Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity
Chapter 129
“Yesterday, you got beaten up so badly, and today, this is all you have? I guess you didn’t get hit enough.”
“Are you not afraid of us? Damn, this hurts my pride.”
The faces in front of me sneered.
One guy pulled money out of my wallet and stomped on it. Another spat on the ground, and one more tapped my shoulder.
There were three pieces of trash.
Including myself, who couldn’t say anything to this trash, there were four in total.
“…I’m sorry.”
Damn, I wanted to bring more too.
There’s no money at home, what do you expect me to do? Bastards.
“What are you sorry for~? You should apologize to your face. You came prepared to get hit, right?”
As the hand pressed my shoulder with force, my body automatically trembled.
‘I wish they would just hit me quickly.’
Just as I closed my eyes, hoping for this moment to end soon.
“Who are you guys?”
“…?”
“Wow~. From the lousy lines you were saying, I thought your faces would be equally ridiculous.”
Someone who looked more like a thug than the three pieces of trash approached, laughing.
I instinctively felt it.
‘That guy is going to win.’
Being in a position where I constantly got beaten up, I knew better.
Fighting was all about the momentum. Based on that, the outcome was already decided.
“Who, who are you, you bastard.”
The trash, embarrassed by his own stuttering, hit me on the head for no reason.
I stood still and endured the attack, clenching my teeth and holding back the sound.
‘I wish this would end quickly.’
I wasn’t curious about why he was helping.
Maybe he couldn’t stand seeing weaker people acting tough, or maybe it didn’t matter to me anyway.
“Alright, we, we’re sorry! Stop hitting us!”
The fight ended more blandly than I expected.
The trash threw money at my face and ran away.
“….”
Only after the sound of their footsteps faded into the distance did I kneel and pick up the bills.
No matter how neatly I tried to straighten the bills, they were already dirty. Just like me.
The violence was too familiar to feel freshly miserable about.
‘…Still.’
But even so, meeting someone who appeared like a savior was not something I was used to.
I glanced at the person, casually shaking off the blood on his hands.
‘Could I ever become that strong someday?’
It was an unfamiliar face, yet I felt a strange sense of relief.
Even though it wasn’t a situation to laugh, I found myself smiling.
“Um… Thank you―.”
“Shouldn’t you pay for the help?”
“What?”
I felt my awkward smile freeze.
The person extended a hand. It wasn’t for a handshake.
From the way he pointed his eyes at the bills in my hand, it was clear what he wanted.
“….”
How ridiculous. It was fine when I got beaten up every day.
Now, I started to feel truly pathetic.
It was money I would’ve lost if not for him anyway. I shouldn’t feel regret.
‘What did I expect?’
Even though I had already decided in my head to hand over the money, the bills remained in my hand.
Then, I heard him click his tongue.
“Hey. Look up.”
“…?”
Instinctively, I raised my head at the familiar command tone.
The moment I met his light brown eyes, my whole body lost strength.
As if mesmerized by something unknown, I was completely captivated.
I felt like my body wasn’t mine anymore.
It was incredibly, blissful.
“Hand me the money.”
“….”
His voice, sounding as if he were tired to death, was brilliant.
As if pulled by a string tied to my wrist, my hand automatically lifted.
When I carefully placed the crumpled bills into his precious hand, I found myself faintly smiling.
To think I could converse with such a ‘noble’ person.
I felt like I had achieved something significant in life.
I wasn’t worthy of looking at his face, but I wanted to take in his precious face one more time.
As I slowly lifted my head, with a dazed expression, I saw…
“Cut! NG!”
The sound of glass shattering interrupted me.
After a moment of confusion, when I opened my eyes again, the set was engulfed in silence.
“….”
What was this? I didn’t make a mistake.
Judging by the atmosphere, it felt like I was the one who had messed up as everyone stared at me.
Even Sung Lee-jun, who was also staring at me with a blank expression.
“Hyung.”
“Huh, what?”
“…?”
What was wrong with him now?
Originally, Han Seung-min was supposed to nonchalantly pick up the bills and turn around.
But since Sung Lee-jun just stared blankly at me, it resulted in an NG.
The main PD quickly approached.
“Lee-jun, are you very tired?”
“Ah… Yes.”
“It’s okay, it happens. Let’s take a short break, okay?”
“Yes… please.”
Sung Lee-jun looked somewhat out of it. Why was he like that all of a sudden?
The PD shouted to take a 10-minute break, and the staff started moving as if they had just come to their senses.
I was about to ask Sung Lee-jun if he was okay, but the actors who played Thug 1, 2, and 3 approached first.
“You were really amazing! I was shocked!”
“Thank you.”
“How was my acting? Any feedback…?”
The actors, who looked around my age, had slightly flushed expressions.
For some reason, it felt awkward, and I found myself stepping back.
“Huh? What do you mean…”
“Acting advice. If there are any points I need to improve on.”
“Ah. It was good. You did well.”
“Please be honest with me. No, I would appreciate it if you were honest! Please!”
I hid my bitter smile as I looked into the passionate eyes of the three actors.
