Chapter 11

11. Shh~!

Director Lee Hansoo scratched his head.

Insurance...

It’s better to do something rather than just sit around and kill time amidst a tight schedule.

Moreover, Siwoo, the child, is in a perfect state for filming.

It would be a waste to spend the golden time of an 11-month-old baby, who could start crying at any moment, like this.

"Alright. Let’s get some insurance shots as Su-jin suggested. Everyone, get ready for the shoot!"

It was common to try different angles and shots during filming.

It all depends on the situation.

Director Lee Hansoo called Taesu.

"Taesu, let’s do a shot with the little one first, and when the older one comes, we’ll do it again according to the original script."

"Got it. And we’ll compare which one is better, right?"

"Exactly. But sometimes, the impromptu shots on set turn out better than the planned ones. We’ll see if that happens this time."

"I also perform better when I improvise rather than following the script exactly."

Director Lee Hansoo and Taesu smiled at each other.

"Alright. This is just a test, so just focus on the main context and act however you feel comfortable. Let’s see. The older one is at his grandmother’s house, right? He’s arguing with his wife on the phone and then sitting in front of the baby, complaining about his life."

Taesu nodded, recalling various lines in his head.

"How do we wrap it up? The baby can’t ask me for food, can he?"

"You’re rambling to the baby, and suddenly you smell something. Check the diaper. It’s wet. The baby is grunting and smiling happily."

"Hehe. I like this more than asking for food. But what if the baby doesn’t smile?"

"I don’t know. Honestly, I can’t predict whether the baby will laugh, cry, or get angry. You’ll have to handle it with improvisation. Anyway, your facial expression at the end is important, so pay attention to that."

"Okay."

While the staff prepared for the shoot, Su-jin was holding Siwoo and giving him acting instructions.

"Siwoo, you can’t talk during the shoot, got it? You need to be quiet and say shh~. Shh~. Do you know how to say shh yet?"

"Shii~"

Siwoo mimicked Su-jin, placing his tiny finger on his lips.

"Aww~! That’s shh? Good. When the uncle talks, you need to say shh~. Just play with the toys here, and the uncle will take care of everything. Our Siwoo has grown so much. You can even say shh."

With a loving gaze, Su-jin played the shh game with Siwoo until the setup was complete.

"Siwoo, remember what Mommy said? You need to say shh~. It’ll be over soon."

Placing Siwoo in front of a pile of toys, Su-jin moved out of the frame.

She was worried that Siwoo might follow her, but she was relieved to see him quickly engrossed in the toys again.

Despite not meeting often, Siwoo seemed to have a good sense of what adults wanted.

Su-jin thought, if he’s this good, she’d really like to raise a child herself.

"Camera roll!"

Director Lee Hansoo called out.

All the cameras on the set lit up.

Taesu walked out of the kitchen with a look as if he had eaten all the sweet potatoes in the world.

"No way! That’s not what I meant. Why do you always twist my words?"

Taesu took the phone away from his ear for a moment and then brought it back.

"Don’t shout. Why are you so worked up? I never said you twisted my words. No... over there... let me finish..."

After a few more lines, Taesu ended the call.

He stood in the center of the living room, looking half-dead, and muttered to himself.

"Ah... really, it’s too much... What did I do wrong..."

After a brief pause to catch his breath, Taesu walked towards Siwoo.

The little one was playing with toys for a long time, seemingly never getting bored.

He was a child who deserved all the attention on set.

Taesu weakly sat down in front of Siwoo.

"Yoonwoo, are you having fun?"

When Taesu called his name, Siwoo briefly looked at him.

The camera, positioned close by, captured Siwoo’s face in detail.

This child’s cuteness was a selling point of the movie, known to both Director Lee Hansoo and the camera director.

Siwoo looked back at the toys and then, for some reason, pushed a pink camping car towards Taesu.

"Huh? Why, are you giving this to Dad? Yeah, thanks."

Taesu placed his hand on the camping car and made a pushing motion.

"Complaining to my wife and playing with the baby... Ah, life is tough."

Director Lee Hansoo, watching from the side, smiled with satisfaction.

'That pink toy, which we received as a product placement... Good! It was very natural! I’m relieved.'

Product placement (PPL) was one of the elements that often caused headaches for directors.

Although Siwoo didn’t know it, he had inadvertently completed a PPL task.

Of course, this shot had to survive to be considered a success.

"Haa... Yoonwoo, why is your mom so... like that? Huh? There’s no lion. When I was young, I thought her personality was really cool. But now... hahaha... I’m a rabbit living with a lion..."

Taesu continued his lament with a teary, almost crying expression.

At some point, Siwoo stopped playing with the toys and sat quietly, looking up at Taesu.

He seemed curious about what the uncle was saying.

"How can I have so much to say... to a one-year-old... Dad is really... so tired, Yoonwoo. Your mom is really scary. Ten times scarier than she was ten years ago. Sniff..."

For the final part, he decided to cry comically, a bit exaggeratedly.

As Taesu tried to produce tears with a face that was both sad and funny, Siwoo, who had been looking at him with bright eyes, leaned forward, placed his hands on the floor, and stood up.

