Chapter 30:
On a day when only Han Yooil among the lead actors was scheduled for a shoot for some solo scenes, Min Woojin came to pick him up as usual. As soon as he saw Yooil's face, Woojin lost his words for a few seconds. He grabbed Yooil with a serious expression.
"Yooil, did someone bully you?"
"No way."
"But you look"
Min Woojin couldn't finish his sentence. It didn't seem appropriate to say such things to the actor he was managing, but Yooil's condition seemed serious.
Although he was still handsome, of course
"It's because the deadline for my assignment was this morning."
Han Yooil replied with a swallowed sigh.
His eyelids felt heavy. He had tried to finish his assignment in the car to avoid this situation but in the end, he had stayed up all night to submit it. It was a disaster he had brought upon himself.
"But you know, looking tired also has its own kind of decadent charm, Yooil."
"You really don't have to say that."
"Hey, I'm serious!"
Min Woojin started the car with a smile. He had hoped Yooil would catch a bit of sleep on the way, but Yooil was looking at his worn-out script.
"You're really something. Some just get the diploma and don't even attend school."
At Woojin's words, Yooil just smiled. Being a working student, the pressure of a scholarship was a bit less, but he still had to do the basics to aim for honors.
Looking at Yooil rubbing his dry eyes, Woojin spoke with concern.
"Try to get some sleep. Will you be okay for today's shooting?"
However, as soon as they reached the set, Woojin realized his worries were unnecessary. Yooil was, quite literally, flying on set.
Woojin shook his head as he watched Han Yooil in front of the camera.
Such a tough guy. How can there be no sign of it?'
No matter how much makeup was applied, the all-nighter college student was nowhere to be seen. In front of the camera, Yooil was just an actor transformed into Seon Gihyeon.
"Take 39, shot 1, action!"
With the midterm exams not far away,
Seon Gihyeon was focused on a workbook. His lips tightly closed, his eyes moving quickly. And his hands solving the problems at a fast pace.
He looked like the smartest kid in school' to anyone watching.
The camera close-upped Seon Gihyeon's face, hands, and then alternated between them.
"Cut, okay!"
"Good!"
"Let's move to the next shot."
A subtle smile began to appear on Director Kim Kyuoh's face. Ever since joining for promotional reasons, the making-film camera had been close-upping the face of Director Kim Kyuoh.
It was natural for Kim Kyuoh to react this way. The acting was so neat that setting the camera took longer than the actual shooting.
The assistant director felt the same.
However, he was surprised by something slightly different the scene where Han Yooil's hands were close-upped, effortlessly solving math problems.
Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked,
"Yooil, did you really solve that?"
"Ah, yes. They weren't that hard."
Though he mentioned it casually, the assistant director, who had been admitted to a prestigious university through regular admissions, remembered the difficulty of the workbook.
Prestigious indeed.'
It felt unfair that someone with that face, acting skills, and intelligence existed. Yet, even the slight discontent couldn't hide the admiration.
It's like he's really Seon Gihyeon.'
Throughout the shooting, there had been no hint of inadequacy, but now Yooil truly embodied Seon Gihyeon'.
After monitoring, Director Kim Kyuoh expressed his satisfaction.
"Good. If this long shot is okay, then the scene is okay~"
"Yes!"
The cinematographer, unlike the previous close-up scenes, quickly moved to set up a shot that showed Seon Gihyeon at the center with half of the students visible.
Even the extras, who had been relaxing off-camera, adjusted their postures.
One of the extras, Yoon Shinwoo, was very nervous. After greeting Yooil a few times since their first meeting on set, he was now seated right next to Han Yooil.
As the camera was being set up, Shinwoo repeatedly clenched and unclenched his cold hands. He was cast as Heejun', a role of a not-so-bad but playful kid' in the class, who had only five lines throughout the entire script.
Today, Shinwoo was scheduled to deliver his first line.
I should have taken some calming pills before coming.'
He clenched his eyes shut. Why was he more nervous than during the auditions?
Don't mess up, don't mess up, dont'
"Shinwoo."
"Mess up! Yes?!"
Startled, Shinwoo turned his head. Han Yooil was looking at him.
"If it's okay with you, shall we practice together?"
"Ah Yes! Yes, that would be great!"
After taking a deep breath, Shinwoo began.
Heejun' was the kind of kid in class who isn't bad but likes to play around'.
"Wow, Seon Gihyeon really, how can you solve all that? I wish I had half of your brains for studying."
Shinwoo leaned forward and alternated his gaze between the workbook and Seon Gihyeon while delivering his line.
It was a line he had practiced hundreds of times to perform perfectly for his five-line role.
But.
It's not coming out as well as I thought.'
Maybe it was the nerves, or perhaps he had practiced too rigidly, but it felt awkward. As Shinwoo swallowed dryly,
"You can relax."
Han Yooil said so, sliding the workbook he was solving to the side.
"Just act comfortably. While delivering your line, feel free to pull the workbook toward you, or even take it away."
"Can I do that?"
"Of course."
That's a good approach. It will look much more natural.
Ignoring Brion's comment, Yooil continued,
"Since Heejun doesn't act with bad intentions, it might be good to keep it light and playful."
"!"
While Shinwoo was digesting Yooil's advice, the assistant director signaled that the shoot was about to start.
"Take 39, shot 5, action!"
