Lee Sol and Lee San’s siblings’ house, Kitchen.
To do a rehearsal before filming, Director Jung Joonhee, Yoon Jooho, and Song Hyunsoo were deep in discussion, their expressions serious.
“Father will be lying here, about this spot, like this.”
Director Jung lay down on the floor himself to demonstrate the position. He lay on his back, not face down, his belly up toward the ceiling.
“Hyunsoo, you’ve read the Script, so you probably know, but Kang didn’t attack from behind.”
This time, the Director jumped up and imitated Baek Kang attacking Lee Sol and Lee San’s father.
“From the front, like this, stabbing the abdomen.”
“Yes…”
Song Hyunsoo nodded, glancing at Yoon Jooho standing across from him.
While Song Hyunsoo had not been present for filming, Yoon Jooho had already finished shooting the scene where he killed the siblings’ father.
The scene they were to film today was, in terms of the timeline, right after that, so Yoon Jooho’s Makeup matched the blood-soaked, splattered look from the previous scene.
The day before, the siblings had been subjected to their father’s violence again, and Lee San, who had stood up to protect his older sister, had bruises and swelling on his face, created by special Makeup.
Even knowing it was Makeup, every time he caught sight of that red-stained figure, his heart pounded and his vision swam. Maybe it would actually help with today’s performance…
“The force of pulling the Knife out made him fall backward like that.”
After finishing his explanation, Director Jung pointed towards the Kitchen Back Door for Song Hyunsoo.
“San will come in from that way, and Kang should be standing with his back turned, like this.”
Yoon Jooho gripped the prop Knife and took his position.
Director Jung stepped aside and said to Song Hyunsoo.
“Let’s try running through it lightly once.”
The actors nodded and returned to their marks.
Lee San, returning from school, enters through the Kitchen Back Door, rubbing his swollen cheek.
“Ah! Dammit… it hurts. Old man, he hasn’t hit my face for a while now…”
Then, seeing Baek Kang standing silently with his back turned in their own Kitchen, Lee San’s expression immediately brightened.
“Huh? Hyung!”
At the sound of the voice, Baek Kang’s eyes wavered with anxiety.
His neck turned stiffly, creaking like a machine that hadn’t been oiled in years.
Thud.
Baek Kang’s hand and the Knife he held were soaked with dripping red blood. Lee San, seeing the splatters on his brother’s face, dropped his Bag.
“H-hyung… What’s this? This is all blood!”
Without hesitation, Lee San rushed over to Baek Kang.
He still hadn’t noticed the victim—their father—collapsed on the floor. All he saw was Baek Kang, covered in blood.
With trembling hands, Lee San grabbed a Hand Towel from the Kitchen and tried to wipe the blood off Baek Kang’s face.
He looked like he would burst into tears at any moment.
Baek Kang gripped both his shoulders tightly.
“San, look at me. Listen carefully. You weren’t here.”
“There’s blood all over your hands… What is all this blood…”
Finally, Lee San’s mind caught up. If Baek Kang was holding a Knife and covered in blood, then there must be someone else somewhere, someone who’d been splattered.
Now it was Lee San’s turn for his neck to creak as he turned.
And he saw his father, lying on the Living Room Floor, blood pooling and spreading, staining the wood black.
“Dad… That’s… our dad…”
Lee San stepped back, avoiding the blood creeping to his feet.
“Hyung, did you do this? Did you do it?”
Baek Kang snatched the Hand Towel from Lee San’s hands. As he quickly and coldly wiped the blood from Lee San’s fingers, he spoke rapidly.
“San, you need to leave here right now. Grab the Fishing Rod from the Warehouse and slip out the Back Door to the Sea. You got hit by dad last night, didn’t want to see him, so you didn’t even come into the house—you just took the Fishing Rod and went to the Sea. Got it?”
“Hyung… Are… are you going to prison?”
Trying to reassure his trembling brother, Baek Kang even managed a smile.
“When dad got drunk, he’d spend two, three hours fishing with me out there. Remember the place? Go wait there. I’ll come find you soon.”
Lee San shook his head desperately.
“Hyung… let’s go together. Let’s run away together.”
“No. They’ll know it was me soon anyway.”
“So, you’re just going to go to prison? No, you can’t! You absolutely can’t!”
“San!”
As Lee San shook his head wildly, Baek Kang shook his shoulders hard and shouted.
