Chapter 86: First day of release

“Congratulations. Muyoung. You started at No. 1.”

“Wow! Thank you!”

Muyoung still looked dazed, as if he were dreaming, but his voice was loud as he exclaimed in surprise. He tapped his cheeks to wake himself up.

“I’m also going to watch it on my way home today. I need to make a late-night reservation.”

“No, you can’t. Do you know when it will end?”

“You said it would end at 9 p.m. today, right?”

“The script is behind schedule, so it’ll be later.”

Gyeongmin Ko’s words were like a bolt from the blue. Muyoung groaned and slumped forward. Filming a drama is really hard. He had heard over and over again how hard it was, but he never imagined it would be like this.

“I haven’t been home in two days already, soo-!”

“Don’t you know about Jong-gu Lee’s interview? He said he couldn’t go home for over a month.”

“Wow. That’s crazy. Why?”

“I guess so. Come on. Cheer up and take some ginseng.”

“Ugh.”

Muyoung reluctantly sucked on the ginseng drink that Gyeongmin Ko offered him.

If he didn’t drink it, his stamina wouldn’t hold up. His lifestyle was so messed up that he was getting pimples for the first time in his life.

“Hyung! Congratulations on starting at No. 1 at the box office!”

“Congratulations!”

“It’s going to be a hit! Hahaha! Let’s make ours a hit too, okay? Muyoung!”

When he stepped out of the car, the crew and Romin, who were waiting to film, greeted him.

Romin was dressed lightly. Although it was the middle of winter, the scene in the drama took place in spring when the new semester began. He just wrapped a blanket around himself to block the cold wind.

“Thank you. Romin. Hold this.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

Muyoung put a can of coffee and a hot pack in his arms. There was already plenty inside, but when it comes to this kind of thing, more is better.

“I’m also going to watch after work today. I’m going with all the members.”

“Wow, really? I’ll give you tickets.”

“I already booked them. Hyung, if you keep doing that, you’ll spend all the money you earned. Save some. Save.”

Romin laughed and opened the can. His face was pale, which didn’t look good. Was it because he was cold or tired…… Probably both?

“But I don’t know much about movies, so does the initial audience number roughly indicate the size of the performance?”

At Romin’s question, Muyoung also tilted his head and looked at Gyeongmin Ko, as if asking him to answer the question instead.

“The numbers come out, but many people look at the strength of the first week rather than the first day. Usually, 40% is captured in the first week. But there are also cases where it gains momentum through word of mouth and holds strong afterward, and cases where it collapses in the middle—but we won’t, right?”

“Right. We won’t, right?”

Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo. Don’t jinx it.

Gyeongmin Ko flicked his tongue and waved his hand.

Anyway, just starting out with the No. 1 title was an average performance. That too, for a film rated unsuitable for teenagers, on a weekday, not a weekend!

Honestly, he was worried because it was a minor genre, but this was a good start.

“But when did you start working?”

Muyoung asked, looking at Romin’s face.

“Me? Early yesterday morning.”

“Whoa. So how many hours is that?”

“18 hours. But I slept half of that time in the car too. Hyung. Come here and sit down. Watch my facial expressions while I read the script.”

The schedule was so tight, but it was actually better when you think about it. He could rest in the car. It was common for extras to stay up all night for several days in a row. Muyoung sat down in front of him and laughed.

“What should I do? I’m too nervous to watch properly.”

The drama will air in just one week!

To think that my face will be on television. I’ve experienced the screen and MeTube, but TV is new to me. Romin smiled and flipped through the script, which had no following pages.

“I wonder when the next one will come out.”

They had finished filming Miran and Doha meeting on campus and joining the same club. According to the script, the next scene should be a performance at the school festival……

“Since one comes every two days, it’ll probably take that long.”

Muyoung sighed in disappointment and laughed.

They would bring two recorded videos before the broadcast began, but at this rate, they would run out in a week. Then it would really be a live broadcast with a rough script.

