Chapter 99

99

"Minji, do you really have a crush on me?"

You don't just hate me, right?

Improvising with a newbie??

No, fine. Let's say he's guiding my acting through improvisation. But shouldn't he at least give me some hints? Besides, this is my first role, and I don't have many scenes.

"Is this what you call an interesting scene?"

But what's even more insane is that the director isn't stopping him. Instead, he seems to find this situation thrilling, judging by how he's gripping the script tightly with both hands, showing no signs of stopping.

Ah, I haven't heard that Minji is known for improvising, but this damn guy….

Anger is rising, but I don't want to use the excuses that I'm a newbie, have few scenes, lack experience, or am an idol to run away.

I met Minji's… no, Min Seung-tae's gaze.

He completely dropped the mask of the good guy he had been wearing for everyone, the mask of the protagonist. His eyes, cold and ruthless, showed no interest in anything except Yu Jeong-hwa, and he seemed to care about nothing else.

"I thought you were a bit smarter. If you knew I was the son of Seonghu Corporation, would you have any reason to meddle in other people's affairs and make things complicated? You don't seem to have that kind of sense of justice."

Even though he cornered me, he's still giving me hints.

I get even more pissed off when you give me hints….

But I have to take what I can. I looked at him without panicking.

"…Well, if we're being picky, I guess not."

Since I'm the protagonist, I might as well answer in a way that's true to 'me'.

When I countered his line, the staff, who expected me to mess up, looked surprised.

"But watching you treat that guy like that, it just seems ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous?"

Min Seung-tae tilted his head to the side and put one hand in his pocket. As expected of Min Seung-tae, who treated everyone except the protagonist with a condescending gaze, he was trying to overwhelm me and gain the upper hand.

"What's ridiculous?"

"Hmm, if you don't know, maybe you should reflect on yourself instead of asking me."

My line, delivered with a slight smirk, made a hint of guilt flash in Min Seung-tae's eyes.

"Finding out that your childhood friend, whom you've known for over ten years, is actually the son of your enemy. And you pretended not to know? This isn't a movie. In reality, you'd just cut ties."

"…."

"Unless you've thrown your conscience in the trash, you should think about it."

I seemed to have hit the right spot, as Min Seung-tae slowly wiped his mouth and nodded, though he didn't look particularly happy.

"Yes, that… is true. Senior."

"I'm glad you still have a bit of conscience left."

As I said that, Min Seung-tae looked up.

"But, it's not something you should worry about. We're strangers."

This is how he comes at me. The tension in the air sparked. Min Seung-tae pressed his advantage.

"I wish you wouldn't stir things up."

"…."

Stir things up.

I looked at him for a moment.

If I were the PD, how would I have handled this? Would I have just stood there and listened to this nonsense from someone I didn't know? Would I have just stood there because he's a chaebol?

I slowly fiddled with my lighter and placed it on the railing. After taking a deep breath to calm my anger, I looked at Min Seung-tae and smiled warmly.

"Phew, Seung-tae~."

"…!!"

Just standing there….

'No way.'

I was known for my quick comebacks.

"Since you don't seem to understand, let's think about who's in a more disadvantageous position here, slowly."

One of the staff members opened their mouth wide in shock at my line. Well, there's no setting for informal speech in the character, but my mouth was already running.

"Am I the one who stays up late at the broadcasting station, drinking coffee, or are you the one who can't sleep, worried about being caught by Yu Jeong-hwa?"

"…What?"

Min Seung-tae was speechless. In the drama, Yu Jeong-hwa was absolutely crucial to Min Seung-tae. Mentioning 'Yu Jeong-hwa' would make even the most stubborn Min Seung-tae lose.

"Besides, I already have a ton of work. Shouldn't I take care of the team's slaves on my own? Why do you have to stir things up and make people angry…."

"…."

"If you understand, I'll go."

That's enough. Thinking that the improvisation was getting too long and might need editing, I was about to walk away when….

"Wait!"

He grabbed me urgently. His wavering gaze suggested that Min Seung-tae had already acknowledged his defeat.

"I thought you were someone who only cared about yourself… My prejudice. What do you mean?"

"…Really tell me?"

"Yes, if you want something."

I pulled my arm out of his grip and answered succinctly.

"…A steady salary, a decent bonus, a good work-life balance, and a boss who doesn't take credit for my work."

"What nonsense is this?"

"Does it sound like a legend or something?"

I sighed.

"Take care of my bowl of rice and the bowls of the slaves. That's what I want."

"Wow…."

'…Huh?'

Min Seung-tae frowned as he delivered his line, and it felt a bit off. It was a bit different from before, but it wasn't Min Seung-tae; it was just Min Ji.

Min Ji, whose eyes wavered for a moment, still delivered the line naturally enough to avoid an NG.

"Can you do that? Can you change my boss, PD Lee Jung-hoon?"

