Chapter 94
For a moment, Cheong-yeon felt his heart plummet in shock. He forcefully pushed away Do-heon’s chest as the man shamelessly bit and sucked on his lips.
Fortunately, Do-heon withdrew without resistance. Cheong-yeon quickly got down from the table and adjusted his disheveled clothing while looking in the mirror.
Damn it. This is the outfit for the photoshoot.
Cheong-yeon frowned at the wrinkled fabric. He would have to ask Min Hye-rin to smooth out the creased parts before the shoot resumed.
“Excuse me.”
With a click, the door opened and Secretary Shim entered. Do-heon buttoned up his jacket that had come undone, acting as if nothing had happened.
Cheong-yeon glanced sideways at Secretary Shim as he strode into the waiting room. His heart pounded with worry about being caught in an inappropriate act with Do-heon despite staff members being right outside.
“It’s time. I believe you need to leave now, Director.”
Secretary Shim urged Do-heon in a tone that was both extremely professional and respectful.
In response, Do-heon checked the watch on his wrist. Cheong-yeon also turned his eyes to the clock on the wall.
“Oh no.”
Thirty minutes had already passed. The break was only supposed to be twenty minutes.
“Aren’t you leaving?” Cheong-yeon anxiously asked Do-heon. He felt he could only properly prepare for the shoot once Do-heon was gone.
“You look like you can’t wait for me to disappear.”
“I’m already ten minutes late. The staff is waiting outside.”
I wish you’d just leave already!
Cheong-yeon suppressed the urge to shout this and explained as calmly as possible. His stomach churned at the thought of being scolded again by the photographer.
“And where are my stylist and manager?”
“Ah, right. Secretary Shim, our actor’s staff.”
“I’ll call them right away.”
Cheong-yeon flinched at the words “our actor.” Although his manager occasionally referred to him that way too, it somehow sounded awkwardly intimate when Do-heon used it.
“And please don’t show up unannounced like this next time. You saw it earlier, didn’t you? The photographer getting irritated. If I go out late and get scolded for being tardy, it’s not like you’re going to take responsibility.”
“Seeing how feisty you are, you must not be in pain. I was wondering if I should take you to the hospital.”
As Cheong-yeon grumbled, annoyed by Do-heon’s leisurely attitude while he was burning with anxiety, Do-heon tapped Cheong-yeon’s cheek and walked out of the waiting room.
Cheong-yeon’s brow furrowed involuntarily. Hospital? For what reason exactly? To ask for painkillers due to soreness from sex? Or perhaps to get physical therapy?
Going to a university hospital for such a thing would only inconvenience other patients.
“Then, Mr. Yoo Cheong-yeon. I’ll take my leave now. Please prepare comfortably.”
Secretary Shim bowed politely before following Do-heon out.
Just then, the sound of a car starting could be heard from outside. Approaching the waiting room window with its drawn blinds to check outside, Cheong-yeon could see Do-heon’s work car and an unfamiliar sedan parked in front of the studio building.
A moment later, someone got out of the car and greeted Do-heon, who had just exited the building. Judging by the factory uniform they wore, they appeared to be a production staff member.
“What? Was he really on his way to the semiconductor factory?”
Cheong-yeon muttered in surprise.
He had thought the factory inspection was just an excuse, but it was actually a real schedule.
Cheong-yeon let go of the blinds he had lifted to look outside.
He was confused by Do-heon’s recent attitude, which was so different from before and impossible to predict. In the past, he would have been touched that Do-heon had taken time out of his company duties to visit him, but now…
“Oppa, we’re coming in!”
Min Hye-rin’s clear voice snapped Cheong-yeon back to reality. Turning away from the window, he cleared his tight throat and answered as if nothing had happened.
“Ah, yes. Come in.”
*
“I’m sorry for being late.”
Cheong-yeon bowed as he entered the photo studio. After having his makeup and hair fixed, and finally having Min Hye-rin check his outfit, he was thirty minutes past the originally allotted break time.
The photographer would surely glare at him with fury. Cold sweat ran down his back from tension. His throat even tightened as if he had indigestion.
Cheong-yeon surveyed the already prepared set while nervously checking his surroundings.
“The photographer just went to the bathroom. He’ll be back soon.”
A prop staff member answered with a bright smile. Cheong-yeon found her attitude curious, as she seemed to be in a good mood despite having waited thirty minutes because of him.
“Oh, I see.”
“By the way… I really enjoyed watching your drama. Could I possibly get your autograph later? After the shoot is over?”
