Chapter 292: Chapter 292

Since a time so long ago that the word ‘distant’ barely even described it, Ha-eun had always been sensitive to the emotions, moods, and atmospheres around her.

It was an environment where she had no choice but to be that way.

The Veterans shoot... no, even during the cameo in God and the Goblin, I was fine.

Now, living a life completely different from the past, she had become somewhat duller to it.

Still, when it came to people she was familiar with, her old instincts sometimes came out exactly the same.

Like now, for example.

"Ahh, my head... I feel like I just saw the River of Three Crossings or something..."

"Hmm, I think you’re still not fully awake. Should I hit you again?"

"...Are you trying to send me off to the afterlife...?"

Even while putting on this — in Ha-eun’s very subjective opinion — totally fake act, when their eyes met, Sung-jae flinched.

Then, when he instinctively moved to rub his forehead and Ha-eun brushed his hand aside to feel his forehead herself, he flinched again.

Everything about him was different from the Yoo Sung-jae she knew.

Normally, he’d be joking around asking for medical expenses or something.

Maybe he’s worried about something.

Of course, Sung-jae was an actor too, so it wasn’t easy to see through to his real feelings.

But even so, it was obvious enough that something was off today.

Was he dissatisfied with his performance during the script reading of The Youngest Son of the Chairman?

Or maybe he was catching a cold?

Or maybe... he had some personal worries?

Hmph... the lead can't be in bad shape .

Sung-jae right now was enough to get Ha-eun’s mind racing.

For the smooth filming of The Youngest Son of the Chairman, the lead actor needed to stay steady.

So, she suggested it.

Why not go out for a quick walk, get some fresh air?

"Maybe it's because we've been stuck in here too long. Want to go for a little walk? Or grab some ice cream from a convenience store or something."

"Uh... but it’s still February..."

"Sweets help your brain work better. If you eat something warm, you’ll just get sleepier. Cold ice cream’s the way to go."

Otherwise, she might have to physically reset his brain somehow.

Muttering this very scary thought to herself while cracking her knuckles, Ha-eun made Sung-jae pale and hurriedly agree.

Thus, they headed for the nearby convenience store.

Dressed in casual clothes and a baseball cap pulled low, they entered, and, as Ha-eun insisted, picked out a coffee-flavored ice cream.

Ha-eun placed a chocolate bar ice cream and a vitamin drink on the counter.

"Ah, this? Leni unnie did a commercial for it a while back. I wanted to try it this time."

After saying that, Ha-eun paid for Sung-jae’s ice cream as well and even stuffed the vitamin drink into his coat pocket, telling him to drink it when he was tired.

There wasn’t even a chance for him to refuse. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝕟𝕖𝕥

And so, they left the convenience store.

Licking their sweet ice creams, they started strolling near the KBC Drama Department.

There were about twenty minutes left until the script reading for The Youngest Son of the Chairman would resume.

It was that vague span of time, long if you thought about it, short if you didn’t.

And Ha-eun was the first to break the silence.

A very straightforward question.

"Sung-jae, is it something you can talk to me about?"

"You’ve been quiet ever since we finished Scene #23. Looked like something was on your mind."

Taking a bite of her chocolate ice cream bar, Ha-eun asked him to tell her if it was something he could share.

Even if she couldn’t necessarily help, sometimes just talking about your worries made things easier.

But what Sung-jae said after flinching again made Ha-eun think harder than she expected.

Mainly because she’d heard something very similar from Da-yeon two years ago.

"In the drama... you and I are enemies, right? At least for now."

"Well... I feel like I can’t really get into Shin Dohyeon’s mindset. You slip into Yoon Seoa so well, but for me... it’s just not clicking."

The voice of Yoo Sung-jae, confessing that he couldn’t quite see Ha-eun as anyone other than his close friend.

He wondered if he should deliberately distance himself from her to better immerse himself in his role as Shin Dohyeon.

But two years ago, Da-yeon had also distanced herself from Ha-eun for the sake of acting, and ended up going through a lot because of it.

So Ha-eun wasn’t sure if keeping a distance was really the right solution.

Even if Da-yeon back then and Sung-jae now were quite different people.

"Hmm, it’s fine if you stay distant during filming... but outside the set, maybe not."

"Because it might make things awkward between us. I mean, unless you’re planning to never see me again after this drama’s over, right?"

Then, lifting her gaze to meet his directly, Ha-eun stared into Sung-jae’s face.

And Sung-jae, silently gazing back at her...

For a moment, the familiar face seemed to lose its usual lighthearted air — maybe it was just her imagination.

Thinking that his concerns about acting were heavier than she thought, Ha-eun started suggesting alternatives.

"Maybe whenever we meet for The Youngest Son of the Chairman, you could just call me Shin Dohyeon?"

"...That’s not a bad idea."

Their conversation continued.

But before long, the time to resume the script reading came.

So, Ha-eun turned toward the KBC Drama Department with Sung-jae in tow—

Just as they were rounding a corner, a motorcycle sped by dangerously close.

At the same time, Sung-jae grabbed Ha-eun by both shoulders and pulled her back onto the sidewalk.

Once the motorcycle disappeared down the street, Sung-jae immediately asked if she was okay.

