“I—I’m fine.”
Jo Woo-sun, who had lost his balance and fallen backward, scrambled to his feet.
*Drip.*
However, his back was already soaked with cold sweat. It was always like this whenever they filmed a scene involving a corpse. Even if he felt fine normally, the aftereffects intensified under specific circumstances. Every body looked like a fallen patriot who had sacrificed themselves for independence.
“Are—are you really okay?”
The corpse, who had shouted in surprise, also sat up. To be precise, it was a background actor playing the role of a dead body.
“…”
But this time, Jo Woo-sun couldn’t immediately answer that he was fine.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
Hyperventilation, another symptom, had set in.
‘What am I wearing right now?’
Suddenly, a Japanese official’s uniform seemed to overlap with his vision. His fists repeatedly clenched and unclenched. This was a habit from his previous role whenever he was in front of a corpse.
“Heugh, heugh.”
His breathing grew increasingly ragged.
[ (A scene where he pulls out the fingernails and toenails of a captured independence fighter one by one and tortures them by searing their bellies with a branding iron to make them become informants) ]
The script from his previous role kept surfacing in his mind. He had heard that Heath Ledger, who played the Joker in the movie *The Dark Knight*, suffered from severe depression and anxiety for a long time after filming. He never dreamed that he would experience something similar. Then again, an ‘illness’ was something that always struck at the most unexpected times.
*Grit…*
His jaw tightened, and his teeth began to grind against each other.
“Director! I think we need to take a break!”
The director sighed softly and declared a recess.
“Brother… is it really hard for you?”
Suddenly, he felt someone nearby. At the same time, Jo Woo-sun stiffened. He couldn’t bring himself to look in that direction.
‘The person next to me is a fellow actor. Not my enemy.’
Eventually, Jo Woo-sun buried his face in his hands.
“Heh… hehehe.”
The shadow of the villain from his role still leaked through the gaps between his fingers. And there was definitely a trigger that had worsened these damn symptoms.
[ < Daegu Hanbit Hospital >
Patient Jo Woo-sun.
This is your father’s attending physician.
I’m leaving a text because I felt I should contact you directly.
As explained before, your father’s condition is not good.
You should come to the hospital for the time being and prepare yourself. ]
‘I tried not to let my personal life show as much as possible, fearing I would interfere with the filming…’
It seemed he had reached his limit.
***
Toward evening, the actors of *The Time the Moon Sets* visited my house.
“I brought the actors you met before first. The other staff members will probably come as soon as they finish their work.”
“Wasn’t today’s filming finished?”
Shin Hye-seo smiled bitterly.
“Yes, but a problem arose. We’ll likely be doing extended filming here in Goseong. It’s on the same southern coast, and we happen to have a location scouted here as well. The actors who arrived first will just say hello and head straight back to the set.”
I had already heard about the difficulties of the shoot.
‘Was it called method acting aftereffects?’
A condition where one becomes so deeply immersed in a role that it affects their mental state in reality. It was something ‘geniuses’ often experienced.
“That’s him over there, right?”
My gaze shifted to a single spot. In the distance, the two lead actors were comforting another man from both sides. It was Jo Woo-sun, an actor I had seen on TV several times.
“Yes. But at this rate, I’m not sure if he’ll even be able to greet you properly.”
“Hmm.”
I leaned my chin on my hand and pondered for a moment.
‘Maybe I can help.’
Wasn’t there already a precedent? Jaejun from Revive, who had been trembling with anxiety, became visibly stable after eating our blueberry yogurt. Not only that, he even managed to take first place on a music show.
‘But giving him raw blueberries and telling him to just eat them is a bit awkward…’
I immediately headed out. I planned to make a dessert like last time. Since yogurt required a spoon and could be a bit cumbersome, I decided to make a blueberry yogurt smoothie that he could just drink.
“Snowflakes, assemble!”
Entering the greenhouse quietly, I called the Snowflakes.
*Stomp, stomp, stomp!*
— It’s an assembly!
“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”
Wait a minute.
“Why are you guys here?”
Not only the Snowflakes but even the otters had gathered in front of me. As if they were meerkats, they stood tall on two legs, stretching their necks out. Even the babies, who had barely started walking, tried to mimic their parents and tumbled over here and there.
“You’ll get hurt!”
— You’ll get hurt!
— Don’t you guys do it!
The Snowflakes had already taken a rigid stance. However, their hands were trembling restlessly. Their eyes kept glancing at the baby otters. At that sight, I quickly gave an order.
“Can you pick some blueberries for me? I don’t need many, just enough to fill both my hands.”
— Leave it to us!
— One is enough!
You guys, one is definitely not enough.
“No, not your hands, fill them based on my hands…”
I stopped speaking mid-sentence.
— Here it is!
— Heave… ho…! Heave… ho…!
— Cheer up!
Countless Snowflakes clung to ‘one’ blueberry.
“Squeak!”
Even the otter couple helped with the task. It was only natural.
“Wow…”
An exclamation escaped my lips involuntarily.
“What on earth is this size?”
It was a blueberry unlike any I had ever seen in my life. It was larger than an apple.
“At this rate, even my two hands won’t be enough.”
Literally, a King Blueberry had appeared before me. I had heard of King’s Berries—the strawberries—but this was just…
“Give it to me!”
I quickly took the King Blueberry from them.
‘I don’t know if this will even fit in the blender.’
I took it to the kitchen and washed it thoroughly.
*Splash.*
First, I poured milk into the blender.
“This is the first time I’ve made a fruit smoothie like this.”
Whatever.
*Plop!*
The massive blueberry was dropped inside. A giant splash swirled over the calm, white waves. Then, 1 spoonful of honey. Soon, golden threads flowed down and melted into the blender.
