Chapter 161: An Unfortunate Girl and a Lucky Boy (4)
The set was even busier than usual.
For Lee Yoo-jin, who had never directly led a film shoot before, and for the staff as well—who were also experiencing leading something themselves for the first time—everything felt especially cautious and nerve-wracking.
“Over there, dim the lights a bit.”
“Yes!”
Lee Yoo-jin was so busy paying attention to every single detail that she barely had a moment to breathe.
“She looks so busy I can’t even talk to her…”
Kim Si-woo, who had come to the set for the first day of shooting, saw how hectic Lee Yoo-jin and the Siwoo Film team looked and was about to head over to the actors—but they were just as busy.
“…”
They were all deeply focused on script practice, holding their copies.
Except for Choi Do-hyun.
In the end, not wanting to approach Choi Do-hyun, Kim Si-woo simply sat down in a chair and watched the set.
About thirty minutes later, it seemed the preparations were finally complete. Lee Yoo-jin called the actors over with an anxious expression.
“Then… shall we start?”
“Yes!”
As if to ease Lee Yoo-jin’s worries, the actors answered with confident faces and stepped in front of the camera.
“Phew… I’m shaking.”
“Nervous? Should I call some other directors right now?”
“No. I still have to do this. Even if it flops, the writer said he’d take responsibility.”
“Right. I’ll take responsibility, so don’t freak out.”
At Kim Si-woo’s words, strength returned to Lee Yoo-jin’s shoulders.
She soon finished mentally preparing herself and picked up the megaphone.
“Scene 13. Ready… Action!”
For the first time, Lee Yoo-jin’s voice rang out, announcing the start of the film shoot.
Once filming began, the actors each performed the acting they had prepared.
“Hey! They say if you bully her, you’ll pick up money on the street?”
“Really?”
A few Siwoo Film actors were chatting among themselves about Hong Soo-yeon, who was sitting in a corner of the school classroom.
“I heard the kid who slapped her last time suddenly got way better mock-exam scores. After that, every test period, people started paying to slap her?”
“Creepy… Should I try it too? They’re doing a raffle for new shoes this time.”
“Go for it. I’m telling you it’s real.”
After talking among themselves, one of the Siwoo Film actors was about to throw some trash at her when the front door of the classroom slid open.
Screeeech.
“What are you all doing? Sit down!”
“Ah… damn.”
Thanks to the homeroom teacher’s appearance, the actor who was about to throw the trash went back to his seat.
The homeroom teacher spent homeroom period talking about this and that, and before long, the break time between homeroom and first period arrived.
“And you. Come to the staff room for a second.”
“Yes.”
The homeroom teacher was taking Hong Soo-yeon to the staff room.
“Cut!”
Once Hong Soo-yeon and the homeroom teacher left the classroom, the first shoot wrapped up safely.
“Phew…”
“Haa…”
Both Lee Yoo-jin and the Siwoo Film actors let out sighs of relief now that the first take was over.
“Why were you all so tense?”
“Because we were shaking. This is our debut film, after all…”
“Are web dramas just decorations to you?”
“That’s the same thing!”
The Siwoo Film actors got heated and shot back at Kim Si-woo’s teasing.
“I could see the nervousness all the way through the camera.”
“…”
But hit with the brutal fact, the Siwoo Film actors had no comeback.
“No, for a first try, you did well. This time don’t shake—let’s go again.”
“Yes.”
In the end, they had to shoot the very first scene more than ten times before moving on to the next one.
Even after that, filming took quite a long time.
Perhaps because it was their first commercial film and they really wanted to do well, Lee Yoo-jin didn’t let even the smallest mistake slide.
Fortunately, when it was just Choi Do-hyun and Hong Soo-yeon filming together, they didn’t need many takes.
Their acting was flawless.
“Get your act together!!!”
Occasionally, Lee Yoo-jin would raise her voice.
Usually, that happened when Siwoo Film actors got so absorbed in Hong Soo-yeon and Choi Do-hyun’s performance that they forgot their own lines.
Time passed like that, and when it reached 1 p.m., the catering truck that had been reserved in advance arrived.
“It’s already lunchtime.”
“Everyone, let’s eat and then continue.”
A banner supporting Lee Yoo-jin was hanging on the catering truck.
“Let’s take a photo before we eat.”
