Tap, tap.
Two chairs were pulled up right next to where I had settled in.
They were Nam Yeonsu’s and Kang Sujeong’s chairs.
These days, whenever I came to set, it had become completely routine for these two to stick right to me and chatter on and on without end.
“Siwoo, I watched Yeosi and Yeou yesterday, okay? Dad happened to be out of the house because he was busy. Did you watch it too, Siwoo?”
Nam Yeonsu, who had come close, spoke to me with sparkling eyes.
Oh, it seemed he remembered asking me before whether I had seen it.
Lately, Nam Yeonsu had been watching TV a lot more, then coming to set and chattering away to me about it.
Nam Yeonsu’s father was a strict man, but he seemed to be out of the house a lot because he was quite busy.
Since Nam Yeonsu was originally scared of his father, he never would have even thought of turning on the TV, but maybe what I said about how you have to watch TV for acting had really stayed with him, because these days he seemed to be sneaking in some viewing.
Ah, and another great scene came out in Yeosi and Yeou yesterday.
I happily opened my mouth right away.
“Mhm, yesterday it was revealed that Minhye was the culprit.”
“Gasp. Right. I was so shocked then that I dropped the remote.”
“Really? I had been expecting it since last week. The scratch on the car was exactly the same color as the car Minhye has.”
I told Mother that after I saw it, and she said it sounded plausible.
Then yesterday it was proven that my deduction had been right, and I got showered with praise too.
“Wow… Siwoo, do you think about things like that while you watch too?”
“If you get immersed in it, you just naturally see it. Try watching while getting more immersed.”
“I’ll work hard too.”
At my words, Nam Yeonsu clenched his fist on his own and said he would do his best.
I was watching that sight with satisfaction when Kang Sujeong, who had been next to us, suddenly cut in.
Kang Sujeong, who originally monopolized me on set, must have thought Nam Yeonsu had cut into her talking time, because the look she gave him was not exactly warm.
“So Yeonsu has gotten hooked on dramas these days too? You don’t really look at your script much anymore?”
“Ah, yes… Siwoo said this drama was fun.”
“Hm. Still, both of you do memorize scripts well.”
Child actors these days are scary, really scary.
Muttering that, Kang Sujeong took advantage of the moment Nam Yeonsu awkwardly lowered his head and moved right up close beside me.
“More importantly, Siwoo. About this scene. I thought about it yesterday……”
“Yeees…”
I was already tired.
I wish she would stop thinking so much.
These days, whenever Kang Sujeong brought that up, I felt like I was developing a neurosis.
Kang Sujeong’s thoughts on acting were so varied and wide-ranging that every time I listened, I got dizzy.
Of course, it was naturally a good thing if you could think about one scene from many angles and match that with your scene partner.
And there was me too, an actor willing to gladly try things the way Kang Sujeong envisioned them.
The problem was that she researched almost every scene like that.
Since, in the drama, I played the son of Han Jihae, whom Kang Sujeong played, the two of us had quite a lot of scenes together.
Because of that, countless discussions took place every time.
So whenever I filmed with Kang Sujeong, I ended up slightly worn out.
I had never expected there to be someone even more passionate about script study than I was.
At first, Kang Sujeong not having time to talk with the other actors must have been because she had apparently been thinking through all these things by herself inside her head.
But now she was trying to go through every single one of them with me from one to ten…
A child’s stamina could not keep up with Kang Sujeong’s passion.
‘Ah, my friend. If you were alive, you would have liked her more than anyone in the world.’
For a moment, I thought of Shakespeare, who loved having endless discussions with actors whenever a script came out.
I was always the one he talked to, but who would have thought I would meet someone like that again in this life too.
“No, I think for that part we’ll have to look at the set today and talk it over with the director too.”
“Ah, definitely. Then let’s ask a little later before we go in.”
“Mhm, okay.”
More or less, the script discussion for the final filmed portion came to an end.
Then Nam Yeonsu, who had been waiting beside us, immediately opened his mouth.
“Oh right, Siwoo. Did you see that? We got this really cute nickname as brothers. In an article this morning, I…”
“Wait, Siwoo. You left out all talk about me? No matter what, I’m your mom. Isn’t that too much?”
Chatter, chatter.
Chatter, chatter, chatter.
The two of them talked so much that I could not even respond to each little thing and just sat there quietly for a while.
Around the time my soul felt like it had been completely sucked dry, Cha Ilnam called the two of them.
It was because there was a scene the two of them, Ji Haeseong and Han Jihae, had to film.
At the director’s call, the two of them hurried off saying they would talk more a little later.
“Haa…”
Only then did it feel like my ears were finally getting a rest, and I sank deep into my chair.
I had thought too little talking was the problem, but now my ears were starting to hurt.
Is there no middle ground?
Still, just as I was thinking that today was the last day even for this kind of noisy bustle, a familiar silhouette approached from far away.
“Why do you look so worn out?”
“Ajusshi!”
It was Moon Heeseong.
Moon Heeseong, who played the older brother of Ji Hyeonwoo, my new father in the drama, had already finished all his filming, but today he had come to set to cheer on the final shoot.
I welcomed him gladly.
“Is it because it’s the last shoot? Has all your stamina run out… Since it’s your first drama, was it a little hard?”
Seeing my somewhat haggard face, Moon Heeseong muttered worriedly.
I quickly shook my head hard to say no.
It was only because those two had drained my energy just now.
Once filming ended and tomorrow came, it was obvious I would be perfectly fine again.
“More importantly, ajusshi. Did you hear? I decided to film a commercial.”
I deliberately whispered it into Moon Heeseong’s ear so no one else would hear.
It was definitely something worth bragging about, but Kim Sangcheol had said this:
These days, in the drama, in a way, I had become the hottest topic.
