Chapter 21

021. When asked about the success or failure of the film (2)

"Be careful! Absolutely nothing should fall! Make sure the lights don’t short circuit! Today, it’s not just one or two important people coming."

Representative Kim Gwan-woo, dressed in a suit, was sweating profusely in the scorching sun, bustling about.

Director Park Dong-jin scratched his head with the antenna of the walkie-talkie as he approached him.

"Why did you come here to suffer?"

"The investors are coming. But what if I’m not here?"

"What if you’re not here?"

Seeing him fidgeting, Representative Kim Gwan-woo scowled. Sweat dripped down his face.

"You’ll handle it well, I’m sure. You’ll just focus on the movie and not care about anything else."

"That’s my job."

"Yeah, I know. That’s why I came. It’s my job to charm the investors!"

Director Park Dong-jin nodded, as if finally understanding.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, Representative Kim Gwan-woo’s words grabbed his ankle.

"Ah, and there’s a bigger problem. Someone from SJ Entertainment is coming."

"Why would the distributor come suddenly?"

"They say they’re here to meet the investors, but they’re really here to do the math. To figure out how many screens this movie deserves. But, it’s not like it’s going to rain suddenly, right?"

Representative Kim Gwan-woo suddenly looked up at the sky.

Director Park Dong-jin shook his head, looking at him.

"It’s so clear, why would it rain? Stop worrying. I’m going crazy here."

"Damn, do you understand my heart? Every time, it feels like I’m drawing a lot for the success or failure of the movie... Oh, Song Writer!"

He stopped fidgeting and perked up, his gaze fixed on the entrance of the set. Representative Kim Gwan-woo approached Writer Song, waving his hand.

"Hello, Representative."

"Our hardworking Song Writer! You look... didn’t you bring any sharp objects?"

"What, like this?"

She pulled out a laptop from the eco-bag slung over her shoulder.

Representative Kim Gwan-woo whistled, running his hand over the heavy, aluminum-made "weapon."

"Phew, why do they make laptops so sharp these days?"

"Don’t worry. I wouldn’t ruin all my hard work by stopping now."

"Yeah, yeah. Good thinking. Finish the movie well, and then you can die."

From behind, Director Park Dong-jin’s voice was heard.

"I can hear everything-."

"So what if you can hear! Did you want Song Writer to die after all the trouble you gave her?"

Writer Song smiled at the threatening Representative Kim Gwan-woo, put the laptop back in the eco-bag, and walked away.

When she reached Director Park Dong-jin, she said coldly,

"I’ve sent the additional scenes you requested."

"Of course, I’ve already seen them. They’re amazing. As expected, Song Writer."

"Your lifespan just increased by a day."

"Ha ha ha..."

Director Park Dong-jin laughed awkwardly, and Writer Song smiled at him, looking around the elaborately decorated field.

"Is this the festival scene today? The visuals are great. If I were to play a piano solo here... it would be quite something."

She paused, imagining it in her head.

After Director Park Dong-jin returned from the sound film, he added this scene.

Originally, it was supposed to be just a duet, but he strongly insisted on adding a solo at the end.

Genius is like a needle; it must eventually stand out, no matter where or when.

'Maybe it’s the right choice.'

The climax is too far into the movie to support the whole, so having such scenes earlier will provide the "fun" to lead the audience to the final scene safely.

Director Park Dong-jin smiled, seeing her nodding.

Just like the day he burst into the studio with a new idea, his face was full of confidence.

"Expect it. Representative called you for the investors, but I called you to show this scene."

#

"Definitely not as good as the actors, but it’s over quickly~."

Time on the set flows in a way that defies common sense, and that’s true. For me, that "quickly" was a form of torture...

Anyway, the process of making me the protagonist of Yunzart. The makeup is done.

Now I’m free. I carefully hung the jacket I’ll wear during filming to avoid wrinkles and left the waiting room.

The corridor was quiet, perhaps because there was no filming inside the school today.

It’s peaceful. It’s worth coming early.

In contrast, outside the school was a different world.

The entire set was bustling.

Not only because investors were visiting the set, but also because of the nature of this scene.

It’s the day of the town festival in the movie.

And just as music is essential to a festival, the music teacher must lead the clumsy classical club members to close the festival.

I’m participating in this scene today.

"The stage is quite large."

I slowly walked around the school grounds and stopped in front of the flagpole.

A wooden stage, fitting for a town festival, with flags extending from it and lights spreading like spider webs. Large balloons and unknown flowers added to the scene.

I couldn’t help but look forward to how beautiful this place would be when the sun set in a few hours. And to performing there myself.

After walking around the school grounds, I returned inside.

The atmosphere was still quiet, but the lights at the end of the corridor were on.

It was the music room, where the last shoot took place.

Was it on earlier?

Curious, I approached.

Creak.

Chae Yi-yeon was sitting in one spot, playing the violin.

Actually, it was more like she was making scraping sounds.

She moved her fingers and muttered to herself.

"Was it like this? I need to look at it carefully again."

She stretched her neck to look at her phone on the desk.

Her head drooped.

"Ugh, stupid. I can’t understand even when I look..."

"What are you playing?"

"Ah! You scared me!"

"Sorry."

I didn’t exactly sneak up on her.

When I asked if she was okay, Chae Yi-yeon’s face turned red, and she shook her head with an embarrassed smile.

