Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity
Chapter 293
"If we don't release it, the fans might set fire to the company...."
"......"
The meeting room was filled with silence.
A positive silence.
'Why on earth.'
No one was disagreeing.
I felt absurd and, for some reason, nervous.
'Biyeon will see this...'
I glanced towards the cameras.
The red lights on the cameras installed around the meeting room were clearly on.
It was obvious that Byeon would be upset when this conversation was made public later.
'Should I cover the cameras now?'
But there was nothing to cover them with.
'Should I take Jin-bae hyung's coat?'
As I was seriously contemplating this, I suddenly realized.
'...I can just ask them to edit this part out.'
I was the director. Wasn't I being stupid?
I felt embarrassed at my delayed realization.
'A director, huh.'
I still hadn't gotten used to it.
If I, the person involved, hadn't adapted yet, how could the public?
There would be skepticism about a mere sixteen-year-old taking on the role of a director.
That's why we decided to film the entire process for the music video behind-the-scenes.
Planning meetings, on-site shooting, editing work.
Officially, it was a video for the fans, but it was also a means to minimize controversy.
In truth, it felt a bit unfair.
'Is age really that important?'
I still vividly remembered Hyung lying down in front of the entrance.
Even people in their thirties still act like five-year-olds sometimes.
So what's the big deal about directing at sixteen?
'People who want to criticize will do so anyway.'
Even if we release a lengthy behind-the-scenes video, those who want to criticize will continue to do so.
Since they weren't throwing eggs at me directly, there was no need to worry about their murmurs.
But I heard such words.
That the more people talked behind my back, the harder it would be for Biyeon.
'Then the story changes.'
This was the reason we decided to film the behind-the-scenes video.
If it was for Byeon, it was better to just do it.
'Let's focus on the meeting now.'
Any awkward parts could be edited out later.
I put aside my worries about the cameras and spoke up.
"You mean, fans would be disappointed if there were no physical albums? I hadn't considered that."
"Yes. If we don't release them, they might really set fire to the company."
"......"
Alright, enough with the fire talk.
I barely managed to hold back a collapsing expression and smiled.
"We can't let the fans feel disappointed. Let's go ahead with the physical albums, and now, let's discuss the album components."
Having bought idol albums myself, I knew that they usually included a photo card with the member's picture, commonly known as a 'poca.'
"Poca should definitely be a selfie. We don't need a made-up poca."
"What? A selfie is a selfie, and makeup is makeup. Why don't we need that?"
As soon as the topic of poca came up, the employees engaged in a heated discussion.
The passion of the female employees was especially intense.
"I think we need a version with animal pajamas too."
"Of course. The song title is Bambi, so he should take a selfie in a deer pajama at least once."
"Right. Without that, our company will burn down."
Please, stop with the fire talk.
"Everyone, calm down."
I interrupted as calmly as possible.
"Instead of debating what to do, we'll just shoot everything you mentioned."
I mentioned that it would be nice if the album felt like a gift to Byeon.
The employees quickly offered suggestions.
"How about including a photobook or polaroid photos?"
"A photobook's printing cost is too high... It's not feasible for all albums. Let's make the poca mandatory and distribute other items on a first-come-first-served basis."
"First-come-first-served is too harsh. How about releasing multiple versions and randomizing them—"
No way.
"Random is not an option."
When I interrupted, all the employees' eyes turned to me.
It was quite burdensome, but I had to speak my mind.
"I want to make it so that buying just one album is enough. If we randomize the poca, fans would have to buy multiple albums. I don't want that."
There must be fans like Byeon who were students.
I didn't want the fans to feel financially burdened.
"I understand how you feel, Yeon-jae, but..."
An employee sighed.
"Because of the cost, we have no choice. We either include only one poca or randomize other freebies."
"I'll cover the shortfall with my own money."
"Not all fans are happy when their favorite star spends money. We need to consider the fans' feelings too."
The employee persisted, convincing me that randomizing the poca had its positives too.
"Exchanging pocas is fun, and there's satisfaction in collecting rare pocas. That's part of the joy of being a fan. Are you going to take that fun away from them?"
"No matter what you say, I can't compromise on this. I don't want fans to feel left out."
The conversation showed no sign of ending.
Stubbornly holding onto our opinions, the discussion about the album components lasted over two hours.
It wasn't until the sky had darkened that we finally reached a conclusion.
All versions of the photocard were to be included in one album, but Polaroid photos or other merchandise would be included randomly instead.
“Ugh, this is really tough.”
As soon as the meeting ended, the employees all collapsed.
“It feels even tougher than reporting to Team Leader Woo.”
“Exactly. There's a reason Yeon-jae and Team Leader Woo get along so well.”
“...I can hear everything, you know.”
“Oh, you heard? I was whispering.”
One of the employees said smugly.
It was absurd.
What's the point of whispering?
“You whispered right into my ear....”
The employees burst into laughter at my muttering.
Everyone, still lying down, giggled and chuckled, and soon the meeting room was filled with laughter.
‘Good grief.’
It wasn't until much later that I realized I was also smiling broadly.
* * *
Since that day, we held continuous meetings with the employees to prepare the album.
‘This is no small task.’
I had braced myself, but directing involved more attention to detail than I had anticipated.
I was busy tackling each task before me without time to whine.
As the days passed, the big day finally arrived in the blink of an eye.
The much-anticipated music video shoot day.
‘What is this?’
I was reading the script inside the studio when things suddenly got noisy around me, and I was just about to turn around.
