Chapter 111
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Acting Alliance
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The hellish first six days of filming had finally passed.
I survived.
I'd powered through the insane schedule and knocked out almost all my backlog of scenes.
From here on, things should run on a normal track.
I could finally breathe easy.
Right now, the three lead actresses were reshooting a personal scene they'd insisted on redoing.
Thanks to that, I had a bit of breathing room.
Enough to sit off to one side of the set and check my phone.
Sun-hu oppa!
Congrats on your acting debut!
I saw the promo video. You looked so cool.
(Sprinkling flower petals emoji)
But I'm sad that my one and only Sun-hu oppa belongs to everyone now.
(Crying emoji)
Next time, I'll bring tons of gifts.
Look forward to it.
(Kissing emoji)
-Your cute little sister Soo-jin.
The promo interview must've finally gone up.
I'd been too scared to watch it myself, but the reactions around me suggested it was fine.
Soo-jin, though?
Who's Soo-jin?
My only sister is Mi-so.
Oh.
Spring's Jin? Her real name's Park Soo-jin, right?
I pictured her short blonde hair and the chest flatter than mine.
Amazing.
Even getting congrats texts from celebrities.
I've really made it.
But someone might misunderstand.
Delete message. Beep.
Bzzzt-
Huh? Another one.
Did she notice I read and deleted it?
But this time, it wasn't Jin.
It was Seo-ah.
Actor Jin Sun-hu.
Congratulations on your acting debut.
I'd already heard from Mi-so,
but I didn't want to bother you with a personal message,
so I'm reaching out now after seeing the promo video.
The reaction to that last SNS video was so great,
I was planning to ask you again,
but it might be tough from now on. Such a shame.
The weather's getting chilly.
Please take good care of your health.
I'll cheer for your brilliant acting from afar.
-From Yoon Seo-ah.
A support message from Seo-ah!?
Whoa! For real!?
Save message.
Gonna keep this forever.
Should I reply?
Thank you for the support.
If possible, I'd love to do more SNS videos.
Different agencies or not, I'm Mi-so's brother first and foremost.
Feel free to contact me anytime.
-Jin Sun-hu
Filming even a promo video like that would help the drama's hype.
Hell, I'd beg to do it if I could.
If only to avoid the "debuted on Mom's coattails" talk, I had to succeed properly.
My failure wouldn't just be mine.
As long as it boosted the box office, I'd do anything.
Oh.
Should I check with my agency first?
"Hey, Jin Sun-hu. What're you doing?"
Someone tapped my shoulder.
"...Ji-hye noona."
Whoa. You scared me!
I thought it was my noona!
'Hey! Jin Sun-hu!'
That's her standard line when calling me.
I legit thought my noona had shown up on set and freaked out.
...Of course, she doesn't pull her old stunts these days.
But the bone-deep fear doesn't fade easy.
"Just replying to a text."
"Who from? Girlfriend?"
"Told you, no girlfriend."
Ji-hye noona.
Actress Shin Ji-hye, playing my drama love interest Seon-ah.
She's got insane social charisma—I can't handle her at all.
Looks like a classic Joseon-era beauty on the outside, but she's peak modern social butterfly.
Forces me to call her noona.
And now she's casually peeking at my phone.
I quickly hid it behind my back.
"Lemme see. What's the big deal? Between us."
"What 'us'?"
"I'm your first love."
"In the drama..."
"I give my all to every role.
If we're lovers in the drama, we should be in real life too."
"Yes, ma'am. Respected senior Shin Ji-hye."
"So love me too."
"That'd be an affair."
"You said you don't have a girlfriend."
"You're the one immersing in the role."
"That's drama. This is real life."
She acted way too close for comfort, but it made filming easier.
Hanging out casually made my acting natural.
I could toss out acting notes freely.
In that sense, Shin Ji-hye was the perfect partner.
Mom, Shin Ji-hye, Hwang Soo-ah—all of 'em.
Maybe I have great costar luck.
"But Sun-hu, you and Soo-ah sunbae aren't dating?"
"No, we're not."
"Then who's that noona glaring at us all scary-like?"
Who else? Actress Hwang Soo-ah.
Just like Ji-hye noona said, she was glaring daggers our way.
"...Soo-ah sunbae must be immersed in her role too."
In the script, Soo-ah and I are married; Shin Ji-hye's the affair partner.
Soo-ah might be so deep in character she's feeling actual betrayal.
"Cut! Soo-ah! What're you looking at mid-scene?!"
"...Sorry."
"Ugh~. Come on, Soo-ah. This is the scene you wanted to reshoot. How can you lose focus?"
"Sorry. Let's do it again."
