慈禧太后的秘密

Chapter 676

“Cut, we’ll flip around and start again.”

After hearing producer Park Hoon’s words, Kang Giwoo and Ahn Yeseul, who were looking at each other nervously, relaxed their facial muscles and smiled. When their faces, which looked like they were about to touch, moved apart, the makeup artists approached and fixed their makeup. It was 6 p.m. and the heat had cooled down somewhat, but due to the lights and the heated air, the actors were still filled with sweat.

“Just how many times are we going to do the kiss scene? They should just get it done already,” Dongho complained as he sat down.

As this was an important scene where their romantic feelings were reaching their peak, the shooting time was becoming long. Maru received a cup of iced water from Dongho. Half of the ice had melted already. Wasn’t it too hot for September?

“It must be because it’s their first time.”

“If it was me, I would’ve hugged her and just!”

“That’s why you’re no good. Nervously twitching, just barely touching, heart throbbing - that’s the feeling you should go with. Are you going to push her onto the bed during your first kiss?”

“Just saying.”

Maru drank the cold water. He felt like the hot air filling his body was going away somewhat.

“It’s hot. You should’ve waited inside. Why are you suffering all the way out here?”

“Because it’s stuffy inside. Plus, even though it’s melting temperature if you’re under the sun, it’s somewhat cooler in the shade.”

Maru pointed at the sunroof installed over the stands in the school field.

“If you’re all gone, what would I do by myself?”

When he turned around, he saw Joomin standing there. She was moving her fan busily and was watching the shooting location, which was about 10 meters away.

“It’s still that scene?”

“They flipped the camera now, so it should end soon.”

“They’re sure taking their time. Looks like a kiss scene is hard after all.”

The three of them sat down side by side. Just as the camera location changed and they thought that the shoot was going to resume, someone from the shooting location ran over to them. It was a staff member from the progression team.

“Uhm, the camera director asked you to move away because you’re in the frame.”

Leaving behind those words, he ran back to the scene. Maru picked up his bottle of water before leaving the stand. It was definitely hotter outside the shade.

“If you aren’t going to go inside the classroom, we should go there. It looks better over there.”

Joomin pointed at the platform. They walked around the stand on top of the platform. They subconsciously smiled when they felt the slab of concrete that was cool due to the shade, touching their butts.

“It’s much clearer from over here.”

Dongho grabbed the banisters and stood up. Right below was the camera that was doing the shoot. Giwoo and Yeseul, who were staring at each other on the stand, slowly pushed their upper bodies towards each other. When Yeseul flinched back and was about to pull away, Giwoo grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.

“Cut. Yeseul, you’re too hurried when you’re pulling back. You’re already set on him, okay? You’re hesitating only because you lack the courage to take that final step; you are fully willing to take that step. That’s how your character is feeling in this scene. But right now, you’re pulling away like you clearly don’t want it to happen.”

“I’m sorry. Let’s do that again.”

“I’m giving you a lot of directions today. This isn’t good. I’m interfering only because I feel like the whole day wouldn’t be enough if I left you to your own devices. Understood?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Straighten out the clothes of the actors and redo their makeup! Let’s do it again after drinking some water.”

Producer Park Hoon spoke as he waved a rolled-up script over his head.

“The producer is serious today. He’s so sensitive. Is it because of the weather?” Dongho wondered as he turned around.

“I heard that he’s on the edge because he’s preparing for his new work.”

Joomin said that as she looked at the producer standing below the platform.

“Noona, is that true?”

“I’m not sure. I kinda overheard it from some people, so I can’t be sure if it’s true or not.”

“The producer’s doing this, isn’t he? Is it possible to do two dramas at the same time?”

“Probably not. If it’s true that he’s preparing to do a new one, he’ll probably be preparing for the one after New Semester. But hey, that’s not the important thing here. When are we going to do our shoot?”

Joomin sighed.

“At this rate of NGs, we’ll probably have to wait another hour or so.”

“I only have one scene today, yet I’ve been waiting for three hours for it. Whenever this happens, I always resolve that I should become a popular actress. It would be great if I can set the shoot to match my schedule.”

