Life, Once Again!

Chapter 790. Sequence 6

“Shoots aren’t easy alright,” Jiyoon said as she fixed Maru’s makeup.

As the schedule was tight, they couldn’t take any breaks. Once they finished one scene, they had to pack up their equipment in a hurry and move to the next place and check on the makeup and clothing before shooting again. If they shot according to the storyline, they would be less prone to changes of clothing or makeup, but as they had to finish everything within two short days, they kept skipping back and forth between scenes. As a result, they ended up switching back and forth between different clothes as well. Sora kept staring at the sky as the sun started setting while kicking her foot back and forth, and the nervousness in her kicking made Jiyoon’s hand move busily as well.

“Dramas are incredible. They shoot an hour-long episode in just one week. They don’t do it in just one location either.”

After checking his face in the mirror, Maru said that it was a bit too thick on his lips and asked her for some tissue.

“I’ll do it. I have to wipe just a little, right?”

She wiped it with some cotton pad and touched up his lips. The color spread out evenly. Although the makeup was thin to the point that the camera would barely pick it up, Maru was picky about this.

“Thanks.”

Maru stood up and Sooil sat down next.

“Sorry about what happened in the morning. I was too clumsy.”

As she didn’t learn special makeup techniques, it took quite a long time for her to put the makeup to make him look like a ‘dying person’ on Sooil. Sooil told her to take it slowly, saying that he was okay, but as Jiyoon ended up making everyone else wait, Jiyoon was quite nervous when she did her work.

“I said you don’t have to worry about it. If you guys were trying to do things in detail, you should have called professionals. Sora should have considered preparation time as well, so don’t get nervous and focus on the makeup. Honestly speaking, I thought you were massaging my face with a machine in the morning. Your hands were so shaky.”

“Am I like that right now?”

“No, you’re okay.”

Jiyoon sighed softly and picked up the makeup base. She slightly applied it on Sooil’s nose and chin and then spread it out evenly before finishing the tone with foundation. She thought this in the morning: Sooil’s skin didn’t feel like it belonged to a man. When she put makeup on Maru, she had to put in quite a bit of effort in order to cover up the wrinkles around his nose and forehead, as well as his pores and the freckles on his chin, but for Sooil, she just had to tone his skin down a little to make his contours a little more distinct. His skin was supple and soft. He probably went through a lot of management, but his innate skin was just that good as well. She even slightly felt a little jealous.

“Is something wrong?”

“N-no, I was just thinking that you have good skin.”

“I had some skin trouble before, but it became better after I switched out my makeup and cleansing foam. These days, men have to go through management. The resolution of TVs has gotten so good that not managing your skin will show up on TV.”

“It definitely does feel like that.”

She wanted to ask what the products he used on a regular basis were, but she swallowed it in, thinking that things might become awry. While Sooil acted like a gentleman, he also gave off a feeling that there was a thin membrane around him. He was someone who she could easily communicate with but hard to approach.

“Done.”

“Thanks for the job.”

Jiyoon put the cosmetics inside the plastic bag. As she was told that they were going outside again once the shoot inside the room was done, she had to prepare beforehand.

“Turn the lights on and bring the reflector here. There’s too much shadow on the actors’ faces.”

The preparations for the shoot were underway inside the room. Maru and Sooil, who had finished their makeup, were getting into their positions in the room. The position of the reflector changed according to Ando’s gesture. Jiyoon watched the whole preparation occur from the side. She thought that one camera was the only electronic device they needed, but it turned out that they needed more than she had originally expected. Not to mention large lights that were going to be used for the outside shoot, there was even a generator and a separate microphone. They were all rented. Renting them for two days cost more than 100 thousand won.

“Actually, paying wages is usually the largest expense, but we are exploiting labor. This, renting equipment was the most expensive, along with fuel costs. Oh, the lodging expenses as well.”

Those were Sora’s words in the morning.

“Sorry about this when you need to get some rest on the weekend.”

Jiyoon looked at Daemyung, who was standing beside her.

“I came here because I wanted to come, so there’s no need for you to feel sorry, oppa. I feel like I came here on a trip.”

“Let’s go traveling next week, wherever it is. Though I don’t have a car, so I can’t bring you somewhere far.”

Daemyung smiled awkwardly. He was really disappointed that they couldn’t meet frequently, and whenever he made that apologetic smile, Jiyoon once again felt that she was being loved. She was satisfied with just being with him, and yet he always tried to do more for her. How could she not love him?

“The two of you, quiet down,” Sora said as she put her index finger against her mouth.

The light was fixed in place and the shoot was about to begin. Jiyoon pinched Daemyung on the flank in a joking manner and looked at the two actors sitting on the floor. In front of the two was a bottle of soju, a bottle of beer, as well as some dried snacks. These were props for true ‘drunk’ acting. When she heard that they were going to act ‘while’ drunk instead of ‘acting’ drunk, she first treated it as a joke, but the two people opened up a bottle of soju and started drinking. They said strange things like acting while drunk would look more natural than acting drunk.

“You can’t get drunk, you two, okay?” Sora said as she pointed at the two actors with a rolled-up script.

She announced to them that she would not allow them to sleep if the shoot got delayed because they were drunk.

“Get ready”

Getting a signal from Sora, Aram held up the slate and stood in front of the camera. Jiyoon wanted to try clapping the slate once, but she didn’t say anything for fear of distracting them. After saying the scene number, the cut number, and the take number before falling back, Sora shouted ‘action.’

