A Night with a Girl (1)
A cabin near Crater Lake, after several consecutive days of filming.
"Ah—everyone, you all worked so incredibly hard!" Director Kate McCushey began her speech, holding a can of beer in her hand.
Around fifty crew members were huddled close together around her. Because of the high altitude, the night air was chilly, prompting them to light the fireplace. The smiles of those who had successfully wrapped up their scheduled shoot bathed the rustic wood-and-stone cabin in a warm, cozy atmosphere.
"Thanks to all of you, I think we captured some truly beautiful scenes. Coming all this way for a location shoot gave everything a fresh energy. And finally... I dedicate this honor to our great actor, Sion Lee, who bought all the beer tonight and even rented a private charter plane for us!"
"Uooooooooohhhh—!"
As Kate bowed exaggeratedly and stepped aside, the crew erupted into cheers. Stepping forward amidst the roaring applause, Sion waved and smiled in response to the chant echoing through the room.
It was the epitome of a harmonious film set—one where the actor, receiving the spotlight, gave back just as much warmth to the crew, sharing laughs as they made a movie together.
"What a wonderful night. ...Consider that a sneak peek of my opening remarks at the Academy Awards," Sion joked, raising his beer can high. Someone in the crowd shouted, "You can do it!"
Sion raised his eyebrows, pointing at the speaker with an impressed "Oh!" expression. The surrounding crew burst into laughter, clapping each other on the back as the warm, jovial atmosphere filled the room.
"Well, I don't think I did anything particularly heroic. You're all just doing your absolute best to make this handsome face of mine shine even brighter. Oh, yes, I'm talking about you, Amy. And Peter, who sets up the perfect lighting, and our director who captures it all. We're making this movie together, so I don't want to be the only one treated like royalty. But since the studio was dragging their feet, I decided to be a man and prove my masculinity with the heavy pocket money hidden in my trousers."
Sion smoothly ad-libbed, calling out the crew members by name one by one. Seeing the notorious Hollywood brat play off his generosity so playfully, everyone clapped and roared with laughter, though they were deeply touched deep down. It was incredibly rare for a superstar actor to look after the crew to this extent on set.
Indeed, through this shoot, the production team of Fragments of You had fallen completely head over heels for the actor named Sion Lee.
"Now that I've soaked up all your applause, enough with the cheesy speech! To wrap things up, I'll give you my best Jack Nicholson Joker impression: 'You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would ya?'"
"Whoa! That's spot on!"
"Bwahaha! We should cast him as the next Joker!"
"Alright, everyone! Take off your glasses and drink up tonight! The cops can't reach us out here, so even if we get drunk and start swinging, we'll let it slide!"
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaagggghhhh—!"
Everyone roared at Sion's declaration. And so, the little party began. The crew gathered in small groups to enjoy their beers, while Sion mingled, laughing and chatting while barely touching his own drink. They drank heavily to wash away their exhaustion, but for Sion, the lingering emotions of his performance still held a tight grip on him. It was a night he didn't want to dull with alcohol.
After a while, the burly cinematographer approached, cracking open what was already his third can of beer with a hearty laugh.
"Thanks to our star, I get to drink beer by Crater Lake!"
"Just don't wander outside. I hear there are bears."
"Hahaha! If I have to shoot that bear, I'll gladly go out there!"
"...That might be your final shoot, then."
"I'm not dying until I finish this movie! I've fallen in love with it!" Grinning, he curled his thick fingers into the shape of a camera lens, framing Sion within it.
"I might be a hundred-kilogram lump of meat, but I've got a sensitive soul, you know? I really felt something during this shoot. This is the kind of scene everyone busts their asses for. And you're the actor who makes all that sweat worth it."
His eyes burned with a passion that even the alcohol couldn't dull. When filming first began, the atmosphere hadn't been like this. That went for the rest of the crew, too. But now, everyone seemed genuinely grateful to be a part of this project. Watching the relaxed faces of the crew as they drank, Sion let out a slightly awkward smile.
I could never have done this in my past life. When he had the status to do so, his arrogance had pierced the heavens; by the time he snapped out of it, he had already lost his wings and plummeted. That was why the scene unfolding before him felt like a dream. Just like Elliot looking at Noah.
For a long moment, he watched the crew celebrating like a band of pirates after a successful raid, his eyes filled with emotion. Not wanting to betray his inner thoughts, Sion quietly slipped out into the lobby.
"...?"
There, he spotted Elena, speaking to someone on the lobby's payphone.
"Yes, yes... We finished filming successfully. I'll be back tomorrow." He hadn't intended to eavesdrop, but the lobby was small and quiet, so her voice naturally drifted into his ears.
