Saying filming was really hard? Jeong Seongbin’s question caught me off guard.
“No. Why?”
I threw the question back like nothing was wrong, and Jeong Seongbin gave an awkward smile as he answered.
“From what you’ve said, I wondered if there was a lot of pecking order crap on set.”
That was a little too transparent. I figured they wouldn’t catch on, but I must have been taking them for fools.
“Pecking order? By who! You barely even have two lines!”
“Calm down. And there are people who would kill for those two lines, so that’s probably why.”
Kang Giyeon said the sensible thing and tried to settle Lee Cheonghyeon. But Lee Cheonghyeon didn’t quiet down nicely.
“You don’t do that to someone who got invited and even auditioned. If you’ve got a problem, take it up with whoever offered an idol the role and whoever did the final casting, right? That’s straight-up picking on the weak and bowing to the strong!”
“Why are you so mad?”
“Because I just came from a suffocating meeting, that’s why!”
I told him to write a straightforward office drama OST and he got soaked in office vibes. I’ll have to rinse that out soon.
“I’m going in with the mindset that if there’s someone desperate for those lines, I should work hard so I won’t be ashamed. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“No one’s worried about that. Next issue?”
Kang Giyeon propped his chin and asked.
“There’s someone who isn’t exactly thrilled about me appearing.”
“So they fucking hate it.”
“Jeho, where did our ‘use nice, proper words’ agreement go?”
“I just translated it to the normal standard.”
Then Choi Jeho turned his gaze to the members.
No one objected to what he said. He looked even more triumphant. Fuck, I was getting heated.
“Yeah, there’s someone who isn’t thrilled. I thought that might be natural in the entertainment industry. Turns out it’s not necessarily that simple.”
“If it’s ‘natural’? You were just going to sit there and take it?”
Lee Cheonghyeon glared like he was going to burn a hole through me.
“That won’t happen. I’m done sitting still and taking it.”
“That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day.”
Arms crossed, Lee Cheonghyeon thumped back against the chair like he was throwing himself into the backrest.
The whole time, silent and lost in thought, Jeong Seongbin finally spoke.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah.”
“This is just how I see it. Whatever the genre or arena, sure, there’ll be common reactions—but I don’t think they’re absolute.”
Common reactions, huh.
I was definitely wrestling with it—between the gap I knew as “changing jobs in society” and “moving fields within entertainment,” and where and how to adapt.
Jeong Seongbin was saying the borders around that “move of fields” weren’t absolute.
“Some people will want to teach more because someone from another major came in. Others will think they lack professional mindset. In times like that, isn’t it best to adapt to the new work bit by bit with the good people?”
It was nice to hear. If you twist it, someone could call it easy talk.
But I could tell it was something he’d turned over and over before saying it—because of what he said next.
“Maybe there are difficult people now. But there will definitely be good people, and there will be more and more good people around you. Everyone likes you.”
A little—no, unbelievably—embarrassing.
“It’s not like you have the kind of personality that doesn’t get doted on.”
What I said the day I got that apology out of Jang Junhu—
Jeong Seongbin smiled and tossed it back to me.
He’s a strange one anyway. He knows I’ve got a prickly personality and still says stuff like that. Looks like he really has changed since “I Am The Best.”
“You guys are awfully friendly these days?”
When the members who’d all come to see me off piled back in through the door, our manager said it.
“They’ve always gotten along.”
“No, lately it’s unusually good.”
This is all because every time I go film “In My Office,” those punks yell, “Spark’s representative good-personality heartthrob! Have a good shoot!” when they see me off. I think they want to charge up my self-esteem, but all it’s doing is ramping up my shame.
“You’re on set all day today, right?”
“Yeah. Office-meeting shoot in the afternoon and a team-dinner shoot at night.”
That’s over eight hours of work. At this point I should be able to ask for social insurance, right? Year-end is only a few months away anyway; I kind of want to jump into any company and get my year-end tax adjustment done in one shot.
Still, for the conference-room scene I only have to say “Yes” twice, so that’s a relief. The production company must be regretting paying me per episode.
Sorry about that. I need the skill points, too. I’ll at least show my crown of the head.
The conference-room scene wrapped without a hitch around the two leads.
The scene where the product they co-developed racks up ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) insane profitability also went smoothly. Gu Jahan flubbed his lines a couple of times, but the fund name was so long everyone was in a forgiving mood.
“MyNewVision Dynamic Securities Investment Trust”—yeah, that’s a pain to memorize.
Maybe because the leads’ romance arc had turned a corner, the vibe on set was warmer than usual. Every time Gu Jahan and Ha Seomyeong came out, the supporting actors came with them and smoothed things out, which helped.
“If only every day were like today.”
I was picking up the paper we’d scattered filming the “Our profits hit the jackpot!” scene with the assistant directors when someone tapped my back.
