“Good work today.”
Han Seongtae smiled and bowed his head slightly at the staff member’s voice beside him.
It was already the several-time-running shoot.
Han Seongtae had become comfortable chatting with the staff.
“Your acting was great again today, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. It’s like the more we shoot, the better he gets.”
“It’s Seongtae, right? I doubt anyone here practices as hard as you do.”
Han Seongtae smiled awkwardly at their words.
It was nice to have become friends, but sometimes their excessive concern felt burdensome.
“Seongtae, it might take a little while before the next shoot. Just relax and rest; I’ll let you know separately.”
“Thank you.”
Han Seongtae chuckled, “Haha,” and walked away, watching the staff wink as they spoke.
There was a scene where the supporting actors gathered to act.
It inevitably took a long time because of retakes or needing to shoot multiple takes.
Becoming an actor meant you needed the patience to wait a long time for filming.
Waiting isn’t unfamiliar.
After waiting over ten years, how could he not wait a few more hours?
Han Seongtae could wait as long as necessary if it meant he could act.
“Do you know where the restroom is, Dusik? I think I heard it mentioned before, but I forgot.”
“Ah, the restroom? It was this way… Ah, turn the corner over there and it should be.”
Han Seongtae nodded and moved off, following Jung Dusik who was gesturing with his hands to explain.
The restroom was tucked away in a corner of the set.
Walking along, Han Seongtae chuckled at Jung Dusik’s joke from behind and found the restroom.
“…So.”
“You need skill to use connections, right?”
“Honestly, it’s only because Han Seongtae is such a good actor that no one says anything. If it were someone else…”
He was walking toward the restroom when he couldn’t help but pause at the voices he heard nearby.
And it wasn’t just anyone—his name was being mentioned directly.
Judging by the tone, it definitely wasn’t being said in a good way.
I never thought I’d witness someone talking behind my back like this.
When he first came to shoot Baeknyeoncho, he’d been gossiped about openly. Now, the thought of being gossiped about behind his back made him laugh hollowly.
Who is it?
Han Seongtae craned his neck toward the direction the voices came from.
Familiar faces came into view.
Actors he’d gotten to know a little while shooting Baeknyeoncho.
Among them were even supporting actors.
Park Yeeun isn’t here.
He wasn’t sure if he should call it a relief, but Park Yeeun wasn’t visible among them.
“Connections really are scary, huh? Someone I’ve never even seen at an audition suddenly lands a supporting role.”
“Exactly. I’ve been preparing for auditions for over three months just to get my role. Sometimes it feels like the world is just so unfair.”
“What can you do? That’s just how the world is. Everyone gets by on connections or personal ties. I don’t know how people without connections manage to survive.”
“Still, doesn’t actor Han Seongtae actually act?”
“What good is it if he can act? He probably snatched that spot from someone else anyway. I even wonder if the person who was there before got pushed out because of Han Seongtae?”
Han Seongtae’s expression darkened as he overheard their gossip.
He didn’t think he’d done anything to deserve their criticism, and his good mood from just moments ago instantly soured.
Even someone as patient as him couldn’t easily endure something like this.
“What are you doing over there?”
“Ah, Mucheol-hyung. Nothing.”
Han Seongtae shook his head at Kim Mucheol, who had approached and spoken to him without him noticing.
It wasn’t a pleasant sight, and he didn’t want him to see him like this.
No, he didn’t want to be involved with them in the first place.
Han Seongtae knew well that no matter how hard he tried, not everyone would see him favorably.
To him, they were just another example of that.
“Hah… Are those bastards out of their minds?”
But Kim Mucheol seemed to think differently.
His expression twisted sharply upon witnessing the actors’ gossip.
“If you lack skill, you can’t even practice properly, yet you’re just gossiping behind our backs?”
“Hyung, hold on a sec.”
Seeing him move with a scowl, Han Seongtae hurriedly grabbed him to stop him.
If Kim Mucheol stepped in here, the situation would inevitably escalate.
It can’t affect the filming.
Han Seongtae was more concerned about the potential impact on filming than about himself being insulted.
There was no other choice.
In his past life, he had wanted to act even in his dying moments, and that desperation only grew stronger in his current life.
[The One With a Thousand Faces understands your heart, but sighs, saying frustration is still frustration.]
[The One Who Defined an Era worries you might get hurt.]
“You’re not bothered by hearing things like that?”
Han Seongtae immediately nodded at Kim Mucheol’s words.
Getting criticized wasn’t something new.
It felt a bit unpleasant, but he could easily laugh it off.
If he could just act, what couldn’t he do?
“I don’t see it that way.”
Han Seongtae, who had been trying to calm Kim Mucheol, reflexively turned his head at the familiar voice that drifted from the gossipers.
Park Yeeun?
For some reason, Park Yeeun stood before them, as if confronting them.
Ever since seeing Han Seongtae’s performance, Park Yeeun had been waiting for the right moment to apologize to him.
