Chapter 52: I Became the Older Brother of a Top Star

On the weekend Saturday, Yuna and I were in my father’s car. I was in the front seat, and Yuna was in the back. Since a while ago, a different sound had been piercing through the music playing in the car.

Thump, thump, thump.

It was Yuna’s foot tapping.

“Yuna, I told you to keep your feet still in the car.”

“No, sometimes you nag more than Mom. Dad, why is Oppa making a fuss over me tapping my feet?”

“I wouldn’t say anything if you did it once or twice, but you’ve been doing it for 10 minutes already.”

Yuna had a habit of tapping her feet when she was nervous or excited.

“I’m just so nervous and anxious. Am I the only one? How can Dad and Oppa be so calm? Today is our first time filming a music video together.”

As if it were nothing.

Actually, I didn’t sleep well last night either.

A music video, of all things.

I can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it.

Life is unpredictable, they say.

I never imagined that a life I only saw on TV and could only imagine would unfold like this.

“Sigh. You still don’t know your brother. Maybe it’s because he’s like your mom, but he has a heart of steel. His mental strength is different.”

“Then am I like Dad?”

“Of course. Our daughter is just like Dad from head to toe.”

“Then will I go bald like Dad in the future?”

“Huh!”

Yuna, who had started to vent her nervousness through words instead of foot-tapping, chattered non-stop until we arrived. It was like a 24-hour radio show.

No matter how I looked at it, Yuna was clearly more like Mom than Dad.

“Here we are, Mr. Representative?”

“Ah, yes. Is everything ready?”

“Yes, the stage is set. And for the on-location shooting, we’ll be heading to another area later...”

The set was already bustling with staff. Then, the person responsible for today’s shoot appeared.

“Oh, Mr. Representative! Hello.”

“Ah, yes. Director, please do your best today. This is our first time, so...”

“Yes, actually, I don’t have much experience either, but I’ll do my best. I’m just grateful to have been given this opportunity.”

“Ha ha. Actually, it wasn’t me who chose you, but my son.”

“Really?”

Director Joon-ho looked at me with surprise, wondering why he, a newcomer, was chosen over other experienced directors.

He might think I just picked him because I didn’t know better, but that’s not the case.

‘Now, he’s just a newcomer.’

In the world of music video directors, there are different levels, and currently, Director Joon-ho is at the bottom. But I know he will soon rise to become one of the best in the industry.

I remembered him from my days as a manager, but I never thought he would be of help in this way.

‘Still, he looks quite young.’

Though he’s currently a newcomer, his skills are top-notch, and even if his songs aren’t great, his music videos are praised for their quality.

“Please do your best today, Director.”

“Thank you, I’ll do my best.”

“Ah, yeah. I, I’ll do my best too. Seeing all these famous people, I’m getting nervous.”

Yuna and I shook hands with Director Joon-ho. If we maintain a good relationship with him through this album, we can continue to work with him on future music videos.

“Please come this way.”

We followed the staff to where the stylists were.

“Here, please sit.”

We each took a seat in front of a mirror. The stylists marveled at Yuna’s long, smooth hair.

“Wow, look at that beautiful hair.”

“Excuse me, can I just press your cheek a little?”

Yuna nodded, and they gently tapped her cheeks.

“Your skin is amazing.”

“This is what a middle schooler’s skin looks like.”

“Really, there’s nothing to fix? What if we make it worse by touching it?”

“Hehe, no.”

Yuna’s shy smile made them coo over her cuteness.

The situation was similar for me.

“Wow...”

“Is this even possible? Look at that jawline.”

“Your face is smaller than my fist.”

They were reluctant to apply any makeup, as it seemed unnecessary.

“Ugh, should we apply makeup here?”

“Yeah, maybe it’s better to leave the skin as it is.”

“Really tough. What about the hair? Your hair is really great too.”

After much discussion, they decided to stop.

“It’s no use. Let’s just go as we are.”

“Yeah, I think that’s best.”

They realized that doing nothing was the best way to help me.

“Are you also going without any styling?”

“Yes, just a little touch-up on the hair.”

The same applied to Yuna. The staff, who had run several simulations to check Yuna’s style, eventually gave up.

“You’re already so beautiful, we can’t do anything more.”

“Ha, I don’t know whether to be happy or not. It seems we have nothing to do today.”

We both went to the set as we were.

“Huh? Didn’t you just go to get styled?”

Director Joon-ho nodded in agreement after hearing the stylists’ explanation.

“I was thinking the same thing. Let’s go with this look for the shoot.”

Today’s music video shoot was for the song “.”

After much discussion, we decided to make it the album’s title track. The video starts with Yuna lying on a bed.

“Okay, try to look as sleepy as possible. Got it?”

“Yeah!”

