“Take this as well.”

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?”

It seemed that she was upset. Her eyes indicated so. Maru wondered what he should say before scratching his eyebrows and spoke,

“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.”

The camera started shooting just the extras that were eating food. The camera captured a scene where they happily fed their children some food. When they shot a few scenes like that, the assistant director waved at Maru.

“Team member 1.”

Maru put on the toque and received a plate from a staff. Next to him was the producer.

“Spray the salt, and come out through there. Don’t make a mistake.”

“Yes.”

The antagonistic character, who was a child actor, stood next to him. He had seen him during the last shoot. When they stood in front of the camera, he made a vicious expression. It was as though he was saying ‘I’m the villain of the story’ with his face.

“Ready, cue!”

Maru looked at the lights before quickly turning his face to the actor in front of him.

“You heard what I said, right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“If you do this well, I’ll pull you up in the next round. Trust me.”

The youth tapped on his shoulder before looking at the salt container. Maru slowly turned his head to the side. It was about time he unleashed his emotions.

It was a god-sent chance. He knew that it was a risky decision, but his success would be guaranteed as long as he grabbed it. It was the smell of success. The tips of his body started trembling when he thought that he would be able to smell success with the entirety of his body. His ethics and conscience intertwined inside him. However, he had no choice. He wished to climb higher than anyone.

The pressure made him flinch, but it also made him smile. He shook just thinking about the sweet rewards he would get from walking on the tightrope. The salt container looked like gold to him. Yes, this was an opportunity.

‘This feels pretty good.’

There was another copy of ‘himself’ that was calmly observing his ‘self’ that was letting greed overwhelm him. Maru thought that this scene would receive a ‘cut’ without much difficulty. When he took the audition before, he was very confused when he encountered a situation like this, but he had gotten used to it recently.

An observing me that is objectively watching the acting me. He thought that he should continue acting like this.

Just as he was reaching out and grabbing the salt,

“Cut.”

Producer Kim’s voice could be heard. Maru’s observing self intercrossed with his acting self as though he was waking up from a dream. The ‘team member 1’ who was thirsty for success stepped aside.

“Again.”

The producer’s eyes were on the support actor. It seemed that he made a mistake. Maru calmed down his breathing and prepared to act. The same situation unfolded again and then cut at the exact same moment.

Maru looked at the producer once again. He was still looking at the support actor. Just what was the problem? Did he get sworn at by Miyoon or something? The producer looked very displeased.

He put down the salt and looked at the support actor in front of him. The guy that smiled at him before the shoot was now glaring at him. What was with him now? Maru smiled bitterly when he saw the eyes that were clearly dissatisfied with him.

It seemed that he didn’t have much luck with acting today.

“Again, Hochul, do it properly this time.”

It seemed that the support actor’s name was Hochul. After straightening the ends of the navy blue cooking uniform, Hochul stood in front of Maru. The producer’s cue sign could be heard.

“You heard what I said, right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“If you do this well, I’ll… sorry.”

Hochul turned around to see the camera mid-way through his line and bowed in apology. Mistakes could happen. Things would turn bad if it was repeated several times, but this mistake was a first. Maru thought that the producer would be okay with it. Since he was a child actor, there was a need to be considerate of him after all.

However.

“Hochul.”

“Yes.”

“We don’t have time to fool around. You know that there are seniors waiting for you, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then do it properly, and I mean properly.”

He sounded calm, but the tone of his voice was very harsh. It looked as though he would swear if this Hochul made any more mistakes. Maru looked at Hochul in front of him. He was biting his lower lip. He was clearly uneasy. Just what made him so uneasy?

“Well then, get into positions. Ready, cue!”

Along with the director’s cue sign, the shoot resumed. Maru decided to match Hochul’s every move so that he could focus more. He would accept the emotions that the other party gave him and he would return it with his emotions on top of it.

Maru saw Hochul’s neck muscles tense up. He was too tense. The character Hochul was acting was an antagonist full of confidence. That was why he was giving such dangerous instructions to the team member of his opponent. Such a character lost his composure and looks like he’s being chased by something? That was nonsense.

He got the premonition that the director would shout cut. If he was going to use it, then he might just look over it, but there was no way the director would miss that when he caught it several times before. Moreover, behind the producers were Miyoon and the lead actors.

The storage vault scene was supposed to be a short one so they must have come here because it was being dragged out for too long.

“Hey!”

There was no ‘cut’ sign this time. Maru saw the camera director, Jangsoo, turn off the camera in a hurry. Hochul, who was in front of him, flinched and took a step back.

Maru sighed and took a step back. He might be sworn at together with him if he stayed next to this guy.

“Aren’t you going to do this properly? This is the fourth time already!”

“I’m sorry.”

“You goddamn….”

“I’ll do it again.”

Maru looked at Hochul who was bowing in apology and turned his head around when he felt a gaze land on him. The producer was staring holes in him.

“Hey, you.”

“Yes?”

“You… nothing. Just do that once again. Okay?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Hochul, didn’t I keep telling you that you shouldn’t lose out to a minor actor? Do it properly, okay?”

Maru blinked once. So it was because of himself? He met eyes with Hochul. He could see Hochul’s lips move.

‘Know your place?’

If he didn’t see wrong, then it was something like that. Before the shoot resumed, Maru approached Hochul. He might say something if he went up close.

“Hey, don’t show me such a cheap act. You’re getting me involved,” Hochul said.

Cheap act, huh. Maru smiled and nodded. If it was the producer that said this to him, then he would lower himself and follow instructions even if he didn’t accept that. Why? Because the producer had the authority to fire a minor actor on the spot.

Then what about this kid in front of him?

Did this kid have a way to bring him harm?

Maru soon came to a conclusion.

“Just don’t be caught up with me.”

Maru calmly told him. Hochul widened his eyes and looked back at him. He was about to say something, but Maru quickly moved back.

He did not plan to become a hero that was weak against the weak and strong against the strong. If someone with power looked down on him, he would yield and wait for the right opportunity. But what if someone without power bared their fangs at him without knowing their place?

“Let’s do this together.”

Maru grinned back at him.