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“How can you go first?”

After escaping from Ahn Ji-young, Moon Chang-sik asked this while following behind me.

Come to think of it, we were on our way to take photos together.

I felt a bit guilty for running away alone.

“But you really have no intention of doing it at all?”

“I’m just a bit busy…”

Well, it’s not like I’m super busy or anything, but taking on more work here isn’t exactly appealing…

I haven’t even recorded Jeong-hoon’s track yet.

After recording, I still have to get it mixed, and I made plans to work on a song with Moon Chang-sik right here, but we haven’t even started that.

And is that all?

I also need to broadcast every day and check up on how Loa and Harbin are doing.

With all this going on, I can’t comfortably take on more work.

“Is that so?”

I wasn’t sure if Moon Chang-sik fully understood my busyness, but he nodded without saying much.

It seemed like he just accepted my situation.

“Let’s take a picture first.”

Just then, while walking, I spotted a pretty decent place.

It looked exactly like a street from the Joseon Dynasty.

There were stone walls on either side, and the broad road blurred in the background, making it slightly dark but still emotional.

“How about here?”

“Here? It seems too dark, doesn’t it?”

“But it has a vibe!”

After all, pictures are supposed to be taken in romantic spots like this.

What’s the point of taking a picture in front of a palace like everyone else?

“Vibe, huh… Alright.”

As he said that, Moon Chang-sik took out his phone.

Unlike my several-year-old smartphone, his was the latest model I’d seen in advertisements recently.

“Did you just buy it? Isn’t it brand new?”

“Oh, this?”

Moon Chang-sik spun his shiny new phone around and replied.

“As an ad model, I got it as soon as it was released.”

“…Okay, let’s take the picture.”

He sure is on another level…

Realizing Moon Chang-sik’s caliber, I pointed at his new phone.

“Then please take a picture with that and send it to me.”

“Got it.”

If we’re going to take a picture, it might as well be with the newest phone.

My phone’s camera is no slouch, but it can’t compete with the latest model.

“Then please stand over there.”

“Okay.”

So I stood there first and got my photo taken.

“Is that your best expression?”

“I’m trying my best.”

It’s been a while since I took pictures alone, so my expression felt a bit awkward, but it should be fine.

Whatever expression I make should work out well enough.

“Alright, I took it, so check it out.”

“How is it? Did it turn out well?”

“Kind of? Here you go.”

“Oh….”

It seemed like there was a reason Moon Chang-sik spoke with confidence; the photo turned out great.

How did he take this in an alley?

Or could it be that the subject was just too great, making the photo work wonders?

“Okay, now I’ll take one of you.”

“…You can take a good shot, right? I’m going to post it on Instagram later.”

“Instagram?”

“Yeah, when official productions are announced, I post everyday photos for promotion.”

Ah… well, considering Moon Chang-sik in a historical costume, the fans will definitely love it.

“Then I’ll take a good one for you.”

While I’m not as confident in my photography skills, I’m not bad either.

So I took a couple of pictures of Moon Chang-sik and asked a staff member to take a picture of the two of us while we were immersed in taking photos.

At that moment…

“Hey, but Soo-hyun.”

“Yes?”

“How about hearing what role it is just once?”

Out of nowhere, Moon Chang-sik said that.

What’s he talking about while we’re taking pictures?

“Role?”

I guess he was referring to the proposal I received earlier from the writer, but did he still think about that?

“Isn’t it good to hear what it’s about?”

“That’s true, but….”

Honestly, I do feel a bit guilty for running away without even listening.

Should I have heard it?

At the time, I thought it would be difficult to participate, so I firmly ran away…

“And it won’t hurt to be on good terms with Ahn Ji-young.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, her network is huge, and when you need help, she’ll definitely be there for you.”

Is her evaluation really that high?

She seems nice, but is she that much of a deal?

And her network is vast, huh…

Maybe I might get some assistance regarding the music video later?

Since it’s in the broadcast field, it’s likely that she has connections somewhere.

“But I’ve already run away….”

“She’s someone who wouldn’t care about that.”

“Really?”

“Yes, she has a big heart.”

Just hearing that, it sounds like there’s no one like her.

I squinted, trying to gauge if Moon Chang-sik was serious, but his expression didn’t change at all.

…Could it be true?

No, thinking about it, if Moon Chang-sik takes acting seriously, I’d have no way of distinguishing it.