“Action!”

The instrumental started, and Yuna lay on the bed, looking at the camera with sleepy eyes. She rolled around on the bed, looking exactly like she was at home.

It was so realistic that I wondered if she was actually about to fall asleep.

“Okay, cut!”

Director Joon-ho immediately gave the okay sign.

I’ve been to many music video shoots and know that usually, a scene is shot at least three times.

But Director Joon-ho said there was no need for more takes.

“Wow, you did great. Your acting is really good. And the impromptu rolling around on the bed was great too. You have a natural talent for acting.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

Director Joon-ho didn’t realize that Yuna was just being herself.

“Next, Oppa will open the door and wake up his sister. Do you understand the setup? There’s no specific way to do it, so just act as if you’re trying to wake her up.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Let’s go. It’s better to jump into the real thing rather than practice, as it will help you relax faster.”

“Okay.”

Since Yuna was doing a realistic performance, I decided to do the same. I woke her up just as I would at home.

“Wake up, Yuna.”

“Mm, I don’t want to.”

“How long are you going to lie there?”

I pulled her arm, shook her, and tickled her feet. The staff watched and laughed.

“Ha, you’re so cute.”

“Yeah, it’s making me laugh too.”

“I didn’t even realize I was smiling like a mom.”

Director Joon-ho also laughed heartily.

“Okay!”

I was considering what to do for the next take, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

“Wow, you both are really good. Ha ha, anyone watching would think you do this all the time. Your acting is so natural.”

I felt a bit uncomfortable but just laughed it off.

“Thank you, Director.”

“I’m the one who should be thankful. Keep it up like this. Let’s move on to the next scene!”

The director and staff were all smiling, making the set feel very lively, unlike the music video shoots I had seen before.

# # #

“Okay! Perfect!”

Director Joon-ho clenched his fist and shouted, full of energy.

This was already the umpteenth time.

Although he didn’t have much experience in this field, he had been an assistant director for a long time.

Had he ever given the okay sign so quickly?

“Should we do one more take...”

But he already knew it was unnecessary.

There was nothing to add or remove.

Even if he watched the footage again, it was clean and smooth.

“You two are not just good at music; you’re also great at acting.”

The assistant director nodded in agreement.

The biggest challenge in music video shoots is the singer’s acting ability.

No matter how good the setup or background, if the singer’s acting is awkward, everything looks awkward.

But these two,

“Are not awkward at all?”

“Yes, and they’re so cute. I’ve done many music video shoots, but this is the first time I’ve laughed so much.”

Director Joon-ho glanced around the set.

Usually, after a while, even if the atmosphere is good, everyone’s expressions become tired and dull.

But here, everyone was smiling happily.

And that was thanks to these two.

“They have a great relationship.”

“Yeah, it’s not easy to act like that.”

“Do you have a younger sister, Director Kim?”

“Yes, I do. I don’t even know if she’s alive or dead. I just think no news is good news.”

This is probably what a typical sibling relationship is like.

But these two seemed very close.

Especially when I saw Jung Yun-sung taking care of his sister, I couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t just the director; the staff also looked at them fondly.

“I’m jealous. My brother doesn’t even acknowledge me.”

“Yeah, Yuna must be lucky to have such a caring brother.”

Yuna, who had become close with the staff, smiled.

“My brother nags a lot, but he takes really good care of me.”

“Yuna, I think I’d be really happy if my brother nagged at me like that.”

“Let’s move on to the next scene. Please get ready!”

“Okay!”

The shoot continued, and Director Joon-ho was surprised by how much faster the shooting time was compared to what he had expected.

“Should I suggest doing it all over again? That would be overkill.”

“Yeah.”

“Ha, but I want to do it again.”

It wasn’t because he wanted to make changes or add anything.

He just didn’t want this happy time to pass so quickly.

He wanted to drag it out, even if it meant starting over.

This was a first for him, and it was a bit overwhelming.

But every beginning must have an end.

“Thank you all. We’ll end the shoot here for today.”

“Ah, what? It’s already over?”

“I’m so disappointed.”

The staff, who had finished the shoot earlier than expected, were more disappointed than the performers.

Director Joon-ho approached Jung Yun-sung and Jung Yuna.

“Thank you for your hard work today. We’ll shoot at a different location tomorrow, so come at the same time. Do you know where it is?”

“Yes, we know.”

The schedule was planned for three days, with different locations each day.

“See you tomorrow.”

“Yes, goodbye.”

“See you tomorrow, Director!”

Director Joon-ho watched the siblings leave, one chattering non-stop and the other responding to every word, even though he seemed gruff.

“If I had a younger sister...”

Could I have been as close as they are?

If our relationship was like theirs, I might have relied more on my family and laughed more.

I found myself imagining the impossible.

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