First Shoot (3)
Thud. Thud.
The old man's back receded into the distance. Even at a glance, the designer suit he wore looked expensive enough to make anyone wince. The shoes, the watch on his wrist, the rings jammed onto seven of his ten fingers—everything about him was so lavish that brushing past him would leave you in tears. Showing up to a film set dressed like that was a power play in itself. If some nobody road manager tried the same, he'd be torn apart and ignored.
Director Young had his hands in his pockets. Whether the pockets were too small or his hands too big, his ring and pinky fingers stuck out. It made him look faintly like a thug.
Then, abruptly, Director Young turned his head. Our eyes met.
"Ah. Park Seoh-ah's manager?"
He pivoted with shameless ease and walked toward me. A thick, acrid smell of cigarette smoke rolled off him. That brazen look, as if he had no idea what I might have overheard, left me speechless. There was no doubt he'd said all of that for me to hear. That was why he hadn't attached a single subject to any of it—so he could play dumb if I called him out. Sly bastard.
When we'd shaken hands last time, I'd taken him for a seasoned veteran who'd weathered every storm imaginable. Veteran was right enough. Just the wrong kind of school.
"…Hello, Director."
I had no choice but to greet him as if I hadn't heard a thing. Demanding an apology here would only turn the set into a circus. And Director Young was an executive—an executive at Sky Music, no less. My odds of winning were vanishingly small. Director Geon might look on me kindly, but go head-to-head with Director Young? Not a chance. Especially now, with Master involved, his feelings toward me were probably complicated enough already.
Director Young let out a short snort of a laugh. The smile was pure contempt. Underneath it I caught a faint thread of disappointment. He'd wanted me to lose my temper and lunge at him. That would have handed him any number of openings to grind me underfoot.
Not happening. Keeping my head down was the smart play.
"What are you doing out here? Where's the actress Park Seoh-ah?"
"Seoh-ah is… in the break room."
"I looked into it. Park Seoh-ah doesn't have an agency, does she?"
"Ah, no. She isn't signed with anyone right now."
Director Young lifted his chin and pointed at me.
"One-man agency, then? Planning to launch with Park Seoh-ah?"
"No… I just came to help Seoh-ah out. Nothing that grand."
"Mm. Right. If you want to start an agency, you need to grind at a company for a few years first. Learn how a set actually runs."
He cut me off and kept going.
"A kid who hasn't learned anything tries managing and can't even take care of his actress properly. Ends up good for nothing. Better off without one."
"…"
"Managers these days just make coffee and try to outshine the talent. Hard to tell if they followed the actress here or came to play house with the staff."
He aimed it at me with zero subtlety, then took a step back. Slippery as ever.
"I got chewed out for the same thing when I was a rookie. Told me to stop showing off. Suddenly feeling nostalgic. Being young is nice."
"…"
"Managers and actors both need to start at a major agency. Scripts, acting lessons—the welfare and facilities are just better across the board."
"…Yes. That's true."
"Park Seoh-ah at Sky Music. Just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?"
Was that a declaration that he intended to scout Master? Or a warning that he planned to snatch her away from me? Probably both.
"Well, keep at it. As a senior in the industry, a word of advice—passion alone won't cut it. You need the skills to back it up."
He gave my shoulder a light clap and walked off. A thick hand, callused and scored with old cuts, passed in front of my eyes. That "keep at it" felt less like encouragement and more like a promise that we wouldn't be seeing each other on set much longer.
Being new, I'd taken Chun Yeonho's advice and focused only on making a good impression. The more connections, the better, so I'd tried to look after everyone. Looking back, I might have overdone it.
Passion without skill… Yeah. The passion had been excessive. I'd spent over an hour just walking around saying hello. And it wasn't only what came out of my Pocket—I'd bought snacks from cafés and convenience stores too. Always arriving an hour or two early to shop, then spending dozens of minutes organizing everything. On set I'd run every errand imaginable, for staff and actors and fellow managers alike. Blankets, A4 paper, sanitary pads, breath spray, portable fans… I'd stocked a whole shelf of odds and ends and handed them out as needed.
Honestly, it had been overwhelming, but I'd pushed through because I thought it helped Master. And as today had proven, it hadn't been entirely wasted effort. Still, relative to the energy I poured in, the returns were meager. Director Young had a point—I needed to move more efficiently. Maybe I'd just been thrashing around like a total amateur.
"Hmm-hmm."
A faint snatch of humming drifted back. I stared blankly at Director Young's retreating figure. He walked with his hands still in his pockets, a third of his fingers still sticking out. The wrinkles in his suit now looked like the ridges of thick, knotted back muscle. A real thug. A refined thug, with a designer suit and a respectable public job.
Not that he scared me. It wasn't like my life was on the line. If anything, his words were a relief. He wanted to scout Master. That meant he coveted her talent as an actress. Right now, for whatever reason, Master just couldn't focus. Fix that one thing and she'd captivate every spectator in the room in an instant.
Was Director Young heading to Master now? To make the offer on the spot? I wasn't particularly worried. Master wasn't going to throw me away. If she'd planned to join an agency, she would have signed with Han Ahyoung's company long ago.
I stood there staring until Director Young disappeared. Something about it—my brain felt sharp, clicking cleanly. Things I'd been coasting past, I could finally sit with and examine properly. I liked moments like this. Moments when I could see exactly what I'd failed at, what I still lacked. Like replaying a match and running the feedback.
My field of vision narrowed. The noise cut out. Was I actually standing here trying to figure out how to hit back? Me, a nobody manager—how was I supposed to land a blow on an executive from a major agency?
