Chapter 166: Cleanup (1)
A few people who understood the depth of Lee Yoo-jin’s feelings looked at her with pity when they saw the hug.
But a few others didn’t.
‘Ah, youth.’
‘I wish someone would hug me too…’
“Ooh~ Si-woo hyung-nim~.”
Among them, Choi Do-hyun openly teased them out loud.
The dinner party began after that, and Kim Si-woo went around to each staff member one by one, thanking them for their hard work and handing out generous bonuses.
Nothing motivated office workers quite like a bonus.
“I’m going to bury my bones at this company.”
“Seriously… coming to Siwoo Film feels like the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.”
“I’m buying a new bag with this.”
In an instant, the staff’s morale shot through the roof.
“Hyung-nim. What about me?”
“What?”
“Don’t I get a bonus?”
“You’re not an employee or even an actor at our company. And actors already get paid appearance fees—what bonus are you talking about?”
“Still, I’m broke. The moment I earn anything, I send it to the orphanage and the theater troupe to feed the starving kids…”
“That’s your personal situation. Later I’ll pack some meat for you to take home—take that at least.”
“Thank you, hyung-nim.”
“And make sure you tell them I bought it.”
Choi Do-hyun shamelessly demanded a bonus even though he wasn’t part of Siwoo Film.
Of course Kim Si-woo refused, but since he was doing good deeds, he gave him beef as a gift instead of money.
After all, it was true that he had been helpful for this movie.
As the dinner went on, people got drunk and started spilling what was really on their minds.
“Hey! Honestly, I knew those guys were trouble from the moment they started acting all high and mighty even though their acting was just so-so.”
“They should’ve been cut way earlier. Honestly, the only reason they lasted this long is because it was Writer-nim. Any other agency wouldn’t have put up with them.”
“Exactly. Their faces look like gorillas and they call that ‘manly’… ugh, it makes me nauseous.”
Most of the conversation was backbiting about the actors who had left Siwoo Film.
“Oppa, are you okay?”
“Well… aside from the workload suddenly exploding, yeah, I’m fine.”
“I’ll help out whenever I have time too.”
“You’re an actor—what help? Focus on practicing your acting more.”
Hong Soo-yeon sat next to Kim Si-woo and kept expressing her concern.
“I’ll help too.”
“Actor Jung, go home and help your wife. It must be tough with the kid.”
“Ah… yes…”
Jung Pil-gyu also offered to help, but he didn’t even get a proper response before being turned down.
“Ji-yoo-ssi and I will handle the work, so everyone just focus on doing your own jobs well.”
“And today, let’s just enjoy ourselves. It’s been a while since we had a proper company dinner.”
Lee Yoo-jin smiled and poured more liquor into Kim Si-woo’s glass.
***
The dinner party ended safely, and everyone went back to their busy schedules.
Kim Si-woo, together with Hwang Ji-yoo, reviewed the flood of incoming actor profiles and went around meeting them.
Lee Yoo-jin and the rest of the filming team had to resume shooting.
Whether because the troublemakers were gone or thanks to the dinner and bonuses, the pace of filming suddenly picked up considerably.
With Hwang Ji-yoo’s help, the time it took to select actors was drastically reduced, and Kim Si-woo’s workload lightened quickly.
“So you want to make a cameo appearance?”
“Yes!”
And right now, the three Japanese actors were trailing behind Kim Si-woo like little ducklings.
“A cameo, huh…”
There were already more than ten cameos lined up for Kim Si-woo’s movie.
Adding three more would put him in a slightly awkward position.
“It’s not a bad idea… I’ll think about it more and let you know.”
Even at Kim Si-woo’s vague answer, the three Japanese actors squealed and spun around in circles.
“More importantly, you two have been in Korea for quite a while now—when are you going back?”
“We’re planning to stay at least another month?”
“…”
“By the way, when are we going out to play again?”
Because of the filming site issues, he had completely forgotten about Kirishima Sumire and Honda Daisuke and left them unattended.
“I’ll make time once this is all over… Sorry.”
“Hahahaha. Getting an apology from Writer-nim himself.”
Kirishima Sumire burst into loud laughter upon receiving Kim Si-woo’s apology.