"I'll head straight home. ...No, I'm not drinking. Yes, yes. I'll hang up now. Goodnight." Hurriedly ending the call, Elena let out a long sigh and raised her head. Sion, who had been about to quietly step away, locked eyes with her.
"..."
"..."
An awkward silence stretched between them. Finding it uncomfortable, Elena spoke first.
"P-Please tell them."
"Tell who what?"
"The crew. Tell them I went to my room to rest."
"Wouldn't it be better to show your face for a bit before turning in?"
"Everyone is drinking. If I openly decline, it'll make things awkward."
"I don't think anyone would mind."
"W-Why did you come out, anyway?"
"Just wanted some fresh air." Sion sat down on the lobby sofa.
"Still, we came all this way. Isn't it a bit of a waste to sleep so early?"
"...I suppose so." Hesitating for a moment at Sion's words, Elena suddenly took a seat on the opposite sofa. Not expecting this, Sion tilted his head in surprise. He had meant for her to go enjoy the party with the crew, but here she was, sitting right in front of him.
Sion took a sip of his beer and spoke. "Are you alright? You look a bit uncomfortable."
"I'm fine. It's just my first time doing a location shoot this far out, so I'm not quite used to it."
"You did great keeping up with the acting, though."
"...Tell me about it. Honestly, you startled me. Suddenly grabbing my hand and running like that."
"That's exactly what Elliot would have done for Noah. Since we came all this way, we had to get the best shots possible."
"True. And because the emotional flow was so clear, it was easy to follow your lead."
Her attitude was surprisingly cooperative. In his past life, Sion and Elena had shared a deeply uncomfortable relationship. Although they were paired as a couple in Deadly Summer Camp, they had clashed relentlessly on set. What had angered the past Sion even more was how their discord was completely hushed up by the media, thanks to the immense power of the Asimov family.
But now, Sion actually felt a bit of pity for Elena's situation. The opposite of indulgence is control, but just like a life of indulgence, a highly controlled life isn't exactly great either. To his eyes, Elena looked like a bird in a cage.
"Was that your mother just now?"
"Huh? Oh, y-yeah..."
"A nightly report? You're an adult now, that's a bit much."
"It can't be helped. She's just worried. Hollywood is a dangerous place, after all."
"True, but still, a fully grown adult living on an allowance is..."
"N-No, I don't! I can withdraw money from my own account whenever I need to!"
"Usually, people call that an allowance."
"...Ugh."
Elena pouted, narrowing her eyes to glare at him. Finding the reaction rather cute, Sion let out a soft chuckle. I didn't know back then, but she really is like this.
Although he was back in an eighteen-year-old body ruled by raging hormones, Sion's mind housed the mature, weary soul of a forty-eight-year-old who had weathered life's storms. That maturity, balanced by clear goals and self-imposed rules, kept him grounded. Thus, he could understand Elena, his former rival, and now looked at her almost like a younger sister.
Besides, the last time I worked with her was thirty years ago from my perspective. Since he had returned to the past to work on a new project with her, he had hoped to have a comfortable conversation like this eventually.
"...Is it really that weird?"
"Of course it is. You're a proper adult now."
"But it's my family's policy..."
"Well, I suppose having someone guide you isn't entirely bad. Even now, countless Hollywood stars are ruining themselves because they can't resist temptation."
"That's true. The parties, the drinking, the drugs... Weren't you one of them?"
"I did the parties and the drinking, but I never touched drugs."
"What about girls?"
"...Huh?"
"Have you ever been in a relationship? Or gone on a date?"
Taken aback by the sudden invasion of privacy, Sion looked at Elena's face. Her eyes were sparkling with genuine, innocent curiosity, leaving him momentarily speechless. Recalling a memory, he awkwardly shifted the subject.
"S-Speaking of which... you didn't really mingle with the other actors during Deadly, did you?"
"My mother said there was no need to."
"Did you know Theo and Nancy hooked up back then?"
"W-What...? Really?"
"It was just a brief spark. They went their separate ways the moment filming wrapped."
"D-During the shoot?! They did that?!"
"That's how it goes. It's nothing unusual in Hollywood."
"But how can they do that? If feelings blossomed, how could they cool down so quickly?"
"I actually think it's only natural. They just met to soothe a temporary loneliness."
"...I don't understand that at all."
Elena tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled. Sion realized that her fundamental mindset was entirely different. Many stars, unable to handle the immense wealth and fame they acquired in their youth, fell into ruin. Hollywood was crawling with serpents eager to tempt them. Living in such an environment, one's sense of self could easily crumble, leaving them to rely on fleeting pleasures. But Elena had never been like that. She had held her ground, persevering to reach the pinnacle of her craft as an actress—much like the legendary Jack Nicholson.