“I want to get that kind of treatment too,” Maru said as he looked at Giwoo and Yeseul, who were getting ready for the shoot.

“Oh, right. Maru, I heard that you’re starting a new drama tomorrow?”

“Yes. The first shoot is tomorrow.”

“That sounds good. You’re part of the main cast, aren’t you?”

“I guess things turned out that way.”

“A main character of a one-act play, huh. I wonder if you will suddenly become popular and your importance in New Semester will rise as a result.”

“No way. There are main characters already, so what would the viewers say if a side character suddenly rose up?”

“You never know what will happen with today’s dramas. You know that weekend drama that ended a while ago right? Viewers kept posting on the bulletin board begging not to kill that one side character, and the writer changed the script in the end. There were so many people who said that they wouldn’t watch the drama if that character died, so the production staff should have been in a fix too.”

“Looks like that supporting actor was popular.”

“He’s the Terrius[1] of ahjummas. My mom also never left the TV since she was watching that drama on weekend nights.”

“Terrius, huh. That sounds good. There’s nothing better than being an actor loved by the viewers.”

“As a bonus, you get more popularity too.”

“And get paid more.”

Dongho shushed them and pointed down. The shoot was resuming. Stand by! - Along with a loud shout, the atmosphere at the scene became tense again. The camera started rolling, and the kiss scene of the two followed that. However, silence didn’t last long. An unwanted guest crossed the skies.

“We’ll do it again once the plane goes past!”

It seemed that the shoot was going to get delayed today - Maru thought as he followed the plane with his eyes.

* * *

She felt good in the morning. This was her first time shooting a commercial. It didn’t have that important of a meaning, but a ‘first time’ was always exciting after all. When she left her house with her uniform in her bag and when she got on the train, she was looking forward to the shot, but now that the sun was setting, she only wished to finish the shoot as soon as possible. The joy and excitement had long since disappeared.

“Okay then. Let’s shoot that again. Student roles, please get ready.”

Hearing the word ‘ready’, Gaeul pushed herself up by pressing on her knees. Other people next to her also sighed and went to their designated positions. She wanted to admire the Han river during sunset, but the moment she saw the rail right next to her, she came to her senses. She had to run again, with all her might, that is.

Initially, after hearing that she just needed to run, she thought that it was something simple that didn’t require her to act, but that was a mistake. She gulped and exercised her wrists and ankles. Ever since she saw a boy running with her fall over, she consciously tried to loosen her muscles. The boy that fell over went home. The reason was that his injured knees weren’t aesthetically pleasing.

“There, there. The sun is setting. If we miss this opportunity, we won’t get another one. Let’s just work hard for another hour,” the director said.

One hour. He said those same words when they were running under the scorching sun. Gaeul closed her eyes before opening them again. Bring it on.

“It’s so hard,” said a girl standing next to her.

She looked young, but apparently, she was in college. The school uniform she was wearing was given to her by a staff member. Around thirty people lined up into lines. Gaeul was in the front line.

“Over there! Front row! Don’t make a tired expression when you run. Smile! We only shot for two hours. You got plenty of rest, so I’m not accepting tired faces!”

It seemed that the director didn’t care that they\'d been running for those two hours. Gaeul re-tied her shoelaces. She didn’t hear what this advertisement was about. The only thing she heard about the ad was that the theme was ‘youths energetically running to their future’. Gaeul looked at instructor Choi Gyeonmi who had a sleepy expression next to the director. Follow the director as much as possible - her expression seemed to be saying. She came to her during the break and told her this: Not all shoots treat the actors properly, so try experiencing what it’s like to shoot under harsh treatment.

“I wanna go home!”

That voice was loud enough for all of the thirty people to hear.

Gaeul chuckled and looked at Lee Heewon, who was standing at the far left of the front row. Unlike everyone else, who was standing up and getting ready, Heewon was still sitting and putting his hands on the ground as though he wanted to become one with the ground.

“Lee Heewon, we’re going to run again now,” Gaeul said.

Heewon looked at the instructor with resentment. He took the bait of ‘an easy advert’, but it seemed that he might use up a week’s worth of energy here.

“Well then, ready! Cue!”