“San, look at me. Just a little while.”
According to the Script, Lee San was supposed to be sobbing, but since this was just a light rehearsal to check movements and lines, neither of them was going full out.
Even so, the emotion was already building up.
“I’ll go to prison, pay for what I did, and come back. Then we’ll stay together. All three of us, with no more worries.”
With bloody hands, Baek Kang wiped his own face.
“So for now, please, just do as I say. Pack your Bag, grab the Fishing Rod, and go to the Sea. You understand, San?”
Tears streaming down his face, Lee San nodded. He glanced once more at his father, who was still bleeding, then bolted from the Kitchen.
“Nice, shall we go straight into filming?”
Director Jung looked satisfied, but Song Hyunsoo, watching him, approached a bit hesitantly.
No matter how much Director Jung encouraged him to speak up, it was never easy for a rookie actor, still covered in fake blood, to voice his thoughts to a Director.
“Director, um, for the main shoot…”
“Hmm?”
“Would it be okay if I changed some of San’s lines?”
“How so?”
“I was wondering if it would be better to emphasize his attachment to Kang.”
“Right now, he’s already more afraid of Kang going to prison than of his own father being killed. Even more than that?”
Director Jung looked surprised. But Song Hyunsoo was confident.
“For some reason, if it’s San… I think he would.”
Song Hyunsoo glanced past the Director’s shoulder at Yoon Jooho. Jooho was also looking at him—openly, directly, without hiding.
“Hm, no reason you can’t. Go with whatever feels natural. The actor has to believe in the character, that’s how the audience gets drawn in.”
“Thank you, Director!”
Director Jung patted Song Hyunsoo on the back as he bowed deeply, checked his watch, scanned the set, and looked back and forth at the two actors.
“Then let’s start filming in 10 minutes.”
As Director Jung turned toward the monitor room, talking with the Assistant Director, Yoon Jooho approached Song Hyunsoo quietly.
“Did you… not like my acting?”
“Huh? No! Not at all. I just wanted San to feel a little more like San, that’s all…”
Yesterday, the two of them had fallen asleep together and slept soundly for five hours.
Afterward, they made kimchi pot rice and polished it off together.
Yoon Jooho, who’d never been a big eater, had eaten more than ever before.
Then they packed up together, got into Yoon Jooho’s new Escalade, and headed to Myeonghaeri.
Just like before.
Like the first time they had come to Myeonghaeri together, late at night.
They didn’t say much. Not about Yoon Jooho’s parents, not about what came next.
They just felt each other’s presence in the passenger seat so keenly it almost hurt—like two people newly beginning a relationship.
Yoon Jooho, instead of asking Bang Manager or any other Manager, had driven himself, looking especially tense.
Whenever their hands brushed, he apologized too much, kept checking if the temperature was too hot or cold, if the music volume was all right, or if he should turn it off altogether.
There was no doubt about it—this was a man trying hard to impress someone he liked. For now, that was more than enough.
Even after meeting on set today, Yoon Jooho was careful around him. But he didn’t try to hide the fact that he was conscious of Hyunsoo, or that he wanted his attention.
Standing at the sink, Yoon Jooho rubbed the back of his neck and approached Song Hyunsoo.
“After… we finish filming today…”
“Yes?”
At that moment, Yoon Jooho’s Manager hurried over, holding his phone, looking urgent.
“Hyung, there’s something I need to discuss about the schedule. Could I talk to you for a moment?”
“Uh… yeah, sure.”
Yoon Jooho shot a regretful look at Song Hyunsoo, biting his lip, and left the set with his Manager.
The sweet tension that had tightly surrounded them melted away as he exited.
They’d already dated, done everything, seen everything, and yet this kind of nervousness could return.
Phew. Feeling ticklish and awkward, Song Hyunsoo scratched behind his ear and exhaled deeply.
Then, careful not to get in the way of the filming preparations, he slipped out the Back Door.
In the narrow backyard, designated as a smoking area, he lit a cigarette and pulled out his phone.
More than 7,000 notifications hovered over his SNS App.
Ever since Yoon Jooho had followed him, his follower count, comments, and likes had exploded every time he checked his phone.
It was actually much less now than at the beginning.
Geez.
Still not used to it, maybe even scared by the numbers, Song Hyunsoo shivered and opened the messaging App.
Scrolling through, Song Hyunsoo found his chat with Jung Sungwon.