“Hic… hic…!”
“Stop crying so much and just run, kid.”
The man spoke cynically with an annoyed expression and turned to leave.
Or rather, he tried to.
Grab—
“…?”
Feeling his clothes suddenly being tugged, the man turned back with a puzzled look.
“Together… hic…”
“What is it, kid?”
“Come with me… I don’t have anyone else…”
“What?”
The man frowned at the boy’s words.
The child flinched at his expression but didn’t let go of the clothes.
“Mom and Dad are dead… hic… I don’t even know where my friends are… I’m all alone. Please take me with you…”
The boy’s words left the man momentarily speechless.
In front of his eyes flashed an image of his past self.
“Waaah, Mom, Dad…!”
The accident in which he had lost his own parents. The start of all these unreal events.
For some reason, the boy who had lost his parents to monsters overlapped with his own childhood.
That must have been why.
“…If you become a burden, I’ll ditch you. So keep up on your own, kid.”
He couldn’t bring himself to coldly shake the boy off.
“Yes… yes…!”
The boy quickly nodded at the man’s words.
The man glanced down at him as if he were a nuisance, then turned and started walking.
The boy wiped his tears and hurriedly followed behind.
They walked in silence for a long time.
It couldn’t be helped.
The man had never been good with words anyway, and the boy was still in shock from losing his parents.
So the two continued walking without speaking.
Through the ruined streets.
“…Um.”
“…?”
After a long while, the boy spoke in a small voice.
The man glanced down at the call.
“What is it, kid.”
“What’s your name, mister?”
The sudden, out-of-place question made the man let out a hollow laugh.
“In a situation like this, does a name even matter, brat?”
“But… Mom and Dad told me… when you meet someone for the first time, you should ask their name first…”
At the boy’s words, the man frowned in annoyance.
“…Choi Dowon.”
But there was no reason not to tell him. The man spat out his name.
“Choi Dowon… Uncle Dowon. I’m Seojun. Song Seojun.”
Song Seojun. The man quietly repeated the boy’s name in his mouth.
“Uncle Dowon.”
“What now?”
Song Seojun kept calling him without getting tired, and Choi Dowon frowned again.
Despite shrinking under the gaze, the boy spoke clearly without looking away.
“But where are we going?”
“You’re quick to ask that.”
They had been walking together for a while now, and only now he asked.
Choi Dowon gave him an incredulous look.
“Isn’t that more important than a name?”
“Is it?”
“You… haa… never mind. We’re going to a shelter right now.”
“Shelter? What’s a shelter?”
At Song Seojun’s innocent question, Choi Dowon whipped around in disbelief.
“You don’t know what a shelter is? Where the hell have you been living?”
“Huh? Over there…”
Song Seojun pointed toward the inner part of the safe zone.
Seeing where the boy was pointing, Choi Dowon’s expression hardened.
“…The safe zone?”
“That’s the safe zone?”
The safe zone.
Even in this chaotic world, it was a very special area protected by a mysterious power.
A place monsters never invaded, where housing prices were sky-high—essentially a residential area exclusive to the rich.
And this kid was from there? Choi Dowon’s eyes sharpened without him realizing.
“Yeah. You’re from there?”
“Yes…”
Song Seojun fidgeted under the suddenly heavy atmosphere.
Choi Dowon asked with a still-cold face.
“Why did a safe-zone kid come out here?”
“M-Mom and Dad said… even if we live safely in this world, we shouldn’t turn a blind eye to what’s happening outside…”
“Yeah?”
This world.
What do people living comfortably in the safe zone know to say things like that?
Choi Dowon scoffed.
Well, no wonder they died the moment they stepped out with such naive thoughts.
And left only a child behind.
Choi Dowon glanced at Song Seojun.
…He swallowed those words and turned his head back toward their destination.
“A shelter is, simply put, a place where a certain degree of protective power is active.”
“Protective power?”
With the atmosphere back to normal, Song Seojun cautiously followed.
“Yeah. You were in the safe zone, so you should know. Monsters didn’t invade that place.”
“Yes, yes.”
“It’s similar. Except the range is much smaller than the safe zone, and there’s no guarantee how long the effect will last.”
“I see…”
A shelter.
He hadn’t even known such a thing existed.
The boy nodded slightly.
And silence fell again.
The man and the boy continued walking wordlessly through the ruins.
“Okay, cut—!”
The director’s refreshing cut sign rang out.
“Good! Good! Let’s keep this momentum!”
Jo Jaesik grinned from ear to ear at the seamless acting between Jeon Siho and Myungwoo.
“Wow, I’ve never seen Director Jo Jaesik this excited.”
“Right? But it’s understandable.”
“They really act well. We all know Jeon Siho, but Kang Myungwoo is…”
“Is he really a kid? Didn’t they say he’s ten?”
“He’s eleven now.”
“But he doesn’t whine or throw tantrums… he’s so mature.”
“And his acting is insane.”
“Now I get why the director brought him…”
The people who had been looking at Myungwoo unfavorably just before filming started had completely turned around after only two scenes.
“Wow, Myungwoo, another amazing performance as expected!”
“Haha, you too, Siho hyung.”
Myungwoo high-fived Jeon Siho’s outstretched hand with a smack.
The moment your acting is acknowledged never gets old.
Especially in this way—appearing in a large-scale film with almost no career behind him was something he had never experienced even in his previous life.
