Too Many Cooks
The Oxygen Alert set.
Jeong Ki-jun, sitting in a folding chair, took a sip of water and let out a sigh.
A thick blanket of fatigue hung over the entire set.
It was because the launch had been pulled forward by two months, turning the schedule into a frantic rush.
But in Jeong Ki-jun's eyes, the real problem wasn't the schedule.
Too many cooks.
Joo Young-hoon, Go Hak-su, Hong Hee-young.
The senior CE handling the OTT side.
The director in charge of direction.
The writer handling the script.
The three of them had views that clashed too much.
At least Joo Young-hoon and Go Hak-su got along despite their differences.
They seemed to have some prior connection; there were clashes of opinion, but never emotions.
The problem was writer Hong Hee-young.
She'd been dissatisfied ever since the character settings changed due to Joo Young-hoon's casting demands, and recently, that dissatisfaction had boiled over.
The altered settings had snowballed, forcing major rewrites to several episodes.
For a writer of Hong Hee-young's caliber, it was an incredibly uncomfortable situation to swallow quietly.
'Those folks can just drown it all in a drink if the project succeeds...'
From the actors' perspective on set, having to watch the moods of all three was exhausting.
Still, the fact that Oxygen Alert was running smoothly despite it all was, without a doubt, thanks to the lead actor Tae-woong.
He could've turned arrogant after his massive hit with Goodbye, Goodnight, but his work ethic was impeccable.
He was always the first on set even for dawn calls, and he'd never once frowned when shoots got delayed.
That was the reason the set's atmosphere held together.
However, some actors were redirecting their frustration in weird directions.
"It's because of Jeon So-ra that we're pushed back to August."
"For real?"
"Yeah. SSK's putting more weight behind the one they fully invested in."
"Han rep's been backing Do Hyun-woo ever since Criminal Community."
Right toward At Your Fingertips.
To Jeong Ki-jun, it was nonsense.
Unless Jeon So-ra was the lead—which she wasn't—they couldn't shift the schedule of a project where Tae-woong, in the 4th role no less, was the star.
No, even if she were the lead, it would be a stretch.
Jeon So-ra might have higher viewer recognition, but right now, in OTT terms, Tae-woong held more weight.
Still, the rumors persisted because of Joo Young-hoon and Go Hak-su openly fanning animosity toward At Your Fingertips.
Or maybe it was the actors who'd chosen Oxygen Alert over At Your Fingertips seeking some comfort in the blame.
Not just him, Choi Ha-il, and Lee Min-seon—plenty of supporting actors had picked this project instead.
As Jeong Ki-jun mulled that over, the assistant director's shout rang out.
"Resuming shooting!"
Suddenly, Jeong Ki-jun wondered about the At Your Fingertips set.
'How's the junior doing?'
Well, it probably wasn't easy there either.
Not easy.
Really not easy.
That was the thought as eight catering trucks glided onto the set.
"Haa..."
I didn't need to look to know.
Who had driven them here without warning.
What massive banner would unfurl on each truck.
Lips sealed in grim resignation, but apparently, I wasn't the only one who'd foreseen it.
"S-Seo Jae-yeon!"
"Actress Seo Jae-yeon is here!"
The staff who'd spotted the trucks went wild, cheering and charging over.
"...?"
"What's going on?"
"No idea? Something about actress Seo Jae-yeon?"
"Out of nowhere?"
About 30% of the staff, who hadn't been on Criminal Community, trailed behind in confusion.
Wait, if you don't know, just stay put?
Why follow?
"What's this?"
"Free food?"
"That's super expensive stuff."
The actors were wandering out in equal bewilderment.
Then—clang!—the truck doors flew open.
Out of the passenger seat bounced Seo Jae-yeon, waving like a presidential candidate.
"Ch-Choi Jae-hyeok."
"Whoa, jackpot."
"Real Choi Jae-hyeok and Seo Jae-yeon? For real?"
It was hyung Jae-hyeok.
"Woooaaahhh!"
Hyung Jae-hyeok tilted his head at the staff's explosive reaction, as if puzzled—but that was 100% fake.
He was shamelessly wearing the "top star but innocently naive in daily life" skin.
Then, as if displeased by the cheers for hyung Jae-hyeok, Seo Jae-yeon spread her arms wide.
Like a conductor, she pointed at the trucks.
"N-No way!"
"It's that! That one!"
"Cherry-colored!"
As her hand slashed the air amid the frenzy—
Shwoooosh!
The banners unfurled.
But the photo on the banners wasn't "Milky Do Hyun-woo".
"...Should I kill her."
It was a new weapon shattering my hard-prepared mental fortitude.
Cherry-Colored Do Hyun-woo
Yeah, that.
The meme the Criminal Community cast started, perfected by Seo Jae-yeon's hands.
The one I'd thought was finally dying down.
Ah, I can't take it.
"Hey! Seo Jae-yeon! Take that down right now?!"
But apparently, that was the finishing touch to the "Seo Jae-yeon Air Raid Template".
