Chapter 74
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 74
After filming wrapped up, Eun-seong returned to his waiting room. He applied an ice pack to his swollen eyelids, trying to rein in his turbulent emotions.
He desperately tried to shake off the suffocating weight, but the feelings belonged to him, not his character, Taek-heon. They refused to fade, lingering long after the cameras had stopped rolling.
"Are you alright, Hyung-nim?" Dong-hwan asked, swapping out the ice pack for a fresh one.
Eun-seong barely managed a nod.
"Man, you really cried a river out there. I don't think I could cry that much even if I stubbed my toe on a doorframe."
"..."
"Well, I'm going to head back to the set for a bit. Get some rest, Hyung-nim."
When no response came, Dong-hwan quietly slipped out of the room. Only then did Eun-seong let out the heavy sigh he had been holding back.
"Phew..."
A deep sigh escaped him, heavy with the uncertainty of what lay ahead. Unless a reshoot was scheduled, today was Han-byeol's last day on set.
And the set was the only place he could see the child. Eun-seong let out another sigh before finally opening his eyes.
Usually, the boy would have popped in and out of the waiting room several times by now, but today, he hadn't shown his face once. Eun-seong sat in quiet contemplation for a moment before standing. At this rate, they might part ways without even saying goodbye. He decided to go find him.
"Whoa."
Eun-seong stopped short as he opened the door and looked down.
"Ah! You scared me!"
Startled by the door swinging open, Han-byeol stumbled back, his eyes wide with surprise.
Eun-seong tilted his head, looking down at the boy.
"Did you come to see me?"
"No."
"Then why were you standing here?"
"I was just passing by."
Who did he inherit that shamelessness from?
Must be Go Yeon-ju.
"Well, I was on my way to see you."
"Me? Why?"
"It's your last day of filming. We should at least say goodbye. Didn't they teach you that in school? You're supposed to say goodbye when you part with a friend."
Han-byeol scoffed, his eyes narrowing.
"You say goodbye to friends because you're close."
"Ah. So since we're not close, you're just going to leave without saying anything?"
"..."
"Wow, giving me the silent treatment all of a sudden? How should I interpret this?"
"Interpret it however you want! I don't feel like talking anyway."
"What about the chocolate? You're not giving me any today?"
Unbelievable. Han-byeol rolled his eyes dramatically.
"I didn't bring any today. You didn't even take it when I offered, so why are you asking for it now?"
"You didn't bring any? Don't worry. I have some."
Eun-seong pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket. Placing it in his palm, he jerked his chin toward the room.
"Come on in. Let's have some."
A ticklish feeling fluttered in Han-byeol's chest, and he had to fight back a smile. Determined not to show his mood was improving, he wiggled his toes inside his shoes.
* * *
Once inside the waiting room, Han-byeol sat on the sofa, munching on the chocolate. Eun-seong waited until the last staff member had left before glancing down at the boy.
"Were you upset? Because I said I couldn't make it to your birthday party?"
At the question, Han-byeol blinked slowly, chocolate still in his mouth. Then he replied nonchalantly, as if he hadn't been hurt in the slightest.
"I already knew you couldn't come. Mom told me you were too busy."
"Your mom did?"
"Yes. I was fine with it because I already knew, but you didn't even smile. You were so cold. That's what made me sad."
Han-byeol looked down, fidgeting with the chocolate wrapper. Eun-seong offered a belated explanation.
"I couldn't smile back then because there were reporters around."
"Reporters? Why?"
"Think about it. Reporters write articles about anything. For someone as famous as me, even eating rice with chopsticks becomes news. If those reporters found out that a person like me was invited to your birthday party, what do you think would happen?"
"Ah..."
As Han-byeol let out a soft gasp of realization, Eun-seong adopted a slightly more serious expression.
"It would be all over the news. The entire country would know about your birthday party."
"Isn't that a good thing? I'd like that."
So he's the social butterfly type.
"No. Hear me out. That part might sound nice, but then people would swarm your house just to see me. Do you understand?"
"Well, a little bit?"
"Would you like it if a bunch of strangers came over and ate your grandmother's japchae and bulgogi, and on top of that, devoured all the pizza and chicken your mom ordered? It would be a disaster."
Han-byeol blinked, staring at him as if wondering what on earth he was talking about. He wanted to ask why they couldn't just lock the door, but he held his tongue.
Ugh. Reading Han-byeol's thoughts, Eun-seong let out a quiet groan.
He regretted making his explanation so extreme in an attempt to simplify it, but he had no other choice. It was too difficult to explain that they had to be careful around reporters because Han-byeol was his son.
