Chapter 59: Wedding Dress (2)
Considering that Kang Ra-Eun was a student, Bex’s music video shoot was scheduled to be held on Saturday and Sunday, of which Ra-Eun only had to show up for the Saturday one. However, since both shoots were scheduled very early in the morning, she had to set out at 2 AM.
Ra-Eun got some sleep on the way there. An advantage of setting out early in the morning was that the roads were practically empty. Anxiety of being late was the norm because of the abysmal traffic in Seoul, but there was no need to worry about that today. It had been a while since Shin Yu-Bin had felt comfortable driving.
“We’re almost there... Mi-Yeon, could you wake Ra-Eun up?” Yu-Bin asked.
“Okay.”
Kwon Mi-Yeon, Ra-Eun’s new stylist, lightly shook Ra-Eun’s shoulder.
“We’re here, Ra-Eun. Wake up.”
“...Already?”
They had arrived earlier than she had expected. Ra-Eun barely managed to wake up from her deep slumber. She could see staff members moving busily outside the car window.
Her first scene was simple. She just needed to sadly walk down a road in the rain. However, there was a problem. They had purposefully scheduled the shoot on a day forecasted to rain, but...
“The weather’s beautiful today.”
Like Ra-Eun had said, the sky was so clear that they could even see stars that were hard to see in the city. Forget rain, not a single cloud could be seen. However, the film crew were not to be underestimated. If there was no rain, then they simply had to make it.
“Turn on the equipment to check if it’s working properly!”
“Yes, Director!”
The young staff member turned on the water-spraying machine.
Pour—!
Rain showered down under the clear skies. Ra-Eun had seen artificial rain once before during the filming of Reaper.
‘It’s fascinating no matter how many times I see it.’
She was not fascinated by the machine itself, but by the staff members pushing ahead with the shoot even while making artificial rain. She was sure that many members of the public had no idea how hard staff members worked to shoot just a single scene, and neither did she before working as an actress.
It was truly a scene made with all the manpower that they could squeeze out. Because of that, Ra-Eun always felt pressured whenever she had to shoot scenes that had taken a lot of time, effort and money to realize.
She changed and got her make-up done before the shoot. More attention had to be taken for the make-up than usual because she had to shoot the scene while being showered by rain.
“Hey, Ra-Eun. Are you finished?”
Just when her preparations were almost complete, Je-Woon, who had finished before her, called out to her.
“Yes, sunbae. Aren’t you tired? I heard you’re going to be shooting for quite a while.”
Unlike Ra-Eun, Je-Woon hadn’t had a wink of sleep.
“I’m fine. Besides, it’s been a while since we released a new song. Just preparing for the comeback is enough to invigorate me.”
Acting was important for Je-Woon, but he seemed to care about making the new album with his fellow Bex members just as much. He cared for his group and its members very much.
Before starting the shoot, Ra-Eun and Je-Woon doused themselves with water first. She looked down at the clothes that were stuck to her body.
‘They’re... not see-through, right?’
She was concerned about whether or not her underwear would be seen through the clothes, but stylists were not stupid. They chose the right colors and fabric to take that into account when coordinating her, so she had absolutely no need to worry.
"We’ll start rolling if everyone’s ready. You first, Je-Woon.”
“Okay.”
They were in a dark alley in the rain. They had to express sorrow with their backs against each other under a street lamp. Although Je-Woon was the focus of the scene, Ra-Eun also had to stand still with her back against him.
“Ready... Action!”
Je-Woon displayed sorrow at the clap of the slate. Meanwhile, Ra-Eun was grumbling in her mind.
‘Shit, it’s so fucking cold!’
She was screaming all kinds of profanities unbefitting her delicate features. Not only was it still winter, but she was also being doused in rain. It would be strange if she wasn’t cold. Je-Woon’s scene ended while she was grumbling. The shoot ended quickly because there weren’t any lines.
Ra-Eun was next. She also expressed sorrow like Je-Woon did at the signal. She had found acting with her facial expressions awkward at first, but the myriad of experiences that she had faced as the lead role of a drama had elevated her acting skills.
The music video director and every other staff member were engrossed by Ra-Eun’s phenomenal acting. She had no choice but to give it her all in her performance.
‘I don’t want to be drenched in water for any longer than I need to.’
Ra-Eun performed with the resolve to get the OK from the director with a single shot.
“Cut! Let’s move onto the next scene!”
Her efforts seemed to have gotten through.
