🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 8
“Sua, you must never let go of Mom’s hand, okay?”
Mom was extremely nervous. She even took a day off from her factory job because it was my first shoot.
Since I couldn’t calm down on my own, I stuck right next to her, and she wrapped her arm firmly around my shoulder. It felt nice — it had been a long time since I’d had someone I could lean on like this.
As expected of a medical drama, the filming took place in a hospital.
Since I was a newcomer, we arrived much earlier than the scheduled shoot time. To my surprise, someone was already waiting for us.
“Sua! Mrs. Lee!”
“Hello, writer!”
“Hello!”
It wasn’t the assistant director or a staff member — the writer herself came to greet us.
When she first contacted my mom yesterday, we were both completely stunned.
When Mom asked if she wasn’t too busy writing scripts, she said she just had to come see my acting in person, so I shouldn’t feel pressured. So I told her she could come if she wanted.
‘Even the script she sent earlier was pretty high quality for something just finished. I remember hearing that, even before I returned, she wasn’t the type to hand out half-baked scripts.’
Still, her dark circles suggested that her schedule was pushing her limits. I grabbed writer Jo Ga-young’s sleeve with a worried expression.
“Writer, you look tired.”
“Hmm? No way. I’m full of energy today because I get to watch Sua act!”
…She’s wobbling just from me tugging on her sleeve — she is exhausted.
“I’ll do my best today, so please get some real sleep when you go home!”
“Alright.”
“Pinky promise!”
When I held out my pinky, Writer Jo smiled warmly and linked hers with mine.
She then led us into the filming site.
The staff were bustling about, but none of the lead actors had arrived yet. As we walked past groups of extras waiting in the hall, I greeted every staff member we passed until we found PD Gu Su-min.
“Sua! You look healthy — thank goodness.”
“Hello, PD! I was a tiny bit sick. Just a tiny bit.”
I bowed deeply and emphasized that I was fine. The previous child actor had to leave due to illness, so PD Gu’s face was full of concern.
No way was I going to get sick right after signing the contract. And I really was healthy.
“I’ll call you when it’s time, so stay somewhere warm until then!”
After PD Gu fussed over me, I headed to the makeup room. Writer Jo stayed behind to discuss something with the PD.
I changed into a crisp, sky-blue dress and had my hair sprayed to look a little dry and unkempt. My face was lightly powdered to appear paler.
There were still some finishing touches left, but since there was plenty of time before filming, they decided to do it later.
I checked myself carefully in the mirror and bowed politely when I caught the stylists’ eyes.
“Thank you for making me look so pretty!”
“Oh, goodness, you’re welcome! You made it fun for us too — it was worth the effort!”
“So adorable! You must be so happy to have such a lovely daughter, ma’am!”
The stylists’ smiles stretched to their ears as they showered me with compliments. But when I noticed people starting to arrive, I slipped out of the room.
The first person to show up, unexpectedly, was the lead actor.
“Hello! I’m rookie actress Lee Sua!”
“Wow, so you’re Min-seo? Nice to meet you. I’m Do Jae-hyun.”
“Please take good care of me!”
“Haha, likewise—!”
I bowed politely, and Do Jae-hyun awkwardly bent at the waist in return. Mom, startled, bowed too — which made everyone around us laugh pleasantly.
“She’s such a bright kid.”
“She’s already calling herself an actress. How cute.”
“Well, she is about to be filmed, so she’s not wrong. I wonder when today’s shoot will end…”
Their reactions were mostly gentle. After all, no one expected much from a child actor. And everyone here already knew I was a last-minute replacement.
More importantly, the behind-the-scenes camera was rolling now that the lead actor had arrived. People were careful with their words — they didn’t want to get caught saying something inappropriate on camera.
“Actors, please wave over here!”
Do Jae-hyun and I stood side by side, waving at the making-of camera. When he went into the dressing room, the making-of PD asked me a few short interview questions before moving on.
That’s the extent of my current position —
A backup child actor.
Someone who walks around smiling cutely, keeping the atmosphere light.
‘That’s fine.’
I was confident in my skills, and I’d practiced plenty. The only thing that worried me a little was that it had been a long time since I’d acted alongside others.
Still, I could easily meet their modest expectations.