But I can’t help but think that returning wouldn’t be bad.

Moon Chang-sik probably isn’t saying this for no reason.

“Now that we’ve taken all the pictures, how about you go?”

“…Yes, I suppose.”

Thanks to Moon Chang-sik’s suggestion, I headed back to Ahn Ji-young.

“Alright, please go in there. I’ll step out for a bit.”

Moon Chang-sik guided me to the tent where Ahn Ji-young was, then vanished, saying he had something to do.

“…Is this really okay?”

It had been less than an hour since I’d run away, so I felt a bit uneasy, but there was nothing else I could do now that I was here. I stepped into the tent.

Tap-tap-tap.

Inside the tent, only the sound of typing was heard. Ahn Ji-young seemed to be so focused that she didn’t notice I had entered. She was still typing away at her laptop.

I figured I shouldn’t disturb her concentration.

Knowing how distracting interruptions can be, I quietly sat down on a nearby chair.

I was planning to wait until she finished writing…

“Why aren’t you coming?”

Ahn Ji-young, who was writing, paused and glanced my way.

“…Did you notice?”

“I can’t write if someone else is here, hee hee.”

As she said this and got up, her expression showed that she wasn’t bothered at all by my previous escape.

“Were you quietly sitting there to avoid disturbing me?”

“I guess so… You seemed focused.”

“You’re more considerate than I thought. Please keep sitting.”

Ahn Ji-young, who told me to stay, pulled up another chair and sat down in front of me.

The sudden face-to-face situation was a bit overwhelming.

“By the way, when you ran off, you came back.”

“Ahaha… was I really that rude?”

“No, it was refreshing. Did you come because you wanted to?”

“Yes… I was really curious about the role you mentioned.”

“Nice way of speaking.”

She laughed, and it seemed Ahn Ji-young was in a pretty good mood.

“Then would you like to see it?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve almost finished it.”

“You’ve finished it?”

I had firmly run away and yet she wrote it?

Did she know I’d come back or something? She waved her hand dismissively.

“I just wrote it on a whim. I feel compelled to write things down.”

“Ah….”

“It could help later too. And I didn’t want to waste the inspiration.”

Is that a writer’s quirk?

Anyway, the fact that she wrote it piqued my interest.

“Can I take a look?”

“Of course.”

Afterward, Ahn Ji-young stood up and showed me the laptop she had been using.

“Here, take a look. Ah, I wrote it more like a novel than a script, but it’s okay, right?”

“Oh, it’s fine. I’ve read stuff like that.”

“Really? You don’t seem like the type.”

“Ahaha….”

Well, it’s probably not the kind of novel Ahn Ji-young imagines, but I do read.

Alternative histories or something like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, or sometimes fantasy?

Anyway, I’m familiar with reading, so I started reading the contents written on the laptop.

After going through some of it, I thought…

“Oh, this…”

“What do you think? It seems doable?”

“Yeah….”

It looked genuinely good.

No, it wasn’t that I liked the role, but it seemed like something that could be filmed quickly.

In a way, the vibe seemed similar to the roles I usually take on.

There might be a few additional scenes, but they didn’t seem difficult.

“By the way….”

“Feel free to speak.”

“How long will this filming location be used?”

“We’ll finish filming everything this time, so we’ll probably move out in a week.”

“Ah… then it might be tough. I really need practice.”

I’m currently in such a lacking state that even Moon Chang-sik is scratching his head.

I can’t ask to rent this filming location just to wait for me to practice.

I voiced these concerns, but Ahn Ji-young waved her hands as if to say it was fine.

“We’ll be renting here again later.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, we need to shoot some scenes again in the dead of winter, so you can do it then.”

Is that really okay?

In the dead of winter…

Since it’s currently chilly autumn, I indeed have some time.

There’s enough time, and it shouldn’t take long; plus, the scenes for practice would be quite similar to the existing ones.

Hmm… this could be doable.

Just as Moon Chang-sik said, it seems like returning was a good move.

“Um, should I go for it?”

“…Nice.”

“Yes?”

“I mean, since you decided, should we head to the director immediately?”

“Right now?”

“Yes, it’s better to go for it while the iron is hot.”

Thus, that day, unexpectedly, I renewed the contract and headed home.

By the way, I immediately uploaded the photos taken with Moon Chang-sik in the group chat on my way home.

Just as I thought, the reactions were exactly as I expected.

 

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