him.
His twitching eyebrow made my body stiffen involuntarily. My lips stuck together, hard to part.
"Skip the greetings. What the hell? You send just this? Missing your signature."
"......"
Grumbling, he handed me something familiar—the photo book I'd asked In-cheol to send to his acquaintances' agencies last time.
Still in its unopened packaging.
I glanced between the photo book and sunbaenim. Meeting his sharp gaze made me flinch.
"Ah, no pen or marker? Hold on."
"...Pardon?"
He borrowed a marker from nearby staff, then carefully peeled off the photo book's wrapping. He passed it and the marker to me, nodding.
*...Big and bold, I guess?*
Scribble. Scribble.
I added my signature along with a note about my respect and handed it back. His lips curved up.
Unlike his tough exterior, it was a smile that warmed the heart.
"Nice."
My rigid body melted away like snow.
*No need to be scared after all.*
He slipped the photo book back into the wrapping like it was precious treasure.
Looks like he really liked my photo book.
Somehow, seeing sunbaenim like that made me proud and happy.
As I smiled up at him, he handed the photo book to a guy who looked like his manager and draped a thick arm over my shoulder.
"Ahaha! Little bro. Got nothing to do right now? Wanna run lines? I'll judge your acting myself."
Out of nowhere, he'd switched from "Jun-seo junior" to "little bro," showing familiarity.
"I helped In-ju bro with his acting from A to Z last time. I'll fix all your awkward bits too, Jun-seo bro."
"Sh-should we?"
Advice from a sunbaenim with so much to teach? It was a golden opportunity.
That said...
*Where the heck is In-ju hyung?*
Kwon In-ju, who had to act opposite me in this scene, was nowhere, putting me in a bind.
Maybe I should just show my acting solo?
"Sunbaenim. Right now..."
Just then, Kwon In-ju appeared, hands full of refreshing drinks.
"Bro! Perfect timing."
"Huh? Hyungnim's here too?"
Calling sunbaenim "hyungnim" meant they'd gotten close enough during the past few days of shooting to do the hyung-dongsaeng thing.
Look at sunbaenim now.
"In-ju. You're shooting with Jun-seo bro today, right? I'll watch that part—run it here now."
"Sure, hyung. Let's do it."
"Too much hassle right now... Gotta be now? We can match during camera checks anyway."
Kwon In-ju straight-up whined to sunbaenim like they were close bros.
"Ah, Jun-seo. Drink this."
I sipped the drink Kwon In-ju handed me while watching their exchange.
"This... is some lip from a young punk."
"Our age gap's not that big. What's the big deal?"
"Ten years is plenty, punk."
No offense taken at all.
Ma Dong-sik sunbaenim grinned and shoved Kwon In-ju with his sturdy shoulder.
Kwon In-ju stumbled but caught himself and yelled.
"I almost fell because of you, hyungnim!"
"Anyway! Get ready, both of you."
"Haa, fine."
"Jun-seo. Need time? I'm good to go anytime... Take it slow, finish your drink. No rush."
Freed from sunbaenim's beefy arm, I rolled my shoulders and shrugged.
"I'm good. Hyung, let's go now."
"Alright, run it."
Ma Dong-sik sunbaenim plopped into my seat, lips quirking.
*That's my chair...*
Hope it doesn't break.
The wobbly folding chair leg worried me.
"Damn it!"
I flinched.
Kwon In-ju was channeling emotion into his acting, so I hurriedly set my drink on the floor.
"You've got evidence, and you tell me to sit tight?"
The incompetence of Choi Deok-bae, the conglomerate chairman who couldn't do a thing about the murder cover-up—frustration etched deeper into his expression.
*Whoa... his acting's improved a ton?*
Just practice, but the detail in Kwon In-ju's trembling fist was alive.
"Evidence is plenty!"
"Ooh... Not bad. But something's missing, right? Don't just put the anger in your actions—get it in your eyes and mouth too, then the flaw vanishes."
Sunbaenim pointed out what I'd missed in Kwon In-ju with a keen eye.
Hearing it, yeah, it did feel off. That's the insight from a seasoned vet?
"Next, Jun-seo bro."
I snapped to.
Then, lowering my voice for gravitas,
"That's the ugliness of humans."
"Shut up!"
"You bellow about catching me no matter what, but can't even nab a murderer... What can you do?"
Scratching at his nerves.
I ended with a sleazy smirk.
"Hold up."
At sunbaenim's stop, I halted instantly. Was there a problem with my acting, which I'd thought perfect?
I swallowed dryly, watching Ma Dong-sik sunbaenim's mouth closely.
"Ah, not you, Jun-seo bro. In-ju."
"...Yes!"
"That expression you just made? Kinda awkward."
Not me, then.
While Kwon In-ju got feedback, I quietly sighed in relief.
Which meant...
My acting had looked perfect in sunbaenim's eyes.
My lips tugged up involuntarily.
The belated actual shoot.
In the center of the set blanketed in green screen, Kwon In-ju and I recited lines just like in practice.
"You bellow about catching me no matter what, but can't even nab a murderer... What can you do now?"
I sneered vilely, then glared sharply at Kwon In-ju as I continued.
"Don't interfere with me and stay quiet. I'll handle it my way."
As I turned to leave—
"Wait!"
"...What?"
With unwavering eyes, like he'd made a decision, he spoke.
"You said the commission's price is lifespan?"
"...Yes."
I answered slowly, after about five seconds.
"Then... help me punish that guy by human laws."
I smirked.
Here, my human memories flood back, so I can't freely use the demon's innate abilities.
But that doesn't mean...
My brilliant intellect is gone.
*To use Detective Lee Jae-hyung.*
I'd timed my appearance for when he felt most pathetic about himself.
"Fine. Contract sealed. Let's move."
As our hands clasped, the director's voice boomed across the set.
"Cut! Ahaha! Good take!"
After that, we shot several more scenes, leaving only the ones needing special effects.
"Move it! Park the car in the center!"
"Yes, sir!"
A black car sat alone in the green-screen-covered set center.
Kwon In-ju and I would ride in it, filming the chase by Choi Deok-bae's unleashed forces.
"Jun-seo, think we can pull off tense acting inside that?"
"...Who knows."
A chase scene.
Acting like you're being pursued by nothing at all isn't easy.
You have to shake violently to sell the car's motion.
Even vet actors burst out laughing without meaning to, they say?