Chapter 386 (1/2)

Maru saw a shadow loom over her face.

“What is it?”

“I once played the daughter-in-law for a noble family in a historical drama set in the pre-Yeongjo era. Goddamned pre-Yeongjo era.”

Miso pointed at her head. Maru smiled and nodded. She was probably referring to the gache worn in that era.

“Looks like the gache was heavy.”

“Try living with a 5kg weight on your head for an entire day. Your neck, shoulders, waist - not a single part of your body will stay intact. The only saving grace for me back then was that my character didn’t have much significance in the story so I could lean against the wall and rest if I wasn’t shooting. The women that played noble characters couldn’t even do that and had to sit up for the entire shoot. After that, I always check whether the drama is set in the pre-Yeongjo era or post-Yeongjo era when I have to audition for a historical drama.”

Miso stretched her shoulders out, saying that she still felt stiff when she thought about it.

“Looks like women have it hard. I’m a beggar, so I have no need to wear fancy clothing. I guess I’m safe on that part.”

“That’s good. You’re shooting in the summer as well. There’s nothing more difficult than playing beggar in winter. You’re in for a good time if you play a beggar role for a summer scene in the winter.”

Miso patted his shoulder before standing up.

“Well then, everyone had a good rest, right? Let’s resume class.”

Maru sighed shortly before looking behind him. The three people that were panting while looking at the ceiling were slowly getting themselves on their feet. Sungjae, who was trained several times harder than the others due to his superior stamina, looked dark in the face; Gwangseok, who never exercised much in the first place, was clenching his head as though he had a headache; and Gyunglim looked like her soul had escaped her body.

“But Mr. Han Maru.”

Maru raised his head and looked at Miso. She had a suspicious smile on her face.

“Looks like you’re too okay. It’s as though you didn’t train as hard as the others.”

The moment he heard that, he thought that there was no way out for him. Whatever he said, his training was about to get harsher. He regretted not noticing this sooner when Miso approached him.

“Starting next week, you and Mr. Sungjae will….”

Just as Miso spoke up to that point, the door opened.

“Instructor Miso.”

“Yes, instructor Choi.”

“I got an urgent call for actors. Can I take people from your class?”

“I don’t really care, but I’m not so sure about them.”

A man called instructor Choi entered.

“Uhm, can I take two hours of your time? I got an urgent call looking for actors for a shoot. It won’t take that long, and you’ll of course get paid as well.”

“I’m fine with that,” Maru spoke first.

Gyunglim and Gwangseok also said that they would go.

“Ah, it must not bode well for you, right?” Instructor Choi asked Sungjae.

There was no reason for a top-tier idol to play as a background actor, so he thought that Sungjae would refuse. However, Sungjae’s head was nodding instead.

“If I can be blurred out, I can do that.”

“Yes, it’s just that much. You just need to sit down in a café. Uhm, I’m running out of time, so can we get going quickly? I keep getting calls,” Instructor Choi spoke as he pointed at his phone.

The four people stood up. Instructor Choi immediately called someone. They followed instructor Choi out of the class. In front of the academy building was a van.

“Get on quickly!”

Instructor Choi grabbed the steering wheel and spoke. As soon as they closed the door, the car drove off. The urgency could be felt from the sheer speed of the van.

After crossing the complex roads of Seoul for a while, the van started to slow down. Maru found a shooting set while he was looking outside. He saw lights, reflectors and cameras around a café terrace. Around ten meters away from the terrace, someone that looked to be a staff member was explaining something to the passersby. It seems that he was asking for their understanding.

As soon as they got out of the van, instructor Choi exchanged greetings with one of the staff. They weren’t speaking in polite speech and it seemed that they were close. The staff thanked him before waving at the four.

“We need to start the shoot immediately. We’re behind on schedule right now. Follow me for now.”

They entered the café. Right now, no one had recognized Sungjae yet. This would probably be better off for shooting.

“Sit over here and here. The two of you need to face each other. In a bit, you’ll hear a shout from the terrace, and you just need to turn around and look at them. Simple, right? You guys are from Film, so this must be easy for you, isn’t it?”

Then I’ll leave it to you - the staff member left a coffee cup and a muffin along with those words and left. Following that, another staff member came and gave them thick coats. Apparently, the drama was set in winter. Wearing a coat made them feel hot even though they were in an air-conditioned café.

It seemed that the staff were signalled that everything was ready as the two men standing in the terrace quickly moved to the car parked on the side of the road. A brief moment later, two women with great figures appeared and sat on the table in the terrace. They were both wearing thick clothes and a scarf to boot. Wearing winter clothing under this weather? Just looking at them made Maru sweat. The actress sitting on the left turned her head slightly. Maru smiled after seeing her face. She was someone he knew. It was Ahn Joohyun.

“Miss Joohyun, Miss Taeyeon. Sorry for making you wait.”

“Not at all.”

“It’s nothing.”

The man who seemed to be the producer started explaining the situation to Joohyun and the actress named Taeyeon. Joohyun nodded and grabbed the cup in front of her. Was this the scene where she sprayed drink on the other girl?

“Oh my god, it’s Ahn Joohyun,” Gyunglim spoke with an excited expression.

It seemed that Joohyun was popular among the girls.

“But Sungjae-hyung. Are you okay with being in the shot?”

“This much should be fine. It’s not like I’m appearing in the drama officially.”

Maru didn’t know if it was okay because he was hiding his face under a cap, or because he could handle surprise cameo appearances like this. Perhaps freedom rose along with popularity?

Maru didn’t act like he knew Joohyun since it seemed rather unbefitting of the situation.

The producer headed towards the monitor during the rehearsal. The two actresses got composed and looked at each other. Maru fixed his gaze on Gyunglim, who was sitting opposite of him.

“Let’s talk about something.”