SDM 30

As Seong-woon chuckled at the lame joke, the disappeared hologram reappeared.

[Sudden Quest—

Shoot an advertisement.

Reward: Enhanced physical strength and partial recovery from illness

Deadline: D-14

No failure penalty

Soul Adjustment Project in progress….]

“……”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s a good offer, but… I’m annoyed because it feels like I’m being played.”

“Huh?”

You C18 bastard…

─ It’s C1012. And the quest…!

I know you’re not the one giving it!

After inwardly snapping at the suddenly interjecting C1012, Seong-woon put down his chopsticks. He had lost his appetite.

“You’re not eating anymore? This abalone is delicious.”

“Yeah, I’m full.”

Seong-woon waited until Ho-yoon finished eating, then went to the living room and called Hae-yoon. It was a number he had saved but never directly contacted before.

─ Yes, Chae-yoon.

“I’ll do the advertisement, hyung.”

─ …Really?

“Yeah.”

He couldn’t refuse when they offered to enhance his physical strength and recover from illness. With the success of the last quest, Seong-woon had tasted the sweetness of that reward. His aerobic endurance had increased by nearly 30% at once, and detailed examinations confirmed that more of his dead heart muscle had come back to life.

The medical staff was in an uproar, talking about miracles and rushing to report to academic societies, and some family members even shed tears, but Seong-woon was a bit dumbfounded. Just how much could these guys do? To think they could even revive dead muscle.

Anyway, if things kept improving like this, there was even talk that he might be able to remove the defibrillator implanted in his body, so Seong-woon wanted to succeed in this quest no matter what.

─ You don’t know how much I was scolded for not being able to persuade my younger sibling even after becoming the CEO.

“…No way.”

─ It’s true.

This is ridiculous. He’s saying all sorts of things to promote his younger sibling. As Seong-woon laughed in disbelief, laughter came through from the other end of the phone as well.

─ Did the exam go well?

“So-so.”

─ I prayed for you to do well on your exam.

His sappiness is top-notch. Giggling, Seong-woon hung up and contacted his manager to accept the advertisement offer. The schedule was set for this coming Sunday, probably because it was really urgent.

Although he knew that weekend rest was a luxury in this industry, he still silently apologized to the staff and filming director who had to give up their weekend.

* * *

“Hello.”

As he entered the studio, Seong-woon greeted people here and there. When he spoke to even the youngest staff member with a light smile, a smiling greeting was returned. As he turned around with a smile, he saw manager Hyeong-seok looking at him with a slightly dubious expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“…I’ve been noticing since last time, but young master, you greet people too well.”

“Ah… Isn’t it good to greet people well?”

“It is good, but…”

Was it a behaviour that didn’t match the concept of a chaebol’s youngest son? Maybe he bowed too deeply.

“I can’t act like before when working.”

“…That’s true.”

Although he agreed, Hyeong-seok still had a puzzled look on his face. Smoothing it over with a gentle smile, Seong-woon entered the waiting room prepared in the studio. There were a few unfamiliar faces, which Hyeong-seok immediately introduced.

“We’ve hired a stylist and makeup artist too.”

“Already?”

“It’s not ‘already’. You’re shooting an ad and will be filming a movie soon!”

In the past, he naturally didn’t have a personal stylist or makeup artist. For dramas or movies, there were separate makeup artists, so he would get his makeup done right there. Of course, there was no way the agency would provide a stylist for Seong-woon, who didn’t even have a manager despite being signed.

“The clothes were prepared by Ryu Shin…”

“Will the size fit well?”

The blue short-sleeved knit somehow reminded him of a sailor uniform. Plus, wasn’t the hat placed on top what’s called a ‘bread hat’?

“Let’s try on the outfit and do makeup first.”

Seong-woon hugged the clothes and entered the changing room. Such a bright blue top. In the past, his face strangely only suited achromatic colors, so he rarely wore anything other than white, gray, or black. But when he held it up to himself, his skin seemed to come alive, making it look quite suitable.

The clothes fit well, but the waist of the pants was a little loose. It was so loose that his fist could easily slip inside, so Seong-woon awkwardly came out holding up his pants.

“Are the pants too big?”

“Yes, a little…”

“Hmm, if you wear a smaller size, the length would be too short. The width of the pants seems right though.”

“Let’s use a belt and take it in at the back.”

After looking Seong-woon over from various angles to find a solution, the stylist tightly pinched the back of the waist and inserted a safety pin, then even added a belt that was procured from somewhere.

“Are you feeling comfortable?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s do your hair!”

As I was pulled to sit in front of the mirror, products were immediately sprayed on my hair and several hair dryers and curling irons descended upon me. When I frowned slightly from the pain of my hair being pulled, soothing words were thrown from here and there.

“Oh, did that hurt? I’m sorry.”

I chuckled at the words that sounded like they were comforting a child actor, and laughter erupted around me. Wow, it’s amazing how Ryu Chae-yoon’s face can make the atmosphere so pleasant with just one smile.

“It’s a shame to wear a hat. Let’s shoot both versions – with and without the hat!”

Someone suddenly interrupted. Since they weren’t at the scene earlier, I gestured with my eyes at the unfamiliar face, and the manager whispered in my ear, “It’s the director.” I know most directors in dramas and movies, but I haven’t shot any commercials since my teens, so I didn’t know anyone.