The two actors became limp at once. The way they leaned on the wall and barely breathed like they were invertebrates made them look like they were completely drunk. Their hands lifting their glasses looked unstable as though the glasses would slip out at any moment, and the way they loosened their jaws looked like they were drunk to the top of their heads. She suddenly had the thought that they might do well even if they didn’t drink. They didn’t open those bottles just because they wanted to drink, right?

“Hey, do you remember how I looked out for you in high school? Punk, I practically fed you throughout high school because you were dirt poor,” Sooil said while tapping on Maru’s cheek.

Maru snorted back at him.

“You call that looking out for me? You were just pitying me. Don’t you remember what you said to me every time you treated me to food? You asked me what my parents were doing that they can’t even feed their own son.”

“I said that because I was worried goddammit. So what, it’s not like I didn’t buy you food. Heck, I even paid for traveling expenses, didn’t I? Without me, you would have been a wimp throughout all of high school. Where else would you be able to find a friend like me? I taught you how to study, I treated you to food, and I brought you to a place like this.”

“Yeah, thanks. I’m fucking moved to tears, punk. But did you know? You’re doing that out of self-satisfaction. I’m not some idiot. Do you think I didn’t know? You just feel superior by helping me out, don’t you? Tell me honestly.”

“Punk. That’s not something you say to a friend.”

“Like hell you’re a friend.”

Thorns grew out in what started off as a joking conversation. Jiyoon bit on her thumbnails and watched the two actors. Just ten minutes ago, they were talking about a trip they went on together, how they were scolded together by the teacher, and about how one helped out the other in confessing to a girl, but the friendship between the two became colder. The distance between the two, which originally looked like they were going to toast at any moment, started widening. The change was gradual, but once they started talking about money, the distance widened dramatically. They came back from ad-libbing to the script.

“That was a little harsh, don’t you think?”

“What’d I do?”

“Hey. You’re supposed to be thanking me when I brought an unemployed guy like you to somewhere so good. Why are you acting so proud? Honestly, it’s because you had a friend like me that you can come to a place like this, you know? Without me, you would have become a dropout a long time ago. No wait, you still can’t get a job, so you’re practically a dropout even now.”

“Shut your trap before I start saying cuss words.”

“Cuss words? From you? Now you’re getting angry at my jokes?”

Jiyoon looked at the script in front of her as she listened to the conversation between the two. Even the lines that sounded like they were spat out spontaneously were precisely according to the script. Every little detail down to each little space and comma was on the script. Although they were speaking with heavy breaths and crooked lips, the words that hit her ears were crystal clear. She knew from high school how hard it was to say the lines exactly according to the script. She knew how tricky it was to get her words across.

She suddenly had the thought that perhaps Maru, who acted alongside her and the others on the 5th-floor hall a long time ago, might not have been able to bring out all of his skills. Jiyoon honestly didn’t have the confidence to receive those words that were filled with emotions. She had the thought that it was thanks to Sooil, an actor that could receive his words, being in front of him that he could bring out his full skills. Actor – that word echoed inside her head.

The air given off by the two people became more and more vicious, and they looked like they were going to break out into a fight at any moment. She was feeling nervous watching them even though she knew that they were just acting. Eventually, their emotions reached their peak and broke out of the frame of patience that bottled them up. Sooil kicked the soju glass with his foot. The soju inside the glass spilled everywhere, and the glass rolled over and hit the wall next to Ando, who was holding the camera. Neither the actors nor the camera director bat an eyelid.

“You’re a fucking beggar.”

Maru charged toward Sooil, who stood up and turned his back. Jiyoon was able to see Maru’s face from the front. His face, which she presumed would turn vicious, looked incredibly sad. He smashed down the soju glass at the fallen Sooil’s head. Jiyoon clenched her eyes shut. She forgot that this was a shoot. She was reminded of the cat that died because it was run over by a car a few days ago. A sense of disgust spread out from the top of her head all the way down to her toes like a flash of lightning.

“Cut!”

Only after listening to Sora’s shout could she open her eyes again. She saw Maru looking down at Sooil, still with those gloomy eyes. Sooil also did not budge under him. Just as she was thinking that something may have happened, both of them heaved a deep breath before standing up.

“That wasn’t bad, was it?”

“That was decent. But you should have hit closer. I could tell that you would miss.”

“If I did that, you would have a broken head.”

“If we get a good picture with a broken head, that sounds like profit to me.”

“The problem is that I would get two broken heads if you get one. Director, how was that?”

The vicious atmosphere dissipated in an instant. Jiyoon spat out the breath she was holding back. For a few seconds after the cut sound, the two should have still remained as the characters in the film. The disdain and rage in their emotions definitely remained after the cut sound. She recalled how actors frequently had mental consultations. She could understand why after looking at the two. It would instead be strange if they were normal when they could act like that.

“Gosh, this is going to be hard to edit. You two should have held back a little. You’re trying to kill me by doing so well, aren’t you?”

Sora groaned in joy. She seemed to have taken a liking to it. Jiyoon looked at the two in a daze for a while before collecting herself and approaching the two.

“I’ll fix your makeup a little.”

Jiyoon thought as she wiped the sweat on her forehead that it was perhaps a good thing that she let go of her dream to become an actress while she was still in high school. She didn’t have the confidence to do something like that.

“How was it?” Maru asked.

“You mean your acting?”

“Yes.”

“It was the best.”

Jiyoon put up her thumbs.