Filming
Filming
"Smile for me."
"Like this?"
"Yeah, yeah, so cute."
A-ra's figure, holding a large camera and taking my picture,
resembled those immature mothers who can't handle how adorable their son is.
The reason she was taking pictures with the camera like this
was because of a single comment left on social media.
[It's all good, but isn't it just close-ups of his face all the time?]
ㄴSeong-hwan might just not be good at taking photos lol, he's good at everything else.
ㄴStill, that's a bit much lol, every upload is nothing but his face.
ㄴWhat is A-ra doing, not even taking photos of her husband lol.
ㄴSong A-ra posts Seong-hwan's pictures on her own SNS sometimes though.
ㄴThose are pro-level though lol, I have them all saved.
I only found out about it then, but apparently, I had less talent for taking pictures than I thought.
When I scrolled through the photos I had uploaded so far,
just like the comments said, they were almost all close-ups of just the face, or casual snapshots of A-ra.
The state of my photo album was so strange that it felt less like a fan service and more like something out of a horror story,
so I had asked A-ra to take a few proper shots for me.
"While we're at it, how about a service shot?"
"What kind?"
I unbuttoned the cuffs of my dress shirt and rolled them up slightly,
loosened my tie casually, and leaned languidly against the chair.
Then, I shoved my hand into my trouser pocket and gazed out the window,
striking a pose that was pure eighth-grade syndrome.
Apparently, women rather liked these kinds of pictures,
so I had been debating whether to take them or not, but since I was going to take them anyway, I thought I might as well do it right,
and so I put it into action.
"Not bad... no... rather, a sublime pose..."
A-ra was lavishing praise while pressing the shutter furiously.
Then she gave directions to take various poses,
and began pressing the shutter as if she were shooting an entire photo album.
"If I upload these, SNS is going to blow up."
"Oh, surely not."
"Want to bet on it? Up to 5 shots each, no touching anything risqué."
"Really?"
If I won, I was going to strip A-ra completely and take photos.
And buy a Blackberry smartphone to keep them safe....
No, come to think of it, if I lose, the reverse could happen to me too...
"Not confident?"
"Uh... what do you mean, not confident?"
"Then we're doing it?"
"Guh..."
In the end, I got swept up by A-ra.
A married couple setting the stakes as mutual nude photoshoot rights.
We had set conditions that were dangerous beyond belief.
"Then I'll edit and upload them."
"You, noona? You know how to edit too?"
"I learned recently. And if I want to win, I have to prepare for every possibility."
"I need to win too..."
"Oh please, I'm telling you, there's no reality where Seong-hwan wins from the start."
Watching A-ra's back as she giggled and walked into the room with the camera,
I undid my tie.
Seeing A-ra so full of confidence
made me a little uneasy...
It'll be fine, right?
***
"Yaaawn... noisy..."
I had tried to sleep in a bit since it was Sunday,
but because of the phone ringing since morning, I absolutely could not sleep.
In the meantime, looking at A-ra sleeping soundly, I felt genuinely envious of her ability to sleep through noise, and I picked up my phone, which was charging.
"Director?"
Lately, Director had been calling me more frequently.
Whenever Director called my phone directly first thing in the morning,
the odds of it being something annoying were 99.9%,
so I considered ignoring it and just going back to sleep, but that wouldn't be polite, would it?
Or rather, was it Director who was being impolite by calling early in the morning?
"Hello...."
- Seong-hwan-ssi? Were you sleeping?
"Director, it's 7 a.m. on a Sunday, so of course I was asleep..."
- Oh, I see, I'm sorry. Should I contact you later then?
"I would appreciate it if you called in the afternoon."
- Alright. Sorry for waking you. Sleep well.
"You sleep well too, Director...."
Still, seeing that she wasn't yelling excitedly like last time,
it probably wasn't that important.
It seemed this time, I had won.
What kind of pose should I make A-ra do...
*
"Seong-hwan-ah, wake up."
"Mmmhm..."
"If you don't get up, I'll eat you all up~?"
"Ahahaha, I'm already up, see."
When A-ra says she'll 'eat me up,' she wears me out to the point my body genuinely gets exhausted.
I had no desire to start my Sunday morning feeling languid, so I sprang up.
"Director has been calling continuously since earlier."
"Ah, right."
Looking at the clock, it was already past 12.
It seemed I had slept in really late for the first time in a while.
And looking at the phone A-ra handed me,
there were 5 missed calls.
"Déjà vu?"
"Maybe she contacted us because of the photos uploaded on SNS?"
"Ah, right. How did that turn out?"
"The server?"