“I’m scared. So scared.”

“I know. It’s like this now, but then it’ll really be—ugh.”

There’s a time limit, the script isn’t coming out, and he might have to be a fixture on set, waiting 24 hours a day. Ah! That’s what they meant when they said they couldn’t go home for a month.

“We’ll start the next shoot!”

At the staff’s instructions, Muyoung and Romin turned their heads simultaneously. Finally, the long-awaited filming was about to begin! Muyoung patted Romin on the shoulder, as if to say, “I’m counting on you.”

“I’ll get ready!”

“Muyoung, let’s fix your makeup. Come this way.”

“The power cord is caught in the angle! Remove it!”

Amidst the staff bustling about in an orderly fashion, Muyoung touched up his makeup. However, he heard an ominous voice from the assistant director.

“PD-nim. I don’t think we can use the school playground we booked.”

“What? Why?”

“The water pipes froze and they’re doing construction.”

“Aigoo. I’m going crazy. The weather is shit too. Really.”

Muyoung, who was only rolling his eyes as he listened to the conversation, perked up his ears.

“What should we do?”

“What can we do? Postpone the scene and find another location.”

“There aren’t many places with statues like that these days…… Plus, there are few parks without trees. That can’t be fixed with editing.”

At their words, Muyoung quietly turned his body.

The coordinator, who was applying lipstick, slowly followed him, saying, “Uh oh.” A park with many statues and no trees. It was probably because of the seasonal atmosphere.

“PD-nim. Are you talking about Scene 23? The one where you dance with the statues?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. That’s right.”

Doha, who went to great lengths to recruit the mermaid prince into his club. One of those efforts was a scene where he wandered between the statues like in a musical, acting silly.

“There’s a suitable place at our school.”

“Where? Seoyeon University?”

“Oh. No. High school. Just a moment.”

Muyoung searched through his phone’s gallery and showed him a picture he had taken at that time.

It was a small park built in the backyard, and the landscaping was so good that they took graduation photos there.

“It looks good. Perfect. There’s grass, but no trees.”

“What’s the name of the school?”

“Myunghwa High School.”

“Okay. Then try to book it here.”

“Yes!”

“We’ll start standby—!”

Romin approached, wondering what was going on. Muyoung just laughed and said it was nothing. It had been almost a year since he graduated, and this was his first time visiting the school. It felt strange.

‘Are they all still the same?’

Yes. It’s the same.

It’s exactly the same as my last memory.

Muyoung went back to the schoolyard with the filming team. The grass color had faded a bit, but this was no problem with editing.

“Okay. Set it up.”

“Muyoung, let’s check the route.”

There was no time to indulge in nostalgia as people moved quickly. Muyoung also joined them and focused on his work.

“But did the school readily agree to let us shoot?”

“Yeah. It’s vacation, so there are no students except for the seniors, and most importantly, they were very positive when they heard it was your shoot.”

“Oh. Really?”

He felt proud. A year ago, he was just an ordinary high school student, but now he was being introduced as an ‘actor.’ That was when it happened.

“Muyoung!”

“Huh? English teacher!”

“Oh my goodness. What a surprise!”

It was the English teacher who came by for a moment after lunch. She wasn’t the homeroom teacher, but she was a very kind person.

If he remembered correctly, she was the only one who encouraged him when he said he wanted to act.

“You look even more handsome! Oh! Romin!”

“The teacher is still the same. How have you been?”

“Congratulations on the movie release. I’m going to watch it with my husband after work today. Oh my. How strange. You.”

“Haha. Thank you. Homeroom teacher—no, Ms. Hong Myung, how is she?”

“She’s in a special class. It’ll end soon and she’ll have dinner. Can I watch?”

“Of course.”

Muyoung answered with a friendly smile.

As the lighting and sound equipment were set up and things started to fall into place, he asked for permission and stepped inside.

“How’s the route? Is it okay?”