“And a thick dollop of Greek yogurt.”
As I added it with a spoon, a white cloud-like lump settled in.
*Whirrr—*
Immediately after, the blender started spinning, and all the ingredients blended together. In an instant, the cup was filled with a soft, lilac-colored smoothie. The sweet scent piercing the tip of my nose was a bonus.
*Pop, pop!*
As I poured it into a glass, fine bubbles bloomed on the surface.
“…Oh!”
Tasting a bit of the leftover contents from the blender, it was as refreshing as if it had just come out of a dessert shop.
*Pat, pat, pat!*
Was it because the Snowflakes had been playing on top of it? The temperature was incredibly cold, as if it had just been taken out of the refrigerator.
“Thanks again for today.”
The Snowflakes stood with their hands on their hips, acting proud.
— This is nothing!
A smile naturally formed on my lips. My Snowflakes really are the best.
***
The actors returned to the set.
“Woo-sun. If you really can’t do it, tell me right away.”
“You should have told us sooner if your father’s health was bad, Brother! Anyway, thanks for telling us what’s going on. If it doesn’t work out this time, I’ll explain it well to the director.”
Jo Woo-sun nodded and took a small, deep breath.
‘I can do it.’
He knew. He knew that this shoot was the most important. If he were to describe *The Time the Moon Sets* in keywords, they would be mystery, thriller, and plot twist. It was a somewhat cliché setup where people keep dying, and it turns out the colleague next to them was the killer. And the colleague—the ‘killer’—was the role Jo Woo-sun played. Naturally, with such a cliché setup, the actors’ performances were especially crucial.
‘New material doesn’t always become a hit. Making a cliché subject as delicious as possible is a mark of competence and a shortcut to success.’
Therefore, he had to focus even more.
“Alright, I think everyone has rested enough, so let’s go again!”
The director shouted loudly. Though he spoke that way, his worried gaze remained fixed on one person.
“Actor Jo Woo-sun?”
“…Huh?”
While he was quietly doing mind control, someone cautiously approached him. It was someone he had already greeted and was acquainted with.
“Prosecutor Baek Seo-jun…?”
“Sorry to disturb you, but do you have a moment?”
“O-Of course. I couldn’t greet you properly earlier because I was distracted.”
“Don’t worry about that at all.”
*Slide.*
Suddenly, the other person very carefully handed him something.
“Um, what is this…?”
“It’s a gift from a fan of yours. There’s no poison in it, so you can drink it all at once.”
“Uh, well…”
Jo Woo-sun secretly checked his surroundings. Of course, he wasn’t worried about something like a glue-tainted drink terror like some old-school idol. It was because of who had handed it to him. He was just a little self-conscious about eating something alone.
“You said you were grateful to me, didn’t you?”
“!”
How could he refuse when the man put it that way?
‘Let’s drink it.’
*Gulp, gulp, gulp.*
Jo Woo-sun refreshedly drained the contents of the glass bottle.
“…Eh?”
But this.
‘W-Why is it so delicious?’
A sweet and refreshing scent vibrated throughout his mouth. It even had an immediate effect on his emotions. Should he say he felt a soft, fuzzy sense of well-being?
‘Is this why people get addicted to sugar…?’
Anyway, it was so delicious that he emptied the large glass bottle in an instant.
“Actor Jo! What are you doing not coming over!?”
“I-I’m coming!”
After a polite bow, Jo Woo-sun quickly returned to the filming area. It happened to be a scene starting with him.
“Action!”
“…Fine, I’m the killer.”
“!?”
He had only uttered a few words. But he could tell instinctively. From his facial expressions to his gestures and diction.
‘Didn’t I just do well?’
Jo Woo-sun thought so himself. It seemed it wasn’t just a personal feeling, as there was no ‘cut’ sign that usually came like a habit. Even as the acting continued.
‘I’m doing it properly this time!’
*Gulp.*
Jo Woo-sun’s Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.
“Y-You…?”
The lead actress, Jeong Do-hee, also had a very surprised look on her face. Though the lines and actions were according to the script, her shocked expression didn’t seem to be solely due to acting. It was a reaction that seemed to come from the heart. A sense of stability completely different from 1 hour ago.
‘How on earth did this happen?’
The only unusual thing that had happened in that 1 hour… was just one thing.
*Quiver.*
The corners of Jo Woo-sun’s eyes twitched involuntarily.
‘What on earth did you give me to drink, Representative Baek…!’
***
Meanwhile.
“…Did you see that?”
“Yes, I saw it clearly, CEO.”
“There wasn’t a single NG in this scene, right?”
“Definitely.”
In a corner of the film set, CEO Han Yu-jin and Department Manager Lee Do-kyung were also watching that miraculous change.
“He got better right after drinking something Representative Baek handed him, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“What are the chances it’s related to the produce from Eoreumgol Farm?”
“Circumstantially, they are very high.”
“In other words, the things being posted in our site’s customer feedback… like how their skin got better after eating Eoreumgol Farm produce, or how they lost weight, or felt better, or their stamina improved… all of that is…?”
“Honestly, at first, I thought it was just a kind of placebo effect because everyone else said it was good… but it seems like there really is something to it.”
CEO Han Yu-jin’s expression immediately became serious.
“With the Shinhwa Department Store issue, it looks like we need to properly re-evaluate its value. If these dream-like effects are real.”
” I think so too.”
“Above all, I heard Shinhwa hasn’t signed the final contract yet, so there’s no need to continue an uncomfortable partnership. We just need to take better care of them on our side.”
Department Manager Lee Do-kyung nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
“Of course!”
Yes. If the opponent played hardball, they would play harder. That was the essence of a true game of chicken.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.