Chapter 65
Despite suddenly losing nearly half his staff, Song Hee-jun was strangely quiet without complaining, even though his schedule was more urgent than Cheong-yeon’s.
Although Cheong-yeon could only see his back, it was evident that both the salon manager and Song Hee-jun were visibly intimidated. Thinking it served him right, Cheong-yeon shifted his gaze toward his manager.
“Actor Yoo. I’ll sit right behind you. Please let me know if you need anything.”
The manager, who had hastily put his zip-up jacket back on, approached Cheong-yeon and spoke respectfully. Just by his voice, he sounded extraordinarily gentle.
“Thank you, Manager oppa!”
Min Hye-rin called out brightly, and the manager responded with a pleasant smile and a nod.
Cheong-yeon discreetly observed the manager, who was calmly sitting on the waiting sofa, diligently taking notes in his schedule log.
Is he perhaps a former gangster? Such an absurd thought crossed his mind. Probably everyone in the salon was making similar assumptions.
The salon’s atmosphere had suddenly frozen; except for the background music, it was as quiet as a graveyard.
Only Min Hye-rin, who had gone out to bring the manager, was humming a tune as she casually checked the props for today’s photoshoot.
“Today I whispered to the moonlight, asking to be a little closer to you.”
What’s more, the song she was humming was DEX’s debut track.
I thought she was just delicate, but perhaps she’s stronger than I imagined…
Cheong-yeon admired Min Hye-rin. Then, at some point, his eyes met Song Hee-jun’s again through the mirror.
Cheong-yeon stuck out his tongue at Song Hee-jun, who had been subdued and tight-lipped during this brief period.
In response, Song Hee-jun mouthed “get lost” and raised his middle finger.
“Manager!”
Cheong-yeon urgently called his manager. The manager, who had been sitting nearby, sprang up like a coiled spring.
“Yes, Actor Yoo.”
Startled, Song Hee-jun hurriedly withdrew his hand and turned his head away as if nothing had happened.
“Could you get me some water? My throat is dry…”
“Yes, just a moment!”
With a voice that didn’t hide his amusement, Cheong-yeon continued to stare at Song Hee-jun until the end.
*
“Oppa! You really worked hard on today’s shoot. I was checking the shots earlier, and there’s literally nothing to discard. Even when you accidentally closed your eyes, it matched the character so well… Haah. This is a real challenge. How do we choose which photo to use for the poster when they all turned out so well?”
Once the drama poster photoshoot successfully concluded, Min Hye-rin, who had been assisting nearby, made a fuss. Despite having been busy checking outfits and running errands throughout the hours-long shoot, Min Hye-rin’s face showed no trace of fatigue. Rather, she seemed full of energy.
Cheong-yeon was the opposite. Having seen Do-heon off from the hotel in the morning and then clashing with Song Hee-jun in the afternoon, his energy was depleted. Right after finishing the shoot, all he wanted was to go straight to bed.
In fact, by the end, his concentration had worn so thin that he could barely recall which expressions and poses he had made.
“Well, it’s good to hear they turned out well. I was sweating because of the lights and felt so disoriented, I wasn’t sure if I was capturing the character correctly…”
“Oppa, you absolutely don’t need to worry about that. It was a perfect match! Oh, by the way, the photographer asked for your profile, so I found it in the van and gave it to him. That’s okay, right?”
“Yeah, thanks. But I need to take this jacket off.”
“Ah! Wait a moment. Before you change, can I take just one picture?”
As soon as Cheong-yeon entered the waiting room and tried to remove his jacket, Min Hye-rin urgently took out her phone.
“Team Leader Kwon Hye-na asked me to take pictures of the outfits you wear for each schedule and send them to her.”
“Really? Hmm. How should I pose?”
Though he had no energy left, Cheong-yeon couldn’t ignore strict Hye-na’s instructions and put his jacket back on.
“She said to take them looking as actor-like as possible. She plans to use them later to create a style history.”
“Like this?”
Cheong-yeon stood against a white wall and swept his hair up. Min Hye-rin didn’t miss this brief moment and took a photo.
“Wow. You’re killing it.”
She must have set it to continuous shooting mode, as clicking shutter sounds erupted dozens of times every time she touched her phone screen.
“Would it be better with more movement?”
“Kyaah, yes!”
When Cheong-yeon struck a different pose with his hands in his pockets, Min Hye-rin covered her mouth and let out a scream resembling a dolphin’s.
Caught up in the shower of shutter sounds, Cheong-yeon pretended to be cool with increased enthusiasm.
“Wait. This is truly incredible. Wow, unbelievable. To think I’m taking something like this with my own hands…”
Despite the curious glances from studio staff moving around the waiting room, Min Hye-rin passionately captured Cheong-yeon on camera, bending her legs and arching her back almost as if doing limbo.
“Whew. This should be enough, right?”
“That’s plenty, oppa!”
After finishing their private photography session, Cheong-yeon sank into the waiting room sofa with labored breathing. This time, even Min Hye-rin seemed a bit tired as she leaned against the wall and checked the photos one by one. Then she sent the results to Kwon Hye-na.
“Oppa… what should we do?”
While Cheong-yeon was drinking water, Min Hye-rin’s expression hardened after receiving a reply from Hye-na.
“What’s wrong?”
“Team Leader says the photos look too idol-like… She wants me to retake them and send them again.”
Min Hye-rin mumbled dejectedly, apparently having been told that the photos she took were of little use.
“What did she say exactly? Let me see your phone.”
When Cheong-yeon held out his hand, Min Hye-rin hesitated as if unsure whether she should show the conversation.
“It’s okay, show me.”
Finally receiving the phone, Cheong-yeon quickly read through the KakaoTalk messages between Kwon Hye-na and Min Hye-rin.