And I couldn’t help but wonder — once the shoot ended, how would everyone’s view of me change?
* * *
“Filming starts soon! Please stand by!”
The staff hurried about, and assistant director Jo Young-gil gathered everyone.
Kim Bo-ram, the PD in charge of the making-of for Records of a Master Doctor, had been assigned by the main director to focus on the child actor.
‘She’s still just a kid, but she totally looks like a born actress.’
A few more years, and an idol agency might try to snatch her up. Maybe someday she’d top online rankings like “Most Actress-like Idols” or “Idols We Want in a Drama.”
The young actress walked hand-in-hand with the extra playing her mother toward the PD.
PD Gu Su-min smiled warmly as he looked at them — especially at the child actress. She hadn’t even filmed yet, but his expression was already satisfied.
“Sua, Jin-ju — how are you feeling today?”
After making sure they were both doing well, he turned to Sua again.
“You read through the whole script, right? How was it? You’ve got quite a few lines.”
“It was fun.”
“Think you can do it like last time?”
Normally, being openly expected to perform well by an adult so much older might make a kid shrink back — but Sua wasn’t intimidated at all. She grinned and shot back,
“Should I just do it like last time?”
That mischievous smile almost seemed to say, Is that all you’re expecting from me?
Kim Bo-ram wondered if she was reading too much into it — but PD Gu’s beaming grin said she wasn’t wrong.
“Alright then. We’ll film in script order so it’s easier to keep your emotions consistent. Stay in good condition, okay?”
Joking that most of the child’s scenes were set in a hospital anyway, so it wouldn’t be too hard, Gu Su-min sent the two back to the dressing room.
Sua’s first official shoot would begin any minute now.
‘Does that kid really act that well?’
Maybe PD Gu’s excitement was contagious — even Kim Bo-ram started to feel a flicker of anticipation.
And they weren’t the only ones watching her that way.
* * *
Go-cheon Hospital, tucked away in a quiet corner of Gyeonggi Province.
The atmosphere was unusually peaceful that day, and one of the interns cheerfully remarked,
“Wow, not many patients today. It’s pretty relaxed!”
The moment those words left his mouth, a wave of scolding and glares hit him.
“Hey! Park intern! What’s wrong with you saying that?!”
“Wh—why are you yelling all of a sudden?”
“You don’t say stuff like that! You’ll jinx it — more patients will come!”
The unlucky intern pouted and shrank back as the seniors nervously glanced at the phones and the ER entrance.
But that day really did stay calm — all the way until evening.
“See? I told you! Nothing happened! You yelled at me for no reason!”
“Unbelievable… Geez. Someone must’ve unplugged the phone or something.”
While his coworkers bickered, Dr. Go Su-hyeok calmly organized his charts, preparing to go home.
His senior doctor spotted him and threw an arm around his shoulders.
“Our Go-cheon Hospital’s top ace — Dr. Go Su-hyeok, the ‘Master of Go-cheon’~ How about a drink to celebrate leaving on time for once?”
“It’s been a while, so I’d rather go home early. Got housework piled up.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t be boring—”
Riiing—!
Go Su-hyeok grabbed the phone quickly, grateful for the excuse to escape the senior’s teasing.
But as he listened to the urgent voice on the line, his expression hardened — and seeing his face, the senior and nearby doctors all sighed deeply.
“Knew it. Things were going too smoothly.”
With that resigned murmur, the ambulance rush began.
Two multi-car collisions on the highway — patients streaming in one after another, doctors moving frantically.
And just when things had finally started to calm down, another ambulance arrived.
“Hit-and-run victim! They say she needs surgery immediately!”
Dr. Go, who happened to be free, helped transport the patient.
On the stretcher lay a blood-soaked woman — and clinging desperately beside her was a small girl.
“Who’s the kid…?”
“They say it’s her daughter. She wouldn’t let go, so we brought her along for now. Hey! You can’t come in here!”
The paramedic gently pried the girl off the stretcher.
Just before the operating room doors closed, Dr. Go glanced back —
And his eyes met the child’s.
A sky-blue dress stained with blood.
Messy hair.
A hollow, empty expression.
Do Jae-hyun’s heart sank like a stone.
