“Cut! Okay!”
Director Choi Younghwan called out the okay sign in a bright voice.
I glanced at Lee Choi and Seo Sangwoo, who quickly gathered to monitor the scene, and recalled their performance.
‘Hmm…….’
Something felt odd.
Lee Choi’s acting wasn’t bad at all. She skillfully led Seo Sangwoo and kept the scene flowing.
But for some reason, watching their acting left a lingering sense of being chased.
‘Even though they were exchanging lines, there was a sense of disconnect.’
Their conversation didn’t blend, instead it felt like it skimmed the surface. It wasn’t because Han Yeoreum and Lee Hyuk’s emotions were different.
If I had to put a name to it, it felt like they couldn’t fully see each other.
Rather than breathing together as actors, it was closer to each just spitting out memorized lines on cue.
Before I realized it, my gaze turned to Director Choi Younghwan.
Unlike his earlier cheerful okay sign, his face, left alone watching the monitor, was full of worry.
“We’ll take that scene one more time!”
At the staff’s words, I nodded unconsciously. I figured as much.
Soon, filming resumed. I watched the two act for a moment, then drifted all the way to the outskirts.
In one hand was a script I’d worn thin from constant practice.
“Hoo……”
Honestly, now wasn’t the time for me to be judging someone else’s acting.
Whatever strange feeling I’d picked up from Lee Choi’s performance aside, the truth was, she was better at acting than me right now.
‘I can’t let myself fall too far behind.’
We’re the female and male leads, after all.
Even if there’s an unavoidable gap in skill, I needed to create something that would keep viewers immersed in the drama.
‘Still, she didn’t seem to hold any grudge against Chaemin.’
Fortunately, from her attitude earlier when we greeted each other, she didn’t seem to have any strong prejudice against Chaemin.
‘To be exact, she just didn’t seem interested.’
At least, that’s how I felt. She was consistently bright, but nothing more than that. Just the kind of pleasant attitude you’d show to a colleague you didn’t know well yet at the set.
From my perspective, Lee Choi’s mild indifference was actually a relief.
I found myself clenching and unclenching my fists for no reason.
I could feel a dull warmth traveling from my palm up my wrist.
My heart was beating lightly, thump, thump.
‘…I’m tired.’
Before the shoot began, Lee Choi lowered her head for a moment in thought.
She furrowed her brow as hard as she could and sighed inwardly. She wanted to let out a big sigh, but she couldn’t.
She settled for making a face she could never show when her head was up, letting her emotions flow out just a little that way.
‘Let’s just do it. Filming……. Yeah, filming, let’s do it.’
She forced herself to cheer up and lifted her head. As her face came into view, it was filled with a radiant smile, as if nothing had happened.
Bright, bubbly, just looking at her made you feel good. The Lee Choi everyone loved.
“We’re rolling!”
At the signal, and the staff’s following voice, Lee Choi quickly scanned her surroundings. It was an old habit of hers.
After glancing at the many people watching her, she spotted her mother in one corner. Her manager, her long-time supporter, her fan. And……
‘Choi, fighting!’
When their eyes met, her mother mouthed words of encouragement, and Lee Choi couldn’t help but smile softly.
‘Yeah, let’s do it, acting.’
Acting, which I love and Mom loves too. Even if right now I don’t really know what I’m doing……
‘If I keep at it, I’ll figure it out.’
And I’ll find it again—the reason I act, the fun of acting. She muttered to herself out of habit and looked straight ahead.
A boy stood a short distance away.
His fine features and the school uniform made it hard to guess his age, making him look like a real boy.
His dark brown hair sparkled in the sunlight, turning a lighter shade.
The student council room of prestigious private Cheonmun High School. After the meeting ended and everyone left, the boy was alone, tidying up paperwork, his quiet humming filling the empty space.
Maybe it was his striking appearance, or maybe the dazzling sunlight. Lee Choi stared at the boy, almost entranced.
‘Who’s that? Jihwa. My favorite, Yoon Jihwa.’
She spoke to herself as if hypnotizing herself. I am Han Yeoreum, and that child is Yoon Jihwa. The moment she defined it, Lee Choi’s gaze changed.
Her eyes sparkled as if looking at something precious. As if on cue, the clap of the slate echoed through the room.
“Jihwa! Yoon Jihwa!”
She rushed toward Yoon Jihwa, making a fuss. Only then did Yoon Jihwa, realizing someone else had entered the student council room, smile sheepishly.
“Yeoreum? Yeoreum, what brings you here? Where’s Hyuk?”
As his voice echoed in her ears, Lee Choi’s mind raced.
‘Frown, put both hands on your waist. But don’t really get angry or mean—make it cute, like you’re pouting.’
