Chapter 277: Vigilance (2)
After the production press conference, Kang Ra-Eun decided to focus on fitness that she had been slacking off on until the shoots began. She had worked out consistently even when she had no shoots scheduled, but now that she needed to be on camera, she needed to take better care of her figure.
Ra-Eun let the barbell down for a moment and wiped her sweat with the towel on her sports bag. Meanwhile, her personal trainer slightly walked back from her.
Ra-Eun tilted her head in confusion and asked, “What’s wrong, Miss Trainer?”
“Ra-Eun,” the female trainer said while making a rectangle with her thumbs and index fingers, “Stand up straight for me.”
“...?”
Ra-Eun didn’t know why, but she did as the trainer said since it wasn’t a difficult request. She straightened her back and stood properly. Her top and leggings vividly showed the lines of her entire body. Even in her high school days, her figure had been enough to catch the attention of passersby, but it had elevated to even greater heights after becoming an adult.
Ra-Eun’s trainer nodded in satisfaction as she looked at her back view exuding mature feminine charms.
“You could even start shooting right now with the state that your figure is in.”
“Really?”
“You don’t have any excessively revealing scenes this time either, right?”
“Yes, I’ve never liked scenes like that.”
However, there was one exception. There was a swimming pool scene, so she had no choice but to expose some skin since she needed to wear a swimsuit. However, that level of exposure was fine. In scene #22 and #25 of Just Like a Melodrama Protagonist, she would be having a swimming pool date with the character played by Je-Woon.
“Is everything else besides the swimsuit all regular clothes?”
The trainer had not seen the script, so she had no idea what kind of outfits Ra-Eun would be wearing.
Ra-Eun nodded and replied, “Yes. Except for one.”
“What is it?”
Ra-Eun gave her a hint instead of saying it outright, “There are flashback scenes of the lead characters in high school around the beginning of the film.”
The trainer was able to understand exactly what Ra-Eun was trying to say.
“A school uniform, right?”
Bingo; she was exactly right. Ra-Eun nodded. The trainer looked at her in envy.
“You can wear a school uniform after so long? Must be nice.”
Ra-Eun couldn’t understand her trainer’s envy; why was it a good thing to be able to return to her high school girl days?
***
The first day of the Just Like a Melodrama Protagonist shoot began. Ra-Eun entered the clothing room and confronted the outfit that she would have to wear for the entire day: the school uniform.
Ryu Ha-Yeon, who had come with Ra-Eun to the clothing room, exclaimed in excitement.
“It’s even prettier than the sample version! Look at the colors. It’s so much better now that they’re more vivid. The colors on the sample one was... what’s the word? Dull?”
“I agree.”
The current uniform gave life to the unique fresh nature of one’s teenage years. It was a fake school uniform, so it was more extravagant than the regular uniforms that one could see in real life. Not just that...
‘The skirt is a bit short.’
Ra-Eun was going to be wearing bloomers anyway, but not being able to get used to it was inevitable for her. She quickly changed into the school uniform without Ha-Yeon’s help. The eyes of the staff members in the clothing team sparkled as they witnessed Ra-Eun, who had returned back to being a high school girl after a while.
“It suits you so much better than I’d imagined!”
“That’s a celebrity for you.”
“It wouldn’t have looked this good on anyone else, Ra-Eun.”
Ra-Eun smiled awkwardly in response to their shower of praise. She stood in front of the mirror and stroked down her slightly disheveled hair.
‘It really feels like I’ve gone back to the old days.’
The feelings of absurdity that she had experienced when she had first become a high school girl were coming back to her.
‘The future really looked bleak at the time.’
Ra-Eun really had no idea what she should do back then.
‘I’ve really grown up.’
She had adapted quite well as a woman, if she said so herself. Not only that, the revenge that had been the sole purpose for her return was almost complete. The suffering that she had gone through in her past life flashed through her mind as she saw herself in the school uniform. People usually associated school uniforms with youth, but it meant something far more to Ra-Eun.
She heard the voice of another staff member from outside the clothing room.
“Ra-Eun. If you’ve finished changing, please come down to the studio.”
“I understand.”
Ra-Eun couldn’t stay reflecting on her life forever. To be able to move forward, she needed to put in the effort to take the steps. That was the sole reason why she was in her current position.
***
Je-Woon and Ji Han-Seok, who had arrived at the studio before Ra-Eun, stared at the school uniforms they were wearing.
“Does it feel okay?” Han-Seok asked.
“No, not at all.”
Han-Seok softly laughed at Je-Woon’s honest answer.
“Me too. I don’t know why wearing a school uniform feels so awkward.”
“How could it not be? It’s been so long since we’ve worn them, hasn’t it?”
