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Once we accepted the recruitment from our side, the process quickly moved forward.

They were eager to bring me in since things were trending on their end, and I also wanted to clarify things quickly, so our interests aligned.

The very next day, I went straight to the broadcasting station for a light preliminary meeting.

A few days later.

“Hello.”

“You shouldn’t be greeting me…!”

“Oh right, my bad.”

Once again, I started my morning with a cameraman in tow.

It was the beginning of another observational variety show since my appearance as Lady Soo-yeon.

**

Hmm.

So, how did it go last time?

I sat on the bed, still half-asleep, recalling the previous filming.

…On the first day, I had just played around and garnered some disapproving looks.

“Yawn…”

Well, I’m relieved that I won’t be displaying such nonsense this time.

I let out a light yawn and got out of bed.

Things haven’t been that leisurely lately.

I figured even if I wanted to show a playful side, I probably couldn’t easily afford that.

Starting today, I had an early morning to tackle.

Today’s advertisement shoot was situated quite a distance away, so I just washed my face lightly and stepped outside early in the morning.

Usually, I would have breakfast with everyone, but today, there was no time for that.

“Thanks for your hard work this morning.”

“Not at all. You’re out early.”

“Since I’m in the middle of filming, I have to maintain my image.”

“You’ve never been late, either.”

After getting into the car, I casually greeted Park Kang-seok.

Now that I think about it, he probably woke up at dawn to drive here early in the morning.

Being a manager is tough.

“Well, let’s get going.”

“Yes.”

And just like that, the car started off smoothly.

“Manager, you haven’t had breakfast, right?”

“Oh, no.”

“I should eat something, so should I get takeout?”

“Sure. What do you feel like eating?”

Hmm… What do I want?

Honestly, since it’s morning, nothing is really tempting me.

But thinking about the shoot, I should eat something.

“How about some kimbap?”

“Kimbap sounds good. I know a great place near the shop.”

“Oh.”

Park Kang-seok often took me to delicious restaurants whenever I suggested I wanted to eat something.

That’s how I know he’s a veteran.

He must have every good restaurant around the broadcasting station or Gangnam area memorized.

Thanks to him, I get to eat delicious food often.

“Is the staff okay with kimbap?”

“Me? Oh, I’ll take whatever you give me, thank you.”

“I’ll pick something delicious for you.”

I wonder if it’s appropriate to say that while buying kimbap, but… I guess getting expensive kimbap will be fine.

These days, one roll of kimbap costs as much as a decent menu item.

Anyway, the place where we arrived was the shop we always went to.

“Then, I’ll go buy kimbap.”

He dropped the cameraman and me off in front of the shop and said that.

Is he really going to get it right away? After all, it might take a while to get styled in the shop.

“Oh, right away? We could buy it on the way to the filming location later.”

“Even in the morning, there’s a line, so it’s easier to go and pick it up early.”

…A line for kimbap?

Just how delicious is it?

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“Yes.”

Well, if there’s a line… Park Kang-seok went ahead to buy the kimbap, and I entered the shop with the cameraman.

“You’re here early today~.”

The director, who always styles me, was there from the early morning.

“Thanks for taking care of me today.”

“Don’t worry; you’ll look good no matter what you do, Soo-hyun. Come, sit here.”

“Okay.”

After arriving, I immediately sat down and started getting styled.

At first, it felt awkward, but I became comfortable as I went along.

“Your hair really is nice.”

“Thanks.”

Moreover, with them constantly styling my hair, I even started to feel drowsy.

Since I came early in the morning, I was dozing off while getting styled.

“Soo-hyun… Soo-hyun?”

“Oh, yes.”

When I opened my eyes at the director’s call, my look was almost complete.

“You look really tired.”

“Haha… I woke up early.”

“You need to get enough sleep; otherwise, your skin will get ruined.”

“You’re right…”

“Just because you’re young doesn’t mean you should let your guard down~.”

“Okay…”

Now that I think about it, I also need to visit a dermatologist.

Though I went a few times under the agency director’s suggestion, I haven’t really been going regularly.

Maybe after the concert ends, I’ll have some time to go properly.

Well, I’m not expecting my skin to improve much, but it’s still something I have to take care of.

“Alright, done! Take a look in the mirror.”

While I was lost in thought, the styling was finished.

Just as the director said, looking in the mirror, I saw a me that was definitely different from the morning.

“Looks good today, right?”

“Yes, it does.”

I smile satisfactorily, as I do every time, and stood up from my seat.

“Is everything done?”

Turning around after getting up, I saw Park Kang-seok waiting, holding a black bag on his arm.

“Oh, when did you come back?”

“Not too long ago.”

“Whoa… Was the line long?”