I was blinded by jealousy and did something I shouldn’t have.
She had always felt sorry towards Han Seongtae.
He was never someone who deserved to be insulted.
He wasn’t the type to get in through connections, yet Park Yeeun had viewed him with such a one-dimensional perspective.
And she had even humiliated him directly.
But Han Seongtae, the one who had been humiliated, showed no reaction whatsoever.
Like someone who didn’t care in the slightest.
He showed it through his acting. That he wasn’t someone who got in through connections.
Han Seongtae’s acting was excellent.
Not just her, but everyone who watched his performance was impressed.
It was clear why Kim Mucheol and Hwang Gyeol had brought him along.
But the other actors seemed to have a different opinion.
“So now, connections only count if you can act too, huh?”
“Exactly. How pitiful for the person who was here before.”
The moment Park Yeeun saw them gossiping, she couldn’t hold back.
“How about you stop talking trash behind people’s backs? It’s uncomfortable to watch.”
At Park Yeeun’s words, the gossipers turned their heads to look at her.
“What did you say?”
“Yeeun, why are you acting like this all of a sudden? You agreed with us just the other day.”
“Exactly. Don’t you think it’s weird to act like this now?”
Park Yeeun wore a strange expression at their words.
“Yes, I did. But I don’t want to do that anymore. It’s not right to badmouth someone who’s working hard.”
“Wow… So that’s what it is. Hypocrisy. You were badmouthing her too, so why are you suddenly acting all virtuous?”
“We didn’t make up anything out of thin air. Everything we said was based on facts.”
The realization that she had been so ugly made Park Yeeun feel like her face was going to flush red.
Why hadn’t she known back then?
That the very act of gossiping behind someone’s back was nothing but filth born of jealousy.
If she had known sooner, she wouldn’t have gossiped about Han Seongtae.
“I know I was wrong. That’s exactly why I shouldn’t act like this anymore.”
“Ha… This is so frustrating.”
“Yeeun, no one will understand you just because you act like this. Just be yourself like you always are. I really don’t get it.”
“No. I won’t act like that anymore.”
Park Yeeun turned her back on them.
Cursing others and feeling jealousy was something she’d done far too much already.
Now was the time to look at herself and act.
She walked on, paying no heed to the curses directed at her from behind.
Just as she rounded the corner.
“Ah…”
Her eyes met Han Seongtae’s, and she froze solid.
Did he hear everything?
The moment she saw Han Seongtae, she worried he hadn’t heard her cursing.
As she stared at him, Han Seongtae slightly bowed his head and turned his back to her.
Seeing this, Park Yeeun clenched her fists tightly.
“Hey…!”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry about last time!”
“Ah…”
Bending at the waist, Park Yeeun voiced her regret and apology.
She didn’t expect forgiveness.
Knowing her actions were wrong, how could she possibly expect forgiveness?
“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”
“…”
“They say people curse even the president behind their back. I’m just grateful you apologized.”
“But…”
“If you really feel bad, buy me a meal sometime.”
Her eyes wavered at the sight of Han Seongtae speaking with a smile.
Did I really badmouth someone like this?
Han Seongtae was too kind.
So kind that the fact she’d badmouthed him made her feel terribly sorry.
“You’re better than those people.”
Turning around at Han Seongtae’s words, she could see them.
The gossipers, their eyes meeting his, scrambling away from their seats as if fleeing.
“Shall we go practice then?”
“Yes!”
At Han Seongtae’s words, she smiled brightly and nodded.
“Seongtae, we need to move locations.”
At Jung Dusik’s words, Han Seongtae, who had been reading the script, nodded and stood up.
He’d already heard about it from the staff, so it wasn’t entirely unexpected.
“You said we’re going to Ilsan?”
“Uh, there’s a pedestrian bridge there. They said we’re shooting there.”
Han Seongtae nodded at Jung Dusik’s explanation and started walking.
He gathered his things and loaded them into the car.
Guess Mucheol-hyung already left.
Kim Mucheol was nowhere to be seen.
Han Seongtae glanced around the set, script in hand.
Amidst the staff bustling about packing gear, he spotted Park Yeeun moving with her manager.
She spotted him too and waved.
Seeing her, Han Seongtae smiled and waved back.
“Park Yeeun? When did you two get so close?”
“Just… somehow we became friends.”
Shrugging his shoulders in response to Jung Dusik’s question, Han Seongtae immediately got into the car.
If he needed to move for the next shoot, leaving now wouldn’t be too late.
“It’ll take an hour, so get some rest while you can.”
“Yes, hyung.”
He answered, but Han Seongtae had no intention of resting.
He had to read the script while moving—how could he rest?
Flip.
How long had he been looking over the script?
Buzz.
His smartphone vibrated as a text arrived.
―Kim Minseok: Hey, the short film festival contacted me.
The signal flare went off.
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