“Well, I find it hard to give acting advice. But you could try to ease up a bit.”
“Ease up?”
“Yes. When you delivered the line, ‘Aren’t you afraid of us?’, you emphasized the ‘us’ part. If you said it more naturally, it might feel more genuine.”
After addressing one of them, another actor stepped forward.
I usually don’t like to comment on others’ acting because it’s not very pleasant.
But it seemed they wouldn’t leave me alone unless I did, so I gave them some feedback.
After a few minutes of conversation, the actors bowed deeply, thanking me profusely, and I also bowed back.
‘I’m tired.’
I needed a break.
“Alright, let’s start filming again!”
Ugh… Fine, let’s just act.
* * *
The NGs continued endlessly at the same part.
All he had to do was turn around, but Sung Lee-jun kept making a blank face.
The main PD couldn’t bring himself to scold Sung Lee-jun and quietly repeated the shoot.
Eventually, irritated, he turned his frustration on me.
“Yeon-jae, aren’t you here as an extra? No matter how well you act, you shouldn’t try to act like the lead.”
“…”
When did I try to act like the lead?
I couldn’t respond, so I just stared at him, making his face flush with anger.
“Didn’t you understand me? We’ve already got your close-ups, so just do it moderately. You need to consider your co-actors!”
“I’m sorry. I’ll be careful.”
Honestly, I still didn’t understand what he meant, but I bowed my head deeply.
After grumbling, the main PD left the set, making the atmosphere even more tense.
The stares prickling my skin.
‘Did I do something wrong?’
No matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t think I did anything wrong.
Wondering if I was failing at self-reflection, I looked around.
I met the gentle eyes that had been watching me.
And those eyes told me I hadn’t done anything wrong.
Catching Jin-bae hyung’s signal, I sat more comfortably in my chair.
Although I had memorized the script down to the last period, I read it again. I had nothing else to do anyway.
Normally, I would have chatted with Sung Lee-jun, but since the first NG, he had been avoiding me.
Well, he’ll talk to me when he feels better.
“Hey… Yeon-jae….”
See, like this.
“Yeah.”
“Can I sit next to you?”
He hadn’t asked that in a long time.
But I nodded as if it was nothing.
Sung Lee-jun awkwardly sat in the chair next to me and hesitated.
If I showed interest, he probably wouldn’t be able to speak, so I just kept looking at the script.
“…I’m sorry. It was my mistake, but you got scolded.”
“It’s okay.”
“I don’t want to make mistakes either…. but it’s not easy.”
His voice, flowing like a lament, was full of exhaustion.
We’ve been repeating the same scene for hours, so it’s understandable.
I was about to ask why he kept making mistakes but stopped because it didn’t seem like the right question for the moment.
What would be a suitable comforting remark? It’s okay to make mistakes?
‘Still, you need to moderate it.’
The more NGs Sung Lee-jun made, the more delayed our schedule got.
I couldn’t just give him sugar-coated words.
I decided to say what I genuinely thought.
“Then how about making it not a mistake?”
“Huh?”
“Of course, I know that’s not the expression you intended. But it doesn’t feel out of place for Han Seung-min to make that face.”
“Re-really?”
“Yeah. Han Seung-min is a thug, but he’s not irredeemable trash. Assuming that his targets for extortion were mostly other thugs, this might be the first time he took money from a regular student, so he could feel guilty.”
“…That’s one way to think about it.”
Sung Lee-jun made a blank face again.
“Yeah… It wouldn’t break the build-up. Han Seung-min is a rough character, but he has soft spots.”
“Right. He might feel uneasy about forcing a clear victim for a few bucks. It makes your blank expression not a mistake.”
“….”
Of course, the easiest and most desirable way was just to follow the script.
But since Sung Lee-jun couldn’t do that, I suggested this.
Sung Lee-jun was silent for a moment, then nodded, saying he would talk to the PD.
“I’ll go talk to the PD!”
“Yeah. And say it was your idea.”
“Huh? Why? It was your idea….”
Because the main PD didn’t like me.
Not wanting to explain that I called him ‘uncle’ when I was young, I vaguely replied.
“It doesn’t matter whose idea it is. It’s just a suggestion.”
Suggestions are just suggestions.
Unless it’s a matter of life and death, you can’t definitively say if a suggestion is right or wrong.
Opinions can change with new information.
But not many people accept this.
‘Many confuse opinions with their identity.’
When an opinion becomes an identity, constructive conversation becomes difficult.
People often see opposing opinions as personal attacks.
Especially the main PD, who had a strong sense of self.
If I presented a different opinion, he would undoubtedly take offense.
Why complicate things when a simpler route is available?
Although Sung Lee-jun seemed confused, he followed my advice.
As expected, the main PD was delighted and praised him, and the shoot ended on the next take.
“Yeon-jae, you worked so hard today…. I’m sorry for causing so many NGs.”
“No, thanks for having me. I really enjoyed it.”
Honestly, I wished someone, anyone, would make enough NGs to continue shooting until tomorrow.
I was disappointed that it ended today, and I found it hard to leave.
Had I known the production team would contact me again the next day, I would have gone home immediately.