First Take
“Su-a, you absolutely cannot let go of Mommy’s hand. Got it?”
Mom was incredibly tense. She had even taken the day off from her factory job for my first shoot. It felt awkward to stand there all calm by myself, so I stuck close to her side. She wrapped her arm around my shoulders, solid and reassuring. It had been a long time since I had someone I could lean on like this, and it felt good.
True to its medical drama roots, the filming took place inside a hospital.
Since I was a rookie, we arrived far earlier than the scheduled call time. Someone was already waiting for us.
“Su-a! And her mother!”
“Hello, Writer-nim.”
“Hello!”
It wasn’t even the assistant director—the writer herself had come out to greet us. When she called Mom yesterday, I’d been genuinely shocked.
I asked if she wasn’t too busy since she had to write the script, but she said she really wanted to see my acting in person and told me not to feel pressured. So I just said okay.
The script I received before was already high quality even though it was a rush draft. I remember hearing that she wasn’t the type to throw out sloppy sides even in my previous life.
Still, the tight schedule must have taken its toll—her dark circles were prominent. I grabbed the sleeve of Cho Ga-yeong’s jacket with a worried expression.
“Writer-nim, you look tired.”
“Hm? No way. I’m bursting with energy just thinking about watching Su-a act today.”
…Had I really clung to her that hard? She was practically swaying.
“I’ll work really hard today, so please go home and get a good night’s sleep!”
“Okay.”
“Pinky promise!”
When I held out my little finger, Cho Ga-yeong smiled warmly and hooked hers with mine.
Following Cho Ga-yeong’s lead, we entered the set.
The staff were still bustling about, and none of the lead actors had arrived yet. I greeted every staff member we passed while the bit-part actors waited in a group, then headed over to meet Gu Su-min, the PD.
“Su-a! I’m glad you look healthy.”
“Hello, PD-nim! I was only a teeny bit sick. Just a teeny bit.”
I bowed deeply right away and made sure to emphasize my health. Maybe because the previous child actor had left due to illness, Gu PD’s face was full of concern.
I couldn’t afford to get sick right after the ink dried on the contract. Besides, I really was healthy.
“I’ll call you again later, so go rest somewhere warm!”
At Gu Su-min’s urging, I headed to the makeup room. Cho Ga-yeong stayed behind because she had things to discuss with the PD.
I changed into a crisp, brand-new sky-blue dress and sprayed my hair to make it look a little dry and brittle. I also applied a light layer of powder to give my face a pale appearance.
There was still more work to be done, but since there was plenty of time before filming started, I decided to finish it later.
While I was carefully inspecting myself in the mirror, I made eye contact with the stylists and bowed politely.
“Thank you so much for making me pretty!”
“Oh my, not at all. It was fun for us too—there’s real satisfaction in dressing you up!”
“She’s so cute, so cute. You must be so happy to have such a pretty daughter, ma’am!”
I basked in the compliments from the stylists, whose smiles stretched ear to ear, until it seemed like more people were arriving. I stepped out.
The first to arrive was, surprisingly, the actor playing the lead role.
“Hello! I’m the new actor, Lee Su-a!”
“Whoa, so you’re Min-seo? Nice to meet you. I’m Do Je-hyun.”
“Please take good care of me!”
“Oh dear, please take good care of me too—”
When I bowed deeply, Do Je-hyun bent at the waist with an “Ooh-goo-goo” sound. Mom, flustered beside me, bowed as well, and pleasant laughter erupted around us.
“The kid’s bright. That’s nice to see.”
“She already calls herself an actress. How adorable.”
“She’s about to be on camera, so it’s not exactly wrong. I wonder when today’s shoot will wrap up…”
The reactions were generally mild. After all, people rarely expected much acting ability from child actors. Everyone probably knew I was a last-minute replacement, too.
Most of all, since the lead actor had arrived, a making-of camera was rolling nearby. No one wanted to risk saying anything that could be used against them later, so they were being careful.
“Actors! Could you wave at the camera over here?”
Do Je-hyun and I stood side by side and waved toward the making-of camera. Once he headed into the makeup room, the making-of PD asked him a few interview-style questions before leaving without lingering.
That was still my level right now.
A last-minute child actor replacement with zero expectations. The cute one who smiles and wanders around, bringing energy to the set.
Not bad.
I was confident in my skills and had practiced plenty. The only thing that worried me a little was working with others for the first time in a long while.