With that, A-ra made a disappointed expression
and left the main bedroom.
As expected, there was no way the server of a major SNS site would crash just because a few photos were uploaded.
"Hello? Yes, Director."
- Did you sleep well?
"I slept deeply for the first time in a while."
- That's good to hear. Then, can I get down to business now?
"Yes, yes, what is it?"
- Looking at the photos uploaded this time, I was wondering, Seong-hwan-ssi, have you thought about shooting something like a photobook?
"A photobook...?"
By photobook, doesn't that mean taking pictures with your top off,
or striking sexy poses!
Shooting and selling something like that was unthinkable in my right mind.
- No. I'm not saying to shoot a sexy photobook.
"Right? I don't think I could do something like that..."
- No matter what, I wouldn't tell someone I cherish like a little brother to shoot a sexy photobook.
On top of that, to a married man...
"Haha.. right?"
There was no way A-ra would allow it, nor did I particularly want to shoot something like that.
If I shot something like that for no reason, weird hate comments would probably increase too.
- Well, I might have the girls do it, though.
"Please don't make A-ra Noona do it."
- Don't worry. Knowing how strong Seong-hwan-ssi's possessiveness and jealousy are, would I make her do that?
A bitter smile spread across my face as Director laughed and told me not to worry.
I wondered if she really wouldn't...
"So, by photobook, you just mean regular photos?"
- Yes, like the ones uploaded on Saturday, I'm talking about a fashion photobook.
"I haven't seen the reaction yet, so I don't know, but it seems they were received quite well?"
- The homepage is in an uproar right now. They're asking if it's a photobook preview and when it's being released.
"To that extent?"
I had thought they came out reasonably well,
but it seemed they were good enough to be mistaken for a photobook preview.
As expected, A-ra was multitalented.
"Is it alright if I consult with A-ra Noona and get back to you?"
- Of course. No, it would actually be troublesome for me if you decided on your own without consulting A-ra.
"Then I'll consult with her and contact you."
- I'll look forward to a positive reply~
She ended the call with an expectant tone,
and I sighed and came out.
When I came out, I saw A-ra, for some reason, preparing a meal.
It was quite a rare and precious sight,
so I approached her side and gazed steadily at the fish she was braising.
"Mackerel."
"I went to the mart earlier and saw some decent mackerel, so I bought it."
"There's radish too."
"How is it? Noona's got some skills too, right?"
I hadn't tried it yet, so I couldn't be sure, but it didn't look bad visually.
It wasn't burnt anywhere, and the scent of the seasoning sauce wafting through the air was pleasant.
"Did you... do this by feel, noona?"
"Uh... huh? R...right...."
"Hmm...."
For some reason, A-ra had started to break out in a cold sweat, making me a little suspicious,
so I scanned the surroundings.
Sure enough, on the dining table, a recipe for braised mackerel was brazenly displayed,
and it was even a recipe from the famous Baekjuview.
Seeing A-ra scratch her head, I smiled wryly,
approached her and gently hugged her.
"Noona, you cook better than I thought?"
"Huh? Really?"
"I watch Baekjuview's recipes often too, so you don't have to be embarrassed.
And at this level, you're doing more than well enough."
If perfect cooking came from just watching videos and recipes,
chefs would have no reason to exist.
Was it because she received my praise?
A-ra began to smile shyly, then grabbed my shoulders and sat me down at the table.
"Today, noona will cook for you, so just wait a little."
"Got it."
Since we were displaying behaviors opposite to our usual selves, it felt a bit awkward,
but this didn't seem so bad in its own way.
"The reason Seong-hwan wakes up early every single morning is because of breakfast, right?
So, seeing you sleep deeply for once, I figured Seong-hwan must have days he wants to rest too."
"So you went grocery shopping all on your own?"
"Yeah, I really want you to rest well today."
Could she be any more admirable than this?
A-ra always considered many things for me, but I hadn't realized she was thinking this deeply about the small details of my life.
Certainly, waking up early every morning to cook is hard work.
But, that was something I did because I wanted to,
not because I was forced to.
I just hoped she understood that one thing.
"Braised mackerel, complete!"
Turning off the heat and moving the pot to the table,
A-ra opened the pot's lid.
The intense aroma of the seasoning sauce filled the kitchen,
and the scent of the bubbling doenjang jjigae began to waft out too.
And just like I usually do for her,
she placed the braised mackerel and radish onto a side plate, then began placing mackerel onto her own side plate.
"Thank you for the meal."
"Thank you for the meal."
Just like that, we greeted a Sunday morning that was different from usual, yet not all that different after all.