Chapter 98: The Price of Actions (5)
“Heading home after lunch again today?”
The interpreter, now standing beside Kim Si-woo, looked at him expectantly, clearly hoping for another early departure.
“No. Today’s going to be overtime.”
Kim Si-woo’s answer instantly twisted her face into disappointment.
“Huh? Why…?”
“Because we left early last time.”
“Ah…”
The interpreter looked gloomy at the thought of no early exit, but Kim Si-woo paid no mind and kept his eyes on Arimura Noa and Kirishima Sumire.
“Action.”
As soon as he muttered it, the cameras rolled.
Tension hung thick in the air on set.
It wasn’t just Arimura Noa—everyone around her, the staff included, looked visibly nervous.
The president’s daughter had flubbed take after take last time and even left early, so they were all praying nothing like that happened today.
“Stand by… Cue!”
The director’s signal rang out, and Arimura Noa’s performance began.
The current scene was the first meeting between Arimura Noa and Kirishima Sumire.
“Oh? Sorry!”
“Ah… no, it’s okay.”
Arimura Noa, running through the school hallway, bumped into Kirishima Sumire and apologized.
Honda Daisuke, witnessing it, rushed over—not to the fallen Kirishima Sumire, but to check on Arimura Noa.
“Noa, you okay? Hurt anywhere?”
“Me? I’m tough, I’m fine. But more importantly…”
Arimura Noa tried to help Kirishima Sumire up, but Honda Daisuke blocked her.
“Let’s go to the nurse’s office first.”
“What nurse’s office?”
“You never know. Rest for an hour at least…”
“I told you, I’m really fine!”
While the two bickered, Kirishima Sumire got up on her own and watched them with an envious look.
“I’m really sorry. Hey, Daisuke! Because of you, I couldn’t help her up. You apologize too.”
“Ah, sorry. It’s my fault for being friends with this weird girl. I’ll make sure she doesn’t run in the halls anymore.”
“Ah… no, it’s okay. It happens.”
Thus, their first meeting had Honda Daisuke wedged right in the middle.
As the two walked away, Kirishima Sumire turned back with a thoughtful expression.
“Cut! Arimura-san, if you can act this well, why were you like that last time?!”
“I’m sorry. I really wasn’t feeling well…”
“It’s fine. Just keep this up.”
“Yes, Director.”
The staff visibly relaxed, the tension easing noticeably.
And in that moment, only one person—Kirishima Sumire—was internally panicking.
‘In just three days… she changed this much?’
Her bewildered gaze naturally shifted to Kim Si-woo.
There, Arimura Noa was beaming proudly at him, practically bragging.
Soon, Kirishima Sumire realized the reason for the transformation was Kim Si-woo.
‘What on earth did he do?’
Now it was Kirishima Sumire’s turn to have a tangled mind.
Meanwhile, Arimura Noa felt refreshingly clear-headed.
“How was it?”
“Great.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not lying?”
“Why would I lie? And you should know better than anyone how it felt…”
“Hehe.”
Seeing Arimura Noa’s innocent, beaming smile finally let Kim Si-woo breathe a sigh of relief.
‘Well… I guess I don’t need to worry about her anymore. But why is Sumire-ssi staring like that?’
With his concern for Arimura Noa gone, Kim Si-woo now felt Kirishima Sumire’s intense gaze burning into him.
‘Seriously, one gets fixed and now the other’s the problem… Look at that guy over there, totally chill.’
Kim Si-woo glanced enviously at Honda Daisuke, who seemed utterly carefree.
Of course, that was only at first.
Things got a little complicated later.
Filming continued smoothly, fueled by the stellar performances of Kirishima Sumire and Arimura Noa.
Before long, it was lunchtime. Kim Si-woo grabbed his lunch box with the interpreter and sat at a makeshift table.
“The atmosphere on set is great today, huh?”
“Because everything’s going well.”
Kim Si-woo chatted casually with the interpreter as they started eating.
Not long after, Kirishima Sumire plopped down in the seat next to him.
“How did you do it?”
“Just talked a bit.”
“Talked? What kind of talk makes someone change that much in three days?”
“Well… that…”
“It’s our little secret.”
Arimura Noa, lunch box in hand, sat across from Kirishima Sumire and answered for him.
“Then let’s talk after filming ends.”
“No can do. Writer-nim has plans with me tonight.”
Sparks practically flew between the two.
They glared at each other, but both wore smiles.
“Both of you, stop it and eat already.”
“Tch.”
“Fine.”
The two women sharply turned their heads away and began eating.
Filming resumed and went smoothly afterward.
As time passed, Arimura Noa seemed to adapt more and more—her acting kept improving.
‘She’s definitely mood-driven…’
Watching her get better, Kim Si-woo concluded that her performance fluctuated with her emotions.
Kirishima Sumire, on the other hand, was the complete opposite: consistently excellent.
The problem was the average male lead sandwiched between two outstanding actresses.
‘I thought he’d be fine, but now he looks bland. What does the director think…?’
There was no way the director and the actresses hadn’t noticed what Kim Si-woo was seeing.
During a break, Arimura Noa approached, and Kim Si-woo spoke first.
“Noa-ssi.”
“Yes?”