With Lee Yoo-jin in the center, all the actors lined up beside her and took a group photo.
“During the shoot, we’ll do this once for each of you, so when we take the picture, send it to your parents.”
“Yes!”
When they heard that Siwoo Film had arranged the catering truck and banners for them, the actors’ voices suddenly got much louder.
In truth, aside from their parents, the only person who would send them a catering truck was Kim Si-woo.
Their fan clubs weren’t big enough yet for fans to do something like that.
Since the catering truck was reserved every shooting day anyway for meals, Kim Si-woo had also pre-ordered banners with their names changed every day—to boost the morale of the actors working at Siwoo Film.
A banner with their own name on it, plus photos taken together with famous actors, were perfect for posting on their SNS and for showing off to their parents.
“As expected, Siwoo Film has the best welfare, right?”
“When’s my turn coming….”
It seemed like everyone was just waiting for the day their own name would appear on the banner.
“Hey! Snap out of it. You know shooting comes first, right? I could see how nervous you all were even through the camera.”
“Sorry.”
Lee Yoo-jin poured cold water on the excited actors’ moods, and their expressions immediately turned gloomy again.
As expected from someone who used to be a university TA, she had overwhelming charisma.
With this level of control, even if she wasn’t fully confident, it felt reassuring that the set would run smoothly.
A good atmosphere was nice, but what mattered more was the quality of the film.
Doing well with a good atmosphere versus doing poorly with a good atmosphere was like heaven and earth.
After lunch ended, filming resumed following Lee Yoo-jin’s instructions.
Time passed, the sun set, and shooting wrapped up for the day.
When it was time for everyone to leave, the staff and actors cleaned up the equipment together and boarded the buses.
“Most of us are from the same agency, so it’s convenient.”
Cleanup went much faster, and everything was solved by renting just two buses for transportation.
‘Most of them don’t even have managers or cars yet…’
Perhaps because it was the first day and they had been extremely tense, most of the actors and staff were either dozing off or fully asleep on the ride back.
“Oppa, you’re not coming starting tomorrow?”
Hong Soo-yeon, sitting in the seat next to him, didn’t seem sleepy at all. With clear, bright eyes, she looked at Kim Si-woo and asked.
“Hmm… Unless there’s a big problem, there’s not really much I can do by being here.”
“I… think you’re helpful, though…”
“What?”
Hong Soo-yeon lowered her head and spoke very quietly. Kim Si-woo asked again, but she didn’t answer and changed the subject instead.
“Nothing. Still… please come visit often.”
“I’ll try.”
And with that, the first day of shooting came to a safe end.
When Kim Si-woo got home, he saw Arimura Noa completely exhausted on the sofa.
“You haven’t even showered and you’re just sitting on the couch?”
“Writer-nim…”
“Yeah?”
“Korean people are too intense…”
Arimura Noa, who had recently started working, was lamenting how harshly she was experiencing Korean work culture.
Overtime was standard, and she couldn’t keep up with the speed at which the employees handled tasks—even though she was the boss—so her stamina was dropping rapidly.
“Well… yeah, that’s true. Everyone lives in a rush here.”
Even Kim Si-woo, who might look like a slacker in Korea, becomes average or even a bit fast when he goes to other countries.
“They do in half a day what takes three days in Japan?”
“…”
“Even when I give them vacation, some people ask for more money and keep working…”
“…”
Since they were all realistic stories, Kim Si-woo just nodded and comforted Arimura Noa.
“Anyway… did the first day of shooting go well?”
“Yeah. The start wasn’t bad, so that’s a relief. Still, since it’s everyone’s first time, they were all super nervous.”
“That’s normal. Haha.”
“Then I’m going to shower first.”
“Okay~.”
Leaving Arimura Noa and Hong Soo-yeon behind, Kim Si-woo headed off to shower first.
***
A few days later, when the weekend arrived, Kim Si-woo took Kim Da-on with him to the set.
Since she was an elementary school student, he judged that it would be better for her to concentrate filming on weekends rather than weekdays.
Of course, for Kim Da-on—who just wanted to play—he promised to buy her presents to make up for it.
“The better Da-on does today, the faster we finish. Then we’ll have more time for oppa to take you shopping for presents, right?”
“Yes!”
At the word “present,” Kim Da-on tightly pressed her small lips together.