No matter how outstanding my skills were, this was still my first time filming a drama.
In a place crawling with seniors, loudly saying that I had gotten a commercial offer and was going to film one did not seem like a very good idea.
There is no place with more eyes and ears than a filming set, after all.
It may be my first drama shoot, but I know people’s nature in these matters very well.
“Ah, yes. I heard from Sangcheol hyung. Congratulations. It was cereal, was it?”
“Yes! I think I’ll film it after the drama ends.”
“Haha, then should I go cheer you on again?”
“The people there would be so shocked they’d flip over. Please just watch it later on TV. On a big TV.”
“Alright, got it.”
Saying it was good news, Moon Heeseong gently stroked my hair.
Like a cat basking in sunlight, my face softened and I quietly accepted that touch.
“Besides that, I got a whole lot of scripts too. I still haven’t read them all yet.”
“Was there anything that really appealed to you?”
“Mmm, they’re all child roles that only come out briefly at the beginning, so I’m worried.”
“Haha, something with this much weight like this work will probably be hard to find.”
“That’s what I mean.”
Sighing, I started talking about my worries over my next project too.
Moon Heeseong, who listened well to what I said, gave me one piece of advice.
“You’ve worked nonstop, so it wouldn’t be bad to take it easy a little. If you just stay relaxed without overthinking, a good project might suddenly come along. Don’t be impatient.”
“Mhm, I guess I should.”
So this is what a great senior’s advice is like.
An even greater number of proposals must be arriving for Moon Heeseong every single day.
I took his words carefully to heart.
“Still, it’s a very good thing that so many people are looking for you, Siwoo.”
“That’s true. They say I got way more popular.”
“Who said that?”
Apparently finding the way I was saying it very cute, Moon Heeseong smiled and asked.
“The troupe leader!”
“Haha, then that sounds very trustworthy indeed. But why do you look so tired today? Is it really because it’s the last day of filming? Did you lose sleep last night or something?”
“Whew… No. I slept really well yesterday. Work is fine. It’s people that are hard.”
“People?”
As if he did not quite understand at first, Moon Heeseong tilted his head.
He had always seen me getting along well with the staff, the directors, and the other actors, so it must have seemed strange.
I was wondering how I should explain it when, right then, I saw the two very people responsible for my exhaustion hurrying over this way.
Ugh, both of them were so good at acting that it seemed they had finished filming incredibly fast.
“Siwoo!”
“Oh, Heeseong-ssi is here too?”
“Yes. I came to cheer everyone on.”
“Yees. More importantly, Siwoo.”
After quickly greeting Moon Heeseong, Nam Yeonsu came over, and Kang Sujeong, who looked like she might be interested for a moment, immediately turned back to me.
I welcomed the two of them with my eyes drooping low.
“You both got your okay really fast.”
I said it in as sulky a tone as I could manage, but neither of them noticed at all.
“Yeah! Because I wanted to hurry and talk more with you, Siwoo.”
“Seriously, after talking with you, it really feels like my acting gets even better.”
Looking at the two of them, both all excited, I sighed and looked up at Moon Heeseong as though he were my last hope.
But Moon Heeseong, seeing that scene, was chuckling to himself as if it were amusing!
“Haha, well then. I think I’ll go somewhere else. I can’t keep holding on to a popular person any longer.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you for your hard work.”
“See you at the afterparty~”
Nam Yeonsu and Kang Sujeong quickly greeted Moon Heeseong.
Waving his hand as he greeted us, Moon Heeseong mouthed “good luck” to me, then gave one faint smile and walked away.
Watching that, I opened my mouth wide in shock.
No! Where are you going! You’re supposed to save me!
“Siwoo! Come with me to go see the place where that cat was.”
“What? Siwoo said he was going to practice the script with me after filming earlier, didn’t you.”
When did I say that?
As I opened and closed my mouth at Kang Sujeong’s shameless words, Nam Yeonsu grew visibly downcast and asked if that was true.
Stuck between the two of them, I let my head fall back against the chair and stared up at the sky.
I had not even acted once yet, but I was already suddenly exhausted.
“It’s been a while since we were here.”
Even Choi Taewoo, who had joined the set late.
Me, Nam Yeonsu, Kang Sujeong, and Choi Taewoo.
The harmonious family of four in the drama had all gathered in one place.
In front of a certain restaurant that had appeared in episode 1 of the drama.
It was also the filming location of the very first drama shoot of my life.
The final scene was going to be wrapped up at that restaurant where, in the drama, Kang Wooju had eaten cheonggukjang (fermented soybean paste) alone.
“Dad has never actually come here before.”
This was the place where Ji Haeseong and I met.
Kang Sujeong, Moon Heeseong, and I had filmed here before, but Choi Taewoo had not.
When I said that, Choi Taewoo replied with a somewhat awkward face.
“No… I mean it feels like I’ve definitely been here because I saw it in the drama. I heard this restaurant got incredibly hot after that?”
“Wow, really? I wanted to try the cheonggukjang here too.”
At Choi Taewoo’s words, Nam Yeonsu asked with shining eyes.
Oops, if Nam Yeonsu comes here after filming today, that could be bad.
I worried over how I should say it.
At that moment, Kang Sujeong, who had been quietly listening beside us, snorted and opened her mouth.
“Do you know this? Apparently, this restaurant doesn’t even actually sell cheonggukjang.”
“Really?!”
“Seriously?”
The two of them covered their faces with both hands and reacted as though they had truly been shocked.
To just say that outright like that.
I sighed, looking back and forth between the two shocked faces and Kang Sujeong.
“What, it’s true.”
“Still. They would have found out soon enough anyway.”
“I was shocked the first time too.”
After that, until the cue sign came down, the four of us kept bickering and talking together.
As if we had really become a family.
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