“Chaemin!”
Jiminseong called out with a bright smile.
Yoo Chaemin, who hadn’t noticed him, turned around just as she rounded the corner.
Jiminseong immediately approached Chaemin and tried to rest his chin on her shoulder, attempting an arm around her shoulders.
Because Chaemin was taller than him, he couldn’t quite lift his arm all the way onto her shoulder, so it ended up looking awkward.
“Ah, senior.”
“Senior? Hey, you know what? Chaemin and I debuted only about a month apart.”
‘That means we’re about the same level, but you’re a bad actor while I’ve become a rising star.’
Unfortunately, Yoo Chaemin didn’t seem to catch Jiminseong’s deeper meaning.
He just smiled shyly, as usual.
“Really? I didn’t know that.”
“No, actually, if you count your idol days, Chaemin, you’re technically my senior. Isn’t that the more accurate way to calculate it?”
“Ah… no. As an actor, I’m definitely the junior.”
Seeing her easily play along, it was clear she understood her place.
Jiminseong lifted one corner of his mouth and smiled.
“Alright then. Ha, junior Chaemin. Isn’t the filming really tough? Especially for you.”
‘Say you’re struggling.’
It seemed his silent command worked because Chaemin lowered her gaze and spoke mournfully.
“…Yeah, it’s tough, no matter what.”
“Right? So listen, I want to help you out a bit.”
“Yes?”
Chaemin’s wide-eyed expression was that of a gentle, clueless rabbit.
“Rehearsals alone aren’t enough, right? Even I noticed you seemed a bit lost during filming. But asking the other seniors for help would be too much, right? It’d feel like you’re wasting their time since they’re so busy.”
Jiminseong marveled at his own words. How was he speaking so smoothly without a script? Truly, he was a natural-born actor.
“So, I’ll help you. You said you come to the set early anyway, right? How about we meet like thirty minutes before shooting and go over today’s scenes together?”
He was already doing well fulfilling Director Lee Seunghun’s vision.
Still, he picked on her acting, which clearly didn’t annoy him that much.
‘Then I’ll just make it annoying again.’
“Ah, well, that’s…”
“Sounds good? Yeah, I thought you’d say that. Let’s start from the next scene, then.”
This dumb, gentle girl would act exactly how he told her.
She’d believe it was advice for her own good.
***
“Chaemin, you can’t act like that there. So that’s why your acting has always been like that?”
He really was crossing the line.
“You have to be more pathetic and over the top! Jung Bongsik is what kind of character? A total loser, right? Chaemin, aren’t you trying too hard not to look ridiculous?”
“Ah… really?”
I deliberately spoke more foolishly and stared blankly at Jiminseong.
Maybe gaining some confidence from my reaction, he got more excited, spouting nonsense under the guise of directing.
“Wow… senior, you’re really amazing.”
Alright. Let’s see how far you’ll go.
As I mumbled empty words, Jiminseong smiled proudly.
It was probably an act, but at least his expression showed he genuinely believed what he was doing was right.
“Don’t say things like that. As a senior, it’s only right to lead juniors like this!”
Well, didn’t he just say in the hallway that technically he was the junior since Chaemin did idol activities first?
Every time he opened his mouth, he boasted about his experience and tried to belittle Chaemin to make himself look better.
‘But when did we start talking like this?’
It was so natural that I only just realized.
“Alright, time’s running out. You remember everything I said so far, right?”
Did I?
“Of course.”
Jiminseong smiled satisfied by my answer and started rambling again.
“Even here, you have to be funnier, funnier. Got it? Honestly, I think Jung Bongsik is a comedic character.”
‘Great.’
It was really pathetic.
Jiminseong’s directing intention was obvious—he wanted to make the Jung Bongsik character stand out in a weird way in the scenes we acted together.
I had suspected this when he suddenly offered to “help,” but it was worse than I’d imagined.
‘I thought he’d just tone down the character or skip the details I had planned.’
Well, considering Chaemin’s position on this set, it made sense.
She was the lowest of the low. If Director Lee Seunghun got annoyed, people naturally assumed it was because of her.
Jiminseong probably thought it was normal for Chaemin to be the one scolded by the director.
But when filming started, the target unexpectedly became Jiminseong himself.
No wonder he was confused and frustrated. He seemed somewhat proud of his current position and acting skills.
‘Still…’
No matter what the outcome, this was exactly the time to reflect on and correct one’s acting.
It amazed me that he spent his time on this nonsense instead.
Jiminseong’s naive mistake was believing that if Chaemin acted out, Director Lee’s anger would only be directed at her.
“You got all that? Let’s try hard during the shoot, okay?”