Soo-ah bowing repeatedly to the director and staff.
What was up with Soo-ah?
She wasn't the type to goof off during a take.
...Yeah, drop the pretense.
She's like that 'cause I look chummy with Shin Ji-hye sunbae.
I got that Soo-ah liked me.
I appreciated it.
But I couldn't bring myself to embrace her... or coldly push her away.
Indecisive wimp.
Worse than that trash Hwang Jin-woo I cursed out.
"Wanna wave at her? Yo~."
"...Ji-hye noona, you're doing this on purpose, right?"
"Doing what?"
Ji-hye noona grinned mischievously and waved at Soo-ah.
She seemed all playful, but her seriousness about acting was real.
This woman would do anything for great acting and a great show.
I sensed something maniacal lurking under that cheeky smile.
Honestly, kinda creepy.
"You're provoking Soo-ah on purpose. Don't."
"Me? How?"
Ji-hye noona playing innocent.
She'd probably clocked Soo-ah's feelings for me.
And she was using them.
To make a better show.
To draw out Soo-ah's peak performance by stoking jealousy.
Even from a rival actress unrelated to her own role.
How many people go that far for a project?
This industry was terrifying.
Guess I'd underestimated it big time.
"What if I pretend to kiss you here on the sly?"
"Don't. For real."
She might actually do it—that's how scary it felt.
Come to think of it, she kissed me at the audition too.
Gives me chills now.
Thought she was just quirky back then... nope, way darker.
"Cut! Soo-ah!!"
Soo-ah NG'd again on set.
Ugh.
"Sorry, Director. Gimme 10 minutes. I feel like I'm getting it."
"Man. Fine. 10-minute break."
The director grumbled but respected the actress's call.
Only possible 'cause Hwang Soo-ah backed it up with real skill.
"Ah. She's coming this way. I'm outta here~."
Spotting Soo-ah headed over, Ji-hye noona bolted.
Not forgetting to brush her hand across my shoulder on the way.
What a sly vixen.
Pure-hearted Soo-ah would totally misread that.
"Sun-hu."
See? Here she comes.
"Yes."
"Be honest. Is it me... or Ji-hye?"
Oh man.
"Soo-ah. Let's step somewhere quiet."
I headed to a dim corner of the set.
Soo-ah silently followed.
This should do.
Someone might see us, but no one'd hear.
"Soo-ah."
She flinched at my voice.
Her usual boldness had gotten her this far, but now sanity kicked in.
I sighed deeply and spoke.
"Soo-ah. What are we?"
"...That."
"Lovers. You said even something casual was fine. That you'd take whatever time I had left. Right?"
"...Yes."
"I date Ji-hye or whoever, you got no right to butt in."
"...But seeing it..."
"Soo-ah. Focus on acting, not this. You're reacting, so Ji-hye's pushing harder on purpose."
"...Okay."
"Let's go. Everyone's waiting."
Soo-ah trudged back to set, face on the verge of tears.
I scratched my head, watching her go.
"Ooh~ Sun-hu, top-tier."
Ji-hye noona peeked out from hiding.
Thumbs up at me.
"Hah."
I let out a heavy sigh.
Approved by Shin Ji-hye.
Should I be proud... or bummed?
It wasn't just Shin Ji-hye who'd do anything for a better show.
Me too.
Shin Ji-hye and Jin Sun-hu—we were cut from the same cloth.
I had to deliver on this drama, no matter what.
But my effort alone wouldn't make it a hit.
The other actors—especially top leads Shin Ji-hye and Hwang Soo-ah—needed to bring their A-game.
Stoking jealousy and misery to pull peak performances from Hwang Soo-ah.
I'd done exactly what Shin Ji-hye did.
And...
"Cut! Perfect! That expression—top-notch! Soo-ah, you can do it when you try! Right?!"
Hwang Soo-ah too.
Soo-ah knew.
We were provoking her on purpose.
And she let herself get provoked.
For better acting.
...Maybe Soo-ah was the scariest of us all.
I'd way underestimated the actor's world.
"Whoa. Spooky."
Opposite her words, Ji-hye noona grinned brightly and hooked her arm in mine.
To show Soo-ah sunbae.
Her chest pressed against my arm.
Hmm. About 60C?
A bit bigger than Soo-ah's.
A tad smaller than Mi-so's.
Influenced by family, I dug big chests.
Tough match for Soo-ah.
I grinned dopily at Ji-hye noona, like she had me enchanted.
Soo-ah, robbed of her drama husband, glared furiously our way.
For better acting. For a better show.
Under that banner, the three of us formed an unspoken acting alliance.
Among those who'd do anything for the work.
It was acting within acting—our own little play-within-a-play.