"Chaebols are really annoying. If you're going to change something, change the department head."

"…That's not easy."

"Can't you do that?"

It almost seemed like he was enjoying it, as if….

'Like he's being swayed by the acting?'

"Is there anything else? Something I can do to keep you quiet…."

"Something you can do?"

Anyway, I had to deliver the last line.

I patted his shoulder as if brushing off dust. Watching him take a few steps back, looking displeased, I said clearly.

"Get. Lost."

"And I walked out of the frame as the director enthusiastically shouted.

"Cut!"

'Real bastard, Min Ji…'

I felt drained. No matter how much Lee Jung-hoon and I were alike, being on edge in front of the camera and dealing with unexpected situations was exhausting.

Director Yoo was excited and spouted words.

"Crazy! Both of you are crazy!!"

"…."

Yeah, I admit Min Ji is a tough nut to crack.

But I wish he would have let me off the hook.

"Amazing! Wow, how can both of you improvise so well? The chemistry was incredible…!! The relationship between Min Seung-tae and Lee Jung-hoon was clearly shown! We don't even need to reshoot."

"…Wow, is this a one-take for us~?"

"Of course, Ji-hyun! This time, you really nailed the character. I need to show it to writer Kim. Ji-hyun, you did great! I almost missed out on such a treasure!"

"Thank you for the kind words."

While awkwardly smiling and responding to the reactions around me, something still felt off. Despite the praise, I couldn't shake the feeling.

'What is it?'

If it was just improvisation, it wouldn't matter, but it felt like I was missing something….

The excited director moved away to monitor again, and the hair stylist was fixing Min Ji's hair when our eyes met.

Min Ji….

"Kuk…."

He couldn't hold back his laughter when our eyes met.

"Seo Ho-yun, you… hahaha, you were really good at improvising just now."

"…!"

-Do you have any reason to meddle in other people's affairs and make things complicated? You don't seem to have that kind of sense of justice.

-I thought you were someone who only cared about yourself, my prejudice. What do you mean?

The lines Min Ji had said flashed through my mind.

'Ah! Damn!'

Those… those weren't lines.

That bastard, knowing I tend to answer most questions, deliberately used improvisation on set to fish for information about me!

What kind of person I am, what kind of thinking I have, how I would react in such a situation!

He just threw out some improvisation to satisfy his curiosity!

Betrayed, I opened my mouth wide.

"Wow… that…!"

"Aha, ha, ha, ah, really."

I almost cursed but quickly shut my mouth. Min Ji, who noticed my reaction, gave up on holding back his laughter and burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.

Feeling defeated, I stood there, waiting for Min Ji to calm down….

"Ha… Seo Ho-yun, your personality is really funny… How do you live like that? Do you treat chaebols like that too?"

Min Ji, laughing so hard he wiped away tears.

"Ah, these days, life is so much fun…."

"…."

"Another enjoyable day on set~. Let's all do our best!"

"Oh my, yes!"

Min Ji moved on to the next shoot, and the staff were happy, saying 'Min Da-jeong was so kind today.'

Min Da-jeong was frozen. That bastard, even in the entertainment industry, which is full of people who are a bit off, was a tough nut to crack.

'He doesn't mess around with acting!'

No, I was the fool for believing him!

I had fallen for that snake's trick again. I glared in the direction Min Ji had disappeared….

***

Whether or not Min Ji was enjoying teasing Seo Ho-yun, the idol Seo Ho-yun was really working hard.

Thanks to Lee Ji-hyun, who had become almost one with the health supplements, and his crazy work ethic, more and more of The Dun's original content was being produced.

[Seung-woo's OST Making Film]

[Kang Eun-jae, Come to My Room Now. Producing Behind CAM]

[The Dun's Human Theater Documentary (Featuring the most shocking moment for Seung-hyun)]

[Seung-hyun and Da-jun's Chaotic Macaron Making (Featuring the disgusted Seung-woo)]

[Heart-pounding Dun School Student Council Election]

So the fans would just wake up to find a new self-produced content, behind-the-scenes photos, and B-lives.

Among them, the self-produced content stood out the most.

[LOL Seo Ho-yun's campaign promise for student council president was so casual, he said he'd give out hamburgers to the class (end)

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL └Kang Eun-jae: (raising hand) Can't we just give out four?

Seo Ho-yun: LOL Yes └└I'm going to kill this guy, I knew it from the moment I saw him casually walking into the classroom with his hands in his pockets]

[Meanwhile, Seung-woo's campaign promise Seung-woo: Hmm… I'll reduce practice by two hours. Everyone: (jumping up) Seung-woo!! Seung-woo President!! Give us a speech on your victory!

Seung-woo is unanimously elected └LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL Are they comedians?

└Wow, Seung-woo really is a tiger when it comes to practice LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL 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