So focused on what she needed to do next, she didn’t really hear Yoon Jihwa’s voice.
So she couldn’t really gauge her co-actor’s tone or diction.
“Hm, so my real name was Lee Hyuk all along? Why do you always look for him when you see me? That’s so mean, really!”
After delivering her line, Lee Choi glared at Yoon Jihwa. Only then did her eyes meet the boy’s.
“……”
Brown eyes shining with light. Such a kind and clear gaze was directed at her. For a moment, Lee Choi’s mind went blank.
“T-that’s not what I meant. It’s just……. You and Hyuk are so close, Yeoreum.”
For a moment, his eyes dropped, tinged with sadness. Then he pulled up the corners of his lips and smiled calmly.
The resignation built up over a long time weighed heavy on Lee Choi’s heart.
‘What is this? Why…….’
She needed to deliver her next line, but it wouldn’t come. Lee Choi hesitated, then bowed toward the camera.
“I’m sorry! Can I try that again?”
“Cut! NG! Okay~ Let’s try one more time!”
After apologizing a few more times, Lee Choi returned to her starting mark.
She quickly reviewed her lines in her head and let out a long breath.
‘Do well. I can’t get stuck here.’
The production staff had high expectations for Lee Choi.
Of the three main leads, she was the only one with a solid career and acting skills.
In fact, the story was so centered around the female lead that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she carried the drama.
‘If I just pull this off, our Choi can finally shed her child actor image for good, right?’
Her mother was full of hope when she chose this drama.
So she couldn’t let her down.
‘Earlier, I was just surprised at how serious his eyes were.’
She didn’t know much about Chaemin as an actor. Honestly, she wasn’t that interested.
But his reputation as a terrible actor was so famous, she couldn’t help but know.
He hadn’t left much of an impression at the script reading, so Lee Choi’s image of Chaemin was very typical.
But for him to have eyes like that……
Lee Choi shook her head. Pushing away distracting thoughts, she focused again as filming resumed.
Every time she met Chaemin’s gaze, she flinched without realizing it, but the shoot wrapped up without any major problems.
Whether or not she was truly satisfied with her own acting was another matter.
The days passed more peacefully than I’d expected. My schedule was mostly filming, and thanks to Director Choi Younghwan keeping his promise to me, I could arrive early at the set every time.
The manager complained at first, but he didn’t know this was all happening at my request.
Because of my behavior, not only the staff but even the other actors’ managers didn’t try to get close to him, so it was only natural.
My manager threw fits from time to time, but it was easy enough to ignore.
Since I spent most of my day on set, whenever he lost his temper and caused a scene, all eyes turned to us as a bonus.
Thanks to that, a strange sense of pity for me spread on set.
It wasn’t exactly sympathy, just a soft, slightly sorry look. The staff’s attitude toward me grew gentler as well.
“Still, Chaemin, you’re really diligent and gentle. You really don’t know someone until you meet them yourself.”
I heard things like this from time to time. It was a small achievement. But I still hadn’t gained any additional Okchun.
I wasn’t sure if the system required a specific type of recognition, or if I needed to satisfy several conditions at once.
As for the filming……
Filming was going smoothly enough.
As the days went by, the shoots got longer, and Director Choi’s okay sign came less easily.
‘He looks even more tired today.’
As soon as I arrived on set, I saw Director Choi Younghwan’s face was darker than yesterday.
Maybe he hadn’t slept well—dark shadows under his eyes. He greeted me with a smile as if nothing was wrong, but I could still see the worry he couldn’t quite hide.
“Jihwa.”
I glanced at his face quickly, then turned to leave, but Director Choi called out to me.
“Yes, Director.”
He looked at me for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.
“No, it’s nothing. Thank you for always working so hard.”
“Ah… haha. Not at all. I’m always grateful to you.”
I wondered if I should ask what was wrong, but decided against it. If I were Myeong Seungho, maybe, but in Chaemin’s body and position, I didn’t have anything to say.
Besides, I didn’t fully understand why filming was dragging on.
There were multiple reasons.
Lee Choi, who should be anchoring and leading the drama, felt oddly out of sync, and rookie Seo Sangwoo was heavily reliant on his co-actors.
And Chaemin……
‘At least he’s helping set the tone of the drama, I guess.’
As filming got underway, the quest job points increased. But it wasn’t enough to raise my job rank yet.
My job rank hadn’t changed. Still, I figured effort might count for something, so I was obsessively practicing diction and proper vocalization.
There weren’t any visible results yet……
‘If the mood keeps dragging like this, we’re in trouble.’
Acting aside, the success of the project was important too. Frustrated, I looked around—and locked eyes again.
“……”
With Seo Sangwoo, who’d probably been watching me for a while.