“Come here, Da-on. Let’s do your makeup.”
“Yes!”
While Kim Da-on went off to get her makeup done, Kim Si-woo greeted the people around and approached Jung Pil-gyu, who would be doing the most scenes with Kim Da-on.
“Actor Jung.”
“Yes, Writer-nim.”
“Don’t go easy on her just because she’s a kid. If you do, she’ll eat you alive.”
“…Yes.”
At Kim Si-woo’s serious tone, Jung Pil-gyu swallowed hard.
“And for the action parts… we’ll use a doll as a substitute.”
“Understood.”
“Then I’ll leave her in your hands.”
A short while later, once Kim Da-on’s makeup was finished, she came running over to Kim Si-woo in a hurry.
“Oppa! All done!”
“Really? Let me see… Did it turn out well?”
Kim Si-woo carefully inspected Kim Da-on’s makeup.
Bruises on her face and body.
Tattered clothes.
Disheveled hair—all the way down to the perfect look of an abused child.
“It looks good. We can start shooting now.”
“Really? Let’s finish quickly and go eat something delicious.”
“Okay.”
Kim Da-on was full of anticipation, already thinking about dinner with Kim Si-woo and buying toys after the acting was done.
“Then we’ll begin. Da-on, you start over here.”
“Yes~.”
At Lee Yoo-jin’s words, Kim Da-on stood on the semi-basement set and began preparing to immerse herself emotionally.
Seeing her up close, Jung Pil-gyu got goosebumps.
Even though she was just a child, the atmosphere around her shifted in an instant.
It felt eerily similar to Choi Do-hyun.
‘Ah… oh no.’
Even though Kim Si-woo had warned him, Jung Pil-gyu had been momentarily distracted by Kim Da-on and hurriedly pulled himself together.
He broke out in a cold sweat at the thought that, without Kim Si-woo’s advice, he might have kept staring at her and made a mistake.
‘That was close.’
Fortunately, after successfully getting into character, Jung Pil-gyu exchanged lines with Kim Da-on and continued the scene. When Lee Yoo-jin called “Cut!”, he let out a long breath.
“Phew…”
“How was it?”
After the shoot ended, Kim Si-woo walked over and asked Jung Pil-gyu for his thoughts.
“Honestly… it feels like I’m seeing the future of Korean cinema. My back is drenched in sweat right now.”
“That’s what happens when the greatest talent gets the greatest teacher.”
While Kim Si-woo was talking with Jung Pil-gyu, Kim Da-on, who was standing nearby, tugged at Kim Si-woo’s pants as if asking for some attention too.
“Oppa! Did I do well?”
“Yeah, you did great. But Da-on… there’s something more important than just doing well.”
“Working hard? But I always work hard!”
Kim Si-woo scratched his head at Kim Da-on’s response.
He was flustered by an answer that didn’t sound like it came from a ten-year-old at all.
What Kim Da-on said was certainly true, but it wasn’t what Kim Si-woo wanted to tell her.
“Of course doing well and working hard are good, but you can think about those things a little later. The most important thing is whether you enjoy acting and find it fun. So, Da-on, do you like acting?”
At Kim Si-woo’s question, Kim Da-on answered immediately.
“I like acting. Because I got to meet oppa through acting, I get to eat delicious food, and I make a lot of money.”
“Money?”
“Yeah. Uncle Do-hyun said that among all the kids, I have the most money! He said with that much, I could buy more than a hundred plates of tonkatsu…”
“…”
Kim Si-woo glared at Choi Do-hyun, who had just spilled the secret he’d been trying to keep.
He had told her there would be an appearance fee, but he’d kept the exact amount a secret.
“Ahaha…”
Choi Do-hyun gave an awkward laugh and quickly slipped away from his seat. Kim Si-woo let out a sigh.
“Sigh… Anyway, Da-on. You’ll get the money when you’re a bit older.”
“Okay. I’m fine with that.”
Looking at the mature little girl, Kim Si-woo gently patted her head. He silently decided he’d give Choi Do-hyun a proper scolding later.
**************
TL Note:
This novel is fully completed.
You can either:
- Unlock this novel individually through shop or its Collection “Genius Writer” and access remaining 15 chapters for only $3
- Or join the Premium Tier ($7) for access to all 6 novels and ongoing updates
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
**************