Chapter 83: From Casual Clothes to Camera Ready

[Kim Minjun, Selected for the Sub-Male Lead Role of Doyoon in ‘Love Some’, the Heart-Stealer!]  

[Jung Hyunjae X Jung Haewon X Kim Minjun, Meeting in a Thrilling Love Triangle]  

An article had come out saying that Kim Minjun was confirmed as the sub-male lead in ‘Love Some’.  

“So that’s how it turned out.”  

The role I was supposed to take had gone to Kim Minjun, who came in second.  

“This should be fun.”  

Now everything was set, and all that remained was to start filming. 

I was more excited than ever about how ‘Love Some’ would turn out compared to any other project.  

“Hyunjae~ Come down and set the table!”  

Kyungho’s voice calling me from downstairs rang out.  

“Yes! I’ll be right down~”  

I tossed the smartphone I’d been looking at onto the bed and headed downstairs.  

 *** 

The village cleanup was done, and starting the next day, unfamiliar cars and people came and went along the streets; yesterday, filming finally began.  

“What exactly are we supposed to be doing right now?”  

“I guess…… so?”  

But contrary to expectations that filming would be noisy and chaotic, it was quiet, as if not even a single ant was around.  

Kyungho.  

“Still, the lights were on until late, right?”  

“When are you going?”  

“They said to eat lunch and call, then show up when the time matches.”  

Yesterday, a staff member had roughly explained what to do.  

“But…… are you really going like that?”  

Kyungho looked me up and down as he spoke.  

“They said to come casually?”  

The staff had earnestly instructed me. No need to dress up at all—just show up in comfortable clothes like a local.  

“Still, it’s a famous program, so that’s too…… isn’t that just neighborhood-stroll attire?”  

My outfit was the T-shirt and sweatpants I wore every day at home.  

‘Is it too much?’  

“Do I look weird?”  

“It’s not weird…… but there are other celebrities, right?”  

It seemed Kyungho was worried I’d look too shabby next to the other celebrities.  

“Got it. I’ll find a pretty T-shirt~”  

Understanding Kyungho’s concern, I planned to change clothes and go; as I went up to my room, a call came in.  

“Hello?”  

-Still haven’t started filming?  

The owner of the voice was none other than Hyungkyu.  

“I’m about to change clothes and head to the set.”  

-You really have to do well! This is a golden opportunity given to us!  

“It’s just a quick cameo, why bring up a golden opportunity?”  

They’d explained to me that I’d help with work, eat dinner, and leave.  

-What about clothes? You’re not going in just anything, right?  

I had planned to wear just anything, but Hyungkyu’s intuition was scary.  

“Haha, I’ll wear clean clothes.”  

-Haa, I should go and pass out drinks while greeting people, but I can’t. I’m leaving right now.  

“W-Wait~ CEO, that’s not it~”  

I urgently stopped Hyungkyu, who seemed ready to dash over any second.  

“If a brief guest actor makes too much fuss, it’ll make others uncomfortable.”  

-Haa~ That’s true. Ugh! But what can I do about being worried?  

“I have it all figured out. I did fine at the neighborhood supermarket, didn’t I? Don’t worry.”  

I hadn’t actually planned anything specific, but calming Hyungkyu came first.  

-Still, it’s filming; maybe I should’ve sent Hayoon?  

“It’s a ten-minute walk from our house. Why make him suffer?”  

-Listen well to the seniors, be polite, volunteer for the hard tasks first. Ah! The PD……  

Like a parent sending a child to kindergarten for the first time, endless words of advice poured out.  

‘Why is he worse than Uncle Kyungho?’  

I’d thought Kyungho nagged a lot, but Hyungkyu was no slouch either.  

“Got it. Got it. I’ll do well and come back.”  

-Hyunjae…… you know Hyung believes in you, right?  

More than all the nagging I’d heard until now, this one line hit home.  

“Got it. I won’t cause trouble and will treat the seniors well.”  

-Yeah! Fighting! Hyung is only watching you!  

I finally ended the call, changed into a recently bought T-shirt, and came out.  

“Jayden, let’s go.”  

At the word “go,” Jayden quickly got up and brought his leash. I attached the leash to Jayden, greeted Kyungho before leaving the house.  

“I’ll be back!”  

“Do well~”  

With a send-off, I headed to the appointed spot; from afar, I could see countless cameras and staff.  

‘Wow~ how many people is that?’  

Just the people holding cameras numbered over ten, and adding the rest of the staff, it easily exceeded twenty.  

As I approached, a female staff member spotted me and hurriedly dragged me to a corner; following her, one camera filmed me as it came along.  

“Hello.”  

“Hyunjae-ssi, nice to meet you. The seniors still don’t know you’re here.”  

“Ah~ yes, yes.”  

“I’ll attach the mic first. Please wait a moment.”  

The staff ran off somewhere, brought a mic, and attached it to me.  

Until I left the house, I’d come with the easy mindset of just working and eating, but once the mic was on, I felt a bit nervous.  

“Now that I’m here, I’m getting nervous.”  

“Haha, it’s okay. Just be comfortable.”  

“They said to come comfortably, so I did…… but is it weird?”  

I asked just in case.  

“Haha, no. It’s perfect!”  

Yo.  

“Phew, good.”  

“In a bit, we’ll go in when the timing’s right; just pass by naturally and join in.”  

Pass by and suddenly join? 

Pretend to pass and suddenly help with farm work? It felt too artificial.  

The words “naturally” and the action didn’t match at all, but I nodded roughly.  

“Uh, Hyunjae.”  