[Team Leader Kwon Hye-na: Retake the photos and send them again. Remove all idol vibes.]
[Team Leader Kwon Hye-na: Change the location and poses completely.]
[Team Leader Kwon Hye-na: Background must be a wall. No props, no hand-raising poses, no diagonal angles, no eye contact with the camera.]
[Team Leader Kwon Hye-na: Yoo Cheong-yeon is no longer an idol but an actor. A classic image is safer for actors.]
[Team Leader Kwon Hye-na: Do you understand what I’m saying?]
Cheong-yeon scrolled up to check the photos Min Hye-rin had sent to Hye-na again.
What’s the problem? It’s not that strange to freak out about. Especially the first and third photos turned out amazingly well!
“The first one really came out great. Such a shame to throw it away… Hng.”
Before Min Hye-rin could finish expressing her disappointment, another message arrived from Hye-na.
[Team Leader Kwon Hye-na: Retake and send the photos within 5 minutes.]
She’s really being strict about this. Cheong-yeon pouted his lips as he pushed back his fallen hair. Hye-na’s inflexible personality was thoroughly evident from her texts.
“What did Team Leader say?”
“She wants new photos sent within five minutes?”
“W-well, I guess we should retake them then?”
“Let’s just go with the first one we took.”
“What? But Team Leader said we can’t…”
“Don’t worry, Hye-rin. I happen to have quite an immunity to such rigid people.”
Cheong-yeon opened the camera on Min Hye-rin’s phone. Then, covering half his face with his hand, he made a wistful expression that looked somewhere between smiling and crying.
After sending this selfie to Hye-na, her reply came at the speed of light.
[Team Leader Kwon Hye-na: Are you joking with me? Retake it properly.]
This time, he took a series of photos with his hair disheveled, gazing far off into the distance. It had the kind of sentimentality that wouldn’t look out of place as a Cyworld profile picture.
[(Photo)]
[(Photo)]
[(Photo)]
[Oppa Cheong-yeon says he likes these ㅠㅠ]
After sending the newly taken photos to Hye-na, Cheong-yeon impersonated Min Hye-rin and sent another message.
[Team Leader Kwon Hye-na: Are you crazy?]
[Team Leader Kwon Hye-na: I’m calling now, put Yoo Cheong-yeon on.]
[Yes Team Leader.. but Cheong-yeon oppa wants to try taking teary selfies]
[He’s putting eye drops in his eyes now ㅜ]
[He says to call in 5 minutes if you’re going to call…ㅠㅜ]
After Cheong-yeon sent these messages, there was a brief silence in the chat.
[Team Leader Kwon Hye-na: Aini]
[Team Leader Kwon Hye-na: No, never mind. Let’s just go with the very first photo you took.]
Hye-na’s uncharacteristic typo revealed her complicated state of mind. Cheong-yeon grinned as if he’d known this would happen.
“Team Leader says to use the photos we took earlier.”
“Huh, really?”
I lived with someone even more rigid than Hye-na for three years. This is a piece of cake.
Cheong-yeon shrugged with an arrogant expression and returned the phone to Min Hye-rin.
*
The next day.
[Manager Park Yong-jun: Actor Yoo, good morningggg *^^*]
[Manager Park Yong-jun: I organised alll your schedules for this week.! Since you’re getting many jobs these dayss, I thought it would be good for you to know in advance**^^**]
[Manager Park Yong-jun: Please check it, and I’ll workk hard this week too-!!! I’ll come pick you up this afternoon!!!]
Lying in bed, Cheong-yeon checked the KakaoTalk messages he had just received with disbelieving eyes.
Early in the morning, the manager had organized a week’s worth of schedules into a file and sent it to Cheong-yeon. Acting classes, camera tests, meetings with the drama director, photoshoots, and more. This week’s schedule was also packed.
While the table itself was meticulously prepared with no issues, the manager’s spelling was quite shocking.
“This person really must be a gangster, oh my.”
Although he had roughly guessed yesterday at the salon, seeing the manager’s spelling turned his vague suspicion into certainty. The manager was always kind and handled work efficiently, so Cheong-yeon had no intention of judging his background, but it was surprising how different it was from the image he had presented until now.
I’ve heard many managers are ex-gangsters, but I didn’t think it was true.
After sending a thank-you reply, Cheong-yeon reviewed the schedule and times written on the table again.
Since he had to be with Do-heon from Friday evening until Saturday morning, he paid particular attention to those days.
“This is a problem.”
As luck would have it, both Friday and Saturday this week were already fully scheduled. On Friday, there was a fitting session at Kwon Hye-na’s office, and on Saturday, there was a meeting with the drama director from early morning.
Cheong-yeon had once asked Kwon Hye-na why she was so obsessive about costumes before entering the drama.
‘For an actor, costumes are like life itself. Since you’re a rookie just entering the field, even if there’s money to invest, we can’t always commission custom pieces from luxury brands.’
‘Why not?’
‘A no-name rookie actor draped in luxury items worth tens of millions of won is likely to become a target for the public and media’s dopamine fix. So you need to mix appropriately priced brand clothes with luxury items, creating a perfect image that fits you flawlessly and is beyond criticism. Don’t begrudge the time spent on fittings that materialize an actor’s aura before starting activities. Endure it even if it becomes tedious.’
Kwon Hye-na had emphasized that fitting was one of the most important processes for an actor. And given her insistence, it would be impossible to postpone Friday’s fitting schedule.
Even if he somehow managed to handle that, the problem was Saturday. He had to meet Do-heon on Friday evening, and it was questionable whether he could safely wake up early Saturday morning after rolling around in bed with him from night until dawn.
What should I do in this situation?
Cheong-yeon stared intently at his phone screen, his face serious as he pondered the dilemma repeatedly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
