Chapter 92
Perhaps because the first button had been fastened incorrectly, the photographer pressed the camera shutter with a consistently dissatisfied expression.
“Hey, you there. His hair is tangled. You should be watching and fixing it yourself. What are you doing just standing there?”
And whenever the setup wasn’t to his liking, he would point at staff members and order them to take care of it.
“The clothes are wrinkled! Damn it, they’re wrinkled! Go quickly and smooth them out.”
Each time he barked an order, Cheong-yeon would flinch in surprise. Min Hye-rin, who had been standing by nearby, quickly approached and pulled at the wrinkled part of the clothing to smooth it out, just as the photographer had demanded.
“Thank you,” Cheong-yeon whispered when Hye-rin came close.
“It’s nothing. Oppa, fighting!” Hye-rin replied quietly enough that others couldn’t hear while maintaining her poker face. As she moved away, the camera shutter sounds erupted in rapid succession again.
Trying to keep his eyes open each time the flash went off made Cheong-yeon’s vision blur white. He had applied eye drops beforehand, but his eyes felt strained overall due to the prolonged exposure to light.
He wanted to ask if they could take a short break and resume later, but the hostile atmosphere made him so intimidated that he couldn’t bring himself to speak. Making an effort to compose himself, Cheong-yeon struck poses on his own without any direction from the photographer.
While repeatedly changing the angle of his head to create various looks, Cheong-yeon suddenly froze.
He had spotted a familiar face among the staff behind the monitor.
Secretary Shim?
At first, he thought he might be mistaken because the area outside the lighting was so dark. But as he fixed his gaze and looked more carefully, it was indeed the face he knew.
A hint of agitation spread through Cheong-yeon’s eyes. But realizing that the photographer was still pressing the shutter, he gathered all his concentration to focus on the shoot. However, he couldn’t stop his mind from becoming complicated.
Why had Secretary Shim come here? How long had he been here?
Even when he casually shifted his gaze to check again, it was indeed Secretary Shim looking at Cheong-yeon’s photos appearing on the monitor in real-time.
Secretary Shim’s presence here meant that Do-heon had probably come along.
Could it be that he actually came to the photo shoot because of what I said yesterday?
When his thoughts reached that point, Cheong-yeon couldn’t help but look around. Fortunately, the photographer was checking his camera settings at that moment, so he didn’t notice Cheong-yeon’s wandering attention.
However, no matter how much he scanned the area around the set, he couldn’t see anyone who resembled Do-heon or even a similar silhouette. If he had been there in his suit among the casually dressed staff, he would surely have stood out.
“…”
Come to think of it, the realization that he might be embarrassing himself in front of Do-heon and Secretary Shim made his carefully maintained focus suddenly collapse.
This was an opportunity he had received through sponsorship, and he didn’t want to show such a disjointed performance.
Secretary Shim was listening to what a studio staff member was saying beside him while keeping his gaze fixed on the monitor. When his eyes met Cheong-yeon’s, he politely bowed his head in greeting.
Cheong-yeon reflexively bowed back, but he was completely confused about what was going on.
“Hold on, stop.”
Just as the shooting seemed to continue, the photographer called for another halt. Cheong-yeon sighed softly with an expression that showed worry about what criticism might come next.
“Ah. No matter how I look at it, this outfit doesn’t work. Let’s change the wardrobe and resume shooting.”
“Yes!”
“Also change the background to something brighter. And please tell that actor to remove the insoles from his shoes. You know I hate artificially increasing height.”
Despite Cheong-yeon standing right in front of him, the photographer gestured to the staff as if he didn’t even want to speak directly to him.
Standing stiffly on the set, Cheong-yeon looked down at the shoes he was wearing after hearing those words. To be honest, he hadn’t even known there were insoles in the shoes, as he had simply changed into whatever outfit they gave him upon arriving at the shoot.
“Look. The insoles make his posture look awkward even when just standing. Someone do something about it. Hah. Let’s take a twenty-minute break and resume.”
“Understood.”
“Twenty-minute break, everyone!”
Finally, a brief rest period was granted in an atmosphere that had become even more tense than before.
Secretary Shim was still engaged in serious conversation with a staff member, and Do-heon had not appeared. Perhaps he hadn’t come after all.
Wanting to catch his breath even for a moment, Cheong-yeon entered the waiting room timidly, watching the photographer’s reactions instead of asking Secretary Shim why he was there.
At the moment, he had no time to worry about Secretary Shim or Moon Do-heon.
“Actor, I’ve printed out the shooting concept storyboard and product details.”
As soon as he entered the waiting room, his manager followed and urgently handed him some hastily printed papers.
“I’ll read them carefully,” Cheong-yeon replied in a somewhat tired voice. He felt bad thinking that his manager and Min Hye-rin were being subjected to harsh words because of his shortcomings. He regretted not properly checking his schedule yesterday.
“Actor, I’m sorry I didn’t explain everything in advance. The studio is quite far from Seoul, so I was planning to tell you later to avoid tiring you out from the morning…”
“It’s not your fault. I should have checked before the shoot began. It’s my mistake. This is certainly a wake-up call.”
“I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again. You’re the only one suffering out there… Haah. I barely managed to hold myself back from stepping in.”
“No, you did well. Please continue to restrain yourself.”
“No, if he crosses the line, I’m going to stop him. So don’t worry and keep your spirits up!”
I’m telling you it’s fine, just bear with it, okay? It’s actually you, manager, who’s making me worry now.