"That's why I did it. The reporters were watching, so I purposely said I couldn't go. If they knew we were close, they'd get curious about you, and that would be a huge pain."
"So you lied? For me?"
"Exactly."
"Then you can come to my birthday party?"
"...No."
No? When Eun-seong flatly refused, Han-byeol rolled his eyes again.
"You said you heard from your mom that I was too busy."
"Ugh, whatever!"
"If I go, that makes your mom a liar. We can't have that, can we?"
Eun-seong crossed his legs, swinging his foot slowly. Then, he gently patted Han-byeol's head.
"One Star. How about this?"
"What?"
The head pat and the nickname "One Star" made him feel like the familiar "Filial Piety is Money" mister again.
"Since I can't go to your house, let's have your birthday party at my place instead."
Huh? Han-byeol's eyes widened.
"At your house? My birthday party?"
"Yeah. I'll throw the party for you. What do you need? Japchae, bulgogi, pizza, and chicken? I'll have it all ready."
"Whoaaaa..."
"One Star. You remember what present I said I'd buy you, right?"
"Yes..." Han-byeol swallowed hard and nodded.
Eun-seong completely won him over with a sly wink.
"I've already got it. Come and get it yourself."
"Yay! Woohoo!"
* * *
Yeon-ju had reached out to a shopping mall manager she used to work with to find a job. It wasn't a permanent position, just a temporary one to help with an influx of new inventory.
The shoots usually took place in quaint cafes or on the street, and today's was an outdoor shoot.
Winter outerwear was often shot outdoors. There were fifteen different designs, but counting the various color options for each, they had to get through over sixty garments.
"Ugh, it's fucking freezing."
The male model waiting on standby kept complaining. Now in his third year of modeling menswear, he had good proportions, but his shoulders were naturally narrow—the type who required heavy Photoshop editing.
While Yeon-ju frantically matched coordinating items for each outfit, the model just stared at his phone with a deep scowl. When a passerby glanced over, he turned his back in annoyance.
The photographer sidled up to Yeon-ju.
"Noona, that bastard's got a bad case of celebrity disease. He's really something else."
"Pardon? Ah, yes."
"I guess his follower count went up after he started working on his social media. He gets paid pennies for a few ads, and now he acts all high and mighty."
Even as the photographer gossiped, Yeon-ju simply listened without chiming in. It wasn't her place to comment, and offering polite agreement would just mean she was badmouthing him too.
"Everything is ready," she announced.
Once Yeon-ju finished setting up, the photographer nodded. While he set up the reflector, Yeon-ju approached the model and handed him a coat.
"Let's start by putting this on over your current outfit."
"Are you new? I haven't seen you before."
The model, who was in his mid-twenties, looked down at Yeon-ju and asked curtly. She nodded reflexively as she helped him into the coat. As she adjusted the fit, he started complaining.
"I don't look good in this color. Seriously."
Keeping her eyes on the coat, Yeon-ju explained, "It goes well with the knit sweater you're wearing. And since you have fair skin, you can easily pull it off."
"No, it makes my shoulders look narrow. Look. Are you blind?"
Your shoulders are narrow, so what do you want me to do about it? Yeon-ju quietly let out a breath, enduring the barrage of complaints.
Selecting the clothes was neither her job nor the model's. He simply had to wear what he was given, and her job was to style it to look as good as possible.
Unable to watch any longer, the photographer rushed over. He coaxed the model in a soothing voice while winking at Yeon-ju.
"This isn't something we can control. Let's just wear it. I'll touch it up nicely in post."
"It's because they always bring stuff like this. It's like they're trying to screw with me. There are clothes that actually look good on me, but lately, they only give those to Ho-cheol. It's frustrating."
"That's not our fault. What can we do when that's how the order comes down?"
"Ah, fuck's sake. Just make sure you edit it well. This is so annoying."
The model glared at Yeon-ju, demanding to know why she was just standing there.
"What are you doing? Hurry up. Are we even going to finish on time? Seriously."
"I'm sorry."
Approaching him again, Yeon-ju adjusted the fit. Since there wasn't a full team on site, she also did quick touch-ups on his hair and makeup.
She had been through this countless times. A model's baseless tantrums or a client's power trips were nothing new to her.
The shoot began, and they finished the first coat in an instant. Since he had to change both his top and bottom, the model went to the car to get changed.
As she stood waiting, Yeon-ju's phone rang. It was an unknown number.
Thinking it might be a call from the agency, she answered quickly.
"Hello, this is Go Yeon-ju."
— It's CEO Min. Let's meet.
It was a call from Tae-gon, who had returned to Korea.