Chapter 10

10. NG! NG! NG!

“…….”

“…….”

Siwoo was facing off with Jungtae.

The incident began like this.

The two children naturally headed towards the toy box when they came into the living room.

Their mothers rummaged through the box and took out toys for them.

During this process, Hyun-ju placed a pink Polly Pocket camping set, of which there was only one, in front of Siwoo, which became the root of the problem.

Siwoo didn't like the pink Polly Pocket and wasn't interested, but he pretended to show interest, as a child would.

He touched the roof of the camping car and held one of the character models inside, when suddenly Jungtae appeared, snatched the camping car, and also took the pink Polly Pocket model from Siwoo.

Although Siwoo could have prevented it if he had wanted to, he didn't want to argue over a toy with a 5-year-old, so he just let it go.

However, Hyun-ju, perhaps upset that her son had his toy taken away, found a better toy in the box.

“Let's give the car to your brother, and Siwoo can play with this.”

It was a pink Polly Pocket music playhouse.

When Siwoo pressed the button with his finger, the popular song "Lion Family" by Polly Pocket started playing!

– Baby lion~ tu ru ru tu ru~ cute~ tu ru ru tu ru~!

Jungtae's hand quickly came in and snatched the music playhouse away.

“Hey, Jungtae. Can you give this to the baby? Or do you want the car?”

Hyun-ju pointed to the camping car, and Jungtae covered it with his hand.

He meant to keep both.

Jungtae's mother, noticing the others' gazes, spoke to her son.

“Jungtae, you have both at home. Give one to your little friend.”

“...No. I want to play with them.”

Jungtae shook his head.

Siwoo, having had his toys taken away twice, was slightly annoyed.

‘If you have them at home, play with them there. Don't take the baby's toys.’

To comfort his upset mother, Siwoo grabbed the camping car in front of Jungtae and pulled it back towards himself.

Thud!

But Jungtae's hand blocked him.

“…….”

“…….”

The standoff continued.

Siwoo considered using force to take the camping car but decided against it.

It would be embarrassing for an 11-month-old to overpower a kindergartener in front of everyone.

There were many people watching.

Fortunately, Jungtae's mother stepped in to resolve the issue.

She, too, felt the pressure of the onlookers.

Jungtae's mother whispered in his ear.

Though no one else could hear, Siwoo, who was nearby, could.

“If you don't let go, let go. Give it to the baby. Do you want to get scolded when we get home?”

Jungtae pouted and let go of the camping car.

“Good job! Our Jungtae is so nice! You listened to mommy!”

Jungtae's mother praised him loudly for everyone to hear.

Siwoo, who had brought the camping car back to himself, glanced at Jungtae.

Jungtae glared at the camping car and Siwoo with a resentful look.

‘You're so small, yet so greedy. Well, you're still cute at this level.’

Siwoo, like a playful father teasing his son, stared at Jungtae and slowly stroked the camping car.

He took out the character models inside and waved them in front of Jungtae.

Finally, he shouted at Jungtae, whose mouth was starting to protrude.

“Poppa pop! Buba!”

“Mom! He called me a fool!”

Jungtae's mother stroked his head and laughed.

“No, Jungtae. Your little brother is too young to understand such words. It was just a coincidence.”

Siwoo, sitting on the living room floor, pushed the camping car back and forth while repeatedly shouting.

“Buba! Buba! Buba!”

It was fortunate that the word "fool" existed.

A curse word he could say in baby talk.

It felt good.

Jungtae, holding onto his mother's leg, complained again.

“He called me a fool again!”

Jungtae's mother, with a stern face, told him.

“No, he didn't. Be quiet. I told you not to be noisy on the set.”

“Tch...”

Jungtae, frustrated, stomped his feet.

Hyun-ju stepped in to defuse the tension.

“Are you making car sounds with 'buba buba'? Let's play together, mommy and you?”

Siwoo, sitting on his mother's lap, played with the toys.

After playing for about ten minutes, Han Tae-soo, who had finished preparing for the shoot, entered the living room.

“Daddy's here! It's time for our little boys to become movie stars!”

Han Tae-soo spent some time with the two children, acting like a real father.

Director Lee Han-soo, who followed, sorted out the situation and signaled with a megaphone.

“Camera roll!”

The cameras on the set started rolling.

“Ready! Action!”

In the silence where even breathing could be heard, Siwoo's first movie shoot began.

* * *

“Cut! NG!”

The tension of everyone watching was suddenly released.

The assistant director clapped his hands twice and spoke to Jungtae.

“Jungtae, when daddy hangs up the phone, don't come right away. Wait until the lines are finished, okay? Jungtae's mom, did you tell him the last line?”

“Of course! Jungtae, do as I taught you. Our Jungtae, fighting! Let's go, let's go!”

Jungtae's mother enthusiastically encouraged her son.

Second take.

“Oh~ I really have to live like this...”

As Tae-soo sat on the living room floor, looking at the children and delivering his lines absentmindedly, Jungtae, who had been pretending to play with Siwoo, suddenly stood up, then sat back down after noticing the adults' gazes.

“Cut! NG!”

He had misjudged the timing to stand up.

“Take 3!”

Following Director Lee Han-soo's instructions, the third take began.

However, this take also resulted in an NG.

Jungtae kept glancing at Tae-soo, waiting for the last line.

Tae-soo, hugging Jungtae's shoulder, spoke reassuringly.

“Don't be nervous. You did well at the audition, right? The director praised you a lot.”

Jungtae was very tense.

The atmosphere was different from the audition.

The huge set, multiple cameras, and many adults he had never seen before.

The sudden silence when the camera lights came on.