Cheong-yeon anxiously watched his manager clench his fist. However, the manager seemed determined not to listen to anything at the moment, so Cheong-yeon didn’t try to dissuade him further.
“By the way, manager. By any chance, among the people behind the monitor…”
Cheong-yeon started to change the subject but let his words trail off. His manager seemed completely unaware.
Besides, wasn’t the manager someone Do-heon had assigned to him anyway? Asking him about Do-heon wouldn’t be particularly wise. And it wasn’t urgent.
“Yes?”
“It’s nothing. Ah, I should quickly read this.”
Cheong-yeon shook his head as if telling him not to worry about it, and began to read the printed materials carefully.
But his mind was still full of questions about how Secretary Shim had ended up here.
Did Do-heon send him? I should have asked why he was here when we made eye contact earlier.
“Cheong-yeon oppa! I’ve brought the outfits!”
At that moment, the waiting room door opened and Min Hye-rin entered, pulling a rack on wheels.
“The parking lot is quite far, so it took some time to get the outfits from the van. You need to change into this top and these black pants.”
Min Hye-rin selected covered garments from the rack and handed them to Cheong-yeon.
“I think these will really suit you well, so I’m excited!”
Unlike the downcast Cheong-yeon and his manager, Hye-rin’s condition was exactly the same as usual. Thinking that this was fortunate, Cheong-yeon took the outfit she handed him and carefully placed it on the sofa.
“Before I change, I’ll go to the bathroom first.”
“Okay! See you soon.”
Unable to wash his face because of the makeup, but intending to at least wash his hands with cold water, Cheong-yeon stood up.
Fortunately, no one was in the bathroom he hastily entered. As he thoroughly washed his hands, which had gotten dusty from touching various props, his frazzled mood was gradually sucked down the drain along with the soap bubbles.
After staring blankly at the flowing water for a while, Cheong-yeon turned off the faucet and straightened his back. He decided to directly ask Secretary Shim how he had ended up here as soon as he left the bathroom.
“He’s really handsome.”
Just as he left the bathroom and started walking toward the shooting area, Cheong-yeon stopped in his tracks upon hearing voices coming from the prop room in the corner of the corridor.
Handsome? Are they talking about me?
With groundless confidence, Cheong-yeon unconsciously perked up his ears.
“It feels like seeing a celebrity.”
“You see celebrities here every day.”
“No, I mean it’s that surprising.”
“I’d believe you if you said Moon Do-heon came to shoot a pictorial.”
…Moon Do-heon?
Cheong-yeon’s eyes widened at the familiar name.
“Why did he suddenly come today?”
“But is it true? That he had something with the actor who came for the shoot today…”
“What?”
“Hey, hey, keep it down. Everyone outside will hear you.”
Perhaps sensing Cheong-yeon’s presence, the people in the prop room lowered their voices. Nothing more could be heard after that.
Embarrassed, Cheong-yeon hurriedly headed back toward the waiting room, forgetting about finding Secretary Shim.
He wasn’t surprised by this situation, as he had anticipated it since the day he decided to divorce Do-heon. In fact, he was surprised that his divorce from Do-heon hadn’t received more attention than expected.
Still, from what they were saying, it seemed Do-heon had also come here. But only Secretary Shim had been at the shooting area. Had Do-heon come and left quickly?
Wondering about this, Cheong-yeon opened the waiting room door. Min Hye-rin and the manager had left, leaving the room empty.
“Ah…”
Instead, Do-heon was standing there.
Cheong-yeon froze without realizing it.
Dressed in a suit, Do-heon was perched on the edge of the dressing table, leisurely surveying the waiting room with dispassionate eyes.
Though Cheong-yeon had roughly anticipated this, now that they were face to face, he didn’t know how to react.
“…”
Having finished examining the waiting room, Do-heon stretched out his long legs and stared at Cheong-yeon with his arms crossed.
Ironically, his presence felt both alien and familiar at the same time.
The conversation Cheong-yeon had overheard from the staff earlier naturally crossed his mind.
The comment about Do-heon being suitable for a pictorial shoot wasn’t an exaggeration. He’d probably never been in such a disorderly studio waiting room in his life, yet Do-heon blended in with the place better than anyone. Cheong-yeon even had the frivolous thought that he really could work as a model.
“Why are you here?” Cheong-yeon finally broke the silence after a few seconds.
“You look like you’ve encountered an unwelcome visitor.”
“There are many people watching, so I’m anxious.”
“Wasn’t it you who told me to come to the shoot?”
Cheong-yeon was dumbfounded by the shameless response.
“No… but did you really have to come?”
“I happened to have business nearby. I need to stop by the semiconductor factory this afternoon.”
Come to think of it, the JT semiconductor factory might be in this area. Cheong-yeon tilted his head as he tried to recall.
“You really came because I told you to?”
Do-heon stared at Cheong-yeon and remarked anew.
“Is that not allowed? I suddenly wondered what kind of work you do.”
“…”
“Dust flying around, no organization, surrounded by noisy people—so this is your job.”
His businesslike tone seemed to be mocking Cheong-yeon’s work. Already having a difficult day, Cheong-yeon flared up.
“Did you think actors just sit around elegantly with bright smiles?”
“Yes.”
Do-heon boldly answered in the affirmative.
“You know that’s absurd, right?”
“That’s what I sponsored you for.”
“…”
“I thought you’d be sitting here all day, smiling brightly.”
He tapped the dressing table he was sitting on with his fingertips as he spoke.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
