Chapter 371 (1/2)

He received the clothes that were thrown at him. It was a set that made up a white cooking uniform. Although the sleeves looked a little long for him, it didn’t matter. He was now used to adjusting clothes. He folded the end of his sleeves and fixed it in place with safety clips. When he had a look in the mirror, it didn’t look that out of place.

“We must be fated. Don’t you think so, Maru?” Gwangseok, who was touching up his hair, spoke.

Maru smiled and nodded. He might have to deal with this guy several times in the future, so there was no reason to cause trouble.

“Do I look good in this?”

“It suits you.”

“I’m good at cooking too. I would’ve been successful even if I decided to cook as my career.”

Gwangseok strongly snapped his wrist as though he was flipping ingredients inside a Chinese wok. Maru inwardly applauded the immature kid’s hopeless dream. He wished him good luck. Who knows? He might actually become successful as a cook. Life was fun precisely because it was unpredictable.

He tidied his clothes before leaving the bathroom. The shoot would begin as soon as the main actors arrived. The actor that still hadn’t arrived yet was Lee Miyoon. From what he overheard, it seemed that she was going to be around 10 minutes late because of a traffic jam. A senior said that she was going to be late, what could anyone do? Although many complaints could be heard throughout the set, those complaints would turn into flattery the moment Miyoon arrived.

“I haven’t seen that woman arrive on time.”

“She might act all cocky if she does, so isn’t it better that she’s late.”

“That’s true. Geez, if you’re old at least act like it.”

Producer Kim and the assistant director went to the bathroom. Today, they looked like they were on good terms. Since the captain and the vice-captain of the ship were in good shape, the ship should sail smoothly today, as long as they didn’t hit rocky waves.

Gwangseok entered the ranks of the staff using his unique social skills. The staff received him with smiles as though they didn’t know who he was yet. It would be great if that lasted for quite a long time.

“Hey.”

He turned around when a voice called out to him. Gyunglim was scanning him from top to bottom.

“What is it?”

“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

“I don’t.”

“Really? That’s strange. I thought you had a lot of things to say.”

He avoided the producer that was coming out of the bathroom. Gyunglim moved with him. He was just watching the producer and the assistant director who were talking about going to have a drink together after the shoot when Gyunglim talked to him again.

“Why did you act like that back then?”

“Act like what back when?”

“Back at the restaurant. Why did you ignore me?”

“I’m not sure if I’m getting what you’re saying, so can you please elaborate?”

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“What?”

“You shouldn’t do that, pretending to ignore me when you’re actually interested in me. But you went too far. My heart will only move if you show your kind side, you know?”

“Uhm, excuse me? I think we’re on different tracks here. Or am I the only one thinking that?”

Gyunglim showed glimpses of a smile.

“I said I know everything.”

“Like I’m saying, what is this ‘everything’?”

“You lent me an earphone because I looked a little unstable back then, right?”

“That, I did.”

“And you’re still going to deny it? I’m saying you went too far. I found out everything already. You don’t have to keep up your pretenses anymore.”

Gyunglim put her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly.

She didn’t look like she was playing around either, so Maru stepped back and spoke,

“I’m asking this just in case, but you aren’t misunderstanding that I like you, right?”

Hearing those words, Gyunglim burst out laughing.

“Misunderstanding? How childish. It was so obvious, and you still pretend that it wasn’t. You’re cute. But you won’t score any points like that if you treat me like how you did at the restaurant. You successfully attracted my attention, but you didn’t finish it off well.”

Maru tried his best not to laugh at her. After all, it would give her a bad impression. However, it seemed that he might not be able to. He couldn’t stop his mouth from leaking out a laugh. So she acted like that back then because she thought of this? He remembered back when he was glared at by her because he didn’t talk to her. He couldn’t even begin to estimate the depths of her misunderstanding.

“What are you two doing without me?”

Gwangseok came and hooked his arm around Maru’s shoulders. Gyunglim, who was acting coy until now, immediately acted like she was doing something else. She pretended like Gwangseok wasn’t even there. It seemed that she really disliked Gwangseok.

Gwangseok talked about the things he talked about with the staff. Most of them were rumors about various actors.

“He told me that if you work with that actor….”

He stopped midway through his story. The reason was simple. Lee Miyoon had arrived.

“You’re here.”

“Sorry, I’m a bit late.”

“You’re not late at all. We just finished our preparations.”

“Really? Then I guess it’s good that I was late then.”

“Haha, yes, well.”

The assistant director welcomed her. His expression and actions were very polite. Maru had a look at producer Kim who was standing on one side of the set. He seemed to have noticed that Miyoon was here, but he didn’t move first. Only after the assistant director brought Miyoon to the back of the lights did he approach them as though he just noticed. Perhaps this was a form of a power struggle as well.

While Miyoon and the actors greeted each other, the assistant director called for the minor actors. It was for a rehearsal.

“Come here, too, Youngjin.”

A man amidst the actors walked towards them. He seemed to be around the same age as Maru. He wasn’t here the last time that Maru shot this drama.

“Watch carefully. You are going to walk past this counter. Who here is team member 1?”

“I am.”

Maru raised his hand. The assistant director gestured to him to come.

“Watch this. Once he goes past this place, Youngjin, you grab his shoulder. He’s carrying a tray in his hands, so don’t grab him too hard. And then, start firing your questions at him, asking whether it was him that sprayed salt all over it. Okay?”

“Yes.”

After hearing Youngjin’s answer, the assistant director went over to the next person. It seemed that he didn’t need an answer from the minor actors. They went to the storage room on the 2nd floor following the assistant director.

“Team member 1.”

“Yes.”

“The camera will shoot from above here. You know what the situation is in the drama, right?”

“I would receive compensation if I successfully ruined the main character’s dish.”

“Yes. You get what it’s like, right? It’s not like we’re going to shoot for a long time here, so don’t overdo it.”

“Yes.”

He exchanged lines and moved according to instructions with the main character. The producer came later and instructed them in detail. Of course, he focused on the main character.

“Well then, get into positions.”

Many people were seated around the tables on the 2nd floor. They were all extras. The lead and supporting roles moved around busily amidst the tables of extras that acted like harmonious families. This scene was where they handed out dishes and surveyed which dish was the best.

“Cut. Over there, look like you’re enjoying the meal a little more. I’m going to shoot a background scene.”