"It's better not to know. Trust me."
"...You're treating me like a child."
"Going to parties, doing drugs, and doing... other things is completely useless."
"Vulgar."
"Haha, you're just realizing that now?"
Let out a soft sigh at Sion's banter, Elena fixed him with a serious gaze. Her blue eyes shone brightly, filled with curiosity about the world. "What do you think love is?"
"I'm not really in the mood for a philosophical debate."
"What do you think love means to people living in this era?"
"..."
When Sion didn't answer, Elena, after a brief silence of her own, changed her question. "What do you think of my acting right now?"
"What do you think of it yourself?"
"I'm asking because I can't judge it objectively. There's you and me, Elliot and Noah, the writer who created them, the director helming it, and the studio throwing in their two cents. And for the sake of the film's quality... we all need to tune our thoughts to the exact same frequency."
Elena murmured, almost as if she were slipping into a state of deep immersion. In that instant, Sion's gaze sharpened with a touch of seriousness. "Go on."
"I don't think our chemistry in this shoot was bad. But there's something... a subtle crack somewhere. Most people would probably look at it and think it's good enough, then move on. But I'm feeling ambitious. I want to do better."
"I think I have a rough idea of what the problem is."
"What? You do? What is it?"
"Our acting lacks Eros."
"Ah...!"
"Huh?"
"Yes! That's exactly it!"
Elena, who had looked momentarily flustered, suddenly bolted upright like Archimedes discovering buoyancy in his bath. She leaned forward over the table separating them.
"Eros! Yes! That tension that naturally exists between a young, passionate couple—our acting didn't have that! It felt too pure...! It was more like storge, a familial love! A connection of souls rather than bodies! Of course, that's the kind of love the script describes, but that's not reality! We are playing living, breathing human beings!"
"Hmm, that's true. If a man and a woman in their twenties missed each other and finally reunited, they'd probably want to lock lips and have passionate sex right away."
"............Pardon?"
"But, as you said, since the film leans toward a platonic tone, the director probably didn't feel the need to point it out. Setting aside whether such a thing is even possible in virtual reality."
"..."
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Elena shrank back, her face flushing crimson. Her eyes momentarily swept over Sion's face and body. Finding her reaction incredibly cute, Sion teased her lightly. "Don't go imagining weird things about me."
"I-I did not! I was just thinking about what Elliot would do!"
"I am Elliot, Noah."
"...You are truly vulgar."
"So, what do you want to do about it?"
When Sion blatantly changed the subject, Elena, thinking he was teasing her again, puffed her cheeks like a balloon and glared at him with a disgruntled look. But since Sion remained completely unfazed, she eventually let out a defeated sigh and continued.
"Forget it. I was just curious about your opinion. It was something I'd been agonizing over."
"So, is it resolved?"
"More or less. I'll figure it out."
"But even so, you can't easily act out something you've never actually experienced. How is someone like you, who blushes and loses her mind at the mere mention of 'sex,' going to portray physical love between a man and a woman?"
"No, acting is about pulling related emotions and using your imagination. It's about deceiving even yourself."
"I understand that in theory, but you still need at least some basic foundation."
Finding it enjoyable to talk about acting with a peer for the first time in a while, Sion smirked. "When we get back to Hollywood, want to go on a date?"
"............Pardon?"
"A date. We can coordinate it with our days off from shooting."
At the casually repeated word, Elena froze, temporarily lost for words. Because I planned to do this with her before the movie's release anyway.
He had already decided that he needed to "leak" at least one private outing with her to the media during the shoot. Now that a perfect excuse had presented itself, he made the offer in an even lighter tone. If I don't do this, her personality and that grand family of hers will make it impossible to get an opportunity. When filming a romance movie, having the two leads caught in a secret rendezvous by the paparazzi was the best way to whip up media frenzy.
"...Are you serious? With me?"
"Yeah. There's a place I've been wanting to go with you."
"I'm probably not very fun."
"I'm a fun person, so it doesn't matter."
At Sion's confident reply, a flurry of thoughts raced through Elena's mind. Is this really okay? I've never done this before. Will my family even allow it? They're still so strict. And will I be... safe? This is Sion, after all.
"Let's do it. A date. For the sake of the movie."
And all those cluttered thoughts vanished, swept away by a single, overriding purpose as an actress. Elena wanted to become a better actress. And so, she answered with conviction.
"S-Sure... hic."
Though her usually clear, elegant voice cracked and squeaked, sounding just like the young girl from Chicago when she had first met Sion.