Chapter 43: Make Up

“Y, Yuna?”

Jin Gyeongmun quickly took off his headset in surprise. The staff members were also taken aback. But Yuna casually shook her hands. Clang—the aluminum pot fell to the floor.

“……No.”

Lee Hijun was so baffled that he couldn’t speak. He felt more stunned than hurt.

Yuna flashed a bright, angelic smile and winked.

“Sorry. Did it hurt a lot?”

Did it hurt? Of course it did. It was a clear, sharp sound I hadn’t heard in a long time.

Hijun glanced at the atmosphere among the staff and barely managed to reply.

“Uh…… no.”

“That’s good. Director! Let’s go again. Uncle Hijun said he’ll definitely hold back even if it hurts this time. You have to accept the ad-lib for it to feel satisfying. Please!”

Some people who didn’t understand the situation seemed to think it was just a funny incident. There were occasional bursts of laughter, “Haha.”

“Yuna got too into it.”

“Is it because she’s a kid?”

Too into it? Really? Hijun kept scratching the back of his head and looked at Yuna. The child, humming a tune, checked the bandages again with Muyoung. When she caught Hijun’s eye, she smiled as if to ask, “What’s up?”

“Don’t ad-lib.”

He whispered to Yuna with a rather menacing expression. But the child opened her eyes wide and pulled on Muyoung’s collar.

With a pure yet fake expression, as if to say, “He’s so scary—.”

“Then Uncle shouldn’t hit either.”

“What?”

“Uncle hits, but I shouldn’t? That doesn’t make sense, does it?”

Yuna shot back like that, turning her head sharply. It was ambiguous—was she really doing it because of Muyoung? I definitely caught the nuance, but she didn’t say it outright.

“Yuna, take it easy.”

Jin Gyeongmun added a word as well and picked up the megaphone again.

“This scene is mostly focused on Jin and Louis, so you don’t have to hit too hard.”

“Yes! Got it, sir-!”

She gives such a crisp, clear answer.

Everyone returned to their positions for the reshoot. Hijun to the floor, Muyoung and Yuna behind the door. The staff also returned to their places.

‘Oppa, are you okay?’

Yuna pointed to her own neck and asked with her lips. Her skin was so pale that a red mark had already appeared clearly. Muyoung pretended to be sick as a joke.

‘I almost died.’

‘You look fine.’

‘……Thanks. You did that for me, right? But if we keep getting NGs, it’ll be a problem, so you don’t have to do it anymore.’

The two whispered, and Yuna’s eyes curved like a crescent moon.

‘It’s not just that.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘There is. Anyway, be careful. The set is dangerous.’

Saying something incomprehensible, Yuna poked her head through the door crack.

Of course, it was to protect Muyoung, but if it had been someone other than Hijun, she wouldn’t have gone that far.

“Alright, let’s go again!”

Hijun, who had been looking at the floor, raised his head at Jin Gyeongmun’s voice. He met Yuna’s innocent, sparkling gaze. He flinched. What’s up with her?

‘Let’s do it in one take, Uncle Hijun?’

The child’s eyes were fixed on the aluminum pot that had fallen to the floor. As an actor, I can’t tolerate putting personal emotions into a performance! I’m the star here!

“Ready—!”

‘If not, will you keep going too?’

Hijun ignored the throbbing headache and focused on his acting. That kid’s intuition isn’t like some hundred-year-old dragon or something……

‘This is so annoying—!’

But if I keep pushing here, something might really happen to the back of my head.

No, she wouldn’t keep using the pot, would she? Given her personality.

I know that fighting with a kid means you lose even if you win, and you’re totally humiliated if you lose. I know, I know!

‘But still, that brat…….’

“Action!”

At Jin Gyeongmun’s signal, Hijun frantically raked the floor again. Mixing his frustration with Muyoung and Yuna made him go crazy. Rage blazing like fire!

“F*ck—!”

“Uh, is that okay to do?”

A staff member muttered quietly. It was already the fifth take of Scene 58. And the clear sound of impact had rung out for the second time.

Clang—! Clang!

“Ahh!”