“Yes. Start from the left, go around twice in the middle, and then go back this way. Should I take a wide shot of this and then a close-up of your face?”

“Yeah. I’ll start with a long shot first.”

“Understood. Romin, let’s get ready.”

“Yes.”

Thump, thump.

He was nervous about acting in his alma mater, in front of someone he knew. But it wasn’t an unpleasant nervousness. It was more like excitement.

“Standby—! Rolling!”

At the assistant director’s loud voice, Romin sat on the bench and picked up a book.

Romin was reading a book with a melancholy look on his face.

“Ready—! Action!”

Doha sneaked up behind him and poked his face out. Jeongmin was startled and turned around. Doha’s smile was quite mischievous.

“What do you think? Have you thought about it?”

“……!”

‘Oh my!’

The English teacher was shocked and covered her mouth with her hand. The Muyoung she remembered was not like this. His sly facial expression made him seem like a different person.

Thwack-!

Jeongmin closed the book as if to tell him to stop bothering him. Don’t annoy me. What’s a person who can’t even speak going to do on stage? But Doha didn’t give up.

He took a step back and gently grasped the outstretched hand of the statue.

“Stop playing hard to get. Okay?”

He swayed gently, as if dancing. Jeongmin ignored his words and walked away.

“Being on stage isn’t just about singing. You can say that about you. What sin did your hands commit?”

He followed him and danced with each statue. His skill of smoothly transitioning to the next statue, as if water were flowing, was superb. Thanks to current idol Romin’s special lesson.

Thwack! Thwack!

Jeongmin made a sign with his hands, cursing him to get lost. Doha laughed lazily in response. He put his chin on the statue’s shoulder and muttered.

“Look. The hands that should be playing on stage ended up with a bad owner and are cursing. You shouldn’t use him like that.”

Romin’s face turned bright red. It was a complex expression of anger, annoyance, and embarrassment.

The director, who was looking through the viewfinder, laughed. Hmm. Nice angle!

“I know. Someone who’s experienced the taste of the stage even once can never live an ordinary life.”

Muyoung ran his fingers along the statue’s jawline. He put his hand under the chin and looked at Jeongmin arrogantly.

“So just give in and come over.”

“…….”

“I’ll show you that amazing taste again. Put my name, Meryl Kelly, on it. Work with me.”

Saying that, Doha sat on the bench and crossed his legs arrogantly, like a king. In this garden, he was the king, and the statues around him seemed like decorations set up for him.

Doha, who was smiling, winked with one eye.

“Okay, cut!”

“Ugh. It’s so embarrassing to do this without music.”

“Embarrassing? You said it was embarrassing? Just now?”

“You were shamelessly good at it.”

As soon as the cut sign came out, Muyoung covered his face and crouched down. Romin and the staff burst into helpless laughter.

“Did the camera catch that?”

“What kind of question is that! Come on. Get up. We need to get a close-up of your face.”

“Uh-black. I have to do this a few more times.”

Muyoung laughed as he scratched his hot neck.

The English teacher was among the staff, her eyes wide open. When their eyes met, she gave him two thumbs up.

“Whoaaaa! It’s Ha Muyoung!”

“Senior! You’re so cool-!”

And at that moment, the special class must have ended, because students gathered at the corridor window, poking their faces out. It was an all-boys school, so there were nothing but deep voices.

“Thank you-!”

Muyoung waved his hand playfully in response.

Among them, he saw some familiar faces. They were homeroom and subject teachers, including the principal.

Muyoung bowed his head politely and greeted them.

‘I’m here!’

It wasn’t just Ha Muyoung, but actor Ha Muyoung who had returned. The child they had worried about was doing well.

“Muyoung! Standby!”

“Yes!”

Muyoung smiled brightly and turned his back.

Was it because of the bright sunlight? Or was it because of the gaze of his alma mater’s people watching him? Even though it was a cold day, Muyoung wasn’t cold.

“Let’s go!”

“Standby!”

He was hot with excitement instead.