"No, it’s not your waiting room. I’m the one who’s sorry!"

I smiled back and looked down. The video on her phone screen, which seemed to be taken by her, was still playing.

"Are you in today’s scene?"

"Yeah. But it’s hard. The sound sync is fine, but the finger movements are too difficult."

I tilted my head at her words.

Unlike lip sync, hand sync appears in only a few scenes and passes quickly.

I thought what she was doing was enough.

"Don’t you need to be accurate?"

But Chae Yi-yeon’s expression was firm.

"I can’t act like that. The music teacher said that when watching a music movie, if the finger movements don’t match, it breaks the immersion. Even for a brief scene, I want to fix it if it breaks the immersion..."

Even if it was a performance and not acting, could she have said it so casually like before?

I admitted my shortsightedness.

"You’re right, now that I think about it."

"Hey-."

"Then show me."

"Uh?"

I extended my hand. Chae Yi-yeon, taken aback, handed me the violin, blinking rapidly.

"Do you know how to play the violin?"

"A little?"

I took a stance, recalling the hand movements I had seen on her phone, and played lightly, looking at her wide eyes.

"Like this. Is it right?"

"Y-Yes..."

Chae Yi-yeon, who had been staring blankly at the violin in my hand, was surprised.

"Wow! The sound is so beautiful! What can’t you do? Piano, violin... You even composed the piece you played in the last shoot! I can’t even play one instrument properly-."

"You’re good at singing, though."

"Huh?"

Ah... Should I have kept my mouth shut?

I blurted it out without thinking, embarrassed by Chae Yi-yeon’s enthusiastic praise of my skills, which I had never heard in this life.

Yeah, I should have zipped it. I need to. Otherwise, something will happen soon.

First, I need to fix this...

"No, I didn’t mean you’re good at singing, but you seem like you would be."

What did I say?

Chae Yi-yeon tilting her head at my nonsense was only natural.

"Eh, what do you see?"

"...Your vocal cords?"

Ha ha ha. No, I need to sew it shut. It’s cheaper.

Surprisingly, it worked. As a joke.

Chae Yi-yeon burst into laughter, playfully covering her mouth with both hands.

"Wow. What did you see?"

Hey, that’s a bit strange, isn’t it...?

#

The scorching sun, which had been tormenting the staff, was finally setting.

In the meantime, the actors arrived one after another.

Since today’s scene was a crowd scene, there were not only the main and supporting actors but also a significant number of extras.

Thus, hundreds of actors and staff filled the set.

As the scheduled shooting time approached, several luxury cars arrived.

Investors, distributors, and journalists came to gauge the success of the film.

The actors, who were in the middle of their final rehearsal, momentarily turned their attention to them.

Director Park Dong-jin, who was discussing with Writer Song and the assistant director, was no exception.

"..."

At that moment, Representative Kim Gwan-woo, who had been cooling off in a shaded corner, ran over, his expression as if he had just reunited with a long-lost family.

Seeing him start "his job," Director Park Dong-jin returned to his work.

"It’s going to work. Let’s start the shooting soon."

Meanwhile, on stage.

Jeon Hye-in, playing the female lead, sighed deeply as she loosened her violin bow.

"Ugh, why isn’t this working?"

Other supporting actors chimed in, feeling her frustration. One complained about sore fingers, another about a crooked jaw.

Then, Chae Yi-yeon, who had been practicing non-stop, tilted her violin to show everyone.

"Like this. After this, then this. And then like this."

She slowly moved her fingers, demonstrating the difficult part that everyone was struggling with, adding a friendly smile.

"Wow, you said you didn’t learn the violin? You must have practiced really hard."

Chae Yi-yeon quickly shook her head.

"No, I was a mess too, but I got help."

"From who? A music teacher?"

Her head shook again.

"...The protagonist."

During the last shoot. That is, when we were filming a daily scene without Han Seo-ho, who didn’t have a piano scene.

Even then, Director Park Dong-jin didn’t miss a chance to mention Han Seo-ho to the staff.

"He’s the protagonist of our movie."

...Now I understand what he meant.

"?"

On the other hand, Jeon Hye-in, who didn’t know Chae Yi-yeon’s situation, tilted her head and followed her gaze.

A boy was walking towards the stage, wearing a stylish jacket, unlike during the rehearsal.

Not Lee Min-jae, the movie’s protagonist, but his stand-in.

"What, he looks more like the protagonist, doesn’t he?"

While she was chuckling, Han Seo-ho sat down at the piano.

The sky was turning orange, and the shooting was about to begin.

#

I looked around briefly.

The school was lit up like a giant Christmas tree with various lights.

And below, extras and staff were gathered.

The people watching from off-camera, probably the investors my father mentioned this morning.

In this situation, I, not the actor Lee Min-jae, was going to be on stage.

It wasn’t strange. Given the nature of the scene, I would only appear as a small figure from a distance, so using a stand-in wouldn’t be a problem.

And most importantly, Director Park Dong-jin seemed to want to show a performance, not acting, to the people who came today.

'He even came to the waiting room to ask me to do my best.'

As the shooting was about to start, Director Park Dong-jin’s gestures became busier.

Seo Chang-gyu also went up on stage to prepare for his conducting role.

The actors playing students were preparing for their performance, and the people below were getting ready