Chapter 35.2

Chapter 35.2

Miran bit her lip to hide her smile and clenched her fists in determination. The rehearsal, which was supposed to start at noon, had been delayed again and again, and now it was well past 2:30. Since they needed to wrap up filming by 5 p.m. for the karaoke bar to reopen, Miran figured she could ask André to wait an hour and watch the shoot when he arrived at 4.

Today, she was wanted to ask him everything she’d been dying to know about. Miran pursed her lips tightly.

“Done with the phone? Hand it over.”

Hyuna snatched the phone from Miran’s hand and hurried her along.

“Let’s go. The lead actors can be late, but if we minor roles show up late, everyone becomes ballistic.”

The filming location was the largest VIP room in the karaoke bar. As Miran headed inside, she ran into the assistant director just as he was stepping out. He looked a few years older than her, with a face covered in acne, and every time he moved, a pungent mix of sweat and cigarette smoke hit her nose.

“Excuse me, my… manager is supposed to pick me up at 4 o’clock. He’s a tall foreigner, so please make sure to let him in when he arrives. I’d really appreciate it.”

The assistant director looked at her in disbelief and asked, “A foreigner as your manager? That doesn’t make any sense. Did you call your boyfriend? Are you dating a foreign guy or something?”

When Miran stammared, unable to answer, he rolled his eyes and let out a sarcastic laugh.

“Wow, I’ve never seen an actress call her boyfriend while filming a s#x scene. Got it. I’ll let him in.”

As he walked away, snickering to himself, Miran could still hear him muttering, “Foreign guys are so open-minded. They don’t even mind some other guy fondling their woman’s ti!ts on set.”

Miran shot a sharp glare at the back of his greasy head before letting out a sigh of patience. Comments like that were far too common in this industry to be worth responding to. Taking a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face and stepped into the brightly lit room.

—

Byungjin, the director, was seated in his chair, surrounded by the heads of each department like a screen of bodyguards. He looked just as disheveled as the last time Miran had seen him, wearing the same clothes and still looking a mess.

With two cigarettes in his mouth, he leaned crookedly in his chair, barking orders at everyone around him. The crew responded with bowed heads and clasped hands, diligently acknowledging his every word.

“We’re going heavy on backlighting, so get the lamps set against the wall. Hey, rookie! Get the scaffolding over here!”

“Yes, Director!”

“Seongho, we’re shooting the close-up first, but the table looks too empty. Tell the art department to bring in some props.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Right after the Morang Market action scene ends, we laid down the foreshadowing. After that, this scene connects from the beginning, so let’s keep the flow going and switch to handheld camera.”

“Got it. Understood.”

“Hey! You, lighting team! Get over here, you son of a b2tch! How could you let the assistant director step on the power cord? Get the cables cleaned up, now!”

“I’m sorry, Director! I’ll fix it right away!”

Byungjin struck the lighting assistant several times on the head with a rolled-up script for stepping on the electric cables while setting up the scaffolding. The assistant’s baseball cap flew off, but he just kept his head down, taking the hits without complaint.

Miran shuddered when she saw the scene upon entering. The set was utter chaos. On a film set, the director’s word was law—an unquestionable truth that everyone had to obey if they wanted to survive in the industry.

Tensing up, Miran bowed deeply to everyone she passed, making her way over to Hyuna. Her mindset was completely different from when she had only been an extra.

Hyuna, who had entered the room ahead of her, was already standing respectfully in front of Oh Kyung-soo, the actor playing Park Doosik.

“Hello, senior! I’m Kang Miran, and I’ll be playing Chorong. It’s an honor to work with you!”

Miran bowed deeply, introducing herself.

“Wow, Chorong is such a pretty girl! I’m looking forward to working with you too,” said Oh Kyung-soo, a well-known character actor famous for his range. He nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

“Thank you so much, senior! Please take care of me!”

“Oh, you’re full of spirit. Don’t be nervous during the shoot, okay? Be bold and give it your all. Also… I’ll drop the formalities, so stop calling me ‘senior’ all stiff like that. Just call me ‘oppa,’ alright?”