Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Before Filming
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"We'll let you know about your... acceptance within a week."
Song Eunha nearly let the words "let's just do it together" rise all the way to the tip of her tongue before swallowing them back down.
The auditions weren't over yet.
It wouldn't be fair to the people who'd come before or those still waiting.
Then, out of nowhere, a question popped into Song Eunha's mind, and she spoke up.
"But if you're a student... what about filming...?"
"Ah, I heard filming starts in a month—is that right?"
"Yes, around then."
"I'll be on break by then, so it's fine."
"Ah, I see. Got it. Thanks for your hard work."
"You too, Writer. Director, thanks for your hard work."
Lee Minwoo bowed politely and slipped out of the room.
The door clicked shut softly.
Song Eunha stared at the door for a long moment before leaning back in her chair and mumbling.
"...Jackpot."
A sound escaped her—half chuckle, half sigh of awe.
How had such a treasure just rolled into their laps?
Ridiculously handsome looks. Acting that was far more solid than expected.
Her junior's words came back to her: Why would someone like that come to our studio?
Right. Logically, it made no sense.
But didn't they say dreams come true?
The corners of Song Eunha's mouth curved upward.
She had a feeling. This project was going to be a massive hit.
From: Song Eunha
Hello, Actor Lee Minwoo. This is the Everyone's Film production team.
Thank you sincerely for taking the time to participate in the recent auditions.
After careful discussion, we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for the male lead role of 'Kim Yul' in this project.
We're thrilled to create this work together with you.
We'll send separate messages today regarding the schedule and contract details.
Additionally, we've emailed you the script up to episode 3—please review it.
It had arrived.
As soon as he stepped out of the studio, he'd clutched his head over several slip-ups, but that hadn't been the gut-wrenching despair of bombing the audition.
He was just worried about repeating those mistakes when actual filming started and he had to deliver real performances.
Filming kicked off in a month.
It felt surprisingly quick, but this was a relatively light YouTube shoot—not a full-blown crank-in—and more importantly, it seemed like they'd been agonizing over the male lead role for quite a while.
And conveniently, his break started in a month too. The timing lined up perfectly.
That said, it also meant juggling school life and acting practice until then.
His remaining schedule before break: performance assessments and final exams.
Some might think he should be focusing solely on acting.
Especially since this was his first lead role.
Had he ever carried a lead before? No.
Of course, he couldn't deny that his looks played a huge part. The role itself demanded someone incredibly appealing, after all.
Plus, the character being a student worked in his favor.
Still, he couldn't exactly carve out practice time during school hours...
So he'd decided to handle whatever he could while keeping up with school.
The role he landed—Kim Yul—was an 18-year-old high schooler. Specifically, a talented member of the Art Club.
But he'd never set foot in an Art Club room, nor picked up drawing as a hobby.
Naturally, he'd need to prepare in advance to nail the character.
Luckily, he knew someone who could help.
Lee Seol. She was in the Art Club.
...Though she didn't end up doing anything art-related later on.
"Shouldn't performance assessments involve some practical stuff?"
That's when Seo Jaehyun grumbled from beside him.
"Don't we need something we do physically? It's all just reports."
"Teachers must be lazy too. The upperclassmen said it's always been like this."
Seo Jaehyun and Ji Hyunsu. Lee Seol and Woo Hana.
And him last.
We'd gathered in the Soccer Club room after school, where Seo Jaehyun and Ji Hyunsu were members.
Just two days before performance assessment deadlines. The plan was to knock out all our backlog together.
More precisely, they needed my help.
Not that I was helping purely out of the goodness of my heart. I had my own reasons too.
Though why I had to help everyone besides just Lee Seol was beyond me.
With five of us, I was the only one who'd finished mine properly.
It struck me as odd for a second.
Actually, it was a more fundamental question.
How was he going to balance school and everything going forward?
When he had no real goals, he'd studied diligently as a safety net... but now acting was his focus.
Truthfully, there was no perfect answer. He'd just have to push as hard as he could manage.
The Soccer Club room had a sofa, desks, and chairs.
Sneakers and gear piled up in one corner like a mountain, but it wasn't too distracting.