Still, I could easily live up to that much expectation.
I was curious how people’s eyes would change once filming ended.
“Filming will begin shortly! Please stand by!”
The staff hurried about as Cho Yeong-gil, the assistant director, gathered everyone together.
Kim Bo-ram, the PD in charge of making-of footage for The Doctor’s Diagnosis, had received special orders from the main PD to focus primarily on the child actor.
She’s still just a little kid, but she already has the aura of a real actress?
In a few more years, an idol agency might try to snatch her up. If that happened, would her face start appearing in community posts like “Actress Visual Female Idol Ranking” or “Idols We Wish Would Do Dramas”?
The child actor held hands with the bit-part actress playing her mother and walked toward the PD.
Gu Su-min, the main PD, looked at the pair—especially the child actor—with a satisfied expression. She hadn’t even done anything yet.
“Su-a, and Ms. Jin-ju. How are you both feeling today?”
After carefully checking on both of them, he asked the child actor again.
“You read the entire script, right? What did you think? There are quite a few lines.”
“It was fun.”
“Then can you do it like last time?”
It would have been normal for a child to feel pressured when an adult so much older openly showed such clear expectations. But the child actor didn’t shrink back at all. Instead, she asked right back.
“Just like last time?”
Her mischievous grin seemed to ask whether that was really all the expectation he had for her.
Kim Bo-ram briefly wondered if he was overinterpreting things, but when he saw Gu Su-min grinning from ear to ear, it looked like he had read it correctly.
“We’ll be shooting in script order to make it easier to connect the emotions, so please keep your condition in top shape.”
Gu Su-min joked that it wasn’t difficult since most of the child actor’s scenes were set in the hospital anyway, then sent the two back to the makeup room. The child actor’s first shoot was about to begin.
Is that kid really that good at acting?
Maybe it was contagious from Gu Su-min, but a faint spark of anticipation began to appear in Kim Bo-ram’s eyes as well.
And in the eyes of everyone else who saw the scene.
Gocheon Hospital, tucked away in a corner of Gyeonggi Province. An intern who was enjoying the unusually quiet atmosphere today tossed out a casual remark.
“Wow, there aren’t many patients today. It’s actually relaxing, huh?”
The moment the words left his mouth, scolding and criticism poured down from the hospital staff.
“Hey! Park Intern! What the hell are you saying?!”
“Ow, why are you getting mad all of a sudden?”
“Don’t you know saying stuff like that summons patients?!”
Whether the intern who had uttered the forbidden words made a face like he was about to cry or shrank back, the seniors stared fearfully at the hospital phone and the emergency room entrance.
But that day, amazingly, nothing happened until evening.
“See? I told you today would be fine! I got yelled at for nothing!”
“What a weird day… Damn. Did someone unplug the phone line?”
While watching his bickering colleagues, Go Su-hyeok finished organizing the medical records and prepared to head home.
A senior doctor who noticed spotted him and came over, slinging an arm around his shoulders.
“Our Gocheon Hospital’s pinnacle master, the Go Heaven Master, Doctor Go~ How about a shot of soju to celebrate leaving on time? It’s been a while.”
“Since it’s been a while, I’d like to head home early. I have a lot of housework piled up.”
“Come on. You’re no fun if you keep dodging—”
Riiiiing—
Go Su-hyeok quickly picked up the receiver to escape his senior’s pestering.
The urgent voice on the other end made his expression harden. The senior and other colleagues who saw his face let out heavy sighs.
“Figures. I knew the luck was too good today.”
With the senior’s wistful lament as the finale, the ambulance rush began. Two multi-car collisions had occurred on the way home from work. The doctors all moved busily as patients were frantically transported in.
And just when the urgent situation had somewhat calmed down, one more ambulance arrived.
“It’s a hit-and-run! They say we need to get her into surgery immediately!”
Go Su-hyeok, whose hands were free at the moment, helped transport the patient. On the gurney lay a blood-soaked woman, and clinging to her side was a young girl.
“This child…?”
“She’s her daughter. She wouldn’t let go, so we brought her along for now. Hey! You can’t come in here!”
The paramedic forcibly pried the child away from the gurney. Just before entering the operating room, Go Su-hyeok glanced back without thinking and met the child’s eyes.
A sky-blue dress stained with blood, disheveled hair, and an empty, hollow expression.
Do Je-hyun’s heart sank with a heavy thud.