“Oh! Again! Come on. Just hold on a little longer.”

Hijun couldn’t hold back, covered the back of his head, and sat down. This time, it seemed to have hit properly. He was in a complete mess.

“Are you okay, Uncle?”

“Damn it—! Would you be okay if it were you?”

I was told not to hit with the pot, so I bit his ear once and his right arm once. I even headbutted his side. But nothing beats the pot!

“What’s Yuna doing now……”

“Is she trying to kill Hijun?”

“Oh my God.”

The staff members were starting to notice too. Every time Hijun got agitated and shook Muyoung violently, Yuna was cutting him off. Hijun and Yuna glared at each other.

‘Let’s do this, huh?’

‘You’re so stubborn! Relax your strength, or keep getting hit!’

“Wait, wait!”

I can’t watch this anymore.

The director waved both hands and called the two over. He had seen many power struggles on set, but this was a first. A fight between a man in his late twenties and a nine-year-old girl.

“Stop doing this and just follow the choreography. Stick to the plan.”

“Should we? I think that’s a good idea. Uncle Hijun can ad-lib, but he can’t take it. What do you think, Uncle?”

Swear words rose to his throat. Hijun barely held onto his sanity, knowing there were many eyes on him. The director sighed deeply and calmed the two down.

“Stunt director!”

“Yes. I was wondering when you’d call me.”

“Check the choreography again. Let’s take a break!”

The two stood sullenly. Muyoung laughed awkwardly between them. From afar, Gyeongmin made an ‘X’ with his arms, signaling not to interfere. But—

“Senior.”

“What!”

“Yuna?”

“Yeah?”

He couldn’t just stand by. After all, he was partly to blame. Muyoung grabbed both of their hands and pulled them together, as if performing a sacred ritual, very carefully.

“Stop it now, both of you.”

“What did I do? That brat started it and didn’t finish it.”

“I told you, if you’re going to ad-lib, I’ll do it too!”

“This is ridiculous!”

“Oh! Shh!”

Muyoung sighed, as if calming two mad dogs. Hijun froze with a baffled expression. What’s this, “Oh!” and “Shh!” to me?

“Senior, I know you’ve been in a bad mood all day. But you can’t take it out on me like this. What difference does it make? I’m not even involved.”

“No—”

“Yuna too. You know the staff is working hard, so don’t keep doing this. As the lead, you need to show some responsibility.”

“But……”

Then he forcibly held their hands together.

“Hurry up and make up. We have a mountain of scenes to shoot, so we can’t just stand here.”

Ugh. I don’t want to!

The two bared their front teeth and grimaced, as if something dirty had touched them. Then they pulled their hands away simultaneously. Pow!

“Hmm.”

Seeing this, Muyoung whispered in Hijun’s ear, quietly enough that the child couldn’t hear.

“If this keeps up, your head will really get a hole in it, Senior. Yuna’s the type who won’t stop once she starts. Even the director couldn’t stop her and ran away. Pretend to give in when you get a chance like this, or you’ll end up with nothing.”

Then he closed his eyes tightly and nodded. Life is full of ups and downs, isn’t it? Then, to Yuna—

“Yuna, the staff is starting to notice too. If this keeps up, only your reputation will suffer. Let’s think of something else. Knowing when to back down is what makes a true pro. I saw earlier that you got a big bump on your head.”

—And he winked. His skill at coaxing and persuading was masterful. The two, listening to Muyoung’s sweet talk, crossed their arms and glared at each other.

‘Yeah. This is enough……’

Muyoung made the two hold hands again.

“When I say one, two, three, you apologize. At the same time.”

“We’re not kids.”

“Right. This is so childish.”

They said that, but Yuna and Hijun were subtly checking each other out. Muyoung tried to hold back a smile that kept slipping out.

“One, two, three!”

“……Sorry, Uncle.”

“Yeah. Ahem!”

“What’s up? Why aren’t you saying sorry?”

“Honestly, what did I do wrong? Huh?”

“You kept grabbing Oppa Muyoung’s collar like that—!”

“It’s acting, acting!”

Oh no, it’s flaring up again.