“Can Ryu Chae-yoon go in right away? You’ve seen the storyboard, right?”

“Yes.”

“We have to shoot six people today, so we don’t have much time!”

Six shoots in one day… They must have really scheduled everyone’s shooting around my schedule. 

Thinking of finishing the shoot as quickly as possible to ease the director’s worries, Seong-woon quickly entered the set filled with chroma key screens all around and took a seat at the table. According to the storyboard, it was a scene of taking a selfie while sitting at a cafe terrace in Paris. Of course, all that was actually prepared on set was a table, chair, and a cup of cold coffee.

“The camera will move in a circle like this. It will capture Chae-yoon almost 360 degrees.”

“Okay.”

“Do it as you usually would. We can adjust any parts that don’t work well.”

There’s no way it would look right on camera if I did it like I usually do. It seems they’ll shoot once and then give direction, probably because they have no background knowledge of Ryu Chae-yoon’s acting.

Should I pretend to fumble a bit? 

After hesitating for a moment, Seong-woon grabbed Ryushin Electronics’ new phone and checked the camera position.

Right. Let’s finish this quickly and get the reward quickly. I desperately need to increase my stamina. At least then I won’t pass out before 9 PM.

“Action!”

Seeing the red light pop up on the camera, Seong-woon habitually touched the phone that wasn’t even turned on, lifted it slightly, and made all sorts of pretty expressions. Waving his hand, puckering his lips as if begging for a kiss, sticking out his tongue slightly and laughing, resting his chin on his hand with a melancholic expression.

The camera circled halfway around and then back again, capturing every movement of Seong-woon sitting in the center without missing anything. It wasn’t so much that the camera captured it well, but rather that Seong-woon turned his face and moved his body to ensure his expressions were visible according to the camera angle.

Even after the camera returned to its original position, Seong-woon continued holding the phone. Hmm… my arm is hurting, isn’t it about time to cut? Carefully rolling only his eyes to look at the director, he saw the director, who had been staring blankly in this direction, startle and jump up from his chair.

“C-cut!”

As Seong-woon exhaled deeply, a makeup artist approached and patted powder on his face. Compliments about not sweating and having no visible pores were a bonus.

“Chae-yoon, would you like to see the footage?”

“Oh, yes.”

A chair was already prepared behind the monitor. 

Hmm, I haven’t sat in places like this much even on drama sets. 

As he awkwardly sat down, the video they just shot started playing.

Hmm… I did put on quite a show. I did try to make all sorts of cute expressions, but I didn’t expect it to come out like this. Ryu Chae-yoon’s face certainly had an incredible impact.

“I think I overdid it a bit…”

“No, no, you did amazingly well!”

“Pardon?”

“We’ll need to shoot this one more time because we need to composite it into the phone later and add separate cuts. This time the camera will shoot from the front towards your face… Just make expressions like you did before.”

“…Okay.”

Do that again? Seong-woon stared for a long time at the monitor full of Ryu Chae-yoon’s face with a bright-eyed smile, then just nodded. If they say do it, you have to do it – that’s the life of a celebrity.

Not knowing or caring about Seong-woon’s deep anguish, the excited director returned to his seat waving the rolled-up storyboard, and Seong-woon went back to sit at the round glass table like before. He took a deep breath, inhaling the aroma rising from the cold coffee.

Seong-woon made all sorts of pretty expressions again, matching the camera that was moving differently from before, and remained slumped over the table for a while even after hearing the director yell “Cut!”

“Chae-yoon, you did so well. There’s absolutely no need to be embarrassed! I’ll really make you look pretty!”

The director’s excited voice was overflowing with joy. Seong-woon, too worried about how this commercial would turn out, couldn’t move from that spot, covering his face with his dry fingers. Then he heard what sounded like a death sentence:

“Oh, right. Let’s do one more take with the hat on!”

“…Pardon?”

“The same thing, please!”

As he was doing that thing again wearing a light gray beret, the door in the corner of the set opened and a tall man walked in. The moment he realized it was Baek Sang-hyun, his expression almost crumbled, but Seong-woon gently raised the corners of his mouth, biting the inside of his cheek once.

“Ah, that’s good.”

His ears and cheeks heated up a bit at the director’s admiration. An environment where kindness pours out no matter what you do really makes a person’s heart all soft.

“Perfect, let’s just do a few more close-up shots!”

Baek Sang-hyun stood behind the director. 

Wait, is he planning to watch me filming now?

Staring intently in that direction, their eyes met. He gestured with his eyes to go away, to go to the waiting room, but Baek Sang-hyun just smiled as if he didn’t understand at all, tapped the director’s shoulder to greet him, and even brought a chair to sit down.

“We’re going to shoot!”

Damn it. While cursing internally, Seong-woon still managed to perform the facial expressions that had now become practically attached to his facial muscles. He could feel his face getting hot, but there was no way to control this himself.

Even after safely hearing “Cut!”, Seong-woon couldn’t turn his head towards the director. He buried his face in his palms again and let out a long sigh, “Haah,” and now the director even started teasing him.

“Haha, Chae-yoon’s ears are red.”

“…Do we need to do it again?”

“We’ll try to fix the skin tone in post-production.”

Thank goodness. As he breathed a sigh of relief, the director grabbed his hand and shook it up and down.