“I guess so.”
It had not even been a decade since they had graduated from high school because they were still in their twenties, but wearing a school uniform felt extremely awkward because they had experienced far more things in life compared to other people their age.
“I think it looks rather good on you, Han-Seok.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Try wearing glasses.”
Han-Seok put on the glasses that he had brought as a prop like Je-Woon had said. Je-Woon exclaimed in surprise.
“That looks good! You look just like one of my old classmates. He was always in the top five of our year.”
Han-Seok gave off the intelligent student feel, while Je-Woon gave off the feel of the student who was good at sports and could get along with anybody. The same uniform could give off a different feel based on who wore it. However, their attention had been completely diverted to someone else.
“I’m sorry for being late.”
The two men heard a familiar female voice from afar. The two of them and every single staff member in the area turned their heads in her direction. Everyone was momentarily lost for words by how she looked in the school uniform, Je-Woon and Han-Seok obviously included.
As the two of them were lost for words, Ra-Eun looked down at herself and asked, “Does it look bad on me?”
“N-No!”
“Rather, it looks so good on you that it shocked me.”
This was the moment that Je-Woon and Han-Seok had been waiting for in today’s shoot. Je-Woon aside, Han-Seok had once seen Ra-Eun on set in her school uniform before. However, she gave off a completely different feel from back then; her aura couldn’t even be compared to her past self. If Han-Seok was made to choose between the past or the present Ra-Eun, he would choose the present Ra-Eun without hesitation. That was how beautiful she looked in the uniform.
“Excuse me, sunbaes,” she said as she casually sat between them for the script reading.
Je-Woon and Han-Seok quickly looked away as her skirt slightly rolled up to expose her pale thighs. Both of them wondered if they would be able to safely get through this shoot.
***
The studio had been designed to be like an actual classroom. Ra-Eun looked around the areas before the cameras started rolling. She had felt this every time during film and drama shoots, but...
‘It’s fascinating how they can just make sets like this so quickly.’
Ra-Eun had only paid attention to the actors when she used to watch films as an audience member, but after becoming an actress and getting to see what happened behind the scenes, she was fascinated by everything.
‘It really reminds me of my high school days.’
It really was a mystery for Ra-Eun how she had managed to graduate from high school.
Director Yoon called out to her as she was reminiscing, “We’ll begin the shoot right away, Ra-Eun. Is that okay?”
“Yes. I’ll get ready.”
It was time for her to recite her lines and put on a performance with her facial expressions and body movements.
“Roll cameras! Ready... Action!”
As soon as the slate clapped, Ra-Eun pretended to memorize the script that had been handed out by their film club. Just then, Je-Woon and Han-Seok in their uniforms entered the club room together.
“Huh? You’re early, Seo-Mi.”
“Were you taking a look at the script?”
“Yup. The shoot is tomorrow, so I’m taking a look in advance. The sunbaes are going so far to keep it from us, so I’m taking a look in secret. You guys wanna see too?”
“Sh-Should we?”
Han-Seok took the chance to quickly take the seat next to Ra-Eun. Nam Yun-Seok, the character that he played, had been written to have liked Kang Seo-Mi ever since high school. Hence, he often did things to subtly express his affection for her whenever he had the chance.
Je-Woon acted to stare at them in silence. The camera focused on his expression; his eyes were filled with sorrow. However, he did not want to betray his friend’s trust, so he suppressed his feelings by force.
“Lemme see too.”
.
Min Woo-Chan, played by Je-Woon, forcibly smiled and approached the two of them. Director Yoon gestured to keep the scene going since this was exactly what he wanted to see. Je-Woon was perfectly portraying the emotion of jealousy.
On the other hand, Seo-Mi, played by Ra-Eun, opened a highlighter while her gaze was fixed on the script and highlighted a line.
She then pointed at it and said, “I’m having trouble memorizing this ‘cause it’s so long...”
Ra-Eun acted like she was in deep thought, and bit the end of the highlighter lid with her soft lips. This was purely her own ad-lib; it had not been in the script. After becoming a woman, she had developed a habit of lightly biting on her nail whenever she was in thought.
The two men’s eyes shifted to Ra-Eun’s clammed lips. It had not been intentional; they had been entranced by her ad-lib for real.
Director Yoon, who had been staring at the monitor, whispered to the writer next to him, “Ra-Eun attended a coed high school, right?”
“Yes, I believe so. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I just had a thought as I was watching this...” Director Yoon slurred as he watched the three actors giving off a weird atmosphere. “I feel like Ra-Eun would’ve made the boys in her class go through some hard times. Although it probably wasn’t her intention.”
Director Yoon could more or less imagine how her high school life had been like.
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