The staff erupted in cheers all at once.
Ah, damn it.
"Thanks for the food!"
"Dig in!"
The staff dove into the meal with ecstatic shouts.
No different from the Criminal Community days.
"Milky Do Hyun-woo?"
"Emperor Do is so cool... This one's legit."
The teasing from staff was familiar too.
But some things I'd rather they skipped.
"Nah, Milky's the tradition, right?"
"Why? Trend-wise, it's Cherry-Colored. Milky's faded."
"That's why original's original—it doesn't change."
"What does unchanging matter? If it tastes good, that's it."
Just stop debating which fits the banner better between Milky and Cherry.
The actors were giving me weird looks.
Meanwhile, Choi Jae-hyeok and Seo Jae-yeon were making the rounds, greeting the actors.
Unlike Criminal Community, there were a lot of seniors here.
"Hello, sunbaenim."
"Long time no see, Jae-hyeok. Doing well?"
"I was shooting in the UK for a while and just got back."
"Ah, right. New one's dropping on Enflicks soon?"
"Yeah. Thinking of a press screening too."
"Drama with a screening? Enflicks must be prepped hard."
"Haha..."
Hyung Jae-hyeok, in his "master of social graces" skin, was smoothly handling greetings, but Seo Jae-yeon... wasn't.
"......"
"......"
They were glaring at each other in front of Jeon So-ra.
Are they insane?
I rushed over and forced Seo Jae-yeon to bow.
"Sorry. She's still immature..."
"I'm immature, but unnie, aren't you at the age for iron supplements?"
"Are you crazy?"
Glancing at Jeon So-ra while scolding her, she didn't seem bothered.
"Let her be. It's refreshing she's the same as ever."
"You two—no, sunbaenim—worked together before, right?"
"Yes. Our last project."
Seo Jae-yeon had been the sub-female lead in Jeon So-ra's last 10-million hit.
That's how she'd blown up.
"Eat up, unnie. Shot with the money I saved from steady acting gigs."
Rapper now?
Rhyming and all?
Freaking out, I dragged her to another senior.
Thankfully, she was normal with the others.
After the chaos, we slipped into the lounge inside the serving support van with Seo Jae-yeon and hyung Jae-hyeok.
She'd pouted a bit after the scolding.
"Hyung, why's she like this?"
"Like what?"
"Setting me up against Jeon So-ra sunbaenim."
"Really? Weren't you close from that old project?"
"Not close."
Not close, my ass—she seemed kinda close?
Maybe their own inside joke?
No, that's not the point.
"Hyung, why didn't you stop her?"
"If she listened when told, would you have suffered this much?"
"Ah."
Couldn't argue.
"Just eat."
"Yeah..."
"Hyun-woo, what're you doing next Friday?"
"Shooting? Why?"
"Press screening then. Come."
"Me? Why?"
"You recommended that project."
"Oh, right."
I'd suggested it when hyung Jae-hyeok was mulling his next gig.
Anyway, the set was running smoothly per Director Im's vision now.
Thanks to all the traffic control I'd done.
"Sure. I'll go."
"How's shooting?"
"Us? Smooth. But going from 8 episodes to 16..."
"Ah, why does no one care about my pout?"
That was the moment Seo Jae-yeon, bored of me chatting with hyung Jae-hyeok, butted in.
"Excluding me from the fun?"
Kim Ra-un opened the van door and stepped in.
Now deep into the shoot's mid-phase, his emotional immersion had him holing up in his van.
Texted him about meals for weeks, but today he made an exception.
"Ooh, stormy Kim Ra-un. Blaming Do Hyun-woo for the flop but joining the drama? Huh?"
Seo Jae-yeon, spotting prey, prowled around him, teasing.
How is that a top star.
Thug.
Younger than Kim Ra-un too.
"When will you grow up?"
But Kim Ra-un ignored her nonsense as usual.
"Why's everyone so worried about my maturity today?"
"Know what 'maturity' is in English?"
"...Dumbbell?"
"Just eat."
Still, with the four of us together after so long, it felt like old times.
Back to when we had nothing but were happy anyway.
Not just me—everyone wore genuine smiles.
The next day after Seo Jae-yeon and hyung Jae-hyeok's visit.
Arriving on set, I spotted food trucks parked around early in the morning.
What?
Fans of some other actor?
Plausible.
Someone might've posted pics from yesterday on SNS.
But as I got closer, something felt off.
Those...
Not catering?
As far as I knew, Seo Jae-yeon's catering was top-tier in Korea.
The so-called mobile fine dining.
But these weren't that level.
Aren't those... hotel chefs?
Then someone approached beside me.
Jeon So-ra, padding shed but in a super oversized windbreaker instead.
"Breakfast, lunch, dinner."
"Pardon?"
"Not just one meal."
"Why tell me..."
"Already sent to Seo Jae-yeon. No need to save steadily—I'm covering it."
"Ah... Okay."
Men are boys till they die?
Not at all.
In my eyes, celebs were the real lifelong kids.