🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 11
The stylist dried Sara’s wet hair and touched up her makeup. The two main actors had umbrellas, but Sara got drenched in the rain, so it took quite some time to get ready again.
When she returned to the set, Mugeom pressed on his eyelids and said,
“Let’s really get an okay this time. The sun’s about to rise soon.”
“Yes. Sorry, senior.”
Se-yeon slightly bowed only to Mugeom. That annoyed Sara once again, but she pretended not to notice.
“If you’re ready, let’s go! Cue!”
But the second take needed a cut signal even faster than the first.
“Hmm. Se-yeon, I think you’re putting in too much emotion right now. Just be a bit more composed like the first take, okay? Please.”
“Se-yeon! Are you going to keep mumbling your lines? I said it’s not you next to her, got it?”
“Cut! Cut! Se-yeon. Are we shooting this scene all day? It’s four in the morning right now, four!”
After the fourth take ended in another NG, Sara was fuming from head to toe. It was a scene that drained one’s energy just delivering the lines, and now she had to endure the cold rain and repeat the same scene four times.
“…I’m going to lose it.”
“Ah, S-Sara! Cold, right? Go change quickly, Sara! Where are you going? Sara!”
Mirae hurried over upon hearing Sara’s grim muttering. But Sara didn’t give her a chance and stood in front of Se-yeon. With a small smile, she asked,
“Se-yeon, can we talk alone for a bit?”
“Now?”
“Yes. Right now.”
The nearby staff sensed the tense atmosphere and quietly backed away.
“…Okay.” Se-yeon glanced around and nodded. Mirae fretted behind them, mouthing silently, “Please don’t cause trouble.”
Sara led Se-yeon to the waiting room.
“Se-yeon.”
“I’m sorry, senior.”
“I didn’t call you here to hear you apologize. Lift your head.”
At that, Se-yeon raised her face from its bowed position. Their eyes met. Sara smiled gently and said,
“Se-yeon, are you trying to mess with me right now?”
“…No, senior.”
“No, what do you mean no? You really don’t like me, huh? But leaving your senior standing in the rain—what do you think that is? In the middle of winter, at four in the morning, in the rain—it’s freezing! If I freeze to death during filming, will you take responsibility?”
“….”
“Why aren’t you answering? Do you not even hear me anymore?”
Sara spoke in a very gentle, soft tone. Se-yeon pouted and grumbled,
“…We can just do better from now on, right? I didn’t mean to. It’s just a few NGs. Stop picking on me.”
“Oh, so it wasn’t on purpose? I almost thought you were deliberately messing with me.”
Sara’s irritation surged at Se-yeon’s completely unrepentant tone, but she forcibly held it back. Losing her temper now would only backfire. If Se-yeon continued to intentionally NG, she’d have to keep standing in the rain.
Sara roughly swept back her damp hair and said,
“Then why is your acting getting worse and worse?”
“Worse? It’s just…”
“Just what?”
“Just… because Writer Sung is watching.”
Sara snorted.
“What does that have to do with anything? Afraid your bad acting will get exposed?”
“Huh, what’s wrong with my acting?”
“You’re not seriously asking that, are you?”
Sara was dumbfounded. It seemed Se-yeon had conveniently forgotten that her previous NGs were due to line flubs and lost emotional control.
“Ah, forget it. I hate these exhausting arguments about who’s right or wrong. Just read the script properly. You’re the lead, so you get paid a lot. That means you need to do your job properly.”
“Do you think I want to NG on purpose? I just get nervous because Writer Sung is watching. Senior might have another chance, but for me, I…”
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Sara sighed. If she had been a kind and gentle senior, she might have comforted the nervous junior, but Sara wasn’t that kind of person, nor were they close.
“Se-yeon, listen carefully.”
“Yes?”
“From now on, completely erase Writer Sung from your mind. Think only of me.”
Se-yeon twisted her face in disbelief, but Sara didn’t care and lightly grabbed her shoulder.
“Because if you NG one more time, I’ll do whatever it takes to ruin your acting career.”
“….”
“I’ll call every director I know and tell them if I ever see you in a project again, they shouldn’t hire you. And if you join another project, I’ll sabotage it too. You saw me take Rockstar once, right?”
“…Are you threatening me?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m doing. And thankfully, you understand.”
Se-yeon finally looked pale, as if grasping the situation. Sara released her shoulder with a gentle smile.
“Do you understand everything I said?”
“…Yes, senior.”
“Good. Shall we go out now?”
When they opened the waiting room door, Mirae quickly ran up. She handed Sara a towel and gave a sidelong glance at Se-yeon’s face and clothes, clearly wondering what had happened.
Once the door closed, Mirae dashed forward.
“What did you two do?”
“What do you mean? We had a deep conversation. Se-yeon apologized for the NGs and promised to do better.”
“Just that?”
Mirae scanned Sara suspiciously. Sara smiled softly.
“Yes. I told her if she NGs one more time, I’ll ruin her acting career.”
“….”
“It was a joke, so why aren’t you laughing?”
Mirae’s face turned pale. It didn’t sound like a joke at all. On the surface, Sara seemed calm and shy, but if provoked, she had confronted directors, staff, and fellow actors before. A troublesome junior in the same agency was even easier.
“Did Se-yeon record…”
“Her phone is managed by her manager during filming.”
“…I see. Alright, I get it.”
Mirae couldn’t bring herself to say “Good job” and awkwardly helped Sara change clothes. Once ready, they returned to the set, where the director, actors, and staff all looked exhausted. After all, filming had been going on for over twenty hours.
“Se-yeon, our water truck is almost out…”
“I’m sorry, director.”
“No, no. Just… that’s all. Ha, ha, ha.”
The director gritted his teeth and laughed. Before the shot, Sara exchanged glances with Se-yeon. She mouthed silently: Think only of me. Then she winked. Se-yeon quickly turned her head, avoiding her gaze.
Director Kwak rubbed his tired eyes and shouted,
“Alright, fifth take! Action!”
Sara finally opened her eyes to the insane ringing of her phone. A sliver of light filtered through the blackout curtains.
“What… is it?”
[Sara! You’re still not up?]
A familiar voice jolted her. Still half-asleep, she mumbled,
“Why… I don’t have a schedule today.”
[You’re going to see Yoon today! Did you forget?]
“See him? Ah…”
Oh right, today was her lunch date with Yoon Seung-tae. Sara got up sluggishly and checked the time. It was just past 1 PM. The appointment was at 4 PM, so she had just enough time to wash up, grab a quick bite, and prepare.
[Get up quickly. You need to get ready.]
“Ugh… so annoying…”
Sara sluggishly got up and half-crawled to the bathroom. An hour quickly passed just washing up, picking clothes, and doing her makeup. With a little time left, she rummaged through the fridge for a quick snack when her phone vibrated several short times.
Sara^^
I heard you got into Writer Sung’s drama this time?
Congratulations~~ Our Seo actor, fighting^^ You know your sister’s always cheering for you~~?