“Yes, there were a lot of customers from the morning.”

A lot of customers… That makes me even more excited!

Afterward, I exited the shop and got back into the car.

“Here you go.”

“Oh… Thank you.”

“Can you eat all of it?”

“Of course.”

Earlier, I had declared to Park Kang-seok that I would devour two rolls.

At such a delicious kimbap place, wasn’t it a waste to only eat one roll?

They were donkatsu and tuna kimbap.

After handing some kimbap to the cameraman, I opened the one marked with a tuna sticker first, filled with anticipation.

The outside looked ordinary.

I took a bite to taste…

“Yup, it’s tuna kimbap.”

“Yeah, well, it is tuna kimbap.”

…It just tasted like tuna kimbap.

I felt bad for Park Kang-seok, who waited and brought it, but there wasn’t a dramatic flavor change that warranted standing in line.

Still, since it was tasty, I quietly ate about half of the tuna kimbap.

Before my stomach filled up, I opened and ate the donkatsu kimbap.

“How does it taste?”

“Oh, yeah? It tastes like donkatsu kimbap.”

“…Well, it is donkatsu kimbap. I was asking if it tasted worth the wait.”

“Uh… Well, um, it’s good.”

“…I was actually thinking it was normal, too.”

…Oh dear.

Reflecting on it, it seems Park Kang-seok caught on since he was munching on one while waiting at the light.

I sneaked a glance to the side.

The cameraman, curious if he was also disappointed with its usual flavor, seemed to enjoy it, chewing happily…

Well, considering he was someone who was filming even earlier than me, was there anything that wouldn’t be delicious to him?

“Staff, take your time and chew. Have some soup too.”

“Oh, yes.”

And so, while enjoying breakfast, the car traveled down the road towards the filming location.

“We’ve arrived.”

The location we reached was a set near Gyeonggi-do.

“Phew.”

Maybe because I had been in the car for quite a while?

Stepping outside, the morning air felt refreshingly invigorating.

To sum it up, buying two rolls of kimbap was a bit excessive.

At one point, I felt so full that I slightly suffered from motion sickness.

Even so, I had some leftovers… Thankfully, Park Kang-seok finished them off.

It’s not the first time this has happened, but why do I get so greedy when I’m about to eat something delicious?

Looking at Park Kang-seok’s physique, it seems he could gulp down more than three rolls, but still, I’d feel a bit bad to have him clean up after me.

As for the cameraman… he seemed to polish off two rolls just fine.

He must have been quite hungry.

“Shall we head inside?”

“Yes.”

With that, I guided Park Kang-seok and the cameraman toward the building.

“Soo-hyun, it’s nice to see you.”

As we neared the building, someone soon recognized me and approached.

A middle-aged man with a slightly hunched back and glasses.

Moreover, he had an ID badge hanging from his back with a round bundle of paper in one hand.

Now I can tell at a glance who it is.

“Yes, you’re the filming director, right?”

“Oh? How did you know?”

“Oh, it’s just the vibe you give off.”

“Wow… That’s a compliment, right?”

“Sure.”

So it was indeed the filming director.

Maybe it’s because of his experience that just by looking at the location and appearance, I could get a rough sense of the type of person he was.

“Let’s head inside.”

“Yes.”

“Are the people behind you… your manager and people for the variety filming we talked about?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

And it appears that it’s the same for the filming director as well; he accurately inferred the two people behind him as he headed into the building first.

Following the director, I entered the building.

The interior of the building looked surprisingly good for a set located in a remote area of Gyeonggi-do.

Judging by the maintenance status, it was comparable to that of a regular broadcasting station’s set.

Maybe they saved budget on the location and invested it into the building?

Considering how expensive land is in Seoul.

Passing through the building’s corridor, I thought how impressive it was for Manager Kim to have a house there.

“This is the meeting room. There’s an actor who arrived earlier waiting inside.”

We had already arrived at a neat door.

An actor who arrived before me?

Was someone else joining for the shoot?

“Please come in.”

While I was thinking for a moment, the door opened wide, revealing the inside of the meeting room.

“Oh.”

And then, seeing the familiar face, I remembered who I would be filming with today.

“…You came early.”

Oh.

I completely forgot in the rush of filming the variety show from early morning.

I remembered that today’s advertisement was with Moon Chang-sik.

“….”

“….”

A silence fell between me and Moon Chang-sik.

This is odd; during that dinner gathering, it didn’t feel like a big deal, but seeing each other like this makes things a bit awkward.

“…The advertiser just arrived, so let’s go meet them.”

“Ah, yes….”

And so, with that, we started the meeting before the advertisement shoot, feeling the awkwardness lingering in the air.

 

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