“Of course I can give you an autograph. Thank you for watching.”
“Wow, thank you! All my friends are going crazy about how awesome it is. I’ll bring paper and a pen when we’re done. Don’t forget!”
When Cheong-yeon readily agreed, the staff member clapped her hands and bowed her head. She soon disappeared toward where the other staff members were gathered, and in that moment, Min Hye-rin approached to make a final check of his outfit.
“I asked the other staff, and apparently the photographer here is notorious for that,” she whispered while meticulously smoothing out the wrinkled areas.
“For what?”
“Having a meltdown about insoles.”
“Ah…”
“It doesn’t seem like he was criticizing you personally, so don’t take it to heart.”
“Alright, is everyone here? Let’s start the next shoot.”
Just then, the photographer who had been absent returned to the studio. Cheong-yeon, who had been slightly leaning against a partition wall, straightened up and bowed to him.
“You’re back, sir. I’m sorry for being late.”
The photographer tilted his head as he removed the lens cap from his large camera.
“Late? Thanks to you, we got to enjoy the lunchboxes sent from the hotel.”
“Lunchboxes?”
Cheong-yeon asked, freezing mid-way through straightening his back.
“Hmm, your agency must have some influence? They brought packaged food from a two-Michelin-star restaurant. It’s surprising since it’s even difficult to get a reservation there.”
The previously sensitive photographer seemed to have had a very satisfying meal, as he set up his camera with a much more relaxed expression than before.
However, this was all news to Cheong-yeon. Lunchboxes from a Michelin restaurant?
So while everyone else was eating expensive food, what was I doing in the waiting room?
“What about mine?”
“Hahaha! You’re quite funny. Ah, I think this lighting level is just right. Womin, keep the brightness fixed at this level.”
“Yes!”
When Cheong-yeon asked with a bewildered expression, the photographer laughed it off as if it were a joke and casually brushed it aside.
“Oh, and did you remove the insoles?”
“Yes, I did.”
Cheong-yeon lifted one leg up and down to demonstrate that he had completely removed the problematic insoles. Although Do-heon had said it was okay to wear them, he was just a corporate employee who knew nothing about the entertainment industry.
As a rookie actor, one needed to know how to at least pretend to die if the director or writer said to die.
“Well… the advertiser said they liked the insoles too, so if you really want to wear them… Well, that’s not what I think.”
The photographer muttered with an uncomfortable expression. His sentences were choppy, as if he were being forced to say something against his will. Cheong-yeon shook his head in response.
“No! I’ll go like this.”
“Right? This looks more natural and better. Your proportions will be enhanced in post-production anyway, won’t they?”
“I think so too.”
“But I definitely said it was okay to wear insoles. Anyway, we’ll shoot in the order of bust shots and then full shots, so keep that in mind when posing.”
“Yes!”
The photographer began pressing the shutter with a bright expression. Although somewhat unnatural, at least he wasn’t intimidating anymore.
Could the expensive meal have been that delicious? Or had Do-heon threatened him before leaving?
Cheong-yeon gazed at the camera without finding the answer.
*
“Good work, Actor Yoo Cheong-yeon.”
When Cheong-yeon entered the waiting room to change back into his regular clothes after the shoot had successfully concluded, Secretary Shim was there to greet him.
Surprised, Cheong-yeon paused with his hand on the doorknob.
“Secretary Shim, why are you still here?”
He had naturally assumed he’d left earlier.
“As Director Moon had to leave early due to his business schedule, I remained in his place as the advertiser’s representative.”
“As the advertiser? You, Secretary Shim?”
At this completely unexpected statement, Cheong-yeon tried to recall the product information and company details he had read earlier.
As far as Cheong-yeon knew, the manufacturer of the product featured in today’s photoshoot was a small, unfamiliar company with no connection whatsoever to the JT Group.
“It’s complicated to explain, but the main production factory of this product’s manufacturer is a subcontractor for a JT Group affiliate. While not a direct advertiser, when you follow various procedures indirectly, business connections form, which grants me this qualification.”
“Ah.”
“According to Director Moon, who judged the early atmosphere of the shoot to be hostile, I was assigned to stand in as the advertiser’s representative today.”
Though it involved several intermediary steps, the message was clear: even this small company ultimately fell within the JT Group’s sphere of influence.
“Is that… allowed?”
“If Director Moon wishes it, of course.”
Secretary Shim’s gentle yet firm answer sounded as though nothing would be impossible if Moon Do-heon desired it.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