I turned around to see Manager Gu’s team standing there, each holding a drink.
“Iwol, thanks for the coffee!”
“Sorry?”
I only picked up paper here—I didn’t buy any coffee?
Still lost, I followed as Ha Seomyeong pointed outside.
“Your members sent a coffee truck. I guess they kept it secret from you?”
“A coffee truck?!”
I dumped the paper on the table and bolted outside. No wonder the Spark Behind Cam staffer had latched onto me today; they dashed out with me in a hurry.
There really was a small, cute gray coffee truck parked there. Staff were lined up at the front getting drinks.
“......”
I couldn’t even get words out.
“We support Younghwan Do’s life at MyAsset Management!”
The phrase pasted across the top of the truck was shocking enough...
“Rookie Do treats everyone!”
“Seniors, fuel up on caffeine!”
...the banners set up beside it were just as shocking.
“How much did this cost!”
Even a coffee truck to a music-video set burns through a million won easily.
Sending one to a drama set with several times the headcount? When they haven’t even received settlements yet?
“I need to—... ah, I don’t have my phone.”
Maybe the Behind Cam staffer saw my face fall as I patted my pocket, because they covered their mouth and laughed.
“Want to borrow mine?”
“I’d be really grateful.”
If I call our manager, they’ll pass it along. Once I explained, I got connected straight to the kids in practice.
— Hyung! How’s the truck color? Do you like it?
Blissfully unaware of my insides, Lee Cheonghyeon chirped away. My temples throbbed.
“This was you?”
That line carried a lot of meaning. It meant, like with the last reverse fan-gift, “You’re supposed to say the company paid for it!”
But Spark failed my expectations.
— Yup. We pooled our own cash.
As always.
“You haven’t even been paid settlements—where’d you get the money for this? You’re busy, who even placed the order? Did you write the phrases yourselves? If you’re going to do something that needs me from A to Z, tell me first...”
— I can’t hear this nagging. Someone else take it?
On the other end, Lee Cheonghyeon sounded appalled.
— Hyung, it’s me.
“Okay, Seongbin. Let’s try talking like rational adults, yeah?”
— Right now you’re the only one not being rational.
Behind him, Kang Giyeon muttered.
From where I’m standing, none of you are in your right minds. What kind of high-schoolers send a coffee truck that costs hundreds?
“Seongbin, whose idea was this?”
— Juu suggested it, and over half voted yes, so we moved.
“So there was someone who voted no? Which sensible soul was that?”
— Jeho.
Choi Jeho!
Useless in the meeting, and now—
Sitting there spouting nonsense—
But at least as a hyung you tried to rein them in!
In all the time I’ve known you, I’ve never been prouder.
If only you had a bit more pull. I should give you a little more authority so you can balance Seongbin when I’m not around...
— Jeho said since you only drink lukewarm water, we should send a bundle of natural mineral water, but the more we thought about it, the more that felt wrong, so we settled on a coffee truck.
...Settled my ass. You little shit, consider your speaking rights revoked in all non-work meetings for life.
— Isn’t it right to give the lead what he actually drinks?
From farther away, I heard Choi Jeho mutter. You... we’ll talk at the dorm.
— Juu found the truck. Giyeon handled the quotes. I wrote the copy. Ah, and the picture—Cheonghyeon edited it!
— I cut out the background so well, right? Background-removal tech is great these days!
“Jeho. Just standing there sipping water?”
— I took on the critical duty of talking to the company owner.
Lee Cheonghyeon intoned gravely. Fair—there’s no one better than Jeho for that. He doesn’t have the kind of voice that gets scammed easily.
— Hyung, you know I’m getting composition fees. And Kang Giyeon and Jeho get choreography fees. You think the five of us can’t split this evenly?
Lee Cheonghyeon laughed.
It’s great you’re competent and making good money. But...
“Your money...”
Why spend it on this. You hardly even spend on yourselves.
— Don’t frame it like we’re being wasteful. That hurts our feelings.
— Yeah. We wanted you to look on us kindly, and if you scold us, what does that make us?
— Like Seongbin said—get doted on...!
Without a thought for how it sounds on my end, they chattered in chorus. I realized subtitling this Behind Cam would be a pain.
I held back the sigh that was about to come out by habit. Then I looked at the coffee truck once, and the phone once.
“Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”
The phone burst into happy laughter. In unison, the punks shouted:
— Take a hundred photos in front of the truck!
After I hung up, I got a peach iced tea from the coffee truck.
And I took a shot of the truck. I also got our manager to take a few of me in front of it, but I wanted one of just the truck.
After getting the proof shot, I went back in and sat in the warm seat belonging to Do Younghwan on set, sipping my drink.
In the cup holder, I was smiling brightly.