The main PD, Youngjae, approached with a greeting.  

“Hello.”  

It was the first time meeting Youngjae since the meeting that day.  

“Have you grown taller? You seem bigger than back then?”  

“Haha, I’m not sure.”  

Even after a long time, Youngjae asked after me warmly.  

“You heard roughly what we’re doing today, right?”  

“Yes, help with work, eat dinner!”  

“Yeah, yeah, nothing hard, so no need to be too nervous. Is this the kid you’re raising?”  

Youngjae crouched down and showed interest in Jayden.  

“He’s my little brother. Jayden, say hello.”  

At my words, Jayden showed his trick of slightly bowing his head.  

“Oh my! What is this guy?”  

“He just greeted us, right?”  

At Jayden’s greeting, the two stared at me with eyes bulging as if they’d pop out.  

“It’s a trick. Here, snack.”  

I took out a snack from the bag for Jayden, and with this unusually generous reward, Jayden unleashed tricks without being told.  

“Stop, stop. If you gain weight, I’ll be the only one scolded.”  

Tired from giving snacks, I shouted stop.  

“Wow~”  

“He’s really smart. Just his tricks could fill three minutes of footage?”  

“Sunbae, I want this guy?”  

I came to film, but all the attention went to Jayden.  

“When should I go in………”  

“Ah, right. Hold on…… Sunbae, when should Hyunjae appear?”  

She contacted the on-site staff via walkie-talkie, and soon the signal came.  

-Wait five minutes, then I’ll signal.  

“Yes, understood. Seems you can wait a bit and then go in.”  

“I’ll take good care of this friend.”  

Youngjae took Jayden’s leash.  

“Woojoojoo~ Let’s play with uncle~”  

Jayden looked up at me as if asking if it was okay, and I nodded.  

“It’s fine. Hyung will work and come back, so play. This is your favorite snack.”  

I handed over the snack pack too; confirming the snacks went to Youngjae’s hand, Jayden stuck right to Youngjae’s side.  

‘Who does he take after to calculate so fast?’  

“Seems you can go in now.”  

“I’ll be in front, so don’t worry too much; if you freeze mid-way or it gets too awkward, I’ll talk to you, so relax.”  

Even from a brief look, I could tell why Youngjae was top in variety. Making the cast comfortable and caring warmly was his skill.  

“Phew~ I’ll do well.”  

***  

“You do it like this, like this.”  

The grandmother in the floral cap showed Seungkwon and Haejin how to pull garlic.  

“Ma’am, like this?”  

“You can’t do it that way!”  

“Uh, how………”  

“Young fellows don’t know how to work.”  

The grandmother spoke as if frustrated, and Seungkwon and Haejin listening felt the same.  

“Like this, like this.”  

The grandmother seemed to do it roughly, yet it came out clean; the two put in full effort but came out messy.  

“Ah, like this?”  

“That’s it. Now you’re doing a bit.”  

“Now I get it.”  

“I’ll be over there, so don’t slack off!”  

“Yeees………”  

Seungkwon, who rarely got intimidated by people, was completely crushed by the grandmother’s spirit right now.  

“Scary………”  

Haejin mouthed to the production team.  

“Why aren’t you hurrying? The day will break at this rate.”  

At the grandmother’s scolding, they busily moved again.  

“We’re doing it now! Hurry a bit~”  

“I’ve been doing it since earlier!”  

The two same-age friends bickered, blaming each other. 

As they diligently pulled garlic and gradually tired, they started looking for the guest.  

“Is the guest not coming?”  

“What guest~”  

To Seungkwon asking for the guest, Youngjae pretended not to know and spoke.  

“How are we two supposed to finish all this~”  

“Be honest. There is a guest, right? Bring him out.”  

“I said there’s no guest.”  

“Why not?”  

“Should I call some kids who have time now?”  

“Call them, call them.”  

“These hyungs really………”  

Not having seen each other’s faces for just a year or two, they acted shamelessly.  

“Where are you running!”  

Youngjae subtly stood up from his spot, and Seungkwon shouted.  

“I’m going to the bathroom~ Can’t I even go to the bathroom?”  

“If there’s no guest, the PD should come pull at least.”  

“Go get a spare hoe and gloves.”  

“You know where they are?”  

Pretending not to hear the two, Youngjae disappeared from the set.  

“It really doesn’t make sense for just us two to do it all.”  

“Why aren’t you bending your back and working?”  

“Yes.”  

“We’re working hard!”  

“First time getting scolded this much at my age.”  

Seungkwon and Haejin immediately bent their backs at the grandmother’s nagging and resumed work.  

“Wait a sec.”  

While digging garlic, Seungkwon sensed a strange energy.  

“If you’re still there, what are you doing~ Hurry, hurry and move?”  

“Look over there.”  

Seungkwon’s fingertip pointed to the sky, spotting a moving drone.  

“It’s the guest!”  

It was know-how gained from long filming experience. A moving drone meant the guest was coming this way.  

“Eh~ You said there wasn’t.”  

“Ha! It’s over. It’s over.”  

Life returned to the tired faces of the two. 

And sure enough, a tall man with legs that anyone would recognize as a celebrity was walking this way.  

“Who is it”  

“Face isn’t clear…… who is it?”  

They focused hard to confirm the face, but the closer he got, the more unfamiliar it was.  

“Seems like someone I’ve never seen………”  

“Yeah.”  

He came right up close, but they couldn’t tell who it was. But it was clearly the guest, so just as they stood to greet him.  

“Hyunjae!”  

The chilly, stern grandmother was waving and smiling.