“Fine, I’ll just redo the Japanese drama casting…”
“Aaah! Writer-nim, I was wrong!”
The moment her livelihood was threatened, Kirishima Sumire immediately tucked her tail between her legs.
A few days later, after finally wrapping up all the loose ends, Kim Si-woo arrived at an amusement park in Yongin together with the three Japanese actors, Hong Soo-hyuk, and Kim Da-on.
“So this is a Korean amusement park…”
“There are better ones in Japan, though.”
“But the vibe is different, right?”
The land of manga—Japan.
It had world-famous theme parks, and even Kim Si-woo had visited them often while he was in Osaka.
“Besides, it’s not about where you go—it’s about who you go with. Look at the kids’ faces.”
At Kirishima Sumire’s words, Kim Si-woo turned his head and saw Hong Soo-hyuk and Kim Da-on beaming up at him with bright smiles.
“Yeah… you’re right.”
“Alright! We’ve got the unlimited passes, so let’s go!”
Kirishima Sumire took the lead and moved the group exactly according to the plan she had prepared.
From roller coasters to flume rides, bumper cars, and even a safari tour—everything was perfectly arranged so both adults and children could enjoy themselves without anything missing.
They bought snacks in between, rode attractions, and before they knew it, it was already time to head back.
On the way home, everyone was carrying armfuls of souvenirs in both hands.
“Sumire’s taste is cuter than I expected?”
“W-what?!”
In the car on the way back, Arimura Noa smiled as she watched Kirishima Sumire carefully naming the cute animal plushies she had bought as if they were treasures.
While the two bickered, Kim Da-on was dropped off at the orphanage.
Hong Soo-hyuk went to his own home.
And the rest arrived at Kim Si-woo’s house.
“So… shall we start round two today?”
At Kirishima Sumire’s suggestion, Kim Si-woo looked at her with tired eyes and spoke.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“Nope. I’m not tired at all.”
Despite the huge mistake she had made last time, Kirishima Sumire still wanted to drink—and pulled out an expensive bottle of liquor from Kim Si-woo’s cabinet.
Maybe what she really wanted wasn’t just alcohol, but expensive alcohol.
“Come on, let’s quickly strengthen our friendship. Though it seems like someone here doesn’t consider it friendship…”
As if getting revenge for what happened in the car, Kirishima Sumire smiled while looking at Arimura Noa.
“Ugh…”
Arimura Noa, embarrassed, alternated glances between Kim Si-woo and Kirishima Sumire before gritting her teeth and lowering her head.
“Sigh… stop fighting and let’s just drink lightly. Don’t get wasted like last time.”
“Of course! Right, Daisuke?”
“Huh? Uh… yeah.”
Contrary to Kim Si-woo’s hopes, the three of them—excluding him—got drunk quickly.
“Hey! So why are you two still using formal speech~?”
Kirishima Sumire, already flushed from alcohol, glared at Kim Si-woo with a face full of dissatisfaction.
“That’s something we’ll handle ourselves.”
“Handle it yourselves? Ugh! You’re gonna be stuck with formal speech forever at this rate.”
“Sumire… you’re drunk. Hold on.”
Honda Daisuke, who was relatively less drunk, tried to stop Kirishima Sumire, but she was unstoppable.
“Daisuke. Don’t stop me.”
“Ah… okay.”
No—he was just too weak.
Kirishima Sumire’s rampage continued.
She did her absolute best to subtly push Arimura Noa and Kim Si-woo together.
She kept praising how pretty Arimura Noa was and spilled stories about how she had been hit on by male celebrities in Japan.
But the more she bragged on Arimura Noa’s behalf, the redder the actual person’s face became.
“Hey! Stop it. You’re drunk. Go to bed right now. Daisuke, take her away.”
“Ah… yes.”
Just as Honda Daisuke was trying to lift Kirishima Sumire up, the front door opened, and a familiar voice rang out.
“I’m home.”
“You’re back?”
“Huh? What the—!”
Hong Soo-yeon pointed accusingly at the four people drinking.
“Why are you all drinking again without me?!!”
“Ah? Soo-yeon-ssi, hello.”
When Hong Soo-yeon shouted in frustration, Kirishima Sumire recognized her, walked over, and extended her hand with a greeting.