Out of habit, I fretted at my pocket. As if reading my mind, something brushed my fingers inside the empty space. A rectangular pack. By now I could identify it by touch alone.
Come to think of it, I'd smelled cigarette smoke earlier. There was a simple, elegant solution right there. Sorry, Han Ahyoung and Chun Yeonho—I was going to need these for a while.
While I stood rooted in place, preparations for the next take wound down.
"There you are."
Chun Yeonho appeared, Han Ahyoung at his side.
"Unclench that face. You don't need to worry so much."
"I wasn't worried. Seoh-ah will do fine."
"Ahyoung said if she just polishes a few things, she'll be much better."
Han Ahyoung had said something that warm? Hard to picture. I found myself staring without meaning to.
"What. Am I too pretty?"
Han Ahyoung crossed her arms and tilted her head. Her full chest shifted and pressed together, the fabric pulling taut so the curves stood out sharply. I flushed and jerked my eyes away.
"Yes…"
I spoke past the hammering in my chest.
"It's your turn to shoot now, right, Noona? Do your best. Or—wait, Noona's already so good you don't need cheering?"
"Why? Cheer for me. Noona needs cheering too."
Han Ahyoung stepped closer.
"When Noona acts, look only at Noona. Keep your eyes on Noona alone."
"…Yes. I will."
She kept coming until her lips brushed my ear.
"Not like you could look at anything else anyway. You're already bewitched. Jiwoo's being trained by Noona, after all."
Twitch♥
"Y-yes…"
Our eyes locked at point-blank range. The few extra seconds of contact felt like she was planting something inside my body.
Twitch. Twitch♥
"Who do you like more—Noona or Seoh-ah?"
The answer was already decided.
"…I like Noona more."
"Good boy. Well done."
Han Ahyoung's eyes curved softly. The expression was so different from her usual self that my heart lurched. I was suddenly desperate for more praise. Even after the eye contact broke, my body kept twitching in little spasms, still drowning in the afterglow.
Then Han Ahyoung stepped in front of the camera and filming resumed in earnest. My body obeyed the command and held only Han Ahyoung in its sight—for a long, unbroken stretch. Eventually I managed to surface and casually ask about Director Young.
"Director Young? He's actually really kind. Donates a lot. Just gave about three hundred million won to an orphanage this time. Made the papers and everything."
So his image management was airtight. And yet he'd shown me his true face without hesitation. Confidence that I couldn't expose him, plus the intent to crush me on the spot. I still couldn't grasp how badly I'd gotten under his skin. Well—the world was full of every kind of person. With image control that thorough, better not make an enemy of him. Not that I needed to. I'd just end up begging one-sidedly anyway.
"Stop! Move another step and you die."
A pure, crystalline delivery punched straight into my eardrums and pulled my gaze around. In the middle of a take, another actress drew the eye right after Han Ahyoung.
Oh Jihyeon. The actress who was the entire reason Director Young had deigned to show up on set. Same rookie position as Master. Visuals and acting good enough that an executive would come in person to watch over her. From diction to projection to gesture to eye work, her fundamentals were rock-solid.
"Okay. Cut!"
Oh Jihyeon got her okay sign without trouble. Her scene partner, playing the ghost, was solid too—even buried under green chroma key, the immersion never broke. Progress on the shoot accelerated, and Director Geon's expression brightened. They changed locations and knocked out scene after scene. Everything was moving smoothly.
"I'm going to check on Seoh-ah."
"Yeah? Not going to watch more of Ahyoung?"
"I've had my fill. And Seoh-ah's turn is coming up soon."
I headed for the space where the actors waited and rested. My worries proved baseless—Master was wearing an angelic smile, soaking up advice from the other actors, blending in with them in easy, warm conversation. I exchanged a few words with her and came back out. Master had already recovered. Right now, doing what I could do was the priority.
By the time I returned, the set was buzzing. Managers hustled back and forth; the assistant director coordinated the floor. Break time, by the look of it. Perfect timing.
"Manager Jiwoo?"
Someone called me. Fox-like outer corners to the eyes, a voice dripping with aegyo.
Actress Oh Jihyeon. She lifted a finger and pointed at me—or rather, at something just behind me.
"Could you get me some water?"
"Water?"
"Mhm. Pretty please."
Thump♥
"Y-yes…"
Ever since the assault, side effects had cropped up. One of them: the word "please" made my heart drop through the floor. I blankly grabbed a water bottle and held it out to Oh Jihyeon.
"Hiiing. Open it for me…? I'm too delicate for this kind of thing… Does it hurt…?"
Thump-thump-thump♥
She was so unbearably cute I nearly clutched my chest. I twisted the cap off as if entranced, and Oh Jihyeon lowered her eyes in a sweet little smile.
"Hehe. Thank you. I'll drink it well."
I watched her drink for a moment before I came back to myself. We hadn't been close enough to chat like this. Was it just me, or was she suddenly acting familiar? Was the aegyo and playfulness in her voice just my imagination?
"Um… Actress Oh Jihyeon."
"Hm?"
"You left early on the dinner night, right?"
I said it even knowing it was pointless. If she'd meant to reveal anything, she would have taken the blindfold off that night. I just… just wanted to cut off any lingering attachment from the start. So I wouldn't get suspicious or hung up over nothing.
"The dinner night?"
Oh Jihyeon gave the water bottle a gentle shake. Then, in that same playful voice, she asked,
"What do you think it looked like to our Jiwoo?"