Muyoung waved his hand as if to say it was fine and called the stunt director. The director, who had been watching from a distance, approached with a smile.

“Alright, everyone, let’s stop this and prepare for the final take with the mindset of doing it perfectly. If we go on any longer, Director Jin Gyeongmun will get angry. And when he’s angry, he’s scary. You know that, right?”

In fact, not only him but also the staff members coming and going were all glancing around, checking the situation. Muyoung grabbed Hijun’s arm and Yuna’s shoulder and brought them together.

“Then, shall we start from the beginning? We’ve already done it five times, so there’s no need to do a big retake.”

“Right.”

“Senior, try to grab me.”

Muyoung laughed, tugging at the neck of his T-shirt. Hijun reluctantly grabbed Muyoung’s collar. His touch was definitely softer than the first time.

“Then, like this, when you spin, I’ll catch you.”

“And raise your left hand.”

“Raise your hand, and protect Jaeni from the other side.”

“Then I’ll stay as far back as possible.”

The three actors, unlike before, faithfully followed the choreography without any personal emotions. The staff members watching murmured.

“Muyoung’s personality is really strange.”

“Yeah. That’s probably why Yuna follows him so well.”

“He has this weird way of calming things down.”

Hyojung felt the same way.

She propped her chin up and looked at him curiously. He seemed like someone who had just come down from a temple, or someone who had experienced all the ups and downs of life and become detached.

“Did you get it all right?”

“Yes! We’re ready.”

The director reappeared, holding a cup of coffee. Muyoung raised his hand and laughed, signaling not to worry.

“Good. Then let’s go.”

Jin Gyeongmun put on his headset and gestured. The atmosphere among the three actors was much more relaxed. Yuna kicked the aluminum pot that had fallen to the floor far away.

“Ready—! Action!”

“Okay. Cut!”

Jin Gyeongmun looked through the viewfinder and gave the okay sign.

Unlike the previous takes, the scene ended neatly, following the pre-arranged choreography. There were no unnecessary additions.

“Good job, everyone.”

Muyoung tidied up his disheveled clothes and greeted Hijun. Today’s shoot at Jaeni’s house was over. They’d meet again when the large outdoor set was completed.

“Uncle Hijun, we’ll see each other again tomorrow.”

Yuna grinned and deliberately hung onto Hijun’s arm. To others, they might look like they got along well. He forced a smile and peeled Yuna off.

“Yeah. Ha! Ha! Ha!”

“You three, come over here for a moment. I’ll adjust the schedule and give you some instructions.”

“Yes!”

The assistant director gestured for them to come over. Only Hyojung, who had already finished shooting, was sitting and waiting. She propped her chin up and looked curiously at Muyoung and Yuna.

“The wait is long. Do you have additional shooting?”

“Yeah. I’m so tired I could die. By the way, Muyoung is amazing. Did you gain a thousand troops?”

“Me? Ah.”

Hyojung, who had been watching the shoot, noticed too.

That Yuna had swung the pot for Muyoung. Muyoung laughed lightly and shrugged his shoulders.

“Yeah. I got a lot of help. Seniors are still seniors, I guess.”

She had dedicated half of her nine-year life to acting! There were very few people who had spent half their lives on set. Maybe only Director Jin Gyeongmun and the sound director?

“Take this first.”

As the actors gathered, the managers also came over and sat down. The assistant director handed over a rough schedule for the week.

Since things changed so often, they couldn’t plan too far ahead.

“The factory set will probably be completed by the day after tomorrow.”

“Wow. That’s great.”

Muyoung checked the schedule with Gyeongmin.

“Hmm? Scene 69 is scheduled?”

“Yes. It just happened that way.”

The scene where Louis dies. The latter part is all flashbacks, so the real Louis appears for the last time then. At that moment, someone appeared behind the assistant director.

“Oh. Right. Let me introduce you. This is our new lighting director—”

Muyoung looked up and his eyes widened.

“My name is Lee Taekgyeong.”

A peculiar aura, radiating brilliance like a genius.

He looked intently at Muyoung and said,

“I don’t know much else yet, but I have something to say about Scene 69.”