“Uh… uh, hello.”
“Come, come, sit over here quickly.”
“Ah… yes.”
Embarrassed by her own outburst, Hong Soo-yeon was pulled by Kirishima Sumire’s hand and ended up sitting directly across from Kim Si-woo.
“So, Soo-yeon-ssi, do you like Writer-nim too?”
“Huh? What?”
At the sudden question, Hong Soo-yeon panicked, but Kirishima Sumire narrowed her eyes knowingly, as if she already knew the answer.
“Nothing~ Hehe.”
At first, when Kirishima Sumire had smiled and greeted her, Hong Soo-yeon thought she seemed like a decent person—but that opinion changed very quickly.
After that, as if showing off, Kirishima Sumire doubled down on trying to pair Arimura Noa with Kim Si-woo.
Or more precisely, she was trying to exclude Hong Soo-yeon from the running entirely.
“Writer-nim. Who do you prefer—older women, same age, or younger?”
“Me? Hmm… I don’t really care.”
“Then what’s the maximum age gap you’d accept?”
“About 10 years?”
“10 years? Wow… if she’s 10 years younger, that means when Writer-nim was in high school, she’d be 7 years old. Total thief.”
At Kirishima Sumire’s words, Kim Si-woo scratched his head as if thinking for a moment, and Hong Soo-yeon’s expression darkened.
Anyone could see that Kirishima Sumire’s comment was a direct jab at her.
But soon Kim Si-woo finished “thinking” and spoke.
“Then isn’t that a good thing?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, if she’s young and pretty, what’s the downside?”
“Ugh… Writer-nim is the worst. Low-class. Pervert.”
“…”
Kim Si-woo was dumbfounded by Kirishima Sumire’s insults, but Hong Soo-yeon’s expression brightened instead.
Seeing that, Kirishima Sumire immediately switched to promoting Arimura Noa.
“Noa-unnie is perfect both as a girlfriend and as a wife. Unnie, if you start dating, are you going to quit the company?”
“Huh? I’d have to quit, yeah…”
Kirishima Sumire looked flustered at the completely opposite answer from what she wanted.
“No, you should spend time with your boyfriend.”
“Wouldn’t he dislike it more if I neglected my responsibilities? It’d look irresponsible. And anyway… I can just take a short break when I have kids.”
“Exactly.”
“I think so too.”
Contrary to Kirishima Sumire’s intentions, Kim Si-woo nodded in satisfaction at Arimura Noa’s response.
‘Well… did it work out? I thought Writer-nim would prefer someone who takes care of the house…’
Kirishima Sumire’s thinking had been correct, but it was only her wishful thinking.
In the end, the atmosphere wrapped up more warmly than expected. The next day, naturally, Kirishima Sumire was dragged off by Arimura Noa for a long scolding.
***
Time passed, and the film shoot progressed rapidly. The cameos were also completed.
An incredible lineup of actors made cameo appearances: Shim Ji-young, Park Jun-ho, Kim Ji-hyun, Arimura Noa, Park Seung-hwan, Ha Seung-woo, Lee Ok-ja, Choi Seung-yong—and even Park Se-yong and Park Woong-deok showed up.
“Director-nim. Thank you.”
“If you’re grateful, let’s work on the next movie together. My wife’s already nagging me to hurry up and earn money.”
After wandering around for a while, Park Woong-deok approached Kim Si-woo again and boldly asked for the script.
“Well… if Director-nim takes it on, I’d be grateful.”
“Right? By the way, who are those people?”
“Ah… actors I got to know in Japan.”
“Oho… going global now, huh? As expected from my disciple.”
“Huh? I’m a writer, not a director.”
“Same difference.”
Talking with Park Woong-deok after so long felt quite warm and nostalgic to Kim Si-woo.
“More importantly, Director Lee Yoo-jin’s skills have improved a lot.”
“It’s all thanks to the directors. Since you’re here today, how about we grab a meal together? My treat.”
“Sure. There’s a spicy fish stew place nearby that I like…”
Kim Si-woo gathered all the cameo actors and directors, along with everyone on set, and headed to the restaurant Park Woong-deok recommended.
And so, filming wrapped up smoothly.
But for Kim Si-woo, a new trial was just beginning.
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