"Ah, yeah. I'm fine..."

Was he really that startled?

His eyes trembled slightly as he looked down at her.

It hadn't actually been close enough to hit her, but maybe it had looked more dangerous to him.

"...Riding on the sidewalk is illegal."

As Ha-eun stared in the direction the motorcycle had gone, Sung-jae once again firmly gripped her shoulders.

He seemed convinced that if he let go, she’d bolt after it.

Of course, no human could outrun a motorcycle... but just in case.

...For some reason, if it’s her, I feel like she actually might catch it...

"...You just had a weird thought, didn’t you."

Anyway, like that, he guided the suspiciously glaring Ha-eun back toward the KBC Drama Department.

Maybe it was the cold, sweet ice cream, or maybe something else entirely, but—

｢If you’re scared of seeing blood later, you better back out now...｣

｢...Miss Yoon Seoa. In this world, seeing blood is etiquette. You don't win unless you see blood, get gutted, and risk your life a little.｣

It seemed like some of his scattered concentration had returned.

｢Seems like I’m really bothering you, huh.｣

"Ah, sorry. I suddenly choked a little."

As time passed, by the time they were about three sessions into the script reading for The Youngest Son of the Chairman, it was also the day before the entrance ceremony at Yeryeo University.

"Hmm, Ha-eun. As you can see here, your hand bends slightly at the end. It’ll look better if you stretch your fingers straight in this part."

Right now, Ha-eun was at a huge set, shooting the music video for her new song.

Today’s schedule was packed from morning to afternoon with only the music video filming.

Because of the nature of music video shoots, she had to change outfits several times and touch up her makeup little by little, making the day even busier than usual.

Every time Ha-eun’s look changed, different reactions came from Lee Gun-yeol and Lee Jun.

"...It’s the first time I’ve seen you with your hair up."

"Yeah, weren’t you always wearing it down?"

"Mister, you’re the one running out of hair to wear down these days... ...I was kidding."

Throughout the shoot, Ha-eun kept changing her style—wearing a white headband, casual clothes, comfortable outfits—and tackled the music video scenes one by one.

And just as they were about to begin filming the highlight scene—

A gigantic cotton candy prop was set up in the center of the set.

It was so big, it made the cotton candy Nael had once made for her °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° look like nothing. It was about two or three times Ha-eun’s size.

Eyes sparkling, Ha-eun swallowed and asked if the giant cotton candy was actually edible.

"No, you can’t eat the whole thing. Only the part you’re going to pull off with your hand is real."

The real edible part was not even one-sixteenth of the whole thing.

As soon as she realized the truth, a sigh of disappointment escaped her lips—why, she didn’t even know.

"If we made it all real, it’d be too sticky to use."

"...There goes my dream."

"Weren’t you the one insisting you’re an adult now?"

"Adults can like cotton candy too, you know."

Anyway, she changed into a white-toned off-shoulder dress, approached the massive cotton candy prop, and prepared for the highlight shoot.

The cue signal from the filming director rang out, followed by the highlight melody of her new song.

Following the beat, she approached the giant cotton candy prop, pinched off the real part near the bottom, and popped it into her mouth where the camera could clearly see.

At the same time, the massive cotton candy structure began to dissolve.

From high above the set, pure white feathers began to rain down, slowly covering Ha-eun.

Ha-eun gently collapsed, eventually buried under an avalanche of feathers, as a camera descended from above.

With a soft smile, she gazed up at the camera above her, then slowly closed her eyes.

Almost simultaneously, more feathers poured down, completely covering her figure.

Thus ended the highlight shoot.

"Okay, that’s a wrap!"

The moment the director’s OK signal was given, Ha-eun pushed herself up through the sea of feathers.

For some reason, she immediately started worrying about the poor souls who would have to clean all this up.

If there had been an NG... that would've been a nightmare.

Since there were still more scenes left to film, Ha-eun brushed the feathers off herself and headed back to the dressing room.

Thankfully, there weren’t many NGs afterward either.

Still, just like during the filming of the Num0 music video back then, behind-the-scenes footage was also being shot during this music video filming.

Ha-eun lifted her action cam again and pointed it toward Lee Gun-yeol and Lee Jun.

A few seconds later, she opened her mouth—

"Hello. Can I bother you for a quick interview?"

"...What is this now?" / "An interview?"

Since this was completely unplanned, both Lee Gun-yeol and Lee Jun looked bewildered.

Still, Ha-eun pressed forward with the interview because they were good video material anyway.

Plus, they were close enough that there was no need for formal scheduling.

"What was your first impression of me?"

"First impression? When you were six?"

"Hmm... You were tiny. I think you were less than half of Jun’s height back then."

Thus began Ha-eun’s impromptu interview session.

Holding the camera a little awkwardly, she filmed their faces.

"Do you have any memorable stories about me from all this time?"

"Hmm... Oh, yeah, when we were filming Don’t Stop People, you kicked your shoe into orbit—"

"Okay, let’s try again."

"Are we doing this like it’s the 80s or something..."

"...Could you please think about my image a little?"

"Your image? Terminator?"

"Hello. Could I ask for a short interview?"

"You're seriously starting over from scratch?"

"If you're gonna do this, at least give us a script first."