***
Ra-Eun observed Je-Woon as he shot additional scenes while drying herself with a towel. She thought as she watched him dance in the rain.
‘That’s a pro for you.’
He was likely colder, sleepier and more exhausted than her, but he was performing even more passionately than her.
The outdoor filming ended after two hours, but the shoot was not over yet. Ra-Eun still had the wedding dress scene to shoot. However, Je-Woon had to move onto the next item on his schedule before then.
“What a shame. I wanted to see you in a wedding dress.”
Ra-Eun could only laugh awkwardly at Je-Woon’s honesty. He might have been disappointed, but she was not in the slightest. She did not want to let people who she knew see her in a wedding dress if possible, and the reason was simply because it was embarrassing.
She did not like wearing skirts in front of people, and a wedding dress also applied. However, it couldn’t be helped because it was a shoot. There was one thing that she was relieved about at the very least.
‘There are no more rain scenes.’
She decided to think as optimistically as she could.
***
The wedding dress scene was to be shot indoors. It was very simple as well. She just needed to lightly run in a wedding dress while smiling, and that would mark the end of Ra-Eun’s part in the shoot. However, she still had to go through the massive process of putting the wedding dress on.
.
“Director, what style of wedding dress have you decided to have Ra-Eun wear? Ball Gown, or Mermaid?”
There were different styles of wedding dresses categorized by their lines. Ball Gown skirts cascaded outward, and Mermaid dresses were slim around the waist and hip areas to accentuate their lines.
“I guess... Mermaid would be best, right?”
The director had been planning on getting Ra-Eun to wear a Ball Gown dress, but he had come across a survey that was held by a certain news media outlet about which actresses had the most beautiful figures. Ra-Eun had placed third on that survey.
The director called the clothing team as soon as he saw the result to prepare a mermaid wedding dress as well, just in case. But of course, they also needed to get Ra-Eun’s opinion. However, since Ra-Eun had no idea what those wedding dress styles were, she just answered that she would wear whatever they gave her.
Putting the wedding dress on was an ordeal in and of itself. She had barely managed to put it on with the help of two people.
‘How do women put these damn things on in their weddings?’
She felt more and more amazed by women with each passing day. On the other hand, the director clapped as he laid eyes on Ra-Eun in the mermaid dress.
“Yes, this is it! You complete that dress just by wearing it!”
Such praises had no effect on Ra-Eun. All that was on her mind was how she could finish the shoot as soon as possible.
***
The stylists were worried right before the shoot began.
“Will you really be alright, Ra-Eun?”
Running in a wedding dress, especially in high heels, was fairly difficult. But despite that, Ra-Eun was exuding confidence.
“Don’t worry. I’ve been trained in stuff like this from my Reaper?shoots.”
Although she had never made any intense movements in a wedding dress, she had done so in many other similar attires. And most of all, she prioritized finishing this shoot as soon as possible.
The camera focused on Ra-Eun as soon as the filming began. Ra-Eun slightly raised the hem of her skirt with one hand and threw the bouquet straight up into their air with the other while smiling. She looked extremely uncomfortable, but the director once again OK’d her performance without any NG cuts.
The filming director and staff members who were monitoring the shot said in marvel, “What a work of art.”
“We definitely need to use this shot. Right, director?”
“Obviously.”
Ra-Eun had greatly satisfied the staff members, but only she was thinking about something else.
‘Am I only adding to my dark past whenever I work as an actress, or is it just me?’
***
The behind-the-scenes film of Ra-Eun filming scenes in a wedding dress was aired in advance, which caused Kang Ra-Hyuk to spit out his drink once he saw it. Ra-Eun and their father, who still did not know why he did so, criticized him.
Ra-Hyuk cut them off and said while pointing at the TV, “Dad, look! Ra-Eun is... wearing a wedding dress!”
“What?”
Their father yelled to bring the camera immediately while staring at the TV screen.
Ra-Eun asked, “Why a camera?”
“Why else?! Of course I should take pictures when my precious daughter is so beautiful on screen! Ra-Hyuk, I just need to press this, right?”
Snap, snap, snap!
Their father repeatedly pressed the camera shutter as per Ra-Hyuk’s instructions. Ra-Eun was exasperated by the actions of the men in her home. Not just that, texts from her friends that she looked so good in a wedding dress bombarded her phone, and there were even some saying that they were gonna have the screenshot permanently saved on their phone.
The bad feeling that she had felt in the studio had been right on the mark as she had expected.
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