He said with a friendly smile.
With his good-looking, likable face, soft smile, and gentle voice, he really looked like a senior who cared about his junior.
That was exactly the image I had seen of him in the media right up until this shoot.
“Okay, senior.”
Naturally, I planned to do things his way.
***
Filming resumed.
It didn’t take long for Jiminseong’s confident smile—just moments before when he locked eyes with me—to fall apart.
“Cut! NG! Cheolsu, are you going to keep acting like this?!”
Director Lee Seunghun’s NG calls came down every time Jiminseong acted.
“No, it’s not like that…”
He began to speak and glanced at me sideways.
His sharp gaze screamed, “Why aren’t you doing it my way?!”
I just smiled and slightly bowed my head.
I saw the tension tighten in Jiminseong’s jaw.
“…Sorry. I’ll try again properly.”
“Sigh… We need to finish today’s scheduled shooting no matter what. Let’s try to do well, please.”
Director Lee’s voice was laced with frustration and resignation.
After bowing several times to apologize, Jiminseong stealthily approached me.
“What’s going on, huh? Chaemin?”
“Me? I’m doing just fine, like we talked about earlier!”
I’m following your advice perfectly—what’s the problem?
When Chaemin smiled brightly, showing her charm, Jiminseong’s face turned speechless.
“No, why aren’t you following my advice…”
Before he could finish, the call to shoot rang out.
Looking at Jiminseong, who urged me for an answer amidst the tension, I said,
“Ah, I’m doing what I understood from your advice. If it’s lacking, I’ll pay more attention!”
“Sigh…”
Jiminseong rubbed his forehead, looking exasperated but then smiled brightly.
“Alright. Let’s try to do well this time, okay?”
“Yes!”
But I never acted according to Jiminseong’s directing.
There were a few more NGs after that, but they weren’t all from Jiminseong like before.
Filming finished as planned.
Whether because of improved acting or Director Lee giving up on his vision, Jiminseong didn’t ask me why I hadn’t followed his directing after filming.
But it wasn’t because his acting suddenly improved.
Director Lee had somewhat abandoned the picture he wanted.
Even though filming ended, Jiminseong’s face was full of irritation and anger.
Unaware it was his own project, he left the set humming a tune.
‘The backlash is going to be serious…’
When a director becomes overly sensitive, the set becomes a living hell.
Any slight mistake invites harsh words.
Still, it was better if only Director Lee had to deal with that. Jiminseong…
‘Please don’t tell me he’s planning to keep doing these childish antics.’
***
“Chaemin, how is it? Do you understand the explanation today?”
I admit it—I underestimated Jiminseong.
More precisely… I didn’t expect him to be this twisted.
Even during the next group shoot, Jiminseong grabbed me and gave more absurd directions.
Of course, I didn’t follow them, but he smiled as if he understood.
‘Yeah, my directing was probably too hard for Chaemin to understand.’
Then he said he’d keep explaining until I fully got it and kept repeating the same nonsense.
“Yes. I understand a little.”
“A little? Just a little isn’t good enough… sigh, you’re slower than I thought.”
“…”
“You’re not doing this on purpose, right?”
“Of course not. No way.”
Without hesitation, I answered, and Jiminseong grinned.
“Good. Today, let’s actually do it right. Go get ready to shoot.”
At last, the cue was given.
As I stood and walked away, one of the staff who had been quietly watching approached Jiminseong.
“Ji actor, isn’t it tough? You’re busy too, but you’re even looking out for that kid.”
“Hey, no. If not me, then who would take care of her?”
They spoke openly as if they didn’t care if I overheard.
‘No, that was meant for me to hear.’
Jiminseong was demanding ridiculous acting from me, but to others, he looked like a caring senior watching over a bad-acting junior.
At first, he seemed mad that I didn’t do things his way, but after noticing others watching, he openly started using it to his advantage.
If he only used it to praise himself, it might have been fine.
“But… sigh, never mind.”
“Why? Come on, tell me. What’s wrong?”
“It’s just… she’s not following at all. Even though I give her directions, she doesn’t do any of it during filming. She’s probably just inexperienced, right? Surely not…”
The obvious intent behind those words almost made me stop and look back.
“No way. Seriously? Ji actor is working so hard directing her, and she just ignores it all?”
It was like this.
“No, no! Don’t say that. It’s because I’m not good enough yet.”
“No! You can see right through it! Anyway… she’s known for being rude anyway.”
Jiminseong was deliberately stirring up bad rumors about Yoo Chaemin.
The problem was his tactic was actually working quite well on set.
Not because he was exceptionally cunning, but because…