“Yeon-jae.”
“...!”
I heard a clear voice behind me.
And it was a voice I hadn't heard in a long time.
Unknowingly, I turned around with a broad smile.
“Noona!”
“What’s this? Why are you so happy to see me?”
“It’s been a while.”
It was Han Se-young.
I first met Han Se-young during the filming of “Butterflies Burning on the Zelkova Tree.”
I still remembered the time I threw up from the smell of Han Se-young’s perfume as if it were yesterday, yet four years had already passed since then.
“Good to see you, Noona.”
“Same here. Do I still look pretty after all this time?”
“Haha, yeah.”
When I laughed, Han Se-young laughed with me.
“Come to think of it, it has been a long time. We haven’t seen each other since the cameo shoot for ‘Goodbye, My Summer.’”
“Yeah. But I watched your new drama this time.”
“Really?”
Han Se-young’s eyes sparkled at that moment.
“Then you must have seen my kissing scene? How was it? Did I do well?”
“Yeah. It looked natural.”
“Ah, I almost cried from emotion after filming that. I thought I was finally shedding my child actor title.”
Han Se-young placed a hand on her chest.
“I’m turning nineteen next year, so I was wondering how long I’d have to play child roles. I want to be twenty soon so I can take on diverse roles. I want to do everything I couldn’t before, including kissing scenes.”
“...? But you just did a kissing scene.”
“I mean a real kissing scene, not just a peck. The kind adults do.”
Han Se-young whispered mischievously.
“You know what I mean?”
“I don’t, and thanks to you, I don’t want to know.”
“Gosh, you’re no fun.”
Han Se-young clicked her tongue.
Despite the playful and teasing tone in her voice and speech, she maintained a perfectly proper smile, which was impressive.
Anyone observing from a distance wouldn’t know what she was really saying.
‘She hasn’t changed.’
Seeing her professionalism, even after a long time, made me smile.
As I exchanged a few words with Han Se-young, people started arriving one by one.
“Yeon-jae! Long time no see! Wow, you’ve grown a lot!”
“Hey, look at him. He was just a kid, and now he’s a man. Time flies.”
Comedians Lee Ho-seop and Shin Woo-chul, whom I had filmed the variety show “Mission Clear” with.
I had acted as the fake shaman ‘Kim Su-ho’ in front of them.
“Yeon-jae...!”
“Why are there so many people?? I was surprised.”
Sung Lee-jun and Nam In-hoo, whom I had filmed the movie “Twins” with.
I had played the twins ‘Kang Tae-il’ and ‘Lee Jin-woo’ in front of them.
“Yeon-jae.”
“You’re here?”
“Yeah. Wow, there are so many people.”
Seo Ji-oh, whom I had filmed the drama “February 3rd” with.
I had played ‘Jung Min-ho,’ who longed for his deceased brother, in front of him.
“Hey, be honest. You’re living your second life, right? How can a kid act and sing so well?”
“Seok-jun, wouldn’t it be better to practice acting more than bullying Yeon-jae?”
“Ah, why did you call Lee Jung-hyun here again?”
Actors Kim Seok-jun and Lee Jung-hyun, whom I had filmed the drama “Killing Horn” with.
I had played ‘Horn,’ who struggled not to be abandoned, in front of them.
And adding Han Se-young, whom I had filmed “Butterflies on the Burning Tree” and “Goodbye, My Summer” with….
‘My entire filmography is here.’
Except for the yet-to-be-released movie “Shin Yoo-young.”
All the major cast members from all the works I had filmed so far were gathered in one place.
‘I really have filmed a lot.’
I looked at the crowd that had gathered before I knew it.
Within the throngs of people, I saw myself from the past four years.
It felt strange.
"Hello, I'm Han Se-young."
"I've only seen you on TV, this is the first time I'm greeting you in person. I'm Lee Ho-seop."
The studio was bustling with people introducing themselves to each other.
Amidst the pleasant noise, I suddenly found it odd.
‘Why did everyone come so early?’
Most of the scenes were solo shots of me.
There was still a long way to go before we got to the group shots.
At least three hours of waiting.
‘Actor Kim Seok-jun coming early is understandable, but…’
Why did everyone else come so early?
With a puzzled face, I went around asking each person.
But they all had the same expression.
They all said the same thing.
“We came to watch you act.”
“......”
Why would they come three hours early just to watch me?
* * *
“Alright, let’s start with the first scene! Everyone, get ready!”
At the staff's words, I went straight to my position.
When I looked up, there were far more people watching me than I had anticipated.
‘This is embarrassing.’
Maybe it was because there were so many people watching.
Or maybe it was because of the clothes I was wearing.
I felt shy and wanted to hide.
“Our Yeon-jae, you're so cute!”
“...Hyung, please be quiet.”
Hyung, who shouted out, made me even more embarrassed.
“Yeon-jae! You look so adorable right now! It's perfect! Fighting!”
It didn’t help me at all.
I resisted the urge to go over and shut Hyung up.
“Alright, let's start filming!”
At the call of the camera director, I adjusted my hat.
The hat pulled low over my forehead was the same type as the one I wore back then.
“Ready—”
That's right.
The scene I was about to shoot was an homage to a previous drama I had done.
The drama ‘Tail: Tracing the Trace,’ which was the reason I started acting and where I first met Hyung.
In that drama, I appeared as an insignificant extra.
Wearing this same ‘yellow hat.’
“Action—!”
At someone’s loud shout.
I opened my eyes.