That’s why the initial bad reviews had stung, but flipping them like this felt exhilarating on a whole different level.
Ha, this really feels good.
The instant people who had ignored him changed their attitude after seeing his acting.
It was probably a feeling only rookies could experience, so Myungwoo decided to enjoy this moment to the fullest.
“I’ll go prepare for the next scene!”
The next scene was entering the shelter and meeting new people.
That required special equipment for the production design, so everyone started moving busily.
“Then shall we go over there and rest for a bit, junior Myungwoo?”
“Haha, sure.”
At Jeon Siho’s suggestion, Myungwoo smiled and left the set, sitting on a chair off to the side.
“I heard this is your first movie, junior.”
“Yes, it is.”
“And you only debuted last year?”
“Yes.”
“Yet you act insanely well?”
“Haha, thank you.”
Myungwoo beamed at Jeon Siho’s smooth compliments.
“I’m not just saying it—I was genuinely impressed acting opposite you.”
“Thank you. Siho hyung is also amazing.”
“Haha, well, I’ve got the experience.”
“But still, being acknowledged by a genius junior like you feels good,” Jeon Siho said with a laugh.
As the two chatted pleasantly, a luxurious car entered the filming site.
“Ah, must be the actor for the next scene.”
“Looks like it.”
Myungwoo casually commented, then blinked at Jeon Siho’s suddenly brightened mood and tone.
What’s with him?
He looks like someone who’s about to see a person he’s been dying to meet.
While they were talking, the car stopped on set, and the door opened.
“Uh…”
Seeing who stepped out, Myungwoo’s eyes widened in shock.
“Yoohee… senior?”
It was Lee Yoohee, whom he had seen just a short while ago.
“Yoohee-ya!”
Before Myungwoo could even call her name, Jeon Siho raised his hand high.
“Ah, Siho!”
Lee Yoohee smiled brightly and waved back, then quickly ran toward them.
“Siho, hi! Myungwoo’s here too?”
“Ah, hello, Yoohee senior.”
“What? You two know each other?”
At Myungwoo’s greeting, Jeon Siho widened his eyes and looked back and forth between Yoohee and Myungwoo.
“Siho, no need to act all surprised.”
“Huh? No need?”
Myungwoo blinked at the somehow lovey-dovey atmosphere between the two.
This vibe… it’s not just close friends…
Then Lee Yoohee leaned in toward Myungwoo with a mischievous expression.
“Hmm, Myungwoo, you didn’t know? Siho and I are actually dating.”
“…Huh? Really?”
“What did you say?”
“Ahh, about us?”
“Haha, everyone who needs to know already knows, right?”
“Well, Myungwoo seems unaware? He hasn’t been in the industry long, so it’s possible.”
So… they weren’t just pretending to date—they were actually dating…?
Well, I haven’t seen Yoohee in ten years, so it’s not weird that she’d be with someone in that time.
Myungwoo felt momentarily confused but soon nodded in understanding.
They were both beautiful and handsome in their prime. It wasn’t strange for them to have partners.
“By the way, Yoohee senior, you’re appearing in this?”
“Haha, yep.”
“What, you didn’t see the cast list, Myungwoo?”
“Ahaha, no, it’s not that—I specially asked the director to keep my name hidden from Myungwoo.”
“Huh?”
At Yoohee’s words, Myungwoo laughed in disbelief.
Hide her name… surely not…
“Yep! I wanted to surprise Myungwoo-gun!”
“Really…”
Should he be more shocked at Yoohee for planning this prank, or at Director Jo Jaesik for going along with it?
“Haha, I’m pretty close with Director Jo Jaesik. We’ve done several projects together, after all.”
“Ah, I know. You’ve worked with him since early in your career.”
Lee Yoohee had appeared in Jo Jaesik’s films since almost the very beginning.
Myungwoo knew her debut film had been directed by him.
He knew they were acquainted, but he hadn’t realized they were close enough to pull pranks like this.
She really hasn’t changed at all.
Whether he should scold her for doing this at work or just laugh it off…
No, I should’ve realized the moment the lead actress spot was still empty.
If the female lead position in a Jo Jaesik film was open, there was only one person who could fill it.
This was his own mistake for not predicting Lee Yoohee would take the role.
“Haha, anyway, surprise successful?”
Facing Myungwoo’s dumbfounded expression, Yoohee smiled innocently.
Unable to say anything to that smile, Myungwoo ended up laughing too.
“Hahaha, I totally fell for it.”
“Haha, Myungwoo, getting pranked by Yoohee like this means you two must be really close now, huh?”
Jeon Siho looked at Myungwoo with sparkling eyes from the side.
“Well, somehow, yes.”
“Then let’s be close too, Myungwoo?”
Jeon Siho smiled and held out his right hand.
Myungwoo took it, shaking firmly while smiling brightly.
“Of course. Feel free to call me Myungwoo, Siho hyung.”
“Alright, Myungwoo.”
Getting close to another top actor—and one with a personality that seemed to match well—was something Myungwoo welcomed with open arms.
He thought that and smiled.
Lee Yoohee watched with warm eyes as her boyfriend and her new friend Myungwoo shook hands.
“Alright, now that Actress Lee Yoohee is here, let’s start filming again!”
Time flew while the three joked around, and soon the director called for filming to resume.
“Let’s do great, Myungwoo, Siho.”
“Let’s do this.”
“Fighting, seniors!”
The three exchanged glances and grinned.