His serious expression made her tense up, thinking she’d made a mistake.
“Isn’t Honda-san’s acting a bit… flat?”
“Phew… you scared me. I thought I messed up again.”
Arimura Noa let out a relieved sigh and continued.
“Well… what can we do? He’s satisfied with that level…”
“I thought he was okay last time…”
Kim Si-woo started wondering why it felt so different now.
It was because of Arimura Noa’s transformation.
Three actors.
When two are average and one is outstanding, the outstanding one stands out.
But when two are outstanding and one is average, the average one looks bland.
“The balance is off…”
After thinking for a moment, Kim Si-woo concluded that the two actresses’ brilliance was overshadowing Honda Daisuke.
“Balance?”
“Yeah. You and Sumire-ssi are so good that the remaining one can’t help but look flat…”
“Well… they’ll fix it in editing, right?”
“Sigh… the male lead is the most important in this movie.”
“Should I mention it to the director?”
“He probably already knows.”
Kim Si-woo and Arimura Noa were stuck—they couldn’t do much.
After all, they were the ones who had cast Honda Daisuke.
“Well… all we can do is pray his acting improves.”
Filming wrapped for the day. As Kim Si-woo and Arimura Noa were about to head back to the apartment, Kirishima Sumire grabbed him.
“Wait a sec. Are you two riding together?”
“Yeah… pretty much.”
“Why? Are you dating?”
“W-what?!”
Kirishima Sumire was asking Kim Si-woo, but it was Arimura Noa who panicked.
“No. Filming went well, and Noa-ssi said she’d buy me a nice dinner.”
“Then let me join.”
“What? No way.”
Arimura Noa shot Kirishima Sumire a wicked smile as she flatly refused her request to join.
“Look over there—your manager’s waiting. Hurry along, Sumire. Writer-nim and I have a busy evening planned.”
“Ugh… Manager! I’ll get home on my own today!”
Click.
Kirishima Sumire shouted and hopped right into Arimura Noa’s car.
“What the—get out!”
“No way. Let me come too. And senpai, where’s your manager? Driving alone?”
“What does it matter where my manager is? Get out of my car right now.”
“Nope. Writer-nim, can I come along? Please?”
“…”
Both women turned to Kim Si-woo with murderous glares.
“Sigh…”
Then a brilliant idea struck him. He turned to Kirishima Sumire.
“If you bring Honda-san along, I’ll allow it.”
“Really? For real?”
At his words, Kirishima Sumire jumped out of the car—and actually dragged Honda Daisuke over.
“Get in quick!”
“Huh… why?”
“I said get in!”
“O-okay…”
Honda Daisuke was unilaterally hauled into the car by Kirishima Sumire.
“Hello, senpai. And you must be… Writer-nim? Nice to meet you.”
“Hello. Wait—how did you…”
“I overheard Sumire talking about it. Was it supposed to be a secret?”
“Sigh…”
Between Kim Si-woo’s panic and Arimura Noa’s exasperated sigh, Kirishima Sumire looked a little sheepish.
“It’s fine. As long as it doesn’t spread too much.”
“Ah! Then my lips are sealed. But… why am I here…?”
“Shall we get going?”
As Arimura Noa drove toward the apartment, she explained.
“I just thought it might be nice for the leads to hang out together. Are you and Sumire-ssi close? I didn’t expect you to actually bring him.”
“Ah… we went to the same school when we were kids. Childhood friends, kinda.”
“He used to be super shy—I never imagined he’d become an actor and even win Best New Actor.”
Kim Si-woo glanced at the rearview mirror.
Kirishima Sumire was sulking out the window, while Honda Daisuke watched her quietly.
‘Hmm… unrequited love?’
For the first time in a while, Kim Si-woo flashed a mischievous grin and let his imagination run wild.
At the apartment, Honda Daisuke looked around in awe, while the two actresses bickered nonstop.
“So this is Writer-nim’s workspace…”
“So what delicious thing are you treating us to, Arimura-senpai?”
“You can pay for yourself, right? You make good money.”
“Come on, even what I earn is peanuts compared to you.”
“Enough. I’ll cover it—just tell me what you want.”
Kim Si-woo ordered everyone’s requests. Arimura Noa, a big drinker, brought out some Japanese sake.
“Can’t have a night like this without drinks.”
“When did you even…”
“I just had it stashed in the room…”
“Sigh…”
Kim Si-woo gave her an incredulous look. She apologized and promised to always bring some next time.
“But seriously, I’m dying to know… how do you make Noa-senpai totally helpless?”
Kirishima Sumire had a lot of questions, but the one burning the most was why Arimura Noa seemed so powerless around Kim Si-woo.
“Uh… maybe she wants to get more famous?”
“She’s already famous.”
“Then… money?”
“You saw how rich she is.”
“Then why?”
Everyone, including Kim Si-woo, turned to stare at Arimura Noa. She fumbled with the sake bottle, looking around nervously.
“I-I’ve never been helpless!”
Arimura Noa tried to defend herself, but her opponent was Kirishima Sumire—no excuse was getting past her.
“Maybe Writer-nim has some dirt on her? Or…”
At Kirishima Sumire’s words, Arimura Noa visibly swallowed hard.
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