The serious atmosphere on set was too heavy for Jungtae.

Meanwhile, during the three NGs, Siwoo had been playing with his toys quietly.

He didn't cry or look for his mother, nor did he crawl away and go out of frame.

Tae-soo thought Siwoo was just absorbed in his toys.

He wanted to wrap up the scene quickly while Siwoo was being well-behaved.

If Siwoo lost interest in his toys and the two children started causing NGs one after another, today's shoot could turn into a nightmare.

Tae-soo spoke to Jungtae.

“Pretend this is your home. This is Jungtae's house. Play comfortably, and when the uncle... takes a deep breath! Do you know what a deep breath is? Ha... When you hear a deep breath, come and ask for food.”

Jungtae, with a dejected look, nodded at Tae-soo's words.

Tae-soo picked up his phone and returned to the kitchen.

Director Lee Han-soo called out.

“Ready! Action!”

Tae-soo, coming from the kitchen to the living room, performed his fourth take.

As a seasoned actor, he delivered the same lines with different tones and intonations each time, handling them skillfully.

Siwoo, focused on his toys but listening to the sounds behind him, was impressed by Tae-soo's increasingly detailed performance.

‘This is acting!’

He had experienced this with Lee Su-jin, but since it had been a one-take shoot, he had never seen the same performance repeated.

Han Tae-soo delivered four different performances, and Siwoo found it interesting.

Even when an NG happened, he wondered, ‘What will he do next?’

‘An actor who makes you curious about what they will show. Is this what a good actor is?’

It was a bit disappointing that he couldn't see Tae-soo's performance directly while playing the role of a baby with toys.

‘I'll have to enjoy it by listening.’

Tae-soo's lines were nearing the end.

Then, as Tae-soo had instructed, he took a deep breath.

“Ha...”

Siwoo discreetly checked on Jungtae, making sure not to be caught by the camera.

He planned to stand up and follow his brother when Jungtae went to his father.

He would do the same action, but with a slight delay.

If the brothers went together to ask for food after their father had a big argument with their mother and was feeling down, the effect would be doubled.

‘Come on, kid. Now's the time. Go ask your dad for food. I'll follow and say "mama" to cheer him up.’

As if he had heard Siwoo, Jungtae jumped up from his seat.

Jungtae ran to Tae-soo and delivered his line.

“Mommy! Ba... Ah, Daddy... Food...”

“Cut! NG!”

Jungtae had accidentally called for his mother first.

This was because his mother usually took care of the food at home.

“Shin Jungtae!”

Jungtae's mother, frustrated, called out his name in a slightly angry voice.

Jungtae, already nervous from the consecutive mistakes, was startled and burst into tears.

Although he had been a kid model for two years, this was his first time acting, and he was a young child who had just started kindergarten.

“Waa... Waa!”

The staff stopped what they were doing.

While it was a bit earlier than expected, it was inevitable that the child would cry.

Shooting would be paused until the child stopped crying.

This sometimes happened in productions with young children.

Also, it was not uncommon for mothers to push their children out of frustration.

Jungtae's mother, with a red face, rushed over.

“Why are you crying? Stop it quickly. Can't you say 'cut it out'?”

‘She's not comforting him, she's pushing him. This will make him cry more.’

As Siwoo had predicted, Jungtae couldn't stop crying when his mother grabbed his arm instead of comforting him.

Just as the crying grew louder, a woman with long hair appeared, brushing it back.

It was Lee Su-jin.

“Do I have to hear a child crying as soon as I arrive? I suggested we make the character a primary school student.”

Director Lee Han-soo replied with a sigh.

“No, Su-jin. In the previous work, they reunited four years later, and six years have passed since then, so the oldest he can be is five.”

“Does it have to be the same as real life?”

“Yes, it does.”

Director Lee Han-soo answered firmly and called the assistant director.

“Tell Jungtae to take a break somewhere else.”

“Understood.”

The assistant director ran to Jungtae's mother.

“Jungtae's mom, don't panic. Go over there and calm the child down slowly.”

“Yes, yes. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll be right back.”

Jungtae and his mother left the living room.

Siwoo, watching Jungtae's disappearing back, wished he wouldn't get too much scolding from his mother.

“I sent him away because you hate the sound of children crying. Aren't you grateful?”

Director Lee Han-soo said to Su-jin.

Su-jin gave a thumbs up.

“Thank you. I really hate crying. Siwoo didn't cry at all for a whole day before... Wait! Hold on! Where's Siwoo? Siwoo!”

Su-jin, who had instructed her manager to speed up to see Siwoo, who had grown a lot in half a year, was a bit late.

She approached Siwoo with a spring breeze-like smile, having looked very displeased just a moment ago.

“Siwoo! Mommy's here! It's Su-jin mommy! Ah! You've become even cuter! What do I do!”

Han Tae-soo and Director Lee Han-soo, who had known Su-jin for ten years, were stunned by her dramatic change.

Su-jin, who had always detested children, was hugging Siwoo lovingly and smiling like a real mother.

Tae-soo asked.

“Han-soo, what are we seeing right now?”

“...I don't know. The prettiest Su-jin I've ever seen? I've never seen her smile so brightly before.”

Su-jin, playing happily with Siwoo, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, and doing the "doridori jamjam" and "gonjigongji" games, suddenly turned to Director Lee Han-soo.

“Director! Are you shooting the scene where Tae-soo and I argue and he laments his fate? Since time is precious, if that crying child doesn't come back in three minutes, how about we shoot a scene with just Siwoo? It might not be a bad idea as a backup.”

The look in Su-jin's eyes, as she suggested this, was somehow similar to that of Jungtae's mother, who had been boasting about her son.

Oh.