Best of all, per Seo Jaehyun, no one cared if we used the place freely.
We sat around a big table.
"Just write a bit each for now. If they're all identical, it'll look suspicious."
Seo Jaehyun chuckled at my words.
"I'm good already, right?"
Seo Jaehyun had complained so much in class that I'd tweaked his ahead of time.
The rest grumbled but started drafting their first versions.
Reviewing four people's assessments—two subjects each—took more time than expected.
Plus his own.
With full autumn settling in, days were short.
He'd been focused on wrapping his up when he snapped out of it—dusk had already fallen.
...She's out cold already.
Lee Seol had curled up on the Soccer Club sofa like a shrimp, eyes closed in sleep. He hadn't even brought up the Art Club thing yet.
He'd wanted to ask her one-on-one if possible. Broaching it in a group would lead to predictable reactions.
Especially from Seo Jaehyun.
...Whatever. Tomorrow would do.
He knew she was deep asleep because she looked completely out of it.
Her uniform blouse had ridden up slightly, exposing pale skin and her navel.
He glanced sideways—Seo Jaehyun next to him was staring at the same spot.
But his expression was different. Fidgety, maybe.
It was obvious what was going through his head. Pondering how to cover that bare skin.
Nothing handy in the room to drape over her, though.
Unless his jacket counted.
"...Man, it's hot."
He muttered lightly on purpose and shrugged off his jacket. His recent acting practice made the motion feel natural enough.
Then he tossed it straight at Seo Jaehyun.
"Hold this for a sec."
"Huh? Why should I—wait, hold on."
Seo Jaehyun started to bristle but suddenly nodded eagerly, like a new idea had hit him.
"Sure, I'll take it. ...Aren't you cold, though? You get chilly easy."
"Nah."
"Really?"
He buried his head back in work, but Seo Jaehyun—who'd caught the jacket—didn't react.
He seemed to hesitate about draping it over Lee Seol.
The dilemma was obvious. Would it be okay to cover her with another guy's jacket?
...Handle it yourself.
He tried to tune it out, but then Seo Jaehyun decided—pushing his chair back.
He approached the sofa where Lee Seol slept and covered her bare skin with the jacket.
What was there to agonize over? He stifled a laugh inwardly when he felt eyes on him and turned.
Woo Hana was resting her chin on her hand, watching him.
......How long had she been looking?
He hadn't done anything weird, but it still made him flinch.
Her bored gaze. Holding it was getting awkward when her eyes crinkled.
Her signature smile to defuse the moment.
...She must've just been staring with nothing to say.
"Whew, barely made it."
Woo Hana turned to her side.
Lee Seol was rushing to her seat, stuffing her bag.
She'd slipped in just before the tardy cutoff.
Woo Hana watched her silently for a moment. Her gaze naturally drifted downward.
To the jacket Lee Seol was wearing.
It was Lee Minwoo's—the one Seo Jaehyun had draped over her yesterday.
They'd wrapped up haphazardly late last night, and Lee Seol must've wandered home half-asleep, jacket and all.
"What's up? ...Oh, that?"
Lee Seol caught Woo Hana's stare right away.
Hard not to, with how long she'd lingered.
"Seo Jaehyun gave it to me, I guess? It was comfy, so I wore it back to return it."
Lee Seol said casually, then lifted the sleeve to her nose.
"Does he wear cologne? Smells nice."
"That's Lee Minwoo's."
"...Huh?"
Lee Seol dropped her arm fast.
No idea why smelling it looked weird once she knew it was his.
Hm... Probably because she wasn't as close to him as Seo Jaehyun.
Lee Seol yanked her arm down, then—worried it looked suspicious—added hastily.
"Lee Minwoo wouldn't do something like that, though..."
"Jaehyun covered you. The jacket's Minwoo's."
"Oh."
Woo Hana chuckled and held out her hand.
"I'll return it. You two are kinda awkward, right?"
Lee Seol hesitated, then shook her head.
"Nah. It's no big deal—feels bad asking you."
Then, as if it just occurred to her:
"Oh, right—you said Minwoo had something to tell me?"
"Yeah."