It was a sudden action.

Feeling the urgency, Taesu quickly moved on to the next part, checking Siwoo’s diaper to avoid an NG.

While wiping his tears with the back of his hand, Siwoo walked towards him lovingly.

"Sniff... Sniff..."

Taesu sniffled, trying to find the right moment to smell the diaper.

Since the baby was coming towards him, the risk of an NG was significantly reduced.

"Yoonwoo, come here. Sniff. Let me hold you..."

He planned to hold Siwoo once and then move on to "What’s that smell?"

But Siwoo’s tiny hand came up to Taesu’s face.

Siwoo awkwardly extended one finger and placed it on Taesu’s lips.

"Shh~!"

Taesu’s mouth twisted comically under the pressure of the baby’s finger, and he stopped talking.

Siwoo, who had made Taesu be quiet, started patting Taesu’s shoulder as if he knew everything without being told, with a wistful look in his eyes, reminiscent of a cat in boots.

While being patted by the baby, Taesu was genuinely surprised.

But he was an actor.

He quickly regained his composure and made the most pitiful face of his 32-year-old life, opening his mouth.

"Thank you, Yoonwoo. You’re the only one. Sniff! Sniff!"

It was the moment when the male lead, Han Taesu, in the movie "My Too Scary Wife," burst into tears like popcorn in a machine.

* * *

Jung-tae’s mother was bewildered.

When she returned with Jung-tae, the set was filled with applause.

'What’s going on?'

Jung-tae’s mother peeked through the staff to see the living room.

'Oh my! What’s happening here?'

The absolute female lead of the movie, actress Lee Su-jin, who had recently skyrocketed in popularity with the Mr. Moonlight and Best Actress awards, was standing there as if Siwoo were her own child.

Siwoo’s mother, Hyun-ju, Director Lee Hansoo, and the male lead, Han Taesoo, were also there.

Jung-tae’s mother, puzzled by the high spirits on set, approached with Jung-tae.

She heard voices.

"I was really surprised. The baby, who can’t even talk well, was patting my shoulder. What’s this? I almost missed my line because I was so surprised. Did you pat the baby to calm him down when he cried at home?"

It was Taesu’s voice.

"No, Siwoo doesn’t cry much. But when characters on TV pat each other, Siwoo used to watch them carefully. Maybe that’s why?"

Hyun-ju, blushing with excitement amidst the flood of praise, answered.

Director Lee Hansoo shook his head.

"Genius, genius. I heard somewhere that what’s important for babies like this is not just anything, but how well they imitate actions. That’s their learning ability. Observing and mimicking in different situations. The baby is very smart, isn’t he?"

Su-jin joined in the praise.

"I noticed it half a year ago. Siwoo is just the cutest and smartest in Korea! Siwoo’s mother must be very proud. The baby is so talented."

Su-jin continued.

"Our Siwoo got an OK again like last time~ Oh, he’s so cute! I never imagined I would find a baby this cute. Director, please give Siwoo more screen time in the future. The audience... Oh, they’re here?"

Su-jin stopped talking when she noticed Jung-tae’s mother and Jung-tae.

Jung-tae’s mother’s face was flushed red.

She had a rough idea of what was happening.

She had only been away for a short time.

Not a day, not even an hour, but a very short time by her standards.

Yet, in that time, that little one had taken her son’s role.

Jung-tae’s mother knew that such things were common in the business world, and she herself had taken over a few other kids’ modeling jobs, but being on the receiving end was a different matter.

It was a case of double standards.

Jung-tae’s mother tried to maintain her composure and spoke.

"Hehe. What did Siwoo do? Did he do well?"

Director Lee Hansoo said,

"I tried a shot with Siwoo since we were waiting. He did very well. It was done without any NGs."

"Ah... Really? Now our Jung-tae is ready. I made sure he remembered the last line with Han Taesoo and the ‘Dad, give me food’ line..."

"No, we’re moving on to the next scene. There are no children in this one, so you can rest more."

Director Lee Hansoo turned and called out,

"Set up the couple’s argument scene! It’s time for the war!"

As Director Lee Hansoo walked away, Jung-tae’s mother, unable to hide her anxiety, followed and asked,

"Director, are you not going to reshoot what we just did? I prepared really well. Please give us one more chance."

"I understand your enthusiasm, but we need to save time. The schedule is tight."

"Still... Can’t we just do it once? We practiced while waiting."

Director Lee Hansoo inwardly sighed and shook his head.

'That’s why it took longer. All the staff were waiting endlessly for the child to practice.'

It was fortunate that Siwoo was there.

Jung-tae’s mother, not giving up, tried to persuade Director Lee Hansoo again.

"Since he’s a baby, Han Taesoo had to act alone without a partner. Wouldn’t the scene be boring? The baby should say a line or two to liven it up~"

Director Lee Hansoo, with a twitching eyebrow, stopped.

He knew from the audition that she was a greedy mother, but her words just now were too much.

"Jung-tae’s mother, the director is busy, so please stay over there with me..."

Director