Along with the director’s cue sign, Gaeul started running. The camera in front of her slid across the rails as it moved backwards. The whole shoot consisted of just chasing that camera from a certain distance. It was simple but definitely not easy.

“Hey, hey, hey! Number three! I told you not to frown, didn’t I!”

The director never used polite speech. He looked like he was more than willing to swear at a person he never met before. The runners all stopped and returned to their original positions.

The director, who was sitting in front of the monitor, stood up and walked over. Gaeul looked at the director while suppressing her panting.

“Front row. Do you lack understanding? You need to show the vision of looking forward to tomorrow. You’re going home after passing the test for a famous college exam. You might be out of breath, but your expressions must look excited. I passed. This isn’t a dream, right? What do I say to my family when I get home? How proud will my mom be? - all sorts of emotions must cross your mind making you forget that you’re running out of breath! Also, don’t laugh like a fool. Who laughs like that when they’re running?”

The director listed a bunch of requirements before turning around. When the director walked away, people started swearing. Idiot, why don’t you try running? - these words were the most gentle and nice-sounding out of all of those words.

“Hey, Han Gaeul,” Heewon called.

Gaeul turned to look at him.

“What?”

“I was just wondering if you were still alive.”

“I am.”

“Tell me if you’re too tired.”

Oh? - Gaeul narrowed her eyes before she heard what Heewon added.

“Because I’ll tell you, I have it even harder. I’m dying, goddammit!”

Heewon was practically about to cry. Gaeul picked up a small pebble and threw it at Heewon. Being hit on the calf, Heewon glared at her.

“Don’t say nonsense and just run. Don’t try to cut corners.”

“Can you run in my stead? I really don’t wanna do this. Or maybe Haewon can fill my spot.”

“The instructor will never allow it though.”

“Damn that hag.”

“Can I tell that to the instructor?”

“Do whatever you want! I’m going to die running anyway.”

As soon as Heewon started snorting angrily, the director raised his hand.

“Ready!”

Gaeul clenched her teeth.

* * *

-I thought I was gonna die.

Maru got on the bus with a smile. Gaeul had finished her ‘debut’ in quite a flashy way.

“So, you’re lying down with plasters on you?”

-Yeah. I can’t budge. I’ve never run as much as that in my life. If it was sprinting all the way, it would’ve been refreshing at least. Running ten meters then back, ten meters then back - urgh, the director looked hateful.

“I would have been the same. So you’re resting for the whole day?”

-No, the instructor wants us to come.

“Even though it’s Sunday?”

-Yeah. There’s something she has that we have to watch.

“Must be hard for you. Should I give you a piggyback ride?”

-I know you aren’t coming.

“That you know well.”

-Are you on your way to the shoot now?

“Yeah. It’s my first shoot too, I guess.”

-I got our share of bad luck for the shoot with the advertisement, so the drama should go fine.

“I hope so.”

-I want to see you.

She said that in a soft voice after laughing.

“Do you really want me to go? Should I just ditch everything?”

-This is why I can’t say things like that to you. Just go and shoot! Become big!

She hung up after wishing him good luck. Maru put his phone inside his bag. This was his first piece where he would put his name as one of the main cast. As this was a one-act play, the producer’s preferences would be on full display, but perhaps it would be for the best if it was to bring out his character. Amidst the buildings that were whizzing past him, he saw a photo of an actor wearing a suit. He wondered how high he had to climb to shoot an advert like that.

He got off the bus at Suwon station and looked at the clock. He was 3 minutes later than the appointed time.

“Seonbae, you’re late.”

Those were Yuna’s first words when they met up in front of the ticketing office.

[1]A nickname given to handsome, long-haired men. Its origins seem to be from a Japanese manga titled ‘Candy Candy’ (The character is “Terrence/Terrius “Terry” G. Grandchester.”)

KTLChamber\'s Thoughts

So we don\'t get to see Gaeul\'s reaction to the fact that they\'ll be on the show as a couple? Or is this one of those NDA stuff? Or maybe Maru (or Yuna) simply didn\'t tell her about it?

Editor\'s Note:

You know old Maru is gone when the man who used to arrive early now arrives 3 minutes late :(