And so, the set transformed into a perfect classroom. The screen captured kids sleeping, chatting about different things, and playing pranks.
In the midst of it all, Seon Gihyeon was focused on solving problems in his workbook.
Yoon Shinwoo rather, Heejun glanced at Seon Gihyeon and then quickly pulled the workbook towards him.
"!"
Caught off guard by the unexpected move, Seon Gihyeon's sharp pencil drew a thin line right across the middle of the workbook.
"Wow~ typical Seon Gihyeon."
"."
At first glance, Seon Gihyeon's expression seemed unchanged. However, anyone who had been observing Seon Gihyeon through the previous scenes would know.
Seon Gihyeon was annoyed.
"How can you solve all that? I wish I had even half of your brains for studying."
Instead of responding, Seon Gihyeon simply retrieved his workbook. The action wasn't rough, but there was a refined frustration in it.
Seeing this, Heejun unintentionally blurted out a remark.
"Jeez so prickly."
The words slipped out before he had a chance to think.
A few seconds of silence followed.
"Cut."
At the director's cue, Yoon Shinwoo gasped for air. His heart started racing.
He had improvised.
Done it.
An extra making an ad-lib.
But there was no turning back now.
I've ruined it.'
Just as Yoon Shinwoo was about to stand up and apologize profusely, Director Kim Kyuoh nodded his head.
"Nice."
"!"
"Yooil, come and monitor this together?"
As Shinwoo still couldn't grasp what was happening, blinking in confusion, Han Yooil walked up to the monitor. Then, he made an unexpected suggestion.
"Director."
"Yeah?"
"Would it be okay if Mr. Shinwoo, who plays Heejun', also joins in the monitoring?"
"!"
When Director Kim Kyuoh nodded again, Han Yooil made room for Shinwoo to join.
"Me?"
With his heart about to burst, Shinwoo stood up. But seeing Han Yooil smiling and beckoning him, the rapid beating of his heart calmed down a bit.
Shinwoo walked slowly towards the monitor. The scene they had just acted out started to appear on the monitor.
He had filmed many shorts before, but this was the first time he had ever monitored a commercial production.
It's definitely better.'
Han Yooil's advice was spot on. The way Heejun casually grabbed the workbook and Seon Gihyeon's annoyed reaction to Heejun were humorously and naturally captured.
"Nice. The name's"
"Ah, Yoon Shinwoo!"
"Right. Shinwoo, your acting was good. Let's approve this take and shoot an additional close-up of you to finish."
Shinwoo bit his lip. Otherwise, he felt his cheeks might rise in a grin.
Having successfully completed the additional close-up without any issues, Shinwoo bowed to Han Yooil during the break. However, to Shinwoo's thanks, Han Yooil simply said,
"It's not a big deal. It's because Actor Yoon Shinwoo did well. You'll do even better in the future."
"Thank you."
For some reason, Shinwoo's eyes started to feel moist. He averted his gaze and took a breath.
The actor was several years his junior. Initially, Shinwoo just thought of him as a likeable actor with a good impression, but he hadn't expected to receive such warm and substantial encouragement.
Once the shooting ends it'll all be over.'
He knew that Han Yooil was already a famous actor, but the thought of potentially losing contact after the shooting ended in a few months seemed regrettable. Shinwoo mustered his courage.
"Please feel free to decline. If it's okay with you, could we follow each other on ShaStar? I'd like to contact you occasionally, but I don't want to bother you by exchanging numbers."
"ShaStar?"
However, Han Yooil gave an unexpected response.
"Uh I don't have one."
"What?"
"I don't have a ShaStar account yet."
Facing a dumbfounded Shinwoo, Yooil smiled awkwardly.
It might be time to create a social media account.
* * *
Hours later, upon hearing that Han Yooil was considering creating a ShaStar account, the company's PR team was thrilled.
"We were planning to suggest it to you soon. You'll probably manage it well on your own, so we won't interfere too much. We'll only give you brief guidelines for promotional purposes. First things first, you should"
Min Woojin also seemed excited.
"Wow~ finally making one! Yooil, I actually had an idea for an ID"
"You've been thinking of an ID for my ShaStar?"
Under the enthusiastic support of his manager and the PR team, Han Yooil created his first social media account.
"You need to post photos on ShaStar."
"Ah"
"Take a selfie and upload it! If it's okay, please send it to us first."
But both the passionate manager and the proactive PR team overlooked one thing.
Han Yooil had never taken a selfie with the front camera before.
Watching Yooil awkwardly trying to take a selfie, Min Woojin finally took the photo for him, liberating Yooil from his selfie woes.
That night, something happened that would make Han Yooil's fans scream with joy.
[(Photo)
@1_and_only It's my first time on ShaStar. Nice to meet you, everyone. (waving hand emoji)]
While Han Yooil slept, the comments on his post started multiplying rapidly.
@_Xdbdlf OMG he's so handsome
@glaemfek The photo doesn't do him justice
@tkffu Yooil, it's your aunt. I lost my phone, can you DM me?~
@lovely.hye Please do another play, actor please
@show.me.the.acting Yooil, it's Jung Suho. Let's follow each other.
Wow
It's really actor Jung Suho
This is hilarious
I thought it was a joke, but it's real ;
This is why it's real life
Little did anyone know, it all started with a conversation on set.
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